Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty-Seven - This Sounds Like a Job for Broccoli's Bunch

Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty-Seven - This Sounds Like a Job for Broccoli's Bunch

Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty-Seven - This Sounds Like a Job for Broccoli's Bunch

We arrived at the Exploration Guild to find it way less busy than it had been the last time we poked our noses in. The guild's front doors were propped open by a small wooden doorstopper, letting some fresh mid-day air in and letting Explorers and curious busy-bodies slip in and out with ease.

We ambled in as a group, but soon split into two smaller groups. Awen, Calamity and Desiree stuck by the front where there was a small historical display. Desiree pointed to various maps and old artefacts and asked the others questions about them. Awen read the plaques and tried to answer as honestly as she could.

Calamity gave his own commentary--ridiculous tall tales that I was pretty sure he was inventing on the spot.

Unfortunately, Desiree was nodding to everything he said, and I was a little worried that Desiree would start to have some strange opinions about local history. But Amaryllis tugged me forwards before I could do anything about it, and soon we were at the counter at the far end of the room and Amaryllis was flipping the mission book open.

"Let's see," she muttered. "There's... less of a selection than I expected."

The secretary behind the counter who'd been happy to let us look at the book, glanced up at that. "Oh, there's an increase in the number of Explorers at the guild. I'm sure you noticed? A lot of them were pulled back from long-term missions nearby and now they're taking on any local mission we have."

Amaryllis hummed. She didn't look happy about it. "And now we're out of work too, I presume?"

"The Guildleader has increased mission payout while... discouraging Explorers from taking on work too far from the city. We did have a lot more potential missions than usual come in, however!"

Amaryllis grumbled some, but leafed through the book all the same. I looked at it from over her shoulder. She passed a mission to hunt for some ancient artefact, then another to protect a caravan going to the capital, then a third that seemed to be asking for someone to camp next to a lake for a week and take frequent notes about its disposition. "These aren't great for us," she said.

"The camping one's too long, otherwise it might be a nice vacation," I said.

"Not at the rate they're offering, it's not," she said.

"Ah, just the women I was thinking of," a familiar voice said.

I looked up to find the Guildleader standing by the corridor leading to one of her offices. "Hi!" I said with a happy wave.

Mathilde nodded to the both of us. "So, you're back. How did it go? And before you speak, Miss Bunch, is the answer to my question something that should be delivered in privacy?"

I blinked and thought about it, but Amaryllis beat me to the punch. "It went well, Lady Mariejoy," she said with a slight bow. "Lady Booksie is back home, safe and sound as of less than an hour ago. She's grown a little as well."

"Good," Mathilde said with a stern nod. "Now, what kind of trouble are you bringing to my guild this time?"

Amaryllis sniffed. "Please, while we happened to deliver some bad news a few times, the delivery of said news was a boon to you and the guild."

Mathilde smiled a froggy smile. "I suppose so. Are you looking for a mission, then?"

"We are," Amaryllis said. "Ah, and I wish to deliver this, as well. It's a report on the condition of the dungeon we visited with our VIP."

"VIB," I corrected. The B was for Bun or Booksie, either way worked. Oh! Maybe VIF? For Friend!

"Only a little," I said.

"In any case, the first is a cavern that needs inspecting, and the second it an Exploration Guild member who needs to be found. They were supposed to report back in some time ago and failed to do so, Mathilde is worried."

I smiled. "A rescue mission, then!" I said. I did recall seeing a sketch in the file of an older grenoil man.

"Something like that," Amaryllis said. "Once I have a copy of the file, and the attention of the others, I'll go over it in more details. We won't be needing the Beaver for this one. It's not that far."

"We could use the Redemption. It's been a while since we took it out."

She considered it, then shrugged. "We'll see."

The secretary took a minute or two to copy the file over. She worked with both hands at the same time, copying two pages at once, drawings and all, with what had to be a skill. That, or she was very, very talented. Soon enough, the mission book was updated, a copy was stored in a file folder behind her, the original was set aside in an OUT box, and a fresh copy was placed on the counter for us. "Here you go, dearies. Be safe now! Find something spectacular!"

I giggled. "We will! And we'll try!" I said.

"Which answer was for which prompt?" Amaryllis asked.

"Hmm, both to both, maybe?" I said with a laugh as I skipped back to the others. "We have a job!" I cheered.

"Ah, we do?" Awen asked. "What's the mission?"

"Inspecting some cave and finding a lost explorer," I said.

"And mapping the cave out within reason," Amaryllis said as she read the page. She frowned. "We might want to pick up a book on geology. A field-guide, at least. We're not prospectors, but we might as well take a reference."

"Are you hoping to find silver and gold?" Desiree asked.

"Not in this mountain chain, I don't think," Amaryllis said. "I just want to have a detailed report at the end."

I nodded. "She wants a good grade in Explorer 101."

"There's no such thing," Amaryllis said.

"Anyway, it'll be fun! A bit of camping, some trekking through the Darkwoods, and then back to Port Royal!"

"The Darkwoods... the very dangerous ones that are known for being dark and dangerous?" Calamity asked. "Because I'm in. That sounds like a blast!"

Next to him, both Awen and Desiree shared a look. Neither seemed quite as enthused.

***