The Adventurers Guild

by Phoenix Grey

  "How are you today, Azure?" she asked cheerily.

  "I'm still alive. What more can a guy ask for?" He held out his arms as if that alone should have impressed her.

  Malina giggled, glancing down at her flowers. Before she had a chance to hit him with a sales pitch, Azure began pulling his alchemy components out of his Bag of Holding. The smile in Malina's eyes faltered, but it never left her lips.

  Azure traded in the rest of his Fireweed and Wild Onions. He also parted with three Blue Mushrooms to round his remaining inventory to twenty. In exchange, Malina handed him four silver and five copper.

  "Oh, and I have one more thing." He suddenly remembered the Minor Potion of Life and the fact that he hadn't even had time to examine it when Mel had given it to him.

  Touching it brought up the item's information.

  Minor Potion of Life

  Quantity: 1/1

  Item Class: Common

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0 kg

  Traits: Increases max HP by +20 for 5 minutes

  Interesting. Azure supposed that would help in a pinch. Almost like emergency insurance.

  “How much for this?” He handed the potion over.

  “Three copper.”

  “Only three?” Azure frowned.

  “Sorry.” Her expression drooped in sympathy. “Perhaps buying a flower would cheer you up.” Malina began to pull a carnation from her cart.

  Maybe I shouldn't have stopped here after all, Azure thought. He really couldn't afford to spend his money frivolously. “Actually, I'm trying to save up for Teleportation Prisms right now.”

  “Those are expensive.” She acknowledged, once again masking disappointment.

  I should have bought a flower from her when I did have a lot of money. But I was too busy buying other things that I needed.

  Guilt threaded through him as he stood there basking in her company. “You know what, I will buy a flower today. How much are they?"

  "I can make you a bouquet for four silver." Her eyes flashed from the prospect of a sale.

  $40! Good lord. "Do you have anything...less expensive?" She definitely thinks I'm a cheapskate.

  Malina sifted through her basket, pulling out what looked to be a yellow carnation. "I can sell you this for one silver and five copper."

  Azure was pretty sure that carnations cost less in his own world. Still, he had already commited. "I'll take one of those."

  Even as he said it, his mind screamed for him to stop. But he couldn't stand to keep letting her down. For whatever reason, it was important for Malina to think of him as more than a nuisance who came to take her money in exchange for things she probably didn't really want or need.

  A smile brightened Malina's face as she looked into her basket. “What color would you like?”

  His eyes scanned over her, trying to figure out what her favorite was. He had never been good at guessing. Every time he had seen her, though, she'd been wearing pink. “I'll take a pink one.”

  Malina pulled the flower from her basket as Azure dug in his Bag of Holding for the coin to pay for it, still thinking himself an idiot all the while. When he handed over the payment, he did not take the carnation in return. “For you,” he said, suddenly feeling shy. “For having to deal with me.”

  And then he turned and walked away.

  Oh man, I suck at this. The awkward exchange played over in his mind as he continued toward the entrance to Squall's End. His feet carried him away absentmindedly while his brain played catch up. In truth, Azure didn't even know where he was going. All that mattered was removing himself from the uncomfortable situation he had created.

  Once he was standing outside of Squall's End, Azure opened his World Map. Not surprisingly, the location of Thavis Firstfall was in the black. It was also a full day's walk away. Azure groaned internally, not looking forward to spending another night on the road.

  He inhaled deeply and took off at a hurried clip, hoping to make good time. For the most part, he did, munching on a sardine while he walked instead of stopping for lunch. It wasn't until the sun began to set that he turned off of the main road when it forked. The sign to the right said Tradebreach, and the sign to the left said Brittlebreach. Brittlebreach was where he was headed.

  A few miles down, the road opened into a small village that looked much the same as the others Azure had seen in The Realm so far. Shops and businesses were built along the sides of the road with the homes further back. The most lively of the establishments was the tavern. Every village and town seemed to have one.

  Azure diverted from the path to make his way to Thavis' place. Thankfully, it was only about a five-minute walk away.

  The domicile was smaller than most others he had seen. It had a cozy feel to it with white stone walls and tall, square windows. Both the roof and front door appeared to be made of redwood. Various herbs and flowers grew in raised garden beds on either side of the door.

  Azure lifted his hand to knock, then hesitated. Though he'd gone over what he would say a million times, there was still a twinge of doubt in his mind that he'd have enough Charisma to get the job done. But he didn't have time to think for long because the door suddenly opened.

  Both Azure and the dwarven woman on the other side gasped in shock, and she immediately reached for a blade at her hip, causing Azure to step back and hold his hands up to show he meant no harm.

  “What da yew want?” the woman barked before Azure could even get a word out. Her light brown eyes glared at him beneath bushy ginger eyebrows. Unlike every other female dwarf he'd seen, Thavis' hair was cropped short, making her facial features seem almost disproportionately wide. Stout with large breasts that couldn't be concealed beneath the oversized tunic she wore, the dwarven woman was dressed gender-neutrally in peasant garb. Green breaches climbed up her legs, covered in thick black boots. Very little about her was feminine.

  “My name is Azure Galvan. I've been sent here to speak to you in regards to a quest submitted to The Adventurers Guild.”

  She relaxed her grip on the hilt of her blade, pushing past him. “Yer wastin' yer time.”

  Had someone already approached her about the map? Azure wondered, trailing behind Thavis as she walked hurriedly toward the forest. “Then you know what this is about.”

  “I know.” She threw her hand back at him as if he were an annoyance to be shooed away.

  “Then you know that lives are at stake.”

  Thavis ignored him, muttering to herself, “Didn't think they'd be so desperate as ta submit a quest ta tha Adventurers Guild.”

  Azure noted that most dwarves had a similar accent—a mix of Scottish and something deeper. He'd heard it in countless games and found it horribly stereotypical yet soothingly familiar at the same time.

  “But they are desperate,” he informed her. “That's why they paid me to come out here. This has nothing to do with...” Should he even bring it up? “your ex-husband.”

  Thavis visibly stiffened at the mention for half a second, then continued on, following a game trail.

  “The Adventurers Guild needs that map so they can trace where the trolls are coming from,” he continued. “It'll be vital in making sure that no more trolls can invade this land.”

  “It's karma, as I see it.” She knelt next to a small loop attached to a stick. It was then that Azure realized that Thavis was checking rabbit snares. With a snort of disappointment, she stood again to move on to the next.

  “Maybe so. But where do you think the trolls will go after they finish raiding Tradebreach? From what I can tell, Brittlebreach is the next closest town.”

  Thavis turned on her heels suddenly, almost making him run into her. “Ya clearly know nothin' about tha area. Where did they send ya from? Honeybreak? Cliffhaven?”

  “Squall's End,” Azure promptly responded.

  “Bah. Squall's End.” She spit at his feet. “City a shit and piss. I bet they paid ya shit, too.”

  He wasn't about to disclose ho
w little he was making for the quest. No doubt, she'd likely see it as an insult. Still, her comment did make him curious if he could be earning more money working for an Adventurers Guild in another city.

  “Did you used to be an Adventurer?” Azure asked, allowing himself to be distracted for a moment.

  “Aye. Who hasn't been? It's tha only way ta make good money without a solid skill or trade. But what of it? I'm not an Adventurer anymore. No point in it when ya have everything ya could need. And I don't much care about yer plight either.”

  Thavis quickened her pace as she saw a hare struggling in her next snare. Azure watched as she knelt beside the creature and drew her blade. It squealed in panic as she slit its throat. The way Thavis didn't even hesitate or flinch told Azure that she'd likely done this hundreds of times before.

  “You know, your ex-husband isn't the only one in Tradebreach. There are innocent women and children there who will likely lose their lives if you don't give up that map,” he tried to reason with her.

  She stood, tying the dead hare to her belt. Its limp body was so long that its feet practically touched the floor. “Tradebreach has their own fair share of warriors ta protect it. Odogden is one of em'.” Her tone hardened as she spoke the name.

  “Trolls are flooding through that tunnel, more than the villagers of Tradebreach will be able to handle, no matter how many warriors they have. They're going to send a small army from Noseon to help take care of the problem. But Noseon isn't willing to risk their knights until they know where the trolls are coming from and can prevent any more of them from surfacing in this area.” This was all a lie, of course. Azure had no idea if Noseon was going to get involved. All he knew was that he needed that map, and the best way to get it was to make the threat seem bigger than it actually was. If Thavis truly believed that the trolls would spill over into Brittlebreach, then surely she'd be willing to help. “You've built a home here.” Azure glanced back in the direction of the house, though they were still heading further away, presumably to check more snares. “If you don't protect it now, despite whatever quarrel you have with your ex-husband, it could be destroyed. I'm assuming you're not an Adventurer anymore because you've earned enough money to settle down. Do you really want to have to start over again? I know that you're probably secretly hoping that the trolls will destroy Tradebreach and whatever your husband has going on over there, but if they make it here, you'll both lose. Is it really worth it?”

  Thavis stopped and let out a loud sigh. For the first time, Azure felt like he might be getting through to her. While he hated to lie, he would do whatever it took to complete this quest. Did that make him a bad person? No. In this instance, other lives were at stake. The dwarven woman was just being selfish and stubborn.

  She turned to him again. “And what do I get for this? I don't want tha title of hero; I earned that long ago.”

  He didn't know what to say. The Adventurers Guild hadn't sent Azure anything to offer Thavis in exchange for the map. “Well...what do you want?”

  “What's The Adventurers Guild giving yew ta complete this quest?”

  Shit! Should he lie again? It wasn't like the sum was a lot.

  “Two silver and five copper,” he responded finally.

  “And what else?” She gestured for him to continue, clearly annoyed that he was obviously holding back.

  Now it was Azure who was sighing. “One Quest Point, three Small Skill Tokens, and two Random Treasures.”

  Thavis scratched her chin. “Hm. Wonder what tha random treasures will be. Doubt its anything good. Tha Small Skill Tokens though.”

  Double shit! Azure was about to lose part of his loot.

  “Listen,” he interrupted her thoughts. “I'm trying to save up for Teleportation Prisms right now, so I can't afford to part with much. The entire reason I took this quest was so I could hopefully earn enough money to buy them.”

  “Don't care.” She cut him off. “Shoulda thought a that before ya came ta see me.”

  “Is there anything else you might want instead?” Azure pleaded.

  She shook her head, then paused. “There is one thing I've been wanting.”

  “What's that?” He perked up, hopeful.

  Thavis gazed out into the forest. “The closest smithy is in Tradebreach. I haven't been there since ma ex and I, well...ya know.” She gestured with her hand to avoid saying it. “In any case, I have some armor that has a dent in it, and I haven't been able ta have it repaired. Take it ta tha smithy in Squall's End, pay ta have it fixed, and bring it back ta me. Then...I suppose I could part with tha map.” The dwarven woman rolled her eyes as if the idea of giving him the map pained her.

  Azure would be delighted with that compromise if not for the fact that it presented another problem. “I want to agree,” he hesitated, “but this is a high priority quest. I was only given four days to return the map to The Adventurers Guild. I'm guessing the reason why you want me to have your armor repaired is because it's too far away to walk to Squall's End. There's no way I could get your armor repaired, bring it back here, and then still be able to turn in the map to The Adventurers Guild on time to fulfill the quest.”

  “Not ma problem.” Thavis crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

  Azure's shoulders slumped, and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd had better Charisma would he have been given an easier side quest.

  The dwarven woman continued walking toward her next snare, and Azure followed behind, thinking as they went. So my only two options are giving her part of my loot or having her armor repaired. If I submit to splitting my loot, I'll make the deadline. Conversely, I could just tell her that I'm going to give her part of my loot and then just not come back. That way, I'd complete the quest and keep what I earned. That would be a dick move, though.

  She's really not giving me much of a choice in the matter. Though having her armor repaired would clearly be cheapest for me, I would never make it back to Squall's End on time. Shit.

  There was another hare caught in the fourth snare that Thavis checked. She made short work of it, then turned to Azure as she tied the body to her belt. “So, what's it goin' ta be?”

  He puffed out his cheeks and blew out a breath. “I really can't afford to split my loot with you, but I can afford to get your armor fixed. The only problem is the deadline. If you would trust me with your armor AND the map so that I can turn it in to The Adventurers Guild on time, I promise to return your repaired armor to you within the next few days.”

  The dwarven woman eyed him warily. “That sounds like a lose-lose situation ta me. I lose tha map and ma armor.”

  “I'll give you something as collateral to make it fair.” Azure pulled the Jade Ring from his finger and held it up to her. “This is worth two gold.”

  Thavis snatched it from him, her eyes going wide. “Jade,” she said with greed, then looked from the ring back to Azure before she closed her fist around it, “You have yourself a deal, Adventurer.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  THE REALM – Day 68

  Azure immediately started back for Squall's End with the map, stopping only an hour later to make camp a few minutes off of the main road. He had half a mind to light a torch and keep walking, but between the threat of the nearby trolls and the Bower Boys still on the loose, it seemed like too much of a risk. Besides, he'd need both hands to wield his Bergen's Glaive should he be attacked, not that he couldn't just switch back to his Bronze Sword. He wanted to get used to wielding the two-handed monstrosity since it was a superior weapon.

  Waking up just as the sun had begun to rise, Azure was able to return to Squall's End before The Adventurers Guild closed for the night, but a quick peek inside told him that there was no way he'd make it to the front of the line before they kicked him out and locked the doors. That would have to wait until tomorrow. Instead, he took Thavis' armor to Garion and traded in two silver to have it repaired. Once that was done, he headed to the tavern to eat and people watch.

  Th
e next morning, he was in line at The Adventurers Guild bright and early to turn in the map. He had half a mind to take on another quest but decided against it, figuring he would take a day off from all of the traveling to fish. Perhaps that would be his method of earning the money he needed for the Teleportation Prisms. Fish, then quest, then fish again. Rinse and repeat until Lonnell returned and they could start taking on bounties.

  When Mel handed over the box with his rewards, Azure quickly rummaged through it, practically dismissing the quest competition notification that popped up.

  Congratulations! Adventurers Guild Quest: A Dwarven Woman Scorned has been completed.

  Thavis Firstfall was a hard woman to crack. In the end, though, she'd rather use you to have her armor repaired than deal with having to see her ex-husband in Tradebreach, assuming that the trolls wouldn't have taken him out if they would have been let be. Whatever the case, she gave you the map that was needed to save the village. You have earned 2 silver, 5 copper, 1 Quest Point, and 135XP. You have also received the following items:

  Large Uncut Topaz

  Quantity: 1/1

  Item Class: Rare

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0 kg

  Uses: Jewelry Crafting

  Lava Geode

  Quantity: 1/1

  Item Class: Rare

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0.5 kg

  Uses: Geodes contain minerals and ores. Take it to a blacksmith to find out what's inside.

  Small Skill Token

  Quantity: 3/3

  Item Class: Uncommon

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 0 kg

  Uses: Spend a Small Skill Token to gain 100 points in any one skill.

  Congratulations! You are now Level 10! Your base stats have been boosted. You have earned 3 points to assign to your characteristics. Please note that adding points to some characteristics(Vitality, Intelligence, and Strength) will further boost your base stats. You may also advance any 1 skill of your choosing by 1 level.