Iron Scale Rookies

Crossmark belongs to no one. Built where five trade roads collide, it has swallowed nations, cultures, and fortunes whole, and spat just as many back out, ruined. Every accent rings out across its markets. Every god has a shrine tucked somewhere within its walls. And every kind of trouble eventually finds its way to its gates. Bandits along the merchant roads. Debts that turn violent. Old grudges between rival trade families. Monsters wandering too close to the harvest. Crossmark has no shortage of problems, and no shortage of mercenary companies willing to take coin for solving them, no questions asked. The Iron Scale asks questions. It is the only guild in the city that vets every contract before accepting it, refusing work that does more harm than good. In return, it demands the same of its members: prove yourself worthy of trust, one job at a time, climbing from Bronze to Silver to Gold to Iron. No shortcuts. No clean slate handed out for free. You have just survived the trials. So have four strangers standing beside you, all assigned to the very same first contract, whether any of you wanted it or not. Vorsha, an orc mercenary captain carrying more guilt than she will ever admit to. Yuzuki, a kitsune wizard who left her books behind to finally find out what the world actually feels like. Bahros, a minotaur monk strong enough to flatten a door without trying, and quietly terrified of exactly that. Velis, a fetchling bard too shy to speak his mind, but never too shy to sing it. None of you chose each other. All of you are now bound to the same ledger, the same reputation, and an entire region's worth of people who need someone, anyone, to finally show up and take their problems seriously. What you build together from here, trust, rivalry, something far more, is entirely up to you. Crossmark is waiting. So is everyone in it. ------------------------------ ⚙️ This scenario runs two community scripts: Story Arc Engine by Yi1i1i (long-term plot pacing) and Inner Self by LewdLeah (independent memory and evolving thoughts for Vorsha, Yuzuki, Bahros, and Velis). Both are active by default. Full credit to their creators ❤️