The Dauntless

The walk back to town from here is short and uneventful. Shortly before getting back you split up, with Antoinette and the pups setting up in a copse of trees outside the walls. As you enter the town with Calmont in hand, no one is waiting for you, but people you pass in the street applaud when they see you've successfully completed your mission.

Looking to Dorrak and Luna, Django asks, "Town hall?"

"Sounds like a plan. And while we're there I can see how repairs are coming along," Luna replies.

The public meeting area of town hall is a burned out husk, as are many of the front offices, but the rear of the building is fortunately intact. When you reach the front, two guards nod silently to you and follow along, offering directions. At a fork in the hallway, they take Calmont to bring him to the guard offices and jail, which are on the other side of the building.

The temporary council hall appears to have been a large old storage room that's been cleared out with a large, circular table set in the middle. All five councilors are there, as is Warble, who jumps up from her chair immediately when you come in. "My Bumblebrashers!" she wails. "Did you find my Bumblebrashers? Are they alive, are they okay?"

”They’re fine, if a little shook up,” Django says reassuringly. ”They’ve evacuated the Citadel for the time being; there’s apparently more danger in the dungeons below the fort.”

”Calmont didn’t harm them either,” Dorrak adds. ”Not physically. He threatened to, but listened to reason when we explained his options.”

"Oh thank Desna," Warble continues to wail, as though it's the only volume option available to her. At the "head" of the table, insomuch as a round table can have a head, Greta Gardania clears her throat.

"So you've successfully completed your missions then?"

"The assigned ones, yes," Luna replies. "However, we would like to return to clear the threats from the dungeons. In addition we met a new ally in the citadel, and would like to assist him in recovering a family heirloom that is believed to be somewhere within."

Greta nods. "The work of an adventurer is rarely done, it seems." She nods to Quentino Posandi, who sets a heavy purse on the table and slides it across to you. "20 gold for both missions, as promised. And if you're going to continue adventuring in the area, I would recommend officially registering with the city. We don't have a formal "adventuring guild" like the Pathfinder Society or some cities have been adopting, but almost every store in town will offer you a discount if you're a recognized adventuring party."

Looking to Dorrak and Luna, Django says, "I'm up for it but we should probably get Antoinette's opinion on it too before we agree to anything."

"Agreed," Dorrak nods. "I'd like to check on the pups regardless, then we can come back, register, and do the investigating we discussed."

Luna nods emphatically. "Definitely agreed. Registering as an official team is just... so serious," She says.

When the party returns to where they left Antoinette, they find her sitting under a tree with Fleur napping on her lap and Nova sleeping by her side. She waves lazily as the group approaches. "Bonjour, friends. These two can play for quite a while, but I think I finally tired them out."

"Glad to hear it," Dorrak smiles, baring his small tusks. "We checked in with the council. The goblin envoy was relieved, and Calmont's now in the hands of the town. We also got a recommendation to formally register as an adventuring group from the council, it gets us a discount when shopping in town."

"Being official might also help us out with the investigation, we here in Breachill do love our adventurers and that would give us the official seal that we're recognized adventurers," Luna pipes in.

”This all sounds reasonable to me,” Antoinette replies. “It brings up a good question though. To officially register we likely need a name. So what do we call our little venture?”

"How about the Dauntless? We're all pretty fearless, right?" Luna proposes. "Seems fitting enough to me anyways."

"Works as well as anything," Dorrak rumbles in agreement.

”I can work with that,” Django nods.

"I have no objections," Antoinette replies.

"In other important matters, I'd like to follow up on the information about those elf gates that Calmont mentioned," Dorrak adds, changing the subject. "It may be nothing, or even just a curiosity for the owner of the bookstore, but it's worth looking into to see if there's anything to it."

”I’m not opposed,” Antoinette replies. “We also need to figure out long term arrangements with the pups here. They are going to have to be able to enter towns eventually. I don’t want to sleep out in the open every night when actual beds are so close.”

"For tomorrow when we go to clear out the lower levels, we can leave the pups in the room they stayed in earlier with some food. After that, I'd actually like to train one of them myself, preferably Nova," Dorrak replies with a nod.

Scratching a sleeping Fleur behind the ears, Django says, "This one's really smart as well. With some training she could be an impressive attack dog."

A few hours later, after leaving Antoinette and Luna to their own pursuits, Django and Dorrak return to camp, Django grinning broadly as they arrive.

"Well, we stopped by the bookstore to ask about Calmont and maybe see if we could look anything up about that Alseta's Ring thing he mentioned," Django says, setting his pack down and throwing some fresh meat to the warg pups. "Walked up and wouldn't you know it, big ol' sign on the door says 'Closed For Inventory Survey,' but then one of the neighbors tells us she saw the owner, one Voz Lirayne, lock the place up and skip town in a hurry a few hours after the Call for Heroes a couple days ago, and she hasn't seen her around or the shop open since. Call me suspicious, but I think we might have found our lady."