The air was warm. There was the sound of children playing in the streets, of dogs barking, and of birds singing. Throngs of people strolled over the cobblestones, stopping to perform deliveries, to buy goods, or for idle chatter.

It was Summer in Venne, and the city's people were taking full advantage of this fact. The mild, pleasant weather made conditions ripe for a variety of activities, both for business and for pleasure. Nobles conducted business and political dealings, merchants sold their wares, farmers tended to their livestock.

But these ideal conditions merely applied to the weather. A perfect world where nothing goes wrong, alas, does not exist.

That is why the Adventurer's Guild was also busy today. Good weather didn't wasn't only beneficial to Estival's citizens, but also to beasts and other creatures that could threaten them. Not only that, but it also meant that the archaeological digs by the Mage College had started up again, which was another avenue of work for Venne's Guild branch.

A tall, sloped roof marked the building itself, the interior quite wide with an arched cieling supported by high beams. The first floor was split into the guild reception area to the right and a recreational tavern meant for the guild's members to the left. Above was the guild's housing, available to any guild members who required it. It was often quite full, mostly due to the convenience of living right above the job board.

Just like the streets, the guild was currently bustling.

A large number of new jobs had been posted recently, for all different levels of adventurer. Taking care of bandits who had step up on the road between Keelsgravv and Pelle, looking for lost livestock, handling pests in the basement of a recently-purchased building, and even a job asking for adventurers to deal with a dragon that had apparently been harassing Dansbell.

---That last job posting may not have been entirely serious in nature. Surely there would have been news of a dragon near one of Estival's cities before a job was posted at the guild branch.

The receptionists at the desk were currently a little swamped. With all the jobs coming in, there were plenty of adventurers accepting them and registering with the guild. Today, the Gold-ranked party lead by Alan the Hawk was present, registering some difficult quest or another

Other adventurers were more relaxed near the bar, ordering food and drinks. The hulking figure of the male ingvarr adventurer Magnus, still clad in his heavy armor, towered above many others even seated as he drank beer after beer with seemingly no sign of stopping.

And yet, some adventurers were in less then fine moods.

---

---Hmph.

It's ridiculous.

Is ridiculous even harsh enough? Maybe it's more like an insult.

After all this hard work, after everything I've done, all the success I've earned, and crushing every single walking corpse in that tomb---

Iron.

The word stares back at me on my guild registration, as if it's trying to taunt me.

How is this fair? How am I only iron-rank?

The fact I've had to earn experience this way was already frustrating. It's not as if there's any problem with adventurers. Plenty of paladins sign on with adventurer's guilds for convenience's sake, and in order to be able to assist the local people on a regular basis. There's no problem with that.

But that's not why I've been made to sign on.

I'm here because despite everything, despite my capabilities and dedication, they think I still need experience.

It wouldn't be so bad, but---

Iron!? Seriously?!

"Hmph!"

I stuff the registration in my bag and cross my arms over my chest. Seriously, how badly mistaken can you possibly be?

Even Steel would be more accurate. I'd have accepted that just fine, but the people in charge of guild evaluation said something about 'lack of experience' and---

Ugh, just thinking about it makes my blood boil.

Fine. If they think I'm just Iron-level, then I'll just have to show them the truth. I'll take on a challenging job, the highest rated job I can possibly accept at this level, and conquer it easily in the name of Reon. That will show them how badly they've underestimated me.

---Nngh, why does it have to be so crowded today?

I can see the backs of various adventurers hanging around the job board, examining the listings. There's not a lot of room to squeeze in, at the moment, and they're all blocking my view.

I lean to the left, putting my weight into one foot as I try to peer around them, clenching my teeth in irritation.

I can't see past the crowd. I stretch with my feet, rising on my toes to try and see if I can peer through any gaps, but it's not enough to make out any of the listings. There's plenty of them, of course, but that doesn't help when there's a bunch of morons blocking the way. Can't they tell I'm trying to see? Are they blind?

There's definitely not any other reason, after all.

There's no point in trying to be patient any longer. If they won't let me in, I'll simply have to let them have it.

"Excuse me!"

@Rune_Alchemist@Raineh Daze@Eisenhorn@The Otter@Pyromania99@SilverPaw@Coda@RolePlayerRoxas

It was Day Two of Quille's observation of the functioning of the guild. Day one had yielded less insights than the elf had helped, borne by one simple fact: she had spent most of it slumped over at one of the tables wondering when her head would stop feeling like it was trapped in a cave-in. By the time she had mostly recovered, everything that she had wanted further information on had slowed to a crawl, and she spent the remainder of the day taking care of her knives and being awkwardly aware that she had a tab running up in the background.

At least nobody had made her pay for the drinks on that first night. It would have been so much worse.

The point of interest was to see how jobs were claimed. Adventuring was rarely a solo profession – although exceptions existed, anyone going down in song for reasons other than a glorious death could likely clear anything short of that dragon job alone – and so the questions on her mind were: did everyone arrange groups for an individual job or were they all lasting teams? Was it a mix? And did some people just sign their name up and see who else came along until they hit the body count?

She wasn't making much headway from observation. Most of the experienced adventurers were smart enough to not crowd the board and just sent one person up, and there was too much noise for Quille to reliably overhear any single team. Even without this large lamia had come over and struck up a conversation that the dark elf carried on without really focusing on it, she'd not been able to pick up much beyond the occasional objection to going on another orc-clearing mission.

… honestly, that was terrible civic pride. Everyone's first duty was to exterminate Hidroroth's vermin.

Maybe she should stop hanging back by the bar and just ask the receptionists? Even if they were rather overwhelmed at the moment.

@Rune_Alchemist

Hyseleia
@Raineh Daze

---

It was rare that Hyselia would take an interest in a newcomer. Well, perhaps not rare. Having a bit of a laugh at there expense by ever so slightly scaring them was always a fun time. After all, who wouldn't be ever so mildly put off by a rather largely sized Lamia scarfing down what she claims is human meat. It ended up either two ways. The funniest were those who mustered up the courage to actually confront her about it. They, often, ended up being her...partner for the next few hours while they got a stern lesson about assuming things and how to not be rude.

No, what made this newcomer so fascinating was their stature, their definitely somewhat shy seeming nature and the fact she was honestly just bored.

"Not every day we get a Dark Elf in the guild." She asked as she'd approach Quille by the bar, the size of her tail causing her to take up several spaces of seats much to a few peoples displeasure. "And of a Steel rank, too. How ever so mysterious." Her tone wasn't unfriendly, though it certainly was accusatory. Likely of Quille being much more than she seemed and perhaps here for some reason other than what was stated. "Is what I would say, but you almost look more like a butterfly caught in a spiders web then a fanged serpent."

Hyseliea would wait a few moments for an earnest reply, motioning for the bartender to fetch her something to snack on. Something meaty, of course. She had expected a reply at least.

"I know I forget sometimes but I was told in a polite society people listen when they're spoken too," Quille, may slowly start to feel the tip of the Lamia's tail slowly curling around her ankle. "I suppose I should introduce myself first, though. Hyseliea Erenhart. Mage. Iron rank."

---

"I figured the good weather would bring everyone out, but it is even more crowded than I figured!"

Renard had just gotten back from his most recent job, he had been joining a group of Iron ranks to provide backup since when he had last been through there hadn't been anything too interesting or challenging to join a group for. He was in a bit of a habit of rotating through groups lately, joining in with whoever was heading out on the hardest missions he could take, but if there wasn't anything like that he didn't mind keeping an eye on the lower ranking adventurers. He always made it a habit to make offerings to Mayon to ask for a bit of extra protection for his allies before a job, a rose for each of them. It was easy to watch his own back, but adding others to that list was a test all its own, which he welcomed but, on the other hand, wasn't keen on gambling so readily with other's well being. It didn't hurt, he figured, to ask since he made offerings before each job either way so it all panned out as far as he figured.

Given the swarm around the quest board, Renard figured he would pick up more listening to the chatter about the jobs rather than trying to force his way in to look first hand. The regular groups were smart, sending their most capable to grab a job rather than try to all swarm and add to the mess around the board, while his usual seat at the bar was taken up by a lamia, who seemed to be chatting up a dark elf. Didn't see them often, he wasn't sure he had ever seen one until now, but he certainly recognized one when he saw one. Too busy idly entertaining the lamia, and since he wasn't going to get a drink quite yet, something else caught his attention instead. Over the general chatter and noise, someone trying to get the excited gaggle of adventurer's attention to..make way, maybe? Hard to say, he didn't recognize the one shouting. He strolled over, chiming in as he glanced down at the shorter, younger girl, taking an estimate of her as he spoke.

"Reckon that isn't going to get you much Lady, not really. Peak season for jobs, monsters, and adventure, so the board and poor receptionists are even more swamped than usual. Try grabbing a seat and listening in, its amazing what you can pick up without having to try and force your way to the front."

Renard shrugged, an easy, friendly smile on his face as he settled down into a chair near the board, the nearest open one at the very least. He was keeping half an eye on the bar, for an opening to go catch a drink, while he listened in to the chatter about what was going on and interesting postings that were worth noting. Dragon near Dansbell had to be too good to be true, there would have been panic and a whole lot more commotion over that before it ever got here. He had the sense to keep his tail well out of the walking path, considering just how much foot traffic and loosely controlled chaos there was right now, the last thing he needed was getting stepped on. He might look into that dragon job anyways, in the off chance there actually was one being a problem. Now that would be a hell of a good fight, he imagined, and would make for a good mark on his list of accomplishments. Another step closer to Silver, to be sure, though that was all hoping that somehow there was a dragon being a problem, and it had somehow not caused a panic. In other words, not likely at all.

@VitaVitaAR

-----------

The guild was bustling today. Not exactly an uncommon occurrence, but it was a situation that often left Soruha in a bit of a strange bind.

Leaning against the guild's wall, near to the entrance, a tiny, child-sized figure had their arms crossed, a dark hood obscuring their eyes somewhat, watching adventurers enter and exit, or common folk passing by on their own errands. The sun was distressingly bright, annoying Soruha even with the hood to protect her eyes, but that wasn't quite her biggest issue at the moment.

It'd take a bit of time for the people inside to filter out, giving the nem enough room to at least make her way around the interior. Not that it was impossible right now, she just didn't want to resort to crawling between everyone's legs to reach the board or reception... and she'd also been told off already for trying more acrobatic means to manoeuvre around in such conditions. Her small stature made her more prone to being squished rather uncomfortably, or even just outright trampled, by all the giants that lived here.

A small smirk crossed Soruha's lips. It wasn't that long ago, she was wowed by seeing so many towering beings at once. Of course, she'd met plenty of humans over the years, but there was a difference between lone travellers, or even caravans, and seeing them all congregated in one mega-settlement like this! It was also apparent that, given her own people's rarity this far North, things were generally built under the assumption that adults were all at least twice her height. Really, having to buy 'children's' furniture is a dangerous knock to the image she's been building up as an adventurer...

Ah, her mind was starting to wander. Soruha leaned to the side a little, peering inside, as if doing so would reveal a surprisingly empty hall. Maybe she could at least find a table to sit at? Even if they were all occupied, someone shouldn't mind too much if she borrowed a seat... they might mind the lack of real conversation she could bring to the table though.

"Haaahhh, maybe I should just switch to night jobs after all..." Soruha sighed, her grumblings imperceptible to all. As a nem, she certainly would prefer working at night... but the overwhelming majority of adventurers and work were tied too strongly to daytime hours. Adjusting the hood slightly, Soruha could only remain awkwardly, projecting her badass, mysterious aura to all who cared to notice a child-sized figure wearing a black cloak in this heat.

It looks like someone did hear me over their own noise. Unfortunately, it's not any of the people blocking my way. He's a hundi, older than myself. I don't know him, but I suppose I don't personally know many of the adventurers here yet.

He's trying to give me advice, but...

"Hmph."

I let out a huff, my hands slipping down from my chest to rest on my hips. First of all, I didn't ask for any advice.

"So I shouldn't expect them to be considerate?" I ask, "I'm looking for a job, too, would they like it if they were walled off and unable to even see the listings?"

The answer is plainly obvious. There's no need to elaborate any further. No-one would be happy about it, and so my irritation is completely justified.

"Besides, it's not like I can accept a job I can't even read about," I add, looking him over again. Tanned skin, silvery hair, leather armor and green clothing. I have to guess he's some kind of hunter or other kind of lighter-equipped fighter, something along those lines. He doesn't look unexperienced, but it's not like I was trying to get assistance.

Besides, if that was his goal, he didn't help at all.

I suppose I could try and listen in and ask a receptionist about the challenge rating of a specific listing, but wouldn't that just give them more work? He did just describe them as overworked, after all.

Hmph.

If he really wanted to help, he should have tried to make some room himself, but he's just sat down and started listening in rather then trying to get someone to move.

In that case---

"I said excuse me!"

@Eisenhorn

"Mmhmm," was Quille's quiet reply, tilting her head slightly to watch the short girl (was she a child? Children could do junior jobs, right?) talk to a Hundi and resume… demanding people let her past. Loudly. Maybe if she went over there and picked her up, it would help and she might get enough gratitude to have the girl explain…

Ah, but if she was a child, she might miss things. The procedures were probably slightly different for picking up small jobs versus something with actual danger to it, or more complicated goals. Best to leave her alone, then.

"Quille," the elf responded, paying enough mind to the conversation to respond to a name – if not in any detail (and she'd definitely get in trouble for forgetting later – but not to add any detail. Or, by appearances, do anything about the tail around her ankle. Although the stifled twitch of the foot in question, the way one of her hands stretched for a knife… she'd noticed, just discounted it as a problem. Or didn't want to basically tread on someone's toes.

@Rune_Alchemist

---

"How much consideration is there in trying to force past anyone already fairly here before you? Plenty of folks probably aren't keen on getting forced past, present company included I'd be tempted to wager."

Renard was half leaning back in his chair, front two feet of the chair firmly off the ground now, noting Lady was certainly an irritable sort, that much was clear up front. It was never easy getting jobs from the board if you weren't someone capable of making space, part of why the regular groups always elected oner person to go job hunting, and he relied on agility and speed, not brute force, so trying to worm his way through a crowd was hit or miss at times. If she got much shorter though she could crawl under people, though she wasn't quite at a Nem's level so fortunately, for all involved, he didn't say that out loud. He made no attempts to dissuade her from trying to continue shouting her way through the loud crowd though, mainly because a familiar voice called out to him. An easy grin flashed on Renard's face as Eustace made his way in, raising his hand in return.

"Always a pleasure Rook, keeping yourself out of trouble?"

The Hundi had kept half an eye out for Eustace whenever he was back in the Guild, it had been a surprise to be sure when he first came in looking to join as an adventurer himself, so soon after that nasty business with the bandits. Far as he saw the lad had a knack for it, so all the better to take advantage of what had otherwise been a rather unpleasant situation for him. Hell of a fight though, not one Renard would forget anytime soon, though he did nod when asked about if he was fresh back from work or not.

"Sure am, couple of Iron ranks were looking for a Steel to tag along on a mission that was just a bit above their punching weight. They did good, all things considered, though it was pretty straightforward in the end. Not my usual preference, far as work goes, but there wasn't anything challenging up for grabs at the time, so no harm in watching out for them."

Renard cocked his head when Eustace started up on trying to introduce someone, looking past the excitable blueblood to see if he could spot just who was supposed to be getting introduced right now. By all accounts he didn't ever spend long at rest in the Guild, picking up his next job in short order and striking out again. It was good for keeping sharp, and kept him from wasting his earnings resting on his laurels so it all worked out as far as he was concerned. That did mean he would miss newcomers showing up on more than one occasion, so if someone new needed introduced then all the better for him, besides, Eustace was always the friendly sort so it was only natural for him to pick up on someone possibly newer than him. Least that would make sense to Renard.

@SilverPaw@VitaVitaAR

---------------

Soruha's head tilted upward slightly, hearing her alias called out suddenly. Entering the bustling Guild was Eustace, a familiar face that had began adventuring at the same time as herself. She wasn't sure they could be considered 'friends', but he was a dependable enough fellow, and pleasant to talk with besides. Well, not that they could really hold a proper conversation, but he didn't seem to find it too much of an imposition to speak to her.

Still, her inability to converse was as inconvenient as always, with Eustace's invitation leaving her little room to decline. It still seemed far too packed for her liking... but with a companion, it'd probably be easier to have space made as needed? And refusing would be less cool, and more extremely damn rude. Straightening her posture, the hooded nem silently followed after him, making sure to stick close behind. It didn't take Eustace long to find a friend it seemed, and as they exchanged some words, Soruha's eyes wandered. From her perspective, this really was a den of giants, and she could only hope no one assumed her to be a child following an older sibling around.

She could almost feel a kinship with the smallest of giants trying to access the job board, behind the wall of adventurers, watching with some amusement as she huffed and puffed, though her attention was snapped back when Soruha realised that Eustace was introducing her. Inclining her head, Soruha greeted the man apparently known as Renard, "good day, sir." As pointless as it was to speak, Soruha generally did so anyway - it would be a tad troublesome to find she had lost her voice, should the curse ever come undone. Might as well keep her vocal chords in use for the meantime.

With that said, she needed a way to at least get her name out there, and while Eustace could easily do that for her, it was best to handle things within her capability, no? Reaching into a pocket, Soruha produced a small slip of paper, raising it to show off the contents; 'Raven' written in blocky, wonky letters, almost like a child just starting to grasp the written word, very much unlike her native writing. Whether to leave no room for doubt, or simply to enhance the coolness of her alias, a crude drawing of a bird was included as well, a flat and unflattering representation of a raven - well, Soruha never claimed to be an artist. Beneath the hood, pride welled in her bright, red eyes, showing her makeshift card to Eustace as well.

Nevaris
Mentioned: Hyseleia
Interactions: @VitaVitaAR
__________________________________________________________________________________________

“Thank you most kindly,” Nevaris said to the barkeep with a deep smile, tossing coins onto the bar and scooping up the heavy flagon that was nearly as big as his head. He looked into the amber brew; his own practiced smile reflected back at him.

He chuckled to himself. A bit much for me, but it should do the trick.

He glided past the others at the bar, lingering for a moment on the serpentine figure who monopolized more than her share of space. His gaze narrowed.

Hm… Would she count? No, no. Surely not. Don’t be foolish.

He shook the errant thought from his mind and began gingerly weaving through the crowd.

The ale sloshed back and forth as he bumped shoulders in the rowdy mass until he finally laid eyes on the crowd that had congealed around the mission board. His gait then shifted from precise to slovenly, mimicking his father’s drunken waddle that always came out during post-hunt celebrations.

“S-Scuze me, folks, don’t mind me…” His words slurred together. Convincingly, he hoped. “Jusht… pashin’ through ‘ere… And… Ope!”

At the last moment as he approached the group, he tripped over his own feet and fell forward in a sprawl, splashing his ale across the backs of three different people who were inspecting the board.

He faceplanted, then shot upright, rubbing the tip of his nose and groaning. “Ahhhhh, sweet hells, that smarts! Shorry friends, guesh I’ve had a bit too much to drink.” As the three adventurers turned their attention from the board to Nev, he looked sidelong at Rylia, who he had just landed beside. He obscured his mouth with his hand and whispered, his tone now composed and playful. “Now’s your chance. Find us a good one, ‘ey?”

Lisianna Bren

---

It was about time for her to get going. Lisianna had just finished settling her armor on and making sure it was fitted properly. It was already late enough in the day her mom had left for the Academy and her dad was busy with the City Guard. In that case, there was no one to say goodbye to. Well, that was fine. They already knew she might be in and out due to the whole adventurer thing. Her dad wasn't happy with it but it had less to do with Liz leaving, and more to do with her leaving the city guard and making the job a bit more difficult on him without her around.

Well, she needed to head to the guild to get a quest now. The adventurer grabbed her greatsword and left her house, tossing the weapon over her shoulder. She took a breath and headed out toward the guild. Lisianna got stopped a few times to talk to some of the patrolling guards as they had a small chit-chat and one or two of them trying to beg her to come back to the Guard since her father was becoming a handful without her around. She of course declined, laughing at their misfortunes a small bit. After she managed to make it to the Adventurer's Guild, she pushed the door open to witness a rather busy crowd.

Sure it was in Venne, but it never ceased to surprise her just how busy this place could get from time to time. Lisianna looked toward the job board just in time to see a guy with ale spill it on some others and then face plant before practically jump straight upright from that prior position. Liz watched wide-eyed, surprised at just how fast he was at it. The woman scratched her head a small bit as she looked for an opening. A quick gaze over the area deemed that she'd have to force her way through to get to the job board. Given her stature, it wouldn't be too difficult to do so though she hesitated to do so.

She decided not to since she didn't care to imitate the one that looked to be a drunkard... Or, perhaps more importantly get close to him lest she let her guard instincts take over. Instead, she waited, stalling for an opening for now, at the least. "Maybe someone will grab a job and need an extra hand and I won't have to lift a finger at the job board. She pointed her sword at the ground and rested the tip of her blade on the ground so she wasn't carrying it.

Hyseleia
@Raineh Daze

---

"Ah, so the presumptive mute can speak and has a name!" Hyseliea responded with a mildly irritated sounding huff. The Lamia tightened her grip on Quille's ankle just slightly, the tail having now coiled up to her knee. It was harmless, probably, but it would probably be somewhat difficult for most folk to get out now. "Guess I wont get away with simply calling you rude now, hm?"

Hyseliea would settle slightly, leaning slightly on the bar, resting head in the palm of her hand. It was difficult speaking to someone who wasn't invested or overtly interested in the conversation. She could ask questions, but what was there to ask? She wasn't divulging and she had no reason or desire to press any questions.

"Since my tail is carrying this conversation entirely by itself, I suppose I'll continue talking about me. Lets have a fun little Lamia fact. We're entirely carnivorous and get cold, very very, easily."

Quille would find herself suddenly being rather roughly pulled towards the Lamia if she didn't manage to slip out of the grip of her tail.

"It's a good thing Estival is warm, then," was the first automatic response out of the tall elf's mouth, a spare thought given to how light her current attire was. Aside from the scarf… she needed to make another one; this was actually quite oppressive given the temperature here. Maybe once she'd paid off her tab… and the livestock costs… and got some food… she could try and find some materials that she knew how to work with?

Quille's attention was pulled away from the boy faking inebriation – convincing or not, he had no time to get drunk given his brief time at the bar – by the tail now insistently pulling her in. Without resistance, at that, the hunter just making sure to angle her arms just so… and if the lamia started to tighten, then she'd still have a knife in hand. Which would probably be enough dissuasion.

It did mean that she couldn't continue her (useless) watching any longer, so the pink eyes met the snake's red ones. What else had she said, aside from the temperature? Ah, carnivorous. That was interesting…

"Is it only meat, or mostly meat? Some races and animals can handle other foods in small amounts, even if the meat is necessary…"

@Rune_Alchemist

"They're hogging the board."

It's obvious. They got there first, but they'd clearly had plenty of time to pick a job and be done with it. So why should they be blocking me from accessing them, too?

It's unfair, obviously. At least a few of them should be ready to move out of the way and let someone else take a look.

---Is that a drunk? I know that there's a bar, but seriously? Is someone actually getting completely drunk in the middle of the day? Aren't people here between jobs or looking for a new one?

That's completely shameful for an Adventurer!

Even more shameful is the way he's spilled all his ale, and the way he's bumping into people, and the way he's deciding to express his drunkenness directly to me. Couldn't he find someone else to harass? I'm not in the mood to deal with someone who can't talk or think straight, my situation is already---

...

Suddenly, he doesn't sound so incoherent. In fact, his voice is perfectly clear as he tells me 'now's your chance'.

---Tch.

"Hmph. I already said I didn't ask for help."

The only reason I'm taking this chance is because it's my first chance. It's not like I'm about to thank him, or anything. Still, there's a gap in the crowd, a clear path for me to go right up to the board and find something suitable.

Unfortunately, suitable doesn't mean something actually suited to my capabilities in this case, but suited to the rank those evaluators decided to force on me. Hmph.

But now is my opportunity. I can look over all the jobs on the board.

Hey---?!

Ugh, someone just bumped into me from behind. Some ingvarr lady, pushing against me like that. She made me lose my footing and she hasn't even apologized, she's just reaching up to try and grab a sheet from the board. She's way too close and she's not caring one bit about... about---

I feel something push against my shoulder. That's some other idiot, urgh, it's way too crowded---!

Fine!

I reach out and snatch a handful of listings, ripping them from the board and turning to get away from the crowd as soon as I can. If they're going to push me around like that. I'll just take the listings somewhere where I can look at them in peace!

@Coda@Eisenhorn

---

"Pleasure to meet you Little Bird, name's Renard Benoit, Steel rank. Good to see your making friends Rook, get a good party at your back and you'll pull off things you'd never do alone." True to form Renard had already picked his nickname for Raven, as the Nem had clearly been going for despite the artistic qualities on display seemed to refer to herself, having not heard any sort of actual words from her. Mute, maybe, or just soft spoken? Hard to say, though given he was always on the go it wasn't unreasonable that he may of, figuratively and possibly literally, overlooked the quiet Nem. The dejected look flashing across Rook's face wasn't lost on Renard, who leaned forward again, settling the chair on all fours to reach across the table and give him an easy pat on the shoulder. No need for that, as far as Iron ranks went it wasn't like Eustace needed babysat. Well, not any more than a dedicated healer would usually need, but that was to be expected.

"Don't let it get you down Rook, the fact you aren't just sitting around waiting for a chance to come to you is a lot better than the alternative. I don't think you would have gotten the showing you would be hoping for anyways, so keep your chin up and we'll see what the upcoming jobs look like, yeah?" Renard knew his habit and preference for the most difficult job he could sign on for made it hard to follow along on, but he had a feeling Eustace would learn a lot more from other people than him. Sure, he could teach him how to handle a spear and duel, but from what he heard that wasn't Rook's strong suits anyways. Still, if they ended up on the same job then Renard would keep an eye out all the same, but for the time being that wouldn't be the case. Seems like Lady got some, apparently unwelcome, help anyways, however slight.

Drunk stumbling and making a mess of things, though that was bound to happen at some point in any given day. Get it out of the way early, he supposed, though since his back was to the drunk he did not see the lucidity or clear intent after the fact. By the time he glanced back whoever had been throwing booze around had ended up gone or otherwise made themselves scarce. Seemed like Lady had managed to get her hands on some jobs as well, grabbing what she could reach at the bottom of the board, probably, before making for someplace that wasn't as crowded. Rook chimed in, and he shrugged, not sure whether or not the feisty Lady would share or not. "One way to find out, go ask her. She seems the fiery sort but you've got a knack for becoming fast friends with people it looks like, worse she says is no in this case."

@RolePlayerRoxas@SilverPaw

Hyseleia
@Raineh Daze

---

"There that's better." Hyseliea smiled. "Was that so hard, little mysterious elf? But to answer your question..." The plate of food she had ordered was sat down in front of her with a light clattering of utensils that had been drowned out by the noise of the guild hall. "Mostly meat, by that definition." The Lamia would take a fork and pick up a large, thick cut of rare cooked steak that was on her plate. "We can eat other things, plants and such in small amounts for flavor and seasonings. But for nutrition? Meat."

Hyseliea's tail had by now coiled entirely up to Quille's waist. While it wasn't tight to the point of being painful, it had certainly tightened to the point that would make escape difficult for most normal people. It seemed like Hyseliea was intent on fully binding Quille, too, as the tail didn't show any sign of stopping as it continued to slowly coil around her...and consequently, also pull her closer so that the only thing between the two of them was the Lamia's own tail. The tail itself was surprisingly cool to the touch and as one may expect, smooth.

"And now that I have your undivided attention. If I may ask, what brings you here, that has you acting like a kitten caught in a wolfs den? Looking for a party or someone to help?"

---

Quillë's attention was, perhaps unfortunately for the Lamia that was trying to draw her closer and closer in, was quickly divided as another elf stepped into the middle between them, heedless of any conversation that may or may not have been happening between them. In just the last moment before the pair had been entirely pulled together, in fact, finding himself almost immediately squished between the two of them. To his credit, he looked surprised, as he set some books down on the bar and turned towards the pair he was now stuck between rather than calling out to the bartender.

"Eh? A dark elf?" He frowned, furrowing his brow at the one to his right. "How'd you get so tall?" Perhaps not the average question to ask of her sort, compared to the more usual sort like "what are you doing topside" or similar. "I'd think that would be difficult where you're from, not to mention—oh, my!"

He turned to the left, seemingly only just noticing Hyseleia. "I didn't step on your tail, did I? I—good heavens, lady, what are you eating? At least get some liver in there. You'll spoil yourself rotten if all you eat is muscle, you know." Just as quickly as he'd lost track of whatever he was going to order at the bar, he lost track of Quillë, instead taking issue with the Lamia's order of choice. Very nearly obligate carnivores, they were, that meant that they had to get a lot of organ meats and such to keep a full and balanced diet. "You're not picky, are you? I'm sure I have some recipes that would help you make things like that more palatable if you are. We can't have someone getting scurvy while we're out on an assignment, you know."

Hm, now she was being smooshed together against some random boy, which was… awkward. A very-nearly-getting-stabbed kind of awkward, and even without the risk of knives, she was awfully bony. It was not, in fact, a particularly comfortable position to be in. Being ensnared generally wasn't, but at least the lamia's tail was quite soft, and a nice coolness to offset the unpleasant summer heat.

“I just grew this way,” It wasn't the most useful answer, but what else was there to say? The underground wasn't nearly so cramped as he might have thought, and ‘taller than elves usually got’ wasn't the sort of thing that she had ever aimed for in childhood. It just sort of happened.

Hmm, it was nice to know that there were diets like that which existed up here, and the adventurer's guild itself served better fare than the disturbing vegetable soup that had been offered, or gruel, or… yes, she had no money. And the last thing anyone wanted her to do, for some reason, was ply her trade; she knew what animals happened to be owned now, it would be fine. She wasn't being picky for the fun of it.

“Oh, I just… don't know how jobs are picked,” the hunter admitted after a moment's reflection, “I was just asked to become an adventurer because of some confusion around a few cows. It seems like a nice use of my skills while I'm up here.”