Quest 1
Reclaim the Trade Festival Grounds
Chapter 1 - A Joint Venture
Part 1 - Eastern Gate (6:00 A.M. - 6:30 A.M.)
The snow and frost of winter had not completely melted away by the time much of the guild’s staff had gathered at the hall to pick up whatever they needed before descending upon the village’s easter entrance as a group, a bracing chill greeting them as the sun seemed to just barely begin its climb.
Rowan had met the day with his usual brand of irritable lethargy, the kind that only slightly subsided after a mug of coffee from downstairs. His was the first footsteps within the main hall, setting aside the coffee pot to boil before making final preparations with those that were due to arrive. Normal guild operations would commence for the day in an hour or so.
But for now, everyone’s effort was directed to prepping for this quest. Nearby cluckadoodles were still vehemently ushering forth the beginning of the day by the time he and a sizable band of workers took to the village’s stone paths. All were carrying something, from wheelbarrows of useful items like rope and tent-making materials, to bundles full of provisions and other useful items, consumable or otherwise.
In a matter of moments the the site became quite the hive of activity, with a number of people guiding in a large, buffaloo-drawn wagon down to meet them there. Able to carry most of the shared supplies along with up to four people not including the coachman, renting this covered was a good call if Rowan did say so himself, a slight smirk about him until he saw who had hitched a ride on it.
“
Hi Rowan!” exclaimed an excited Vivian from the back entrance of the carriage once the man came around from the side. “
Great day for a hunt isn’t it?”
The man, although not fazed by her outburst, was nevertheless fairly perplexed to see her. “
I don’t remember calling you here this early,” he said with a raise of his eyebrow, to which she smiled widely.
“
Oh, that’s okay. You didn’t have to. I knew you were renting a wagon from nearby, so when I found out where it was I woke up early to see it myself. There was no way I could help myself when it came to this big guy!” she exclaimed as she turned around and leapt off the front of the wagon and onto the back of the burly beast to give it a hug. If it was almost anyone else, Rowan would have stopped them. But the buffaloo didn’t even raise a foot in protest, but rather lightly shook its head as it grunted at a nearby guild member to feed it more grass.
In no time at all, the eager half-elf dismounted off the beast of burden and stood looking up to a waiting Rowan. “
Well that, and I really wanted to see everyone off,” she admitted more calmly, but no less earnestly, the guildmaster smirking at her in return.
It was the day of this grand hunt Rowan, The Guildmaster had organized with his Adventurer’s guild. The town guard as agreed upon yesterday, assembled a crew lead by Mercedes. It was a team of six herself included that showed. At their side was a team of Horse lizards acting as their mounts. The creatures were reptiles capable of a semi-bipedal stance and grasping claws for their forelimbs.
“Good Morning,” The woman said to Rowan, “I take it we’re still waiting on the others to arrive?” She would answer his response and then focus on her teammates. Although they were all dressed identically, as expected of a group like them, each one of them was bring along different weapons and various tools in their packs.
“Hey boss, should we show off our gear for tracking the critters down to the guildmaster? Might be useful if he wants us to pair with the adventurers.”
“Not a bad idea.” She replied. She would then call over for his attention and tell him about her comrade’s suggestion.
Upon seeing the guards draw closer, Rowan simply nodded and rose his hand in affirmation to the squad’s leader, his eyes darting around to the steadily growing assembly and noticing that there were still a fair number of hunters yet to arrive. While he was telling the woman as much, Vivian’s attention would immediately be drawn to her men’s reptilian steeds, a somewhat cautious approach as she gingerly neared one.
“
A means of seeking out monsters…” he repeated as his arms folded in preparation of looking this gear of theirs further, though his eye did linger in following the small girl in her curious examination of these formidable looking mounts. “
Seems to me that in a mission like this, the kind of monster that needs dealing with are the sort that will make themselves easy to find. When our job is done, any monsters left will be easily taken care of by the security forces hired for the festival. That said, if you truly believe this gear of yours will make a difference, then go ahead and show me or the hunters when enough have arrived. They are the ones accompanying you after all.”
The reasoning regarding the breeding and discipline behind service animals however vicious in appearance for an outfit as honorable as the guard was lost to an extent on the young half-elf, but in no time her hand would be gently brushing along the rough hide along the side of one of the creatures, a giddy smile growing on her face before she looked in Mercedes’ direction. “
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like these before! What do you call them!?” she asked as she returned to petting it, as though observing what area seemed to relax the creature more. “
Wow, these scales are so pretty,” she said to herself, admiring it up close.
“They’re called Horselizards.” The woman replied to the girl. “They’re not that mean tempered despite their appearance. They like to have their necks scratched.” She then made her way to Rowan and listened to what he said. He was skeptical to say the least.
“True enough, we’ll show the other hunters what we have.” She said to Rowan. She then continued, “The issue here is the ones who are currently hidden or are ambushers. Those ones are more dangerous than the monsters that merely wander and attack. Furthermore, the tools are not just focused on tracking monsters but also for reading any magical disturbance which should be useful for finding the root cause of the monster surge.”
Having said that, she then regrouped with her fellow guardsmen. They spent their time idly chattering as well as inspecting everything they had meticulously. There was a brief discussion over tactics, but it was agreed that it would be better to bring that up with the others once they arrive. After all, this was supposed to be a collaborative effort and it would be best to wait and then discuss it.
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