You, Oscar and Zylna were relaxing in a tavern close to the Adventurer's Guild. Oscar was enjoying a bottle of wine while Zylna was drinking from a tankard of water as she read her book in the low light.

Yasmin sipped her drink, having it with some bread.  Not as good as the pastries of her homeland, in her opinion, but good in its own way.

"What are you reading, Zylna?" she asked, curious.

Zylna held up the book. The cover said "Tusk Love".

"Romance," she said quietly.

Yasmin raised an eyebrow.

"Exotic title," she said.  "In my homeland, we had any number of romances, but most were... well, 'simple' is plainly untrue, but tusks were never mentioned."

Her eyes couldn't help but flicker to Oscar for just a moment.

"What?" Oscar asked, his tusks clearly showing.

"Well, there weren't orcs to speak of in my homeland," Yasmin explained.  "They didn't feature in our great romances, for good or ill."

She also felt that, on some level, a romantic epic in which the simple notion of 'An orc' was the important point was lacking somewhat.  It should be about the hearts and souls (and bodies) of those involved; the accident of species becoming some sort of fetish seemed a bit... improper?  Orcs should be kissed, of course, but not because they were orcs.

"What are you reading there?" Oscar asked, Zylna obliged him by showing the front cover. Oscar started to grow bright red.

"The world is full of many things, and everyone has their own tastes," said Yasmin, philosophically.  At least this one was harmless...

"Guys! Guys! I found something!" Maria shouted as she ran into the tavern and the tripped over her own feet and landing hard.

Yasmin went to help her up.

"What did you find?" she asked.

"A job!" Maria said excitedly. "Lord du Laine wants to reopen an old silver mine, but he wants someone to go in and clear out any monsters."

"Well, I suppose that we could do that," said Yasmin.  "Why was the silver mine closed, though?  If it's played out, he won't benefit very much..."

"He thinks there's more silver in there," Maria said.

"I suppose that's his risk to take," said Yasmin.  "But what happened to the mine?  What are we facing?"

"Nobody knows," Maria said. "That's the exciting part."

"....ah," said Yasmin.  "Well, at least the pay will go to a good cause."

"Right! And it's not too far from town, too! Only about a day's ride!" Maria said.

"All right," said Yasmin.  She wasn't sure about this, but...

"Let's gather supplies for the journey, then."

"Right, let's get some rations," Oscar said. "Let's see...torches too."

"Rope, unless the rest of you can also fly," said Yasmin.  "My power is over earth, which may help a bit in a mine, but they are dangerous places even without monsters."

"Makes sense," Oscar said. "Perhaps a ten foot pole as well. I hear they are useful."

"Possibly?" said Yasmin.  "Checking for, oh, I don't know... loose stones in the ceiling, or unstable floors, might be a good idea."

"Let's head out for equipment and we'll meet back here in an hour," Oscar said.

"Of course," said Yasmin.

...it took her far less time than that.

You and Zylna were back quickly.

"Rich people," she said, giving her head a slight shake.

"Well, his armor is more elaborate," said Yasmin.  "That's going to slow him down."

"And it doesn't mean I am into orcs," Zylna added.

Yasmin blinked.

"...I hadn't really thought about that," she said.  "It's fine if you are, you know.  But bear in mind that fiction that fetishizes can be misleading..."

"I know, it's just something to read," Zylna said.

"Quite reasonable," said Yasmin.  "...I have some scrolls that I like for that.  But that's for another time."

Zylna nodded and sat down to keep reading. The other two eventually wandered in, looking a bit tired.

Yasmin raised an eyebrow.

"What delayed you?" she asked.  "You both seem a bit winded..."

"We had to run around a lot!" Maria said.

"...I'm not sure why?" said Yasmin.  "Well, in any case, let's be off."

...was there some kind of... feeling between those two?  It was hard to be sure.  Back home, well, it would have been obvious...

The four of you got onto the horses and were off.