"If you'd put a pin in that for just a moment, please!"

Sigi smiled broadly at the three people intent on signing up for the monastery quest, stepping hurriedly in their direction. She'd only just caught them preparing to take the quest. Sure, they could have talked about it after they had already registered and gotten it sorted out but that sometimes made people confrontational. Not a good start for people who would have to cooperate. Wow, they were pretty much all taller than her. Even the helmeted woman. Maybe? Harder to tell, but the other two were taller even though they were younger. People like this would give her a complex one day!

Still she gave a little wave, coming to a stop and assuming a friendly and marginally more dignified posture than her previous haste.

"Hi! I'm sorry to bother you, but I saw you were planning to sign up for the quest." She inclined her head apologetically, smile taking on a slightly sheepish air. "My friends and I were, too. Um, I don't know if you've met any of them but they're Tristram, Cass, Finn, and me. I'm Sigi. Bunch of people, I know, but can't be too careful on such an unknown mission, right? And we'd be a good mix of skills."

She cocked her head a little after pointing out each teammate in turn, looking up a little bit to meet the eyes of both Mayonites. She would have done the same to the armored woman, just to be friendly, but it wasn't like she could see her eyes. Maybe she and Tristram would get along.

"To be honest with you I have an interest in where we're going, too. So if it's money you're worried about I can take a reduced cut if the payout is lower than we're expecting. If that helps. Guys, come over and introduce yourselves."

"Hmmm..."

After several moments of attempting to make a decision, ultimately Sophie had come to a conclusion. While the disappearances near Haesting were certainly important, that left her certain someone with half a brain and sufficient skill would pick it up. And naturally, clearing orcs out was undeniably important as well. So her ultimate decision to go and hunt down those monstrous cannibalistic barbarians and kill them before they could kill anyone else.

Taking the flyer in one hand, she turned and marched her way over to the counter, placing it in front of one of the girls.

"I'm going to register for the orc-hunting job," she said, simply. She had no interest in dragging things out, she was simply going to take it and then meet whoever else might be going for the job.

Hopefully they weren't idiots.

@Rune_Alchemist@ghastlyInc@Raineh Daze@1Charak2

"I suppose I'd should speak to one of the guild clerks to formalize it. The three of us should be enough, so long as we properly prepare."

So it was happening. She was going on a job with two people, both Mayonites no less. So far what jobs she took was minor and local, never ones that took her too far from the adventurer's guild or the city of Venne. And she never went with someone else.

No problem, she thought. All she had to do was keep quiet and not do anything flashy. If they asked any questions, she would answer with lies she had crafted long ago with care and precision. Any talk must be brief and believable. Hopefully, the two Mayonites would be more interested in each other than to her.

"If you'd put a pin in that for just a moment, please!"

Jane turned, whiplashed, at the woman who uttered those words.

"Hi! I'm sorry to bother you, but I saw you were planning to sign up for the quest My friends and I were, too. Um, I don't know if you've met any of them but they're Tristram, Cass, Finn, and me. I'm Sigi. Bunch of people, I know, but can't be too careful on such an unknown mission, right? And we'd be a good mix of skills."

What?! Why?! Damn it!

Jane wanted to scream but she kept her silence, only a stare of disbelief at the newcomer. One that was well-hidden by her helmet, hopefully. Four more wanted to come with them. What was once just a small trio would be now twice its size. She doubted Léon would turn them down, he was looking for a fourth member and what he got was a whole package. It even included Tristram, the one from Thaln. More people to be wary of, more people to--

No. Perhaps this was a good thing. More people meant there were more people to get attention. Jane can simply hang back in all of this. Let them take the front, let them accomplish this job, take the glory, get this over with and let everything go back to normal.

Jane softened at the realization. This was fine.

Nehir nodded at the clerk, shuddering slightly at the reminder of The Biting Incident. It took so long to scrub out the stains. Shaking the memories loose, he turned back to Nefrena and Millifluer ready to speak before he noticed Sophie approach, abruptly taking the orc job. He bit his lip for a moment as the ran the numbers, tallying the reduction of each person's share in his head with frightening proficiency. It was...fine. He'd admit to being a little disappointed in the lost coin, having wanted to save up for a new magic robe. But...asking her to abandon the job just because he was feeling a little greedy wouldn't sit well. With him or the guild. "Hello Miss Velmet" He said, putting on his nicest customer service smile. "Glad to hear you'll be joining us!"
@1Charak2@Rune_Alchemist@Raineh Daze @VitaVitaAR

From seemingly nowhere, a hand was thrust before Léon, offering a shake and connected to a longbowman that had been just a moment away from snatching the same quest off the noticeboard that the Mayonite had.

It, naturally, belonged to the type of man who did not need a visible face to emote with the air of this being a foregone conclusion, an insistent pressure that most needed pointed looks and forced smiles to convey. His pursuit of the cleric had been just as swift and stern as his approach to the board— he was a man of pride, yes, but that did not come at the expense of pragmatism. He intrinsically understood that cooperating here yielded more boons than "playing it cool" and affecting a flippant air would.

"Tristram Ullr. Pleasure working with you."

Any money they made here, however small, was a step up from inaction or falling further down the hole. Their group, fourth member involved or otherwise, was going to need the income, and any net loss was right out the window. His financial responsibility was no easy burden, and to shoulder that weight meant you couldn't crack for anything. Do not give up, pursue every avenue necessary, the bag stands above all else.

Even social graces like , "leaving well enough alone".

Besides, they could use having a healer or two on call— The Paladin was a newbie, but he was pretty sure she naturally fell into the Sword class (they tended to be combative), and Jane Doe barely got out at a hard Rank 4, but making nice with Reverdin could make the difference between cleanly containing a certain Berserker and...

Well, having to get creative with arrows, rope, shieldwork, and a tree.

"You're heading your group." It wasn't a question. The sniper could tell in how he had carried himself. "We ought to compare notes. My problem children and assumedly the tagalong can be leveraged well enough, but it takes a clear picture of what you're dealing with."

"I was not a problem child!" The nearly indignant response came floating past from Tristram’s right as Cassia tagged along behind the bowman. Her half skipping gait brought her to a stop just off to the side, and she beamed at the other half of their expanded party. The three of them weren’t exactly well known to her, though granted she did spend the majority of her time with Sigi and Grumpy Bowman. Regardless, the more the merrier for sure!

Maybe it’d get Tristram off her back, a whole four people other than her to be grumpy with than what they normally had. The other resident half-elf, Finn, certainly seemed to do well enough at that.

“Cassia van Zyl,” said Four of Swords offered in addition after Tristram introduced himself. “I am not a problem child.”

@1Charak2@ghastlyInc@VitaVitaAR

---

"...got it..." Neffy replied in her usual quite manner towards the receptionist. Biting incident? This wasn't the first time she heard about it, but she was still curious about what exactly it was. Not that she really wanted to know the specifics. If it was bad enough for the guild to make a rule, not to mention...why would someone take heads anyways? That was rather morbid. Interrupting her own thoughts was Nehir greeting another person. Neffy cast a glance towards the new person. Someone else joining them on the job? Neffy frowned lightly, then promptly shook her head feeling a bit bad. She shouldn't get upset over someone else coming along.

...still, more people around made her more nervous.

"...H-hello..." Neffy gave Sophie a quick, quiet greeting before returning to her own thoughts hoping the other girl didn't try to speak with her.

Liliane's sigh at the introduction was quite audible. Not that she expected that Corinne would ever be keeping their relationship a secret for more than a few minutes if given the opportunity, but could she at least prioritise her introductions? "Liliane de Tiffauges, Seven of Swords and knife fighter. My idiot wife here is a 2 of Wands, but..."

Corinne's pout was quite amusing, though from the way she had shuffled over to take the third deck and was flicking through the cards she had no interest in objecting. The pout was inevitably replaced with a frown of concentration and noticeably twitching ears and a rather bright expression. From that and the wagging tail... well, she had a good hand; the Hundi mage was completely lacking in guile.

"Oui, my rank ees low but my power ees quite dangerous. Lili keeps me safe~"

And of course, she was leading with an over-enthusiastic bid. Looked like it would be her against Shir and Liliane.

@TheFake

It was a surprise to Léon when he was approached by a group of four. The first of them, Sieglinde, introduced herself and her companions- Tristam, Cass, and Finn. It seemed that Léon's group wasn't the only one that wanted this job. His first impression of the group was that they seemed to lack a healer, but two of them looked to be archers, which Léon immediately recognized as something that his own group sorely lacked.

"To be honest with you I have an interest in where we're going, too. So if it's money you're worried about I can take a reduced cut if the payout is lower than we're expecting. If that helps. Guys, come over and introduce yourselves," Sigi spoke, compelling her companions to come forward.

The first was the hooded man. "Tristram Ullr. Pleasure working with you." His trappings suggested he was a rogue, but Léon could discern little beyond that. Regardless, a Coin's skill set could be useful, the cleric assessed as he shook Tristam's hand.

"You're heading your group. We ought to compare notes. My problem children and assumedly the tagalong can be leveraged well enough, but it takes a clear picture of what you're dealing with," Tristam proposed, getting straight down to business.

Before Léon could respond, one of Sigi's and Tristam's companions interjected, objecting to being referred to as a problem child. After her outburst, the fiery haired (and evidently fiery tempered) woman introduced herself. “Cassia van Zyl. I am not a problem child.”

It seems there's a bit of tension between them in their own group. I'll have to ask Tristam or Sigi about it later on.

"Good to meet you, Cassia," the cleric replied, nodding to her. "I am Léon Reverdin, a cleric of the Church of Mayon. After the introduction was done, he turned to Sigi, whom he still needed to address.

"You need not worry about splitting the reward with me, won't be taking payment on this job beyond reimbursement for expenses," he assured her. "I feel it would be unethical for one of the cloth such as myself to accept a reward from the Church for doing my ordained duty."

Next was to address Tristam, and his proposal of sharing resources. "Here are the details of the job posting," he said, offering the paper to the hooded man. "I wish I had a clear picture, but it was rather scant on details, other than that they don't seem to know what sort of danger we might run into. Normally it seems a little unconventional to tackle a job with seven people, but with how little information we've been given on what we'll be up against, it seems wise to step into it with a diverse repertoire of skills."

Jane, Maribel, What do you think of this?" he asked his own party members. "Do either of you have any concerns about the prospect of handling this job alongside Sigi's group?" He'd also need to ask the guild clerks of this was allowed, to have enough people for two groups handling one job. With himself, Sigi, and likely Maribel not taking money for this job, there should still be a reasonable cut for the remainder.

@Krayzikk@PaulHaynek@HereComesTheSnow@Caasicam@Lunarlord34

“Hmm, safe until the fork to Walverrest, huh. Noted. That’s it then,” he nodded to the clerk in thanks, and after she noted that they were registered, turned to leave, waving to the Hundi youth to follow.

“I have to fetch my things, so I’m off to the dorms,” Ifrari informed Rex. “If you have any business left to take care of, go ahead. When you’re ready, come meet me in building C, room 512. Just knock on my door and I’ll let you in.” The dark elf glanced at the Hundi, to see if the other was following so far. Given that numbers seemed to confuse him, his worry whether Rex would be able to remember which room the dark elf rented was fairly warranted. Therefore, he added, “If you’re fine as is, you can just come along right away, though.”

That said, he made his way to one of the dorm buildings. He didn’t wish to discuss the details of their mission in public, so he didn’t say much. The information given was very scant, which was frustrating. He’d also honestly hoped to get at least a member or two more, but he’d have to work with what he had. That they were seeking an enemy who had a good hideout and was known for successful ambushes and presumably had decent observational skills didn’t sit well with him. There was a very good likelihood that Rex and himself would be the ones taken unaware of. Of course, the dark elf intended to prevent that, but there were no guarantees, really.

Ifrari arrived at dorm C, which was a nondescript dorm building with the guild insignia sign clearly marking it as one of the accommodations marketed primarily to adventurers. Since moving to Velle, Ifrari hadn’t really bothered to find his own housings, and had only moved to a better (and higher-costing) room once or twice. The dorms were satisfactory, and more important, easily affordable.

His current room was on the top floor of the building, and was of a comfortable size for a single person to live in. Besides the bed, he possessed a wardrobe for clothing, a stand for his armour, a simple racket for his weapons, a storage cabinet for his various supplies, a small bookshelf, and a sizeable table littered with parchment. At one point, he’d also affixed a board to one of the walls, which was remarkably similar to the notice board in the guild, only instead of job postings, it held even more of his own notes.

The dark elf made quick work of stripping to his underwear and replacing his casual clothing with his regular armour. It was quite the transformation. He did have to wonder if number and quality of equipment was one of the criteria according to which the kidnappers were able to differentiate between novice adventurers and normal ranks. And what exactly did they mean by novice anyhow, only those that have genuinely only started out and were therefore rank one, or anyone from rank one to three? Ifrari really wished there’d been more information regarding how many people had been kidnapped so far, and what the largest disappearance to date had been.

Once Rex arrived (or, if he’d been following along, once Ifrari was done gearing up), the dark elf spoke up regarding his main worry. “Rex, we might be targeted by the kidnappers. And no, getting their direct attention like that would not be optimal. However, we should be prepared even for that. For one, don’t speak about our mission once we’re underway, just in case the enemies use seemingly innocuous passers-by to gather information on their targets. If we still get caught, we’ll just have to improvise, I’m afraid,” he pursed his lips, obviously not content with that.

“If we have to engage in combat, use your best judgment, and I’ll back you up and adapt to your style. Just leave any traps, tricks, or trickery for me to deal with though,” he stated. “I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to spot any enemy archers in time, since they obviously know the terrain very well,” he confessed. “They may also somehow lure us to their territory and attempt to overwhelm or entrap us, in which case, well…I suppose we’ll have to manage,” Ifrari muttered, obviously doubtful whether they could. However, it wasn’t as if that was enough to outright give up on the job.

“In any case, the enemies aren’t your typical bandits, so however they kidnap people, it won’t be a violent encounter in the middle of the main road. When we travel, I’ll lead the way and watch out for any and all hints about the kidnappers and I’ll count on you to watch my back, alright?”

Ifrari waited to see what Rex would have say to that. Then, he summarized, “The main things to keep in mind are,” he lifted a hand, and raised his index finger, obviously counting, “one, not to talk about the disappearances to anyone or within anyone else’s range of hearing,” he raised his middle finger, “two, do not deviate from the mission objective, which means that if someone out there needs help, we either leave them to their own devices or proceed extremely carefully,” he warned, then raised his ring finger, “three, we will absolutely not split up, for whatever reason,” he lifted his pinky finger, “and finally, be cautious, but not nervous or too tense.” He dropped the hand and blinked up at the Hundi. “Any questions, comments, critiques?”

@Derg2

---

---

Finn looked back when he heard someone asking for the same job they just decided upon. But before he could act. Sieglinde was already heading over to speak with them. He followed silently and looked to the others. He knew of each of them save for one. He gave one of his charming smiles as he gave a half wave when Sieglinde briefly introduced him.

Jane, he constantly tried to be friendly with because of the rumors of her face. Which he didn’t believe. No one could be that ugly...maybe tristram. But that’s about it. But the girl was super shy and wouldn’t really open up to him. Perhaps that would change with this job!?

Leon was the other he knew of. Mostly in passing. Finn tended to want to work with women of course. So he knew more of the girl in the guild that way. Not that he wasn’t opposed to making friends with everyone in the guild. He just never worked with him personally.

The tall redhead though he never met. She must be new to the guild. The girl looked strong. Notwithstanding the heavy armor and mace at her side. He smiled brightly at her. About to introduce himself when Tristram suddenly spoke up with Leon. Calling Sieglinde and Cassia problem children, acting like the leader of the group. Cassia speaking up saying she’s not a problem child while introducing herself.

Finn chuckled ”Ha! You’re the leader of this group? Doubtful. A leader has class and is charismatic! Like Ms. Sieglinde. ' not one who is always grumpy and hides in trees all day." Sigi was clearly the key leader of the group in his eyes. How the other two gravitated to her. With her diplomatic skills it was hard NOT to see it.

Looking back to the others. Mostly at Maribel as Lean called her.”I’m Finn, If you need anything just let me know! I’m always looking to help out. Be it sparing, jobs or whatever. Especially someone who’s new to the guild!”

Looking to the rest. “I’ve never worked with so many at one time before. This is gonna be awesome!We can swap stories of our adventures around the fire. Then in the morning's I'm making pancakes!” He said as he could hardly contain himself. He began thinking in his head how much stuff he would need to buy for their breakfast...

"No, latecomer: I've been deciding battle strategy for our trio from day one. And yes, glutton, you are until you stop burning a hole in our coffers." he shot back with brutal, unfiltered, almost clubbing simplicity. The chip on Finn's shoulder was only growing, that much was clear, but he felt safe in his ability to handle the little runt once the chips were down. Cassia, on the other hand, was an imminent danger to the rest of their nascent expedition, and for the sake of group morale, he would warn them.

"Good to meet you, Cassia," the cleric replied, nodding to her. "I am Léon Reverdin, a cleric of the Church of Mayon."

"She'll eat your team out of house and home if you aren't careful. Ration wisely." he cut in, looking over the—

"You need not worry about splitting the reward with me, won't be taking payment on this job beyond reimbursement for expenses," he assured her. "I feel it would be unethical for one of the cloth such as myself to accept a reward from the Church for doing my ordained duty."

Knew it. Nice.

"Here are the details of the job posting," he said, offering the paper to the hooded man. "I wish I had a clear picture, but it was rather scant on details, other than that they don't seem to know what sort of danger we might run into. Normally it seems a little unconventional to tackle a job with seven people, but with how little information we've been given on what we'll be up against, it seems wise to step into it with a diverse repertoire of skills."

"Yeah, it's unorthodox." he continued smoothly, hiding the smirk from his voice as the hood did for his face. "But I think we could both use eachother. Me making my living as a Sniper means I'm well-suited to taking to rafters and scouting out ahead, as well as picking off whatever of these unknown dangers we face from afar. Far as you like, honestly. In theory, Reinheart works well in the role too, but he's the type of guy to want to get close with a bow. Don't get it."

Honestly, if you're looking to get hit, you have no concept of warfare. Life and Death is Life and Death.

"But he's good for middle ranges, so the enclosed space should still work in his favor. Cass is a stubbornly independent brawler, but can handle herself well once she gets going. Bit of magic in her— the biggest thing is probably her defensive wards going on our frontline... which she's naturally going to gravitate to. Likes to pressure an opponent. We'll have to be careful of her hotheadedness, though, and if you think she needs help, she probably does even if she says she doesn't. Doubly so when it comes to healing. Do it, and point at me if she whines about it."

She was competitive, which he got after a fashion, but that didn't mean rushing ahead and overextending, then refusing help shared that same understanding. He'd seen guys get killed for being the same way. Too many of them, thinking they were invincible after a battle or two. He wasn't gonna see her die.

"As for Sigi, she's... hm. Pretty deft with fire magic, strong enough to swing that sword of hers around basically all day, and she can dress a wound well enough to make sure nobody bleeds out before someone who can heal gets over to them. Pretty protective. Has a bit of a weird klutzy thing going on with her left side, but it's not manifested an issue in a fight yet— the bigger thing to worry about would be her and the artefacts. Don't want her bumping into anything. Other than that, she's likely to be proper respectful."

His gaze slid over to the storm-haired woman, pleasant smile ever-present upon her face. Since Jane on their end seemed cagey, she'd probably be best suited to pair with her... That, or serve as a rear guard for Leon. Keeping her close to a cleric would be wise.

"Likes to 'big sister' people, though. Real calming influence on the right person, so that might be a workaround if the warmth of being so far south gets to her. She becomes very relaxed. Might be why she holds back more often than not, but it also means she's less likely than the other two to rush on ahead."

He folded his arms, the shadows of his hood directing themselves again towards the very patient cleric that had been audience to his mutterings. Somebody who listened sounded amazing to work with.

"A quick overview, but it's what we bring to the table. I've got a few ideas, but won't presume to wrest leadership of your group away from you— we'll keep it collaborative. And can talk shop in finer detail on the trot to Amaril."

At first, it seemed that the monastery-hunting group would have the easiest time of it, the instructions clearly placing the location of the site north-east of Everett but "sufficiently far" from potential elven habitation that conflict from that angle should be unlikely. The local church was helpful, one of the priestesses of Reon helping to point out the hunter that had come back with an idea of the location, a small bauble of the appropriate age--and absolutely no desire to return to help clean it out himself.

A combination that left the little group situated on a hunting trail, a stiff breeze blowing through the looming trees around them and the occasional sound of distant birds. In all directions, there was nothing to be seen but trees themselves. If there was one blessing, it would be that the branches were far enough above to give a relatively uncluttered view: the gentle rise of the ground as it headed eastwards, a carpet of moss and lichen, and the ever-present abundant of pine.

Somewhere north of their location, there was a monastery.

---

For those on the orc hunt, the journey had been somewhat less peaceful--not that anyone suspected them of being orcs, that was quite impossible, but there existed some military presence on the main road itself, soldiers displaying am extreme lack of interest in their posting and a desire to flag down anyone interesting that passed simply to break the monotony. In the case of a group of adventurers, this meant being asked if they were out to kill the orcs, if they had killed the orcs, and once in a while a soldier suggesting that there were orcs in this area.

So far that had been correct exactly once, and it was a grand total of one orc that seemed about as confused to meet anyone else as the soldier was when he was told there was something there.

Perhaps, then, it was the actual surprising monotony one day that was the biggest clue that something had gone wrong here--not a single glimpse of soldiers for hours, no sound of any wildlife. On a casual glance, this stretch of road didn't hold anything particularly out of the ordinary; like some the bushes seemed to be encroaching closer, but there really should have been some patrols or signs of life by now...

---

Unlike the far more economically-important road to Walverrest--and even then, despite the ease of traversing the river--there was no heavy military presence on the road northwards, the disappearances sparse enough and seemingly unlikely to escalate that no official response had been made. Enquiries at some villages along the way, even though off the beaten track, showed that adventurers had come north, crossed into the dry slopes of the barrens... and then the next few villages, even accounting for the possible forks if you left the main road in this region, had seen only some of them.

Which placed the disappearances somewhere quite close to the border, where the plains around Venne started to give way to more uneven terrain, increasingly hilly if one tried to cut westwards towards Keelgravv, yet highly uneven and full of vales and hills to hide behind and upon.

Either way, it seemed that their predecessors had come at least to this crossroads, forking twice as it headed north. A few scraggly bushes amounted to all the local vegetation beyond the thin grass, and the entirety of animal life not hiding from birds circling overhead amounted to some spiders.

While Jane seemed aghast at the prospect of their little group more than doubling in size, Maribel's smile only seemed to grow across the young paladin's features. How fortunate indeed! They had been looking for at least one more person to fill in their little ranged fighting issue...and while they still lacked a formidable Wand, or any Wand at all actually, they had a rather large array of people and skillsets. Even if they mostly uh steered towards melee combat.

Just meant they could back each other up close a lot more yeah?

The young woman left most of the talking up to Leon, simply content with nodding along eagerly to what was being exchanged between the two groups. Seemed like this other group had been through a fair bit together already for the most part. Veteran adventures meant more she could be taught, so Maribel clasped a hand to her chest and held aloft her beaming smile upon being called upon by Leon.

"The more the merrier right? I don't see an issue, I just hope I don't drag everyone down too much." Her grin barely faded, though she seemed to pause for a moment. Oh right, Leon had mentioned her name, but she should introduce herself properly...er unlike when she had barged in on Jane and Leon. "Maribel Eclipse, I may still only be a trainee from the order of Mayon, but I look forward to learning from you all!"

A brief curtsy followed the girl's equally excitable introduction, her dazzling gaze soon falling upon the shorter half-elf who seemed to be speaking to her. He looked to be around her age, though it was hard to tell with half-elves sometimes.

"A pleasure to meet you, Finn, I'll make certain to take you up on the offer." She greeted his smile with her own, giving something of an awkward salute. With them all together, she was starting to realize how much of a crowd a group of seven was. Though this wasn't too out of the norm for the red-head, was it that uncommon among adventurers to travel in a large group like this? Suppose it would vary from job to job, but wouldn't a larger group mean greater safety? Safety in numbers and whatnot?

"Well, I've never worked with people outside of the church, so I suppose everyone can share in the others firsts together!"
She had already brought everything she had with her, her armor, weapons and whatever supplies the church had given her inside her pack. So she was ready to go whenever the others were.

---

So far, everything had gone smoothly for the group. Having met up with the church of Reon's local chapter, they had been given enough info to find the place through whatever remained inside still seemed to remain a mystery, even to the church. While this was somewhat worrying, it barely even dented Maribel's enthusiasm and optimism about their little adventure.

Especially now that they found themselves in a picturesque scene. A beautiful pine, moss-covered forest untouched by mankind. Truly nothing was more beautiful than mother nature itself. Though so far for most the trip, despite her excitement and announcement of wanting to learn from the others, she had barely talked to them during their trip here. Instead, taking to her own imagination to visualize what may be awaiting them.

Traps? Treasure? Monsters? Some unspeakable, world-ending evil? All the above? Oooh, maybe a dragon!

Maybe none of them, who knew. And that was the most exciting part!

"So, uh, Finn," She had decided he was one of the best to ask on the matter that plagued her mind, walking beside him as they traversed the greenery. "What should I be expecting? Roughly I mean. I'm sure you've explored ruins like this before yeah? From the sounds of, nothing good obviously. Scared that hunter off good and proper and all."

@1Charak2@ghastlyInc@VitaVitaAR

---

This was weird.

Neffy didn't mid silence. She in fact, preferred being alone more often than not unless it was with someone she liked. She also knew how guards tended to work. Patrols and the like. Clandestine nighttime activities often required one to know such things. So she knew several things. There should have been guards, patrols, or something on the road by now. Two, things were eerily quiet. There was absolutely nothing. One might say that was a good thing, but such were words of naive young adventurers. Monotony in an otherwise lively atmosphere meant something was horribly wrong.

But maybe she was overthinking things.

"...Uhm..." Neffy took a quick look around, finally having gotten to feel comfortable enough in the group she was in to not constantly try retreating further into her cloak each second. "...Ah...is it...w-well, shouldn't...patrols occur on roads like this?" Might as well see if it was just her being a little quick to jump to bad conclusions again.

Léon trudged along, hefting his war hammer over his shoulder with one hand and leading a rented pack mule with the other. Long ago, there was probably a road leading to their destination, but today no trace of it remained, and the only way to get the monastery would be to hike through the Amalril Forest. The rough terrain ruled out bringing a wagon or cart, but the beast of burden behind him seemed surefooted enough to traverse the terrain, and strong enough to carry the shovels and other provisions on its back with little fuss.

It's a good thing we have Tristram with us, he thought to himself as he glanced at the seemingly endless trees all around them. Léon knew the basics of reading a map and compass, but it was nothing compared to the skills of a woodsman such as the the perpetually hooded longbowman. It was something he hadn't considered when putting his group together. Nor did he consider that given how long the monastery had been lost, it'd probably be difficult to find even if they had a general idea where it was.

Léon overheard Maribel chatting up Finn, asking about what they'd be in for once they reached the monastery.

"Normally, I'd assume a monastery to be pretty benign, as far as ruins go," he interjected. "They're places where monks and their ilk can live simple, pious lives away from the concerns of the world. But this isn't any ruin- it was one that was lost during the fateful war with the Dark Lord Orodrunn."

"For those who do not know the stories," he continued, now no longer talking directly to Maribel, but addressing everyone, "Orodrunn was a divine servant of the Dark Lord Hidroroth. When his master was slain, Orodrunn took up the mantle of Dark Lord, rallied the remnants of his forces, and began his own dark crusade sought to subjugate the world and all who lived within it. Nations stood united against him, but his power was far too great to be stopped by mere mortal armies. When all seemed lost, the twin goddesses intervened, empowering their champion, the knight known as Saint Lilianna, with the strength to shatter Orodrunn's black sword and strike him down."

"So, to answer your question, sister Maribel, it might be a mundane ruin where the only threat is injuring your back while excavating. Or, it could be that some evil vestige of that dark time is sleeping in the ruin, waiting for someone or something to wake it up."

@Lunarlord34@HereComesTheSnow@Krayzikk@Caasicam@PaulHaynek@Heartfillia

They were off. Jane kept to the back of the group and became as quiet as possible.

The local church pointed them to the right direction, a hunting trail that went through Amalril Forest. And so, the party found themselves in the woods somewhere north and east of Everett. All throughout the trip, Jane was at the rear of the group and never made a sound. She busied herself during the time by admiring the scenery. She would have enjoyed the sights more had there not been a metaphorical specter looming above her head.

They were getting close to the site when they got to the forest but Jane still kept to the back. Strangely to the rest of the party, her armor was not at all a burden to her in the woods. How could it? She had led many expeditions into a forest back in Thaln. From bandit hunting to search parties, Jane was no stranger to tall trees and thick bushes. In fact, being in Amalril Forest reminded her of the woods of Thaln. They were similar, sure, but the ones back in Thaln had a certain identity to it. One that made it distinct from Amalril.

She admired the forest as she reminisced of better days. The times she thought would never end. The other party members appeared busy talking with each other. Good, Jane felt more at ease when she was alone. Felt she could stop being Jane and be Rose again, even for just a few, fleeting moments.

Shir made a more conservative bet, still slowly wrapping her head around the difference in card ranking with this version of the game. Maybe later in the evening she could simply win some money off of the pair. Her elbows rested on the table as she relaxed her posture.

"And what kind of quests do you two usually partake in? I personally try to stick to those that take me out at night, crypts and undead are also likely options."

Her shadow walked around to the other side of the table, making a show of glancing at the cards held by Liliane. Even if she couldn't see what they were, the knife fighters reaction could be very telling.

@Raineh Daze

“I usually ask the locals too…but what if they intentionally point us to some ambush location?” Ifrari expressed his worry, biting his lower lip as he considered whether his paranoia was warranted or not. “Know what, we probably will have to ask around, let’s just be extra cautious of traps, then,” he decided.

The dark elf then watched in wonder as Rex threw the ginormous sword and swung it around with ease – with only one arm. “Whoa,” he couldn’t help but murmur. Obviously, the youth was large and muscular, but he hadn’t really imagined the sheer power he had. “Yeah, that works. You knock them away, and I’ll pick them off with my spear.” Ifrari nodded, grinning. He certainly was more confident about the mission after that demonstration.

The Hundi expressed a concern about morality and Ifrari cocked his head to the side. “Rex, if at any point during the mission you think we’re doing something immoral or questionable, just notify me. I can get too focused on the job, sometimes, so I might not notice,” he confessed. The dark elf wasn’t entirely sure what specific concerns the Hundi had; maybe he was just wary of not helping strangers unrelated to the mission? It could have been something else too though, given how uncomfortable he appeared, which is why Ifrari said what he had.

“Let’s go then,” he confirmed, and the two made their way out of Venne.