Headed by a Snake

"Move with a purpose, men! Time waits for no man! Orrrrrr woman!!! Ah hahaha! --No, seriously, you women better move just-as-fast."

Emilien Leserre, Knight of the Kingdom, clunked along in his heavy plate. At his back, the remaining members of Guild Staghorn dragged their feet.

Wizard Clemont looked warily at Leserre from atop his horse, adjusting his glasses, "The guild has been hustling for the better part of a bell, Emilien."

"It is still early in the sun, Wizard! Come, now! We've nearly arrived at the city of Nice!!" The mustachioed knight spoke gleefully, "There's less of us, so moving a liiiiiittle faster shouldn't be a problem!?"

Leserre turned to yell at the troops, "Look alive, you lot!!"

Clemont sighed, "How trustworthy is your sister's information, anyroad? I still fail to understand who would be willing to hire Guild Staghorn after our *decimation* in the Mosswood Wilds."

"Oh, ohhhh, Maeva's always been the smart one! She even learned to read, I'll have you know."

"I can read. It's really not all that impressive," Clemont grimaced.

Leserre twirled his mustache as he waddled along the forest trail, "Maeva's joined an *incredibly* wealthy organization called the East Charm Trading Company!! And again, very smart! Smarter than me! Ohoho!"

Clemont nodded with understanding, "Right... I have gathered some information, last we were in the city of Passage. The business is less than a year old, but their business contacts include royalty and various Council Members."

Leserre reached up to pat the mounted wizard on the back, "Maeva Leserre is a genius-woman! A genius!! --just like your good friend, Emilien!! Have some faaaaaaith, Clemont!"

Clemont adjusted his glasses again, "Right..."

...

Clemont grimaced, looking at the men and women of Guild Staghorn as they set camp outside the city of Nice. Compared to a few moons prior, the guild had been reduced to a third of its size. They had lost members due to casualties and a loss of faithfulness from a catastrophic mission failure.

Leserre kept a strong front, always laughing and jovial in the presence of the mercenaries. Clemont, among a few others, were privy to the man behind closed doors. Beneath the facade was a quiet and brooding man-- someone who had suffered the heaviest setback in his tumultuous and wearisome life.

An adventurer's life was marked with instability.

Quests were finite. Once monsters in an area were subjugated, they would never return or it would be moons and years before the monster population would resurge enough to be a threat. It was the reason adventurer's guilds were known to travel-- the practice ensured a steady and neverending quest rotation.

There were also hidden costs to adventuring. Maintenance and replacement of gear cost coin. Ammunition cost coin. Various consumables like torches and rope cost money. Guild Staghorn also provided a regrettably small pension to families of the fallen and to those who decided to dissolve their contract honorably. The minutiae added up to considerable costs and within the guild, only Clemont and Leserre really knew the pains.

Emilien's sister, Maeva, sent him a letter via the Courier's Guild with a job offer to work for a noble. It was a dream job... only the strongest guilds earned such backing. Such a contract would guarantee Guild Staghorn the security of steady pay.

Of course, Clemont remained wary. Such an invitation was deeply suspicious. There were plenty of guilds similar in strength to Guild Staghorn... but only their guild had recently failed a quest, and so miserably.

Guild Staghorn had always fought against dark guilds. As horrible as their reputation had dipped and as poverty-stricken as they were, Clemont would not allow Emilien to be advantaged by a criminal overlord.

Clemont held onto the tiny hope that the contract offer was real and legal. Like many members of the guild, he longed for a more permanent place to sleep and a consistent 3 meals each sun. Clemont was willing to bend over backward to achieve at least that much.

The familiar clanking of Leserre's heavy armor approached Clemont. He closed the journal he was writing in and smiled, "Sir Knight."

"Master Wizard! ...Old friend." Leserre gently returned the smile, steadfast pride upon his face, "Would you accompany me to the Baron's estate?"

Leserre's gait had grown a slight more ponderous than Clemont had remembered... and the dark curls of his hair had grown a few patches of white over the past few weeks.

"Of course." Clemont stood, grabbed his wizard hat, and adjusted it over his brow, "Let us see what the East Charm Trading Company can offer us."

...

The knight and wizard pair made their way through Nice, finally stopping in front of a... series of wood-built obstacle courses.

"Doesn't it look magnanimous, Wizard?!" Lessere's eyes gleamed, "We had a similar one at the Knight's Academy in Fairhaven!"

"That word does not mean what you think it means." Clemont adjusted his glasses, "Anyroad, we're not here for log jumping, Sir Knight. We're here on business."

The full-adult mustachioed man pouted like a 10-year old child.

The wizard rolled his eyes, "Don't give me that look, Emilien. You know I'm not wrong-- be serious."

"Fu fu fu fu fuuuu!!!" An echoing laugh reverberated from seemingly nowhere.

Clemont held his staff out defensively, "Who goes there!!?"

"Stay back, ghost! I have a sword!" Leserre unsheathed a comically small short sword, appearing even smaller with his large frame.

"Stars and stones, Emilien, what the hells is that?" Clemont glared.

"...Only short swords were left in the guild armory."

"Why didn't... you just borrow someone else's longsword? You knew this was going to be an important meeting!"

"Well, that hadn't occurred to me, Wizard." Leserre placed his hands on his hips, "But it's too late now, isn't it?"

A woman jumped down from her hiding spot, wearing a white cape and sculpted leather armor, "So the Chosen Ones have come... the first to test SORINA CAPULET'S NEWEST BUSINESS VENTURE!!"

Sorina flexed her thin, somewhat muscled arms as four cheap-to-moderately-priced fireworks set off behind her, "the... SOL INVICTUS OBSTACLE COOOOUUUURRRSE!!"

Leserre clapped his hands in excitement, "Oh, this is wonderful. Wizard. Wizard! Did you hear that?"

Clemont grimaced, "Wait-- did you say Sol Invictus?"

Sorina spread open her arms and whipped back her short hair, "Gentlemen! Warriors of the Kingdom! On this very sun, you will undergo a challenge you will remember for the rest of your lives!

"You shall test your mettle and might in an obstacle course inspired by the designs of the Ivory Judge Hidden Sect... but BETTER!! DEADLIER!!

"And the prize, you might ask? A guild contract for a YEARRRRR!!"