"Healer" Obtained

"It would be quite the honor to assist The Legendary Steam Knight. Especially when she is far more beautiful then the setting sun." Orion said with a smirk, causing Tara to blush and giggle. "However, I must speak with..."

"Hey, can I talk with you for a second, Ted?" Jake asked, pulling his employer to the side. Once they were, what Jake thought was, out of earshot, the young man whispered harshly, "I am not going anywhere with this girl! She's freaking nuts! Who the hell walks around naked with some kind of gaming console on their head?!"

"Well, she seems to like you..." Ted said, recalling the seductive smile that Tara had given Jake.

"That just makes it worse!" Jake hissed. "Call the police!"

"Look, it doesn't seem like she's leaving anytime soon without you." Ted stated, "And if she stays here, she'll scare away my costumers."

"What costumers?! We're closed!" Jake snapped. "I am not going anywhere with her!"

"What if I give you the rest of the week off?"

"Tempting, but no."

"And if I double your pay, too?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... I can't believe I'm doing this." Jake muttered in annoyance as he walked over to Tara, grabbing a mop just in case. Clearing his throat, he asked, "So, uh, Steam Knight, was it?"

"Lord Octavius has entrusted me with The Staff of Saint Algeron." Orion said, holding up a wooden and clockwork staff. "This magical staff can heal any and all wounds and ailments. It can also function as a sort of 'healing rifle', allowing me to provide aid from long distances."

"Oh, mind if I touch your staff later." Tara said with a flirtatious giggle, knowing the double entendre would be lost on the game...

But not lost to Jake, who's eyes went wide in discomfort before he turned to Ted and pointed at Tara. The young man groaned as he got an shrug in response.

"Let our adventure begin, Orion!" Tara shouted, grabbing the elf by the hand and leading him out of the house.

"Good luck, Steam Knight!" Lord Octavius called out, "May the gods smile down on you!"

The two walked down the street as Tara let go of Orion's hand. "So, who do we need next to forge our fellowship?"

"'Fellowship'? 'Quests'?" Jake asked in disbelief before sighing, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe I'm babysitting a naked, crazy woman who thinks she's in some fairy tale."

"I suggest we find a rogue and a barbarian next." Orion said, "They can come in handy should we ever come across Queen Lilith's undead automatons. Fortunately, I know just where to find the perfect duo for the job."

Suddenly, a small circle appeared in the left hand corner of Tara's vision, with little colored dots covering it. A purple dot was labeled 'Barbarian' and a yellow dot was labeled 'Rogue'. A box soon popped up saying "Map Acquired."

"Ooh. That's handy!" Tara said as she headed in the direction that the purple and yellow dots were in.

"Hey! Where the hell are you going?!" Jake barked as Tara ran off, letting out a groan as he chased after her.

"You can do this, Andrew." A short, skinny, nerdy looking young man in glasses thought to himself as he sat at a picnic table in the park. "You two have been friends since the second grade all the way to your college graduation. And today," he pushed up his glasses, "you are going to tell Ophelia how much you are madly in love with -"

"Hey, Drew!"

The young man let out a squeak as he looked up to see a tall, muscular young woman with long black hair tied up into a ponytail and a black leather jacket approaching the table with a bottle of beer and a box of chili cheese fries.

"Sorry I'm late, Dude." Ophelia apologized as she sat down across from Andrew. "I had to stop by Sal's for a quick snack. You know how much I love their chili cheese fries! Watcha wanna talk about?"

"God! Why is she so freaking cute?!" Andrew thought to himself as Ophelia grabbed a handful of fries and stuffed them into her mouth. A second later, he shook his head and thought, "Focus, Andrew! Tell Ophelia now!"

Tara stopped as she came to an open field, the exact spot where the map had led her as she laid eyes on a thin tiefling woman in black garb and a large muscular human man in stereotypical barbarian clothing sitting by a roaring fire, the latter feasting on a leg of mutton.

"There they are." Orion said as he approached, "The tiefling is Kalza, one of the greatest thieves in Clankwall. The barbarian is Romanicus the Mighty, a former soldier and the strongest man from The Northern Tribes who was kicked out of his tribe for sleeping with The Chieftain's daughter."

"Well, let's get to recruitment!" Tara exclaimed as she ran forward.

"'Recruitment'? What are you - Hey!" Jake called out as Tara ran through the park entrance and toward the picnic table where a nerdy guy was trying to build the courage to confess to the muscular woman stuffing her face with cheese fries. He let out an annoyed growl as he followed after her once more.