Saying goodbye to Bo was different the second time. Roden could tell there was less worry in the old adventurer than there had been when they went their separate ways the first time. Naturally Bo had his concerns about their path considering it was leading them straight into a fight with old dragons who were no doubt powerful in unpredictable ways.

Yet, Bo knew his boys were as right for the task as any adventurers had a right to be. He still had called them shitheads and chastised them for never calling to tell him the job he'd given them was complete, but it was those qualities that made Bo the perfect mentor for a band of demi-divine beings.

After leaving Bo's the following day the men were able to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the Timber Wilds just as they had done months before until the dense trees and vegetation of the deeper wilds turned their stroll into a slog.

Roden consistently found himself hung up on branches or thorns. After one particularly troublesome encounter with a prickly bush Roden had enough. He brought forth his Grove Armor and took to the trees.

After some time jumping from tree to tree, he noticed Riakon was no longer powering through the brush as he had been moments before. Roden did his best to remain calm when he heard Riakon's deep voice from above him.

"Up here!"

Roden turned his head up and saw Riakon floating just beyond a branch twenty feet above him.

Roden instantly recognized what had happened. Errrkkkk had remembered he could grant Riakon flight with his new wind based abilities. From there Roden conjured up his Nimbus and the three men took to the skies in a majestic display of air superiority.

As it turned out, Errrkkkk could not only grant limited flight to anyone within his immediate aura, but he had the ability to temporarily grant near perfect flight to a single target, in their case that was Riakon.

With all three members of their group having achieved flight capabilities, travel became a trivial exercise. They flew above the trees, no longer subjected to the drudgery of slogging through the forest. Riakon looked elated by the experience of unabated flight.

His enthusiasm was tempered when he flew high into the sky and Errrkkkk revoked his wind. Riakon plummeted like a punctured balloon. Of course, Errrkkkk didn't let him slam into the ground and instead used his new wind affinity to bestow flight once more. With Errrkkkk's wind around him again, Riakon floated gently to a halt just before he hit the tree canopy.

Unscathed. Riakon flew back to the group, his face set in a glare toward Errrkkkk, "that was a dirty trick."

Errrkkkk smiled, "never forget where your wings come from, cacaw."

"I'm pretty sure that also means if Errrkkkk gets knocked out you're screwed." Roden added.

It didn't take long into their air travel for the men to realize group flight was the far superior form of travel to hiking through the dense forest of the Timber Wilds. They were able to traverse the three day hike in less than two days of flying.

Even finding the Outpost was easier thanks to their high vantage. It was clear to Roden that Errrkkkk's new affinity for wind had dramatically improved his flight capabilities. He was faster and more agile as he flew at the head of their staggered V formation.

Riakon was the slowest and had to stay within Errrkkkk's aura. Roden on the other hand was able to keep up just by the use of his Nimbus. Roden had no illusions of being faster than Errrkkkk in a one on one race over a great distance, but in a short burst he thought he might have a chance.

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Roden had grown more accustomed to flight since he'd gotten his cloud, but he was still relieved when he caught sight of the massive revolving windmill that sat atop the Outpost. Entering the Adventurer's Outpost for the first time in what seemed like ages brought Roden back to that fateful day when he arrived on Mir. So much uncertainty had clouded his perspective. He remembered half believing he was dreaming or had gone bat shit crazy.

Since then his life had gone from a strange unreal experience to a journey of monumental proportions. He had discovered Zamira had brought him to Mir, which turned out to be a world eerily similar to the world he'd created for his Adventures and Antics games.

He'd learned that things were not always the same across his Mir and the one he stood on. He'd even had to come to terms with the idea that he was piloting around the real Roden's body since that night he woke up inside that building.

The general haze of intermingling smokes from fires and pipes were an immediate reminder of his first moments of Mir. The smell of the main tavern room carried a mix of old beer and wood weathered by the thousands of feet that walked across its floorboards.

The men found their old table in the corner of the room and slid. It didn't take long before a serving maid was leaving their table with their order of drinks and food. Roden leaned against the hard backrest of the booth and let all of his tension drop out of his shoulders.

He glanced over to the guys and saw they were doing much the same.

"Feels like it's been a lifetime since we met here, huh?" Roden said, his gaze drifting out over the other patrons.

Riakon nodded his head slowly, "you can say that again."

Errrkkkk clucked, "hard to believe everything that has happened, cacaw."

Riakon and Roden both slowly turned to look at the birdman, astonished by the sameness in his voice.

"What, cacaw?"

"You got something on your mind there, brother?" Riakon said attempting to coax Errrkkkk to continue.

"It's true though. We set out from the temple to have an adventure. To become famous adventurers, to make a name for ourselves, to get stronger, cacaw." Errrkkkk paused and sighed, "it's just hard to believe we did so much of that already, cacaw."

Roden raised an eyebrow, "isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah I just thought it'd be harder, cacaw."

Riakon rolled his eyes, "there it is."

"And he's back." Roden added, sharing the sentiment.

Errrkkkk bristled, "no, seriously, I thought it'd have been harder. I thought it would have taken longer. Us three are already some of the strongest adventures. Hell we are probably the strongest in this room, cacaw…" he trailed off, "at least Roden and I are, cacaw."

"Shit Roden, I think he has a point. It all did come rather quickly." Riakon said after a brief moment of reflection.

Some time passed while the men sat pondering the strange conundrum of Errrkkkk's seeming dissatisfaction. Roden ended up being the one to break the silence, "ya know, there is more to being an Adventurer than just being the strongest."

"No there isn't, cacaw."

"No for real, think of all the adventurers who reach a point and stop advancing. Look at the old King, he chose to give up his adventures for a crown." Roden said trying his best to not reveal anything he shouldn't know.

"That means he quit, cacaw."

Before Roden could speak, Riakon cut in, "I see it now, he's afraid of having to give up adventuring."

Roden nodded, "that is actually my point. The way I see it, he exchanged one power for another. He became the most powerful man in the entire world by sitting down. I dare say anything he could have gained without the crown pales in comparison to what he gained by wearing it."

Errrkkkk frowned, "that isn't the point, cacaw. Where is the challenge? If becoming the strongest is so easy, what happens when we've reached the peak, cacaw?"

Riakon looked thoughtful, while all Roden could do was chuckle.

"What's so funny, cacaw?" Errrkkkk said, sounding as though he were truly on the verge of an existential crisis.

"Guys, I very well could be wrong, but one of the proverbs I have always found endearing is 'there is always a bigger fish.'" Roden said, quoting Star Wars once again.

Errrkkkk rolled his eyes, "yeah maybe, but what if there isn't, cacaw?"

Riakon patted Errrkkkk's shoulder, "then we will find you a new challenge!"

"Exactly! As a matter of fact…" Roden trailed off looking around the room.

"What are you doing, cacaw."

A goofy grin spread on Roden's face, "I think it's time for the Sons of Er-archy to make their debut on a different kind of stage!"

Their food arrived at some point within their discussion of exactly what their debut was going to entail. Between Riakon and Roden they ordered enough liquor to stagger even their prodigious constitutions. It took a few hours for their general sobriety to give way to a mild intoxication.

The near hour long series of drinking games were enough to push all of the men into what could be considered a solid drunken stupor. They took the stage that night, their minds shrouded in a haze of delight and nervous excitement, or excited nervousness.

When it came time for someone to take center stage before the crowd Roden took a step forward, but was stopped by a taloned hand.

"I've gots dis, ca–caw." Errrkkkk said, the unmistakable smell of whisky lacing his words.

Laughter rose unabated from deep within Roden, "what song?" was all he could manage between gasps.

"Free Bird, cacaw."

The ensuing performance was not one for the record books and would never be recounted in the history of the best performances on any stage, but not a single soul who witnessed the Sons of Er-archy's set of bird and flight themed songs could deny those men were having a great time…and drunk…

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