Chapter 24 - Joining the Guild

Nate, Kiri and Jorge walked through the gates unmolested by the few guards that stood around the entrance. Nate caught the glances they shot at Jorge and a couple of them nodded to him which got a grunt of acknowledgement from the man. The guards armour looked to be mostly brown leather with a few metal studs and the weapon of choice were clubs hanging on their belts, though one guard, who stood a little straighter than others, had a sword on his hip.

As they left the guards behind it was easy to tell that most of the buildings they passed were people's homes. They seemed well built to Nate’s uneducated eye, being built out of timber to no one's surprise, with a faint smell of smoke wafting from the chimneys. He had expected the town to smell worse. Every book he had read had talked about how the towns of yore smelled terrible with shit in the gutters of the streets. But instead, it seemed like maybe the town had something resembling a sewer, if the gaps in the gutters were anything to go by. That was more impressive than he had expected and it meant that instead of the smell of sewerage and other human waste, the place smelled of wood, smoke and something a little spicy.

Nate hoped that the last scent was the food. He’d smelled plenty of good curries back on Earth and was a bit of a fan. Jung’s mother had made an incredible green curry. The thought was a little bittersweet. He missed his friends. But there was no point wallowing in the feeling. If he decided to return to Earth, it was still years away. He just had to work hard so he had the choice. In the meantime, he was definitely going to try whatever that dish was.

All too quickly they moved away from the homes near the wooden walls and started passing some stores. Nate couldn’t be sure but he thought he saw a smithy and maybe a carpenters store. It was hard to tell with them closed up but the large chimney seemed a dead giveaway for a smithy. The ornate looking furniture in the very obviously glass window of the other store was what made him suspect a carpenter. For the other stores he had no idea. The stores gave way to a large square and he got his first look at the multistory buildings that made up the centre of Helmfirth.

There were five buildings arrayed around the square. Two of them stood at four storeys. One of them looked to be completely done in stone while the other had stone for the two lower storeys and the upper levels were wood. The last three buildings were all three storeys high and completely built from wood.

Jorge, without a word to them, headed for the all stone building. The doors hung open and yellow light spilled out onto the street, along with the sound of raucous voices intermixed with laughter, making the place seem welcoming in the little light of the setting sun. Jorge dropped the cart by the door and went inside. Nate looked at Kiri questioningly but she just shrugged helplessly. A moment later the two of them heard the bellowing of Jorges voice.

“Lorick, get your lazy ass up off that stool. Got a delivery for you!”

“Oi, fuck you Jorge. Sun’s almost down. I’m done for the day. Go harass someone else. Or better yet, have a drink with me ya old bastard!” answered another deep voice.

“It’s Kiri’s kill ya daft prick. Lass bagged herself one of Shadowscales brood. Now get out here and help me carry it in so we don’t leave any lying on the floor and I have Aisling complaining in my ear,” boomed Jorge’s voice.

That comment seemed to amuse the denizens of the building and a wave of laughter rolled out the door over Nate and Kiri. A moment later Jorge exited the building with a large redheaded and bearded man. Nate was guessing this was Lorick. He was as big as Jorge but where Jorge was all lean muscle, Lorick was bulkier, and while Nate was confident there was muscle there it was hidden by a layer of fat.

“Well fuck me. Ya weren’t lying. That’s one of Shadowscales kits,” Lorick said, circling the Razorlash in the same way Jorge had. “Clean kill too. And pretty fresh. That’ll fetch a few coins and then some. Plenty of happy crafters tomorrow I be betting,” he paused at that and looked over at Kiri. “Usual Guild rates good enough for ya lass?”

“Yes please Lorick!” she replied, dancing a little in excitement.

Lorick grunted and got up, moving around to grab the rear legs. “Well don’t just stand there Jorge. Make yourself useful ya skinny bint.”

Jorge laughed and moved to the other end of the beast before they lifted it together and walked in through the double doors, turning left.

Kiri grabbed him by his left arm and dragged him inside the building, leaving the cart lying in the street outside. The inside of the building was warm, despite the air cooling with the sun setting. In front of them was an unmanned desk. Off to their right Nate could see what he would’ve described as an inn. It had a bar and a number of tables set up with people sitting around in groups drinking and laughing.

It was everything he had imagined a fantasy inn would look like, with weapons sticking up everywhere. He could see bows, swords, shields, spears and even a couple of hammers lying on the floor. The people were just as diverse, despite all being humans. They ran the gamut from short to tall, skinny to wide with every hair colour he would’ve expected and a few he didn’t - if the vibrant greens and the single purple haired individual were anything to go by.

Kiri grinned at him and nudged him, “Full house tonight. A few teams must have returned from whatever jobs they were on. Usually it isn’t this busy. Come on, let’s get you signed up. That is, if you’re still interested?” she asked, her voice unsure.

“Yeah I am still interested. You mentioned teams, how does that work?” he asked.

“Oh yeah, you just let the Guild know who you’re working with as a team. Lets you take slightly harder jobs sometimes. Also it’s always good to have someone watching your back. At least that is what Dad always says,” she responded, looking at him keenly. He wasn’t a complete idiot. He was pretty sure Kiri wanted to form a team with him and it was rude to keep someone waiting so he gave her the ‘in’ she needed.

“Are you on a team, Kiri?” he asked, trying not to smile.

“Nope. Total free agent. If you’re any good we could team up, that is if you wanted m’...Nate?” she said, clearly hopeful.

“You’re basically the only person I know, Kiri,” he said without thinking. He immediately felt the awkwardness of his response and quickly followed with, “Umm, what I meant is, definitely, let's team up. Wait, does a team always have to do jobs together?”

“Nope. Just have to let the Guild know when you take a job if you’re doing it solo or as a team. How come?”

“Oh. I need to spend a bunch of time working on my Skills is all. So I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t an inconvenience if I couldn’t always head out for jobs,” he responded with another awkward smile.

“Oh yeah. You’re kind of close to your first Class Evolution aren’t you?” The question was clearly rhetorical as Kiri’s face took on a thoughtful look. “That should be fine. I can just take some of the simple collection jobs or work on my own Skills when you’re busy. Now let's get you signed up!”

Kiri walked up to the unmanned desk and rapped her knuckles on the wood loudly. A short blonde woman who was behind the bar quickly came over and slipped behind the desk with a smile for Kiri.

“Hey Kiri, are you here to hand in the Silverleaf job?” she asked.

“Hey Melinda! Yeah, the Silverleaf job. And my friend Nate here needs to get signed up with the Guild,” Kiri pointed a thumb at him over her shoulder.

Nate thought Melinda seemed a bit quiet and reserved till the smaller girl yelled into the room of adventurers, “Bethany, come pick up your Silverleaves!”

Kiri doffed her backpack and put it on the counter. A moment later one of the girls with green hair was sniffing the bag before nodding vigorously and handing over what looked like a marked chit to Melinda before fleeing back into the room with the bag of herbs.

“Seems she is happy with it. Do you want the coin now Kiri or put it on your account?” Melinda asked.

“On my account please. Lorick should be adding some too. I will probably swing by tomorrow to pick it all up when the Guildmaster is around,” replied Kiri with a happy grin.

Melinda shrugged and pulled out a large book. The book seemed to flip open by magic and the pages blurred in a flutter till they settled on a specific page. Melinda made a few notes with what looked kind of like a pen. A moment later she spun the book around for Kiri.

“Check it and initials please, if you’re happy,” she said.

Kiri smiled and made some initials in the book, which then closed again without being touched and Melinda tucked away the book and the chit from Bethany. She then turned her eyes on Nate and motioned him forward impatiently.

“Come on cutie. We’ll get you signed up then I can close the desk for the night,” she said as Nate approached the desk. “So, let’s get the annoying stuff out of the way,” she sucked in a breath before the spiel came out in a rush. “By joining the Adventurers Guild you agree to follow all the Adventurers Guild rules. This includes abiding by local, regional and kingdom laws of the Kingdom you are in. You will not engage in murder, thievery or extortion. You will take at least five jobs a year of which at least one will be of your current rank. You will not share Guild resources or information with non-Guild members or Guild members whose rank is insufficient. Do you agree to these terms?”

“I do,” he said with more conviction than he felt.

“Good. Alright let’s get you in the book and your token created. Name please” she said as she pulled out a different book from under the desk. This one had a beautiful blue cover and a symbol of a shield on the front.

“Full name?” he asked.

“Whatever you want to be called by the Guild, kid. Could call yourself the Yellow Lash for all I care,” Melinda replied flippantly.

Nate thought for a moment. Should he give them his full name, Nathaniel Weber? He could always make up a name. Maybe Nate Smith. What was a common last name in this realm? Now that he was thinking about it, a common name wouldn’t support his not so subtle allowance that he was perhaps nobility on the run.  So he’d go with his shortened name and hope for the best. What he said was, “Umm, Nate Weber.”

“Weird name, kid. Do you want to record your Class?” Melinda asked, looking up at him curiously with her brown eyes.

Nate just shook his head and the woman laughed softly.

“What about your role then?” she pressed.

He was confused by what she meant by that, but saw Kiri move into his peripheral and flip her collar to show off her silver Guild token. On the edge was a bow and arrow. Ah. Role as in role in a team.

“Mage,” was what he said.

“Don’t see too many of them this far out. You’ll be in high demand if you’re any good.”

Nate wasn’t sure but he thought that was directed at Kiri, so he quickly added, “You can put me down as in a team with Kiri.”

Melinda smirked as she wrote quickly into the book, “Well done Kiri.”

The other girl just waggled her eyebrows, clearly pleased.

Melinda looked up from the book for a moment, “Alright kid, do you want to pay the five silver to get tested?”

“Tested? Tested for what?” he asked.

“Combat testing, Nate. If you do well you could start at a higher rank than bronze. It’s up to you though,” said Kiri. Her tone told him it didn’t matter that much and he wasn’t keen to reveal his abilities. Or fight with another human, if he was being honest with himself.

All he did was shake his head though.

Melinda didn’t seem bothered. “All that is left is the five silver joining fee then, and we’ll get you your token.”

He was about to check his spatial storage when he heard Kiri pipe up. “Just take it off my account.”

Nate looked over at her with a slight frown. He had plenty of coin and didn’t feel good about his friend who had less paying for him. But she just smiled and shrugged, “I’ll just take it out of your cut for the Razorlash.”

He’d forgotten about that and Melinda clearly didn’t care as she slammed the other book down, letting it flip to whatever page she was after, before noting something down against what Nate thought was Kiri’s name.

As she put the larger book away Nate saw her reach into a draw full of circles of bronze with a hole punched out of the centre. He watched eagerly as she put the bronze circle onto the front of the blue book, before pressing her finger down in the hole in the circle. The mana began to stir and Nate stared as his name was engraved into the bronze, alongside a geometric six sided star that he guessed indicated his role as a mage. Nate hadn’t seen any runes or sigils and thought it must’ve been a Spell. If it was a Skill it was incredibly specialised.

Melinda pushed the finished Guild token across to him. “If you lose that, it's two silver for a replacement. Now, the desk is closed for the night. Enjoy your evening,” She finished locking up the desk and a moment later was back behind the bar.

Kiri moved over next to him as he tucked the Guild token into his robe, pushing it into his spatial storage. Easiest way not to lose it he figured.

“I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning?” she asked.

Jorge chose that moment to return, striding back into the Guild entry and motioning to Kiri. “Come on, daughter of mine. We need to get home for dinner or your mother will be less than pleased with…me.” The comment made Kiri laugh and Nate smile.

As they walked out the door together Nate looked across the square at the other buildings.

“Is one of those the Oaken Ring?” he asked.

Kiri just pointed at the other four storey building.

Nate nodded his thanks as Jorge picked up the cart and started walking, without waiting for Kiri. She let out a huff and started running after her father.

“Don’t spend all your coin on silks and baths Nate!” She called after him as Nate started striding across the empty square, the sun completely set now.

It was time for a long needed bath and some food that wasn’t lobster meat. Time for a taste of the good life he thought as he strode towards the welcoming light, with the sound of Frick cheering him on in the back of his mind.