As the party made their way through the island, they noticed no one was in sight. That, along with the dark rainclouds rolling in, made everything feel strangely eerie—despite it otherwise being a pretty normal, if not small, town.
"Not a single person out," muttered Lea.
"I mean, can you blame them?" Erina said. "What are the odds a demon portal shows up on a quiet island like this? They're probably terrified."
Suddenly, the ringing of a nearby clocktower rang out.
Dalan jumped.
Kald and Lea snickered.
"Not your best trip, huh Dal?" Lea teased.
Dalan rolled his eyes and kept walking. "I hate you guys."
That's when Erina came to a stop in front of a house.
"What's wrong?" Dalan asked, turning.
"This is it," Erina said, arms crossed.
"It is?" Lea asked, eyeing the building. "Doesn't look that different from the others."
Kald squinted. "Guess it's a little bigger."
Erina shrugged. "Size aside, the quest log said the mayor's house would have this symbol out front." She pointed to a small wooden sign hanging by the door. It bore a peculiar marking that none of the other houses had.
"Hm," Kald said, slightly amused.
"I'm knocking," Erina added, and did just that.
After a moment, a man in his forties answered the door with a worried expression—but relaxed upon seeing them. "You must be the adventurers. Please, come in!"
He ushered them inside and quickly shut the door behind them, leading the group into the sitting room.
"Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee?"
Kald asked for tea, Erina and Dalan for coffee, and Lea—who liked neither—asked for hot chocolate.
"Alright!" the man said with a smile. He turned to leave but paused. "Ah—and I forgot to mention. My name's Dan. My father, the mayor, will be down shortly."
Kald gave a nod as Dan walked off.
"You just had to be different and ask for hot cocoa," Dalan muttered to Lea.
She shrugged. "Not my fault the other options sucked."
"What!?"
They went back and forth like that for a while until footsteps echoed from the stairs.
Kald turned to see an elderly man descending. His hair was platinum white, he bore a long beard and wore a tailored brown suit, leaning on a wooden cane. He made his way over and sat down just as Dan returned with the drinks, placing them on the table before sitting beside him.
"It's nice to finally have you here," the elder said, extending a hand. "I'm Mayor George Adden."
Kald reached out and shook it. "I'm Kald the Hero, leader of Quick Fang. Nice to meet you."
The mayor nodded. "As you know from the quest log, a demon portal has appeared on our island." He sighed. "Almost comedically, it showed up in a small cave where we have a shrine to the gods."
Kald exhaled. That really was somewhat comedically, if not cruel.
"The portal isn't very large—maybe the size of an average human woman—so I don't believe the threat will be too extreme," the mayor continued. "But… it's still a demon portal."
Kald nodded, his thoughts briefly racing. Smaller portals were far less dangerous than large ones, but even one small demon could bring chaos if ignored.
"I see," he said.
"As for payment," the mayor added, "I've already sent the full sum to the Guild. You can collect it when you return. Any questions?"
Kald glanced at his party. Lea and Dalan were still sipping their drinks quietly, and Erina gave a shake of her head.
He turned back. "No, that about covers it. Could we get someone to guide us to the portal tomorrow?"
Dan chimed in. "I'll take you."
Kald nodded again. The mayor leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. "In all my years, I never thought something like this would happen here... especially not at the end of my term."
"You're retiring?" Erina asked.
The mayor nodded. "In fact, I should've already retired. Dan was meant to take over, but… well, with all this demon business, we've delayed the transition."
"I see," she replied softly.
"Anyway," the mayor said, "Dan, go ahead and show them to their rooms they need good rest for tomorrow."
Dan nodded. "Yes, Father. Please follow me everyone."
He led the group up the stsairs down the hall, dropping off Lea first, then Dalan. Finally, he stopped between Erina's and Kald's rooms.
"Have a good rest," Dan said with a polite bow before heading back down the stairs.
Kald and Erina lingered by their doors. She turned toward him with a playful smirk.
"What?" she teased. "You gonna miss sleeping next to me?"
Kald blushed and quickly turned away. "Good night, Erina."
She giggled. "Good night, Kald. I love you." With that, she slipped into her room.
Kald stood there for a moment longer, smiling like a fool before finally heading into his own room and gently shutting the door behind him.
(And thus, Quick Fang's adventure continues!)