Chapter 5:

Changed the ending because I felt as though Mando was more of a lone wolf that revisits acquaintances sort of person.

Marksman sighed and tossed another pebble at the tree.

"When did Mando say he was gonna be back here?" He asked.

Druid shrugged. "How should I know? He didn't say anything to me about what time, he just said, 'I have to go. Wait for me here. Nuuh!'"

"Well, guess we'll just wait." Marksman said, resting his head on his elbow.

Druid nodded.

There was a long pause.

"So...uh, got any new spells?" Marksman asked.

"Nah, not really." Druid replied. "But apparently I got a healing boost."

"What about that cool Treant summoning spell?" Marksman asked.

Druid snorted. "What is it with you and Treants?"

"I dunno. They seem cool." Marksman said. He fiddled with the strings on his crossbow. "You're lucky you get new stuff. I'm just stuck with this thing. Anything else is just too expensive."

"I still have to pay for tutors, you know." Druid replied in a miffed tone.

"Yeah, true." Marksman said. "So, did you get the-"

"No, I did not." Druid interrupted, tousling her white hair. "And I probably won't have it tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that."

Marksman smiled. "What about the day aft-"

"Oh my gods, shut up."

Marksman moved his head back and forth. He looked over to Druid, who was inspecting her staff.

He scanned out the forest. Taking notice of a rabbit, he smiled. He aimed his crossbow at it and pulled the string back. Loading an arrow into it, he aimed down sights and pulled the trigger. The arrow embedded...in a tree.

Druid chuckled. "Nice aim, doofus."

"Yeah, well I bet you would've thrown a fit if I had hit it." Marksman retorted.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Well, y'know, you're of a uh…Elven persuasion? Like, close to nature and all that?" Marksman said.

"One: I'm not an elf. Two: Just because you're close to nature doesn't mean you have to be a vegetarian." Druid stated.

"Oh...really?" Marksman asked.

"Yeah, really. And even if I was, why be a self-righteous bitch about it?" Druid replied.

"I can see that." Marksman nodded.

"Also, I'd have to give up the pork chops Miss Padfoot makes." Druid said.

"Mmmm, she does have a way with them animal carcasses." Marksman remarked.

Druid gave him a look. "Okay, now you're just making it weird."

Marksman's ears perked up at the sound of a strange rumbling noise. He looked up. "HOLY-"

He almost fell off the rock he was sitting on, regaining his balance.

"That...that's something I will never not see." Druid said, gazing in wonder at what the two had thought was simply Mandalorian's house.

The ship's legs kicked out, digging into the soil. A platform elevated to the ground, powered by four pistons. Mando was on the platform, mounted on a speeder, next to two other speeders.

"Woah! That's some entrance! Where do I get one?" Marksman asked.

"Nowhere around here, that's for sure." Mandalorian replied. "Mount up. We'll move out. I have the coordinates set."

"Shouldn't we learn how to use these things first?" Druid asked, lifting her leg over the seat.

"Don't worry. I got the slowest ones I could find. You'll get the hang of it."

Later that day…

"GAAAAHHH!" Marksman screamed, as his speeder narrowly dodged a tree. "I am NOT getting the hang of this!"

"Calm down! You're doing fine!" Mandalorian reassured him. "Just keep your eyes on the road and lean to turn. Not too much though. It'll tip the speeder over."

"Right, right." Marksman stammered, and did what he could to regain control.

Druid shook her head and turned to Mando. "He's a natural."

"Says the girl who was too scared to even start hers." Mandalorian retorted.

"I call it caution." Druid hummed. "And besides, I was fine after."

Mando's wrist beeped. "We're approaching the site. You remember how to stop?"

"Sure, sure." Druid said, pushing her speeder gear backwards. The speeder slowed to a stop, as did Mandalorian's. They had arrived at a heavily wooded bog, the ground was sopping wet, and a purple muck stuck to the bottom of Druid's boots.

Marksman stopped his behind the two. "Whew. I need some more practice."

"Later. What's your armament?" Mandalorian asked the two.

"Armament?" Druid asked.

"Weapons. What weapons do you have?" He clarified.

"Well…" Marksman began, taking out his crossbow. "She ain't pretty, but she gets the job done, that's for sure."

"Hmm, single shot." Mandalorian observed. "Manual loading system. Inefficient."

"Well sure, but it'll pack a punch." Marksman replied.

"Irrelevant. Our enemy attacks in numbers. Take this." Mandalorian said, tossing him a rifle.

"What's this?" Marksman asked, looking at the black outline.

"E-11 Blaster rifle. Automatic firing. Standard issue for Imperial Remnant Stormtroopers." Mandalorian explained.

"I have zero clue what that means." Marksman replied.

Mandalorian pointed to the scope. "See through that, trigger's there, arrows come out of there."

Marksman inspected the places where Mandalorian pointed. "Oh, so it's like some sort of advanced crossbow?"

"Something like that." Mando said. "What about you?"

Druid looked over. "I'm a Druid, so spells are my specialty."

"Have anything for crowd control?" Mando asked.

"Hmmm...Flora's Wrath is pretty good, but it's not very powerful. It can stun the target though."

"Perfect. Alright. Here's the plan. We go in. Me first, then Druid, then Marksman. I'll attack the front, Marksman, pick off stragglers. Druid, use your spells on any that get too close."

"Got it. Ready when you are, chief." Druid replied, smiling.

They started to walk into the bog, eyeing any potential winged creatures.

"I don't hear anything." Druid whispered. "Usually the gargoyles are up at this hour."

Marksman licked his lips in concentration, eyeing through the E-11's sight. His finger toyed with a dial attached to it, and blinked as the rock he viewed was much larger through the scope. Adjusting the dial backwards, the rock became smaller.

"Huh, cool. This thing zooms in." Marksman remarked. He zoomed in and out again and again. Zooming out for the final time, he was greeted with the sight of a dark purple face, wrinkled and angry.

"Woah! Gargoyle! There!" He said, pointing.

Mandalorian lit the pest up with his pistol. "It's a trap."

"How so?" Druid asked.

Mandalorian pointed to the dead gargoyle. "We walk over to the middle to inspect the body, we're exposed and vulnerable. They swoop in from the trees and attack."

"Too late. Incoming!" Marksman shouted.

Out from the trees, a swarm of gargoyles swooped in and surrounded the group.

"Alright. Luckily I always have a Plan B." Mandalorian replied.

He pulled a duffel bag off his back and placed it on the ground, unzipping it.

Taking the bag, he tossed it to Druid. "Take this."

Druid catched the bag and pulled out a large tube.

"Wow. This thing's a little heavy." She remarked.

"Need instructions on how to use it?" Mandalorian asked.

Druid held a button down on the handle of the tube, causing it to spin rapidly.

"Nah. I think I can figure it out." Druid replied.

"Alright then. Let's kill some gargoyles."

Mando opened up with a plume of flame, catching several gargoyles on fire.

Druid followed with her gun, a Rotary Blaster Cannon. Marksman took potshots with his E-11, jabbing any that came close with a dagger.

"Marksman, take this. Press the red circle, then throw." Mandalorian said, tossing him a thermal detonator.

Marksman caught it and did as he was instructed.

The three continued fighting, as the gargoyle swarm flew closer.

"They're gaining ground!" Druid said.

Mando activated his whistling birds, showering the field in sparking missiles. The missiles exploded, dropping almost all of the remaining gargoyles.

"Nice!" Marksman shouted. "That was some good teamwork, huh?"

"Yes."

"I like this thing!" Druid cheered. "Can I cast spells with it?"

"You could try." Mandalorian replied. "Though I never-GUH!"

A massive winged beast slammed into Mando, grabbing him by the cape.

"Woah! Manticore!" Druid shouted. "That's a Bronze level quest monster. If we kill that, we'll-"

"Not the time! Mando needs help!" Marksman said. "I'll distract it, you move in and aim for the face."

He shot the beast, the bolts hitting the chest region. The manticore roared in anger and pain, shooting a salvo of poisonous thorns in Marksman's direction. He reacted quickly, taking shelter behind a tree.

"Take some, ugly!" Druid shouted, spinning up her gun, blasting the manticore's tail with a hailstorm of laser fire.

The beast recoiled in pain, turning to the newcomer.

Marksman leaned out from the tree to take a shot, but a hissing noise caught his attention. A gilled humanoid monster hissed at him from beneath the muck.

Mandalorian shot a wire at the manticore's tail, which had gone limp from the blaster fire. It snarled, rearing back in an attempt to snap at him. Mando tightened the wire, using it to balance himself to stand on the bulbous tail. Pulling out a hidden blade from his wrist, he sliced into the tailbone, cutting it off. The tail fell on the ground, and Mandalorian plopped down with his helmet in the mud.

The manticore was absolutely furious. Lunging at Mandalorian, it tossed him into the mud, covering his body with purple sludge.

"Druid! Blast it!"

"Hang on!" Druid yelled. "It's not firing."

"Guhh, it's still on cooldown!" Mando shouted. The manticore pinned him with its claw, ready to strike.

Meanwhile, Marksman struggled against the swamp monster, socking it in the head with his rifle, causing it to stagger. He then noticed something about the tree. The thorn's poison was acidic, as he could see it was eating through the tree. Pushing the swamp monster into the tree, he shot the tree, then made a run for it.

The swamp monster fell down, slowly picking its head up, then noticing the tree coming down on it, the last thing it would ever see.

The manticore snapped at Mando, and in response he activated his flamethrower, lighting its mane on fire. Caught off by this, the manticore pulled back, and Mandalorian took out his knife, lunging at the monster's neck. Plunging it in, the manticore gave a final pained roar, before lying on the ground, motionless.

Druid took several deep breaths. "We did it!"

Marksman stepped out from the treeline. "Hey."

"Where were you?" Druid asked.

"Getting my ass kicked." Marksman replied.

"Oh, so the usual?" Druid teased.

Later the next day…

Mando clenched his hand, adjusting the glove as he slid it on. Stepping out of the ship, acknowledged his two clients.

"Thanks for waiting."

"Hey, can't have you walking around the Guild in that muck." Druid said, pushing herself off the tree she had been leaning on.

"We should move. My evaluation is happening today." Mandalorian said.

"Do we take your mounts?" Marksman asked.

"Yes."

As they rode out, Mando considered his new clients, who, more than anything else, acted as though he was more than just a hired gun.

They arrived, parking outside the town. Entering the Guild, Mando saw that Guild Girl was not at her desk.

"I might be late. Can you fill the quest details out?"

"Sure. Good luck!" Marksman called, as Mando rushed up the stairs.

Meanwhile:

Guild Girl stared at the adventurer sitting on the couch.

"Well, this is difficult." She said. "It's people like you who inspire prejudice against Rheas and Scouts."

Picking up a stack of paper, she selected a couple.

"Well, since it's your first offence, I think demotion to porcelain is appropriate-and being barred from adventuring in this town again."

"What?!" The Rhea in question shouted.

The door opened, and Mando walked in, stopping upon noticing the group.

"Am I late?"

"Oh, no, sorry. We just had another promotion evaluation that got rescheduled due to a change of observers. You can stay if you want. I'm just finishing." Guild Girl replied.

"Alright." Mando leaned against the wall next to the door, waiting for his turn.

"M-miss, please! All I did was snag a treasure chest! Is this amount of punishment really necessary?" Scout Rhea pleaded.

"Excuse me? All you did?" Guild Girl said. "Are you dim? You can't buy trust with money. Or we could tell everyone that he was demoted for filing misleading quest reports and you could stay. Which would you prefer?"

The girl next to Guild Girl frowned. "Your schemes will do no good here."

The Scout scanned the group, then widened his eyes. "Goblin Slayer! H-Help me out. As a fellow adventurer…"

"No." Was Goblin Slayer's reply. "I am an observer."

"But...you're an adventurer too, right?" He asked.

"Where those who you took advantage of not also adventurers?" Goblin Slayer replied.

Scout turned to the last person.

"Hey, uh, Mando, right? Please! As someone who's a part of another Guild…"

"Since when did I become a part of this?" Mando replied, looking up from the floor.

"Well, in your other Guild, do you guys demote or exile people who flich treasure chests?" He asked.

"We're a bounty Guild, so we don't get looting rights. But if you want to know the punishment for, say, taking what the Guild says belongs to someone else, no. They don't exile people."

"See?" The Scout said with a delirious smile on his face. "Mando gets it!"

"They send IG assassin droids to hunt you down." Mandalorian continued. "They bring you back and give the person you stole from the option to either kill you or have the Guild do it."

Rhea Scout's eyes widened and his mouth dropped to the floor.

Even Guild Girl and her coworker were taken aback by this statement. She quickly regained her composure and smiled.

"Well, there you go. Be lucky we are much more merciful."

Rhea Scout sneered. He wanted to kill her so bad. But he knew how both Mando and Goblin Slayer would react. Standing up, he noticed a small green creature in robes walk over to the desk, and nobody else seemed aware of it. He smiled. If it was what he thought it was, he would easily win back Guild Girl.

"Goblin! Look out!" He shouted, pulling his knife out and rushing over.

"Wait-don't!" Guild Girl cried.

Mando reacted instantly, firing a wire that attached to his hand and yanked it back, causing him to drop the knife. He then slammed Rhea Scout's head into the wall, grabbing onto his neck collar.

A small black blade fell from Mando's sleeve and onto his glove. He gripped it and pressed it against the Scout's neck.

"You see this?" He asked.

Rhea Scout nodded fearfully.

"I killed a manticore yesterday with this thing. You wanna end up like the manticore?"

The coworker blinked. "He's not lying."

"Stay away from my kid. Understood?" Mando threatened.

"Your kid is a goblin? What kind of sick-" Rhea Scout began, but yelped as Mando pressed the blade into his neck harder. "Okay! Okay!"

Mandalorian released him, and the Scout walked out and slammed the door shut behind him, holding his neck.

Mando walked over to the couch. "Well that was eventful."

"You killed a manticore with that knife?" The coworker asked.

"Had some help. From my clients." Mando replied.

"Well, glad to see you play well with others." Guild Girl teased. "Now, let me address the elephant in the room right now."

She grabbed a file with a huge stack of papers in it.

"Fourty-eight bounties and twenty-nine quests. All in the span of a month." Guild Girl said. "Do you have any idea how many on-file records this blows out of the park?"

"Not really." Mandalorian replied.

"Average porcelain completes a goblin quest in about 3 days, depending on the time to get there. You've managed to complete some of them in less than 2 hours."

"Impressive." Goblin Slayer remarked, perplexed. "What are your methods?"

"For goblins, bugs, and rats I use WompX. It's a gas used to kill pests. I can lend you some to try for yourself. You'll have to release it by blasting it remotely with explosives."

"I'll consider the offer."

Guild Girl smiled at the exchange. "Sales offers aside, I think it's out of the question if you deserve a promotion. Congratulations. Welcome to the obsidian ranks."

"Thanks. There was something else I wanted to ask."

Guild Girl leaned in, awaiting his question.

"The clients, they...they felt more like teammates." Mandalorian said.

"Hmm. If you want, they can be." Guild Girl replied. "Just ask them."

"I might do that." Mando pondered. "See you around." He picked up the small green creature, and began to walk away.

"Oh, Mandalorian, I have a letter for you." Guild Girl said. She handed him an envelope with a red seal.

Mando took it and nodded, walking out the room.

Walking down the stairs, he was approached by Druid.

"Hey, here's your cut." She said, giving him the agreed 40 percent. Mandalorian looked at it for a second. He tossed her back some coins.

"Keep the 33." Mando replied.

"R-really? Gee, thanks."

There's something I'd also like to speak to you and your partner about." Mando continued.

"O-oh, before you do, let me ask you something." Druid said. She ushered Marksman, who was eating a honey roll, to come over. He reluctantly set it down, trodding over.

"So, Mando. If you haven't noticed, we make a pretty good team. So...we were wondering...if maybe you would join our party?"

Mando walked past the two towards the door, Druid flinched, thinking she might have offended him.

"Funny you should mention that…" He said, stopping suddenly. He then tossed two objects over to Marksman, who caught them. He smiled upon seeing that they were keys to two of the speeder bikes.

"...I was going to ask the same thing. Let me know if you need me, partners."

End of chapter