The door swung open all the way, and I slipped through.

Studying my surroundings, I saw that I was in an enclosed foyer. Contrary to my expectations, the room was well appointed and looked nothing like the outside led me to expect. A woven rug covered the floor, and gold frame paintings hung on the walls.

“Wait here,” Eyes ordered, floating towards the door at the far end of the foyer.

“Why?” I asked.

“I'm going to fetch Han,” he replied.

“Who's that?” I asked absently, studying one of the nearby paintings. It portrayed a troop of soldiers fighting something that looked remarkably like a dragon.

“Someone better off dealing with your incessant questions,” Eyes grumbled. He paused outside the door. “Don't think about trying to leave this room,” he warned. “The building is warded against intruders, and the traps they trigger are fatal.”

“Alright,” I said agreeably. “I'll wait here.”

Eyes disappeared through the door, without opening it. Left to my own devices, I walked a slow circuit around the room, studying each of the paintings in turn. They all depicted players battling monsters, either in groups or individually.

They must all be bounty hunters, I thought, thinking it likely the paintings depicted some of the guild’s proudest moments.

I was still pottering about the room when the interior door opened. I turned around and saw a dapper looking woman standing in the entrance. The newcomer, a young human woman, was elegantly attired in a black suit. Her flowing black hair had a lustrous sheen to it, her fingers were manicured, and her eyebrows were tilted upwards as she studied me as avidly as I did her.

“Han?” I guessed.

The woman chuckled. “It's Hannah actually. But Eyes refuses to call me anything other than Han. I'm the Guild client liaison officer.”

“Ah, I see.”

She waved me to a pair of couches sitting against the left wall. “Have a seat, Michael,” she said, “and let's talk.”

I did as she bid.

“Oh, and you can get rid of that illusion. You won't need it here.”

I quirked an eyebrow at her but didn't protest as I let my lesser imitates spell dissipate.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “Now from what Eyes has told me, I understand you wish to join the Guild?”

I nodded.

“Well, technically, this is not my area of responsibility,” Hannah said. “I usually only deal with clients, but none of the other senior guild officers are available at the moment, and Eyes—correctly so—judged himself unqualified to deal with the matter.”

I rubbed my chin, but said nothing, not missing the implications behind her words. For whatever reason, it seemed for me to become a guild member was no ordinary matter.

“Your file is quite interesting,” she continued.

“I have a file?” I murmured.

Hannah nodded. “All our marks do.” She paused. “Or in your case, former mark.”

“Alright,” I said. “What is so special about my file that it warrants the attention of a senior Guild officer?” I asked with a grin.

No answering smile flickered across the client liaison’s face. “For one, the bounty taken out on you was for an exorbitant amount,” she said solemnly. “For another, the bounty was directly at the behest of a Power. And thirdly, the guild’s analysts believe that there is a high probability of another bounty being taken out on you in the near future.”

I winced, but I couldn't disagree with the guild's assessment. “What does all that mean?”

“It means you are a liability,” she stated bluntly. “And the Guild will be better served without you as one of its members.”

“But?” I asked. “There has to be a but or we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?”

Hannah's smile finally returned. “You’re right, there are a few counterarguments. You've managed to kill a rank nineteen wyvern, and you appear not to be risk averse.”

I snorted. That was an understatement.

“Then there is your Class,” she continued, her smile growing. “Mindstalkers are rare. Finally, and most importantly, you have attracted the interests of no less than four different Powers.” She paused. “All this makes you potentially quite valuable to the guild.”

“Enough so to let me become a full member?”

She shook her head. “Not quite. But it is enough to let you try becoming one. If you wish, I will register you as a probationary member.”

“Excellent,” I replied. “Where do I sign up?”

“Not so fast,” she said. “First, tell me what you know of the guild?”

“Uhm...”

Hannah's lips twitched “That's what I thought,” she murmured. “Before you decide, there are a few things you must know.”

“Go on,” I said, realizing she was right.

“One, the bounty hunters’ guild is not a Game faction,” Hannah said. “We have no Power protecting our interests or shielding our members from retaliation from disgruntled parties. You understand?”

I did, and while Hannah might have expected the information to make me less eager to join the guild, on the contrary, it made me more willing.

“Two, the Guild is nonpartisan. We have no affiliation with any other faction, Force or Power. The guild respects only one thing: money. We will take any job, except those to hunt down a fellow guild member.” She smiled. “Which is why we don't grant membership to just anyone.”

I nodded in understanding.

“The other thing worth noting about the guild is that our members are very loosely affiliated. There is only one rule to follow: don't kill fellow guild members. If you're caught doing so, you will be expelled.”

Hannah held my gaze, waiting for my acknowledgement before going on. “Good. Now for the last bit. Every job is voluntary. If we feel you are suitable for a particular job, a guild officer will reach out to you. But the choice of whether to accept the bounty or not is yours alone. The guild also only acts as an intermediary—for which we take our cut of course—and by itself does not guarantee success of any job.

“Admittedly this has made us less than popular with the factions, and over the years it has resulted in them forming their own inhouse hunter teams. The mantises are one such group.” She paused. “I understand you’ve already run afoul of them?”

I nodded. “Who are they?”

Hannah's lips thinned. “They are a Dark faction, and their contracts are exclusively from Darksworn. Primarily, they are assassins.” She tilted a head to the side. “Do you know who hired them to hunt you down?”

I shook my head. “I don’t, but I can guess. It must have been Ishita.”

Hannah nodded. “That makes sense in light of her cancellation of your bounty with us. The Power must have been frustrated at the lack of results.” She met my gaze. “Do you still want to join the guild?”

“You haven’t mentioned the benefits of joining,” I pointed out.

She smiled. “As a member, you will gain access to exclusive jobs, and will earn a greater percentage of the profit. Advance high enough in the Guild, and you will also gain access to our exclusive stores and the dungeons we control.”

I nodded. It was as I'd thought. “And in return?”

“In return, you complete your prescribed minimum number of jobs annually. Any other questions?”

“Just one. How do I become a full member?”

Hannah grinned. “The standard requirement is three completed tier four bounties. Given the difficulty of the tier three bounty you managed, for the purposes of your membership, we'll allow it. That means you’ll need to complete two more tier four jobs.”

I bowed my head in my hands and groaned. That was not going to be easy.

The client liaison chuckled. “Don't look so disheartened. Study the Nexus bounty ledger.” She waved a hand and a book appeared on a nearby table. “It lists all the currently open jobs in the sector and those available to you as a probationary member. You will find most tier four jobs are not as difficult as a tier three one you attempted.”

I raised my head. “They aren't?”

“They aren't,” Hannah said, still smiling. “Tier four jobs are generally for multiple subjects or items. Study the ledger,” she repeated, “and you will see.”

I nodded. “I'll do that.”

Reaching into her coat pocket, the guild officer pulled out a small red card. The letters ‘BHG’ were engraved boldly in silver across the middle of the card’s lacquered surface. Below it, in smaller text was my name followed by the word, ‘probie.’

Flipping the card over, Hannah handed it to me. “That's your guild identification.” Game messages unfurled in my mind as I took the offered item.

You have acquired a BHG ID. This is a writ of authorization, marking you as a probationary member of the Bounty Hunters Guild. As a probationary member, you may be in active pursuit of five bounties at any one time.

This writ is a Game-created item and cannot be stolen or lost, even upon death. Note, if your membership is revoked by the guild, this item will be destroyed. This item may not be traded or passed onto another and will not drop on final death.

The Adjudicator has allocated you a new task: Probie! The Bounty Hunters Guild has accepted you as a probationary member. Fulfill the guild’s requirements to become a full member. Objective: Complete two tier 4 bounties.

“Congratulations, Michael,” Hannah said warmly. “You are now a Guild member, if only one on probation. You may explore the rest of the rooms in the building if you wish, but you will find that as a probationary member, you will be barred from entry into most.” She rose to her feet, signaling an end to our meeting.

I rose with her. “Thank you,” I said watching her walk off.

~~~

After Hannah left, I walked over to the bounty ledger to inspect its contents. There were dozens of bounties listed within. In fascination, I perused the list.

The jobs were categorized by tiers. The first thing I noticed was that all bounties of tier five or greater were reserved only for full guild members. Comparatively, there weren’t many such jobs, but invariably, they were unique and paid handsomely.

More interesting, though, was that most of the high-tiered jobs listed marks in other quarters of the city. That gave me pause and I frowned thoughtfully at the book.

Does that mean those jobs are only open to guild members who are force sworn, or do guild members have special dispensation to enter the other city quarters?

I would have to remember to ask Hannah the next time I saw her but for now I set aside the question of high-tiered bounties and turned my attention to the jobs at the low end of the scale. Most of these were open to anyone—probationary members and non-members.

Almost immediately, I dismissed the idea of attempting any of the tier one and two bounties. Their tasks were unappealing and repetitive, and consisted mostly of collecting ingredients, delivering messages and goods, or finding specific individuals. Their pay was nothing remarkable either.

The tier three jobs were more interesting and seemed to focus on escort duty, stealing, spying, information gathering and even serving as a henchman. Curiously, I read the description of one such job.

Job number: 921. Job name: fighter henchman wanted. Tier: 3. Bounty: 50 gold. Payment is guaranteed by the guild, and the job is available to both guild members and non-members.

Job description: A melee-based fighter player between level 50 and 100 is required to serve as a henchman to the player Sykes for a single dungeon run through the tier two dungeon: infested gutters. The henchman will be fitted with a guild-approved control device that will force him to obey Sykes for the duration of the dungeon run. A penalty of 200 gold will be levied against Sykes if the player deviates from the job parameters or the henchman dies in service.

There were other details too, like where Sykes could be found, the job start date, and so on, but I didn't bother reading any of it.

My lips twisted in disgust at the thought of leashing my will to another. It went without saying that the job did not appeal to me.

Flipping over the page, I studied the next set of jobs.