Guild Tales: Wings and Bones

-Adventurers wanted-

The Beast of Rourke Acres has been classified as an KING level threat. Experienced+ adventurers are requested for this task, creature has threatened outer borders, attacking local wildlife, and reducing activity among trade routes. See guild quarters if wish to partake in quest.

Furthermore, there have been minimal fatalities, and the creature seems to remain exclusively to Rourke Acres, abandoned farm land, since burned down.

Reward: Upon request if returned successful.

Creature has plagued the surrounding area for more than 7 months, any and all help is requested.

"Reward requested upon successful return, I like the sound of that."

"It's the fact that the creature has been around for more than 7 months that more than has my feathers furled."

"But you're always the cautious one, it's no different than the rabid pegasus we triumphed over 4 weeks ago. Learn to live a little, Fael."

"As I have said before, you have no grounds in the merit of life, Cas."

The two adventures stand in the middle of Honorwood village looking over the guild bulletin board, where quests are offered to any willing to accept. The board has many flyers pinned across it, many newer as quests are accepted and replenished daily. But one sticks out above all others, one that looks as though it has been there for quite some time. Tears in its edges showing repeated pulling as adventurers have taken it down, but it soon after, gets placed back up. Most likely in an attempt to show it's importance.

Faelon and Casius have been adventures together for a few years now, never deterred by the challenges they have faced together. They don't have much of a standing in the guilds ranks, but continue onward nonetheless.

"Come on Fael, we've been turning down more challenging quests left and right. We need to start upping our game." Casius is insistent on the cause.

Faelon looks with concern, he's not quite sold on the idea of a quest that has yet to be completed by those of a higher level than them. "Why don't we ask for more information before you start foaming at the mouth?"

"Okay, yeah, sure." Casius' face was covered by his helmet, but his excitement on the opportunity to take on more serious threats had his whole body shaking.

Faelon could tell he was probably going to lose this argument with Casius, as he pulled the flyer off the board and they headed inside the guild hall.

When the two walked in, they were immediately met with stale air and empty tables. The hall looks as though it hasn't been used in more than a year. Light from the weathered windows lit up a grayish atmosphere, a few torches at the end of the hall lit up the concessions counter where the clerk sat. As they approached the counter, they noticed the clerk had dozed off and was barely managing to keep her head tucked in her hands. Next to the desk was a box that read Guild Forms written on it, the box was empty with cobwebs forming in it.

"Um, excuse me." Faelon said softly as to not startle the clerk. "We're here for a quest."

The clerk was an Echidna, the upper body of a human with the lower half of a serpent. It was noticeable due to her lower half resting on the back counter, her tail looked to be around 20 feet in length, but the office space she occupied was much smaller than that. The office space had papers and food scattered all over the counter and floor, there seemed to be no regard for where anything was laid. She had few strands of gray hair on her head that thinly covered the top. The serpent part of her seemed to be shedding it's skin, though it didn't look as though she put much effort in cleaning of the remaining patches of dead skin.

"Excuse me," he said once again with more enthusiasm, "we're here with the quest for the..."

Before he could finish the second time, the clerk spoke up, "I heard you the first time, can you keep it down, I am incredibly hung over."

Casius stepped forward, "It's in the late afternoon, the sun is setting."

"And your point?" She said as she began to slump more to the side, and with a loud thud that echoed through the hall she had fallen over.

The two adventurers peered over the counter at her, she had fallen back asleep, her snoring could was loud and raspy.

"Well, looks like we can't take this quest. Let's just find the inn and get some rest for tomorrow." Faelon began trying to usher them out, when a door off to their side opened.

"I am so sorry for that." They heard a gentle voice calling out to them, another Echidna stood in the doorway. She looked much younger than the one behind the counter, her hair was a smooth black with slight curls and tail was clean with an blue and green pattern.

They both looked at her. As she began to move towards them, Faelon let out a exhausted sigh. Casius moved passed Faelon to be the first to greet her.

"You'll have to excuse my mother, she is the guild head, but we don't have many occupants come through here anymore." She seemed a little panic, but very welcoming. Her tail also was no more than 10 feet in length.

"It's of no concern, we were just looking to begin a quest. I am Casius, my friends call me Cas."

"I'm you're only friend, Cas." Faelon interjected ubruptlly and emotionless.

Casius stepped back and grabbed his partner by the shoulders, "And this dazzling ray of disappointment is Faelon."

Shaking him abruptly, the hood Faelon was wearing began to slide off his head, momentarily revealing his features. He had silver hair brushed back, though the length couldn't be seen, he was wearing goggles, but from the front, gave the appearance of normal glasses. It was also worth noting, his ears confirmed he was of elf lineage. Before his hood fell all the way off, he quickly grabbed it and pulled it back over his head. The only thing that could be seen now is his eyes behind his specs and a pointed chin.

"I am Sisenia, but you may call me Sissi. You are an elf, are you not?" she questioned in a softer tone voice.

The two were taken back for a moment, most elves in the surrounding territories usually kept to themselves, and when were seen, were often carrying a high stature for themself. This lead to elves not being vastly welcome in most towns and villages.

Realizing their reclusive reaction, she responded back, "Oh, you have nothing to hide here, there is not enough people who carry much regard for other species, and besides, this town is far outside the reach of the Central Empire."

Faelon looked at her with less so worry, "If it's all the same, I'd rather keep my origins to myself."

With a slight smile, Sissi nodded in agreement.

"Well then, you said you were here to accept a quest? I should be able to help you with that, please come with me."

The two began to follow her into the back office area, when they heard Sisenias mother call out from behind the counter.

"Sissi, where's my flagon of ale?"

"It's hooked to the end of your tail mother." Sisenia called out.

The three heard Sisenias mother chuckle as they moved into the back rooms.

As the entered, Casius and Faelon immediately noticed the change of aesthetic. There were no windows, torches lit up the whole room and it felt very welcoming. In the middle of the room was a desk with a large cushioned bed behind it. Papers were scattered on tables on one side of the room, and on the other side there was a slot that seemed to be for letters and messages. The stale smell was gone, replaced with the smell of burning incense coming from a dresser in the back of the room. And next to the dresser was another much larger bed with two large curved blades hanging on the back wall.

"Please have a seat here." She gestured to two chairs in front of the desk as she moved behind it and settled in the bed.

As the began to sit, Casius spoke up. "So I'm guessing you handle most of the business for the guild?"

Once settled, she began collecting several papers to write on. "Like I said before, my mother is the guild head, but we aren't as busy at you could see. So while she manages the front desk for when most people come in, I more so handle the out of townees that come looking for work."

"But most of the flyers on the board outside looked new, surely you keep busy?" Faelon asked with an curious tone.

"Most of the quest out now are stuff like extra hands in farming, or gathering resources in the nearby caves. Villagers around here tend to do it more so for credit to the guild which they can exchange for products the guild provides, tools, food, transport, etc." Sisenia pulled out her quill and ink and began writing. "So I'll need some information before we can see if you're eligible for your selected quest. Let's start with basic information, full name and races?"

Faelon was about to respond when Casius cut in, "I am Casius Calderhorn, and this is Faelon Talaphor."

Faelon then spoke over Casius, "As for races, I'm listed in the guild registry as tiste."

"Isn't that just another race of elves?" Sisenia inquired.

"Not exactly," Faelon explained, "but not enough is known since there aren't many left."

Accepting it without delving into the situation further, she continued. "And are you elf or tiste as well?" She turned to ask Casius.

"No, I'm human, plain and boring human." Casius said abruptly as though he had recited it many times before.

Sisenia looked at him, his entire body was covered in armor so there was no way to tell if he was being honest, but at the same time, there was no reason to doubt either. His armor looked entirely of leather armor with plates of metal that could be seen through tears. She continued down the line of questioning which took what felt like hours. Finally they had gotten through most of the information she needed, though she became more and more interested as they answered the questions. Most of their answers were like they were reading off of a script, but also as though they hadn't done this very long. They had explained at one point that they have been adventurers for almost 4 years together, but they seemed almost new to standard guild questions. Regardless, she continued forward seeing it as none of her business to pry. They had finally gotten to the part of the questionnaire that Casius had been waiting for.

"So gentlemen, what quest are you looking to take on, cave diving, monster fishing, we have a villager here who needs help rounding up her crop of chickens."

Casius looked at Faelon in anticipation and as Faelon pulled out the flyer.

"Actually, we were reluctant, but looking to take on this one." He handed the tattered flyer to her. Before even reading it, she recognized it from its tears and frayed edges.

"You want to go after the Beast?" She grabbed the flyer while keeping eye contact with them, there was no need to read it, she had seen it so many times before. "Are you sure?"

"Hell yeah, we're sure." Casius said, nearly jumping out of the chair he was sitting in.

Faelon reached over and put his hand on Casius' shoulder to steady him, "Before we do, we were hoping to maybe get a bit more info on this thing. Is there anything you can tell us that would help us in this endeavor?"

"Yeah," she said, "don't do it." Sisenia then went on to explain that those who went out on this quest often returned terrified, claiming they never even saw the beast, but what the encountered was like a shadow that attacked in the remains of the Rourke Acres farmland. The farm itself didn't have much history, a family owned it and provided an ample harvest for the nearby towns, but about 8 months ago, the farm was destroyed by a fire, and a little after that, the creature moved in and made it its home. Little is known about it, despite how many travelers have encountered it themselves. All that is know is that in the past half year, it has drastically altered the wildlife activities and trade routes to the point that it has become difficult to live unaffected by it's activities. She then explained that even though she has never seen it herself, the few that have gone out and come back have all warned to stay clear of the area.

After sitting and reflecting on what they were just told, Sisenia looked over both of them and noticed Faelon looking directly at her, he had noticed her tone shift at the end of what she said. She had shifted from concern to more of a calm sense.

Casius responded, "So you're saying that no one knows what it is, it's big, it's dangerous..."

"Yes, that is exact..." Sisenia started up before being cut off by Casius again.

"And the guild is willing to pay whatever to have it dealt with?"

"Yes," she started again, "that is true but, no one has been able to deal with this creature since it's arrival, adventurers who have gone their whole lives defeating monsters, and demons, and forces beyond most, have faced this thing and lost"

Faelon then spoke up. "Why not send word to the Central Empire and have them send a battalion to handle it if it's such a massive danger?"

"We have tried, last we heard from them, they sent a messenger to inform us that," she pulled out a letter from the desk that had a broken Empire stamp on the back and read from it, "and I quote 'It is beyond the responsibility of the Central Empire to handle tasks better suited for the separated divisions of the guilded corp. The Central Empire matters are far more important than a minor nuisance in the outer colonies.' end quote."

Casius jumped out of his chair completely knocking it over, "All the more reason for us to handle it. Come on man, we take this thing out, and our status in the guild will be legendary. Come on, we are meant for better things, and this could be it."

Faelon leaned back in his chair and began rubbing his chin. Sisenia looked at them both with a look questioning their sanity.

"Alright," Faelon said in reluctance, "we'll do it."

Casius shot into the air in pure excitement and bolted out the door, cheering down the guild halls. Sisenias mother could be heard yelling for him to shut up.

As Faelon got up to go after him, Sisenia tried to warn them one last time about what they were getting themselves into. Standing in the doorway, Faelon turned and looked at her.

"You're probably right, but quite honestly, we've kinda always taken warnings as more of a suggestion," he said to her, "and besides, how will we know we can't do it if we don't go out there and try."

As he turned to leave again, she called, "Wait." She reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a key, moved over to the door and handed it to him. "It's late, you and your friend should rest up. Rooms are in the back."

He took the key from her and thanked her. With that, he turned and left.

Sisenia stood there for a moment, before returning to the desk pulling out another piece of paper from the desk and started writing.

The next morning, the two adventurers awoke eager to get started. They returned to the main hall to return the key and noticed no one at the desk, when they called out, no one responded.

"Just leave the key on the desk, pretty sure we were the only ones that stayed in the inn last night." Casius said while throwing punches into the air. "I didn't get an ounce of sleep last night. Thanks for doing this with me man, would've really graved had I had to do this alone."

Faelon dropped the key into the Guild Forms box, as it fell in, he noticed it landed on several papers. He then turned to face Casius.

"Few things: 1) You don't sleep, 2) I'm only doing this so you don't dead yourself worse, and 3) you really think I'm gonna let you go after this thing all on your own."

As they started making their way Casius wrapped his arm around Faelon in excitement. "AH HA, I knew you were stoked for this, pretending that you were scared."

Faelon nudged him off. "I wasn't scared, I am worried though. I think we can handle it, but what if we move up in rank too fast, I don't want the attention on us. We're supposed to be playing this low key, remember?"

The stopped just short of the door leading outside. "Yeah, but what if we become the best, no one is gonna look down on us for being what we are if we are the best. We aren't like everyone else and we're gonna show them."

Faelon gave an approving look. "Well none of that will matter if we don't take care of this Beast first. We should get going before another traveler from another guild gets their first."

Feeling energized, they pulled the doors open and Casius called out, "Hell yeah, the credit for slaying the Beast of Rourke Acres is yours and mine!"

"Ours..."

As the two stepped outside they heard a voice call out. Standing in the entryway, Sisenia stood there with armor on, the curved blades from the bed wall sheathed to her back. "Sorry boys, looks like you're gonna have to share."

End