[hider=Croc Crush]
[color=#0054a6][CENTER] [img]https://i.imgur.com/FvetaES.png[/img][/CENTER]
[table][row][/row][row][cell][center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/NNM745n.png[/img]
[color=0054a6][sup]_______________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center]

[indent][b]Difficulty[/b]: ⭐⭐
[b]Reward[/b]: 2000G

[b]Inventory[/b]: Pheromone repressant, Leather armor, Serpent Gauntlet, Tranquilizer Urn

[/indent]


[/cell][/row][/table][/COLOR]
[/hider]

[@Enkryption][@Polaris North][@ReusableSword][@The Irish Tree]NPC(s): Lapis


With the party reunited and Scarlett finishing her preparations, the party was all set to make for the Marsh and begin their chosen mission. Hector opted to inquire into Scarlett’s preparations, as she had been gone almost all morning, and if she had any provisions to share on her own. Scarlett’s answer asserted that the preparations were for her benefit alone, and was filled with rude dismissiveness. 

Even worse, Scarlett seemed to have a negative reaction to Tilnak’s display of his magic. Lapis could only describe it as her body going through strange physical changes as black coal and blood splattered from her. The familiar that Nadia gave to her coiled itself around her, attempting to keep her from attacking her insectoid companion. 

[color=6ecff6]”Um, excuse me. Could we not bash each other’s brains out before the mission even starts?””[/color] Lapis interjected, wanting to avoid any more disputes. She wanted to say a whole lot more about what was going on with Scarlett, but Shavis seemed to be used to it by now and felt she had a good handle on it. 

[color=6ecff6][i]I wonder if Evevlyn’s group is going through similar problems…[/i][/color] She silently whined to herself. 

It would see this humble group of five would certainly have their work cut out for them. But, perhaps Scarlett’s new equipment, though only for herself, may yet win them the day.

========

[hider=The Lush Forestland]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/xucVck3.jpg[/img]
[/hider]

The way towards the southern marshlands was rather far, it being late afternoon before the group finally arrived at their destination. The sun was beginning to set over a lush forest as the vermillion light washed over the dense trees, creating a rather exquisite scene. Unfortunately, the traveling road ended just at the edge of the forest, so they would have to take the rest of the way on foot. Thankfully the village wasn’t too much farther, but it would be best to move before night came upon them. 

The walk to the village was quiet and uneventful, with the only sounds being the ambience of the woods and perhaps the reaver team chatting among themselves. Eventually, they saw smoke on the horizon. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be coming from a house. Coming closer, they could see they reached the village in question. Being outsiders, the villagers immediately took notice of the reavers, looking at them with curious eyes. A townsman shortly came running up to them, a look of exhausted gratitude was worn on his face. 

”Oh, thank the gods, you’ve finally arrived! We were starting to lose hope.” Said the man. His somewhat panicked and rushed tone insinuated that the situation had become even more dire than what was stated on the request board. ”Please, follow me. I’ll lead you to the elder’s home.”

The group were led further into the village, only then did they start to see the visual damage the Makara had caused. Various stables were either heavily damaged or completely destroyed, barns and houses were covered in claw marks and what appeared to be burn marks. Those likely came from the electric ability that some members of the species possessed. What used to be grazing fields were covered in dried blood, and from the looks of it there were scarcely any livestock left. 

It was not a pleasant scene.

“Is that the reaver team? They’ve finally responded to our plea!” A woman said. 

“Will they be able to drive away those beasts?” Said a man. 

“I hope so. They’re supposedly from a place called the Eon Tower. I’ve never heard of it, though.” 

“That’s not reassuring…” 

The team’s presence there was stirring up much gossip. All eyes were on them to see if they could get the job done. The people were full of desperation and the hopelessness of their predicament has weighed heavily in their hearts. 

Eventually, the man led them in front of a large house. It was decorated with tribal ornaments and hand-woven tapestry. The elder’s home, naturally. ”Here we are.” The man said, turning to them. ”The elder is inside. He can tell you more. He then walked up the wooden steps leading to the front door, giving it a few polite knocks. A few moments later, the knock was answered with a “Come in.” that came in a gruff, wizened old voice. The door was opened, and the group was led inside. There, they spotted an old man sitting on a futon in the middle of the room. [url=https://imgur.com/mB2K2jd] He was bald, but had a beard that reached all the way down to his chest.[/url] Sitting with his legs crossed and his hands on his knees, he addressed the group as they walked in. 

[b]”Ah. Thank you all for coming.[/b] He said. [b]”As you’ve no doubt seen, our village has been in dire straits for the past few days. Those crocs have certainly done much to convert our community into their new territory.[/b] After speaking, the elder would break out into a small coughing fit, curling his hand as he covered his mouth. 

[b]”Please excuse me.”[/b] He said weakly. [b]” Now, of course we’d like for you to deal with this matter as soon as possible. However, if there’s anything you need from us, please let us know. We…don’t have much, but we’ll do what we can to assist.”[/b]

Lapis went before the elder first. [color=6ecff6]”Oh!” Please don’t trouble yourselves over us, Elder. You and your people have been through so much already. Although, I will ask if anything strange has happened here recently that you believe may have led to this.” [/color] She inquired. 

[b]”Hmm, no, I can’t say that I have, and that’s the strange part.”[/b] He replied, rubbing his beard. [b]”We’ve lived here for generations, and we teach our younglings to never venture too deep into the marsh further in the forest. As for if there’s some outside force that’s causing them to frenzy, I really couldn’t say.”[/b] He said, shaking his head.

[b]”I apologize, I wish I could be of more help…”[/b]

[hr]

[hider=Badland Heist]
[color=#007236][CENTER] [img]https://i.imgur.com/QfTqgf1.png[/img][/CENTER]
[table][row][/row][row][cell][center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/JITx4pu.png[/img]
[color=007236][sup]_______________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center]

[indent][b]Difficulty[/b]: ⭐⭐⭐
[b]Reward[/b]: 3000G, New magitech inventory available in shop

[b]Inventory[/b]: None

[/indent]


[/cell][/row][/table][/COLOR]
[/hider]

[@PaulHaynek][@Silverstein][@FrogRFlowR]NPC(s): Evelyn

Josef looked at Leon with curious eyes, listening as he volunteered to spearhead the factory investigation, also taking note of his suggestion to drink less coffee. [b]"Clearly that young man’s never worked a white-collar job before.”[/b] He said as the short eared fae left his office. [b]"I can’t say much about the cut of his jib, but if the Tower thinks highly of him, his earned my trust.”[/b] He said, taking a sip of his own cup. 

[color=ec008c]”Who cares, he’s just some weirdo. Not worth paying attention to. Please continue with your explanation.”[/color] Evevlyn said in a sharp tone. Einer and Asterope seemed to be of the same mind. However, Eve for now would keep quiet about the fact that she noticed Leon whispering something to Einer during their walk to the office. 

[b]”Well, I don’t have much more information, any that would be of major use to you lot.”[/b] Josef went on. [b]Although, since the possibility of this being an inside job has been brought up we do have a few competitors in our industry. But, that couldn’t be it, there’s no way. We do a thorough background check on all of our employees. If one of them was a mole, we’d know about it.”[/b] He assured the party. Although, it sounded like Josef was trying more so to assure himself. 

Meanwhile, Leon had left the party and made his way a little deeper into the compound. He naturally picked up on the lone worker who was watching them from afar. Perhaps due to his high intuition or more so his paranoia, he quickly marked him as a character of suspicion and opted to hunt him down. Finding him with little difficulty, he put his psychic powers to work and created a miniscule blade from his mind. Flickering it into the back of his head, Leon established a psionic link between himself and the unsuspecting worker. The worker felt for, not even a second, a peculiar jolt in his head. But, it was so fleeting that he didn’t even pay it any mind. More importantly, he was thinking thoughts to himself that would most certainly be of interest to the young fae. 

[b]”I need to head to the hideout after work and tell the others that they need to move now. With those magus here, it’s only a matter of time before this whole thing blows up in our faces. I think I remember where it is. It’s due east of here, hidden in a small canyon with its entrance being blocked by some boulders.”[/b] He scratched his head as he thought to himself. [b]”Man, couldn’t those idiots find a less conspicuous way of hiding their base? I guess stupid people are easier to control…”[/b]

Now, Leon knew that for certain there was a whole team of people in on the heist, and he even knew the general location of their supposed hideout. He could go back and tell the others, perhaps the more confrontational members of his team could pressure the info out of him. Of course, it may be more effective to silently tail him to the location. 

Or, perhaps it would be better to continue listening for now. After all, the more information, the better. 

[hr]
[hider=Necropolis]
[color=#9e0b0f][CENTER] [img]https://i.imgur.com/oQ93ZTC.png[/img][/CENTER]
[table][row][/row][row][cell][center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/e25aL6N.jpg[/img]
[color=9e0b0f][sup]_______________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center]

[indent][b]Difficulty[/b]: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Special Request)
[b]Reward[/b]: 5000G, Notoriety increase

[b]Inventory[/b]:

[/indent]


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[/hider]

[@Hammerman] NPC(s): Ruecian, Rozemyme

The fae couple had returned to the veteran magus, their preparations now complete. 

[color=8882be]”You’ve returned, hopefully the old man’s shop wasn’t too messy for your liking. Let us be off then.”[/color] Roze said. 

===========

Leaving via a magitech vehicle, the trip to the rendezvous point wasn’t awfully long despite being quite a ways away from the republic city. The trip was uneventful for the most part, save for a few moments of conversation between the magus passengers. 

[color=8882be]”I still don’t like this.”[/color] Said Roze. [color=8882be]”I wish the others were back.”[/color]

[color=00aeef]”We’ll be fine.”[/color] Replied her Belua comrade. [color=00aeef]”All things considered, this is just a standard survey/purification job.””[/color]

[color=8882be]”Rue, don’t take this lightly. The last team that went there was almost completely wiped out. Also, think about what’s become of the region, now that it’s been left unattended for the past few weeks.”[/color] She added in an annoyed tone. [color=8882be]”I would feel better if we had Xashan or Amelia with us.”[/color]

[color=00aeef]”If that thing was still there, I might agree with you. But, it’s long since moved on by this point. We’re just on cleanup duty right now.”[/color]

[hider=Region Checkpoint]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/aj3bGa9.jpg[/img]
[/hider]

After some time, they finally arrived at the checkpoint, roughly in the late afternoon. The group saw officials scurrying in and out of various tents, horses riding and out of camp and being manned at the several stables posted up. Things here appeared to be quite busy; it was to be expected given the current situation. Ruecian went up to one of the officials to make himself and the rest of the party known. [color=00aeef]”Afternoon, we’re the team from Eon, here for the special request.”[/color] He said. The man quite noticeably stood over the reptilian Belua, however, as soon as he took in Ruecian’s presence his entire demeanor changed. 

”Y-you’re Ruecian Valeniquen!” He exclaimed 

[color=00aeef]”Yep, in the flesh…”[/color] Ruecian responded, in an annoyed tone. 

”You’ve no idea what relief your presence here brings.” He said, his spirits lifted. ”Over there is that…?” He looked over at Roze and the others. ”It’s Rozemyne Levina! We may actually be able to rest easy!”

[color=00aeef]”You don’t need to make such a fuss over it, fuck’s sake…””[/color] Ruecian said, rubbing his head. [color=00aeef]”Can you just escort us to whoever’s in charge here.”[/color]

[color=8882be]”We understand the situation must be dire, but we need more information. We’ll do what we can to help.”[/color] 

”Oh, yes, of course!” The man responded. ”I presume the other two with you are newcomers? We need all the help you can give.” He looked at Lanus and Renee for a moment. 

The group was led into the largest tent in the camp. Inside, sat a man behind a large table covered with a map of the region. The man wore slightly different garb that was a bit more ornamental compared to the other officers in the camp, denoting him to be someone of importance. Along with him, sat a [url=https://imgur.com/7HJMZnp]young looking woman with long bluish hair. She had a couple of bandages on her face.[/url] ”Sir, the team from Eon has arrived!” He said to the seated man. 

[b]”Very good. You may leave us.”[/b] Said the apparent head official, waving off the man with a gesture. The man made a bow, then promptly went back outside. The woman eyed the group that entered the tent. [color=0076a3][i]They only sent four!?[/i][/color] She silently exclaimed to herself.
Her eyes widened a bit, however, while looking at Ruecian and Rozemyne. [b]”Welcome all. Please, take a seat. I find it most fortunate that the Blue Dragon Oracle and The Witch of the Triad have graced us with their presence. We’ve much to discuss.”[/b] Said the man. There were enough vacant seats for the group of four. Lanus and Renee were left to take the seats closest to the blue haired woman. 

[b]”We’re an outpost that has setup a perimeter around the surrounding area. A few weeks ago, a powerful abomination wreaked havoc in this region, decimating much of the wildlife and a few small villages as well. We’ve done our best to keep the rot from spreading, however, we simply don't have the manpower to fully purify the area.[/b] He said with a grimace.

[color=00aeef]”Hence why we’re here, yeah?”[/color] Rue responded. 

[b]”Indeed. Now then, allow me to introduce this young lady sitting with us today.[/b] He said, gesturing over to the blue haired lass. [b]”This is Rana Schuellen, she was the one who led the initial strike team against the creature. Unfortunately, they were all nearly wiped out. Thankfully, her and a few others managed to escape with their lives.”[/b]

[color=0076a3]”A pleasure to meet you all.”[/color] She said flatly. 

[b]”I regret to inform you that while the creature had since attacked another region since its initial appearance in this area, no one has seen it since. The creature seems to have simply upped and vanished without a trace. But, myself and Rana will be more than happy to answer any further questions you may have. Rana will also be accompanying you into the affected region as an advisor when you’re ready to set out"[/b]