Two Brothers

by Phoenix Grey

  "That sounds like a good plan." Lonnell nodded, seemingly lost in thought. It was strange to see him so panicked, but he was obviously internally freaking out over their situation. Azure honestly wasn't sure what Lonnell had expected to happen when they reached the mainland. Maybe that Bronna would willingly return to Crescent Island with him and that her relatives would have been generous enough to pay for their passage. No dice. He was going to have to work just like everyone else.

  They headed back into town, walking the straight path that led to the building they were pretty sure was The Adventurer's Guild. It had been one of the more impressive buildings in the middle of Squall's End. On its sign was a shield with two swords crossed in front of it. That either had to mean it was The Adventurer’s Guild or an excessively large smithy.

  They ascended the two steps to reach the wooden door that led into the building. Upon entering, they saw a long bank of windows. Half of the space in the building seemed to be dedicated to the front office, which made sense because the lines were looong. Thankfully, each window was labeled accordingly. Azure didn't know what they all meant. Five of the windows were marked with letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, and E. The other two windows were labeled Quest Submission and Registration.

  "I'm assuming we need to be in the Registration line," Azure whispered to Lonnell. Unfortunately, that was one of the longest ones.

  They shuffled in behind the six people ahead of them. Not wanting to waste any more time than necessary, Lonnell tapped the guy standing in front of them on the shoulder to ask if they were in the right place. He was an energetic youth, excitedly acknowledging that this was, in fact, the line that you needed to be in to register as an adventurer. Then he proceeded to tell them his entire life story and how all he had ever wanted was to be an adventurer. When Azure Analyzed him, he showed up as blue. It was nice to know that he wasn't the smallest fish in the pond in Squall's End. He also realized that he could probably power level his Analyze skill if he picked a spot in the town to just people-watch all day. With that thought, he spent the rest of his time in line Analyzing the other fifty-three people in the room.

  Congratulations! The skill: Analyze has reached Level 6. This skill allows you to see how dangerous a foe is in relation to your own level. Use this skill frequently to avoid getting yourself killed.

  Yup. He'd definitely found a loophole in power leveling the skill. Azure made a mental note to plan some time where he could just hang around the town Analyzing people.

  Finally, after nearly two hours of waiting, it was their turn. Lonnell and Azure walked up to the window together, and the lady that was manning it gave them a disapproving look.

  "One at a time," she said in an irritable tone, shooing Azure away. "Get back behind the line." She pointed to a line drawn in chalk on the floor, making him retreat further. Apparently, Azure wasn't supposed to be listening in on what they were talking about.

  People here are rude, he thought, recalling the receptionist at Hawking's School of Land Magic. Maybe the mainland wasn't as great as Uden had made it out to be. Briefly, he wondered if the half-imp would stand for such treatment. He'd probably either have a witty counter or be complaining loudly.

  Being next in line made the time pass by even more slowly. There was a lot of talking, head nodding, paper shuffling, and writing going on. After close to twenty minutes, Lonnell finally stepped aside and the woman motioned for Azure to come forward.

  "I'll wait for you outside. I'm going to take a look around the market," Lonnell whispered to him before passing by.

  Azure simply nodded, not wanting to keep the cranky clerk waiting. She held onto the annoyed expression even as he approached.

  "Name," was the first thing she barked at him.

  "Azure," he replied quickly.

  She cocked her head to the side, giving him a look that said, “Really?” What came out of her mouth next though was “Full name?”

  Azure's mouth dropped open. He hadn't really thought of a last name for his gaming moniker. And her expression spoke that he didn't have a lot of time to decide on one.

  "Galvan," he belted out, startled that he had used his real last name. Well, Azure Galvan sounded all right anyway. It had a bit of a heroic ring to it, so that should be fine. Much better than William Galvan.

  "This is your first time registering for The Adventurer's Guild? Any Adventurer's Guild?"

  "Yes."

  "Let me see your credentials," she said dryly before a notification popped up.

  Ferne Clifton has asked to join your party. Will you accept?

  He quickly accepted, and she began jotting down his information on a sheet of paper. Azure stared at Ferne while she worked, fascinated by the deep mocha of her skin. Long hair cascaded down her back in dreadlocks. Blue glitter dotted her eyelids, going perfectly with her bruise-colored lips. She would be quite beautiful if she would just smile, Azure thought.

  "All right," Ferne began after setting down her quill. "This is how The Adventurer's Guild works. Quests are divided into five groups by letter. Since you're new, you'll only be able to accept quests designated as E for now. Once you've completed your prerequisite quest, you'll be able to go into the E line to acquire new quests. That is also where you will report into to collect your rewards.

  "The receptionist in the E line will give you up to four different quests to choose from. There are four types of quests available: gathering quests, monster quests, bounty quests, and miscellaneous quests. Gathering quests will require you to collect certain items or materials for a client. These items will be delivered back here, and then we will give them to the client. Monster quests typically involve you eliminating some pest monsters that are bothering the client. Bounty quests involve hunting down an individual or group of individuals that are causing trouble. The reward for them is usually better than the other two because those quests are often submitted by law officials or other members of the government. They also tend to be more dangerous. Bounty quests don't just involve people but also sometimes involve high-level monsters which will require you to enter dungeons. Miscellaneous quests are just that. They can involve anything from being protective detail to a traveling merchant to delivering a message.

  "If you want to take on a quest with more than one party member, know that whoever the quest is assigned to will be the person that has to collect on it. We do not divide the rewards, so you would have to do it amongst yourselves. Do you understand?" Ferne gave him a pointed look.

  Azure nodded, and she continued, “Before you are allowed to become an official member of The Adventurer's Guild, you must complete a preliminary quest. This is to make sure that you actually have what it takes to be an adventurer. This quest must be completed alone. If you are found to be partying with someone else, you will be banned from The Adventure's Guild...forever,” Ferne emphasized the word, staring at him to make sure he understood. Azure nodded again, and she quickly shuffled through her paperwork. “Let's see here,” she said to herself, briefly skimming a few of the papers on her desk before selecting one and sliding it over to him. “This should do.”

  As Azure's eyes began to read over the paper, a notification popped up.

  Adventurer's Guild Quest: An Author's Dream

  Enno Berkeley is a renowned angler and has decided to write his own book on the best fishing spots in Patheana. Unfortunately, he fears that his fishing ability is far superior to his writing ability. Seek out Enno in Roselake and give his book a read. You will be required to fish in one of the spots in his book. Once you are done, report to The Adventurer's Guild about your experience and to collect your reward.

  Designation: Prerequisite

  Type: Miscellaneous

  Difficulty: Very Easy

  Deadline: 14 days

  Success: Fish one of the spots in the book

  Failure: Cancel quest

  Reward: Acceptance into The Adventurer's Guild

  Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

 
; Azure's eyes bulged. A two-week long duration and no monetary reward? What the fuck?

  He lifted up the paper, pointing at the Reward field. “Am I to assume that I won't be paid for this quest?”

  "Prerequisite quests have no compensation requirements. There will be a reward, but it won't be monetary. The main reward is that you gain admittance into The Adventurer's Guild and will then be able to accept paying quests.

  "Prerequisite quests are non-optional. You have to accept whatever quest I give you or you will not qualify to be an adventurer. Once you are an official adventurer, you'll have much more leeway in choosing which quests you want to accept and decline. Having said that, any quests that you accept must be completed by the deadline displayed on them. We have a three strike policy here. You can cancel any quest that you accept by the deadline up to three times. On the fourth time, your membership to The Adventurer's Guild will be revoked. If you fail to complete more than three quests by their deadline, same thing. The moral of the story is that we don't want adventurers who are not capable of honoring their contracts."

  "So you're saying I'm not getting paid for this quest...a quest that says it will take me two weeks to complete," Azure reiterated.

  "No," she replied plainly. "I know it sucks, but that's just the way that things are. This is how we separate the chaff from the wheat. The people who really want to be adventurers from the ones who aren't serious about it.

  "The silver lining is that the deadline is usually a broad estimate. Most of our quests can be completed way before their deadline. For instance, with this one in particular," Ferne gestured for him to hand her back the quest form. When he did, she scanned it over again quickly before continuing, "Roselake is only a few hours away. It would probably take you half a day, at most, to find Enno. Depending on how quickly you can read, it might only take you a day to read his novel. Since Enno is from Roselake, I'm going to take a good guess that Roselake itself will be one of the fishing spots in his book. You can spend the day fishing it to see how accurate his information is. All in all, I'd say this quest will take you three days tops. The extra days are given in case you are a slow reader, have a business to run, or have other duties that would get in your way of completing it quickly."

  "Ah." Azure nodded. That was a relief. But there was another issue that he had with this particular quest. "I don't own a fishing pole. Will I have to buy one beforehand?"

  "No. Everything you need to complete this quest will be provided to you," she informed him.

  "Good. Good." Well, that was at least some good news.

  "That's it." Ferne folded her hands on top of her desk. "Complete your quest and you'll be made an honorary adventurer."

  "Thanks," Azure said before taking his leave. As he walked away, Ferne disbanded from him.

  Before he reached the door, Azure noticed a bunch of people standing around staring at a cork board on the wall. He paused to see what they were all looking at. Affixed to the board were several quest papers. Without removing one, Azure focused, and the details of the quest popped up before him.

  Adventurer's Guild Quest: Defeat The Bower Boys

  Outlaw James Bower has brought his despicable Bower Boys to Squall's End. They've been robbing people along the various roads leading into the city. These menaces need to be dealt with...permanently. Find them, kill them, and bring James Bower's severed head to The Adventurer’s Guild as proof that the deed is done.

  Designation: C

  Type: Bounty

  Difficulty: Very Hard

  Requirements: Character Level 50

  One-Handed or Two-Handed Weapons Skill Level 59

  Agility 55

  Deadline: 7 days

  Success: Kill all 7 members of The Bower Boys

  Failure: Cancel quest

  Reward: 11 gold

  Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?

  Holy shit! The reward was almost enough to pay for an entire semester at Hawking's School of Land Magic. It was more than a month's worth of rent at the inn for only a week's worth of work. This board was probably where the real money was at. Unfortunately, he didn't qualify for the quest.

  Speaking of which, this was the first time he'd ever seen requirements for a quest before. Azure took several moments analyzing the quest before moving on to the next. Every quest he looked at was either hard or very hard. They all paid a lot, too. Unfortunately, he didn't meet the requirements for any of them.

  His eyes scanned up to the title of the cork board. It said Open Quests. That didn't tell him too much, so he looked to one of the other people staring intently at the board and asked, “What's this?”

  The guy's eyes flicked over to him before returning to the board. “It's the Open Quests board,” he replied plainly.

  "I know that, but what are Open Quests?" Azure tried not to sound annoyed. Maybe he should have waited to ask Lonnell, though he wasn't sure that his friend would know the answer either. They were both new to this Adventurer's Guild thing, after all.

  Without turning from the board, the man told him, “Open Quests are quests that have either been repeatedly failed by the adventurers who have accepted them before or have not been accepted by anyone for a certain period of time. They are open to any adventurer or group of adventurers that meet the requirements.”

  "Interesting." Azure scratched his chin. "Do they pay more because they're basically rejects?"

  "Usually. It really depends on the level of difficulty and how many people have died trying to complete them already."

  How many people have died? Jesus. Judging by how much the Bower Boys quest was worth, Azure could only assume that it got to be on the board because many people had tried and failed at it. Killing seven experienced outlaws seemed like a lot.

  "Thanks for the info, friend," Azure said before turning away. His head was swimming with greed. If only he and Lonnell could qualify for some of those quests, their financial troubles would be over. It was a pipe dream, though. The Open Quests were all incredibly difficult, and he and Lonnell were still pretty low level. More than likely, the Open Quests board wouldn't be an option for them for a long time.

  With a sigh, Azure headed outside and down the stairs. Thankfully, Lonnell was waiting for him there. He was half-worried that he'd have to track down his friend.

  "How'd it go?" Lonnell asked.

  "Probably the same as it went for you. We both have to complete a prerequisite quest before we can even think about making money."

  "Yeah." He frowned. "Luckily, mine was easy."

  "Mine's easy, too. Just time-consuming." The thought of wasting time on a quest that wasn't going to pay him made Azure grumpy.

  "I already finished mine. I just need to turn it in for my reward."

  "What?" Azure's mouth fell agape for a moment. "How did you manage that? It's only been twenty minutes."

  "I got a gathering quest. Instead of going out and foraging, I just bought the required items at the market."

  Azure gawked at him. “Isn't that cheating?”

  "No." Lonnell shook his head. "As long as you don't party with someone else, it's not cheating. And don't worry, I asked before I did it. If you don't have time to complete a gathering quest, you can buy the materials. Your compensation for the quest likely won't cover what you spent because of inflation and what not. After all, most clients are either trying to find rare materials or materials at wholesale pricing. Luckily, these prerequisite quests don't require any rare materials to complete. If you got a gathering quest, you could probably buy what you need to complete it, too."

  Damn, that lucky bastard. Why couldn't Azure have gotten a simple gathering quest? Ferne must have really been pissed off at him for coming up to the window with Lonnell initially.

  "Unfortunately, my quest is going to take a bit more time. I have to go to Roselake to meet with this fisherman author and read his book. Then I have to fish at one of the spots in his book and report back about how accurate the information in the book is." Ju
st explaining the quest made it feel like a giant time-suck.

  Lonnell hummed in thought. "That might be fun. And you don't have the fishing skill yet, so there's that."

  Azure fought the urge to roll his eyes. "It's really not something I want to have to waste my time on right now. Coin is more important. Speaking of which, what are we going to do about the inn?"

  Lonnell sighed. "Let me go collect on my quest and grab a new one. Then we'll have a better idea of what kind of coin will be coming in when we're doing this full time."

  Azure decided to wait outside while Lonnell went back into The Adventurer's Guild to complete his prerequisite quest and pick up his first real quest. About ten minutes later, he came back out with a sheet of paper in his hands.

  "So, what's the verdict?" Azure asked, leaning over to peek at the quest.

  "Not all bleak," Lonnell admitted, though he still didn't sound happy. "This quest pays two gold, five silver, and seven copper, but it's going to take a lot of footwork. I just chose it because it seemed like it paid the most for the least amount of time."

  "A gathering quest," Azure noted. He also noticed that it required multiple different items, and they weren't anything he'd ever heard of before.

  "I'm definitely going to get my exercise in," Lonnell said with an inhale. "I won't be able to find this stuff around here."

  "The quest has a seven-day duration. Do you think it will take you that long to complete it?" Azure looked at him.

  "I'm hoping I can knock it out in three days. None of these places are close together, from what I can tell."

  "So that's two gold, five silver, and seven copper for three days worth of work," Azure started doing the math. "If you can take two quests like this on per week, that's a little over five gold per week. More than enough for room and board and saving up money, especially if we're splitting a room."