Copperpot and I eventually made our way back to the party. We were down, but not out, and getting to spend time with a legend would definitely help with our mood.

We found Balin and Annie tag-teaming Dwarf Draconis, with Johnsson and Richter apparently out for the count. The two of them moved in perfect sync, Balin darting in while the Annie grabbed Draconis’s attention. Draconis lashed out at Balin with a snap kick, then did a backflip that put Annie and Balin on the same side. The two immediately joined up to cover each other’s blind spots, and put up a united front.

“They have good teamwork.” Copperpot said.

I nodded. “Aye. They practice together in the mornin’; they both lost their families to monster attacks and they want to be ready in case somethin’ ever happens again.”

Balin and Annie began circling in different directions, sandwiching Draconis between them. The dwarf, who was still wearing his trademark red lizard leather pants and belt, struck a pose and breathed a small spout of fire into the air. We all cheered at the theatrical taunt. It worked too, as Balin darted in and grabbed at the wrestler’s feet. As Draconis went to bring an elbow down on Balin’s head, Annie dashed in with a lariat and connected with his neck, bringing him and Balin down to the ground.

The trio fell into a tangled pile and everyone in the room rose to their feet, whooping. Our shouts turned to groans as Draconis somehow managed to put Annie into an armbar, with Balin locked between his knees.

“Arghhh! Give! Give!” Annie shouted. Balin seemed a bit choked up, and was just flailing an arm instead, his face turning blue.

“Ach! It was a good fight, eh!” Draconis said, jumping to his feet. ‘Yer a pair of naturals!”

“Not me.” Annie whoofed. “But Balin is an Adventurer.”

“Oh, are ye?” Draconis said, given Balin another look. “Aye, I can see it. Are ya registered ta enter Deepcore yet?”

Balin answered in between heaving gasps for air. “Aye, just passed tha’ test. We did a few forays inta Whitewall, but didn’t run into much other than some sandfleas.”

Draconis gave him an enormous slap on the back, and to his credit, Balin didn’t fall over.

The rest of the evening pretty much went like that. Draconis was a great guy, affable, larger than life, larger than the average dwarf, and he loved our beer. We actually had to run screaming for Darrel’s elemental to come douse a fire Draconis lit when he got a taste of the gose. He was not only ready and willing to pitch our beer for the round, he offered to do it for the entire competition. Balin wasn’t the only one to get back-slapped that night, as Johnsson had welts by the time we were done pounding his backside!

During a lull in the evening entertainment, I took the opportunity to read my new Ability.

[Rapid Aging] - Making good beer takes time, and this lets you do it faster. While focusing on a non-magical food or drink, you can cause its time to pass faster at a rate of your choosing. You may cause it to experience between one day and one year of time. This ability cannot affect sentient beings.

This ability can be used once an hour.