The afternoon found the guild all training. Guild Master Arnold could never be told he was having favorites.
They were all lined up in the clearing, doing drills.
The guild master was looking at his communication rune.
The Dungeon of Flames was breached just two hours ago. The B-ranked members and above were securing the perimeter.
But something worried him.
"Report?" Arnold asked in his communication rune.
"Sir! Nate said that the dungeon was the Dungeon of Flames, but… we haven't so much as found a bonfire inside! It is just a cave! There is a mosaic on the far wall," Harold, an A-ranked adventurer, said.
"Don't touch the mosaic," Arnold ordered.
Now that everyone was rested, he could continue with the march.
"Wait for us. Do you have enough food?"
There was a pause from the other end.
Arnold let out a sigh.
"This is my mistake. I should have given you the rations. Wait for us. It won't take us more than a day."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Came from the other end.
Arnold made the sign for his guildies to pause in their training.
"Nikola, how much food do you have?" Arnold asked, as he watched Nikola keep on running in place. The man was bathed in sweat and his breathing came out ragged. "And what did I tell you about pushing past your limits?"
Nikola stopped, his hands going to his knees. The guild watched as he tried to take in a breath.
Arnold shook his head.
"What do you all think is better? To place a stone slab on a river's bank, or to place stones there, day after day, until you have made sure it won't overflow?"
The guild remained silent. Nikola wasn't the only one who had been pushing past his limits.
"If you make this feel like a chore," Arnold continued, knowing that no one was going to answer. Young as they were. "Then you will soon grow to hate it. Now, I will ask again, what is better? A single stone slab, or stones placed in the course of a couple of days?"
Dimitri straightened up.
"Sir, the stones are better!" He said.
Arnold nodded.
"Do tell the others why?" The man asked, as he began to pack his things. "And Dimitri? I am sending you and Jack ahead with the food. I will give you the map. Parties Beehive and Bloody Claws, you will make sure that Dimitri gets to the front lines with the food!"
Two five-men parties saluted, ready to prove themselves.
"Because… a single stone slab could never stop a flood," Dimitri began, uncertain. "But the other stones could become part of the shore itself. If we line them the proper way, get some sand sacks around the bank, then we will make sure that there is something stopping the river from turning deadly!"
Arnold nodded.
"You all think that this is a race," he continued, as Nikola handed his bottomless bag to Dimitri. The vampire took it, kissing Nikola's hand in parting.
"But it is a marathon. I have something to report to all of you! This may not be a dungeon, but a Bogart nest!"
The adventurers shifted in their places.
They all knew what that meant.
"That is why the songweavers are going to draw the little beings out! Songwievers Antonia and Emily, you are to teach the melody to the rest!"
Two ladies saluted, sweat on their brows.
Arnold nodded.
"Now, Dimitri, Jack, Beehive and Bloody Claws, move out! The rest will have dinner and sleep! We move out tomorrow morning!"
The guild mates saluted as one.
But Nikola was not ready to let Dimitri go alone just yet. He reached out, taking a hold of Dimitri's arm.
Their eyes met. Uncertain green peered into blood-red.
"Hey," Dimitri told him, as he stepped closer to him. He hugged him, making slow circles on Nikola's back. "I love you. I won't die. You will even learn how to play another melody! What is better than that?"
"If you die," Nikola told him, as he lost himself in the embrace. "Timmy and the new baby will be heartbroken."
Dimitri chuckled.
"Are you trying to guilt-trip me?" Dimitri asked, as he pulled Nikola closer to himself.
"Yes. With babies," Nikola replayed shamelessly.
Dimitri chuckled once more.
"Then I have this to tell you: I have no intention of dying! Or making you or Timmy sad! So, I will come back! It is not like I am going for milk, or anything!"
Dimitri leaned away from Nikola just to flick him on the nose.
Nikola raised a shaky hand and pressed a finger on Dimitri's nose, before burying his face back in Dimitri's nape.
"Yeah," Dimitri whispered, as he hugged Nikola tighter. "I will come back."
They stood there, until the guild master cleared his throat.
Dimitri kissed Nikola on the forehead and went to where Jack was waiting with parties Beehive and Bloody Claws.
He noted how most of the members of both parties had scars on them. How shiny their weapons were.
"Niki?" Dimitri said, just before they were ready to move out. "Let's go to the temple after this mission, ok?"
Nikola sucked in a breath. His finger went to the golden band he had not dared take off ever since Dimitri had put it on his finger.
He nodded, his bottom lip trembling.
It was at that moment that Jean stepped next to him.
"Jack? Shall we go on vacation after this mission? Just you, me and the baby?"
Nikola spared Jean a glance. The man was just as bathed in sweat as him, but he looked calm.
Jack smirked.
"Oh, if that's what you wish! I will find a way to trick you with a temple as well, no worries."
Jean chuckled.
The parties moved out.
Nikola looked at the blonde vampire. He didn't understand him.
"How can you be so calm?" The brunette asked.
Jean shrugged.
"I believe in them. I believe in myself. And since you managed to pull through the entire day of training, you should believe in them and yourself, Niki."
Those were words which would not leave Nikola as he cooked the mana rich dinner.
Getting the mana from the old trees, from the green moss, and even from the air.
Like a true druid.