A Quest Fit For An Adventurer

The inside of Town Hall was remarkably opulent all things considered. The town itself certainly didn’t seem to be hurting when it came to funds, but Town Hall was a bit of a garish display of it. The trio made their way through, checking their Codex and flipping to a local map which revealed the interior layout of the Town Hall. Though there were two floors, their objective was on the first, right at the end of this room behind another set of doors. However, as they approached something quite prominent caught their attention. Beside the doors were a number of guards… no not just guards, not with armor and weapons like that. These were full on soldiers, lizardmen of various colors and builds clad in bronze armor, spears and shields in hand. Curious though it was, Another figure would soon capture their attention.

The party’s eyes shot to the double doors as they both suddenly swung open, a burly lizard man flanked by two more soldiers stepping out and gazing at the party. Despite only looking upon Will who stood in the middle of the group, his presence made them feel as if he were locking eyes with all three of them at once. Though shorter than Will, it still felt as if he were looking down at him. As he stood there, not another sound could be heard in the room as if even the birds and insects outside knew they should show this man some respect. His scales were of a vibrant copper and he was clad in a thick, heavy set of bronze armor. A crested helmet adorned his head as he strode forward with footsteps that seemed to make the feet of all others stick immobile to the floor. He continued to stride forward until he stood a few feet before Will who couldn’t help but keep eye contact, and then… He bowed.

“Greetings honored adventurers, I am Strategos Elias, here on orders of Archon Atticus to ensure our investments are utilized wisely and appropriately. All the while defending our assets and the people of Santa Rio. To whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking to right now?” The lizardman possibly intended it as a polite ask, but his voice transformed it into nothing less than a command.

“W-wi- umm, I mean, Thordon Metrikar sir.” Will replied, seemingly unprepared for the aura he was currently being bombarded with.

“Umm, Clarissa Threadspinner s-sir” Sam followed up, sounding even less confident than Will.

“Yer butt” Marcus replied with a smirk.

The others shot Marcus a glance as if they expected this guy to just flatten his impy form right then and there, but the Strategos seemed to offer no reaction to it.

“Well, I’m glad to meet you Mrs. Threadspinner, Mr. Metrikar, and Mr. von Scorch.” Elias acknowledged.

Feeling pretty good about himself, Marcus broke out into a chuckle before the steely gaze of the imposing war leader before him shifted in his direction.

“Oh? What has you so amused Mr. von Scorch?” Elias said grimly.

With that, Marcus actually ceased his chuckling and stood at attention to which the general seemed satisfied.

“Yes, well, I suppose you will be lending your aid to the town and the people therein, correct?” Elias inquired.

“Oh, yes sir! We’re brand new to these lands and have come to seek adventure and wealth.” Sam quickly blurted out.

“Hmm. Indeed. Well, I can assure you that this land is ripe for such endeavors, but I must warn you, it is not for the faint of heart. If you have any doubts, you should see about picking up a ticket for a return trip back to civilization. There is a reason after all that the Archon appointed his top Strategos to see to affairs here personally.” Elias said, ominously.

“And… Why exactly is that sir?” Will asked, less shudder in his voice this time and more legitimate inquiry.

“Because, Though things may seem relatively peaceful here now, we have barely scratched upon the surface of the secrets this land yet holds. Even now, the stench of wicked machination hangs in the air. Make no mistake, this is a great uphill battle we face in this land. The more we uncover, the more wicked and dangerous things will become, and we will require the best of the best to stand against it, mark my words. Even now, our island is already beset by plenty of grief. The township remains safe and secure under the 24th grand regiment that I command, but there is much to be done outside the safe walls of Santa Rio… I presume that you are here at the behest of the mayor then? I shall leave it to him to grant you the details of his request. For now, I must be off. Best of luck to you adventurers.” The Strageos graciously wished before Will stepped out of his way, nearly knocking Marcus over with his tail before Elias and his men made their way out of the building.

The trio remained silent as they watched the troops leave before Sam turned to Marcus with a scowl. “The heck was that Marcus!?”

“What!? What, what’s the big deal? Didn’t you see that it didn’t even matter anyway? The game takes whatever name we give them and translates it into the names of our avatars. I gotta admit though, I thought I’d have more fun messing with the NPCs than I’ve been having. They do way too good at making it feel like an actual real person is scolding you.” Marcus observed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Huh, you noticed that too? I haven’t played all the Birthright games either, is this normal?” Will asked as he turned his head to Sam.

“Honestly, no, I don’t think I’ve ever seen NPC AI this good. I mean, hell you were there when he was talking to us. It really felt like I was talking to a war general who would be willing to end my life at any second.” Sam replied feverishly.

“Yea, this whole game’s kinda been like that. I mean, It’s been a ton of fun so far, even more so if we can go fight something after this, but the AI’s been taking me off guard all day. Even the tutorial stuff, like that masked guy especially” Marcus noted.

Marcus’s friends stared at him a moment before looking between each other, Sam clearly struggling to try to recall something before speaking. “Wait, yea, I don’t remember anyone wearing a mask in the tutorial.”

“Yea, I don’t either. You making this up Marcus or is this some kind of easter egg you get when you speedrun it?” Will teased.

“Huh? I mean, maybe, I don’t know. I don’t know how you’d forget him. You think that general had swagger, this guy had a freak’n aura to him. He was in the cabin after the fight where you go to finish the tutorial. You didn’t see it?” Marcus asked.

The two seemed to continue trying to recall what happened before Will responded. “Nope, I just remember going to the cabin and laying down. Sounds to me like you’re trying to start some kind of creepypasta Marcus.” Will teased.

Marcus groaned. “Yea, forget it, I’ll look it up later. C’mon, let’s talk to the mayor already.”

Both Will and Sam were in agreement and the three of them made their way forward without further adieu, passing through the door into the Mayor’s office. Inside, they were met with a portly, mustachioed man wearing a red, gold embroidered tunic. His back was turned to the trio, facing out of the large window at the back of his office that appeared to gaze out into a private garden. As soon as the door closed behind them however, he turned his head before the rest of his rotund body followed.

“Ah, welcome, welcome travelers! I’m Archibald Kinsley, mayor of this fine town. I imagine you are here in response to my summons?” The mayor inquired as he took a seat at his desk, a prominent Texas twang in his voice.

“Yes, we are actually. An employee of yours at the docks told us to seek you out for some work.” Sam explained.

“Oh goodness me, well, mighty kind o’ ya to take em’ up on that. Well, I’ll admit, this is no small task I ask o’ ya, but if you’re will’n to hear me out n’ see it through, I can promise ya, you won’t regret it.” The mayor declared with confidence.

“Yea, Alright, we’re listening.” Will assured.

“Haha, excellent. Now, let’s see… Well, lil’ Santa Rio here’s a fresh new face on this here rock o’ evil. Town’s named after, and part of, the Santa Rio Company. Sure ya herd o’ us before. We deal in all kinds o’ trade and acquisitions, and well, that’s why we’re out here. The Santa Rio Company’s got its sights set on what’s likely a mind boggling amount profit’s worth o’ resources throughout this whole continent, and we ain't alone. Know o’ at least two other town’s look’n ta get somethin outta here. What they want in specific, we don’t know yet, but that don’t particularly matter as right now… well, the trouble right now is we can’t actually get ta the mainland from here. Ya see, long time ago, there was a military fort, Fort Constance, set up out here with a bridge connecting the two bits o’ land. The bridge ya see, it’s still there, the fort, not so much. Most of it crumbled long ago, but the keep in the center of it, that there still remains, and is also the main problem we’re facing. Thing is, there’s somethin in there, somethin we ain't been able ta get close too and the Strategos the lizardfolk’s leader sent us aint will’n ta risk his soldiers when we got so many capable adventurers run’n around. Now, ain't no one gone in there yet to clear it out, and make’n matters worse, not too long ago, folks started see’n a big ol’ dark fog wash over the land n’ all sorts o’ things what come in contact with it don’t come out right. Darn thing, even turned some o’ our crops into toothy ravenous beasts. The point is, we’re greatly in need of help and we’re plenty will’n ta pay ya properly for it if you can do somethin about that keep. So, ya interested?” The mayor tried to ask kindly, though those imploring eyes spoke to his desperation.

“Heh, sure! Sounds like just the kind of job for us, right guys?” Sam asked, immediately jumping up gesturing for his friends to agree.

Will shrugged. “Yea, let’s do it!”

“Yea, now that sounds fun! Absolutely!” Marcus replied.

“Ah, thank you, thank you dearly travelers, and best of luck to you!” exclaimed a very grateful sounding mayor.