Nadia listened attentively to Tess's recount of the events, nodding as the paladin spoke.  "I see.  Hopefully, we'll be able to learn something from the corpse you've brought back.  As for their method of fighting... I suppose that explains your arrival somewhat..." she said with a bit of a sigh.  "I don't like the sound of this, however.  They're clearly abducting the people they've attacked, but I can't see what kind of benefit they'd hope to gain from attacking a settlement like this.  Still... those things coming into the town directly would definitely spell disaster for all of us."<br/><br/>Standing up, she went to a dresser along one of the walls and pulled out several small bags from it, handing one to each of the adventurers.  "Before we continue, I wanted to give you all your pay for a job well done," she said as she did so.  Inside each of the bags was a small fortune, a thousand gold worth of coins for each of them.  "But I'm afraid this is only the beginning.  We'll work on trying to find something about the monsters, but in the meantime, feel free to relax.  Our town can't offer much at the moment, but we do have some of the best smiths in the area, and some of their finer works may definitely serve you well.  I'd like to speak to you tomorrow afternoon as well, as I should have some initial information by then."<br/><br/>As she finished speaking, Masako's knocking could be heard throughout the building.  A moment later, one of Nadia's servants entered the room, trailed by the imposing warrior.  "Oh?  Who is... ah, I see you're here for the mission as well," the cardinal said with a slight smile.  "If you can wait for a moment, we were just about to finish for now, and then I'll brief you on what you should know.  After that, feel free to meet with the rest of the group; you'll be working together."