“Elaborate, please.” Adra asked, just as interested in the follow-up as I was. There had to be a reason for him to ask us and not the locals, meaning that it most likely was dangerous, and thus, an excellent potential source of EXP. Or of death, but that was always the risk

“Certainly.” he nodded, and I briefly wondered about his species, though not enough to risk using Observe. Even with my Darkness-Magic to conceal the usage, there was always a risk and inviting scrutiny, or maybe even turning the town against us, was not something I was willing to do. Within my mind, Lenore noticed my thoughts and we got into a brief discussion, noting the beings physical traits and our location, before comparing it to the known species in this part of the world, quickly coming to the conclusion that we were talking to a Halfling.

“You see, there’s always a bit of trouble around these parts, our eastern neighbors aren't the type to just lie quietly, always on the move, always making trouble.” he rambled, or maybe he thought he was explaining the situation, as words tumbled out of his mouth.

“One of the ways they do, is by blighting the land, causing the power of Death and Decay to accumulate. That, in turn, causes more undead to rise and allows them to affect a larger area.” Adra nodded along, while I was slightly confused at the situation. I could understand what he explained, and why it would be a problem, but I couldn’t even begin to guess at the underlying mechanics. Which sounded incredibly interesting.

“Every so often, our local clerics have to move out and consecrate those places, to disperse the accumulated power and return life to the land. Sadly, the undead are not too happy that we do so, and try to murder the priests, so they cannot do their job. That’s why the town provides an escort of Adventurers, to make sure our clerics can work undisturbed.” Finally, he got to the point and I felt my enthusiasm die a quick death. An escort-quest, those had always been the biggest pain in the rear imaginable, doubly so one that went back towards the undead. On the other hand, the halfling looked quite eager to see it done, meaning there might be a good reward involved.

“Now, another group, one that recently arrived here, is supposed to do the mission but quite frankly, they are newcomers, with a limited reputation within the Guild. You, on the other hand, have crossed the mountains and destroyed a good chunk of undead while doing so. The clerics need to be kept safe and I don’t mind sending two groups, if that is necessary to make sure things go smoothly.” His explanation made sense, though there was a part of me that wondered just how impressive the numbers we had racked up were. Or how they compared to the numbers other people achieved, while marching across the Dorrian Mountains.

Not that it really mattered, as the real question was a simple one: Did we want to be saddled with a second group, with potential murky chains of command, while trying to keep a group of clerics alive to do their thing? And if not, just how badly would the rejection reflect on us? In some ways, it was a lose-lose situation, where we either had to accept a potentially incredibly annoying and dangerous mission, or had to reject the Guild in a time of need. Neither was palpable, and I had little idea which would be worse.

“We would like to have a rest, discuss things amongst the group, and give you our response in the morning. If you could give us some additional details, about the mission itself, the clerics and the group that is supposed to work with us, it would be appreciated and allow us to make an informed decision.” I inserted myself into their conversation, getting a nod of agreement from Adra.

“Hm, certainly, I can see that you need your rest.” he agreed, looking us over. “And I can also see that getting thrown together with another, unknown party can be troublesome.” he nodded, before giving us the details.

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The objective itself was reasonably close by, a little over a day of marching away from town, a small crag in the land within which the necrotic energies gathered. For a moment, my mind flashed back to the crag at which Rai had crossed the Second Divide, making me wonder if there was a connection, before focusing back on the explanation. Our task would be, as mentioned, to guard a group of three clerics from town, two of them apprentices while they were doing their ritual. That would take a full day and night, with them working in tandem to keep going through the night and it was very likely, if not certain, that Undead would be drawn to the ritual.

So far, the mission sounded doable, if annoying. Which left the question of those team-mates we were supposed to pick-up, that new group.

Sadly, the clerk didn’t know a lot about them either, just that they were a group that had recently made a bit of a splash in the low-lands of the Idorra Peninsula, with an almost meteoric rise to power. Normally, that meant either incredible recklessness, stupidity or skill. Or, in this case, it likely meant Travelers, though he didn’t say so, maybe he was simply unaware. It wasn’t like you could see that status just from the outside and if they kept a low profile, they actually might fly under the radar. He promised to introduce us to them in the morning, so we would be able to make our judgment then.

Finally, the reward was mentioned and while a sum of thirty silver per person was a nice enough reward, it wasn’t anything that flashed us, not at our current power. Though, when I asked about connections within the port-cities and the possibility of getting passage there, he gladly offered to add a letter of recommendation to the pile, without extra charge.

That, of course, meant that if we declined, we might find ourselves rejected in turn, when it came to seeking passage but my plans were to work with the Naga anyway and I didn’t know just how close the connections between a random Guild-clerk in the mountains and the Naga down at the sea would be.

After a few more questions, we decided to leave, heading to the inn. By that time, it was late enough for night to have fully fallen and when we got to the inn, the town had mostly gone to sleep.

When we entered, there was nobody there and it took a few minutes of waiting, until the innkeeper made his way from his living space into the common room, looking as if he had been relaxing in front of his fire. There was something slightly surreal about a troll, about as tall as I was, but just as wide as tall, dressed in what looked suspiciously like a bathrobe walking out, scratching his head while yawning. I managed to keep any amusement hidden deep within my mind, while Adra negotiated for some food, sadly only cold cuts, bread and butter, and a place to sleep for the night. It was obvious that the innkeeper wasn’t really bothered by haggling about the price, that he wanted to simply get back to sleep and it only took a few minutes before we could take a seat and were presented with food.

It wasn’t bad, the cold meat nicely seasoned and the bread a delight after days of traveling rations due to the sheer impossibility of foraging within the Dorrian mountains. The only thing that would have made the meal better would have been additional vegetables, but we had to be content with some fruits, apples and pears.

While eating, we quietly discussed our options and quickly decided that the Quest would likely give a decent chunk of EXP and we would have to at least check out that other group in the morning. If nothing else, meeting them might give us a good reason to reject the quest, deflecting some for the consequences onto them.

Soon, we were sated and the sleepy innkeeper guided us to one of the rooms. He had rejected our request for separate rooms, as he would have to specifically prepare them, guiding us to a corner of the common sleeping room, where we could use some straw and our bedrolls to make a reasonably comfortable camp for us.

It couldn’t compare to a real bed, certainly not to a modern one, but compared to sleeping under the sky, with nothing but our furs and bedrolls to rest on, it was comfortable. As always, Sigmir and I cuddled up, while Ylva took over the night-watch, a silent presence nearby, keeping an eye on our group and making sure that nobody took advantage of our rest.

With the smell of fresh straw in my nose and a cuddly Sigmir in my arms, I dropped off to sleep, wondering what kind of people the other group would turn out to be.