The Adventurer’s Guild was much more lively in the evening, though it fell to silence the moment Adam stepped inside. The several groups of adventurers stared at the half elf, wondering how that had come to be. They hadn’t heard of half elves coming by, not around here anyway.

Adam noticed Jurot, nodding his head towards the Iyrman, before walking to the reception. Emma was currently writing something down, checking and double checking some guild matters, before glancing up to see Adam.

“Good evening,” Adam said, smiling a playful smile.

“Good evening,” Emma replied, smiling her receptionist smile. “I see you’re well.”

“Yeah, Thundersmith didn’t stab me with the dagger I made,” Adam said, revealing the dagger, placing it on the counter. He also placed down the letter, which Emma took and scanned quickly with her eyes.

“Then allow me to be the first one to congratulate you,” Emma said, taking the dagger and putting it aside. “Your tags should be created by the morning.” She was confident in her estimations because the letter had said two things. The first was that Adam was okay at smithing, and the second was that Thundersmith needed to sleep before he made the tags, and that they would be handed over a little after dawn.

“Great.”

Quest Complete

Join the Adventurer’s Guild

+100XP

Adam’s eyes flickered for a moment towards the words which appeared ahead of him, enough to cause Emma to notice, but she didn’t mention anything about it.

“Tomorrow morning I’ll also explain to you the general rules, what’s expected of you, and the stamp system.” She reached down and grabbed a sheet of paper. “However, here is a quick cheat sheet which you can skim through to get a general gist of it.”

“Thank you,” Adam said, taking it. He folded it in half as Emma brought out another piece of paper. It was already folded in half, and as Adam opened it up to read, he realised what it was. He did a quick skim through of it as well. “Do you have a pen I could borrow?”

Emma handed him a quill and some ink, which he used to sign the paper, and handed it over to the guild worker.

“Welcome to the guild, Adam,” Emma said with a gentle smile. This one was genuine, as it was always exciting to have a new member join the Adventurer’s Guild.

The other adventurers nearby had heard what she had said, but they weren’t sure how they should respond. Typically, they would raise their glasses in a toast, but Adam was a half elf. They were all raised hearing certain stories about the elves, and so there were many mixed feelings about the matter.

Jurot, on the other hand, walked over to Adam. “Congratulations,” he said, reaching out a hand.

Adam smiled, shaking the young man’s hand. “You too. Looks like we’re both going to have our anniversary on the same day.”

“I hope everyone can congratulate our newest members together,” Emma said, smiling a most terrifying smile towards the other adventurers. They raised their glasses and grumbled something, with a few of them raising their glasses towards Jurot, ignoring the half elf.

“You two must be tired. Luckily for you, dinner will be served soon. If you need to head into your room, let me know and I will hand you your key. Whenever you leave the Adventurer’s Guild, you should return the key, so that it isn’t lost. These belong to you permanently, as long as our various deals stand.” Though she was speaking about the deals the guild had with both the Iyrmen and Adam, she was looking towards Adam.

“The deal with the Iyrmen?” Adam asked, having not recalled this in his previous life.

“The Iyrmen each have permanent rooms within our guild,” Emma said.

“All of them?” Adam asked. “How many rooms do you have in this guild?”

Emma couldn’t help but smile. “We have six available for them at all times,” she said. “Usually they move in groups of five, but they might also have a guest with them so we keep an extra one that we keep on hand.”

“Do you still have six now that I’ve taken one?” Adam asked. He didn’t know that the Iyrmen had made such a deal with the Adventurer’s Guild, but it did make sense. The Iyrmen were a powerful force, and so of course they’d have preferential treatment here.

“We just made one of our other rooms unavailable,” Emma said. “This has been one of the easier deals.”

“I’m glad that I wasn’t too much of a bother.” Adam chuckled. “Well, I think I should probably go have a bath since my armour is already off. Can I get my key?”

Emma slid it over towards him. The key was fairly small, and had a small red oak keyring with the number 96 etched on it.

‘Damn, almost.’

Jurot nodded. “I will bathe too,” Jurot said, as a key was handed to him.

The pair of them made their way up. They didn’t seem to have rooms nearby one another, so Adam went to his own room. It was fairly small, though was much larger than the room he had been given in his previous life. It had a bed, a desk beside it, and a large wardrobe. There was also a chest under the bed.

Adam placed his armour aside, and then realised he didn’t have a spare change of clothes. ‘Damn it.’ His clothes would reek if he didn’t wash them now. ‘If only I had Tricks! Damn it!’

He took his blanket with him, so he could cover himself as he dried his clothes once he was done. He stepped out and made his way to the bath, where he found Jurot about to step into one of the small bathrooms.

Jurot took a look at him, seeing how Adam had taken off his cloak. It was only now that Jurot could see Adam’s proper physique. The Iyrman stared at the half elf in obvious shock. “Your physique is incredible,” Jurot said.

“Thank you,” Adam said, taken aback by Jurot’s forwardness.

Jurot turned and walked over to Adam, his piercing eyes staring at Adam’s body. “Like a statue carved by Iromin.”

“Th-thanks?” Adam replied back, unsure of where this was going.

Jurot was staring at him in a way Adam had never been stared at before. No, not quite. He had recalled the last few times someone had stared at him like this. He shuddered slightly, feeling as though he was being violated by Jurot’s eyes.

“Glorious strength, I didn’t expect you to be such a fine specimen of man! Are all half elves like you?” Jurot asked, grabbing onto Adam’s arm, feeling his juicy biceps and his tricep.

Adam squirmed as Jurot grabbed at him, and he slid away from Jurot. ‘What the hell is going on?’ His heart pounded, his cheeks flushed a deep red with heat. ‘?’ For a moment, Adam wondered if Jurot rolled that way.

“Your biceps are well formed. Your neck seems to be have trained well as well. Many forgo neck training, but you didn’t skimp on it. Is it because you wear armour, Adam son of Fate?”

‘Specimen? Forgo? What kind of words are you using, Jurot?’ Adam shook his head, wondering if he had smoked something in Thundersmith’s forge. Had he taken a sip of the dwarven drink? ‘No, I would have remember that much at least.’

“Such powerful shoulders as well.” Jurot then walked around Adam.

The half elf tensed up slightly and then quickly rushed to the bathroom, grabbing the handle. “I should really have a bath now,” Adam said.

Adam quickly disappeared into the bath, still in a state of shock. He was in a wooden basin, which the door was a part of, locking the bath so that water couldn’t seep out. It looked very similar to his previous life, with an area for clothes, two taps which would provide cold and hot water.

Adam inhaled deeply, calming down. “Jesus, Jurot. You can’t just go around molesting other guys.” He shook his head. ‘Do Iyrmen not know common sense?’ Adam recalled how people reacted to him as a half elf. ‘Or do I lack common sense?’ Adam paused to think. ‘No, it’s just that common sense doesn’t exist. It’s a myth.’

All the while, Jurot was also having a bath, but was deep in thought about Adam and his muscles. ‘I bet he could throw a javelin really far.’ Jurot couldn’t help but admire Adam’s physique. He was tall and thick, as built as any Iyrman. He had no other motives than to admire the physique as a work of art. ‘Are they less dense? Is that why he wasn’t able to pick up those rocks as well as me? His muscles are definitely bigger than mine. What are muscles, truly?’

Adam relaxed in the bath, filling it up with hot water, and then basking in it. He grabbed the soap and started to wash himself up, looking at his body properly for the first time. “Whoa! I am jacked! It’s like I spent an entire year taking Tren and training to be a super hero or something. What kinda juice did they feed me?” He recalled rolling for his stats. ‘Ah, divine juice.’ He admired his physique for a little while, understanding why Jurot was eager to touch him.

Adam looked down to see his face and hair. He was quite the handsome half elf. ‘Did I roll an 18 for hotness or something?’ He turned his head as he admired himself, seeing his powerful jaws, and his elegant facial features, then his leaf shaped ears. He reached up and rubbed along them, shuddering at how sensitive they were.

“You really did me a solid one, Belle,” Adam said, smiling to himself. He wondered when Belle and he would meet again. “Hey, Belle?” He looked up, wondering if Belle would come and see him. “Oh, right. He’s a god. Probably busy and all that. Also, it would be awkward if we met now.” He looked down at his nude form. “…”

Once he was done admiring his new body, he finished up with his bath. He made sure to rinse out his clothes too, drying them a little with his Flame Bolt a little ways away from the clothes until they weren’t dripping wet, before wrapping the blanket around himself.

Perception Check

D20 + 2 = 13 (11)

He pressed his ear to the door, feeling the warm wood up against his sensitive ear. After hearing nothing outside, he slowly cracked the door open.

Stealth Check

D20 + 1 = 18 (17)

Adam darted towards his room silently, without anyone hearing him. The cloaked figure from earlier in the day had watched him dash back towards his room, covered in his blanket.

‘Whoa. He’s a half elf? How is he so jacked? Is he an Iyrman?’

Adam sighed once he was back in his room. He sat down on his bed and dried his clothes using his Flame Bolt, before finally changing into his clothes. He made his way down to the common room, where he saw a large number of adventurers eating and drinking.

Some glanced over his way, a few he recognised from earlier in the day. The adventurer who had been constantly sipping alcohol spat out the alcohol he was currently drinking.

“How can a half elf be so strongly built?”

“I thought his name was Adam?”

“If you say it should be Jack, I’ll kill you.”

“…”

The other adventurers each eyed him up, trying to gauge his strength. He looked naturally stronger than almost every adventurer here, and so many of them were wondering if they needed to step up to teach him his place. Those thoughts quickly dissipated when Jurot appeared behind him, slapping the half elf’s back.

“What a powerful back you have as well!” Jurot declared, grinning wide. ‘I still need to keep an eye on you, so don’t get too far away from me.’

Adam rubbed his back gently, not feeling the intent behind Jurot’s skinship. He glanced at the reception, where there was no longer the pretty face of Emma, and instead an older man. He had short hair, salt and pepper like Paul, and he wore a breastplate too. He seemed to be a hardened adventurer, though Adam didn’t recognise him from his last life.

However, he had been briefed about who Adam was, and the deal which had been made. ‘To think I have to look after an elf…’

Still, he was a guild worker. He noted the mood around the guild, and made sure to emanate a vicious presence out, in case anyone had any bright ideas about starting any bother within the guild.

With the warning in place, the adventurers went back to their meals. Some had to swallow their rage with their food and alcohol, whereas others were only slightly interested in Adam and his fey heritage.

“Let’s eat,” Jurot said, his stomach growling moments later as though he had planned it.

They both found a bowl and started to pour themselves some meat stew, with vegetables Adam faintly recognised. There was also some bread, which he and Jurot topped up on. He ate silently beside Jurot, glancing between all the adventurers for a moment, before returning to his stew.

Jurot, all the while, stared at Adam. “Adam son of Fate, why did you become an adventurer?”

Adam dipped some of the bread into his stew. “Freedom and gold,” Adam replied back. “No. The romanticism of adventure.” He smiled. “There are plenty of ways to make gold, but there are things you can only experience as an adventurer.”

Jurot nodded his head. “There are many ways to make gold, but very few which give you freedom such as adventuring.”

“There’s also the family aspect to it,” Adam said, smiling.

“Family aspect? It is difficult for adventurers to have families until they retire.”

“No, not that kind of family. The family of a party. To leave your back to someone you can trust. You can join the army or the guard, and you can find it there, but then you’re at the whims of a captain and the government, barking at you like you’re a dog. As an adventurer, you can have that, all the while choosing to do as you please.”

Jurot nodded again. This he understood. A family, like the Iyr. “I hope that you find your family one day.”

“Yeah,” Adam said, chuckling lightly, but he felt a coolness within his chest. He looked to the guild worker he had never seen before. Then he recalled how Thundersmith had been so hostile. He looked to Jurot, thinking about how he had gone to the Iyr previously. Suddenly, in this familiarly strange world, he felt all alone. “Me too.”