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["Bandits away from the main roads, monsters out and about. What you'd normally expect."]

"Bandits away from the main roads, monsters out and about. What you'd normally expect." Arelia said replying to Miriana.

["I'm sure you three are already familiar with the country's geography, but the exact area that Balenar mentioned was the unnamed ancient stone fortress encased into the mountain side."]

Arelia looked thoughtfully at her office, but proceeded to make her way towards a rack full of various scrolls. She seemed to look through it for awhile, but eventually found what she was looking. She pulled it out and went back to her desk. Placing it on the table she displayed for everyone to see.

"I'm sure you three are already familiar with the country's geography, but the exact area that Balenar mentioned was the unnamed ancient stone fortress encased into the mountain side." She pointed towards a small section where you could see the words 'Mt. Hersh' and had her finger in an area just north of the 't' in 'Mt'.

"The area isn't very well traveled, as most choose to avoid that section of the mountain pass, and head further eastwards towards Topaz Downs. The city itself prove unwelcoming, but most of the traffic from here to Ceren go through that way instead regardless, the mountain itself isn't something too easy to climb, and to the south is riddled with too many dense and ancient forests along with swamplands."

Pretend the attached map has more little cities and villages thrown out about it, and roads/etc. We simply never bothered to plot each and every little village/town/city.

["It's surprising that Balenar contacted me first. Bards usually have a lot of connections, and I would have assumed him to have made plenty at the capital city where he worked primarily. It is true that Mt. Hersh is only slightly closer to Ternadan, but perhaps he trusted his guild members more than other connections he could have made? I do wonder why he didn't choose to contact anyone closer to where he was, unfortunately, the nature of a Sending Stone means I can only send him one response, without receiving another one from him."]

"It's surprising that Balenar contacted me first. Bards usually have a lot of connections, and I would have assumed him to have made plenty at the capital city where he worked primarily. It is true that Mt. Hersh is only slightly closer to Ternadan, but perhaps he trusted his guild members more than other connections he could have made? I do wonder why he didn't choose to contact anyone closer to where he was, unfortunately, the nature of a Sending Stone means I can only send him one response, without receiving another one from him."

She paused as she went over to her desk, then pulled out what looked to be a stone from the drawer. It looked like a normal rock, though there was some faint glyphs on it.

"It's a sending stone." Arelia explained. "It's worth about 700 gold pieces. Already more than what he would have received from the committee as a reward for the mission. The only reason he would use this, and contact me, is if he believes he was already in dire need, and had no one else to contact. That would be my guess anyways."

"Perhaps in that regard, it isn't so surprising after all."

["It depends on how you travel there."]

"It depends on how you travel there." Arelia said replying to Elys' question of how long it might be until they reach the location. "The destination is about 300 miles away, at Mt. Hersh. The only city within that vicinity is the flying city of Topaz Downs that stations itself at the peak of the mountain. The city doesn't take itself too kindly towards visitors however. It would be a 10 day journey on horseback on the other hand. Shorter with the use of airships, or even teleportation magic - the services being in town." Arelia replied curtly. She paused for a moment.

"If need be, the three of you could take a loan from the guild. The other option is a small stipend for travelling expenses given to guild members on a weekly basis, though, don't expect it to cover the full costs."

Once Miriana was in, Arelia quickly summarized the situation.

Since the party is level 2, your starting cash should be 1000 gp. I've updated your sheets to reflect that.

["Too much work to do here, even if I wanted to, I can't really take a step outside. It will just be the two of you, unless you happen to drag someone along with you on your way out."]

The tiefling eyed Sylvir curiously though almost blankly as if remembering something from the past, but the look disappeared shortly after and the guild's banker only shrugged.

"Too much work to do here, even if I wanted to, I can't really take a step outside. It will just be the two of you, unless you happen to drag someone along with you on your way out."

["Troglodytes? Vermin."]

"Troglodytes? Vermin." Arelia said rather coldly as she first looked towards Elys. "Not particularly difficult, who knows though, given that Balenar used a Sending Stone to communicate with me. Those aren't very cheap. But what is a simple banker to do when asked to 'hold the fort'." Her voice dripped in sarcasm at her final remark, but regained composure shortly after.

"Balenar requested for aid, and I suppose I am the current best fit to issue out a way to help him."
Glancing as Sylvir she answered his comment next.

"A tiefling?" She almost laughed, though her eyes sparkled in mirth. "None as exotic as I am." She said simply though you noted her voice lulled into a slight husky tone.

Sylvir, local knowledge on Arelia
You are a relatively new member of the guild, that you found it surprising that the banker was able to remember, considering how many people you saw went in and out of the guild hall on a daily basis. Not to mention the fact that guild members of Galas'nor found themselves in every corner of the country. You don't know much about Arelia, though you knew her to lead the guild as sort of the guild leader. That said, members of the guild refer to her as the guild's banker, rather than the guild leader.

Sylvir, local knowledge on the average Troglodytes

CR 1 Troglodyte CE Medium humanoid (reptilian)

Spoiler

DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (–1 Dex, +6 natural)
hp 13 (2d8+4)
Fort +7, Ref –1, Will +0

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Spoiler

The troglodyte is a feral, savage cave dweller. They are among the most populous denizens of the upper reaches of the endless caverns of the underworld, equally at home raiding the settlements of those who dwell above or below ground, yet for all their race's fecundity and sprawl, as a whole they represent only a minor threat. At times, great leaders can draw legions of troglodytes to their command to create vast and deadly armies, but left to their own devices, troglodyte tribes are content to keep each other under control with numerous feuds, cannibalistic raids, and bitter civil wars.

The troglodyte is one of the oldest of intelligent races, and ruins found in some remote caverns testify to the fact that their empire was once among the largest in the world. At the dawn of time, the troglodyte civilization was generations ahead of other humanoid races—while those races hid in caves and worshiped fire, the troglodytes raised vast cities of stone ziggurats and twisting canals, kept other races as slaves, and worshiped ancient and inhuman gods and demons. Yet as the other races evolved and grew increasingly civilized, they outstripped their onetime troglodyte oppressors. Today, the roles have changed—now it is the troglodyte that hides in caves and lives the life of a feral savage.

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Arelia will save vs Weapon's enchantment

Rolled 1d20+7 : 8 + 7, total 15

["The sword is perhaps the guild's greatest treasure. You can say that the guild was created to house the two artifacts."]

Arelia answered as the rest of her companions began readying their weapons.

"The sword is perhaps the guild's greatest treasure. You can say that the guild was created to house the two artifacts." She was about to say more, but the winged opponent didn't leave a lot of time for the guild members to prepare their defenses, and had immediately changed his stance and closed the gap surprisingly quickly.

Knowledge: Martial to identify the stance.

The man's reaction time was surprising, and even Arelia could not escape the scimitar that appeared in the man's hands as it swung for her. The weapon bit deep into her arm, and immediately light seemed to glow from the weapon as it bit into Arelia's flesh.

["A little bit of history then."]

Once the three of you entered along with Arelia. The guild banker spoke some words again, and the door behind you closed shut. You noticed it wasn't sealed all the way, potentially to let other allies come help. The lights from the guild hall vanished, leaving you in complete darkness. Arelia's two weapons began to glow soon after that however, leaving enough light to see the way ahead.

"A little bit of history then." Arelia said as she began leading the way down into the light-less entrance one step at a time, keeping her eyes alert peering into the darkness ahead. Both of her weapons put out a blue-colored glow, which cast enough light for the companions to realize that the walls, ceilings, and even the floor that they walked upon was made out of crystal, or some sort of glass-like material similar to it. The light reflected throughout the crystals, though seemed to diffuse the further the light shone out.

"A couple hundred years ago, Teras'nor and Galas'nor were both one single guild." Arelia explained. "It's why their mark mirrored ours so completely. Though, where they believe the ends justified the means, so to speak, many of us did not share those same sentiments. Back then they had proposed the elimination of an entire nation, our guild leader opposed the idea. I myself would have probably agreed with Teras'nor's assessment of things, but it wasn't my place to disobey, nor did I have the power to even if I wanted. It was because of that dispute then that the current leader of Teras'nor, Caelum, among many, many others, split from our guild, taking with them one of the two artifacts our guild carries. Theirs is the Tome of Galas'nor, and ours-", she looked towards Kin specifically confirming his thoughts. "The Sword of Galas'nor."

"For awhile it was guild members against guild members. Friends against friends who soon became enemies. I remember it as if it was yesterday. The guild had split in uneven terms. And for a few decades after that, there were open hostilities. Our guild leader had successfully prevented their plans, yet not without cost. There were quite a few who quit altogether on both sides and it took another few decades for our leader to salvage and repair the guild's reputation as well. But eventually things calmed down. Most of the original members of both guilds had already passed, save for the more longer-lived ones. The conflict was forgotten. There was peace, if only strained by those who still remembered."

"It's not something that is talked about much anymore. And ever since our guild leader just took off a few decades ago, leaving me, the guild's forced banker in charge. Well, let's just say I didn't bother explaining to every new recruit our colorful history. On the surface we're much like any other adventuring guild out there. It doesn't surprise me that neither of you three have heard, even when you are among the most veteran members of the guild as it stands."

"The only reason they could be back is for the artifact still left within our guild's vaults. In some ways their Tome is useless without our Sword. But if they were to strike, this very night would have been the best, with most our members out at the arenas. Never underestimate our enemies. And their leader, Caelum was one to always have multiple plans happening all at once for his goals. It wouldn't surprise me if the reason why we had so many guild members in the semifinals and the finals was because of strings Teras'nor pulled behind the scenes."

"That idiot Caelum should already know that I would be in charge of the sword in our leader's absence. He wouldn't suspect that I break one of our leader's rules of letting other members enter the vault, after that conflict centuries ago. I still have qualms of course, but I'm no fool. Even if he has something to catch me off guard, he at least wouldn't suspect you three."

"So, yes Ryine. Even if no one is already in the vault, we can expect someone to come very soon."

["Kin, Jornathel, Ryine, come with me!"]

"Kin, Jornathel, Ryine, come with me!" It was Arelia shouting above the crowd as intruders began to pour in from the now open windows. Each of them wore an emblem, similar in style to the ones each of you wore. Yet it was distinctly different.

Arelia's voice almost sounded worried, though she kept a stern gaze at each of the guild members as they gathered. She began moving away from the fight that was occurring, literally at their doorstep, and instead pulled the three guild members deeper into the hall.

She would cut off any arguments that the guild members would throw at her, but she eventually began explaining.

"If you haven't recognized them already. That was the Guild of Teras'nor. Normally where I'm about to lead you is restricted to almost everyone. Even the elite members that disappeared with our guild leader would have not been allowed. But if that particular guild is here, that means they only have one goal, and with the rest being gone... It falls down to us."

Eventually, the guild members made their way to an end of the hall, facing a set of large doors.

It was the Guild Vault. It was the domain of Arelia, as she handled many of the guild's transactions, book-keeping, reparations, and repairs. She mumbled some sort of words, and the vault's doors began to glow, and soon enough it was opened. You notice some sort of crystal-like material, or glass, lining the walls of the newly opened room, but it was pitch dark beyond the portal, making it harder to see what was beyond. The look of concern on Arelia's features were hard not to miss.

"Something's not right. The entrance should be lighted as it was opened. The protective magic we have on the vault should glow." She pulled out a rapier on her side, as well as a gladius for her other hand. She touched the crystal-like wall as she began going through the entryway.

"The protective magic... it's gone."