Revora
She nods, meeting each of your gazes as you swear.
"Good. Good. Thank you."
She sips from her drink, a large tankard of some foul looking bitter ale that smells poorly made and stored with even less care.
"This must be kept secret or other factions will move. The Queen's position is precarious is some matters, and if her enemies sense an opportunity, they'll press. She would respond, and it is no exaggeration that war could break out." She looks at Kvarek in particular, and he needs no reminder that the last war cost thousands of barbarian lives, and countless more lives wasted in slave labour building the Ambrian city of Yndaros.
She pulls out several sheet of parchment as she talks, sorting through them.
"This noble, let's call him Wagner, went into forest in search of an old ruin, as many do. He was properly authorized," she holds up a parchment, showing a blank Explorer's License.
"After five days, his guide returned, babbling about dangers in the ruin. Wagner had been taken by things inside, by 'arms of darkness and hate' and that the guide has barely survived the slaughter of the goblins among them. Elves, as far as we can tell, and not the little ones you see from the ones sometimes, not elflings, but proper elves. Ancient and terrible."
"An Explorer's License, for each of you, for a month. If you bring Wagner back, alive, these will be extended to a year. A thaler each in advance to outfit ten more, each, on your return with Wagner, or what's left of him if you're too late." Eleven thaler, that's a proper knight's wage for five days, a sellsword's wage for months. You could live without any other income for months, if you lived modestly.
"We put out the call this morning, and we've wasted enough time as it is. You'd leave tonight."
