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Leo had a party that was practically thrown in his honor. Any desire he had could be filled. Yet, his only desire was to eat more delicious foods. The crowd's demands for drinking and debauchery fell on deaf ears, as he was focused on the more pressing matters. Such as discovering the body’s limit on eating ribs.

His attempt only went so far as 14 ribs. The other foods called out to him like a siren’s orchestra, taking him away from the ribs. Leo had never been much of a glutton before, but he had never had such magical food. In terms of flavor and actual magical effects.

There was ice cream that tasted like the concept of swimming. He had griffin steak which was a perfect blend of chicken and beef. His favorite was a lime flavored dessert that turned his hair a vibrant green.

Once almost everyone had left or fallen asleep, the chef’s stopped making food. Which is considered normal chef behavior. Leo accepted his fate and headed home. He sauntered through the streets with a stomach that was fit to burst.

The sunrise was beautiful this morning. It split the clouds as rays of warmth spread over the city. Rippling orange hues made Faelde go from feeling like a city to a home. Leo would miss it here. Heroes always had to leave in the end, but it wasn’t easy leaving an area you just saved.

He fumbled with the key until he entered Philips' place. There he found Marem standing by with their items packed.

Leo hadn’t expected to see her ready to leave. “Oh, hey Marem.”

She put on her backpack. “Good morning, you ready to get going?”

He wanted to say no. There was a part of him that had grown to adore this place. The atmosphere embraced him lovingly. He would be a local hero. He could be somebody important. But, he could’ve been that in Irontree.

Leaving hurts, but he needed to move forward.

“Yeah, let’s hit the road already,” he smiled.

There was no cheering fanfare for their farewell. The people of Faelde city were far too drunk and hungover for something like that. Leo was happy to have a peaceful exit. He hoped to be back one day.

The road out of Faelde was made of cracked cobblestones. Small stones scattered to the sides with each step they took. The morning sun cracked through the forest and painted the ground around them. While the detour in Faelde city was short, Leo had nearly forgotten the feeling of travel.

It was a breath of fresh air to be untethered to anything but the ground you walk on. It turns out that they’d been awarded gold for saving the town. Marem explained the taxation system of the world, but Leo struggled to listen or understand.

The end result was that he’d become three thousand gold richer. Marem earmarked the rest of his reward to pay taxes. The adventurers’ guild offered no taxes for those claiming gold rewards from quests. While it was a good recruitment strategy, Leo felt a bit annoyed at losing 40% of his gold.

“Alright, if everything goes well, we should reach Edheim soon,” said Marem.

Leo asked, “How soon is soon?”

“We’re looking at a week or two of travel, depending on weather and obstacles.”

“Obstacles?”

“You know, the classic distractions. Bandit, monsters, and sidequests.”

“I mean, can’t we just ignore all that?”

“Hopefully,” she sighed.

Leo hoped they wouldn’t need to face any more distractions before they reached the capital. Once the kingdom was aware of the danger, they could get to work on fighting against the calamities. If they could just find her main body, then Leo would be able to easily kill her.

It only took a few hours before their journey was sidetracked. There was a raging river up ahead. The water surged with such force that anyone who dared enter would be swept away in moments. This wasn’t the issue, as someone had built a bridge over the river.

The issue emerged as the two of them approached. The ground thudded with each step from the hulking beast. It had wart-ridden skin that was a deep blue, covered with bloodied rags. The humanoid growled, revealing rows of jagged teeth.

Marem looked up at the beast. “Gods dammit.”

“I AM GRANKREE. PAY MY FEE OR ANSWER MY RIDDLES THREE,” shouted the monster.

Leo looked over at Marem. “What the hell is that?”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s a bridge troll.”

“ANSWER ADVENTUREE, WILL YE PAY MY FEE OR ANSWER MY RIDDLES THREE?” Grankree’s thundering voice shook the nearby trees.

“Alright Leo, kill him,” ordered Marem.

“What? Isn’t this guy, like, sentient?” asked Leo.

“Does it matter? He’s a monster, and he’s blocking our path. We can’t waste time entertaining him,” she answered.

“I’m all for killing those rock monsters and whatever, but I don’t know if I wanna kill this dude.” argued Leo.

“YES, BECAUSE YOU WILL PAY MY FEE OR ANSWER MY RIDDLES THREE!”

“Jesus, dude, can you tone it down? The government is already taking my gold, so I’m definitely not giving you any money.”

“It’s like I said, we have to kill him. Unless you plan on answering his riddles.”

“MY RIDDLES THREE,” Grankree boomed.

“No, I’m not answering your riddles. Can you just let us pass? I really don’t want to kill you, but you’re giving me a headache.”

“YOU NEITHER ANSWER MY RIDDLES THREE, NOR PAY MY FEE. THE PRICE IS BECOMING DINNER FOR ME,” he shouted.

The troll lunged forward, his mouth drooling. Leo grabbed the troll’s outstretched arm and pulled down. The monster collapsed onto the ground, surprised at the sudden burst of force. Before he could react, Leo had rushed over to his side and lifted him.

Grankree had begun to shout some form of protest. This was quickly ended as Leo threw him into the nearby river. The troll thrashed violently as he was dragged away by the currents. Marem and Leo watched as he was taken far away.

“Not to be an ass, but you should’ve killed him.”

“I’m certain when he gets out of the river he’ll have changed his ways.”

Leo wasn’t sure if the troll could even swim. As the two continued on their way, he kept an eye out on his EXP count.