Chapter Seven:

In the large hall in Crossroads, the adventuring band known as The Seekers had just been formed. There was myself; Cereld, a noble Priest of Heironeous; the elves Finrod and Dalliance; Flint the dwarf and the silent mage Moorland. We were six in number, but the Seekers were not done growing just yet.

A human male in a shiny suit of plate mail walked up to the group, a large shield in one hand and a great helm under his free arm. It must have taken days to get his armor that clean! The shield was painted with something I couldn't quite make out at first. When I did get a good look at it, I saw that it was a dark feathered creature of some kind sitting on a background of silver and blue. His over-shirt had the same artwork on it.

He was taller than I was and seemed to be a warrior much like myself. His brown hair was cut short, military style, but he had a mustache which adorned his handsome face. The newcomer was muscular and you could sense the power he possessed when he moved.

"Greetings," the armored man said in an easy voice. "My name is Lord Validar VanArkus, son of Relon VanArkus, the Baron of Pyris. I wish to offer the service of my good right arm in exchange for your company and the glory and honor of battle."

"The Baron's father was active in the glorious battles with Keln, and I wish to follow in my family's footsteps. There may be no more open war, but adventure aplenty awaits. My sword arm is aching for battle and glory. I suggest we organize ourselves as soon as possible and depart."

"Welcome to the Seekers, Val," Cereld said in greeting. "May I call you Val?"

"My name is Validar VanArkus," the noble warrior insisted. "I prefer to be called Validar, thank you."

"I'll join too," another new voice spoke up. This time it was a tall human female, not as tall as me, but taller than Cereld. She had auburn hair and emerald green eyes. There were two odd looking swords strapped to her back. I had never seen anything like them before. I later learned that they were called scimitars. She also carried a longbow and had a dagger in a sheath on her belt. The woman wore chain mail, much like me, and much like mine it wasn't clean and shiny.

"Pardon my manners," the woman continued. "The name is Arafel Silverhilt. Pleased to meet you."

"Hello, Validar and Arafel," I said, and there was another round of greetings as we got to know each other. Looks like Lyra was right: I was going to be meeting new friends!

Before I could fully realize what was going on another adventurer came up to the group. It was a man in leather armor who carried a quarterstaff in his hand. He had a dagger and a longsword on his belt and a longbow and quiver of arrows on his back. He was just a little smaller than me, but was well built with wild, dirty blond hair.

He was handsome in his own way, but not as handsome as Validar. The stranger wore a hood that looked like it was made out the skin of some striped and furry beast. But most unusual were his eyes. One was blue and the other was green!

The stranger smiled and bowed before us in greeting, while tugging on a lock of his hair. "Pardon," he said, "but I have heard that you were going adventuring. If I be not late, and if you have room, I would like to join you. I am new to this, but I'm a fine fletcher, and I can fight. I hope you'll have me. People call me Ti-Cat, and my claws and fangs are yours, if you'll have me." As if surprised by his own long-windedness, Ti-Cat halts, smiling a bit uncertainly.

"Plenty of room for all, Ti-Cat," Cereld boomed. The priest looked around for a moment as if seeing if any others were going to join our rapidly growing band. None were spotted and once all the introductions were finished, the priest spoke once more.

"Alright Seekers, time to get organized. Let's get what supplies we need to go make the trip to Gateway. I suggest that we figure out what we have and pool our resources to pick up what we need. I don't want the group to have four lanterns and no oil." I thought that to be very wise of Cereld. Such a think would have never occurred to me.

"In the meantime," Cereld continued, "I am going to talk to Captain Shea and find out more about the deal, and if it is good, I'll sign us up. Miss Stephanie, would you join me? A lovely face sometimes has the effect of swaying a deal in your favor if needed."

"Me?" I croaked out in surprise. Did he really think I had a lovely face? Dalliance was much better looking than me, but whatever. "Sure, I guess."

"Validar, your presence is requested as well, since you are the son of a Baron. I am sure that you have experience in things such as this. Let's say everyone meet back here in a few hours. Then we will talk about what we are going to do next. Is that agreeable to all?"

Everyone was in agreement and we separated to go on our tasks. Validar, Cereld and I made our way to Captain Shea's office. Other would-be adventuring groups were already there, so we had to sit and wait for a spell.

"I passed through Pyris on my way here," I said to Validar as we waited. "It was a very nice place. You have much to be proud of."

"Thank you, most kindly, miss," Validar responded. "I hope our hospitality was to your liking?"

"Yes, I had a most pleasant stay at the Green Forest Inn," I answered. "It was the nicest place I stayed at until I reached Crossroads. Pyris seemed like a nice and safe place."

After a short wait, we were shown into Captain Shea's office. Before we could speak, the Captain looked up, saw Validar and smiled. "Well, look who we have here!" Captain Shea said, as he rose to shake the hand of our companion. "Good to see you again, Squire VanArkus."

"It's just Lord VanArkus now," the armored warrior explained. "I've completed my apprenticeship with Sir Alon as well as my military duties and simply am on my own once more. I have joined forces with these other adventurers to seek glory and battle in the Frontier Lands. Cereld," he said indicating the man, "a priest of Heironeous, is our speaker."

After introductions were made, we all sat down around a large table. A map was on the table. I guessed it showed this immediate area, but couldn't really be sure. Cereld asked several questions, making sure that he fully understood what the Crown was offering. Validar added a few questions of his own, while I remained silently seated.

"I believe that you have the gist of the offer, gentlemen," Captain Shea said. "You will be given free lodging, food and training in return for your services. The Crown will assign you one mission during the summer. Otherwise you are free to do as you will. The Crown will pay for any information that you learn during your travels. An expense account will be set up for you on your arrival at Gateway. A total of 100 pieces of gold per party member will be deposited into the account. Use it for supplies and other goods."

"Everything seems satisfactory," Cereld said with his usual wide smile. "Sign the Seekers up!"

After the paperwork was completed, Captain Shea said, "You'll have to travel to Gateway to begin your adventures. I'll provide you with the proper papers so that you can get started. You can contact General Logan Rowen at Gateway to see if he has a mission for you or you can check the memo boards for assignments. And your expense account is only good in the City of Gateway."

"The General is a family friend, Captain," Validar added. "I look forward to meeting up with General Logan Rowen again. He is one of the great heroes of Cynalon. His youngest son, Corley, is a personal friend of mine."

"Also," the Captain continues, "I have learned that a Druid wishes to join an adventuring party. However, he has a great dislike of cities. If you are looking for another member, I'm sure that he would throw in with your company of Seekers."

The meeting over, we shook the Captain's hand and departed his office. We slowly made our way back to where we were going to meet the other Seekers. Validar and Cereld talked about what to expect at Gateway, as Validar had been there before. I mostly remained quiet as I had nothing to really add to the conversation.

Eventually, everyone was back together again and Cereld spoke. "It's all taken care of. We're registered with the Crown and will be departing for Gateway in the morning. In the meantime, I am feeling a bit famished. How about we retire to an Inn for a good meal. It'll give us a chance to relax, get to know each other, and plan for the future."

Everyone agreed and I had to admit that I was feeling a bit hungry myself.