This was the last place Juniper wanted to be. They stared at the unwelcoming structure ahead, the adventurer's guild, its exterior weathered and poorly maintained. Juniper's usually stoic face betrayed their discomfort as they reached for the door handle, hesitating to pull it open.

Juniper's nose recoiled from the pungent smell of sweat and unwashed armor that filled the small reception hall. The room was clearly overcrowded; adventurers were shoulder-to-shoulder around tables normally meant for four, and Juniper hadn't seen so many unfamiliar faces since the merchant caravan came through. Moans of pain mixed with muffled conversations as a few of the adventurers received magical medical attention from two healers who moved between tables without pause.

"Juniper!" The gruff voice caught Juniper's attention and they turned to see a tall man grinning at them from several feet away. His body moved with athletic grace as he strolled towards Juniper. "Glad to see you're in one piece."

"Same." Juniper's terse response accompanied their narrowing eyebrows. They turned their body away from him, shifting their weight to the opposite foot, stepping away. "I need to see the receptionist..."

The turquoise-haired man towered over Juniper, shifting his body to block their escape. "Hey, hey, I'm right here, Juni," he said. "I'll give you my discount, as usual."

Juniper's jaw clenched, a subtle display of tension that belied the artificial smile they forced upon their face. "Sorry, I need to go with someone else this time."

Snap continued to stand in Juniper's way, his face growing a concerned expression. "Why? What did I do to you?"

Aside from belittling me every chance you get? Juniper balled their hands into fists inside their pockets. Calmly, Juniper said, "That guy we went with last time ran away when we needed him most."

Snap's eyebrows knitted together and his forehead creased as he tried to make sense of the situation. The confusion in his eyes was unmistakable. "I didn't hear about that. What happened?" He stood still, his crossed arms acted like a barricade, and stared at Juniper. He waited for their explanation, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Letting out a heavy sigh as Juniper gave up, Juniper said, "Shadebriers, a whole lot of them. My dad almost died trying to protect me. Your guy turned tail and ran as soon as he saw them."

"Shadebriers..." Snap's eyes shifted from Juniper to a distant point, suddenly filled with rage and hatred. His entire body seemed to tense up, as if he was ready to pounce on someone. But then his gaze softened, and his threatening aura dissipated as he turned back to Juniper. In an almost calm tone, he said, "I'll have a 'talk' with my friend, but Juniper, you should take this as a sign."

"Not this again." Juniper's heart pounded in their chest as they sidestepped Snap once again, this time with greater force. They were determined to get past him and ignore his presence, but the massive man easily blocked their path with his hulking frame. His body loomed over Juniper like a mountain, impossible to navigate around. The air around them felt electric with tension as they stood locked in place. "Please move, Snap."

"I wish you would just hear me out, Juni," Snap said softly and gently with the tenderness of a lover. "If you settled down, you wouldn't have to worry about going out into the woods ever again."

"I don't want to give up medicine, Snap. I'm not going to sit around and be useless."

"You wouldn't be useless, and you wouldn't even have to give up medicine." Snap stepped closer to Juniper, and the smell of sweat mixed with the scent of his cologne. He spoke persuasively, leaning in until his breath brushed against their faces. "You could rely on your husband to go do all the gathering for you... if you found someone strong enough, that is."

Juniper's blood boiled, but ultimately had no release. Juniper kept their arms firmly pressed to their sides. "I don't need your advice. I just want to hire some people to come with me north into the forest."

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"Everyone is injured here, you know." Snap's voice dropped low to a whisper. "Most of the adventurers here came injured with the merchant caravan, while all the others have wandered in after fighting bloodfiends. That's right, there's bloodfiends around here now, Juniper.

"The only guys who aren't injured are me and a couple of my guys. I'm the only one you can rely on, Juni. Feel free to ask at the desk, but the receptionist will tell you the same. You can choose to take me at my discount, or you can pay me full price through the guild. It's up to you."

Snap stepped away from Juniper and the corner of his lip curled into a smirk. He had won this exchange, even though Juniper tried to hide it with a barely perceptible shake of their head. But then came a thought that brought more dread than before – with bloodfiends in the area, the price for hiring adventurers would skyrocket. Juniper already struggled financially to pay their current fees; how could they keep up if it got worse?

"Fine." Juniper's tone was tight with frustration as they relented. Snap's offer wasn't the one they wanted, but it was the only one available.

Snap's face lit up with a grin as he wrapped an arm around Juniper. "That's the spirit! You won't regret it, Juni."

Juniper didn't return the smile.

"What's she doing here?"

Juniper lip twitched as the adventurer from before, the very same one that left Juniper and Thistleheart to their own devices, stepped forward and pointed at them. I should be asking why YOU are here! A scream desperately wanted to escape Juniper's lips, but they bit their tongue and kept a neutral expression.

"She hired us," Snap's lips parted in a tight-lipped smile, and his eyes glinted like cold steel. An undercurrent of tension filled the planning room, as if everyone had read what lay beneath Snap’s false pleasantry. "You should be so lucky that she didn't report you to the guild. Isn't that kind of her?"

That's an option?

"For this quest, we are to escort Juniper along the Timberline Trail, then on her signal, we will escort her into the Timberheart Forest until we reach a creek. Any questions?"

"Isn't that where the bandits with the animagus are!?"

"We can't go against an animagus! There's no way she paid you enough for us to go out that way!"

Please stop calling me "she," ugh... Juniper bit their tongue. Every time the person spoke, they'd say "she/her" and Juniper wanted to scream, but somehow kept silent. A familiar feeling of dread bubbled up in their stomach and they had to force themselves not to look away.

"Think of it less like working for Juniper... and more like repaying me. Or have you all forgotten about the little favors I've done for you all?" Snap's voice dipped into something darker, and his eyes narrowed in a way that made Juniper uneasy. The other adventurers shuffled in place, looking to each other for some kind of consensus. Finally, one spoke up.

"I'll go."

"I'll go too."

The adventurers started to volunteer one by one, until all four of them had spoken. The last to speak was the one who had been so resistant earlier. "I'll go."

"Great." Snap clapped his hands together. "Now, let's get to discussing strategy..."

The party of adventurers and Juniper made their way northwest on the Timberline Trail. The sun had risen high in the morning sky, casting bright rays of light over the verdant landscape. The air was brisk and fresh, a sharp contrast against the current state of the adventurer's guild. Juniper walked with purpose in the center of the formation, their mind focused on the task at hand. They had to collect the dragonroot or hope if Reed's eyes were mistaken, something that could be a suitable substitute.

After an hour of walking, Juniper stopped near a clearing where Reed had described to them. Juniper rarely ventured into the northern forest themselves, but they had a vague recollection about the stream. They sighed as they turned to the last person they wanted to talk to, Snap, and asked, "The small creek Reed described to me... it's off this way, isn't it?"

Snap smiled, happy to be relied upon, which made Juniper more grumpy. "Yeah, it's just a little further up ahead. You did well to remember," Snap said as he pointed in the direction they needed to go.

As they made their way to the creek, Juniper couldn't help but feel uneasy. The forest was eerily quiet, with only the sound of leaves rustling in the wind and birds chirping in the distance. The adventurers were on high alert, their eyes scanning the forest around them for any signs of danger.

"Here it is," Juniper said, pointing to a small stream that ran through the forest floor. A cluster of dragonroot was growing just off the bank, and they breathed a sigh of relief. "Now all that's left is to collect it."

As Juniper knelt down in front of the dragonroot, they heard rustling in the bushes behind them. The adventurers had their weapons drawn in an instant, ready to defend against whatever was coming their way. Suddenly, a figure stepped out from the bushes, and Juniper braced themselves.