A week had passed since Adam returned from the Citadel.
True to his word, Hannibal had arranged a party for him and Luca. It was a five-man party of adventurers, led by a Transcendent Paladin.
Five figures sat at a round table on the second floor. Adam rested his arm on the railing as he watched the tavern fill below, crowding around the Hole.
Soon, adventurers would start pouring into it. And he would be the first to enter.
"So, Hannibal tells me you two are the real deal, eh?"
A towering man in black leather armor glanced at Adam and Luca. Half of his face was burned away—even the scalp. The other half was not so great to look at either. It was filled with scars.
Stroud the Ugly, they called him. But Hannibal had said to Adam that his fighting prowess was a thing of beauty.
Adam turned to him and said respectfully, "That's right, bossman."
He'd never met the Transcendent Paladin before. But if even someone like Hannibal was impressed by the man, who was Adam to complain?
