Even as he sprinted, Hadwyn was still the slowest.

“We got him running!” cackled Loyd, from somewhere far ahead. Hadwyn couldn't see through the trail of dust his party members had made.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He stopped, leaning against a tree like a desert dog. Only desert dogs had no tree to lean on. He raised his head, a bead of descending sweat making it hard to see for a moment until he rubbed them out.

He saw nothing but a trail of dust behind what he assumed was Loyd, and Alice was not far behind.

As Hadwyn wheezed, he was still amazed at the endurance of his fellow party members. Sure, he thought Loyd was fast, but Alice was much faster apparently, as she covered the distance between her and Loyd in just a few seconds. Loyd had a five minute head start and she still caught up.

Sure enough, when they entered a more moist patch of land, Hadwyn saw her running alongside Loyd.

“Those fuckers ditched us again.”

Hadwyn jumped at the voice.

Mateo was sitting just a few feet away. He was picking at dead grass.

“Guess we just aren't fast enough.” Hadwyn sighed.

Mateo turned to Hadwyn and shot him an annoyed look.

I was sitting here for the last five minutes spitting dust out of my mouth. You weren't even close, buddy.” Mateo got up and turned his attention to Hadwyn fully.

Hadwyn smirked at him. “Maybe we gotta try harder.”

“We? No, no. You. You're gonna try harder. I’m not letting Loyd pull that shit on us anymore.” He rubbed his head, paused for a moment then began to rub vigorously. He eventually stopped and glared at Hadwyn.

“Oi! We got it!” Alice’s voice rang out in the distance.

She materialized right next to them. Her face was covered in blood. Her rapier gleamed with the same crimson too.

She was grinning ear-to-ear.

“Couldn't keep up?” She taunted.

Mateo pressed his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes. “Don't test me. I’m still the second strongest. I’ll wipe the floor with you.”

She giggled madly. “If you can catch me, that is.”

“Hey!”

Everyone turned. It was Loyd. He slung a giant bloody net over his shoulder. Inside was a mutilated snake-like beast.

Hadwyn hated snakes.

Loyd smirked. “Guess who dealt the finishing blow?”

“Guess who doesn't give a shit?” Mateo snapped. But he was unanimously ignored.

Loyd swung the net in front of Hadwyn, causing him to take a step back. Loyd knew of his disdain for the slithering reptiles, yet he still chose to prey on Hadwyn’s hatred of snakes.

Loyd dangled the net with just one arm, simultaneously displaying his apparent fearlessness and strength.

The creature weighed more than it looked, as Hadwyn had done a copious amount of research into the monster before following his party on their mission, yet Loyd held it almost effortlessly with one hand, grinning at the rest of the team.

It was no surprise that he was their leader.

Hadwyn narrowed his eyes at the net.

No… no you did not…

Still, he had to give the benefit of the doubt, so he asked:

“Loyd, did you use the clip like I asked?”

The smile faded from his face. “The what?”

“The cl-” Hadwyn swallowed. “Loyd, how did you close the bag?”

“I tied it.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Mateo facepalm and Alice cringe.

Hadywn sighed. The net was Hadwyn's. It was a special T-wire.

“You actually tied the net, you dumb fuck!”

“Shut your bitch-ass up Mateo!” He turned back to Hadwyn, and for the record, you didn't even give me the clip, so what the hell was I supposed to do?”

Hadywn raised an eyebrow. “I didn't give you the clip, but I did tell you where it was and reminded you numerous times to use it.”

“Fine’ I'm gonna undo it.” he muttered, fighting with the knot.

“I wouldn't recommend-”

“Fuck!”

Loyd stuck his finger in his mouth. He had cut himself with it. Blood trickled down his hand as he pressed it against his clothes, clothes that, sadly, Hadwyn would be tasked with washing later.

“I told you.” Hadwyn remarked aloud.

Everyone turned to Loyd, interested to see his response. His lips trembled, not in a pouting way, but in a about-to-shout kind of way. But he did not, which surprised Hadwyn.

Usually when something got screwed up or went wrong, the blame would fall on Hadwyn, Mateo, or sometimes Alice. But Loyd has never taken blame for anything.

But his thoughts were interrupted when Loyd did finally speak.

Loyd raised the net as high as he could, with the dragon still inside, and when his arm could not go any further he turned and glared at Hadwyn.

“Do you see this Hadwyn? This is a drakon. It was going 75 kilometers per-hour, and I caught it. My job is to lead this team, and fight.”

He slowly lowered the net, so as to not alarm anyone, then continued:

“I don't ask you to fight, Hadwyn.” He cocked his head. Hadywn couldn't tell if he was trying to smirk or grimace. “I do that. That's why I'm level 78 and that's why I'm the leader of this team, not you.”

He leaned forward. “Do you know why?”

Why? Hadwyn almost said, but instead only thought.

Loyd smiled, motioning to the net.

“Because I know, that you will never, ever, ever, in a thousand years be able to do what I do!”

Hadwyn nodded. He was expressionless, but internally, he was fuming. Loyd must be absolutely brain-dead to think that Hadwyn served no purpose. He was, by far, one of the most useful members of the team. Admittedly, instances where Hadwyn's expertise wasn't required for the success of a quest were more frequent than not, but when his skills were needed, he usually ended up carrying, or even saving the lives of his party. He highly doubted Loyd noticed little things like that. Little things that added up to big things. But even if he did, he probably didn't even care.

On top of that, the drakon that Loyd caught was not only a young drakon, but a drakonette, which was a female drakon, which were far less aggressive than males. Though pointing that out probably would help his case much.

He's just pissed because I called him out.

“Next time, if you want me to not damage your shit, maybe keep it to yourself next time?”

Without a warning, Loyd tossed the net at Hadwyn. It was going at a speed that he couldn't dodge, and he managed to barely catch it.

Hadwyn was shocked. Another reckless action of Loyd. If he had not precisely moderated the power behind his throw, he could've broken some of Hadwyn's bones, or even worse… thrown it at the T-wire’s effective velocity and cut him like a cheese grater.

“Take the net to a blacksmith or something, then meet us at the bar, Hadwyn.” Loyd seemed to be calming down now. “I'll cover whatever your dumb net cost, then we can chill at Ike’s after we grab a drink.”

He turned to leave, but stopped and said one more thing.

“Maybe if you do more heavy lifting, I'll show you the respect you think you deserve. Until then, you keep your mouth shut and only open it when I need your smart-ass.”

He then left, with Alice and Mateo following.

And Hadwyn would spend the rest of the afternoon trying to get a 250 pound drakon across town.

Hadwyn covered the burlap sack with sting powder, to prevent it from being stolen, and even if it were stolen, he would be able to track down the thief.

His shoulder hurt as he began to press his body on the door, due to having to drag the creature all the way back from the blacksmith after getting the T-wire cut. The blacksmith had confirmed his assumption that, upon cutting the T-wire to access the value inside, the complex structure of the Testilewire would be compromised and rendered completely useless.

He couldn’t help but grind his teeth thinking about it. Testilewire was expensive. Hadwyn had saved up for months for the special net, and Loyd managed to ruin it after just two uses. He hadn’t even gotten a discount from the blacksmith because the T-wire was unrecyclable by any conventional means. He briefly considered the blacksmith had lied to him, but dismissed it, remembering that he had done research into the net before buying it. Perhaps he could have fashioned a makeshift trap to get one last use out of it. But again, he didn’t want to lose a finger to the razor-sharp fibers of the net, so he tossed it out and left with a drakon in a potato sack.

Hadwyn pressed harder against the door. It slowly creaked open. His shoulder ached more. There was an inside joke that most people were aware that the door was unusually heavy, and it was said by the patrons that if you couldn’t open the door, you weren’t a real Aldarian.

Hadwyn struggled with opening this door frequently.

He did finally get it open, barely, as he always did when they went to the bar.

Inside was rowdy, as it always was, cheering, shouting, laughing, crying, and arguing. It was the most popular hangout. The bar was called The Visitor’s Hangout, but most people who came here nicknamed it The Visitor’s Hangover. Apparently because Aldarians couldn’t moderate their alcohol consumption.

At tables sat dozens of other parties, most of them part of GOAG, like himself. There were a few smaller guild members here and there. But this was where GOAG members came to brag, tell stories, or compare levels. Comparing levels could be compared to that of a bollocks measuring competition in terms of its ridiculousness, and to how serious people took it.

The smell of beer, cigar smoke, and someone’s B.O wafted through the air.

Hadywn strode through the aisles of booths and tables.

Now where are they?

The bar was packed, in case it hadn’t been evident from the noise that leaked outdoors. Hadwyn searched by head to no avail, until he finally spotted his table.

They were only a few feet away from the door.

He sat down at the table, mildly annoyed.

Loyd was drunk, as usual. That, from an alternative perspective, would be considered impressive, considering most Aldaraians had a high tolerance to alcohol.

“I saw you walking around.” Loyd slurred, with a smile on his face.

“Why didn't you say anything then?” Hadwyn replied, mildly annoyed. He told himself he would be forgiving Loyd. Most of the things he did could easily be boiled down to simple arrogance.

“I dunno. I just wanted to see how far you- *hic* went before seeing us.”

Hadwyn rolled his eyes and sat down.

“Anyways, you get your net replaced?”

“No. It was ruined.” Hadwyn replied smartly.

Sensing the impending argument between Hadwyn and Loyd, Alice interrupted their glaring session by changing the subject to the main topic:

“Loyd. GOAG, remember?”

Loyd bit his lip uncomfortably while not breaking eye contact with Hadwyn. “Right… GOAG.” He fidgeted with his hands.

“Hadywn, our Social credit score might be fucked.”

“W- What?”

“Yep. Turns out you sit out of most of our missions. Which causes lowers our credit score. But,” He said, spreading his hands out, “I'm gonna let that slide because I was unaware of it.”

I don't sit out! You don't invite me, idiot!

“With that being said. I fixed the problem. Since I caught the drakon, which is worth a ton of money, after we go to Ike’s, we can meet up with a collector there. But for now, GOAG’s share of our shit increased. So, we wont do that again.

Hadwyn nodded, following so far. GOAG stood for the Good ol’ Adventurers Guild. They were one of the biggest guilds in the world.

“Anyways, I've been thinking of going solo.”

Hadwyn nearly choked on his glass of water.

“But only for a few days… to y'know, grind… n’ stuff. But hey, I wasn't going to tell you this, but to hell with it, I really don't give a damn.”

“You mean duos, right?” Alice said, batting her eyelashes.

He seemed to think for a moment. “Nah, more like trios, beca-”

He stopped, maybe realizing that he let a little too much slip out of his mouth.

“Uhhh… Yeah, duos! Haha, of course- *hic* I’ll bring you along! After all, you are my fav- I mean, the only one!”

He turned back to Hadwyn, perhaps so he wouldn't have to look at whatever Alice's expression was.

“So anyways, you gonna drink anything, or just be a square all day?”

Hadwyn felt his stomach churn. If his day hadn't already been ruined, it sure was now. Loyd going solo meant two things. One, the Loyd would be able to be able to level up faster, and two, that the rest of the team, assuming Alice didn't tag along with him, would have to figure out what else to do without him.

Alice and Mateo would have little or nothing to worry about. But Hadwyn would. With a heavy hitter like Loyd on the sidelines, Hadwyn would be expected to act as a partial combatant.

In case It hadn't been obvious at this point. Hadwyn wasn't good at fighting.

It wasn't that he couldn't learn, but rather he was simply not strong enough. No one ever bothered to teach him how to fight properly, he did teach himself some sword fighting skills and archery, but he rarely used his abilities because of how weak they were.

Also if Loyd left, Hadwyn didn’t know who would lead the group. It could be Alice, but Mateo had been catching up to her level at a rapid pace, for just a month ago he had jumped from level 25 to 36. Alice was level 42.

And Hadwyn? Well, he was level 9.

He trained to no avail for many years, eventually giving up and returning to a more casual exercise routine. Hadwyn was fit, and stronger than a Non-Aldarian no doubt, but he was weak by comparison to his party.

Hadwyn saw a man walking towards the stand. A few people he brushed by frowned but said nothing. As if they just spotted a housefly zip by, but they wouldn't bother killing it. At least, that's what Hadwyn thought. But as the man got closer, it became obvious he was approaching their table. People began to move out of his way, they looked uncomfortable and aleverted their gaze. He was less of a fly, and more of an alpha wolf, walking through a pack of lesser subjects.

Hadwyn squinted, trying to read the insignia on his left.

It read: AFHA

What's an AFHA? Hadwyn thought.

The man made a beeline for their table and stood in front of it. He threw down a piece of paper.

“Your bill,” he said sternly.

Without looking up, Loyd responded to the man.

“I already told you, I'll pay l-”

He raised his head right at that moment, making eye contact with the man.

“Son of a… who the hell are you?”

The man clasped his hands behind his back. The room seems to grow ever more quiet around the table.

“Sir, I am a member of the AFHA.” I am part of an agency that keeps peace…”

Loyd snorted. “Keep peace? Buddy, we are the peacekeepers. We're the guardians of this land, and you're telling me that you're a peacekeeper?”

He spread his arms out, motioning to the rest of the crowd. The man swiveled his head left to right, and as he did, the crowd of people moved backward a few inches as if he would burst to flame.

“I see the point that you're trying to make, however, refusal to pay is a crime.”

Loyd scoffed at the word crime. His lack of conscience made his hairs stand up.

“I don't understand what is so funny.” The man added. “The owner of this bar reported to me that you haven't paid.”

“Yeah, how much?”

186 single-layered copper.

Hadwyn cringed. Someone in the crown whistled, to which Loyd responded:

“Shut the fuck up!”

Loyd redirected his glare back on the man again. He had a commanding presence. A different type then Hadwyn was used to. He didn't just think he was better or stronger, but he knew he was wiser and in the right.

“Listen, I don't know what the hell an AFHA is, but you better back off, or I'll settle this outside.”

The man tiled his neck, it made a soft pop. Then he responded,

“Are you threatening me sir?”

At this point, Alice would have entered the argument to defend Loyd, but this time she simply watched. At the moment, Loyd’s look of confidence faded from his expression, filled with resentment and annoyance. Then he replied,

“Hadwyn… pass me your wallet.” He said this without so much as looking at Hadwyn.

“W- What…?”

“Give me your damn wallet Hadwyn!” He hissed under his breath so that others couldn't hear. They probably wouldn't anyways, as they appeared to have lost interest and the bar returned to its normal volume.

Hadwyn quietly slid his wallet pouch to Loyd, who quickly snatched it and rifled through its contents.

“There. Fuck off now, huh?”

Loyd slid the piles of mixed coins to the man. The man looked at the coins, then back at Loyd. He made no move to take it, which confused Hadwyn.

“No, if you’re wondering, I'm not gonna deliver these to him. You can do that yourself.” Loyd crossed his arms, waiting for the man to say or do something.

“I will deliver the said amount to the man whom you owe it to, however… “ He motioned to the pile of money. “As I just witnessed, this is not your money.”

Hadwyn’s Adam's apple sunk into his chest.

Loyd grinded his teeth. “I’m the party leader. I can make my members pay at my discretion. GOAG rules, not mine. Take the money and leave, you prick.”

Hadywn tried to focus from an analytical point of view rather than emotional. If the man refused, Loyd would blame Hadwyn. This could very well be the straw that breaks the donkey's back. He and Loyd never got along, sure. But it had never been as problematic as it had in the past two weeks. So Hadywn swallowed whatever worries he had and began trying to unravel the nature of this man.

The man stood in an authoritative stance, his feet positioned between that of a soldier and a servant. He wore a uniform much like that of a soldier. His lips twitched, as if he were always about to say something, but kept it in his head to polish and perfect before he uttered it.

This man could be just a standard member of another guild acting as denizen law enforcement, but that was unlikely considering how formal he was. And besides, guild law enforcement usually dealt with obvious, convenient cases, like murder, robbery, destruction, ect. Something like this wouldn’t even bat an eye of a guild member.

Unless this man wasn’t a guild member. Unless he was an Anivor.

No, that is ridiculous!

But what if the man was a police officer, not an Anivor, but a real police officer.

What does AFHA stand for again?

The man’s sharp voice sliced through the silence. “Yes, you are allowed to require your party members to pay, in the case of giving, say, an ultimatum. You could kick any party member if they do not fulfill your requirements or requests. However, this is not paying, this penalization for your unlawful actions. Thus, not only is Novice Hadwyn not required to pay, you cannot coerce him to pay for you in any way, because this is not a request from you, it is a penalty demand from the bar owner through me, sir expert Loyd.”

Hadwyn thought about entering into the argument, like, Actually, I decided I'm gonna pay because Loyd fed the whole party, so it's my fault too! Don't worry Loyd, I gotchu. But he didn’t.

Instead, he bit his upper lip, and said nothing. He did this, because he subconsciously knew that it was not his fault, and because by doing so he prevented from forfeiting his defense against Loyd's claims. Sure, the meals fed him, but he was not aware, and he would have been happy to pay if Loyd had let him rather than racking up debt illegally.

Still, he dared to refrain from defending Loyd’s actions. Sure, it would benefit the party greatly if he complied, but refusal? What would it cost him later? He relaxed himself, I still have time to cave in. If it comes to it, fine. I will pay from my own pockets.

He relaxed his muscles and felt oddly comfortable in his seat. Yes. He was afraid of change.

“Well Hadwyn?” The man turned to him. The corner of his mouth twitched, almost into a partial smile. “Will you pay this man's penalty? The choice is yours, but if I were you I would give it some thought. You can always pay bail after he is arrested.”

Loyd’s knuckles went white from gripping the edge of the table at the word arrested. Hadwyn tried to keep his perspiration under control, but alas, he began sweating like a pig at the thought of Loyd being behind bars, and even more so at the thought of him finally being released from his said imprisonment. Hadwyn was never respected his whole life, but he had no real enemies or rivals.

And he wasn't planning on having any.

“Hadwyn…” Loyd's voice hissed. It was low and laborious. He looked as if about to leap from his seat and strangle the man. He glared murderously at Hadwyn.

“Hadwyn… would you p- please pay for the bill-”

“Fine.” The man corrected smartly.

“Fine.” Loyd echoed. “Hadwyn, would you please pay the fine?” His voice hissed at the word please, as if it was painful for him to say.

“Yes!” Hadwyn answered. “Uhh yes, I would.”

The man finally smiled. “Great.” Only then did he slide the money into his hands.

“Good day to you all.” he said, putting the money in his pockets and leaving the bar.

A few moments after the man left, Hadwyn tensed, waiting for Loyd's response. But Loyd did nothing. Instead, he sighed.

“Well, I'm off.” Loyd announced, getting up. He leaned towards Alice, but she moved away from him, causing him to almost fall. He didn't seem to notice this, as he was too drunk.

He stood, his eyes fluttering with tire. He squinted, as if in the hot sun.

Out of the corner of Hadwyn's eye, he saw a woman down one of the aisles waving at Loyd. His hand twitched as if about to wave back and he muttered a curse under his breath as he stumbled away. He pushed open the door effortlessly.

Hadwyn and the rest of the party got up to follow him.

Outside was dark, Hadwyn could barely see. It was winter, so the days were shorter. It couldn't have been later than six.

“I’ll meet you guys at Ike's.” Loyd said. He was unsettlingly calm.

“Oh… yeah Hadwyn. I forgot.” He pulled a small napkin out of his pocket, one of those new disposable types made of paper, and began scribbling something on it.

“Here.”

It was an IOU.

Hadwyn didn't take the paper. He was too frozen with shock.

“Just take the goddamned note you prick!” he seethed. Then he leaned in close.

“You know what makes me the most angry? That you didn't even have the balls, the balls to say no. But what did you do? You kept us waiting like idiots. Fucking humiliating. Just make up your mind. If you want to stand your ground and let me catch shit, be my fucking guest! But if you do, don't pussy out like you did back there.” He was shaking and spat as he talked.

If scalding water that felt cold to the skin could be visualized, it would be a brand new emotion that Loyd was exhibiting at this very moment. There was an eerie calmness to his anger, one that Hadwyn didn't like.

Hadwyn snapped out his shock and grabbed the note.

“Good. Don't do that shit ever again. Remember when I said I'd respect you? Well, I almost did. Sure, I woulda kicked your ass outta this bitch, but hey, but I'd have some respect for you.”

“You guys done?” Mateo said, scratching his nose. “I promised Brenda I'd be back by five.”

Loyd scoffed, and without looking at Mateo he replied:

“You wanna go home to that whale? Be my guest, you're dismissed.”

Mateo muttered something about flaying Loyd and left quietly, slipping into the shadows with some sort of camo spell.

“As for you Alice, if you wanna meet me back at Ike's, we can do that. He's probably not home, but I know where he leaves his keys.”

He used a softer tone with Alice, but it didn't seem to make a difference. She looked into the sunset in the distance, almost catatonic. After a long moment, she bit her bottom lip and replied in a small voice: “Okay…”

“Good, good…” he looked at her then at Hadwyn.

I know you think you're gonna say something smart about not keeping promises. But if it makes you happy, I'll totally pay you back for that.” He wrinkled his nose.

“Goodbye Hadwyn. See you at Ike's.”

Then, with a blast of air, he sped off into the distance.

After he was long gone, Hadwyn inspected the note a bit further, then promptly tossed it into a sconce nearby. It incinerated with just one lick of flame.

Maybe Blazrahg would consider it some sort of sacrifice. Hadwyn sure didn't. If the episode at the Hangout taught him anything, it was that Loyd's word meant nothing.