Chapter 42

Early the next morning, Wil stood on the bridge leading the mainland, thoroughly hung over and regretting his decisions from the evening before.

After the encounter with the elves, the rest of their shopping trip passed by in a blur. He had a vague recollection of Quentin pressing a sword into his hands, a beautifully crafted, heavily enchanted weapon that fit his hand like a glove. He didn’t know how much she had paid for the blade, but it must have been expensive.

He hadn’t paid attention to the shopkeeper explain to Quentin what the enchantments did, he had been too busy trying to cheer Mara to notice. It wasn’t until he handed the blade to Bell at the tavern that evening that he recognized the value of the sword.

With a single, offhand swing, Bell had split a chair in half, to the fury of the innkeeper. Evidently, the blade was enchanted for extreme sharpness, and he was wary when placing it back in its scabbard.

The rest of the night was filled with heavy drinking and shared stories to take Mara’s mind off the day’s events. By the time Wil blacked out, he thought she had mostly put the incident behind her, as she was singing a song with Bell and Garman, their off-tune voices like nails on a chalkboard. Mercifully, he had passed out at that point.

Wil was up early the next morning and on the move, chivied forward by Quentin, who was eager to get him signed up with the guild. He could already see the promise of gold in her eyes as she pushed him out the inn door.

Standing on the bridge to the mainland, he put one foot in front of the other as he crossed the heavy, stone bridge that separated the Foreigner’s Port from the mainland. From what he could see, the other side was just as busy as the island, except there seemed to be a multitude of houses, mansions, and apartment buildings for the locals, and significantly less inns and taverns for travelers.

Wil wasn’t alone on the bridge, well-armed guards patrolled both sides, although they ignored him after a single glance. Apparently, a single, visibly hung-over adventurer hadn’t been much cause for concern.

Aside from him and the guards, he saw others, men and women of a variety of races, all armed and armored as the marched across the bridge. He suspected they were heading towards the same place as him, since the only foreigners allowed across the bridge needed to join the Adventurer’s Guild.

In short order, Wil found himself in a plaza, at the center of the local town, staring in awe at the building before him. He had seen wonderful and terrible things in his time away from home. The capital of Illyria, and the Imperial Academy, were sights to behold, filled with beauty and wonder. The Spires of the Mage Guild of Illyria were monuments to their magical power. But the Adventurers guild headquarters, here on the outskirts of the Foreigner’s Port, put them to shame.

It wasn’t the rare materials that impressed him, the building was simple stone and wood. Or the size of structure, although it was massive. Much larger than his manor house in Brookmoor. It was the magic and the feeling that surrounded the Adventurer’s Guild branch that made him pause.

Standing in the square, with peoples of every race coming and going from the building, Wil paused a moment and let himself take it all in.

The Adventure’s guild was a large, brick and mortar building, several stories high, with a flat roof. Large windows covered the exterior, allowing in plenty of natural light. The square and the building itself were separated form the rest of town by immaculately kept gardens and a small, forested area in the rear of the building.

The building was relatively simple in appearance, but he could feel the magic in the structure. To Wil’s eyes, the building glowed with protective wards and runes, enhancing the defenses of the place, and sheltering everyone inside from harm. Wil, not being extensively schooled in wards, still estimated that it could easily take a significant barrage of high tier spells to breach the structure.

Breathing in the smell of ozone that permeated the air, Wil steeled himself as he stepped foot into the building, following the flow of the others as he took in the interior.

Busy. That was the first word that came to mind. Barely functional chaos was occurring before his eyes, as streams of people came and went through doors and up to counters, where employees were nearly yelling to be heard over the din as adventurers lined counters or spoke in groups.

To his left, an entire wall was completely covered in pieces of parchment. Curious, he walked towards one and lifted it slightly to see what was written.

Contract: Slay the Darkshire Beast

Suggested Rank: 14+, Party of 4 Recommended

Duration: 3 months

Reward: 1500 Gold Coins+++

Letting the parchment fall back against the wall, Wil saw there were thousands of requests available. A cursory look told him they ranged from explorations to extermination missions. Quite a few were to retrieve an item from a dangerous location and return it.

With a better understanding of how the Guild worked, Wil turned and looked at the counters, seeing the lines of people waiting to speak with an employee. Lining up, and being instantly reminded of Aachen, Wil subtly assessed the others that he recognized from the bridge.

Immediately, Wil realized one thing, as a Rank 6, he was firmly in the ‘middle of the pack.’ He spotted people weaker than him, but many were Rank 5 or 6, with a couple of people even reaching Rank 8 or 9.

Curious at what sort of ‘test’ awaited him, he finally made it to the counter, after watching the others sign something, and leave through a side door.

“Hiya! Good morning! Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild!” The woman behind the counter practically shouted, and Wil was momentarily overwhelmed by her energy and cheerfulness, something that he could barely handle as his head pounded a steady beat from his hangover.

“Good morning… I’m here to join.” Wil said simply, putting a hand over his eyes and leaning on the counter a bit as he tried to keep his head from splitting.

“Of course! I’d love to help you with that!” The woman said, and Wil winced again at the volume of her words. In a moment, she had placed a blank piece of parchment on the counter, along with a long, silver pin.

Knowing the drill, Wil took the pin, pricking his finger and letting a single drop of blood fall onto the page. In a moment, his blood quickly spread across the page, forming thin, red lines that changed rapidly into words.

Giving the page a quick glance, he tried to hide is curiosity as he read. It had everything, his name, age, place of birth, even his rank and school. He must not have done a very good job in hiding his interest in the parchment, because the woman, with a grin, cheerfully informed him how the page worked.

It possessed some kind of divination enchantment, tied to the page. It also acted as a contract, protecting the Guilds interests if he was successful in joining. There was more, but it took all of Wil’s concentration to keep from begging the woman to stop yelling and relax with the cheeriness.

Finally, mercifully, the explanation was over, and Wil found himself following her directions to the side door, where an information session regarding the first ‘test’ would take place. After her assurance that he would have time to prepare, he heeded her directions and passed through the side door.

Walking down a short, narrow hallway, Wil found himself in a courtyard, the morning sun shining down from overhead. Enjoying the fresh air again, he wandered over the a nearby bench, as he spotted dozens of others waiting for the explanation as well.

Taking a seat, Will pulled out a reddish healing potion from his bag, popping the cork and draining the vial in one, long pull. His peers in the room looked at him curiously, as he tilted his head back and finished the potion. Nearly gagging at the awful taste, he placed the vial back in his bag.

He hated wasting potions, but he needed to be alert for the next part. He would have taken it back at the Inn, but he had been hoping the fresh air would help, letting him avoid taking the awful mixture.

Unfortunately, he was out of luck and needed the healing. The stubborn hangover faded with the potions warmth making its way through his stomach, to the rest of his body.

Refreshed again, he leaned back against the wall and waited with the others for the test to start.