“but seriously,” braxton lost his smile and said, “if you don’t mind, i would like the jug of wyvern brew. i’ve gotten some ideas that i would like to test. as dangerous as the brew is, i think it could also be of great benefit.”

    “how so?” derek asked. more than anything, he feared how easy it might be to become addicted or die from it. that is... if we can even become addicted to things anymore—especially at a medium wisdom or higher. he actually wasn’t sure. yes, he’d say that edgar was addicted to training, avery was addicted to fighting, and even brandi was addicted to crafting, but they weren’t truly.

    “i saw you meditating with it,” braxton said. “right?”

    “yes,” derek replied with a nod.

    “then you should understand how hard it is to level meditation skills up after a certain point,” braxton explained.

    “yeah,” derek said. “it’s a pain in the ass.”

    “it is,” braxton replied. “however, if you use it while in battle, it will level at a slightly higher pace.”

    “which is true for pretty much all skills,” derek said.

    “exactly,” braxton replied. “but imagine if you were ‘poisoned’ with this brew—especially if you had no idea it was coming. i imagine that it would be possible to level meditation skills at a very fast pace—compared to how slow they level currently.”

    “mhm...” derek nodded. “i can see that. and if you drink a skill potion before that, or even go spar while the pattern is on your chest...”

    “yes!” braxton replied. “not only is this one of the greatest drinks i’ve had in my life—even compared to the king’s ale. but it could be used as a fantastic training aid. however, i need to know more about it before deciding. like, will the pattern eventually go away on its own? or is it something that will stay there, eating away at the person until it is completely pushed back with meditation or a healing potion?”

    “those are good questions,” derek replied.

    “and the levels one would rapidly gain in their toxic or poison resistance-type skills would be crazy,” braxton explained. “now, we would need to know if it works the same on a level 100 as it does on a level 250, but if it does...this would be a great potion for the little man to attach his name to. just not as a brew, but as a training aid.”

    “leave it to a guild leader of the assassin’s guild to think of a way to turn something like this into a training aid,” derek said. though, i was thinking about different uses, and would have landed on the same thing eventually, he thought to himself.

    “us guild leaders...most of us guild leaders are always looking for a way to make the guild more efficient,” braxton said. “and if i’m retiring soon, this would be a great final boon to the guild.”

    “you’re retiring soon?” derek asked.

    “oh, yes!” braxton said excitedly. “i’ve been trying to retire for decades now. but i can feel it. somebody’s going to challenge me and put up a good enough fight that i can leave the leadership to them.”

    “i...see...” derek muttered. “so...you’re not retiring anytime soon, are you?”

    with a sigh, braxton deflated, then muttered, “no...likely not. but a dwarf can dream, can’t he?”

    “and what is your dream?”

    “this!” the dwarf gestured to his surroundings with open arms.

    “you want to...open a bar?” derek asked.

    “of course not!” braxton replied. “i want to sit here all day, every day, and drink to my heart’s content! and i want to do it without having to check in at the guild or go kill someone too strong for anyone else to take out—though, that is always fun.”

    “oh.” derek snorted. “why not choose someone with the potential to grow stronger than you instead of waiting for them to be able to beat you? giving that position early on may light a fire under them and cause them to grow stronger faster. hell, it may even cause the system to give them a better class and allow them to not only gain strength faster but also make them able to gain strength more efficiently.”

    “that is true,” braxton said. “it is something that i’ve thought about in the past. but the guild is cutthroat. the second that i put a whelp with potential in a leadership role, they will be challenged by someone who happens to be stronger at the time, and all of my hard work will be for naught.”

    “well... i mean... you could...”

    “no!” braxton replied. “i couldn’t.”

    “fine,” derek said with a chuckle.

    “that’s painstakingly boring work,” the dwarf said. “i already went above and beyond by reading nyx’s reports about you. that’s how i found out about this place.” braxton frowned and furrowed his brow. “maybe i should start reading more of the reports...” he muttered, then shook his head harshly and took another drink. “no, this was a one in a million find.” the dwarf took one last gulp from his jug, then hopped off the barstool. then he turned to derek. “derek! it has been a pleasure meeting you during such ideal circumstances. we have to do it again.”

    “it was nice meeting you, too,” derek said with a chuckle.

    “next time i get my hands on more of the king’s ale...i’ll share some with you,” braxton said after some hesitation.

    “i’m looking forward to it,” derek replied. “also, take this.” he reached forward and grabbed the jug of the wyvern brew. roman could always make more, and braxton had some decent ideas and ways to test them that derek did not have. derek shuttered thinking about braxton slipping some of the brew to one of the other guild leaders for ‘training.’

    “really?” braxton asked with wide eyes.

    “of course,” derek said.

    “hurry and store it, or the jug will go bad,” roman said from behind the bar. “and when you get back to...the assassin’s guild...” the halfling alchemist gulped. “when you get back, have someone recharge the rune, and maybe look for someone who can create a jug that can actually carry it.” he paused for a moment. “if you can, make a few of them, just in case.”

    “will do!” braxton replied happily, then stored the jug away. “thank you, little man!”

    “...you’re welcome...” roman replied.

    “now, don’t you make maven boy wait too long,” braxton said after turning back to derek.

    “don’t worry,” derek said. “i won’t.”

    “i hear that the day after tomorrow is going to be a pretty good day for killing,” braxton said with a smile. “we’ll all be going back to our branch headquarters to check in.”

    “i see,” derek said. that meant that, while there would probably still be many people around, none of the other guild leaders would be there. they also wouldn’t be obligated to step in and do anything if they weren’t there. “that does seem like a good day.”

    “it is, indeed,” the dwarf assassin replied. “please tell vanessa that i said hello,” he said. “and if you don’t mind, float her the idea of becoming a guild leader. just in case. if she doesn’t want to replace maven, then there is always my seat. it would be weird for a human to govern over the vallum branch, but i doubt anyone would complain.”

    “like i said before, i doubt she’d even consider it,” derek replied. “but i’ll let her know, anyway.”

    “great!” braxton said. then he turned to leave before turning back and looking at roman. “little man, it’s been a pleasure finally getting to know you, too. i’ll see you soon!”

    “...see you soon...” roman replied in an almost hushed voice.

    braxton laughed loudly, then kicked open the door and walked out.

    “interesting dwarf...” derek said.

    “that’s one way to put it,” roman replied. “what now?”

    “well...” derek started. “i don’t think it would hurt to make another jug of the wyvern brew...”