Ru gazed across the clear landscape, scattered trees leading the way to the abandoned town. Although the town of Misala now lay in obvious ruin, signs that the once bustling town had life in it once more could be seen. Small tendrils of smoke could be seen rising above the walls, and figures could be seen wandering outside. With a half smile, Albec, one of the guards travelling with the small caravan Ru had attached himself to handed over a few silvers. 

**"Seems others followed that fool rumor to the middle of nowhere. Wonder if that supposed employer came too. Either way, there's more than enough for Deran to profit off of, so it makes no difference to me."** Ru and Albec chatted some more as the overgrown palisade drew nearer. Eventually, they returned to a debate they'd had since the little party had set off. 

Albec initiated the debate. **"So, you still think that mysterious employer's offering 25 Sovereigns for *each* participant? 'Cause with the amount of  potential employees that have shown up, no one but a noble house is going to be able to afford that, and what kind of noble would hire the sort of ruffians that follow rumors like this?"** 

**"Looking to win some of that money back?"** Ru chuckled, jingling the silvers he'd won. Albec had bet that they'd find the town still abandoned. He was a rather pessimistic one, though most former soldiers Ru had met were. If they did find the place bustling, and Deran made good sale on the alcohols he'd brought out, Albec would feel the benefits. **"This *mysterious* employer of mine has asked specifically for mages, or so the rumor goes. It's not impossible to find mages for hire discretely in the undercity. So why not just use one of those? Why bring us out here, and why *bring so many?*"** Ru's voice became more intense as his brief monologue continued. That had been a large part of the reason he had come to the middle of nowhere. It just didn't make sense unless something big was going to happen, and if something was going to happen, Ru figured he may as well be at the center of the action. At the very least, life should be interesting. 

They continued walking on in silence for some time, coming to through the busted gates, and were about to part ways when Albec broke the silence. **"20 silver says it's 25 Sovereigns for all of you, not each. And if it is for each, and this is as big as you thing...I'll be happy to give it to you if we make it out of this alive. Something doesn't seem right about this."**

**"And if I survive this job, I'll be happy to pay it back."** Ru replied with a smile and a wave, heading off towards the town center, where smoke could be seen rising above the ruins. Before long, he came across a group scattered around a fire. For the most part, they were unremarkable humans, generally looking like Ru himself. There were, however, two obvious oddities. The first was a green clad elf looked slightly cramped sitting on the edge of a log several of them seemed to be using as a bench. Ru liked to think himself of average height, at least for a human, but he had a feeling the elf would be able to tower over him. The other was another human, wearing a set of rather horrifying armor, whose face was obscured by the helmet. The armored one seemed rather tense, as if expecting a trap to be sprung at any second. Not surprising, considering how hard the paladins had been hunting mages. There would certainly be a response, with all the rumors floating around. Hopefully not too soon.

**"So!"** Ru exclaimed, seating himself on the other of death-armor, a few feet away **"Does anyone know whether this mysterious employer of ours is paying us 25 Sovereigns each, or we all get to fight over a pot, 'cause *I've* got a bet to win."** He thought for a moment before adding. **"Does anyone happen to know who this mysterious employer of ours *is* for that matter?"**