The First Gathering

The wheels of carriage are moving fast as they're being carried by the horses under the night sky. The worried faces can be seen from the people in carriage, only to be worsen as they travel through a strong blizzard. As the carriage driver lead the horses down the road, he begins to hear unsettling grinding noises approaching from their sides. Not knowing what they are, he ignored the sound and continued moving. The horses and the carriage are put to a stop as the horses see their path being blocked by a tree that fell. The blizzard heavily obscures the vision of the carriage driver, but he spots something from the other side of the tree. A passenger opens a small window behind the carriage driver to get his attention.

"Did... Did something happen..? Why.. did we stop?" the passenger asks

The carriage driver turns around as the passenger catches his attention and fear can be seen in his eyes. As if he knew this would be the end for them.

"I'm sorry.." the carriage driver replied softly

The passenger then realized what was about to happen, and a tear would form in his eyes. A gray hand appears on the carriage driver's face and is quickly dragged away as he screams. The passengers enter a state of panic as they heard their driver scream. The carriage begins to shake around then is flipped over to the side of the road. Arms would break through the carriage destroying the wood. There, that night went on...

The next day, in a certain tavern in the kingdom of Icy Vale, multiple people would be drinking and laughing together. Eating and drinking as much as they want.

"Well, this is a rare sight! One of the strongest adventurers of this land are all present in my tavern!" the tavern keeper exclaims as he eats and drinks along with the people.

An elf girl would be sitting by the counter wearing a brown cloak and a red scarf. She drinks a mug of ale quietly just observing the tavern with her hearing that is greater than most people. As she peacefully enjoys her drink she is approached by a man with a wearing a thick coat and a small bag. He sits down beside Denila then orders one mug of ale which is then served by the barmaid.

"Jonathan Gravewalker, I'm assuming?" Denila says

"Ah yikes, seems like you've already heard of me" Jonathan replies

"How could I not know of you? You're pretty famous as the one of the highest quest completion in the tavern"

"You're pretty famous yourself Denila, your story of being saved by a god and your ability to wield magic as well" Jonathan says then takes a sip from his mug.

The number of staff would increase in the tavern as a few minutes pass until there would be five total serving the customers. One barmaid walks up to a table of four and serve them food and ale. One out of the four of them is the smallest and the heaviest drinker. His name is Benjamin Bardborn.

"Benjamin! Are you sure you should be drinking that much?!" asked by a bearded man seated next to him.

"It's foooooiiinnnnnee!" Benjamin responds then lets out a loud burp followed by a loud laughter.

Benjamin begins to drink the newly served mugs of ale and gulps down his in one go. Burping again, he looks at his friend's mug and points at it smiling at him.

"You gont fish that?" Benjamin asks

"Well yeah..." his friend responds

Nevertheless, Benjamin still took his mug and drank it down. A unique looking person joined their table giving the people on that table an uneasy feeling. He had blue skin and wore a thick red clothing with long hair. He took a chair and placed it beside Benjamin's and sat down beside him.

"So you're Benjamin? Nice to meet you. Looks like we're gonna get along just fine" the man says

"Ah yeah! Bardborn's who I am! Now might you wanna introduce yourself?" Benjamin responds

"Azgore Vanro" he says smirking

Those who had heard him say his name flinched in their seats then turn to face him. Benjamin put down a mug of ale in front of him, which he took from his other friend.

"Azgore Vanro? You the real deal?" he asks

Azgore takes the mug of ale and drinks it and slams it on the table, a bit of ale would jump out of the mug.

"You're on" Azgore replies

The two begin drinking while Benjamin's friends cheer them on to see who would drink the most. The barmaids would continue bringing in platters and bringing out new dishes for the next few hours. At the table where the tavern keeper is. A hairy man would be there sitting with him polishing his great sword while sharing his experience to the tavern keeper.

"So Gunvil Trueblade! You seem like a pretty capable guy! I mean YOU ARE a capable guy. After all, you are pretty known as the one who led that small military back then, using your wits and charisma to properly command them!" the tavern keeper says

"Aha!!! Correct! We were actually form to protect those who can't protect themselves! Similar to heroes!" Gunvil replies

"Yes! About that! Do you plan on being the first hero of Icy Vale?" the tavern keeper asks

"Right! I heard that the other countries have their heroes, if given the chance to become one for Icy Vale. I, Gunvil Trueblade, will gladly take on the job!" Gunvil answers

"We got ourselves Icy Vale's first new hero!" the tavern keeper exclaims loudly announcing it to the rest of the people.

Everyone began clapping and cheering for Gunvil believing that he's become Icy Vale's hero and have high hopes for him. The tavern became even livelier than ever. Denila puts down the mug of ale and stands up, stretching. Jonathan look over to her direction and turn himself facing her.

"Icy Vale's hero, Gunvil Trueblade, huh?" Denila mutters to herself

"He is a pretty formidable foe. He led a small military protecting villages from small raids" Jonathan replies

"Didn't you hear about the nightly attacks? Where's his small military to protect the roads from the thieves like that?" Denila replies

"Well, why don't you fight back those thieves? Maybe they'll praise you of as a hero" Jonathan responds

"Tsk, I'm not interested in fighting a band of thieves. Why don't you do it? Weren't you usually taking on quests that the regulars won't take?" Denila answers back

"I'll pass on that. I sleep at night and fight at day" Jonathan answers

Benjamin and Azgore would put their mugs down, both empty and both on their 25th mug. Azgore burps in unison with Benjamin ignoring the tavern keeper's announcement of Gunvil's hero profession. They both laugh together agreeing that they both end with a tie.

"You're not bad for someone inhuman. Tell me, what are you exactly?" Benjamin asks boldly

"I am half human, in case you don't know! I just have ancestors from the Hell" Azgore replies dead serious

Benjamin laughs it off as if Azgore was just joking around. He nudges Azgore's shoulder then pats him.

"For someone who doesn't look wasted, you say some pretty wasted stuff!" Benjamin says.

The doors of the tavern bursts open and two knights would enter the room. The people nearby would begin clearing out and giving space for the knights keeping their distance. The tavern keeper puts on a serious, ticked off look and approach the knights.

"Is something the matter here? I hope my tavern hasn't caused any disruptions to royalty" the tavern keeper says

Another knight enters and stops at the door way, the wind coming inside blowing the candles out, he takes out a scroll.

"We, the knights that serve and protect the peace of Icy Vale, are here on orders of the king. We are looking for the following, if your name is mentioned, please come to the royal palace immediately. We will be escorting you. The people we are looking for are... Denila, Azgore Vanro, Benjamin Bardborn, Jonathan Gravewalker, and Gunvil Trueblade" the knight announces

All five of them stand up from their place turning towards the knights with their things on them. They all leave together with the knights as the people in the tavern wish them all luck and cheering for them.