Young Writers Society

100,000? With five zeros? Sign Aeron up! It'd taken him approximately 0.5 seconds to snatch the poster off the bulletin and then walk into the nearest tavern to ask about how to make his way to Rocknesse.

As it turned out, it was the next town over from where he found himself now. Which, obviously, wasn't where he usually found himself, seeing as he didn't even know what the surrounding towns were. He'd come here on a job. Then did his job. And now he needed a new one. And, if he got this job, he wouldn't need a job for many moons afterwards. This would be enough to get him by frivolously for months -- nevermind how long he could nurse it if he was actually careful and tried to be responsible.

Once he thought about it a bit more he lost a bit of his initial enthusiasm. There were a lot of details missing. Who was hiring him? Why? What was so special about this mystery package that someone was willing to pay that much money to keep it secret and safe? And, perhaps most importantly, what might he have to guard the package from?

He didn't know.

And yet he still set out for Rocknesse, deciding to go and at least hear the pitch.

Rocknesse was a bigger town than he'd been expecting, and it took him a bit of asking around before he finally got ushered into a small stable that looked more like a murder shack than anything else.

"Sit over there and wait," a man wearing a cloak pulled down over his face barked, gesturing at a room filled with broken bales of hay.

"I was just wanting to--"

The door slammed in his face.

"...Oh... okay..." Aeron lumbered over to the area and awkwardly looked around, then sat down. "...This is fine, I guess..." He didn't really understand what was going on. But he wasn't in a hurry, he guessed. He could be patient.

... Though he hoped someone would show up soon. This was spooky to be by himself.

There wasn't a lot of money in being a guide, but he did get to meet interesting people. This time, it was merely a human family. It was two parents and their two children, traveling to New Rocknesse to start a new life there, living closer to their extended family. He bid them goodbye once they'd reached town, and from there, it was back on the road. At least, after he rested for a spell.

Kiirion made his way to the nearest inn, but he took his time. There was no sense of hurry, and nowhere to go in a hurry, so he let his eyes wander among the streets, lingering on passersby and observing anything out of the ordinary. Eventually, he found himself standing in front of the town's bulletin board in front of one of the taverns, staring at the posters strewn about. Though there were a few different job listings posted, the one that stood out to him was naturally the one with the biggest reward.

100,000 gold.

Kiirion wasn't normally searching to fall into great riches, but 100,000 to merely deliver a package to Old Northton seemed too good to be true. There had to be a catch.

That was all it took. Almost regrettably, he knew that the curiosity of the unknown had bitten him, and whether or not he wanted to, he was going to get involved. He didn't love the call to adventure, but he could never seem to resist it when it called to him.

Inexplicably, he found himself entering a small shack. There, another man was waiting, presumably for instruction.

"You're here for the 100,000 gold?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Aeron pushed himself to his feet, brushing the hay off his pants and straightening his tunic and sword. He felt absolutely ridiculous for being caught sitting down on the job. Not that he was on the job. Yet. But still. He felt stupid. Especially with the way that this man towered over him. He cleared his throat. "Yes, sir. I am. Are you... the employer?" He strode forward, offering a hand. "Aeron Munen, at your service, sir."

An amused smile lit in Kiirion's eyes as the man quickly got to his feet, practically groveling. He wondered how desperate the man was for a job. Clearly, he was there for the money. You had to be when the job was shrouded in so much mystery.

"No," he said simply. "I came for the same reason. It appears we'll be working together, then."

He looked the man up and down, assessing him. He looked like a fighter - or at least, was dressed the part. Time would tell if he was capable, but he had to hope he was if they were going to be spending time together and likely facing the same dangers.

Meeting the man's hand with a firm shake, he kept it quick and pulled away.

"A pleasure to meet you, Aeron. I'm Kiirion Ayair Faelar," he said. "Call me Kiirion."

He glanced behind him at the door, now closed.

"I'll be interested to see who our employer is... if they even show face."

"Me as well," Aeron agreed, following his gaze. "Did you see, the, uh... flyer?" Aeron patted his pockets; where had he put it again? "Wasn't much to go off of, on the one I followed here."

"I believe whoever wrote them up intended them to be so," Kiirion observed. With a small flourish, he pulled out the flyer from his coat pocket and offered it to Aeron.

"I hope you're not intending to ask any questions. That would sour things from the start."

"Yeah, that one," Aeron confirmed, pointing at it but making no move to take it. "The one with the big 'don't ask questions' on it." What an annoying comment. Oh well. He'd simply turn it into a joke. He chuckled, "Short attention span, but I did make it that far. No questions, no peeking -- make bank. Easy enough equation."

With a nod, he folded the piece of paper up and tucked it away again.

"Hopefully with no other strings attached," Kiirion said quietly, more as an aside to himself.

He moved to step away from the doorway, so as to make space for anyone else who entered.

"Have to been to Old Northton?" he asked, idly chipping away at small talk.

When Echo saw the flyer while fae was wandering Rocknesse, fae didn’t grab it for the money. Fae didn’t need money. At the end of the day, fae would return to the same cottage in the woods that was hand built by faer Mom, and that would be the end of it.

But Echo was a wanderer, and Mom always liked to hear about Echo adventuring. And this was sure to be an interesting one. Hopefully, all of the mystery would keep faer party small.

When fae ended up inside a small shack, fae almost celebrated. Who else would come out here? Fae opened the door and immediately deflated. There were already two people. Which meant there was the possibility of two more. And then some.

Echo cleared faer throat, ready to speak, but nothing came out. Fae waved, hoping no one questioned it, and walked in.

Sao was definitely, definitely lost. This was not where they kept the good seeds. And definitely not where she'd spotted the flyer Advanced Gardening instructors. She sighed. Perfect. Just Perfect . Walking for hours and all for nothing.

Out of habit she combed through the flyers. It was all adventuring and protecting and By the Name of All That is Watery was that offering 100,000 coins. Sao eyes alnost fell out of her head. That. That was enough money to get so, so much. She read the description a little more carefully.

Two weeks of walking with a mysterious package. For that much. Someone was being scammed here. Sao considered it for a moment. Rockenese was close by. She had a shovel on her that she could swing Anyone else who signed would either be easy to trick or so mysterious they would just think she was some sort of equally mysterious Sorceress of the Shovel.

This could work as long as it wasn't a scam or she didn't die. The reward here was definitely worth the risk. So she rolled up the flyer and took off.

It didnt take her too long to reach Rockenese. The only time sink had been a few pit stops to get some flowers, a string and some ferns. She strategically wove the ferns through the holes in her ancient hat. Maybe it would make her look more epic. She also built a little flower wreath for her shovel managing to scrub (most of) the dirt off. That should either add to the epicness or convince everyone she had completely lost it. Both would work well enough to keep her from being questioned too much.

Sao's plab seemed to work on whoever was here receiving people because she was directed to a shack that looked just terrifying enough it could be the right place. She really hoped this wasnt going to be a sacrificial shack of some kind. That would be the worst kind of scam.

She poked her head in and swallowed heavily. Was there a giants only clause in this flyer somewhere. She didn't remember seeing any. She could read. She was pretty sure anyway.

The two men looked like they knew exactly what they were doing. They probably did this sort of thing for fun. The third one though looked a lot safer. The poor thing looked to be in desperate need of a warm hug. Sao could work with that. She cleared her throat and stomped her shovel in what she hoped was a dramatic move.

"Greetings Shovels...." wait a minute that sounded wrong. Well it was too late to go back now. "I am here for the walk to Northton. Sounds like a worthy task for a band of noble shovels." Sao stamped her shovel again. She nodded, produced her best smile and walked towards the huggable one.

Echo had to resist the urge to turn into a porcupine when the newcomer approached faer. People. People very close. Ahhhh.

Fae smiled before remembering that faer teeth were utterly terrifying and closing faer mouth again. It was for the best. The smile probably looked like a grimace anyways.

Fae managed to wave at this person too. Waves were fine. They were perfectly appropriate nonverbal greetings that hid just how nervous Echo was. Why were people flocking to the scary flyer? Maybe fae should just leave…

Sao beamed. This one definitely seemed friendly if maybe a little shy. She waved back, channeling the energy she usually reserved for particulalrly skittish animals.

She walked a tiny bit closer but kept her distance, putting the shovel strategically behind her back.

"Doing okay there sweetie?"

Echo isn’t quite sure fae managed to stifle the bat-like squeak that question made them want to emit. But regardless, fae nodded profusely. “Mhm.”

Fae quickly looked away from her. Fae wasn’t really worth talking to. Most people gave up after the first animal noise.

Kiirion observed the newcomers quietly, letting their entrance interrupt a conversation that wasn’t going anywhere anyway.

He regarded the short woman with a nod, noting that of all things, she brought a shovel. She didn’t seem like she belonged, at least, in the traditional sense. It was either the money or the mystery that drew her out of what had to be some kind of farming lifestyle beforehand.

The other newcomer seemed anxious and withdrawn, so Kiirion refrained from eye contact for the time being.

“What is your name?” Kiirion asked the woman with the shovel.