“…there is no better place to experience the races of Alkerdia living in concert with one another than Aldmoor. It might not be the most colourful of cities, but you’ll never find a freer town anywhere else. The cuisine is a delectable marriage of all the good thing every race has to offer, it has an aership port a carriage-ride away and is considered one of the most sought after places to live in close to the Great Vale for many aspiring adventurers…” – excerpt from Saelethil Greatstrider’s Wanderlusts: Peoples and Places.

Sunlight streamed through the window slats and fell upon a face fair of complexion. Dust motes flitted around, oftentimes phasing in and out of the shafts. Some disappeared, to wherever dust motes went while some settled on flushed cheeks. Even so they were far too small to perturb the slumbering girl, snuggled under her covers all the way to her chin. Her disheveled blonde hair lay splayed all around her head. Some of her bangs fell onto her forehead while others got in the way of her nose.

The sleeping beauty slightly turned on her side, inadvertently putting her eyes directly in the way of the light streaming from the window slats. And that prompted a reaction. She sneezed cutely, scrunched her nose in a grimace and blocked the offending brightness with the back of her palm whilst grumbling expletives in her aelven tongue.

However much she wanted to stay in her warm bedding, it was not to be because a loud racket rang out through the porous walls, from the street over as well as the kitchen downstairs. She wished that Oon’sday could have been deferred just one more day to enjoy a weekend snooze. But there were chores that needed doing and the coin would not earn itself; that bread was not going to bring itself.

The intensifying racket finally won against her will to stay in bed, rousing the groggy girl from her sleep. She kicked off her covers, got out of her bed and stretched like a lithe cat sunning itself on a warm rock. After brushing the sleep gunk from the edge of her eyes, she dragged her feet to the wash basin, wiped her face and made sure to get her teeth clean with a burst of a [Cleanse] spell.

Then she changed out of her sheer nightgown that matched her complexion—It was barely there as far as modesty went and could have been considered scandalous. On the other hand, her olive green change of clothes was professional. She checked to see that everything on her [Receptionist] uniform was free of creases. She looked at her pleated skirt, to her long sleeved blouse that ended in cuffed frills at the wrist and finally tightened the laces on doublet. After donning her stockings, belt and thigh high leather boots, she picked up her guild tag and made her way down to the common room for breakfast.

“Good morning mister,” said the girl to the innkeeper who had just brought out her breakfast.

“Mornin’ to you Elena. Slept well?” replied the innkeeper.

“As if! The way you move around your kitchen is loud enough to rouse the gods. I’ll just accept your apologies because your food is so good.”

The bulky innkeeper guffawed at the girl’s quip.

“Not funny Halen. You know how I hate Oon’sdays . I just can’t help it.” Elena pouted in mock outrage as she waved a half-eaten roll of rye bread at the innkeeper.

“Hahaha, it is what it is, girl, it is what it is,” the innkeeper guffawed, wiping his large hands against his apron. “By the way, shouldn’t you be at work by now? Morning’s first bell just went off a couple of par’quarts ago.”

“Rot! And you didn’t think to tell me earlier?” Elena cursed as she tipped back her mug of milk and made to leave.

“Hehe, sorry. Sometimes I wonder if those half-elven ears of yours are embellishments,” Halen replied as he started picking up the dishes along with her leftover breakfast. “And you shouldn’t curse like that. It’s unbecoming of a lady.”

“I am no [Lady]. Smell you later, gotta run!” Elena dashed out of the inn, dodging some of the patrons who were half awake along the way.

“Mmh, young’uns these days,” Halen looked on.

Elena broke into a brisk walk as soon as she hit Aldmoor’s main thoroughfare. The town’s denizens were already engaged in their hustle and bustle lending life to the Erythean morning. Merchants called out their wares from their stalls, hooves clopped against the cobblestone streets from all manner of draught animals and a few of the centaurs that drew carriages for a living.

The town crier was also yodeling the latest news and announcements at the main square while a gaggle of young children made their way towards the Church of Thea, under the watchful eye of a matronly priestess.

Elena took in the sights and sounds as she had for the past couple years she had been working at the Adventurer’s Guild. She wove and bobbed in both foot and vehicular traffic, dodging a sleazy goblin peddler, sidestepping a nimble pickpocket and jumping over a drunk passed out on the pavement with elven grace. She just barely made it in time to the Guild to catch her co-worker who was signing off from her night shift. Another guild receptionist was already working at the reception desk.

“Top of the morning to you Elena,” her reception co-worker called out as Elena went behind the service desk.

“ Mornin' Hanna,” Elena saluted back. “ What's got you so chipper on an Oon'sday morning?"

“Nothing much, I just had the best end of the week!”

In contrast to Elena, Hanna's demeanor was bright and almost infectious. Almost— because Elena couldn't find it in her to keep up with her energy. If anything, it just aggravated her work week blues but she couldn't let it show on her face. She plastered on a practiced smile instead.

The half elf settled down on a high legged seat to prepare for the day's activities. She sifted through job requests that needed special attention before they went on the board, grimacing as she caught one of the usual rat infestation requests but none of the others were of note.

“Have you seen the new dresses that just came in by aership merchants last week? I should take you shopping sometime. They’re selling like honey cakes." Hanna rambled on. “Oh and have you heard? Destiny’s Edge is coming to Aldmoor.”

“Oh? Where did you hear that?” asked Elena, piqued as she looked up from her stack of request slips.

“The council meet, duh. My [Socialite] class is not for show you know,” Hanna replied as a matter of factly.

“Oh, sometimes I forget. Sorry. Anyway, it looks like a slow start of the week today; not that I am complaining.”

“Oh? What do you mean Oh?” Hanna sucked in air and pursed her lips in mock outrage. “I thought you’d want to see Nolan. You know, the Bluecastle boy?”

“Not interested Hanna. Boys will always be boys and he is the best example of them. Pulls in all the town girls like moths to a mage light.”

“Jealous aren’t we?” Hanna batted her eyelashes at her.

“Haah. Hanna,” Elenar sighed. “I can’t afford the time nor the effort. Besides there’s girls that are more beautiful than me in his party. I bet he likes girls who can handle themselves in a fight too.” The conversation steered into other topics there and then and the two receptionists lapsed into their daily routine.

Sometimes Elena was thankful that Hanna did not have the [Gossip] class, otherwise she wouldn’t have known when to drop some conversations before they got too awkward. She bet that Hanna’s [Socialite] class accorded her some skills to sense when a conversation was going downhill; something like [Read the Room] for example. Besides, a [Gossip] could talk one’s ear off if given the chance.

As she looked on, she found that the requests board had mostly been picked clean by the early birds even. The Guild hall was mostly empty yet the third bell of the morning had not gone off. Whichever adventurers were still around either lounged by the bar having their meals and drinks or waited by the main halls to get someone to join their parties for request slips already at hand.

Overall, mornings at the start of the week were rarely engaging and that worked just fine for Elena. Not that she couldn't pull her weight around the guild. On the contrary, she was as diligent as the next guild receptionist if not better. She had a couple years of experience to back it up.

However, Elena had a problem. Nothing could hold her interest for long, and if she had her way, she'd travel wherever her feet took her. Unfortunately, she was down on her luck toiling away in Aldmoor so that she could earn enough coin to either get to a mage academy or pay to apprentice under an [Enchanter].

Going to a mage academy was a shot in the dark, but with her magical aptitude, she would be eligible for a scholarship but that was not without proving herself. However, she was self-learned—that, at least counted for something.

With her half-elven heritage, she had been guaranteed to set upon the path of a [Mage] once she came of age. Thus, she got whatever spell tomes she could get her hands on, no matter how cheap. But her repertoire of spells remained dismal; she’d hit a bottleneck for sure. Save for household magic that every mageborn and mundane could wield, she had nothing to show for it. Elena really needed a teacher.

The Church of Thea that had a branch in the town also had a library open to the public if you knew your letters. On top of that, their priests and priestesses also offered to teach anyone who was willing to learn and Elena jumped at the chance to do just that.

Knowing to read and write was what had opened doors for her for a job with the Guild where she got her first class as a [Receptionist]—with a little endorsement from Halen. It wasn't a bad class so long as it meant that she earned an honest living. She also had some skill with the sword courtesy of Halen’s teachings; Halen the innkeeper had been an adventurer before he retired.

Elena had been a resident of Aldmoor for a while so much that she’d be considered a native. She had grown up in the town, having run away when she was barely into her half-elven teens after her parents separated— marriage failures for unions between different races were not unheard of. She was lucky to find someone who could put her up with a place to sleep and some work for her upkeep without asking too many questions.

Halen had always been somewhat of a foster father to her and she was glad that he let her bus tables even after she refused to pick up the [Barmaid] class. Even after all those years, neither Elena's real father nor her mother had tried to reach out.

Though it hurt to feel unwanted, she didn't dwell much on it as long as she could control how she lived her life. Working near Hanna always reminded her of what she had missed out on in her childhood—

Unlike her, Hanna had a mother and father to go home to. She had never known hardship since her family were merchants in the town and she had a choice of where she wanted to work. Undoubtedly, working at the guild was her own choice and her family had a little clout they could use to endorse her to the Guild.

“Amberkeep!” A gruff voice shook Elena from her ruminations. She winced as the timbre of the guild master's voice drew attention to her desk from onlookers.

“Whoopsie!” Hanna looked at Elena feeling sorry for her.

Quickly, she ducked her head and headed up the first floor where the guild master’s office lay. This was just a typical day in the life of Elena Amberkeep under the supervision of a guild master who liked being strict—He liked to run a tight ship.

She was expecting to get a stern talking to for her tardiness that always happened on the first day of the week. Standing before the door, she schooled her face to a neutral expression, honed from years spent dealing with unruly adventurers and removed some lint from her doublet before rapping on the door.

“Come in!”

Elena stepped into the office and stood before the guild master’s marble oak table. The hulk of a guild master was hunched over his desk with a pair of frameless glass spectacles perched precariously on the bridge of his nose. He was going through ledgers while consulting with his deputy who stood off to the side. While seated, he was still as tall as the woman standing nearby. Even for a dragon-kin he was quite tall for his race.

Another manifestation of his heritage was the curved horns that protruded from a mane of silver hair and the slit-eye pupils that turned to regard Elena. An old scar from a fight with a hydra ran from the bridge of his nose to the edge of his left cheek but it did not diminish his grandfatherly aura—sometimes it tended to turn prickly depending on his mood because of his lightning magic.

Although Orhill Stormborn could be considered grandfatherly in human years, he was still in his prime and were it not for his silver hair, old scar and salt and pepper beard, he would have passed for any forty-year-old human on the streets of Aldmoor.

“Take a seat Amberkeep,” said Orhill as he removed his glasses and handed off some ledgers to his deputy who promptly left the office. He steepled his hands over the marble oak desk, turning his attention to Elena across from him.

“Guild master I—”

“Save it girl.” Orhill shut her down with a wave of his hand, “That’s not why I called you in today.”

“I’ve known you for many years Elena,” the guild master’s stern visage softened a little. “And I know you have been working hard and even with Halen’s inn and Yondouk’s Emporium. You’ve been working yourself to the bone for; for what, I won’t ask—but you need to take a break sometimes.”

“But—”

“No buts. I won’t budge this time. I have let you defer your breaks long enough, lass. I need you to take some time and blow off steam. Maybe you should take up Hanna’s offer and go out shopping. Go see the sights if you deem it hard to spend your money—I’m sure Hanna would offer to treat you if you let her.”

“I’ll try—,” She grumbled. With the way the guild master was steam rolling over her, her luck seemed to have finally seemed to run out today of all days

“You know I’m not used to moneyed folk,” mumbled Elena as she played with a stray lock of her hair.

“But Hanna is a friend of yours is she not? I would think the Lalilabs aren’t as uptight— less would be said about the rest of the merchant families who run this town,” He snorted in distaste. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind your association with their daughter, he added.

“Weeell, this and that are two different things,” Elena hemmed and hawed. “Is there something else or is there more mollycoddling I should brace myself for?”

“Haah, you are rather stubborn. Can’t I convince you otherwise?” Orhill asked. Elena shook her head.“I can’t have you coming to work tardy every Oon’sday and have you moping around like someone skinned your cat.” said the guild master, throwing up his large clawed hands.

“Alright then, I’ll give you a bonus if you do one thing,” Orhill added with a contemplative gaze. Elena perked up in interest. “After you take two weeks off of course.'' Elena deflated, again.

“Hmph! I don’t even like cats.” Elena snorted. “‘right then, I’m listening. What do I have to do?”

“Mmh...” murmured the guild master as he retrieved a stack of documents beneath the paperweight and handed it over to her. “I need you to do the evaluation for an adventuring party that has requested promotion to Steel rank.How familiar are you with Wyvern’s Woe?”

“That team of Silvers? I know them.” replied Elena as she looked at the documents containing party records.

“Oho, you know about Hanaestra then?”

“The younger of the Stringsong sisters? Not so much. But I know about Quinten though.” Elena said, a scowl breaking through the stoic façade. “ He’s always hitting on me whenever he’s around the Guild.”

“Why am I just hearing about this?” Orhill asked. “No one has come forward complaining of harassment.”

“Well, not everyone can approach your office the way I can. Your aura makes danger sense scream sometimes. I am a mage-born, so I can take it, as for other people…not so much. ‘sides, I’ve been working here the longest.”

“Then? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“And give him the satisfaction? I don’t think so. I think I can take him.” she quirked her eyebrow.

“Alright then. Just watch yourself around him, I’ll have the storekeeper start requisitioning supplies for you.”

“Alright then,” said Elena as she got up taking the papers with her. As she neared the door on her way out, the guild master called out to her, “Make sure to start your leave after your afternoon shift. You have the next two weeks to prepare yourself for the evaluation.”

“I heard you guild master,” came the reply from the other side of the closed door as footsteps receded into the stairwell.