Paladros. An ancient city that serves as the hub to the uncharted northern continent. Beyond the farms and villages is nothing but uncharted forests, mountains, and who knows what else. Many people have come to find their fortunes or their dooms, and no matter who they all, they all come through Paladros. It's function as a port hub has allowed it to flourish to such an extent that Paladros itself can rival the power of small nations, and itself holds much authority and influence for grander nations across the sea. But just because it's powerful doesn't mean it's perfect.

The nature of man, be they human, elves, dwarves, or otherwise, would ensure even the most purist and kind are susceptible to a kind of corruption. The city has a way of drawing in all sorts of scum and villains who would prey upon the weak and can escape the attention of the strong, and even those with a righteous authority have allowed their own zealotry turn them into the very monsters they fight against. As it is, the city of Paladros has a delicate balance of power that relies on the loose and chaotic structure of daily life to ensure a certain give-and-take balance. Sure, some days a lot of people will die violently, but sometimes that leads to a few years of peace. At least until more people have to die for some petty reason. Better a few than all, right?

Indeed, the larger machinations of Paladros is none of your concern. You, as an individual, will begin your story in Central Paladros. The Last Drop pub is a small dwarven pub owned by a retired adventurer named Gilgan Stoutaxe. He has called for you to come to his pub for a job. The details of the job itself is sparse, but he lets you know that it will be dangerous, but the reward will be worth it. It is mid-morning by the time the adventurers would arrive. Gilgan is manning the bar, and there are only a few other patrons here, most of them looking like typical dock workers here for their breakfast beers.

Go ahead and introduce yourselves.

Today was quite an odd day.

Normally she'd have already picked a tavern or street and set up shop to entertain herself, maybe find a good-looking partner to play with. Today though, something else seemed to require her attention. She wasn't exactly the adventurous sort, at least not the type to go on grand quests. Nay, her skills lay more in tune with the more...romantic and domestic adventures. Yet, she could not deny the fact that her own desires didn't lay in the more dangerous circles. If she was going to ever rebuild her theater, well, she'd need money and some good friends.

Which was why she decided to hear this old dwarf out.

"Now Fera," She'd turn to her animalistic companion, booping her on the nose with a finger. "Try not to cause too much trouble, aye? Don't want to get into trouble before we even get to the fun parts." Hopefully the little wild girl would behave herself as best as she was able too. Making sure that Fera understood on some level, Lei pushed open the door to the tavern, walking inside, a flute strapped to her belt lightly clinking against her side.

"Now this is a fun looking tavern." She walked up to the bar. "I'm surprised I've yet to grace it with my presence." The changeling offered a smile, bowing slightly. "Better fashionably late then not at all, hm? A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Gilgan. Lei Leschk, at your service. I don't suppose this dangerous work involves me entertaining a group of rowdy drunk dwarves, does it?" She said, taking a seat.

It was early in the morning when an armored stranger made his way into the city from the south side. His eyes cautiously looked around for any sign of trouble while the people that passed by him whispered assumptions about the lone stranger but no one dared to ask him of his business. likely afraid to make a slip and gain the stranger's ire. Or more accurately afraid of the crossbow he displayed proudly on his person. Though the most common speculation he heard about him was that they thought he was an outlaw of some sort and that he was to do business in Paladros with the crossbow that hung in its holster.

Though, as the majority of the hushed gossip shared among the common rabble, the whispered speculations were inaccurate for the most part. He was no outlaw. Though they were right about one thing...he was here to do business with the crossbow on his hip.

---

He wasted no time making his way to the tavern where he was supposed to meet his contact. A dwarf named Gilligan. Had a job that needed doing and in exchange, he would give him the information he needed about a vicious killer. An outlaw that cut down one and nineteen more of his friends and comrades who tried to bring him to justice. Hard to imagine that an experienced killer like him was in his early twenties, no? Regardless, the stranger then took a spot at the bar just as a strange woman did the same. All the while introducing herself to Giligan. Might as well introduce himself to his contractor, right? "Howdy, Mr. Giligan. I'm the Ranger you requested for the job."

Fera never stayed far from Lei, she may not be directly next to her shen they walked, in fact, more often than not, she wasn't. She would be wandering around checking things out, sniffing and sneaking around where she probably shouldn't through the stalls on the side of the street, or on top of a low roof, close to people that spark her interest, but she would always at least keep Lei in eyesight and not too far. Lei may even be able to track for by the surprised exclamations of people her companion poked around, but Fera never caused any trouble with her idle curiosity while on their walks, so nothing really happened from it. Most likely because Fera was still trying to keep up with Lei so she didn't have a lot of time to really snoop. When Fera noticed that Lei was heading for a building, she hopped down from the top of a crate she just climbed on, having smelled something interesting, but quickly ignored it when she saw Lei going for the door.

Lei then seemed to turn and lightly touch a finger to Fera's nose. He ears perked up and her eyes widened at it before she looked up to Lei's eyes. "No trouble, yes. I try for sit still," she responded, her tail lightly wagging. 'Sit still' was absolutely the hardest skill to master. Fera didn't know how other people could get by doing such a thing, but she imagined they must be very skilled considering she struggled with it. But if Lei wanted her to, she would try her best. Lei had given her this command multiple times, but every time she commanded this it seemed to always be followed by something terrible, like dunking her in water for some sort of strange 'bath', or having her try on strange restrictive clothes that only ended up getting ruined anyway. Fera much preferred the clothes she found from a previous traveling group. For others they would be fairly reveling and indecent, but for her, they seemed to be very mobile and still provided a little extra warmth and some protection from uncomfortable surfaces, so it was perfect!

Fera, walking upright, or what she was told was the 'proper' way to walk, followed in behind Lei. Instantly she was tested by the strange people that were inside. Oh how dreadful to see something so intriguing and not be allowed to investigate! She instead climbed into a chair next to Lei, and instead of sitting it normally, seemed to sit on her haunches, crouched low on the balls of her feet and her arms straight down in front of her with her hands helping keep balance just in front of her feet. It were as if it were a natural resting position for her while in comparison a regular person may tire or be uncomfortable in such a state for an extended period of time.

To entertain herself, she simply eyed down or took in the scents of anyone and anything of interest for now. The bottles, the smell of alcohol, Giligan, and even the ranger with the interesting looking crossbow, though she wasn't sure what it was, she did want to mess with it. Even his garb was.... odd. Was that supposed to be metal? But it was so thin!? What could be a reason to that?

The city drew Nanaya in with the possibility of more secrets and possibly some decent rum, but she soon found it to almost be a cesspool of disorder. The corruption ran deep and far, reminding her much of the power plays in yuan-ti society. That brought an unpleasant hiss from her when the memories hit. At least this city had emotion to use and see.

She headed down various streets, getting a feel for its layout, before ending up in front of the tavern requesting adventurers. She double checked her ample cloak, adjusting the fur trimmed hood and the veil she wore to hide her features. Stepping in, she was greeted with the usual smells of dwarven pubs, the ale, the sweat, and of course, the various weird materials stuck or placed in beards.

She looked out of place being in noble clothing and with a tailored fur trimmed cloak sporting golden embroidery. Underneath, she had ample jewelry and thin, transparent clothing over a layer of silken garb. However, the look was disrupted by the explorer and traveling gear she wore on and in her backpack. She waded through the crowd, careful to avoid particularly boisterous patrons.

Once at the bar, she settled on a stool beside an odd gruff man and what appeared to be likely an entertainer of some sort. She turned to the barman before speaking, her tone light and warm. "Well, it seems you need a bit of a hand. I'm interested in helping out, assuming I am paid of course. A girl has to eat and sleep, after all."

Gilgan looked at the assorted crew in front of him. Despite being a gruff dwarf, he didn't seem too perturbed. Weirdos were a common sight in the city. He pours everyone a mug of dwarven stout as he speaks to them. "I'll get right to the point. I need y'all to find me daughter, who I believe is with a bunch of gangers over on the Eastern. They've gotten her mixed up with some bastards, mainly drow. I don't know what she's been doing but I want her to come back home. I got 500 gold for this job, and I'll pay the 100 in advance. Bring my daughter back alive and you get the rest of your payment and free drinks from me." Gilgan looked to the crew one more time, as if assessing their strength. He sighed before speaking up again. "Her name is Sandwich Stoutaxe. If anything happened to her that she... Couldn't make it... She ought to have the family axe with her. Hopefully. Bring that back and I'll pay at least 200 for the effort. Ask yer questions if you got any."

The stranger offers the dwarven barkeep a polite bow as he places a single gold piece beside his mug of dwarvish stout beer. He was never one to drink before a job, but he was thankful for the dwarf's generosity. Perhaps after the job is done and over with, the stranger would share a drink with the dwarvish man over the information regarding a certain outlaw. But before that, he only couldn't afford to be sloppy and it was not like he was going to be long in town. "Thank you kindly, Mr. Giligan, but I don't drink before a job. If you got any more information about the gang or whatnot, I'd be mighty grateful." The stranger asked. Going in with the barest information would be tantamount to suicide. He needed to know as much as he could before deciding his next course of action.

"Heh, someone's a bit too straight laced isn't he." Lei reached for the mug of alcohol with a grin towards the gruff looking man that was supposed to be a co-worker for this venture. As Gilgan went to explain their job, Lei took a few swigs of the ale. A daughter missing and caught up with some gangs. That was never a good sign. Either she just got in over her head and the gangs did something to her and forcing her into something, or she was involved willingly and simply didn't want to come home.

Really, not exactly a unique situation. Not something she was going to ask the dwarf about, though. She'd think of something in such a scenario.

"If you keep sighing so heavily Gilgan you'll make even a ghost think twice about messing with you." Best to get started sooner rather than later in a situation like this. The bard turned towards her new companions, running one of the gold coins through her fingers. "This is quite the unusual job for me, though I'm certain my skills will prove fairly useful." Standing up from her seat, the bard playfully grinned at the other two gathered as she held out a hand towards the ranger. "Lei, bard by trade at your service. The adorable thing sitting next to me is Fera. She's a roommate of mine, of sorts."

Gilgan wordlessly takes the gold coin and gives back nine silver pieces and three coppers. A nearby sign showed that a mug Dwarven Stout was worth 7 coppers. "Information huh. Wish I had some information myself. I can only assume drow because a few days ago found one snooping in my tavern, inside my daughter's bedroom. I thrashed him about and question him about my daughter but he was tight lipped. Kept saying how she was 'part of them now' and other shit like that." You could hear the anger rising in Gilgan's voice. He was barely containing it in front of you all as he poured himself a drink to calm down. "After I snapped his neck all I found on him was a knife, his coin purse, and a couple of trinkets. In particular this coin." Gilgan slides over a strange white-and-red coin. It seemed to be made of some sort of wood and it had the image of a spider on one side. "Some sort of game chip. That's how I know she must be in the Eastern because that's where all the gambling halls are at. I don't know what hall uses this chip specifically but I bet it's drow. Damn darkies are always going on about their spider queens."

Fera had predictably already grown tired of sitting still. Her eyes wandering around the room as a few people milled in and out of the place. Absentmindedly, her claws on her toes and fingers dug into the wood of the chair she was squatting in like a kneading feline, leaving deep scratches into the wood. Soon, however, something interesting showed up into the tavern. There was a woman, which alone wasn't a big deal, however this one was unlike any the wildling had ever seen before.

If someone were to take their eyes off her for a moment that would have missed her. Fera hunkered down and crawled around, circling behind Nanaya to pick up her scent and slowly creep forward to get a better sense of the strange newcomer. This one had... *scales*? The scent was female, and it certainly looked the part. She even had Shinies on! If found out, she would simply sit down as calmly as she could manage until the focus was no longer on her.If Lei were to turn to her friend, she would notice that she was indeed gone from her seat and seemed like she was stalking the woman who just came through the door. Which only made sense, compared to the others in this town, she was quite.... exotic.

Giligan may not have seen the stranger's face through the helmet but he was sure that underneath the helm, the lawman was smiling at the barkeep when he described how he dealt with the intruder. The dwarf had a no-nonsense attitude towards outlaws. He respected that. He then goes to take a look at the round thing he slid towards him and the others to see. He recognized it to be a poker chip. Like the ones used in more organized establishments for gambling back West. But other than that fact, he had little else to share. It was around this time that he realized that the strange woman had introduced herself and her companion to him and the scaled woman that was seated in between them. Not wanting to be ruder than he was by not paying her any mind, the stranger uses a gloved hand to slightly raise the brim of his helmet up and down as if he were greeting someone with a wide-brimmed hat. "Howdy, Ms. Lei, Ms. Fera. I'm a lawman from a place West called Arizona. Doubt you've heard of it, though."

"Unfortunately you're correct." Lei replied to the ranger, still wearing a smile though pulling her hand back with a small click of her tongue. "But I'd love to hear tales of this mysterious land over a mug of ale at some point. Maybe I can tell you a bit about this sordid den of scum we call Paladros at some point, hm?"

Electing to remain standing, Lei snatched up the chip before the others could get their hands on it.

The chip Gilgan presented them with was good for a lead if nothing else. While its overall appearance in and of itself didn't seem too interesting, a few subtleties on it was as much of a clue as any. It was made of cheap plywood, and the paint seemed to be the only thing keeping it together. The only thing that was a bit helpful, was that the spider image on it wasn't perfectly centered. It leaned somewhat towards the left side.

Well, that was of good as a lead as any. Now they just had to find where this came from.

"Well, that chip is as good of a lead as any." Lei mused quietly. "Most Drow gambling halls are in the deeper parts of eastern. Hard to tell which specific one this came from, though since spiders are a fairly common sight with the Drow. Biggest tell I can say is that the motif is a little to the left, instead of perfectly centered." Granted, there was the chance this was simply a one-off error in construction, but that was unlikely. "We could likely trace this chip back to a specific den and go from there...though, it might take some time. There would be a lot of dens to go through." She turned back to Gilgan. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, care to give a short description of your daughter?"

Thankfully for Fera, it seemed like Lei was more focused on the job at hand then wrangling in her roommate.

As much as it seemed Nanaya wasn't paying attention to Fera, she was keeping her peripherals on the curious girl. She listened to the conversations and explanations being casually thrown about before starting to speak again. "Compared to some I have encountered, the drow tend to have a much better sense of decorum. Speaking our way in is entirely a possibility. Once in, though, any wrong move will result in deceit, poison, and murder. Any men in our group will be treated as inferior, so it is best to let us women do the talking and leading. My time in the courts proved all of those points quite frequently." She placed one hand on her lap, leaving the other sneakily down perfectly for Fera to be able to sniff at length.

The other exotic creature piqued her interest in a way the normal people around her did not. She was hopeful for kinship in her life and this seemed the most likely to become one. This was especially true if Fera encountered much resistance or prejudice from other, more normal, people. "I know little of the city as of yet. I haven't even gotten close to the nobility to enough secrets and rumors to be of use to us. If it is to save your daughter, I am quite willing to play a little dirty, though."

"Sandwich, or Sandy, is just a lil bit taller than me. Skinnier too. Darkskin, white hair, red eyes. Though chances are you won't see any of that underneath her armor. She was trained by the Starforge, so if you see something that looks like a star or sun it's likely her. And of course she'll have the Stoutaxe. It's a battleaxe with a thick handle and a hammer head on the opposite of the blade." Gilgan described his daughter as he took out the coins. "Here's the advance payment. You take this money and I expect results. If I find out that you're just going to take my coin and leave the job high and dry I'll toss your remains into the sewers like I did that drow." Gilgan stacks ten sets of ten gold coins on the bar, adding up to a total of 100 GP to divide among yourselves. "If you're going to go looking around the Eastern, you could probably get a good lead with the criers. They're the folks who advertise their dens and acts, might be one of them who recognizes the token. But the important thing is finding me daughter and the gang who took her. Some of the beggars and urchins around town might've seen em, if you can get them to talk. They're more likely to be in the know when it comes to shady shit like drow"

"That would be nice, Ms. Lei." He replies with a polite tone before he paid more attention to the information shared by the bard and the scaled woman that sat in between them. Nodding his head quietly in understanding. Let the women talk when they locate the den and hold off the violence until they are sure they've secured the girl. Giligan would then go answer Lei's question regarding the girl's appearance. Rather a strange appearance for a dwarf...if Sandy was a dwarf. The girl was trained in the starforge and is wearing armor has a sun or star motif. The family axe was a cross between a proper battleaxe and a warhammer by the barkeep's description, meaning it was one of a kind and a giveaway to Sandy.

The stranger had stood up and was about to turn away when Giligan began laying down gold coins and explaining that it was an advance payment, followed by the explanation of the effect of screwing him over and where would be the best place to gather info from. "I don't need my share." He announced. He wasn't here for the money, of course. He was here for information. And it seemed that he wouldn't be getting any of it until the job is done.

No matter. He was a patient man.

---

The ranger from Arizona towered over the cowering man. He hadn't laid a finger on the man but he was considering it. The crier was wearing his patience thin. "I'll only say it one more time." He shows the cowering man the chip once again. "Which den uses this chip?" The crier got up and dusted himself off, before glancing side to side and speaking. "Whoa whoa, calm down. I'm just trying to do my job here. That chip looks fake as fuck. A real poker chip is supposed to have ridges, made of copper or some sort of metal. The spider should be carved too, not painted. Anyways that looks like it's from the Daughters of Chaos. They're a Cult Casino underneath the old bell tower. They're dangerous and the Daughters can even gamble with your very soul, but you can win power from them if you can survive their games. Which is probably why they have so many fanatics in their ranks. Watch yourself down there." Satisfied with the answer, the man stepped back from the crier and tossed him 10 gold pieces. "This conversation never happened, understood?" The crier nodded vigorously as the ranger walked back to his companions to share the information he had gathered.

Fera slowly crept up, thinking she was successful at sneaking up on the strange person. When she saw a hand come down, she saw it as the perfect opportunity to learn this person's scent, sniffing at her a few times. She was right in thinking that the person was like anything she had seen before. She had a very unique scent, many of which she did not recognize. This wasn't as much of a surprise being that she had never seen something like her before, but it was still interesting enough that she sniffed at her a few more times to memorize the scents for later. Fera wondered if the strange patches of scales on the woman offered a tougher hide, but left it at something interesting to look at. What caught her eye next was a crossbow, something like what the other man had except smaller. She couldn't help the temptation to reach for it when she heard the coins hit the table.

Shinies?

Fera perked up suddenly and hopped around the table back to a perched position in her chair. Aside from the shinies, there was also a tankard. Fera waa a bit on the thirsty side so she leaned in to look at it. she gave an experimental whiff and slightly wrinkled her nose at it. Upon seeing Lei drink it though, she thought to give it a try. Watching Lei's and other patrons' motions as an example on how to deal with a tankard, she took the tankard in both hands and tipped it to her mouth.

As soon as the liquid touched her tongue, her eyes screwed shut and a gagging sound was heard as her hands flailed to toss the despicable and vile tankard away, a wooden echo sounding out on the floor as it dropped to the ground, spilling its contents. Fera shook her head violently as if she were trying to fling the taste off of her tongue. She hopped away from the table and scrambled to an unoccupied corner. "Fweh! Pleh! Lei! No drink! Is bad!" she called, a slight whining sound in her voice. Uhg, now the taste was lingering...

Nanaya took two and a half stacks of the coins and slid them over in front of her. She refrained from putting them in her pouch yet. She made a small little coo as an interesting idea hit her. "You have any bottles of rum? I will gladly offer part of my share now and after the job to get my hands on a bottle now and one after the job." She was dead serious. She hadn't had any good rum in almost a week and was thirsty for some. She also had little in the way of money needs given her reliance upon magic and natural armor.

She ran her fingers up one of the coin stacks like a fidgety card player as she waited for the barman's response. She was very obviously itching to get it and then go do the job, but only her body language gave any sort of hint at her intentions. The veil did its job of keeping her more serpentine features hidden. Her head snapped over to Fera when she choked on the ale and made a bit of a scene. "Oh dear, first time drinking ale, honey? The little burn gets you, but once you get used to it, you can appreciate the flavors of other drinks."

Now why someone would turn down perfectly good coin, Lei didn't know. Even if he was just here for information, money was money. Well, if he wasn't going to want his share then...she reached for her share of money, at the same time slowly using the racket Lei was making to palm the rangers share while Nanaya wasn't looking.

Now, why was Fera making that racket?

"...pfft, ahaha." Lei couldn't help but to laugh at the feral girls reaction to the alcohol. She walked over, giving Fera a friendly hug, holding her face fairly close to her chest as she vigorously rubbed her head. "Next time ask me before you go eating something." She'd have probably told her it tasted like strawberries or something for giggles anyways, but still. She released Fera from the hug and glanced back towards Gilgan.

"Ah, you know...Gilgan. Fera here may be able to track your daughter by scent. If you have something of hers, like an article of clothing or some such..." She glanced to Nanaya. "Coming with? Or going to head off like our mysteriously cloaked ranger friend?"

Gilgan just watched the crew's antics with apathetic disinterest. "Oi. If you're going to puke in my bar, at least do it outside." He signs as he cleans up the mess. Afterwards he looks to Nanaya. "Rum? Yeah I have a few bottles. A good brand will cost you five gold. We have the Forgeheart, a dwarven favorite. Doubles as a firebomb and burns like a fireball. We also have a Blackrose Rum, popular among tieflings and pirates. Named after Kallindrissa Blackrose, a legendary pirate and drunkard. If you want something real magic though, for fifty gold we have Siegbrau. A magic rum from an ancient knight strong enough that even the undead can taste it. Said to have healing properties and helps keep you warm." Gilgan showed Nanaya a menu as he looked towards Lei.

"Yeah I have some old laundry before she left." Gilgan leaves for a short few moments before coming back with a bundle of Sandwich's old clothing. A shirt, pair of pants, and two white socks. "This is all that was left in her hamper. I meant to wash it a few days ago but that's when I found the drow and completely forgot about it. Oh right, if you need a place to stay, I don't mind letting one of you staying in the guest room upstairs. It's not much though. Just a bed and a window. And only if you're making progress finding my daughter." Gilgan said before some customers arrived, forcing Gilgan to focus on his actual job.

The Arizona ranger would return sometime later and rely the information he received. It would be then that Gilgan would try and call him aside to explain something. "Take the money or don't, I know you're looking for information about your mark. But let me explain to you that if you plan on operating in this town frequently, you're going to have to hide your cards a bit better. You could ask anyone in this town for information and they'll feed you whatever cal they need to to make a quick buck off your kit. The man you're looking for is well aware that there are people after him, and he's got goons on the street to watch out for him. If you go off on some zealous crusade don't be surprised if you're get jumped and tricked at every corner. What I'm saying is, going forward you might wanna be more mercenary. If bad folks realize what you're after they're not going to cower, they're going to lure you into a trap." Gilgan sighs quietly as he pours himself a drink. "That's probably how those drow bastards got my daughter too. Off wanting to fight a good fight, and them bastards certainly lead her to something dangerous."

"Is gross. Not good. Can not be," she said matter of factly about the brewed beverage. It didn't make her sick, but she gave the liquid a wide berth as Gilgan cleaned it up, and she wasn't too keen on messing with the tankards any more either. When Lei told her she should just ask next time she nodded her understanding, which was usually a god sign of her noting it down.... or going in one ear and out the other, it was about fifty fifty.

Fera looked at Lei inquisitively when she heard a command word used in her conversation, "Track? Fera can do! Track fun, is like hunt!" She waited semi-patiently as the barkeep went to get something for her to track. A few moments later he returned with a hamper of the girl's worn clothing. and set it down. Fera looked to Lei to see if this was indeed what she wanted her to track. Once acknowledged, a big smile would crack across her face as she leaned over the hamper to sniff few times. Soon after that. however, she buried her head into the pile of clothes. Not only did she get a good scent of the girl, but she tried to note any other major scents as well. Once reason she dove her head into the hamper was also trying to rub the scent into her hair so she can take it with her in case she lost the item she had to track her with. After applying the scent to her, she nipped at a sock and pulled it from the hamper, it having the strongest scent of the girl on it. She backed away from the hamper, testing the scent in the air and then moving to the door, looking back to the others. Even with Fera tracking at the same time, Lei and soon Nanaya would see how fast she could truly track and stalk her prey. needless to say it was probably a little unnerving.