Chapter No30:30. The End of the First Story

Sinking slowly into a sea of darkness, Tessa wonders if this is the end. If this is truly the end. Reaching up towards the surface where a bright light is distorted through shifting waves of black, she struggles to move. Her body feels numb and slow to move with every last inch of her skin tingling as if pins and needles were dancing across it. “Is this...the end?” Using any strength she can muster, Tessa tries to will her body into moving. But nothing seems able to like something is restraining her. Her eyes slowly open in the sea of shadows and it looks like something has threaded itself around her body, and is dragging her further down. Trying to move anything again, Tessa struggles but the threads are too strong and she’s left helpless. “No...this can’t...be it. I...I’m not gonna die…” Giving up on moving everything at once, Tessa puts all her strength in her right arm and fights against the threads. It’s difficult, but she manages to slip it loose and reaches for the light above her. The threads try to rebind her arm, but she manages to keep herself reaching for it as her hand cups the light. “I will become...a Hero!” As she struggles, something echoes from the light above her as it suddenly shimmers with a dark, orange light. A chuckle that’s deep, familiar, and dwarven fills her mind before speaking. “We ain't through with you…” The threads start to tighten and pull on Tesssa’s body harder nearly to the point of strangulation, and her consciousness starts to fade. The orange light she can see wisps towards her as she’s dragged down, the threads seemingly trying to run away from the light as it starts to be illuminated. “I want to...live!” Near instantly upon contact with the light the threads begin to burn and loosen, and a burnt hand with calluses all over its fingers and palm take hold of Tessa’s hand and wrench her from the depths. The threads strain and snap as Tessa is dredged out of the shadows and surfaces back into the light. And as her consciousness begins to return, she abruptly wakes up. Her eyes snap open as she sits up in bed gasping, her hand reaching at a wall. Lowering it and calming her racing heart, Tessa finds that she isn’t dead. A pleasant surprise for once. “Where...am I?” Looking around, Tessa began to remember what happened with Korlos and where she was. But unlike the last times where the memories were fuzzy, this time they hit her with a minor headache and she could remember almost everything that happened. And the demon roaring out in the distance confirmed she was still in Crimsonvale. But she wasn’t alone in the room. Sitting by a lit fireplace was Torgrak, attending to his gun as he appeared to be waiting. Torgrak’s eyes look up from his firearm and meet with Tessa’s, and the dwarf gives the first warm smile she’s ever seen him have. “Glad ta see yer finally awake.” Torgrak chuckled, “Nearly lost ye ta tha Deep that time.” “The ‘deep’?” Tessa shakes her head, assuming that Torgrak is referring to nearly dying again. “As am I. Didn’t Korlos stab me?” Torgrak laughs, “Aye, he did! But tha blade pierced your lung, an inch or two ta yer right an' ye wou''ve died!” Tessa looked at Torgrak with a cocked eyebrow in disbelief. “Isn’t a punctured lung a serious injury?” “Very much so! Nothin’ I can’t patch up though.” Torgrak shouldered his rifle as he walks over to Tessa’s side. “However! Ye won't be in any state ta fight for a little while, an' may have some issues with breathin’ after aggressive exercise. So take it easy for now.” Torgrak reaches into his bag and pulls out a small, white bag and hands it over to Tessa. She accepts it, letting it be placed in the center of her palm. Tessa loosens the bag open to look inside and sees a handful of small, red and blue pellets. “What’re these?” “Medicine for after ye start ta feel tha pain.” “After?” Torgrak next pulls out a flagon and hands it to her. Placing the small bag on her bedside, she holds it. “Take a pellet every morn with a hearty swig o' water until none be left. Ye'll feel some discomfort, but that shou' be gone by tha time yer out o' them.” Tessa is distrustful of Torgrak, but this makes twice he’s patched her up and kept her alive. “Should I take one now?” “Only if ye want ta be able ta walk wi'out your chest constantly hurtin’.” Tessa’s gaze turns annoyed. “A simple ‘yes’ would suffice.” Taking one of the pellets out from the bag, she places it on her tongue. It’s incredibly bitter, nearly making her gag, but she quickly pops the flagon open and swallows the pellet before it lingers for too long. Even glugging down a couple extra drinks of water just in case the first drink wasn’t enough. Putting the stopper back on the flagon, Tessa relaxes a bit in bed. “Where’s Hei?” “Changing sets o' armor outside right now. What ye saw him wearin’ before cou' barely be called armor with how thrashed it be. Tha princess be probably also putting his hair an' makeup back on too, heh heh.” “Oh, okay.” Tessa immediately pauses her train of thought, not going along with how easily Torgrak brushed Hei’s injuries aside. “Wait. Shouldn’t Hei be receiving just as much medical treatment as me right now? I saw him embedded in a wall barely able to move!” Torgrak laughs, “Fell for his little show? If that silver tongued snake ain't tha best actor in tha world, I'll start ridin’ bears into battle again!” “What do you mean exactly?” Tessa’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Torgrak skeptically. Though the old dwarf couldn’t keep himself from finding Tessa’s reaction priceless, chuckling every now and again at her responses. “After everythin' you’ve experienced, what do ye think o' Hei an' me?” “You’re selfish and insane liars who are monstrously strong and murder anyone who get in your way, but also do things completely contradictory to how you present yourselves.” Tessa’s words are sharp, but confused. “Hei told me that you two are only protecting me out of it being your jobs as my mentors. But what kind of mentors let their apprentice nearly die?! It’s nonsensical! And with your strength, the two of you could’ve let me grow with next to no risk and everything would’ve turned out the same!” “Yer mostly right aboot what ye just listed. But let me ask ye this: what wou' ye have accomplished if we protected ye tha whole time?” “I don’t follow.” Torgrak runs his fingers through his beard trying to think. “Well, it's fine if ye don’t understand right now.” At the same time that Tessa’s and Torgrak’s discussion was coming to an end, Hei opens the door and enters the room. “Well, good to see you’re awake~.” Wanting a straight answer, Tessa glares at Hei. “When I was preparing to fight Korlos, were you pretending to be stuck? Was your cracked armor, scrapped shield, and human outline in the fireplace all an act?!” Hei’s eyes wander to their upper right corners. “Hmm...partially~. The things you just listed were all damage done by the demon’s attack, and it would’ve obliterated just about anyone else~! I couldn’t just let my student be turned to dust in front of me, could I~?” “But that doesn’t answer my question! If anything, it raises more questions! Am I just a toy to you two or something?!” Hei and Torgrak look at each other for a moment, blank expressions on their faces. “Answer me!” Hei responds, “You are.” “Then why do you protect me? Why did you teach me? Why are you tormenting me with things I don’t want to do?! Has all of this just been a game with me as your pawn?!” Hei scratches his chin with one finger, his eyes going back to their corners. “Well…~” “Was it all within some scope of expectation the two of you had about everything?” “I’ll admit that most things went as we expected, but there were some surprises.” “What about my suffering surprised you?” Tessa is on the verge of breaking into tears as her hands grip the bed she lies atop. She is furious with Hei and Torgrak as they seem to be uncaring torturers from her perspective. Determined to make her life a living hell that she has no choice but to walk through. “Are you going to tell me or answer with a question that dodges everything again?!” “You surprised us with how you stopped being naive.” “What?” “You used us as stepping stones, as a distraction, to benefit the resistance forces here in Crimsonvale. You sacrificed yourself to save Tolan rather than resorting to killing. And you stood your own ground against Korlos and won. Those actions are what surprised us.” “But I never wanted to do any of those things! And you two damn well know I didn’t!” Tears start to lightly fall down Tessa’s face as her words try to cut Hei and Torgrak. “You’re right, but they were necessary to start cracking the shell you’ve been hiding in. If we didn’t force you into situations where you had to make your own choices on how to survive, you would never have started to walk on your own.” “What are you talking about?” “We do have the power to raise you in complete safety. Always able to come to your aid at any moment.” “So why didn’t you?!” “Because if we did, you would’ve become dependent on us to always save you when things got too difficult.” “But I’m not strong! I don’t have power like you, Torgrak, or even Tolan! I nearly died against Korlos!” “Yes, you ‘nearly’ died. But you won. You used what we’d taught you, fought, and came out the winner. We are your mentors, not your babysitters. Under us, you will learn and struggle. When you fall, we’ll pick you up off the ground and set you back on your feet. But it must be you who grasps what you want.” Tessa looked at Tessa baffled, wondering just what kind of insanity is in Hei’s and Torgrak’s heads that let them uncharacteristically make logical sense. She wiped her tears away and relaxed her grip as she started to make sense of how they perceived things. And while she didn’t like it, she did have to concede they were right. She had fought and won. She had felt pain and death, but survived. Before she could only be a wallflower who let everything pass her by. Going along with what everyone else wanted and passively accepting it. But now, she’d finally raised her own voice and said what she wanted to say. And while being a “good girl” felt nice, being herself was invigorating. “So...you pushed me as hard as you have so that I’ll grow?” “Yep! It was also very entertaining~.” Hei had a hand over his face, partially covering his smile as he looked off at a corner of the room with half-open eyes. “Why you…!” Tessa raised her hand ready to hit him, but let it go. Hei and Torgrak are her mentors, and she finally accepted that now. They were definitely horrible people, potentially two of the worst in the world, but they would hold up their end of the deal. And from what she’s seen, there are few others really capable of helping her become the Hero she dreams of. Forming a fist, Tessa puts it against Hei’s chest and looks up at him. “You said you’ll make it so I can accomplish my dream of being a Hero, right?” “If that’s what you want your goal to be, you will become one.” “Not gonna laugh at me for having a childish dream?” “We won’t laugh at you for having a dream.” “But we will laugh at ye for trying ta chase after it in a really stupid way!" The two break out into laughter right in front of Tessa, howling their heads off as Tessa’s cheeks puff up and blush. “Oh, shut it you two! I thought you weren’t gonna laugh!” Hei and Torgrak calm down, the two wiping tears from their eyes. “Anyways, consider this our congratulations on finally taking your first steps towards your dream. A seedling that never sprouts can never bloom, and you finally broke through that hard shell of yours.” There’s a moment of silence in the room as those words settle in. No one moves and Tessa cracks a bit of a smirk. “That was a really corny thing to say, Hei.” Torgrak starts buckling over, laughing heartily, while Hei looks off at the wall and blushes. “Oh me sides! I can’t believe ye actually said that, ye old half-eared bastard!” On the brink of tears, Torgrak can’t stop laughing. “I think my gut is gonna split!” “Yeah, yeah, it was embarrassing even for me.” Hei looks back at Tessa and offers his hand to her. Tessa looks at it, and then back up at him. “This doesn’t mean I like you.” “I know~.” Tessa shakes his hand and considers things settled. For now. “By the way, where's Tolan? Torgrak stops rolling around on the floor and gets to his feet, answering her question. “He's keepin’ watch outside. Considerin’ what's left ta deal with here, tha dragonlin’ ain't goin’ ta be much use.” “Okay...and taking into account your unwavering confidence, I assume you two have a plan to deal with the demon?” Torgrak gets a wide grin. “Aye, that demon won't be a problem in tha slightest!’ Pulling out something from his seemingly bottomless bag, Torgrak takes out a stone with a face embossed in it and speaks to it. “Be it ready?” Tessa watches curiously before being taken aback by a voice responding to Torgrak’s words. “Yez zir, Boss! Big Gun aimed to fire!” Tessa looks at Torgrak with concern and confusion. Taking into consideration his weapon of choice and context clues, Tessa can’t help but wonder a few things. Most pressing of all being just how big this “big gun” is. “Should I be concerned?” Torgrak brushes her look aside. “Don’ worry aboot it…” Tessa quickly looks over to Hei, but he can only really shrug. “Follow me outside! it's going ta be a beautiful show o' fire!” “Don’t you mean a ‘beautiful fireworks show’?” “I know what I said.” Hei and Tessa follow after Torgrak as he takes the lead out the door, chuckling evilly the entire time. Now seeing the outside for the first time, Tessa notices how she’s no longer anywhere near the center of the city. Instead, she’s been transported closer to the edge of Crimsonvale. She assumes that Hei probably carried her over here while she was out cold, but it is a slight relief to know she’s away from the demon. Then a question pops into her mind, how did Hei get her here without the demon noticing? “Hey, Hei, I thought the demon could sense my connection to Aeon.” “Oh that? I lied~.” Tessa is about to say something, but she remembers how Hei admitted to the whole thing involving Korlos to be an act. She lets this one go, considering it won’t lead anywhere if she tries to throw a fit over something inconsequential in the end. At the same time, she spots Tolan watching the demon continue to rampage inside the city’s walls and greets him. “Hey, Tolan.” “Oh, Tessa, it’s good to see you up and moving again! But, why are you out here?” “Not sure. Torgrak said he had something he wanted to show us.” The dwarf hands everyone a pair of glasses, but the lenses are incredibly dark. “Put these on an' watch tha demon. Ye'll understand soon enough.” Tolan is hesitant to do as Torgrak instructs. “Why do we need these pairs of glasses, exactly?” “Wou' ye rather be blind in a minute?” Tolan doesn’t respond to Torgrak’s rhetorical question and puts the dark lenses on, and all four of them watch the demon. Tessa and Tolan are still confused, wondering why they’re just watching and waiting. But it’s not long before a faint whistling or hissing noise could be heard. Tessa and Tolan look at each other before keeping their eyes back on the demon, finding it futile to try and search for the source of the sound. Very quickly, the piercing whistle gets louder and louder and Tolan can’t resist asking about it. “What is that noise?” Torgrak chuckles, “Me most beloved creation.” Tolan turns his head back to watch the demon when suddenly there’s a massive explosion. The demon is engulfed in a scorching ball of fire and light. It roars, but whether it’s in pain or pissed off is impossible to tell. Everything within a couple hundred meters of the demon is bathed in enough light to rival the sun for a few seconds, and then a rush of wind whips through the party’s hair and clothes. Tessa lowers her stance and grabs the nearest surface to not lose her balance as the shockwave shoots past her. The cold air bites and chills her to the bone, but she endures it. Watching the explosion to the very end. As the dust settles, Hei and Torgrak take the dark glasses off. Prompting Tolan and Tessa to do the same. And after everything has finally calmed, the demon can be seen still standing there. It breathes and lives, but doesn’t move like an animal catching its breath. Tolan immediately demands to know what just happened, looking Torgrak in the eye. “I thought you said the demon would be done in by your ‘beautiful show o’ fire’.” Torgrak scoffs, “I didn’ say that, copper tongue, but that light show was only tha beginning. Now tha real fun begins.” Tessa asks Hei if he can give some clarification. “There’s still more to be done?” Hei explains, “Demons, or at least one of that size, aren’t really able to be damaged by most things until after they’ve been worn down a good bit. Their skin is incredibly durable and will repel most spells and physical attacks. Think of it like a freshly smithed shield. Said shield hasn’t endured any wear and tear yet, so it’s unlikely to break without overwhelming force or significant use. Normally, a demon like that would rampage and run amok, weathered down by armies and Heroes until it eventually falters and dies.” Tessa thinks for a moment, connecting the dots in her head. “So, does that mean Torgrak’s weapon basically did the work of thousands in a matter of seconds?” Torgrak gives Tessa a thumbs up. “Exactly! An' right now, that monster be now weak enough ta be slain by maybe thirty ta sixty platinum ranked adventurers; nae including casualties.” Tolan interjects himself, “But we don’t have ‘thirty ta sixty platinum ranked adventurers’, just the two of you!” “How cute, ye think that thing's a threat.” “Yes, obviously!” Tessa inserts herself in the middle of the discussion. “I heard that you, Hei and Torgrak, are called ‘custodians’. But that isn’t an official rank in the Adventurer’s Guild.” Tolan gets a look of disappointment and disgust across his face. “Great, so we got sent some super janitors. How did you two even get assigned this quest if you’re nowhere on the rankings to begin with?” Torgrak chuckles and Hei rests a hand on his hip. “Not knowing about ‘Custodians’ is normal, so just watch from here where it’s safe while we clean up the last of this mess.” Hei and Torgrak start to walk towards the demon, leaving Tolan and Tessa at the edge of Crimsonvale. Tolan mutters to himself, doubting that Hei and Torgrak are enough, but Tessa wonders just what they’re going to do. Keeping her eyes on her mentors, she watches as they come to a stop while a magic circle appears at their feet. Suddenly, they’re gone. Searching for them, Tessa can’t seem to see them anywhere, but then they reappear in the newly made wasteland in front of the demon. After teleporting from the edge of the city to only a short distance away from the demon, Hei discusses things regarding the goblins who handled the extermination part of the mission. “Is Kegs finished yet?” “Aye, he reported in while ye were handlin’ tha last o' tha cultists. Tha bodies have been disposed o' in tha usual way, an' all that remains be us an' this eyesore.” “Kegs, always doing an exemplary job. Well, with that handled, let’s finish our job here.” Standing before the demon, Hei and Torgrak make preparations before the fight begins. Hei summons forth his sword and takes out a back-up shield from his bag before coating himself in protective magic. “Protection: Evil.” An inky blackness engulfs Hei’s body for a moment before quickly fading away. Then, raising his arm and pointing at the demon, he curses it. “Curse of the Black Nire.” A magic circle forms over the demon’s chest as an eye opens in the center, marking the demon. Scratching its chest, it notices that it’s a magical effect and starts stomping over to Hei and Torgrak. At the same time, Torgrak makes his move. “Protection: Fire.” A rush of flames covers Torgrak down to the last hair on his beard as the dwarf takes out a cartridge similar to the one he used against Korlos. But the moment the tip touches the air, a cold fog drifts down and over Torgrak’s hard hands. Cracking his rifle open and loading it in, the bullet begins to physically alter the weapon. Jutting shards of ice emerge from the barrel while frost and cold fog gently fall from it. Now fully ready to fight the demon, Hei and Torgrak stand there defiant and waiting for the monstrosity to face them. Each footstep the monster takes towards them shakes the earth until it comes to a stop before them, staring them down. Yet Hei and Torgrak can only be what they always are and taunt the demon. “Oi, ye small-horned, celestial drop out! Did daddy Nencog nae longer need ye, Or were ye just tha leftovers o' a bad batch?” “Now no need to demean our hideous fiend, Torgrak~. After all, I’ve killed imps with bigger horns and better smelling hides than this thing~.” Not enjoying being insulted, the demon opens its mouth and lets loose a breath attack at Hei and Torgrak. Bathing them in focused flames for a full six seconds. But after it ends, its attack seems to have only done a moderate amount of damage to Hei while Torgrak dodged out of the way. “Nencog be damned, your breath smells worse than a million burning bodies and only lasts half as long~.” Seeing its attack not blow Hei away, it leans back and starts to screech to the heavens. Hei takes the opportunity to run and then teleport up onto the demon’s arm, cutting two gashes into its bicep before jumping away. The wounds leak a red light before filling with a rotting, black energy that never lets the demon’s wounds seal and eats away at the flesh. Torgrak follows up Hei’s swipes with three cracks of his rifle before the first cartridge even ejects. Significant chunks of the demon’s body are blown from its body before being closed with a creeping ice that chills everything it touches. And in one swift movement, Torgrak loads in another of the same bullet before the demon can catch a break. Infuriated by the damage, the demon splits its attention between Hei and Torgrak. Biting and clawing at Hei while trying to brush Torgrak away with its tail. Its maw opens and snaps at Hei, missing completely, but its enormous claws find purchase against his shield. They scrape and drag, but any damage is deemed utterly insignificant. The tail does hit Torgrak, but only enough to graze and do just as much damage as its claws. Hei attacks next, teleporting behind its right leg and cuts its hamstring and calf muscles. The blade carves through both rear sections of the demon’s right leg with ease, infecting both wounds greatly at the same time, and brings the demon to a knee. Torgrak takes his next series of shots and this time blows a hole in the demon’s chin, horn, and left pectoral. The ice from each point of impact expands within and tears the demon’s wounded areas open as it bleeds liquid fire. Going into a frenzy of attacks, it tries to reap at Hei with its claws and crush Torgrak with its tail. The claws only result in more insignificant damage, only scratching Hei’s shield and armor more. Its tail grazes Torgrak on its first swing, but whips back and catches Torgrak in the side. Sending the dwarf flying backwards a good distance and inflicting moderate damage, but Torgrak regains his foot and is ready for more. Hei regroups with Torgrak, the two smirking and greatly enjoying themselves, and manage to piss the demon off completely as it readies another breath attack. This time, the demon’s breath catches Hei and Torgrak, burning them both with a concentrated beam of plasma; overtaxing what magical energy it has. In doing so, it manages to greatly burn Hei, singing Hei’s skin and putting his armor in a sorry state, but Hei isn’t close to being dead. Torgrak, managed to avoid the brunt of the beam, but is still burned by it. Even having to use his fingers to end a couple of embers burning on the fringes of his beard. Hei can’t help but feel genuinely entertained by that attack. “I felt that one~.” Charing right back in, Hei teleports up to the demon’s face as smoke billows out of its mouth. The skin and muscles mouth and eyes having even been burned and partially destroyed by its own attack as Hei cuts twice across its right eye. The dark energy quickly takes over the demon's vision as it physically recoils in pain. Howling to the heavens and covering its scarred eye with its hand. And with an opening made, Torgrak critically injures the demon with another burst of shots. Blowing one of its horns completely off with the first two shots and then blowing out the other eye with the last one. Getting desperate at the end of its life, the demon unleashes a flurry of attacks at Hei only because it wants to drag down one of them with it. Biting, clawing, and swinging its tail all in hopes of turning Hei into a red paste, it manages to damage Hei. But due to its weakened state, it is unable to kill him. And to end things, both Hei and Torgrak go in for the kill. It’s uncertain who lands the killing blow, but there’s a massive bullet hole in the demon’s forehead and a gash across its throat as it falls dead. Hei stands atop the demon’s chest, his heel on its chin as the flesh and magic drains from the body. “It’s been too long since I got to kill an enemy that could actually bring me near death~. How sad it ended so quickly~.” Torgrak scoffs, “Your kill? I think ye mean mine! After all, I put tha thing ta bed with a bullet between its eyes.” “Greedy dwarf~. Not satisfied with the horn you broke off~? Thought you’d be happy with just that so you can go and play with your alchemy some more~.” “Heh, tha horn be just another trophy. I killed it so i cou' make use o' everything it leaves behind!” The two argue back and forth over whose kill it is, but with the battle over and the demon’s body quickly decaying, Tessa and Tolan are wondering if their eyes are working properly. What could have been described as a battle only written about in myths and legends had just happened before their eyes, and yet Hei and Torgrak act as if it was just a harder than usual day at the office. The two look at each other and start hurrying their way down to Hei and Torgrak. Running as fast as they can from the edge of the city to ground zero of the battle. It takes a couple minutes for Tessa and Tolan to reach Hei and Torgrak, with Tessa completely out of breath and falling to her knees exhausted, but Tolan immediately wants some answers while gasping for breath between words. “I...I thought you two were ‘custodians’! Not the equivalent of demigods!” Hei smirks, “But that really is all we are~. Just a pair of Custodians, nothing more and nothing less~.” “Y-you’re...hiding something...half-elf. I know...you are. No one with...that much power stays hidden...for long.” “True~. But this isn’t the time nor the place, so let’s just call it a mission completed, alright~?” Tolan wants to dig deeper into the matter, but Hei’s smiling face tells him he isn’t going to learn anything more no matter how had he tries and relents. Meanwhile, Tessa is still in complete shock. Her mind stuck comprehending what happened. “How are you...so powerful? Hei? Torgrak?” Torgrak chuckles, entertained by Tessa’s question. “Lots o' hard work across centuries o' experimentation! dinna worry, it won't take nearly that long for ye.” Tolan takes in a deep breath of air, recomposing himself before speaking more. “Well, with how easily you dealt with the demon, you must have some way of fixing all the damage to the city. Right?” Hei’s eyebrows raise. “Hm? Oh, yes! The city.” “Now, now, don’t keep me in suspense! Is it some kind of spell, or a fancy tool that rewinds all the damage?” Tolan excitedly awaits to see what can be done to fix everything, but Hei and Torgrak just look at each other for a moment in a “who’s gonna tell him” way. “That’s...an excellent question, Tolan! Want to tell him how we’re going to fix things, Torgrak?” “Hm?Ah! Just let me get something real quick…” Torgrak puts his hand in his bag and pulls out a scroll. Stretching it open, he starts to read from it. “Ahem! ‘The Adventurers’ Guild is not subject nor liable for any damages caused as a result of or during the completion of a quest taken on by any Adventurers. If you seek financial aid to recover from damages, please contact our human resources department and they’ll get back to you within a week.’” Tolan’s face falls into disbelief. “What?” “‘However, if the damages were caused by the Custodians Hei Zhao and Torgrak, please see addendum 914.’” “Well, what’s the addendum?” “‘Addendum 914: You are S.O.L.’” Tolan’s face goes completely blank, unsure of how to respond. “Huh?” “Here, take a look for yerself.” Torgrak hands the scroll to Tolan for him to read himself. Tolan does so, looking it over from top to bottom and even flipping it over to see if there might be something on the back. Opening the scroll to its full length, it even has the Guild Master’s signature at the bottom to signify authenticity. “This...can’t be real. Hey! You two had better…” Looking up from the document, Tolan is about to yell at Hei and Torgrak but sees they’re already booking it down the road. “Hey! Get back here you two! I need recompense for destroying the city, you bastards!!!” Tolan immediately chases after them, leaving Tessa behind with the document. Getting back up to her feet, and putting the scroll away for now, Tessa watches the three of them as the sun starts to dawn over the horizon. She remembers how this mess all literally started a couple days ago. And while she’s not sure where she’s headed next, Tessa is happy to have finally taken the first step towards her goal. Smiling softly, she takes a deep breath in and chases after the three who’ve already gone off ahead. “Hey! Wait for me you guys!” And as she ran after them, she knew she had a long road ahead of her. But the battle she just witnessed let her know at least a fraction of what she will become. A Hero.