I slip the freshly minted tag around my neck. What else would I do with it after all. Besides it's how most of the others wear theirs too, although there are some who wear it around the wrist, like a bracelet of sorts. I guess it's even easier to show it off to nosy guards and the likes of them. I suspect that they are more prone to accidentally losing it too though.

I ponder the option too, as wearing both the tag and my lucky penny around my neck feels a little weird. In the end I decide against it though. I'll just have to get used to it.

As I head over to join the line at the other counter, the one indicated by the old man who handled my application, I receive a few pats on my back, as well as a warm welcome in general. I'm pretty certain that most people here must have heard at least part of our conversation, but no one seems to mind my peculiar class so far.

In the end I don't have to wait long. The line moves at a pretty brisk pace. The reason as to why becomes obvious when I reach the counter. I only have to show my tag to have my name and class put on the list for the emergency quest. I'm not a big fan of bureaucracy, but it seems the guild employees have everything well in hand in that regard. They sure seem to know how to handle their paperwork.

Afterwards I'm quickly pulled aside by Aila, the cleric and one of the few adventurers I know personally. She guides me to the counter where drinks are being served. There her comrades Rami and Núira are already waiting for us with some mugs.

It is the elf ranger who greets me first and foremost, thrusting one of the mugs into my hands.

"Welcome to the guild!"

The warrior at her side nods, as he hands Aila her drink in turn.

"Glad you made it. Wasn't quite sure when you left again the other day."

I shrug and take a sip from my beer. The taste is quite familiar. Yes, no doubt about it, the adventurers' guild and the thieves' guild get their beer from the same brewer. I probably shouldn't be surprised. It's pretty good beer after all. Quite tasty and not too strong. A good combination as far as I'm concerned. Finally I speak up to answer the warrior's implied question.

"The admission fee came as a bit of a surprise. Especially as I spent most of my funds on some more gear."

I pat the additional knife at my belt and the second hand cloak.

All three nod in understanding. Núira is the one to put their thoughts into words.

"Gear first. Everything else after. Anyway, I'm glad we have someone else on board who has already fought some of these mushroom creatures. Turns out, those are usually pretty rare. At least here on the surface."

That is an interesting bit of information. It's still a little too general to improve any skill or earn a new one though. I voice my surprise anyway. Maybe they'll be forthcoming with a little more information. Information that might come in handy and earn me one of those coveted skill increases too.

"Oh?"

The elven ranger nods and starts to elaborate on her previous comment.

"Yes, yes. Usually, when all is right with the world, these myceloid creatures don't grow to a size like this at all. Even the ones that grow to our size are already a sign of trouble, never mind giants like that king boletus. In fact, as long as the forest is healthy they don't form humanoid bodies at all. And they sure as hell don't turn people into mushroom zombies."

We all shudder at the mention of the latter. Finally Aila decides to pitch in with her own opinion.

"Something must have gone seriously wrong out there."

I can only nod in agreement. Yes, something is seriously wrong out there. Wrong enough that just incinerating the giant mushroom king and a good stretch of land might just not be all that is necessary to resolve the situation. The thought leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and I wash it down with another sip of beer.

"So it probably won't be enough to just cleanse the festering infestation with fire?"

As I pose this question someone else joins our conversation. It's the dwarven woman I saw arrive with Ediva Glimmersong. Up close there is no doubt that she is a cleric, except she seems much more warlike than Aila. She flashes us all a confident grin as she speaks up.

"Something must have twisted these creatures to become like they are now, destroying their own forest in the process. Something like this is more common in the caverns of the deep dark where dark and twisted things roam and resources are much more scarce and even fungi have to fight over them."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

This too is a veritable wealth of information. This time I can feel my [Gather Information] skill improve a little. It feels like it's incredibly close to leveling up too. I don't get to dwell on it though, as the stout woman keeps talking.

"It's a good thing that we found out now and not in a few months. It's already bad enough as it is. Ediva might already have to pull out all the stops for this one. If it were any worse we might have had to beseech the neighboring kingdoms to help. And aid lent by a king usually comes at a price."

At this point Rami speaks up again, to belatedly introduce us. He gestures at the dwarven woman first.

"This is Griselda Armetta, the cleric fighting at Ediva's side."

Then he gestures in my direction.

"And this is Viviona. She was out there in the woods with us, when we stumbled across that fungal infestation. In fact she got closer than any of the rest of us."

Griselda's right eyebrow rises as she looks at me with new eyes and, if I'm not mistaken, a little suspicion. Not just because she might have heard about my class either, as far as I can tell. No, I get the impression that she might be suspicious of me because I was out there without being a member of the adventurers' guild. I joined up only now after all.

If she doesn't ask I won't elaborate on my own either though. I don't feel like making up an elaborate story anyway. The fewer tales I spin, the less can come crashing down upon my head later on. I don't want to be caught in a snare of my own making after all.

Thankfully she doesn't press the issue. Maybe it's not all too uncommon among adventurers to have a few secrets. Maybe she just doesn't want to bother. Another possibility might just be, that she simply doesn't see me as a threat. If she plays in the same league as her wizard comrade, that might just be true.

Well, whatever. On this mission I'm in all likelihood not going to rub elbows with either of them. They are heavy hitters. I'm not. A moment later this assumption is proven correct, as another duo of adventurers joins us. Griselda takes care of the introductions this time around.

The first to be introduced is a tall, heavily armored orc. He has wide shoulders, impressive muscles and overall reminds me a little of Kronk, except he is neither a mushroom zombie nor a bandit lord. His armor is heavy but not flashy. No, quite the opposite is true. It's plain in a very functional, no nonsense sort of way.

"This is Barnim. He is our front line fighter. Whatever wants to get at Ediva has to go through him or die trying."

He lets out a low chuckle at the introduction. It's a deep, not entirely unpleasant sound. He offers me his hand and without thinking too much about it, I shake it. He seems pleasantly surprised although his grip is much stronger without even trying.

"It's usually the latter."

Then the dwarf cleric turns to the woman at the orc warrior's side. She is a thin slip of a girl by comparison, barely a shadow of the mighty warrior. Yet she catches my eye.

"And this is Agnes, Agnes Pale. Our scout. She makes sure we don't stumble into more trouble than we can handle."

They both chuckle at the introduction, as if it were a private joke. It's probably her name, considering that the woman is anything but pale. No, in fact her skin is a little darker than most I have seen so far. She seems to get plenty of sun, yet that alone doesn't quite explain the dusky skin tone. It's probably hereditary. Together with her strawberry blonde hair it makes for a most curious combination. That isn't a look you get to see everyday.

Her gear seems chosen for utility too, much like the larger warrior's, except, hers is light, not entirely unlike mine. But she seems to favor a fighting style utilizing two short and heavy blades with a distinct recurve. She can probably deliver a devastating first strike with those if she gets the drop on her target.

She too eyes me up. Unlike Griselda she doesn't seem too bothered by me or my class though. It's not that she seems careless, although she certainly has a carefree attitude. She flashes me a honest smile, as she finally speaks up.

"I'm glad that we have you on board for this quest. You'll be working with me for the most part. Your job will probably be to screen our group and the support at camp from any nasty surprises."

I nod once to signal that I understand. So far what I hear suits me pretty well. I should be able to take care of individual mushroom zombies or myceloid foragers or the like. She isn't quite done yet though.

"We'll head out tomorrow morning unless there are any surprising developments, which I honestly doubt. We'll probably make camp out in the wilds once, as close to the source of the threat as we can without drawing undue attention. I don't really want to make any detailed plans that go beyond that point. But the gist of it should be that Ediva and Griselda if necessary hit the mushroom king with everything they have got. Especially Ediva needs time to charge her spells though. We'll try to get in a surprise attack, but I won't rely on that. We need to be ready to buy our spellcasters the time they need."

Again I nod. So do the others standing right there with us and quite a few of those around us too. It seems the conversation has drawn some attention.

I try not to let anyone notice, but as the scout, Agnes who is not in fact pale, finishes, I receive a whispered notification.

[*Ding!* Your skill Gather Information has leveled up to level 7!]

I decide to share some of my own experiences too at this point. It's not like I would call myself an expert, but not saying anything might just be worse than sharing what little I know.

"I got a look at the King Boletus once, using an identification skill. I couldn't tell his level though. It probably was too high for me back then. Might still be. Either way, it certainly noticed me looking and didn't like it one bit. It's class has the spore element though and is rare. Among the other threats the mushroom zombies are probably worse than the myceloid foragers. One of the former almost killed me with one hit, while I could easily take on two of the latter without suffering more than some scrapes and bruises."

There are some murmurs from the thickening crowd around us. Finally the scout of the famous party silences them by raising a hand.

"That's all good to know. What level were you back then?"

I blink once and take a moment to think back on it.

"Eight. Yes, eight."

The scout nods and does some thinking herself before she speaks up once more.

"That means it was at least level thirteen back then. Probably not more than eighteen though or you wouldn't have received any of the other information either. That was quite a few days ago though. If it has continued to grow the infestation it might have gained a level or two since then."

It is at this point that the famous wizard herself shows up and chimes in.

"I better not hold back then. Not that I was planning too. We need to burn the infested area with the out of control fungal infestation too anyway."

Then she turns to address the crowd directly.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning. Make whatever preparations you still need to make. And for the love of all the gods and goddesses, don't show up drunk! If you do, I'll ask Barnim to dump your sorry ass into the river!"

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