…In the following days, the rains receded for a time. As a Company, you went to the Green Streets carrying Guide's body, finally returning her to her people. The A'Dendri very much appreciated the gesture and a somber funeral was held amid the leaves and petals of her kin. After that, a brief respite ensued, giving you a chance to attend to your duties of mending armor and honing blades in relative comfort. That was until the raven came with the red ring.

The raven had delivered a bloodied parchment. It contained a petition for aid from a beleaguered village, claiming they were under attack. Such an occurrence was not, in itself, strange. Free Companies often found themselves contracted to protect villages from the predations of the Deepwood and were paid handsomely for doing so. This was different, though. This petition mentioned your Free Company by name.

You had never traveled to the village before, yet they called for you. It hardly mattered. Denial was not an option. The red band around the raven's foot meant the contract was not to be refused. Someone at the Raven Spire wanted that village protected.

Realizing the danger, you had made sure to prepare well before setting out.