“Yes, I'm looking for some lambskin condoms.” Serah says to the general store worker.

“Lambskin condoms.” The worker says as he grabs a pouch from a hook and puts it on the counter. “30 coins.” He says.

“30 coins!? That's highway robbery!” Serah exclaims, dissatisfied.

The worker shrugs and lets out a smirk. “What can I say? It's a luxury. If you'd like, you could risk it without them. What's that saying? The rich get richer, and the poor get children?” He says before letting out a laugh.

“Fine! 30 coins!” Serah grumbles as she fishes out the money and places it angrily on the table.

“Thank you, come again! Then after a few more times, come back for more condoms!” The worker says before letting out another laugh.

“Wise-ass.” Serah mumbles as she leaves the store.

…

…

Serah had found an inn and had paid for a few days, but she was running low on cash. So she wandered the city, hoping for inspiration to strike. Eventually, she came upon the Adventurers Guild.

Serah gives herself a light tap to the head. Duh! The adventures guild! Should’ve been the first thing I tried. She thinks with self-rebuke.

Serah walks in and moves through the passing adventures to find a lady behind a counter.

“Hey, ugh, I’m looking for work. Was hoping you could help a girl out.” Serah says to the lady.

“Are you registered with the guild?” The lady asks with a raised eyebrow. “You’ll have to register to accept jobs.” She says, already pulling out a form with expectation.

“Ugh, no. Not yet.” Serah responds.

“Fill out the form and come back. Then I’ll give you your id and show you to the job board. Here’s a pen.” The lady says as she pushes the form and pen towards Serah.

Serah smiles. “Thanks.” She says as she takes the form. People really come and go freely in this place. No background check or nothing. Serah comments as she finds a place to sit.

She takes a seat at a table and looks at the form.

Name:

Class:

Level:

Skills:

Group Associations:

Emergency Contact:

Serah writes her name, then considers what to write for her class. Magic Warrior? Good enough. She thinks as she writes it down. Level. 8. Skills? Probably shouldn’t write down the enchantment stuff. Swordsmanship. Magic Swordsmanship. Group associations? None. I’m a free bird, baby! Emergency contact? Let’s just put Georgio. He won’t mind. Serah thinks as she fills out the form.

Serah smiles, satisfied, and gets up to hand the form back. “Done!” She says as she puts the form and pen on the counter.

“Okay. Let me have a look. Hmm… Okay, you qualify for Bronze, Rank 4. You’ll have to finish a few jobs to get an accurate rating, but it should be good enough to start. Let me just grab your badge.” The lady says before moving to a back room to pick out a badge. She comes back and records a few numbers off the badge before handing it to Serah. “Your badge will been registered to your name so don’t lose it. It also works as identification in a few places. Okay. Follow me, I’ll show you the job board.” The lady says before leading the way deeper into the building.

Serah struts forward and follows.

“This is the public job board.” The lady says with a gesture to the wall. “These jobs have general prerequisites, and the people paying for them are mostly okay with anyone applying to complete them. Sometimes there are special requests or jobs that require certain skills; the guild handles brokering those jobs to the appropriate people. You’ll probably have to earn more of a reputation for those jobs. Anyways, I’ll leave you to browse. If you find something, just let me know and I’ll give you the necessary details.” The lady says before walking away to handle other business.

Serah smiles. She’s a delight. She thinks before beginning to look through the jobs. Ah, goblin hunting. That’s a classic. 30 coin for each goblin ear. Not bad. It’s better than nothing. Sherfield Forest, Southeast of the city. Hmm… What else is around there. Maybe I can multitask. Herb gathering? Nah, that’s boring. Oh, wolf hunting? That’s also not bad. I can make a whole hunting trip out of it. 40 coins for a wolf paw? Do they not want the fur? Or is it just pest control? Whatever, I’ll take it. Serah says as she picks the two jobs out before moving to find the lady.

“Picked out a few jobs in Sherfield Forest. Is there anything to watch out for over there?” Serah asks.

The lady raises an eyebrow as she thinks it over. “Pretty sure that there are a few ogres wandering that place. It’s hard to say whether you’ll meet any though. Anyways, I’ll mark these as your current jobs in progress. Was there anything else?” She asks.

Serah hesitates. There was something else, but she wasn’t sure if she should say it. But on the other hand, she really wasn’t sure where to say it, so she might as well say it here. “Hey, ugh. I was just wondering. In the city, was there a way to ugh… You know, do business anonymously. Like if you wanted to buy or sell something in a, ugh… discreet manner.” Serah says, hovering over the counter, looking suspicious.

The lady raises an eyebrow and smiles. “Haven’t heard that question in a while. But yes, an underground auction is held in the city every two weeks. But there are all sorts of illegal business that happens there, so they don’t just let anybody in. You’ll need an invite from someone you know personally.” She says honestly. She wasn’t one to judge and information is just information. What this customer does with it was her business.

“Ughh… What if it was just to sell?” Serah asks, hoping to find a way to squeeze in.

“If it’s just to sell, that’s different.” The lady says with a smile. “They have an office not far from here that’s only open for a few hours every evening. Nothing is sold there. Just details that are shared. But if you can sell to somewhere else, I suggest you do. I’d avoid the auction if I were you; places like that are like quicksand, they have a weird way of pulling you in deeper.” The lady says, with some well-meaning advice.

Serah hesitates at the words. Maybe she’s right. I’m not quite sure what I’m risking just for a bit of money… On the other hand, this could also be a shit ton of money. Ah, just once wouldn’t hurt. She thinks before letting out a smile. “Could I get their address, please?” Serah asks, ignoring the advice.

The lady lets out a bitter smile. “Sure.” She says as she grabs some paper to write on.