Roberdyck, the cleric of the team Foresight, had left with the task of watching over his teammate Imina, the group's ranger, who had already consumed frightening amounts of alcohol and showed absolutely zero signs of stopping.
It was the usual sight in the cozy tavern catering to workers and adventurers, its typical squabbles and scents in the air. The pair was seated by a larger table at the deeper end of the establishment since they were already known in the area. The area was partly walled off from the rest of the tavern, with portable walls as well, which were useful for preserving their party image if need be.
The young half-elf woman was quite thin and without pronounced curves, which sometimes led to her being mistaken for a man despite her pretty face, green eyes, and long, purple hair tied in twin tails. She let out a hiccup and masterfully avoided her handler's attempts at snatching the bottle out of her hands, guzzling another gulp in the process.
Roberdyck, a man nearly twice her size, fought another losing battle, his gentle face slowly gaining features of frustration at his charge. His plate armor clanged with the rapid movements as the tabard covering it got increasingly dirty with splashes of booze, as he only bothered to protect his blonde hair and beard from soaking up the flying liquids. His equipment could be cleaned later.
"This is enough for today!" He exclaimed as Imina finished another bottle and tossed it aside with a burp, letting it roll on the ground.
"I am just warming up," She retorted with a grunt and waved for the tavern keeper to bring her another bottle.
"You need to be sober enough to vote on the next job we take. Arche and Hekkeran should be back soon," He reminded Imina.
"I can vote." She burped again and jumped to her feet with surprising agility to accept the next bottle, swiftly popping it open before chugging down its contents.
Roberdyck sighed in response and accepted that the task failed as they waited for their teammates to return, ordering a cup of water for himself. Their team leader Hakkeran was the first to return. The slim blonde man with a single red lock barged in with a single sheet of paper in his hands, his blue eyes shining with excitement. "A chance for a huge payout, but it's risky!" He announced as he crashed down on a seat opposite Imina.
"That's great." The half elven woman perked up. "Arche will be delighted."
"Speaking of her, where is she? I thought she would be back by now." Hekkeran commented.
"Probably arguing with her piece of shit parents about the money," Imina retorted after a large gulp.
It was no secret that their teammate had to spend every gold piece she got to pay off her parent's debts, which was why she became a worker and joined their team. As a gray area mercenary they got paid more than most adventurers, but there was also no protection from dishonest clients and no risk assessment done on jobs, meaning it was essentially high stakes for high rewards most of the time since the guild would suck up the more reliable jobs. Most picked this line of work because of greed or lust for violence, but there were exceptions like Roberdyck, who got frustrated with churches and the guild's rigid rules on healing. Both organizations didn't allow healing anyone but their teammates for free, which he detested as a man wanting to make the world a better place, believing wounds should be healed to help progress in mutual benefit rather than greedy exclusivity.
"Oh well, there's no rush." He waved to the tavern keeper for a drink on his own.
"Why only one job option? Did you pick for us without asking?" Imina inquired.
"No, it was a direct request for our team. Apparently, we and a man named Erya are the strongest available in the area. Supposedly the request comes from the crown," Hakkeran explained.
"That sounds bad to be honest. I suspect we're signing up as sacrificial lambs." Roberdyck gave his opinion.
"There are some details…" Hakkeran paused, noticing a group emerge from behind the dingy wall.
Arche hadn't come alone but had an elderly man and two small girls with her who no doubt were her sisters, considering the similarities with their teammate. She hadn't done that before.
"Sorry for being late." Arche bowed. "This is Kuuderika and this is Ureirika, say hello to my friends." She introduced the girls. Both curtsied shyly and hid behind Arche.
Hekkeran instantly noticed dried blood on Arche's hands and staff, still quite fresh. "What happened?"
"I am terribly sorry for the unannounced visit. The young mistress had a disagreement with her parents and is currently in search of new living arrangements." The elderly man bowed as he spoke.
"Did you at least bury the corp-"
"Imina!" Roberdyck shouted over her with a glare, subtly motioning at the children.
"I didn't… so they can… " Arche stamered.
"I have friends who can take them in for a while and shield them from the unsavory types. Retired paladins living an hour's walk out of Arwintar. They're kind souls and would love children around. It's a quiet farm but well protected," Roberdyck offered.
"I don't want to impose. I was thinking of doing one last job and then leaving the Empire," Arche replied.
"You still need to keep them safe while we are away, and if Roberdyck trusts them they must be decent people. We can discuss the team's future after the job. If we take it that is," Hakkeran suggested.
"In that case, I'll take the young ladies to a free table and treat them to a meal," The elderly man stated.
"Sounds good. Hey, put them on our tab!" Hakkeran shouted towards the tavern keeper, receiving a nod in return.
"That's very kind of you." The old man bowed again and ushered Arche's younger sisters away.
"Now that everyone is here, I will explain what I know and we can vote. We would be hired for an escort mission to the Forest of Tob where we need to help our clients find an organization operating there. Payment is twenty gold a day, for a team within the forest, and an additional fifty up front for the job itself." Hakkeran continued.
"What organization? I hope you don't mean the one that the King of Re-Estize pissed off," Imina interjected.
It was mostly rumors, but there was information floating around in bits and pieces about a group of mysterious and powerful people supposedly living somewhere inside the forest that had recently begun making waves.
"There are no additional details, but the contract limit is a hundred days and we will have a paid camp in the eastern plains just at the forest entrance, and considering the size of the forest we might not even find it. It's up to five hundred gold coins for each of us." Hekkeran tried to sell the idea.
"Guys you don't have to do this for me. I have enough coins to get by for a while." Arche spoke up.
"It's still retirement levels of money even if the mission isn't that long."
"The hell with it. We've been in the Tob before and did just fine. I vote to take the job." Imina flashed Arche a reassuring smile. The girl was like a younger sister to her and such money would be enough for Arche to continue her education and raise her sisters comfortably, especially since they paid per member and not per party after taking the paper for themself to view over. And for her, it was a chance to retire with Hakkeran and live comfortably til her lover's natural death, a life she had always wanted. She, a half-elf, was bound to outlive him by centuries, but even part of her life spent in peace and comfort was worth it.
"I agree. We have nothing to fear." Roberdyck also voted for taking the job.
"Arche?" Hakkeran turned to the team's caster.
"Thank you." She bowed. "You all are too kind."
"Remember that when we're running from something nasty and cursing you out for agreeing to this." Imina laughed, the rest joining in and ordering more drinks and food.
The staging area was found in the Count Femel estate, which Team Foresight arrived at with the first rays of the morning sun behind them.
One of the few nobles who survived the purge that came after Emperor Jircniv's rise to power was staging a diplomatic mission with the Researcher Guild on behalf of the Empire and was recruiting a suitable security detail. A detail they were given only after signing a contract of nondisclosure. Their task would be to help diplomats find the place and act as stand-in guards.
Two of the diplomats were nobles from Baharuth and the other two, Hekkeran noted, by their horns and emerald eyes with vertical slits, were no doubt the dragon blood servants of Queen Draudillon, the ruler of the neighboring Dragon Kingdom. The pair was very young-looking, barely in their twenties, and nearly identical looking which likely meant they were a brother and a sister. This fact wasn't surprising as there weren't that many of them around as very few dragon lords mated with other races, and a rare few of the hybrid children established long-running bloodlines.
But before they were introduced to their charges, it was customary for a team working on the same job to greet each other. With that in mind, Hakkeren led his team towards Erya and his team.
The man supposedly came from Slane Theocracy and was an open human supremacist, and his team reflected that. He was cleanly shaven and wore a rather posh samurai's attire. A white dress shirt that parted just over the stomach with white trousers and midnight black armor plates with gold trims framed the rest of his body. His armor pieces were lightweight to allow free motion, and as a swordsman, carries a nagamaki with a tassel at the end. His immaculate hair was tied in a knot and his skin was smooth and unburdened by any scars, likely having been given all of his fine equipment and power leveled with it.
Behind the man stood a trio of elven women clad in gray knee-length dresses that looked to be worn till they acquired such coloring from wear and tear, each on the border of ripping apart from use. Their bare feet were dirty and bruised, fresh cuts visible from the travel. But the most disturbing part was that their ears were almost completely cut off, wounds long since scabbed over.
Hekkeran glanced at Imina out of the corner of his eye, seeing her glare drip with hatred, deservedly so. Though most elves within the Empire were slaves, most weren't treated so harshly, especially now with the Emperor pushing for abolishing slavery altogether.
Erya extended his glowing hand towards him, the man's gaze oozing a sense of superiority. Hakkeran accepted the handshake just to avoid stirring up trouble, even if his first thought was to slug the smug man in the face.
"Good luck out there. You'll need it with us guarding those… tainted ones." Erya spoke up, his disdain for their dragon blood charges clear as day.
"Don't worry about us. We know how to handle ourselves around undesirable types," Hakkeran replied while staring right into the man's eyes without blinking.
Erya picked up that the remark was aimed towards him, quickly broke the handshake, and walked off to mingle with the count who was chatting with the Empire's diplomats.
"A stray arrow might catch him in the back," Imina growled under the nose.
"Better to just avoid him. That man will be nothing but trouble," Roberdyck commented, shaking his head. If he had gear, he probably either had the power to back himself up or, more likely, had connections that could cause trouble. It wasn't worth it.
"That's for sure. We better keep our charges safe from all kinds of dangers." Arche added. There was a chance that Erya might intentionally put the diplomats from the Dragon Kingdom in harm's way.
The rest of the preparations went on smoothly. As they were just temporary guards and nothing more, they weren't introduced to the envoys and only interacted with the sparse servant staff brought to attend to the needs of dignitaries.
Once everything was packed they settled in their cart, which mercifully had a roof shielding them from the elements, and were on their way to monster-infested woods. With some luck, they'd just have a long time of finding nothing and get paid for it too.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by aidan_lo, fvvck, x4x, Sluethen, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO, Mfkzrocker, and clagan
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