Glenn woke at first light with Becka still resting her head on his chest, wrapped around him. The air was cold, and the blanket had come loose in the night, but she was so warm. She wasn’t sleeping. She was waiting. Reluctantly, he sat up as she did the same.

“I need to report for guard duty,” he whispered. “Can’t be late on my first day.”

“And I need to finish packing,” she agreed softly. “It’s a three day walk to Evolan, which we’re doing, apparently, on foot, because walking the Safe Roads is something Blazers do.”

“You’ll be fine.” This was too soon for them to part. “So this is it, then.”

“This is it for three years,” Becka said, as she stared back with warm, kind eyes. “I’ll be back before you know it. Because Glenn, I...” She forced herself to stop, then smiled. “You know.”

He did. He felt the same, yet finally saying those words this morning, before they parted for three years, would be impossibly cruel. So Glenn said nothing. He simply kissed her one last time.

Afterward, they rose together and embraced. He released her, and she packed up her blanket and walked out of the park without looking back. Soon after, Glenn left the park as well.

He didn’t go home. He didn’t go to Becka’s house. He went to the Town Guard barracks, and was unsurprised to find the door unlocked. No one would dare enter this building who wasn’t allowed, thanks to the will of the Gods.

Glenn found a pale-skinned man with short dark hair waiting inside, already in full armor save for his helmet. Glenn realized he’d actually met this man before, though only briefly. This man sometimes appeared in Sadie’s tavern, but never for long.

Was he a friend of Sadie’s? Her younger brother? Given everyone knew everyone in Wolfpine, it was rare to see someone and not ... but Town Guards were different.

They stood apart from the Townsfolk and Adventurers of Wolfpine, even when out of uniform, and given how slowly they aged, it made sense that they would be less than social. They wouldn’t want people figuring that out.

This man, naturally, looked close to Logain’s age, early twenties, which suggested he might actually be in his late thirties. Glenn still had trouble accepting Town Guards aged so slowly.

The man stepped forward and offered his hand. “Seth Wintershade.”

So this was Sadie’s husband! Glenn had never officially met Sadie’s husband, and had only known he existed. Now, he finally understood why.

Glenn shook Seth’s hand firmly. “Glenn Redwood.”

“Glad to know I don’t have to arrest some kid who wandered in by accident,” Seth agreed evenly. “You’re right on time, which is a good way to make me like you. Logain’s off today, so I’m doing your orientation. Ziva should be here in a moment. We’ll get you measured for your Town Guard uniform, but the clothes you’re wearing should do for today. And now, I’ll give you the tour.”

Seth then showed him around the barracks, which were more expansive than Glenn had known. The bottom floor was mostly open but had several small rooms, offices for Logain and Joanne, Logain’s second-in-command. The holding area had five small cells with beds and buckets, built of sturdy stone set directly into the building’s foundation, and a room for interrogating uncooperative lawbreakers.

The upstairs looked to be devoted to clerical work, with a number of desks, inkwells, and stacks of paper which Town Guards must use to write reports and create bulletins they posted in the town square. There were also small rooms in the back, just like the cells, except these were larger and had no bars. Each also sported a comfortable, single-person bed, a foot locker, a chest of drawers, and a table.

Seth thumped the closed door of a room at the end of the hall. “This room is yours. You don’t need to sleep here, mind you. When you’re not on duty, where you go is your business.”

Glenn nodded again. “I probably won’t sleep here. At least not until I get my bearings.” Glenn wasn’t sure he wanted to sleep where he worked. That just felt depressing.

“There’s no reason you can’t buy your own house when you save up some money, or move in with a partner,” Seth said. “I sleep at The Mead Beast, not in the barracks.”

Glenn nodded in understanding. “And your daughter could never sleep in the barracks.”

Seth smiled proudly. “My Randi. That’s right. Town Guards aren’t allowed to request children from the church, but she lost her parents years ago. Taking her in was the best decision we ever made. She’s endlessly frustrating sometimes, but she also inspires me. That’s how it is with children.”

Glenn tilted his head. “I’m glad she found a home. Though, I do wonder...”

“Why am I telling you all this?” Seth’s smile faded to a rather serious expression. “To make it clear a life like mine is still an option. You don’t have to live in the barracks just because of your job. You don’t have to remain a permanent bachelor, like Martin. You don’t even have to leave Wolfpine after you retire. My family is all I need.”

Glenn understood. Not everyone longed to wander the world and risk their life fighting Monsters and Demons. By the time he retired, Seth would already have given enough service both to Wolfpine and the Gods to justify living the quiet life he wanted with his wife and daughter.

Still, Seth’s current age begged a question. It was a question that had bothered Glenn since he first learned about how [+Regrowth+] worked, given Seth was married to Sadie Wintershade, who aged at a normal rate. How could he ask it without seeming rude?

“When I turn 40 and can choose my own class, I plan to unslot [+Regrowth+],” Seth added. “We can do that, remember. After we retire. We can reSlot again and even choose a new Class.”

Glenn blinked. He hadn’t expected Seth to read his thoughts. Yet the man’s grin showed this was likely not the first time he’d been asked this question.

“Scott asked the same thing,” Seth added. “Most every new guard does when they hear I’m married, so don’t feel like you’re the first. While this means I’ll have a few less years with my wife, it means I’ll have more with my daughter. It’s not perfect, but it’s enough.”

“I see,” Glenn said softly. “That make sense.”

Seth’s life wouldn’t be Glenn’s life, of course. He was definitely going to leave Wolfpine once his time as a Town Guard ended. Though ... he had twenty-four years of service ahead of him. Who was to say he wouldn’t change his mind in that time?

He couldn’t imagine settling down in Wolfpine after he retired, but it was reassuring to know he had options. If Becka did come back to Wolfpine, as a Blazer, they could still be together. She’d be older than him, physically, but Glenn couldn’t imagine that changing how he felt about her.

“Scott’s never getting married, of course,” Seth said. “Chelsea is with Logain, Linda is looking for someone but is extremely picky, and Martin and Joanne are content to bone each other and the Entertainers at The Scarlet Rose. You’re going to hear about all this or stumble across it sooner or later, so I feel it’s best to just be open about who’s boning who. We’re mortal just like everyone else.”

Glenn kept his face as neutral as possible. Before today, he hadn’t even considered getting involved with a fellow town guard. Yet dating a fellow guard was possible? It wasn’t forbidden?

“If you take up with someone in the guard, just make sure it doesn’t interfere with your work,” Seth said evenly. “And while you may already know the rules Kya has placed upon us, I’ll repeat them. You’ll stand a watch eight hours a day, five days a week, with extra duty at the mayor’s discretion.”

Extra duty like those Coleman had assigned the guards last night. Glenn still hated that he’d caused them trouble. Yet as Martin and Scott had reminded him, it wasn’t he who’d caused the trouble.

“Joanne handles the scheduling,” Set continued. “She’s going to become captain after Captain Cliffbreeze retires, since she’s the only one who wants it. So just let her know if you need a day here and there. Someone is always willing to swap, provided you agree to do the same for them later.”

That seemed like a good system. Glenn felt it fair, especially if someone got sick or had a family emergency. Though … given [+Regrowth+], Town Guards likely never got sick.

“You cannot leave the walls of Wolfpine unless Mayor Coleman offers you a specific Quest,” Seth continued. “You cannot step more than fifty paces from the walls lest Kya Herself turn you to salt, even if you think to save an Adventurer. They must step with 50 paces of the walls before you can protect them, but once they do, and if a Monster follows them, it’s your duty to make its head concave, along with any other Monsters nearby. You can chase them as far as it takes to kill them, but you must then return to the town walls as soon as they’re defeated.”

Glenn had always known that Town Guards couldn’t just … help. Yet hearing the rules stated aloud chilled him anew. Ultimately, he imagined, the restrictions the Gods placed upon Town Guards was to ensure the challenge of Leveling remained. If Adventurers could rely on Town Guards to run all the way down to the Deepscorn Woods to save them, Adventuring would hold no risk.

With the Challenger Gods, everything was about ensuring humanity took risks.

Seth continued. “So long as those coming in and out of Wolfpine break no laws, you cannot interfere with their comings and goings. That’s not your job. Your job is to watch for Monsters and smash them if they try to harm someone leaving or entering the city.”

As Glenn remembered his discussion with Logain, about the duties of Kya forcing the captain of Wolfpine’s guard to simply watch as Azalea Whitetalon traipsed out of town, he understood what Seth was saying all too well. All he could do in a situation like that was alert others.

“Finally, you have complete authority inside the walls of Wolfpine,” Seth said evenly. “This means the moment someone breaks the law, the Law of Consent no longer applies. You can arrest anyone who violates the law inside Wolfpine without their Consent, and if they try to fight you, you may restrain them however you deem necessary.”

So Town Guards could bypass to the Law of Consent. Glenn saw no other way they could actually enforce a mayor’s law inside a town’s walls, so this wasn’t shocking. When younger, he’d always assumed Adventurers simply feared losing a town’s services if they misbehaved, but it wasn’t just that.

Even as a high-Level Adventurer, Glenn would hesitate to tangle with one Town Guard, let alone a Town Guard and his partner. Or the whole garrison. It was no wonder Adventurers rarely caused trouble in towns, even little towns like Wolfpine.

“Obviously, don’t kill anyone,” Seth said, matter-of-factly. “It’s not just that it makes the mayor furious. We’re required by Landers law to prioritize a [-Resurrect-] for anyone who dies at a Town Guard’s hands. If that puts Richard’s Skill on cooldown after someone else dies, it might ensure someone more deserving meets the forever death.”

“No killing,” Glenn agreed softly. He’d never even considered it, yet … he might not have to mean to kill someone, given the [Guardian Mace] he now carried and how strong he was. He’d have to be careful with his 29 Strength.