“I guess your parents really wanted you to be like the hero of old,” Everett said, shaking his head before holding out his hand and waiting for the knife.

All Max could do was take a deep breath and laugh, trying to not draw attention to how concerned he had been about what might show up.

Everett deftly cut his thumb and put it on the metal plate, a green light shimmering as each of the four felt a slight shock against the thumb they had cut.

“And just like that, I welcome you to the Golden Axe Faction!”

Putting the knife and tablet in storage, Everett shook each of their hands again, beaming with excitement at what had just happened. “I’ll make sure to notify all of the officers within the faction so they are aware of your status. Just know that until you reach level forty and we officially start your time, you will not be considered official members in the eyes of those outside this place.”

“That means we can come here to train or get things crafted?” Max asked.

“Yes!” exclaimed Everett, pulling out a small book and handing it to Max before repeating the process with Tanila and Batrire. When he offered one to Fowl, the dwarf shook his head.

“No, thank you, sir. I’ll let them tell me what it says. I prefer to read the back of my eyelids instead of pages.”

Shrugging, Everett put the fourth book back into storage. “Those will tell you what is expected of you and everything about us. It will detail how to handle requests for crafted items and the expected dues based on what you gather while taking part in Faction raids.”

Max nodded as he quickly scanned through the book, noticing the table of contents, which was a godsend. “Can I ask one question about reagents for crafting?”

Everett’s whole body shook slightly from side to side as the older man looked ready to move on to his plans for the day. “Something specific that wouldn’t be in the book?”

“I doubt it,” Max replied. “It has to do with items from rare spawns within the dungeon. Does the Faction reward extra for them, and do you truly keep it a secret like I have heard?”

The need to pursue other obligations seemed to end as Everett turned and gave his complete attention to Max, who was smiling. He noticed the other members of Max’s party had shifted slightly as he spoke.

“Are you saying you have some rare spawn items on you? It’s not unheard of, but something tells me you know that… what am I missing?”

Max glanced at Tanila, who gave him a slight nod.

“We have had a few encounters with rare spawns and would need somewhere a little better prepared for such items than your table or office. An alchemist, Tang Mu, he–”

Coughing, Everett held up his hand and cut Max off. “You met Tang Mu?!”

“We did… he made a potion for Batrire after a fight with a rare scorpion spawn almost killed her. We had to give up–”

“Wait!” Everett said, grabbing his coffee and quickly finishing it before motioning to the door they had come in. “Tell me when we get to a room where I can actually see what, I can only imagine, will cause some excitement among our crafters.”

“You sure this was a good idea?” Fowl asked as the four of them stood on one side of a table, and an assortment of humans, elves, and dwarves funneled into a room that was obviously used for harvesting materials and reagents. It had a clean smell, but it was nothing like Tang Mu’s room.

Everett glanced around the room as a female elf entered, and she motioned to him with her hand.

“Sorry for the commotion, but if you have what I you have, I would rather let everyone see it and decide how best to use it. Of course, we will gladly purchase it at a fair price based on the standard Faction value system.”

Max nodded and motioned to Fowl, who groaned. He pulled out a pair of gloves from storage and slipped them on, earning a few chuckles and nods of respect from those in the room. The dwarf then pulled out his sack of reagents and put the massive tail they had cut off the boss on the table.

Curses that involved ‘elf tits’ and ‘dwarf balls,’ as well as a few other harsher ones, came across the room as a few people moved toward it until someone in the crowd cleared their throat, and everyone took a step back.

An older female elf shook her head. “This is very impressive. Are you sure the four of you want to sell this to the Faction? I have no doubt that Tang Mu mentioned how valuable something like this might be.”

Giving a shrug, Fowl nodded and then pulled out another sack from within the backpack. He put it on the table and reached in, grimacing as he did, before setting the ogre balls they had taken from the rare dungeon on the table.

More curses came, and Max saw Everett’s eyes go wide.

“How many…” The female elf paused, coughing and adjusting her voice as her eyes conveyed her surprise at what was before her. “Are those…”

Fowl grunted. “I’m afraid they are… black ogre balls… I think we have close to forty of them in here…”

A gasp and murmur rose up from everyone as Everett moved quickly to where the elven woman was and whispered in her ear. She nodded, and the Faction leader moved to the front of the table, then turned to face the crowd of crafters, who looked like they might soon start excitedly foaming at the mouth.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Alfreda and I think you should all head back and start to draw up ideas on how you might use some of these items.”

A groan and some complaints came, but they were quickly cut off when Alfreda turned her face and stared them down.

“Go and make a list. We will decide from there, based on who has earned the right and who has the best ideas.”

Everyone stood for a moment until Everett motioned with his head to the door, and then they quickly took off, almost racing to leave the room and start their lists.

“Ok, I gotta ask,” Fowl said after the crafters left, and only Everett and Alfreda remained. “What good are these ogre nuts I’ve been packing around for a while?”

The elven woman started to laugh softly. It was so light and warm that it was apparent she enjoyed Fowl’s question. “There are lots of things they can make. Some of the best items are temporary strength and constitution potions as well as a few other performance-enhancing ones.”

“Performan–”

Batrire elbowed Fowl in the side, shaking her head.

“Yes, those sell well…” Alfreda replied, winking at Batrire, who was rolling her eyes at Fowl. “Should I dare ask if there are any more items?”

Tanila tapped Max’s arm and nodded. “This is our family now. We have to trust them.”

Max sighed and reached into storage, pulling out a backpack and a pair of gloves.

He paused as he set the pack on the counter and looked at Everett and Alfreda, who seemed almost unable to hold back their excitement at what he might produce next.

“Before I show you these things, I need your word that no one will know where they came from.”

Everett’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded without hesitation. “When you say it like that, I can only imagine why... but the Faction family always comes first.”

Reaching into the backpack, Max pulled out one of the heads of the three-headed ogre, and when he reached back in and started to pull out the second one, Alfreda appeared to almost lose strength in her knees for a second.

“Boy, if you pull out a third–”

“I can’t,” Max said, finishing the task of depositing the massive heads on the counter.

Alfreda let out a sigh of relief. “Ok, because if you three managed to kill that beast, I would–”

“I can’t produce the third head,” Max said, interrupting the older elf, “because it disappeared before we could cut it off.”

Alfreda staggered to the table before catching herself on it, turning to look at Everett, whose mouth opened slightly. It wasn’t fully open, but it was enough evidence to show the man was impressed.

“You four killed a three-headed ogre?” he asked, his voice low and quiet.

“Perhaps we should ask for five years at a discount?” Tanila replied, winking at Everett, who was shaking his head in disbelief.

Max and Fowl continued to pull out all of the other materials they had been saving, including some pieces they had taken from the giant skeleton and mimic.

The stone table was almost covered in miscellaneous scales, hides, organs, and more.

“I haven’t seen anything like this in over fifty years,” Alfreda said as she carefully inspected some of the items with her gloved hands. “What we have here is…”

She trailed off, checking everything while Everett glanced at Max and the others.

“How?”

“Can you be more specific?” Tanila asked as Everett stared at them.

“How did you come across these things?” he asked, pointing at the sack of testicles and the two heads. “That shouldn’t happen, especially at your level.”

Each of them looked at the others and shrugged.

“The portal was purple, and every ogre was two-headed and black. There was no exit. We had to fight our way out.”

“Why would you go in? I mean, surely you knew it had to be dangerous!”

Fowl laughed and nodded. “We wouldn’t be adventurers if we didn’t take a risk. We might have almost died, but it was worth it.”

They all smiled, chuckling and nodding as Everett shook his head again in disbelief at the group before him. “You all are crazy, aren’t you?”

“In a good way,” Tanila said, her grin growing by the second. “Each of us trusts the others. We all know what each of us can do, and that allows us to not have to worry too often. Sure, things go sideways, but we don’t panic and fight as we know how to.”

“Everett, ignore them a moment and come here,” Alfreda said as she poked one of the heads with a metal rod. “This skin and the texture… do you have any idea what this can do?”

The Faction leader moved to where the older elf stood and watched as she poked and prodded a few sections of the face.

They whispered to each other, and Fowl leaned over, trying to hear.

“Care to share what is going on with us?”

Everett glanced at Fowl and winced. “Sorry… this is a very rare spawn, and rumor is that the brain inside each can do some amazing things. I’m unsure if we have the other required ingredients or crafting levels to handle these.”

“So, want us to hold onto them?” joked Fowl.

“Uh, no, I think we can manage to keep these safe until we can find the best use for them if you four don’t mind,” replied Everett, grinning at Fowl. “I do, however, think I’ll have to figure out how to handle a turn-in like this… it goes way beyond anything most would dream of, even in the tower.”

Tanila moved around the table and held her hand out to Everett. “I’m sure you’ll figure out something that works for all of us. In the meantime, we must get some potions and head back to our inn.”

Alfreda approached Tanila, pulled out a box from her storage, and lifted the lid. Inside were two rows of healing potions that were slightly bigger and had a darker color to them than usual.

“Those are high-grade potions,” Tanila muttered, reaching out and running a finger over the glass.

“They are, my dear, and you four have earned them. Take one each.”

Without hesitation, Tanila took one and put it in storage before motioning for the others to come and get one.

After the four had left and the door was shut, Everett turned to Alfreda and held out both hands with a questioning look.

“Tell me I’m not dreaming… tell me that table is really filled with what I think.”

Alfreda started to cackle, her laughter echoing off the stone walls.

“Everett, my dear, I don’t think I could have ever imagined seeing anything close to what these young ones have brought… you better keep them happy and take care of them. If the gods have blessed them like this already, I can only imagine what they might bring in down the road.”

Everett nodded, muttering to himself and watching as Alfreda stored everything in her dimensional pocket.

“Who the hell are those adventurers?” Everett asked out loud as he walked to the door.

“A gift,” Alfreda replied, knowing he hadn’t expected an honest answer.