“Rio, you beautiful cunt! What the fuck happened to you?!”

  Pounding pain.

  A hammer to the noggin’ might've been better than dealing with Tenn’s voice after a long binge, but what can you do? Sometimes you didn’t get the privilege of blunt force trauma, and had to deal with this shit instead. Hells, even the whispers were giving me a headache, how the woman made the World sound annoying would forever be a mystery to me.

  “One second,” I raised a hand, head pressed against the bar's counter. “I’m busy being in pain, I’ll be riiiiight with you. As soon as this headache decides to stop fucking me raw.”

  Tenn snorted and snatched the mug of ale from my grasp. “How do you figure that’s going to happen if you keep feeding it, oh wise elf?”

  “If I get drunk again then I won’t have to deal with the hangover! It’s the perfect plan,” I said with a glare.

  “Why are you encouraging this lunacy, Fel?” Tenn turned to the wonderful blessing unto the world that was my bartender. “Clearly he’s had a hundred mugs too many…whatever this has been. You need to snap some sense into him!”

  “Hey, I’m just trying to get paid,” Fel shrugged.

  I rested my chin on the counter with a smile. “Like a proper businessman! Delivering services at the behest of coin. No silly questions needed. You exemplify humanity with your example, Fel. If only some people could learn to mind their own, perhaps then the world would know peace.”

  A small stone formed from nothing appeared in Tenn’s hand and pelleted my forehead, I let out a yelp and glared at the woman.

  “Perhaps you should be grateful at the concern your friends decide to show, ingrate,” Tenn huffed. “I’ve not even been gone a year—” I flinched “—how have you become a dedicated alcoholic in that time? Where’s Kokan?”

  “Probably in the dungeon, dunno. Haven’t seen him in a bit,” I mumbled.

  Tenn huffed and pulled up a seat next to me, eyeing me with a scrutiny I didn’t care for. “What’s wrong, Rio? You aren’t the type to act like a fool…sometimes. Well, not like this.”

  “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

  “I’m being serious, jackass.”

  I sighed, then straightened out with a groan, giving my back a nice pop as I stretched out. I tried to rub the pain away from my forehead so I could at least have this conversation without feeling like my mind was in the middle of a godsdamned brawl. One it was losing. That didn’t work, unfortunately, so I grumbled and turned to Tenn.

  The look she gave me was irritating in how worried it was…I really shouldn’t be doing this to my friends. I sighed again. Great, what would mother think?

  “Went to go visit my family again,” I grumbled.

  “Did something happen to them?” Tenn said, a gentle voice for a broken man.

  I wasn’t broken, so I found it a little offensive.

  “Only the ones that mattered,” I whispered to her. “Only the ones that mattered.”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  She pursed her lips. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I’d rather be railed by an orc.”

  Ortium was a bitch of a city, like all cities really, but this one especially.

  It had the biggest dungeon network in the entirety of Taiman, and therefore the biggest concentration of fuck-off mages and their advancements to society. It was actually an inspiration compared to other corners of the world, the people here enjoyed luxuries the rest of the world could only dream of. Like toilets, how I survived without toilets before was something of a mystery.

  It was a perfect receptacle to empty my guts in! And all it took was a small monster core to power the incinerator. Truly a marvel of humanity.

  Or maybe an elf came up with the idea, I wouldn’t be surprised. Didn’t really care though, I was busy with the process of expelling the poison I’d infused into my belly. I was vomiting. The alcohol had long since fucked around in my boodstream, so I didn’t get the point of the process, but the body did as the body willed. Who was I with my meagre understanding to question such a thing?

  Once I felt sufficiently emptied, and the dry heaves had stopped (pain in the ass), I made my way out of the latrine and out into the world. The sun’s light did a wonderful job of restoring my migraine, as well as all the noise.

  “Are you finally done?” Trenn said with a raised brow.

  “Ask my stomach,” I grumbled. “The stupid organ is being an ass today.”

  “Perhaps it has something to do with how you’ve been abusing it?”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s rich coming from you.”

  “Granite is a perfect source of vital minerals.” She turned her nose up at me.

  “And fucking weird,” I mumbled.

  Trenn snorted. “C’mon, idiot,” she said. “Let’s take a trip to the dungeon, cutting down a few kobolds is sure to lift your mood.”

  “I’d rather kill goblins,” I grumbled.

  “Too hard to find, both hordes have already passed.” She shot down. “Now off we go!”

  I sighed…but followed.

  The streets were packed as usual, filled with fools and ingrates. Just as it should be. Most couldn’t pick me out from the crowd, despite the point of my ears. Ortium was an exception when it came to elves. Usually we avoided cities because of how loud the World was, but plenty wouldn’t dare pass up the opportunity to participate in the empire’s leading technological and academic wonders. What was next I wondered? A bow that drew itself?

  That’d be a sight.

  Someday technology would reach the point where delvers and hunters weren’t going to be needed. I could feel it in my bones. My sister shared that opinion, when she was alive. Smart cookie that one.

  It was just the natural progression of things, society went from nothing to rocks all the way to spears and swords. Only logical that we’d eventually invent something so powerful that the strength of a monster would mean nothing. I didn’t know if I’d trust the common dumbass with a weapon like that.

  Then again, it wasn’t like the ones who did have strength were any better.

  It would make the ever-present war against monsters easier though, which was a win in my opinion. The day monsters posed no threat to the countryside was due five months ago.

  Eventually we reached one of the three guild branches in the city, each controlled by a different delving guild and all the stupid politics that went along with it. I was a big enough delver where they wouldn’t dare turn me away, but we went to the familiar Azure-Tooth guild just the same. Tenn did all the talking while I meandered about.

  The woman could tell I didn't feel like dealing with people, though that didn’t take a psychic to figure out.

  I loitered about until I saw a familiar guild attendant walking up to me with a strange urgency. “Gustav!” I said. “It’s been an eternity and a half, how’ve you been?”

  “Master Rio, I have been meaning to talk to you for the past few months—”

  “C’mon my good man! No hello for an old friend?” I gave the man a sharp smile.

  “Yes, yes, greetings master Rio. It’s good to see you haven’t drunk yourself to an early grave.”

  “Damn, the guild knows?”

  Gustav nodded. “Now, I would just like to confirm something with you? If it wouldn’t bother your personage?”

  “Go for it, friend!” I smiled

  “You had family living in a village by the name of Okama, is that not correct?”

  my face went entirely flat. “Yes. Why?”

  The old man’s eyes softened, but they possessed a glint in them that I didn't care for. That and the World was whispering something annoying.