Of all the land regions in Charon, this is the one Red visits the most. She finds the atmosphere to be quite inviting and serene. Perhaps because it reminds her of home in the Luna Sea. Nevertheless, she likes to visit Moonveil village to offer her help when she can. Her reason for being here today, however, is to do with the recent earthquake which has certainly affected the locals somewhat.

Red checks the local job postings in the village center and finds one that catches her attention: goats gone missing due to the earthquake which tore down this fellow farmer's fences. Perfect, certainly she could handle this. The sea elf carefully removes the listing from the board it was affixed to and takes a look at the instructions to find this farm and get more details.

Since this ordeal would be easier if done in a group, Red glances around the village centre to see if there's anyone who'd be willing to help. And alas, she sees a familiar face, a young dark elf by the name of Ulmiyda. Surely she'll be eager to help, right? Red doesn't call out to her right away, she waits until the little one notices her first.

Leandros takes a slow ride through Moonveil on the back of Byrr, his squire Theobo following closely at his side. This was a safe enough area that he could let the young man take his first forays into adventuring, even if the halfling complained about having to take on such small jobs.

"Come on Lord Aurthurian, I do my drills every morning, I'm ready to fight and slay monsters!" Theobo shows his deftness with the blade and a serious expression as if that is all it would take to convince the knight.

Leandros offers a modest chuckle as they arrive into town, "I'm sure you are ready, but this work is about more than fame or glory. This is just as important as fighting any owlbear or dragon."

The young halfling seems to pout, but that is the nature of young and eager adventurers. Leandros is almost certain he was exactly the same at his age. Looking ahead, Leandros spots the job board and sees others already starting to look it over. Good, Theobo could also get some lessons on working with a team. This was turning out to be quite the lucky turn of events. Leandros encourages his young charge forward.

"H-hello, are you here to help the farmer too?" Theobo does his best to try and stand proud despite his nerves.

Ulmiyda walked out of The Druid’s Satchel with an overwhelming feeling of boredom. This so-called vacation was more mind-numbing than restorative. Her parents thought the greenery and wildlife would help quell the girl’s fascination with flame. The abundance of life might have served as a good contrast to her short-lived flames, that is of course, if it wasn’t so incredibly boring. Cervayhn on the other hand, was having a great time in the small village. The older dark elf enjoyed the friendly community as well as the chance to wear some lighter, more comfortable clothing without the fear of freezing to death. His only complaint was the restlessness of his young master, a problem which he’d already found a solution for.

Ulymida looked down at the sealed envelope her retainer had given her before asking her to head to the village center. She scoffed at the gall displayed by her own vassal and immediately tore the seal. Inside was a small note addressed to one of her previous acquaintances.

“Dear Red, hope this letter finds you well. Miss Flameborne and I are taking a vacation here in Moonveil, however she is awfully bored. I think it’s best that she learns the struggles of the common folk through some hard work, that way she will be more thankful for her family's high standing. I politely ask that you supervise her and keep her ‘obsession’ under control. Rest assured you will be amply compensated for your time and effort. - Subzero”

With a sigh of frustration, Ulmiyda headed to the town square. This truly was more of an endeavor than a break, she wasn’t even granted the feeling of surprise she would have received from encountering Red again.

As she approached the town centre, she scanned through the crowd, making no great effort to rush this. Sure enough, she spotted the red-haired sea elf waiting by the town’s job board. With lethargic expression adorning her face, she slowly walked over to her acquaintance.

“Hi Red...” She greeted the woman with a gloomy tone.
“Here.” she said as she handed over the letter.

She looks down in silence as she waits for Red to finish reading the letter, until she is suddenly surprised by a young halfling. She jumps at least a few inches of the ground at his greeting, before for turning to face the young man.

“Farmer? What do you mean farmer?”

"Hello, good to see you, Ulmiyda," greeted Red with a little smile. Though she quickly noticed the girl's foul mood and wondered what was wrong. After being handed a note written by her retainer, it became clear why she was feeling gloomy. This humored the sea elf and she couldn't help but smile mischievously as she put the letter away.

"Don't be so glum, little one," Red started. "I promise you'll have fun with this one." she hands the dark elf the posting from the board. Of all the wandering livestock to corral back to a farm, goats should be the most amusing. This'll surely cure her boredom.

Just as she handed Ulmiyda the notice, Red was caught off guard by the young halfling. But upon finding out that he will also be aiding us, she beamed excitedly.

"Yes that's right, thank you for offering your help," Red began with a polite nod of her head. The sea elf shifted her attention back to Ulmiyda upon hearing her question. "The goat farmer down this way," she said as she pointed in the general direction of the farm's location. "His goats escaped when his fence collapsed due to the earthquakes. I'm sure he'll be very thankful for our help." Red beamed happily; she didn't expect to find such youthful helpers today. 

Leandros raises an eyebrow at the mention of an earthquake, he would have to check with others when this was over. Strange things had been happening since he heard about the incident out in the Arid Mesa, but this was new. In any case, it was time to let his ward do some work and not interrupt.

Theobo looks equally shocked when Red jumps, "S-sorry I didn't mean to startle! I'm Theobo Buck of House Buck of Capitol Landing." He does his best to stand up straight, chest out and chin up, looking confident.

The actual knight holds back a smile and laugh, his squire really is trying his best. He's come a long way that's for sure.

"Why doesn't he just get one of his helpers to do it?" Ah, the naivety of a privileged youth.

"Because not everyone is as fortunate as lords and ladies to have helpers, that's why we do work like this. To lend a helping hand to those who need it." Leandros responds from the back of the traveling group. As simple as this job was, he knew how quickly simple turned deadly so he would stay within earshot.

Theobo scurries forward a bit more to catch up with the others like a child escaping their parents. He still tries desperately to appear knightly and proud to the others though despite his gentle chastising.

Ulmiyda looks down at the posting handed to her by Red, her eyebrows furrowed as she read their apparent task. A local farmer had apparently lost his goats due to the earthquakes sweeping Charon. She had no experience dealing with farm animals, much like the halfling before her. Even if she wasn’t noble born, it’s not like farm animals could survive the winters of Frost Gale. Cervayhn had some nerve making her do such pointless work.

She glanced back up as she heard another voice lecture the halfling. Behind him stood a tall man, way too equipped for such a menial task, likely a knight of some sort. He had goody two shoes written all over him, much to her dismay. Cervayhn on the other hand, would love this guy. No doubt they could spend hours together waxing philosophical about honor and loyalty or whatever boring ideals these noblemen strive towards. Hopefully his squire would at least keep him occupied and out of her business.

Turning her attention back to the naive halfling, she introduced herself, trying her best to hide her disdain.

“Ulmiyda Flameborne. My lazy uncle ditched me with Red so he could relax, now I’m stuck doing this.”

She tried her best to downplay her status, ignorant of the fact that her clothes clearly showed her own noble upbringing.

Looking back up to Red, the young girl sought the sea elf's knowledge on how to best handle such a situation.

"Red, how does one round up goats? Come to think of it, how do you know about farm animals? Do sea goats exist?"

"There's no need to apologize," started Red gently. "Its a pleasure to meet you! My name is Naru Lhúgnia of the Luna Sea, but everyone calls me Red." She takes a brief pause to look over her little group and only just noticed the heavily armored knight in her vicinity. He seemed very engrossed in our little conversation here, but why should he? We're not breaking the law or planning nefarious activities, so what does he want?

"Now that we've finished with our introductions, let us make our way toward the farm in question," Red announced excitedly as she took her first steps in this fun little adventure. Though the elf quickly noticed that their mysterious knight began to follow the elves at a fair distance, Theobo alongside him. So they know each other, Red thought to herself. She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what their motives were. Red never trusted royalists, but in this case, she was grateful for their help.

Ulmiyda's questions snapped Red's focus back into the present. She smiled at the young elf's inquisitive nature. "Not all livestock live on the surface," she started. "I was raised on a modest kelp farm in our loving sea-elf community. Our family also kept eels; now those ones are difficult to round up upon escaping. We should be grateful that goats can't fly and aren't slippery, otherwise we'd be here for days. As for sea goats, they do supposedly exist, though in my hundred or so years in the sea, I never saw one." Red shrugged at the thought. She still had a few centuries to find one someday.

The journey to the goat farm was much shorter than anyone expected; this time the halfling had caught up to the elves in front. The farm was indeed in dire need of repair, it seems the tremors have affected more than just the fences. A diminutive man suddenly poked his head out from behind the little bit of fence that remained. An array of emotions crossed his face, but relief was the resulting feeling.

"Have you come to find my goats?" the farmer asked cautiously. He scanned through our group and noticed that not everyone came from humble origins such as himself and there were far more people than he expected. "I'm terribly sorry, but I can't afford to pay for your services," he stated glumly, looking at the ground sheepishly. "So sorry that you've wasted your time coming all the way over here for nothing."

"Nonsense," Red began determinedly. "None of us ventured here to receive any monetary compensation. We're simply here to find some missing goats." The farmer breathed a substantial sigh of relief, offering his thanks and information about the goats' whereabouts. The group learned that there are 8 goats missing, 4 of them kids, and they've all run in the direction of the nearby forest. Hopefully those goats didn't venture too far.

"I guess we are both stuck with this job then." Theobo gives a little smile to Ulmiyda as they walk. He does seem very curious to learn about sea goats, if they do exist that is.



The halfling's posture straightens up considerably as the man comes to the door. Time to put on the knightly persona. Chest out, shoulders back, chin up. "We are here to do our duty to help others in need!" Perhaps a bit louder than intended.



As they listen to the old man describe the missing goats, Theobo is diligent in taking mental notes. What he lacks in experience he makes up for in enthusiasm, that much is clear.



"This shouldn't be too hard right? They aren't like magic goats....just regular goats. Just gotta grab a couple each and get them back home. We should probably hurry though, forests can be dangerous for goats." He turns towards the forest, there was a path leading into the forest, though they weren't likely to find the goats on the trail. Theobo was starting to see just how tricky this was actually going to be.

Ulmiyda noted Red's furrowed expression as she looked back at the tall knight.

“Don’t worry Red, he unnerves me as well.” She reassured the sea elf, happy to see her acquaintance also concerned with their royal escort.

She felt a bit disappointed by the sea elf’s answer about sea goats. Her curiosity would unfortunately not be abated anytime soon, seeing as her aversion to water was too great for her to ever venture deep into the Luna Sea. Luckily for her, she was soon distracted by another conundrum born from Red’s response. How exactly do you keep livestock under the sea? A fence clearly wouldn’t work, they could just swim upwards. Are they kept in a dome? Goats and cows are used to produce milk, can you milk an eel?

A continual thread of inane questions quickly bounced through her mind until she was suddenly interrupted by the squire's comment.

Ulmiyda smiled back to the young halfling as she barely held in her grimace.

She did her best to appear friendly as they approached the farmer’s residence, she could see that he was rather uneasy. She highly doubted that farmer was expecting this strange group when he made that job posting. Her façade broke when the halfling’s voice suddenly rose as he made his knightly proclamation to the nervous farmer. She held her head low, covering her eyes in a feeble attempt to hide her embarrassment.

“Just tell us where the goats went, please.” She told the farmer in a hushed tone, trying her best to go unnoticed.

Her hopes for an easy job were dashed as she heard that the goats were hidden within the forest. They could spend hours there and not find anything or even worse, find something hostile to both them and the goats. She was about to call it quits when suddenly, inspiration struck.

“I have an idea!” She yelled as she took off running through the forest, leaving the rest of the group in her wake.

She didn’t stop running until she had cleared the other side of the forest. She took a moment to catch her breath as the rest of the group caught behind her. Once the group was finally back together and had caught their breath, Ulmiyda smiled and made her grand announcement to the party.

“I have a way to get the goats out of the forest!” She proclaimed as she launched a fire bolt^[1] directly onto the forest floor.

---

[1] Fire Bolt

Red's eyes widened significantly at the sight before her. Ulmiyda's sudden eagerness to find a solution caught her by surprise and she was happy to see the young one finding enthusiasm in the task. That was until the forest caught ablaze.

"Ulmiyda," she started softly. "The farmer wants his goats back alive!" At that moment, Red noticed the wildlife in the forest fleeing from the danger. Her plan is technically working, but at what cost.

The sea elf looked up the sky while she raised her hands. Immediately upon clapping her hands together, a few clouds appeared before the forest and began to drizzle a light rain^[1]. Since the fire started on the forest floor, the rain wouldn't extinguish the flames any time soon, but it would at least slow down the spread.

Red ran ahead of the forest fire as it began to spread further in. She kept her eyes peeled for any goats, but it turned out she heard their bleating long before she spotted them. Luckily, being extremely agile animals, they seemed to be making their way out on their own. Perhaps except for the younger ones who were still fairly small. When she did spot one, Red would bend down to quickly grab the kid before rushing to the edge of the woods. Despite the drizzle, the fire was spreading rapidly and threatening to swallow the elf in its flames.

---

[1] Drizzle spell

From the distance Leandros' expression was a mixture of confusion and, admittedly, a bit of amusement. As ill planned as the approach was, it was a good chance for Theobo to learn how to improvise. The knight himself approached the man's home as the others ran off. The two exchanged a brief conversation before leading the man to the broken fence that the goats escaped from.

"Don't worry, I'll fix this up while the others find your goats." He smiles broadly at the man as he finds a set of tools and some extra wood in the shed.

Meanwhile, Theobo is in a bit of a panic as he starts to sprint off. "No, no, no!" So much for a simple and boring job. He was trying to pat out small patches of kindling that had caught flame, using his shield to suffocate them.

He looks up confused at the rain before looking back to Red and seeing she's cast something. The halfling gives a relieved sigh. That would work much better, it couldn't stop the flames completely, but it would at least slow the spread.

"Get the goats! I'll put these out!" Having the shield and some thick leather boots, he could withstand a little bit of the heat. If they could get the goats out quickly, then Theobo could run back to Leandros for help.

As the bolt impacted the forest floor, the underbrush erupted into flames. Ulmiyda’s eyes widened and a big smile formed across her face upon seeing the results of her spell. This was going better than she was expecting, maybe a bit too well. The fire was spreading fast, maybe too fast for her to control.

No. This is my flame. It’s a part of me, it will bend to my will.

She cleared her mind of any doubts as she held an open hand forward, ready to command the flames.

Her joyous expression careened off her face as the rest of the group flew into a panic.
Red and the young squire ran back into the forest, trying desperately to stop the flames from spreading. She watched as the young squire desperately tried to suffocate the flames with his shield; the disappointment in her eyes was palpable. It only grew worse as she was suddenly soaked, a drizzle had rained over the area, Red’s doing no doubt.

Still the fire roared, the forest provided ample fuel for the flames. They wouldn’t be able to stop it, she needed to intervene now, lest the fire swallow her companions. Just as the fire was about to reach the Red and the young squire, it suddenly pulled back and a passage formed large enough for a single person to pass through. The young dark elf walked by the flames, her fingers aglow as the fire bent to her will^[1]. Manipulating the flames in their current state was easy, she wasn’t even given the satisfaction of testing her limits.

“Guysss... I had it under control... I wasn’t going to let the goats get burned. I just thought this would force them out...” She groaned to the rest of the party, her hair still partially wet from the drizzle.

Ulmiyda looked over to Red holding a young goat, her expression saddened at the sea elf’s concern.

“It’s not hurt, is it?” she asked with a concerned tone.

Suddenly she heard a rustling deeper in the forest. Something big was moving, likely stirred by the sudden chaos.
A pair of long segmented legs appeared from the top of a tree ahead of the group, followed by another pair, then another, and another.

Ulmiyda's eyes widened as she pointed at the monstrosity and began to yell as loud as she could.

“I’M GONNA KILL IT! I’M GONNA KILL IT WITH FIRE!”

---

[1] Control Flames

By some miracle, the flames that were on the verge of swallowing Red and the little goat whole, they pulled back. Shortly after, Ulmiyda emerged from the flames through a safe tunnel that was undoubtedly formed by her magic. She seemed annoyed with our interferences to her plans, but showed concern upon seeing the kid in Red's arms, flailing frantically before finally escaping her grasp. It was bounding its way toward the edge of the forest where it would be safe.

"We're lucky the goats weren't harmed," stated Red, averting her gaze from the dark elf. The incident could've been far more catastrophic, the sea elf reassured herself. Ulmiyda was a young elf possessing great power for her age; it's understandable that she'd get up to some trouble ever so often.

Unfortunately, the trouble wasn't over yet, and it wasn't just the lingering flames. Red directed her attention to what was frightening Ulmiyda and her eyes widened in response. A giant spider was making its way down to the forest floor, one pair of segmented legs at a time. The creature seemed to be facing the elves, its 8 beady eyes locked in on its prey.

Red took this opportunity to arm herself with her tidal blade^[1], grasping the handle of this massive sword as steadily as possible. With eyes locked on the creature, she was ready to slice it mercilessly alongside her companions.

---

[1] Tidal blade: massive two handed great sword that was left in the sea and sharpened by the waves over time. Tiny barnacles and crustaceans grow on the sword with the blade being weathered by the sea. This blade naturally deals water damage without needing an enchantment and will douse any flame it touches, allowing it to cut through fire and flame spells. The blade also has two charges, allowing you to send out a thin, sharp slice of water out as it slices. 

"In our....defense....you didn't exactly.....explain anything before running off." Theobo catches his breath as the flames start to pull away and come under control. Knowing someone can control the fire and isn't just a pyromaniac is helpful information.

The young halfling wipes the soot and debris off his shield as he rejoined the others, looking off to some of the goats who were now running in the direction of the farm. Well that was helpful, they were coming back all on their own.

Wait....why are they running so fast? And bleating in what seems like the goat approximation of fear? Oh....that's why. Theobo gulps as the spider makes its way into the battlefield.

"WHY GIANT SPIDERS?" He groaned before charging in.

The spider immediately attempted the bite down on the squire, but he raised his shield high to catch the mandibles. Despite his size, he seemed to be holding it up for now. He drew his sword to try and return attacks back to the arachnid. Their size did matter here as they couldn't quite reach anything vital, but at they very least he had its full attention being the one brave/stupid enough to just run at it.

Ulmiyda watched as Red withdrew a sword as big as she was. Her amazement at the sea elf’s strength was quickly killed by her disappointment. The sword was very cool design-wise, but it was clearly some manner of water sword and would likely interfere with her flames.

She began to formulate a plan to take out the massive arachnid when the squire suddenly charged in to face the beast.

 

Dang it, I can’t use my tools with him in the way. Well... I could… but that knight will probably be pretty angry.

With a sigh, she ran after the halfling, fingers still aglow, as two thin trails of flame chased after her on either side.

The squire was obviously struggling with the beast as she arrived. Seeing as he was occupied with blocking the enlarged mandibles, Ulmiyda wrapped her fingers around the boy’s sword hand.

“I’m borrowing this.” She said giving the halfling a big smile before yanking the longsword out of his hands.

Holding the sword with both hands, she swung at the beast’s legs as it remained occupied. The blade struck true, causing ghastly green blood to ooze from the legs, but it wasn’t large enough to sever the limbs.

Seeing that the beast was at the very least slowed, she tackled the halfling out of the way so she could initiate the next part of her plan. As she began to rise to her feet she was suddenly pulled back down. The spider had launched its webs at its young adversaries. The sticky fibers wrapped around the girl’s boot as the beast began to pull her back into its range. Ulmiyda reached into her satchel as she was dragged, retrieving several black orbs^[1]. She was a bit close to be using these, but she didn’t have much of a choice.

“Eat this, you overgrown fly catcher!” She yelled as she chucked the spheres underneath the spider.

Her lingering flames quickly dashed past her^[2], reaching the cracked spheres as the young girl braced herself. The orbs exploded into a burst of flame, incinerating the webs and launching Ulmiyda backwards with the force of the shock wave.

The girl landed near the young squire with a soft thud. Her ears were ringing and she was a bit sore, but for the most part she was unharmed. With a groan, she rose to her feet and looked over to the eight-legged monstrosity. The beast was still standing somehow, albeit significantly crippled. The entire underside of the beast was seared and it appeared that the flames had traveled along the webs, damaging its ability to produce the sticky fibers.

She tossed the squire’s longsword back to him as she sat back down.

“Okay, you two finish it off, I’m tired.”

---

[1] Explosive Ornaments

[2] Control Flames