As Quintin and Vissitri stood on the precipice to PanQuil Caverns, a mining town built into the side of a cliff, something else was starting its journey far, far away from [Galjuran] territory.

A young woman angrily muttered, her footsteps scuffing into the dirt along her path, which sent rocks and other assorted debris flying through the air as she ascended the hillside before her. Memories of her present circumstances weighed down heavily upon her.

She was about to crest the hill when her foot sent one last rock off the ground. Only, it was no rock. It was a smooth and round, opaque gemstone — a fair-sized marble. It flew in an arc, and into some tall grass on the level hilltop. Shock defined her features as she watched it disappear from view and rubbed her eyes, wondering if she really saw what she saw.

She hastily ran to the spot where she thought it had landed, casting aside the grass and dirt in search of the clean white marble but came up empty with a loud, regret-fueled scream.

The marble rolled along, through a small tunnel dug down into the hilltop. Soon enough, a hand-sized beetle put its mighty pincers up to block the way forward. When the marble came to a halt, the beetle crawled over the top and began to push it further through the tunnels.

After some time, the beetle finally rolled the marble up and out of another hole. Nearby, a [Jawsection Snake] eyed the beetle as it scuttled, and lunged with fierce precision. The snake snatched up the beetle, but not before headbutting the marble across the hillside, down to the beginnings of a forest where it came to rest at the base of a tree.

A [Wing-Cheek Chipmunk] eyed it warily from a branch of the tree, before scrabbling down the trunk. Its spacious mouth engulfed the marble and deposited it amongst a mix of nuts and other objects. The Chipmunk continued on its way along the treetops when it spotted an acorn hidden within scattered leaves down on the forest floor. The small creature made its way, cautiously to the ground, and made staggering movements forward as it stopped to take a look around every so often.

After a few moments, the [Chipmunk] put the acorn in its pouch. Lightning struck with a sudden tug in its mouth, and the creature flew up into the air. Into the waiting talons of a [Fisher Hawk]. As the hawk flew the [Chipmunk] struggled, but eventually weakened and succumbed to slackness in its grip. The marble slowly parted its mouth and fell over a nearby city.

It came down, into and around a Golden Goblet, before being sent out, propelled up and through the air. The sound attracted eyes after a few seconds with no one noticing the bright marble as it seemed to flicker through the air — a discrepancy of the light.

A passing [Treasure Seeker] proclaimed in surprise, "Oh-ho-ho! This [Golden Chalice] is surely a supreme [Magical Treasure]!"

To which the stall owner, a [Discerning Merchant], was all too happy to upsell, "Indeed, my good man! what a fine and discerning eye on ya! 'Twas a find from the recently discovered Pojin Ruins of the North! I'd be happy to sell..."

The excitement continued to build as more and more people began to gather around the stall, all while the [Marble] softly landed inside the pocket of a crying girl in a nearby alleyway.

A soft voice, indiscernible as a whispering in the noise, escaped from the marble then. [What... Where am I?]

+***+

Quintin got in the small line of people seeking passage down the complex of walkways and platforms that made up the cliff-side method of entrance into PanQuil. A small guardhouse stood tall near the healthy flow of a river that went over the precipice, close to the walkway ramp that led downwards. Two guards were manning a crudely built, defensive perimeter wall and gate. It was more of a show than anything that would stop actual contestation.

He was looking downward as he got closer to the front and could now see the extent of how high up he was. The sheer verticality was enough to make Quintin's best guess at height a matter of miles rather than feet. Lone earthen monoliths, in the form of mini-mountains, poked up now and again from a patch-work forest of colors and heights. A river tributary spread forth like forked lightning throughout, and without end even with his vantage point. The precipice itself was just a drop in elevation on this level, as behemoth mountains created a barrier around the forest to the West, but opened entirely to the East.

Quintin gaped in awe as the guard said something with a nasally, bored voice, "Reason for coming, three copper pieces."

Having rehearsed a bit previously, and without a coin to his name, he absently produced a couple of wolf teeth as he said, "I'm just here to check-in at the [Adventurer's Guild]. Rest a bit. Maybe find some work."

The guard seemed used to all manner of odd payments and took the teeth in good humor. "Ah. An [Adventurer] is ya? I suppose that explains the teeth. Well, it's good to have you sort around to take care of the monsters n'all..." he trailed off, but soon spoke again, "Where's the rest of your team? Never known an [Adventurer] goes anywheres without his party."

Quintin was getting fed up with the twenty questions but didn't let it show. He stowed his complaint and spoke, "They went ahead without me. Wanted to hunt some more [Intruder Wolves]. Also wanted to know the new [Notice Board] pricing and any [Contracts] in the area of our hunt."

Vissitri had filled him in on some of the finer points. Apparently, he had had a lot of fun causing mischief in more than a few [Adventurer's Guilds].

The guard nodded his head twice. He looked Quintin up and down in a rehearsed manner before he waved him through to begin his descent. "Juss' stay out of trouble, and next time get some coin. Sick of you adventure-type pullin' god knows what outta yir pockets!"

Quintin nodded back to the guard and took his first footfall on the rampway. It was disorientating for him, but he soon noticed that his footing was a bit sticky, as if the boards had a coating of 'Velcro' attached to the surface, which made him sure-footed.

[Magically] enhanced boards and chains. Whoever set this operation up must've expected significant financial gains from the town.

He began to walk down the ramp slowly. When he neared the first platform, Vissitri poked his invisible head out of Quintin's [Battle-Robe] and mentally said, "You handled that [Guard] like a performance piece! our rehearsal was well worth the time."

Quintin rolled his eyes and spoke internally, "Yeah. If only you didn't have a habit of rehearsal while I was in the middle of combat."

Vissitri retorted, "It's not my fault you're a terrible liar! I felt the best time was when the stakes were higher. That way, you'd remember better."

Quintin took it in good humor and sighed. He knew he was a terrible liar. "Right, I am a terrible liar. Thanks for all your help, Vissitri. I mean it."

Vissitri couldn't be seen, but Quintin knew he was patting his chest proudly from the movements that ruffled his [Battle-Robe].

He put his foot down on the first larger platform that had a few cave-like entrances. People could be seen lifting sacks and rolling barrels into various holes with labels visible above them.

One of the entrances, near the middle, displayed a list of places. One of which was the [Adventurer's Guild].