Would ya'll be interested in a discord server? It's a possibility, not a promise, I'm curious about how many people are interested first.

There's not art this time, I'm working on some art for later chapters so the next few chapters won't have any.

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Quest

Chapter 3.1 [Heroes of the Ages]

George and Dream returned to the market from yesterday; since it was still early morning, many shops and stalls hadn't quite opened up yet. But they were headed to the blacksmith first.

In his hand, George had his old sword, he was planning to sell it now that he had this new one from their fight yesterday. His new one felt heavier at his side, and he was a little unsure if he would be capable of wielding it, he touched the hilt often like he was testing how it felt.

"You keep touching your sword, are you worried you won't be able to properly use it?"

George jumped and let go of his sword, "Haha, it's amazing the things you pick up on," George chuckled, "but, yeah. I'm a little worried."

"Well, I know a bit of swordsmanship from my dad. He taught me a variety of skills growing up, so I'll show you some."

"That would be awesome!" George was once again grateful to Dream, he was really too kind. George made a promise to himself that he would get strong fast, he didn't want to be protected by Dream forever. What happened yesterday was unprecedented, but the next time they were faced with a monster, he would be ready. Even if it meant Dream had to teach him the basics, he would surely take that knowledge and use it to grow stronger than he was now.

When George pushed open the door to the blacksmith, there was a bell that rang.

"Welcome!" A burly man walked out and greeted them. He was covered in grime and soot, but his cheeks remained rosy despite it all.

"We're here to sell this broken sword and damaged helmet," George set his sword on the counter and took the helmet from Dream before doing the same.

While George talked to the blacksmith, Dream wandered around the shop. If he had to explain how the place felt to him without sight, he would say it felt like a place filled with pride. The walls were lined with weapons, shields, and armor of all shapes and sizes, and he knew this because there was almost a feeling of life that radiated from the walls.

It was like the way he imagined his father's favorite axe. He would spend a few hours a day just sharpening, cleaning, and tending to the weapon, even though Dream has never heard his father use it, it was treated almost like a 4th member of the family. Loved and cherished.

That was what this shop felt like to him, everything felt like it was made with the utmost pride and care.

Dream ran his fingers along the wall, he was careful not to let himself get cut by the expertly sharpened weapons. He stopped when he nearly bumped into an upright object, he turned his head back to George to hear if he had noticed his almost blunder.

"You sure you wanna sell these? I could fix them up for you instead."

"No, it's fine."

Dream turned back to the human-shaped figure, he felt the wooden surface until his fingers met cool metal. By the smell it was iron, the shape resembled armor. It felt pretty thin and light, but he was sure it was sturdy too. A chest plate, a shoulder guard, he tilted the mannequin slightly, the bottom was heavy. Most likely some sort of boots or shin-guards.

"Hey George," Dream interrupted.

"Yeah Dream?"

"Why don't you get this set of armor, it feels pretty light, and as a swordsman, it would be good of you to have some."

"What, but we probably don't have the money for that--"

"We got a nice tip this morning, sir, how much for this set?"

"Hmm? That right there is 20 silvers, it's lightweight, but crafted with some higher-grade iron, 25 if you get that shield on that there wall." Dream didn't know where he was pointing so he walked up to the wall and felt around until he met what he assumed was a shield based on its shape.

"This one?" There was silence.

"Yeah, that one," George said after a moment. Dream was going to assume the blacksmith had nodded, "But Dream, maybe we should save the money? We're still G-rank, so what happened yesterday was a fluke. We won't be fighting any monsters or thugs any time soon."

Dream shrugged, "Maybe, but if I'm going to teach you some basics, I won't go easy, you know. George gulped.

"Yeah...we'll take it, and the shield." Dream held back a laugh, he didn't mean to sound intimidating.

~~~~~

After an hour of selling George's old sword and the zombie's helmet, plus the time it took to get George fitted with the armor and the adjustments made for the straps, they were finally out in the market again.

"Whew, this is supposed to be light?" George twisted his body and tried to stretch a bit, "I feel like I'm being tied to the ground." His footsteps scraped against the stone roads.

Dream snickered, "You'll get used to it, it'll help you build some muscle, let me see the zombie's sword again," Dream held out his hands and George unhooked the sword and sheath from his side before placing it into Dream's outstretched hands.

The two of them stepped off the side of the road as Dream unsheathed the sword. He set the sheath down and leaned it against the wall of the building they were by.

George watched him run his fingers along the metal and toss the sword gently up, maybe testing its weight.

"I thought so, this sword matches your armor pretty well. When I fought the zombie it was fast to swing this sword, but the zombie didn't feel particularly strong, so I figured the sword was light.

"It probably won't feel like that at first, but we'll build up your strength in your arms with two-handed techniques, however, I guarantee that once you get used to it you'll be able to switch to an offensive-defensive technique, sword in one hand, shield in the other."

"Wow, you really sound like you know your stuff," George held back a whistle of admiration. Dream chuckled and handed the sword back to George.

"Not really, my dad only taught me some of the basics of sword fighting growing up, but he was always more of an axe guy, so I mainly use an axe," Dream patted the axe on his side, "Though this one is just a regular axe, not really meant for fighting."

"You traveled all the way from Loem with a regular axe? What about monsters? The nights in the wilderness are dangerous I heard," George clipped the sheathe back onto his side and sheathed his sword.

"Well, I also have my bow," Dream pointed to his back.

"Actually, about that...sorry if this question sounds rude, but I've been really curious, if you're blind how do you even use a bow?" George always imagined sight would be important for any archer, being able to see where the opponent or prey is seemed like something no archer could do without.

"I'm more surprised you're only asking me now about how I do things, I rely a lot on sounds, smells, touch, and heat. Taste is also important, but in this situation it's not as useful. I can use my bow accurately without sight because I can still pinpoint where things are using my other senses."

"Like that woman there," A woman in blue hugging a bag of fruits in her arms hurried past them in a rush. "Her manner of walking makes me 95% certain she's a woman, it's the way her footsteps echo on the stone and the time between each step signifies a smaller stride, the rustling in her arms sounds like a paper bag being held close. Then there is the scent of apples and oranges, so her bag is most likely filled with them."

George was almost too dumbfounded to respond, but he closed his gaping mouth and cleared his throat, "Do you ever make mistakes? Or bump into anything?"

"Well," Dream scratched the back of his head, "Plenty of times, inanimate objects and non-living things can be difficult to find, especially if they are small and have little presence." Dream's stomach began to rumble and George couldn't help but laugh. He was having a sense of deja vu from yesterday's ordeal.

"Come on, let's get some food, and maybe we'll find something to fix your mask too, while we're at it."

Dream nodded, "On the topic of all these personal questions, I realized I never told you about my parents. I think you asked yesterday, but we got distracted by something else." George pushed off the wall and together the two walked back into the street. He hoped Dream wasn't too picky, he only knew one stall that had the best ready-made food, that was also cheap and in his budget. Even if they made a ton of money this morning, saving was important regardless, who knew how long this money would last the two of them.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned they met 30 years ago during the dungeon battle at the Divide."

"Mhm, my parent's names are Jona and Rosemary. They've told me that their first meeting wasn't all that great," Dream chuckled.

"My dad got himself and several other adventurers drunk the night before the battle and it was my mother who had to angrily clean up the mess and provide hangover remedies using her magic." Dream stopped walking when he noticed he couldn't hear George's footsteps beside him. He turned back in the crowd to hear better, George was standing a step or two behind where Dream once was, "Uh George?"

George himself, though he had swore to himself that he wouldn't let Dream continue to leave him stunned with all of his surprises, couldn't help the shock that zapped through his body.

"Don't tell me you know who I'm talking about? Are they famous?"

Dream looked a little nervous and George had to hold back the shout he was going to do. He sucked in a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly. He then walked up to Dream who was waiting and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Famous? Don't even get me started, they're practically legends in my town. I'd even call them the greatest heroes of this age. Their contributions in that dungeon subjugation 30 years ago, plus the other countless quests they've taken on."

"Oh, wow. Truth be told, it's hard to tell that kind of stuff when you live in a mountain cabin with them. They talk like everything they did was never that big of a deal and then I immediately get my butt kicked in training."

George and Dream laughed, he was glad he held in the brunt of his shock.

"I still can't imagine that a hero like Jona the Executioner got drunk before a battle, are you sure?"

"Definitely, my mother never lets him forget, but he's not as prone to celebratory drinking as he was back then--and is that really what people called him? No wonder he would never tell me the nickname he was given, it makes him sound like the bad guy," Dream and George were having a good time laughing and talking. George led Dream to a small stall in the market. The line was never long here, though he couldn't imagine why.

"George! Good to see ya!" A loud stout, old man greeted him behind the stall. George breathed in the thick smells of heaven, "I see you've brought a friend too." George looked back to see Dream wave in their direction.

"Yep! And we want two of your best plates--to go!" Mr. Hanson, was his name. He was a very nice guy who enjoyed making good food for people, it was cheap, but George couldn't have lived without it this past month.

The food was served to them quickly and George was happy to pay plus add a little tip. Afterwards the two of them ate their food as they continued to walk and talk. It was stir fry, mixeds with an assortment of vegetables and covered in a rich sauce.

"Everyone describes your mom like a saintess gifted with kindness and virtue, so I find it funny trying to imagine her getting angry at your dad for getting drunk, when they were complete strangers." George said as he shoveled a spoonful of food in his mouth.

"Maybe so, but between you and me, she can be especially scary when she's mad. You should've seen how angry she was after the first time my dad took me out hunting. He thought it'd be a good idea to teach me the way he was taught and leave me alone in the woods. She had half a mind to kick him out for a week." Dream snickered. George did his best to stifle his laugh.

"But if she did that, then there'd be no food for a week, at least nothing edible."

"Wait, so your dad is the one that does all the cooking?"

Dream nodded, "Mhm, he's definitely the better chef and cleaner, but we don't tell my mom that."

George snickered and nearly doubled over as he almost inhaled a carrot. He coughed, "Oof."

They walked and ate and chatted as they strolled through the market. George was thinking about what kind of quest they should do next, someone as skilled as Dream would probably get bored of most of the G-ranked quests quickly so it would be great if they could rank up as quickly as possible.

He too was getting antsy about still being a G-rank adventurer. He was ready to get out and see more of the Empire!

"Thief! You bastard! Get back here!" Dream and George turned their heads into the direction of the loud outburst. Through the crowd George could see a figure barreling through the people in their direction. George himself barely managed to stumble backwards out of the way as a scrappy fellow came rushing by him with a sack slung over his shoulder. Heavy clinking could be heard from the bag as he passed. Moments later he was followed by two guards dressed in light armor, the crowd was only just now thinning to make way for the pursuit. George could only watch in dumbfounded awe.

"Whoa, that was crazy and out of nowhere, huh Dr--" George turned to speak to Dream who was supposed to be beside him.

He wasn't.

"Dream!" George looked around wildly until he spotted the familiar masked man rushing through the crowd at least 20 blocks ahead. He was giving chase behind the guards following the thief, "Dream! Hold up!"

George took off behind Dream, just what in the world was he doing!

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Words: 2485

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~CATtheDrawer