Our story begins in the distant kingdom known as Decatar.
Now Decatar wasn't exactly a quiet kingdom by any means. Sure there were plenty of lovely and peaceful country sides, beaches, mountains, forests and more to find a quiet place to relax, but there was always something going on that kept the kingdom from being, well, boring.
Whether it was a gang of bandits stealing from caravans in the mountains or witches preparing dark and potential dangerous spells in the deep woods, there was always something that required a call to action. Mind you such things were rarely 'true evil' in nature, not that such dangers didn't exist in the kingdom but any real dark forces seeing corruption, power, domination or all ofn the above were generally few and far between.
As such the kingdom had a well trained, moderate sized army but few had seen anything beyond a battle with some bandits or a powerful magical beast of one sort or another. As such Decatar was an ideal land for freelance adventurers. Anyone with applicable skills were just as likely to succeed as the local guards, and better since, if an adventurer died performing the mission there was no effect on the kingdom. Unlike the possibility of guards getting killed and taxes would in turn be raised to train new ones.
Decatar was also home to many varying species, both magical and non, of humanoid bestial beings. Most were treated warmly for the most part, save some of the more dangerous of the magical beings. It wasn't that they were cruel or nasty usually, but most simply didn't trust creatures with such natural talents.
Such beliefs stemmed from the fact that, for non-magical races, learning magic was a skill that could take years, even decades to perfect, but even a skilled wizard could still be outclassed in the strength of spells by a young naturally magical being. True, those who had to learn magic the hard way were often more diverse in talents, but rarely could they match the strength of the magical creatures inhabiting the land.
But enough gab, I'm sure everyone here is eager to get on with our adventure.
Our story begins in the small town of Fox Hollow. A quiet little town set between the mountains bordering the kingdom to the west, the thick forest of Amberwood to the East, the road to the sea and the capitol to the North, and the planes that sloped away to the southern dessert. Not much happened in Fox Hollow, as any resident could tell you, and yet, despite that, no one was ever surprised when some call to action was needed.
The local inn, named the Fire Drake Inn, was probably the most lively spot in town. Songs were sung, ale flowed like water, and many a guest was enjoying some good natured betting in the local games of Arm wrestling, darts, and ale guzzling. An ideal place for talking over important matters without being overheard.
An ideal meeting spot for heros...
In the corner of the inn sat four figures, each enjoying meals of varying sizes as they conversed.
“Nice place,” said one with a sigh, “Rustic, rural, a far cry from the bustling cities with rushing carts, shoving citizens, and loud noise... I miss it already.”
“Quit your belly aching,” replied another through a mouthful of turkey leg, “You're the one who got us this gig, remember?”
“Me? I thought it was one of you guys.”
The individuals presently conversing were about as stark a contrast as could be. The first to speak had been a rather lithe and graceful vixen female. Dressed in leather armor and a heavy dark blue cloak that hid her daggers as easily as her long red hair, she was no damsel to be rescued, that was for certain.
Her name was Tabitha, a thief by trade and quite the cunning one. While not the top of her class, she had a record of thefts as long as her arm. In fact it was only because of a bungled attempt at mass thievery during a town meeting when she was caught and given the choice. Either the axe or ten years community service. The choice had been obvious.
The other she conversed with was, himself, an exercise in contrasts. John was a knight, and yet he was a dragon. He was strong yet he was also rotund. Having been abandoned in the town square shortly after hatching, John had been rescued by a knight and taken in to loved and cared for and taught all the virtuous ways of being a knight.
However his adopted fathers wife was not one who enjoyed her husband going out on dangerous quests and she was not about to have her adopted son do the same. So she had spent Johns younger years giving him all the food and treats she could. Then result was now at a mature adult size John weighed easily 375 pounds, not counting his armor.
“Great, so we traveled all the way out here for nothing?” John muttered in irritation as he bit off the last of the meat and dropped the bone to his place with a clang.
“No, not nothing,” replied one of the other figures, a white Unicorn Priest by the name of Cassy, as she sat carefully sipping at one of the ales, “We already received the down payment and money for the trip, meals, and our stay at the Inn. That's a long way to go for such a weak prank.”
Cassy was a devoted priest, but unlike others she attempted to honor every religion in the kingdom she possibly could without contradicting her practices. Rather than try to sway anyone to a 'one true' religion, she instead believed that faith was something every religion deserved. So to be more spiritually balanced she had immersed herself in the teaching of every races religious believes she believed had good and nobel intentions.
“I agree,” Tabitha nodded, “I guess our mystery client wishes to remain anonymous. And if that's true he'll probably send someone to give us the message rather than appear himself.”
“You've been quiet this whole time Marty,” John noted looking to their last companion sitting in the corner of the booth, “What do you have to say about all this?”
The figure shifted, his dark robes and large brimmed hat as stark a contrast to Cassy's white and gold robes as their professions were different. He stretched a little bit as felines like him were want to do. The cheetah gave it some thought and finally just shrugged, “I say we go with it. If our hose shows up then we get a quest for some gold. If not then we get a vacation from the city. Either way it's a win win situation as far as I'm concerned.”
John just snorted a few smoke rings, “That is so... so you Marty.”
Indeed, it was rare the mage could get riled up over anything, not that John didn't try. The pair had met as kids, and ever since the first day when john had tried and failed to scare Marty just to see how fast the cheetah could run, the pair had been friends of a sort.
John saw Marty as both a challenge and role model. The feline never seemed to get riled up over anything, something John would always push trying to see if one day Marty might loose it. But the cheetah seemed completely unflappable.
“Well we need to decide what to do here soon,” Tabitha muttered, “If our mystery host doesn't send us a message soon I'd like to get a bit of shopping in rather than sit here waiting for them.”
“Not to worry,” Marty stretched again, “I think there's someone over at the bar looking for us.”
The other three turned to look across the crowded room to the distant bar, where indeed the bartender seemed to be directing someone their way.
The figure approached, dressed in a thick traveling cloak. “I'm glad to see you all made it,” he spoke when he was close enough. Pulling back his hood revealed large ears and red fur. A kangaroo it would seem.
“Made it is one thing,” John replied, “But how about telling us why?”
“Well it's actually quite simple. My name is Ken, and my master has need of your unique talents.”
Tabatha shot a glance at the others that screamed 'told you so'.
“And what sort of services does he want?” John asked.
Marty added, “Yeah we don't do windows and plowing makes my back hurt.”
That got a soft giggle from Cassy.
“Nothing so mundane,” Ken replied, “This is a far more serious matter. You see...”
1.) "...Deep in the mountains there are a network of feral dragon caves. The dragons have stolen something important from my master and you must retrieve it."
2.) "...Children have been vanishing from around town. What little information we have suggest all were last seen wandering into the forest last. Please bring them back safely."
3.) "... There is an ancient castle stronghold far to the south that is claimed to be enchanted. My boss wishes for you to enter and retrieve something precious from somewhere inside."
4.) "... This will be a diplomatic mission of sorts to the ocean dwelling beings in the seas to the North. My master wishes to open trade with them, but communication is difficult so we must sent representatives to begin negotiations."
5.) Something else entirely.
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