As the sun was setting, casting a ruby amber glow across the room. The party surveyed the bustling common room, their gazes flitting from face to face, searching for the elusive Grimble. As they strategized, a lanky and tall ragged figure emerged from the shadows near the fireplace. His clothes were a patchwork of mismatched leathers and faded fabrics, and his beard, a tangled amber mess that rivaled Rory's. He shuffled towards them, his boots whispering against the rough wooden floor. The closer he got the party could see his ethereal looking eyes.

The newcomer cleared his throat, his voice. "Excuse me, travelers," he rasped, his eyes flickering nervously between the companions. "Sven said you needed my help?" He used his thumb to point back over his shoulder at the barkeep. “Said you were looking for a place in the Jagged Hills.”

Lucian's posture stiffened. “You must be Grimble?” He cautiously leaned forward.

“Indeed.” The stranger said.

“We are looking for a place called Serpent's Maw.” Lucian stated. It’s in the Jagged hills I guess.”

“What can you tell us of its location, hunter man.” Rory mused. “We were hoping to set out right away in the morning.”

Grimble had a look of surprise on his face for just a split moment. Then he looked at the party. The ragged man leaned closer, his breath carrying the faint scent of wood smoke and cider. "Information can be… expensive," he said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "But I have the knowledge you seek. I can tell you where the peaks are and I can give you a little of an idea of what you can find there." The man pushed Lucian to the side at the booth and sat next to him. “Look, I have the map right here.” The man pulled out an old beat up scroll. Rance reached out to grab the scroll and like a flash the older haggard man stowed it away before rance could get a hand on it.

“I told you. Information has a cost. You help me and I can help you.” The man breathed.

“Okay. Well how do we know that you have reliable information? From what I know of the hills it’s not a place you can really go by yourself and come out alive.” Rance chided.

The older man reached into a pocket and flicked a small brass coin onto the table in front of everyone. “That’s how.”

Lucian reached out to pick up the small smooth coin. He noticed the coin felt much lighter than it looked and had a wolf's head carved into it. Lucian then looked over at Kainith. “I’m not sure why I thought this would mean anything to me. Kainith, have you ever seen one of these before?”

Kainith turned the coin over in his fingers while he studied it. “This boys is a symbol of The Pack.”

“The Pack?” Lucian asked.

This time Rory spoke up. “The Pack? No way!” A huge smile started to form on Rory’s face. “The Pack is a famed hunting group! They accept contracts and hunt as a pack to take down whatever they are assigned. They usually hunt beasts and creatures, but some break away from the credo and become mercenaries.”

This time it was Grimbles time to show surprise. “You know a lot about us. How?”

“Well I grew up in Bryonton where you guys are headquartered and I wanted to hunt with the pack so bad when I was growing up!” Rory gushed.

Rance leaned back in the seat. “Okay, I guess we can trust you. Rory is going to require us to help you anyways so get on with it. What do you want from us?”  

He paused, his gaze darting around the room before flickering back to the party. "There's a manor, haunted by restless spirits, north of Fallwind. A place shrouded in darkness, cursed by a vengeful lord. They say the key to breaking the curse is killing this lord. Anyways, the curse doesn’t matter to me. I was just contracted to kill the lord.”

“That sounds a lot like something you and The Pack wouldn’t need help with. What’s with the subcontract?” Rance questioned.

The hunter glanced around the party now. “Look, this is a fairly easy mission. I was actually sent alone. This is going to sound really dumb but…” Grimble now with a look of shame spreading on his face “I’m scared of ghosts and I can’t tell The Pack no because I’m scared.”

Rory cackled loudly, “You are scared of ghosts? You are part of one of the most powerful organizations in the world and you are scared of some little spirits?”

Kainith reaches across the table to grab one of Rory’s arms. “Rory go easy on him. You are scared of heights so we all have fears.”

Rory stopped laughing and said, “I’m sorry hunter man. I would love to help you exercise a few little ghosts. I just want one more thing in exchange.” 

Grimble glares at Rory, clearly annoyed, “ What do you want?”

Rory smiled back at him and took the coin from Kainith. “I want one of these!”

Grimble sighed. “You want to join The Pack? I mean I can’t do that unilaterally but I can refer you. Just please keep the ghost thing in between us.”

Rory reaches out to shake Grimbles hand. “You got a deal!”

The hunter’s face broke into a wide, toothy grin. Relief and perhaps something more gleamed in his eyes. "Excellent!" he exclaimed.

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows over the dusty town as the adventures sat around the table by themselves after Grimble left. 

Kainith looks around at the party “Well shall we get going? We still have a lot in front of us.”

As the party sets out towards the north of town a dusk painted sky with streaks of violet and orange catches Lucians eye. Rance notices that Lucian’s absentminded staring out at the horizon.

“Are you nervous about the contract Lucian?” Rance asked.

“What… Oh no I’m actually really excited to feel like we are making some progress. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I just saw you staring off and wanted to make sure your head was in it!” Rance smiled.

Lucian smiled at Rance. “Oh yeah I’m ready! I was just noticing the sky. Where I’m from it’s pretty much just red. Here in this world the sky can be so many colors.”

The air grew colder as they approached the looming manor, its silhouette stark against the dying light. Flanking the iron gates were two imposing statues, one of a winged devil and the other is an angel wearing full plate mail grasping a greatsword. Kainith walked to the gate and tried to pull it open but it wouldn’t budge.

“Well this seems problematic. We can't get in. Did Grimble give any of us a key or something?”

Lucian pointed upwards to an arch between the two statues. “Look, there is an inscription on that arch.” An inscription above them, barely visible in the fading light, sent shivers down Lucian's spine. "Only the bright shines here," it read.

“Let me try this.” Lucian, his horns gleaming faintly in the moonlight, stepped forward. Closing his eyes, he focused his magic, channeling a radiant light into his palm. A luminous sphere pulsed to life, bathing the inscription and the angel and devil statues in a warm glow. With a groan that echoed through the night, the rusty gate creaked open, revealing a path that snaked towards the imposing mansion, its tall wooden spires scraping the now night sky.

Rory smirked. “Now it's my turn!”

A surge of adrenaline coursed through Rory. He charged ahead, flinging open the creaking oak door almost ripping it off its hinges. The rest of the party, still from a significant distance away, watched the behemoth of a warrior disappear into a seeming pit. Even from a distance all the party heard was “God dammit!” The party rushed forward to find Rory sprawled at the bottom of a pit hidden beneath the faded welcome mat.