Flynnette was an enormous country. One could spend half of the year walking from one side to the other and over twice that walking from the southern most point to the northern most one. It was divided into twelve regions. Some of these were demarcated by the terrain such as a border between two regions being a particularly long river or a small mountain range. Many of them, especially the borders further inland, were just lines on a map as far as the angel could see.
In fact, most regions had a few large towns or cities clustered together, usually along the coast, with very little else in their region. Large swathes of Flynnette were uninhabited, untamed wilderness. Trees dominated the country gobbling up every bit of land they could to create massive, sprawling forests. This described the region of Velk to a tee.
Velk was a landlocked region comprised of five different forests. Its saving grace was the Aulene River. Boats ran the length of the wide river stopping at various river ports within Velk and outside of it. The further one got from the river, the smaller and fewer the towns and settlements became. The inhabitants of Velk naturally congregated toward water flows, as Keaton did with its stream, and water gatherings, such as Pemburne did with its nearby lake. In between the various beacons of civilization was… very little. That was why the building Bravaria and Trixie were quickly approaching was such an oddity.
The pair had traveled along the overgrown road through savanna for several days. Their pace slowed to clean up batches of stray slimes here and there but they mostly stuck to the road. Said road was in extremely poor condition due to lack of travelers moving back and forth between Keaton and Pemburne. This contributed toward a cyclical problem. Fewer travelers putting down monsters on the road led to more monsters which deterred future travelers and so on. The slimes were simply the latest pests to spawn from ambient mana levels becoming high enough to form new life.
Worse, this was how dungeons spawned. Ambient mana grew steadily thicker until something like a natural storm or other phenomenon catalyzed it to create life in the form of monsters. This repeated until eventually different creatures came into conflict. Mana from the dead flowed back into the region thus creating more creatures until eventually the region’s mana levels grew large enough to do something different—form a dungeon. This wasn’t the only thing an extremely high mana density could create but it was a particularly concerning one.
The result was that people living at the outskirts of civilization or between remote towns and villages needed to be capable of defending themselves. Those who could build a home or operate a traveler’s lodge were often well-equipped to deal with the rigors of the territory, human and otherwise. Often didn’t mean always, however, and that was why the first of Brivaria’s guild requests had come from this particular location.
The wayfarer’s inn they were approaching had a sign proclaiming it as “The Red Lodge.” It was a large, two-story building that reminded Brivaria of the buildings in Keaton save for the fact that its wood had a reddish tint. It was this reddish tint that was the hallmark of the forest north of the savanna. There were stables adjoining the inn but there was also a number of hitching posts in front with water troughs. A pair of brown geldings were hitched to one of the posts and drinking water from a trough.
Trixie decided to investigate the two horses, sniffing her way toward them curiously. One of the horses chose that moment to pass gas. The poor dog recoiled as her nose was hit by the stench of the fart. Trixie ran back to the angel’s side and put the winged girl between herself and the offending horse. Brivaria giggled at the dog’s antics, momentarily bending down to scritch Trixie behind the ears.
“That’s what you get for sniffing things without permission,” the angel teased the golden. She was still laughing at the silly dog when they entered the inn.
The winged girl opened the door which caused a little bell to ring as she and Trixie walked inside. The interior was cozy and reminded Brivaria of the Grand Flagon. There were a handful of large, round tables set in a U-formation around the door. To one side was a hearth but it was unused as the weather hadn’t cooled enough to require it. The smell of spices and cooked meat drifted through the common room and the angel inhaled the welcome scent after days of travel along the road.
The peace turned to anxiety and the angel’s shrunken wings fluttered as multiple sets of eyes turned toward her and Trixie. In the corner to her left there were two men wearing brown berets and eating their midday meal. They glanced up from their plates toward the pair. At the table directly opposite the entrance was a man and woman who likewise looked up from their bowls toward the newcomers.
“Welcome to the Red Lodge,” the man at the center table called while raising a hand in a friendly wave. “That makes four guests in one week or is it five?” he asked the question while glancing down at Trixie. The dog gave him a happy bark and padded over. Trixie’s ability to find the nearest source of pets and scritches was uncanny as the man immediately leaned down to offer a hand to the dog then obligingly began petting her once they were acquainted.
“I’m looking for Ezben and Marie, would that be you?” the angel asked. She received a nod from him. Ezben was a big man. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and well-muscled. He had a shock of brown hair that looked like it spent more time under a hat than out. He wore a set of loose-fitting brown clothes which contrasted the sky blue gown that Marie wore. She had the same brown hair Ezben did but hers was straight. Trixie ambled over to her and received a much more tentative pet.
“That would be us. Come on over. Looking for a room for you and your dog or maybe a better meal than what’s in your pack?” he replied before noticing that she had no pack. The winged girl smiled as she walked over to join them at their table.
“No, well, maybe. I’m here about your request to the adventurers guild. Something about monsters in the northern woods?” Brivaria’s words caused both Ezben and Marie to regard her with raised eyebrows.
“Oh you’re an adventurer?” Marie asked, suddenly interested in the conversation. Trixie took that as her cue to go back to Ezben who was much more excited to play with the energetic dog.
“Yes. My name is Brivaria and this is Trixie. We’ve just come from Keaton. I saw your posting there and the guild approved me to take it. I was hoping you could tell me a little about the situation and I could look into solving it for you.” Marie’s smile turned wry before Brivaria was even finished speaking.
“I’m afraid you’re too late then. Another adventurer arrived this morning and agreed to help us. Funny how we’d just about given up on anyone coming out here only to have two adventurers show up on the same day.” Marie gave a helpless laugh. Brivaria was uncertain what to do. Finding someone already handling the request was the last thing she expected, both because she’d been approved to do so and because it had been outstanding for so long.
“The guild sent another person to handle your request?” the angel asked at last. Ezben shook his head.
“No, she came in for breakfast and asked how things were going. When we told her about the problem, she offered to handle it for us. We figured we’d pay her directly and send a note to the guild canceling the request,” Ezben was smiling as he talked right up until he saw her wings droop and frown begin to form. “Oh don’t make that face. Why not go out and join her? Two pairs of hands make for lighter work. We can pay her the original amount and send you back with a note so you can collect whatever additional amount the guild has set aside for it. Our problem gets solved and you both make a bit of coin.”
“Well, I would like to help anyway regardless of payment but that does sound like a good plan,” the winged girl admitted. It wasn’t the money that bothered her. She was definitely not here for that. Having her first request go sideways immediately felt like bad luck. She pressed on anyway. “Why don’t you tell me what you told her? I know what was on the posting but it’s been some time and I want to make sure what I know is still correct.” Unsurprisingly it was Marie who spoke up again.
“That sounds lovely. Ezben, go fetch this girl a warm bowl of stew.” Brivaria was about to protest when Marie cut her off. “Don’t worry, it’s on the house. When you decide it’s so good that you want seconds then we’ll talk about payment.” She winked and the discussion began.
Ezben and Marie were married and had been running the Red Lodge for years. It was originally a haven for hunters in the region. Looking around, Brivaria realized that much of the decor was in that vein. Magically preserved heads of monsters or animals hung on the walls of the large common room along with an assortment of other trophies.
After the lodge had been put up, the couple took turns venturing out of their home with Ezben hunting while Marie foraged. It was Marie that ran afoul of some strange, armored creatures taking over some of her more distant foraging areas. It didn’t become a real problem until they moved further south and closer to the lodge. Not only were they scaring away local game but they were gorging on the berries and herbs Marie foraged. When the pair saw a few of the creatures leave the woodland edge, that was when they informed in the adventurers guild.
In past years they would have simply asked the local hunters to take care of the monsters as a form of pest control but the number of hunters that traveled the southern edge of the forest and frequented the lodge had dropped to nearly nothing compared to what it had been just five years earlier. The two were in no danger of going hungry as Ezben could journey south and hunt in the Cassmer Forest while Marie had been selecting gardening skills over the last few years. In fact, Marie could grow a variety of plants and vegetables that could feed them both as well as any guests that dropped by. They were doing well enough despite the monsters but that would continue right up until the creatures decided to emerge from the forest en masse.
Brivaria continued listening and nodding periodically as the couple explained the situation. A lot of requests she read back at the guild sounded like this one. Monsters appeared in a new place or dramatically increased in number to a point where the locals could no longer manage them effectively. It all came down to an adage Brivaria learned during intervention training—the easiest way to create a big problem was to ignore a small problem. No one was immune to this, not even her people.
The monsters in question here were named Spinners by the guild. They bore a strong resemblance to large armadillos but possessed two important differences. First, their shells were strong enough to deflect weapons and even skills. The spinner shells were so strong that some peoples on Zlithia made armor out of the things. Second, they were capable of rolling incredibly fast. Not many creatures were able to survive the equivalent of a two hundred pound steel ball crashing into them at the speeds those things moved. It said something about the state of Zlithia’s wildlife that those were among the less dangerous monsters adventurers were often called upon to handle.
“Alright, I think I have enough to see what needs doing. Thank you both for the information and the meal.” The angel had listened while the couple spoke and eaten the warm stew they offered. It tasted wonderful. They’d even fetched a bowl of water and something for Trixie to eat as well. “One thing before I go, can you tell me the name of the other adventurer?”
“Of course, her name is Kseniya,” Marie answered.
“I’ll go find her and see if I can’t help her deal with the spinners.” Brivaria and Trixie left the lodge and began heading north. As soon as the two left the lodge, Marie turned to her husband.
“No weapons or armor. What a peculiar girl. Think she’s a sorceress?” Marie asked. Ezben folded his arms and considered it.
“No casting crystals or scepters either. I’m thinking maybe some kind of unarmed warrior that fights with her fists,” the man replied.
“Shall we bet on it?” Marie had a twinkle in her eyes and Ezben grinned at his wife. While the couple were smiling at one another, the only other people in the common room quietly left coins on the table and slipped out.