A group of carefree travelers, picnic basket in hand, made their way up the road from Sedgewick to Gadobhra. Sedgewick hadn't seemed to want to let them go. One thing after another had delayed them until it was after sunset when they set out, and long shadows stretched from the tall, pointed rooftops of the village.

First, several adventurers were trying to turn one more set of rabbits in to Runt as he locked the door to the shop. They'd done the quest three times that day already. Runt pointed to the closed sign, "See that? It means I'm done taking rabbits for the day."

This distressed the shabbily dressed group. Some mishap in the wilderness had cost them most of their gear and they were trying to get a little cash together to buy more before venturing into the Bunny Barrow, "What do we do with them then? The meat will spoil and none of us have a cooking skill?"

Runt had several suggestions for them, but his minion training helped him just smile and pick the least offensive, "Well, I bet Jenny would love to have them. Take them down to her house by the stream and maybe she'll give you cookies or something." With that he turned his back on them and walked off to find Ozzy.

Rolly had been having problems with lost calves. The cows were wailing and searching for them in the bushes, and even the bulls were being roped into helping. He eventually figured out that someone had taught them to play hide and seek. Every time he got them back to their mothers they would scatter and race to hide in the forest. A solution was found when Rolly walked away to meet up with the rest of the group and let Squirmie hunt them down. Squirmie's method involved more 'hunting' than 'finding' and the terrorized calves wouldn't stray from their mothers anytime soon. Luckily, sedgebeasts had terrible memories when it came to traumatic experiences.

Runt, on the other hand, had a very good memory, and too many traumatic experiences at the claws of various monsters. A few minutes after Rolly joined the group and introduced himself to Runt, his butterfly landed on his shoulder. Runt let out an undignified squeal, and threw himself behind Ozzy. He knew an apex predator when he saw one, but was confused when no fight started up. It took ten minutes to calm him down and explain a bit about pets and shepherds. Runt just nodded a lot, believed none of it, and scowled darkly at Ozzy.

Ben ran up with a large picnic basket, apologizing for his lateness. He'd forgotten to bring a tablecloth and doubled back to the tavern, getting caught up in the arrival of some strange travelers. Ozzy had to keep Suzette from heading back to 'just help out a bit'.

But eventually they made it to the gates of Gadobhra and saw that things had changed once again.

The last few hundred feet before the city, the woods on either side of the road now grew thick, with some of the trunks right at the edge of the road. The trees arched over the roadway, their branches entwining and blocking the sky. The trees couldn't block the road, but they were doing their best. Not until the road sloped up to the city could they see more changes.

Where before the road ran between two large towers, reduced to a pile of stone blocks, now it ran between restored towers - five stories tall, ending in crenelations. A covered walkway ran between them at the third story. Four iron lanterns hung from the walkway, illuminating the area with a bright, white glare. A coat of arms that looked something like the ACME logo was displayed on both towers.

Suzette stared up at the towers that weren't there the day before, "Billy is certainly busy. How the hell is doing all of this?"

Ben had been spending too much time with Billy lately, and knew the answer, "Building points. He got some when you claimed the first dungeon, and then when the first stretch of road got built. Then a whopping 10,000 from opening Gadobhra. He spent it all on his new HQ and the plaza and road into the city. But he got another thousand from claiming the The Pit of the Butcher."

Runt looked at the towers and the lamps, "He's going old school. These got destroyed a long time ago. Classic look though, I sort of like it."

The road past the gates was slowly lighting up. Every hundred feet there was a wrought iron lamppost on either side of the road with one of the bright lamps atop it. They illuminated the roadway but little to either side of it. As darkness descended, they watched as the double strand of lights reached the plaza and then split, going right and left. Within minutes the plaza's perimeter was lit and then the ACME HQ lit up. All the windows glowed with light, and the coat of arms from the gates replaced the ACME logo.

Ozzy scratched his chin, thinking, "Hell of a way to spend building points, but he's making a statement for sure."

"And what would that be? It looks nice, but that 1000 building points could have bought land in the capital." Suzette had to admit it was pretty though. Night hid the ruin of the rest of the city, leaving just the inviting path to the large plaza.

Ozzy gestured at the city, "That says 'Look at me. I'm the Baron. I'm ACME. I'm in charge'. You can't come in this way and not see that building, day or night."

Runt started walking down the road, "If we don't clear some more of the stockyard, all the pretty lights won't matter. We're burning darkness."

Rolly stopped every now and then to listen to sounds. From the left, he heard nothing. But from the right of the roadway came the sound of night birds, snorts of large animals, and a scream as some animal became another’s dinner.

He hurried to catch up with Runt, "What's this area to the right of us? It looks all overgrown and wild - tons of animal noises."

Runt gestured over a broad area, "That's the Beastwoods. They sort of fill in the area from the gate down to the stockyards. Used to be parks and stuff with some richer folk living in large estates. They had this crazy zoo in the center they called The Menagerie. Filled it with all sort of fantastical critters."

"You know what's really stupid? Fantastical creatures in a city with too much dark mana. One day all the critters broke out of the zoo and overran the area and the zoo became a dungeon. It was a great tourist attraction for a while, but without cages and keepers, the beasts started interbreeding. And they weren't really too picky about what they bred with. Now the area is an overgrown forest, and the woods are full of even stranger fantastical beasts. To make things worse, the Menagerie keeps spitting out new stuff; makes my life hell as some of it ends up in the stockyards and then creeps into the dungeon."

Rolly's face lit up, "That sounds awesome."

Runt rolled his eyes, "Awesome until a sharkspider drops on you."

Rolly took a step off the road to look between two trees.

You have entered the Beast Woods

Fantastical creatures of legend and fierce hybrid creatures known as Chimerae roam these forests.

Quests:

Find the Huntsman's camp.

Kill 10 chimerae and take their tusks to the Huntsman for a reward.

Something deep in the woods roared. The sound grew and grew, the rest of the animals growing quiet. Anything that could hide did so, while great flocks of birds and bats took to the skies. Rolly stood transfixed by the sound until Ben grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the road.

Runt sat with his head in his hands, "Just had to wake something big up, didn't you."

Rolly shared the quest with the rest of the group, "We have to come back here tomorrow. This looks like fun."

Ozzy looked over to the darkened area on the left, "Runt? What's this way?" Ozzy had walked past the area before, but it had just looked like a jumble of small buildings and ruins.

Runt stood and threw up his hands, "Sure, let’s get this out of the way. Damned tourists. That's Hungrytown. You do NOT want to go there willingly. It will grab ahold of you and you never quite get away from it. A lot of people came to Gadobhra to get rich. Most of those ended up in debt and living in Hungrytown. It got worse and worse. Some of the colleges dumped their failed experiments there. People would get desperate and take the gold they offered to be test subjects. Hell, some of them even let mad wizards kill them and then try to bring them back to life."

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"How crazy do you have to be to let someone kill you and experiment on your corpse?"

"But others just came back with some oddity or another. Fish scales, two heads, an extra limb. Their families had spent the gold and they were still in debt. The city may have shut down for a while, but they're all still there. A lot of poor, desperate people, but now they’re hungry and dead as well."

Ozzy looked at the area, "Undead? Zombie hunting might be good for skill building. I've got one for hunting undead."

Runt snorted, "Sure thing smartass, go ahead and take a stroll. I'll wait here with a change of clean underwear for you. You did get the part about lots of hungry dead people?"

Ben approached the edge of the road, "Might be interesting. We can always just retreat. Shouldn't be too bad during the day, would it?"

Runt wasn't sure if the Courier was serious or not. They were all a little crazy. He got his answer as Ben stepped off the road and they all got another notification.

Hungrytown is anxious for you to visit.

Come meet our friendly people, tour the local crypts, and taste our local cuisine.

Quests:

Kill 10 of the Mindless Ones and give their skulls to Mama Laveau.

Clear 5 infested crypts and seal them.

Runt mumbled to himself, "Two sets of clean underwear. Hell, might as well get four and be done with it."

A ghostly wail emerged from the darkness, and in several places green flames flickered. Suzette had had enough, "Will you idiots please focus on our job! I want to get this shit over with, and have a nice picnic."

Ozzy, Ben, and Rolly all looked a bit sheepish and the group moved down the road without further problems. Ozzy and Runt led them past the plaza with its brooding, pigeon-covered statue, past the ACME building and a few blocks into the rubble. They came to a squat stone building in disrepair, missing quite a few shingles.

The door was open with a wooden sign laying on the ground next to a broken ladder; a hammer and scattered nails nearby. Ozzy stepped over the mess and motioned for just Runt to follow. Gristle was inside the building, sitting precariously on a stool, and trying to bandage his foot which seemed to be at an odd angle. Upon seeing Runt and Ozzy, he hopped off the stool, wincing a bit.

"Ah, good to see you both. The stockyards are filling up quickly, even after the fine job you did recently, and the dungeon is calling for meat."

"Runt, I've needed you here! Were you busy down in the dungeon? I must have summoned you a half dozen times. There is so much to be done! This guild house is a shambles and the spiders are spinning webs faster than I can clear them. The sign was a little off center and fell when I went to fix it. Oh, and the roof is leaking, the lanterns need filling with oil…"

Gristle paused, seeming to have run out of jobs for Runt, but then remembered one more, "Oh, and the Butchers Guild is a tad broke. I need you to run down and talk to the Hoardkeeper about getting some of the back dues paid up. But...don't go down there until the rest is done, you know how he gets. I'd hate to have to wait on those chores if he decides to kill you for asking."

Runt leaned forward with both hands on his cane and a sad, sad look was on his face, "You know I'd love to help you Gristle, but I work for the Baron now. He assigned me the job of assistant Butcher over in Sedgewick. Ozzy is teaching me the trade. I can't be doing minion stuff anymore."

Gristle looked confused, "Not a minion? But...but who is going to do all the little chores. You know we are horribly short of minions. It's only the special relationship I have with the Pit that let you leave and run around having fun outside." The Guildmaster looked around the room and up at the roof, "Who's going to fix all of this?"

Ozzy raised one finger in the air, "Hey, I have an idea. Maybe offer some quests through the guild, for guild points. I bet there are quite a few adventurers around who would be glad to do all those jobs. You know those types, always doing quests. Plus, you might convince some of them to do some butchering for the dungeon."

Gristles face stretched into a smile. Quite horrible to look at, but it was still recognizable as a smile, "My, that is an intriguing idea! Guild points are so much easier to give out than other rewards. And we certainly need some new members."

The Butcher's Guild Needs Your Help!

Complete these easy quests to earn Guild Points and start your exciting career as a Butcher

Quests:

-Hang the sign correctly above the front door of Guild Hall of the Butcher's Guild of Gadobhra. Reward: 1 GP

-Clean the Guild Hall of the Butcher's Guild of Gadobhra. Reward: 2 GP

-Fix the leaking roof of Guild Hall of the Butcher's Guild of Gadobhra. Reward: 2 GP

-Rebuild the walls of Guild Hall of the Butcher's Guild of Gadobhra. Reward: 10 GP

-Fix the Guild Master's foot. Reward: 1 GP

-Requisition moneys owed to Guild Hall of the Butcher's Guild of Gadobhra from the Hoardkeeper. Reward: 10 GP

Gristle sat back down on his stool, "And now I guess I just wait for some adventurers to enter the city and not die getting this far. It's not like there are many running around the city yet. Perhaps you could spread the word a bit?"

Ozzy and Runt assured him they would. As they turned to leave, several familiar people sauntered into the room.

"I say, good fellow! Is this the legendary Guild Hall of the Butcher's Guild of Gadobhra? We've been looking for it in this hellish city and luckily saw your quest!" Ben doffed his hat and bowed. "I am Benjamin Franklin the 7th of the House of Franklin, wandering inventor and solver of problems. My companion is the beautiful Suzette, purveyor of strange brews. Also traveling with us is Roland, The Lord of Ducks, and his companion, Squirmie. Where do we sign up for these quests?"

Gristle stared at the group of adventurers, and after a moment to gather his wits, pushed a pen and his log book across the counter, "Please, just sign your names here."

The Lord of Ducks pointed to the log book, "Is that not the official log book of the guild? Are you forgetting that we are not members?! You can't just have us sign up as non-members. It isn't done! I insist you take our gold. Five gold coins is standard, I believe."

Ben and Suzette each laid 5 shiny gold coins on the counter. Rolly placed a stack of 10. Gristle again paused, and then quickly scooped up the coins, "Yes, how thoughtless of me, of course you should pay your guild dues! But apologies, I have to ask, your companion as well?"

Squirmie hovered above Rolly's shoulder, and with a 'snikt' of sound, small blades appeared on all six of his legs, glinting in the candle light.

Rolly patted his head, "He's always wanted to be a butcher. Lots of practicing."

Gristle swallowed hard and smiled at Squirmie, "Say no more. Welcome to the guild."

As the four adventurers started discussing the jobs, Ozzy moved up to the counter with Runt, "Seeing as how Runt is my assistant, I think he should pay guild dues as well, don't you think? I'll pay his fee and he can pay me back in work." Ozzy put down another five gold pieces that also disappeared quickly.

Ben seemed to notice Ozzy, "My, but you're a strapping example of a man who puts his points in strength and not intelligence. My party has a lot of quests to do. Why don't you and your helper join us? I'm sure the Guild Master will split them evenly between us." All eyes turned to Gristle.

"Yes, yes, by all means. As long as the work is done, I can be flexible. But I expect a top-notch job"

Looks were exchanged among the six.

Suzette took Gristle's arm and nudged him towards the door."How about I make you comfortable outside, Guild Master, and Benjamin can heal up your foot while the rest of us get to work on this building?"