35 C35 Ticking Time Bomb

Twenty-Fifth of New Coming of the Year 997 - Capital City of the Vortex - Senoa West Side, Adventuring Guild

The group would quickly relocate to a side room, one of the perks of being a top adventuring party came at requests coming from individuals, while these requests usually paid much higher than those given by the church or the guild itself, they came with more significant risk in return for the much more substantial reward.

The client they were meeting was one of the few that no one had any idea who or what she was. It was clear that this woman with her otherworldly beauty was not human, even if she almost perfectly matched one. The information brokers could tell them nothing; it was almost like she was a ghost. When a person entered into the vortex, a trail was established, entering towns also created a log with the guards.

She had nothing; she was a living ghost who had entered the vortex and then into the capital city without alerting anyone. She was either a person with power if not at least she was someone who had connections to allow passage without notice.

Either way, it was not good news for him, it was a meeting he could not refuse, and the request would be something that he would have to stick to the end.

Azo knew that this meeting was going to be interesting at the very least.

Azo, Bull and the twins sat across the table from the woman, while she looked fragile and very noble they could not mistake this as weakness. Both Bull and Azo had seen this before, it was not weakness but a disguise, they knew that beneath the sheep's clothing was a very dangerous dire wolf that was hungry for someone to try and pounce.

"So Madam, I think you have a job for us."

He said casually, trying to play this whole thing cool. He knew that one step could cause trouble for them all. He could never allow that as the group was getting close to enough funds to request pardon.

Celorian softly smiled as she looked at them all, giving off a gentle and kind aura as she waited for them to be finished talking, she already knew two of them mistrusted her. The senses of an Orge could always sense someone who had the battle experience of a warrior while the other man was someone who distrusted naturally, his intelligence making him research into things and when he found a lack of knowledge on a subject the mistrust only became stronger.

"It's a straightforward mission. I heard you are currently the highest ranked team in the depth of the dungeon; I think you managed to get to the eighth floor?"

Azo watched the woman, her aura and attitude betraying her true nature as he decided to play along with this game, his smile growing as he slowly nodded his head.

"Yes, we managed during a quest to locate the eight-floor entrance, we managed to collect samples and magical essence from that floor to prove it. Do you require us to get something from the floor?"

The woman across them just smiled as she would slowly roll her shoulders. "Well, it's not that I need anything from that floor. I need you to go to the tenth floor which should not be hard for a group of valiant warriors such as yourself?"

Azo felt the chill going down his spine as he looked at the woman, heading down the floors was not a simple matter, it was life and death. When one reached the eighth floor, undead skeleton minotaurs became somewhat familiar, and the amount of death magic increased, the power of these beasts multiplying as they descended into the dungeon.

His eyes glazed over as he stared at the woman with slight anger, it was clear that she did not know about the entire system and conquest of the dungeon.

"Oh, my. It seems I may have said something offensive as I can see you all are upset with my wording. I'll be frank I've had a few of my scouts reach the tenth floor with high-level stealth techniques. It won't work for you guys, but I'm sure you can do it."

Azo looked to his teammates, apparently worried that this was not good, something sounded off by this whole thing, and he was wondering why his guild even accepted such a crazy woman to request such a mission.

"I've already paid the guild in advance, They can tell you the cut, but I think it will still be in the six figures of payment, either you or another group will do it."

Azo's eyes flashed as he heard the sum, this was getting more troublesome. He knew that if the guild had already accepted the fund, then it would be nearly impossible for him to reject, he would suffer penalties if he even tried denying it.

His eyes were staring at the woman intensely as he knew that he was stuck in a horrible situation.

"What is the actual request?"

He asked, feeling his breath catching as he was regretting this meeting.

"On the tenth floor, after you step off the staircase you will need to keep heading left, keep going left as far as you can. Eventually, you will reach a dead end."

She took out a small pouch, sliding it across the table as she looked back to them with the same calming smile as she waited for them to take it.

"Press this against the stonework, and you will gain access to a secret area. Inside you will find a great treasure that will shake you all, but I'm sure you will do fantastic."

Celorian stood up, pushing the chair under the desk as she started to leave without saying another word. It was clear that she was finished giving her mission.

Azo took the pouch as he looked up at the woman with worry as he quickly asked. "Wait for a second, what are we supposed to do with this item that we find inside the dungeon?"

Celorian stopped at the door, hand on the doorknob as she looked back at them. "I'm sure you will know what to do with it. Trust me it's not that hard to work out for an intelligent man that's been requesting information about me for almost a week now."

Those last words hit Azo hard as he felt the sweat sticking to the back of his shirt, the woman leaving as they had just received an impossible to decline quest with nearly to no information and a reward so high the guild signed the acceptance without even informing them.