Chapter 35 — The Adventurers Guild

Rough teens were loitering outside the Adventurers Guild, smoking rolled herb leaf and playing dice. Ria regretted not getting here earlier to avoid these types of idiots.

"I don't recommend smoking leaf. Dulls your reaction time and judgement. A priest can usually remove some of the lasting effects, but that doesn't remove the stupid things you do," Jarrel cautioned. "Hanging around the smoke is almost as bad. Can you take care of it for us, Ria?"

"Ah yeah, give me a few seconds to concentrate," Ria replied and gathered her energy, transforming it to wind magic and surrounding them with a light breeze. "Okay. Stay close, Leon."

"Ah, right. Thanks," Leon responded as he figured out what was going on.

{Ranger, you stay close and let Jarrel handle any problems, okay?}

Ranger grumbled his concern as he acknowledged her instructions.

"Haha, guys. Some newbies have come out to play," one of the leaf smoking teens, a tall guy leaning against a porch post with a long nail-bat over his shoulder, clued in his chums.

"The girl doesn't even look old enough to bleed," said a hooded boy with a bow strapped to his back as he tossed dice into a circle drawn in the dirt.

"If I stick her with my dagger, bet she'd bleed," a slinky boy in tight black leather, wearing two daggers, said and rocked his hips suggestively.

"Gross. Both of you," the big-chested girl of the group critiqued, crossing her arms. She had tight-fitting leather armor that showed her figure. A hammer hung from her belt, and a shield was strapped to her back.

"They come here to play, they're fair game," dagger boy pointed out.

“Oh, looks like you’ve upset her knight,” bat boy observed with a mocking chuckle.

Leon did look like he was grinding his teeth.

“Hey girl, why don’t you ditch these guys and hang with some bad boys,” dagger boy said, blowing smoke toward Ria’s face and reaching across to put his arm around her—SHING—only to pull up short as Jarrel’s sword nicked his neck and blocked his path.

“That’s a closer shave than you’ll be wanting, boy,” Jarrel advised icily.

“Holy shit, man. He cut you! You’re bleeding,” exclaimed bat boy.

Dagger boy fell backwards to his ass and crab-walked a few steps back from the naked blade and a now growling Ranger before crying out, “The hell, man?!”

“Smart choice. Looks like you’ll live,” Jarrel informed him. “Being able to evaluate your enemy and make accurate assessments is an important skill.”

“Sorry, Mister. Daggen was just playing around,” bow boy apologized for his friend. “We don’t want any trouble.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way. Just so you boys know, in case I’m not around in the future, this girl here is probably more dangerous than I am,” Jarrel warned them.

With such a great setup, Ria wanted to show off her magic—zap dagger guy between his legs with her wand or whoosh a ball of flame—but she still couldn’t manipulate two different element transformations at the same time. Well… the wand might have been doable, but she didn’t want to risk losing focus on the wind barrier and being exposed to the smoke.

Instead, Ria settled for a dismissive look and coolly continued into the building. Behind her, she heard the big-chested girl laughing and teasing dagger boy. Ria hoped that she hadn’t just made an annoying future enemy. He was just the second boy to show interest in her, but unlike Leon, he wanted to do a lot more than just look. Yuck.

The interior of the guild wasn’t as dirty as expected. There was mud and dirt tracked on the wood-plank floors, but if she had to guess, the floor was probably swept and mopped daily.

A manned counter ran the nearby wall, adjacent to stairs leading to the next floor. A bulletin board and door occupied the back wall. Veteran adventurers sat around tables and at a drink bar that seemed to connect to the tavern next door. To her relief, no one inside was smoking.

A not-quite-elderly man was standing behind the counter and watching Ria and her group as they approached.

“Yo, Aaron. I’ve brought you some ambitious youngsters,” Jarrel drawled with a big grin.

Aaron rolled his eyes and replied sarcastically, “Just what I need. As if the delinquents outside aren’t enough trouble… wait. Is that you, Jarrel?”

“Still alive and just back from Revant. Miss me much?” Jarrel asked with a nonchalant attitude.

“Could’ve certainly used your help a few times. C-rank adventurers aren’t that common in small places like this. Your gear has certainly improved over the years, if nothing else,” Aaron observed.

"A gift from some retired adventurers rather than from my own doing. Certainly serving me well," Jarrel admitted. "Any case, I promised Ria here that I'd find her a dagger trainer, and I was thinking that Tina would be a good match for her, if she's still around."

"Oh, she is. She's a guild trainer now. Reached B-rank a few years ago after finally harnessing her inner energy and learning enough alchemy to make her own poisons," Aaron confirmed.

"Damn… I've gotten a lot stronger, but she still might be better than me," Jarrel complained, a bit of rivalry in his eyes. "Sounds perfect for Ria. She available for lessons?"

"Sure. Tina is one of our branch's combat instructors. A session is 1 silver coin for non-members. 6 copper coins for members. The kids joining up?" Aaron asked.

Jarrel shrugged. "That's up to them."

Aaron nodded. "Fee is 1 silver coin. You kids looking to be adventurers?"

Ria spoke up, "What are the benefits and responsibilities?"

"The main benefit is access to missions and better rates for training and selling your monster materials. We do have some G-rank missions such as cleaning the guild and simple deliveries available for non-members. As a freelance guild, the only responsibility is to complete any mission you take."

With no real responsibilities and making up the fee with just three training sessions, joining was clearly worth it. "Alright. I'll join."

Leon nodded. "Me too."

"Good. I've got some paperwork for you," Aaron told them and placed two sheets of paper on the counter while receiving their coins. "Let me know if you need help filling out the registration form or have any questions."

The form was mainly legal stuff and questions about next-of-kin notifications and who would get her stuff when she dies or goes missing while on a mission then had some space for briefly describing equipment and skills. Ria couldn’t help smirking a little as she glanced over at Leon and watched his expression pale the more he read the form.

Aaron provided them with quills and ink. He was watching their reactions and evaluating them as well. Ria was a quicker reader than Leon, so even though she had more to list, she finished first and winked at Aaron as she slid the paper over and returned the quill to the inkwell. Disappointingly, a raised eyebrow was all the reaction Ria received when Aaron read her form.

Jarrel placed 3 silver on the counter. “That should cover five sessions with Tina. I’ll leave it to Ria and Tina to work out how often they want to meet.”

“Alright.” Aaron slipped the coins into a box under the counter with a chinking sound then called over toward the tavern side, “Tina! You’ve got work!”

Ria checked Ranger. He seemed to have calmed down from earlier and was sitting quietly, watching.

Aaron turned to Leon. “Were you looking for instruction also?”

Leon nodded. “Yes. Two-handed sword, and club with shield.”

“Those choices have good balance and utility,” Aaron said approvingly. “Burtan can help you with that. He’s our instructor for tough guys. Tina handles the agile types like your little foreign friend here. Neryl is our mage trainer, but he also teaches body strengthening once you learn how to control your inner energy.”

“Burtan will be fine,” Leon agreed and placed his coins down.

“Oh-hoh! Looks like I got some work, too,” came the booming chuckle of a burly bald guy approaching together with a lithe black-haired woman. “No sense waiting. Let’s get to it, boy.”

The bald guy put his arm around Leon’s shoulders and led him out through the back door.

“I get the little rich girl, heh. This should be different,” the dark-haired woman sneered.

Ria gulped, and she felt Ranger’s immediate warning through their bond. Even from a glance, she could feel that this woman was dangerous. The woman’s movements were oddly graceful and menacing, with every motion giving the impression of a coiled snake ready to strike. The intimidating feel of shadow energy around her was strong enough to block Ria’s energy perception.

“Oooh, that’s a nice reaction.” The woman chuckled darkly. “Seizing control of the surrounding energy and readying yourself for combat when detecting a threat.”

Realizing that she had unconsciously done exactly that, Ria forced herself to take a deep breath and relax. “It was by reflex, sorry. Your presence is more intimidating than I was expecting.”

“No, I was testing you. To have recognized the extent of the danger and still take action is commendable. I’m guessing that’s due to your training, Jarrel?” The woman smiled evilly, clearly amused. “Haven’t seen you in a long time. Daughter?”

“Daughter of a friend, but I’m responsible for her. I can only claim credit for her hunter training,” Jarrel replied with a wry smile. “Promised I’d find her a mentor to teach her dagger skills, but looks like you’ll be able to teach her far more than that, Tina.”

“Heh, she does seem to have talent. Will she work hard?” Tina asked, keeping her eyes on Ria’s reaction.

“I have no complaints. She did need some pushing during her initial physical conditioning, but that shouldn’t be a problem now,” Jarrel reported, pride leaking into his voice.

“I see.” Tina moved closer to stand opposite her. “What’s your goal, girl?”

Ria felt a thrill of excitement. This woman was strong and would make her strong, too.

There was only one answer.

“Power. And the skill to wield it,” Ria replied.

Tina’s mouth curled up in an excited grin. First a chuckle came and then peals of dark laughter. “I like you, girl. What’s your name?”

“Ria. Ria of Shadewood,” Ria answered Tina, keeping her gaze steady.

“Then, Ria. Let’s get started.”