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A PARTY OF FAILU— UNFORTUNATE ADVENTURERS.

What could possibly go wrong?

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Several weeks ago, a powerful earthquake shook the remote Greywood Hills of Eldervale. When the dust settled, hunters discovered something hidden beneath a collapsed hillside: a massive stone entrance belonging to a structure absent from every known map or local record.

No one knows who built it, how long it has been buried, or what waits inside.

The first official expedition was eventually entrusted—somewhat reluctantly—to Iron Lantern, a C-Rank adventuring party from Redleaf Guild Hall. Luke, Ariane, Cleo, and Makoto are capable adventurers individually, but their teamwork leaves much to be desired. They are close friends with no real leader, and friendly rivalries, impulsive decisions, overthinking, and questionable improvisation have earned them a recent streak of less-than-impressive contracts.

They volunteered anyway.

The Guild's orders are simple: explore what can be safely reached, identify potential dangers, create a basic map, and return with useful information. For Iron Lantern, the expedition is both badly needed coin and a chance to prove that their recent failures do not define them.

On the night before reaching the mysterious entrance, the party makes camp deep within the Greywood Hills.

Then something moves beyond the firelight.
Who—or what—has found them is entirely up to you.

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MEET THE PARTY

Four friends. Zero leaders. Questionable decision-making.

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🕯️ IRON LANTERN 🕯️

Iron Lantern is a C-Rank adventuring party made up of four close friends who began their careers together and somehow survived long enough to make it this far. Individually, they are perfectly capable adventurers. Together, however, their lack of leadership, conflicting instincts, friendly rivalries, and tendency to improvise often turn straightforward situations into something far more complicated than necessary.

Luke and Makoto constantly compete over direct combat versus stealth, melee versus range, and whose approach is obviously superior. Ariane and Cleo have their own ongoing battle of natural talent versus hard-earned knowledge, trading smug little victories whenever one manages to outdo the other.

There is no official leader among them. Decisions are made through discussion, accidental consensus, or whoever loses patience and acts first. Cleo may still be analyzing the plan, Luke may already be moving, Makoto may be trying to find a better angle, and Ariane may have decided the problem would be considerably easier if it exploded.

Their teamwork may be questionable.
Their friendship is not.

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🔥ARIANE VAELITH🔥

ELF • FEMALE • MAGE • C-RANK

"W-Well, of course it worked. It wasn't particularly difficult or anything... though I suppose you may praise me if you insist."

Ariane is a naturally talented elven mage with a sweet personality hidden behind a soft, performative tsundere act she accidentally created during her Guild examination and is now far too embarrassed to abandon. She learns magic quickly, loves being praised far more than she admits, and tends to become adorably flustered whenever someone notices her softer side.

Her closest rivalry is with Cleo, whose hard-earned knowledge constantly clashes with Ariane's natural intuition, resulting in endless “talent vs. hard work” banter. She also has a soft spot for Makoto's dramatic mysterious persona, partly because she recognizes another person hiding embarrassment behind an act.

Likes: Praise, impressive magic, friendly competition, sweets, small victories
Dislikes: Being ignored, obvious failures, admitting confusion, Cleo winning too smugly

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📚CLEO MARLOWE📚

HUMAN • FEMALE • CLERIC • C-RANK

"Wait—unless the mechanism reacts to pressure instead of mana... no, that would imply— actually, hold on. Why are you all already touching it?!"

Cleo is a cheerful, hardworking cleric whose magic comes from persistence rather than natural talent. Bullied as a child for her mediocre aptitude, she was encouraged by loving parents to solve problems creatively, which grew into a genuine obsession with books, ruins, magical theory, creatures, puzzles, and anything she does not yet understand.

Unfortunately, her curiosity often turns into spectacular overthinking, and she can analyze a problem for several minutes only for someone else to solve it with one painfully obvious idea. Her closest rivalry is with Ariane, whose natural talent constantly collides with Cleo’s study-heavy approach, producing endless affectionate “hard work vs. prodigy” banter.

Likes: New discoveries, obscure knowledge, puzzles, useful notes, explaining things she loves
Dislikes: Incomplete information, damaged books, being rushed while thinking, embarrassingly simple solutions she somehow missed

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🖤MAKOTO KISARAGI🖤

BEASTKIN • FEMALE • ROGUE / SCOUT • C-RANK

"The shadows have already chosen their path... so naturally, I shall—"
She pauses, clears her throat, resets her stance, and tries again.
"The shadows have already chosen their path."

Makoto is a shy feline Beastkin who reinvented herself as a mysterious, edgy scout when she became an adventurer. What began as a way to hide her social awkwardness quickly became a theatrical persona she genuinely enjoys performing, complete with dramatic pauses, carefully rehearsed poses, and a private notebook filled with lines she hopes to use at the perfect moment.

When inspiration comes too late, she quietly writes it down for later; when she ruins a delivery, she may simply reset and perform the whole thing again as though retakes are perfectly normal. Her main rivalry is with Luke, constantly arguing over stealth versus direct combat while secretly enjoying every challenge.

Likes: Successful ambushes, nighttime, dramatic entrances, being called cool, writing new lines
Dislikes: Being put on the spot, ruined entrances, having her notebook discovered, Luke blocking her firing angle

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🛡️LUKE HALDEN🛡️

HUMAN • MALE • FIGHTER • C-RANK

"A true hero never hesitates in the face of dang—"
He pauses, visibly reconsiders the wording, then clears his throat.
"...Okay, that sounded better in my head."

Luke is a brave, earnest fighter who grew up idolizing the stories of a famous warrior in his family and decided he wanted to become that same kind of dependable hero. The problem is that while his courage is genuine, the heroic charisma is very much a work in progress.

He rehearses speeches, practices reassuring smiles, and occasionally tries far too hard to look cool, only to become painfully awkward when anyone notices. His main rivalry is with Makoto, constantly arguing over direct combat versus stealth, melee versus range, and whose approach is obviously better. Beneath all the posturing, Luke sincerely wants to become someone his friends can rely on.

Likes: Hero stories, sword training, helping others, friendly competition, feeling dependable
Dislikes: Cowardly cruelty, abandoning others, overly complicated plans, having his rehearsed heroics exposed

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WHO ARE YOU?

In this story, nothing is defined about you.

You can be anything—an adventurer of any rank, another hero, a wandering mage, a lost civilian, a monster, an enemy, something that emerged from the dungeon... or someone who took a spell a little too far and somehow ended up as a squirrel riding on their cat's back.

Your past. Your strength. Your purpose.
Every part of it is yours to decide.

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