---

The central district's Manor was a grand place indeed. Red carpets, lacquered oak seats with fluffy cushions around a large table decorated with gold candles, and the golden ribbons lining the walls were just a few of the luxurious decorations around the room. Atop a small, room wide, 3-step staircase, stood an Elderly scarred Man, the King and Prince's advisor, Roman. Roman looked down at the adventurers with a scowl on his face. He let out a deep sigh.

"This... isn't going to go well, is it? Straightening himself, he looked over the group.

He recognized Irvine almost immediately. Roman was usually untrusting of people, but Irvine even more so. That man made his skin crawl. But one thing Roman couldn't deny was his skill. He's brought back people from the brink of death, and is a rival to the Healers guild. Not a bad choice.

Next was a man in armor. He looked Grizzled, much like himself. Perhaps if he was a warrior instead of a chancellor, he'd look something like him. He was likely an experienced warrior, and could provide some sort of leader role for the group.

Lastly was a woman in a blue jacket. She seemed almost... lithe, but at the same time she seemed somewhat sturdy. Judging by the lack of visible weapons and armor, this woman was either some sort of Magic User, or some sort of stealthy type. Either could be useful for this party composition.

Just as He was about to begin speaking, a Half-Elf man in q light blue vest walked out of a heavy oak door to the west of the party. He clutched a leather-bound tome in one hand, and a leather bag with a face slung over his shoulder. He swiftly made his way to Roman and stood next to him, and crossed his arms.

Roman looked over to the man in blue. "Ah, Alexander, you made it just in time. These are the, ahem, 'adventurers' that were chosen. You'll be assisting them I presume?"
"Yes, Roman. I will be with them. I've already discussed things with Prince Orro. Now, I believe you were about to adress the group?"

"Yes, Yes." Roman turned back to the group and spoke. "Your task, as you likely already know, is to investigate the disappearances in the Saltaire District. Over the past few days people have been disappearing en masse. We've already sent in a few guards, and a few experts that we've hired from around the the country. Now, as of yesterday, it has been a week since we've seen or heard anything from either group. Your first task is to find any trace of either group. Whether that's notes, corpses, or obvious signs of life. Just recently we've sent in a volunteer named Brax Goldthumb. He's a dwarf in red. He'll be hard to miss. You will be rewarded in gold for anything significant you can find."

Roman let out another sigh. "You have 24 hours to prepare. Does anyone have any important questions? You may ask either one of us." he points back and forth between himself and Alexander, the man in blue.

Menddir sat back, observing the others; too soon to make any real judgments, he was however a bit disappointed that he seemed to be the only actual warrior. ”Find the red Dwarf, find out what happened, try not to die…sounds simple enough.” He said finally in a low and gravelly voice. ”That said, I’ve not heard anything ‘bout pay. Yes we Clansmen ‘ve got a reputation for being hardy…but a man’s gotta eat and you Southerners bleed a man to his last copper with your prices.” As he spoke he was smiling slightly, but his words still carried the slight bite.

---

Irvine didn´t like Roman. From the beginning of their gathering he had begun to see glimmers of contempt and judgement forming within the mans tired eyes, and he didn´t like it one bit. His art was a misunderstood one, with dozens of critics ready to leap at him like street animals the second another body would go missing. He could already imagine the multitudes of pairs of eyes within the room turning on him at the mention of an unsettling medic being stuck with them, pointing, glaring, judging. His paranoid thoughts were bested by delusion as they always were, however. He reasoned that just because they were unable to appreciate the human form like him didn´t mean that they would be unable to develop some sort of relationship working together. Except Mendirr, perhaps.

In his past Irvine had worked as a healer for hire, often clashing with his party members over his reluctance to use healing magic rooted in what they perceived as insanity. Mendirr´s confident demeanor had sparked an alertness from Irvine, as he was a stark contrast to the medic´s blatant insecurities. He brushed the feeling off for now.

"Does this mean I´m cleared of you and the district´s suspicion?" he asked, in a manner perhaps more bitter than intended. He put people back together again, not the opposite, for the sake of the gods! Yet every time another would go missing he could feel the tension between him and the rest of the town rise.

"Also..." he said, ponderously, "What are this Brax fellow´s whereabouts?"

---

Roman raised an eyebrow. Not quite the questions he was hoping for, but questions nonetheless. "To answer the question of pay, like I said before, you'll be paid in gold for whatever information you can find. Preferably more than just words. Although if you don't want gold, I'm sure we could arrange some sort of service, such as enchanting, or acquiring a magic item."

"As for you Irvine, whether or not you're cleared of suspicion isn't up to me. It's up to you and your actions. As for Brax, he was told to remain near the entrance, and he likely is taking residence in one of the houses. Other than that, he shouldn't be very hard to find."

Roman finished speaking before turning to Alex and tilted his head towards the group.

"Right. You'll each have 24 hours to prepare. You'll meet back here tomorrow. Buy any supplies you need, prepare any spells you need, whatever.
You should also know that you have access to the healers guild. If one of you suffers from something our doctor friend here can't fix you up, such as death or dismemberment."

Alex gives a short bow before quickly retreating to the library. Roman speaks once more.

"You can find us here, should you need us. You are dismissed."