>>5924076You’re in the inn’s kitchen. The three of you are eating omelets that Masami made under Naoki’s strict instructions. They’re okay. You’re not a gourmand, so long as it’s edible.
Hotaru enters the kitchen, scanning the three of you with her eyes briefly before dramatically unfurling a scroll and placing it down on the table. “We have our first C-rank mission.”
Naoki figuratively teleports to her side to read it for himself, a radiating excitement coming off of him in palpable waves. Masami pokes at her omelet like she feels queasy.
Naoki coughs, clearing his throat. “We have been chosen to escort the Kumamoto caravan on its journey north to where it will come to a village near the Valley of the End, by our border with the Land of Sound. Our mission has dual purposes, to defend the caravan as ordered, and to use the exercise as an excuse to take a look into ‘the Lords of Fire’, a bandit group that’s taking root in the area and the reason the Kumamoto hired us in the first place. We are to escort the caravan to its destination, and upon arrival we are to destroy the Lords of Fire, or, failing that, return with sufficient information to aid in their destruction.”
“That last point was deliberately added for you youngsters.” Hotaru points out. “Normally, failure isn’t explicitly written in terms of your orders like that. That’s your mercy clause if you can’t handle it, but it wouldn’t exist if this weren’t your first.”
“Joy.” Masami says, unenthusiastically. “Akimitsu said his caravan was lingering in town for a while for a reason. I didn’t think it would be our problem.”
“It’s not just your problem. If a job is mediated for a month, that means it's part of some greater scheme beyond our knowledge. This mission may be straightforward, but the missions dependent on its success or failure may not be. Regardless, we leave the day after tomorrow. I trust you to bring what you need.”
>You’re going on your first legit mission. What do you bring, and what are you prepared for?>Anything you need to do before you go? 