Adventures on Terra - Book 2: Escape

by R. A. Mejia

  The silver-haired elf’s mouth tightens slightly, and she motions to her left with a gloved hand, “Since you need to turn in information of a sensitive nature, please follow me to a private room.” I look in the direction she motions and see a small hallway. As I walk towards the hallway, I glance back and see the attendant giving brief instructions to the halfling who takes her place. Walking down the hallway, a door opens to my left and the elf attendant walks out. She leads me further down the well lit hallway to a private room. Opening the door for me, the elf motions for me to enter. Walking through the doorway, I see that the room is well decorated. There’s a short oak table in the center with four chairs. The walls of the room have landscape paintings, and there is a long, lush carpet that begs for someone to run across it barefooted.

  The silver haired elf with the round glasses takes a seat at the table, and I take one opposite her. Her fingers interlaced on the table, she smiles and says, “Now we can speak freely. This room is magically warded against eavesdroppers.” She holds out her hand and introduces herself, “I am Svenofnine, lead attendant for the Trinitarian branch of the Adventurers’ Guild.”

  I shake her hand, “Hey. I’m Armon. Nice to meet you..uh..” I try to say her name, but the elfish syllables escape me. She laughs once at my attempt to say her proper name and adds, “You can call me Steph if it is easier for you to say.”

  “Thanks, Steph,” I say with a smile of my own, “Now, about those two topics. How do I join the adventurers’ guild? What is the reward for discovering a new dungeon?”

  The elf nods once and answers, “Down to business. I can respect that. Let me first address the issue of the dungeon since that is the more straight forward topic. If you report the location of a dungeon to the guild and we can confirm that the information is true, we issue a standard reward of two hundred gold or one percent of all fees and sales associated with the dungeon paid out on a monthly basis. However, that reward is only open to members of the guild.”

  “That’s weird. Why wouldn’t you give the reward to anyone? Wouldn’t that get you more information?”

  As if expecting the question, Steph is already nodding and answers, “We operate in many different countries and have to maintain a neutral stance in all official wars and political struggles. Part of that neutrality entails not inducing those countries’ citizens to turn over valuable resources to us. So, we can only offer rewards like this to members of our guild.”

  “Don’t different countries try to take the dungeons from you?”

  A predatory smile crosses the elf’s face, “They have tried. But we have some of the strongest warriors and mages on the continent as members and can usually dissuade them from their attempts to take the dungeons from us.”

  “Ok, how do I join the guild then so I can tell you where the dungeon is located?”

  “That is the second topic we will talk about. Normally, the guild has a yearly entrance exam that we use to weed out the pretend adventurers from the real ones. You have already missed this year's exam.” Seeing the disappointment on my face, she continues, “However, Trinitarian college has worked with the guild to create a comprehensive course to adventuring, and we’ve agreed to take any student that graduates from the course as a probationary member.”

  I’m confused by the two options she’s offering. One option is to wait another year for the next official guild exam. That’s the one that Keans told me about. The other option, is to take some college classes?

  I must look as confused as I feel, because the elf attendant tells me, “I would advise you to talk to Albus Dufendoor. He heads the fighter department of the college and is in charge of the exams for the adventurers’ course.”

  “The fighter department?”

  “Yes. Trinitarian College has three major departments that correspond to the three major branches of adventuring. Fighting, magic, and stealth.”

  “So, I just go talk to him and see if he can help me?”

  Steph nods politely, “I would also strongly advise that you not tell anyone else about the location of the dungeon you think you discovered. In all likelihood, it’s already on our books somewhere. However, if it’s not and someone else reports it first, they get the reward.”

  I thank the lovely elf woman for her assistance. She leads me back out to the entryway of the guild, I collect my friends, and we leave.

  The sun is well past its peak and heading towards sunset. Anxious to see the professor that Steph suggested I speak to, I start walking back towards the college courtyard. However, Mary flies in front of and asks what happened. I quickly relay the information the nice elven guild lady told me to my team, and once they’re caught up, we get moving back to the college.

  I remember seeing the name Albus when we were looking for Jaxson Miltonha and know exactly where to find the gentleman. I walk straight into the stone building near the college courtyard and up the stairs to the staff offices. It only takes me a few minutes to locate the correct office for Albus Dufendoor. I’m panting slightly when I knock on the door, and my team finally catches up to me. I hear a voice on the other side of the door call out, “Come in.”

  I take a deep breath and turn the iron handle of the office door and walk through. I do a double take as I walk through the door. This office can’t be more different from Jaxson’s. Where that office is crammed with books and a huge desk, this one is spartan. There is a single bookshelf against the far wall and a small table with a teapot in one corner of the room. Other than those things, the room is bare. There’s a small, shirtless, white-haired man standing on his hands in the center of the room. His long braided beard flops over his face and muffles his voice as he asks, “Who are you and what do you want?”

  “Hi, I’m Armon. Are you Albus Dufendoor, head of the fighter’s department?”

  The small man does a single handstand push up and then flips upright. Once on his feet, I see that he has a large bulbous nose and a full white beard that covers most of the lower part of his face. In addition to his beard being braided, so is the white hair on his head. His large blue eyes scan our group before answering with a gravelly voice, “Yes. I am Albus. What do you need?”

  To say I’m surprised would be an understatement. I was expecting the head of the fighter department to be a huge hulking giant of a man, not a…well I’m not sure what he is actually. He’s as short as a halfling, but he doesn’t have the childlike features of the race. He’s as hairy as the one dwarf I’ve met, but he’s not nearly as broad in the shoulders or waist.

  I hear a soft whisper in my ear, “He’s a gnome. Get over it and stop staring.” I turn my head to see Mary hovering near me.

  I whisper back a quick thanks and answer the gnome, “One of the attendants at the Adventurers’ Guild said I should talk to you about a problem I have joining them.”

  Grabbing a towel from the table, Albus starts to wipe off his sweat covered body and comments, “Oh? They don’t normally send people my way. Why don’t you have a seat and tell me about your problem.”

  Not seeing chairs anywhere, I sit on the hardwood floor and describe my conversation with Steph the silver-haired attendant from the guild. I omit the detail about knowing where a dungeon is and instead say that I have some information that the guild wants.

  The shirtless, wrinkly, white-haired gnome paces across the room as he listens to my story. When I’m finished, he scratches his beard contemplatively and says, “Yes, that would be Svenofnine. She’s a problem solver alright.” Then he smiles, and I see the laugh lines across his face crinkle, “Well, I guess I can help you with your problem. All you have to do is pass the end of the year exams for the adventurer’s course at the college. Then you’ll automatically be admitted as a probationary member of the guild, and they can legally buy whatever they’re trying to get from you.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I see Kitsune’s hand rise into the air, and Albus automatically points to her, and she asks, “How can he pass the exams when he’s neither
been admitted to the college nor taken any of the classes?”

  “A good question, lady of the Shioku.” He holds up a hand forestalling the question Kitsune was about to ask, “Yes, I know of your people and who the nine tail fox clan is.” Then he waves his hand as if the information doesn’t matter and continues, “The answer is simple. I’ll admit the lad based on recommendation, and he can take the tests at the end of the week. He’ll have to pay tuition though. Otherwise, I’ll hear about it from the other department heads.”

  “How much is that going to be?” I ask, thinking of the very limited funds we currently have.

  Albus considers the question for a moment before answering, “Hmmm, what would be fair? Let’s see. Normal tuition is a gold a year. But since you’re only going to be enrolled for the week, how about eight silver?”

  I shake my head, “Sorry. I don’t have the money. Even if my whole team pooled their funds together, we’d only have about three silver.”

  The gnome waves away my statement, “Don’t worry about giving me the money today. As long as you get it to me before the tests, we’ll consider your tuition paid. I can’t guarantee you’ll pass any of the tests, but I can make sure you get a shot at taking them.”

  I’m overjoyed at the turn of events and do a little happy dance right there in the middle of the office. The gnome professor laughs at my antics and Mary and Kitsune giggle when Vrax joins me. After thanking the kind gnome for his generosity, we leave and find that night has started to fall. Mary casts her [Light] spell, creating a globe of illumination for us to walk by. We decide that we’d rather save our money for the two expenses we now have rather than spend the coin on a couple of beds in an inn. We walk through the streets of the city, past the makeshift gate, and past the tent city outside the yet to be finished walls. We make a quick camp after eating a few of the fruits that Dr. Gooflak gave us and quickly fall asleep.

  Chapter 6.4

  In the morning the group takes some time to talk about the events of the previous day. I don’t think it’s fair to expect them to pay for me to take a college exam that will only get me into the Adventurers’ Guild. When I bring it up the team understands my concern but agree that one of us needs to turn in the location of the dungeon before those thieves discover it and turn the location in themselves. I appreciate the support and promise to split the reward with them. The moment the word promise leaves my lips a notification appears.

  You’ve agreed to split the reward for turning in the location of a dungeon to the Adventurers’ Guild with Mary, Vrax, and Kitsune. Failure to fulfill your promise will result in severely lowered reputation with each person.

  I dismiss the message and think sarcastically, ‘Thanks notification. I don’t think I would have realized that screwing over my friends by not splitting the reward with them would lower my reputation with them.’

  Since the group already has three silver, we have less than a week to earn the remaining five silver to pay the exam fee. According to Kitsune and Mary, there are plenty of jobs available on the board in the Adventurers’ Guild. So, we decide to dedicate the next six days to earn as much money as possible.

  Kitsune helps out in a local clinic, though she isn’t paid as much as she was in the border town due to their being more healers available from the college. Mary, Vrax, and I work on completing the tasks that don’t require guild membership. They don’t pay much, usually only 5-10 copper per job, but they’re also not that difficult. We clear a home of some rodents that have infested the basement. We gather firewood for some older people in the city. We clean gutters, babysit, Mary tutor’s a few students from the college, and we basically do anything we can to make money. We have to spend a few coppers a day on food, but it’s more efficient than going back to camp and trying to hunt for lunch. We sleep outside the city to save on housing costs. All told, the team makes enough to pay the exam fees and have a few silver left over.

  The day before the exam we turn over to Professor Albus, the full eight silver he asked for. Putting the silver in a small metal box, he tells me that the exam will be taken over three days. Tomorrow will be the written exam, taken downstairs in room 112. The next day will be the general dexterity and fitness test. The final test is the combat test.

  I receive an official quest called ‘Making the grade’ that asks me to finish all three quests with an averaged passing grade. My reward is admissions into the Adventurers’ Guild and 50 XP.

  We thank the professor for his help again and leave to prepare for tomorrow's exam.

  That night, the team agrees that I will take the exams and they’ll continue to work and earn money since we still need to pay for the decryption of the ledgers.

  I arrive at room 112 the next day eager to take my first step to joining the Adventurers’ Guild. Walking through the door, I see that most of the desks are already taken. I have to find a seat with thirty pairs of eyes following me. Once seated, I twiddle my thumbs until a tall elvish figure in black robes walks through the door. All the chattering in the room stops as he walks to the front of the classroom and takes a tall stack of papers from his [Inventory]. He introduces himself as Professor Woodbottom and informs us that we’ll have one hour to complete the test. The professor then walks down each aisle putting tests on each desk he passes. Once all the tests are handed out, he returns to the front of the class and tells everyone that they may begin. There’s a flurry of movement as each of the students in the room pulls ink and quill from their [Inventory] or bag and turns the first page of the test over. I follow suit and bring out my pen and ink. I look down and fill out the first page of the test which asks for my name and then flip over the page.

  The written test is broken into three parts. The first is a multiple choice section that asks questions about general adventuring knowledge and monster vulnerabilities. I easily answer the question on the weakness of undead skeletons. D) Both Holy and Blunt damage. I also remember that Trolls are vulnerable to fire. However, how am I supposed to know the three weak points on a chimera’s body? Or what type of riddle a Sphinx most likely to ask? Or what another name for the Draught of Living Death is? Wait, that last one sounds familiar. On this part of the test, I’m forced to guess at most of the questions, but I have at least a one in four chance of getting an answer right.

  The next portion of the test is a mathematics exam that requires written proofs for the answer; this is a bit easier for me. The first question asks, ‘You fight a demon that slashes you for 13 points of damage. The armor you wear negates 15% of all damage, and the ring you wear resists an additional 1% of holy damage. How many slashes can you take before you die if you have a health pool of 120?’ I work out the math on paper, 13-(13*.15) to get damage from the demon after it’s resisted by just the armor. Demon’s don’t deal holy damage, so the ring doesn’t matter. Then divide the overall health by that damage to get 10.86. So my answer is ten because the eleventh strike would kill me. There are more questions like that. They deal with managing mana, stamina, and damage in a fight. But they all amount to the same level of arithmetic and algebraic work.

  The last part of the written exam stumps me completely. There are three essay prompts, of which I must choose two to write about. The first essay prompt asks, ‘Describe the agricultural repercussions for the discovery of the Tootin tuber.’ The second essay prompt is, ‘List and describe the five major branches of magic theory.’ The last prompt is, ‘Describe the life cycle characteristics of the common horned rabbit.’ I have no idea what a Tootin tuber is, so I try to write the most convincing essays possible for the other two prompts. I use my earth based fantasy knowledge of magic to answer prompt #2 and guess that the five major branches of magical theory are enchanting, conjuration, evocation, illusion, and spellwriting. I don’t really know if spellwriting is a major branch of magical theory, but it’s the only one I have any real knowledge of and the one I describe the best. Everything else is just my best made up description. The last essay on the life cycle of the h
orned rabbit, I think might actually be right. I mean, I still have my observation bonus from when I stalked and killed them back in the forests near Restrian. Still, most of it is a combination of what I observed and what I remember about rabbits on earth.

  I barely finish the last part of the exam when the teacher at the front of the class announces that time is up. The class of students groan at the announcement and everyone files to the front to hand in the exam. The elf teacher gives me a critical look when I turn in the exam but doesn’t stop me, so I can assume that Professor Albus Dufendoor has mentioned me to the teacher.

  I walk out of the room and see groups of students talking to each other about how they think they did on the test. I ignore them all and make my way out of the city to set up camp for my friends. In the evening, they arrive to a fully cooked meal, and I tell them about the first exam. Mary’s annoyed at me because she actually knew all the answers to the test. Kitsune giggles at the made up essay answers I gave, and Vrax just sits quietly and eats his food while listening.

  The next morning, my friends escort me to the courtyard of the college, and I join the group of students gathered there. I chat with my team about what I think the next test will be about until a large man with one eye in the center of his head wearing black robes appears. He yells for all the students taking the next test to gather around him. I bid my friends goodbye and join the others around the bald cyclops. He informs us that the next test is a general fitness and dexterity test. He leads us to an area of the college I’ve not seen before; a long rectangular field converted into an obstacle course. I hear muttering from the people around me about how they’d had classes here before but that none of the obstacles were there then.