-Morning of [Solans] Descent-
[The trotting of a carriage rumbles across a dirt road]
The road ahead is stiff and bumpy.
Sarah's carriage for this one-day mission was not a comfortable one. One of the left side wheels is two good potholes away from flying off. The back of the carriage held her cargo in by two flimsy ropes bolted in with rusty nails. The sides of the wagon are held up by 2 by 4 planks, nailed and taped on. One good push from Sarah and the whole backside might come off.
It wasn't the most comfortable, but at least it did the job. But easily the most insufferable part about this whole trip is the company.
Landon: "So… Ms. Chatsworth, what business do you have in Hayward?..."
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Landon, now traumatized by the massive gap in power between him and Sarah, struggles to find a way to converse with her.
"Remember when I said, 'Not one more word'?" Sarah said bluntly, immediately cutting him off from finishing any further.
"Yes, ma'am…" He pouted, almost in a whimpering tone.
The view from the wagon was amazing. From where they are on the map, they barely left Vanitinova. As a city bordering a desert, it is still home to a vast amount of flora and fauna. Most of which are small forests and quaint hills that slowly dance around the towns' perimeter. The road leading away is marked with Small rocks that line the path to act as waypoints, keeping all wagons and fellow commuters on track. Many signs and notices mark the trail as it forks in the road. It's pretty much impossible to get lost.
The trip was estimated to take around 7 hours or so, considering Hayward is a contributor to Vanitinova, and not an independent village.
Sarah, bored, rummages through the various things stashed in her robe. She is mainly looking for the map she had bought for Liz 2 days prior.
"Aha!"
Pulling it out and gazing upon the convoluted mess, she begins deciphering it. As she glances over the many points of interest that cover Bahamik, she notices small writing in the top left corner of the paper. It's addressed to her.
***
"I set aside a copy of the quest that you accepted, just in case you ever wanted to look over the details before getting there. I stashed it in your robe when you weren't looking. Don't get too mad. Liz," Attached to the note was a small winking face. Sarah couldn't help but let out a little giggle.
"And with that, let's check and see what she's referring to."
Sarah reaches back into her robe pocket. Back and forth, back and forth, rummaging constantly through the deep pocket. She begins to pull out dozens of unique and interesting items she's found on her other journeys, pulling out lost items, she thought she would never find again. After a thorough examination of the pouch, she was about to give up when.
"Oh, got it!"
A small square piece of paper, now resting in Sarah's hands. Upon opening the small piece of paper, she began to read what it said.
Looking for an escort to help me track the breeding patterns of a newly discovered species of ground dragon. They tend to roam around the south-east side of the Denosins, directly next to Sand Worm territory. Unfortunately, I am not strong enough to protect myself and require an ample warrior who can defend both themselves and me as we roam the desert. My reward will be 5 gold coins for a full day of protection; any more can be negotiated after the following procedures."
After that, it follows the standard quest completion procedures for Rampart Adventurers Company.
"Huh… Doesn't seem too hard, glad Liz picked this out after all." She said in admiration of her friend.
[A calm breeze blows from overtop the hills]
***
Several hours pass, and Sarah, tired as always, is now fast asleep in the back of the wagon. Time flies by, and a couple of hours into Sarah's delightful beauty rest, they reach their destination.
Hayward village is a relatively small village, around the size of 2 or so stadiums put back to back. The houses line up in neat single lines that strike the earth in a hash formation. Every one of the houses resembles that of a medieval cottage, held up together by planks and logs. By no means are they ugly, but in comparison to Vanitinova, calling it lacking is rather appropriate
In some ways, it reminded Sarah of her home village, quaint and small, but filled with love. As they begin slowing down towards their stop, pulling off to the side near the horse pens. Sarah looks out over the wagon and towards the village. Sitting on the patio of one of the houses closer to the road, a young man, around the age of 25, can be seen lounging on a rocking chair, notebook in hand. He is dressed in a long, white, medieval-style lab coat that runs down to his knees. He has short, fluffy black hair and two fierce golden eyes. It was as though looking into a sea of gold, like Midas himself had touched his cornea. All things considered, the man was beautiful. Too beautiful, it seemed fake.
Getting up from the carriage, Sarah continues to walk in towards the town, curious about the scenery. Flipping Landon a silver coin, she tells him that she won't be needing his services, and he can leave whenever he can.
"But– I…" With a look of defeat, Landon gets back onto his wagon and heads back towards the road.
Sarah, eager to both explore the town and find the client, hastily walks towards the gates. But before she has the chance to pass the gates into the town square,
XXX: "Excuse me, Ms?!"
"Hm?"
The man from the patio was calling out to her from the house. His house was located outside the village, along with a few others. This was common among villages in Bahamik. These houses are specifically reserved for those whose work involve matters outside the village.
Sarah, noticing it was the man from earlier, looks towards him with discontent. After a little while, looking him up and down, she continues her hasty approach towards the village.
"Wait!"
[Footsteps can be heard approaching from the right]
Sarah, quickly, looks towards the direction of the man once again, now realizing he's coming this way, hand raised in the air, waving. She stops to look at the man once again, upon doing so a quiet smile can be seen plastered across the man's face.
"*pant* Thank you… *pant* for waiting." The man, now directly beside her, hunched down, trying desperately to catch his breath.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes… You can, you wouldn't happen to be an adventurer, now would you?" He said, finally settling in. A large pair of glasses rests upon the man's face, crooked.
Sarah: "Your glasses… there crooked"
"Oh my, sorry about that," He said frantically, fixing his glasses.
"Anyway, you wouldn't happen to be the adventurer I hired for my escort? I posted a quest slip up about a week ago and haven't had any luck until now. I need to get this research done."
...
"Wait… are you my client?" She said, looking up towards the man's face. He was a towering figure, 190 centimeters at least.
"The name's Arieth Valmere, licensed biologist, and your client. Pleased to finally meet you." He said, stretching his hand out for a handshake. His hands were smooth and seamless, as though they had never faced a struggle in his life.
"Pleasure to meet you too, the name's Sarah Chatsworth. Gold-ranked adventurer employed at Rampart Adventurers Company."
She reaches out to reciprocate the handshake. Upon receiving it, His hands were cold. Not the kind that freezes you whole, or causes your nose to form icicles, but the kind of cold that sends a chill down your spine. As though the heat that a human body should have isn't there. It felt as though pressing your body against the dead, it just felt wrong.
Arieth: "I would like to debrief you on the current plan. Come inside, I'll get you some tea."
Sarah: "Sure."
***
[Tea pours into your teacup.]
[Light classical music can be heard echoing through the home]
Arieth: "Now, down to business."
Sarah: "..."
Reaching down towards the tea, Sarah looks around the cabin. It's small and dusty, but treated well. Not many decorations and photos hanging on the wall, the only thing of note was the head of a Wilda bear hanging up on a wall.
[A fire crackles from the fireplace]
Sarah takes a sip, pleasantly surprised by the floral taste. She made sure to put defusing magic into the cup just to avoid any unwanted trouble.
"Now, to put this bluntly, I wasn't entirely truthful in why I sent out my request. Yes, I do want to study mating patterns, but not for ground dragons. Everybody knows that every species of ground dragon has been thoroughly explored and researched for ages; there's no point in continuing now. I doubt you would come all this way from Vanitinova just to watch ground dragons get down and dirty. So let me cut to the chase, I want you to help me with a little research project I'm doing. I want to research the mating patterns of the Sand Worms, hopefully to capture a live infant for my research. Nobody in the history of biology had even dared to examine these creatures, the risk-to-reward ratio was just too great. That's where you come in. I can tell you're a seasoned mage, and I'm hoping that you could keep both of us out of harm's way. I don't expect you to fight them, that's suicide, but I know you're fast enough to get out of a pickle."
He sure does like to talk a lot.
"If that's the case… I demand twice the pay." Sarah ordered, standing up, materializing her staff.
"Really? That's it? You're not going to back out? He said, a little taken aback at the excitement. "Also, how did you do that just now?"
"Do what…"
"Pull your staff out of thin air."
"Oh, that. Basically, how it works is that I'm able to compress the essence of my staff into a single point, kinda like creating a mini controllable singularity. The only catch is that you need to have something important to you, or rather something you cherish and choose to be a catalyst, for you to materialize and dematerialize your staff. Most mages can do this, it's fairly commonplace among us."
"Fascinating. I have met other mages in the past, but I've never had the chance to see them draw their staff."
Sarah, Flattered by the compliment, sits back down and continues to indulge with the tea.
***
Areith, now seeming to be delighted by the outcome, stands up, warm smile plastered on his face.
"We'll head out at sundown. Get comfortable in town, I'll meet outside by the gate then."
Sarah, finishing the tea and thanking him for his hospitality, begins walking towards the town, which is now beginning to fill with lights.
Only 2 hours till sundown.
Let this quest begin.