Runa blanched as Sharphorn began to throw rocks at the door of the tower, wondering briefly if he had been hit on the head recently. The potential consequences of angering a mage, let alone an entire guild of them, were immense, so why on earth would it have occurred to him to throw things at the door? She opened her mouth to tell him to stop when the door to the tower opened, rendering incapable of any communication beyond a tiny squeak as she darted behind Sharphorn, half expecting a giant ball of fire to roar over them all. The man's voice carried no tone of anger, however, as he simply instructed them to sign the visitor's ledger inside the little building they had passed to arrive at the tower itself.

Runa nodded in response to what Thorgili was saying as the man at the door of the tower stopped speaking, still watching them to make sure that they didn't try any funny business. Especially the part about not wanting to anger the mages in any way. That was something that she could agree with wholeheartedly, and she made sure to give Sharphorn a pointed glare, only for a brief moment, to try and get him to pay special attention to that part. "Shall we go then?" she asked, gesturing in the direction of the building. If they wanted the job, it appeared that that was what they had to do first, not that it was too much of a bother anyway though.

"I apologize for the rocks throwing! But my experience tells me that mages can be extremely dangerous to strangers, didn't want to take the risk and actually approach the door.." said Sharphorn to Remek and showed him some pretty serious scars that he gained in his previous encounters with mages and their magic,
"We actually come in peace and would like a private audience with the guild master" added the minotaur and presented the wine bottle to Remek as a sign of good will.
"I also know that you can scan us and our aura by magic, so you don't really need the bureaucracy of the official security check, if you thought we are dangerous to you, we would already be dead by now!" he continued, Sharphorn finished his speech and smiled.
(please tell me if I need to shoot a "Diplomacy" roll)

"It'll be alright, its just that the protocols exist so that our members need not be selfish with their magic on the basis of security, and can better invest it in the town as a whole. A meeting with the guild master might be possible in time, unless your business is urgent enough. If you don't wish to share your news with anyone but the headmaster, you can write and seal a missive in the privacy of an office in the guildhall." Remek responded, with a welcome nod in regards to the wine. "The examination is standard for most visitors, so don't feel too upset. Offerings are welcome at the guildhall as well, although you can hold onto them until you meet the person you're interested in seeing. Perhaps you'll get lucky and find one of the senior members in there right now. In any case, I wish you a good afternoon."

Unless addressed further, Remek would return whence he came and the nearby archers would visibly relax from positions of readiness.

" See I told yah going to the mages was a bad idea all this bureaucracy and files seems a bit suspicious on my part." Thorgili Said to his companions as the gaurds returned to their posts. "I say we just walk right out of here and go to the docks! At least there those lads dont need us signing nothing or having us wait a year and a half fer us to book a meeting and such." Thorgili suggested as his companions stood there contemplating wht to do next.

So far, this whole visit had been a disaster, or at least that was how Runa felt about it as Sharphorn tried to persuade Remek to let them bypass the typical procedure and Thorgili complained about bureaucracy. Honestly, she didn't quite understand why it was necessary for them to see the guildmaster if they were just offering their services in investigating a strange light. Surely that wasn't really too big a deal for someone else to manage? Deciding to act on her thoughts, albeit after a few moments of hesitation, Runa spoke up. "Excuse me, uh, Mr. Remek, but is the guild lodge the place where we need to go to ask about helping with the, uh, investigation of those lights in the mountains?" she asked,fidgeting a little at the thought of drawing his attention. Again, though she didn't say it out loud, the idea of heading out to sea to search for a missing ship wasn't something that sat well with her. Even if it wasn't because of pirates, getting on a boat wouldn't be a very comfortable experience for her, and she kind of wanted to postpone it for as long as possible.

Sharphorn caught Runa's look and understood her thoughts.
"The guildmaster is a very experienced mage and is familiar with magic for many many years, there is no way he doesn't know what those light dots are, the scouts are sent not so much to investigate as to confirm his suspicions. His knowledge might mean a lot to us." explained the minotaur to his friends quietly.
"But we don't want to catch a fireball with our faces, so lets go to that guildhall and get those security mambo jambo" he continued,
"Runa, please see if you can use your talents to quietly find out more about the issue, maybe a glance on some document or something, but be very careful, mages are very unpredictable and can be dangerous!" he finished his sentence as he started walking towards the hall.

"I'll go through with this shite as long as the pay is good i guess." thorgili grumbled as he folloed sharphorn into the guild hall. when they entered thorgili grudingly took out his pipe and relite the half smoked bowl while mumbling and grumbling about the whole situation.

Runa nodded as Sharphorn explained his reasoning, seeing that there was some wisdom in what he was saying. She couldn't help a small sigh of relief when he decided to stop pressing the issue and head to the guild lodge to go through security, glad that they wouldn't be eating fireballs for dinner. Thorgili, on the other hand, didn't seem so happy with the decision, grumbling something about the pay. Upon entering the little building, she ignored the smoke wafting from Thorgili's pipe, as well as his continued grumbling about the situation, and discreetly cast her gaze around the room to see if there was anything she could pick up from the documents lying around. To be honest, she was a little afraid of the consequences if she got caught, but she would trust Sharphorn's judgment on the matter.
(Please let me know what I need to do from here. :) Thanks!)

The guildhall was a longhouse with several benches pressed up against the walls on either side, under a series of tall narrow windows, behind a few long tables, with a pair of doors and tall cabinets at the far end of the room. A few lightly armored guards with small shields and longswords roamed inside and out, and near the doors at the far end, a couple of unarmored gentlemen behind a small desk off to the left, reading from a few tomes and binders they had retrieved from a couple reinforced small chests stacked behind them. One of them, a relatively nondescript dark-haired blue-eyed human male in a loose fitting gray tunic, brown trousers and boots, looked up as the trio entered. "Hello there, welcome to the Cloak Wood chapter of the Graygaze Arcanist League. How may I help you?" he said as he stepped out from behind the desk to approach and greet them.

"I'm Sharphorn and those are 2 of my best friends" Sharphorn introduced himself and his companions without mentioning his friends names without their permission, but with a big smile on his face.
"We would like to know more about those lights that one of the mages has spotted in the mountains.." he continued straight to the business.

"Well, since information is already leaking out, I suppose there is no harm in telling you that scrying has revealed increased goblinoid activity in the Blackenspire Mountains to the north. Normally fires like the ones they're gathered around would attract a lot of attention, and that concerns us. Patrols are being formed by will of the town council, to search for and warn of any sign of beings passing too close to town for comfort. If you wish to help in this, I can take down your names and interview you for a little bit while my colleague continues to examine you. If that's something you're interested in?" He said and asked, gesturing to the dark blonde half-elven male wearing goggles and looking on from behind the desk.

Thorgili stood up from his grumbling and slowly stomped toward the desk. Putting out his pipe he looked at the desk clerk. "Well I would be interested in you are yer boyo over there staring me down if the pay is good." Thorgili said pointing his head in the direction of the goggle wearing half-elf.

The man didn't seem too intimidated by the minotaur's presence, and willed himself to shake hands with Sharphorn and his two companions.

"Ah, I should have guessed as much. I believe the daily pay will depend on the various skills you can demonstrate going in, with additional pay for the patrols that provide useful intelligence and those that encounter hostile forces out in the field. After we interview you here, you can go to the northern barracks and the training yard in the fields just outside of town, for the purpose of briefing, sparring, target practice, and fitting for any equipment you wish to purchase at discount. Once we take down your identity and skills, we can copy them into a letter and send that with you to members of Cloak Wood's military council and quartermaster", the man answered.

Unless interrupted, the man would continue.

"Well, if you wish to begin, I believe Lethadius is ready to write down whatever you wish to volunteer. A complete profile of your skills and capacities is a first step, that will help you get appropriate compensation for your service in the town's patrols," He said. The half-elf had already opened a leather bound jacket filled with unused parchment and produced an inkwell and writing stylus to begin writing an account of the trio's visit to the guildhall, with a description of each of them and a quick list of the magic implements they wore. "And besides, with this information on hand, the town of Cloak Wood, the Arcanist League, and perhaps even the trading and shipping guilds might find other opportunities for you in the future."

Glad to have things moving along relatively smoothly, Runa paid careful attention to what the man was saying for later use. For instance, the fact that they could receive a discount on equipment sounded quite promising to her and would definitely come in handy later on. Directing them to the half-elf wearing goggles, who had now opened a large book and writing utensils with which to take down their names and a little bit of information, the man continued to explain that the information they provided could result in other jobs with the various groups in the town if they needed something that required their skills. As such, Runa and her companions made sure to provide at least an overview of what they were skilled at. They didn't go into many specifics, but they did give a general description of their abilities.

After the interview concluded and documents were copied, the arcanists bade one of the guards attending the building to lead the trio to the training yards just north of the settlement, and deliver one set of the signed and sealed documents to a member of the military council.

"Thanks for your help. Ask for Jorvan Ru'Cyphus or one of his aides when you get there. He is the one charged with testing and assigning new recruits. If you wish to serve together, just let him know and he will match you up with a few others he thinks will complement your skills." the first arcanist said before they departed.

The training yard was a cleared field just north of Cloak Wood's structural perimeter. Several dozen soldiers, scouts and hunters could be seen sparring with various training weapons and honing their archery skills on straw stuffed targets, set up at various distances between the yard and the edge of the woods further north. Most of those visibly present were human, with smattering of other humanoid races in the mix, most of which consisted of halflings and dwarves. A few elves and a couple of gnomes could also be seen if one took the time to scan the yard.

Under a pavilion tent set up between the town and the training yard, surrounded by a dozen soldiers tending to the supplies that were brought in by and sold from wagons used by the town's various vendors, one of Jorvan's aides briefed one of the newly formed patrols formed of four humans, a halfling and an elf.

Sharphorn was walking very confidently while spinning his morningstar above his head and singing some kind of minotaur battle song..
"This is gonna be fun!" he said to his companions.
He approached the tent and asked for an audience with Jorvan Ru'Cyphus for him and his friends,
"We serve together as one unit." he explained.

A boisterous song drifting on the wind caught the attention of Iraena, who had been sorting some of her supplies in preparation of her next excursion. Her curiosity was stoked a little when she realized that the source was a large minotaur, if only because they weren't a common sight around Cloakwood. It was really only significant to her because she too was sort of the only one of her kind in the city. To the best of her knowledge, there were no other Drow in the area. It was something that she had gotten used to over the years in exile, and it had become progressively easier to deal with as the people of Cloakwood became more receptive of her. In short, the life she had now was comfortable, and it appeared that she and the minotaur had that in common as well.

As she watched, he and his two friends, a Dwarf and a Human, walked up to the pavilion where Jorvan was, which meant that they were probably looking for acceptance from the militia to work jobs and such around the city. Figuring she had wasted enough time, Iraena turned back to her supplies, writing down quantities in a small book so that she had an accurate inventory. Still, the possibility of working together with the group wouldn't be a bad thing, and she couldn't help but think that it might actually be fun to have a group in the patrol, as she had usually gone on solo ventures. Mentally chastising herself for her fancies, she continued on writing in the ledger.

Another one of Jorvan's aides intercepted the trio as they approached the tent, and greeted them with an answer. "Lo' there. I think we can work with that. Come with me to the training yard and I'll introduce you."

Jorvan Ru'Cyphus was a tall, dark, burly man with a short beard, who stood amidst those practicing and being tested. As he was trying to mix and match for the next patrol, his aide waved him down and the soldier from the guild house strode forward to show him the documents. He blinked, as had his aide, upon seeing the minotaur and shook it off to welcome those who approached.

"Well well, nice to have you with us. I don't think there will be many here who will get the best of you.. err.. Sharphorn... just be mindful that sneaking around may be part of the job, so I might suggest getting some camouflaged garb and paint your horns dark," he said, glancing from the documents to each of the trio. "Marksman Thorgili... one thing I'd be concerned about is that using a firearm might be a bit noisy and attract undue attention to you and your patrol. Unless you can somehow muffle it, I will have to suggest you use a bow or perhaps even a repeating crossbow, whatever you are more comfortable with." He then turned to Runa. "You seem to know about keeping a low profile, so I hope you do what you can to see some of that rub off on your companions."

"In any case, feel free to pick up some of the wooden training weapons or work on the firing range, and measure yourselves against the others here. Try not to hurt anyone and perhaps before dinner, my aides and I will have an idea where you stand by comparison and how far afield you could be sent. If you prove yourselves as a unit and suitable for the more adept patrols, your compensation will improve, and you'll be joined with a few others versed in wilderness survival and tracking, as well as providing arcane and divine support."

He sighed, and thanked them. "I suppose that's all for now and if things go smoothly, you might be sent on your way as soon as tonight."

The man the aide took them to see seemed to be a pretty cut-and-dry individual, skipping virtually all pleasantries and getting straight to the heart of the matter. At the same time, however, he didn't criticize them needlessly or with malice, he merely gave them advice on how to better function as a patrol. His advice seemed to be focused only on whether or not an individual could be stealthy, as he spent more time addressing Thorgili and Sharphorn than herself, merely suggesting that she try to impart some of her tendencies to her companions. Once he was finished giving them some advice, however, he suggested that they go practice with some of the weapons and such around the area in order for them to get a better assessment of their skills and see where they stand.

After the meeting was over with, Runa figured that they might as well take his suggestion to practice their skills. "What do you want to start with, Sharphorn?" she asked, looking around that myriad individuals who were busy testing and improving their skills. Most of them were focusing on melee combat at the moment, which wasn't bad. Runa just preferred her bow or throwing daggers to actually being up close to someone with a weapon. There was a lower risk of getting maimed that way.

The training weapons available were mostly blunt wooden replicas of other weapons, and those who practiced often wore padded armor. Those matched up, held their strikes back at the end and gave their weapons just enough contact on their opponent's body to indicate what would have resulted in a wound in an actual combat situation. Meanwhile, the north side of the yard featured the archery range, with stuffed straw targets set at various distances.

Jorvan bade the messenger to take their documents to the pavilion tent, and went back to observing the training, periodically discussing matters with his aides and various individuals who showed promise or needed further instruction. Apparently, even those not selected for a patrol were worth some investment, and would likely be offered work as soldiers and guards. The aide who stood with the trio, suggested that when they participated, that they do so with one of the aides watching to have their results recorded, so they could be better compared.