Welcome to The Misfits

Markus squinted his eyes and nodded his head in a kind of salute. A look of appreciation and acknowledgment of skill.

Dohavin nodded, listened, and demolished the rest of the chicken meal as Markus and A'ramis answered his question. He took a napkin and wiped his mouth and hands clean.

"A fighter and a healer. Serendipity indeed."

He smiles and reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a pipe. He gives an intense stare to the end of the pipe as it sparks and ignites. He blows out the small flame and leans back into his chair slowly puffing on the tobacco. He looks up at the rafters of the large common room as he begins to speak.

"What does the guild offer you? In the short term, a roof over your head and access to relatively consistent work. In time, I imagine it can provide the same things it has provide many of us here, but that will have to depend on whether you are looking for a home and people you can hope to depend on or not.

But before we can make a decision here, the guild will need to see if you are up for a simple task. You will of course be compensated for the work and we will make a determination based on your success."

He looks at the two of you to see if either of you have any objections to being tasked.

A'ramis nodded at the idea. There was no reason to assume otherwise, if the guild didn't test their abilities they could simply say whatever they wished about themselves. "A trial is to be expected, really. If we get to depend on the guild in the long run, then the guild needs to depend on us as well." He was curious about how the pipe had been lit, had a brief mental debate on asking, and decided not to. He wasn't researching Dohavin, or strange abilities, or anything that would make the question more than idle curiosity. Well, there was a thought. Perhaps he'd have the ability to do research here, in the future. That would be nice.

Markus nodded and kept working on his chicken. Dohavin ate fast, and Markus had barely started. Magecraft? Witchery? He wasn't sure how he ha managed to light that pipe, but it didn't really matter to Markus, so long it wasn't some divine blessing.

"All of that sounds about right. What do you need?"

"Very well, I have a task in mind, but let me see if I can find a couple of individuals to join you.

For the time being, enjoy your meals and I will return with a task and some others to join you."

Dohavin stands up from his seat and begins walking around the great room talking to different individuals and groups. He leaves the two of you alone to finish your meals.

While he eats his chicken, Markus raises an eyebrow and addresses A’ramis. "So… a healer huh? And a pretty accomplished one, it sounds like.

What do think about this place now that you’re here? I’m not getting any weird feelings yet. Seems on the level so far. What do you think?"

A'ramis eats as well, even if he didn't enjoy it he would have finished it. Food wasn't something to waste. He thinks as he looks around the room before replying to Markus, giving the question due consideration.

"It seems a good place, but experience has taught me that things too good to be true usually are. Perhaps my standards for that are low, but I have yet to see or be told a downside to this place. Which, in it's absence, makes me nervous. We will know more once we have the job, and even more once we return from it." He turns his gaze back to Markus, and then looks down again from habit before he says more.

"I'm not sure about how accomplished I am. I was taught what I know from necessity, as there was no one but myself to care for my ailments, and from a mentor I met. She gave me a better working knowledge of what does what. I can't save everyone I treat, but I can at least make it less miserable for them.

I would imagine that you have some knowledge of it yourself, being more of a combatant. You seem well built for fighting, and your natural intimidation must help with that. From what I can see, you're body is taken care of and not terribly damaged which means you either have talent or have fought very little." Before he realized, A'ramis had looked up and was clinically assessing Markus from what he could see. It was an odd habit he had picked up through treating others - it was helpful to be able to sum up a person's condition and extrapolate details from that. "In your case I'm leaning towards talent and skill."

He gave thought to Markus's proposal. The idea was tempting, and the pros and cons formed rapidly in his mind. In the end, A'ramis didn't see enough reason to refuse. They seemed to have basic common ground between them, and their skills complemented each other nicely. Another thing on the plus side was that neither person seemed phased by the other's oddities.

"I think it could work. A temporary alliance that could go either way in the end. We seem to have been through enough to not stab each other in the back for no reason." He gave a small smile and a nod. "Works for me."

Markus remainder unsmiling but gave a nod of acknowledgment to A’ramis. It’s good to have an allies.

"So then since we’re looking out for one another and have a few minutes to ourselves…" he looked around the room to spot Myrra and Dohavin. "Is there anything you just won’t do? Anyline you won’t cross? Personally, I’m not going to pick on kids. And if they want me to kill someone, the Misfits are going to have to convince me they deserve it. "

"Our lines seem similar. I need a reason for action, and not just one that convinces them or others. They have to convince me. I'm not adverse to doing what needs to be done, but blind faith is something I will never give. Trust in specific people, yes. And still I would only be trusting they have a good reason for their actions that will be explained to me." Children were largely off the list but, if he was honest, children could be just as evil as adults. Different actions would be taken though - children could generally still be saved after all. Still, A'ramis wasn't sure that was something to be said here. If it came up within this alliance, he would defer to Markus. Unless he felt particularly strongly about it, but that was a rare thing.

Dohavin returns, still smoking his pipe, followed by two individuals.

"I found two Misfits who are able and willing to aid in the task we have in mind for the two of you. This is Wraith Moonflower, a mage."

He motions toward a very short woman who waves and smiles at the two of you."And this is Megan Cole, a warrior."

His hand raises, almost comically so, to a woman of normal height wearing armor and and wielding a spear and shield. She nods, stoically, at the two of you."As for the task, there is a bounty on an unnatural and elusive creature terrorizing some nearby farmland. It is supposedly the failed experiment of some unhinged, and probably now dead, mage. As for why this is a task for the Misfits, let's just say that the other guilds have already failed to address the issue and are saving face by saying it is a task below their station.

The creature has been noted to have some feline aspects and some reptile aspects. But there has not been any direct confirmation of its appearance. As for task completion, you can either kill the creature or capture it, but how you accomplish this task will be up to you two. Wraith and Megan are here to support your plan, as long as it is sensible.

Do you two have any questions?"

"Sounds like you and I will get along just fine then. " After saying Markus just sits and eats. He finds his eyes wondering over to the woman he noticed earlier, then trying to move them back to his plate.

A'ramis blinks quickly when he realizes that the woman who had drawn his attention earlier was here now. He switches his attention back to Dohavin and listens intently. "A couple, yes. Firstly, what kind of terrorizing are we talking about? Eating the crops and livestock, destroying the land and property, or killing and possibly eating the people who live there? Is this the area where trouble has started, or has it moved here from somewhere else? I would also be interested in any knowledge you have of its behaviour patterns - they could tell us something important." He pauses for a moment to think before continuing.

"You say that other guilds have tried, and failed, to deal with it. You may not be privy to the information, but what have they tried? Knowing what hasn't worked could save us a lot of time and effort in the long run. I am curious as well, if there hasn't been direct confirmation of its appearance, how do we know it is both real and the correct creature? Or is it something no one survives to tell the tale of, or only comes out in the dark, and so forth?"

Animals - and beasts - generally had patterns to their actions. And clear motivations. Being a strange experiment - if true - could throw that out the window, but there could still be useful knowledge in understanding exactly what has been going on. Having a problem to solve let A'ramis focus on the job at hand, giving him a calmer demeanor than when he was just sitting and waiting.

"Some wise questions."

Dohavin sits back down and takes a long drag on his pipe before continuing.

"So far, no deaths. Some bad injuries that are consistent with the claws of a large cat. And some lost livestock. It apparently is only active at night. Which probably explains why no one has a clear idea of what the creature looks like. There is also some uncertainty about where it come from, but these farmlands are at the edge of some untamed wilds, so it could have travelled some distance before reaching this area. What is clear, is that it isn't moving on from the location.

As for what was tried by others, I can't say. I only know that the bounty has been attempted by others without success. And given the simplistic nature of the task, I can't imagine that the other guilds haven't tried to complete it. Perhaps they underestimated its difficulty and never sent individuals experienced to catch or kill the beast. And after failing, hid the failure by stating that they wouldn't take on such a task. Regardless, the bounty writer decided to cancel the open bounty and instead posted it here, for the Misfits.

See, we don't take public jobs. We only accept work that is directly sent to us. It keeps us from stepping on the toes of bigger and more politically supported guilds. So, it is always in our best interest to complete any work we accept, otherwise our reputation will dissipate."

Markus nodded to the women as they walked up. A mage and a fighter, huh? Handy. Those had been good questions A'ramis had. Unfortunately it seems there is more unknown than known. And being a detective wasn't his forte. "What kind of provisions do we get? Cages or anything? And what proof do we need to show that we got the job done? Bring back a head or the whole carcass? Are there any common occurances in the attacks other than at night and by a vaguely discribed cat-claw? How are the victims describing what attacked them if they aren't dead? "

Markus started immediately devising plans to capture this thing that would work for whatever the creature is.

A'ramis thought on the answers for a moment and listened to Markus's questions. It was interesting, how they seemed to think of different things while complimenting the other. This partnership might work out better than he had thought - might. "I apologize but...what proof do we have that it does exist? You've given reasons to show that something is certainly happening there, but if it is on the edge of wilds...it might not be some 'monster'. It could be a group of strange animals, or strange people, that moved closer for some reason. Feline like claws seem to be the only clear knowledge?" It may be repetitive, but even things like cages couldn't be planned for if they had no idea on size. The entire thing was strange, really.

Dohavin bites down on his pipe and rubs his chin for a moment.

"There are no additional provisions provided by the contract, but you are welcome to purchase any supplies here at the guild. As for proof... I'd imagine that whatever you bring back would be sufficient. The thing that anyone cares about are the attacks stopping, so long as that happens, you may even get away with just your word.

And to your questions of veracity. We have a contract about farmlands being terrorized. Whatever the cause is, it is the aim of you four to see it come to an end. I can only tell you what the contract writer has told us: others have failed, eye witnesses describe something unnaturally a mix of feline and reptile."

Dohavin stands up and motions toward the Wraith and Megan.

"Perhaps these two will have some ideas. As for me, I have some tasks I must attend to and you may want to get going soon as it may take you a few hours to get to the area in question."

As the large minotaur leaves, you suddenly realize you have yet to introduce yourselves to Wraith and Megan.

A'ramis doesn't say anything more to Dohavin. He hadn't expected resources as they weren't officially in the guild, but it would have been nice. The run down of simply 'solve the problem' and not 'solve the mysterious beast' was a much more comfortable goal.

When Dohavin leaves he realizes that he is now with two more people who are probably expecting...something. With a blink he focuses them and eventually says something. "Hello. I'm A'ramis."

That was right...right?

"Hello. I'm Markus. Megan, I noticed you... r spear before while you were eating with your friends." He takes another sip of his drink then continues. "So now that the boss is gone, do you two know anything about this job or the area we need to head to?"