-Volun Sarek: "Don't mind me if its too personal, but how did you avoid the war?" The man of a monster sat in the office chair as he asked this question.

With no context to the circumstances of the apparent war mentioned he decided to not give a direct answer, better to no lock himself into a backstory so blindly.

-Leek: Indifferent to how he came off he said, rather simply, "I can't remember really. It all happened so long ago."

-Volun Sarek: His face slightly changed, hinting at the undertone of skepticism. "Yes, I would not blame you for not being able to recall." Continuing past the tangent he spoke again. "Alongside your reinstatement I, an Adventurers Guild Master, request your enrollment as a Student Journeyman under our guild, alone!"

With the earlier reaction Volun showed to Leek's he was caught by surprise at the proposition to exclusively join the guild. Conflict to his interests did arise from this.

-Leek: "Appreciate the offer but I'm not comfortable with the commitment." He did not lie, rather he evaded mentioning his newfound disdain for the guild's members, and one of their masters.

Taking not too well at the refusal, the short man wasted no time in providing greater incentives. Money would be provided, aid would be given when possible, and creative prospects to undertake if he so chose.

Shooting down all of these impetus ideas Leek had wished for the necessary permits to take Adventurer Quests; nothing more, nothing less.

After going back and forth for more than a moment the two settled on Leek's initiative, Volun having failed to persuade the man he wrought to kill.

-Leek: He took a stand as there was no reason for him to remain in the room. "By the way those tags are pretty cool. You should get some more."

To no response he took his leave, bidding a formal farewell to Volun, even after the monster he hid could be seen through.

The hall he stepped out into was pretty quiet, specifically if you compare it to the sound level when he arrived originally. The amount of people did decrease, but by a negligible amount.

Even with the amount of time having elapsing since the winter situation between Leek and Volun you could be swept by the shift in temperature, losing your breath for a moment.

-Hailey: The clerk from across the counter stuttered as she reached out to get the mans attention, "A-Are you alright!"Her arm flinching when the gaze of his converged with hers.

-Leek: "Ugh..yeah. Whats the problem?" He paused for a moment and took a long look around the room, this time trying to find something out of place.

Through his 'genius' insight he concluded that it was him, he is what stood rigid in the flowing grass. People protected their anonymity in the crowd by pretending he was not what they were looking at.

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The round table seating Zhyen and his associates were among the people doing this. Though, Karyel faltered not in openly portraying her gaze, but she did have a slight shiver in her eyes.

To this Leek finally noticed the greatest difference from before; the building had nearly frozen over. Just as it was in the office the look of the hall and its many tables, and patrons, looked like it had a new fresh coat of blue paint.

It was over by now, the temperature lowering at a slow rate, but there were signs of defrosting throughout the hall and on the armor of the individuals.

Volun's temperament had seeped out the room, but not away. Rather it all collected, and in partner with the cold and had affected anyone in range.

One thing that did not sit well with him was how everyone did not move, remaining in place. No think layers of ice was on their persons, yet they acted as though submerged in it.

As he thought this all to himself Volun had taken a peak out of his office. His goal being to ease the tension he had experienced second hand from his hobbit hole.

-Volun Sarek: Authority spewed from him as he went to speak, "Nothing has occurred here. You may all return to your unbothered lived!" The voice still had a twinge of dullness but went to command everyones resume.

Speaking no more than needed he weaseled back into the restricted area he had reserved to him alone.

The harsh cold of the building rapidly removed itself, as though it was also commanded by Volun's words. Chatter picked up too, though to a reduced level.

To get a jump through the slight lack of coherence everyone was going through Leek went towards the front desk, posing a query to Hailey.

-Leek: Momentarily he placed both hands on the counter. "Where could I find the quests?" Reflexively she pointed him to the task boards that were stationed on either side of the building, attached to its walls.

The boards had been there when he entered, but they did not have any of the many hanging papers they did now. Nor was there a large header reading Task Board before. He had assumed they were for genuine business adverts.

Anyways, he trotted over to the board figuring that he might accept a quest now. Noticing the countless options he began to skim through them, intending for a specific type to undertake.

-Leek: "Maybe cause I got permits now?" He spoke, while looking at the board. "Could be to sort acceptable quests...?"

'Travel To...', 'Take The...', 'Find The Location...', 'Go And...', 'Travel...', 'Explore...', 'Escort...'

Nearly every job he saw focused on the requirement of travel outside of the city, heading somewhere else entirely. The hassle would be too much, so he continued to view the catalogue.

'Search For..', 'Locate...', 'Cull...'

He stopped at the word cull, choosing to actually read the entire listing.

'Cull The Population Of Dark Wolves Above Faerilm. They Have Begun To Destabilize The Ecosystem Through Overpopulation And Excessive Hunting. | Kill < 27, Gather Their Paws For Additional Compensation|'

The request was a generic murder quest used as early game filler Leek thought, one any other MMO would employ for increased play time. But he did not care too much as he went through accepting the request anyways.

Reaching for the paper stuck to the board he ripped it out of place, and put it into his inventory pocket.

*Tching* 'You Have Accepted A Task! If You Wish To View Your Related Status, Select The Task/Quest Section In Your Inventory!'

With all the suddenness he's experienced under this roof the sound, which was typically startling, of an unprompted notification did nothing but inform him.

-Leek: He thought for a second, "Just how long will it take to get on the mountain? I don't want to fight those things in the dark..." After continuing his thoughts a little more he quickly exited the hall, drawing to no extra attention as he did so.

His sights were set on completing the task now placed on his shoulders, refusing to stop for any reason

...

From a distance you could hear the pitiful whimper of a dog, one being cut down. The sound came into being, to swiftly fade.

Layered beneath this, but above the echoing gnarls, were grunts of a man and the clang of his connecting blade. A fight for survival was unfolding, taking place on the gradual slope of the mountain above Faerilm.