above a simple log house. The structure wasn’t remotely comparable to the kind of Guild Halls he had seen in the past, but at the same time, the village was the smallest settlement of civilization he'd ever seen have a Guild Hall of its own.
Unsurprisingly, simplicity defined the building. Once they were inside, his focus was immediately drawn to a massive fire burning in the center of the room. Smoke and embers rose through a hole in the ceiling.
The building had a few elevated stories where a few rooms had been set up, but it looked like most of the business went through a single desk on the far side of the room. It was probably a good thing that very little work took place. A handful of mercenaries were clustered around one of the tables near the fire, and while they cast their gazes to see who the new arrivals were, they weren't overly interested.
The barbarian strode immediately to the table of the guildmaster, whose nose was buried in a stack of papers. The man had difficulty reading through them and had to peer through a pince-nez and squint to see anything. He had the look of a former warrior himself, although many years in his past. His head was bald and his chin clean-shaven, which left his thick, bushy eyebrows as the only hair on his head as he focused on the new arrival.
"More fighters coming along this way, eh?" he grunted. "Chano is the name, and they call me guildmaster around these parts. If you look for work, find it on the board above. If anything interests you, come to me for the contract."
He recited the words in a practiced manner and delivered them quickly despite his heavy accent while he returned his attention to his papers. It took a moment before the reality of what he’d seen finally penetrated and his gaze shifted to stare at the massive warrior framed against the firelight. The guildmaster's eyes almost bulged and his pince-nez dropped from its perch.
"I say…are…are you… You would not happen to be Skharr DeathEater, would you?"
The barbarian smirked as he approached the board where the contracts were posted. "I suppose many barbarians look like me. But yes, that is the name that I am known by, among others."
"The other name known is the fucking Barbarian of Theros." The guildmaster stood. He wasn't a tall man but he possessed a stocky build that made him look like there might have been a trace of dwarf in his blood as well.
Brahgen leaned against the table. "He is well-known, then? I thought his legends didn't go much farther than the civilized world."
"Maybe not among the common folk, but much has been said about your travel companion among the fighters for hire on the continent."
"What kind of stories? I've heard the one about how he killed a dragon to bring the emperor to his throne."
"I didn't kill the dragon," Skharr corrected them, his focus fixed on the board. "I ran away from it, to be honest. Survived a dragon, I suppose you could say."
"That is as may be, but we all know ballads have a tendency toward exaggeration," the guildmaster replied. "Not much in the godsbedammed world can kill a dragon aside from magic. And even then, I've seen powerful spells strike the scales and simply bounce off. But, no. The stories I heard were a little more interesting, although perhaps not the kind to sing about. How he would take coin from ladies of the city of Verenvan to abuse their less desirable suitors. Of course, as the tales go, he is known to take a little more than coin."
"What do you…oh. I see." Brahgen narrowed his eyes and looked at his companion. "Is that true? I didn't think ladies had a taste for that kind of…well your kind of… Never mind."
"I couldn't tell you if I wanted to," the barbarian answered cryptically. "And I wouldn't want tales of how I take payment for my services to have any credibility."
"That means yes," the guildmaster whispered. "Still, the genuinely interesting tale was when one of those suitors decided he wanted to marry the woman regardless. She had other plans, of course. Skharr had beaten the man before, but the tale being woven was that his feat was not quite as impressive as all that. I forget what excuses the lordling supposedly wove, but come time for the marriage, the bride invited Skharr to the ceremony and after it was