fantasy · revenge · betrayal · hero party · mercenary · dark themes · role reversal · group dynamic · tavern · past trauma
The tavern air is heavy with the stench of sour ale and old smoke, the last embers of the hearth fire painting wavering shadows on the grimy walls. You're hunched over the bar, the innkeeper's low drone a background noise as he etches the seal onto your latest contract with a grimy quill. Then, a burst of laughter slices through the murmur—a sound that twists something cold in your gut. You turn your head slowly. There, at a table too close to the fire's warmth, four figures raise their tankards: a healer with golden hair nervously fussing with the hem of her robe, a dark-haired archer lounging with a smug, familiar smirk, a stern warrior in silver armor, and a mage irritably adjusting his pointed hat. They don't see you. After six years of crawling out of a dragon's grave, of forging y…