Location: Oakwood Fortress, Oakwood, Barestinia
Time: Late Afternoon, 8th day of Harvest, 1282
Weather: Warm, slightly breezy, and partly cloudy.
A cool breeze from the window greets you as you enter the mercenary leader's office. It is a simple place, with grey stone walls and wooden floorboards and filled with the smell of fresh earth. Colorful tapestries and weapons adorn the walls between cases of books and stacks of warped, wooden crates. Beams of light stream in from the windows to your right. Sir Arthur Garreth, the commander of the Oakwood military, sits at a humble wooden table near the center of the room.
He is a tall, powerful man, with many scars that tell of his combat history. He wears a meticulously clean chainmail shirt, with brown leather pants and boots, with leather gauntlets on his hands. His short hair is brown.
Behind him and to the left is his second-in-command, Lady Morana. Considered a black mage by some and a witch by others, she dresses well for her reputation. She wears a tattered but prestigious robe of layered black and purple, and has a brown leather book strapped to her waist by a chain. Her black hair flows behind her, streaked with silver.
"So you finished your training." Garreth speaks with a voice like stone. "Congratulations." Lady Morana pulls a set of necklaces from her pocket. There are six of them, and each one is the same: a small iron coin on a hemp thread. The coin bears the insignia of the Oakwood Mercenaries, two swords crossed behind the face of a dragon.
"These are for you." She says, handing them out to you with a smile on her face.
"You finished just in time." Garreth continues. "We just got an offer for a job I think you trainees... err, mercs can handle. Pinegrove is having some trouble with what the kids are saying is a monster in the woods. None of the adults in the town have seen the creature, and they all say it's a lot like a bedtime story they all tell their kids."
"A case of overactive imagination." Morana explains.
Garreth nods. "But, the kids are convinced and they're driving everyone crazy with their cries. They even refuse to go outside. So, we've agreed to send some men..."
"And women."
"And women to check it out."
Morana absentmindedly plays with a necklace around her neck, but you can't see what it is because it's hidden by her robe. "Just go there, act professional, listen to them, maybe even search around in the woods. It'll make them feel better."
"You'll get paid when you get back. It's roughly ten to fifteen miles away, so you can get there by horse in a few hours." He eyes you all, crosses his arms in front of his chest, and leans back in his chair. "Any questions?"