The four corners of Stonefarm’s Fountain Plaza are home to the Town Hall, Merchant’s Guild, Hotel de la Ville, and the mayor’s manor. The plaza is busy from this morning’s train. Instead of overseeing the heavy traffic, the mayor usually eats lunch or finds some other excuse to avoid his duties. Fortunately, tonight someone had the idea to disrupt his peaceful lunch.

“It’s already been six hours! Something’s not right.”

Tanny’s father, Twig Trader, was confronting Mr. Mayor about the missing children, but it would take an act of god to get the lazy man to move. 

“Calm yourself, Twig. Thorn is with them. If we intervene now, we’ll give away the secret. Wait until Taiyo has hidden away. Then, if they still haven’t returned, we’ll form a party.”

“Someone could die if we take that long.”

“Don’t exaggerate. The worse that has been found down there are rodent hives. Thorn can handle that. They’re probably hold up, taking a rest before they try to leave. It’s smart. Just how it would be smart for you to go home and rest.”

Infuriated at the slothful man, Twig left the manor and met a familiar face outside.

Ember Smith was the best metal worker in Stonefarm. He grew up here under the tutelage of his father. He also was friends with Boss, both had served in the army together. After that, Boss moved to Stonefarm and became the mayor over 10 years ago. Ember knew Boss was the kind of man that wished for only a comfortable life, but there was a way to get him to act.

“You know just as well as I do, you need a plan when dealing with that old idiot. Since my son is with Tanny, I’ll help you out just this once.”

“How gracious. You already have a plan?”

“Actually, yes. Mr. Steinn has already gone to get us a meeting. You coming?”

While the church is only particularly large for this small town, everyone called it the Cathedral. The town’s center of worship was built on the eastern edge of town half a century ago. The east was chosen due to both Yggdrasil and Aeaea being in the east. The Cathedral was built with two front entrances, one western-facing entrance for the town and another eastern-facing entrance that leads to a large garden used for religious ceremonies. 

When Ember was a child, a fire broke out in this part of town and burnt most of the surrounding buildings. The majority stone Cathedral was unharmed except for its eastern wooden wall, which was designed to connect the church to the garden. Afterward, the central hall was redesigned to not have an eastern wall and instead incorporate parts of the garden. Magic is, of course, used to keep the worship hall warm, the barrier illustrates the religious iconography that was once engraved on the wooden wall. The only physical object in that wall besides the supporting arches is a single wooden door.

The church had planned four sermons today. One after each meal, and one late in the evening. With all the foot traffic, visitors, and returning townspeople, the church wanted to get as many as they could into a sermon. That was why Ember had Mr. Steinn go on ahead to make sure the bishop would be available during the lunch sermon. Not a small task for a Highlander, but Ember was sure Father Charity would make himself available if he directly heard the request. It’s a matter of if the priests let Mr. Steinn through.

Ember and Twig entered the north building, the sermon was already underway, so there was no crowd they had to push through, but only a single deacon was there to meet them.

“Is the bishop available?” Ember noticed the disappointment on the deacon’s face. It was clear that they had tried to prevent Mr. Stein from meeting with the bishop. The problem Ember had with these guys was that they cared more about their fancy sermons than doing what was right. It seemed to him that only Father Charity was a good man; it was why he let his wife leave their sons in his care so often.

“Yes, he is. Right this way, please.”

The deacon brought them to a pair of doors in the back of the building, through which could be heard yelling in High Runic. The deacon had the two wait outside as he went in. A short while later, the yelling stopped and the two were let in. Sitting at his desk was Father Charity and on opposite sides of the room were Mr. Steinn and someone Twig and Ember didn’t recognize.

The woman was tall and covered in religious garb. She had a few plates of armor and resting against the wall next to her was a massive halberd. She was clearly a warrior of the order, but what stood out was her gold hair. She was an Ancient, a member of the oldest tribe that lived on the north continent and rarely traveled to the other three continents. They weren’t particularly friendly with anyone, but Highlanders held a grudge against them over some long-forgotten war.

“Well, that explains the yelling.”

“Yes. Now, can you please explain why you disrupted this nice day?” Charity was a man of good value, but after his patience was worn out, his attitude became particularly sour.

“Five kids have gone missing and we need help finding them.”

“Have the mayor start a search party then.”

“That’s the problem, he’s being lazy and they were last exploring the hills. I trust you know why we can’t form a normal search party.”

“So that’s it. You plan to get us all together to pressure him into helping.”

Boss, Twig, and Charity were all old buddies that had grown up together. Ember served with Boss and Charity was a simple priest at the time assisting the army with religious duties. Boss owed his life to Ember, so he moved to Stonefarm and dragged Charity along with him. Twig followed along later when he learned his two buddies had moved here. Having his three friends work together to kick him off his butt should work.

“Alright. I’ll help, but I have business with this emissary.”

“That won’t do at all. The church’s rising star can’t put formalities before the safety of his parishioners. In fact, I think I shall be going with you.” 

“Oh no, I can’t have someone of your standing go into those caves on my behalf.”

“I’ll hear no such refusal. I have a busy day tomorrow and can’t reschedule. I’ll fulfill my duties while assisting you.”

The bishop was clearly not pleased with this outcome, but being significantly outranked by this lady left him with no choice but to accept.

“Seems like you’ve been overruled.”

— — —

“Seems like I can’t put off checking in on the town any longer tonight.” 

Boss finished his wine and got dressed in proper outdoor clothing. He put off checking in on the train and the new arrivals all day, but if he put it off any longer, he’ll have to deal with bigger problems tomorrow.

“Sir, you have guests.”

“Not right now. I’m busy with mayoral duties.”

“Mr. Trade has brought two bishops from the church to see you, sir.”

“Two!”

Just what is that man planning?

It wasn’t just two bishops. Twig had also brought Ember and the Highlander that was making waves with the Smith and Merchant Guilds. It wasn’t all the most important people in town, but it was enough that it would affect his reelection. Upsetting, the church, the smiths, and the merchants would doom his chances.

“Damn you, Twig. Just what did you go and do?”

“I didn’t do anything besides get some friends together for a search party.”

“Mr. Mayor, are you going to approve the expedition to rescue the town’s kids?” 

What choice did he have?

“Alright. I approve your expedition. Go have fun in the dirt.”

“You are coming with us, aren’t you. You’re dressed for it because you knew we needed a hermit in the party. Isn’t that right?” The new bishop wasn’t leaving him any room to wiggle out of this.

“Damn you all. Okay, Okay! I’ll come with you.”

“That’s great. Alrighty now, let’s form a party.”

Hero Badge

These magical items are commonplace, used by adventurers, soldiers, travelers, and heroes. They typically take the form of a cross between a bracelet and a vanguard. They’ll keep the wearer updated on their vitals and keep track of spells, skills, rank, and more. 

Their primary purpose is to allow guilds to gauge someone and see if they are fit for a commission or request. The other purpose is to share this information with your party.

Mayor Boss is the type of man to be obsessed with foreign and exotic goods. It was the reason he used such bizarre weapons and learned a martial style from the east. Despite the weirdness, he was the best [tank] in the town.

“It’s just me and Fid covering defenses then.”

Fiðrilýsa wasn’t happy with having her name shortened, but it’s preferable to a Midlander butchering the runic pronunciation.

“Since you have better range mitigation with your sword, I’ll stay close to Charity and Twig.”

Steinntårn Sverðhaugr translates to Stone of the Tower family and belonging to the Sword branch of the Hill Clan. Highlanders have complex names, so everyone in town just calls him Goldenlocks or Steinn.

“Seems like everyone here has either Flame or Ying magic. All Manipulation too. In that case, I’ll use my Zoning to create as much fire as I can.”

“Light would be wiser. We’re going underground and there’s likely to be lots of plants down there.” The bishop wasn’t just saying this because of their preference for light; fire in an enclosed space could suffocate them.

“That would be wise, but I can’t produce as much light as I can fire. Also, we shouldn’t need my fire unless something goes wrong, and if it does, we’ll need my fire.”

“We’ll be fine if he only produces as much fire as we need for battle. Those caverns can get really big. As long as we don’t have to fight a whole bunch.”

He may not look it, but Ember is a man fairly adept with magic. Typically, witches fight with bows or other physical ranged weapons, but Ember prefers using his [Fire Whips] and [Fire Shots]. There are few people that have reached Sage level, which earned him the title [The Crimson Slaughter] back during his army days. In the past 10 years, he’s only gained a single level, a sign of his distaste for combat.

“It depends how long this will take. We should aim straight for their location while clearing out all the monsters.”

“Easy for you to say, I’m the one that will have to track them. It’s a maze down there.”

Twig made a fortune using his magic to his advantage. Fast travel and espionage are invaluable to a merchant. Such a devious lifestyle hadn’t left him unable to fight though.

“Transport and tracking. Seems like I’ll be doing the heavy lifting again.”

No one liked that, but Boss least of all.

“Now hear here. I’m the one that’s going in head first. Even if you had 10 times as much work, this was your idea.”

A former army medic and one of the youngest bishops in the Grand Church. Charity’s focus is on support magic. Healing is his specialty, but he can also impose laws and grant boons.

Just like back in the old days.

“Now, now. Please save the fighting for the rodents of unusual sizes we’re going to find under Tree Hill.”

A member of the all-female Order of St. Catharine, a fairly militant order of the Grand Church. Her Specialist role, Paladin, allows her to fight as bother a Manipulator and a Hermit. In other words, she’s a support heal-tank.

Not only is she a Paladin, but she has the rare perk [Elementalist (Life)] and a high level. Only Charity knows why such an important person is here, but it defiantly leaves the others worried after seeing her card.

If one of them doesn’t die, I’ll be surprised.

—   —   —

The party assembled on Tree Hill. It was already close to sunset, the kids could already be injured, so they’ll have to hurry.

The fully grown adults, especially the bulky Mr. Steinn, can’t crawl through the small opening to get in. That’s a trivial obstacle Twig can quickly solve. With his [Teleport] he first moves Boss underground, then each of the party members one by one.

“I’m out of mana.” There’s a limit to how much Twig can warp at a time and the more weight he warps, the costlier it is. With five such warps, he was already out. Twig had to drink one of his two recovery potions. Such potions are expensive and hard to even find for sale.

“Lose some weight, Boss.”

Before Boss could respond, Charity stopped him.

“Which way do we go.”

“Well, I could try to [Scry] for them, but I think it would be better if we just follow Thorn’s trail.” 

Twig was right. Thorn had used his [Earth Manipulation] to leave a trail of visible spheres. They led from the center of the room to a corridor in the corner. That corridor leads to a small cavern of un-carved karst-like structures. It stands out against the much nicer cavern they were in and the older kids were always told to prevent anyone from going in. The adults were worried that it was as unstable as it looked.

“Well, that settles that. We’re heading into the unknown. Dang it, boy. Why didn’t you stop them?”

Boss was upset that Thorn let the kids go in there, but he was resolute in saving them and getting home for a late dinner and not an early breakfast.