THE MOMENT
"Is there a problem?" Rhodes asked. It would've been a novel situation if there were, and part of him was interested to see what would happen next. He'd stopped by to collect any new postings, but the guild leader interrupted him before he gathered any. Instead of answering, the guild leader turned toward an unfamiliar stranger at the bar.
Rhodes belonged to a secret group of immortal adventurers that had wandered the world and ran out of things to do. They'd retired to a burgeoning hamlet when one of them had the idea to pass the time by involving themselves in the towns workings.
They'd begun completing all requests, and otherwise manipulating the townsfolk with whatever could be gleaned from their messages to each other. They all had supernatural abilities on top of their immortality, including Rhodes. He wasn't worried when the stranger nodded, then approached them.
"Just a minor issue," the guild master replied. "Orion will explain it to you," he gestured at the stranger that arrived, then excused himself from their conversation. "I'll see you around," he waved at Rhodes.
"What can I do for you?" Rhodes smiled at Orion, and he received one in return.
"Hello, Rhodes, I represent Chroma Corp, the company that owns this adventuring guild," he said. "I'd like you to stop hogging all the daily quests. We can add in more quests, that's not an issue. However, I need to know why you're compelled to take every single one. How many do I need to stock so that you don't?"
"What?" Rhodes was caught entirely unaware by the question. "Can you really give me more?" he asked. It seemed like a fair question, and he didn't sense any malice from Orion. The well-dressed gentleman came across as sincere, and Rhodes had a lot of experience with people. It was the main he reason he was the one sent to collect the quests.
"Why?" Orion nodded to answer the question, but asked his own at the same time.
"You're not going to believe me..," he used the opener he'd used hundreds of times before. And, each time it turned out to be true.
"I don't have time for your backstory," Orion interrupted with a shake of his head. Then, he held up his finger to guide Rhodes' gaze to his own eyes. Orion's blue eyes began glowing with golden stars for several moments, then the light dissipated. "I can see you're immortal, and you've got the power to manipulate water. I don't care about any of that, but I'd appreciate a direct, clear answer. Why are you taking all the quests?"
"You can see that??" he asked.
"I can. I'm sure you're curious about how, and I am already arranging those answers for you. But, I am also working at the moment, and I could really use an answer," he nodded at the request board.
"Well, you know I'm immortal..," he nodded. It felt strange, and strangely freeing to be able to say it aloud. The man genuinely didn't seem to care. He wasn't impressed, or shocked, or fearful. He was rushed. "... I have some friends, a whole secret group of immortal adventurers. We got bored after doing everything on Earth. We're kind of just killing time with these quests, hoping things get interesting again in the future."
"Oh," Orion grinned broadly. "Well, that's not a problem at all." He reached into his polished blue blazer, and drew out a small transparent card. "This is called a node," he said. He held it up with both hands in front of Rhodes, then he began to pull. The glassy card stretched until it doubled in size, then he snapped it to give one half to Rhodes.
"Learn how to use it, and you can make more for your friends."
"What's it do?" He was surprised to see numbers made of light glowing on the clear surface.
"A lot," Orion nodded. "But, one of the things it'll do is let you visit other universes," he said. "And you can stop taking all the quests."
"An... alternate universe?" he asked.
"Yeah," Orion said. "If you've done everything on this Earth, the best solution is to find another."