As we arrived to the adventuring building, to say that it looked the same as always would be an understatement. While this may not be how Jax, or the others feel about this place, I had spent many a daydream staring at its doors, wondering if It was truly unobtainable when I was young.
We stared at the door for a moment before Jax asked.
"Sooooooo are we going in, or are we planning to stare the door into opening?"
"Can a guy not have a sentimental moment here?"
I asked, turning with a twang of annoyance as Jax rolled his eyes and began to walk forwards.
"Sure, but don't blame me when I select a plate quest you don't like."
I quickly followed after Jax worried he would pick one deliberately to mess with me. Entering inside the hall it was as spacious as before. A fireplace to the left, and a second floor where a pair of adventurers seemed to be chatting and having a cup of some kind of ale. Yet the strangest thing of all was finding a familiar face behind the counter.
"Welcome to the Hopestone adventurers guild branch, how can I he-. Hey, is that you Aiden? Jax? How have you two been?"
Sitting behind the desk, now dressed in the guild receptionist uniform sat Todis, a large grin on his face as a set of small glasses sat at the end of his nose, a small packet of papers partially flipped up as if he had been halfway through reading them when we arrived.
"Todis? I thought you were adventuring with your party? What happened?"
Todis seemed to almost wince in a way as I said this before returning his carefree smile to his face.
"Well, lets just say that we went our separate ways over a judgement dispute, on the plus side I convinced two of my party members to settle down with me, A lovely little Elven Lady named Amy is currently working at the Sugar Dream with Xenovia, while Mark is currently working with a researcher looking into an apparent ancient race of crustation like humanoids said to have been known to fight against those who had a system specifically."
"Sounds like everything's going well then for you, congrats."
Jax said nodding as his eyes glanced to the paper in Todis's hand before Todis quietly set it down and stood up, stretching his arms that seemed to still have the build of an experience adventurer despite his new profession.
"So, I thought I set you all up for the plate games, what brings you back to Hopestone, especially with the games less than a month away."
Jax and I shared a look as despite our excitement about the plate quest, the reason behind our need to rush was more dire.
"Its a long story, do you have a place where we can discuss it?"
Todis's smile shifted from light to more serious as he nodded and stepped through the small wooden door at the side of the desk. He made his way to a door that lead to a hallway with several doors before he lead us into what seemed to be a conference room of sorts. He sat down as he laced his fingers and asked.
"Ok, what happened, something is making you all rush level ups here, and I feel like its not but so simple a problem based on your expressions."
Jax nodded as he began to explain the situation with Ymer and his new group. A part of me wanted to add in the things like,
Oh, by the way, Ymer and his buddies aren't actually normal people, they instead are specialty made puppets controlled by fourth dimensional space people who want to mess with things in our world.
However I refrained, realizing that would just create confusion and need my to explain things. Jax finished his explanation while Todis continued to stare at him, a simple look of quiet attentiveness as he waited for Jax to finish.
"Then after that whole fiasco, we parted ways with the guy who had been helping us, and we ended up back here to stop by to let Aiden see home again, and help Little Fox with adjusting to stuff."
Todis nodded at this as he seemed to take a moment to think. In doing so his hand flicked to his side and grabbed the revolver he still had on a holster. Jax and I tensed unconsciously, mainly because of the speed his hand moved. By the time we had even registered it, the revolver was already out and in his hand. He quietly spun the chamber while he thought before he looked up at Jax and I.
"So you are being hunted by a man who is out to get you all and has recruited allies who are very much stronger than you in levels, and you know he is planning to appear at the tournament to plan what he calls an accident. Is that a pretty good summary?"
Jax nodded as Todis continued his little fidgeting ritual for a few more seconds before he looked up at Jax and I with a strange coldness in his expression.
"As a quest giver of the adventurers guild, I cannot condone what I am about to offer, but as a friend and fellow adventurer, I have a way, a risky one, but a way to help if you are willing."
Jax and I exchanged a look as I asked.
"Well, what exactly does this help entail?"
Todis quietly reached into a small bag where despite the bags small size he was able to reach to his elbow showing the bag was magical as he pulled out 3 scrolls and laid them out. Grabbing the scrolls I opened them to reveal that each held a description for a quest
Tower Goblin Redoubt Closure (D) — Near Hopestone Aqueduct
A vertical warren of "Tower Goblins" has taken over the broken sluice shafts east of Hopestone. Though they look normal, the system flags them at ~4× standard goblin HP & damage. Expect layered traps (deadfalls, counterweights, oil gullies) and drilled tactics (staggered volleys, shield knots, alarm-drums). Close the dungeon by eliminating the War Foreman, destroying all alarm-drums, and collapsing the main lift shaft to prevent reoccupation.
Hazard Mark-Up – Double payout approved; 7 fatalities logged across prior attempts.
Reward – 5,600 Gold + Salamanderpowder Breach Charge (collapses a tunnel/room)
Failure – 3,000 Gold penalty for trap clearance, medical indemnities, and aqueduct repairs
Ossuary Annex Shutdown (D) — Beneath Old Hopestone Chapel
Catacombs under the Old Hopestone Chapel have been seized by a cell of necromancers. They rotate watch, maintain bone pits for rapid reinforcement, and have warded chokepoints. Dungeon closure requires destroying the bone pits, shattering the black focus altars, and neutralizing all necromancer lieutenants before sealing the annex with mortar and wards.
Hazard Mark-Up – Double payout approved; 10 fatalities logged across prior attempts.
Reward – 6,200 Gold + Sun-Sigil Urn (1/day, can cause the unliving to flee)
Failure – 3,400 Gold penalty for corpse retrieval, radiant sanitation, and wardstone replacement
Howlden Purge: Lycan Den Closure (D) — Hopestone Pinebreak
Massive, aggressive lycanthropes have dens in the Pinebreak canyon along the Hopestone spur road. Claw/bite exposure risks infection—carry silver and wolfsbane; avoid grapples. Close the dungeon by slaying the Alpha, burning the blood-mark totems, and warding the den mouth with silvered anchors and wolfsbane stakes to prevent resurgence.
Hazard Mark-Up – Double payout approved; 6 fatalities logged across prior attempts.
Reward – 5,800 Gold + Moonbane Treatment Kit (3 doses) (ingest within 1 hour of exposure to prevent lycanthropy) + Silvering Voucher (1 weapon)
Failure – 3,000 Gold penalty for quarantine measures, antiplague stock, and spur-road compensation
Looking these quests over Jax and I looked up to Todis. He returned our look before he said.
"This world can be cruel at times, but in effort the system is fair. So if you want strength, you have to be willing to stick your necks out on the line for that strength. These would be counted as doing your plate quest, but don't think the numbers of fatalities is for show. While the necromancers killed 3 people who were trapped when the dungeon formed, the rest of those fatalities were adventuring teams who thought themselves prepared and able to do anything."
Jax and I exchanged a look as I rolled up the scrolls and gulped slightly to try to wet my dry mouth.
"We uh, we need to discuss with our team before we make a decision."
Todis nodded as he lead us out of the conference room and to the door to the guild. Holding the door as we filed out he said.
"You can say no to those quests, but if what you want is power and your already in mortal danger, what can a bit more do to you?"
With that final bit of wisdom Todis shut the door, and we were left standing in the road, wondering what to do next.