Elora tried to conceal her shaking within her cloak, crossing her arms tight against her chest. Oh, little elf. This pond may be a bit too large for you, was a small piece of a song her mother use to sing, and even though Elora hated the lyrics with a passion, they still managed to cycle through her mind. She managed to bite her tongue against her cheek and allowed her blue eyes to finally give way from the floor and study those around her.

Immediately she locked eyes with a young woman and forced herself to give a small nod of acknowledgment and welcoming. These people may as well be her partners. It wouldn't do to be fearful, but Elora still refused to remove the hood from her head. A boy then caught her attention, his face slack with exasperation. His eyes were trained against the beast. She could not blame him, but she herself could not do the same.

After giving the room a completely look-over, save for this "Marcopolo" who she assumed was the beast, she breathed a small sigh of relief. See, Elora? Not so bad. You're completely out of your element, yes. But these people look like a good troupe to journey with. They may be frightening, but sometimes one needs frightening friends. She didn't exactly understand why she was invited to join this group, having little to no experience. She was not a fighter, but she knew she wouldn't go down easily. Surely everyone here and a purpose, but what was hers? She simply didn't see it. Her eyes fell on the dwarf. He was the answer. He was the one who gathered them here. Now, to see what he would do with them

Solana had traveled quite far in the last three days, her boots caked in mud and her cloak covered in dirt. From afar one could mistake the grey cloaked figure for a small boy, possibly a squire by the looks of the swords she carried. This misconception had caused at least six bandits to make the mistake of ambushing Ana in an attempt to steal her blades. Often they were shocked to find a women alone, a few even seemed to enjoy that fact. Solana thought of her journey and allowed a smile to crack across her dust covered face at the thought of those men sliced to bits by her. It had been a tiring trek across the landscape trying to get to a small town she'd never heard of before, which wasn't uncommon for her. She stopped for a moment on the trail and looked up, the sun had been going down for a while now and it was obviously going to be dark soon if she didn't reach the town tonight she would miss her opportunity and have traveled for nothing. Breathing heavy from her travels, she pulled out her canteen and took a swig of water before breaking into a full sprint, she needed to get to that town as soon as possible.

After running for some time and admittedly losing some force in her steps, she could see the dim orange lights of a settlement between the trees. Relieved she stopped running and approached slowly towards the town. From afar it seemed rather quite with a few people still about on the streets which was a good sign, meant the town felt safe. Solana arrived in the town late enough that those left on the street were beggars and drunks save the few peasants who still had agendas. She approached an older man who had been walking up the road lighting the last of the street torches wearing a somewhat official uniform. When he acknowledged her, the old man slowly lit the next torch before he turned to face her. "Sir do you know where the Black Water tavern is?" Solana asked, trying to hurry the old man up. He stopped for a moment and examined her closely before jabbing a finger down the road and giving her a nasty look. Confused she nodded to him and kept her 'thank yous' to herself, quickly hurrying down the road before she realized why the man had given her a dirty look. The building had a massive sign hanging on the front clearly labeling it, feeling a bit sheepish Solana pulled the hood more over her face before stumbling into the tavern.

Inside was an apparent ragtag group of colorful characters who seemed to be in the middle of some discussion, Solana noticed a dwarf who seemed to hold some sort of regard above the others. With a hooded head she nodded towards anyone who might've seen her before approaching a nearby empty table and sitting down. Sliding her hood off she revealed her thin neck and a pair of rather large grey eyes that seemed to dominate her face. She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand which had been red from running before lifting her eyes and looking at the group closely. Each one proved to be stranger than the next, none appeared to know each other though which allowed Solana to feel more comfortable with her role. Judging by their looks, she was confident none were better than she with a blade but in all honesty that meant nothing as Solana herself lacked language skills, survival skills and anything that really wasn't attributed to battle. Hopefully those who sat around her were massively skilled in their own specialties and could make up for what she lacked. For now she could only wait to see what would come next from this motley crew.

The old dwarf had been sitting in silence for most of the time the argument between the kunite and human went on. These people will never survive what will come before them if they can't survive each other. The thought crossed the dwarf's mind that he should interrupt the conversation to explain but was interepted by the owner who had moved to his side quietly. The face of the dwarf, although it showed a calm, was hiding a furious anger. The glowing runes on the dwarf's ring told that he was calling upon its magic. "Quiet! You fools have woken some of the people upstairs with your argument. I called you here to have you get the treasure from Kal'Draguraz but it seems you won't last that long because you will kill each other." said the dwarf. The first word he had spoken was amplified by the runes on his ring which had now come to softly glow. There was power in the runes still but he didn't want to use it quite yet.

"You idiots argue as if we were just mere strangers meeting each other. Strangers we are, but mere people we are not. Your class in society doesn't matter here. To make sure of this, I want you all to hand over all your coin to me after I am done telling you about what you have to do."said the strained voice of the dwarf. He had no intention of stealing their money but was intent on taking it. If they were to survive together, they must consider each other of equal status. For the dwarf, this meant that they all had to own the same amount of money. "Now then, lets get to the point. My name is Guringar Zagir of the Hall of Zagir. You may not believe it but, I was born in Kal'Draguraz. Kal'Draguraz was this 'city of gold' that your bards tell stories of. I was young, a mere babe of ten years, when Kal'Draguraz fell. Yet, the foul beast that fell upon my home city was no ordinary beast. It was a deadly black which hadn't been seen by my people in centuries." Guringar said all of this with a solem look on his face. It was obvious that he cared about Kal'Draguraz.

"It was long ago that Kal'Draguraz fell, it will be six hundred years in a few weeks. Many of your people go searching for Kal'Draguraz because they want the treasure. What I want you to do is the impossible. You are to get into Kal'Draguraz and kill the black dragon known as Belthar the Corrupter. This task won't be easy, but if you complete it you will live the rest of your live as kings and queens." said the quiet voice of Guringar. His statement had obviously caused some shock among the adventurers. These people had thought it to have just be a quest to get the gold. "Now then, if you are truly comitted to this cause you shall sign this document," Guringar says as he takes out and unrolls a document " with your full name. This document is a commitment to complete your quest even if it means you have to die. Upon signing this document, you will hand your money to me so that you people can start anew." The document was placed in the center of the table with a quill and ink next to it. The document was long and wordy but anybody who had read over it could tell that it was just confirmation that the people were willing to die for the treasure. At the bottom of the document were eleven lines of: I____ sign my name unto this document in a sane state of mind that I agree to all conditions as they are in this document.

Osla took a swig of her tankard and moved over to hear the Dwarf speak. His intentions were noble, he had obviously put a lot of thought into what he wanted for his place of birth and what he wanted the future of it to be. She pondered as to the possibility that he wanted to restore it to it's former glory and call on his Dwarf brethren and sisters to join him in living there. To tell the truth, she didn't really care. She'd met a few Dwarves in her travels and they didn't seem to mourn the loss of Kal'Draguraz as much as Guringar did. But then again, he was there to see it's downfall, she'd heard no one was alive who had seen it, but that was obviously proven wrong.

She looked down at the contract, the money portion was no problem for her, she'd lived on little to nothing quite a few times in her life and this would be no different. The thing she had trouble with was the contract itself, she'd never signed one before in her life and she was perplexed as to the point of it, surely her word would have been good enough. But alas, if she was to show her loyalty she wouldn't fight. She picked up the quill in her gauntleted hand, she hadn't used one in quite a while. She was holding it a bit too tight, a tiny dribble of ink dripped out of the end. She signed her name on the first line of the document. 'I Osla sign my name unto this document in a sane state of mind that I agree to all conditions as they are in this document.' The signature was untidy and a little too big. The indents of the amount of strength she had put on the page could be seen, it had nearly ripped and probably would have if she had not noticed it ripping and stopped herself. She put the pen down next to the paper, placed her money pouch on the table and moved to let the next person write their name. To tell the truth, she was a little embarrassed. Everyone else would probably have really nice and fancy signatures while hers looked about as good as Fido the wonder noble over there.

Kat raised an eyebrow at the dwarf's speech. The tavern was quiet as everyone absorbed his words.

"So…" her voice cut through the heavy silence. "You want us to give you all of our money in the middle of the greatest depression Arcazia's seen in a century, go to your old home and fight a battle that we have no investment in whatsoever, and literally sign our lives away, just in case we come to our senses and decide to bail out before we get a chance to die." Kat scoffed and glanced around at the people gathered. "This isn't a job, it's a scam. Not even a very good one, if you ask me." Her voice betrayed her growing irritation. The old dwarf was just trying to blind them with the promise of fame and riches to make some quick coin! She'd come to this tavern because she was bored and had nothing better to do with her time, but dying a fiery death wasn't worth slogging through the Spine with a bunch of mismatched brutes with delusions of grandeur.

Vidic listened to the dwarf's speech in silence and crossed his arms at the mention of a dragon. He had never seen a dragon before but had heard that they were the most ferocious creatures in the whole land and that they were not a beast to be messed with. "What means do any of us carry to even deal with a dragon? I don't think anyone here has even seen a dragon before." He said out loud as he thought over his options where were not many, he could either go on this fool's journey into the spire and come out with enough gold to destroy the Arcazia Empire which were his intentions or return to a life of constantly being on the run from government assassins.

"If anything, we might even find away to kill the dragon while on our travels into the Spire. I have nowhere else I can run to, so I need this gold." Vidic said as he looked at the dwarf with his red eyes while fishing in his jacket for his purse of just a few copper before picking up the pen and dipping it in ink. I Vidic Meyvant sign my name unto this document in a sane state of mind that I agree to all conditions as they are in this document. He tried to write it as best he could which was just slightly more elegant than the armored female's signature. He than turned at the one armed female that was making some complaints. "Some of us may actually need this gold and are willing to take many risks to get it. If you don't need this quest than you can leave right now." He told her and pointed to the door with a gloved hand.

Glory could help to get his family out of the slums just as much as gold could. And now he was being promised a king's share of both. ...To risk life and limb attempting to slay a dragon. He'd never even seen a dragon before. Sure, he'd heard tales of them, but what good was that when tales grew in the telling?

He'd have no problem handing over his coinpurse. It was his own coin, and he could hunt and cook in the wild. So the loss of it posed no immediate threat to his survival. Only to his comfort. And too much comfort might make one lazy.

The goblin turned to Kat. He looked right at her and posed his problems with her assessment of the dwarf. He sounded almost animal, as goblin voices often did. But his knowledge of less than honorable practices was sure to make him sound even more monstrous.

"Somehow, I don't think we're being conned. I mean really, he doesn't have any heavily armed men guarding the entrance. He doesn't have a lookout or even a side man. There are people sleeping upstairs. He cares about that. And if he were trying to scam us, and we found out, he might take down three of us tops before someone gutted him. Even a wet behind the ears amateur wouldn't be stupid enough to run a scam that looks like this."

Although, he had his feelings of indecision over the whole thing, they didn't stem from the same source that Kat's seemed to. Ekindu then turned back towards the dwarf and went on.

"Yet, I don't see how losing our coin together is going to magically put us all on equal footing. If your going to take something from us, Guringar, you should give us something as well. Something we'll need. Like knowledge about dragons."

There were a great number of thoughts swimming in Ernst’s mind after he had taken in what the master dwarf had to say, yet only one found favor and began the most coveted process of verbal ascension: eyebrows arched up in mirthful disbelief, Ernst summarized so matter-of-factly, “You’re going to take our money then send us after a dragon in the Spine?”

The fact that the task was outlandish was already well-established, but actually hearing himself say it further emphasized its impossibility. Ernst couldn't help but giggle.

A clear whistle pierced the air like a dagger. The cheerful tune was dissonant against the melancholy village. Beggars would raise their eyes, but once caught the source of song, quickly lowered their gaze once more. Not that Jespir minded. Keeping a low profile, a task he had trouble, was necessary at this time. The less odd looks the better. A sly smile was etched across the elf's face, accentuating his cocky stride. Though his ship had utterly crashed at the end his journey, he felt as if nothing could spoil his mood. After all, today was finally the day. The day he got rich! Well, at least the day he got a step closer to being rich. He was to meet someone at a Black Water Inn. Some would think the deal shifty, but hey, money was money.

Excitement blossomed in Jespir's chest as he caught sight of a the tavern. Its windows glowed warmly with dark silhouettes moving inside. There looked to be more than expected, but that was no bother. He could share, so long as he got what he wanted. As he neared the tavern, voices became more apparent.

"...It was long ago that Kal'Draguraz fell, it will be six hundred years in a few weeks. Many of your people go searching for Kal'Draguraz because they want the treasure. What I want you to do is the impossible. You are to get into Kal'Draguraz and kill the black dragon known as Belthar the Corrupter. This task won't be easy, but if you complete it you will live the rest of your live as kings and queens," a voice drifted towards the elf.

Jespir perked up immediately. Treasure? Though there was that bit with the dragon...but hell, if that meant living a life of luxury, he would fight five, no, ten dragons!

He entered the tavern with excite, but paused when he caught sight of the odd group gathered inside. Was that a talking ninja dog? And a goblin? And a dwarf? And that wasn't even mentioning the heavily armoured woman, a man who looked like he should have been with the beggars, and a girl with black skin and one arm. It was more of a surprise seeing this strange cluster rather than alarm. Jespir grinned. In fact, this just made the day a whole lot interesting.

The next words of the dwarf were enough to wipe the smile away.
"Now then, if you are truly comitted to this cause you shall sign this document with your full name. This document is a commitment to complete your quest even if it means you have to die. Upon signing this document, you will hand your money to me so that you people can start anew."

But...Jespir liked money. And he liked living. And he liked living with money. But then again, he also like living like a king. The goblin's words were enough for Jespir to join the gathered group, though the scruffy-looking man's summary of the ridiculousness of the situation did manage to fill a bit of unease in him.

"Say it like that, boy, and we might not even reach the Spine," Jespir said to the boy with a returning grin as he reluctantly handed over his money and signed the document.

"Unlike you, elf, I am not so wasteful that I would throw my life away like a duke would his own daughter," Ernst shot back at Jespir, apparently tiring of being called a mere boy by everyone. He was twenty-too, dammit, a man! And not even half a damned minute in the tavern this elf has been, and he had already pledged himself purse-and-honor to this gargantuan undertaking, like he hadn't been thinking. Meanwhile, himself, having idled and having been there since the start, continued his contemplation, weighing the risks and the rewards. "No offense," he finished, after a beat and examining the pirate's outfit. What a uniform! Yet another noble?

Mild surprise at that seeming fact aside, Ernst was finally coming to a conclusion. Letting go of the handle of his sword and putting a knuckle upon his chin, he began to monologue: "You know, my sister and I went hunting in the forests near my home village many, many years ago. We had spotted a group of elks, and were about to fell one, but then this voice came from the depths of the wood, telling us that we trespassers and evil people for hunting. Freya, having a sharp wit and more courage than I ever did, told the spirit to forgive us for being hungry and that it could go fuck itself, meanwhile I was soiling my pants. We were still children, see. Heh."

"'Course, the elks all suddenly started having glowing eyes and began to chase us through the underbrush. It was hell. I swear, my legs felt like they were burning, I ran so fast. Now, our feet weren't very fleet so we were surrounded pretty quickly. The elks formed a circle around us, and I shit you not, that a woman then began to emerge from the bark of the tree we were trying to climb for safety. Nowadays, I like to joke about how big the spirit's breasts were," Ernst brought his two hands near his chest and squeezed to emphasize, "but at the time, I was just scared shitless. So shitless that I've forgotten most of what she had yelled at us, educating us of our family, village, and Empire's sins against nature. Sister, of course, had more spine, and she took my dagger and plunged it straight into the spirit's throat just was she was going to make her final judgement."

"The blood was too bright to be that of a mortal's, but it still gushed out of the wound regardless. Leaves fell around us as the tree she was attached to wilted, darkened and died. The elks around collapsed and seemed to fall asleep. Eventually, the spirit gurgled its last curse and went limp. It was... fucking terrifying," Ernst laughed.

"Now, when we came home covered in blood and with enough pelts and venison to sate the Emperor's hunger for a hundred years, we were, at the same time, village celebrities and in deep trouble with our parents. Regardless, my point is that the stories old people and bards like to tell us about spirits and the supernatural are probably exaggerated." Ernst then took a seat before the table and the document, looking at each of his would-be companions’ eyes, his voice taking on a solemn tone. “I saw that blade sink into that spirit’s throat and cut every vein one by one. I saw her double over, try to screech with her severed throat, and reach at her neck in extreme agony. I saw her die, miserably."

He took a moment to let that fact sink in, both for himself and the people around.

"She was a spirit, yes, but we killed her regardless. And if she could supposedly turn men into trees, lead a troupe of pixies to steal the local village's children, and make hunters like my sister and I disappear without a trace, then killing a dragon should be only a little bit harder. Huh. Funny how you don't know what you believe in until you actually say it. What the hell was I even being afraid of? Let me sign!"

Confidence restored, he reached into his gambeson, tore away the only silver coin he had from its cloth, and slammed it onto the table with gusto. Then, he took the quill with a determined smirk on his face and signed his name decisively. To say that it was ugly was a severe understatement:



In his defense, he was but a humble farmer and woodsman.

Solana remained quite as the dwarf silenced the bickering group and began listening intently to him speak of his childhood. The idea of adventuring into such a place did seem intriguing but when the dwarf demanded the surrender of their gold something didn't smell right. She could see where he was coming from but that was asking a bit much. Instead of raising concerns she watched others around her make up their minds as they began signing the document on the table. The dwarf had appeared genuine in his tale but would she really give up her money to him because he's asking her to? She decided to wait, remain seated and be one of the last to sign as the rest took turns doing so.

A dirtied young man who had been assembled began telling a tale from his youth of some heroic deed he committed. Solana listened to him speak of an evil wood spirit that turned the animals on them and how he'd been so terrified, yet seemed quite proud about his role in the story as a dashing young man saving his sister from the evils of the world. He tried comparing the situation to a dragon as if he had any idea what he was talking about. Shaking her head slowly she addressed the group verbally for the first time, "Not to be rude or anything," she began with her eyes directed towards the dirty man "but where I'm from there is a lengthy tale the elders would share with children around the fire of a 'terror in the night' with flesh forged from the blackest part of the sky and with a simple beat of it's wings leveled villages. They would talk of men being stuck between it's teeth who suffered being digested for days by saliva which could melted flesh, a tail which shattered entire fleets into driftwood or it's demon eyes which held a magic so powerful it could sense you through walls. We have tales of many dragons in my land, the good and the bad kind, but none are like this. If this Belthar the Corrupter is akin to the black dragons of our stories, we stand little chance against it."

She didn't bother looking at anyone else in the room, instead Solana stood silently and signed along with the rest 'I Solana Veata of the Crimson Wind sign my name unto this document in a sane state of mind that I agree to all conditions as they are in this document'. When she finished writing Solana untied her coin purse from her belt and tossed it onto the table along with the rest. Before she turned to walk off Solana looked at the dwarf who called upon her and spoke firmly "But the legends also state of a Great Vermillion Owl who was birthed from the sun, sent down to chase that beast back to the forgotten place from once it came. And just like that He had done before, I shall do the same."

Elora listened to the dwarf speak, her ears perking at the word 'dragon'. A dragon? Really? Her blue eyes grew wide at the thought. How could she fight a dragon? She was about to speak up when a familiar scent caught her attention. An elf! Another elf! It had been nearly a century since she last saw an elf other than her family. Was he from Sal'Sumarathar? Had he also escaped? The smell of salt water told her that he had traveled a long way to reach this little tavern, and although Sal'Sumarathar was across the sea, she doubted that he had ever been there. Her heart sank momentarily.

She managed to wrench her gaze away from the elf and back to the dwarf, listening as intently as she could with her wandering mind. Would it be worth it? Would she die? There was a chance that she would die tomorrow, whether she took this journey or not. And if she didn't die? She and her brother could once again be a happy family. She could give him a great childhood, like her parents had given her. Yes, she thought that instant. Yes, it was worth it.

For the first time that night, her long, pale fingers reached up to her hood and pulled it down from her shoulders. The light of the tavern finally greeted her features, giving them a pleasant glow. Her blue eyes moved around the room. If they all signed, she would be one of them. She couldn't say way, but Elora was no longer afraid. The she-elf stepped up toward the table, and reached into her pocket and pulled out her purse. Think of this... as an investment, she told herself as she allowed it to fall to the table. She then picked up the quill and touched it to the parchment. I, Elora Nei of the Honey Water Empire sign my name unto this document in a sane state of mind that I agree to all conditions as they are in this document. It had been so long since she had signed her name, and to add her birthplace to the parchment seemed to breathe new air into her. It honestly felt good.

Elora caught sight of the dwarf again. "Now, tell us about this dragon," Elora said, her voice not quivering as she once feared it would do. "Leave nothing of importance out."

"You seem to think myself aggrandizing my achievements." replied Ernst to Solana. "That wasn't the point of my tale, but that what is spoken of and what is could well not be the same. In my village, there was much talk about the tree spirits living in the forests, of how powerful they are and how they could tempt a man into abandoning his family to join the wood with the same ease as killing him outright. Well, I saw one as a child, and I saw its throat get slashed by my sister. The stories also tell of their immortality, but I saw no such thing as it doubled over and died, blood gushing out of its neck and gurgling weakly."

He was also fighting temptation and valiantly trying not to stare at Elora for too-long periods of time.

Ekindu hadn't signed yet. Still on the cusp of indecision. But as he saw all the others come forth, that certainly added pressure to join in. Still, he only stood and reflected for a while.

The Stableboy told his tale. The Kunite nearly left before having achange of heart. A newcomer signed as well. And the the mysterious one removed her hood. And he saw her lithe and graceful elven features. At the sight of her blue eyes, he spoke despite himself.

"Elaine Ettariel..." He heard himself say. Fortunately his voice was low. And perhaps no one had heard his words. They were from an elven poem. It's title and a sort of refrain. Ettariel the Beautiful. The story of an ancient elf maiden, born to parents of low standing in the social hierarchy, yet so entrancing to look upon that kings warred over her.

The goblin could find no fault with making such a comparison. And, inspired by the confident way she added her signature to the document, he decided. He added his name, Ekindu of the Zebul Tribe to the document as well.

Ehluria continued leaning as the strangers argued. She paid little attention to their ramblings, instead focusing on each one. A few of them became rather intense, which put Ehluria a little on edge. She already had her escape planned out in case situations became to intense. She stood upright in reaction to the dwarf's booming voice, rather surprised at the action. She listened though, and what the Dwarf offered was a chance of a life time for Ehluria. Not a chance for gold or fame, but a chance to personally become something unimaginable. Ehluria lost herself within her thoughts of flying freely into the night sky.

She didn't notice Osla being the first to sign. But she did take note of the scar on her face. For a moment she would have let herself be overwhelmed with thoughts. However, her attention was grabbed by the white-haired girl, who voiced her strong opinion on the money. Immediately after, the others began signing their names each in their own crazy ways. She stepped up behind the little goblin.as he signed.

Ehluria remained silent as she reached under her sash and untied a small pouch full of her coin. She held it over the table as she found the gaze of the Dwarf. She let it drop to the wooden surface, a thin cloud of dust exploded into the air. The money meant nothing to her. The gold she had just parted with she had for weeks. Most of the payments Ehluria receives for her odd jobs is some kind of knowledge, whether it be a technique for fighting, or even the direction of another job. She grabbed the quil and leaned over to sign her name. Ehluria closed her eyes, once more allowing herself to barely succumb to the free world of day dreaming. Her eyes opened and a smile spread across her face. She signed.

After she stood up, Ehluria walked back to the pole and took her previous position. She examined the rest of the room. This adventure would certainly prove to be difficult, both for the ultimate task at hand, and the fact that these strangers who she would travel with are already butting heads. Time will tell of the failures and successes of each individual. Ehluria would tough this out, the same way she does everything else.

.

Kat's sense of disbelief grew as one by one, the people around her quite literally signed their lives away. The goblin had a point – as audacious as the dwarf seemed, he didn't fit the bill as a con artist. In Kat's mind, that almost made it worse. A conman she could understand… a dwarf genuinely expecting them to give up everything for the sake of his battle was something else all together.

She heard the others voice their opinions – the goblin, the elves, the beggar, the wolf, the nobles… and still, she didn't sign, observing those who were foolhardy enough to give their lives away at the promise of gold. Kat never cared much for material wealth – with Hel at her side, she was comfortable enough living in the wilderness, stealing anything from the towns she passed if she truly needed it. She eyed the contract that lay on the table. Honestly, what was the dwarf hoping to achieve by using it?

With a roll of her eyes, Kat finally stepped forward and reached into her pocket, grabbing the few coins she had and tossing them onto the table. Picking up the pen with unsteady fingers (she had been right-handed before her… incident. She was still unaccustomed to using her left hand to write) she lowered the tip onto the parchment, ink bleeding into the fibers. This contract meant nothing to her. She was only here for something to while away her boredom, and if things got too rough – or the people around her annoyed her too much – she was gone.

She signed the contract with clumsy letters, spelling out Kat, just to spite the dwarf.

Kat tossed the pen back onto the table and straightened up, looking the dwarf in the eyes. "We've all signed. You going to tell us more about this quest of yours now, or do we have to wait around for some other idiot to show up and decide he's crazy enough for your quest too?" There had been room for one more slot after Katelia's 'signature', and it made her wonder if the dwarf had anyone else in mind for this fool's errand of a quest.

”And give us some bonus pay for signing the contract,” Ernst kindly supplemented Kat after she had spoken. ”Just to let us know you’re trustworthy, and so we can buy extra provisions for the journey. Long way from here to the Spine, see. I think our swords could use a good whetstone, our quivers a few more arrows.”

Contracts in the North -- or at least where Ernst lived -- were the ultimate binding agreement. Ernst was requesting that the dwarf follow the customs of the lords there: when a soldier or mercenary is pledged to one’s service, he or she is given a bonus at enlistment. In steady work, the soldier is paid 2 gold coins (or the equivalent thereof in other kinds of coin) per month, and would get yet another bonus at retirement in addition to his or her fair share of loot after combat actions. As the ducal demesne boasted good silver mines, the lords could afford such expenditures. This was the reason Norse troops rarely mutinied or deserted their armies, contrary to the stereotype of the Northerner being more loyal and stout of heart than most peoples.

Guringar had watched in silence as the adventurers signed the contract. Though people had questioned as to his truth, Guringar was sure that they were likely to sign anyway. As the last person signed, a look of relief filled his face. "Now that you all have signed the contract let me continue with the detail. Belthar isn't like his black brethren who have the ability to raise the dead. Belthar relies solely on one ability, his ability to corrupt. Belthar looks for the darkness in everybody's hearts and then uses that against them." Guringar said as he looked at the men and women surronding the table. "That is how Belthar took down the most powerful city in dwarven history. He looked for the darkness in the hearts of the leaders of Kal'Draguraz. The nobles were corrupted by Belthar and slaughtered the citizens. Yet, my father stood against the other nobles and led the people out of the city. He died in Kal'Draguraz when he came back to rescue me and my mother." said the solem faced dwarf. His house was the last remaning of Kal'Draguraz and it had been left to him to restore the city to its former glory.

"On the topic of money," the dwarf says as takes the money off the table,"you all will have to use one gold and eighty silver wisely." He slid a small purse of money in place of the other purses. "Use it very wisely. Despite being a small town, Toruka is often beset by travelers to the Spine who are in need of provisions. They won't come cheap and neither will any horses and equipment you need." Guringar said as he looked at the group. His only worry was that the group would argue over who to spend the money rather than focusing on the important matter of getting to Kal'Draguraz. "Some of you may be wondering how to get to Kal'Draguraz. It isn't a simple process but I can't actually be with you. I am too old to travel in the mountains any more. Instead, my adoptive son will take you to Kal'Draguraz. You will arrive at the city of Vargiz with him in a week to start on the path there. You will travel through the closed tunnels that had once connected Kal'Draguraz. Once there, he will open the secret pathway that connects to Kal'Draguraz. Ah, there he is now!" says the old dwarf as he hears the knocking from the door of the tavern.

The owner moves to open the door after Guringar waved the okay. In walks a young male who seemed to have an air of confidence around him. Though he was short by human stature, the male was tall by dwarvish standards. His armor showed signs of caked dirt and blood. "I am back from the hunt father. We killed three deer. Two will stay here and I will bring the last one with me. I am guessing that these people are the adventurers who have answered your call?" said the young male. "Ah yes, that is good Tregorn. Everybody, this is my adopted son Tregon Sarizgorn. He will be the one to lead the expedition to Kal'Draguraz. Anyway, this meeting is over. You will leave before mid-day tomorrow. Your rooms upstairs are paid for in full. Get to know each other if you want to" says Guringar as he points to Tregon.