After a few days of travel, Valerin and his party arrived at the city of Prol.

A town in the middle of nowhere, Prol was a speck on the map of the Caldhem Kingdom. Far removed from any major territories, it neither bordered another kingdom nor lay near the perilous Darkwood Forest to the north.Nothing happened in Prol, and for most, nothing ever would.

The town was small, surrounded by low walls. A lone town gate was manned by a single soldier. The town was a modest cluster of cottages and wooden buildings. The main road led to the town square. The town square was filled with market stalls where merchants hawked their simple wares. An inn stood on one side, with a Hunter's Guild branch building across from it. A sign displaying a sword piercing a skull with horns hung above the building-the symbol of the Hunter's Guild.

Valerin and his party moved their steeds to the guild building and stepped inside.

The interior was modest but functional. Behind the reception desk stood a tall woman with long black hair cascading to her shoulders. She was speaking to an old man who had come to post a hunting job.

Next to the reception desk, there was a board displaying the currently open jobs.

"I have never seen this many open jobs in Prol" remarked Kell looking at the board.

The old man finished his business and left. The woman turned her attention on the party.

"I take it the job went well?" she asked.

"For the most part," Valerin replied, his gaze still fixed on the board. After a moment, he turned to her. "Hello, Elsie. It seems like you've been busy."

Elsie's expression turned grim as she glanced at the board." The jobs keep piling up. It has never been like this.We don't have enough hunters to handle it all."

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" We had to fight a warg. They have never come this far out south of the forest" said Alyssa, taking off her hat revealing her blonde hair.

"I know. Just this week, there were three requests for borg hunts," Elsie replied with a weary sigh. "Warg sightings here used to be rare, and even then, they almost never left the forest. Now, to freely attack villages..."

"It's certainly strange. I wonder what's causing this," Valerin mused aloud.

A heavy silence settled over the group.

"Ah, who cares! Come on, guys, we've been on the road for days. Let's head to the inn and have some fun," Kell suddenly chimed in.

"Oh, Kell, that's all you ever think about," Alyssa said, exasperated.

"Come on, Alys. We deserve a break every now and then," Kell retorted.

"A break? What do you need a break for? All you do is stand and shoot arrows. Val and Durg are the ones doing most of the work!"

"Now listen here-"

Valerin and Durg exchanged amused glances as the two continued bickering.

"I could use a drink or two? What about you,Val? said Durg, taking off his helmet.

"Yeah.Me too."replied Val.

"How long are you planning to stay here?" Elsie asked, turning to Valerin.

"We were planning to leave for the north tomorrow," Valerin replied, his eyes flicking to the job board, "but considering the situation here, we might extend our stay a bit."

"By Castila's grace! That would be a tremendous help. We're so understaffed right now," Elsie said, her tone brightening.

"Don't worry. Oh, right!" Valerin said, suddenly remembering. He pulled a rolled parchment from his bag. "Here, confirmation of the hunt."

"Ah, thank you," Elsie replied, taking the parchment.

"Let's go, Kell. Alys," Valerin said, cutting through their argument.

With that, the party left the building, Kell and Alyssa still arguing as they made their way to the inn.

"Ah, the joys of life," said Durg as he set his empty mug on the table, wiping his moustache and beard with the back of his hand.

It was sundown, and a bard was singing in the corner of the inn. The place was alive with people dancing and singing. The air was thick with the smell of beer and cigar smoke. Serving women weaved through the bustling crowd, balancing trays as they moved to the tables.

Durg and Valerin sat at a corner table, away from the chaos. Meanwhile, Kell and Alyssa were laughing, singing, and dancing with the crowd.

"Hmm.No one will be able to tell they were out for each other's heads just a few hours back." Valerin remarked,puffing on his tobacco pipe as he glanced at Kell and Alyssa.

Durg let out a hearty laugh. "Funny what a few mugs of ale can do to ya, eh?"

"It's gonna be a busy few days,huh?" he added leaning back in his chair.

"Who would have thought? Prol, of all places." remarked Valerin while taking a sip of his ale.

"Merchant vessels being attacked. Villages raided, people abducted or killed. These kinds of things don't happen here-so far from the Darkwood," Durg said, shaking his head.

"Odd," Valerin agreed, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Odd.Indeed"

They both sat in silence for a while.

Back in the front Kell had beaten someone in arm wrestling, inviting cheers from the other patrons.

Valerin finished his ale and rose from his chair.

"Let's go. We have work to do tomorrow-best if we get some sleep," he said, slipping his tobacco pipe back into his mouth.

"Yeah, I agree," Durg replied, standing up.

"I'll fetch those two," he added, glancing toward Kell and Alyssa.

Valerin picked up his sword and made his way upstairs to his room.