"Knock anything...?" Corinne looked at the elf, then down at herself, and seemed to spend an age before putting two and two together to notice how perilously close her bust had come to knocking over the still-open wine bottle. What a waste that would have been... it was still far too full to risk spilling! "Thank you!"

Carefully moving the bottle aside, and sparing her glass the same fate, the Hundi took a long drink before tilting her head quizzically, "Half-elf? Why would you... oh, because I speak Elvish properly!"

"I'm not part elf, at least not in any recent generation," she shook her head very enthusiastically, "Mum's just one of the forest people. When I was little, she wasn't very good at Ithillane, so we always spoke this instead. She's still pretty bad, but Lili doesn't know Elvish any better than the girls yet..."

Familial rambling aside, at least the answer was clear. While the majority of Hundi lived within the major human kingdoms, there was a distinct minority that had found themselves living amongst the wood elves instead – just as prone to flights of romantic combat, but distinctly less likely to marry out and live elsewhere, to the point that most dismissed it as just another tall tale.

Of course, they were distinctly less secretive to a wood elf. Or half wood elf, as the case may be.

@The Otter

---

Abigail had barely sat down before the white-haired Hundi was at her shoulder, eyes narrowed in concentration as she read over the listings with abundant caution.

"Some of these are absurd... even if there were a dragon, it would never be posted openly," she snorted, dismissing the entire idea. She suspected that it was a way to arrange something under the table, and if the wrong people actually picked it up... well, they could chase dragons that didn't exist for their troubles.

Or maybe it was one of those that only warranted the occasional talking to, not a serious attempt at slaying. Not her problem.

"Would you mind if we moved to one of the tables? I fear leaving my wife alone..." Although, she did just seem to be happily chattering away for once. That was surprising, drunk or not.

@Eisenhorn

Why---

Why is she pulling me even closer?! I'm not some sort of stuffed toy for this weird snake woman to pick up and play with whenever she wants! And what does she mean inadequacies!? I'm more than adequate! I'm definitely, definitely---!

Why did I have to run into these two today?!

It was already annoyingly crowded, with the jobs board nearly impossible to reach because of all those loud idiots blocking the way, so why did I need to be accosted by these two overly-flashy, irritating cows?!

Of course, the lamia is a snake, but she's a cow too!

All I want is to pick out an acceptable job so I can get to my correct rank more quickly, but of course I'm getting harrassed and grabbed like this.

I grip at the lamia's coiled tail again, trying to pull myself free, clenching my teeth in irritation.

"I'm plenty adequate, I'll have you know," I snap in annoyance as I push at the coiled tail again, "Do you treat any other adventurers like this?! Let go already, I'm not your plaything!"

Was it common in lamia culture to just grab people? Did they find that acceptable? Is it just in their nature to be grabby towards complete strangers? To try and make them mad!? Is that just how snakes are?!

Damn it, I just want to take a look at those listings, but after initially picking me up, in addition to every other annoyance she's really just making it harder for me now!

Tch, this is worse then Sister Miralle's clingyness. Though I'm not sure which attitude is more annoying when it comes to it, either way I want to get free already!

Isn't it embarrassing to be clinging to a random stranger for her too?

@Rune_Alchemist@Octo

---

It seemed as if one mage had taken Csenge's unspoken strategy to endear themselves to the guild maids into account. A young man in grey robes, with pale, near-silver blue hair had approached the cordoned off area and taken out a catalyst with a steel-and orichalcum, crescent head. With a few words, he had produced a gently-spinning coil of water using the bucket one of the maids had brought to assist in scrubbing away the bloodstains.

As for the job listings, there were plenty left over even after the initial rush. Of the ones that Abigail had taken with her, a few stood out:

My cows keep getting taken by a hungry griffin! Please help! My farm is south of the capital, if I lose any more cows I don't know what I'm going to do! I think it might belong to someone, so I can't have it killed either!

Missing: 1 Gold Wedding Ring with a large diamond. Last seen 50 years ago in the Abandoned Rocksplitter Mine near Haesting. The mine was closed down due to an infestation of great spiders, so it may be dangerous. If found, return to Varoc Helmbreaker.

From the Venne Mage's College Archaeological Department: We are in search of talented adventurers of Iron Rank or higher to clear the ruins of the Talderian-era Fort Magrial of goblins. The goblins stole equipment and injured several excavation workers, and may be intending to raid nearby towns. Fort Magrial is located North of Walverrest, near the Town of Stonefield.

There have been strange sounds and disturbed earth in the graveyard at Aronsgrove, South of Pelle. We suspect undead may be lurking in one of the mausoleums. Please put these lost dead to rest.

As for the jobs that remained on the board, there were plenty of options there as well. Among them were a number of appropriately-leveled jobs of varying urgency:

Lord Alexander Knightstar Lowell of Venne urgently requests the assistance of all adventurers of Iron Rank or higher. The Lord's beloved griffin stallion, Blackbeak, has gone missing. Despite repeated attempts to locate Blackbeak, he has not yet been found, though there have been sightings south of Venne. Please locate and capture Blackbeak unharmed. His favorite treat is beef hearts, so you may be able to lure him safely by using them as bait.

I live outside of Everett, in Greenleaf. There's been strange noises every night, and mysterious lights out in the woods. One of them even tried to lure my daughter away from town. As a representative of the concerned citizens of Greenleaf, I am requesting aid to drive away whatever presence is inhabiting the forest.

My name is Aldus Fletcher. I'm a farmer living outside of Keelsgraav. Recently, my sheep have been acting strangely, being frightened in the evening and refusing to graze. Some of them have become ill, with a strange black fluid appearing on their faces. Just the other night, one of them disappeared. There's an unclean presence lurking nearby, I'm sure. If you take care of it, I'll give you a worthy reward!

We'll shelve the problem for a minute. I can feel a pit beginning to swell in my stomach as the pilsner I left behind on my seat at the table fades into background radiation, like an old tree being hollowed out by rot, or fire. Licking at the edges inside— that's where the turn of phrase falters, to me. Hunger doesn't gnaw at you, so much as it licks at threads. Tendrils, not teeth.

Maybe I'm just not really hungry enough yet.

Regardless, it's looking like I've succeeded better than I had hoped in keeping myself beneath the notice of the cantankery-of-the-day— I never heard anything back from the lamia or the paladin regarding my passing remarks, which is fair enough, and the open-ended question I had for the open-ended question that sounded off in their wake went unaddressed. I ended up putting a face and cause to the voice on my own as the dwarf shuffled forward to confront Hrefna about her proof of kill, loudly and heatedly. I guess that, also, is fair. I hardly do much to distinguish myself now that I've settled into whatever I am— it wasn't until I cracked a good share of goblin skulls that I had even made iron rank, after all.

Speaking of, all the continuing commotion has left me the space I've needed to pull up to the board and have a proper look for jobs that might put more food in my stomach, and I'd be mighty pleased if I saw more goblins to kill. They aren't the most common job, actually— the unending tide of bloodthirsty, guild-sanctioned raiders does a lot to keep numbers in check and extant populaces wary of any human settlement bigger than three or four people, as I understand it. But still, goblins got me my shiny new Iron Rank, and they're one of the few things I can tell I have a certain skill for dealing with. If I find more goblins on the board today, I'm sure to keep that rock rolling downhill.

There's a gap I can shoulder into, next to the academic cupping her chin in thought and perusing things. I won't take that for any particular omen, seeing as she doesn't strike me for the type that would be looking for the same opportunities I am, but she's been standing here for a minute...

"Anything good on there?" I ask conversationally as I wedge my way into the gap, eyes narrowed as I scan the options the axe-toting girl from a moment ago has left for us scrap-stealing vultures. I'm searching, I'm searching... And I click my tongue with a frown. "Damn. Outta luck. Nobody needs dumb muscle, do they?"

Abigail Blackthorn

---

Abigail glanced, before shifting to give Liliane a more clear look of the cluster of jobs she grabbed. Before she could look too closely at the ones that stood out, the hundi called the dragon posting absurd. Agreed, for the reason she gave as well, that kind of thing would not just be publicly open and waiting. The right people would be picked to form a hunting party, and off they'd go on a grand old adventure to hunt a dragon. Not randomly posted up in the guild job board, so she had basically tossed that one mentally out of her mind as a possible option to join in on. The request to move to a table, for fear of leaving her wife alone, got an idle shrug. The other hundi then, though she seemed perfectly happy chattering away, probably needed babysat anyways.

"Sure, doesn't matter to me where jobs get looked over."

Abigail stood, grabbing a fresh mug of ale with one hand, the job listings with the other, grabbing the nearest table that had seating for the two hundi and....whoever else decided to lurk she supposed. As for the jobs themselves, she started sifting through the ones that actually stood out, rapidly tossing pointless menial labor off to the edge of the table, before reaching the first worth noting. Some farmer's cows kept getting eaten, griffin trouble, which caused her to briefly perk up before the statement of taking it alive came up, getting a sigh instead.*

"Taking things alive is rarely worth the effort, even for beasts of some note. Unless you have some fancy charms or something, not worth the hassle."

Moving on, Abigail reviewed the next listing. Some wedding ring went missing, large diamond....fifty years ago?! The hell kind of husband (reading further ahead to see who was involved) left a gods damned wedding ring abandoned in a mine? She glanced at the hundi as she began nudging the listing towards the probably not pile.

"Reckon if he can't be bothered to post a finding for the ring sooner, his better half probably ain't too keen on him to begin with."

For all she knew the better half had passed, but Abigail was not strictly one for speculating like that. Not when the next two jobs were far, far more up her realm of expertise. Venne Mage's College got jumped by goblins in some broken down old fort, and wanted iron ranks or higher to clear them out. Given they had whatever the college left behind when they got jumped, that job probably would want a Steel rank along to babysit. Goblins were one of the things always worth killing, though the next job was one of the other things worth killing as well. Undead, by the looks of it. She was no paladin (though the kid paladin coiled up by the lamia still probably would salivate at that kind of job), but hacking up undead and burying them again usually paid well. No morals to worry about either, for her adventuring peers that were nearly as worried about that.

"Goblins or undead, that's solid money and straight forward. Goblins with mage college belongings is not great news, but neither is a bunch of shambling corpses rising up. Reckon either of those are the best of this lot of jobs."

Abigail wasn't bothering to keep her voice down, taking a swig of her drink. In no small part, she was curious to see if the kid paladin heard the mention of undead, but she made it pretty clear her interest was more in cracking skulls, living or otherwise, than having to waste time trying to wrangle griffins or hunt giant spiders for a ring that might not even be there anymore. Besides, giant spiders were not her mug of ale. Hell, spiders weren't period, but at least the small ones in room corners at least did something useful.

She'd gone to take a gander at the available jobs...and started in surprise as some hooded lady with an axe just outright ripped some listings off the board for her own perusal.

"Oi! Get back here with those, I wasn't done looking!"

Reeva followed after the apparent huntswoman, groaning with exasperation as Abigail wound up...at the bar. Of course. It wasn't even noon! Nevertheless, the rogue started to peer over the other woman's shoulder as the listings were at least generously spread out across the table, even if she still thought it was a stupid idea.

"You know all this is doing is getting people to crowd your table, right? Anyways, let's see here..."

The investigations and such seemed asinine, and the gold ring was...well, she didn't particularly want to deal with spiders. That only really left goblins and the undead as viable targets. If the client wanted Irons at minimum, the little green bastards were probably well entrenched in whatever hole they fortified. Even then, that still made them more suited to her skillset than dealing with undead, considering the lack of vital organs for her to target. Reeva could deal with the latter, of course. It was just far more of a hassle.

"Right, goblins sound good to me." She nodded in response to Abigail, before starting to look around the tavern, cupping a hand in front of her mouth to project her voice. "Anyone else want to take this goblin job? Irons and up only! If you're copper, find some rats or little old ladies!"

Hm. That sounded like Fae, didn't it?

Csenge's eyes lifted up towards the job posting at the upper right corner of the job board. Perhaps its height had spared it from that other, shorter human's initial sweep. Or maybe an investigation in the fae of the woodlands was simply too sensitive and complicated an issue to solve with a large axe and a brooding glare. The thought brought a tightness to her lips for a brief moment, before the academic flattened it once more. She had arcane knowledge and academic knowledge, but the fae were something of a headache too. Whimsical, immortal creatures with rationality divergent from human thought patterns. And Everett was a long journey too. Length was desirable, but hiking through the woods? Entirely less so.

If she were to consider the options present, then...

Ah. A glance over her shoulder confirmed that the little Paladin was still present. Keelsgraav then. Plenty of opportunity to settle down and study the illness of the sheep, and if her initial impressions were correct, unclean presences would be perfect for a Paladin to cleanse with purifying light. A jaunt through the countryside would be pleasant too, far better than roaming through deep woods to the sound of cackling fae. And a farmer...it wasn't as if her funds were poor, but they did eat better out on the pasture, didn't they? A worthy reward would probably be some nice herb-inf-

"Anything good on there?" *click* "Damn. Outta luck. Nobody needs dumb muscle, do they?"

Csenge blinked, turning to the young man who found himself beside her. Her eyes caught the glint of his Iron badge, then the broadness of his shoulders. One, two, three. Hrefna may enjoy these stranger quests from time to time, so a possible four. And the Lamia? Entangled as she was with the Paladin, it was doubtful that she'd let go an opportunity to be further entangled with her. A possible fifth then.

"There's always a place for it." If nothing else, he could make up for her lack of it. "Follow me."

She reached out and claimed the Keelsgraav job for herself, then cut through the thinning crowd of adventurers to reach the Paladin with a hammer that would absolutely pull Csenge's own back if she tried to lift it.

"Paladin. I am Csenge, an adventurer of sorts. With the board so sparse now that you've missed out on the initial rush, may I offer this job to you? There is a matter of a malignant malady developing amongst the livestock in Keelsgraav. At a glance, my hypothesis would point towards the involvement of some fell entity, so my companion and I would greatly appreciate it if a wielder of divine might were to lend her hammer to the cause." She half-turned, hoping the Iron-ranked young man had actually followed her, before settling back on the imperiled Paladin. "Unless you happen to have already made a prior arrangement with these two?"

@HereComesTheSnow@VitaVitaAR@Octo@Rune_Alchemist

Hrefna did not react to the Dwarf referring to her as 'fork-head'. It was not a term she was familiar with, so it did not occur to her that she was being called out. At least, not until the tiny thing began shouting at her directly. There were not many people Hrefna could look down upon, but here were two, and they were both yappy pups. It seemed that tiny animals tended to make the loudest noise. Hrefna grinned.

"You say 'fork-head'. This is new term. Because of my horns, yes? Is very funny."

As she discussed this casually, she gestured with the heads she was carrying, making even more of a mess for the employees to fuss over. She would let them do their job. They were both in the occupation of cleaning up messes, and since she took joy in her work, so too must they.

"But worry not, little one. I will not spill blood into your cups. This is blood of Hrefna's enemy, and you are not entitled to imbibe in it. If this blood makes its way into any cup, it shall be mine. You sit and drink all day like lazy kitten, so the glory is not for you," she stated matter-of-factly, "but floor... floor holds up every seeker of glorious combat. Floor is honorable, so floor can have."

Hrefna turned her gaze from the Dwarf to the flailing hammer-child, then to the lamia. Then, at last, to Csenge.

"I am finished with the baby-child," Hrefna related bluntly to the older woman, "but if she is in need of guidance, I shall take care of her. I will be unoccupied once I turn in previous job, and it would not do for her to die so early on."

@VitaVitaAR@Octo@ERode

---

"Adequately irritated perhaps." A small laugh. "To start with, yes, I do, and most people don't mind too much." Hyseliea mused at Rylia's struggling. "Secondly...no...I don't think I will. Its very hard to make a python let go of things sometimes." By now though, Rylia's entire body up to her chest would find itself bound by Hyseliea's coils. Not only that, the Lamia had pulled the paladin in front of her now. Rylia had been firmly placed in front of the Lamia, back against the Lamia's stomach and her head just right under her chest." If you truly want to escape, use whatever brutish strength you use to bludgeon things with that oversized hammer of yours."

Job time, though. She'd place both of her hands on Rylia's head, leaning over slightly as she'd observe the job board. A few jobs caught her attention of the ones that were left. Eugh, a griffon. And taking it alive? No thank you. She didn't fancy an oversized bird thinking she was a snack or something, and taking something alive was rarely worth the effort even if it was for some noble.

The second one...she had plenty of dealings with similar happenings in Greenleaf growing up. Tended to happen when you were raised in a forest by a mother who liked to introduce herself as 'just your average harmless witch'. Perhaps a fae, or some other flavor of body snatcher or kidnapper. Wouldn't be unheard of and not out of the question.

"Hm...Hah?" She'd turn her attention to Csenge. The Lamia didn't have many dealings with her, but she had a somewhat reliable look to her, if nothing else. "A livestock malady in Keelsgrav?" It was a rather boring sounding job, all things considered. Potentially easy, though...if things remained as simple as they were on the paper. "Well we have yet to decide on a job ourselves, but I have no qualms tagging along for this one." She'd pat Rylia on the head with the tip of her tail. "What say you, tiny paladin?"

"Csenge".

I've got a name to go with the face and silhouette now. While dutifully shadowing her as we cross the threshold from board to conundrum, I repeat it a couple times beneath my breath, trying to get a feel for the rhythm of that "cs" at the start— not a familiar syllable, but names are important things to lock down quickly. Especially dealing with upper rankers. Speaking relatively, anyway— Steel might round out the bottom half of the traditional structure, but getting any further is typically understood as being An Exceptional Talent for the craft. Csenge. Csenge.

"Better having the Gods on our side than sitting ambivalent." I offer, giving the coiled-up Paladin a small wave as my prospective compatriot blades her stance to reveal me, the hapless iron-ranker in her wake.

Unforunately for me and my yammering, Csenge did not hold the same misgivings about involving herself in the brewing powderkeg that she draws us up to as I did. That clash of personalities doesn't really look like it's abated at all— if anything, I'm surprised to note that it's Hrefna, of all people, that seems to have cooled off a little. Big personalities like hers are good at running away with their mockery, but it looks like things have lost their luster as the dwarf from before has captured most of her attention. But with the Paladin nearly steaming out the ears and the lamia that was now coiled around her enough to draw to mind words like "anaconda" and "constriction" and "ribcage"...

I hear Reeva's voice boom out from across the way, and for a moment I catch myself stiffening mid-stride. I did go up to that board hoping for a few more goblin skulls to crack, my easy, thoughtless, and fondly upwardly-mobilizing résumé lynchpin. Writ large across an entire fortress, I could hardly imagine a more ideal shakedown cruise for my shiny new iron-rank. It was like my last mission was proof of concept, a trial run that determined I was ready for the real thing. The offer was more than tempting, especially as validation of my new place in the world.

I waver, for a moment. This powderkeg bunch, or the growing mass of people a table across that seem to operate more at my natural speed?

...

I'm not above human weakness.

"It looks like it's manifested so far as weeping black sores on the face and an increased caginess among the herd come nighttime. If nothing else, your matron goddess holds the sun as her domain, right? You might be able to ease their suffering as we investigate the source of the plague and disappearances. We could definitely use you if you're up for it."

But nevertheless, I step forward rather than pull away.

Csenge's already thrown me a line when she saw I was a little lost at sea, so the least I can do is repay the hospitality. It's not every adventurer, even among us mortals that populate the Iron and Steel ranks, that'd cut somebody unknown and unproven to them like me a break so readily. It'd annoy me to leave her high and dry now that I've been welcomed aboard.

"It would have to be the goblins," Liliane said, flicking a glance at Reeva over her shoulder, "Corinne wouldn't take undead well."

Of course, the content of the request, specifying Iron ranks… the hundi closed her eyes, kneading at her brows with one hand, "Not that she's even of the expected ranks… but don't worry about that, I balance it out more than enough. Her magic is more suited to this sort of thing anyway…"

Looking over at their table, naturally her wife hadn't noticed the call for adventurers. That was fine, it wasn't like she was going to have all that much to offer anyway – she'd probably want to retrieve the Griffin, if for no other reason than not having seen one in person, and she was the least suited adventurer Liliane could think of for trying to deal with an angry birdlion.

---

Freya tried to stand still, but this damn floor wouldn't stay put! Her weight tipped forward, then back. Forcing her to take clumsy steps just to remain in place. Difficult enough to maintain her composure whilst listening to the cow-horn glorifying her spoils.

“No blood in the drinks then?...Good! Just -hic- what I wanted to hear!” She pretended not to hear that kitten remark. Partially because it was true. Though Freya did feel tempted to kick the cow-woman's shins for calling her a baby-child, among other implications! As a matter of fact, she was just about to do that. But that process was interrupted by someone announcing their recruitment for a goblin-slaying job from across the room.

Seeking only iron rank and above? What a coincidence! Freya just so happens to be iron rank!

Lately, she felt stagnant. No good paying jobs were coming her way, and her coin purse is seeing less and less gold by the day. Maybe she should've charged a fair price for that last repair request after all. On top of that, strangers mocked her beard. More so than usual, which compelled her to wear it even harder out of spite.

Well, this aimless cycle ends today!

Freya lingered around for a moment to see if any other promising jobs would present themselves. So far, nothing else intrigued her more than the direct approach of putting smelly goblins in their place. A close contender is testing the might of her weapons against a potential horde of undead, but it wasn't guaranteed from what she could tell.

Might as well look further into the details for this goblin job and see if her skill set is required. The dwarf woman broke off from one group and stumbled her way to another. Halfway through, she picked up another tankard and chugged more freely than ever before. No orc blood, no worries! This was going to be the last drink for the day, she told herself.

The recruiter wasn't far off, and there were some chairs available this time, it seems. Thank goodness! Keeping herself upright was starting to get annoying. Freya ended up bumping into one of the chairs when she approached the table. More than once, she grasped at empty space before finally settling herself proper. Her tankard was empty by the time she arrived, and was left lying flat on her side of the table.

“Aye, what's this about goblins I hear? How many -hic- we killin'?” She asked the group, trying to maintain eye contact on at least one of them. However, her eyes refused to remain fixated and her head felt rather heavy. Yeah, that's the last drink all right.

@Psyker Landshark@Eisenhorn@Raineh Daze

---

"Ah, maybe part elf somewhere along the line, then," Calaphindë mumbled with a small shrug. The Hundi weren't terribly common where he was from, although it wasn't as if they were unheard of either. Finding one that was raised by one of those forest Hundi, though, despite not actually being one herself...

Well, it would only make sense it was unheard of, it wasn't like they were very likely to hear from the wider Hundi society when his city barely heard from those that were closer to them.

As she rambled on for a moment, he looked back towards the group that had gathered around the job postings. They had split up a bit—he briefly locked eyes with the one that had to be 'Lili' as she glanced back their way—and he was about to turn back to the one he was speaking with, before remembering why he'd come to the guild hall to begin with.

Those same jobs.

"...Perhaps we should go and look at the listings ourselves, miss..."

He paused again, looked back down at the Hundi lady.

"What's your name?"

"Oh, no, we don't need to look! Lili will pick a good one and bring it back," Corinne announced with a cherry wave and an even brighter smile, "And it looks like she's found some more friends! That's wonderful, more people is safer, she always says, and we don't need to worry about taking a double share..."

The mage didn't elaborate any further, grabbing her nearly forgotten glass and taking another drink – only to gasp in horror as she realised what a vital step she'd missed. Maman would be so disappointed in her for that! But there was still time and so, with an abundance of caution, Corinne placed the glass down, climbed to her feet to look Calaphindë roughly in the eyes (or at least the right direction) and said:

"The Countess Vérigny, at your service! Oh, but just call me Corinne, everyone does."

This damned snake is proving to be far worse then the boorish ingvarr. Why does she need to be so clingy? Why does she need to insult me so? Why doesn't she have any sense of personal space?!

And her grip is so tight, too? Why?! What part of this situation made her thing this was acceptable!? Did she have to pat me on the head with her tail!? I'm not a child!

And that ingvarr just keeps making it worse. Every single word out of her mouth---!

"If you don't let me go, I'll---"

... Hmph. She's lucky that someone else has intervened. Especially given what the Lady Mage and the other adventurer have just described.

I press my lips together, narrowing my eyes. It's not as if I'm familiar with every livestock malady that a farmer may have to deal with, but it doesn't sound like anything as simple as that. Weeping sores producing a black ichor, and fear at night? Both of these combined imply something beyond a typical illness.

Besides, at least these people seem to appreciate my station.

"That doesn't sound like an ordinary ailment," I respond, as I attempt to at least free one of my arms from this stupid snake's grip, "It sounds like something much fouler is afflicting the animals."

As a paladin, it's only natural that I have learned about the evil spirits that inhabit dark places in this world. Wicked things, born due to evil deeds of the enemies of all life, in a far bygone era. The kinds of fell spirits that lurk in the darkness, away from the light of the Sun and Moon, and proliferate in shadow.

It's not immediately clear what sort of presence could be affecting the livestock just from hearing the symptoms, but the fact that it's inflicting them with some sort of blight does narrow it down, somewhat.

"Of course, as a paladin," I begin, refusing to allow the stupid snake's grip to hold back my pride, "I will gladly assist in purging whatever wickedness lies on the farmer's lands! ... Can you let go already?"

I shoot the lamia a glare over my shoulder, as best as I can manage. Ugh, she did say she was interested in coming along, didn't she?

I'm not about to let that dissuade me from cleansing an evil presence, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

@Rune_Alchemist@HereComesTheSnow@Octo@ERode

Csenge nodded at the collective's assent. Setting aside how reliable the young Paladin would prove to be, the combined knowledge of the supernatural between herself, a Reonite, and Hrefna ought to be sufficient in getting to the bottom of this strange affliction before it found a vector into more sapient creatures. And as for the Lamia...well, if one without the bearing of a warrior could still hold down a Paladin without nary a sign of strain, she would prove to be a valuable asset.

Enough to make up for any faults that the freshly-minted Iron-rank had, at least.

"I'll go to arrange for transportation to Keelsgrav then. Two hours should be sufficient for supplies to be prepared and armaments polished; let us convene at the western gate by then."

It was something of a bother that none of them other than herself had chosen to introduce themselves, but that could be saved for the carriage ride. Instead of bothering with such formalities, Csenge handed the job posting to the Iron-rank, saying to him, "Get the names of the others and process this posting with the receptionist, please." A glance over to the second floor mezzanine, a slight frown. She half-turned, casting her last statement from over her shoulder. "I'd have no complaints about bringing Hrefna aboard, but if the Paladin is against it, prioritize her opinion over mine."

With that, the academic strode out of the Guild, just in time to conveniently pretend that the shrill, lady-like shriek of 'CSENGE!' was unfortunately lost in the din of the ever-rowdy adventurers.

"Right. Got it."

As Csenge turns to me with marching orders and a form to ink down, I cock my head and lean in to hear her second point of direction as it comes by in what I'd class as a diplomatic undertone. Point of order, my expression stays frozen throughout, and I fix my gaze on a load-bearing column a little past the rest of the group. Better to not let anything give away how we're trying to mediate the dynamic brewing in front of us, most like— though it's some relief to have those small concerns I've been nursing validated. My instincts for people aren't always the sharpest, not really.

She strides away as I nod and step forth into the assembled group proper, leaning the elm branch that sourced my own appellation against the table nearby. I let my gaze slide between each of the three for a moment, studying each of them— A Paladin is pretty simply explained, Hrefna's mastery of curses is never far from her own lips, but for all her coiling musculature that's mimicking a python 'round our priority target's ribs... the more I look upon the lamia, the less I necessarily see a bruiser of my own ilk. Her hands aren't rough. Her shoulders are slight. Her back doesn't carry muscle.

I notice there's a fairly ostentatious looking staff, not at all far from where I've set my club down. Putting the two of them together looks a clear metaphor for the both of us— at each end of what Iron Rank could mean.

The silence is beginning to weigh on me, and I clear my throat, cutting through the awkward moment before it stretches further. My bad, everybody. It's my first day with this much responsibility.

"Right. You heard her, ladies. Greenhorn's getting put to work," I drawl, setting the page onto the table. "I know of Hrefna already, but before we split for gear and the gate I'm gonna need names for the both of you so I can turn our contract in. Glad we could get you on board," I explain, my eyes flicking to the paladin one more time, judging her reactions to who all I've implicitly locked in. I hope this all goes smoothly, but if our leader's name ringing through the hall is any indication...

"Even if you say you're duty-bound in the first place."

... It might be that she's wise to the moments where things become headaches that she doesn't have to deal with if she doesn't want to. Good skill for contact workers to cultivate, I guess, but one I'm realizing I don't even have the dust of.

Abigail Blackthorn

---

Abigail glanced up as someone complained about her grabbing a fistful of jobs and stalking off with them, which got no response until she was sat down and, turned out, the complainer followed and commented on this only getting people crowding the table instead of anything else, which got a shrug. Still plenty of jobs on the board if it mattered, but she was not about to stand around when she could be seated and not have to shoulder past TOO many people to keep gawking.

"Means I don't have to go looking, assuming those present end up wandering off."

Liliane commented that it would have to be goblins since her partner would not be able to handle undead. Sure, suited her fine, slaughtering goblins was all fine and well as far as Abigail was concerned. The fact that said Hundi was off at the bar still was fine, wrangling her was not Abigail's problem. A drunken dwarf wandered up at this point, barely able to haul into the chair and looked like they had enough drink to barely be functional and started asking about how many goblins were getting killed.

"Enough to drive off an archaeology group and loot their equipment. So enough to warrant heading out and taking some heads."

Abigail did not bother trying to hold the dwarf's attention given the sheer amount of drunkenness present right now, Abigail had a good few drinks in her but spread out enough to not be a complete mess right now. Enough to at least keep things loosely organized and, given those present? Enough of them were together to get some work done. Not the fanciest job in the world, but it would pay enough to put in on keeping ahead of her usual day to day costs, plus if any of the assembled group were lower ranks, just meant it was a babysitting job as well as doing necessary work, which had its own perks.

@Psyker Landshark@Raineh Daze@Animal

Oh for the love of-

Reeva resisted the urge to sigh in front of her newfound potential party, merely furrowing her brow instead. A drunk dwarf and a noble, of all things. It wasn't as if they were exactly concealing it. The black-haired one was clearly quite the sheltered woman. The whitemane much less so. Bodyguard? Attendant? Paramour? She could see all of their ranks from their badges, as well. The dwarf was as expected, but the two Hundi...

...What the hell? A copper was one thing. What was a goddesses-damned silver doing taking this work on? Definitely a bodyguard, then. Probably a romantic pairing too, judging from the body language. Well, that explained why there was a silver carrying a copper. In theory, it'd even out. In practice...

"Right, well, first things first. Name's Reeva. Pleasure. Here's the listing, if you're interested." She picked up the flyer she'd lifted from Abigail's table, passing it over towards the dwarf woman. She glanced over towards the two Hundi again, catching the eye of the white-haired one that had glanced over first. "If you're wanting to come hunt down goblins, I'll not say no. Though..." Her head inclined in Corinne's direction, while keeping an eye on Liliane. "Take it that the price for letting someone of your calibur along is letting her tag along too. Long as she knows enough to not lose her head, I'll not turn the help down."

A pause.

"She does know that, right?"

@VitaVitaAR@Octo@ERode@HereComesTheSnow

---

"Staring at someone so intently is only going to make me more interested, tiny paladin." Hyselia chuckled, her tail slowly releasing its grip on Rylia. "Hyselia Erenhart. Mage, with an affinity for water." Shame, she was a little curious as to what the Paladin would do if someone hadn't shown up and intervened. Oh well. She had her fun teasing the girl for now, and she was feeling a little more comfortable herself.

"Can't say I'm familiar with such an affliction, but my experience with curses and things of a more fae like nature tells me that the Paladin is correct. Whatever is afflicting that livestock is not a normal ailment." She'd grab her staff with her tail, slowly coiling around it and holding it upright behind her. Maybe they had gotten into something? Since it wasn't affecting the people...perhaps it was something specifically targeting the livestock. Wolf in sheeps clothing, and all that or some such.

No sense in speculating now though, not until they got more information.

---

"Countess?" A city Hundi raised speaking Elvish, and she was a noblewoman at that. It explained why she could afford to throw such a celebration, at least, although that made the pairing of her with the other one...even more difficult to actually put together.

At least "random noble seeks life of adventure free from the constraints of nightly, civic, or religious duty" was common enough that she didn't stand out in that respect.

"Calaphindë. A pleasure. Are you sure we shouldn't at least check what she's grabbed? With that group around her, you might get outvoted before long."