You close your eyes and drift off to sleep. You dream of a bright forest with playing children. Everything is nice and everyone is happy. Then one day that changes when a portal to another dimension appears in the middle of the forest. Out of the portal comes abominations to mankind. A collection of arms and legs attached on to a giant ball of flesh. This ball rolls around destroying the forest, killing everyone and growing stronger as it does so. The ball then comes rolling at you. You don't have time to scream before…


You jolt awake and find yourself covered in sweat. As much as you hate nightmares, they do a great job at waking you up. You look outside your window and notice the sun rising. This rising ball of fire reminds you of the ball from your dream. You throw on a clean pair of clothes, grab your sword just in case, and make your way to the captain's quarters.


It's an uneventful journey and you arrive within a few minutes. Not wanting to wake the captain, you pull out pen and paper. It goes as follows,


Dear Captain Dario,


I am writing to you regarding the firing of guard Lars. I was on the same shift as him before he left. The windchill was approaching deadly levels and he decided to head inside as a last resort. I stayed out only because I feared the repercussions. As I sat out there, my muscles began to freeze until I could no longer move. I passed out minutes later.


I would have surely died had a traveling merchant not stopped by. They started a fire and warmed me up. I would have died otherwise and thank the heavens a demon didn't wander by. Due to my own experiences, I recommend you rehire Lars and if anything, fire me for putting my life on the line when it wasn't needed.


You are in such a rush that you slide the letter under the door before signing it. You decided against telling the truth as Captain Dario is a hard ass for rules. Not only would you have been fired, but also forced to undergo a purging to ward off any demonic influences.


With that out of the way, you decide to head to a local armory. Your city issued sword is no match for a demon, as Catia pointed out. Not knowing if your parents will ever return, you see no problem with using their savings for your protection. You take a stroll to the armory and find it to be quite crowded for this early in the morning.


"I need something that can scare away demons," a farmer says


"Scare away? Why not something that can kill?"


"Look son, I've never been one to resort to violence. I just need something to protect you and the Misses."


You zone out their conversation and take a look around. They have swords, maces, axes, and even a trident. However, what catches your eyes is a bow painted red and black. It's the only one in the store and seems rare.


"Excuse me sir, what's the price on this bow?"


"That would be 500 gold sir," replies a dwarf with steel encrusted teeth.


"What's so special about it?"


"We brought it from a dark elf mercenary. They have great craftsmanship, especially when it comes to bows."


"How is it different than all the other bows for sale?"


He pauses and turns red,


"I hate to admit it, but I've always struggled making bows. That red and black one has much finer strings and sturdier wood, giving it a greater firing range."


You thank the dwarf for the information and continue looking around. Nothing else catches your eye, so you decide to buy the bow.


"Pleasure doing business with ya."


You leave with your new bow and 500 gold poorer. You hope you still have your guard job as your parent's money won't last much longer. You go to the guard barracks and decide to get a meal there. Even if you've been fired, you doubt any of the servers will know. You arrive to a mess hall and find it more empty than usual. Two men eat soup together and another man sits alone.


You grab a cup of soup and take another look around. You recognize the two men sitting together as Herbert and Andy. Herbert is an older man with a gray beard who has always been kind to you. Andy is around your age, mid twenties, and is already going bald. Both are good chaps and would be happy if you sat with them.


The man sitting alone is someone you don't recognize. He is a very thin fellow with patchy hair and missing teeth. You could try to find out who he is, or sit with Herbert and Andy.

You sit with Herbert and Andy

You head over to sit with Herbert and Andy and listen in on their conversation.


"I can't believe she would do such a thing," says Herbert.


"I don't know how she could just lie after all I did for her. She's been pissed at me ever since we last had sex. I can't even talk to her anymore."


"I know how you feel, women sure are a pain in the ass. Hey new guy, did you hear what Andy's girlfriends been doing?"


You stop blowing on your soup and glance at Herbert.


"I haven't, what happened?"


"So this fucking bitch named, what was her name again Andy?"


"Julia."


"Yeah so this bitch named Julia has been spreading lies about him ever since they broke up. She told the captain that he raped her!"


"I guess she wants to get me fired. Rather get revenge against me for something I didn't do then have the city be safe."


"Julia...what's her last name?"


"Why does it matter? She's a fucking liar and that's that," says Andy.


"Sorry I thought I might know her...I had a childhood friend named Julia."


"Well I hope you don't still consider her a friend after what she did to Andy. That skank deserves to live a life alone."


You sit in silence as you take this all in. If this is the Julia you think it is, there's got to be a reason she said what she said. You never knew her as the type of person to lie, even as a child. When you're about to prod further, you hear someone call your name. It's Captain Dario and he wants to speak with you immediately. You wave goodbye and follow the captain into his private quarters.


A rush of anxiety hits you as your still not sure if the captain bought your story. What if Lars told him the truth?


"Please, take a seat."


You sit and find yourself starring at the gray haired captain. He stares back, unblinking as you both wait to see who makes the first move.


"First things first, you're not fired."


"That's a relief."


"I'm sure it is, but what I say next may not be. I have no intention of re-hiring Lars."


"Wait what? Like I said in my letter, he did the smart thing and could have died had he stayed."


The captain sighs and says,


"While that may be true, I've been wanting to fire him for awhile. He's lazy and incompetent. The only reason he still had a job was because guards are in high demand right now. The problem now is finding a replacement."


"What happens if you don't?"


Dario frowns and bitterly says,


"Then I might have to rehire Lars."


You could talk about Herbert and Andy, they might be able to take over Lars' previous guard duties. On the other hand, who knows how Lars will react if he finds out you played a role in replacing him. There may be no reasoning with him.