Garath was touched. Aldrasyl had never said anything remotely nice to him before. The Necrologist smiled again. *Thank you. That means a lot to me.*
*May I ask you something, Garath?* Aldrasyl asked ponderously.
*Any time, friend,* Garath replied. After the nice things Aldrasyl had just said to him, Garath probably would have done anything the Ice Drake asked of him.
*I have been curious for some time, why is it that your species bares their teeth as a form of welcome greeting? In my experience, when a creature bares its teeth it is almost always a threat or a warning.*
Garath was dumbfounded. He thought about it for a second, and then another, but he was drawing a blank. *I… actually, I really don’t know. I think it’s a learned behavior, not instinctive though. I’m going to have to think about that one and get back to you.*
Aldrasyl’s huge scaled head bobbed up and down in understanding. *Go and conquer the Dungeon, Garath. I will expect an answer upon your safe return.*
*It’s a deal,* Garath replied. The Necrologist wished the Dragon a good evening before leaving the rooftop to meet up with the Dungeon team.
Garath walked to the cliff top, thinking about how far he and Aldrasyl had come since their admittedly, pretty rough start. He knew it would take a bigger man than himself to forgive someone for doing what Garath had done to the great white Dragon. He was pleased beyond words that Aldrasyl seemed to return the growing respect that Garath himself felt for the massive reptile.
He was happy to see that he wasn’t the first one on the cliff. Auto, Maimon and the twins already had a fire going. A message from Athios let him know that she and Warrion had both reached Level 30 and that they were on their way back. Sharon arrived with Daisy shortly after Garath and the unnaturally youthful Naturist began preparations for an evening meal. Atlas joined up with the group just before Athios and Warrion made it back from their hunting trip. Before long, the Dungeon team in its entirety was sitting around the fire, stuffing their faces from heaping plates of wonderfully prepared vegetables and chicken. If Garath hadn’t already known that everything on his plate had come from a can, he wouldn’t have believed it. When everyone finished eating, Garath put his plate on the ground beside the fire and got to his feet.
“After all the work we’ve all put in, we finally made it. Everyone is at or above Level 30 and we’re armed to the teeth. Tomorrow, we head south to The Tower!” Garath said. After a few seconds of raucous cheering from the group, Garath raised his hands in a plea for silence. “First things first. A few of you still need Guild invitations.”
With that, Garath issued invitations to the members of the Dungeon team not already in the Guild.
Atlas has joined The Band of the Hawk.
Daisy has joined The Band of the Hawk.
Sharon has joined The Band of the Hawk.
Warrion has joined The Band of the Hawk.
“Tonight, I want everyone to get to know each other a little better. Take a good look at the people around you.” He paused to allow a moment for everyone to do just that before continuing. “Some of us have known each other for years and some of us have just met, yet tomorrow, when we enter the Dungeon, the people around you will be depending on you to do your job, and you’ll be depending on them to do theirs. I have all the confidence in the world that each and every one of you deserves that trust.” Another loud cheer drowned out the Necrologist for a moment and he smiled as he raised his hands again to quiet them.
“One at a time, we’re going to stand up and tell everyone something personal about ourselves. Something that you haven’t shared with anyone but your closest friends, even before the apocalypse. I know,” Garath said as jokes started spreading about the first day of school. “I know. It’s kinda silly. I get it. But tomorrow, when we go into The Tower, I want my best friends around me. I want to know more about each of you. So just humor me with this alright?”
“Alright,” Athios said, a smug little smile hiding behind her dark hair. “You go first.”
“Sure,” Garath agreed. “It’s a deal. Let’s see…”
“We already know you’re an asshole, G. Pick something else,” Auto joked.
“Dang it!” Garath replied, dramatically kicking the dirt. He took a deep breath, actually a little nervous now. He was expecting the same level of honesty from everyone though, so Garath didn’t hold back. “Before the apocalypse I used to do anything I could to dull the anxiety of life. I smoked a lot of weed, I drank a lot of beer, and I abused my ADHD medication, among some other, less safe things.”
“That’s not a secret,” Warrion pointed out.
“I wasn’t done,” Garath playfully admonished him for interrupting. “What I want to share is that the anxiety I’ve felt my whole life, that urgency to do something with my life is gone now. Since The Culling, my life has meaning. I haven’t had a single urge to get drunk or high. I’m literally one of those dorks that’s high on life now. That’s it, that’s what I wanted to share. Who’s up next?”
Nobody volunteered, so, grabbing the Dimensionalist from beneath her arms, Garath picked Athios up and nudged her forward. She turned back to give him a flirty glare, then nervously faced the Dungeon team around the fire.
“I’m next I guess,” she said, her hand reaching to pull on a lock of hair below her ear. “I’ve never done well in a social setting, but that probably isn’t a secret.” Athios looked over her shoulder at Garath, who nodded encouragingly for her to continue. “Well, unlike Garath, I am still struggling every day with crippling anxiety. I overthink everything, and
