20.1. New provisional member

Jamtara, Kingdom of Divinium, Eastern region of Rohana Federation, 2051 S.C. 152nd day

"Consider this the last leg of your piggyback adventure," Lucia chuckled as they approached the gates.

As they approached the gates, Heron tensed, remembering his confrontation with the guards. The same guard from yesterday stood at his post, but when he saw Richard, his demeanor shifted completely.

"Sir Pridens," the guard said, straightening his posture. "I trust the expedition was successful?"

Richard produced the carefully wrapped Crossus specimens. "Three samples, as requested. Grade A quality. The research division will be pleased."

The guard accepted the flowers with surprising reverence. "Excellent contribution, sir. The medicinal research team has been asking for fresh specimens." His eyes flickered to Heron, slumped on Almir's back. "Training accident?"

"Something like that," Lucia said with a smirk. "Wild boars can be quite educational."

They passed through the gates without incident, the guards now nodding respectfully as they passed. Once they were safely inside the city walls, Heron spoke up weakly from Almir's back.

"Still can’t believe you set me up to fail the first time," Heron mumbled into Almir's shoulder.

"I set you up to learn," Richard corrected. "In this line of work, things rarely go as planned. We need people who can adapt, who don't break under pressure." He paused. "Are you still angry?"

Heron considered this for a moment. "No," he said finally. "I understand why you did it. Though I might be a bit more skeptical next time you send me flower picking."

"If you're done with the heart-to-heart," Almir interrupted, "we should get him to a proper healer."

"The crystal helped, but he still needs proper care," Lucia said, eyeing Heron's pale face. "We should get him to the healing house."

Richard nodded. "Get him patched up. I have business to attend to at the guildhall to see about the provisional licence." He turned to leave, then paused. "Also Heron? Take good care and then join us tomorrow at Altaria. It's a place where we reside. You’ll meet everyone from the party there."

"Come on, hero," Almir said, adjusting Heron's weight on his back. "Let's get you fixed up before you pass out again."

The healing house was a modest building with crystal lamps burning in its windows. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of herbs and antiseptic. A woman in white robes looked up from her desk, her expression shifting to concern at the sight of Heron.

"What happened to this one?" She asked, already gesturing toward an empty bed.

"Training accident," Lucia said smoothly. "He'll need to be back on his feet by morning if possible."

The healer clicked her tongue as she examined Heron's wounds. "A crystal's been used on him recently," she observed, her fingers probing gently at his neck. "Did a decent job with the wounds, but he's lost too much blood. He needs rest and proper nourishment." She turned to gather various vials and powders from her shelves. "I'll do what I can, but I make no promises."

"I'll be fine," Heron protested weakly, but the healer silenced him with a stern look.

"You'll be 'fine' when I say you're fine," she said firmly. She held out a cup filled with something that smelled strongly of mint and copper. "Drink this. All of it."

Heron grimaced but obeyed, draining the bitter concoction. The healer began working on his wounds properly, her hands moving with practiced efficiency as she applied salves and bound the deeper gashes.

"He'll need to stay the night," the healer said to Almir and Lucia, who had remained by the door. "The potion will help, but rest is what he needs most. Come back for him in the morning."

Lucia looked at Heron, then at the healer. "You heard the woman. Get some sleep, hero. Tomorrow you meet the rest of us."

As the door closed behind them, Heron's eyes grew heavy. The crystal lamps on the walls blurred and dimmed, and sleep claimed him.

Morning light filtered through the healing house windows when Lucia arrived to collect him. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching as Heron gingerly tested his neck's range of motion.

"Still attached, I see," she said. "Good. I was concerned if I’ll get you in one piece."

"Thanks for the concern," Heron muttered, standing carefully. His legs held, though everything still felt stiff.

"Don't mention it, hero." Lucia pushed off ‌the doorframe. "Come on. We need to get you cleaned up and properly dressed before you meet everyone. Can't you look like you crawled out of a monster's den."

They walked through Jamtara's morning streets, the city already alive with the sounds of vendors and steam engines.

"Let’s get you back to your tavern first," Lucia said. "Do you mind if I get myself something on your tab?"

“Pay for your own stuff,” Heron grumpily replied.

Marcus was behind the counter, and he raised an eyebrow when he saw Heron's condition.

"What happened?" Marcus asked.

"She can fill you in," Heron said as he pointed to Lucia. “I need to go wash up.”

Half an hour later, Heron descended the stairs in clean clothes. The wounds on his neck were hidden beneath his collar, and aside from moving a bit stiffly, he looked presentable.

"Much better," Lucia said, inspecting him. "Now you look like an adventurer instead of a disaster. Let's go. Altaria isn't far, and the others are already waiting."

They left the tavern behind, heading deeper into the city. Altaria sat on a corner where two streets met, a three-story building that was cleaner than the rough taverns near the gates but lacked the polish of establishments in the richer districts. A wooden sign depicting a stylized wing marked it.

"Here we are," Lucia said, pushing open the door. The place was busy when they arrived, with loud noises of the hostel residents and city folk.

“There they are,” Lucia exclaimed, pointing at a few people who had claimed a large table in the corner. Richard sat at its head, with Almir and Icarus to either side. But there were two women Heron hadn't met yet. One with intricate braids and what appeared to be a purple ornamental key as a necklace, the other with dark skin and shoulder-length black hair, wearing a loose white blouse decorated with embroidered butterflies.

“Ahh, good you have arrived. Please take a seat, so we can start the introductions. We just finished eating, but you order something if you are hungry before we start.”

“Oh, no need.” Lucia said cheerfully. “I ate while I waited for Heron. Oh, and Heron, you owe Marcus two blue coins.”

“What?” Heron asked, surprised. “Did you eat on my tab, even when I told you to buy your own food?”

“Yes, but then I remembered you owe me for the arrows I used on those boars, so you got off cheap,” Lucia said, chuckling.

Heron groaned. “Ok, fine. Thank you for saving me. Lunch was on me.”

“You’re welcome. But you should eat something,” Lucia responded. “You haven’t eaten since I picked you up.”

“Okay,” Heron said. “What do you recommend?”

“A boar stew,” Lucia replied instantly.

“Lucia… are you mocking me?” Heron asked unamused.

“Never,” Lucia giggled.

“Alright, Lucia, let's not do this now.” Richard interrupted them. “Let the boy order his meal, and then I’ll introduce everyone. It is a little awkward having others sit in silence.”

“So, let’s start with introductions, shall we?” Richard started the conversation after Heron finished the meal. “Heron, you’ve gotten to know me just as Richard, but my name is Richard Pridens. I’m the leader of our party called Valiant Cry. Our party specializes in monster hunting, but we also don’t shy away from other work such as escort missions, item retrievals, and other quests that pop up from time to time.”

"The one with the key is Irene," Richard said, turning to the two women on his right. "She's our healer, though don't let that fool you; she's seen more action than most warriors I know. And that's May," he nodded toward the woman in the butterfly-embroidered blouse. "She's our youngest member and the aerial specialist. You haven't lived until you've seen her dance through the air during a fight."

“You met Lucia,” Richard continued, now turning to his left. “She is our archer. She has various arrows in her arsenal; she imbues them in various substances.”

“Next to her is Icarus. He is our plant expert. But he also has several special abilities, which you wouldn’t tell from his appearance. And the last member is Almir. He uses a sledgehammer but is also efficient in hand-to-hand combat.”

He stood from his desk and came over to Heron with a piece of parchment. “This is your provisional licence, Heron of Haugstad. Prove yourself of value, and you’ll get a permanent one and a passport.”

Heron nodded. “Thank you for giving me the chance.”

“Alright, now that formalities are over, everyone ‌do as you please with our newest member.” Richard said, smiling.

Why did that sound more menacing than it should have been? Heron thought as he looked towards May and Lucia, who were first to get up and made their way towards him.

May started first, her face breaking into a bright smile. "Oh! Is this our boar-wrestling friend? Lucia's been telling us all about your adventure."

"Don’t worry, Heron, I left out some stuff," Lucia cut in with a smirk.

“I shall think of a nickname!” May declared. “Heron sounds too serious.”

“Umm, thanks, but I really don’t need one,” Heron said embarrassingly.

“Don’t be ridiculous; you need to know the difference when I’m scolding you.” May rebutted.

“Okay, and do you have a nickname then?” Heron asked.

“Airhead,” Lucia jumped in promptly.

“Lucia!” May pouted. “You know that is not my nickname. I don’t get scolded by myself.”

"It is unofficial, but you earned it fair and square after the dragon incident," Lucia added with a pointed look at May.

"That was one time!" May protested. "And how was I supposed to know that dragon could fly?"

"Because it had wings?" Icarus suggested dryly, causing several members to chuckle.

“Do I want to know why May doesn’t know dragons fly?” Heron asked.

“It was that one dragon!” May protested. “I was sure it couldn’t. It was just walking around. Why would you choose to walk when you can fly?”

“Because its prey can’t May. It was hiding on the ground.” Icarus said coldly.

“Well, I learned from it. It was my first dragon too.” May humphed.

Irene studied Heron with careful eyes. "You should be resting," she said in a professional tone. "The city healer's work is adequate, but you're still a bit pale."

"Richard asked me to come," Heron responded, his voice still carrying traces of exhaustion.

"Of course he did," Irene sighed, shooting Richard a disapproving look. "Man has no patience. Well, since you're here, at least let me do a quick check-up later."

"Don't be such a worrier, Irene," May said cheerfully, sliding a mug of something warm toward Heron. "Here, drink this. It's just spiced cider, but it'll help with the tiredness."

“Oh, and since you are here provisionally and we get to vote later on your full-time membership, I think it is important to make strong bonds. May was now looking at Heron with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Say, Heron, you wouldn't happen to have a few coins to spare for a round of cards?"

Heron blinked. "Are you... trying to extort me for your vote?"

"Extort is such an ugly word," May said cheerfully. "Think of it as an investment in team bonding! Besides, what else are you going to do with those coins while you're recovering?"

Heron sighed. "Fine, you can have a few coins."

"Don't encourage her," Icarus warned. "Once she starts asking for loans, she keeps coming back."

"Too late, Ikki!" May's grin widened. "And since our friend here is being so generous with his coins, I think I'll call him... Hikki! Yes, Hikki and Ikki - my two favorite grumps."

Heron looked at Icarus. "Is she always like this?"

"Unfortunately," Icarus sighed. "And it gets worse after she's had a few drinks."

“Alright, May. Let Heron breathe,” Almir chimed in. “You’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other during his probation. And Heron, don’t underestimate May. She is being silly now, but when it comes to the field, you should take some pointers since you’ll also be doing close combat.”

“Thank you, Almir,” May said, smiling.

“And yet he has no nickname,” Icarus pointed out.

“Well, Ikki, I wouldn’t dream of scolding Almir. He is just a nice guy all around.”

“Who has the arm strength to break you like a twig,” Icarus added.

“A thought that didn’t even cross my mind,” May played dumb.

“So, Heron, which weapon is going to be your primary one?” Icarus asked.

“I’m going to stick with the sword. Mine is smaller and old, but hopefully I’ll earn some money to replace it with something new.”

“You can go with an augmented weapon,” Lucia said.

“What is an augmented weapon?” Heron asked.

“A weapon that draws power from tainted crystals.” Icarus explained.

“Nah, I think I’ll pass on the idea. My experience with anything using crystals hasn’t been great so far.” Heron replied.

“Well, you will need something basic at least for demons. They are easy to manage but can only be removed with crystal powers. Which makes augmented weapons convenient these days.” Icarus said.

“I heard back at my village something about these demons. They cause problems for villagers since they can’t be attacked with standard weapons. Yet you say they are easy to manage?”

“Yes, unlike monsters, they don’t seem to do much physical damage, but if you get encircled, they can drive you mad. Which is not a problem since you just pull out a crystal-powered weapon and they disperse.” Icarus explained.

“Sounds like they were tailored for villagers, considering we’d never use crystals.”

“Who knows? Clergy just marked them as spatial anomalies. It is true that they are no threat to the citizens, which makes them even more annoying as we waste time going out, only to beat them in a matter of minutes.” Icarus said..

“Yes, it would be far easier for villagers just to have at least one of their own using a crystal tool for the occasion. But what can you do? We should force no one to use crystals against their will. It would take them to the dark side eventually,” Almir said.

“What dark side are you talking about?” Heron asked.

“Well, far be it from me to speculate, but there seems to be a trend of people worshiping the abyss. Which is worrisome. I mean, why would you worship the idea of your soul ending in eternal blackness?”