–Within the city of Kross, a woman walks the bustling streets
Merissa—
“Up ahead is the order..Same as ever.”
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
-Within an upper level commodity, the Karametra inn, one of its many penthouses currently serves as a place to stay for two partners in their line of work.
Kasidra- ” You’re awfully lax considering we haven’t taken a new job in the past week”
—Within the room, Kasidra stares at Naya, who is sitting on a couch. The crimson haired elf is staring off into space, as a cigarette hangs from her mouth
Naya- “That’s what we have savings for.”
Kasidra— ” You’re missing the point!!!”
” Savings are meant for emergencies, such as a drought in work or a medical emergency, or anything other than just not wanting to go take on clientele.”
Naya- “…
Kasidra- “I know we have a decent amount saved up, but you never know what will happen next out here.”
“The war between Lancaster and Elmwood already goes on without end, but who’s to say that all of that won’t spill over to here and other countries tomorrow?”
” We need to make as much as we can, to secure a fund that will let us fully relocate if the need arises”
-Naya finally stands up, making her way towards the door
Kasidra- “Did I finally get through to her?”
-The elf flicks the remaining cig into a near receptacle
Naya-
“…Smoking isn’t gonna be my thing.”
“I’m gonna take a walk.”
Kasidra- 
Kasidra- ” Whatever. Come back with a job!!!”
—————————————————
—Within the streets of Kross, there’s the faint sound of music upon a street corner
-(Scars of Time – Yasunori Mitsuda)
— An ensemble of musicians have clamored together, with one performer quickly becoming the crowd favorite.
Her assistance with both woodwind and the spattering of percussion upon her hip, intermixed with her ceaseless dancing, was much like watching a fire blaze. Consuming all possible air within the room, yet remaining so convincing of its need to persist.
It was like watching the burgeoning of an esoteric passion.
-Upon the song and dance’s finish, spectators let out a moderate applause
Ester- ” Thank you all, thank you!!!
“
“While many of us go our separate ways, there is no doubt in my heart that we will all meet again in due time.”
“May you leave with this respite and a renewed spirit!!!”
-As Ester shakes the hands of some of the other performers,
Iriata- “Let’s get going.”
Ester- ” What!? But the others were talking about meeting in Weriand for another collab!”
Iriata- ” There’s always 5 bards at any given tavern wanting to work with a chatty tiefling with dance moves.”
“We need to get moving before the weirdos come out.”
Ester- 
Iriata- 
-Ester leaves the people she was talking to, doing a leap onto Iriata’s arm
Ester- “That’s the closest thing to a compliment you’ve ever given me!!!”
“Are you finally starting to soften up?”
Iriata- “…
” 5 gold pieces.”
Ester- ” Hm?”
Iriata-
” We needed 5 gold pieces to get a room at that inn.”
“Doing the collab caused our takeaway profits to only amount to a few silvers and a handful of copper pieces.”
Ester- 
” Let’s just room with one of our new friends!!”
Iriata— ” I’ll pass.”
Ester— ” But why!?”
Iriata- “You already know.”
Ester- 
Iriata- “…
“Look. Let’s go check the job postings.”
“You can pick a job for us to take. We’ll do something that puts us on the road.”
Ester- 
—The tiefling pecks Iriata with a smooch on the cheek, with the eyes of a few guys growing to the size of sauce plates.
Iriata has no reaction, save for closed eyes and a furrowed brow
Ester— ” Let’s go~!!!”
Iriata— ” Good grief..”
-Within the visitor’s hall of the order of Kross, The two women approach the job board , browsing various quests
Iriata—
” We’re not doing anything involving goblins by the way, so don’t bother reading that one.”
Ester— ” Aw….Well what about this one?”
“Says someone wants security detail for a voyage to an island. That sounds fun!”
Iriata- ” That’s a no-go.”
Ester- ” Ugh, what DO you like besides, besides, what you even like!?”
Iriata-
” ….
“Ester.”
Ester— ???
Iriata- ” What’s up with that woman over there?”
Ester-
“Hm? Oh, the one with the blue hair? It’s almost shimmering…”
Iriata-
” Seems down on her luck.”
“Let’s see what she needs.”
-Sitting in a pew built in the visitor lounge, Merissa stares off, twirling a strand of hair, a tick of irritation
Merissa-
“Slovenly surface idiots.”
“If they’re not willing to give us a chapter of paladin’s to handle such a venture, what was the point of even coming here?”
“I could try checking with another place, perhaps the order of Olessa..”
Ester- ” Excuse us ma’am!”
Merissa- ?
Iriata- “You looking to hire someone?”
Merissa— ” Well, yes, I am actually.”
” I need a group to come with me to investigate a certain matter outside of Kross”
Ester-
” Count us in!!”
Iriata- ” Ester.”
Ester- 
Iriata—
” Before we agree to anything, we’d like to know what exactly you’re watning to do out here.”
Merissa-
“That is reasonable. I’ll be frank then.”
“I don’t know exactly.”
Iriata- ” Excuse me?”
Merissa- ” I am not of the surface world, you can tell by my personal effects,”
Ester-” A sea elf!? This is my first time meeting one in person like this! You guys really are as beautiful as-“
-She’s given a light rap on the forehead
Ester-
Iriata- ” Sorry, go on.”
Merissa— ” I arrived here in an official capacity concerning the emergence of something…strange.”
Iriata- ” Something strange?”
Merissa- ” I specifically work within the environmental observation sector.”
” In the past few days, we’ve witnessed the intrusion of some form of pollutant, or moreso…corruption, spreading within our waters.”
Iriata- “…Go on.”
Merissa- ” Alien fauna have started appearing. Some of it has never been seen before, while in other cases…It seems like mutations of our native creatures are becoming more prevalent.”
Ester- ” Mutations?”
Iriata- ” When something has been changed from it’s intended nature.”
“Just like..”
Merissa- ” We’ve pinpointed the origin of the abnormality. It’s all stemming from…well, we’re not sure yet, but, it seems to be a sort of “Domain” “
Iriata- ” Define “Domain” “
Merissa- “Deducing where the source is, it goes upstream of Clearthorn forest, whereupon eventually, all reports have described an imperceptible barrier in a 50 square mile”
“So far, anyone who’s reached this impenetrable barrier of 50 fifty square miles says the same thing.Anyone who has entered, has yet to return.”
Naya- ” I’m in.”
Ester- “&@#$!!!”
Iriata- ?
Merissa- ?
“Who are you?”
Naya- “…I have a partner who will join me.”
“When do you need us to depart?”
Merissa- 
” Well..I suppose three days from now would be good.”
“I need to check on correspondence with two of my colleagues. They were also venturing out to see if they could raise any members for this endeavor”
Naya- ” You have a room for the night?”
Merissa- ” I haven’t had that set up yet, no , why?”
-Naya turns, walking off
Naya- ” You can come crash with us.”
– “Well, thank you. Guess.. I’ll come with?”
-The pair leave order’s lounge space, leaving Iriata and Ester dumbfounded
Iriata- “…What the hell just happened?”
” Ester?”
Ester- ” She’s so cool~ 
“
” We HAVE to join in on this job, there’s no way something amazing won’t happen!”
Iriata- “What do you think is going to happen?”
Ester- 
Iriata- “Let’s go. We still need to find a place to stay until the job starts”
Naya- ” You both can come too.”
Ester- 
-Iriata catches a comatose Ester
Iriata- ” She’s pretty good at that. When did she come back inside, or get right behind us?”
“ Either way, she’s clearly an elf, so par for the course”
” Thank you for the offer. Ester stop playing around, let’s move.”
Ester- 
” Right away…!!!”
Celestial Saga 
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