"Elly! Shit, Elly, where are you!?" Paladin Sable leaves the offices of the Church of Bounty and makes her way into the main chamber, shouting out to Priestess Lilly Fullblossom who's standing by the front door. "She's not here - did she already start packing up her room or something?"

The elf shakes her head. "She's not in the housing center at all, as far as I can tell. But I'm sure she was here when the soldiers came by - perhaps she went down to the basement?"

The demonic paladin frowns. "I shouted down there earlier but nothing - guess I'll have to search it next. Gods, I hope she didn't fall down the stairs and break her neck..."

The concerned look on her face turns into one of confusion when the Bountiful Mother's voice calls out to her - from the offices she'd just left seconds ago. "Even if I had, I doubt I would've gotten such a direct meeting with the powers that be! Now quiet down, I can hardly hear myself think!"

Sable and Lilly both rush into the room to find Elance Hammerdown sitting down into her chair, and Sable gives the walls of the room a suspicious look. "Okay, I know you were not hiding under your desk. Don't tell me you had your son build secret passageways around here and you didn't tell me!"

"Ha! But nope - something better, and worse, I'm afraid. Just came back from a meeting with the divine Kahlia herself."

Lilly's eyes grow wide with shock. "A personal meeting? I've heard about Xenia's visits, but for her to summon a mortal...it's practically a miracle! What did she have to say?"

Sable nods along. "Was it something about the evacuation? We don't have much time, especially if we want to get much packed."

"It was about that, aye. Which is to say, we're not evacuating." The dwarf spots the pair's reactions, and clarifies. "Not north, that is. She wishes for us to aid the dungeon. Apparently, her divinity is worried for its treatment at the hands of the Dragonlord."

The paladin looks back and forth between the other women before responding. "...If that's what Kahlia herself has said - and somehow I believe you on that - then okay, I'll go. But I'm the one trained specifically for defending the faithful around here, you two should still be heading north, not into more danger!"

Her protectiveness only causes Lilly to give her a frown. "What? Sable, my Challenger rank is just as high as yours! True, I may also have some non-combat utility, but I know how to fight! And I'm certainly not leaving you here all by yourself!"

"And I'm hardly a pushover myself, Greenie." Elance grins at the exchange. "I know my role in a fight might be more that of a supporter, but as far as that goes I'd weigh myself against any of those fancy Master-tiers from the Association. But...aye, just the three of us, I think. The other trainee priests and priestesses that've come down here in recent months barely know more than a basic blessing or two. We'll send them out with anything that needs to be taken."

The priestess taps her lips. "What of the Dungeon, ah, the Dungeon Fuckers, Mother?"

"Right! They're still down here right now, aren't they? Let's find them, and see what they've got in mind for themselves."

The dwarf hops back out of her chair and leads the trio out of the main church building, where they quickly spot the Fuckers standing by the roadside - along with their young trainees. As the Challengers spot the church group heading their way, Tolla greets them first. "Hey! We were talking to the soldiers that just left, they told us about the invasion! You three need any help packing? We usually travel pretty light, ourselves."

Elance shakes her head and speaks up as they get closer. "The three of us won't be leaving. It's...honestly a bit odd to hear myself say it, but I had a direct meeting with the Goddess of Fertility herself. By her request, we'll be aiding Worthy Dungeon however we can."

While Tolla's elvish companions develop concerned expressions at the statement, the eyes of their dwarvish member only show excitement. "A - a divine quest from Kahlia herself? Boys! We gotta help! This could be your ticket!"

The raven-haired Renriel shakes his head at the excited paladin. "I...think I might prefer a slower, less suicidal path to paragonhood, dear Tolla, if it's all the same to you. Er - not that I don't have confidence in your chances, Mother Hammerdown!"

"Fighting a war is definitely a rather different approach than how we were going about it, to say the least." The blonde Nallond chuckles. "Although I do suppose 'fight' and 'fuck' are your primary two answers to most problems, Tolla, and we probably can't fuck our way out of this one."

The Paladin of Plenty turns back towards her group with a pleading tone. "You heard her, though - this was a direct request from a goddess! This has to be important! Besides...the dungeon's been good to us, hasn't it? Shouldn't we be paying her back?"

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Renriel rubs his chin before looking towards the church group. "Would our assistance be desired? Did the goddess say anything about us?"

Before Elance can say anything, Sable interjects. "Not specifically about you, no, but we could use you. Lilly and I have barely been running the dungeon, I know you three are all more experienced combatants than us." She looks down and spots Elance giving her an annoyed look. "Hey, if you're staying, then I'm doing whatever I can to keep you safe. And having these three on our team would help a lot with that."

Docke, the young man leading the tragic teenagers who had been training under the Dungeon Fuckers, shouts out his support. "And we'll go with you!"

"NO!" This time, all of the adults are in solid agreement. As the two young humans, gnoll, and elf all start to gather their energy for an argument, Elance takes charge of defusing the situation.

"For starters, you lot still haven't been allowed into the place, and if we drag you up the mountain and there's trouble getting you in, you'd be right and proper...in a bad place, lads and lasses. Besides, there's another important task I'd like for you to take care of."

Reba, the fiery young mage of the party, speaks up with a suspicious tone. "An important task? What would that be, exactly?"

"While most of the locals will likely be keeping their heads down and looking to avoid trouble, I reckon plenty enough folks will be heading north in a hurry. The ones not tied to the place, or are more paranoid of being in the Domain's clutches...whatever their reasons may be. And that's going to include a lot of civilians - traders, craftsmen, probably some of our own church staff. They could use protection on the road going north."

Sable nods along, backing up her friend's play. "That's right! It's entirely possible advance raiders might have looped around the town - or that a massive troop movement might've stirred up monsters. Depending on how many Challengers decide to stay and fight, or are stuck up in the dungeon right now, there might not be many combat-capable people who can keep the civilians safe." She pauses before eying the adult elves. "They're...combat-capable, right?"

Renriel chuckles. "They've been eagerly training for some time now, indeed. I wouldn't pit them against the Dragonlord's elites, of course - but should some of the local monsters be driven onto the roads? They could save lives."

The teenagers aren't so young as to not be able to tell when they're being manipulated, but it is a fair point, and Docke speaks up once again. "...I suppose we can do that, alright. What should we do first?"

"First, you need to gather up some traveling supplies!" Tolla gives the quartet a grin before turning back towards Elance. "We'll get the kids ready to go and grab our own things, and meet you back here in...half an hour for the trip up the mountain?"

Elance nods, but even as she does so she casts a blessing on the teenagers. "Kahlia's Blessing of Health be upon you. It should spare you some of the minor troubles of the road, and aid in anything more serious. Just...try not to get teen pregnant in the next three days or so, aye, lasses? The blessing may have certain...encouraging side-effects."

The four teens exchange glances before responding. "...We'll do our best, Mother..."

7 PM

Hours later as the sun is just beginning to fall, Tafyaf Srooll is running through the woods and cursing. Behind him, four of his scouts are following - two other gnolls and a pair of elves. Which is a problem, as he'd set out into the woods with six scouts aside from himself in his unit a few hours earlier. "Arcane scouts! Did anyone see their positions, hrmm?"

One of the younger gnolls gasps out a question. "What was it that got Jaffro? Did not see anything, no!"

Tafyaf directs the group behind a pair of toppled trees, giving them a bit of cover from the dangerous south. "Domain likes to use succubi for their scouting units, yes. Talented in illusion magic as well as woodlore. Very difficult to see, or hear...although smell sometimes works a little better, yes, yes."

A ginger-haired elf frowns as he peeks over the fallen trunks. "You've fought them before, Scout Srooll? I thought there hasn't been any fighting in years!"

The squad leader shakes his head. "Fought, no, but played, yes. A common game, both with the Domain and the Valleylanders. Attempt to cross border without being caught, or to catch others doing the same. I spent most of my time in the mountains watching for driders and orcs, yes, but have spent time playing with the demons, yes."

The gnoll from earlier furrows his brow. "Did...did you win, Scout Srooll? Against the succubi, yes?"

The answer isn't immediately forthcoming. "Let's not focus on old games, hrmm? More immediate task - must identify the Domain forces, and survive to report back, yes!"

The other gnoll keeps her focus on the trees, her bow tightly gripped in her only-slightly-shaky hands, but manages to ask a question as she does so. "Identify, Scout Srooll? The Domain is here, on our side of the border! That should be enough to report, no?"

"Knew they were coming tonight, yes, yes. But what exactly is coming? That is why we are here, Ranger Gerhu. We must distract the enemy scouts, and get beyond them. See what they are hiding, yes!"

He can already tell that more questions are coming, so Tafyaf quickly switches into giving the squad more specific orders. "Rangers Gerhu and Ferloo, and Scout Woodend, move on a loop east and then north, yes, and be noisy about it. Be noticed, but be quick enough not to be caught, haha! Scout Greenbell, you and I shall give them five minutes, then move west and south, yes."

Scout Greenbell, a young elf with short-trimmed blonde hair, seems uncertain about the honor of being chosen for the task, but gives her superior officer a nod. "Quietly, right?"

"Quiet indeed. We do not need to get into range to see the army approaching, just to get into its breeze. Know the scent of demons, kobolds, and slimes, I do, yes. Will be able to estimate distance and numbers if luck is with us." The man grins as he lifts one of the lucky rabbit feet charms hanging around his neck - one of three, all of which he'd earned from Worthy Dungeon personally. "And I think luck will be with us."

"...And if we run into draconics, instead?"

"...Then luck shall allow us to run very, very quickly, yes."

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