HELP WANTED!

Explorers and Fighters needed! A band of Orcs threatens to destroy the whole nation! The King of Aldarina has placed a bounty of 100,000 gold to anyone that wants to defend his land from the evil monsters. All who wish to help must arrive at the Castle on the Eve of the Lantern of Lights Festival at the Castle entrance hall.

The King of Aldarina has sent out all of his servants and workers to spread thousands of wanted posters all around town and surrounding towns as well. He is in dire need of brave hearted people for a dangerous quest. He knows only the strongest people will be able to do the job he needs to but he is desperate. The festival day is two days away so everyone is to head to meet the king that day. Hopefully people arrive soon, or the country is doomed.



Esmeralda walked up towards the entrance to the castle. She looked behind her to see her friend Morthos close behind her. "We are almost there. It should be just up ahead." She said as she was careful to keep her face hidden in her hood. She did not want to get spotted as a thief before she could see the king. Then she would be in a jail cell versus making more money then she has ever even seen before. She wondered how hard this job would be. She knew that killing Orcs is always a challenge, but she knew she had what it took to get the job done.

Ban was sitting on one of the couches in the entrance hall snoozing away. He arrived earlier that morning and wanted to be the first in line for the fortune. He actually hoped no one else would show up so he could ask for more money. He knew that was unlikely to happen...but it was a possibility. This job was very challenging after all. Not everyone has the guts to take on Orcs in cold blood, even if they are terrorizing the town. He sat up and stretched out looking to see if anyone else would arrive soon.

Mable

Mable was the first to enter the common area Ban was watching. Mable was already strumming her lute trying to decide the perfect song for this city. A trail of small mice leading her inside. Mable smiled at Ban at she entered eyeing him with interest. In that moment she began to play a simple song that started out sad the melody disjointed and broken before raising the song's tempo giving it power. She thought it summed up the person before her in his dark black armor. When the song was over Mable at near the man still gently playing a more cheery tune as a reward for the mice who had lead her here.

Kalabath

"A good nose could lead you far" Kalabeth reminded herself as she returned to Uta's encampment having scouted the nearby town. Kalabath could still taste the blood of the farmers on her fangs the warm sinew in between her jaws. Kalabath had been sent to raid and pillage the towns to the south. The idea was to spread rumors of wolf attacks drawing away the guards from there posts for ambushes by Uta. Kalabath could smell Uta's displeasure from here so kept her distance watching her mistress from nearby.

@DeadlyPhoenix
Elroy dismounted his war horse and approached the castle entrance, it's grand gate opening for him and the massive wooden entrance doors as well. The king had asked for him to come personally due to him being the "protector" of Aldarina, it was his duty to follow the kings' orders, no matter what amount of gold he'd be paid. Elroys' kite shield was held high in his arm, making sure not to scrape the ground, it was a gift from the king himself. Inside the castle were were a few of the mercenary type, "greetings." He said emotionlessly, he then stood to the side in wait for the kings' next order.

Sal

His bags Filled with his stuff, weapons strapped to his waist, clothes obviously still on and no nudeness. Sal was indeed prepared to depart. He poured himself a glass of watered down wine and sipped slowly. It would be a long time before he saw these four walls again. He'd miss the decorations he had on the walls, the stories that were told here, the laughs of the people gambling their coin at cards. Sal didn't really care if his people gambled as long as the people were prepared to lose all their coin every night placing their bets. It was when fights broke out over the money was what upset Sal, and in turn got his fighting gamblers kicked out of his tavern.

He turned to his security Guard, Billy. A big man and explained to him, "I'm going to be gone for a long time, I need you to run this place. If anyone asks any questions about why you are in charge, just show them this note with my signature on it. It will explain everything." With that Sal grabbed his white robe he used for special occasions, put it on, and headed outside past all his empty tables and chairs as Sal had closed the business for the day. This was so that his leaving wouldn't happen while there was a room full of questioning 'customers.'

He grabbed his horse he kept behind the Tavern and hopped in the saddle. He made short work of the trip to the Castle. Sal stopped just in front of the Castle's Gate, dismounted and lead his horse by the reins inside. His robe was a little ruffled and so he straightened it out with one hand as he hoped that he looked the part of the "Holy Cleric", and that the King would be impressed.

As soon as he stepped into the entrance hall he turned his head towards some music that he didn't recognize and his eyes widened as he saw a bunch of mice. Its not often that Sal saw mice, much less in a building with somebody who wasn't trying to kill them. It made him wonder, who was that girl?

"100,000..." Lance mumbled to himself underneath his scarf as he strolled casually towards the castle. How fortunate that such a high paying proposition come into sight after a successful heist and no one needed to know about this extra trinket. Lance softly kissed the ruby that was embedded on his necklace before quickly fumbling it back below his scarf as he passed the city guard, avoiding the suspicious gaze from making eye contact as he bowed his head down. It possibly wasn't the smartest idea to flaunt recently stolen goods, though if need be he could probably talk his way out of that trouble.

As he neared the castle gates the thief gulped softly. This was likely a well guarded property, eyeing the treasures was not going to be a good idea... well not yet anyway. The king must of indeed been desperate for the help as Lance passed the stationed guards at the gate without a single question, his gear evidently displaying that he to was answering the call to arms. That alone maybe have outweighed the suspicions about his general attire.

As he stepped into the castle hall the thief sighed rather dejectedly as his eyes shifted to each person doing a head count. Clearly offering ill-tale of encounters with Orcs didn't dwindle numbers as much as he might hope. One person caught his attention in particular, a certain individual who appeared to keep their identity as much as secret as he did. A smile grew on his face, only evident from the narrowing of his eyes before he looked over the other arrivals once more. "I wonder what kind of tale this is to become... ah a bard, a teller of greater tales than I." The man muttered to himself once more as he reached and lowered the scarf that had shielded the bottom of his face from view. Making it this far made it clear that so much of a disguise was not required.

---

“My, my, now that is a lot of gold,” Ceridwen laughed to herself, sat in her city home. It wasn't exactly the most furnished abode. She was staring at a notice one her young eyes on the street had brought her, 100,000 gold, that was too much surely. Imagine everything she could do with that kind of cash, she could hire people. Spread the word of the one true God amongst the heathens that walked this land. Or, just buy an actual bed. That would be nice too.

She stood and walked herself to the castle, same city not too far thankfully, otherwise the notice would have reached her too late. Ceridwens staff clanked against the ground, it stood taller than her by a clear head and a half. The guards looked a little concerned at her showing up. She had been known to cause… A ruckus or two within the city. She held the notice up to them as she climbed the steps to the gates, “Don't worry my sweets, not here for anything devilish today. Well, unless you include my devilish good looks,” she laughed at her own joke, going to stroke one of them on the chin, before realising that they might not see it in the same light.

The gates were splendid as always, maybe she should buy a gate. Or get an urchin to steal her some perhaps? Ah perfect there were already people here, less waiting for her. Who did they have then? A rouge, bard… A paladin? Usual tough guys. Oh. A cleric too? Of course there was. Heretics always drew themselves to adventure. Pfft pathetic. Hopefully stone rest proved to be more interesting.

The ranger glanced around uneasily at the crowds of people preparing for tomorrow's Lantern of Lights festival as she hurried toward the castle, trying her best to avoid bumping into anyone. She'd been to the castle once before, years ago when she was little her father had brought her to watch the parade in honor of the king's coronation. She remembered having trouble seeing, so he had lifted her upon his shoulders for a better view.

The thought of him brought a pang of mixed sorrow and worry. He, along with several other rangers, had gone after a small band of orcs that had killed a whole family on a nearby farmstead. But none of the group had yet returned and, even though she knew he was a capable man, Gytha could not help but fear the worst.

The 100,000 gold coins, while a sum of money more than she could really fathom, was secondary to eliminating the orcs that threatened the kingdom and, if possible, find out what had become of her father.

The castle loomed before her and she took a deep breath as if to steel herself for what lie ahead. A small crowd was gathering. Suspecting she was in the right place, the ranger gave a small wave in greeting as she approached, hoping to find a friendly face among the bunch.

"But Brother, What if they don't want us to be here?" Vaarea asked her brother Vakim nervously. "Hush, Sister, No one will even question why we are here. They need our size and strength, and I need to kill something. I might as well kill something for enough gold to last the both of us 'till death. This was your idea anyway. Now put your hood up. Speak strong Rea. I will not speak to any of them until they prove worthy of it, if any ever do." Vakim answered confidently, as he repositioned the strap of his pack. Vaarea put up her hood obediently and focused on walking again. They had been walking for a day straight to arrive a day early to the festival. It wasn't necessarily hard, they just weren't used to the work, they had been living comfortably a couple towns over. It was due time that they had moved anyway. Vakim started noticing people visiting him regularly to get weapons sharpened and blades crafted for their kids. Vakim didn't like getting attached to people or places. Vaarea, who was family, was his only exception. "How much further brother? We have been walking too long." she whined as she looked over at her much larger sibling. "You are too weak. I should have left you at home. We havent even started fighting and you are already-" "NO IM NOT I TAKE IT BACK, I can walk for days longer, How about you brother?" "I dont need to, we are nearly there."

Vaarea looks up and sees the towering castle of the king, excitedly she quickens her pace and leaves her brother several feet behind her. After only a short walk later they were at the bottom of the long, wide staircase up to the gate that leads to the common area of the castle. With Vakim now caught up and the two standing side by side, with many races scuffling around them in the chaos that was the preparation for the festival, They gave one another a glance and a nod and started climbing the stairs. Carefully placing one foot after another being careful not to step on two stairs at once or anyones cloaks and feet proved more difficult than the long walk from the previous town to here. As they passed, the guards gave them a frightful glance, but neither of them broke their stoic characters. They simply facing straight ahead and continued walking. Even when one of the guards let out a measly "Eeep~" as they passed. Vaarea's eyes darted around soaking up the new sights and people she hadn't seen before. Though Vakim kept his eyes on the door and nothing else. When the door opened and they entered Vakim instantly surveyed the area for a place to stand that wouldn't make him stand out, There were none. "Stay close~" He whispered to Vaarea, she nodded and took a step closer to him. They decided to stand off to the right but away from the wall and looked around for and extra tips on where they should be headed. Vaarea eyed the shady looking thieves until she realized that she looked relatively similar, she bumped her brother with her elbow and pointed to the Paladin and Cleric. He nodded and continued looking around for himself with his eyes continually drifting back to the ranger that was attempting to make conversation with the small group that started forming, and he couldn't help but notice the soothing music, making note of a talented bard. "If this is our group, I don't see how any orcs can stand in our way. They will all be crushed, while we all drain the king's pocket." he said softly to his sister. Vaarea nodded in agreeance and leaned on Vakim in relief.

His eyes looked at the poster made by the king of Aldarina and although Gin had not much use or interest in the reward money, he did however believe that the kingdom should not be destroyed and he viewed the orcs as being a more potential threat to nature. Also since he harbored no ill will to the people of Aldarina, he felt compassion to help them in their hour of need and decided to offer his services to help combat the orcs. And here was now, walking throughout the town on his way to the castle to meet up with other potential adventurers and warriors to partake on this quest to save the country from the orcish threat.

When the castle came in sight his mind wandered to what kind of people would be interested in such a quest. Obviously many would want the reward money and that made Gin wonder if they would be very trustworthy. Either way as a druid, he would be helpful for combating these primal brutality of the orcs. Gin entered the castle and took in the sight for a moment and then looked to see who else was here. There were several people already there and Gin didn't recognize the ones he saw so far, but there was one whose face he did recognize.

The ranger known as Gytha. Gin had met her before and she was a loner like him. Seeing someone that he knew who was interested in this quest gave Gin a feeling of ease and he felt better knowing that he wouldn't just be among strangers. He walked towards the ranger and gave her a wave.

"Greetings Gytha, it has been a long time. It appears that you are also interested in this quest to save Aldarina from the threat of the orcs. I must say that I am pleased to see a familiar face among this group and I hope that this quest is a success" Gin said to her with a polite bow and a kind smile. Along his fur clothes there were roots and grass growing along the animal skin material, giving it an earthy and natural design.

@Shmektheshmuck@Masterkeun@Oni_@Weird Tales@Zi@akirashadow

Ban sat up when the fighter came in. Ban could tell from his voice that he was a strong person. "Well, well, well...about time other people started showing up. I was worried I would have to fight the damn beasts all by myself." He said standing up from the couch. He pulled off his helmet to able to speak more clearly to everyone. As looked at the doors, people started showing up left and right. Damn... He hoped that too many people meant less reward money. He was not going to be happy if it was cut down due to people suddenly deciding they had a good heart. He waved to everyone as they walked in or nodded his head in their direction. He would have plenty of time to meet with them later. Yang the wolf walked in from the outside and ran over to Ban sitting next to him. Ban pet his head softly as she heard more people come in.

@Gareth Mable

Mable could tell no one in the room knew her. A few people seemed to speak to each other with familiarity. Old friends out on a new adventure maybe. Mable stopped playing letting the mice run back to there hiding holds in piece. The man staring at them with disgust and curiosity caught her attention as she walked over. "Hello stranger, sorry for the mice. They are a little nervous around people and take some coxing out. My names Mable, I don't usually travel. I assumed that this though maybe be a story worth telling."

The king would be by soon, but it did a person good to know more about her traveling companions. It would also help her write a better song for now the only song that came to mind was one of a grizzled warrior. Mable had a strange feeling from the softness in his face that may not be right.

Loud bells chime out in the hall playing a small song to show to everyone that the king was on his way in. Two servants walked in front making sure his throne was set up in the middle of the room to face everyone. The King walked in with his royal red and blue robes that ended at his dress boots. On top of his head was a bejeweled crown with many different rubies and Sapphires. He sat down in the chair as the music stopped. "Welcome everyone. Thank you all for coming." He said clearing the air. "As you may know I am King Gawain. This country is in dire need of your help, brave travelers." He looked through the room seeing a few familiar faces over the years and some new faces as well. He knew they were his best shot to eradicate the orcs. "We need your help to push the murdering Orcs away from this land. They must be stopped at all costs. I know of many locations you all will need to help with to push back the Orcs to secure our boarders. We want all of them gone from this land until some time a treaty can be reached, but to be honest that is very unlikely." He said letting out a sigh. "This will not be an easy job and it will take quite a bit of time to get it done. Before I go on does anyone have anything that they would like to ask or say?" He said looking around the room. He did not want to confuse anyone and they sign up for something they aren't ready for.

@MasterKeun@DeadlyPhoenix Sal

He watched the mice while continuing to ignore the new arrivals as each one entered. Not out of rudeness, but out of how intense his curiosity was with the animals. It was such that when the mice went into hiding, he shook his head suddenly as if he came out of a hypnotic trance. Then he heard her voice.

Turning to her as he blinked his eyes a few times he smiled, noticing a pretty young lady. "I'll admit the mice surprised me, but now I see that you have a friendship together." As he caught her name, he bowed with one hand to his chest, "My name is Sal. You have a nice name, Mable." He nodded in understanding when she said that she didn't really go places and that this could make a good story.

"Mable I'm the same way. Before this journey I just stayed at the Tavern running the place and cooking food for people. But now, I get the chance to learn a lot more about the world."

He was going to ask her a question but alas the king arrived then...

He did look impressive with his fancy robes and the way he strode through the room. It seemed to sal that the king had an aura around him. As the King did his intro. speech, sal listened attentively. Just as the last words left the King's mouth, sal spoke up.

"Do we know what the Orc's plans are?" He asked the King.

Morthos chuckled as Esmy put her hood up to try and hide her thieving nature. Hiding his identity was more work than it was worth, and over time Morthos had learned to be proud of his heritage. While he wasn't nobility, in a way he was, as all tieflings were descended from the nobility of the lost nation of Bael Turath. As they passed by the guards they weren't given any trouble but he knew the guards were giving him strange looks. Once inside though Morthos felt a lot more comfortable, among other adventurers, he just hoped they didn't hold a prejudice against tieflings like others he had met in the past. "Few more people than I thought there would be," he said to Esmy. That didn't bother him though, the money was kind of the least important part of the adventure. To Morthos the part he cared about was the learning experience.

Soon after arriving the king came out and gave his first little speech, and someone asked what the orcs plans may be. Morthos decided to give his theory, "I'm no expert, but if I had to guess they probably just want to conquer the kingdom and add it to their territory. They probably don't have a grand plan other than that, if history is anything to go by." Morthos had done a lot of reading on orcs in preparation for fighting them, the most powerful weapon he could wield was knowledge.

Mable gently rolled her eyes. The arrogance in his voice astounded her. Mable knew that Orc's from one band could differ greatly in goals to another. The orcs could be fighting for a myriad of reasons. The man appeared to be skilled however, but his reply revealed more than he'd have liked. Mable had grown up in a border town with the Orcs. The average Orc wasn't a horrible creature of fear, but more similar to human's then most races. The children from each town would on rare occasions meet up for hunting trips. The orcs she'd known however were forced to flee as the new war band arrived. Mable replied calmly

"History books won't give you the Orc's side. A large amount of orcs will fight to test there metal and won't bother conquering. If you have a famine it will force them to raid as it does us. In the past while we in our history claim to be innocent conflict, has occurred due to raiding on both sides. " Mable looked at the king respectfully adding "Have you done anything to provoke them? A slight of honor or stealing food? IT may be possible to create a trade deal if famine is what's driving them"

The ranger turned at the sound of her name, for a moment surprised, then genuinely pleased to see the hobgoblin druid. "Gin! Greetings to you as well, friend."

Normally, she would at least be leery of hobgoblins, but this one might have just saved her life once. About a year ago after a rain storm, when she was still too reckless, she had hurt herself in a fall down a muddy embankment into a ravine too steep and slick for her to pull herself out while injured. Luckily, it hadn't been a group of thugs or bandits to find her cold, soaked, injured, & trapped, but Gin. He had helped pull her out, patched her up, then made sure she got home to her father.

She looked about to say more, but when the music signaled the arrival of the king, she turned her attention there, listening attentively to all that was discussed, reserving her own questions for if they were still needed once the king had answered the ones already posed.

Vakim and Vaarea stood alone, towering over everyone who came in, they didn't expect to meet anyone they knew. The two grabbed seats on some stone benches in the room as the King arrived, Still taller than most. Vakim said nothing and simply listened until his sister nudged him and him which story was true, Vakim took a second to weigh the options.

"Either could be, The bard over there is seeing trends in their past behavior and judging them on that. The Tiefling on the other hand could also be correct, In ancient lore that I read back in the dragon's cave I do remember reading about the time the orcs had formed alliances and band together to rid the world of all but themselves. In the stories it told of them being on the verge of raiding the dragons even. That's how powerful they became, I say we prepare for both, don't get caught off guard. Hear me Rea?" He looked at her expectantly as she stared back totally in tune to what he was saying. "Yes, I hear you, brother. I agree with you. Should I string my bow? I have plenty of string. When should I tell them you're a traveling blacksmith?"

She says as she turns to her bag after Vakim nodded to her bow statement. "I will when they need to know." He then focuses back on the scene at hand, watching the attendants go back and forth, without saying a word he assessed people and judged their character. He knew who he would most likely talk to first... She just needed to prove her skills on the battlefield. Vaarea, at his side, shuffled around in her pack and started drawing attention, first with the noise, then with her rough, rocky, blue skin. Vakim nudged her so hard she almost fell out of her chair then hid her arms and stopped fiddling with things, She knew she could take care of that later.

Gin was glad to have someone who he was acquainted with to talk to and that meant this mission may go better than he expected. His attention was drawn to the arrival of the king who made the announcement of their quest and what he required of them. It wasn't too complicated, they needed to push back the invading orcs to secure the kingdom's borders. There was one who asked about he orcs plan and then two more brought their own ideas forward. Gin decided that he should put his opinion forward.

"In nature the intruding beast is almost always met with a fierce attack from the invaded animal. I believe we should focus on the present and right now the orcs are attacking and killing, we need to stop that and then try to negotiate with their leaders. If we are on the defensive then a counterattack is the next natural choice of action" Gin spoke up. The druid in his many years as with nature recognized that when home of an animal is threatened then saving the home and its resources were the most important thing to it.

---

Before the king entered the room, everyone seemed focused on learning who everyone else was. A smart move, if they all planned on killing the others off by the end of it. But even Ceridwen wasn't dumb enough to try that during a mission for the king. Although, she hadn't completely disregarded the need to do so. She looked around, how many of them were there? Thirteen? That was too many if the king was going to try and split the cash, she could never fulfill her plans with the chump change that would result in.

It wasn't long before his royal highness entered the room, full of a certain kingly splendour, he laid out their mission. It was all simple enough, find the Orcs and kill them. Reclaim the land for its "rightful" owners. Of course, he also left the floor open to questions. The simple minded fools Ceridwen would be adventuring with clearly didn't have their priorities in order, asking of what plans the Orcs may have had at this moment in time. Each throwing out their own theories as to the answer.

She decided it time to cut in. "As much as I love these cute little theories that you all have about what the Orcs may be planning, I think you're all missing the bigger picture here. How many of us in the room? Thirteen. What's the deal here then your highness? 100,000 gold. Is that each? Or are you chump changing us and splitting it? There's a big difference there,".

@Gareth@Zi@Oni_@Weird Tales@Kelewen@Masterkeun@duskshine749@akirashadow@Shmektheshmuck

The King liked all the questions he has been asked. He could tell everyone was trying to achieve the goal and were very intelligent. That will be very useful for the task at hand. "We do have a good idea based on scouting as to what the Orcs have planned and we will go over them in a moment. They are doing as others have said...they want to take everything for themselves. They are raiding our towns that grow food, make ale, and even raise animals. It has seemed they are gathering food to feed a new army. My plan to start with is to guard off the towns they have been trying to raid so their troops cant get any more supplies. Then everyone will gather together even with my own army to fight them off from the outer boarder of our land." He said hoping everyone was following his explanation.

"I can agree that we should definitely try to come to a political understanding and I have sent out delegates to try and reason with them, but every time they return they say they were close but not close enough to prevent war. If we were to wait on a treaty they would have already taken everything that they want and over through the kingdom. The treaty at that point would be a seal of our surrender. I can't afford to let my country crumble after all we have achieved." He said standing up and starting to pace slowly to look over at everyone. He could not believe that nearly everyone were from different races and from different countries as well. He was happy to know he had allies out there in the other lands that understood how bad he needed help.
"What I said on the wanted posters is true. Every single person here will earn 100,000 gold on job completion. There is no catch. I have saved up quite a few years in small taxes and I know I have enough to pay all of you." He said wanting them to all be sure they got what they earned to be able to save his country. "As I said I will do anything to keep my country safe. I have even had the citizens vote to see if they would like to use this money to pay all of you and everyone agreed it was the best idea." He said wanting everyone to see that he would not want to do this if his people thought it was a bad idea.