Balthazar stared out through one of the holes in his bazaar’s roof at the few white clouds sailing by in the blue m sky. He should be upset, perhaps sad or even angry at the damage doo his precious trading post, a, he actually found himself in a good mood.

  There was a mess of broken gss and splintered wood from shelves and boxes all around him, thanks to the previous day’s attack by the dark mage, and still the crab sed the surrounding room with a smile on his face.

  Despite the damage, the loss of property and merdise, even the costs that would e from having to repair the building, all of it was a small price to pay for the ultimate satisfa Balthazar had received.

  Antoine being carried away to jail, finally exposed for his deeds. No amount of would have been too much to pay for that.

  Well, perhaps a certain amount. There would o be some haggling first. He was still a mert crab after all, and he very much valued gold.

  He looked outside, across the pond, to his tent uhe old acacia tree. Thankfully, no damage got anywhere near his personal chambers, and more importantly, to his little hidey-hole, where his most important treasures were hidden, including his new gold statuette.

  If nothing else, he would at least still have the sight of the beautifully golden muse to gaze upon befoing to sleep at night.

  It was all about the little shiny pleasures in life.

  The mert let out a satisfied sigh and focused ba pig up broken pieces of armor from the floor. As he lifted a piece of wood, he found a familiar metal helmet with horns and a small dent on the front.

  Balthazar chuckled. “Of course, this old thing I ever sell survived. Go figure.”

  His attention ulled away from the horned helmet when a small bell rung by the entrance.

  At least that hadn’t beeroyed by the lightning strikes either.

  “Madeleine! Rye!” Balthazar excimed with an even wider smile, tossing the helmet aside as he threw both cws up enthusiastically. “What are you guys doing here?”

  The two humans stepped inside, no doate in their way anymore, thanks to the bazaar’s st visitor. Eae carried a wicker basket in their hands and the baker was the first to set hers down and run towards the crab.

  “Balthazar!” she said as she k down to hug the crab’s wide carapace. “I’m so gd to see you’re alright. I was worried sick when I heard what happened.”

  “Oh,” said the crusta, taken aback by the sudden and ued embrace. “T-thanks. I’m fine. No damage, as you see.”

  His arms hovered over the girl’s back for a sed, as he wondered what to do in su unfamiliar situation. He wasn’t used to hugs. They always seemed to him like an odd gesture. Someone s their appendages around your body and you are not supposed to take that as an attempt at suffog or crushing you and respond accly by ping them? Humaruly bizarre creatures.

  However, the baker’s embrace felt warm and f.

  Perhaps they were onto something with all their silly dispys of affe, after all.

  “Damn,” said Rye as he approached and looked around. “Same ’t be said of your pce. That guy really did a number on it, didn’t he?”

  “What about the others?!” Madeleine quickly asked, pulling away from the hug with wide eyes. “Druma, Bouldy, Blue, are they all safe too?”

  “Rex,” the crab said in a calm tohey’re alright too. Blue’s resting up by the tree. She took some damage but nothing serious. She will be fine. Druma and Bouldy are good as well. Here, see for yourself.” He turo the back of the bazaar and called out. “Guys, e in here. We got visitors.”

  A goblin holding a broom peeked in from the back exit and a grin formed on his face as he saw the baker and the archer.

  As Druma ran in, arms open, broom still in his hand, Bouldy followed behind, holding a rge bucket filled with debris and wearing a frilly apron.

  “Miss baker!” the small assistant called out, jumping with excitement. “Druma is magic! Druma save boss from evil man!”

  “Yes, you are, and yes you did!” Madeleine said with a beaming smile. “I’ve heard the story. You were very brave!”

  “Yes, he was,” said Balthazar. “But we were also lucky he had that staff from the old wizard, or else our fates might have been different. Too bad he had to blow all the charges in it at ohough.”

  “That’s what everyone is talking about up in the guild today,” Rye added. “The crab and his crew who took out a high-level dark mage, and how a little goblin turned him into dust.”

  “Alright, alright, let’s make sure this doesn’t get to Druma’s head. hing I know, he’ll be asking for a raise,” Balthazar said. “Wait, they’re talking about it at the adventurers guild? Should I be worried?”

  “Oh no, don’t worry,” Rye quickly replied. “That guy might have been teically an adventurer, but his as vioted all sorts of rules set by the guild. No one would question yht to defend yourself against his assault. As far as we adventurers go, he was a stain on the guild’s image by cowardly attag an i weak mert and got what he deserved. He made his own bed by taking on Antoine’s shady offer.”

  “Phew, that’s good to know. Hey, wait, what do you mean, weak mert?!”

  “Bouldy!” Madeleine excimed, standing up and walking in front of Balthazar to greet the tall boulder. “I heard you flew higher than any golem ever has! And what’s this you’re wearing?”

  “It’s an apron,” said Balthazar. “Some adventurer looted it from a giant’s camp and it never occurred to me that there was no way I was ever going to sell that, so I let Bouldy have it. Take that off now, though. I told you not to wear it when eople around. You look silly, and nobody’s going to take you seriously as my bodyguard if they see you wearing that.”

  The golem slumped down but obliged, bringing the white strap over his head and removing the apron.

  “From what I hear,” started Rye, “he went really high before crashing back down on the mage. Is he really alright after that?”

  “Oh yes, don’t worry,” Balthazar said. “He’s a sturdy one!”

  The crab stepped closer to the golem and gave his stony chest a geap with his cw. As he did, he spotted something on the living boulder’s torso. o the small “X” cw carving on the golem’s chest, there was a fissure. A small hairline crack that would have been hard to spot at a distance from how thin it was, but that ran all the way down his front.

  “Oh no. Should we be worried about that?” asked Madeleine from behind the crab.

  Balthazar frowned and brought his system’s party s up to che his rocky panion.

  [Name: Bouldy] [Race: Stone Golem] [Css: None] [Level: 30]

  [Health: 499/500]

  [Attributes]

  [Strength: 40] [Agility: 3] [Intelligence: 1]

  Waving down dismissively with one cw, Balthazar turo the baker.

  “Nah, nothing much, just some tiny damage. He will be fine.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “Yes, no need for worry. Some chi pie, a good night’s sleep and he will be fine,” Balthazar joked.

  “Very funny,” the girl said. “I know golems don’t o eat or sleep.”

  “You’re right, he doesn’t,” the smug crab said. “But you know who does?”

  “Yes, yes, I know,” the baker said, pig her basket back up. “Worry not. I brought you plenty of provisions. I figured you’d need a pick-me-up now more than ever. Although, seeing you now, it seems you’re doing way better than what I was expeg.”

  “Are you kidding?” Balthazar said to her, despite his eyes being fixed on the pastries she was taking out of the basket. “Just knowing Antoine finally got what he had ing and won’t be plotting against me anymore makes up for all this chaos and damage easily!”

  “You’re right,” Madeleine said, nodding her head. “It’s such a weight off our shoulders, not having to worry about that creep and his evil scheming.”

  “Had I any shoulders, I’d say the same!” the crab excimed, as he shoved a cream puff in his mouth.

  “Speaking of the damage,” Rye said, “we didn’t e here just for a food delivery, you know? Madeleine and I took the day off to give you a hand with the ing.”

  Balthazar stopped chewing and looked at them with whipped cream smeared all over his mouth.

  “You guys didn’t have to do that,” he struggled to say, his mouth still stuffed.

  “Nonsense!” Madeleine said. “It’s the neighborly thing to do, and also what friends do.”

  “Yes, plus,” Rye added, “we figured extra pairs of hands are something you could always use.”

  The young man chuckled and pointed awkwardly at the crab’s pincers.

  “Get it? Because you don’t… have…”

  Balthazar stared with an inexpressive look at the archer, his mouth still covered in whipped cream and frozen halfway through his chewing.

  “Just… never mind,” the defted adventurer mumbled.

  “Anyway!” the gilded crab said, turning to Madeleine and wiping his face. “If you want to help, there’s still plenty of trash to clear.”

  Madeleine pced the basket on the ter and started tying her braids into a bun atop her head while looking around the room.

  “Hey, by the way, where is Hea? I haven’t seen her around here yet. Is she alright too?”

  “Ah, yes, she’s fine,” said Balthazar. “She wasn’t actually here when that madman started jolting and bolting the whole pow she’s up in town with Tristan. They are both giving their testimony about all the horrible things Antoine did to them.”

  “Damn right!” excimed Rye as he tightened his own ponytail and grabbed a broom. “I hope they nail him for everything he’s done.” He paused and looked at the hole above him and the scorched wooden below. “Speaking of nails, how are you pnning to repair all this damage to your pce? Knowing you, I’m sure you value presentation.”

  “That I do,” the crab responded, polishing the shine of his silver the fabric of the oversized apron Bouldy had left on a nearby table. “My pn is to ask John, the carpeo e down and take a look at things, see what he thinks, and if he fix it. I sidered having Druma patch things up, but at this point I think it’s clear his real talents lie in magic more than carpentry.”

  Druma stopped sweeping the floor and looked up with a slight frown.

  “Druma good with hammer and staff, boss!”

  Rye let out a hearty ugh and turo the goblin. “You gotta tell me how you took down that mage, Druma. I could never beat a guy his level in a fight. What’s your secret?”

  The small assistant perked up and started telling the tale of his devastating spell to the archer, using his broom to re-enact his as with the staff in an exaggerated way.

  Balthazar chuckled and took a moment to fully appreciate the se around him.

  Despite the circumstahere he was, surrounded by friends, having a good time, simply feeling tent.

  The crab felt a rumble in his shell and figured it was time to check the tents of Madeleine’s basket again.

  Before he could reach the ter, he felt the rumbling again and froze. Looking around, he noticed everyone else had stopped what they were doing as well.

  The rumbling wasn’t ing from his stomach, and wasn’t, in fact, a rumbling at all.

  A roar, deep and vicious, echoed from outside, making the floorboards uheir feet vibrate.

  “Do you guys hear that?” Madeleine asked, looking worried.

  “Yes,” Rye responded. “It sounds far away, a…”

  The roar echoed in the distance more, but louder this time.

  All at ohey quickly made their way out the frorao the road outside, searg for the source of the intimidating sound.

  It did not take long to spot it.

  Over the pins, far to the east, a rge shape took form through the haze of the horizon as it approached through the air.

  A dragon, huge and red, let out another roar as it flew towards Ardville.

  H0st