Our story begins in the heart of the Lowenhold Kingdom, in the city of Ashborne. Ashborne is the royal capital, and home to King Xaviour Lowenhold himself. The streets are made of granite, and its building's walls are made of solid slabs of quartz. There was no expense spared in the name King Xaviour. He rules a third of the continent of Octarvia, along with Ragnarok Bearbach, King of the Dwarves and Nynetails Silver, King of the Elves. King Ragnarok rules Mt. Hellforge and all of its surroundings on the east coast of Octarvia, King Nynetails rules the grasslands on the southern coast, and King Xaviour, the forest on the northern coast. There are three royal cities located in the Lowenhold Kingdom. Ashborne, Darkwell, and Sutton each reside in the province of Cokphist. Outside of Cokphist tho, the Lowenhold Kingdom begins to dwindle in wealth and increase in poverty the closer you get to the kingdom's borders.
Introduce Felix, a local street rat in the royal capital. Known for knife work and quick hands, he is an excellent pickpocket, so much so that he has earned himself the epithet "The Fang". On this particular morning there was an autumn breeze that rippled through Felix's tattered clothes, taking in a deep breath of that fresh fall air Felix caught a hint of fresh baked bread. It made him shudder a little with excitement. Felix hid in the shadows around the corner from the bread vendor, his dark mocha skin concealing his presence from the local guard as the early morning sun had yet to make its way over the city walls. Today was Tuesday, and that meant the vendor was making cinnamon raisin, Felix's favorite. Felix swiped himself a fresh loaf as the guard had their backs turned, but being the showboat that he was, he couldn't help himself from smiling and waving at the vendor.
The vendor cried out, "HELLLP, HELLLP, GUARDS, THIEF, THIEF!"
With the guards hot on his tail, Felix used his incredible athleticism and calisthenics to climb the alley walls and jump over crates and barrels, knocking them down in his wake, but this only slowed the guard down. They continued their pursuit forcing Felix into open area, now Felix sticks out like a sore thumb among the Rich, Merchants, and Nobles. Felix ran up and down the main square, until he saw a small crowd surrounding a local job board. He pulled a hood over his head and slipped into the middle of the crowd grabbing a random job posting to blend in. Glancing it over to play the part, something caught his eye. "10 Platinum Pieces to Retrieve a Magic Item for a Local Noble, Details Upon Arriving at Estate." This was more money than Felix could steal and fence in a year, and for a magic item, this noble must be some kind of big shot and this must be one hell of a magic item. After some time had passed and the guards lost interest, he scaled the walls of a nearby building, found himself a perch to rest on, and finally enjoyed his not so fresh loaf of bread.
After enjoying what would usually be his only nourishment for the day, Felix proceeded to the aforementioned nobles estate. It took Felix the better half of the day to reach the other side of Ashborne where the noble resided, as he was nearing he noticed there were four others waiting outside the door to the estate.
Felix being Felix, the first one he noticed was of course a lovely young Elf with skin so white he had to shield his eyes as the evening sun beamed off her exquisite body, she had long black hair that rivaled any bottomless pit this world had to offer, and eyes as red as a freshly picked rose, she was wearing an all black hooded cloak covering her clothing.
There was also a larger man, who maybe had some sort of Giant in his blood, it made it hard to guess his age, but he seemed youthful whatever it was. He stood above the others by a considerable margin, with muscles bigger than Felix's head. His skin was as pale blue as a mid spring sky, he had no hair to speak of anywhere on his body, and tribal tattoos from head to toe that you could see through his tattered monk like robes.
Next Felix noticed another man more refined in age, but this one had something else that separated him from the others, he had well kept snow white hair and blue skin like the giant, but it was a much more vibrant blue, like you were lost at sea and there was nothing but his skin as far as the horizon in every direction. This man seemed to be some variant of Merperson, a rare sight on this continent. He also looked more sophisticated than the others, he wore clean cut almost noble-like alchemist robes, and a monocle over his right eye.
Finally the fourth individual, who left Felix feeling a little uneasy, even from this distance. He was a shorter man who stood below the knees of the Giant. Based on his build you wouldn't guess he was a Dwarf, but maybe a Gnome or a Halfling. He wore a completely black suit and very unsettling harlequin makeup that made it hard to notice any identifiable features, but he did have silver hair that he kept slicked back. What left Felix feeling uneasy though was the aura he gave off. Felix was a criminal and he knew that, but there were other types of criminals in this world, kinds that kill for money or sometimes just for fun. This was their type of aura, and Felix learned to recognize it and avoid the people who gave it off, but sometimes fate has other things in mind.
Felix approached the group with caution, "Evening folks, I don't suppose y'all are here for evening mass?"
There was a slight chuckle out of the girl and the big one, but the other two did not seem amused with Felix's antics. The big guy pulled the wanted ad from out of his right pants pocket and pointed at it with his other hand, the others all nodded in agreement.
"Not a lively bunch I see." Felix chimed in.
The girl spoke up "We agreed before your not so punctual arrival to save the formalities."
Felix replied as he slid up to the girl. "Well maybe just you and I can get to know each other a little better, my names Fe-"
She cut him off, "No names."
With that brief exchange of words the front door to the estate opened, and a tall slender man appeared, as a hooded individual exited the doorway and walked by the group, Felix got that same uneasy feeling again he got from the harlequin fellow. The harlequin man also noticed their presence and shot them a quick side eye, although there was a sense of familiarity from the individual he could not recognize them.
"Master Constance Rorytima will see you all now."
The group headed towards the entryway, one after the other, and were ushered through a long luxurious hall full with what they believed to be various magic items. Felix had to contain and remind himself, this gig was worth more than any of those magic items, at least the ones he saw. The girl thought to herself the noble must be compensating for something, the big guy was thinking if this magic item is worth 10 Platinum Pieces, how much money is hanging on the wall, the Merperson thought this noble has exquisite taste, and finally our small harlequin friend pondered how quickly he could kill the others.
The group ended up in a large room with three couches, a large table in the middle, artifacts enveloping the surrounding walls, and finally Master Constance Rorytima sitting across from the couch they were brought to.
Constance was a man of above average stature, as was everything in Constance's life. He stood above everyone in the group, except for the big guy and the butler. He bolstered a healthy physique, and had soft caramel skin, perfect teeth, neat and tight silver hair, and shimmering blue eyes that were like a looking glass into heaven. He had on a very expensive casual suit, an exquisite rapier sheathed in an elegant scabbard on his hip, and a ring on each finger, solid gold bands across his left hand and silver across his right each with a different jewel that must have measured fourteen karats.
Constance, a man of strong composure, who spoke with the energy of a small child, began introductions. "Ah I see my ad was quite successful, see Michael I told you, I told you it would be successful, now look at all these lovely candidates."
Felix began to speak up "Hi my na-" again he was cut off, but this time by Constance.
"I know who you are, I know who all of you are, I'm a man who keeps tabs in the cities he lives in, and you're all people I have kept tabs on. We have Felix Rodriguez, also known as 'The Fang' he then looks at the girl "We have Roxie 'The Black Rose' Blackwood" now he points to the big guy "You're Zander Crustacious" his finger slides over to the Merperson "You my friend are one Sir Krysis Krystalis" then the harlequin "And you, how could anyone not know you, 'The Killer Klown' Dabi Krux" he proceeds "I personally am glad you bunch are the ones who came to my call, I feel confident everything will go smoothly, and I'll soon be in possession of my desired magic item. Now let's get down to business, I want all five of you to work together to retrieve this."
Constance hands each of them a piece of parchment with a picture of a staff and the words "Staff of Life". "This is the Staff of Life." Constance says. "Y'all will find it located in a small druid village outside of Mirstone to the northwest. I intend on paying each of you the 10 Platinum Pieces, so don't worry about having to split it." Constance gestures over to the north wall of the room, where four other staves reside. "This staff will complete my collection of the five Staves of the World." Small Plaques below each staff read as follows from left to right with a gap in the middle. "Staff of the Stars", "Staff of the Sky", "Staff of Death", and finally "Staff of the Earth". "As a professional collector of magic items, completing this collection means more to me than you can possibly imagine." The group all look at each other in a kind of puzzled haze.
Then Roxie speaks up. "Why do we all need to go just to retrieve some staff?" She continues to say. "It feels like there's something you're not telling us, why not just pick one of us for your job, isn't sending five people a little overkill?"
Constance replies. "I suppose I could send just one of you, but you've all shown up. Might as well pay you for your time and trouble. I'm a simple man who has no limitations when it comes to money, it's no skin off my back or my purse to pay all five of you for a job that should take one person, and who knows y'all might become friends out of it."
Zander says. "I like friends, will y'all be my friend?"
A concerned look falls over the others faces before Felix replies. "Absolutely big fella I personally would love to be your friend."
The others kind of shrug and nod in agreement, so as to not upset the big guy. Except Dabi who finally says something out loud.
"I personally don't care much for friends, nor do I intend on making any on this job. To be completely honest, you would all be lucky if I don't kill you myself after we receive payment and take the 50 Platinum and be on my merry way."
Felix stands up and says. "If an ounce of that was true, you wouldn't have told us ahead of time, I personally think you're nervous about making some friends since you normally live such a sad and lonely existence, but you can't come to terms with this fact, so your first instinct is to try and push us away."
Roxie rolls her eyes and sighs. "You're making an ass of yourself."
Krysis adds "I agree with the lady, don't sit or rather stand there and try and make assumptions about the rest of us, we've all known each other a total of 1 hour, get off your high horse, 'Mr. Fang'."
Dabi smiled. "On second thought I think I like you all, you can keep your 10 Platinum, and your lives."
Zander responded happily. "Oh thank you, thank you friend." He reached out to shake Dabi's hand. Dabi placed his entire hand in the palm of Zander's, and they shook.
Constance proceeded to finish giving them all the small details of the job, he told them the staff was in the possession of the village chieftain, and from what Constance told them, he was an unsavory man who used the staff to force neighboring villages under his thumb, and that the staff would be better suited in his collection than in the hands of some tyrant in the woods. Something about his description of the chieftain didn't sit right with Roxie. If these allegations were true, why wouldn't any local guard or adventuring guild step in. Why would some noble looking to complete his collection be what it takes to stop a tyrant, surely he would be seen as a threat to the kingdom. Roxie kept her reservations on the subject to herself, because the truth always comes out in the wash.
The five misfit adventurers, if you could call them that, set out on their 3 day journey to the village in the woods outside of Mirstone. The first day of traveling passed uneventfully as the trip was over paved roads, but by nightfall they were off the beaten path and ready to set up camp in the woods.
Zander sat down with a thud "I like the stars, they remind me of home."
Roxie smiled sweetly, "That's real nice hun, but do you think you could give us a hand setting up the tents, we could use your height."
Zander responded softly, "Oh I'm sorry, I'm so used to just sleeping on the ground." Zander stands up and aids Roxie in setting up camp. "Is there anything else I can do?"
Roxie responds, "No sir, you're dismissed." she chuckles before looking up at a tree branch nearby. "Thanks for your help too Dabi." she says sarcastically.
Dabi scoffs, "I'm sleeping on this branch, I'm all set."
Felix props his leg on a nearby stump and rests his arm on it, like Captain Morgan "So I know we all just met, but I think it would behoove us to develop a sense of trust amongst ourselves. We have a long week ahead of us of traveling together, and with that in mind I think we should decide on a watch rotation. That way we can all get some sleep and someone can be awake to let everyone else know if there's trouble."
Roxie, Zander, Dabi, and Krysis in unison, "WHO PUT YOU IN CHARGE!?"
Roxie then says, "But I think you're right, a watch rotation wouldn't hurt, we could each do say 2 hours, that should get us through the night. I'll volunteer for the third watch if nobody cares."
Zander bellows excitedly, "Oh Oh Oh I want first watch, I want first watch."
Dabi softly follows from his tree branch, "I'll take the final watch."
Krysis then says, "I suppose I'm ok with the fourth watch."
Felix, still stunned and caught off guard by all that just happened, "Um that leaves me with the second watch I think then I guess maybe, yea good talk guys, glad we could discuss it together. I'll go get some firewood"
The group gets their camp all set up, with a fire going and fresh fish cooked. Everyone eats and settles into their areas for the night. Dabi on his tree branch whittling something out of wood, Krysis reading in his tent, Felix already passed out in his, and Roxie and Zander sitting by the campfire.
Roxie breaks the silence, "Do the stars really remind you of home?"
Zander looked up and replied, "They do, but it's my mom I think about. We used to sit up at night and watch them together, because in the mountains where I'm from there were stars as far as the eye could see. Every night since I left home, I look up at them and think about her, because I know she's looking up at them too and in a way it's like we're looking up at them together again. She used to tell me stories about the gods, and my favorites were about the sky and the stars. How the night sky is like a looking glass, that gives us a glimpse into Caeli's domain, and that every star you see is a pure soul returned to her parents by Anamarum to live an eternity of peace. She told me every person in this world is a child of Caeli and Pudicitias, and that no matter what continent, region, kingdom, or race you come from, if you live a good life your soul will be returned to them.
Roxie tears up a little, "That's really nice Zander, I'll never look up at the stars the same way again, goodnight." Roxie gets up and goes into her tent. During this time Krysis had stopped reading his book, and was thinking about what Zander said before drifting off to sleep. Dabi stopped whittling his piece of wood and watched Zander as he told his tale, before looking up at the stars till he too drifted off to sleep. The rest of the night passed without a hitch, morning came, and everyone woke to the smell of some eggs Dabi was cooking, that he collected from a nearby nest.
"Something smells nice" Roxie muffled through a big yawn.
Felix stretched as he walked over to Dabi. "Wow those smell great, but I think your math is off, I only count four eggs. That isn't enough for everyone."
"Everyone?" Dabi questioned as he scowled at Felix "There's plenty of forest for y'all to scavenge in, this is MY breakfast."
"Gee thanks buddy, what would we do without you?" Felix retorted "Hey big guy" Felix directed towards Zander "You up for a little morning foraging with me? It's good to get the blood flowing first thing in the morning." he said as he continued to stretch.
Zander nodded in agreement, and they were off.
"You don't have to like us, but you could at least act civil while we're together." Roxie snarked, "Or you could head back home."
"This is me being civil." Dabi replied.
Later Felix and Zander returned with enough food for the remaining party members, they ate, packed up camp, and continued their journey on foot until they reached the outskirts of the druid village in question, a lot sooner than expected.