Vark’s scales were bristling. Mostly it was from the cold, but he suspected that it was also partly because of the non-stop chatter from the human walking behind him.

“Trust me, up North, they have the most problems. Because most people don’t live up here, when they do have a problem, who’s there to solve it? No one, I tell you, everyone who’s any good at anything is in the big cities, down south, so we’ll get loads of work up here, trust me.”

He hadn’t stopped. Ever since they had become travelling companions, Quinn’s mouth had rarely stopped.

“Have you been up here before?”

“Personally, no. But, I talked to a guy, who’s got a cousin, who knows some people up here. Trust me, I know that they have problems up here, and we’ll be the ones to fix it.”

The settlement was very much smaller than the ones in the south that Vark was used to, and the air was much greyer he thought. North certainly was different.

Quinn was already going ahead into the village, looking left and right as Vark stood back to appreciate the sight and new smells. Heavily in the air was fresh wood, pine in particular, although looking in the distance at the large forest, that’s wasn’t a surprise.

“Ah ha!”

Quinn’s triumphant noise rang through to him, and he trudge up to the man, shifting his axe on his back. In his hand he was holding a poster, torn at the top from where he had removed it from the outside of a building that was probably the tavern.

“Here we go?”

“What is it?”

“An advertisment, want me to read it to you?”

“I could read it just fine if you would stop shaking it,” Vark snagged the edge of the paper with his claw and quickly scanned the document, “Cultist?”

“I told you there would be problems. This is exactly the sort of thing we can use to build our reputation.”

“And solve the problem which is evidentally bothering these people.”

“Well duh, that too. Come on, it says to talk to the town warden. What’s the betting it’s not a warden, but just a person with a badge? I think-” he was still talking as he walked into the tavern, paper flapping in his hand.

Vark took in another breath, catching something…unfamiliar in the air. He turned his muzzle up to the sky, a bird was lazily circling above the forest, and clouds were gently rolling about. Nothing out of the ordinary. He turned back to the door and followed the ever present sound of Quinn’s voice.