Special guest appearance by an OC I created for my own fantasy series, which I will get around to writing ones of these days.

Married Life

Chapter Three: 'Twas A Dark And Stormy Night

It was the middle of the night, but the Guild Hall never truly shut: Quests took as long as they took, and Adventurers returning often needed some form of assistance or another, so there was always at least one member of staff on desk duty round the clock.

Guild Girl didn't mind these shifts, given how they gave her an opportunity to catch up on paperwork or any other little jobs around the office that had been left unfinished. There was also something soothing about being indoors while a storm raged outside, the wind and rain hammering impotently against the windows, about being safely dry and warm, despite the best efforts of nature. As someone who'd grown up in the Capitol, it felt far more natural to her than willingly going out in such weather.

Which is why it surprised her when the doors opened, a flash of lightning illuminating a towering figure as they stepped in from the storm.

Then they rose to their full hight, and the quill Guild Girl had been using fell from her fingers in surprise. The stranger was truly massive, putting even Heavy Swordsman or Lizard Priest to shame. Their head almost touched the ceiling, their face hidden in the shadows. Rain fell from the long, oiled cloak they worse, but she could just make out a massive double-headed battle-axe slung over their shoulders, wrapped in the same dark, rain slick material as their cloak. Not that they needed such a weapon to look intimidating, with arms almost as big as Guild Girl herself, and legs like tree trunks that... ended... in... hooves.

Guild Girls blood ran cold as her eyes shot up try try and pierce the shadows up near the ceiling, picking out the unmistakable outline of two horns. Only a single creature in all the lands stood so tall, with hooved feet and long, sharply pointed horns.

Minotaur!

One of the rarest and most feared of Those With Words, they were as strong as an Ogre, as intelligent as Humans and capable of almost matching Dwarfs when it came to working metal. They had a reputation for serving as hired muscle for Nobles, bandits and warlords, some even fighting under the banner of the Demon King himself. Guild Girl had never even seen a Minotaur with her own eyes before, which was not surprising, as they tended to prefer the wide, open grassland of the Eastern Steppes, where great herds were said to live nomadic lives in massive tent cities.

Guild Girl looked around: all of the Adventurers had ever left for the night or were asleep in their rooms at the adjoining Inn. Enough noise would wake them, but it would take time for even the fastest of them to arrive, and she wasn't sure that was time she'd have. One hand reached under the desk for the club, nicknamed 'Maiden Aunt', that was always kept close by incase an Adventurer got a little too fresh with one of the young women who worked the front desk, but she seriously doubted that it would be of any use against the creature before her if it intended her harm.

The Minotaur took a step forward, banged its head against one of the roof beams, and let out a string of curses in the common language.

Then it suddenly stopped, and despite the deep shadows, Guild Girl knew that it was looking right at her...and its shoulders sank.

"I'm sorry." its voice, while deep and gravelly, was somehow also soft and apologetic, "I should have better manners than to use such language in the company of a Young Lady."

Guild Girl blinked: this was most definitely not the kind of behaviour she had been expecting, given everything she'd ever read or been told about Minotaurs. They were supposed to be gruff, confrontational and unapologetic to a fault, certainly not the kind to apologies for using strong language in front of a women. Something felt very wrong about the situation she found herself in, as if the gods themselves were playing a trick on her. The towering creature before her ducked down low, shuffling forward until they were within arms reach of the desk, then sank down to one knee, their rain cloak falling open. Something green flashed from a long cord round their neck, and Guild Girl was taken aback: it was an emerald Guild Tag.

The Minotaur was an Adventurer?

The doors opened again, but Guild Girls view was blocked by the towering wall of muscle before her. The footsteps indicated it was just one person, and the wonderfully familiar form of Goblin Slayer stepped round the Minotaur. He nodded a greeting to his wife, then looked up at the apparent emerald ranked Adventurer.

"You're late." he commented in his usual, monotone voice.

"Some young fool with delusions of knighthood was hunting for bandits on the road. Took a while to convince him it was a case of mistaken identity." the Minotaur shrugged, "It happens."

"True." Goblin Slayer admitted, "You were able to find everything?"

"Exactly where you left it." a bag that would have been a duffle sack beside any normal person appeared in the Minotaurs right hand, and he placed it gently on the desk, "You always have had an eye for quality."

"..." Guild Girl opened her mouth to speak, then realised that the didn't know what she was going to say, and closed it again.

"And you always did have have such poor manners." The Minotaur looked down at Goblin Slayer, who was busy looking through the contents of the sack, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"This is Minotaur Blacksmith." Goblin Slayer gestured towards the Adventurer, then across the desk, "Guild Girl. My wife."

"Your servent, madam." the Minotaur bowed his head, "So the gossip is true? You really did get married." he let out a low chuckle like the rumble of distant thunder, "I guess I owe Lord Paladin a gold coin: I bet him that, if you ever did marry, it would be to that farm girl you used to talk about."

"He did!" Guild Girl blurted out before realising that she'd opened her mouth, "We both did! And High Elf Archer!"

The Minotaur looked at the two of them for a moment, blinking, then threw his massive head back and laughed. It was a deep, booming noise that echoed off the walls and shook dust from the rafters. Guild Girl felt sure that it would wake half the town, let alone the guests in the Inn. A massive hand came round like a battering ram and slapped Goblin Slayer on the back with enough force to send him cashing into the desk, knocking the air from his lungs. He had to grasp the counter-top for support to avoid falling to the floor while he struggled to get his breath back.

And through it all, the Minotaur continued to laugh.

"Goblin Slayer, you dark horse you!" there was an almost infectious mirth in his voice, "It's always the quiet ones who surprises you. You just wait until I tell the others: Bard will probably write an entire book of songs about you."

"Sounds like her." Goblin Slayer rumbled, "Are you staying?"

"Alas, no: the open road calls me still." the Minotaur pulled the hood of his cloak back over his head, "A genuine pleasure to meet you, my dear. Until next time, Goblin Slayer."

He turned, took a step forward and hit his head on the same roof beam, but managed to avoid cursing the air blue, and made his way back out into the storm.

"You have such interesting friends." Guild Girl looked at her husband, "I look forward to hearing the full story."

To Be Continued