Chapter 1: Friends in Need

Looking this Pyram Peek up and down with skepticism, Lauretta crosses her arms and shifts her stance.

"You're a bit scrawny to be braving ancient burial grounds that normal folks avoid. What makes you so confident to be scraping around in that old dirt at night? Is there some treasure or legend pushing you on? Either way, it's damned foolish to do it alone."

In earnest, the priest believed it to be damned foolish to go disturbing ancient things at all, but sometimes one has to be a fool in order to learn. She certainly did. Still, her questions at this point were more for her own curiosity and suspicion than genuine interest in Pyram's quest. The problems that the locals suffered were far more important than furthering one man's personal gain.

Wolfram's eyebrows arched in surprise at the tactless comment the priest made to Pyram Peek. Her boldness made him smile. And while Gabalan sent a message to him by almost cutting him off, he let it go. There were more urgent matters to attend to.

Approaching the bar, Wolfram asks Pyram Peek about the rumors. "Has anyone given a first-hand account of these giant spiders and monsters or are they simply old wives' tales? Oh, and please forgive me. I am Wolfram. Pleased to meet you. Are you looking for anything in particular in these old grave sites? Perhaps the vanishing people are in some way related to the missing six."

Tzal left his village in search of his master, the Wizard Ahrimamane, who one day wandered into their establishment. A master of aquatic spells; he had been tutoring Tzal for reasons still unclear to him. He hoped that, the wizard perhaps wanted him to make an apprentice but his sudden disappearance was totally surprising. Becoming aware of the wonderous world of magic had fascinated Tzal and he couldn't let it go. He set out exploring and had tried to learn as much as he could about the arcane mysteries from old tomes that he could get his hands on during his travels to find out about the whereabouts of his master. Ahrimamane, once told him that he belonged to the Indigo line of wizardry and himself favoured blue clothes. This had inspired Tzal to stick to that shade, as he was wearing a deep blue cloak and a pointed hat of same colour. In his travels he mostly acted as a water trader, selling drinking water to the weary travellers until he met the group of unique people. A clockwork, a ranger, a warrior priestess, a jann and a mysterious man with weird devices. He didn't know what was happening or where this party will go or do next. But, it was interesting to meet new people. He constantly catalogued about his life in his journal as he continued to travel in hopes of getting any news about wizard Ahrimamane.

Now that he had ended up in Traveler's rest and heard the news of missing people, he felt like a purpose was suddenly in front of him. He was wary about whether the other members were going to agree to help but it seemed like they were quite interested. He almost felt that the group will finally go in their own separate ways, whenever they came to a settlement. But, luckily or unluckily that has not happened yet. After listening to everyone's pertinent question and respective answers, he stood up, "You all talk with Marya, while I go and check on the belongings of the two missing adventurers. Does anyone wish to accompany me?"

"I will accompany you. Statistics from ancient and contemporary literature indicate severe upticks in unexpected death and injury when unknown threats are involved. Besides, the same statistics indicate an increased chance of meeting a Wizard creation along the way." R3N-L3 intoned, ignoring the talk about possible employment. He cared little for fiat, his primary mission being to end this cursed purpose that the Wizard had placed upon him.

Lauretta sighed and unfolded her arms as the familiar situation unfolded itself. While mercenary work was something she was used to, it was a life she left behind to do the things that mattered to her. Becoming a priest took years, and it wasn't to roam the countryside as a common sellsword again. However, coin earned could be used virtuously.

"How much? You're looking at a group of well-armed, well-trained individuals. I was a mercenary in the Red Banners for years before priesthood. I question if you can afford us. Before you answer, I'm not making any promises. I don't speak for the rest of my band, but I'll let you know now that your job would be a tertiary concern to myself. Finding those missing folk and hunting down the goat-killer is more important to me."

"I'll go with both of you."

Aazim would accompany Tzal and R3N-L3 to wherever the belongings are stored.

The jann smirks as he considers the comments of his companions. Certainly some strong personalities within this group...but he supposed that was normal. Adventuring wasn't for the timid.

Still, he worried that clashes were inevitable. No clear leader had emerged...not that one was truly needed. If the group was willing to discuss their options rationally, and then adhere to a vote if they couldn't arrive at a unanimous course of action, they should be fine.

But as his people were quick to point out, democracies were always built on shaky foundations. Of course, they proclaimed this to justify their caste system. Still, Aazim was learned enough to know it was something to ponder....

Tzal came back disappointed after going through the belongings. It didn't have anything out of ordinary so the question about what happened to them, remained a mystery. He asked Marya, "Do the locals, Jonn and Philomena have families here? Maybe we can ask the families about whether they know anything specific?"

Lauretta nods her head and grunts, impressed by the amount of coin the man put on offer. Potentially six gold pieces is a lot of coinage to be carrying around, but she supposed a treasure hunter must have significant pay days.

"You're fortunate that you have an unassuming presence while carrying that much coin. Otherwise, you'd be an easy target for all sorts of ill-intentioned folk on the road. Go ahead and rest up tonight while we commit to our other investigations. It will be better to visit this tomb of yours while we have daylight anyway, rather than crawling around in the dark."

The priest extended a hand to shake on the deal with Pyram, making it official. Traveler's Rest was turning out to be quite fruitful in terms of employment.

Two paying jobs! It was too good to be true.

He looks to Lauretta and asks, "Can we handle both jobs at once? They could take us in opposite directions depending on what we find out about the missing folks. We could ask about Jonn and Philomena's families as Tzal suggests and then see where we stand."

Like Tzal, Aazim was disappointed that their examination uncovered nothing out of the ordinary. And when he returned to the others, he heard that Lauretta had committed them to an entirely different job. Just when he was wondering about strong personalities....

"As Wolfram noted, it might not be possible to do both jobs...unless the party is willing to split up. Regardless, my priority is to search for the missing; though I'm certainly interested in long-lost secrets, examining burial grounds doesn't seem to be a pressing matter."

He then addresses Pyram directly, while also glancing at Lauretta: "It seems you have a handshake agreement with Lauretta. However, she doesn't speak for me. If these tasks coincide, I'll be happy to help. If not, the missing come first, as I've noted."

The priest furrows her brow and glares at Aazim. She didn't like to repeat herself, but the unnecessary intervention served to be a sufficient annoyance. After clearing her throat, she speaks in a stern tone.

"The fact that I do not speak for you and the fact that his request is a tertiary objective has already been explained to the man. I know how to handle business, so I advise you to trust in my skills in the future before interjecting. Likewise, you can expect me to respect your areas of knowledge as well. With that out of the way, I will restate that it is possible we cannot do both, and that our primary objective is locating the missing folk. They may still live, and we are currently their only hope. Fortunately, the ancient treasure that Pyram desires isn't going anywhere. As such, we can return to him later if we end up too busy. Now, let's question the families and whoever may have seen them last."

Lauretta hoped the current incohesion of the group hadn't been offputting, but she wasn't about to let the others get the wrong idea of her. Any miscommunications or false perceptions would be important to correct early rather than be allowed to fester.

"Logic remains consistent that on average, existences decay more easily when they are flesh-based life-forms." R3N-L3 agreed in an uninterested tone. To him, he estimated chances of running into a Wizard creation were about the same either way, so it didn't matter to him which job they took first.

Tzal eyed Aazim and Lauretta warily. He then spoke up, "Well, my esteemed acquaintances, we do not need any doubt about our intentions. We can speak up our minds and discuss this matter before we proceed. We all bring our special sets of skills to the table. I am sure we can, and definitely will succeed in the upcoming endeavours. As it is rightly pointed that missing persons are more important because there is a chance of them perishing before we find them, so we must make haste if they can be recovered. However, Mr. Pyram brings a very lucrative offer and we should see about that when time comes. We have come all the way to Traveller's Rest by watching each other's back, we can surely make it out accepting each others quirks."

"Looks like the consensus is, missing people first, ruins afterward. It makes sense after listening to all of you. Can you wait for us, Pyram? It would be worth your while, of course."

Wolfram was willing him to agree. The extra coin would be much appreciated by all, he was sure.

Aazim considers Lauretta's words carefully, then responds, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible.

"Tertiary objective or not, you still shook on a deal with Pyram. I don't know who you consulted before doing this, but you certainly didn't consult me."

"I don't know how you can claim not to speak for the group...but then commit us to a mission. Or perhaps your handshake deal was only a casual gesture, not meant to be taken as binding. If so, then I misread the situation; I am, after all, a foreigner, and used to different customs."

The more he spoke, the more he felt his anger rising. He was about to ask the priest if she followed the god of arrogance and delusion, but that would almost certainly lead to a physical confrontation, and perhaps the dissolution of the group.

But then he remembers one of Omar's favorite quotes: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

After clearing his throat, he again speaks in a neutral tone.

"In any case, it seems we're all in agreement: the missing come first. So let's put our collective skills to use and find them."

With another sudden sigh released from her nose, Lauretta took mental note of the concern of her other companions, such as Tzal. Although still irritated, she leaned into a more diplomatic approach.

"The handshake was not a commitment of the entire group to his mission, but to solidify the deal that any of us willing to accept it would earn themselves a gold piece. As a personal tertiary objective, it would also mean that I was not going to sway any of you into doing his mission over the missing folk. In essence, it was a very soft agreement that also wouldn't commit any of us to anything. But yes, let's get to questioning folk."

The priest looked to the servant who was cleaning when the group came in. Staff of the inn would be good to question since this was the only place they all had in common.

"Did you see any of the missing on the days before they disappeared?"