Four days after the royal commission appeared on the Adventurer Guild's Mission Board, a party of five Adventurers arrived at the eastern outskirts of Marrowford.
The mission had been accepted by the Ironwood Party, an experienced group whose members had completed numerous reconnaissance and monster suppression assignments throughout Westmark.
Their leader, Darius, was a Silver-Rank Adventurer before he became an Adventurer he had spent more than a decade exploring dangerous wilderness regions.
Accompanying him were Helena, a skilled archer and tracker; Conrad, a heavily built swordsman; Felix, a mage specializing in detection and defensive magic; and Tomas, a scout familiar with forest terrain.
Their assignment was straightforward in principle. Investigate the monster attacks, identify the creatures responsible, assess the danger to surrounding settlements, and submit their findings to the Guild.
