As Aiden and Jax arrived at the adventuring building, to say it looked the same as always would have been an understatement.
Maybe Jax and the others would not feel the same way about this place, but Aiden had spent many a daydream staring at its doors, wondering if what waited beyond them was truly unobtainable when he was young.
They stared at the door for a moment.
Then Jax asked, "Sooooooo, are we going in, or are we planning to stare the door into opening?"
"Can a guy not have a sentimental moment here?" Aiden asked, turning with a twang of annoyance.
Jax rolled his eyes and began walking forward.
"Sure," Jax said. "But don't blame me when I select a plate quest you don't like."
Aiden quickly followed after him, worried Jax would pick one deliberately to mess with him.
Inside, the hall was as spacious as before.
A fireplace sat to the left, and on the second floor, a pair of adventurers chatted over cups of some kind of ale.
Yet the strangest thing of all was finding a familiar face behind the counter.
"Welcome to the Hopestone Adventurers Guild branch," the receptionist said. "How can I he—"
He stopped.
"Hey, is that you, Aiden? Jax? How have you two been?"
Sitting behind the desk, now dressed in the guild receptionist uniform, was Todis.
A large grin sat on his face, and a pair of small glasses rested at the end of his nose. A packet of papers sat partially flipped up in his hands, as if he had been halfway through reading them when they arrived.
"Todis?" Aiden asked. "I thought you were adventuring with your party. What happened?"
Todis winced slightly.
Then his carefree smile returned.
"Well," Todis said, "let's just say we went our separate ways over a judgment dispute."
He tapped the papers against the desk.
"On the plus side, I convinced two of my party members to settle down with me. A lovely little elven lady named Amy is currently working at the Sugar Dream with Xenovia, while Mark is working with a researcher looking into an apparent ancient race of crustacean-like humanoids said to have been known to fight specifically against those who had systems."
"Sounds like everything's going well for you, then," Jax said with a nod. "Congrats."
His eyes glanced toward the paper in Todis's hand.
Todis quietly set it down and stood, stretching his arms.
Despite his new profession, his body still had the build of an experienced adventurer.
"So," Todis said, "I thought I set you all up for the Plate Games. What brings you back to Hopestone, especially with the games less than a month away?"
Jax and Aiden shared a look.
Despite their excitement about the plate quest, the reason behind their need to rush was far more dire.
"It's a long story," Aiden said. "Do you have somewhere we can discuss it?"
Todis's smile shifted from light to serious.
He nodded and stepped through the small wooden door at the side of the desk.
Then he led them to a hallway with several doors before bringing them into what looked like a conference room.
Todis sat down, laced his fingers together, and asked, "Okay. What happened? Something is making you rush level-ups here, and based on your expressions, I feel like it's not a simple problem."
Jax nodded and began explaining the situation with Ymer and his new group.
Part of Aiden wanted to add in things like, Oh, by the way, Ymer and his buddies aren't actually normal people. They're specialty-made puppets controlled by fourth-dimensional space people who want to mess with things in our world.
However, he refrained.
That would create confusion.
Then he would need to explain things.
Then there would be more confusion.
Then someone's soul might start leaking.
Again.
So, instead, Aiden stayed quiet while Jax finished his explanation.
Todis continued to stare at him, his expression one of quiet attentiveness as he waited for Jax to finish.
"Then, after that whole fiasco, we parted ways with the guy who had been helping us," Jax said. "We ended up back here so Aiden could see home again and help Little Fox adjust to stuff."
Todis nodded and took a moment to think.
As he did, his hand flicked to his side and grabbed the revolver still sitting in its holster.
Jax and Aiden tensed unconsciously.
Mainly because of how fast his hand moved.
By the time they even registered the motion, the revolver was already out and in his hand.
Todis quietly spun the chamber while he thought.
Then he looked up at them.
"So you are being hunted by a man who is out to get you all and has recruited allies who are much stronger than you in terms of level," Todis said. "You know he is planning to appear at the tournament and arrange what he calls an accident."
The chamber clicked.
"Is that a good summary?"
Jax nodded.
Todis continued his little fidgeting ritual for a few more seconds.
Then he looked up at them with a strange coldness in his expression.
"As a quest giver of the Adventurers Guild, I cannot condone what I am about to offer," Todis said. "But as a friend and fellow adventurer, I have a way to help."
His gaze sharpened.
"A risky one, but a way, if you're willing."
Jax and Aiden exchanged a look.
"Well," Aiden asked, "what exactly does this help entail?"
Todis quietly reached into a small bag.
Despite the bag's small size, his arm sank in all the way to the elbow, showing it was magical.
He pulled out three scrolls and laid them on the table.
Aiden grabbed the scrolls and opened them.
Each one held the description of a quest.
Tower Goblin Redoubt Closure (D)
Near Hopestone Aqueduct
A vertical warren of Tower Goblins has taken over the broken sluice shafts east of Hopestone.
Though they appear normal, the system flags them at roughly four times standard goblin HP and damage.
Expect layered traps, including deadfalls, counterweights, oil gullies, and drilled tactics such as staggered volleys, shield knots, and alarm drums.
Close the dungeon by eliminating the War Foreman, destroying all alarm drums, and collapsing the main lift shaft to prevent reoccupation.
Hazard Mark-Up:
Double payout approved.
Seven fatalities logged across prior attempts.
Reward:
5,600 Gold + Salamanderpowder Breach Charge
Failure:
3,000 Gold penalty for trap clearance, medical indemnities, and aqueduct repairs.
Ossuary Annex Shutdown (D)
Beneath Old Hopestone Chapel
Catacombs under the Old Hopestone Chapel have been seized by a cell of necromancers.
They rotate watch, maintain bone pits for rapid reinforcement, and have warded chokepoints.
Dungeon closure requires destroying the bone pits, shattering the black focus altars, neutralizing all necromancer lieutenants, and sealing the annex with mortar and wards.
Hazard Mark-Up:
Double payout approved.
Ten fatalities logged across prior attempts.
Reward:
6,200 Gold + Sun-Sigil Urn
Failure:
3,400 Gold penalty for corpse retrieval, radiant sanitation, and wardstone replacement.
Howlden Purge: Lycan Den Closure (D)
Hopestone Pinebreak
Massive, aggressive lycanthropes have established dens in the Pinebreak canyon along the Hopestone spur road.
Claw and bite exposure risks infection.
Carry silver and wolfsbane.
Avoid grapples.
Close the dungeon by slaying the Alpha, burning the blood-mark totems, and warding the den mouth with silvered anchors and wolfsbane stakes to prevent resurgence.
Hazard Mark-Up:
Double payout approved.
Six fatalities logged across prior attempts.
Reward:
5,800 Gold + Moonbane Treatment Kit, 3 doses
Ingest within 1 hour of exposure to prevent lycanthropy.
Silvering Voucher, 1 weapon
Failure:
3,000 Gold penalty for quarantine measures, antiplague stock, and spur-road compensation.
Looking over the quests, Aiden and Jax slowly raised their eyes to Todis.
Todis returned their look.
"This world can be cruel at times," Todis said. "But in effort, the system is fair. So if you want strength, you have to be willing to stick your neck out for that strength."
He tapped the scrolls.
"These would count as your plate quest, but don't think those fatality numbers are for show."
His voice grew colder.
"While the necromancers killed three people who were trapped when the dungeon formed, the rest of those fatalities were adventuring teams who thought themselves prepared and able to do anything."
Jax and Aiden exchanged another look.
Aiden rolled up the scrolls and gulped, trying to wet his suddenly dry mouth.
"We, uh," Aiden said, "we need to discuss this with our team before making a decision."
Todis nodded.
He led them out of the conference room and back to the guild entrance.
Holding the door as they filed out, he said, "You can say no to those quests."
Aiden paused.
Todis looked between them.
"But if what you want is power, and you're already in mortal danger, what can a bit more do to you?"
With that final bit of wisdom, Todis shut the door.
Aiden and Jax were left standing in the road, wondering what to do next.