Chapter 7: Party Up!

Spacious, an understatement for the first floor. In between the walls of the Guild agency was a surface area large enough to house nearly a hundred people, comfortably. Bookcases near the walls lined its rows with history books, academia papers, fictions and plays, and news papers to keep their guests from boredom. Comfy couches and wooden tables with seats of twos, threes, fours, and fives all laid around for public lounging. Inspiring works of drawings, paintings, and crafts decorated the walkways of the first floor in transparent cases. But, they were all lonely.

As deserted as the first floor was, the second floor was nothing less than rowdy. Clangs of glasses and shouts of joyous banter shook the second floor. One shouted of how mighty the hunt they slain. Another screamed, “No more bugs! No more grinchins or swoodoo flies! I’m never leaving town again!” Tables jumped and chairs were knocked back as the level of excitement and carelessness had the workers biting their nails. Each sweat drooping from the manager’s chin was another expense factored into finance. The sweet confirmation of “I’ll cover it all. Let my boys enjoy the night,” by an adventurer with a gold amulet eased the manager from his toes.

At the center of the first floor was a circular reception desk that sat under tens of papers levitating in between the first and second floor. Their rotation was slow as they orbited around a white orb with a black, gassy hue above the reception desk. From the front door, the papers were certainly legible. ‘Kill,’ ‘Destroy,’ and ‘Transport,’ were some of the keywords that categorized the papers. The finer details were in a smaller font, making it more difficult to read.

We walked up to the reception desk, and greeted the only worker attending the station.

“Welcome, Aislings.” The receptionist greeted back. “How can I help you at this early hour?”

“We’re looking for any quest that pays well.” I answered with a pumped chest and a straight posture, hoping that would gain me a well-paying quest.

“Sure.” The receptionist smiled. “May I see your ring?”

“...Ring?” I looked to my side, hoping Reccu could chime in. But she was long gone. Further beyond the bookcases were a flight of stairs next to the left and right walls that led to the second floor. And there she was, happily skipping up the stairs with arms flying back and forth.

“Oh, are you new here?” The receptionist opened the desk drawers and shuffled through a pack of documents. “Would you like to sign up as a new party?”

“Uh… Sure… If that means I can accept a quest.” I replied, hesitantly. “So, what exactly does that mean?”

“Mmm...” She stared at me with starry eyes, humming; an odd and unusual opportunity presented itself. “The rush of newcomers yesterday morning skimmed through this process, so I’m really surprise there are people out there who actually cares about these kinds of things.”

Before I could even get a word in, she cleared her throat, straighten her bowtie, corrected her glasses, and took in a huge breath. “Parties are how we track your progression in handling quests. We can’t hand out the toughest quest to everyone; all the idiots would get themselves killed. So, we try our best to sort the list as fair as possible; progression and promotions won’t take that long if you’re worth it. Besides that, your party’s rank can also be used as a representation of renown. Many places recognize the Guild agency as an institution that promotes power, aptitude, or just a good reference. Simply show them your--”

A concerning thud rippled as she face-planted onto the desk, wheezing and coughing, struggling for air.

“Huh…” I slightly nodded, pretending I listened to every single word that shot out of her mouth. “Can I accept a quest now?”

She downed a bottle of water sitting on her desk and slammed a document in front of me. “Fill… this...”

Under ‘New Party Registration,’ the document asked for my name, the party’s name, the members within the party, our levels and classes, and finally, the date. There were other tidbits written, such as the Guild agency not being held reliable for the healthiness or well-being of the contractors. Quests payments are done upfront and in person, but quest rewards are only given once the reports have been filed, or the agent has deemed it sufficient.

“Sorry… I don’t know my party member’s level.” I told the receptionist. “Can I leave it out?”

Unfortunately, she shook her head and informed me that it was a necessity so that they can adjust the rank accordingly. “However, everyone has the option of merging a party below the rank of Platinum, so you may use that to your advantage. Lots of new people thought they had compose the perfect team upon registration but eventually fall out, so this rule was appended to give them more time.”

“Thanks.” I returned the document with my information on it. “May I take a quest now?”

“Let’s see… Name: Mit-Han-Rou. Class: Monk. Level: 1. Date: Fall, Deoch 11.” She shuffled the paper into another stack of documents. Afterwards, she reached a hand into another drawer and procured a necklace with a bronze ring attached to it. A crimson bird flew down from the third floor at the command of her whistle. Not the slightest bit of agitation was shown as the receptionist plucked a feather off of the bird. The end-point blazed with a hot ember as the surrounding air grew dry. She scribbled onto the ring, and presented it to me. “Welcome to the Guild agency, DUB-HAHM-ED… Dubhamid. You don’t hear names like that around Suomi often.”

“Wow...” I gratefully accepted it and wore it around my neck. It was beautiful. It was simple, with a nice shine. But, no other ring would have the name ‘Dubhamid’ so skillfully etched by a calligraphist. “So...”

“Right, right.” She took out a squiggly stick with an illuminating orb at the end of it, and waved it around. Seven quest papers that were in the air flew down and sorted itself in front of me from the highest gold reward possible to the lowest. “These have been up for quite some time, and they are very beginner friendly.”

The first quest on the left detailed about the need of a caretaker. Daily necessities such as feeding, washing, and replacing the poo bucket for seven days would reward a total of two gold coins. The second quest talked about finding a missing cat, white and black stripes, running around town. That one offered a reward of one gold coin. The third one was desperately offering one gold coin to exterminate rodents in his kitchen. The next one wanted someone to deliver groceries every day, for the next seven days. The reward… “You can have the rest of my carrots.”

What the hell are these pitiful quests…? I looked at her, a lady full of smiles, and asked, “Is there anything that offers better pay?”

“The higher paying ones within bronze rank are currently undertaken by other adventurers.” The receptionist informed. “They still have a few days left to report before their quests become publicly available again.”

Descending from the left stairway, Reccu took careful steps towards me as she tried to balance a tray of ceramic plates stacked with a whole lot of meat. With the unfortunate letdown of finding a quest, I’m glad to have a capable partner in my dire times. Delicious food always manages to cheer me up. She called out to me, and I happily waved back.

“Are you done?” Reccu waddled with great trouble, hilariously. Plates were loaded to generously feed three. With extreme vigilance, the meat never touched her coat or hair. A somewhat effective transportation, though a bit silly.

“Not yet.” I reached for a delicious smoking chicken wing, slightly charred, on her plate. “I’m just trying to find--”

Reccu, reflexively, leaned back with the plate close to her chest.

I looked at Reccu, surprised. She stared at me, perplexed. My eyes fell to the delicacies on the plate, and then back to her eyes. A sheepish smile curled her lips as she turned her head sideways. She took a step back, shying into a safe space.

“Reccu…”

“Mit-Han-Rou…”

“Are those for us?” I stared dead straight at her while mustering my best well-behaved smile.

“If ‘us’ is ‘me’… then yes.” Reccu quietly replied with averting eyes.

This kind of situation, I’ve been in them before. Her eyes zoomed back and forth, desperately trying to find something to latch onto. With little-to-none activity on the first floor, those eyes didn’t wander for long. Once she realized that, she sneaked a peek at me and averted her gaze once more.

Absolutely unbelievable. She would let me starve before sharing one single piece of meat. I leaned over the desk, took the receptionist’s hand, and summoned my pitiful-yet-adorable eyes. “Please. Please! I need a quest. Something that pays well enough to feed me all the food I could ever want!”

The receptionist quickly pulled her hand back, followed by a nervous laughter. “The option of a joint-party quest is available to you. Bronze-rank parties aren’t really in high-demand though, but we can still try. Anyway, once the quest has been reported as complete, your party will earn a fraction of the total gold rewarded by the quest. It’s not enough for what you want, but it’s much more than the ones that are available now. Is that fine with you?”

“Sure…“ I resignedly agreed. “Thanks.”

“Slushtea please come to the reception desk on the first floor. Bronze-rank Dubhamid is interested in aiding your quest.” Loud and distinct, her voice rang through the entire building, like she was speaking through an intercom. After placing down a megaphone, she procured a quest paper from the desk drawers and presented it to me. “This is the only joint-party quest willing to accept bronze-rank parties at the moment.”

Retrieve: Silver Pocket Watch

Near the eastern border of Suomi, a ruined camped lies just outside the jurisdiction of men. There should be a silver pocket watch within the bags of the deceased. Retrieve it, and the reward of 1000 gold coins is yours. Beware: furry creatures, the kin of wolves, marks this place as their territory now. I’ll add 100 gold coins for every head you send back.

Total: x100 + 1000 gold coins

Prepare well,

Captain Omuzi.

“Excuse me.” A soft and quiet voice called out to us. “Are you Dubhamid?”

I turned to the voice, and a gorgeous mix of cute and sexiness stared back. Long platinum-blonde hair, brushed back with a hint of messiness, and slightly damp below her shoulders. A pair of apathetic eyes, round and enticing with thick eyelashes and double eyelids, looked at me, then at Reccu. A grey cowl scarf wrapped around her neck; a yellow and black, long-sleeved wizardry robe covered her upper half; and white puffy pants that were string tighten just below her knees covered her lower half.

Reccu nervously hid the tray of food behind her back. Improper balancing with fidgety fingers tipped the tray over, causing all of the items on the tray topsy-turvy. A loud crash rang through the building, though nothing in comparison to the rowdiness of the second floor. No matter how hard she tried to be still and invisible, her nervousness flushed her face entirely pink and lit her face.

“That’s us.” I smiled and extended a handshake. “Mit-Han-Rou. You must be Slushtea.”

A small hand -- tattooed in pale red with an intricate geometric design, from her wrist to her fingertips -- grasped my hand, gave it a weak tug, then retracted. “Yunbae,” she announced, unenthusiastically. After confirming the joint-party quest with the receptionist, Yunbae walked over to a table nearby a bookcase, picked up her grimoire and wand, and proceeded out of the front door.

Reccu, on her hands and knees, struggled as she cleaned up the mess. It was a bit hard to watch those shaky hands pick up pieces of meat and placing them onto the metal tray. Never daring to face up. The receptionist came over with a spray bottle and towel to kill the stains on the floor. I picked up bits of shattered ceramics on the ground and placed them onto the metal tray, with the spoiled meat.

Strangely, the more I helped, the more I became fixated on the shadows casted by Reccu. Her shadow was split in two, probably due to the nature of the lighting inside the building. But, that wasn’t the strangeness. Shadows are an imitation of an object, casted by rays of light. However, the more I stared at her shadow, the more it stood out. It was too odd; it felt too alive for simply a shadow. Rather than copying Reccu’s original movements, it mimicked the other shadow… perfectly.

Pressing my fingers against both of the shadows resulted in nothing out of the ordinary. A cold sensation as expected. And so was the hard ground that held all of us up. Possibly, the fact that I haven’t eaten in so long is causing my senses to wobble. The floor-seasoned meats were still appetizing, despite their unfortunate condition.

“Leave the rest to me.” The receptionist reassured. “Go on, she’s waiting for you two.”

Reccu walked out of the room with a drooping head, mumbling to herself.

“She’s with you, right?” The receptionist asked. “I’ll keep that in mind, so go ahead. You don’t want to keep Yunbae waiting.”

I thanked her for her help and followed after Reccu through the front doors.

The slightest bit of orangeness leaked out of the dark sky. Morning has arrived, and so did a wave of horses, carriages, and wagons. Many of the coaches parked to the side of the road, making it convenient to depart. Yunbae waved from within one of the carriages situated for departure. Behind the marvelous statue of Jutspi, Reccu was silently venting to herself.

I hurried towards the carriage that Yunbae was waiting in, and climbed in at her discretion. Buried in her grimoire, she spared what little attention she had leftover and asked me about my readiness. Any preparations that are done in the city would have to be accomplish before departure, she advised. Though, with no money on hand, I didn’t really have any worries. Other than a missing Reccu, I felt fully prepared.

Speaking of the devil, Reccu stepped into the carriage, stressed, like she just got done scolding a child post-tantrum. She dropped onto the seat across from me, next to Yunbae. A long sigh escaped her lips. I wanted to ask her what that was all about, but I kept the words to myself. She didn’t want to talk about it, not with that demeanor.

Yunbae pried her eyes from her grimoire and asked, “Are we ready to leave?”

“Ready.” I affirmed.

Reccu had her face completely smush against the window, totally dejected from the conversation. But that didn’t deter Yunbae. With a hand in her pocket, she procured a copy of the same paper that had the information of our quest. “We’re looking for a silver pocket watch. Leaving now should still leave us with a decent amount of time to find it without much trouble. There aren’t many wolves near the border during the day, so we should be okay.”

“That’s one part of the quest,” I added, “but what about the other? A hundred gold coins per head. Are we not doing that?”

She looked at me, unamused, and shrugged. “Eh.”