Arriving at the city, and before doing anything else, the party went to grab something to eat. They had left Wildwood early in the morning and were now arriving at noon, which meant they were all starting to feel the pangs of hunger gnawing at them, except for Tesilim, who was still a rock. That being said, once they had some food in their bellies, the day of torturing Tesilim the rock continued on at the stables.

  Rocc, the dwarf, had been born and raised in Wildwood City. And though, as a stone dwarf, he could very much head back underground, there was no doubt that his parents had passed down their love for the outdoors. However, Rocc was also fond of being alone and avoiding too much trouble. So instead of trying to become an adventurer, Rocc had decided that a normal life was best for him. This choice led Rocc to start a business as a carriage driver, and even though there were hundreds of them in the city, it turned out that plenty of people preferred being left alone. Due to this, Rocc was able to build up quite a clientele, mainly among adventurers.

  The issue was that adventurers brought trouble, something that was slightly ameliorated by the stories Rocc overheard. Even so, rock persevered as adventurers tended to pay quite well, and it wasn't long before he was able to stop being a driver and instead set up his own stables. Sadly, even then, his reputation among adventurers followed him, and many began using his business for travel or to care for their sometimes exotic mounts. Thankfully, the more Rocc’s business grew, the less he had to deal with any adventurers, and the more time he could spend doing the jobs that needed doing.

  Now, when he first started, Rocc had missed the stories he heard from adventurers, as they were often filled with bravery, stupidity, and the mix of incredible things that happened to them. Granted, he usually had trouble believing most, if not all of them. He knew adventurers liked to be outlandish, and their stories were best taken with a grain of salt. However, it wasn’t long after his business began to thrive that his workers returned with outlandish stories they had heard from adventurers around the city. Hearing these stories only caused Rocc’s doubt to grow, as they seemed too nonsensical and unrealistic. Of course, it didn’t help that Rocc barely explored the city, finding that he was better off going from work to home and back. After all, Rocc was a simple dwarf who wanted a relatively simple life.

  As a dwarf, Rocc also enjoyed manual labor, and even as the boss, he preferred cleaning a stable or making basic equipment at the smithy to dealing with people. Sadly, there were times when some of his workers could not make it in for work due to one emergency or another, and Rocc was forced to step up, be a good boss, and work the front desk. Naturally, it was during one of these days that Rocc got a direct taste of just how weird adventurers could be.

  The party of adventurers seemed rather normal, at least for adventurers. There was one elf, with white hair and dark skin, who wore even darker, tight leather armor. Then there was a possible half-elf; the ears were always hard to pinpoint with all the variations that existed. However, his dark hair was greying, yet he still wore dark armor that complemented his deadly pale complexion, at least if they were trying to pass as undead or possibly a Shadow Elf. Finally, there were the last two members, whom Rocc could easily discern. The redhead with her golden sun-decorated armor had to be a follower of Sol, while the gnome with crystal eyes was likely a scholar of the twin goddesses, at least if the colors of his robes were anything to go by. Again, the party was completely normal, well, except for the dark skin elf who held a purple and yellow rock rather reverently, as if it were a family treasure. However, things took a turn for the weirder when four individuals made their request.

  “Hello adventurers! What can I help you with today?” The dwarf asked them, his voice somewhat gravely, but missing the usual accent dwarves held, telling the party he was likely born and raised above ground.

  “Hey, so this will sound weird, but we need a used stall. I am currently researching poop, and I am hoping to take a look at any specimens I can find,” The gnome told Rocc, his words getting light smiles from the rest.

  On that note, Alyx was not actually researching poop, but once Tesilim knew they were going to drop him in some, he revealed to the party his genius poop research idea. Of course, as soon as the others had heard, Alyx had been coaxed into using the terrible excuse.

  “You are researching poop?” The dwarf asked in confusion.

  “Yes, will that be a problem?”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “No, but am I right to assume that you’re a researcher of the Goddesses of Knowledge and Magic?”

  “Yes, that is correct,” Alyx answered, and just like that, Rocc’s confusion mostly disappeared.

  Rocc had to admit that someone researching poop was odd, but he knew those followers of Axel and Abzul were strange, so it was partly understandable. Sadly, things only got weirder from there. Rocc took the party to a recently vacated stall that he knew for sure needed cleaning, and was about to leave the party when he had a thought. He could understand why a researcher might be there, but why did they bring their whole party? More importantly, what was that elf doing with the rock? Actually, why was the rock purple and yellow? He had never seen such a rock, and the weirdest thing was that it didn’t register as a true rock to him.

  See as a stone dwarf, Rocc had innate abilities to detect rocks and learn about them; however, his limited sense told him that this rock wasn’t a rock. More than likely, it was a magical item of sorts, which began to get Rocc paranoid. A whole party of adventurers, acting weird, with an unknown magical item and a researcher to boot, yeah, something was up.

  “Would you guys mind if I stick around? I am interested in this research about poop, considering I deal with the stuff on a daily basis,” Rocc had told the party, and they had agreed to let him watch. Admittedly, Rocc was slightly interested in the research, but more importantly, he wanted to ensure they didn’t summon a rock poop golem or something without him being aware.

  Rocc had been wrong yet again; he had thought things couldn’t get any weirder, but they did. The party of adventurers silently stood in the middle of the stall, all of them smiling and throwing glances at each other, almost like they were having a conversation that Rocc couldn’t hear. And Rocc had to admit that it was a possibility, but still, why hide talk about poop research? Unless it wasn’t a talk about poop research, and instead the party was planning something nefarious. Honestly, Rocc was tempted to kick them out or even call the guards, but what reason did he have? “Yes, city guard, a group of adventurers rented out a stall, then they stood there smiling as an elf held a purple and yellow rock,” Rocc could hear himself say, only for the guard to dismiss him as a mad dwarf.

  Anyways, unable to do anything else, Rocc stood watch, and after a few minutes, something finally happened. The elf ceremoniously held the rock over the pile of poop, the rest of her companions watching intently. Then, the gnome began to chant, putting Rocc on edge, at least until the white-haired elf let go of the rock, and the gnome's magic obviously took effect as the rock slowly fell downwards. At this point, Rocc had to admit he was as interested in the goings on as the adventurers were, and they all watched the rock slowly fall until it finally landed on and sank into the turd, causing the adventurers to laugh with gusto.

  The party had stopped paying attention to the dwarf, as they honestly didn’t care if he was there. They weren’t doing anything bad, and that’s as far as they cared. If anything, they might have led the dwarf into their mental communications if only he had asked; after all, hearing Tesilim squirm as he slowly fell thanks to Alyx’s slow fall spell was something no one should miss.

  “At least this will be fast,” Tesilim had said as Lili held him up high, the elf still having been unaware of the plan. Then Alyx had chanted, finishing his spell as Tesilim began to fall.

  “What the- Alyx! What did you just do!? OH NO!”

  A few seconds of silence later.

  “This is fucked up, you guys. Seriously, please cancel the spell.”

  Then, after a few more seconds had passed and no one said anything, Tesilim spoke up again.

  “Oh gods, you really are doing this. Why can’t you just let me fall!?”

  Now at the halfway mark.

  “It's fine, I am not worried about it. I am a rock. Plus, how bad can it be?” They all heard Tesilim say, trying to stay calm.

  Two seconds before impact.

  “Shit! Shit! Shit! Don’t do this! Come on! Someone catch me! Oh gods, why, just why!?”

  Impact.

  “Aaaaggghhhh! It feels so much worse than it should! EWWWWWW! Get me out, get me out!”

  Within.

  “I hate you all so much. If you ever turn into rocks, well, let's just say, you will have it way worse.”

  Rocc’s confusion finally hit its highest level. Once the adventurers had gotten themselves under control, they had made the turd disappear while also cleaning the rock to an impeccable degree. Then, the elf picked up the rock again, kissed it, and hugged it before they all nodded at Rocc and left, just like that.

  Honestly, Rocc didn’t know how to process the entire event from start to finish. Had he just witnessed the start of a new rock-loving cult? Was putting it in the poop part of the process? Why slow down the process!? Why had they done any of this!? Why lie about poop research!?

  Taking a few seconds to control his mind again, Rocc questioned if he should contact the guards. Would the guards even believe him? Actually, even more important, was what the adventurers had just done even illegal?

  In the end, Rocc’s had sighed and decided to wait. He would have his workers ask around town about rock cults and poop research. Additionally, he would reach out to other stable masters to see if they had the same party or other ones come by with similar reasons. Then, if he had proof of cult like activity, and only then would he contact the guard. If not, well, now Rocc’s had a reason to start believing his workers when they told their crazy stories.