I wake up in the morning to the sun again, get dressed, put my equipment on, and head down to get our new task. Today Elys makes it down at the same time as Varris and Calliope arrive. Once we're all here I approach a receptionist and let them know we're ready for our new task. The receptionist goes and fetches Garm and returns.
"Alright, so your next assignment is going to require you to do some camping. You're going to be clearing out a goblin nest in a forest a little ways outside the capitol. They've been raiding nearby farmlands, and your party should be able to take care of it. In all likelihood, there might be a goblin Shaman among them though, so be aware of that." Garm explains, "Further, if you'll follow me, I've already prepared basic camping supplies for you."
"Aren't goblin shamans normally only found further out in demon lands?" Elys asks as we follow Garm.
"Yes, normally they are, but given the growing power of the demons, I can't rule it out. Even though they can cast magic, its fairly weak magic, so if you should be fine unless you try to fight all the goblins at once. I recommend picking some off at first, and get used to fighting them." Garm says as he opens to the door to a storage area.
"Alright, here's the basics for you. I've got 4 packs here with sleeping rolls and food for 3 days, and water skins, although you'll need to find a source of water while you're there. Likely you'll want to scavenge or hunt as well, as you'll probably be out for more than 3 days, so consider the food rations to eat in an emergency." Garm explains, "I've also taken the liberty of filling Varris's pack with a few extra items like a pot and pan, and a few other goodies for your party."
"Its about a day and a half travel to your destination, so I'd advise setting out by this afternoon, if you have anything to take care of in town before you leave, you've got a bit of time. I'd also recommending eating a meal before you go. With that, I've got things to take care of, but I wish you the best of luck." Garm finishes as he moves passed us out of the room.
Varris walks up to the bigger pack and heaves it up onto his back. After he does, each of us goes up to one of the smaller packs and try them on. Its slightly heavy, but not so much that I couldn't walk with it all day. I have a feeling I'm the only one not used to this though, as the others seem to naturally handle their bags. As we head out of the room, the receptionist who got Garm earlier waves us over to hand us the actual document describing that we are supposed to wipe out a goblin nest in a forest to the north-east of the city. Proof will be provided by goblin ears, and verified later by the absence or reduction of goblin attacks. With the brief description, she also hands us a sealable leather bag for the ears to help prevent the smell from leaking.
We thank her for her help, and then I turn to the group, "Well, Garm said we should eat before heading out, I'll probably eat something here, what do you think about meeting up at the gate in two hours?"
"Can we make it three hours?" Calliope asks, "I'd like to tell my family where we're going."
"I'd like to tell mine too." Varris chimes in.
"Yeah, sorry, we can leave a bit later. I sometimes forget that both of your families live here in the city." I reply.
"Thanks, so three hours?" Calliope says.
"Yup, three hours, this gate." I say pointing to the map we were given.
Varris and Calliope then head out with their backpacks for the trip, and I take mine over to a table, and decide I should look through its contents before we leave. I take the sleeping roll off the top and open the pack.
Just like Garm said, there are three individually wrapped sets of hard tack, large enough to probably be food for a day, alongside a large waterskin that can hold a few liters of water. I also put the leather sealable bag into the backpack for now. Elys has sat down at the table as well and is looking through her bag.
I look over at Elys, "Hey Elys, I'm going to head to my room quick and pack a cloak and some other extra clothes for the trip. I'll be right back."
"Oh, that's a good idea." She responds and she hurriedly starts repacking her back to do the same. I get a little worried by how frantically she's packing her stuff in.
"Hey, no rush, and make sure whatever you pack is light enough to carry easily." I say in an attempt to avert a potential catastrophe. She slows down a bit, and makes sure all her things are packed.
After I've packed a sufficient amount of extra clothes, I head down and start eating, and Elys joins me shortly later.
I eye up her backpack, and if I was going to say, it looks like she maybe over-packed, but I'm not going to mention it. I think she'll likely figure it out on her own, and its better to learn from experience now, than suffer the consequences on a more dangerous mission.
After we eat, and verify our equipment is all prepared, we meet up with Varris and Calliope at the gate and start on our short adventure.