It was another beautiful spring afternoon in Kado village. The sun's warm rays were tempered by a crisp, cool breeze from the north, and the wildlife in the woods was as plentiful as ever, if not more so this year. The sound of songbirds resonated with the cacophony of laughing children, and it seemed as though this assorted cluster of random travelers would finally be granted the peaceful bastion that they wanted. However, they were all blissfully unaware of the forces that were currently vying for their destiny...

As usual, Garoth found the Guardian Headquarters as peaceful as any other place in this village. A pair of people who had sworn to protect this place were currently matching wits with one another in a game of chess, on a board that Garoth himself had made for them. It seemed as though this was a heated match, as the two combatants had acquired a few onlookers each. And, judging by the jug of Kelrod's Famous Apple Cider sitting in the middle of the table, there were some pretty high stakes involved. It would be a shame to interrupt such a tense game; Garoth's report was important, but it was not urgent. Garoth was not much of a chess player, but he could see the tide was turning by the slight fluctuations in the players' expressions. Kelrod, though he was putting on a tough face, could not hide the beads of sweat developing on his brow, while Mia's aloof expression revealed nothing of her shrewdness, but said quite clearly that she was not the least bit worried about losing. It wouldn't be much longer now.

"Checkmate!" Mia declared as her queen vanquished Kelrod's last knight, leaving the king with nothing else to protect it from her masterfully crafted offense. Kelrod threw his head back and let out a groan of defeat, while Mia grabbed the jug and took a victory swig of cider. "Hey, don't feel too bad. I'm sure you'll beat me one of these days. Until then, keep that cider flowing!" Then, with a wave and a laugh she was off, leaving the vanquished warrior to lick his wounds.

This seemed like the perfect time to give his report, but first there was something that was bothering Garoth. He walked over to Kelrod and gave him a consoling pat on the back, but couldn't help rubbing a bit of salt in the wound when he asked, "So, what did she bet anyway?"

"What does it matter," Kelrod said dejectedly. "I didn't win it."

That just fueled Garoth's curiosity even further, but he could tell that the direct approach wouldn't work. So, instead, he said with a smirk, "I understand if you're not in the mood to talk about it. I'll just ask Mia and--"

"Now hold on!" Kelrod interrupted. "You know as well as I do how she likes to embellish her stories. She'll make it seem like I was desperate."

"Oh? Desperate for what?" Checkmate.

"Gah, fine. I bet her a jug of cider, and she bet me a date." Kelrod, couldn't help but blush a bit as he practically whispered the last part. "But keep it quiet, okay? They all think she bet a few Service Slips."

"Don't worry," Garoth said reassuringly. "I'll tell anyone who asks." Kelrod was about to object, but before her could, Garoth called for everyone's attention. "Alright, I found something weird this morning, so I think it's important if everyone present listened." Fortunately, the chess match had drawn a decent portion of the Guardians into the room, so the news would spread quickly. Furthermore, Garoth rarely made such announcements, so when he spoke, people listened. As soon as he had their attention he continued. "I was out doing a patrol this morning, and I found several trees knock over. I'm not sure what caused it, but seeing as there were no major storm, I don't think it was natural. There was a deep groove in the dirt like something had slithered through, but it was too big to be any snake that I am aware of. Finally, I found this..." He reached into his pocked and pulled out a flat black stone that seemed to be shaped like a scale of some kind. "This was stuck in one of the fallen trees. I don't want to alarm the villagers, but I feel it's best if we urge the other villagers to stay close until we figure out exactly what caused this."

The room became filled with silence, as if everybody was waiting for some answer that wasn't there. They had dealt with bears and rogue wolves before, but this was something on a whole other level, something... terrifying. Garoth nodded in conclusion, and the others went about informing the villagers of the news, but Garoth still wished he hadn't had to kill the mood.

Kawaru was standing in a large crowd, watching a heated game of chess go on between Kelrod and Mia. Kelrod had been playing skillfully, with a defensive strategy that Kawaru himself liked to mimic when he dabbled in the game of wits. However Mia was a juggernaut, willing to sacrifice her own pieces to achieve small gains. At first it seemed reckless, almost without thought, then suddenly Mia had the obvious upper hand. Victory came swift for her, almost as swift as the look of defeat that appeared on Kelrod's face. Kawaru joined the crowd in a whoop for Mia's victory. He was about to sit down and ask Kelrod if he was in the mood for another game when Garoth called for the rooms attention. Even though Kawaru was a few yeas older than Garoth he respected him more than most, and was honored to know such a fine man.

What Kawaru heard stunned him. Had the gods finally set their sights on the village, or was this some unknown threat? Either way it did not seem good. He had heard stories of the terrible creatures that the gods were capable of dreaming up, and it took dozens of well armed men to take them down. The village barely had enough arms to supply the Guardians, let alone form a militia with the townsfolk. No. Kawaru visibly shook his head to chase away the doubts. The Guardians could handle this, together.

"Such a long day," Sharnid mumbles while raising his hands above his head for a good stretch. His muscles ached from the stress of the day just like they always seem to. The knots in his back seemed to reform from the previous day only to be gone the next morning. Despite his obvious strength a hard days work can still get the best of him, the only thing that seemed to take his mind away from the soreness was singing or humming a tune. That was his daily routine, wake up, work, then make music. Whether verbally or vocally, it was the only way for Sharnid to get through his boring, meaningless existence in Koda Village.

After he had finished stretching out and putting all of his work equipment away. He decided to go on his usual walk to Bluestone Creek, where he normally would go for relaxation after a long day. It was somewhere quiet and away from people where he could go to practice or just to get some distance from the town. Just thinking about the soothing melody of the river set Sharnid's mind at ease and he fell into humming his favorite song. A song his father had taught him, long, long ago. As he hummed he could feel the knots in his back loosen and his vitality come back slowly. He knew this euphoria was only temporary, but it made the walk easier and faster. Not much else seemed to matter at the time.

Haze tumbled over the rooftops, his path through the village paved outright in slate and timber. The metaphorical and physical weight of a precious object tugged limply on his side pouch with each footstep - bizzare prism a reminder of his day's work.

It was one of the stranger deliveries of that month - a shining structure of glass, destined for the tabletop of some scientist. Regardless of its destination however, Haze knew only one solid thing about the prism - that his reputation depended on it.

Those months of small jobs and quick deliveries had slowly generated a reputation - a reputation that could easily be lost with just a single moment of shattered glass. If that prism broke, then he would have failed his first ever assignment... The golden reputation that he had honed would merely fade away, as the populace decided that they had been wrong in placing so much faith in him.

Haze continued across the rooftops, his scarf trailing behind him like a lacklustre afterimage.

He had to be nimble and efficient, but most of all, he had to be wary...

There was a deceptive calm in the room. The Guardians were too proud to let anybody see that the news had put them on edge, but the joking and friendly insults that usually filled the headquarters were absent Garoth himself was uncertain. The stories he heard told of entire armies of minions and powerful beasts that could set entire forests ablaze. One monster wouldn't be enough to put their home in any real danger. What unsettled him was the prospect of what would come afterwards. Still, all he could do now was spread the news and wait until the scouts came back with something more conclusive.

He saw one of his fellow Guardians, Kawaru, shake his head, as if clearing his mind of something. Even so, the man didn't appear to be shaken, so perhaps there was nothing for him to worry about. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Garoth asked, approaching Kawaru. The werewolf was more experienced than him in the Guardians, and he was also a smart man that designed and built many of the buildings in the village. Garoth was confident that he could take most people in a fight, but he would think twice before challenging Kawaru. He didn't want to make it seem like he was worried, but getting the opinion of a reputable man like him might put his mind at ease.

Nonna emerged from another room, having just finished cooking for the lot. It was less glamorous than cooking at the inn, what with the need for quantity over quality, but she still tried her best. It wouldn't do anyone good to have a bunch of grumpy people protecting everything that was dear to you. "Hey you lot, it's chow tim... What's with the long faces?" she asked, still shouting. Then she noticed two senior guardians apparently discussing the matter over something that looked like a scale. She has seen her share of scales, every month in fact.

Silently walking over to the duo, she took a closer look. "Uh-uh, not one of mine." she said with an angelic smile. Oy, did she cause ruckus when she first arrived. "You still have about a week until that time of the month." she joked. It was true though: Her powers were rising with every night. Soon she'd have to venture out of the village again, and the fact that something scaly and big enough to knock trees over was out there didn't really calm her down. At least she had happy customers for now - her magic found it'S way into everything she did, and the dishes she prepared close to full moon were to die for.

"No, nor have I heard any stories of things like this. Perhaps its not the works of the gods yet. Perhaps just another creature that has been displaced because of their meddling." Kawaru looked down at the scale. It was flawless, not a singe scratch to mar its slick surface. It didn't appear to be sharp, meaning that the only way it could have been embedded into the tree was by the sheer speed that the creature was moving, or by its massive girth. "Either way I agree that its a safe idea to make sure the villagers stay close, hopefully the scouts return soon with some news."

Kawaru had just finished speaking when a cry rang through the hall. "Hey you lot, it's chow tim... What's with the long faces?" He recognized the call as the voice of Nonna, the cook. Kawaru looked up to see the young lady approach him and Garoth. She had only recently joined the Guardians, and Kawaru could still remember the night that the village became acutely aware what powers she possessed. No harm was done though, and it sure kept his father busy for a while. She proved herself loyal to the town, and more importantly she was a AMAZING cook. Kawaru clasped the pair on their shoulders, "Well there is no use fretting over all this on an empty stomach, and I am sure at this time of the month the food will be something special!", he began to lead the two towards the mess hall.