"I have found what we need, Lady Katrina! Please, take a look at this!" The guild's doors swung open, and the jubilant Kurone announced the reception of a new assignment.
"You are so spirited, so what do you propose this time?" Katrina, still recovering from recent events, sought to drown her pain by engaging in battle with a new foe. She was ready for any task.
"Here's a fitting assignment, just as you requested: a battle with a dangerous enemy, aiding the people, and a well-justified reward," Kurone cheerfully handed the Guild Master a leaflet with the mission details.
Destination: Valenwood, a city in the midst of the Merenlake swamps. Payment for completion: 1000 gold coins. Objective of the mission: investigate the reasons behind the disappearance of trade caravans in the swamp and deal with the situation.
"This mission is precisely tailored for our guild; there shouldn't be any issues with our current lineup," Kurone continued.
"It's better for you to give up this venture," surprisingly, the red-haired princess objected.
"Seleria, it's not for you to say. You have done the least for the guild so far. And this mission is a chance to prove oneself," Katrina's bold remarks only fueled dissatisfaction.
"But I do want to help. The price doesn't matter; this assignment is too dangerous for us. Many caravans from my country have already vanished in those swamps," Seleria explained.
"And yet you want to refuse?! Think about your people! So many lives lost, and you don't want to find out what happened?" Katrina raised an eyebrow, indignant.
"I don't want to?! - Seleria raised a brow in protest - Don't misunderstand me. Your merchants may hire one or two guards and cross the country, but for ours, especially in YOUR country, the danger is much greater."
"Don't exaggerate. Even in your country, there are organized guilds of thieves and assassins, and yet you accuse my country of being dangerous for traders?" The satisfied smile appeared on the face of Verania's Princess.
"Oh, forgive me, Your Majesty, I didn't mean ordinary bandits; I meant the killers in robes and crosses. They love attacking our traders for any suspicion," Katrina's contented smile quickly vanished. "That's why our caravans resemble small armies with at least twenty well-trained warriors, and, of course, carrying corresponding goods: gold, precious gems, silk. If someone managed to handle SUCH caravans, it must be a well-organized gang, with magicians among them."
All guild members tensed; facing such opponents would be challenging.
"But that's not what scares me. Sometimes we found the caravans, with all the goods, but not a single living soul. If it's the work of monsters, then they must be incredibly powerful creatures."
A monster who isn't afraid of a group of twenty professional warriors is even more dangerous, but that wasn't what troubled Katrina.
"So many people have died, and you don't want to help!" Katrina was angered by Seleria's indifference toward her own people. "We are going to aid them; it's my decision as the Guild Master, and that's final!"
"I warned you, that's the main thing. At least, I hope your words aren't just empty bravado," Seleria approached Katrina and whispered in her ear, "The people of Leran are also dear to me, and if you are truly willing to defend whoever you can, then I'm with you."
On the next day, we set out for Merenlake.
The familiar coachman in a cap greeted us with open arms. However, upon hearing our destination, his smile vanished.
"I'll take you only to the edge of the swamp; from there, it's about a three-hour walk to the city. But I won't risk taking you all the way there."
"Aren't you too afraid of these places?"
"Not too much. Many of my acquaintances have vanished there, and I wouldn't want such young adventurers like you to meet certain death."
"We chose this mission ourselves," Katrina interjected. "Someone has to put a stop to these disappearances."
By noon, we reached the outskirts of the swamp. Bidding us a sympathetic look, the coachman turned back towards the Academy. To our surprise, the road was wide enough for three carriages to pass side by side, and it was well-maintained, with occasional roadside fences and caravan rest stops along the way. In my imagination, a road where people frequently vanished would be narrow, winding, and hidden under the canopies of leaning trees. I couldn't fathom how an ambush could be set up on such a road.
An hour later, the swamp trees loomed more frequently over the road, indicating that we were getting closer to the inner part of the swamp. Kurone, consulting the map, confirmed that this was the inner part where caravans tended to disappear more often. From Valenwood, five major trade roads branched out: one main road led directly from Leran to central Verania, and we were traveling on its northern part. The three smaller roads led to the Academy and the capital. Someone organized attacks simultaneously on all five directions, and how they learned about the routes and movement timings remained a mystery.
Soon, Ragni stopped us.
"Blood. About five hundred meters ahead on the road," she said, before rushing forward. It took us a couple of minutes to catch up with her.
It was a caravan; judging by the tracks around, it had been destroyed recently. No people were there; the wagons were overturned, and the cargo untouched.
"When I arrived here, I noticed some movement in the bushes," Ragni kept her gaze fixed on the swamp to the east of the road. "I can't see them, but someone is still there."
"This doesn't seem like the work of ordinary bandits," I was wary because the cargo was intact. "They wouldn't just leave people behind."
"But before, the caravans disappeared along with the people. Maybe we scared them off?" Seleria offered her conjecture.
"No, losing a couple of wagons in the swamp is quite simple. Break them apart and sink them in the mire; no one will ever find them. They were hunting for people."
"So, monsters?" Katrina didn't want to encounter wild enemies. "There's no reasoning with them."
"Well, luckily, I brought my monster encyclopedia with me," Kurone rummaged in her bag and pulled out an imposing book with a thick cover.
"Hmm. What is this?" Katrina remained in the dark.
"Well, what is this?! A book published by the 'Monster Hunters' guild. It contains various data about many monsters in our world. Moreover, it magically updates if you visit their guild. This is the basic edition; it doesn't have precise details about all the monsters, but at least it provides their approximate sizes and illustrations," Kurone looked up with astonished eyes at the Guild Master. "Lady Katrina, how did you go on your first monster hunt without this book?"
"Uh," Katrina nearly choked on her pride. "Well, at that time, we didn't have enough money, so I decided to go without it for now."
"But the first copy for the guild is paid for by the Academy," Kurone tilted her head in surprise.
"Instead of the reference book, Krito had something with him," Ragni chuckled, earning a sly smile from Seleria.
"Haha, maybe it's a very powerful guild if they know so much about monsters..." Katrina attempted an awkward change of subject.
"No, well, you see, it's a merchant guild. They trade information. You can even earn money by selling them trophies or new monster information. For example, one hunter received two hundred gold coins for finding out that basilisks fear sea salt. Can you imagine?" Kurone opened the section on swamp monsters and started looking for a suitable creature. "Snakes, lizards, basilisks, hydras, even green dragons. It could be anyone, but if the habits of these monsters were described here, we might have a clue, but we don't even have any traces of them."
Indeed, there were only human footprints around, and the ground was sometimes marked with shallow furrows.
"Maybe snakes?" It was my first guess.
"Yes, they could have left such a trace, but dangerous snakes for humans mostly live in the north. Hm, maybe green dragons? If they attacked from the air, they might not have left any traces."
"I'm not aware of any green dragon tribes in this area," Ragni interjected.
My attention was drawn to an overturned wagon lying farthest from the swamp. Three furrows led to it, as if someone had tried to dig underneath.
"Well, what other suggestions do you have?" The girls kept arguing about the possible monster while Grain stayed aside, trying not to interfere.
"Giant spiders?"
"No cobwebs."
"Slimes?"
"But where's the slime?"
"Perhaps predatory plants?"
"Yeah, as if they would stand up and run at the sight of us."
"Just be quiet, all of you!" I couldn't take their arguments anymore.
From under the overturned cart, the edge of a gray fabric peeked out, possibly a dress. I listened carefully and heard heavy breathing and occasional groans from inside.
"Grain, come here and help me flip the cart!"
We strained ourselves; the wagon was quite heavy, reinforced with metal for strength. With Ragni's help, we managed to turn it over without harming the person underneath.
Inside lay a slender girl about our age, with chestnut hair, wearing a gray dress. There was a deep bite mark on her right leg, and bluish-green traces of strong poison spread from it. I carefully raised her head and involuntarily flinched when she suddenly opened her eyes and whispered barely audibly:
"A powerful blow overturned my wagon... I only heard hissing and screams... then something bit me on the leg and tried to crawl under the cart..." As she finished speaking, she lost consciousness.
"She's alive, but the poison is very strong, so we need to get her to the city as quickly as possible," the recent apothecary awakened in Ragni. "I'll fly to the city with her, and you catch up. It's better not to linger here."
Ragni had already spread her wings and was ready to take off, but I stopped her when I noticed suspicious marks on the wagon.
"Hold on, Ragni, it's dangerous," I pointed to the scorched trail on the cart; it was a deep burn with even edges.
"Oh, so what? It's a fire trail, unusual, but nothing to worry about. I can endure it," she replied confidently.
"It's not fire; the burn only affected the wood, and it spread differently. It looks more like a trace of acid. Your scales won't withstand it; it's nearly an hour's flight to the city, and if they attack you, we won't be able to help."
"Then let's not waste time. Let's move faster and keep looking back; they are still watching us."
Twilight fell earlier than usual in the dense forest. By the time we reached the city, it was almost dark. The darker it got, the more uneasy the feeling of being watched became.
The city stood on a hill, rising above the swamp. It was enclosed by a wooden palisade, and fires burned around the perimeter. The fortress looked well defended, but its inhabitants were trapped in such conditions.
"Open the gates quickly. We have wounded," Katrina called out.
The gates opened, and armed guards met us, about twenty people surrounding us.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" said a man, most likely their captain.
"We are here on the contract announced by you," Katrina handed him the flyer.
The soldiers lowered their weapons, and the captain's face relaxed slightly.
"Thank you; I didn't think anyone would come to help us. Over the past ten years, there have been many bad rumors about our city. And where are the wounded?"
"We found her on the way here," Ragni stepped forward with the girl in her arms. "Give me a clean bed and all the medicinal herbs you can find. I'll try to heal her."
The captain rushed to the girl.
"Maria, my daughter, I told you not to go to the city at this time! Quickly prepare everything this girl asked for," he ordered, and the soldiers quickly carried the girl to a large house in the city center. The dragoness followed them. "I'm Ricardo Vizer, the mayor, captain of the guard, and also the feudal lord of these lands. This girl is my adopted daughter, Maria. A week ago, she went to the city to buy necessary supplies, especially medicine. I wanted to give her an armed escort, but she didn't want to endanger anyone else. Thank you; maybe you noticed the attackers."
"We didn't. But your daughter gave us a couple of hints. If possible, we'd like to rest, and tomorrow we can discuss what happened."
"Okay, we have many vacant houses here," the mayor looked around the village with sadness. "Many have left the city. The population has decreased threefold over these ten years. At first, we thought it was isolated cases, but this year, everything has gotten much worse. Be cautious, and don't climb the walls at night."
They escorted us to a large house, and after dinner, we went to separate bedrooms. Tomorrow, we were facing a serious battle.