"The sea will provide, I imagine," Nishiru murmured from across the fire. "Or at least, the Sea Lizardmen and the Mermen will. They're always willing to trade fish, pearls and so on for items they can't make on land."
The two species Nishiru mentioned, the Sea Lizardmen and the Mermen, lived in the ocean adjoining the Agrand Republic and the Kingdom. They had sworn fealty to the Dragon Lords and the Council, and quite a bit of trade took place between them and the land-dwellers.
The items of which Nishiru spoke referred to articles of metal. Given the complete inability to work metal underwater, they were incredibly valuable to the Sea Lizardmen and the Mermen. This was particularly true for the latter, who could not move on land at all. In contrast, the amphibious Sea Lizardmen, who could at least spend a few hours on shore before they had to return to the water to rehydrate.
"While we're talking about your children… how about Mira?" Pardus asked. "You know she's been asking me about training her. While I don't see anything wrong in teaching the daughter of an old friend…"
Pardus' voice trailed off, but his piercing green eyes remained fixed on Julian. Mira was Julian's daughter, and she was of an age when she might become an adventurer in her own right.
On the one hand, Julian wanted to keep her safe, but on the other, he could not deny that the adventurer's life had its perks. Perhaps, if someone could watch over her…
A voice interrupted his train of thought.
"Well, we can worry about that later," Muk-tuk chimed in. The last of the rabbit-meat skewers were done, and he began passing them out to the others. "I'll go over the task again while we eat."
Once the sound of chewing filled the air, the Kobold drew himself up and began speaking:
"Frankly speaking, there's not much to be said. This is basically a milk run; go into the swamp, look for the big creature in there, and learn about it and where it lairs or ranges. No need to fight it; the cloak just wants to know about it."
"Cloak" in this case referred to the all-concealing cloaks which their employers (or agents thereof) wore to meetings with the adventurers. Adventurers were sometimes given very sensitive tasks due to their unique skillsets, so secrecy was vital for the people employing them. Knowledge was power, and they did not want to give their rivals power over them.
"No need to fight? Scouting only? Then why do we need anybody else besides Arc? He could probably do this in his spare time," Igni said in between mouthfuls. "Unless you want to see how useful I am at bashing through terrain."
"Don't say that, Igni. You know what they say, the easy jobs never are. Frankly speaking, I'd feel a lot safer with you guys around. Also, you can thank Julian for all that," Muk-tuk said as he gestured to the man. Julian looked up with a deer-in-headlights expression as everyone else looked at him.
"He arranged to bring us all in on this job so we could split the payout six ways. Even fought for a bit more so we'd get a decent amount," Muk-tuk added.
Muk-tuk and Julian typically handled negotiations with potential employers. As the brains of the group, Muk-tuk was adept at risk assessment, while Julian had a way with words, which made him ideal for the task of bargaining over payment.
The others blinked at him for a moment, and then smiles broke out on their faces.
"Well, thank you, Dad," Arctos grinned.
"Good to know you were looking out for us until the end," Pardus nodded.
"It's a shame you have to go," Nishiru said.
"You're a good lad. I hope you won't be too busy being a family man to hoist a stein with us sometime," Igni replied, with a slap on Julian's back that nearly knocked him over.
"Indeed. But let us discuss what we'll do next. The creature was spotted at night, which is why we waited until after the sun set to go in. Once it's active, it'll leave tracks, and we can follow them. It'll probably have a big lair too, considering its size, and if it's really that big, it'll be very noticeable while it's hunting enough to fill its belly. We can also count on it coming home near dawn, if it's really nocturnal, so we'll have another chance at spotting it."
The group nodded at Muk-tuk's summation.
"I can cast [Animal Command] to use any local creatures as scouts, and [Nature Speech] to speak with any plants and animals," Nishiru suggested.
"I can handle tracking and guiding us across the swamp," Arctos added.
"Meanwhile, I'll just be dead weight," Igni muttered.
Julian chuckled at that.
"You mean, like the rest of us? Don't worry about it. At least you can see in the dark. Besides, if things go really bad, we'll be glad to have your strength."
"Can't cast spells when a monster's snacking on your face," Muk-tuk said between mouthfuls of rabbit. "Pardus has pretty keen senses too, and an eye for ambushes. Meanwhile, Julian can cover for anyone if there's a shortfall. Apart from my magic, I can help him identify whatever it is we're dealing with."
"Seems about right," Igni nodded.
"Which reminds me, don't forget that we're here to observe, not fight. That means Igni and Pardus might not have much to do, but hey, at least you're still getting paid," Julian said.
"There'll be chances for that in future. This is our last run together, lad. Let's make it a good one."
The Dwarf raised his fist in salute, and so did everyone else.
After they finished eating, the adventurers put out the campfire and buried their leavings. Then they strapped on and adjusted their equipment.
As Julian returned from answering the call of nature, he saw the others huddling together. Pardus looked up and so did the others, and Julian was confused.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing much," Arctos said. "Who'll go first, that sort of thing."
"Yes, like how I'll be bringing up the rear," Igni said. "Unless you want to be wading through mud all the way."
With his heavy armor and tremendous strength, Igni was guaranteed to plow straight through everything in his path. Of course, that meant he would leave a semi-liquid trail in his wake, and the going would be much slower as a result.
Muk-tuk outlined their marching order, which placed Igni at the back of the group as their rear guard and defense against ambush. Julian would be in front of him, covering the group with his bow, while Muk-tuk and Nishiru would be in the center of the group, screened by everyone else. Arctos would lead the way, and his keen senses would be backed by those of Pardus.
It was a formation designed to play to their strengths, though Julian had always thought of formations as applying to groups that were larger than half a dozen members.
"Gear check, we move out when we're ready."
In response to Arctos' call, everyone inspected their personal equipment, from weapons, armor, backpacks and bandoliers to the dabs of firefly extract — it glowed in the dark — used for signalling in the dark. Where it was inconvenient for them to check their own gear, they helped each other out.
They had done this countless times before, but it paid to be careful. There would be no time for regrets once trouble found them.
Nishiru was the first to announce that he was done, being that he had little in the way of equipment to worry about. Affirmatives from the other party members poured in as they verified that they had everything they needed within easy reach.
"Okay, good. Form up and let's go."
Saying that, Arctos took his place at the head of the group. Everyone else fell into place behind him, but as Julian filed into position, he glanced to the moon, and froze.
"What's wrong, lad?" Igni said from beside him.
"No, I… right, this is going to sound weird, but I thought I saw something in the moon just now…"
The others turned around to look at the full moon, as did Julian. However, none of them noticed anything which stood out to them. Julian frowned, and squinted.