The heavy oak doors of the Adventurers' Guild creak open, revealing a scene of controlled chaos. Instead of the usual organized bustle, a hushed tension fills the air. Members mill about, their conversations hushed whispers, their faces etched with worry. The usually vibrant tapestries seem dull, the polished wood of the counters dusty. A palpable sense of unease hangs heavy in the air, thicker than the lingering scent of woodsmoke and old leather. The guild master, a stout man with a neatly trimmed beard usually brimming with jovial energy, sits hunched over his desk, his shoulders slumped, his face pale.
He doesn't look up as Nina enters, only a slight tremor in his hand betraying his inner turmoil. Ronan stands silently behind Nina, his shadow stretching across the floor, causing several guild members to flinch. Rex, sensing the tension, whines softly, pressing close to Nina's leg. the silence stretches, thick and suffocating. Finally, the guild master looks up, his eyes bloodshot and filled with a weariness that goes beyond simple exhaustion.
"Nina," he rasps, his voice strained, "You're back. We feared the worst. Elara... she vanished three days ago. No trace." He gestures vaguely towards a notice board, where several new postings, all concerning missing adventurers, have been pinned. The messages are brief, stark, filled with a growing sense of dread. "We feared that the darkness had spread beyond the Whispering Woods," he continues, his gaze meeting Nina's. "But... this is different. This is something else entirely." He pauses, taking a deep breath. "There are whispers... rumors... of something stirring in the city's underbelly. Something old... something powerful..."
His voice trails off, leaving the unspoken dread hanging in the air, heavy an suffocating. The silence is broken only by Rex's soft whimpering, the scraping of a chair, and the distant sounds of the city, strangely muted and distant.