Monkey Man and Animal Pals

Dige had never felt more at home in the guild hall. It was dim enough to give him a cozy underground ambience, and the amount of ale he could drink was enough to get him back on his feet, stronger than ever. It wasn’t perfect. The place was constantly crammed with adventurers moving in and out of the city, but he would survive. The alien nature of other people paled in comparison to the power of alcohol.

In that time, he had gotten to know the local mercenaries. Not in physical conversation. It was the height of summer, and no amount of baths would mask a dwarf’s natural, dizzying musk, but he did listen and understand the group dynamics at play. Budget considerations, equipment preparations, friends trying to convince other friends to take certain jobs. Their camaraderie and affection was infectious in a way that made Dige feel like he was right there, when really he was two tables away. If only they would be able to reciprocate, Dige thought. If only someone reached out first.

“Dige…” a lizardman hissed in his ear. “Are you…eating that?”

“Ay, Gunch, I am.” Dige replied.

“...I eat it?”

“No, Gunch. You don’t.”

His hand reached anyway, for which he got a fork stuck in it.

“So…hungry,” and the lizardman slithered off.

That was Gunch, the only adventurer who would approach Dige willingly. He was a natural, biologically destined sociopath with only self-interest on his mind. He was not and will never be a friend to Dige. There was someone else who wasn’t Dige’s friend either.

“Your ale privileges have been revoked,” said the receptionist.

“Why!? What have I done wrong, sweet lass!?”

“You’re barreling through our reserves, and I mean literally, barrels gone, and you haven’t taken a single quest that you got here. Therefore, the amount of ale you get is now contingent on your rewards.”

“How dare you!?” He was ready to vault the counter. “A dwarf’s ale is his lifeblood! You can’t just cut him off!”

“Until you’re a real adventurer, I can! I don’t care what the mayor says. I’m sticking to my principles!”

That witch of a receptionist! Dige thought. She was alright in his books, but that meant he actually had to do something, and soon. The dwarf gulped. He would have to face his enemy, the boss of this guild hall, the board on the wall, and all of its funny pieces of paper on it.

The quest papers were straightforward. They were an accumulation of all jobs available for contract work by private contractors or the state. Each paper described what needed to be done, who would be best qualified, the time to do it, if available, and where the job would be. There’d be markings for every group that applies for the job, and when completed, the job posting would be removed. They were also color coordinated for hunting quests, guard quests, retrieval requests, and so on. The most dangerous jobs were colored black and placed at the top of the board.

Dige either didn’t meet any of the qualifications, didn’t know where to find these jobs, or was in steep competition. It was actively discouraging him from pushing forward. All his dwarf mind could comprehend right now was eating well and building his muscles back up, but it was apparent. To get stronger, he would need a group.

“Step aside, shorty,” said a tan man with facial features Dige recognized. “Oh, you’re the dwarf protagonist. I didn’t think there’d be any heroes left in this city.”

The Japanese man was built a little different than Dige’s past couple of grudges. If he knew the regions, he’d call him Okinawan, bronzed with some facial hair, a few whiskers by dwarf standards, and sideburns that made him look like a monkey. Dige could sense the otakuness emitting from his body like an aura, but at least the man was fit, unlike those other flabby protagonists.

“What do you want?” Dige asked. “Are you looking for a scrap?”

“Hey, hold on. I’m not here to fight. We just got back from a big quest.”

“Attention, everyone!” The receptionist announced. “Hideyoshi and crew have successfully completed the Black Label Quest: Kill the Invasive Sand Lion. Give them a round of applause!”

The guild gave a unanimous cheer with the clanking of mugs. Such a feat only came every few months, and the rewards usually came with free liquor for the night. That made Hideyoshi's party, once the weird party full of animal folk, instant celebrities. For everyone to give them warm smiles and a thumbs up was a delightful change of pace.

Team Hideyoshi:

Leader: Hideyoshi Sarugami (19M) Monk, Lv 35

Support: Lupa Bronn (24F) Wolf Beastman Barbarian, Lv 29

Support: Gerthwyn Vierde (31F) Bear Beastman Druidess, Lv 22

Support: Sawa Poulos (19F) Harpie Archer, Lv 23

While the girls whipped up their new fairweather friends with chants and games, Hideyoshi kept his back to the guild and lay low. His eyes were on the board.

“I'll leave the partying to the girls," he grinned. "I gotta plan out the next quest. I hate sitting around doing nothing. Makes me crazy, y'know?”

“Hmmm, productive,” Dige observed the board, following what he was reading. “I can respect diligent work. What kind of quests do you look for to…get stronger?”

“Whatever seems exciting,” he answered. “A lot of these here are boring jobs. Not worth doing. I want work that excites me.”

“Like, down there?”

“Huh? No. Why would you say that?”

“You Japanese don’t seem to have much of a warrior spirit.”

“The Japanese are all about warrior spirit! I come from a line of samurai, elite horseback warriors. Fighting’s in my blood!”

“As am I!” Dige laughed, showing his muscles. “You wanna arm wrestle, boy?"

"If we can get a table? Later tonight."

"I'll hold you to that!" Dige laughed. "I think I’m starting to like you, lad. You got guts, glory, and you have actual good taste in women.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment?”

Dige turned back to the board. Many of the quests required at least three people to take on properly. He had hoped to find friends in the guild, at least one other to go with the brat in city hall, but maybe there was another path. Perhaps he could learn from these protagonists and figure out the secrets to getting stronger. This man could be his friend.

Dige gave a thumbs up. “Tell you what. The next job you take, I’ll go with you. We’d make a great team.”

“A team?” Hideyoshi’s brow furrowed.

Dige nodded, fully confident in himself and eager to lend a hand. Hideyoshi, on the other hand, was immediately suspicious. Like, where was this coming from? Also, weren’t they rivals? It had been three minutes of conversation tops. Was this dwarf just trying to get a free exp ride with some idle chitchat? Something wasn’t right.

A tuft of chest fur nudged up against the hero’s head. “Yoshman, what’re you doing here?” Lupa asked. “Who’s the short guy?”

“Oh, hello, my beautiful lady,” Dige stammered, his cheeks red. “It is I, Dige, son of Dodrige. I believe we met before? You caught me in your big, strong arms. Hohoho…”

Oh, that's right, Hideyoshi thought. Yep, he is definitely not joining the party.

“I was looking for our next job,” the boy said. “Why don’t you pick one for us?”

“Let me see here.” Her eyes drifted across the words until they narrowed into slits on one. “A search for missing persons? I recognize these names."

Hideyoshi picked it up. "You do?"

"Yes, they’re beastmen, famous ones too. If I know humans, they might have kidnapped them, and if so, they were likely taken to...”

“The slaver’s market.”

“Slavers?” Dige asked. 

“People who sell captured non-humans into indentured servitude. Much of my clan had been taken by these monsters.”

“They…sell people?”

Sawa and Gerthwyn came in to observe as well. The trio was entirely convinced this was the case.

“A market gathers at the end of each month on Dreams’ southern wharf,” Sawa said. “If we attend, we might be able to find them.” 

“Alright, it’s settled.” Hideyoshi put his hand out. “In three days, we’re going to find these girls and save them. No. In three days, we're gonna take down the whole ring.”

The three of them gasped. “But, Yosh, the slaver’s market is-.”

“I don’t care. I won’t stand here knowing slavers are working freely in this city. Are you in?”

They were more than excited to throw in. To hell with the law. Their people have suffered enough under these oppressors, and it was time to strike back.

As their determination eventually gave way to partying, Dige stood at the quest board, eyeing that very same paper.

Wait a minute, he thought. You can buy people!? That's so convenient! He never thought of that idea. He had to save up money, and fast!