Lady Madison and the others entered the local Quest Center. It was pack with foreigners, guild members, and freelancers looking for work. As someone who had never been to one, she was amazed by the number of cultures represented by the individuals. "I didn't know it would be like this. Look at everyone."
"The Quest Center is a good place to meet people," Shalista said.
"Yep," Cordelia said. "That's how Wendy and I met. We both accepted a quest to guard a cargo shipment from bandits. We've been best friends ever since."
"Interesting," Sophia said. "I may come here to get some friends one day. It's hard to met people your own age when you're an aristocrat and an assassin."
"Wait, you're rich?" Wendy asked.
"Being an Emporan tactician pays well," Sophia said. "Plus, my family invented the MagiTub. I'm the lone heiress to that fortune."
"The more you know, huh?" Wendy said.
"Why do you risk your life as an assassin if you've got that much going for you?" Cordelia asked.
"I wanted to build my own legacy," Sophia said. "I didn't just want to be some girl who waits for her parents to die to cash in. There was also the opportunity to work for Lady Madison. No way I was passing that up."
Shalista came back with a flyer. "I found a job for us. What do you guys think?"
Lady Madison took the flyer and looked it over. "Looks like someone wants us to kill the wolves that are killing his livestock. Not too dangerous for skilled warriors like us. He'll even give us food and shelter until the done is done. Sounds good to me. Everyone on board?"
"Killing wolves?" Lady Glinda asked. "I've been meaning to get some wolf meat for Lady Iocasta to cook up in a stew. Let's do it."
"Yes," Lady Iocasta said.
The others were in agreement.
Shalista nodded. "Okay. I just let the Quest Master know we're taking this quest and then we'll go."
Lady Madison watched Shalista walk to the counter, hand the flyer to a man behind the counter, and come back with a crystal. "A teleportation crystal, huh? He must really want this job done fast if he's providing one of those. Okay, join hands so we can get going."
They so and a warm glow came over them. Then, everything got blurry and when things their sight got normal again, they were standing in front of a house at the edge of a farm. "Well, we're here."
Sophia shook her head. "I think I'll be walking back when the job is done."
"It is trippy, isn't it?" Shalista asked.
Lady Madison walked up to the door and gave it a knock. A man in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper hair answered. "Hello, sir. We are here to accept your quest to kill wolves."
"I was hoping someone would come soon," he said, looking them all over. "I didn't expect a group of young cuties to show up. And to think that Lady Madison is among them. Talk about a bonus. Those wolves won't stand a chance."
After the pleasantries and greetings were done, he showed them to the place where they'd be staying until the job was done. It was a barn that he'd converted into a shelter for weary travelers. There were beds for ten, carpeted floors, and a dinner table and chairs. Each bed were separated from the dinner area by a black curtain. It was a far cry from Lady Madison's guest house, which had separate rooms for each bed, but there was some level of privacy. It looked like he put in a lot of work to make traveling groups of any size comfortable.
"Thanks for the shelter," Wendy said.
"I'll get dinner fixed for you gals," the man said. "The wolves attack at night, so you can rest up for a few hours and figure out a plan to destroy them."
"Can we walk around the premise?" Sophia asked. "Strategic purposes."
"Sure," he said. "Do whatever you have to do? I can't afford to lose anymore of my animals. If you think looking the farm over will help, give it a shot."
After surveying the area, the women all met back up in the guest house. "Okay," Lady Madison said, "What do we have. Anything useful?"
"I asked the man some questions," Wendy said. "He said the wolves come from the north. That's probably where we should strengthen our defenses there."
"There is a watchtower in the northwest corner of the premises," Sophia said. "Some one with good eyes can be a lookout."
The silence thereafter let Lady Madison know they were done. "Okay, here the plan. We keep watch until sunset. Once sunset arrives, we keep watch in pairs while the others rest up. If you see anything, come let us know. We switch every hour."
They eat dinner, then followed the plan. Sunset came with no sign of trouble. Shalista volunteered to stand watch, then slapped Sophia's butt and said, "I want to talk with you. Let's stand watch, Legs."
"Okay," Sophia said. "No more butt-slapping, though."
With that decided, Lady Madison and the others went to the guest house. She plopped down in a seat near the dinner table. The other sat there as well. "We don't have to be together. Feel free to go for a walk, take a nap, or whatever."
"And let a chance to get up close and personal with Lady Madison pass by?" Cordelia said. "I think not."
"What did you have in mind?"
"What else?" Wendy asked. "Swapping stories. I'm sure you have so many interesting stories to tell. Cordelia and I would be willing to share some of our own."
It was true that Lady Madison didn't know much about them. This would be a good opportunity to change that. "Okay, you first. What have you got?"
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