It is morning in the town of Yecester. The town is made of mostly brick houses with some wooden cottages in between. The city has remnants of a city wall, but it was captured long ago by the Arcana empire. Despite most of its neighboring cities being annihilated, it is relatively thriving. The city consists of several areas, and its economy is built on farming first and foremost, but fishermen do exist as there's nearby lakes.

  They've been waiting several days now, but many more weeks are ahead. The caravan will pass through this place, but they have nothing to do.

  First they look for a place to stay. As they are planning to stay for a long time, Alina insists they rent a small house as their base of operations. The luxuries are a necessity, plus it’s cheaper than staying in a hostel at that point.

  Amaru, Achran and Hiero decide to head to the local adventurers guild to look for a quest to kill the time.

  They look over at the quest board. Lots of posters are splattered on there with varying rewards and difficulties. There's a small group of adventurers present as well. Some archers, a wizard, and a much greater amount of dagger wielding would-be assassins.

  Kill a slime infestation. Help a farmer retrieve his lost tools. Boring, none of this looks interesting, Achran says.

  What about this one, a missing child. Russom is the name. About 12 years old. Amaru says.

  I don't do missing children's cases, Achran scuffs at them.

  Most of the time they run away voluntarily. And the pay is often low.

  It shouldn't be about the pay, you get to reunite a family with their lost child, that's a reward in and of itself, Hiero says valiantly.

  Amaru removes the poster. He starts reading further. Last seen in the southern farms of Yecester, one week ago. Enjoys fishing and going on adventures. Reward: 1000 gold.

  Wow, this kid must be from a noble family, Amaru says.

  I prefer to do another bounty hunting job. We're not going to find a kid, even if the reward is good, Achran says.

  We should do this, these people need our help the most, Hiero says.

  After some convincing they decide to head to the south of Yecester and interview the local farmers.

  Seen a child here recently? About 1 and a half lengths long, brown short hair, name of Russom.

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  Amaru asks them.

  Yeah I know Russom alright, he says. Used to come and help here with the slime infestations, says it provided him valuable combat experience. Wouldn't surprise me if he ran away to go on an adventure.

  An adventure? But he's so young, he would be in great danger easily, Hiero says.

  See I told you guys, another run away, case closed. He could be literally anywhere.

  They ask around but none of the other farmers are able to provide any more recent information on Russom.

  Perhaps we should ask his family, after all, they know him best.

  They decide to head to the west of Yecester. The area is clearly for those who are better off. The houses are big, with large yards and multiple stories. The stones of the buildings are all beautifully decorated as well.

  They look over. Then they find the house belonging to the family of Russom.

  They knock on the door. A distraught crying lady opens the door.

  OH dear, are you here to find my son, Russom? She says as she wipes away her tears.

  I told him so many times not to go adventuring on his own, but he just kept doing it. And now he's gone! She weeps.

  Rest assured lady, we will find your son, Hiero says.

  Do you have any idea where he might have gone? Amaru asks her.

  I don't know, he was always trying to gain more experience or looking for interesting rewards. You should probably check the adventurers guild, perhaps they have seen him.

  They head to the adventurers guild. They interview the first man they see, a wizard, he's older and has a grey beard. They can tell from his blue robes with runic magics that he practices aqua magics.

  Seen a kid by the name of Russom around here?

  I'm not from here I'm afraid, I have no idea who you're talking about, the wizard responds.

  Alright, let's try someone else.

  They head to the adventurers guild front desk, a tall lady in knightly gear lacking a helmet answers to them.

  Russom? she says. I know about him. He used to go on lower level quests, against the wishes of his parents. He'd usually return the very next day for another quest. Perhaps he went on a different mission, one that is too difficult for him.

  We should check the quest board, see if there's anything a child like him would go for.

  They look around the quest board once more.

  What about this one, Amaru says.

  Kill a giant slime haunting the temple ruins. Reward: gilded thunder enchanted sword.

  A reward like that is sure to attract the attention of a novice adventurer, such a sword would greatly benefit them, Amaru says.

  Look at this, Achran says. One of the posters has been torn off, so someone took on this quest already.

  Such aquest is far too advanced for a 12 year old. Those adult slimes can be quite a challenge even for a more experienced fighter, their defenses are quite high.

  There's a map on here as well. The temple ruins are just north of Yecester. About a day's travel from here. Let's stock up on supplies and inform the others then we can go.

  Do we really have to do this? We can still go for another quest right now, Achran reminds them.

  It is our duty, Hiero says.