Euele stepped in from the cold, stomping her hooves on the welcome mat and shaking most of the moisture from their body as she entered the crowded hall. As usual, it was immediately far louder than it had been outside, even more so now as so many had ducked into the guild to avoid the near freezing drizzle that was falling from the heavens. 

A year ago almost to the day they would have stated that there was no way on earth that they would duck between those sweat stained doors in search of a specific adventurer, but here they were now. Euele let out a sigh and closed her eyes briefly recalling the letter she had received two months ago. At the time, she hadn't any interest in following the mysterious note back to its owner, but here she was now tracking it to its very source. 

Acherna shifted uncomfortably on the dungeon courser's shoulder as she stepped up to the large cork board pinned to the wall with three giant nails. It was fairly well plastered with ads for teams of adventurers, mercenaries, exotic pet sellers, you name it, it was probably up there. She turned her head to settle the pygmy drake, nuzzling it softly. "Be still, my star. I know you like crowds as well as I do, but we will be leaving soon enough." Her attention swiftly returned to the bored, her strangely metallic silver eyes flicking high and low before eventually staking the notice with her icy gaze. Aha. There it was. The same writing as the letter she had gotten, with the same overly glorious golden mark, presumably the mark of the one who had commissioned the writing in the first place.

'Mage for Hire.' The first line read. The second was smeared and drippy, completely unintelligible except for the word 'excellent' in all caps. 

Exactly who they were looking for. Now then-- they stared around the room trying to find a courser who fit the character of the ad and the letter. She knew exactly the type she was looking for, but that didn't really make it any easier to point them out in the sea of colorful faces clumped throughout the room. "I swear, I would have an easier time hunting down a cryptid..." She muttered half under her breath, eyes narrowing as she surveyed the crowd.

She had been following this bastard for the last few months and was expecting this to end up like all those other times she had thought she was right on his tail. He'd always been two steps ahead, just out of reach, but always, always leaving chaos in his wake. In one town, he'd split up the mayor from their spouse and caused a scandal, in another he'd somehow gotten banned for life from the local adventurer's guild and burned the building down. And yet, no one in all those places had found an ounce of hatred towards the fellow. If she didn't know any better, she would think he was casting spells on all of them to make them like him. But then again, who was she to talk? 

That fellow had come along to her family's farm, ruined a whole crop field, and left the town in shambles, and she was still looking for him for reasons other than revenge.

Euele took a deep breath and let it out slow.

They could kick his ass later, they just needed to actually find him first.

He had to be here. There was no where left for him to have gone or been. And yet, even though she knew for a fact he had been here, or maybe even was still in the building, she couldn't seem to find him. Ah but she had come prepared this time. Or rather, the months of tracking him had given her plenty of time to help her pygmy drake hone its tracking abilities. Yes they were mostly renowned for their abilities to sniff out valuable plants and roots but Acherna had been taught to find things other than plants pretty much since the day she hatched. And now this would be her final test.

"Acherna!" The small, pale, greenish creature immediately perked up, letting out a thrilled trill as Euele called for her attention. Whistling through her teeth, Euele watched as the drake immediately got to work, fluttering over to the sheet of paper on the wall and sniffing it very intensely. She was desperately hoping that his scent was still on it, and that this wouldn't end up in a wild goose chase which lead back to the writer and not back to whoever was pinning up the notes in the first place.

She tried not to think about it as her faithful drake companion alighted on the floor and started snuffling at the floorboards, the small creature letting out excited chirps as it swarmed away after the smell. Acherna only hesitated for a moment, staring up at the variable wall of coursers that filled the tavern part of the guild with a hint of fear before diving in with every intent to track down the scent. Euele watched for a moment before setting into the crowd to follow her pet, her tall ears easily managing to keep track of the excited chirps and trills as Acherna tracked her quarry. Regardless of how easy it was to hear her small companion, it was much harder to actually follow. The crowd was thick and swelled and ebbed like waves on a shore, never quite stilling long enough for her to get more than five feet before having to stop and start shoving and apologizing again.

Eventually she reached the far side of the crowd, almost stumbling as she broke through the final stragglers as the area nearest the far wall opened up, far fewer coursers lingering in the shadows than in the middle of the room. Taking a deep breath, Euele shook her mane and turned her gaze to try and catch sight of Acherna. It took her but a moment, the light coloured drake standing out like a star in the dark of the back corner of this place. "Aha! I've finally-" 

"You've finally made it!" Euele was immediately taken aback as the purple courser stood and greeted her, practically oozing charisma as he cut her off. "It took you long enough. You know there were several times I thought you were going to catch me earlier than I intended but, alas!" He let out a loud string of laughter. "Everything has come to fruition exactly as I wished it." He lay back down in the pile of cushions, gesturing to the table with his muzzle, his skin flashing like gold as he moved. "Come, sit, relax, I'm sure you need a moment after all your running around. And I am very certain you would like an explanation from me about this whole... mess? Right? Of course I'm right."

Had Euele been a cat she would've been bristling, puffed up to twice her size and glowering with uncertainty. As it was, the hostility in her expression practically burned, the fury seething in the icy pits of her silver gaze. "I very much should like an explanation." She started, stomping her hind hoof. "And some recompensation! My family nearly starved because of you! You're so lucky I wasn't there at the time or I would have you thrown in jail for what-" 

"Oh yes I am sure you would've, dear." His tone was like cream and honey, soothing at first but brimming with enough spice that it made her want to lash out even more. "Mushroom skewer? I've heard they're all the rage in some parts of the dungeon." He pushed a plate towards her with his hoof, looking at her expectantly. "If you would please just join me, I would be happy to explain why all those things occurred." He pointed a mushroom-less skewer her way. "But until you are willing to relax, I shall continue to enjoy my dungeon delights and my cider in peace and quiet. Wouldn't want to be kicked out for stirring up trouble, would we?" His voice practically shimmered with smug satisfaction as he watched her stumble for words.

Euele huffed and flopped down, shoving the table a few inches as she lay in the pile of pillows, her feet tucked neatly under her, much like a cat loaf. Jonas stared sadly at the cider trough, watching it slosh at the abrupt movement of the table. She couldn't help but feel a slight bit of joy at his disappointment. "Fine. I'll give you the time of day. Just tell me why you lead me here. I am tired and irritable though, so please be succinct."

"I have never. Ever. In all my life, been succinct." He clarified. "Oh but I suppose I have been a bit rude. Not having introduced myself at all. Though, now that I think about it, you've also been quite rude. Storming up, nay, hunting me down with your little dragon and demanding I explain myself." He tossed his head back in mock agony. "I cannot believe it."

Euele gritted her teeth. "Fine. My name is Euele. My drake's name is Acherna. Now you know who I am. But who are you?" The smug bastard practically radiated the area with false sincerity as she spoke.

"Me? Oh, people tend to call me Jonas."

"TEND to call you?? I take it that isn't your name then?"

He grinned, well, as much as a horse can grin. "I suppose that's something you'll have to find out, now won't you? Hmm?"

"You, sir, are talking in circles. Can you please, please, just tell me what it is you dragged me here for? Why you've been leaving notes and clues trailing after yourself?" If she didn't get her answers soon, she was liable to just up and leave. Luckily for her, this Jonas fellow seemed to know exactly that.

"Well you see. I would like to put together a little group to go dungeon diving with. However, I didn't want to just find anyone. I wanted, no, needed a carefully curated team of adventurers to take with me. Someone like you. You're curious, and rather intelligent. You don't let minor inconveniences stop you, and I think that's been well proven by your attempts to stalk me." He paused to eat another mushroom, then cleared his throat. "So, how would you like to join me on a little dungeon diving trip?"

She blinked. All this, because he wanted to go dungeon diving with her. "You could have just asked!? Like a normal person!?" 

"Oh but I'm not!"

"What?"

"A normal person!"

How wonderfully delightful. He was full of himself. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Alright then. You do realize that just two of us doesn't really make a carefully curated team." She mimicked the way he had said those words ears twitching backward as she spoke. "And I hate to say it but you don't really look cut out for the dungeons. We'll need someone with strenght to get through them and neither of us really fit that description."

He raised one hoof and waved it nonchalantly. "Oh its fine. I'm well aware of that. That's why I spoke to them." He gesture with great gusto towards a horse standing a few feet away, staring with huge brown eyes at the two of them. Or maybe more specifically her? "This is Hawkes. They will be the brawn of this operation. I will be the one with all the cunning, and you will be the one to help us both get out of any trouble we may fall into." 

Euele was too distracted by Hawkes to really be listening to Jonas' nonsense for the moment. She'd definitely heard the name before, and they looked faintly familiar? Suddenly it hit her, like a knock on the back of her head. "Oh! I've met you before. You're the one Terrence didn't want to save from the lava. Aren't you?" She let out a small laugh when the stranger, or rather, familiar stranger, deflated a bit. "Oh no need to worry, I'm sure you've learned your lesson. If this Jonas figure is interested in you then you must've made a turn around that makes you quite the figure!" 

"Well... I haven't actually been down there since the incident, but I have the certification to go down further now and I said I'd go down for free..." Hawkes said quietly, staring past Euele and over to Jonas with a questioning glare. "You didn't just hire me because I said I'd go down there for free, did you?"

"Well... no, but yes, it is true. I did just hire you because you said you'd go down for free." Jonas retorted with a nod. 

Euele let out a stifled squeal of disgust. "So it's not actually a carefully curated crew and I am the only one between the two of us who suffered through trailing you for months on end??" Both Jonas and Hawkes noded slowly, almost in sync with each other. She let her head thunk back against the wall, Acherna let out worried trills and flew to land on her face, trying to make sure she was okay. She stayed staring up at the ceiling for a solid four or five minutes, oblivious to the concerned jabbering between Jonas and Hawkes who were now both standing nearby attempting to fan her with their hooves most unsuccessfully. 

Eventually, Jonas poked her with his hoof forcing her to focus. "I have decided to pay for a couple rooms here for you all to stay in. We can talk more tomorrow but I get the feeling that you're needing quite a bit of rest before that can happen." He spoke softly, kindly almost, making her want to grumble and wave him away. But he did almost seem sincere, melting her resolution to ignore whatever plans he had and causing her to simply listen and follow him up to the counter to pay for a room before she ended up just passing out in a bed of the softest hay.

Tomorrow would be a new and hopefully far less frustrating, day. She couldn't say she was looking forwards to it, but who knew, maybe this would lead to the adventure of a lifetime and be something she wouldn't regret. But that was for a different, older Euele to discover. For now, rest was all she needed and all she could really think about as she floated away on an edible cloud into dreams of the unknown.