"So how was it before we joined, Vice-Captain? "
"Ugh."
Two days have passed since they took the quest, the deadline was at the end of the day but they felt confident. Just two short and they believed it wouldn't be that difficult; synergies were bubbling and some were starting to work together slightly better than the last time, there were some issues that needed to be fixed but one would think that over time they could work together pretty well. Although having synergy to the level of the likes of Odin Familia was more of an impossible dream than something they could accomplish.
Noel started to observe the rest of his Familia and finding out more about them, or if anything a simple first impression of each.
Alain was in front of him, smiling and waiting for his response despite the pain he felt after being called with that fancy title. There were many questions he wanted to ask him in return but neither him nor Ragnar were able to get a straight answer out of him, usually there would be responses such as: "Oh it's a long story, we would be here for a while." or "It's just boring and I'd rather not make you fall asleep." And variations of such which didn't lead to lengthy conversations.
Right next to the Raccoon-man was Hilda who was surprisingly quiet during the meal, if anything that was one apparent weak point in which she would be not talk or limit her speech while eating. Ever since he showed up in Fimbulvetr he has spoken nonstop about her feats and skill with the bow. Truly she could be insufferable but some comments did make a few people in the party laugh, whether they were true or not were up to debate.
In front of the archer was the silent tower, the man who served as the battering ram of the team, Albrecht. The young boy felt grateful that he was on his side since he protected them during every other ambush where the monsters tried to have the upper hand; he wasn't the fastest but what he lacked in that department translated to strength and toughness. Right now he was looking at a couple of pamphlets he picked up the day before, namely information about the Guild, a menu from a bar they came across and a small ledger of the items and money they obtained so far.
Albrecht was the one dividing Noel from Theresa who was also quiet. The Amazoness was not a very vocal person unlike Livia or Hilda (especially her) but she was not like the man next to her. She was waiting for the moment to go to the Dungeon, to hone her abilities and sate her bloodlust for getting stronger. It reminded him of someone. Although she enjoyed her meal in silence, her eyes did have a very distinct look of disdain, untapped anger that needed to be released, not on the monsters but on someone else…
The siblings were the ones in charge of breakfast that morning, they could all hear them speaking but none could understand what they were saying. It was surprising that Fanis, the usually quiet and timid mage, was speaking normally even if it was with her sister. Noel wished that she could actually come out of her shell and be as talkative and open with everyone else, unfortunately her nerves usually get the best of her. They know how to work together and Livia proved to be quite the fighter since her Fists of Justice (as Hilda dubbed them) clear the creatures from the easiest levels; Fanis is also effective without working with her sister but she needs some time to prepare or the right push.
But there were two people missing at this table.
On the one hand, Skadi was in her office, arranging something in her desk. She greeted everyone when she arrived at the mead hall and then went to the office and hasn't left since, however the door was open.
On the other it was Ragnar who hasn't left his room since the morning, the only thing he could hear right before leaving his was like someone was the sound of drawers, furniture and even a bed moving around. He doubted that it was cleaning season.
"In a way it wasn't too different, " Noel replied back with a smile. "It was just me, Ragnar and the Goddess here. Fimbulvetr was not in the best of shapes but it was fixed long before you all arrived. Due to the limited manpower we couldn't go deep into the Dungeon or we had to retreat quite early. Also we were not as prepared."
That was one big difference; more people meant they needed a bigger preparation in terms of food, potions, sharpening weapons among other things, but it also meant increasing the amount of monsters they could defeat and the rewards. Before it was a trip that lasted until the middle of the afternoon but the day before they arrived at night, much to the Goddess' worries.
"Perchance your adventures were interesting, Vice-Captain? If I remember there were talks about you two defeating a monstrous bear?" Hilda spoke up in between bites.
"Heh, I'd rather Ragnar tell that story. And please, do not call me Vice-Captain, I am just like all of you."
"Well, why do you get to live in your private room rather than the residences? " Theresa questioned him, her eyes showing that same disdain from earlier.
"Um… that's because… uh…"
Before the new members joined, before the renovations, Noel had his private room in the basement. His own place in the world where he knew better than anywhere else, it was the home within home.
The residences were not a bad place but there were some rules already set in. The no-mixed rooms was put in there for a reason and two people per room. As a result the three rooms that were inhabited were two for the female adventurers and one for the male ones. However, this was the best and worst outcome for some of them.
Alain was with Albrecht. They would greet each other in the morning and do some small talk but usually it was a quiet room, perfect for the two of them as the Raccoon-man was not too fond of long-winded talks and the tower of the team was not too talkative.
The second room was occupied by the siblings, most of the noise would come from Livialiska but otherwise it would be a quiet one as well.
The real issue was the third one which housed Hilda and Theresa. Two sides of the spectrum or rather a bomb ready to detonate at any moment. A loud human who would talk non-stop for the whole day and night and an Amazoness who was ready to stab someone if they didn't shut up.
"Hey, let the Vice-Captain be, he was before us so if anything he has priority." Even though Alain wanted to defend Noel, the latter felt like deflating on the spot.
Their conversation would've continued if it weren't for the sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the wall. It was the Captain who came out of the basement in a rush.
"Oh! Cap Cap Cap! " Livia came out of the kitchen with a pot under her arm. "Do you want some breakfast? "
"Not now." He looked under one of the tables but didn't find what he was looking for, then he approached the table where everyone was sitting around. "Morning, have any of you seen my axe? "
They all looked at each other, looked under their chairs and the table, anything in the mead hall that stood out but they were unlucky; the blue axe from Ragnar was not something that was hard to miss but at the same time it was small enough to be easy to fall in a crevice or in between a tight spot.
"Do you remember the last time you had it in your hands? " Alain asked, trying to remember last night.
"I recall our valiant Captain had his armament with him during our last supper, although I am afraid my memory fails me on the finest details of yesterday." There was silence afterwards, Ragnar looking at someone else for a way to understand her verbose speech.
"You had your axe with you last night during dinner, Sir." Albrecht stopped reading the pamphlets. "But she does not remember much afterwards."
"Thank you." Ragnar continued with his search but he was certain that he wasn't in some parts of the mead hall, and he would clearly remember if he lost it outside.
He considered that it could've been a prank by one of his teammates but either he was wrong or everyone else was good at keeping a straight face. Even then, the only suspects that could do it were Noel who was in the room right next to him or Theresa who seemed like the type to pull a joke of this kind, but even then what could she earn from it?
"Something wrong? " Albrecht stood up and everyone else followed with the exception of the Amazoness after hearing Skadi approaching them. "Please, don't act like that. This is not a military force." Everyone went back to their seats. "So, what's the issue that I'm hearing? "
"Nothing, Goddess. I'm just looking for something that I lost."
"The Captain lost his axe!" The feline approached with plenty of plates and gave one to Skadi, the other one to Fanis who was right behind her and the third she placed it on an empty spot on the table, keeping one of them for herself. "My ears twitch when I get to listen to some rumors! "
"Come on!" This prompted a few laughs among the adventurers. "But yeah, I don't know where I left it…" The blond scratched the back of his head, not trying to meet the gaze of the Goddess who he feared was judging him.
"Mh…" She pondered for a second, placing a finger on her chin while thinking. "I believe I've seen it somewhere." This caught the attention of the Captain. "Have you checked the office? Some things do end up there from time to time."
"Can't be, I haven't gone to the office lately." But the smile on Skadi's face and tilting her head towards the office just made it slightly suspicious of her words. "Alright…"
Ragnar followed Skadi's instructions and went to the office. His eyes were focused on his desk as he entered but then they fixated on something else that was on top of Skadi's. It was his axe, and on top of it a letter with the seal of the Familia.
"Huh? " A confused look as he picked both and returned to the main room with everyone else. "Skadi, did you leave this letter on top of my axe on purpose? And perhaps a better question: Did you take my axe on purpose? "
She let a quiet giggle out. "Why yes, we Gods do like our games and I felt like a very innocent one could be fun. But the letter is perhaps what's important." This time she took a step back to see everyone at the table. "Consider it a request of mine to my children. That letter needs to be delivered to Heimdall personally, for his eyes only. So, before you go to the Dungeon, I suggest you go to his home and deliver the letter."
"What does the letter contain? "
"I'm afraid that is only for Heimdall to know."
"Oi Goddess, what do we get in return? " Theresa earned some glares from her comment.
"Mh… I suppose this would qualify as a quest, yes? " She thought for another moment.
"We shall accept this task not because we are adventurer but because we devote ourselves to our Goddess, forsooth! "
"I don't want to rush this mission but I do hope that Heimdall receives this message before the end of the day. I have prepared myself for this so you will be generously rewarded." The words from the deity started a light in some of the children's eyes, from curiosity to excitement.
What could a Goddess give for a simple delivery quest? One would think coin but this felt different, maybe she was a box of surprises and the reward was something important.
Noel and Ragnar knew the extent of their Familia and were aware that the `generous reward´ was probably going to be a thank you or a meal, similar to what happened in the past with the two of them.
Thus the adventurers decided to split up; one in charge of delivering the letter and the other one heading straight for the Dungeon, at the end of the day the first team would also go to Babel and meet up with the others.
At first they thought everyone would go to the Dungeon but the teams were evenly split. Noel had Albrecht, Theresa and Hilda while Ragnar had Livialiska, Fanis and Alain with him.
The letter group walked down the street towards the tavern that Heimdall Familia called their base of operations as well as home. They were already clad in their armors (or protective gear) and carried their weapons with them; Ragnar had the envelope in his hand, curious as to what was written in there.
"What could be so important that only another God needs to see it? "
"A shopping list? "
"M-maybe some orders? "
"Or maybe it is a surrender offer! Maybe Skadi will make Heimdall Familia submit! " The other three looked at Livia with confused looks, even of worry as the Cat-woman might be quickly picking up some bad habits from a certain archer, even if they knew each other for a couple of days.
"Heimdall is a friend of Skadi and both our Familias are in good terms, not sure if allies is the correct word but there's no hard feelings." Ragnar explained, his eyes fixated once again on the envelope. "Even though the only person that I know is Thom, their Captain."
"Which begs the question: What is in the letter? "
The four of them were looking at the snowflake engraved on the seal, the blond raised it against the sun to see if he could discern any word or symbol in it but it was well folded. Skadi thought about this.
"What if we open it just to have a peek? The Goddess wouldn't have to know! Or maybe we can tell that God Heimdall that she forgot to close it."
"Lili, isn't that too risky? "
"Especially if the Lord is reports this to Skadi." Fanis and Alain tried to be the voice of reason. Both sides had a good argument, or at least an `argument´ from Livia's side.
"We won't open it, we're almost there anyways. Maybe we can ask Heimdall about it."
The group reached the tavern, not a first time for Ragnar but for everyone else it was; they all looked around, captivated by the homely vibe this place gave.
The tavern was somewhat empty, very few patrons which made sense given that it was still early in the morning. Some of the members of the Familia were serving the few clients, cleaning the tables or even working behind the counter.
The Captain requested the presence of the God and after a few minutes of waiting, the deity with the happy demeanor came out from the door, greeting everyone in the room like they were friends.
"So, what can I get to Skadi's children? "
"Huh? You know us? "
"Well, word goes around fast that your Familia got bigger. Now, I only know this guy right here, " he patted the Captain but immediately pulled his head away. "So I'll assume you are on the same team."
"Yup, newly members of Skadi Familia! "
"H-Hi, L-Lord Heimdall…"
"Ska-Cha? "
"Never mind that. What did you need me for? " Ragnar handed the envelope to the God and he received cheerfully. "Ah, a letter from Ska-cha? This must be super-secret if she sent plenty of you to ensure it gets delivered to my hands!"
Heimdall grabbed the envelope and tore the seal open with a finger, pulling the letter inside and reading it with a smile, but as the words went on that smile was slowly vanishing, even revealing the eyes from the deity.
"Oh…"
"W-What is it? "
"Is it really a surrender letter? "
"No, it's…" But he refused to answer, he put the envelope and the letter in one of his pockets. "I'll let Skadi know that you delivered the letter, I will talk to her personally soon." He smiled once again as if the contents of the letter were nonexistent. "I see all of you are ready to go down there, I will not take more of your time and remember to come by if you ever need a drink or a meal, we're always open!" Heimdall's speech sped up, as if trying to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible.
"But-"
"Have a great day!"
It was a bust. Their chances to get some information on the letter were gone as Heimdall retreated to the back of the tavern where he came from. If anything, this only increased their curiosity but alas.
Some of them were disappointed in their result but there was nothing else they could do. Pushing Heimdall might harm the relations their Familias had and as far as the Captain knows, their forces were no match for the numbers that Heimdall had.
That was the first loss of the day and they hoped it would be the last one. Their business in the surface was over for now, they still needed the last lizard tails in order to get their reward for the quest and so they all headed to the Dungeon.
They needed two tails, and considering that yesterday they collected plenty, getting the remaining ones would be a matter of an hour, two at most.
Both groups met but sadly Noel's side were able to kill some monsters but no lizards in sight so they had to venture deeper into these levels to find the creatures.
Their small-time raid lasted few minutes at first, those minutes turned into hours and the hours felt longer as the time went on. From goblins to kobolds, frogs and shadows, the party was able to dispatch them, some more difficult than others but there were no signs of their targets at first.
They were lucky that by around their fourth hour, a lizard appeared and they removed the tail almost instantly before it turned into dust after the constant barrage of attacks.
The hours passed and by the time the adventurers were able to get the last lizard tail they all left the dungeon, exhausted after a long day of work.
Albrecht was the only one who was keeping track of how much time they were in but when they left Babel and saw the dark sky and some of the shops closed and the lights on in the different homes they guessed that it was night already.
The day was not over so they hurried to the Guild to trade in the Magic Stones and then towards the merchant, although the party split up again and it was Ragnar who went alone to get the reward while the others returned to Fimbulvetr to rest.
From his memory from the first visit, Titos arrived at Orario with his cart and plenty of goods in it, enough to drop everything, get paid and then return; but ever since then, he opened a small shop lodged in between two others in a not-so fancy part of the city. Perhaps for a business venture it worked well but it might not be too eye catching.
The store was about to close, Titos came out to pick up a box with some plants and he was ready to bring it inside when he saw someone approaching.
"Mh? Oh! Now that is a face that I haven't seen in a while! You're the adventurer who helped me get into the city. What brings you here?
Before splitting up, Noel gave his friend a bag, he pulled all the ten lizard tails from it, some already had a slight discoloration because they have been harvested two days ago but if anything the smell was nauseating.
"Ah! You saw my notice at the Guild and completed the quest! Give me those and I shall reward you! " Ragnar put the tails back in the bag and put it on top of the box and both of them went inside of the shop.
It was cozy, albeit cramped by all the boxes full of goods. There was no way of telling what this store dedicated to; there were tools, food, plants, vials, weapons, armor. This place was the very definition of `If you're looking for it, you'll find it here.´
"Here you go." Titos gave Ragnar a small pouch and shook it. The rattling sound of coins could easily be heard. "According to those people at the Guild offices, this was a low difficulty quest and as such the reward shouldn't be that big."
Ragnar took another glance at the shop once again. "You look like you had quite the success since the last time we met." He took a look inside of the pouch and saw all the Valis, it was as the trader said, not a lot of money for an easy job. If only he knew how difficult it was for the lizards to appear.
"Well, the Merchant's Guild gave me permission to open my shop, it's nothing too specific hence why I can sell a lot of things. Rent is not too big so everyone wins." The young merchant raised his arms in celebration. "Hey, are you alright? You look tired."
"Do I? " The blond groaned. "It has been quite a day trying to find those lizards so if you don't mind, I'll be on my way home."
"Sure, keep an eye out on the board next time, might need some more drop items too!" Ragnar could already feel the difficulty, despite being in the Upper Floors.
And so, Ragnar's day came to a close. A mysterious letter, an excruciating lizard hunt and a quest completed. The first task of Skadi Familia was a success despite how morale slumped by the end.
There was money to be collected and distributed.
But that was not the end for the Captain. He asked the Goddess if she could update his status once again. The battles from the last few days were certainly not enough to make a big change in his parameters, much less a rank up.
"You were right, there wasn't much change but there were a few advancements here and there, much like everyone else." Skadi commented, clapping her hands twice as all the information disappeared and the Falna in the Captain's back turned invisible once more. "So, how was your first quest in the end? "
"I'm sure the others told you already, it went well but at the same time luck was not on our side." Ragnar buried his face on the pillow and groaned. "It was awful…"
"Here, an extra reward." He turned his head and saw that Skadi was offering him a chocolate.
It was true that Skadi had a generous reward for delivering the letter, and even if only half of the Familia did it, the prize was given out to everyone.
A piece of chocolate.
It wasn't the best one that many tried but it felt different at the same time. A reward from their Goddess for a job well done was like a mother giving a treat to their child after they done their chores.
A strange feeling that Ragnar could not understand and yet…
"Thanks." He sat on the bed and immediately took the chocolate, taking it in one bite. "Oh, Goddess. I was wondering some things, if you don't mind me asking."
"Well, there are things that I am not at liberty to talk about." She smiled despite giving that answer. "What is it, Ragnar? "
"Well, for starter: What was in that letter? Heimdall's face changed and… well, I always saw him smiling and whatever was in it just made him pretty serious for a moment."
"Mh… that's one of the things that I cannot talk about."
"But why? I'm the Captain, I should know about these things, right? "
"We Gods and Goddesses have our business, this is nothing that any of you should worry about."
"Alright…" Much like some other conversations, he knew that pushing the topic further will lead nothing but Skadi sheltering in her own room for the night. It left him a sour taste in his mouth.
"As for the other thing… I was wondering if you were interested…" Skadi raised a brow at that comment. "Ever since I joined, I rarely see you outside, walking in the city, enjoying the days or the night. Sure, you've been with us when we were at the hospital, or that one party or even going to those meetings all deities do but… I just want to see you around the city more."
"S-so… what you're suggesting is…? "
"That maybe you and I could go around Orario for a change of pace. Take a day off from today's horrible venture into the Dungeon. Maybe something new for a change."
Ragnar gave her a hearty smile but she did not respond, instead Skadi stood from the bed and walked towards the door, a scene that the Captain has seen multiple times in the past when she did not want to talk. At that moment he knew that his words did not reach her and if they did, they didn't have the result he was expecting.
But the Goddess stopped, grabbing the door handle and looking back at the adventurer. "Alright. We can try that tomorrow." She opened the door, "good night Ragnar."
"Good night, Goddess." The door closed and with that, Ragnar's day finally reached its conclusion.
And we're back with a new chapter. The conclusion to the hunting quest, a letter delivery and now an invitation from Ragnar? What could he be planning with this?
Thanks to everyone who's been reading and following the story. I know the updates are not that regular but winter is making me struggle with ideas as well as personal business taking a lot of my time.
Similar to how I've done with Ragnar and Noel, here's the information of some of the current members.
...
Name: Alain Val'Karis
Age: 23
Affiliation: Skadi Familia
Level: 1
Strength: H 184
Endurance: H 141
Dexterity: G 269
Agility: G 274
Magic: I 45
Skills: -
Magic: -
...
Name: Hilda Renos
Age: 20
Affiliation: Skadi Familia
Level: 1
Strength: H 151
Endurance: H 103
Dexterity: H 274
Agility: G 301
Magic: I 11
Skills: -
Magic: -
...
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, have a great week. Next up is gonna be an interlude focused on some of the members of Skadi Familia. See you in the next chapter!