"ATTENTION! People of the city of Maplestead! Great monsters and demons have started attacking our neighboring forests, as well as the city of Brindle! The royal palace is hosting a quest! But this quest requires more than a dozen people! Assist in wiping out the monsters, and receive brand new weapons as well as more than two-thousand gold pieces! All who come forward will be placed onto a team in order to work with others. Be present in the town square at exactly nine o'clock tomorrow, and come forward."

The country of Sejan has recent encountered a troubling issue. One of their most important cities, Maplestead, has started to become surrounded by dangerous foes and enemies.

----

Dawn rose over the golden city of Maplestead. People were already hustling down to the town square, some adventurers and some civilians eager to see who would be protecting them. News of the royal quest had spread near and far over the country. Any warrior would be accepted. But whether they would survive or not was not guaranteed. Many new faces and strange characters could be spotted heading towards the royal palace.

Luk Rivers

"And no one hears anything about this, ya hear?" He drops the knife away from the poor man's throat and shoves him away from him. "No get outta here, before I change my mind for letting you live." The man, a former loan shark who owned Luk money, scrambles away, lucky to not be lying in a pit somewhere. Luk rolls his eyes and growls as he notices some drops of blood on his knife. He wipes it off on his pants and proceeds to exit the alleyway, placing a kinder smile on his face that the menacing straight line that it had been before. He nods to the people in the streets before he remembers the announcement from yesterday evening.

He runs his thumb along the edge of his knife blade, leaning up against the nearest wall with a smirk. Monster hunting. That seems more than interesting, but the two thousand gold coins was nothing compared to what he made when he was given a job from... higher up to eradicate their opponents. He smiles and lurches off the wall, sliding his knife into his arm sheath. Still, it would be nice to have the extra cash. He heads down to the city square and waits for further instructions.

Robyn Capot

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" She leaps from tree to tree, the growling underlings that look like a mix between a crocodile and a wolf sprinting below her. She grabs a hold of yet another branch higher up and swings herself hard enough to where she can draw her bow, notch an arrow in it, and shoot one of the pests directly in the head. It lets out a yelp like a dog and falls the group and she grabs the next branch that is ahead of her, gripping her bow in her opposite hand. She sighs as she looks down at the fallen arrow embedded in the beast's skull. Great. She has a very limited number of arrows.

The wolf-crocodile things begin to claw at the base of the tree that she is hanging onto and she immediately swings herself to gain more momentum again. She leaps from tree to tree again, making big leaps so she can shoot multiple arrows into the heads of those pests underneath her. There had to be at least twenty coming after her, a whole pack of them. Realizing that running and wasting arrows was futile, she pauses in the tree and looks back down at them as they begin to claw at the tree once more. She begins to count how many there are in her head. One...two...four...seven...eleven...Eleven? She smiles. Well that should be easy enough. And then she could get her arrows back.

She drops from the tree, drawing her knives. She lands on top of two of the animals, crushing their skulls into the ground, before slicing at the throats of two more. That's four down already. She turns just in time to have one of the animals leap at her. She holds her bow out in front of her. Its chest crashes into her bow and forces her to the ground, snapping at her face with its crocodile like jaws. She yells in exhaustion and uses all of her strength to shove the pest back off of her. Moving quickly, she grabs her last six arrows and fired them one after another, taking down six of the last seven.

The final crocowolf, as she had begun to call them in her mind, whimpers and immediately flees from the bloodied scene. She signs and draws back her black leather hood, smearing some of the blood from the crocowolves on her face. She grimaces, but hastens quickly to pick up her fallen twenty arrows. As she picks them up, she thinks to herself I really need to make more of these. She picks up the final out of the skull from the first crocowolf she shot and she looks around. She needs to get back to her home before more of them came. She quickly climbs a tree and heads for her home: the City in the Sky.

Cecelia

Cecelia awoke to some commotion at the town square. She had crashed at another tavern in town with some guy curled up in the fetal position on the other side of the bed. "Dammit. Not again," she said with a sigh. "I gotta stop drinking to the point of being social."
After leaving him some money to buy some ale, she changes into her usual attire and leaves to see what's up. She sees a poster about some baddies around Maplewood. "Hm... I'm not much of a killer, but there's gotta be some cool stuff. Plus, I could just distract enemies and stab a few in weaker points on them. And that's a lotta gold they're offering. I could do it. Hey, Charlie," Cecelia calls over to the barkeep who is in her network of informants "would it be possible to get to Maplewood by nine?" The Barkeep looks at the time and replies with "Eh, I know a guy who can help you make it, if-" Cecelia joins Charlie's sentence with a mocking tone "if I got the coin." Talking normally again, she continues, telling him "I'm good for it, just get him here asap."
Charlie agrees, takes the coin, and goes to the back room to contact his contact. Once the contact has arrived, Cecelia hops in and they travel, not speaking a word other than greeting and departure formalities. This is gonna be a weird day, and it's not even nine o'clock yet Cecelia thinks as she arrives at the palace.

Brennen Garron

"No no no. If he charges at you, then put your shield UP and angle it OUT. Not forward. You want the weapon to slide off, so he is forced to get closer to you by law of momentum. Then, boom, stab, advantage obtained." Brennen continues his private lessons. This keeps frustrating him. It's always wrong, there's always something to improve upon. To change. To make better. This is why he hates teaching these uneducated, nontactical, juvenile people. Once he finishes up with the kid, he overhears the kid's parent talking about monsters in Maplewood. Finally, something interesting. I wouldn't even care if I got paid. I just wanna be able to use MY weapons, Brennen thinks, as he comes across a flier outside his "dojo".
He takes it and looks at the horizon to the neighboring town of Maplewood, with Brindle on the other side of Maplewood, he may as well go to the palace. He places a "closed until further notice" on the front of his house where he conducts his lessons and heads off to Maplewood with a friend's horse. It's not stealing if I leave an IOU, Brennen tells himself as he arrives with a stream of others who seem to all be answering to the flier.
While he's bored and waiting, he thought of 12 ways to rob the nearest 3 people to him, make a large sum of money (by creating an "entrance fee" for those coming into the palace to be placed in a group, and 72 different ways to kill one nearby entrant. Well... I don't wanna piss off the palace before I get there, so maybe I shouldn't kill. Or steal. I just wanna fight someone, but I don't have time. I'll barely make it by 9 at this rate, so I don't have time to pick a fight... Damn. Brennen arrives at the palace, just barely making it before nine.

Vance Meridian, a seasoned knight, was staying the evening at an inn and tavern, and looking over the piece of paper in front of him, detailing the trouble in Maplestead. The paper was illuminated by firelight from the candles and lanterns that lined the room, as well as a huge fireplace in the center. He was wearing his regular clothes, which was a relief from his heavy armor, though he still kept his sword sheathed at his side.

He began mumbling to himself as he read aloud.

"Quest"

"Monsters"

"Two thousand...!"

After he read that, his eye widened, and his mind was made up. He barely had enough to stay the night at the inn that night, but after reading that, he knew that he had to start riding immediately if he were to make it on time. Standing up, he dropped a few coins on the table, all that he could spare, and walked out to the stables to ready his horse for travel.

After securing the saddle, and hoisting up his sacked equipment, to the annoyance of the horse, he mounted and rode steadily through town and out the gate towards Maplestead.

A few hours out of the city gates, heading to Maplestead, he encountered a few small, dark demons, five total. He got his bearings, and the position of the demons around him, closing his eyes, and placing his fist in front of his face. He whispered a few quick words. It wasn't a proper, or powerful incantation, but it was enough to summon a blast of light around him, which would severely burn them. He wasn't trying to kill them, just keep them out of his way as he rode through the night.

*Before the announcement*

Adrial silently sat inside one of the more prestigious inns located in the golden city of Maplestead, a beautifully crafted yet small inn with amber crystals dangling from the ceiling, shining with an ephemeral light, helping to illuminate the inside of the inn. Adrial sat near the back, at a single wooden table and chair, his right leg gently rested over his left knee, minding his own business with a amber glass in hand, filled with fresh milk.

A red leather book laid before him, opened half way as the cleric read the contents, enjoying his casual relaxation while a small smile plastered itself upon his face, this was his form of entertainment. Light entertainment from a bard playing a slow and relaxing tune close to his ear, a book he could dive into to gain wider knowledge from and a cold glass of milk to guzzle down at the same time. Surely nothing would break this moment of silent for him...

Suddenly the loud obnoxious yelling of a male outside, reading aloud the paper about the job in a very over the top tone snapped him out of his momentary delight and satisfaction, causing the young cleric to cough and gag on the milk he was drinking, he splured milk over the table in unison with his coughs and over his books valuable pages.

"ATTENTION, people of the city of Maplestead! Great monsters and demons have started attacking our neighboring forests, as well as the city of Brindle! The royal palace is hosting a quest! But this quest requires more than a dozen people! Assist in wiping out the monsters, and receive brand new weapons as well as more than two-thousand gold pieces! All who come forward will be placed onto a team in order to work with others. Be present in the town square at exactly nine o'clock tomorrow, and come forward."

Adrial recollected himself and stood up, but not before noticing the damage to his pages. An angry expression soon grew upon him, as he quickly snatched and snapped the book closed. Adrial gave a light hiss, storming out of the inn with his fists clenched, being just at the town square where many were flocking to scream and shout. While he walked, all Adrial could do was think to himself.

> "This ignorant, stupid little neanderthal... Shouting like a damn obnoxious fool..." <

As soon as Adrial reached the town center, he couldn't help but grimace at the noise of all the fools around him, adjusting the glasses on his face, he glared ominously toward the royal palace, cracking his knuckles with nefarious intent.

"Okay... Which one of you worthless twits screamed that message at the top of their lungs? If I don't get an answer soon, I'm going to rearrange your bloodstream and feed your blood straight through your EYES!"

A group of civilians slowly grew quiet as the noble grimaced even more ominously, spotting a person at the back of a group having a slight guilty expression on his face. The Cleric didn't waste any time approaching them as he gripped a boys neck and frowned, causing the boy to yelp painfully.

"So it was you was it? You slimy worthless little cockroach... I suppose you don't have the money to pay for a new copy of my notebook do you?! These pages are worth more than you and your family combined!"

The boy whimpered and shook before Adrial sighed and threw him away, causing the boy to land on the cold ground.

"Be thankful i'm a Cleric... Otherwise I would have killed you..."

Adrial put his hands into his long white leather coat pockets and walked off toward the royal palace, gripping a knife inside, as he was ready to kill the boy if he displeased him further, he silently let go of the knife in his pocket and walked on, wanting to just forget about the whole ordeal.

> "I suppose this job can pay for the damages... Lets hope this royal stooge is easy to manipulate." < He thought to himself.

Jere sat near the center of town square, pealing an apple with his only knife. He had been jostled from his sleep by the sounds of a massive migration of people toward this place. The beast whisperer had caught snippets of their excited and fearful chatter; people were in danger and they needed all the help they could get. To the wood elf this was all that needed to be said. The announcement the day before had caught his interest- he was so excited, in fact, that he had camped out at the meeting place all night. This, however, was not out of his routine- he had no other place to stay, being the penniless wanderer that he was.

Turns out he had overslept, though, because the square was packed when he awoke. No use in taking action on an empty stomach, he thought before pulling a bruised apple from his near empty belt pouch. As he ate and looked about at those gathering around him, the young traveler leaned back against the soft fur of his mount, a feathered snow wolf. The beast was slightly larger than a horse and all the more ravenous. The wolf had insisted on being referred to as Boreas upon meeting the man only a few days prior. To Jere, however, "Bo" sounded more "cute".

Bo's glossy red eyes peered out nervously from the shutters of his eyelids. Crowds made him uncomfortable. Sensing his companions discomfort Jere laced his fingers through Bo's fur. An affectionate snarl was his reply.

"I'm ready to sign up for this thing." Exclaimed the elf to no one in particular. He wondered where exactly he would need to go to do this. Apple finished but stomach still barely satisfied, he stood. On his hip was a whip which he barely ever used, preferring instead the magic of his glass flute, his most prized possession and only source of taming power. The flute, forever cold as ice, was tucked away in the breast pocket of his coat, just above his heart.

Bo rolled to his side and let out a deflated bagpipe sound that was supposed to pass for a canid whine. The beast tamer, grinning but refusing to look at his mount replied,

"Its barely nine, Bo, I'm sure we'll get our chance to 'bite these baddies', as you say."

A huff.

"Oh, you didn't say that? I still like it though."

It was six in the morning. The Marluxias are awake and are now eating their breakfast at the dining table. Barbecue roasted salmon, shrimp couscous salad, and turkey sausage. An exquisite line up of food, served only for the most prestigious of families in the country.

Elisha woke a little later than usual, but that proved no problem for them.

"Elle, dear. Come here for a moment."

Elisha's father, motioning for her to come towards as she walks in, was reading the daily newspaper. There was an abundance of stories regarding political and science advancements, but one particular ad caught his attention.

"Yes, father?" Greeting him with her usual smile, she stands next to his chair eagerly waiting for what he wants of her.

"Take a look at this." Her father hands her the page that he was reading through before she arrived. There was a huge advertisement in the bottom left corner of the page about requiring the assistance of brave people willing to defend the neighboring forests and cities. As Elisha was reading through the rest of it, her father adds, "I believe this will be a good chance for you to gain experience."

"Very well, father." She slowly hands the piece of paper back to her father, not wanting to be disrespectful. "If you believe that this will be good for me, then I shall take the opportunity."

He lets off a gentle smile, if perhaps forced from Elisha's perspective. "That's my girl. Be sure to come back alive, alright?"

"Of course, father." Elisha takes a quick glance at her pocket watch. "It's already 6:30 in the morning?" She hasn't had her breakfast yet, but from her experience, she'll have to leave as soon as possible in order to make it to the town square in time. "I will be off now." The girl bowed as low as she could before turning around and departing for her bedroom to prepare her things.

"Take care kiddo."

The fact that Louis Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière hadn't been mugged yet was nothing short of a miracle. Sure he had a weapon on him, but he was only good enough with it to look like he knew what he was doing in the eyes of people who didn't know anything about a rapier. If he was wearing normal clothes, then it would make sense that no one would bother trying to rob him, but no; he had some fine looking silk on. With all this taken into account, it was baffling that he hadn't been jumped on his way to Maplestead.

"I suppose my suspicions were correct; the fact that no one has come searching for me is proof that Wardes was just trying to get my out of the way. He probably thinks I'm dead already...heh, what a fool" Louis said to himself with a smirk

"Hey kid, are you okay? It sounds like you ran away from home" A large looking man who had over heard him asked

Louis' cheeks turned bright red "f-fool! How dare you eavesdrop on my privet conversation!" He shook his fist at the older man

"Alright, alright. Geez" the man backed off, not wanting anything to do with the raging youth

"Keh! Such impudence. Who does he think he is, listening in on a conversation he has no part in?"

"You know, you should really stop talking out loud if you don't want someone else to hear you" another onlooker said. Louis' only response was a scream of indignation

Elisha has arrived at the city gates of Maplestead. It's been about two hours now since she left her home on her steed. The amount of people is keeping her steed from being able to get inside the city grounds. She spots a stable right near the city gates that allow the steeds of various adventurers rest and recover their strength there. Leaving her identification details and steed at the caretaker, she departs for the town square.

As she's walking, the girl pulls out her pocket watch. "It's already 8:50?" Panic suddenly manifests on her face. "I'm gonna be late!" Elisha quickly assesses her surroundings.

The bar that her father used to frequent was to her left, and the weapons shop to her right. That means the town square should be six blocks away. If she was to make it in time, she'll have to run there. But running is a bad idea for her. Yet, it's her only option to get to the location in time.

"I have to do it."

Elisha readies herself by taking a couple of deep breaths. The girl pulls out her medicine that's meant to help her if she ever gets an attack. She grips the small bag of pills in her left hand firmly.

One last deep breath.

Elisha races off.

The wind in her face.

The feel of speeding through the crowd and stands.

thump

Moving her legs.

The adrenaline in her blood.

Turning the corner.

thump

Happy to be alive and able to run.

Letting everything else go.

The town square was in sight.

thump thump

In a few seconds, she was at the town square. "I... I actually made it?"

A moment of happiness. Suddenly followed up by fear.

thump thump thump

As the adrenaline faded away, the fatigue and pain quickly made themselves at home in her body. A sudden inferno blazes up in her chest. Elisha drops her bag of medicine onto the ground before collapsing herself, gasping for air and feeling very light-headed.

"It hurts. It hurts."

Her vision was blurring, and her lungs were getting tighter by the second. She desperately tries to reach out for her bag, but it unfortunately landed just a bit out of her reach.

The man's steps cascaded in a steady rhythm as he paced himself across great distances on his travels. This upcoming town would be a necessary pit-stop for both rest, moneymaking, and for some information which he coveted more than getting money. Although sometimes the two went in hand together as semi-agreeable type of couple. His pace quickened. As when he glanced upwards to the sky he saw that it was getting grey and his experience outdoors was that it would be a heavy rain that he didn't need to endure. He probably had a couple of hours at best to enjoy the town before retreating indoors.

Inside the town he found that was adequate as he traveled up along the manicured streets with pleasant little bushes and ornamental trees. There was also a bunch of posters everywhere and some criers shouting something. But he payed no attention as just standing still to listen to the contents proved to be of no use or interest to him. Instead his attention was focused on the signage and he'd hope to find a tavern quickly enough.

Vance was now about an hour from the gates of Maplestead, nearly falling asleep on the back of his horse as it traveled onward. A bright flash of light rushed in front of the horse, scaring it, and causing it to rear up slightly, which instantly snapped Vance to attention. He grabbed the reigns and tried to calm the horse.

"Whoa... it's ok, it's alright" he said in a soft voice. It had a light accent to it when he spoke.

After taking a moment to calm his horse, he looked around for what scared it, but there was only darkness in the forest around him leading to the town. He slowly nudged the horse forward again, moving slowly, and constantly looking around them. When he was finally at ease, the light flashed again, like the fading light of a firefly in front of him. It didn't seem threatening, and he swore that he heard something.

After it disappeared, he continued on, but keeping his guard up. He had nearly been attacked once already, and the flier did say that monsters were becoming such a problem, that they were paying people to exterminate them.

The light appeared again, racing in front of him.

"Help me.." it said in a small, feminine voice.

"Help you?" Vance repeated, not sure that he'd heard anything at all. He thought that he may have been going crazy from exhaustion.

"Behind you!" the small, panicked voice said while the light flashed again in front of him.

Before he could react, he was pulled from his horse, hitting the ground with a 'thud', and being held down by two small demons. Each one was griping one of his shoulders and a third emerged to attack him while the others held him down. Without time to analyze the situation, he didn't have time for an incantation, or know how to properly defend himself. He raised his boot to kick away the one in front of him while trying to struggle free of the ones that were holding him from behind. He opened his eyes wide to try and get a look at them to see what he was up against, but all he could see were pairs of yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. As the one that he kicked was recovering, and coming close for another attack, the ones on his back held him tighter. He reached down, barely able to reach the sword at his side, but his body was moving in desperation to survive. He grabbed the handle of his sword, drawing it and quickly swinging it around to try and hit the demons who were holding him, while keeping the third at bay.

When he was clear of the monsters, he positioned himself to that he was facing all of them. “Always keep your enemies in your sights” he thought, remembering the basics of his training as a Templar. As soon as he could see them, or what could be seen of them anyway, he was in a ready stance. He looked to each one, gauging their strength, knowing that they needed to attack him all at once to stand a chance due to their size, but one of them was brave and lunged forward, quickly impaled by a thrust of Vance’s sword through its chest. The sword started to glow with a white light as the demon was banished. It shrieked as its body faded away.

Vance’s broadsword was still glowing with a holy light as he raised it in front of his face. He closed his eyes, and started whispering softly.

“I call forth the light, to banish evil to the depths of hell, to bring again the light of day from the darkest night!”

He opened his eyes as his sword continued to glow. He turned it around, thrusting it into the ground in front of him, sending a beam of light towards the demons, which started to flee, unsuccessfully when they saw their comrade defeated on his blade. The light quickly disintegrated their small bodies and then faded. After the light from his sword faded away, he re-sheathed it, and headed towards his horse.

“Now THAT was an incantation!” the small, female voice said as the fading light returned in front of Vance’s face. His first inclination was to swat at it, like an annoying fly, but he didn’t. He didn’t feel threated by it, mostly seeing it as an annoyance, one he would soon be rid of.

Remounting his horse, and making sure that his pack was secure, he started towards Maplestead again. The small light seemed to follow him now, staying back a bit, but still noticeable.

Vance sighed. “Can I help you?” he asked the small light.

“I’m comin’ with ya. You saved me! Those demons would have torn me apart.” the small voice said.

Vance knew that this would be a headache, but there was nothing that he could do about it.

“What’s your name, Templar?” she said in a curious tone.

“Vance” he said sternly, sounding annoyed.
“Oh, Well Vance, I’m Eve. I live here…. Well, I used to, until the monsters started coming around, then me and all my friends scattered, and then those things attacked me, but then you saved me, and now I’m here, with you! Where are we going? Are we on a quest, or are we just out for a night stroll? What are we doing?” she said excitedly. Her speech seemed to speed up as she went on, which got annoying quickly. She was very emphatic on using the term ‘we’ when she spoke.

Vance looked up to the sky with that familiar “Why me?” looked.

“Eve” he repeated. “I’m heading to Maplestead”

“Maplestead… oooo, what’s there?” she asked curiously. The glow around her was now constant; she was a small fairy, no bigger than Vance’s hand, and constantly emitting light when she felt that she was safe.

“We…” he started, then corrected himself. “I’m going on a quest to exterminate these monsters, but I’m doing it for money” he said stoically.

She was flying in front of him, in part lighting his way as they traveled through the night.

Once he got to the gate, he was welcomed by the guards, and questioned as to why he was here. It was no surprise that the guards would be cautious with all of the attacks as of late.

“State your business.” One of them stated harshly.
“My name is Vance Meridian. I am a Templar, here to accept the quest to eradicate the monsters from this land” he started.

“For the money!” Eve chimed in, unwelcomingly, which caused Vance to get a nervous expression on his face.
Vance mouthed the words “Shut up, Eve!” through clenched teeth to her when she smiled at him.

“Another one for this death quest that’s been advertised” one of the guards scoffed. “Proceed to the town square, someone’ll be by… sometime… to give you more information.”

Vance nodded to the guard, clicking his tongue, giving the horse the signal to move forward into the town. Maplestead was a busy place, filled with both townspeople, and others who came from all over to help with this quest. He was thankful that he was on a horse when he saw people nearly trampling over each other to get around.

Making his way to the town square, he looked up from the people to notice the girl, just as she dropped her bag, and another woman helping her to her feet. He gave it little thought, as he hadn’t bet on being with anyone for this, except his new companion, Eve. Nevertheless, he tied his horse off at the nearest post, dismounting and walking into the square. All he had to do now was wait for someone to give direction on the details of this quest. Eve fluttered towards her new friend, and landed gently on his shoulder, kicking her little feet gently back and forth while they waited.

The square was really filling up at this point. And, with the approaching of the promised hour, people were beginning to grow restless. The beast tamer leaned against his mount, running a hand through the creatures neck fur, boredly going over what he planned on doing with the money after they took care of the monsters. Casualty never equated into his thoughts, of course, because he held full confidence in the bond between himself and Bo- albeit one formed only over the past few days. He peeked over Bo's shoulder just in time to see the gates open and an impressive templar stroll in. At the same time a girl fell harshly on to the ground, which caused Jere to tense and jerk forward to help her- but some gracious person was at once by her side, no doubt a companion or friend.

The elf settled back behind Bo, who obediently lay there and kept his teeth to himself. The wolf was behaving surprisingly well- for he did not growl nor did he threaten with bared teeth at any passerby. Jere was impressed mainly because he expected the wolf to be unmanageable in such a crowded place. The thought of mischievous little wolves drew the elf to remember a song from his childhood- one about men who snuck out to the woods at night and dance with wolves around fire. He produced his flute from the breastpocket of his coat, the glass glinting in the light. Bo's ears perked up at the first note, his tail swished once as he visibly relaxed and the song flowed from his tamers flute. With deft hands the elf played a joyful tune- softly so as to not bother those around him.

"Where's his hat!" Called someone jokingly, a coin dropping to the cobblestones at his feet. Humbly he lowered his eyes thankfully, raising his eyebrows to the person to express this as they passed.

The world was turning black. "It hurts. It hurts." The bag seems so far away, despite it being just a few inches away from her grasp. "I-... I have to stay awake. I can't fall asleep." But her eyes proved to be too heavy. "Stay awake. Stay awake."

Just as she was about to give up, somebody came to her aid. She was brought to her feet and was handed her bag of medicine. The pain was still unbearable however and her legs gave out, she manages to catch herself by dropping to her knees. The shock of being brought up and dropping has shook her up enough to stay wide awake.

"M-my medi... -cine..." With shaky hands, she quickly opens the bag and grabs one of the pills at the top. The girl brings her hand up to her mouth to swallow the pill she took. The medicine is meant to calm her heart down as quickly as possible, being infused with a special kind of healing magic, and the effects are immediately making themselves known right as the pill goes down her throat.

The pain slowly went away, as her heart gradually returned to its normal state. Elisha's strength was returning, and she takes several deep breaths to help.

After a few moments, Elisha opens her eyes again, this time having recovered from her short lapse of an attack. She quickly looks upward to look at the person who saved her. The person was tall, probably a head taller than her. Elisha shakily gets back up.

"I very much humbly thank you." The girl bows as low as she could, just enough to not topple over again. "I am in your debt."

The tall woman asks her if she was alright as she directs them towards the palace. "Yes, thank you for your concern." A slight pause. "...I happen to have a heart condition." Her head drops a bit, perhaps in shame of her condition. "I didn't want to be late, so I took the risk of sprinting all the way over here." Elisha lets out a gentle chuckle. "A very dangerous risk at that."

It's subtle, but Elisha could tell that the woman next to her is nervous. Perhaps a little stiff. "Is there something bothering her?"

Before she could ask about it, the woman continues her questions. "My name is Elisha Marluxia. I live a little bit south from here. About two hours away. And no, I don't need to go back there right now. I'm here about a quest that my parents asked me to take part in."

Elisha couldn't help but notice that this quest has attracted a rather large and interesting group of people. A lot of different types of adventurers were present. An archer, a beast tamer, swordsmen, fencers, and others. But she was wondering if any of them were actually going to partake in it.

| Alyssa |

Was at Maplestead, crossing the gates as she stared at the multiple buildings that were made from brick and some other materials she did not know of. The guards looked at her oddly, though it was her sword they were looking at. The hilt and blade were elongated and unnatural to most, longer than a long sword. The blade shifted against her back, it was distracting as she entered the city, eyes pressuring against her as she moved and seemingly everyone was intimidated by her.

It was almost noon after she was done exploring the city it wasn't mundane nor was it too chaotic. Maplestead was tranquil and active, seemingly nothing was going on...or so she thought. As she neared the inn she heard a faint voice, "Great Monsters?" She repeated, turning as she decided to inspect this odd announcement, and as she neared the man he was already done. She frowned, turning and wobbling towards the inn, 'Oh! Maybe there's going to be fliers tomorrow! ' She hoped, her frown turning upside and then entering the inn.

---

It was early in the morning when she awoke, the sun hadn't raised yet. She yawned, stretching out her arms and then sitting up, looking around as only a faint orange light seeped through the curtains. She slid off the bed and began getting ready.

She exited the inn, surprised as she took sight on, already filled streets. She sighed, managing her way through the morning crowd, she was bumped into and the man who did seemingly went off, though oddly her wish came true. A flier in which held details the man had scarcely said. She ripped the flier from the tavern-wall and began trekking to the castle.

She took too long, or seemingly to long to get to the castle. She had been wandering off instead of getting to the castle. But once she did get to the castle she was rather confused a crowd was formed near the entrance of the castle and a pack of men and women with armor were surrounded in the middle..." Okay... " She guessed, slithering her way to the crowd and into the group of...soon to be Hero's.

Vance was starting to get impatient for this event to start. He crossed his arms, with Eve still resting on his shoulder.

“I’m bored!” Eve said in protest of standing around, doing nothing.

“I know, we just have to wait for someone to announce what this quest is. Where we go, what to kill, that kind of thing.” He said, hoping that some conversation would help with her boredom. “Would you rather be back in the woods being chased by demons, or in a nice, safe, town?” he asked with a bit of a sarcastic tone, turning his head and looking to her on his shoulder.

“No, you’re right, we should just wait here.” she said, looking down to her softly kicking feet.
They were both suddenly blinded by the sun reflecting off of something moving in the crowd. Vance raised his hand to cover his eyes, squinting as he tried to see what it was.

“Whoa..” Eve whispered in awe.

“Look at that sword!” she said excitedly.

“Sword?” Vance said, the glare was fading, and he looked around the crowd, seeing a young woman with an interesting looking sword on her back, that he assumed her smaller frame shouldn’t have been able to carry, much less wield with skill. He was mildly interested, but he didn’t like getting too close to people. He still assumed that he would be accepting this quest alone, or so he thought. He formed strong attachments to others that were not easily broken, and he had lost many friends, and allies in battle. The closeness that he had with them made their loss that much harder on him, and he tried not to think too much about it.

“Can we at least get closer to the palace?” Eve said, sounding like if she didn’t do something soon, she may pass away from boredom.

“Ok”. Vance said, sighing.

Eve took flight, fluttering her small wings, and staying behind Vance as he walked closer to the palace. The place was so packed, that he had to shove some people out of the way to get through.

Suddenly the gates of the palace were alive with the sound of trumpets, announcing that they were soon to open. The entirety of the crowd turned their excited and weary faces to the gold gates, their talk hushed and turned to attentiveness. A series of court officials, dressed in robes of various colors denoting their rank, filed out into the square. For each official followed a boy, who carried a wooden table, which they all placed before their masters and linked together. The officials sat and produced what could only be understood as sign-up sheets. The crowd stood, unsure of what to do next.

Sensing this a voice rose from the gates and all turned their attention back to it. A man, no doubt the official crier, read from a parchment,

"All those in attendence who wish to take up arms against these horrendous and malevolent evils are called forth by the Queen all Mighty above all Stars to sign up. Pledge thyself to Maplestead in this task and carry it out with full intent to bring peace to our lands and calm to the minds of its people."

The crowd began to organize themself in lines to sign up. The form called for them to state their name, home town, class, and weapon/magic specialty.

Despite the older woman's struggle with her words, Elisha could tell that she means no ill will. She just has a problem about expressing herself. Elisha couldn't help but slightly smile at her savior's awkwardness.

The woman's follow up however, caught her off guard. Elisha herself was now the one blushing quite madly. "E-eh!?" To her, announcing one's desire to protect another like that pretty much equals asking someone's hand for marriage. As before, the girl knew that was not what the older woman meant, but she couldn't keep the thought out.

While she was happy at the thought of somebody looking out for her, somewhere deep down, Elisha knew the familiar look on the woman's face. Pity. She has seen this enough times to tell when someone is thinking exactly that when they find out about her condition. And she's tired of it.

Elisha was about to turn down the older woman's proposal, but something else interrupts her.

It's time.

"I'll get a chance later on to turn her down. But for now, the quest must take priority."

Some of the adventurers had already lined themselves up for the application for the quest. Elisha quickly gets in line with one of the shorter ones, with some of the people in front of her being some of the adventurers she noted earlier.