It was a fine summer's day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there were people out on the streets doing all kinds of things. From children playing to adults carrying out their daily work, the city of Venne was a bustle of activity. After all, there was no way anyone would ignore the opportunity to take advantage of such wonderful weather. At least for the most part.

And the adventurers of the guild were no exception to this fact. The Guild hall, too, was surrounded by activity. Citizens of Venne were busy submitting jobs for the guild, ranging from simple low-level pest control to bandit hunts, to even clearing a location of goblins. There were all kinds of jobs ready for any adventurer of any level.

Inside the guild hall there was no small amount of activity, as well. Adventurers of all sorts, ranging from the lowest ranks to the highest, were purchasing food or drink, registering bounties, trying to find a party to tackle whatever jobs they were taking on. The guild staff behind the counter, in charge of handling administrative duties for the adventurers, certainly had their job cut out for them on a busy day like this.

"So you're looking for a job today, Sophie?"

The girl who spoke was silver-haired elven girl. The one she spoke to was a very short pale girl, one who could easily be mistaken for a child, her dull purple hair tied up.

"Of course," responded Sophie, folding her arms as she glanced towards the notice board, "What else would I be doing? There's no way a good adventurer would be slacking off on a day like this!"

She nodded, firmly, to herself, as she looked over the day's avaliable jobs.

"Aaah, I wish I could come with you..." lamented the elven mage, "But my sister and I were supposed to clear out a goblin's hideout today..."

"It's fine," asserted Sophie, with a nod to herself. She didn't have any doubts that she could handle whatever job she chose to take on... and, frankly, probably quite a few that were above her current level, but they wouldn't let her take anything more then a couple ranks above her own rank. Even when they seemed perfectly within her reach... whatever, one way or another she was going to become the greatest adventurer she could be! "I don't think I'll have any trouble!"

"Well... okay!" replied the elf, with a nod, "Um... I have to go meet up with my sister... See you later!"

With that, she was off... Sophie waved after her, before returning her attention to the quests board. She wasn't going to accept anything low-level. Clearing giant rats... she'd surpassed that level long ago! And it had been a worthless quest back then, anyway... that was the kind of thing reserved for people who were just learning how to fight!

Sophie wanted something on her level.

After a few moments, something in particular caught her eye...







Val Ethyn? That wasn't too far. She'd heard about the discovery of the new ruins there... there had been other structures found in the area, but a new one had only recently been uncovered, partially carved into a cliffside. There was some speculation about its nature, but nothing concrete yet.

Sophie smiled.

Just the kind of job for a true adventurer like her!

@Raineh Daze@1Charak2@Sho Minazuki@KoL@TheFake@thrrnvwls

His steps are deliberate; measured, almost. The sun is almost blinding as it shines down on his brilliant white hair. People know him, appreciate him even, but they know better than to show it as they avoid meeting his eyes, an unnatural black against his otherwise pale features.

"Mmm," Galen can't help but smile slightly as he takes a deep breath of fresh summer air. He turns to the first poor sod that just happens to pass by him, who instinctively stops and takes a step back from the swift movements of the young man.

"Can I... help you?" the stranger asks, looking around. He could just walk away, but the way the young man seems to be looking down on him despite being considerably shorter is disarming.

"Fine day we're having, yes?" Galen asks, in the most friendly tone he can muster after all the conversation lessons he had taken under his aunt and uncle's 'tutelage'. His delivery of the statement holds a much more threatening aura than he intends. The stranger's expression shifts from slightly put off to realization as he finally takes note of who is currently speaking to him. The man nods before walking away, then turning slightly to bow his head at the young man.

"Won't let that get to me," Galen announces to nobody in particular. He resumes his walk. His destination is, of course, the local Adventurer's Guild Hall. He has been an adventurer for the better half of a year at this point. He likes to think he's been making good progress, despite being a healer, and nobody can protest. When he isn't out and about with the groups that would hire him, his time is devoted to studying and perfecting his medicinal skills. So with every excursion, the hushed tales of his abilities become more and more impressive to those less inclined to healing.

As soon as he arrives at the Hall, Galen makes a beeline for the questboard, ignoring any greetings directed his way, as he'd rather not have a repeat of what just happened with the man outside. He know's he's not the easiest to approach, which clashes with his self-imposed role of a healer, but at least here in the Hall people did their best to hide their discomfort at that fact.

He is disappointed to find that there doesn't seem to be too many groups around yet, but he figures he can handle some material fetching quests, and perhaps he would be able to find something new to aid in his studies. He scans the board for a few seconds before realizing that there is someone right by him. Someone a bit shorter than him, which comes as a pleasant surprise due to the fact that he is currently slouching. A child, perhaps?

She seems to be engrossed in a quest form, and he catches a glimpse of the words 'newly-discovered' which is enough to pique his interest. He takes note that the young girl looking at it at the moment seems to be armed, another surprise.

"A dwarf?" he muses out loud. While thinking, he had subconsciously been leaning over to get a better look at the quest form.

@VitaVitaAR

The City of Venne was as bustling as ever today, the sun shone bright, casting a favorable shade over his face as his strange wide-brimmed straw hat covered his face. It has been nearly a week since he had left Venne for a job, now returning and his job completed, he has returned. Turns out it didn't take as long as he thought it would have. This was good to him, it meant he managed to keep more than he thought he would that was set aside for necessities along the road.

He got stares as he stepped through the marketplace on the way to the Adventurer's Guild, but unlike how it was many years past, these were not stares of curiosity, and more of them noticing he has returned. This red garb of his and striking and strange sword strapped to his side were now his signature as far as they were concerned, but this garb and sword meant too much to him to change his style. Although he did not hesitate to take on a few native pieces of gear, such as the belt strapping a shortsword at his side, the greaves and gauntlets he wears, and the shirt beneath his red garb. He greeted some of the cityfolk as he passed through, the fish market clerk he buys his fish from, some of the other grocers, and even giving the kids a friendly greeting. Living within the city as an adventurer has afforded him many opportunities and a life so different he could hardly believe his life before this was ever real.

Still, this sword and garb were what kept him grounded to his past, those thoughts ran through his head once more as he entered the Adventurer's Guild, turning in for his completed job. With an affirmative he silently set to rest before looking for the next thing to do again.

Yet as he would, he would curiously eye the small girl, who he would recognize as one of great will. Having boasted she would surpass all Swords set above her, including him. This was when he was a 5 of Swords, and she was a 4. He would reach the rank of 6 before she would reach 5 though. Last he heard she is now a 5, which made sense. She was eyeing that poster asking for 5s and up quite closely. The one that had joined her was a meek young lad, he did not recognize him, but that made sense. He didn't seem the type at all to make his presence known, silently he stepped up behind the two. His training in a temple at one point in his life with what he didn't know at the time were shinobi subconsciously coming into play, and almost out of the blue,

"So will you take it, or stare knives into the piece of paper?", he inquired. His suddenly now known presence should startle them at least, but his almost mocking and pitying smile and gaze both kind and condescending would add to his smug mischief. His eyes were sharp, so it was really between this gaze, or an intense flaring gaze.

@VitaVitaAR

Ah, it was starting to get noisy down there, which meant that new jobs had come in. She'd be sure to take a look at them all in a minute, just as soon as she'd finished reading this latest drivel by Ponthieu. Really, how they let the man continue to write... he could perform all the basics fine, but his grasp of metaphysics was laughable. Yet this was the best that Ithillin was teaching its students until she could find a good time to return and teach people how to actually approach any magic that tried to consider the soul.

Myrielle was, of course, in the adventuring guild--in particular, in a platform up in the rafters that likely could have been converted to a full attic or another floor had the original designers wanted it, yet instead formed a small island of tranquillity in the main room. Except for when harpies or fairies decided it was polite to fly around indoors and came to bother her. Its existence--along with its precise location just along from the notice board--was no doubt her grandmother's doing. There was scarcely anywhere else to read.

The mage decided to take a look with her reading completed, which meant heading down. She could take the long route and climb along the rafters and down, or simply jump and probably squash someone, or...

It was likely that the swordsmen and healer would be the last to notice the figure now hanging behind them from a strand of silk, reading the noticeboard upside-down. Exploration, huh? That sounded a lot less tedious than the normal missions to clear out some place or another because the inhabitants were complete failures at even basic pest control.

Just as Sophie was reaching for the notice, she heard a voice behind her.

'A dwarf?'

For a few moments, the small girl stood completely still. She had no beard, did she? She certainly, certainly did not. So that meant that this total stranger, this person she had never spoken to before, was calling her a dwarf because of her height. She didn't say anything for a while, slowly reaching out and grasping the notice, pulling it from the board as she rotated on her heel in place.

And, finally...

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" she snapped, clutching the paper tightly in her hand as she stomped towards the boy who had spoken to her, "Where do you get off, saying something like that?!"

The rage had quite quickly erupted out of her. Anyone even remotely familiar with Sophie would be familiar with her temper.

"You idiot! Don't say anything about my height!" she cried, "Grrr... Hmph!"

She'd largely missed the comment by... ah, the Akitsushiman adventurer. She might have had more to say to him, if she wasn't so irritated. It wasn't as if Sophie didn't like dwarves. Far from it, their craftsmanship was fantastic! But it was obvious why the boy had said what he did: Because of her height. And it was bad enough when someone she knew called her short...

The drider, Myrielle, was approaching too... whatever. If other adventurers wanted to join her, fine. She wasn't opposed to working in a party.

As long as they didn't say stupid things.

"Anyway, I have to go register this quest, if you'll excuse me!"

@thrrnvwls@Sho Minazuki@Raineh Daze

Galen instinctively steps back from the fuming young woman, who he has now realized may not actually be a dwarf. At the same time, his head whips around in surprise at the swordsman who had stepped in from behind them.

"Ah," is all he can say as he looks up, registering the fourth individual who had taken an interest in the quest form. Right, he's heard word of a drider in the Hall, but he'd never really seen her until now.

Wait, right, the quest. He gathers his wits about him, proceeding to follow the shorter of the two swordsmen.

"Excuse me, miss!" He raises his voice slightly to catch her attention. "May I also take a look at that?"

Be tactful, he thinks to himself. You've offended her, apologize first.

"Uh," as he follows her, he starts to think of the right words to say, in hopes of salvaging her impression of him. In an even, calm voice, he delivers his apology. "I'm sorry you're short."

@VitaVitaAR@Sho Minazuki@Raineh Daze

Vira woke up grainy eyed in the small room she rented. It was crammed into the corner of the top floor of the building with just a single, small window in one wall opposite the bed. That same wall also held a work table below the window. The intervening space was home to a dozen or so haphazard piles of textbooks and large jars of solutions and chemicals.

Were she to consider it, Vira would care very little that her studies carried the potential to destroy the entire building were she to make too careless of a mistake. Her neighbors would possible be dismayed to know that it was unlike that she would ever consider their thoughts on the matter. Her only thought in that room was typically that of whatever project had currently caught her interest. Right now was an exception.

The first thought on her mind was what to do to make this pounding headache go away and the second was what she should do to make some coin to keep herself afloat for the time being. She reached blindly across the floor, grabbing a slim glass phial and pulling the stopper out. Pulling down the mask that covered the bottom half of her face, she sniffed it and then drank the entire contents.

Vira laid back down again with a blissful sigh, covering her face with an arm. This lasted for just a couple of minutes until she sat up again, remembering that the adventurers guild should already be open and that if she didn’t go now then anything that she would be qualified for would be taken already.

She climbed out of bed and grabbed her satchel from the door.

---

Vira walked into the guild hall, upright and confident and not at all betraying how terrible she actually felt. Around the room several other adventurers that might have worked with her in the past averted their eyes in an attempt to escape notice. She strode to the desk and tried to peer around a rather short girl with a large axe. Though she couldn’t see most of the content of the posting, she caught the last and most important line.



“I’ll be interested in joining you for that.”

It didn’t matter how many signed on for it, they would all get the same amount.

So it appears more colorful figures have arrived. Though his rudimentary senses would fail to notice her, his keener honed intuition alerted him of the fourth who would join, and soon there were five. He recognized the two, then again a girl who was half spider was not exactly difficult to notice and so he often avoided her, as she reminded him of a demon from his homeland, while the other was an alchemist. She would not be famous if it were not for her particular reasons for taking some requests.

Regardless, the young girl with the large axe was quite intent to head off and take the mission, and it seems everyone present was intent on joining.

"Well, perfect timing. I'm back from a job and it was a bit shorter than expected. I also offer my assistance", he comments after the others.

"Besides, you'll want help exploring new ruins", it was a good point. For adventurers, the unknown was oftentimes the most dangerous, but then again it wasn't an adventure without the unknown. There was not much known of these ruins as they were just discovered, who knows what could be there... For him though, his interest was in finding other swordsmen, or finding something he himself could use to improve his blade or arm himself. Money was a means to only food and necessity.

@TheFake@thrrnvwls@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze

Myrielle wasn't the most informed about the other adventurers of the guild, but she had a fairly good idea of who the more easily angered members tended to be. It was interesting to see Galen shove his foot so far into his own mouth... would this be enough to start a fight, or would the tiny swordsman focus on the adventuring first?

Now righting herself, there was the unmistakable tapping of multiple enormous spider's legs as the mage found her balance and gave the adventuring request another once-over. She was perfectly confident in her ability to read upside down, no doubt better than the majority of adventurers could read plain text if it was the right way up, and... yes, being paid to just look around? There wasn't even any confirmation that this would be dangerous and it might just be a relaxing trip.

"'Ave zem sign me up, also. I shall handle ze magic."

“Another day, another adventure!” Such was Leyna’s motto, or at least the young elf liked to think so. Today would be no different than that, she was sure of it.

Leyna arrived back into Venne a couple days ago, after taking part in an expedition to a trade outpost in the eastern territories. Working as a scout for merchants always paid a pretty penny and allowed Leyna to explore the faraway places she liked so much. However, this day she heard the news that there was excitement to be had much closer to home. The rumors about recently discovered ruins reached the elf’s ears before her feet reached the city gates and today like for the past couple days she was going to check whether or not a request to explore them had been posted.

Hopefully, luck was on her side today. However, Leyna couldn’t anticipate what waited for her as she crossed the threshold into the guild hall.

“Good morning everyone! Did it come out today? The request to explore those ruins, I me-” She yelled in an excited voice as she made her way to the mission board. Said excitement would soon change into shock as all Leyna seemed to have been drained of all blood instantly, first going pale and then blue upon seeing who stood beside the same group that signed in for the mission she was looking for.

“S-spi- Why did it have to be spiders?” Leyna said under her breath as she approached the clerk, shaking visibly in her boots and raised her hand.

“I-if you are going to an exploration you’ll need a scout and I-I’m the best one you’ll find this side of the Great Mountains,” Leyna said, trying to put on a brave face.

". . ."

Somehow, in spite of the hustle and bustle of the guild hall, an almost palpable silence had descended that could be felt by anyone in the immediate area near the counter.

The movements that followed were actually quite practiced. In spite of all appearances, Sophie was a warrior, after all. The moment she reached the counter, she took a deep breath. Yes, now was the time. This was the point in which she could tolerate that boy no longer. She already couldn't to be honest. He'd called her a dwarf, and now... and now...!

She spun on her heel, drawing one foot back and aiming an exceptionally sharp kick directly at his shin. Due to her small size, she was well-suited to striking the lower extremities when it came to hand to hand. She had no training in such matters, but anger was enough to fuel a method of attack she didn't-Well, no, that wasn't quite right...

There was a reason certain guild Adventurers talked of 'the Shinkicker' when Sophie wasn't in earshot. Or, in less polite conversation, the kicker of a certain other vulnerable area.

Regardless of if her attack was avoided or if it made contact, Sophie used her momentum to make a full rotation and slam her foot down, before smacking the flier down on the counter.

"I'm registering this quest! My guild identification is here!" she snapped, whipping her papers out of her bag and slamming them down on the counter, too, "I'll accept any other adventurers who want to join my party, but-"

Sophie whipped around to point at the boy who had commented on her height, regardless of if he was writhing in pain or otherwise.

"That one doesn't get to talk to me if he comes!"

The young woman behind the counter, Vivianne, gave a weak smile towards the sight and turned her attention to the rather jittery elf.

"So... aside from Sophie... it's you, Miss Leyna, then Miss Sable... Mister Kyoshiro, Miss Anthello, and Mister Cannenta?"

@thrrnvwls@TheFake@Sho Minazuki@KoL@Raineh Daze

Galen lets out a quiet, strangled whine as he tries to conceal the fact that Sophie had been successful in hitting her target underneath his cloak.

You definitely deserved that, he finds himself thinking, trying his best not to limp as he closes the remaining distance between him and the counter.

Could he make the pain go away with a spell? Definitely, no doubt. Pain suppression is a basic skill that all healers must learn; a patient in pain is an uncooperative patient, after all. Is he going to make it go away? No, the shorter one wouldn't appreciate that too much, he thinks.

Despite his usually-poised stance changing to one that favors his uninjured leg, Galen remains his usual calm self, save for the ever-so-slight tremor in his voice and the almost imperceptible tears at the corner of his eyes. Oh yeah, it hurt. A lot. A hand - pale and marked with faint scars - slips out from under his cloak, sliding his identification card towards the woman behind the counter.

"I-ahem," he clears his throat as he suddenly becomes all-too-conscious of the swordsman glaring at him, then starts over. "I've taken interest in that quest, yes. And despite my own tactlessness turning things sour before they have even started, I hope my skills as a healer atone for my indiscretions."

He tries his best to smile amiably at Sophie, but the pain - and his own natural ineptitude when it comes to approachability - warps his expression into a condescending smirk. This is the face he presents as he turns to the rest of the interested parties.

@VitaVitaAR@KoL@Raineh Daze@Sho Minazuki@TheFake

The response to the boy was a rather sharp glare from Sophie, but she decided not to kick him again, at the very least. He was already suffering, and as long as he didn't try to speak to her again she wasn't going to go kicking him again. Well... most likely. Probably. If he valued his shins, or other vulnerable areas.

Soon enough, the quest, and those who would be undertaking it, were fully registered. Their names and ranks were recorded, and they were dispatched out onto the busy street. Sophie immediately took the lead, believing she had every right to do so as she had been intending to take the quest from the start.

"Just so everyone is clear," she began, "I'm not the type of person who just follows orders."

Placing her hands on her hips, her ponytail bobbing, the diminutive purple-haired girl turned to face the others.

"If you think I'm going to fall in line just because some of you are a higher rank than I am, you're an idiot," she continued, "I've made my way just fine on my own as an Adventurer! In a party, it's not like I won't cooperate with my fellow adventurers. But don't go thinking you can order me around just because of your rank! Got it?"

Sophie surveyed the others, her gaze rather intense.

In the background, however, possibly undermining the short girl's demanding assertion, there was new stand.

Given that it had been set up right outside the Adventurer's guild it was rather clear what clients the owner was trying to attract.

Speaking of the owner, she was a somewhat unique sight. A young, pretty, blue-haired Akitsushiman girl clad in a kimono, waving one hand in the air.

"Weapons, armor, and goods from Akitsushima!" she declared, her speech accented but clear, "I can get anything you order, as long as I can carry it!"

@thrrnvwls@TheFake@Sho Minazuki@KoL@Raineh Daze

Galen refrains from responding to the girl's declaration of her own independence. He doesn't find himself sharing the sentiment, but being someone who has tailored their own abilities to support others tends to require some form of subordination. Instead, he diverts his attention to the stand in front of the guild.

Perhaps he didn't notice the new stand in his rush earlier to find a quest, but the vendor's statement about being able to acquire whatever her clients needed did pique his interest.

With a barely noticeable - but nonetheless still there - limp, he makes his way towards the stand.

"Excuse me," his voice is soft and deep, his tone sharp. He just wants to get the vendor's attention. If he hopes to make a better impression on the other party members as a physician of sorts, he would need a few necessary materials.

The party had been decided, so it appears. They had all the types of adventurers they needed and then some, but did they have the supplies, is what crossed Kyoshiro's mind. An exploration trip could be as short as a day, or as long as two weeks, depending on how deep the ruins were. So to be safe and not overload, around at least a few days worth of supplies were needed. Plum filled rice balls or rice sake crossed his mind, as some of the things he brought on long journeys, unfortunately they were in rare supply here, as this was not his homeland. Though as soon as his thoughts drifted to that he heard a voice in the distance, looking over, he saw a girl in his homeland's traditional garb, with a large assortment of items from his homeland, more than he had ever seen here in one place. Usually Akitsushiman items and goods were scattered about, but here everything was neatly put together.

"Well, I say we meet back here, we will need supplies for the trip and job afterall", he suggested to everyone. If that was agreed the first place he would head to was the merchant, and one other in their party had the same idea, but likely for different supplies. It was the timid boy to be their healer.

He browsed the wares, and as soon as the young merchant was done tending to a customer, he asked his question. His own features and garb should give away his own origin too.

"It is rare to see another of my homeland here. By chance do you carry Akitsushiman shortswords? The one I have here is of this land, as our own are harder to come by", he began.

"While I am here, I'd also like some of the sake and rice balls", there weren't many weapons on display, mostly for... Display. She seemed to carry a bunch of necessities and novel goods though.

@TheFake@thrrnvwls@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@KoL

Ah, the little girl was protesting that she didn't take orders. It was almost cute, except that there would always be situations where you had to listen to someone more experienced in the field. So if she walked into a magical trap and got herself turned into a barbecued zombie, then it wasn't going to be because Myrielle had failed to warn her.

The spider-mage looked over at the vendor briefly, but had minimal interest in her wares. Foreign food was likely to be something completely inedible, and foreign equipment... anything of a magical bent was best sourced locally from Ithillin, where she could examine all of its properties. Curios from a far-distant land? There was no chance of needing that.

“Now that we are s-set, should we get going already?” Leyna said, trying to get a hold of her shaky voice. Sophie’s bragging didn’t settle well with her, though and, while everyone else more or less decided to brush the comment off, Leyna couldn’t do so with a clean conscience.

“Hey, is there a reason for you to be like this? Trust is one of the pillars of an adventuring party, you know?” Lenya asked. The elf tried to be as little confrontational as possible as they left the guild building and found themselves staring at a very peculiar merchant.

"Trust is one thing," responded Sophie, folding her arms across her chest as she did, "Assuming you automatically know better than I do and that I should be treated as a subordinate is another. I'll listen to others, but as an equal, not as some sort of follower."

It seemed as if the elf didn't fully understand just why she had made her comments in the first place. Quite simply, while it wasn't as if she didn't believe in working together as a party, she certainly didn't believe in being treated as someone's squire. That was absolutely intolerable. Sophie was an adventurer who had made it to her current rank with her own efforts, though she had worked in parties before as well. She would never accept being treated as somehow inferior as a result, and she didn't need some arrogant moron thinking they could handle her just like that. No, it was absolutely never the sort of treatment that she could accept.

With that, Sophie glanced towards the stand. An Akitsushiman merchant...? Not exactly common around here... and how had her stand gotten set up so quickly? It wasn't there the last time she had looked outside.

"Ah, onii-san," began the girl behind the counter, brightly, smiling at the two who had first approached her, "I'll provide you with any goods you desire!"

She paused for a moment, nodding when she heard Kyoshiro's requests.

"Just a moment!"

With that, she disappeared around the back of the stand... and there was a strange sound like the ringing of a bell.

When she returned, the girl set down a plate of sake and rice balls. She disappeared around the back one more time, and quickly returned with a rather short Akitsushiman blade. This time, there was no bell-ringing sound.

"A wakizashi, forged in my hometown!" declared the girl, proudly.

@KoL@Raineh Daze@Sho Minazuki@thrrnvwls

"I was wondering if you had-" he pauses, and from underneath his cloak a black-gloved hand slips out, a notebook clasped in it. His other hand soon follows, flipping through the pages as he scans through them. While she presented the blade to Kyoshiro, he seems to have found what he had been looking for in the book.

"I was wondering if you had any of these in stock," he held the notebook up, despite her still speaking to the swordsman.

The list was short, containing only three items:

Queensbread
Vylnia
Stouthorn

"I am wiz ze elf, you should trust uzzers to know zeir own knowledge. If I were to, say, order someone to stop... it might be, ah, dangerous if zey did not listen," the drider stated, getting the feeling that they were all talking about something completely different... but in her mind it got the important information over. If she told everyone to stop, then they ought to stop--and if someone with any trap knowledge said the same, then Myrielle was going to stay where she was and not be the idiot to lose a hand to a descending ceiling.

Leyna, of course, had just received a crash course in how quietly something with so many limbs could move, seeing as the mage had spoken up from right behind her.