"Hey there"
We all looked toward the stranger in unison. The bright African sun and the hustle of the marketplace made it hard to make out faces quite easily, However, we have adopted a unique way of communication utilized by the local peoples. They believed that answering someone who you have not seen is a way to be eaten by spirits. So much so a voice you didn't recognize.
"Who goes?" Vince groaned, as he got up off the floor. His movement was slow, heavy with the weight of exhaustion. He had been resting in the sliver of shade offered by the stall, but the interruption had pulled him back to reality. You could see the dark patch on the ground where he had been lying—the flood of sweat that flowed beneath him, soaking into the dry earth. As he rose to his full height, the light caught the glistening drops that rolled ever so reluctantly down his tight, perfectly toned muscles. The sheen of perspiration highlighted the definition in his arms and back, a testament to the hard, grueling work we had been enduring for weeks.
The man-tower that stood over him made the stranger cower a bit. The bravado and confidence disappeared.
"Now, hold yer horses. I-I'm with the Tindie Hunter Association. I spotted a fresh-faced outfit like yerselves wanderin' these parts, so I figured I oughta offer up some licensin'... make ya official-like."
He stretched out his arm, revealing a poster for his association, accepting applications for young adventurers and sure enough, cadets.
Vince looked very hard at the poster, and everyone waited for his approval, because he had an eye for things like this.
"Alright. I'll accept this. Thank you for your kindness" Vince said, as he took the paper, stuffing it in his pocket. It was obvious that the man wasn't in support of stuffing such a document into a sweat filled pouch, but there wasn't much he could do, as Vince was a big man.
Looking at the flyer, he scoffed. After flipping it downside up, he read the letters to himself in a deaf tone, stopped at a certain point, and showed to Alana, who was nearby, chewing a piece of dried squid. They both looked at it together and were both confused. I was definitely interested, but I'm the weird guy.
Not recognized for the smart stuff.
"Guys. it seems like we might have a change of plans" Vince said under his breath, but just enough for us to stop what we were doing. The polishing of iron and strapping of boots came to an end.
"What do you mean?", said Muna as he got up from his chair-rock he hauled from the side of the road.
We stood on the side of the sidewalk of the bustling streets, overlooking the rocky valley below. It was a good sight in the day, a wonderful view at night, and the best visage with a shared drink. It made the perfect sleeping spot, and we had situated here after a long time of wandering. We only had about two weeks left of holiday anyway, and it made sense to enjoy it.
But--it seems like we wouldn't be enjoying it any longer. We looked through the poster the man had given Vince. All over were listings of job offers for many expeditions, and even the cave we were looking for! It should be all good and dandy right?
Nope. Everything was so expensive, the numbers looked like they took the census of a small town.
Coming from a plunderer himself, we stole large amounts of good from bandits and other pirates, even some small time criminals. All in total we had about a ton of gold and silver, and spare minerals and stones here and there, but the academy fees uniform and this holiday have us thin on cash.
Simple and short, we cannot afford a proper liscence for an expedition. To be clear, not all of us can go.
"I think only Kyle, Muna and Oliver should be on this trip. That way we have a rounded enough team that should get the job done." Alana broke the long silence.
"Why the three if us? I personally think Sha--
"Because, Black dragon, Shane is color blind and a little tone deaf. The mineral Gar is luminscent and is sonorous. He is horrible match. You two are a must. Kyle is the best combatant, and I hear that you have history with that mineral. Kainan's always drunk, and those oversized bears wont tell Gar apart from a plain old rock. Oliver is the normal pick from the rest of us." she interrupted.
Everyone stood so quiet that you could hear a grain of sand move beneath our feet.
"S-She has a point." Kyle pointed out, flushed red. he doesn't accept flattery very well.
"If that's then lets get started on the execution, no?"
And that was the plan. We had trusted Alana, a new member of the group with something like this.