@VitaVitaAR@ghastlyinc@Silverpaw

"No, we haven't taken any jobs today," Liliane stated, raising an eyebrow at the shadows accompanying the girl. Some sort of mage then, which might be to Corinne's liking... or maybe not, it was hard to tell. That seemed a lot less flashy than her interests went towards and a lot more subtle, "If there's nothing we want to do, we'll just come back tomorrow. We don't need the pay..."

For instance, if all the jobs left were either eminently unsuitable for launching fireballs--farmers tended to frown upon that as a solution to a wolf dilemma--or any occasion where undead were clearly in play. Corinne would have to get over that at some point; her skills practically begged themselves to be applied to cleaning out masses of the dead... but Liliane was pretty certain nobody would be able to force her into doing it.

The adventurer flicked her cards from one hand to another, done shuffling for the moment, "Do you want to play?"

Of course, her wife had been paying attention this entire time, comparing Liliane with the newcomer mage. Both of them had white hair, that much was true, but something seemed a bit... different. Liliane's seemed like the more typical example, white but still... vibrant, and her skin was fair but not remarkably so--she tanned quite nicely down in Tiffauges. Shir... there was an almost pallid look to her, the white more like the white brought on by old age, her skin almost pallid. It was far more worrying than the shadowy construct pulled out of nowhere. Even the minor warmth of this northern summer seemed to be overwhelming.

"Are-Are you sure you should be adventuring? Eet ees dangerous to stress yourself so! One's 'ealth must be considered."

Liliane winced at that. Of course Corinne was worried after a complete stranger's wellbeing even if they were only pale. The first time she had met a nem...

@TheFake

On cue...

"Ahhh, but if I feed it I can keep it. There was this raven back home, I would save him a little bread every afternoon..." The northern woman lazily tilted her hand to the 'animal', offering the remainder of the pastry with a friendly smile. She already had breakfast, the snack had been bait for one of her friends as much anything else. Her lilting, accented cadence resumed; "Greediest bird you ever met, but he followed me south until it started to become warm. Who knows? Maybe he will visit me again when I get back."

Tristram was behind her but she didn't really bother to try and face him. She couldn't, after all, there wasn't a face to see. If he wanted to be seen there would be, now wouldn't there? He was fine behind her. Someone else might have wondered if he hadn't slept well but the truth was that he was just... like that. Abrasive. The other person trying to talk to her, though... She pivoted a little to put him more towards the center of her vision and smiled a friendly greeting. This one was about the age of one of her siblings. And about as excitable. Not that she had spoken very much with him, but it was easy to see. She winced a little at the scene playing out by the job board and elected to offer the huge (seriously, how?) Hundi a reassuring pat on the back. The girl wasn't wrong, but she could have been much kinder. He was clearly very young. Youth made for mistakes. It was the natural order of things, there was no need to be quite so rude over so little harm done.

Positive reinforcement was a better teacher than shouting, every time.

"I think that was what Cassie came to talk to me about, Mr. Reinhart. Maybe Tristram, too, come to that. Was it, Tristram?" She inquired, but persevered without really waiting for a response. "I must confess I haven't had a chance to see the board yet, but it sounds like she could use the work. And I could use something to do."

Nehir shrugged at Ifrari's suggestion. It wasn't a TERRIBLE idea, but he couldn't force Rex to take a job. "I think scolding is punishment enough for now." he said, taking a proper look at the board now that the jobs were posted. There were a pretty good selection today, though that wasn't too much of a surprise. Summer was a busy season for the guild, the trivial work that was the stereotype for novice adventures pilled high as commoners prepared their stores for winter. He regarded the dark elf for a moment as he looked over the potential jobs. "That said, you and him might be good picks for the Haesting mission." He said as he tapped the job in question. "Be a good way for someone to teach him a little patience while still letting him work to his strengths." He added, smiling at the two.

He flinched as Sophie exploded in her usual violent fashion. He shot a warning stare at the girl, brows knitting together for a moment. Normally he'd get on to her like he had Rex, but she was probably still nursing her embarrassment. Adventuring was a profession where you often dealt with people in the middle of a crisis. A volatile temper was a good way to make most situations even more stressful or worse....make the client stiff the guild on the bill! While he didn't question Sophie's character (or Rex's for that matter), it still reflected on the guild. "Language please, Miss Velmet." He said softly but firmly, deciding that a gentle reminder was enough and opting to let the girl cool down on her own.

Looking back at the board Nehir snagged the first task, looking over the details. It was more up his ally than the others. Slaughtering orcs tended to incur less damage to private property, at least on his part. Plus, while deadly, they weren't exactly smart fighters; enough numbers and physical strength to simply overwhelm enemies was a fairly popular tactic with them. Which wasn't exactly great for them when someone, say, summoned a swirling malestrom of lacerating wind directly on top of them, the thought enough to send a gleeful smile to Nehir's face.

"I think this'll do..." He grumbled, his mind already sorting through what he'd need. Renting horses (pony in his case...) would be cheap enough, less than two of the bounties should cover it. He'd need some muscle and a scout for back up, plus maybe one or two more. He glanced around the hall to take in his options. Rex, Sophie, and Ifrari were the closest, which covered all the bases but....that seemed like a recipe for disaster at the moment. Sophie would be hot for a while, which would keep Rex upset. Ifrari...would do what amused Ifrari. Which could be a range from messing with the two to trying to make nice. Hard pass there.

Tristram and his group were too big, despite being a more cohesive unit. The job was good but splitting everything with him on board might be pushing it. Plus Cassia seemed to have a magical talent at ruining his budgets in ways he couldn't have imagined. Liliane was nice enough, but from the looks of it she had two wands with her as it stood. It wouldn't be fair to ask her take on THAT much of the front line responsibility, even if she could probably take it.

He was about to give up when he spotted Mellifleur's tall companion, a monolith of steel armor current hoisting...a Nem girl over his (its?) head like some sort of trophy. As odd as the sight was, Melli was a perfect choice in his mind. Cup and Sword for the price of one share was hard to beat after all! A little...eccentricity on the girls part was a small price to pay, and one easily within the budget!

Pushing his way back through the crowd he approached the trio, waving at the Nem high above him. "Hey Melli!" He chirped, splaying the job posting before her like a small child proud of their drawing, the nem neither ignorant of the cuteness of the act nor embarrassed. Sometimes it was better to lean into how some folk saw his people, and Mellifluer wasn't the sort of think less of him for it. That and maybe he found a little enjoyment in playing the part, if only to amuse the girl. "I was wondering if you had a job lined up yet? If not I'd love to have you and Raffy along!" He added as he glanced up at the 'sword' in question, eyes trailing over the Nem girl. "You're friends also welcome to come along if she wants. It should be pretty easy between the four of us!" he said, smiling up at his fellow Nem and hoping she wasn't being held up there against her will.

@1Charak2@Rune_Alchemist

With deft fingers Cassia plucked the offered pastry from Sigi's upturned palm, giving the large-sworded woman a warm smile in thanks. Before her eyes narrowed and glared at the maddeningly empty abyss beneath Tristram's hood. Wordlessly, she slid the rest of the confection into her mouth, never once breaking eye contact.

Or, never breaking eye contact to the best of her abilities given the fact that she couldn't exactly see any hint of eyes from the stingy archer.

Until Cassia pivoted on her heel, twirrling to the right to face those who had made their way over to the small group.

"Mmmph, mmhmmph!" Cassia mumbled in agreement at Sigi's assertion, her fiery hair dancing back and forth as she nodded. "Mmmmmmwaagoadventure."

Her unwillingness to open her mouth until the pastry was absolutely gone complicated things.

For a few moments, Sophie was silent. The fact that the over-sized hundi had almost immediately apologized profusely was something of point in his favor, really. The purple-haired girl had been fully prepared for a complete refusal to admit fault, or some other equally bone-headed and idiotic response. Blowing off Nehir's attempt to discourage her from speaking so harshly, the petite girl turned around once more to face the huge dog-like warrior.

Arms still folded across her slight chest, the girl glared up towards the huge man.

"Hmph. Fine. Don't do it again, or you'll really be stupid."

While her tone was rather short, Sophie at least wasn't one to reject a serious apology... at least, when it came so quickly and sincerely. Still, it wasn't as if this was what she wanted to be dealing with right now.

What the Velmet heir was interested in at the moment was selecting a new quest. One didn't become one of the guild's top adventurers-no, the top adventurer in the guild-by spending too much time on sources of annoyance. Even if they did at least apologize.

At the moment, there were four jobs that seemed appealing. Orcs were a problem, and could potentially hurt a lot of innocent people if they weren't dealt with. A Merchant's caravan was something important to Estival as a whole, as the daughter of nobility she knew that quite well. Disappearances... that couldn't be tolerated.

Finally, recovery of artifacts for the church seemed like a worthy cause as well. Though, if she had to be honest, Sophie felt herself a little more interested in the clearing of orcs and the recovery of those had disappeared...

She was hardly about to make her indecision too obvious, however.

@Derg2

Finns broad and bright smile suddenly turned forced as an eye started to twitch at the sight of...Tristram. It was not hard to pick out in a tavern which looked like a moving mound of dirt and moss. Oh how that guy bugged him to no end. Always acting like he was better than him just because he can make long shots with ease. He looked away from dungheap to Sieglinde who was giving him a smile. His natural smile returning.

Sieglinde was always kind to those around her. Just having one of those comforting Aura’s. She was also a six of swords as well! However he never really had a chance to really talk to her, She always hung around Cassia and the pile of rubbish for jobs, and he would normally be on a different job when they were back at the guild.

However before she answered, the racket got worse as Sophie went off on the guy. The girl was a firecracker who had even yelled at him a few times, for whatever reason. He thought it was cute and when he mentioned it it only made her angrier for some reason. She was an odd one for sure.

He glanced over to see the large hundi looking quite sad. Finn felt a pang of guilt for chuckling earlier, He never saw how it affected Rex like that. Finn had thought the massive guy like him didn’t care about what people thought with his energy. It seemed he was wrong. Perhaps he could help him out with his clumsiness and strength control.

Sieglinde started to speak and he quickly looked back. He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head when she called him Mr. Reinheart. It sounded weird to him. He always had everyone just call him Finn. Mr. Reinheart just was too formal and reminded him of his dad.

He felt a little gut punch as she mentioned Dungheap was there possibly to go on an adventure with her. But he ignored that fact as she mentioned Cassia could use the work, and that she could go for one as well. She was open to working with him! That made him elated being able to work with a Beautiful woman with her experience and maturity he was sure to learn something from her…

He looked to Cassia as she pivoted to face him. His heart flipped when the fellow half-elf nodded in agreement. Blinking a few times as she tried to speak with the pastry in her mouth. Hearing ‘go on adventure’ in the muffle. He chuckled as a smirk grew bigger. Normally he couldn’t stand people talking with their mouths full… but that was plain adorable. He never really saw this side of Cassia. Not for lack of trying, She always shut him down when he tried to team up with her. Note to self, pack snacks... he thought to himself.

”Awesome, thanks! This is gonna be great. ” He said excitedly putting his balled fists onto his hips as he looked at the two taller women. ”Well once we decide which job to take, Ill buy you two a round of drinks to celebrate!” Clearly leaving out ‘Tristran’ of his offer. Trying to humor the guy and pretend he’s invisible.

ＲＯＡＮ

---

𝙻𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: 𝙶𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕 — 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚍: 𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 — 𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: @ghastlyInc@Derg2 — 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: @Raineh Daze@TheFake

---

The play was unfolding quite nicely in front of him, with more people starting to berate the tall hundi for his carelessness. Honestly, Roan found the interaction between the two shorties and the hundi immensely funny, barely managing to hold his laughter when the hundi prostrated himself before the two. "Hey, at least he's honest," Roan thought. All in all, however, It seemed that the event was quickly coming to an end, prompting Roan to lose interest in the trio.

"Hmm, what to do now... I guess I should go take a look at the quest board as well, now that people have started to disperse. Of course, there's the issue of not having a party as well..." At the last thought Roan scratched his head and sighed in frustration. He had been an adventurer for some years now and as such had partied up with a lot of people already. Nevertheless, for one reason or another, his stay never really lasted long. He usually ended up either kicked out of the party, or the party itself ended up disbanding due to some unforeseen reason - although Roan suspected that the reason wasn't as innocent as he was made to believe; once or twice he had found his previous party members back together after their little "disbanding", going about their own merry way and acting as if nothing had ever happened.

His face took on a sour look as he remembered his last party. "I mean, I might have invested some of the prize money from that quest... I don't understand why they were so up in arms about it when they found out, I was gonna pay them back their cuts anyway..."

Roan let out one final sigh before standing up, grabbing his sword and heading towards the quest board. As he passed through the crowd to get to the middle of the Hall, he scanned the adventurers that were present, mentally noting down the people he was familiar with and those he was not. He noticed several parties in the making. In the end, he decided to approach a trio that had hunkered down in one of the larger tables of the Hall. "More hundi, and a weird human girl with antlers growing from her head? That's definitely weird..." Although quite apprehensive about the last one, Roan decided to bite the bullet and approach them after checking out the jobs that had just gone up on the board.

After reading through the listings, Roan turned around and made his way over to the table where the three were sitting. As he got closer to the table, he couldn't help but notice the shadowy being that sat next to the antler girl. "Okay, a mage? That makes sense..." Roan thought before coughing lightly to get their attention. "I couldn't help but notice you three sitting here. Are you a party by any chance? It seems that several interesting jobs have just gone up," he said and pointed back at the job board with his thumb. "I am currently looking for a party so I was wondering if you were recruiting," he added with a smile.

Tristram Ullr, the anchor of this trio, was starting to feel underappreciated.

"You know what? Sure. Go ahead, Sigi. I'll just hand over budgetary responsibility to you. Have you on my side within the week. Singing my praises within two. Begging I take it back in two and a half." he fired back in monotone, stepping forward to gaze straight over Finn and upon the notice board. As a Sniper by trade, his eyes were already sharp enough to clearly make things out at this distance (provided Rex and his massive frame didn't obscure them from view), so there was no need to get mired up in the mess playing out up close.

Kids were gonna be kids, yes, and kids were excitable in both grabbing new jobs and biting eachother's heads off, but that didn't mean he was gonna waltz up and stick his hood in where it didn't belong...

Wow, a full on prostration. You need a bit more of a spine, buddy.

...Oh, don't do the 'kicked puppy' thing, that isn't fair! I like animals. Why do Hundi have to remind me so much of dogs?!

He bit his tongue nonetheless. They simply didn't have time to be arguing with sassy runts, especially not for their own sake.

Anyways, of the four newly-posted quests, Orc Hunting was what immediately drew his attention— plain, simple, and a necessary service for Estival. Reliable coin. Moreover, it suited them fairly well in comparison— He didn't trust Cassia to not get swindled by the merchants they would be guarding on the second, nor Sigi to not drop some priceless artifact on the fourth.

Oh, yeah, he was pretty sure she had something going on with her left eye. Testing her vision during an ill-fated attempt at teaching the two archery in the pursuit of versatility lead to some interesting results.

The third quest was similarly straightforward in asking price, but he didn't like the vagueness attached. While "search and destroy" was all well and good, the problem he found once he read a little deeper was in the simple fact that there wasn't much way to confirm the true threat had been destroyed— at least, not as simply as cutting off an orc's left ear after a few hours posted up in a tree.

"I think that was what Cassie came to talk to me about, Mr. Reinhart. Maybe Tristram, too, come to that. Was it, Tristram?" the Nordic woman inquired in the background, but persevered without really waiting for a response. "I must confess I haven't had a chance to see the board yet, but it sounds like she could use the work. And I could use something to do."

"Mmmph, mmhmmph!" Cassia mumbled in agreement at Sigi's assertion, her fiery hair dancing back and forth as she nodded. "Mmmmmmwaagoadventure."

"Don't talk with food in your mouth! Chew, swallow, speak!" he scolded, ruthlessly destroying any notion that he was as forgiving as Finn for the sake of cuteness. Of Cassia's, at least.

...

"Oi."

This was when the rest of the conversation caught up to him. The hood shifted to face his right shoulder, and the woman beside it.

"In the future, don't treat me like some foregone conclusion." he grumbled after a beat to Sieglinde, who had quite contentedly not given him a shot to respond properly. If they were gonna start pulling that crap, he was gonna start talking right over them mid-sentence. No holds barred, every clause for itself. May their overtures die in a pit of pithy retorts. "I could be busy. I could have something going on with my life. We're taking either the Orcs or the Haesting road one. They synergize best with our party. I want to kick back and perforate Orcs. Also, since you're so willing to give alms,"

The burlap sack he'd been carrying now bounced up and down in attention-grabbing tosses, very pointedly out of Cassia's (or indeed Finn's, since he seemed set on meddling and was probably about to screech something about rivalry or challenges the moment they zeroed in on a quest properly) reach.

"I'll tell you right now that I was out at the butcher's, buying us what should be a week's worth of jerky for out in the field. You wanna enforce rationing without my iron-fisted rule? Just tell me now. I can always nab myself a hare or two off the book."

Ifrari observed the large Hundi prostrate himself to the short human warrior pensively, a small smile of confused delight playing about his lips. He hadn’t expected the youth to apologize so profusely, he confessed, but there was almost an innocent childish charm to his actions. If he were so eager to please all the time, taking him into a party might not at all be a hardship. “Well, if you’re half as keen to do a good job as you are about apologizing, I sure wouldn’t mind partying up, Rex,” the dark elf declared, thinking a good word or two might do the Hundi some good after the thorough verbal lashing he’d received. That, and it might make the adolescent more willing to listen to and enact Ifrari’s directions.

“The Haesting mission does seem intriguing,” he allowed in response to Nehir’s suggestion, “though it’s also the one I’m most wary about.” The way he’d said it however, it was obvious Ifrari was not entirely against a challenge. The Nem soon left, apparently already on the way to form a party of his own. Ifrari noted he’d taken one of the listings for the orc-slaying job, which was the only one the dark elf was not considering this time. It was a simple, direct mission, but one that involved combat more-so than anything else, which didn’t suit him well.

Glancing back at the job boarding casually, not that he truly needed to, Ifrari regarded the four jobs. “Hm-m, well, it’s escorting, artifact recovering, or investigating the disappearances for me,” he announced, pointedly turning his head back to the Hundi and raising an eyebrow. “What do you feel like, Rex?” he coaxed the young male. Peripherally, he noted parties were already forming. And though it seemed like asking for a disaster at first glance, he may as well try getting the fiery purple-eyed warrior on board.

“Hey, Sophie,” he began, rather slyly, “why not let Rex make it up to you by proving himself on a mission?” Ifrari asked, making it sound as much as a good idea as he could, though he privately doubted she’d agree. “I’ll even promise to teach him to be more careful,” he added, tone cajoling. In fact, attempting to mold the Hundi into a reliable adventurer seemed to Ifrari like it may bring him some long-term benefits, if he were successful.

@ghastlyInc@Derg2@VitaVitaAR

@1Charak2@ghastlyInc

---

"W-weh?!" Before Neffy could even protest, she found herself being manhandled by Melly's armored companion. Unfortunately, she was nowhere near strong enough to squirm her way out and she doubted Melly would even let her slip out if she had protested. A few colorful words came to mind as she was lifted and soon placed on the giant known as Raphael's shoulders. She almost wanted to say a few of them simply because she doubted Melly would understand Nemmish.

"T-that's not reassuring at all!" Neffy shouted, wrapping her arms tightly around the armored giants helmet, holding on for her dear small life. At least she could see the board easily from up here. Something about orcs, which she was most certainly inclined to not take. Something about disappearances could possibly be a good job for her. Wasn't like she was going to easily be made to ehm, disappear. A monastery job she certainly didn't want to take if it had the possibility of being dangerous. In the end, she had settled on the escort mission. Easy enough, though they might run into bandits, she didn't have much of a problem handling such people as long as she could do it with minimal actual confrontation.

Before she could reach for it, though, another Nem...uh, Nehir was his name, right? Seemed to take an interest in Melly.

"A...mission...?" Having another Nem along would certainly make her feel more comfortable. "Uhm...well, ah don't mind..." Neffy replied to Nehir, allowing herself to relax. It wasn't quite the height she was afraid of, rather it was the sudden manhandling she had been subjected too. She released her death grip on Raphael's head and glanced at the board again.

Oh...he had taken the one for the orcs, huh...

"...uhm..." Exhaling, and deciding she didn't want to be manhandled by a giant armored juyuem again, the Nem leaped off Raphael's shoulder, landing rather gracefully and silently on the ground in front of the armored giant. "Safas ma tasu." She greeted the other Nem in traditional Nemmish for greeting a new person with a slight nod of her head. She might have known his name simply because she had a habit of listening around the guildhall, but she had never formally met the other Nem before. "Uhm...Nefrena. If you don't mind having me, ah wouldn't mind helping." She softly reasserted. "...I'm not really good in a fight, but erm, ah can probably scout fairly well, among other...things."

Shir had been about to respond when they were interrupted by another adventurer. She looked from him to the stack of cards and back.

"Were were actually about to start a game of cards." She gestured at the table. "We were actually about to enjoy a game of cards, perhaps someone else might actually be interested in you joining them..."

She gave him a pointed look before turning back to the Hundi couple and gestured for Corrine to deal out hands. She had little patience for someone so blunt that they wouldn't try to have a conversation before trying to work their way into a group. The shadow by her side continued to stare at him for a moment longer before turning away with a dismissive shrug.

One of the two looked more suited to be working a business in a city than adventuring. Her partner looked decidedly more dangerous and possibly carried the other one through jobs. The first one was likely another mage, possibly of some power since she had partnered with someone that looked as competent as the second.

"I am merely very pale, no need to worry about my health but I unfortunately sunburn easily on such bright days." She gestured to the shadow. "I do much better in the dark. Maybe we could spend some time here and see what the evening brings."

@Vec@Raineh Daze

"Oh uh...nemmish uh..." Nehir sputtered, somewhat taken a back by the language. He spoke it though hardly with as much proficiency as he really aught to. Estival WAS home to a few Nem towns, though it was often just easier to use the common language. He'd really only ever spoke it with his family back home, his mother insistent that he and his younger sister learn at least the basics. "Safas ma tasu. Ahs da yar-ei Nehir. You'll uh...have to forgive me. A little rusty with that tongue." He says flushing slightly, his native accent slightly butchering his pronunciation.

He took a good look at the girl as she landed. She was a little taller than him he noted, his pride wounding a little. She had looked shorter a moment ago atop the knight he'd sworn...That aside, it was harder to tell how fit she was, her cloak pulled tightly around herself like that. But with that sword strapped to her, Nehir was very much doubtful she was as bad in a fight as she said. That thing was gorgeous! It had to have cost as much as two of his scepters!

"I'd be more than happy to have you along Nefrena!" Nehir said, quickly tearing his eyes away from the sword, not wanting to be rude. "It's rare to have another Nem in the party, so I'm looking forward to working with you." He added with a small bow. "And don't worry about the fighting. I'm kind of specialized in that area...So if anything, you're doing me a huge favor. Magic as a weapon is a bit useless if I don't have a clue where to aim it." He said, hoping to bolster the girls enthusiasm for the job and knowing how it felt to think you were the dead weight in the group.

His eyes widened a moment later before he hastily added, "N-not that I'll be aiming at YOU of course! That'd be silly!" he gasped, hoping the girl hadn't yet caught wind (metaphorically or otherwise) of his somewhat mixed reputation.
@1Charak2@Rune_Alchemist

"As she said, we're just playing cards," Liliane stated, wondering exactly how the man had so quickly decided that they must be working together by dint of sitting together. This was a good table for cardgames and it was unlikely that anyone experienced hadn't noticed it once or twice. Or maybe this was one of those workaholic types. "You can join if you wish; it's a little early in the day for gambling anything, of course." Mostly because once people had time to start drinking, they liked to gamble a lot more.

The white-haired Hundi dealt out the deck swiftly, including a pile in the middle and one deck face down--if Rowan declined to join in, then it would be up to Corinne to join in... and no doubt lose hopelessly, but the other two of them would no doubt have a good enough time.

Corinne, on the other hand, shuffled over a little so as to not see the cards if she had to join in, picking her staff up from the ground between the two as she did so. "Ah, I am sorry, mademoiselle. I 'ope I did not offend you too badly..."

She did perk up at the mention of a party, though from the way her eyes glanced over towards her more boyish partner it was obvious this wasn't for any adventuring reason and instead some personal pride. "Non, we are not a party. Liliane 'ere is my wife before my adventuring companion. We should introduce ourselves, yes? I am Corinne Julienne Delphine de Tiffauges."

@TheFake@Vec

Jane was as distant as ever. N-No. I've... already eaten. These are the uhh, more quests for the board. Would you-- like to take a look at them?"

"I appreciate it, Jane," Léon answered, "But I suppose I wouldn't feel right about getting first peek at them before they're posted. I try not to worry too much about getting to jobs first. Being a Cup, it's easy enough to find a group in need of my talents." As far as adventurers went, Léon wasn't particularly adventurous- he had only joined the guild at the behest of the Church of Mayon, and hadn't been particularly proactive in finding ways to risk his life- mostly he just tagged along in the not-uncommon event that a group needed a healer.

Did I snub her, he asked himself after giving his reply. Was it inconsiderate of me to not take up her offer? Léon felt a wave of worry wash over him. He didn't want to make someone feel even worse.

"Tell you what, I'll take a look at the ones you already put on the board," he spoke, basically muttering the first thing he came up with. "Hopefully there'll be something suitable for 4's like us. You're welcome to any of my food in the meantime." Léon got out of his seat, leaving his food on the table. He didn't really care much for the jobs themselves, it was mostly just to try and conclude this conversation in a somewhat natural manner.

The cleric made his way to the board. Because of the crowding, it took a while for him to get there. Sophie's tirade from earlier gave him ample motivation to take it slow and not bump into anyone, so it was slow going. Some of the others were getting creative to look at the board- Mellifleur's undead thrall was lifting a female Nem mage, Nefrena if he recalled correctly, onto its shoulders so she could see the board. While he was at first enormously apprehensive about a necromancer parading around a skeletal minion, he had become accustomed to its presence. He had never asked about it, largely because both Léon and the skeleton's controller were both Cups, it was unlikely for them to end up in a group together.

After taking more time than he'd have liked, Léon finally got close enough to the board to look at the jobs. He looked over the postings, more curious than anything at this point. Some were above his ranking, some were below, and a few were within it. Orc hunting, probably not. Escort duty, probably pretty easy but looks pretty long. Disappearances, sounds risky, not to mention no clue what I'd be getting into. But wait, what's this?

His eyes practically lit up when he saw the fourth and final job within his rank. A monastery lost since the war against Orodrunn has been located and the church is willing to pay handsomely for any artefacts recovered...yes, YES! It mentioned being potentially risky, but he didn't care. It was a church job, and an artifact recovery one at that. In just a moment, Léon's apathetic demeanor disappeared, replaced by motivation and determination to see this particular job through. He snatched the paper from the board and took it with him as he made his way back through the crowds to the table in the corner, where Jane still was. It wasn't enough to take a job, he'd need to find at least three other people to bring along, and he knew where he could find at least one adventurer who hadn't yet joined up on a job.

"Remember how I said I was just content to wait till others ask me to come along on a job? Well I was wrong," he spoke to Jane, much more upbeat, as he placed the paper on the table. "They posted a job from the Church to excavate artifacts from a recently rediscovered monastary ruin, and I feel it's my duty as a cleric of Mayon to ensure that this job is fulfilled. I won't be able to do it without a decent party, however, and I haven't seen you mingling with the others, would you like to join after you've finished posting the next batch of jobs? I could use a Sword, and could also use some help putting a party together."

@PaulHaynek

Sophie raised an eyebrow. She hadn't even yet selected a job, and the huge hundi was offering to go with her? To make up for his behavior? Hmph. He had another thing coming, if he seriously belied she was going to just accept it. Ifari, too. The dark elf had butted in of his own accord and tried to come up with a solution she didn't recall asking for. The young warrior hardly desired to be picking up anyone who blindly wandered into someone directly in front of them, even if they had apologized.

Besides, Sophie hadn't even picked out a job yet. Between the clearing of orcs and the disappearances near Haesting, both of them seemed important to the safety of the common person. This was undeniably something that she had to keep in mind. Orcs were vile barbarians, who enslaved and even ate other thinking beings. Their nature was one that pillaged and destroyed, without any thought or care for anyone but themselves. Thus, killing as many of the bastards as she could was certainly not an invaluable duty.

That being said...

The disappearances near Haesting were quite concerning. There was so far not even a clear indication of what was causing it, but whatever it was had to be eliminated without mercy.

Both of them were choices that were hard to pass up, and yet she could only take one.

"... I'm taking either the job to slay the orcs, or to halt the disappearances near Haesting," she said, finally, leaning slightly closer to the board as she did, "Any decisions you make are your own."

There. Ideally that wouldn't be encouraging.

@SilverPaw@Derg2

"I appreciate it, Jane, but I suppose I wouldn't feel right about getting first peek at them before they're posted. I try not to worry too much about getting to jobs first. Being a Cup, it's easy enough to find a group in need of my talents. Tell you what, I'll take a look at the ones you already put on the board. Hopefully there'll be something suitable for 4's like us. You're welcome to any of my food in the meantime."

Jane said nothing in reply as Léon took off. She let out a sigh of relief, finally being alone once more and a little bit safe. She doubted the Mayonite would come back, he would probably be invited into a party and head off to an adventure, completely forgetting about her. And Jane was fine with that, the last thing she wanted was for him or someone else to drag her off to an adventure. Normally there would be nothing wrong with that but if her party gets even a glimpse of who Jane truly was, she would be in a world of trouble.

There was still a lot of activity at the quest board. Jane wondered what she would do for the day. She could continue helping out in domestic matters but she could feel the guild staff was almost to the point of telling her to go adventuring instead of trying to take over their jobs. And that would bring unwanted attention. Perhaps she would just hunt large rats again in the sewers. Jane was tired of that quest but what else could she do? It was also one of the few quests that you were allowed to go alone.

But then she saw Léon approaching her once more and Jane almost cried.

"Remember how I said I was just content to wait till others ask me to come along on a job? Well I was wrong, they posted a job from the Church to excavate artifacts from a recently rediscovered monastary ruin, and I feel it's my duty as a cleric of Mayon to ensure that this job is fulfilled. I won't be able to do it without a decent party, however, and I haven't seen you mingling with the others, would you like to join after you've finished posting the next batch of jobs? I could use a Sword, and could also use some help putting a party together."

Jane did not know what to say. If she agreed, she would be in a company of maybe three or more adventurers. That would be too much people around her. No doubt they would attempt to talk to her and she would need to spin lie after lie after lie. Soon, she would likely slip a truth in there and that would lead to a world of trouble for Jane.

On the other hand, if she flat-out refused then Léon might get suspicious and that would also lead into a world of problems. Perhaps she can make him back out of his own accord.

"I can go, sure, but are you certain you want me?" Jane responded. "I may be a Four of Swords but you know that that's because I'm only slightly better than a Three. And look at that job..." She pointed at the request paper. "It says that novices should stay clear. And now while we both are Fours, that doesn't mean we're on the same level. I'm clearly lower than you, still a novice that's just a bit better than the rest."

She felt a pang of regret at coldly rebuffing Léon. In an attempt to alleviate some of that, Jane decided to ask. "...So who else do you want to come along with on this?"

ＲＯＡＮ

---

𝙻𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: 𝙶𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕 — 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚍: 𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 — 𝙼𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝚎 — 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜: @Raineh Daze@TheFake

---

At the mention of gambling, Roan immediately tensed up, now a glint in his eyes appearing that had not previously been present. "Ah, cards!," he said, his voice hinting on his excitement that was soon dampened, however, by the fact that there wouldn't actually be any gambling involved in the game, as per the white-haired hundi. "Nice to meet you Corinne, Lilianne," he said with a nod after Corinne's introduction. "I am Roan. No surname."

"Apologies for assuming you three were a party. Pretty much everyone in this room is some kind or adventurer and partying up with each other comes hand in hand with the job, so whenever I see people huddled together my mind immediately makes the connection."

"Unfortunately, I have been a little tight on coin lately, hence my urgent need for a party. Gotta pay for the room in the Guild somehow, right? Anyway, I'll be going now, see you around!" Roan said his farewells, turned around and left.

---

Indeed, Mellifleur would be jesting with the gods themselves if she admitted she expected the Nem to be completely fine with the act of lifting them up with such haste. Indeed the giant had remained dead still and without so much as a flinch, as Mellifleur tried, and waited for the girl to pick out a quest.

Only to be promptly interrupted by the arrival of yet another Nem! Well, she liked to believe she was approachable by those of Nem-orientation because of her lack of stature. Though she would never consider that because she hanged around her companion, an absolute tower of a human who made quite the noise when moving inside buildings unless she actively told him not to do that. She was about to speak up, To make a great speech about how she'd love to accept it! and to join him.

But then the Nem started talking to each other. But only after her first Nem compatriot did such a spectacular leap off the top of Raphael, whom once again did not flinch for why would they, The Nem was like a feather atop a strong stone pillar. Mellifleur was going to give it a clap, but that would be an interruption of their conversation, and she was told not to be too rude when people were talking. Now they were talking in a tongue she didn't understand! How could she so swiftly and effortlessly pick up the conversation if she didn't know what was being said.

Still it seemed her friend was called Nefrena, and she can now avoid having to ask awkwardly who the female nem was! She didn't know who the other guy was in name but she'd pretend like she did, though she had somewhat of an inkling that she shouldn't stand too close to him in battle. Given the way he was speaking... Still! Hot iron time to strike. She was going to give an eloquent speech about how she'd help.

"Sure! I'd love to help!" She said awkwardly fast and without any grace to her tone, Her loudness being one thing, but in reality she was kicking herself. Could she truely not come up with anything in the milliseconds of having the thought to help. Poor show.

"That is to say, I would be happy to accompany you on the quest." She said trying to salvage her ego from the her embarrassing display of a lack of finesse with people. "When do we depart for it?"

---

@ghastlyInc@Rune_Alchemist