Chapter 11 (1/2)
Sophie got up and looked around the room. Why didn’t Claire wake me? she thought. She got out of bed and slipped on her red robe before she went to the washroom. There’s a new wrinkle today, she thought as she looked in the mirror and sighed.
“Look who’s finally up,” a voice greeted her when she entered the tavern. The man was sitting at a table with 3 other men and a woman. He was wearing a blue chain mail and his red sword was propped up against the seat next to him.
“Good morning, Aran,” Sophie said as she sat next to the other woman. “Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked her.
Claire shrugged. “You sleep like a log,” she said, “and you drooled on me.”
“Hey, hey. Don’t ruin our image of her,” a man with a blue bandana said.
A man wearing a black leather vest smacked his head. “What image? We’ve already been traveling together for years now,” the man said and snorted. “We all know she’s an ogre.”
Sophie rolled her eyes. “If I’m an ogre, then you’re a troll,” she said. “Hey, chief! Can I get three drumsticks and a jug of ale over here?”
“Sure thing,” the man standing behind the bar said.
Sophie turned to look at Aran. “What’s the plan for today, boss?”
“We’ve accomplished 14 SSS ranked missions since we ranked up four years ago. One more and we can finally go to Fuselage,” Aran replied, “I already picked one up.”
“Without us? Ouch man, that hurts,” the man with the blue bandana said as he clutched his chest and smiled.
“Shut up, Zeke,” the man with the black vest said, “let him finish.” He nodded at Aran.
“We’re going to the fountain of youth,” Aran said and raised his hand to stop them from speaking. “It’s the first SSS that’s appeared in the past three months.”
“What’s the rush?” Sophie asked with a frown. “We could’ve waited for a different one.”
“Scared?” Zeke asked with a smile on his face.
“As if,” Sophie said and snorted, “I’m just wondering why the riskiest place for our last mission before Fuselage.”
Aran was silent for a minute before answering. “I’m almost 50,” he said.
The group fell silent.