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Chapter 5 by Darth_Halford Darth_Halford

Who do you notice that seems out of place?

A group of four humans

There's a group trying to keep fairly separate from the rest of the activities. They're enjoying the beer and the sausages, same as the rest, but seem to be entirely indifferent to the rest of the festivities. Crowding over a table in the corner, they seem to be skulking over each other and talking quietly. It's clear these four men are a cut above the everyday trader or travelling villager. They looked to be an adventuring party, and were quite the motley crew. All well armed and not afraid to show it, their travel packs, stacked against one another seemed loaded to the brim, prepared for just about any contingency one could conceive of. Although they eached seemed to have a different profession, they were each easily distinguishable from the reset of the crowd in that they all clearly knew how to fight.

Your mind had wondered beyond just their strength before you realized you were staring at them, but not before they noticed first. One of them, the tallest of the bunch and with a rough brown beard, motioned you towards them with one hand. Awkwardly, you walk towards them, passing around all the other traffic in the tavern. You keep your eyes towards them, but can't quite bring yourself to meet them eye to eye just yet

"Can I help you gentlemen with something?" You ask politely, hoping to avoid a confrontation, or embarassment

"Ya, does your mother know you snuck out of the house tonight?" leading to a chuckle from the four of them, poking at your seeming young age.

"Hey now! I'm not a kid! I am a full adult, and I just so happen to be older than any two of you put together!"

Recognizing their error, the men stop laughing at you, but they do keep smiling "Sorry for giving you a hard time than miss, but since you are here, perhaps you could help us with something"

The man points at the items the group had been looking over so intently, a clearly old map and some sort of a manuscript. One of the others moves from his seat to let you investigate it. Thankfully, you can read it, although not easily.

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"It's a very old dialect of Elvish that isn't in use anymore. It talks of a very powerful holy relic, left in an abandoned monastery. It says that even though the believers have long since fled that the Goddesses love for all survives, and that her love, as well as her fury, can be felt in the material world through this relic."

There's some eyerolling in the group "This doesn't sound like what we were told fellas"

"No, but there's still some money in this to be sure, just wait. Please miss, continue"

"That her love is not for one, but for all, the relic must remain where it stands. All who share in their love and in their care for their fellow neighbor will know her grace and her bounty. Any who keep her love selfishly will be brought low in her jealous wrath."

"What does any of that mean?" The last of the four asks.

"To be honest, I don't have a clue. The monastery on this map though might correspond with the monastery in the manuscript. Would probably take a good two days on foot from here."

The four humans look at each other curiously, trying to peace together each others minds. They seem to smile in a nonverbal agreement. The one who first brought you over broke the silence "Well, that sounds great. You're in. If you want."

"That sounds great!" You reply enthusiastically

The professionalism of the party broke and gave way to a unified cheer "Now we have cause to celebrate!! That treasure is as good as ours!"

When do you and the party leave?

More fun
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