The guild house was like a beehive.
All adventurers, even the ones who were in training, were called to the main hall.
The little four-man party of trainees was standing out. They wore strange clothing, even though the guild had offered to give them fighting gear.
Dimitri had refused to wear it as soon as he had seen it. There were no runes on it. Just old leather and a bit of chain mail.
Old guild master Arnold stepped to the podium. His one good eye scanned the surroundings so, as if he wanted to be sure everyone was there.
"We have Code Red," he said.
Nikola blinked. Now, what was that supposed to mean?
"For the new ones among you, Code Red means that a dungeon has become corrupted."
Murmurs began to fill the room. Some people were as pale as ghosts.
"We need someone to go and deal with. Normally, I would have sent our SSS ranked adventurers, but they have the mission to slay a giant who has been farming dragons illegally."
The crowd hushed as one.
Knowing that this was no easy task.
"So, if someone volunteers, there will be a grand reward! I will send any materials you wish to the best blacksmith in the land, Lord Augustine. I am sure that he can make a masterpiece even out of wood and iron."
Nikola's eyes widened.
That was precisely what he needed! His hand shot up in the air.
A couple of other hands did the same.
"Ok, party Stone Rhinos, you get the job!"
Nikola lowered his hand reluctantly. He hoped that he would get another such chance.
"Party Vampire Rose do stay after the others have left," the guild master said, looking at Nikola and his group. "The others are dismissed! Good luck, Stone Rhinos!"
The guild members saluted Arnold as one.
It was only the party of four who stayed. They stepped closer to the podium.
Nikola felt jittery. Was he going to be called off for volunteering when he was still in training?
Or had he done something else wrong?
The guild master cleared his throat. The four waited.
"Let me guess, you have a fancy material, and you want Lord Augustine to make you something?" Arnold asked.
"Yes, sir! I have a branch given to me by a Leshy and a single iron bullion!" Nikola admitted. The man nodded.
"I'll see if we can't send it over. But, boys, you have to understand that risking your lives just like that is not something I can stand behind! For your cheek, you will be sweeping the entire guild hall! Now take brooms and get down to it!"
Nikola bowed his head. He took out the branch and the iron bullion from his bag and then looked around.
There were brooms in the far corner. With a heavy heart, he began to walk towards them.
Knowing that his eagerness would be punished once more, should he only see the reward, and not the path leading to it.
****
The guild house didn't have so much as a dust bunny left in it. Nikola was now using his druidic mana to breathe some life into the garden.
Weeding it all the while.
"I don't understand why the garden is so overgrown," Nikola murmured, as he took out another weed. "I feel so, as if my mana is being sucked into the soil, but I don't see any results."
Jack snorted.
"What do you expect from something that has stone under a very thin layer of earth?"
Nikola mulled over these words. The garden could be used for herb growing. His octopus's farmer never got the hang of that.
Claiming that his tentacles weren't made for picking up grass.
"If I break the stone and get some more earth in here, will this disaster," the druid pointed at the weed-infested garden once more. "Fix itself?"
"Niki, we were told to sweep and then go on our business. This is not your garden."
Dimitri pulled out another weed regardless. He, too, didn't like the fact that the garden had been reduced to being unusable.
"Yes, but this is a waste of space!" Nikola protested.
"Is it?" Jack asked, as he looked at the pile with the weeds they had already gathered. "The stone under the garden has runes on it. I bet it is the stone which keeps the barrier around the guild house running. If you replace that with a garden, the guild master is going to let you have it."
Nikola wilted. He still tugged out another weed.
"But, hey, that is good training!" Jean said finally. "And relaxing! I think I will tan from this!"
Dimitri didn't want to rain on the boy's parade, so he stayed silent. They were sure to go to a deserted region, and then Jean would understand that he was going to be as pale as a ghost for the rest of his life.
"By the way," Dimitri said instead, wanting to get their minds off things. "Niki and I are getting married on Christmas!"
Nikola blushed, knowing that the truth was going to be called out, eventually, but he had not thought that Dimitri would beat him to the punch.
"Congratulations!" Jean said, as he clapped Dimitri on the back.
"At least some of us are getting their dreams to come true," Jack said, as he picked up another weed to get rid of.
Jean blinked in his direction.
"You… what do you mean by that, Jack?" The younger vampire asked, confused.
Jack sighed.
"I would have loved to dress us in white," the ghoul continued, looking Jean in the eyes. "To wait for you at the altar. But you, dear Jean, wish for someone else. I am not enough."
The truth was a bitter pill to swallow.
Jack turned his gaze away.
"Jack?" But Jean was not ready to see it all end then and there. "Can we try it out with us being friends, first?"
The words were whispered, but to Jack, they might as well be the roar of fate herself.
He nodded.
A twinkle in his eyes.