Maplestead was a funny town. It sounded so plain by the name that Tanzin had glanced over it the last time he looked at a map but the promise of a royal award was something Tanzin didn't take lightly. Money was the ultimate motivation, sure, but the promise of creatures too big to handle was something that really appeared to be irresistible. "Ha!" The great ogre of a man shouted, in the tavern he was calling home for the night, slamming his fists onto the table as he just finished his sixth pitcher of mead of the night. "They should have just asked me." He cockily said to his present company, a band of sellswords who were dwarfed by Tanzin's size. Wiping the messy drink from around his mouth, he continued, "Sheep herders and stable boys are all they'll get! Greed promising more than they can handle, all will run at the sight of anything bigger than them!" Again he slammed the table, "I'm off, then!" He said in a haste. It wasn't even the day of and he was already just outside of Maplestead, but he gathered up his things and darted out the door, hooting and a hollering. 

Other patrons, including the sellswords, shook their heads and all made comments about that drunkards quest. "It was a fool's errand," they said. The country of Sejan was at risk of being overrun and the those drinking patrons all had their theories about why this quest was happening. "There is no pay, they just bodies to throw at those things to keep them back!" They agreed that not even a man Tanzin's size could fight off the bigger of the creature out there. 

-

The next morning, Tanzin was up and ready to go. He thought he was eyeballing the competition but much to his dismay, some of them were going to be his teammates. At least that is what they told him as soon as he signed up, signing just underneath a long-written name. "[i]Hmph![/i]" Tanzin scoffed as he strode past the other signees talking amongst themselves. None of these squishy folk looked at all strong. 

Tanzin strolled away, not wanting to socialize with such weaklings, and returned to his massive warhammer resting on the ground. Despite it having quite some value, nobody could lift it aside from Tanzin, himself. He swung that hammer with ease and threw it up on his shoulders, waiting for the call to begin the hunt.


---

Petite and quiet, Elle managed to sneak in behind a rather large man, who could probably give giants a run for their money, and sign her name. There were so far quite a few who signed on and she was satisfied to see that so many people were trying to come to this city's aid. The city of Maplestead had become overly crowded as refugees flocked into the city gates. The sudden influx of horrific demons and creatures drove those that were unable to defend themselves and their property into the city wall. 

Elle had been in Maplestead for a few days now, resting as she had grown very ill in the past week. She was just starting to feel better when this royal decree was passed around every town crier inside the city walls. The refugees were the first sign that thing were bad, the decree present the problem a far worse. [i]There are too many for them to handle![/i] Elle thought to herself as she finished signing and looked at the small collection of guardsmen that stood on the other side of the sign-up sheet. They were giving her dirty looks and a muttering caused one of them to snort in laughter. Obviously, Elle had appeared quite intimating following that large man, but she had power that none would believe. It was a shame that it had to be daytime, however. The sun was already starting to beam down, almost blinding the nocturnal Elle. 

All of this wasn't her first choice but Elle had a sense Juna was wanting this. Last night's display of Aran's Star becoming eclipsed by a meteor that appeared to be heading right for Maplestead, burned up before it reached the ground. It was a sign that something apocalyptic could be on the rise as Aran was Juna's Child of War and she was the Keeper of [i]Stjarna[/i], an underworld of sorts. Signing up felt like her duty and so she did, despite being ill and likely not at full strength with her sickness and at day. Hopefully this crusade would carry on into the night where Elle was more useful.

For a moment, Elle watched the conversations of the others. She wanted to join as they were likely interesting people and very likely to become her immediate allies but alas, she suddenly felt a wave of heat that threatened to knock her out. Best if she fled to somewhere with water first and she could always meet those of her group later. So she fled the courtyard for a brief moment, fetching some water from a public well.