DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dungeons and Dragons or their d20 system. I did not make money writing this story. DnD and all its supplements are owned by Wizards of the Coast. Do visit their site for this epic awesome game.

Chapter IX: The Honouring

A year passed since the forming of our group. Our mission count was at 24, which was pretty good for a five-man adventuring group. We weren't cheap.

Our other missions had mostly consisted of resolving problems with Goblins and Hobgoblins in the surrounding forests. It wasn't half as dangerous out in the forest as it had been last year, as the now five major groups of the guild had taken care of most problems.

But lately that had become problematic. We didn't get an assignment in two weeks, and there was nothing much we could do ourselves.

But that didn't mean nothing happened. We again rose in rank in the guild. We were amongst the top three parties, and we were well known for our efficiency and speed.

To honour the rise in rank of us and two of the other groups, as well as to honour Area Cali, we were to come to the guild at late afternoon with our groups, and the three groups would challenge each other in non-combat games to determine who was the best, flashiest group. We were all looking forward to some innocent entertainment, and so we prepared ourselves for the competition.

The day came, and our group met beforehand to drink on our success and to bless the competition and team. It was one of the best times I had with the party, as we were all laughing and joking, recalling battles and blunders. Everything was mentioned, everything but Asteron's rage. We never mentioned it, and we never would. Asteron had changed after that moment. He did not give in to emotions that easily anymore.

We had all changed for that matter. Bardryn was now a confident leader, and Surina was more open than she had been before. I was more confident as well, throwing in tactics and ideas. Maragh hadn't really changed, but we'd all changed our point of view on Maragh. Although he was heartless in combat and he enjoyed it a tad too much, he was a reliable party member and when you asked him something, he'd get the job done, although he wouldn't tell you he would. He still didn't care much what people thought.

We finished our beers, grabbed our stuff and went off towards the Guild. There was a huge party tent outside the building, and many people had gathered. It proved to be a big event.

First, Area Cali spoke, talking about the missions, the people and the groups, but also about the guild itself, how the new system was working so well, and that the forests had finally calmed down. His speech was constantly interrupted by applause, laughing, and shouting, as the crowd was loving it all.

Then the Guildmaster explained what he had planned for the evening. The three teams were to compete in five different competitions, in which each time, another member would compete against the other. Between every match, there would be time for music and dancing, and the party wouldn't end until the next morning.

And so the party began, with Maragh competing with the other coverts in a competition of stealth, pick pocketing and destroying and avoiding traps. It was really amazing to see the Kobold jump through the obstacles, disappear in every shadow only to pop up at the next challenge, and complete the track before the Dwarf and Halfling of the other teams were even halfway there. A wild applause rose from the crowd as Maragh started the obstacle course of the Dwarf, passing him, and finishing the track before his opponent did.

There were a few minutes of drinking, singing, dancing and fooling around while the stage was reset for the next competitors; the party leaders. They were to tell a story to the crowd, telling about the party's splendour, then to give a motivational speech, and than to show their leadership skills. Bardryn's opponents were a Gnome bard and a Elf Warlord.

Bardryn told a good story in the first round, but the Gnome was just way better at telling epic stories of grandeur. In the second round, the Elf beat all the others in a speech in which he almost pushed everybody to undress. With laughter and applauding, the next round was started. The Gnome could only show minor magic, and the crowd was not all that impressed. The Elf gathered some strangers and in a few seconds he got them to cooperate in a difficult acrobatic act, showing his skill in guiding his allies. But the crowd was blown away by Bardryn though.

And everyone was silently watching her, everyone except the Bard, who even helped her with his lute.