Gytha was a bit taken back by the boldness with which the woman clad in black and purple addressed King Gawain. And equally surprised that it was met with a quick assurance of wealth and not a trip to the stocks. Things must be truly desperate indeed, she thought, if the king was willing to overlook such a blatant lack of respect by his subjects.

The ranger's brow furrowed a bit. Something else nagged at her too, telling her there must be more required of them than simply battling on the front lines. Something that required certain specialized skills to accomplish. "Your majesty," she said, quietly at first, then finding her voice and speaking up, "Your majesty, surely that money would pay for far more troops to combat the enemy than us gathered here. If the goal is simply to take the fight to the orcs, why not hire one or even multiple of the free companies to face the orcs? Why us?"

Mable thought that she knew the answer. A smile crossed her face at the simplicity of the idea. The king had at least tried diplomacy and it was possible her would send out thousands of 'heroes' to die in this endeavor. The king could send them to the most dangerous areas in the conflict to assure only two or three of them survived. In the end the public would also believed that the party was wiped out by orcs if he betrayed them. The idea while a good one shouldn't be spoken in the presence of the king

"It's a dangerous mission and he's paying the survivors. It's possible we're all going to die which leaves the option of readying his troops while we buy the kingdom time. I believe in that case we're acting as the vanguard as the orcs will send out a similar force to cripple the kingdom." Mable said this while looking at the King respectfully. It was an excellent plan. The king had to look after his own people first.

@Masterkeun@Kelewen

King Gawain nodded as they spoke. "Also I will admit to all of you something a lot of people may not expect. What I am about to say is confidential." He said looking around making sure everyone understood what he was saying. "I have received this large of a country with diplomacy...not war. I have an army only because of these orcs attacking. I need you all to show my army what it takes to be the best fighters. I also need more time to train them more in order to stand a chance against a full assult. I am relying on you all to defend the land while I prepare for the worse and continue to try a political approach as well." He said hoping everyone would not think poorly of his country needing time to defend everyone in this nation.

Mable smiled impressed by the honesty "I expected as much Sire you need not fear I'll turn away at this junction. If we die and it buys you a week or a month hundreds won't die. I can accept that as a reason to fight in its own right." Mable bowed low to the King. Mable was satisfied with the King's reasoning and mission. While Mable hoped to return home, danger was why they were getting paid."@DeadlyPhoenix

King Gawain looked around the room one more time to see if anyone would have any last minute questions. When it appeared that everyone had asked them he cleared his throat and moved on. "We must move on now. I am sending all of you on your first mission together. A small town to the north have sent us a reports of Orcs on their way. This town is in charge of our orchards and apple trees. They need protection before something terrible happens."He said looking around to everyone sitting on his thrown. He waved his hand over to one of his helpers who brought a long sheet of cloth used for witting and an ink quill. "Before you all leave I must ask that everyone writes their name and their class on this sheet of cloth. It will help me to see who all has come to help this nation. The towns will know everyone that is coming based on this list. If you all could line up and sign this, you all can head towards the town."He said hoping everyone would understand why he was doing this.

(ignore)

Vakim stood up immediately, grabbing his pack and heading for the sheet and quill, Vaarea doing the same only a little slower. Vakim was first to the paper and Vaarea was right behind him. When he took the quill he wrote down his name and class to the best of his knowledge. He didnt really know.

Vakim Malukavi-----Figher.

He finished writing and slashed a line across the paper under what he wrote, He turned and stepped to the side so that his sister could get at it. He watched over her shoulder as she wrote,

Vaarea Malukavi-----Ranger.

He nodded as she slashed the same line under her script and looked up to him then set the quill down and grabbed her bag, stepping out of the way for the next person to write. Once they had gathered their belongings they walked out by the from door where the guards said that they would hand out a map to the navigator. Vakim looked to his sister, "We will wait and make the decision as a group, They are our party now, they should have a say." Vakim let out a huff and turned on his heels as he walked to the wall where he rested his shoulder leaning heavily on it. She gave him the 'oh come on, the world doesn't revolve around you.' look and turned to wait for the rest of them offering to be navigator since that is what she has been doing her whole life and its what she was good at, However she always added that she was more than welcome if anyone else wanted to do in. She said it all in a kind voice, though still intimidating to those who havent ever seen a goliath before.

Satisfied with the king's explanations, Gytha took a deep breath and stepped forward to sign the paper next. She was slightly surprised, but not unpleased, to see the signature above hers said 'Ranger' as well. She took a mental note of the name, "Vaarea", then put her own name beneath.

Gytha Bennet-----Ranger.

She set down the quill and proceeded after the Goliaths. She felt dwarfed by their size, but no matter, having such intimidating allies was surely a boon. "Greetings, Vaarea," she said with a genuine smile. "My name is Gytha. I'm heartened to find another ranger called to the aid of Aldarina."

Sal thought it selfish of some people to bring up the idea that the money offered as a reward for saving the kingdom wasn't enough. The cleric was more surprised that the king responded so graciously and clarified that each of us would recieve 100,000.

Sal was also satisfied with the reply he got concerning the Orcs plan. Hearing that they would help a town as their first mission, Sal smiled. That was everyday life for him back home, and it made him happy to know that he was going to place where everyone knew each other. Like a large family.

"Of, course your majesty I'll sign the list."

Thus Sal wrote:

Sal Heath -> Cleric

Then took a few steps away for the next to sign their name.

---

Ceridwen was somewhat lethargic in getting up to write her name down, of course, they already had her details written down somewhere. She was sure of that much. She glanced over what others had written, a fighter, two rangers and a cleric? She hoped those who hadn't already signed this thing were more fighter-y. This one guy would have a great time trying to hold the Orc hordes off from an entirely ranged party though if that wasn't the case. After her few moments of reflection, Ceridwen wrote her details down.

Ceridwen Phrys - Warlock

That was more than enough for them, no need to tell them about her patron. She wondered what this town there would be going to would be like. Hopefully not too ravaged by the war.

@duskshine749

Ban walked over to the table and knew he would have to get this over with sooner or later.

Ban Hitashi - Paladin

He whistled to Yang so he would follow him to the gathering of everyone grouping up. "Nice to meet you all. I am Ban and this is Yang." He said rolling his neck side to side to pop his neck loudly. He held his helmet on his side so he could get a good look over with the team he would have to work with for a while.

~*~*~*~

"I will sign us in. You go look and see who we will be working with." Esmeralda said to Morthos as she went up to the list to fill them out. She kept her hood up so no one would look at her just yet. She was always distrusting of people at first but she knew she would have to deal with it.

Esmeralda Natrise- Rouge
Morthos Xerxes- Wizard

Esmeralda walked up to see a paladin, a few rangers, even a warlock so far. There was a lot of balance from short range and long range fighters which would be very helpful dealing with the Orcs. She hoped more people would not chicken out and back out now. The money was as easy as cake to Esmeralda. She thought that anyone foolish enough to pass up on the money now was not very bright or very cowardly.

Mable smiled already planning out a tale for the beginning of there quest. Mable strummed her lute happily signing her name Mable Rivers Bard Mable played her lute happily walking behind the group trying to get a feel for the group. The Warlock seemed to her distant and cold. In her Mable could see someone who would put her own needs before anyone else. Mable tossed her bag over her shoulder letting Vaarea lead. "It would be a pleasure to let you lead"

"Sure thing," Morthos said as he left Esmeralda to go join the rest of those who had signed the paper already. It seemed everyone was just getting their introductions out of the way, and deciding who would be the navigator. "Hi there, I'm Morthos, nice to meet you all." Morthos would not be offering his name up to be navigator, he may be knowledgeable about many things in nature, but he was not very perceptive. He would almost certainly get them lost if it was left up to him. He was most interested in working with the goliaths, he'd never met one in person before. They certainly were as physically imposing as he had read, but he was sure they were fine people.

@duskshine749

Esmeralda walked up next to Morthos as soon as she was finished signing in. "Who all do we have to work with?" She asked him quietly to see if we would have good fighters to work with. "I see we have a few rangers and mages but what else have I missed." She said looking around to get a good feel of the team balance.

Ban stood against the wall looking around. Yang was sniffing everyone wagging his tail softly. "Who wants to lead the way?" He asked looking around at everyone. If he had to lead he would not mind that but he wanted to offer it to someone else if they were interested. He was a good navigator, but he did not want to impose if someone else wanted to lead the way.

"I know the way," Gytha volunteered, glancing first toward the man with the wolf that had posed the question, then around at the others in the newly formed company. She was certain of the town by the king's description of their orchards. She stepped into the middle of the group so that everyone could easily hear her, "The town is Alpton. I was there only a few times and the most recent was over a year ago, but the way is not hard to know. We need only to travel north along the Kots River. The farmers use the river to ship their fruits down to the capital, but there is also a road that runs beside the river for their beasts to haul their rafts back upstream."

So once any last minute preparations were made, the ranger Gytha began leading them east, toward the Kots River.

This part of the journey did not seem treacherous to her, so she fell into step beside one of her new companions. (OOC- Anyone!) "Have you been to Alpton before? I'm nervous that if we don't make it there before the orcs, the farmers may not be able to hold them off for long, or at all," she said, her concern genuine.

@Kelewen

Ban at fast enough pace to be near to Gytha as she explained about the town. "I haven't been there, but I hear that the town is also known for the great Ale they make from the fruits they grow. It would be horrible if anything happened to that place." He said with almost a comedic tone. He was concerned for the town but if he were to worry too much about it, his head would not be in the game and mistakes can happen. Yang walked up to Gytha barking almost playfully to introduce herself. "This is Yang. He seems to like you." He said laughing as he put his helmet in his backpack.

Esmeralda followed towards the middle of the group. If she stood in the crowd of people then she could blend in better and be able to keep a good look out over the group just in case. Anything can happen out here and she didn't mean the orcs. Bandits and other creatures could come out and cause issues for them. She knew they needed to get there quickly so any distractions could be the doom of the city.

Sal

The cleric hiked his white robe up with his hands as he jogged next to Gytha and Ban. He was attracted to the conversation between them. He put himself between them with his gear in bag strapped to his back and still holding up the bottom of his robe he smiled to them both in turn. "Hello, I'm sal. I am a cleric but more importantly, I'm here to help. Can I have your names?" He asked the ranger and paladin politely.

Sal had some ideas of how he could help the townspeople but until he got there, he couldn't know what really could be done.

@DeadlyPhoenix@Kelewen

@Zi "Oh sorry I didn't realize there would be a vote. What do you know about the town?" I smile warmly my eyes on both of them as I play a famous ballad about a doomed party and a haunted forest of death where they were torn apart by vicious ghouls. Mable switched tunes quickly to one of meadows the song seeming a bit more cheerful.

"He's beautiful," Gytha said to Ban as she paused just a moment to let the wolf sniff her hand before moving onward again. "Did you find him as a pup?" She'd once known another man who had kept a she-wolf as a companion and the animal had made an excellent tracker and would have protected her master to the death, but the beast had also been difficult to control.

But before Ban had a chance to answer, another man was introducing himself. A cleric? Gytha smiled in greeting. "It is a great comfort to know we have the aid of a cleric. Though, I can't help but fear we'll need it," the ranger said to Sal. "I'm Gytha."

"Have you traveled along the Kots River before?" she asked both of the men. "Once we get farther than a few miles north of here, we'll need to keep our guard up. The bandits tend to only attack small groups that don't appear well-armed, but if the orcs are hurting the food supply, they may be more desperate now than in the past. And desperate men do stupid things..."

@Gareth@Kelewen

Ban nodded his head to the cleric. "I'm Ban. Paladin." He said holding out his hand to shake it with Sal's. "Yes I found him as a pup. His mother left him behind in a bad storm since he was the runt. I fed him and he keeps me safe." He said patting Yang on the head as Yang sniffed Sal to get his scent. He was trained to be a great tracker so Yang tried to sniff everyone at least once. "Yes I have been this way before. Its been a long time though." He said looking around seeing the trees on each side of the path towards the river.