The wagon line rattles into a muddy courtyard ringed by gray stone walls. Ahead, the counting house looms with iron-bound doors and slit windows. Merchant Vane points at the entrance, where a clerk waits with a ledger and a weighing tray.
Merchant Vane
There. They judge salvage here. If those parts fetch well, it goes toward your marks.
Neko carries the monster remains forward while the wagon folk watch from under dripping tarps. The clerk straightens, eyes flicking from the bundled proof to Neko’s sword, already measuring value and risk.
The Clerk
Present the hide and shard. If it is true monster craft, I will mark its worth.
The clerk’s tray clinks under the weight of shell and fang. He scratches figures into the ledger, then pauses at the total, as if the number itself needs a second look.
The Clerk
This salvage buys coin, but not enough. If you bring more from the road, or proof of a larger kill, the Baron’s debt may yet be met by winter.
Merchant Vane gives Neko a tight, hopeful glance as the ledger turns in the clerk’s hand. The road is open, the parts are saleable, and the next hunt now has a clear price.
“I sell the hide and ask for directions for the adventures guild. I also thank Vane for the ride.”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +2)
The clerk dips his quill, then slides a small pouch across the tray. Coins whisper inside it, enough to matter and not enough to finish the winter debt. Merchant Vane watches the exchange with a measured breath.
Neko
Thank you for the ride, Merchant Vane. I would have missed the counting house without it.
Merchant Vane
Glad to have helped. You carried the hard part better than I did the mud.
The Clerk
If you seek the adventurers guild, take the east road from this courtyard. It runs past the tannery, then the bell tower. The guild keeps a sign of three spears over the door.
He marks the route in the ledger with the tip of his quill, as if the line itself might prevent any mistake. The marsh prowler shell shards remain on the tray beside the counted silver.
The Clerk
If you bring back more salvage, bring the hide intact when you can. Whole hides sell cleaner, and cleaner coin reaches the Baron faster.
Merchant Vane
Then mind your steps, slayer. If the guild gives you work, send word when you can. I would rather meet you on a safe road than a flooded one.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the adventurers guild
Neko leaves Muddy courtyard of a fortified counting house behind and arrives at Adventurers Guild.
“I will head toward the east road to find the adventurers guild. I enter and speak to the recipient about me being new and looking for work.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)
The Adventurers Guild smells of oiled wood, damp wool, and old smoke. Neko steps in under the three spears sign, rain still clinging to his boots, while a broad counter of scarred oak divides the hall from a wall of pinned notices and chalk marks.
Guild Recipient
You look new to this floor. Looking for work, or looking to be told where the work is hiding?
Neko
I am new here. I am looking for work.
Guild Recipient
Good. Straight answers save time. What kind of work can you carry, slayer?
The recipient slides a slate ledger open with two fingers. Nearby, a notice catches the light, its corner pinned over a sketch of shell shards and muddy prints.
Neko
The board is organized by contract, not by rumor.
Guild Recipient
If you can take beast work, I have three postings that do not require a nobleman's blessing. Tell me your strength, and I will tell you which names to trust.
He waits with the slate half turned toward Neko, ready to mark the first contract into the book.
Quest Complete
Reach the adventurers guild
“I tell him my strengths and ask about the three beasts.”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +0)
Neko
I can manage beast work. I can fight, track, and mend wounds if needed. What are the three contracts?
The Guild Recipient makes a small note in the ledger, then flips the slate toward Neko. Three entries sit beneath the inked heading, each with its own seal and fee.
Guild Recipient
Good. Then listen close. One is a boar in the low fields, mean enough to break fences. One is a night hound near the mill road, which means nerves, not muscle, will matter. The third is the shell-backed thing from the marsh, and that one is already drawing attention.
He taps the shell-shard sketch on the notice board, then the margin where the payment is written. The figures are plain, but the last line has been scored and rewritten by a harsher hand.
Guild Recipient
Those marks were adjusted this morning. The shell beast pays best, but only if its trail is real and not a farmer's panic. You have the look of someone who can tell the difference.
Neko
The shell-shard sketch matches the marsh prowler.
Guild Recipient
Pick one, and I put your name against it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Take the shell-backed beast contract
“I take all three contracts and head out to complete them.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Survival, rolled +1)
The Guild Recipient closes the ledger with a flat thump, then slides three sealed slips across the counter.
Neko
I take all three. Put my name to them.
He breaks the seals one by one, checks the marks, and sets a brass token beside each contract. The shell-backed beast line gets the heaviest token.
Guild Recipient
That one is real. Marsh signs match the shard sketch, and the correction stands. No one else has claimed it.
He draws Neko’s name into the ledger beside all three entries, then tears off the copies and stamps them with guild wax.
Neko
Three contracts. Enough to start closing the gap.
The Guild Recipient gathers the remaining slips back into a stack and nudges the boar route first, the night hound second, the marsh beast last.
Guild Recipient
Bring proof, bring hides if you can, and bring the shell-backed head if you want the full mark. The door is yours.
Quest Complete
Take the shell-backed beast contract
+ New Item Acquired
Three stamped contracts