FATE

For Mum and Dad, for making me read Eragon

For Ben and Luca, who introduced me to D&D

"It is fair, then, that the spirit is above all things in the adventure...that what really matters is not the goal, not even the purpose of the voyage, but the friendships, the discoveries. That is what shapes a person."
- Jet Heferen

Chapter 1

Another day, another dollar, the Tabaxi kid told himself in the corner of a closed tavern. It was the early hours of the morning, and Cloud on the Mountaintop was putting off his work as much as possible. In truth, the tavern was supposed to be open in 5 minutes, and yet the chairs were on the tables and the kitchen was not prepared whatsoever. Meanwhile, Cloud was sitting with his head on a table, staring deeply into a cup of water. After enough tapping the table and watching ripples, he straightened and stood up.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, Wednesday. About 5 minutes till we open," Cloud announced to the staff gathered around him. He tugged on the laces on his sleeve. "Marissa, how confident are you with the new recipe?"

"It should be all good, boss. The cutting was a little difficult, but before you tell me, that's all sorted. We're good to put it on the menu," the chef responded.

"Alright, that's good. Remember, if they say they don't like it, it's a small town. We know where they live." A few laughs went around. "Jacobs, how are our supplies?"

"Nothing we're too short of, though we should probably get some more fish. Seems like someone's jumped in and