Bandits have attacked the trade caravans near Berks Village

There had been reports of bandit attacks near the town of Berk. Merchant caravans had been targeted and while the armed guard had managed to drive them off, it had been a close thing. Details were light, but it was clear that innocent people had died in the raiding. A number had even been successfully **** and who knows what kind of horrors their captors would inflict upon their prisoners?

Grimacing, Matt steeled himself. This was serious.

He reached to pull off the bandit request- Just as the elf girl next to him reached for the same paper.

"Ah-" "Oh!"

They both pulled there hands away.

"I'm sorry." "My apologies." They both had spoken at the same time.

"D-Don't worry about it." The boy smiled awkwardly before trying to stop himself, a feeling of uncertainty and embarassment overtaking him.

The elf girl nodded before smiling herself. "I see that we are of like minds. These bandits must be dealt with before their evil could be allowed to fester." She closed her eyes and nodded, seeming to come to a decision. Then even further to Matt's surprise she'd taken one of his hands with both of her own. "I shall aid you in this quest." She said confidently which caused Matt's face to flush.

"Um, well if you don't mind..." The more Matt talked with this girl the more off balance he became.

Her fingers felt cool on his skin but soft and gentle. There was a scent in the air too: something floral and sweet.

"Of course I do not mind. As fellow adventurers we should work together when possible." The elf girl said as if she was stating the obvious and perhaps she was. Her head cocked slightly and her green eyes met Matt's gaze as if challenging him to disagree with her words.

Matt didn't know what else to say but he felt like he needed to say something.

He just blurted out an answer, knowing what he wanted to hear but unsure of how to express it so casually.

"Sounds great!" He exclaimed nervously.

The smile returned to the elven girls lips again before it slowly faded back into seriousness.

"Excellent!" Her hand squeezed tightly around Matts before relaxing her hold on his own. "You can call me Catia. And yours is?"

"Matt," he told her with another nervous grin. "Matt Garland."

Catia looked up at him from under long lashes. Then she freed one her hands to take the quest form from the wall. The second hand was still holding Matt's own as she pulled him back towards the guild receptionists counter.

"Come Matt Garland. We shall register for this quest together."