I sat there and watched as he kept flipping through the pages of the letter. I was beginning to think he couldn’t read. Luin had jumped off her chair and onto my lap before curling up.

“I can’t believe what I’m reading here. You’re not only a Hero but Classless? Horrow is willing to forgive all debts If I train and allow you to take any of the classes here at The Guild,” he said before laughing his head off.”

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“I owe that old man a great deal. For him to forgive all debts, well, that’s unheard of. What did you do for that sly fox, for him to care so much?”

I figured if Horrow trusted this man enough to tell him about my lack of class and status as a Hero, I could trust him as well. “I destroyed the local hive and stopped a member of The Circle. I also help clear out an evolved Shinehorn from their dungeon. There was also an incident with the Kobold’s alpha.”

“Interesting. I had heard about the unstable Mana Well in the area near the hive and the evolved Gnitheathious. How did they allow a Shinehorn enough time to evolve in the dungeon? No matter. I would love to take you under my wing. How long will you be staying in Mythtide?”

“I plan to stay for about two weeks before heading to my next destination.”

“Plenty of time to drill the basics into you. What do you fight with? That hammer at your side, or are you looking to learn something else? Spear is my specialty, but I’m also proficient in the mace, sword, and bow. I can train you in any of them, and I recommend you learn the basics of each. Let me go and grab you something,” he said before getting up and pushing on the wall to reveal the hidden door and walking through.

He came back with a small sack and tossed it to me a moment later. “These are tokens you can use to enroll in any of the offered classes we have. Keep them safe, as they are quite expensive. You can give them to any of the receptionists below, and they will give you a list of classes offered over the next few days. Some classes require a few tokens to enroll in. If you need a couple more, come speak with me.”

“Thank you! This is what I’ve been looking forward to, a place to learn about this world.”

“So you’re also an Interloper then? Horrow wasn’t positive, but he felt you might have been. Try and keep that to yourself. Seeing as you’re a race I’ve never seen before but look human enough, you may not have issues. Make sure you buy a decent cloak with a hood to cover those ears of yours if you travel. Interlopers have an especially hard time in the north. Well, in almost every human-controlled city, you’ll have issues.”

“Yes, I’ve been told the same advice. As for weapons, sword and bow would be my choices.”

“Good. Do you have coin? There is a decent inn, Tallow & Flame, three buildings down to your right as you leave. Tell them Hiroaki sent you, and they’ll give you a discount. You can see what classes may be left for today, but return here after the first bell, and well begin your training.”

“First bell?”

“Sorry. First Bell is sunrise. Then every hour after is second bell, third, and so forth. If you have trouble waking, you can ask the innkeeper to have someone wake you.”

“I understand, thank you.”

“Alright, It was nice meeting you, Zeal. You seem like a decent and upstanding guy, unlike that bastard king of the Akhusite Kingdom. Rumor is he’s a Hero as well. I would steer clear of that region as best as you can. Now I have another appointment with some damn noble who wants special treatment for their offspring. At least they bring The Guild lots of coins. I’ll see you tomorrow, first thing,” he said as he went back through the hidden door and was gone.

I poured another cup of the spicy fruit drink and downed it. I looked inside the small pouch Hiroaki gave me and counted ten tokens. The tokens were gold and round, and at their center sat a black gem showing through on both sides. Around the gem were raised words that said The Adventurer's Guild and Mythtide. On the back was the same.

I opened the door, poked my head out, and couldn’t see anyone. I waited for Luin to get her yawning butt off the chair and out the door before I closed it behind me. We went to the stairs and headed down, the guards nodding to me as we passed them. I walked over to the same tattooed man on the first floor and asked about what classes they had left for the day.

He asked for me to wait a moment, and he went over and grabbed a book from the center desk. Opening it, he flipped through the pages and found what he wanted. He turned the book and placed it on the desk’s top in front of me.

“There are only three different classes left today. The next is outback and is Monster Dressing and starts in a few minutes. The fee is five gold. After that, in room twenty-eight is Dungeon Economics at the ninth bell. The fee is also five gold. The last class for the night is an open forum and takes place every night at the tenth bell.

“The class rotates five teachers and adventurers and allows the participants to ask any questions. It’s the only free class we offer, but I would suggest tipping those who help you to get the most from the experiences.”

That was interesting. “Do you have a list of those who will be available each night and their class?”

“A moment, please,” he said before going over to talk to another receptionist for a minute and returning. He explained who would be there tonight and tomorrow. When he mentioned a Void mage two nights from now, I stopped him.

I asked him if it was possible to pay for the Void mage’s time ahead of the class and pulled out one of the tokens The Guildmaster had given me.

“I can leave him a message and see if he may be willing to spare sometime outside of the class for you. I believe he would be interested in a token for his time.”

“Thank you, I’ll be here almost every day, and I’ll come to see if he responded. If not I’ll attend that class. How do I register to join The Guild?”

“You can come early between the second and fifth bell to test with a proctor. After that, they will assign you a rank. Most likely, you’ll be assigned you between Bone Rank F, D, or even C if you show promise.”

I thanked him and left the hall going right. It wasn’t long before I spotted the wooden sign with a large candle. I went inside and found the place packed with those eating at the tables. I walked up to the bar and waited for the Human male to come and speak with me.

“What’ll it be?”

“I’m looking for a place to stay. Hiroaki said to come here.”

“Babe! Your brother sent another one!” the barkeep Human yelled.

I was surprised when out of the back came another Sugar Glider Beastkin. She looked at me with those big brown eyes and gave me a smile that warmed me.

“How long will you be staying?” she asked.

“Two weeks.”

“Ten silver a week for a friend of Hiroaki. Meals are separate, and I can have a tub with hot water brought up for two silver each night.”

Oh man, a bath, a hot bath. I finished out a gold coin and dropped it into her palm, surprising both her and her human companion.

“I’ll take a hot bath every night, and this should be enough for food for the month?”

“Oh yes, that will cover both of you for the month,” she said as the coin vanished incredibly fast.

She grabbed a key off the back wall and tossed it to me. “Third-floor last door on the right. If you two grab a seat, I can have your meal in a moment. Then I’ll have the kids bring up your tub.”

I sat at the end of the bar with Luin on the seat next to the wall. The Human barkeep brought me a large bow of stew and half a loaf of bread. He then placed a smaller bowl in front of the now excited Kobold. I ripped off a chunk of bread and dipped it into the stew. It was beyond good. The barkeep dropped off a mug shortly after, and I drank the cold drink instantly. I finished the bowl and another round of what the man said was their house wine.

Satisfied, I made my way up to the room and unlocked the door. Luin instantly ran over and jumped on the bed. The adorable Kobold sprawled herself out, and I laughed. I sat at the desk and stared out the window. Tomorrow will be hectic. In the morning, I would train with The Guildmaster and register as an adventurer. Then I would need to find a healer for Luin. Then with the rest of my money, I would buy as many traits as I could from The Guild.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts and startled Luin. I walked to the door and opened it. Outside were two young boys, a Human and a Beastkin, holding up a large copper tub. I moved to the side, and they entered and slowly placed the tub in the center of the room.

“Do you guys have a smaller tub for her? And any kind of soap I can buy?”

“Yes, sir, I can get a smaller tub. Ma has soap she makes for sale. Two silver a bar, and another silver for her tub, sir.”

I gave the boy the three silvers, and they sped off down the hall and the steps. They returned with two buckets of steaming water each and poured it into the large copper tub a few minutes later. They did this a few more times before the tub was two-thirds filled. Then they returned with a smaller tub and filled that one as well. The Beastkin boy returned after and dropped off a very fragrant bar of soap before bidding me good night.

“Ok, Luin, bath time. She raised her head off the bed and looked at me, then the smaller copper tub. I could see the battle rage through her mind as she debated what to do.

“Trust me; a hot bath is one of the best things in the world. Let me scrub you clean first, so you don’t smell like a wet dog anylonger.”

She growled at that but jumped off the bed and walked over to the tub slowly, constantly giving me glances. She hopped up, so her front paws were on the edge of the tub, and looked down into the steaming water.

“Here, let me help you so you don’t drown yourself. Can Kobold’s swim?” I asked.

She gave me a look as if I was a moron. I picked her up and held her over the tub. She dripped her foot into the water and yelped.

“To hot for you? Sorry.”

I instantly made a small block of ice, intending it to radiate coldness, and allowed it to drop into her tub. I placed my hand into the water, and when it began to cool, I willed the magical block of ice to vanish. I then picked the Kobold up and placed her back into the tub. She seemed to relax, and I began to scrub the furred-scaled ball down. When I felt she was clean enough, I allowed her to relax in her tub, and I got undressed and slowly sank into my much hotter tub.

The soap was well made, and the fragrance seemed to last. Cleaned, I raised my legs over the tub’s rim and sank back into the warmth. Sometime later, I looked over at Luin and began choking as I laughed. The adorable Kobold had mimicked me and seemed to be enjoying her bath. She also had her feet over the edge of her small tub and seemed to be snoozing away.

When my water began to grow cold, I got out and dried myself off with the provided towels. I shook Luin awake, removed her from her bath, and dried her down before she jumped up on the bed and curled into a ball before closing her eyes.

I put my pants back on and mentally added buying some new clothes and sleep ware tomorrow. I got under the blankets and blew out the candles on the desk. I was excited about tomorrow.

Damn, this bed was comfortable.