[color=92278f][h1]Serena[/h1][/color][@Sanguine Rose][@Hero][hr][hr]

[color=92278f]"Yeah, I got it all handled."[/color] Serena muttered as she released the drunkard from the painful armbar, though she made sure to give him another kick to the side for good measure before turning to his companions. [color=92278f]"Makes sure he makes it home without falling off the docks. The last thing we need to is to give Bessie a new chew toy." [/color]

[b]"Aye, we'll do our best to see the lout back to his wife, though I wager he'd have wished to take his chances with ol' Bes once he sobers up. That woman could nag the ear off anything."[/b]  This got a laugh out of the other men gathered at the bar as they began to make their way out of the Guild Hall, the lead one placing down the payment for the drinks while the rest went to collect their drunk companion. It was only after Serena had made sure they'd all left that she turned to give Ria her full attention, raising an eye at her get-up but choosing not to say anything about it.

[color=92278f]"Ria, I think you should probably take ol' Bessie a bit more seriously. She may not have a habit of killing people, but more than a few fishermen here have lost an arm or a leg to her."[/color] Giving a nod to the thankful looking barmaid who'd been serving the group of fishermen from before, she walked around the counter to stand behind the bar, reaching up to pull a few bottles down as she continued to speak. [color=92278f]"Bessie's a tough gal, and faster than you'd think for something as big as she is. Not only that, but she's pretty damn bull-headed in her own way, so getting her to  stay out will likely be a hassle."[/color] Serena clicked her tongue as she picked up one of the bottles, shaking it a bit to see if there was anything before chucking it into a nearby trash bin. 

[color=92278f]"Anyway since you're still waiting for Cade and Will before you go and deal with Bessie, mind being a dear and getting Aiden from his office? Tell him the reporter for Sorcerer's Weekly showed up. We can't have a Guild interview without the Guildmaster around. Oh, and if he's asleep, feel free to wake him up however you see fit as long as you don't mess up any of the paperwork"[/color][center][h3]-----------------[/h3][/center]

Claire, for her part, had gained a much cooler head thanks to the brief respite to get over the shock of seeing her former classmate again. As such, while she thought about walking over to Serena to start the interview on her own terms, she found her attention drawn to a woman standing before the Guild's relatively bare request board. There was something. ..familiar about the woman that she couldn't quite place, but aside from that, she definitely stood out amongst the crowd of rough and rowdy Harborites that filled the Hall. Dressed in clothes that were actually fashionable, for one, as well as lacking the rugged edge that often came with living in a freezing hellscape of an area that seemed determined to be rid of your presence. Having grown bored of watching the locals, she decided it was about time to start asking a few questions and walked over with her lacrima-journal in hand. 

[b]"Excuse me, Miss,"[/b] The reporter started, reaching up to tap them on the shoulder and then reaching out in greeting once she had the other woman's attention. [b]"Claire Hartsfield, a reporter for the Sorcerer's Weekly magazine. I'm doing a bit of an interview on the Winter's Blade guild and I couldn't help but wonder if you were a member? If so, I was hoping I could ask you a question or two?"[/b][center][h3]-----------------[/h3][/center][h1][color=Brown]Bludmach: Outskirts[/color][/h1][@Asura][@Severance][@OwO][hr][hr]

[b]"Heeee!"[/b] Malon jumped as Eldrid slammed her foot into the back of his seat, the sudden movement causing the wagon to swerve sharply to the left before he quickly managed to straighten everything out. His passengers, however, would likely find themselves flung into each other, which did little to ease Malon's nerves. [b]"I-I'm sorry ma'am. I'll try my best to keep quiet from now on. As for, uh, how close we are to the encampment, I'd say. . . maybe another 30 minutes. If you want, you can even see the G-Guardian of the valley up ahead."[/b] 

Truthfully, the Guardian had been visible for quite a while, being a rather gigantic landmark that proved difficult to miss in the mostly flat terrain of the Marshlands. Towering over the whole of the area, its molted coloration would've made it difficult to make out from the dark mountains that surrounded it, if not for the gleaming steel of the gigantic blade that impaled the serpent's head. And beyond the towering corpse of the God serpent, a thick veil of fog hanging over the entrance to the valley of Ancients, hiding who knows what dwelled within.

[b]"Quite a sight, isn't it? I must admit, getting to look at that every so often is part of why Malon learned these routes. Can't even begin to imagine what kind of battle took place that leads to that giant's death, but just thinking about it is enough to really get you hyped, isn't it. . . or at least, it would be if not for the Beast possibly lurking out there in the marshlands. Sneaky bastard, the Beast is from what I've heard. Loves to ambush people from the muck and drag them down to feast on the marrow of their bones. . . or at least, that's what I hear. Can you even imagine, falling into the caustic sludge, some creature on top of you, ripping you to pieces or just holding you down to wait and see which finishes you first, the poison or the lack of air or even worse. . . " [/b]

And so Malon would continue for some time, seemingly trapped in his own morbid daydream of all the possible ways he could perish out here. And yet, underneath this muttering of solemn gibberish, a sound could be heard. A slight rustle of the dry grasses a few meters to their south, followed by the loud burst of a gas bubble. Another would soon follow that one, this time from the north, then once more, just a meter or so from the runic-enforced mud road. This seemed enough to snap Malon out of his funk, jumping slightly as he covered his mouth.

[b]"D-Don't worry, there are always a bunch of gas bubbles this close to the road around this section of the trek. Just be careful not to breathe anything in. It's not enough to kill you, but you'll find yourself dizzy and off-balance in moments. A very common way for a lot of trainee Marshrunners to get snatched up by a whipper tree or any of the other viscious beasties that you can find out here."[/b]