A Weapon Too Free

Off the Books

"Before we begin properly, I thought it might be a good idea for everyone here to introduce ourselves. Your name, your species and Class, and maybe a little detail about yourself. I suppose I should go first, as not all of you already know me. My name is Dellarassa Blueraven — yes, that Blueraven family — and I am an elven bloodmage and boughcaller. Let's start at that end of the room and work around. Go on."

"My name is Sellas. Human commander. If any of you were at the Suss, I was one of the ones making that dramatic, last-minute exit from the crater. Dellarassa invited me to this party afterwards."

"Essendra. Defender. I worked with Sellas when we were in the Suss. I'm here because he did a good job of selling this expedition to me."

"I am Ursa and this Butterfly. I am a huntress and he is a bear."

"I am called Wuqiong. I am a scholar. My initial intention to travel the world gathering knowledge has been somewhat side-tracked. I was nearly killed three nights ago, so I have chosen to stay near these fine people as I feel rather safer doing so than staying in the town."

"Smaragdina, alchemist. I turned Sellas down at first, but once I heard that these two had signed up I thought again."

"I'm Kari, and I'm a rogue. I was all set to leave the town after the Suss but Essendra sought me out and badgered me into joining her little group. Or maybe it's Sellas's little group, I'm not sure. Sorry."

"Okay. I am Zaydya Greatmaul. As you can see, I'm a clocker, but I specialise as a fighter and harquebusier. My charger is outside. I've been working with Dellarassa since—"

"Once again, thank you all for being here," Dellarassa said, once the introductions had finished. "I trust you all realise this enterprise is not official Guild business. I am funding this quest out of my own pocket."

The meeting was being held in one of the stately houses just outside Vellanixhal's walls. The sumptuous interior made it clear that the Blueraven family had the odd gold coin or two. It was possible that financing the expedition barely exceeded a rounding error. Dellarassa still dressed as a regular adventurer, albeit with somewhat fancier stitching around the hems.

"Consequently, the usual Adventurers' Guild niceties don't apply. That means no recognition by the Guild for finding new monster spawns and no treasure chests stocked with loot. To try to make up for that, and the extra time this quest is likely to take, I'm paying over usual Guild rates."

A map was spread over the table. It showed the terrain to the northwest of Vellanixhal. The details were sparse. Dellarassa put their hands on the table to draw everyone's attention to it.

"This area falls into a gap between two Guilds. This valley is close to Vellanixhal, and the road between it and Paloxhal. However, due to a quirk of how the territories were set up, the valley is officially the responsibility of the Rowan Falls Adventurers' Guild, despite being nowhere near any of their road links. I've tried to convince them to institute a quest in the area, but they have refused to do so.

"They are being rather short-sighted, I'm afraid. The situation isn't affecting their town directly, so they don't see a problem. I was able, however, to secure permission to send my own party into the area. I don't think they believed I'd actually be able to do so, but the joke's on them."

Dellarassa waved one arm over the table and cast a small illusion spell. The map sprang into a three-dimensional representation of the area, complete with flowing rivers and trees waving in the breeze.

"Because this place hasn't been adequately explored, our maps are rather poor. That's why I'm glad to have a scribe with us — I hope to put that oversight right while we're out there."