“Welcome to the guild, kid,” Dem said while patting me on the back.

“But we haven’t even walked in yet…”

Dem chuckled as patted my back a few times and opened the doors to the guild building. The building was befitting for a group of people that hunted monsters and did odd jobs and it was exactly how I expected it to be. The green wooden building was two stories high and was wider than it was longer. It took up a whole side of a street in Anderfield, not that it was much of a feat considering this was just a slightly larger town than normal.

Inside was an area with seating along with a reception counter that was manned by a young Human man in a lime green uniform. It smelt of alcohol but not the drinking kind. I was quite surprised to see that this place seemed very clean and well kept. The large room was devoid of people besides a handful of loners that were spread out amongst the corners of the room. Most of them had drinks in hand and some even had a meal to go with it.

“This is pretty much how every guild building is. Another tip for you, if you have serious business with the guild, always come at lunch. Everyone takes the freshly posted quests in the morning then they head out immediately so most aren’t back till the evening or even sundown,” Dem said while pointing at a large board next to the reception counter. “At branches like these official guild businesses like signing up stop at around sundown and they turn into more of an inn than an office. But if there is an emergency somebody is always around. Now then… Would you look at who it is…”

Dem was making eye contact with the employee manning the counter but the young man didn’t seem all that happy. The employee was around his early twenties and had his brown hair cut down to where you could see the white of his scalp. He was of average height and build but he had a stern look about him but he didn’t strike me as a fighter.

“Dem,” the man said flatly.

“It’s good to see you, Dominick... Last time I saw you weren’t you in the main branch over at Ostela?”

“Yes, I got a promotion last year so now I am here.”

Dem laughed while rolling his arms out, “This is your promotion?”

Dominick sighed, “Yes I would call being a branch manager a promotion regardless of where I am stationed. Now, what business do you have? As you can see I am quite busy.”

He definitely wasn’t busy at all. I think he was trying to count the circles on the grain of the wood when we walked in.

“This here is Voker and he wants to sign up,” Dem said while giving me another pat on the back.

“And why do you feel the need to hit him? Or accompany him for that matter? Don’t tell me you are his guardian or something.”

Dem chuckled once more, “No, no nothing like that. I’m just helping him out and I want to make sure you give him the proper rank. He is going to be joining my party after all.”

“I see… And what do you mean the proper rank? I run a tight ship around here so don’t tell me-”

Dem cut him off, “How about you just listen to what I have to say while you get the paperwork? Then you can decide if I’m blowing smoke up your ass?”

Dominick blinked a few times then gave me a once over, “Do you want to join the guild, Mr. Voker?”

“Yes.”

“Alright then. Why don’t we use the backroom and I can get us something to drink,” Dominick said while he began to collect some sheets of paper.

“Didn’t you just say you were busy… Using the backroom and all that?” Dem teased.

“I’m busy now aren’t I?” Dominick shot back. “Third door on the right. I’ll be with two in a moment.”

“Oh and I have some quests I need to turn in,” Dem added while unslinging his backpack.

“Report first, Dem. You should know this by now…” Dominick groaned.

“Can’t we just-”

Now it was Dominick’s turn to cut Dem off, “No.”

Dem let out a breath and rolled his eyes. Dominick slid him a piece of paper and Dem took it begrudgingly. Dem waved for me to follow him as he walked towards the indicated room. Upon opening the door we were greeted with a small room that had a sitting couch along with a table that was a bit too high to be a coffee table. Dem plopped down onto the couch with a thud. He grabbed an inkwell and set to work filling out the paper.

“Does the guild always do so much paperwork? And they use actual paper?” I asked as I sat down next to him.

“Yes… So much fucking paperwork. Everything you do has paperwork. Wouldn’t be surprised if they had you log how many times you spanked it in your room…”

“What?”

Dem looked at me with a blank stare, “Nothing…” he said dismissively. “Anyways, yeah lots of paperwork is involved. Every quest you complete is accompanied by some paperwork. Find some “lost” tags? Paperwork. Want some new guild-issued equipment? Paperwork. Breathe funny? Paperwork. It’s just another way for the guild to cover their asses. You know that’s the case since they foot the bill for all this paper themselves. But I guess it comes out of rank-up fees as well.”

“Rank up fees?”

“Yeah, paperwork isn’t the only constant downer. Fees are a plenty working for the guild. Whenever you have a rank-up evaluation there is a fee. Higher the rank the bigger the fee. But honestly, everything kind of balances out once you reach topaz. All the discounts on lodging, supplies, repairs, equipment, and rations really add up over time. And as your rank increases so do your discounts. It’s sort of an incentive for sticking with the guild. Those who think they are gonna make some quick coin and bounce find themselves poorer than when they first joined.”

“Makes sense. Have to keep people coming back somehow,” I added while sitting deeper into the couch.

The guild seems like they have thought things out thoroughly. Those who stay for longer gain more benefits and end up bringing in more revenue. Those who join and can’t cut it or perish just continue to feed the guild money. It’s a pretty ruthless business model but I guess when your employees have a good chance of getting eaten by a monster you have to make your money somehow.

Somebody knocked on the door a few times and let themselves in. Dominick was carrying a few books along with some paper. He maneuvered his way while balancing everything in one hand and set it down onto the table with a thump. He took his seat across from us and looked at me,

“Can you read and write?”

“Yes.”

“How is your Human?”

“Nearly perfect.”

“Good then please write in Human while you fill this out. My Elvish still needs some work,” He said, handing me my own piece of paper.

The paper wasn’t well refined as it had a brown tinge to it but it was serviceable. I read the sheet as I began to fill it out. It asked me simple questions like my age, race, sex, and the usual stuff that you find on these kinds of forms. But as I progressed the questions got more… interesting.

“What is a role? And do I really need to write down what magic I can use?” I asked.

“A role is your desired position in a party. For example, Dem is a warrior. Roles are just to give people and us the general idea of what to expect if you are to enter a combat scenario. From the list, you can either select, non-combatant who are adventurers who only take odd jobs like smithing or hard labor. Then there is vanguard, those who sit at the front of their parties with the express goal of front lining against threats. Then you have warriors like Dem who are multi-purposed. I believe you have a man in your party who is also a warrior that only focuses on defending your support, right Dem?” Dom explained.

Dem looked up from his paperwork, “Yeah, Silent is a warrior even though he is more like a backline vanguard.”

I nodded at Dem’s explanation while Dominick continued, “ Then you have archers, pretty self-explanatory. After that, you have mages which once again is self-explanatory.”

“But what if somebody uses a sword and can use magic? Or a bow and magic?” I asked.

“Then they could be both, yes. However, if you select mage as your role people will expect you to be in the backline casting magic. A warrior or vanguard that can use magic is a boon for any party but not their primary focus, does that make sense?” Dominick asked.

“I see…”

“Then finally we have support. Support is a role that encompasses a ton of different people and their skills. People who are skilled in let’s say… picking locks or detecting traps fall under the support role. Even a party chef falls under the support role. Light mages who are skilled enough to heal people are also considered to be a support. Are you a student of the school of light mage by chance?” Dominick asked me.

“No, just fire.”

“Unfortunate, the guild could always use more light mages… So in your case, you would just be a mage. And as for if you have to write down what kind of magic you can use, yes please put it down. In the case of an emergency quest, we may have to put you into a party with others. Building a balanced party is an important key to success.”

“Emergency quests?”

“They are quests that the guild assigns in emergencies. Normally we do not force anybody to accept a quest however if an emergency arises you may be asked to accept it. Failure to accept it could lead you to being banned from the guild. But don’t worry in my seven years of working with the guild I’ve never once seen an emergency quest be issued. It’s mostly a clause from a bygone era. And the requirements for a quest to be considered an emergency are steep. If one was issued, it would be a serious matter that you would probably not be able to avoid if you tried.”

I see. Nothing to be concerned about then. I nodded and handed my finished form to Dominick. His eyes went wide as he observed my writing.

“Your handwriting is perfect… Mr… let’s see- Voker Winterheart. May I just call you Mr. Voker?”

“That’s fine with me. Also is that really it? Is my age not a concern?” I questioned.

“Your age? Instead of that, how about you answer these questions. Do you understand that you are putting your body and your life at risk? Are you capable of defending yourself and others? Will you be able to complete the quests that you take on or are given to you? Do you want to be here and live the life of an adventurer? If you answered yes to all of those questions then your age matters little. And besides, you are clearly not a child. You may be young but you wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t handle yourself. And Dem would not be accompanying you either.”

“I suppose you are right. Is being an adventurer really that easy?”

Dominick gave a forlorn smile, “Yes, I suppose becoming an adventurer is easy.”

That is somewhat ominous.

“Good. Now that all that is out of the way let’s go ahead and start with your orientation. I’ve prepared a few glasses of water if you need to quench your thirst. Feel free to stop me at any point if you have questions,” Dominick said while taking one of the large leather-bound books flipping to the first page.

“NO! Fuck no! You can stop right there. I am not sitting through another one of these for as long as I live, sorry Voker. Let me say what I have to say then you can drown the kid in useless information,” Dem said while shooting up from the couch.

Dominick eyed Dem then sighed as if it couldn’t be helped. “Fine, say what you have to say then.”

“Voker here is at least an amethyst rank adventurer. Putting him any lower would be a crime.”

“Impossible. Have you been drinking as much as you have been gambling, Dem? Do you honestly believe I can or even would make Mr. Voker an amethyst rank on his first day? I enjoy my job and I am looking forward to working my way up to the top. Getting fired in my second year as a manager would be a crime,” Dominick snorted.

“Just hear me out.”

Dem went on to explain my feats over the last few days. That I had soloed an entire Drone hive and had the proof to back it. That I had taken down multiple monsters with Intermediate level fire magic with ease. That despite me being injured I was able to hold my own and he even went as far as to say that I wasn’t a burden but an assist. That I was willing and able to be bait for an active lurker. His main argument for making me amethyst was that if I was any lower I wouldn’t be able to accept most of the party’s quests nor would I be able to get credit for ruby-level quests. Dominick sat in silence with a practiced smile and listened to Dem as he rambled on. Eventually, Dem stopped,

“So… yeah… how about Dominick?”

“Are all of these things true, Mr. Voker?” Dominick asked me.

“Yes… Well, all the parts about me killing the monsters and taking down the Drone hive. I also played a part in taking down the Lurker but I was just a distraction.”

“Are you also an Intermediate fire mage like Dem says you are?”

“I am,” I responded simply.

Dominick nodded his head a few times then gave me another once over. He smiled, “Doesn’t change a thing. I’m sorry.”

Dem shot up, “Bwah? What? You just heard everything I said right?”

“Yes, I did Dem. However, you are asking me to gamble on this young man and unlike you, I am not willing to pay for losing. If something were to happen to a young inexperienced adventurer after I made him an amethyst rank out of the gate it would be my ass living in the streets, not yours Dem.” Dominick shifted a bit then turned to me, “Of course, I mean no disrespect to you Mr. Voker. I don’t doubt your achievements one bit especially if Dem here is willing to corroborate these events. But I can not and will not make you amethyst. Surely you understand why?”

“Then you can’t you at least-”

Dominick put his hand up to stop Dem, “Indeed I will not be placing Mr. Voker into amber. He is clearly far beyond the lowest rank of the guild and he has technically completed two quests that far outstrip the abilities of amber already. I also understand that you want him to be a part of your party which makes putting him into opal a difficult choice. This is why I will be making a compromise. Are you willing to do this much, Dem?”

“And what’s it going to be?” Dem asked while crossing his arms.

“Simple. I will put Mr. Voker into opal as soon as we are down with orientation. I will even waive the evaluations and the rank-up fee. On top of that, I will allow Mr. Voker to partake in an accelerated rank-up evaluation. If he passes he will be able to rank up to topaz in no time at all. Now since he will be joining your party which consists of amethyst ranked adventures or higher, I will allow him to partake and gain credit for completing quests with your group and your group only.”

“Really? You would do that?” Dem said with a hint of excitement.

“But-”

Dem groaned, “Always a but, huh…”

“But, you will be responsible for Mr. Voker.” Dominick turned to me with a serious expression, “If Mr. Voker here proves to be a… bad seed, the blame will fall onto you and your party. Not just you but all of you will be punished and have to pay the appropriate fines. Your group might even face a demotion depending on the situation. Are you willing to accept these terms? Of course, I will be speaking with the rest of your party as well not only to gain their permission but to authenticate your claims.”

Dem didn’t even hesitate and he grinned, “Deal. You got a deal, Dominick. And go ahead and talk to everyone else, I’m sure they will agree with me.”

Dominick's eyes went wide in surprise for a moment, “Are you willing to gamble your livelihood over him?”

“You said it yourself, Doms, I love gambling. And I’m willing to bet Voker here is a prodigy in the making. I just got a good feeling about it,” Dem said with a chuckle. “This all sounds good to you, Voker? I don’t want to force you into any of this…”

“I’m not sure gambling on me is a wise decision. But if you are willing to accept the risks then I won’t be complaining,” I said nonchalantly.

Did I really leave this much of a lasting impression on Dem? Can he tell that I’m holding back? Or does he actually believe that I have room to grow? It’s true that a mage is a valuable asset to any party. Or perhaps Dem believes I will feel obligated to follow him around if he does this much for me. Under normal circumstances, I might have followed Dem and his crew. But I have my own goals to consider. Using Dem is just convenient for me. There are people waiting for me after all.

“Welp, you heard the guy.” Dem shot up from his seat and stretched. Then handed over his report to Dominick. “Don’t die here alright, Voker? Since you got that mask you can just fall asleep and he won’t notice.”

“Orientation is a vital component to the hiring process, Dem. Are you suggesting otherwise?” Dominick said with a glare.

“I’m not suggesting anything, It’s just facts. I’m getting out of this place. Voker, I recommend getting a bed here tonight. I’ll see you here tomorrow night for dinner,” Dem said with a wave as he walked out of the door.

Dominick sighed and prepared his books once more. “Now then-”

I cut Dominick off, “Before we start can I write letters and send them out from the guild?”

Dominick seemed slightly annoyed at first but nodded silently, “Of course. The guild runs one of the biggest postal services in the world. The fees depend on how far you plan on sending your message and if you choose priority or not.”

“Good. I’ll be doing that priority option and I’m sending it to Syn’nari. Could you please get me a couple of sheets of paper so I can write while you go over things?” I asked.

Dominick nodded and got up to leave. He returned a few moments later with small strips of paper. He explained that priority mail needed to be kept short and to the point. That a courier would be able to read the message and remember it so even if the physical mail was lost then they could repeat the message.

And since priority mail was considered to be a quest by the guild the mail was guaranteed to make it at some point to its desired destination. Even if multiple couriers died en route somebody would eventually finish the chain. This was a perfect guarantee considering the cost and the likelihood of the message not making it the first time around. Now… What am I going to say…

I am alive. Last known position Sandervile. Traveling to Dad’s ally to see his wife and child.

This should do it. If Dad was alive then he would know exactly what I am talking about. If not then at least the others would know my last known location. I wrote the message and addressed it to multiple people with the intention of getting multiple people to see it. I sent the message to my family, to Padriac’s family, to Grandpa, and Owlkirk ranger detachment.

If Sgt, Meus, or Cpt. Amberdew was still kicking and in their positions, they too would understand the message. Sending a priority message to these four destinations cost me eight gold… A small fortune to send a three-sentence message. Thankfully my wonderful patron who donated this spatial storage ring had nine gold and some spare large silver coins for me. Once I turn in my monster parts I would have some extra money but I’ll do that tomorrow when I go and purchase a bag to “hold” my things in.

I was tempted to ask Dominick about Owlkirk’s attack but I didn't want to give away too much about myself. Being cautious has gotten me this far. I’m sure I can find that information easily enough. I doubt anybody is coveting five-year-old information on a small village anyways.

I finished my messages far before Dominick finished his orientation. I see why Dem chose to leave… My behind was becoming very uncomfortable on this couch now. It was over two hours long as Dominick continued to read through the large books. Most of the stuff I thought he was regurgitating was common sense but I suppose this is just a way for the guild to say “I told you so” so if you end up messing up they can just cut you off. Of course, the guild would protect you in certain situations if you could prove your innocence. But doing that in this day and age would be difficult. If a king says you murdered someone then you murdered that someone.

Not that any of this matters. I’m already going to be a wanted man so I can’t rely on the guild to save me if the time comes. Using my status as an adventurer is just so I can move around more freely and discreetly. Along with the added bonus of having money and having an explanation for my appearance.

Dominick wrapped up his work and I went to pay for a room but he said the first two nights were free. With that, I left the small room with Dominick so I could get the key to where I would be spending the next few nights. Now with lunch over the guild building was even more empty. Dominick reassured me what Dem had already said and guaranteed me that within the next two hours this place would be packed.

Not wanting to be here when that happened I promptly took my key and went upstairs to find my room. I found the designated room and opened it to reveal a small room. It was even smaller than my dorm room back in Sandervile’s Academy but I shouldn’t compare the two. The room had a bed and a desk with a chair. That was all it needed.

The room was clean and the bed was well maintained. I can’t say the bed was comfortable but anything was better than sleeping on the ground. I drew the curtains, locked the door, then even blocked the door with a Dire Wolf bone that I wedged into it. Normally I wouldn’t want to go to sleep so early but the fatigue of being on the run and traveling through the forest has finally caught up to me.

My body felt like a lump of lead as I plopped down onto the bed. I took out a few pieces of dried meat and took my mask off to get a meal. Eating before bed wasn’t very good for you but I needed something to eat. It was a weird thing to watch as my skin changed colors right before my eyes. I’m sure my hair looked just as weird but I couldn’t see that.

I only take the mask off to eat and I have to make sure nobody is watching me. So I have been eating at night in my sleeping bag since I can cover myself completely. It means I’m hungry most of the time which I find to be very annoying but sadly it’s just something I have to do now. I scarfed down the rest of my rations and finished it off with a swig from a canteen.

I would be sleeping with this mask on for the foreseeable future so I put it back on and rolled into bed. I didn’t even bother changing clothes or washing. I needed sleep and I needed it now. Besides I couldn’t do anything since Dominick would have my guild tags prepared for me tomorrow evening.

Within moments I was already drifting off to another restless night.