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"I know I said it was my treat, but don't you think you're taking things a bit too far?"

We were sat at a small table in the corner of the tavern. The Rusty Dagger was a nice place, despite its odd name. Good food, good drink, and an owner who knew how to run her business. The interior was divided into two sections: the kitchen in the back and the dining area in the front. The kitchen was small, giving the rest of the tavern a lot of room to house as many tables and chairs as was needed. It wasn't a particularly busy evening, so there was plenty of space when we arrived. Almost as soon as we sat down, Pram and Albert wasted no time in ordering. And ordering. And ordering. Both had managed to devour several full plates and a good few mugs of beer between them.

The only consolation I had in this was knowing they'd be giving themselves stomach aches come the morning.

In between bites of some roasted pork, Albert spoke up. "Oh come on, I saw how much you were making today. You can afford to be a little generous to your friends, right?"

"Right right," chimed in Pram. "This apology for break promise, too." She was still holding onto that, even after getting those bones she wanted. She stabbed her forked into the slab of beef before her a little too harshly, and all while side eyeing me as she did.

One of the tall alchemist's thin arms reached over and dragged a plate of beans over to his side of the table. "Speaking of which," he mentioned after munching down a spoonful of the little nuggets, "what was that metal thing, anyway?"

"It's a trap of sorts," I answered while producing the cube from out my pocket. It was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, with little grooved edges and a small spiral pattern on a few of the faces. Its mostly silver surface was tinted with the faintest bit of red.

Albert looked at me in disbelief. "That thing," he said, his tone clearly skeptical, "is a trap? What do you catch with it, bugs?"

"Catch big animal." Pram had elected to interupt the conversation. From her high chair, which was the only way she was able to reach the table effectively, she put on a smug smile as she continued. "Pram made cube with rhubrum, so it part magic."

The dark haired man's face morphed into one full of confusion. "Rhubrum? How in the world did you get your hands on that?"

That smug aura of hers only increased, her ego rising up as she stood up on the chair. With chest puffed out and head held high, Pram answered, "Dura and Pram had customer order much items. Customer so happy with their work, he give them bonus pay, and small amount rhubrum as show thanks."

"Who in the world just gives away rhubrum like that?" Albert's bewilderment had only increased, it seemed. It was understandable, of course. Rhubrum wasn't exactly something you just casually hand over on a whim. I suspected there was more to Pram's story than she let on.

The small fire colored fox shrugged her shoulders and responded, "Pram not care. She just happy have it, so she decide practice her artificer skill by make new thing."

Pram and her sister Dura worked along the market street, selling small items they smithed themselves. Usually, they sold things like nails, knives, locks, those sorts of things. However, on top of also doing some hobbying as a cook, Pram also did some minor work as an artificer from time to time, typically doing repairs on people's rhubritech items. Every now and then, she would come up with something all her own, though, like the trap she traded me.

My gaze shifted over to the alchemist on my right and I asked him, "Wanna know how it works?" When he gave a small nod, I illuminated on the small cube. "As Pram pointed out, it's made using an echo rhubrum. This allows it to hear certain noises, in a sense, and then repeat those sounds later." To demonstrate, I pushed a small, thin button on the top of the cube. A moment later, a loud screech of a hawk could be heard emanating from the small metal object. Many of the tables nearby turned their attention to ours at the obnoxious interuption into their lives.

After giving a few apologetic shrugs to the people around us, I snatched the cube up and placed it back into my pocket. The nearby tables eventually lost interest and returned to whatever it was they were all doing.

Albert tilted his head for a moment and asked Pram, "When did you have time to recreate a hawk call?"

Still standing on the chair, and with no intention of sitting back down judging by her prideful stance, the small fox proclaimed, "When Pram finish make trap, she go woods and find animal Cedric never have call before. She think use bear, but that much danger, so she settle on hawk. Luck found her and one made nest nearby, so all she need do is get it yell. Simple task for genius Pram." That last line was finished off with a few small nods, as if the little vixen was vouching for herself.

"Wait," the alchemist said. Turning his focus to me, he asked "You have more of those?"

"Of course." I said this in an alost dumbfounded manner, shocked he even had to ask. "They come in handy. Why wouldn't I have more?" I then listed off a few other of these little call boxes Pram had traded with me before. I could still recall the first time she gave me one; it held the call of a female elk within. That one was certainly useful come mating season. Lots of hide and antlers to be turned into sol during market days.

As I got done with my listing, the little smith jumped in. "Pram make Cedric many trap. Him hunter, so need good way to capture beasties. Because Pram know he use lure, she think clever way of make own. And what better clever way than practice artificer skill same time?"

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "You know, when you first mentioned being an artificer, I thought you were kidding." As the small craftswoman furrowed her brows and pursed her lips, the alchemist chose his next words more carefully. "What I meant is that rhubrum is pretty hard to come by, especially for people like us." He meant the market sellers. Seeing as none of us had shops, and only had one day a week to make our sales, it meant many of us weren't exactly living the high life. "I mean, how do you even get your hands on any of that stuff, anyway?"

The slight tinge of anger left her then and she placed one clawed finger against her lips. "Secret," she said with a smile.

While my two friends continued to talk about Pram's side business as an artificer, my attention drifted elsewhere. In the distance, at the far side of the tavern, I noticed a certain figure entering the kitchen. They were broad-shouldered and with skin the color of the mid-morning sky. Finally, I thought to myself, was beginning to wonder if he would even show up at all. I had ulterior motives for going to the tavern today. Sure, spending time with my friends was a positive, but there was more.

When a tavern maid wandered by, I tried to her attention. She was a pretty thing, with short curly hair and a face like a pixie. I'd seen her working a few times before, but wasn't really familiar with her, so wasn't sure how to approach things once she finally walked over to the table.

"Anything I can help you with, sir?" Her tone was light and friendly, the kind you'd expect from one new to working a service job. One day she'd relax and become a bit more open, less subservient in her role.

The alchemist and smith both got quiet when she approached, giving me their full combined attention. Three sets of eyes stared at me as I chose my words. "Uh, yea. Was wondering if you could go get Laiu for me." She frowned at the mention of the name, but quickly corrected with a return to a friendly smile. I went on with, "I saw him head to the back. Get him for me, please."

Silently, she wandered off towards the kitchen, and I could feel the eyes of my companions on me. I glanced at both of them and said, "What?"

Pram nudged my shoulder, asking, "Who Laiu person? Why Cedric talk him?"

For a brief moment, I thought of not answering. But then, I realized there wasn't much harm in letting them know. It wasn't really something secretive, after all.

"Laiu's how I get some of my hunts." When both Albert and Pram gave me confused looks, I explained further, "How do you think I manage to get a lot of the monsters I've dealt with?"

"The guilds," the tall alchemist said not a fraction of a second later.

"Yes yes, guilds," the kobar woman affirmed.

Nodding along, I stated, "Yes, but they're not the only way. Sometimes, I come here and talk to Laiu. He's got connections, and passes along information to me if there's any interesting beasts that've been sighted." For a fee, of course, but that wasn't entirely necessary to the explanation. Being the tavernkeep's brother, Laiu was friends with merchants from outside of Zantile, as well as traveling couriers and caravaneers. I could never remember how our little transactions first began, I just knew he was the man to go to if I wanted something fun to hunt.

While my two friends accepted the answer, I could tell Albert at least had more on his mind. His eyes were thin slits and his mouth pulled to one side, as if he was trying to sort out what question to ask first. However, at nearly the same moment his lips parted, the broad-shouldered man appeared from the back, and I stood up from the table.

Dull green eyes met mine, and the tavernkeep's brother made his way over. Laiu wasn't particularly tall. He was maybe a head shorter than Albert, which placed him just beneath my eye level. Like most albeis, his skin was blue, though Laiu's was a darkened shade closer to purple. He wore simple fitting clothes underneath his kitchen smock. Because I had caught him so early in his shift, he didn't even have any food stains on him yet.

"Evening." His voice came out slow as he eyed the two onlookers beside me. I had never talked with him with others so close around before, so it made sense he had a bit of caution.

My arms waved to my sides, gesturing to my friends. "Don't mind them," I told the wide alb, "they're friends." With that said, I took my seat and offered the empty chair. "So, got anything for me today?"

A brief raising of a brow came as the immediate response before he sat down, leaning into the table with one elbow resting against the surface. "Two things," he said, holding up two fingers for emphasis. "One good, one...not so good."

Well, that second one certainly piqued some curiosity. "Well, let's hear 'em."

"First one's a simple thing. A warg's been spotted over in Nal." The broad blue man held a short pause, as if adding some kind of dramatic effect to all this. "A big one, male. No female or pups to worry about, so shouldn't be too much of an issue if you wanna take it."

Despite how pricey some warg fur could be, I wasn't much interested in heading to Nal for one of them, even if it was a big one. I reached into a pocket and placed a handful of sol onto the table, pushing the coins towards Laiu. "And the not so good one?"

The hand not already on the table quickly snatched away the money, retreating back underneath. He took a deep breath, then released it in a long sigh. His eyes looked to the sides before he leaned in a bit closer and made his voice softer. "You didn't hear this, but I got a reliable source that says a unicorn is somewhere up in Whitefall."

The info hit me like a ton of bricks. Out of the corner of my vision, I could see both Albert and Pram had widened their eyes in shock. A unicorn? This was something truly unique.

But, I had to be sure of this. "This source," I said, echoing his whispering, "they're not just bullshitting?"

Nodding, he answered, "He saw it himself. Described it just like the tales; long flowing golden mane, sleek silver fur, eerie glowing yellow eyes, and a spiraling horn. Said he couldn't believe his own eyes, but there was no denying it was real when it looked right at him before sprinting off into the forest."

I could feel a smile pulling on the edges of my lips at this news. There was no way I could possibly pass up this opportunity. Unicorns didn't just pop up every day, after all. To see one was the kind of thing most people dreamed about, and here was the rare chance to actually live up to said dream, and even hunt it to boot. I couldn't even describe just how excited I felt at the moment.

Albert pitched in a thought. "Wait. Whitefall's supposed to be a pretty dangerous place, right? Full of monsters not commonly seen elsewhere?"

Laiu gave a solemn nod as he said, "I'm only telling you because I like you, Cedric. But even then, I still think you shouldn't go."

Taken aback, I retorted, "What, think I can't handle myself out there?" My reputation in Zantile as a monster hunter should have eased those worries. I'd dealt with nasty beasts before, and he of all people would know that more than anyone. The fact my usual infobroker was doubting me like this felt like he'd just punched me.

His face got real serious then. His lips a thin line, eyes turned into a hard stare. "You're a good hunter. But the things in Whitefall are above your league."

Another punch. I could feel my face mirroring his own when I bit back, "Then why even bother telling me in the first place?"

Twin shoulders shrugged back as he answered. "I'm nothing if not honest. Think what you want, but I do like you. That's why I'm warning you about rushing off like some fool." Seemingly having said his peace, Laiu wished our table a good day before disappearing back to the kitchen. I watched him vanish behind the door, my stare still hard and cold.

Silence. Neither Albert nor Pram could find anything to speak about. I, on the other hand, was quiet out of anger. Now of course, I did understand Whitefall's many dangers. Or at least, I'd heard tales and stories of them. I knew it wasn't some simple picnic spot. Whitefall had been the center of several questionable things in the past; demon-worshipping cults, magic created chimeras, ghosts (not that I believed that), and more. Above all these was, of course, the fact the forest was home to many a monster. No one ventured into Whitefall. To do so was suicide.

And yet, I couldn't shake the notion of going there out of my head. I mean, a unicorn? It was a once in a liftime hunt, the kind of story you'd pass down a family for generations. I would go there, hunt the mystical beast and come home with it's beautiful hide and horn as trophies, where I would proudly display them in my home as a testament to the day I killed a legend. I'd regale any who would listen of the tale of the hunt, preaching day in and out of how I conquered a living myth.

"Cedric not go, yes?" Pram's words iterrupted my thoughts, bringing me back to the present at the table.

Regaining my focus, I turned to see Pram much closer than last I remembered. She had at some point scooted her chair right next to mine, and was standing atop it once again, one hand pressed close to her chest while the other was resting against my shoulder. The fire in her eyes from earlier had all but vanished, and had been replaced by a small amount of worry.

I shrugged her hand off my shoulder and responded, "Of course I'm going. You think I would miss this?"

From my right, I heard Albert saying, "I agree with Laiu. I don't think it's a good idea to go." He tried sounding like his usual self, but his voice betrayed his unease.

"Yes yes," Pram said, nodding her head enthusiastically. "Cedric stay Zantile," she pleaded, returning her small hand back to my shoulder. "Safer here Zantile. No scary beasty kill him here."

"Oh come off it, both of you," I snarled. "I've dealt with dangerous hunts before, even told you guys about them. What makes this any different from all those times?" I knew what the difference was. We all knew. But to have my own friends against me on this? Laiu I could sort of understand. We weren't really friends, barely even acquaintences. He just supplied me with information. But Albert and Pram? To have them doubt my skills was more than just a simple punch to the ego. My ego was was downright assaulted.

Although, I did have a trick up my sleeves to get both my friends to change their tunes. I just had to hope it worked.

Taking a small sip of my beer, I devised how best to broach the topic. While my two friends repeated their worries, my mind formed the words for me. It was time.

Clearing my throat, I got ready to speak. Albert and Pram fell silent, wondering how I'd debate this issue, likely. "You know, Whitefall is more than just home to monsters," I said. I saw Albert getting ready to argue, so I started with him first. "There's got to be tons of alchemical reagents and whatnots deep in those woods." The alchemist in question's mouth opened, but no words came. His silence spoke for him, so I continued on, "Just think about it. All those strange plants and such could definitely make for really profitable potions, not to mention your guild friends would surely be happy for the chance to research the effects those concoctions might have. I could easily pick up some of that stuff for you while I'm there."

Lips moved, but still no words came from Albert. He was quietly murmuring to himself, breathlessly debating with himself. The knowledge I'd gotten to him so easily brought no small amount of joy to me. However, there was still the tiny fox woman to deal with. Turning my head, I saw her with a judgmental look about her. But, the offer I had for her was just as enticing as Albert's.

When I looked like I was ready to convince her, Pram shut me up. "Pram not easy talk out. Not like Albert. She smart enough not fall tricks. Cedric bad friend trick Albert that way."

"Maybe," I partial agreed. "Even so, it doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm sure the alchemists' guild had heaps of info on the possible ingredients up in Whitefall." Changing topic, I began with, "Speaking of which, I'll bet the blacksmiths' guild might like to have one of their own survey the area for whatever ores and minerals might be up there. Probably some good money in mining it out and selling it off."

The vixen smirked at me, the smugness returning full force. "Cedric dumb fool. Pram never join guild."

Shit. Well, there went that plan. Now, I had to improvise.

Quickly my mind raced to come up with something, anything. From out of the blue, my mind pulled up an idea. "Isn't there supposed to be old Archan ruins in Whitefall?" No reaction from the little smith came, so I pushed on. "There could still be some rhubrum stuff holed away in those ruins. Maybe even blueprints for things no one's ever seen before. You could be the first artificer to make them."

For a brief moment, the smug look dropped and I could tell Pram's brain was overloading her with the possibilities, but she swiftly shook her head clear. Now, her icy blue eyes had the same angry fire from before in them.

"Cedric terrible friend doing that," she said, a small hand shooting down to the blast rod resting at her side. "Pram never be seduced easily." The tip of the rod was then pointed squarely at me, once again threating me. With a hard look, the vixen asked, "Why Cedric want go badly anyway?"

The feeling of people's stares clawed at the back of my mind, and sure enough, all the nearby tables were watching our little exchange. With blasting rod in hand, Pram repeated her question, and I could see a few people moving as if getting ready to run. The tavern maids were all hiding behind countertops and such. Even Laiu was poking his head out from the kitchen to see what was going on.

Trying to eleveate the situation, I eased the tip of the rod away, telling Pram, "We're putting this on hold for a minute," then gestured to the faces around us. Her eyes darted around, and she seemed to get the hint, as she put away the weapon and calmly sat back down. I put a hand on Albert's shoulder and asked him, "You ready to go?"

A jolt ran through him at the touch, as he jumped in surprise. Looking up, he finally spoke aloud. "Yea." It wasn't much, but it was something.

I left a good sized sum of sol on the table and led my friends out of the tavern. I could feel the crowd's eyes were still on us up until the door closed behind us.

"Now that we're out of there," Albert started, "I think you--"

"Not here," I said, cutting him off. I motioned to the street still flush with foot traffic and added, "Back at your place."

It didn't take long to retread the path to the alchemist's home, but all the while we walked, I could tell both he and the little would-be artificer were coming up with more arguments. I, too, was devising my own debating points. I was going, whether they wanted me to or not, but if I could at least get them to stop worrying, it would make things a bit easier.

When we got back inside Albert's place, things were quiet for a few seconds. Each of us gathering our thoughts and choosing our words.

I took the first step. "I don't know why you're both so worried." Before they could object, I repeated an earlier point. "I've been on dangerous hunts before."

Pram stomped over and poked one clawed finger into my stomach. "And Laiu person say Whitefall worse. Above Cedric league. Cedric dummy fool if he still think good idea to go."

"She's right," Albert joined in. "Sure, you've dealt with something mean like a manticore before. Once." He put heavy emphasis on that part. "But Whitefall's crawling with things like drakes, wyverns, cockatrices, ogres, and lots more shit you've never even so much as seen. And on top of that, they're all in there together. You're suicidal if you want to go."

My arms folded over my chest in defiance as I gave my response. "I don't care, I'm still going. I can't just let this chance slip through my fingers." Admittedly, I knew I was being a bit childish, but I was adamant about this. Being a monster hunter is one thing. But to hunt a living myth? Now there was something to brag about.

"Cedric die at Whitefall!" Pram poked at my stomach again, the claw dangerously close to stabbing into soft flesh. "He giant fool to toss life away. Leave friend Pram and Albert here, wondering if ever come back." Her voice faltered, cracking slightly as she spoke. "Every big hunt, Cedric in danger. We two know, understand, danger. But, Cedric never think. We wait for him each hunt, pray to gods he not die." Pale blue eyes left my face and shied away towards the floor. The cracks in her voice became more noticable. "Or...Pram pray, at least. She not want lose friend Cedric. He good friend, and Pram be sad if he never return. And Whitefall...Whitefall too much danger, too much nasty beast."

Sighing, I patted the top of her furry head, rubbing the soft hairs around her ears. "I get that you guys are worried, and I'm thankful to even have people who would bother worrying over me like this, but even so I'm still going. I have to do this."

"Why?" Albert rejoined, his tone filled with disbelief and anger combined. "Why do you 'have' to do this?"

"Because I just do," I calmly stated. "Look. The way you stopped and thought about it when I mentioned the reagents and stuff? That feeling of temptation and the thrill of new discovery you felt? Well, that's what's going on in my head about this whole thing."

I could see a look of realization come over him. The taller man opened his mouth as if to make a counterargument, but it was not his voice that next spoke.

"Pram have idea!" When Albert and I gave her questioning looks, the little fox nodded and added, "Good idea, too. Pram go Whitefall with Cedric."

"What?" Albert and I spoke in unison. Pram looked up at us with a prideful smile, as if self-congratulatory over getting one over on us.

"Yes yes. Pram idea great." Stabbing one clawed finger in my direction, she said, "Cedric dummy fool if he think going Whitefall alone good move. His death only surely happen. But," she noted, raising the finger to accent her words, "Pram and Cedric together, his death be avoided."

"And what makes you think I'd take you along?"

One blue eye narrowed as she tilted her furry head. "Oh? He think Pram take no for answer? She join anyway, his approval not needed."

This was stupid, and I repeated that aloud. "What about your sister? You can't just leave town for however long this trip could end up taking."

Without hesitating, she replied, "Dura handle self easily. Pram will tell Dura why she leaving, and Dura understand."

Albert jumped into the conversation. "I can't let the two of you go on your own. You'll just get yourselves killed before even making it halfway there."

The two of my friends shared an understanding look between them, a silent agreement on their sudden plans.

Things were getting out of hand. I had to put my foot down. "This is not up for negotiating. This is a trip I have to take for myself, I don't need you guys putting yourselves through this for nothing."

"It's not for nothing," Albert said. He approached me and draped an arm over my shoulders. "If we stay, we're just gonna be wondering every day when you might come back, if you even do. At least if we go with you, we won't need to worry ourselves sick. Besides, you've never been to Whitefall before, so you're definitely not going alone."

Pram walked up and poked my stomach once more. "If Cedric go Whitefall and die, then all go and die together." A smile stretched across her muzzle and she got in close, wrapping her arms around me in a small embrace.

With a defeated sigh, I let out, "I suppose I can't convince you to let me do this by myself, eh?"

"Absolutely not."

"No nope."

Taking a deep breath, I gathered my thoughts. If they were really going to come with, then we had to make a lot of preperations before we did anything. We'd need plenty of food and drink for the trip, some extra sol in case we need anything along the way, a guide of some sort who would know the area, a cart or wagon or some such, all sorts of things. Truth be told, I wasn't entirely upset the two of them wanted to join. It was actually a bit of a nice feeling, knowing they were willing to drop everything.

"Fine then," I stated, letting out the breath I'd been holding. "First things first, we gotta get ourselves an escort. Where do you keep your pen and paper?"