The adventurers' guild smells of rain, leather, and lamp oil as Sonoda enters. Beneath the timber rafters, a wandering swordsman stands before the crowded notice board, travel-stained and broad-shouldered, with auburn hair, a scarred cheek, and a weather-dark cloak.
The Wandering Swordsman
The beast must be slain before nightfall. I need one more combatant, and this contract pays enough to make the risk worthwhile.
He tears a parchment from the board and lays it across the nearest table. Ink describes a horned marsh predator, its lair, and a deadline marked in red.
The Guild Captain
One more, yes. But not just anyone. We have seen what happens when Sonoda joins a formation.
The Young Spearman
Her results are undeniable. Her manner is another matter. I would rather face the monster without being ordered around like a fool.
Conversation thins into wary silence. Several guild members glance from Sonoda's white horns and gold-trimmed attire to the swordsman, measuring reputation against the darkening sky.
The Wandering Swordsman
The contract stands between us. If she takes it, the party forms. If she does not, I ride alone before dusk.
✓ Quest Accepted
Join the monster-hunting expedition
✓ Quest Accepted
Slay the horned marsh predator
“*I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms.* "You should all be lucky that someone like me would even watch your backs. Had it been anybody else, you all might not make it back at all."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Sonoda
You should all be lucky that someone like me would even watch your backs. Had it been anybody else, you might not make it back at all.
Sonoda furrows her brows and crosses her arms, white horns angled toward the table. Her certainty cuts through the guild's silence, leaving the contract as the only sensible answer.
The Wandering Swordsman
Then watch mine, healer. I care less for gentleness than for returning alive.
The Young Spearman
You make it sound as though survival depends entirely on you.
The Guild Captain
Enough. The contract requires three signatures, and hers is the one that makes this expedition credible.
The swordsman pushes the parchment toward Sonoda. Her composure holds, but the force of maintaining it leaves one brief hesitation visible before she reaches for the quill.
The Wandering Swordsman
Sign, and we leave before the rain worsens. I will not mistake your confidence for permission to ignore your warnings.
“*Closing my eyes and sighing through my nose, I knew better than to make enemies of potential party members this early on by being abrasive without reason. Opening my eyes, I reached down and took the quill, signing my name without fuss.*”
FAILURE (Mediocre Agility, rolled +0)
Sonoda closes her eyes, exhales softly through her nose, and reaches toward the table. Her fingers find parchment, but no quill waits beside it.
Sonoda
The quill is not here.
Her hand pauses above the contract. The parchment shifts beneath her glove, its inked terms still unsigned as the guild watches the aborted motion.
The Guild Captain
Stop there. The quill is at the oath desk. Contracts involving you require a captain's witness before the ink touches them.
The Wandering Swordsman
A precaution, then, not a refusal. Captain, bring the desk here and let the matter be settled.
The captain lifts the parchment away before Sonoda can reach again, folding it once against his palm. He gestures toward the raised desk beneath the guild seal, making that station the only path to a valid signature.
“*I let out a soft, "mm", and made my way to the desk to sign my name.*”
FAILURE (Mediocre Agility, rolled -1)
Sonoda
Mm.
Sonoda crosses the guild floor toward the raised oath desk, her white boots measured against the timber boards. The watching crowd parts without a word.
At the desk, she finds only its worn surface and the guild seal. The quill is absent here, while the captain still holds the folded contract behind her.
The Guild Captain
Stand beneath the seal. The parchment remains in my keeping until the witness oath is spoken.
Sonoda reaches the proper station, but no ink touches her name. The captain places himself between her and the contract, turning the attempted signing into a formal examination.
The Guild Captain
You came to sign, but signing is not yet permitted. First, acknowledge the contract's terms before this guild.
The Wandering Swordsman
Then read them aloud, Captain. Let everyone hear precisely what she is being asked to accept.
“*Feeling slightly annoyed at the delay, I had thought about voicing my thoughts about a waste of time this was, but decided against it. I therefore opted to simply stay silent and allow the Captain to read out the contract terms so I could accept them and begin the expedition as soon as possible.*”
Sonoda remains beneath the guild seal, arms at her sides and lips closed. Around her, the gathered adventurers wait while rain ticks steadily against the shuttered windows.
The Guild Captain
The contract concerns the horned marsh predator reported in the eastern fen. The assigned party must locate its lair and slay it before nightfall.
He unfolds the parchment across the oath desk, keeping one hand pressed to its edge. The red-marked deadline catches the lamplight between them.
The Guild Captain
Payment is issued upon confirmation of the beast's death. Each signer accepts the hazards of the marsh and agrees to act as a member of the contracted party.
The Wandering Swordsman
A plain bargain. We find the creature, end the threat, and return with proof before the deadline.
The captain studies Sonoda's silent face, then turns the parchment so the signature lines face her. At last, he retrieves a quill from beneath the desk.
The Guild Captain
These are the terms witnessed by this guild. Acknowledgment permits the signatures. Do you accept them?
“*Without further delay, I sign the parchment with the quill given to me.*”
FAILURE (Mediocre Agility, rolled +1)
Without hesitation, Sonoda reaches across the oath desk for the quill. Her gloved fingers close on empty air as the captain draws it back beneath his hand.
The Guild Captain
Not yet. You accepted the terms, but the quill remains guild property until the witness mark is entered.
The parchment shifts under the captain's palm, carrying the signature lines just beyond Sonoda's reach. Her attempt leaves no ink, only a faint crease where her glove pressed the page.
The Wandering Swordsman
Then the witness mark is the final gate. Make it swiftly, Captain, before the daylight goes.
The Guild Captain
There is another lawful path. Give your acknowledgment before these witnesses, and I will place the guild seal beside your mark before surrendering the quill.
He turns the parchment toward the gathered adventurers, revealing a blank witness line beneath the contract. The blocked signature has exposed the precise formality still required, and the room waits for it.
“*I let out an annoyed yet quiet sigh.* "Yes. I acknowledge these terms. Locate the beast, slay it, return before the deadline. Now please, give me the quill to sign my name. You are now actively delaying us and shortening the timespan artificially."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +3)
Sonoda releases an annoyed, quiet sigh beneath the guild seal. The rain taps the shutters while every witness hears the acknowledgment plainly.
Sonoda
Yes. I acknowledge these terms: locate the beast, slay it, and return before the deadline. Now give me the quill so I can sign. You are actively delaying us and shortening the time available.
Her words settle over the oath desk with crisp finality. The blank witness line stands beneath the contract, and the captain's hand relaxes from its edge.
The Guild Captain
Acknowledgment witnessed. The terms are accepted, and the guild seal confirms it.
The captain presses the guild seal into warm red wax beside the witness line, then places the quill directly into Sonoda's waiting hand.
The Wandering Swordsman
At last. Sign, healer, and we can spend the daylight on the marsh instead of this desk.
The quill rests securely between Sonoda's gloved fingers. The parchment is open before her, its signature line clear beneath the fresh witness mark.
“*I turned to the swordsman.* "Well then, now that the officialization of the matter has been dealt with, let us part with haste. I'd rather return with ample time left."”
FAILURE (Poor Party coordination, rolled +0)
Sonoda
Well then, now that the officialization of the matter has been dealt with, let us part with haste. I'd rather return with ample time left.
Sonoda turns from the oath desk to the wandering swordsman, quill still poised over the parchment. Her urgency is clear, but the newly formalized contract has not yet gathered the party into motion.
The Wandering Swordsman
Agreed, but haste without a route is merely an early mistake. The eastern road is longer, while the fen's raised causeway can save hours if the marsh has not swallowed it.
He taps the contract's marked lair against the table, then glances toward the guild captain rather than leading Sonoda toward the doors. The departure stalls on choosing the safer approach.
The Guild Captain
The causeway remains passable according to the last report. I can mark it on your map, but no guild hand will guarantee what the rain has changed since then.
The Wandering Swordsman
The shortcut gives us time, but trusting an old report could place us in the beast's territory after dark.
The Wandering Swordsman
Choose the road or the causeway, healer. Once chosen, we leave immediately.
“"Let us choose the road. The beast should be felled rather quickly, which will make up for lost time. The fact that you question trusting the structural stability of the causeway with this weather already means the potential downside of it is not worth attempting to chance."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -3)
Sonoda
Let us choose the eastern road. The beast should fall quickly enough to make up for the lost time, and this weather makes the causeway's stability too uncertain to risk.
The wandering swordsman studies her reasoning, then folds the map along the eastern road. The decision settles cleanly, though rainwater has blurred part of the old route marking.
The Wandering Swordsman
The road, then. I will lead us around the flooded lowland and keep us moving. If the beast is as vulnerable as you claim, we may still return before dusk.
The Guild Captain
I can mark the road's last reliable fork, but the report is four days old. Beyond that point, you will judge the ground yourselves.
The guild captain spends several precious minutes copying the route onto a waxed scrap of parchment. By the time he finishes, the rain has strengthened against the shutters.
The Young Spearman
Four days old is not reassuring. Still, it beats trusting a sinking causeway. Gather your things, swordsman.
The wandering swordsman takes the marked parchment and heads for the guild doors. The chosen road awaits beyond the rain, while the uncertain final stretch remains their burden to assess.
“*As we left, I deployed my Nouliths from my back.* "Kerachole." *I then projected a dome-like barrier around the party to protect us from the rain.* "This should keep us dry as we make our travels."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Defensive barriers, rolled -1)
As the party leaves the guild, four Nouliths unfold from Sonoda's back and rise into the rain, their polished forms circling above her shoulders.
Sonoda
Kerachole.
A pale green radiance bursts between the Nouliths. It expands into a smooth dome around Sonoda, the wandering swordsman, and the young spearman.
Rain strikes the barrier and slides away in silver streams. Beneath it, the road remains damp beneath their boots, but their clothes and gear stay dry.
Sonoda
This should keep us dry as we make our travels.
The Wandering Swordsman
Useful. Keep it over us while the road permits, and I will make certain our pace does not waste the protection.
The Young Spearman
That is better than any cloak. I will watch the roadside and call out if the ground changes ahead.
Reach the horned marsh predator's lair
Quest Complete
Join the monster-hunting expedition
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Mediocre→Fair