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[color=72a0c1]“Hmm, safe until the fork to Walverrest, huh. Noted. That’s it then,”[/color] he nodded to the clerk in thanks, and after she noted that they were registered, turned to leave, waving to the Hundi youth to follow.

[color=72a0c1]“I have to fetch my things, so I’m off to the dorms,”[/color] Ifrari informed Rex. [color=72a0c1]“If you have any business left to take care of, go ahead. When you’re ready, come meet me in building C, room 512. Just knock on my door and I’ll let you in.”[/color] The dark elf glanced at the Hundi, to see if the other was following so far. Given that numbers seemed to confuse him, his worry whether Rex would be able to remember which room the dark elf rented was fairly warranted. Therefore, he added, [color=72a0c1]“If you’re fine as is, you can just come along right away, though.”[/color]

That said, he made his way to one of the dorm buildings. He didn’t wish to discuss the details of their mission in public, so he didn’t say much. The information given was very scant, which was frustrating. He’d also honestly hoped to get at least a member or two more, but he’d have to work with what he had. That they were seeking an enemy who had a good hideout and was known for successful ambushes and presumably had decent observational skills didn’t sit well with him. There was a very good likelihood that Rex and himself would be the ones taken unaware of. Of course, the dark elf intended to prevent that, but there were no guarantees, really.

Ifrari arrived at dorm C, which was a nondescript dorm building with the guild insignia sign clearly marking it as one of the accommodations marketed primarily to adventurers. Since moving to Velle, Ifrari hadn’t really bothered to find his own housings, and had only moved to a better (and higher-costing) room once or twice. The dorms were satisfactory, and more important, easily affordable. 

His current room was on the top floor of the building, and was of a comfortable size for a single person to live in. Besides the bed, he possessed a wardrobe for clothing, a stand for his armour, a simple racket for his weapons, a storage cabinet for his various supplies, a small bookshelf, and a sizeable table littered with parchment. At one point, he’d also affixed a board to one of the walls, which was remarkably similar to the notice board in the guild, only instead of job postings, it held even more of his own notes.

The dark elf made quick work of stripping to his underwear and replacing his casual clothing with his regular armour. It was quite the transformation. He did have to wonder if number and quality of equipment was one of the criteria according to which the kidnappers were able to differentiate between novice adventurers and normal ranks. And what exactly did they mean by novice anyhow, only those that have genuinely only started out and were therefore rank one, or anyone from rank one to three? Ifrari really wished there’d been more information regarding how many people had been kidnapped so far, and what the largest disappearance to date had been.

Once Rex arrived (or, if he’d been following along, once Ifrari was done gearing up), the dark elf spoke up regarding his main worry. [color=72a0c1]“Rex, we might be targeted by the kidnappers. And no, getting their direct attention like that would not be optimal. However, we should be prepared even for that. For one, don’t speak about our mission once we’re underway, just in case the enemies use seemingly innocuous passers-by to gather information on their targets. If we still get caught, we’ll just have to improvise, I’m afraid,”[/color] he pursed his lips, obviously not content with that.

[color=72a0c1]“If we have to engage in combat, use your best judgment, and I’ll back you up and adapt to your style. Just leave any traps, tricks, or trickery for me to deal with though,”[/color] he stated. [color=72a0c1]“I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to spot any enemy archers in time, since they obviously know the terrain very well,”[/color] he confessed. [color=72a0c1]“They may also somehow lure us to their territory and attempt to overwhelm or entrap us, in which case, well…I suppose we’ll have to manage,”[/color] Ifrari muttered, obviously doubtful whether they could. However, it wasn’t as if that was enough to outright give up on the job.

[color=72a0c1]“In any case, the enemies aren’t your typical bandits, so however they kidnap people, it won’t be a violent encounter in the middle of the main road. When we travel, I’ll lead the way and watch out for any and all hints about the kidnappers and I’ll count on [i]you[/i] to watch [i]my[/i] back, alright?”[/color]

Ifrari waited to see what Rex would have say to that. Then, he summarized, [color=72a0c1]“The main things to keep in mind are,”[/color] he lifted a hand, and raised his index finger, obviously counting, [color=72a0c1]“one, not to talk about the disappearances to anyone or within anyone else’s range of hearing,”[/color] he raised his middle finger, [color=72a0c1]“two, do [i]not[/i] deviate from the mission objective, which means that if someone out there needs help, we either leave them to their own devices or proceed [i]extremely[/i] carefully,”[/color] he warned, then raised his ring finger, [color=72a0c1]“three, we will absolutely [i]not[/i] split up, for whatever reason,”[/color] he lifted his pinky finger, [color=72a0c1]“and finally, be cautious, but not nervous or too tense.”[/color] He dropped the hand and blinked up at the Hundi. [color=72a0c1]“Any questions, comments, critiques?”[/color]

[@Derg2]