Book One, Chapter Six, Post Eight

Málean, who has gained new grease marks since he went to his room last night, looks up from a parchment he held in one hand as the cross section of a sphere disappears from his left hand. A piece of fruit falls from his mouth. It seems entirely uneaten apart from the one bite used to hold it in place while his focus was elsewhere. "I thought we were going anyway to get the Kitsune Tail. On that note the High Lord isn't standing on any side, he's lying down. He should probably continue doing that, the Kitsune Tail stem will make him susceptible to injuries and infections until it is negated." The slowly rotating hemisphere reappears in his hand, and Málean starts taking notes again.

“Excuse me, but how would the logistics around payment work?” Quiberron inquires. “If we are in the Wilds, we can hardly stop at a bank. Will we be paid in advance, or upon return, or is there some other arrangement?”

Flynn adds, "And what's the full plan, anyways? It’s one thing to look at the big picture, but we are the little details here. Do you plan to just release us into the Wilds and see what happens?"

“There is a small outpost on the edge of the Wilds,” Arabella explains. “We will send your supplies and pay there every month and pick up any reports and mapping from you at that time. If you miss one check in and are not back by the time of the second, we will send one of the other excursion groups to track you down. The more often you check in, the better. The more of a map you leave with the outpost, the better.”

“Other excursion groups?” Quiberron narrows his eyes slightly. “Can you elaborate on that? Has Lord Fennix commissioned others?”

"This is unlike the Quibberon I have come to know these past weeks,” Tyrects jests. “You are usually quite single-minded when it comes to discovering the unknown. Come, let's discover. I can earn a fortune in gold, and you can find the knowledge you desire."

“I’m sorry, Tyrects, my friend. I am excited to explore The Wilds, and I have reasons to go there beyond the commission just given to us. I find the pay quite reasonable as well, although I would prefer more knowledge and magic to more equipment.

“However, while history is not my main area of expertise, as a scholar I would be remiss if I did not try to understand the motivations of those sending us, as well as understanding who else we might encounter there and who they might be working for. There are clearly actors and motivations involved here that we are not fully aware of, and the more knowledge we can gather about the situation, the better equipped we will be to solve the mystery.”

“The Wilds are expansive,” Arabella says. “ Sending only one group would be underestimating the work to be done. That is why so many were invited last night. We plan to send at least four groups out.”

“That sounds like a wise policy,” Quiberron says, nodding his head slowly. “Will we all be operating out of the same outpost? If so, do you have any instructions that will avoid duplication of effort, or will we have to meet with the other groups to assign territory? Finally, and I would assume the answer is yes, but are they all aware of the need to find Kitsune’s Tail to cure your father?”

“They will be operating out of different outposts further out, so there won’t be overlap any time soon. And yes, they will all be informed of the Kitsune’s Tail.”