A toast to survival!

I woke up in the cool morning, checking my chest for any leftover injuries. Beside some redness and a few scars from where my ribs had turned me into a pincushion. I got out of the tent quietly to avoid waking Christopher, before donning my armour and sitting around the extinguished fire. Mark came out of his tent not soon after, wearing his plate mail minus the helmet.

"How was your sleep?" Mark asked while packing his bag.

"I've had better. But, considering my rib cage was still intact, pretty good." I replied jokingly, sitting down beside the tent. Not too long after, Sharon, Christopher and then finally Lewis emerged from their slumber and we packed up the campsite and started our hike back to civilisation.

"Hey, Henry! Do your wounds still hurt?" Christopher asked, prodding me in the side.

"Everything is still in place, at least." I replied.

"What's up with you?"

"Im glad you asked!" He said with a large smile. "I just got a brand new skill!"

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's called ~Hunter's Eyes~. It allows me to see things all zoomed in." He said, pride and excitement oozing through his expression.

"Sounds real useful."

"I know, right! I can't wait to use it!"

It took around an hour filled with casual chit-chat to get back to the hunting lodge, where we were greeted with the large and decorated room with a few people running about. Mark walked up to the counter, placing a glass bottle with the Bogeysnatch within it on the counter.

"Mission completed!" He said with great pride.

"Aye, lad. I'm surprised your team came back with nary a single casualty!" He said jokingly, glancing over us. Mark frowned greatly upon hearing this

"I'm only joking, lad. You'll be paid an additional £500 on top of yer salary. And some contribution points of course." He said, taking the Bogeysnatch into a back room, before returning to his seat. Mark turned around to look at us before calling out.

"Alright, team! I say this calls for a celebration! I know a great pub nearby."

And so, we ended our successful hunt getting smashed in a pub.

The pub was called the Red Lion, and was quite a hotspot for the hunters in the area. This was not for the alcohol or food, but for the discount they received.

We sat around the semi-sticky table, and ordered a round of drinks, with only Sharon getting a non-alcoholic beverage.

"Cheers!" We said in unison, taking a large swing of beer (and orange juice) to celebrate our success.

Ding!

~Milestone complete!~

-Join a circus (1/1)

Skill points received: 2

Attribute points: 5

New skill acquired!

~The Main attraction!~

'....'

'Damn it. Not sure what I expected at this point....' I sighed in resignation as I opened the menu to see what my new skill was.

~The main attraction!

-Using your abilities as the Fool, you know how and when to shift the limelight to yourself or others to captivate the audience and put on a marvellous performance!

'Hmm... that could certainly be useful. But I have more important matters at hand.' I thought to myself, looking back over my compatriots.

"I'm, uh.... glad we did it and all... and are all, uh.... alive." Lewis mumbles, clearly fighting back exhaustion.

And so, we drank and drank beer and orange juice through the night. Gradually, the pub got livelier as time went on and it reached its peak when a bard began performing at the front.

Christopher spent his time talking to other hunters and exchanging stories with them, excited by their thrilling tales. Mark chatted with some acquaintances and enjoyed the music. Sharon sat awkwardly at the bar and sipped her orange juice.

The most surprising, however, was Lewis. With the help of alcohol, he seemed to have shirked off his usual exhaustion an unknown energy seemed to bubble within him.

"Heeey Leeewissss....." I said with some difficulty, as the beer was finally catching up to me.

"Oh, hey there Henry. You alright? Haven't had too much to drink?"

"No no no, no. I'm fiine. Diss is nothin'. I had a broken ribsss, I can 'andle a little beeer. Yurr drunk...." I said with a hiccup, leaning against Lewis for support.

"Haha, alright bud. Let's just sit you down here for a bit." He replied with a laugh, placing me in a chair nearby.

"Thhhaanks Lewissss... yurr normally sooo boring. Whydoncha get drunk moore?"

"Hahaha. I wish I could. You just sit there for a while. I will go and get some water for you." He said, quickly turning around and walking over to the bar. As this happened, Christopher slid over to me and moved a chair next to me before sitting down.

"Henryyyy! You seem a little, little bit drunk Henry!" Christopher shouted with exaggerated excitement.

"Nahhhhh, I'll be fiiiiine. I barely evnnn 'ad a drink yet. Iss fine."

"Hahaha! True! If we're not drunk let's get more driiiiinks!!" He yelled with an ear to ear smile, dragging me to the bar. We ordered more beer and some shots, and began to drink once more.

It was at this point that the night truly turned into a blur, and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor to our room in the hunting lodge next to Christopher, smelling of alcohol and vomit.

"Crap... what happened?" I asked in confusion, my thoughts slowed by the splitting headache that ravaged my brain. Christopher woke up not too long after in a similar condition. I felt a strange pain across my chest, and I went into the bathroom to check it out.

"Holy crap!" I yelled aloud at what I saw on myself. A huge scar ran from just below my ribs to my right hip. The wound was mostly healed, with the only real pain the tender and sore skin and scar tissue.

"What is this!?" I yelled out to Christopher, showing my scar to him.

"Whoa. That is a crazy scar. Does it hurt?" He said with a tired tone, reaching over to feel the scar.

"Not a lot, but that's not the point. How did it get there? And what else happened while I was drunk?"

"I know as much as you, Henry. What I do know is that I'm going downstairs to get some water." He said groggily, before walking down the stairs. I followed suit, arriving in the restaurant area where another team was also recovering from a night drinking. We sat with glasses of water trying not to be turned inside out by our hangovers for quite some time, before Mark, Sharon and Lewis descended from the room.

"You two had quite the night yesterday." Mark said with a smile, sitting down at our table.

"Do you know anything about my scar?" I asked, hoping mark had seen it.

"Scar? No. What happened?" He asked, showing visible concern.

"Woke up. Had a scar." I said bluntly, lifting up my shirt and revealing the scar.

"That's a big one! Have no idea what happened to you last night, though. You and Christopher disappeared into the town, and when we found you, you were passed out in our room." He said with a laugh.

And so, our first hunt had truly ended, albeit without a bang and more of a hangover and a strange scar of mysterious origin. These three years aren't going to be easy...