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.

There were numerous questions on the board, some had been sitting for a little while, while others had been posted up that day...

@Raineh Daze@Rin@SilverPaw@Lunarlord34@Derg2@ghastlyInc@Vec@1Charak2@Crimson Paladin@TheFake@Krayzikk@Rune_Alchemist@Heartfillia@Caasicam@HereComesTheSnow

Mentions: @VitaVitaAR @Caasicam @Derg2 @HereComesTheSnow

Summer was so warm.

Not warm like a hearth, which promised great heat best enjoyed at a distance. You could choose how much heat you wanted, sit closer or further, put your feet or fingers close enough to warm the extremities. It was warm, dry, and forever spoke of home. Summer in the south was a blanket over all with a wet, heavy grip. It made her feel a little tired honestly. But she'd grown to like its caress, so unlike the frozen bite of her home. There was no fear about what the outside might do if you weren't wary, unless you were worried about getting too hot. She could go out however she wanted. So liberating the first time she experienced it. She had been so excited when someone explained that she had sought the nearby lake, dropped anything she could spare, and dove into the clear water. Sieglinde didn't get out for an hour, simply luxuriating in the cool waters and the hot sun. Absolutely unthinkable if she hadn't seen it herself.

Speaking of excess clothing, one of the guild's younger members was barreling her way.

Such exuberance was exhausting. She had spent most of her morning walking around the city, soaking up the sun and fresh air. Much the same thing she was doing in front of the guild hall, seated on the ground and resting her back lazily on the wall. The sun wasn't quite overhead, giving her just a little longer to bask in the warmth of her goddess' light before it passed its zenith and began to go back down the other way. If she really wanted she could reposition herself to catch its light again then, but that would be inexcusably lazy.

And the truth was that she was bored. Time enough had been spent relaxing, she wanted to work. And no doubt Cassia would have run out of money by now, she could play support. Maybe Tristram, too, if that faceless man could be found.

The dog-eared missile streaked towards and past her, ever further into the left of her vision until he vanished a few degrees off from her nose. A brief listen concluded that no one else was coming just yet, no risk of bumping into anyone, and she gracefully pulled herself to her feet in a single motion. She needed a stretch, just a little, to work the sluggishness back out of her muscles. She could have slept all day in the sun without fuss.

"Thank you, my Goddess." Sigi murmured softly, bowing her head briefly at the sun. A small thing to anyone from Venne, perhaps. That the sun came up, that the day was beautiful. It was summer, what else could it be? But it was so wonderful. To have so long in a day with so much light, she hoped the day never came that it would not fill her with wonder. It cost her nothing to thank Reon for these blessings. But the moment passed, and Sigi lazily wiped dirt from the seat of her navy pants and grasped sun-warmed metal. Her blade enjoyed the light as much as she, old steel kissed by more light in a day than it had seen the year it was forged.

The comfortable weight well in hand by its side handle she wandered inside slowly in the comet's wake. The big Hundi seemed to have made a blunder by the board, she couldn't get near yet, but she didn't mind waiting. Sigi smiled a little. The young man was the only one with a blade nearly as long as her own, that she had seen at least, but it wasn't quite so outsized on him. Weren't Hundi supposed to be small, she wondered not for the first time.

Nevertheless. When the little kerfuffle had been cleared up by the board she could look for work. Maybe by then Cassia would show up, Sigi mused while she withdrew a pastry and munched slowly.

Especially if there was food to beg, borrow or steal a portion of.

Nehir pattered around the guild hall, carefully dodging between legs from the less aware passersby. A small pile of documents carefully piled in his arms. He hair swirling wildly about his head as he circled around yet another of the tall folk, his footing oddly graceful for a mage, a product less of any natural alacrity and more many many years of practice. "'Scuse me! Pardon! Sorry sorry!" He chirpped as loudly as he could above the din of the guild hall, few souls actually noticing someone so far below their normal vision.

The Job Board was always so violently busy first thing in the morning. Honestly, it was ridiculous! A orderly line wasn't hard people! Sighing he pushed further into the crowd, feeling himself be rattled against the various uh...waists of the busy patrons. He squeaked sharply as someone's mace slapped against his shoulder, a hushed grumble of mild pain slipping past his lips. As much as he loved the guild, there...were times where the lack of awareness of his fellow adventurers for the smaller among them irked him.

As he burst through the maze of limbs his eyes caught sight of a Hundi barreling into a fellow adventurer. A small bubble annoyance burst in his chest, shoulder still aching from the earlier unwanted bludgeoning. "REX!" The tiny nem man barked, voice finally cutting through the noise with an authority that far outweighed its speaker. Nehir puffed his tiny chest out, one hand falling to his hip while the other clutched the papers to his chest as he stared down at the hundi (or attempted to).

"The bounty board is neither sentient nor mobile!" He said pouting, eyes glaring over the other adventures huddled around the board and pressing for space. He would like to think he looked intimidating, but knew full well that was probably a pipe dream. "The jobs will STILL be there if you wait patiently. More WOULD have been in fact!" He huffs, waving the small stack of job listings in front of him like a scolding mother.

Sighing he approached the board, trying to let his agitation wash out of him. "You will be more courteous to your guildmates, big or small, in the future or I will personally make sure you're on rat clearing duty for a year!" He said brusquely, eyes passing not only over the hundi but several other patrons as well. He didn't really have that kind of authority, but such threats were generally enough to make the more rambunctious members think twice. Taking a few pins out of the board he slowly began to pin the new orders to whatever available spaces he could reach, standing unsteadily on his tip toes and undermining the previous air of authority to a damning degree as he struggled to get anything to a reasonably readable height.

@Derg2@VitaVitaAR

Over to one side of the guildhall, a reasonably large table had been kept clear of food, the surface covered in smooth varnish rather than the rough texture shared by much of the furniture in the main hall. Two long benches ran down either side and in the centre of one side there were two short figures perched. The more comfortable looking figure had white hair and was casually shuffling a well-drawn tarot deck, eyes flicking around to look for competition--or keep an eye to on the notice board at the front. The other, far more richly and warmly dressed despite the sun, was leaning into her shoulder and doing her best to not get the attention of the crowds. Shy, then, at least around strangers--of which the bustle of the hall on a sunny day was full of.

Of course, anyone looking in the couple's direction would immediately identify from their stature and, more importantly, the ears on their head that these were Hundi--seemingly far more normal specimens than the one causing trouble up near the counters. From the cards in her hands to the several drinks placed in easy reach, at least one of the duo was looking for someone else to play games.

"There must be giant in his ancestry," Liliane wondered, looking over in Rex's direction, "Nobody should be that tall."

"'E could just be lucky. Magic ees just as rare," Corinne said, shrugging and continuing to make the effort to speak the local language--even if they were both from Ithillin, she could always do with the practice. "Maybe more."

Unlike the other short adventurers, the pair had clearly chosen to avoid the rush that came from new job postings being added to the board. Partly because of the already-noted threat of clumsy oafs blundering into you, and partly because of simple lack of need. They could afford to wait until a suitable job was left to take, rather than pick one for the best pay immediately.

---

Standing off to the side, was a small cloaked figure that was easily discernible as a Nem. A hood pulled over her head, body entirely concealed by a cloak, she seemed she was doing her best to go entirely unnoticed by everyone. The cloaked Nem was doing a pretty good job of it, too. Most didn't pay them any mind, and she somehow managed to avoid be stepped on by the people many feet taller than she was. She wasn't saying much, just standing there.

Silently.

Staring at the job board, clutching a book to her chest and slightly glancing from side to side in an almost distressed seeming manner.

The Hundi...what's his name, Rex? Was causing a commotion. How annoying. Couldn't he be better behaved or watch where he was going? There were people here much smaller than he was, like that juyuem he had run into! At least there was someone else that was willing to reprimand him. Goodness, she hated all this commotion. Maybe she should come back later, and pickup some other job. She could take something nice and easy so she didn't have to take anything extremely dangerous. Someone always left something that she felt far more comfortable doing.

...right, that seemed like a good idea instead of getting involved in that...mess.

Silently as ever, Neffy held the book tighter to her chest, turned, walked away from the chaos known as the 'quest board'.

---

Mellifleur, the Asymmetrical dressed mage, would of course be in the guild building yet again. Flanked by her side was a silent tower of a man as she observed the job board from afar noticing the crowd of people that flocked it like insects to rotted corpses. She looked up to the silent giant beside her, actively considering being lifted above the rabble for just a moment but decided against it due to the large possibility of being knocked into and taking quite the tumble.

Her mind pondered solutions to the presented problem, many extravagant ideas that would invariable end with herself getting injured. Drat. Well she could perhaps just tag along with someone whom had already grabbed something from the job board right? Just throw herself into the random chaos of chance and participate in any odd quest. Even clearing out a rat infestation would pay enough for a day? So what did it matter. Thus she scanned her eyes for someone leaving the quest board...

There! a hooded figure, Mysterious, probably someone that was shy! That didn't matter! The Brigade of a girl and her bodyguard would storm over. They were certainly LOUD as her tower of a friend certainly thundered with his armour whenever he moved.

"Ho! You there! Hooded person! I see your leaving the Job Board, that must mean you've got a job right?" Mellifleur said sliding up to them smoothly. Her Bodyguard flanking the other side of the girl, slightly unintentional but it never occurred to Mellifleur to be considerate of ones personal space anyway. "So do you need any help with it? because I'll help you for no charge at all." She finished. Having got that all out before the hooded figure could even speak up.

@Rune_Alchemist

It was a terrible summer's day. The sun was shining dreadfully, the birds were making a cacaphony of noise, and people out clogging the streets. In short, a terrible day to be outside and any who were willingly were clearly insane.

A pale, dark haired girl pressed herself deeper intro the shadows against a building, her imagination conjuring burning and blackened skin at the merest thought of venturing into the sunlight. But she had no choice but to venture out this far. Her small room that she rented had become stifling even with the windows covered.

Summer was clearly the worst time of year. Shir would much rather be back on the east coast where there was at least the chance of a cool breeze of of the sea. She sighed. At least this wasn't Thaln. "What a pain..."

She had another reason to venture out on such an unfortunate day. She was almost out of money and across the street lay the adventurers guild. She grimaced and picked thje nearest patch of shadow before dashing across the street and into the guild hall.

There were somer new faces in there. Usually she came in the middle of the night but the heat of the dayhad forced her out. She walked around the outside of the room to get to the quest board, her shadow not quite matching her movements. Maybe there would be a nice cool dungeon she could check out.

The conflict near the quest board became more involved as someone else stepped in. She stopped next to a table already acting as a seat to a pair of hundi and sat down near the end of the bench. She reached down and drew up a shadowy figure that say next to her.

"Have you two already taken up a request then?"

@Raineh Daze

It was a lovely summer day – at least visually. Unfortunately, his delicate cave-dweller skin was rather sensitive to the stifling heat of the sun’s burning rays. Of course, Ifrari had it nowhere near as bad as a Nem, and he still held the faint hope that careful daily exposure would help him adapt, eventually. Regardless of the minor inconvenience that was the discomfort due to the weather conditions, the wide, open expanses of sky always brought a smile to his face. He was nowhere near getting tired of the impressive degrees of variety it offered. The sheer marvel this one wonder of nature inspired in him was difficult – if not impossible – to rival. One of his favourite activities was finding a shade to lie withing and simply observe the ever-shifting skies.

Though the dark elf oft let his gaze wander upwards, he easily maneuvered around the crowd with grace. Not being encumbered with the gear he’d take only on missions certainly help; Ifrari wore a light-to-dark blue gown which rippled around him as smoothly and subtly as water might, though it was decidedly not transparent. He had a rust coloured shawl draped loosely around his shoulder, neck, and head, serving as an additional protection. While not weapon-less, the concealed knife and dagger were the most he was willing to have on him constantly.

His destination, of course, was the guild hall. New assignments were just getting posted, so it was understandably a busy environment. Ifrari entered the building with an easy grin, nodding to several acquaintances. He took pride in memorizing the names and faces of several adventurers, especially those that were a common sight in the hall. He weaved through the crowd, hardly ever bumping into anyone, though brushing against an arm or hip couldn’t be eliminated in a building practically brimming with life.

Ifrari observed with minute amusement as a Nem berated a rambunctious Hundi at the job board. Nehir and Rex – two individuals that were easy enough to identify, if for wildly different reasons. The dark elf approached the job board where the new documents were being posted, taking care not to knock into anyone too harshly – or at all, if possible. He’d heard the last bit of what the Nem had uttered to the Hundi, and angled his body downwards to address the former. “Maybe you should issue him an assignment he could actually learn something novel from, like patience and caution,” Ifrari mused loudly. It was not so much a serious suggestion as it was a light bout of banter. He straightened, raising his head to look up at the taller (and also younger) Hundi male who was still a few steps away, where he'd collided with a female warrior. “Say, how would you feel about an escort mission?” he questioned, his tone only very lightly teasing.

Peripherally, he noticed that several new jobs were already pinned up for inspection, and let himself be distracted. “Hmm…Oh? Not too bad,” he muttered, mostly to himself, though those in vicinity could still hear the audible signs of his contemplation as he inspected each rank-appropriate mission carefully.

@Derg2@ghastlyInc

ＲＯＡＮ

---

𝙻𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: 𝙶𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕 — 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚍: 𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚙 — 𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: @ghastlyInc@Derg2 — 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝚎

---

The chirping noises of birds outside was the first thing Roan heard as he shuffled about in his bed. He fought with the sheets, trying to retain as much of the sleep the morning had stolen from him as he could. Unfortunately for him, the morning had the ultimate counter for his resistance and as light broke through the window and washed the room with its warmth, Roan groaned in defeat. Groggily, he crawled out of his bed and slowly walked towards the bathroom to relieve himself.

After washing up, he looked at himself in the mirror. "You've seen better days, haven't you?" he thought with a light smirk. He grabbed a green paste from the cabinet to the right of the sink, put a little in his finger and started cleaning his teeth with it. "I should search for a quest soon else that scrooge Danzim will be sending his collection goons after me again..."

With a sigh at the thought of having to outrun those two again, Roan gurgled some water before spitting it out on the sink and exited the bathroom. It didn't really take a long time for him to get get ready, and soon he was out of his room and walking down the stairs towards the Guild's main hall. "I can already hear the noise from up here..." he thought, slightly annoyed at the prospect of having to deal with morning quest board traffic. Alas, that seemed to be exactly what had been going on when he walked into the main hall.

Deciding to ignore everything that was happening for a moment, Roan simply walked up to the bar and ordered a mug of his favorite beverage and sat on one of the stools nearby as he waited for the bartender. Only then did he look over at the quest board, curious as to what had gotten the people so rowdy so early in the morning. Of course, he didn't have to wrack his brains about it, it was pretty obvious that the large Hundi was responsible for most of the mess, although that little mage was laying it on him pretty hard for it. "He's pretty big... wonder if I could take him on in a fight..." Roan let his mind wander a bit and soon enough his beverage was done. He paid for it, grabbed the mug and walked towards one of the few tables that were still not occupied and took a seat. His sword clattered in its sheath as he placed it leaning against the table, reminding Roan that he had to polish and sharpen it once again. "I just had to go and pick up a mountain troll subjugation quest last week... their hide is substantially more resilient to cuts that simple goblins. Should've picked that one instead" he muttered, bringing voice to his inner thoughts before taking a sip from his drink.

"Si-gi!"

The name, called over the heads of the various people who milled about the common area of the Guild hall, came nearly sing-song from the the sunflowerish mess of hair a few tables away. Cassia, desperately attempting to catch the attention of said former northern local, waved her hand frantically as she stood on her tiptoes to peer over the crowd.

"Sigi, over here!"

More waving, her eyes wide as she teetered back in forth trying to balance while making herself taller.

Strange, Sigi didn't really seem to notice her at all.

That was alright, it was a busy area and Sigi looked distracted while munching on something.

With a somewhat restrianed vigor, Cassia let herself tilt forward on her one tiptoed support before catching herself with the other foot as she came down, the motion leading to a sort of bounding gait as she made her way towards one of her partners in crime. Now at head level with the rest of those present, her advance forward was only tracked by the occasional shock of golden hair the breached the sea of people. Or the exclamation of surprise as she had a few near misses in barreling through some unfortunate.

It certainly didn't take long for Cassia to bob into view finally, as she planted one foot next to the other, bendingly partly at the waist and rocking back on her heels to stop her forward motion just short of the stormy-haired girl.

"Sigi!" A smile traced its way across her features, raising just up to her bright eyes as Cassia spoke, "I've been looking aaaall over for you! I think new jobs are about to get put up, we should definnitely go check them out before all the good ones are taken! I mean I'unno about you but I'd like some money for some food. I'm getting kinda hungry. Well okay we've got food but nothing good."

Cassia paused to take a single breath.

"Oh yeah, I haven't seen Tristram anywhere either. He like, completely disappeared when I started looking for him, real weird."

Her eyes darted over to the pastry currently half-gone in Sigi's grasp.

"...Hey you got another one of those?"

---

---

Finn was crouched with his bow in hand, on the edge of a roof on one of the taller buildings in Venne. Getting a good view of the city below. A smile on his face as he enjoyed the warm breeze from this height. He watched the people clogg the streets as they went about their business.

Letting out a sigh, done with his short breather. He stood up and backed up a few paces, cracking his neck just by moving his head from side to side before sprinting towards the edge. Leaping onto the next building, then the next with what seemed like effortless and seamless effort.

Finn always took the harder path… well rooftops in this case. He did this to train himself to become faster, stronger, more agile. Pushing himself farther and harder. It was one of the reasons he quickly moved up to his current rank within a few years.

He finally came to a point where he had to go to ground level, only taking a few milliseconds to find an opening and taking the leap. Landing on the ground with a roll, back on his feet in an instant and once again running through the crowd. Weaving between people, ducking and sliding over obstacles as he went.

He finally made it to the guild. He slowed to a stop at the door frame to see who was here and slipping his bow over his shoulder. It seemed especially busy today. With what seemed to be an even bigger disaster because of Rex. As he could tell with people yelling at him and the fact he was always the center of a disaster.

He chuckled as he walked over to the counter making his way passed the new job posting to speak with one of the staff. Pulling a parchment that confirmed completion of a job from his back pouch and placing it in the hands of the girl behind the counter. Who took it and traded him the fair sized pouch of coins that was the reward for the job. Thanking the girl with a large smile he turned around and started to make his way away when he noticed Cassia and Seiglande talking.

”Hey Ladies!” He said waving his free hand while slipping his money into his pouch with his other. ”I just finished up with a job, looking for another. Do you want to work together on one?” He asked with a big Smile.

@Caasicam@Krayzikk

It was another day in the guild.

She was tired of it. Tired of living this lie. Tired of wearing armor all the time. Tired of being wary of anyone in eye and earshot. Tired of hiding. And last of all, she was tired of having to wake up everyday with these in mind. Ever since she came here, she had not a good night's rest. Her sleep was always light, needing to be alert should anything happen. Sometimes, she did not sleep at all. Sometimes, she would stare at her door, waiting for it to open. At other times, the creaks and steps inside the guild would keep her awake all night.

The temptation to just give up was there. Just turn herself in and face judgment and punishment. No more of these foolish charades. But just the thought of it sent shivers to Rose, not only would she face prison but no one would ever trust her again. The beloved Rosalor Heldt would be nothing more than some run-of-the-mill criminal thug. There was also the fact that she might get murdered in prison since being a Guard Captain of a town meant she put a lot of people there. And she doubted they appreciated that.

There was just too much consequences and that was enough for Rose to rise from her bed and live another day as Jane Doe, that ugly adventurer who always wore armor but was typically seen doing menial jobs. That girl who was always quiet and always kept to herself.

Her job this morning was helping put quests on the quest board. It was the guild staff's job but Jane woke up pretty early and had nothing to do. The first time she put on the papers there was not much souls in the hall yet. There were barely people behind the counter but the second time she returned, it was bustling. The hall was full of people, adventurers of all shapes and sizes. Sounds of chatter and cheer filled the air but Jane heard none of it. She was there to put up quests.

But there was a lot of adventurers on the board, eager to take their quests for the day. She could brush past them to do their job but Jane was not feeling it. Instead, she found an empty table on the corner and set the stack of papers on it. She herself took a chair and sat, waiting for the train of people to be done.

There was a person here from Thaln. Tristram, she believed his name was. He was also mysterious, his face always obscured much like hers. He was a worry, a person from Thaln could know her true identity. When she first saw him, she suspected that he was there for her. The passage of time indicated otherwise but Jane always kept her guard up around the archer. She could never know what was under that hood of his.

Another person that caught Jane's interest was this small girl also in a hood. Looked to be a Nem, she seemed to be fixated on the quest board like all the other adventurers but people in cloaks and hoods always spooked her. Always suspected them that they were here for her.

The door to the hall, as always, opened unceremoniously in comparison to the ruckus abound at its front.

Well, that's gonna take a bit to clear out.

It was certainly an apt descriptor of the man that floated in afterwards, "unceremonious". It bled through his every movement, from the quiet, casual gait to the plain greens and browns of his humble clothing. The burlap sack held in his right hand swung freely as he ambled on in, and there was little expression any could read on his face as he scanned the hordes of swarming adventurers.

Chiefly because there was no way anyone could see his face to begin with. It was as much a mystery as Jane Doe's, off there in the corner fretting over some sort of paperwork. A woman in full armor, her helm was as omnipresent as his hood, even during tiny, menial tasks like that. Her story was that she had a truly grotesque visage, and concealed her horrid looks for fear of getting run out of town. Again.

While he wasn't sure somebody that ugly could exist— and he'd seen some hideous bastards as a mercenary— his reasoning for the concealment was much simpler. Rather than a kindness to the world, sparing them of a cursed form, it was a particularly selfish and churlish thing, borne from a realization when wearing a mask of plain leather for five years prior. He knew that people would go great lengths to see it, so...

By now it's just funny.

In any case, it was clear that he was at home here, in this loud and chaotic hall. He continued on after he spared a glance towards the lonesome woman, unfettered by the clamor, and his concealed eyes quickly pierced through the milling mass to settle upon an admittedly already distinct pair. That sunset blonde hair, for instance, never stood still long enough to not notice. She made for a good reference point as he took a long path around, unwilling to try and fight his way through all those people just for the sake of a straight line.

Good reference point... And a horrible financial demon. There was a reason he'd waited until now to show himself, and it squarely belonged to her, Cassia van Zyl. Sure, the half-elf was at first glance cute, but make no mistake— if you left her and your gold in a room together for five minutes, all you'd return to was some bread crumbs on the floor. She was a master at losing money, had no financial responsibility whatsoever. Of course he wasn't gonna let her in on where he went!

And the thunderhead in blue wasn't someone you should let fool you either, but when it came to this moment, Sigi and her northerly background would have been far more reliable than the mercurial, eternally broke, and seemingly insatiable Cass.

Would have been, if she wasn't asleep when he had the window to make it to town unmolested...

She'd die down past Thaln.

So he'd gone alone. They were, honestly, really lucky to have him around. Were it not for him, they'd be destitute, homeless, vagrants without a penny to their name or a meal in their stomachs after one wasted it all when the other couldn't bring themself to rein them in. They really should listen to what he said more. For instance.

"Don't feed the animals, Sieglinde." a gruff voice sounded out from behind the woman with one of the largest blades in the room. "It makes 'em depend on you. They never learn to fend for themselves."

Cassia was very clearly, despite a lack of eye contact, being either looked at or stared down, depending on how she interpreted his body language.

Sieglinde, the owner of the dubious yet well-earned position of "second-most-reliable person in the party", received an unceremonious (there's that word again, see?) clap on the back to drive his words home.

Finn...

Meh.

"Ah?!"

The sound came, unbidden, from Sophie's lips, as someone considerably larger than herself stumbled into her from behind. The impact rattled her armor and caused her stagger forward, nearly colliding with the wall.

In that instant, fury almost immediately rose in her heart.

Really?! He couldn't possibly see that there was someone there?! Only an idiot would manage to miss that entirely. Only someone truly, completely, and utterly stupid could possibly fail to realize that there was someone there and that they shouldn't charge up like a complete moron! The small, purple-haired girl was aware that one of the guild workers, obviously a Nem, had already begun to lay into him. When she turned around, it didn't take too long for her to realize who it was.

That oversized, stupid dog! Why was he so tall!? Weren't hundi supposed to be short?!

Needless to say, the rapidly-mounting anger building up in the core of Sophie's small frame required some kind of immediate release.

"You idiot!" snapped the diminutive adventurer, "Couldn't you see someone was here already?! Hmph! As if a true adventurer would be so braindead and ignorant about their surroundings as to blunder around like that! If you have to get right up next to the board to look at the avaliable jobs, wait your turn, moron!"

With that, the Sophie rounded on her heel, her gaze now so intensely fixed on the board that she was practically staring a hole through it.

Anyone even slightly familiar with the axe-wielding adventurer would know that she was rather tempermental, so perhaps this wasn't exactly surprising.

@Derg2@ghastlyInc

It appears I have arrived just in time for the new jobs to be posted.

A young man stepped through the door, carrying a small basket with a few pieces of fruit. The first thing he noticed when he entered was the crowding around the job board, and the commotion coming from there. He had arrived too late to know what had happened exactly, so he wasn't quite sure why Sophie was going off on a tirade, although it sounded like someone bumped into her trying to be one of the first to get to the job board. It wasn't really any of Léon's business, and either way he wasn't in any rush to get to the job board. Currently, his only concern was finding a place where he could sit down and eat his breakfast in peace.

After looking around a bit, he spotted a mostly-unoccupied table in the corner, occupied only by Jane with a neat stack of papers. More jobs for the board, perhaps? It didn't matter too much to Léon. Even if there wasn't another wave of jobs to be posted, he saw little need to trip over himself (potentially earning himself a verbal beatdown in the process) to get first dibs on a quest. Léon's abilities to heal, bless, and ward were always in high demand in the guild, even for a lowly 4 of Cups like himself. Truth be told, he was better at swinging his hammer and scepter than healing or blessing, but he reckoned he'd have more opportunity to get into a party as a 4 of Cups than as a 5 of Swords.

Of Jane himself, he knew very little of her, other than what everyone did. She was a 4, same rank as him, and seemed more comfortable with doing Guild chores than adventuring. Other than that, she was a closed book, a reclusive fellow who never discussed her past and never showed her face due to having suffered some sort of gruesome injury that left her face disfigured prior to joining the guild. Whatever her past was, her armor and weapons seemed to be of fairly good quality, far better than would be expected for a guild errand girl.

Poor Jane. Whatever happened to her, she still seems pained by it, he observed, briefly looking down at the Mayonite holy symbol he wore around his neck. From what he had observed of Jane, her pain seemed to run far more deeply than the physical disfigurement that prompted her to never show her face. Undoing the grisly damage to her visage was no doubt beyond his ability, but perhaps if she could be brought to know the comforting grace of Mayon, whatever spiritual scars that seemed to afflict her could be healed. In the very least, if her injuries carried with them constant physical pain, he could at least be able to temporarily alleviate that. Either way, he needed some place to sit.

Léon strode over to the table and sat down opposite Jane. He removed the fruits from his basket and placed them in front of him, careful as to not disrupt her stack of papers. He gripped his Mayonite symbol with his right hand, silently calling upon the Goddess for support.

Mayon, Goddess of the Moon, please help guide me as I endeavor to aid this pained soul.

"Good morning, Jane," he said to her, trying his best to be friendly. He was about to make small talk by asking about the papers, but he stopped himself. No, if I do that, it'll sound like I'm just trying to get first dibs at the jobs. Best not to mention that at all.

"Are you hungry? Would you care for some food?" he asked, after an awkward silence of trying to figure out what to say. It was true that she couldn't exactly eat in anyone's presence, not with that helmet on, but the gesture couldn't hurt.

@PaulHaynek

Jane's heart almost stopped when a figure loomed over her. She beheld the person and recognized him as Léon Reverdin. How couldn't she? He was a devout follower of Mayon, same as her... once. There was a number of Mayonites right here in the Adventurer's Guild but this Léon was one she knew. There was another, a girl of red hair. What was her name again? Maribel? Yeah, that was it.

It pained Jane that she could not talk to them about Mayon. What pained her more was that they could be privy to very dangerous details. It was well-known back in Thaln that Guard Captain Rosalor Heldt was an ardent believer of Mayon and her teachings. To be a Mayonite and also a criminal would be quite the news for the Church, and no doubt it would spread across the lands through all its branches. She cannot not be careless around Léon and the other Mayonites.

As Léon began setting down the fruits from his basket, Jane tightly grasped her papers in abject fear. He was also gripping that Mayon symbol on him. No doubt that it was a prayer, but for what? Jane suspected the worst. It was illogical, sure, but not impossible. Besides, he could very well explain the situation. But for her? It would be the end.

"Good morning, Jane,"

Jane said nothing in return, still gripping the quest papers. Her breathing steadied as she readied herself, her gaze at Léon unbroken. She looked at him as if they were going to pounce on each other, not knowing that he probably did not share the sentiment.

"Are you hungry? Would you care for some food?"

Silence reigned for several awkward moments but Jane eventually replied. "N-No. I've... already eaten." Her voice was meek but loud enough for Léon to hear. Her grip on the papers loosened. Maybe he did not know anything, completely ignorant to her past. "These are the uhh, more quests for the board. Would you-- like to take a look at them?" She gave the stack of papers a gentle pat.

@1Charak2

---

"Eep!" Before she had even gotten five feet away from the board, she was accosted by a large man in armor. A girl in an odd dress flanked her other side, cutting off any escape route she might have unless she wished to brave the perils of the Quest Board again. Neither option seemed particularly enticing. Worse, they seemed to be misunderstanding something!

"U-uhm, w-well, Ah don't uhm-" She stuttered out, her voice barely audible over the carousing of the guild hall. "-Ah uhm, don't actually have a, err, quest!" The Nem managed to get out as she took a few steps back from either person. Who were these people anyways? She had seen them around the hall every now and then. What were their names...? "...uhm...Mellifluer, right?" Now that she had a moment to collect herself talking would probably be a bit easier. "...the uhm...quest...panel," Gosh, why did the Juyuem have such a hard to pronounce letter. "Was...too crowded and, well, Ah can't really reach it...anyways..." She reached up with a hand, pulling her hood further over her face. "...that tall one making a ruckus didn't help."

Exhaling, Neffy relaxed her posture a bit.

"...but Ah wouldn't mind help with a quest, if you're uhm, fine with helping ahz."

With the bustle starting to die down, those perusing for jobs would note four listed of the appropriate skill level, and sufficiently time-consuming and dangerous as to both pay well and require a party for the job at hand. Of course, there was a proliferation of low-ranking jobs like helping farmers with their livestock, or single-person affairs like trying to track down lone criminals of minor importance. Stubbornly uncompleted from over a month before was a request to persuade a dragon to stop harassing Dansbell; though from the way it was written it still seemed unclear if it was serious.

Orc activity is on the rise between Venne and Walverrest. The crown has placed a bounty on every orc killed, with a bonus for confirming the area is clear of any further infestation. Risk to seasoned adventurers is estimated to be low; minimal sign of Troll activity.

Bonjour! Ithillin merchant caravan, seeking escort to Falrist [sic] or Khal'Darazdrim. Long journey.

Disappearances on the route to Haesting. Novice adventurers on routine trips also caught; normal ranks not bothered. Seek and destroy.
-Death

A monastery lost since the war against Orodrunn has been located and the church is willing to pay handsomely for any artefacts recovered. As the location is buried within Amalril, the risk cannot easily be quantified and novices are advised to look elsewhere.

---

How could she have been so unlucky! Choosing someone that hadn't even chosen a quest. It was like every escapade and idea within her mind was doomed to tragic failure, That and she had startled the poor nem, whos name escaped her. Annoying. She can remember the names of dead people like no tomorrow but this party member of hers whom she had seen around the guild often. Well her name escaped her! But at least this hooded figure knew who she was. She nodded and smiled when the Nem guessed who she was.

"well if you can't reach the questboard~!" Mellifleur would say as she waved a hand. "Raphael! Give this Nem some height so she can see over the crowd!" She would declare, as her giant armoured companion would lift the Nem, up and up until The Nem would be standing on the giants shoulders. Supported by the gauntlets lightly holding her legs "An instant method of sight no? See if you can spot a quest now!" Mellifleur would beam, a smile of both innocence and of pride.

"Oh and if you fall off do not fret, I am sure I can catch you." Mellifleur continued, certainly doing nothing to alleviate the fear of falling from the Nem. "Though, do tell when you have found one so that my companion can put you down gently." Partying up was always such fun.

@Rune_Alchemist