Job offer Don enjoyed himself. His last assignment had netted him a tidy amount of gold, and he even didn’t have to fight. The caravan had been too well guarded for any bandit to make an attempt. Now the job was over, and he was spending his gold on good food and drink, right here in his favorite tavern. Good food and drink, and lively entertainment. The buxom dancer perched on his lap clearly enjoyed his attentions, as she would no doubt enjoy his gold later in the evening. He had lucked out on table mates. Arneca had left her armor in her room, wearing only her furs, and only a few of them to boot. The barbarian woman may not have been very talkative, but he had come to respect and even like her during this last trip. Next to her Oneytia, a sorceress of some renown was engaged in a lively discussion with Diana, whom he knew to be an excellent archer. She still wore her armor, which he knew to be magical in nature – those swirls of metal left far too much skin exposed to be protective all by itself. She did look good in it, he admitted, just as Oneytia looked good in her revealing sorceress robes. At the table next to him Erik was making an ass of himself again. There were plenty of dancing girls in the tavern that would enjoy his attentions and his purse, so why would he harass one of the waitresses, claiming that he was just “adjusting her outfit to match the other girls in here?” He didn’t like Erik. A good fighter, no doubt about it, but an arrogant asshole who had tried to lord it over the caravan guards during the last trip. He’d had more than enough of that when he was a corporal in the army. Good thing that the bouncer had already noticed Erik’s behavior, it wouldn’t be long before the jerk got kicked out of the tap room. He much preferred the company of the women, or of Kelvin or David, both unassuming but eminently capable young men. Kelvin was chatting with Lisa, who had just finished her act, while David gave a smile and a thumbs up to the next dancer. Yes, a very nice evening all in all, although his purse would not agree. “Hey Don!” “Hey Chayne, good to see you. Nice duds!” “Thanks.” Chayne pirouetted around, showing off her brand new gear, consisting of a poncho, skirt, boots and bracers, all made from gleaming steel chain links. She was known as Chayne Lynx, fighter and rogue, and now she was dressed according to her name. “Looking good indeed!” Don liked the outfit. “How’s life treating you these days?” “Pretty good, pretty good. Look, I think I’ve landed a nice job, guarding a wizard on her way to some southern duchy. But it’s a two person job, and I’d like to have you come with me. Interested?” Don didn’t have to think for long. He had known Chayne for a long time, and they worked well together. Besides, his purse was thinning rapidly. “How well does it pay?” “It’s an Academy assignment, they always pay top rate.” “Count me in then.” “Off we go then, they’re expecting us at the Academy offices.” *** Pure Firefly render (P11Pro), no postwork *** Going to pick up my series again. This time I'll start with a prelude to my original The Stand (2004 - a long time ago!). I'll be doing quite a few rerenders and corrections in the story. New chapters are in the works, stay tuned....