When Sylvester and Val returned to Shoehaven Manor with the news that they had gotten the prophecy, everyone was incredibly excited. Neil quickly made a copy of the prophecy, though Sylvester had him put an explosive rune in the copy for safety. While everyone quickly got busy discussing what they thought of the prophecy, Sylvester was put a hold on the whole situation.

“Before you all get too deep into your analysis, I have some other news.” Sylvester paused the discussion. “Because of this prophecy, as well as other factors, we will be leaving Coruvon within the next day or two.”

“Is that so?” Mr. Galenar hummed in response. “Where are you planning on going?”

“To Dolmvay. It is larger and more central than Coruvon, and it should be able to provide leads on where to find the other people mentioned in the prophecy.”

“Well, in that case I suppose I should bring this up now.” Kirsten spoke up. “Molli and Jennan and I talked things over, and we were thinking that we should get out of our current line of work, and even the city potentially.”

“You don’t have to leave. My doors are always open to you.” Mr. Galenar protested.

“I know, and we are thankful for everything you have done for us, but we wanted to see if we could travel with Sylvester’s group.” Kirsten explained.

“I suppose you could, though I don’t know why it interests you.” Sylvester answered.

“Well, if we wanted to leave the city, you are the most skilled group we know of.” Kirsten pointed out.

“That is a good point, but our line of work is pretty dangerous.” Kurt cautioned her.

“We know that!” Molli suddenly spoke up. “But here in Coruvon we are already the ‘Harlots Three’! We could quit our current line of work, but we have a reputation here, especially after the incidents with Kirsten and the Hounds!”

“And what do you plan to do in Dolmvay?” Mr. Galenar asked, doing his best to ensure they had thought through every aspect of their plan.

“Well, we were thinking we might work with your group for a while, if you would have us.” Kirsten sheepishly responded, looking at Sylvester.

“You want to do adventuring work with us?” Karrank asked, completely surprised by the idea.

“Well, Molli is the one who would be interested in that. Jennan and I were thinking we could take on more supportive roles. Managing the campsites and such.” She explained.

“I could see that working out, but things are pretty stable as they are.” Kurt said while turning to see Sylvester’s opinion.

“Well, we were always going to end up expanding.” Sylvester sighed. “After all, we really need at six to eight members to reach our full effectiveness. But if you are joining us you are going to be paid.”

“Right, right. That makes sense.” Kirsten worked to calm down her relief at his acceptance. “What were you thinking?”

“First, a lump sum for all of you as the initial payment. If you take part in any dungeons, you get a share of the rewards. For taking care of the camp, how about we go with a monthly payment.” Sylvester started to list off.

“That seems like it would work well,” Kirsten began, looking at Molli and Jennan for their approval.

“But how much are the lump sum and monthly payments?” Jennan asked the question hanging in the air.

“Well, when hiring help in dungeons 200 silver pieces is the standard. As for the work in the campsite, something about 42 silver pieces per month is standard.” Sylvester explained.

“That is… surprisingly generous.” Jennan finally responded, having expected more extortionary pay.

“Well, let me get you the lump sum now. We are running a bit low, so you’ll just have to do with a gold slate and two silver slates for the total 600 silver pieces.” Sylvester began moving to collect the money.

“Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on! If you are running low on money, we can wait on that lump sum a bit!” Kirsten suddenly started trying to stop him.

“We aren’t out of money.” Sylvester scoffed. “We are just running low on silver slates at the moment. I keep most of the caravan’s funds tied into gold slates so that it is easily transportable.”

“Oh.” Kirsten said, looking at the three slates that Sylvester handed her. A single gold slate was worth 500 silver pieces, which was enough money to buy their own horses, guards, and supplies. Simply put, it was a life-changing amount of money.

“I knew adventurers were wealthy at times, but this is quite something!” Mr. Galenar exclaimed.

“Most of them don’t survive long enough to claim it.” Sylvester pointed out.

“And not every trip is worth it. We have earned a total of zero silver from exploring the swamp. Lost enormous amounts of it instead, actually.” Karrank added on.

“High risk, without even the guarantee of high reward.” Molli summed up the situation, suddenly feeling a little less sure about joining up with the party.

“We went into the swamp knowing we wouldn’t gain any silver.” Kurt reassured her. “Sylvester’s specialty as a prophet is avoiding danger and finding treasure.”

The girls were a little surer after that, but still the reality of what they were doing was beginning to set in. The conversation died down soon after, and the next morning they were all in a flurry of packing and picking up supplies.

Due to suddenly gaining three more people, Sylvester invested in a fourth horse and a second wagon, as well as enough supplies for everyone. It all totaled up to nearly 400 silver pieces when everything was done.

The expanded party set off near mid-day, everyone managing to fit into the wagons, even with all the supplies they had bought.

“Well, now that you are travelling with us, there are a few things you need to know.” Sylvester suddenly spoke up while they were riding onward. “First is that we are going to be making a stop near a small village called Orlane. Its on the way to Dolmvay, but it will be adding a week to our travel time.”

“How is it on the way if it adds a week of travel time?” Karrank complained.

“Because there is a dungeon there, which is four days away from the village.” Sylvester answered. “Taking care of it will both fund us for the foreseeable future and provide us with some important magic items.”

“Do you know what will be in the dungeon?” Molli asked, nervous about the whole thing.

“I do, and quite frankly it is too dangerous to bring you down with.” Sylvester stated. “The dungeon has been constructed by a Spirit Naga, which is an intelligent and evil creature that has been slowly charming the villagers of Orlane into creating a cult for itself.”

“Ok, yeah. I think I am fine without dealing with that.” Molli quickly agreed.

“You said there were a few things, what else is there?” Kirsten spoke up.

“Its about Val.” Sylvester began.

“Oh right. This.” Neil muttered, remembering how well he had taken the news of Val’s true nature.

“Val is a succubus.” Sylvester stated without beating around the bush. Everyone held their breath for a moment as the girls processed what he had said.

“What, you mean she has worked as-“ Kirsten began.

“No, I mean she is a succubus. We freed her from ruins some time back, and she has stuck around since.” Sylvester denied.

“But you guys have been travelling with her for a while, right? So, is she like bound or something?” Molli tried to rationalize the situation.

“In a sense. We have her true name, which is power on its own.” Sylvester nodded along.

“Besides, I have been behaving myself.” Val eased her way into the conversation with a smile. “Haven’t caused any trouble at all.”

“I wouldn’t say at all…” Sylvester muttered darkly before continuing. “Anyway, she has been following us and things have worked out so far. But I am sure you all can imagine how people will react if this secret comes out.”

“Then why are you telling us? Why make us carry this secret too?” Jennan asked angrily.

“Partially because I expect you will be with us for the long haul,” Sylvester responded. “And partially because if something goes wrong you three are higher priorities than her.”

“Aww, don’t say it like you hate me.” Val pouted before breaking back out into a smile.

“She can get herself out of about anything, and even if she dies here, she won’t be dead. You three, however, have no such luxuries.” Neil continued the explanation. “Fiends normally have to be killed within their native planes to be fully killed. Val, not being native to ours, would simply end up returning to her own.”

“Well, that is a bit of a morbid thought.” Kirsten stated. “But I suppose I see the point. Putting ourselves in any real amount of danger for Val isn’t worth it.”

“And also, it is to make sure you know to reject her advances.” Karrank added on.

“Wait, what?” Kirsten suddenly snapped to look at him.

“Oh, come on! Its just harmless flirting.” Val teased with a smile.

“Harmless until someone kisses you.” Sylvester pointed out.

“Well, I can’t really help that. Its just the way I am!” Val complained again.

“I see. If we didn’t know and ever decided to do anything with her, it would be too late wouldn’t it?” Molli put together.

“Exactly.” Sylvester agreed.

“I don’t suppose there is any other news you want to drop on us?” Kirsten sighed, beginning to feel a headache.

“Actually, there is one more thing.” Sylvester claimed, to several groans from the group. “Part of the reason we are leaving Coruvon so soon is that a man named Amer Nefiri threatened me with information about Val and what we were doing in the swamp.”

“Amer Nefiri? That name sounds familiar.” Jennan suddenly spoke up.

“You know who he is? He’s that doctor! The one with the herbal remedies!” Molli was the one to remember who he was. “Are you sure he was the one threatening you? He’s pretty timid and shy. A real charmer though.”

“Black hair, really pale? Always wears gloves? Carries a leather bag with him?” Val described the man they had met.

“That sounds like him.” Jennan agreed.

“You mentioned herbal remedies?” Sylvester went back to what had been previously mentioned. “That might be a sign that he is a magic user of some type. Maybe a druid?”

“I don’t know. He never used magic as far as I know?” Molli disagreed.

“I can’t say I saw him use it either, but his remedies were supposed to be very effective.” Jennan mused.

“Well, in the interests of caution, assume he can use magic then.” Sylvester decided. “I would avoid speaking with him too, and absolutely don’t meet with him alone.”

The girls weren’t entirely convinced of Amer’s insidious nature, but they did agree to be cautious if they ever came across him again. The rest of the trip to Orlane was uneventful, just several days of dirt roads and camping under the stars.

When they finally reached Orlane, Sylvester directed them to ride right on through town. They weren’t going to be stopping there, but instead were heading right for the lair of the Spirit Naga.

The first day travelling away from town was uneventful. The second, they reached the nearby dim forest. Inside, they got personally acquainted with the denizens. First, they were attacked by a group of skeletons. Then, a group of zombies. The next day, it was an ogre. Finally, another group of skeletons.

Thankfully, they made it out of the forest on the fourth day. This, unfortunately, led them into swamp once again. Luckily, their trip to the dungeon was uneventful and they soon came across it. Sitting in the middle of the swamp was a ring of raised earth, creating a large circular clearing that was surprisingly dry. In the middle of it was a hole with a wooden staircase leading down into the darkness.

That night passed uneventfully, and the next morning Sylvester, Kurt, Karrank, Neil, Bask, and Val prepared to descend into the darkness.