The assorted individuals who got to witness Althos' first true display of his monkish skills were quiet as he starred down the recruiter who had challenged him to show them in the first place. The deity wearing a desert-giant skin-suit smiled softly at the recruiter, offering him a bit of sympathy and a small amount of respect.
I should say something that would make him seem tough. The naive will thought to itself.
To help heal the man's pride, Althos spoke. "Sorry about that. I went all in, and you took it like a champ. Not many people back home could do that." Althos said, exaggerating the amount of force behind the blow and grinning sheepishly as to help really sell his lie. Zabuli grinned back at him, and the sincere pride in his smile suggested that the recruiter either believed the lie, wanted to believe it, or at least appreciated the kind intentions behind it.
"That's because... I'm really strong!" The man said, confidence audible in his voice, despite the force of the blow causing him to exhale mid-sentence to alleviate some of the pain he felt coursing through his chest. The other people who saw the exchange, and who understood it, chuckled at the human's statement, grinning at each other with mirth-filled eyes.
He's really trying huh? There is something commendable about that level of effort. I can't say I dislike it. Althos realized, developing something akin to respect for the recruiter. Althos considered speaking for a second before Zabuli opened his mouth to speak.
"I think you'll do just fine with an arm like that. If you'd like, you can become an adventurer right away." The human told Althos. Those sentences made Althos happy, and the deity responded by eagerly nodding at the recruiter, Zabuli.
"Now that is good news." He told the recruiter, dropping a bit of his stoic act, just for a second. "I left home to become an adventurer, and knowing that the skills I have gained have allowed me to do so... it makes me happy." Althos told the assortment of creatures gathered around him, smiling at them while telling them a lie. They grinned back at him, and then Zabuli decided to dive into work and formality for the first time since the human had met the young monk.
"Well Quinn, if you're excited to become an adventurer, we can throw you some work right away. For now, let's get the formalities out of the way so that when you take on your first quest everything runs more smoothly." The recruiter told the giant, walking towards the desk and towards the receptionist behind it.
"Now Elif, be a dear and fetch us the proper forms would you?" He asked, grinning at the receptionist who nodded firmly at him and quickly searched her desk for the aforementioned paperwork. When she found the forms, she triumphantly and excitedly hoisted them from their hiding place and held them aloft.
"Here they are!" She said, practically shouting in excitement. Althos' will had a second to visually inspect the forms in the giant's hand and was surprised at what he saw.
Elif held several sheets of thick paper in her hands, pieces of paper that were sized to be appropriate for giants and were covered in runic writing. That's... a lot of writing. The will realized, after looking at the paper for a few moments. Elif then brought the papers onto the desk and beckoned for Althos to come forward and examine the papers himself.
As he approached the papers, Zabuli began to speak to him.
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"So basically, by signing these papers you're promising to use your powers as a monk to aid the people of Namira. And the most straightforward way you'll do that is by undertaking quests given to you by Namira's government. And if you need to stop a quest, you can. All it takes is paying a small fee." Zabuli finished explained, minutes after he began to speak. He was grinning at the desert-giant, who he hoped was moments away from signing the papers in front of him.
"So if that's all... why are there so many papers to fill out?" Althos' second will, in his guise as the desert-giant monk named Quinn, asked the human. The human's explanation was a bit more complex than its final sentences but it wasn't anywhere near long enough to explain the density of the pack of papers in front of him, nor the complex runic writing which covered both the front and back of the many pages which Althos had been told to sign minutes ago.
Zabuli sighed and had a realization after hearing the creature he knew as Quinn question him. I shouldn't be surprised a monk isn't in a rush to fill out these forms. They tend to be a skeptical lot. The worst kind of adventurers. Those with questions.
The human felt a rush of annoyance, as it wasn't often that his advances were rebuffed, especially by powerful giants from the country who arrive alone in the city. After he finished his mental complaint he refocused and looked at the desert-dwelling giant he sought to recruit.
"That's a fair enough question. You see these papers outline the full terms of our agreement. In addition to the money you get for completing quests, so long as you complete a certain number of quests a week your housing and a few meals a week are paid for, by the city itself." The human said, beginning to explain the terms and conditions of the agreement he hoped Quinn would sign a bit more carefully and thoroughly.
"Oh! So some of these terms and conditions are things like that?" The giant asked, hoping to get more information this way, before eventually reading the full contract himself.
The human nodded at him and responded to his question. "Yep! At various points throughout our history, Namira has tackled adventurers in different ways. Sometimes we've welcomed traveling warriors, and at other times we've turned them away." Nabuli explained, teasing that the history of the city was a long and complex one.
"Our current philosophy isn't that different from a meritocracy. As a city we no longer care about where an adventurer comes from, instead, we care more about their skill in battle. And in order to recruit the best and keep our city safe, we offer enticing conditions like this." The human smugly told the giant, a vague feeling of nationalism creeping into his voice.
Althos grinned at the human and nodded at this rather commendable attitude. This is a good city for those who need to start over. Althos realized, before making an addendum to that statement. Provided one has a skill the city needs anyway. And then he spoke up again.
"So let's start over and let me make sure I understand what is expected of me, and what I'll get in exchange for my compliance with these terms and conditions." He said to the human. When the human looked at him expectantly, he took that as a sign to proceed.
"When I sign this, I will be indicating my consent to become a formally recognized adventurer in this city. That means that among other things I can enter and leave the city freely, and accept quests given to me by the city that allow me to solve problems locally. And in exchange for my work, I will receive financial compensation." Althos said, slowly and thoughtfully while maintaining eye contact with Zabuli. The human nodded, indicating that so far Althos was correct.
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The desert-dwelling god continued to speak shortly after seeing the human nod. "Quests can and most often do come from the government, though there are avenues which allow for individual citizens to make quests. Quests requests contain a list of tasks to be completed, a deadline before which they must be completed, and clearly state what rewards will be given to those adventurers who complete them." Althos said, summarizing the contents of one entire page of the papers he was to sign. Zabuli nodded again, smiling at his understanding of the work he may soon begin.
"The city employs adventurers because of the diversity of talents they bring to the city, and because of their potential to spot problems that the regular citizens might be aware of, but that might be missed by the government. Additionally creating enjoyable and livable working conditions for adventurers gives them a reason to protect the city against external and internal threats." Althos said, mixing in some of his own understanding with what he had learned so far.
"Huh... you're mixing in your own thoughts now? Nice. And they're smart too." Zabuli said, complimenting the giant. It was also only partially flattery because Althos' assessment was clever and accurate. "The biases of conventional government workers inhibit the government's ability to do it its job if all external assistance is resisted and undermined. But usually, it takes adventurers a bit longer to learn that." The human said, grinning at the deity.
"You'll find that when I want to be, I can be quick on the uptake. It makes sense for a city of this size to want to deputize clever, committed outsiders and use them in some official capacity, especially given the hostile environment outsiders escape from when they enter the city." He told Zabuli, understanding some of this due in part to Mahmud's memories, and also because of a sort of odd, vaguely alien, "common sense".
This is definitely a better attitude than going in the opposite direction and refusing to allow new people the opportunity to show their worth. It's also helpful for me since I want to make a deal with whoever becomes the next head of this city. The will thought, grateful that this was the city's attitude, and remembering the overall goal of the main will.
"In essence, I am promising to aid the city a few times a month and in exchange, I am getting paid a presumably fair amount for my work and the risks I am undertaking, as well as earning free room and some free meals as well." He said to the human recruiter. Zabuli, as was quickly becoming the man's habit, nodded. And then he spoke yet again.
"Exactly! There's a bit more to it, but I didn't want to overwhelm you. I should have figured since you were a monk that you wouldn't be so easily overwhelmed. One thing worth noting is that becoming an adventurer opens you up to a whole new world of opportunity. Successful adventurers collaborate with government employees and rub shoulders with politicians. The most successful of the adventurers even meet with Sultan Suti!" The human exclaimed.
This caught Althos' secondary will off-guard. That was said in the present tense. So does that mean that people think Suti is still okay? He questioned, rather alarmed.
Boy, I'm glad I don't have to ask about that directly. The will realized, chuckling as the thing made use of the primary will's own mental abilities and snagged a copy of all of the human's memories. The process took but a moment, and the will merely replicated what Althos' primary will had done to dozens of people and creatures.
Now... how could I scan most efficiently scan these memories? The thing wondered for a second, before deciding to see if one of two creatures in his mind could at least search the memories for him.
[Hello. I'm the secondary will, and I was wondering if you either of you could do something for me. I just made a copy of some memories. If I... "hand" them to either of you, could you sift through them and see what this human knows about Sultan Suti?] The will asked, respectfully speaking to the mysterious advisors who dwelt primarily in Althos' mind.
Samyaza responded to the inquiry a few moments later with a response that excited Althos. [Hello secondary well, I can do that. Just copy your copy and imagine the memories being sent to me, and I'll begin the work immediately.] The metallic angel informed the strange will. Althos wanted to cheer upon hearing that, and had to work to contain his excitement.
Just... copy my copy? Alright. I'll try that out. The will thought to itself, visualizing an orb containing years of memories spawning into the thing's mental "hand". It took a few seconds for the strange thought to bear any sort of fruits, but without much difficulty, the exercise in creativity bore fruits, and a sort of semi-solid sphere of memories popped into existence in the mind's eye of the will.
Now... go to Samyaza. The will thought, aiming its thoughts at the orb of memories and urging the thing to sail towards the orb angel. In seconds the process was done, and Samyaza confirmed as much itself. [Got it! I'll begin sorting through these memories to see what I can find about Sultan Suti. If you want, sending me a copy of Ahmet's memories might not be a terrible idea either.] The angel pointed out.
[True! Let me do that too.] The will responded, eager to learn whatever these two fellows knew about Suti. The second time it had to make a copy of memories it found the process to be much easier, and sent them over nearly an instant later.
[On it! Let me see what I can find.] The angel told the deity, causing a grin to etch itself onto Althos' face. That whole process took a matter of seconds, and in order to not have the human ask any uncomfortable questions resulting from the will's sudden silence, Althos went ahead and grabbed a quill from Elif and signed his name where the documents he was to sign asked for his information. In seconds he had written his name a handful of times across the pages.
"Oh! I see you were just deliberating for a second. That thoughtfulness will help you out a lot on the field." Zabuli said, encouraging Althos. Ahmet grinned at the deity, and his own thoughts were purely self-oriented. He wasn't alone though, as Ahmet was also thinking of his future enrichment.
I can't wait to find out how much of a finder's fee I'll get for aiding in the recruitment of a monk. The self-serving giant thought, eager to have some spending money purely as a result of bringing a halfway decent warrior to an inn. He moved to approach the giant and the human, a smirk etched onto his face.
"Friends! What a joyous day this is. Our city has a strong new defender, new friendships have been forged, and my new friend Quinn now has housing and employment. Truly this is a moment worth celebrating!" He boisterously declared, his eyes filled with selfish joy at the thought of the fattening his wallet would soon receive. He moved close to the two, and placed a firm, gloved hand on Quinn's shoulder, and on Zabuli's head.
Althos chuckled at that and looked at the odd tour-guide. He then asked, rather innocently, "What would a Namirian celebration look like?" Curiosity filled his voice, and the question was asked in earnest, not just in an attempt to placate the self-declared tour-guide. Ahmet looked at the newcomer to Namira and laughed.
Althos then looked at his companions and spoke to them in the language of the jackaloids. "Want to celebrate? I've got a job now. Which really means we've got a job now." The creatures looked at him, excitedly, before he was surprised to hear an unexpected voice chime in.
"So they're jackaloids? Wow! I barely noticed them, until you spoke to them." The voice came from behind Althos and spoke in the canine language of the critters. Althos turned around and looked to see Zabuli speaking to him and his allies. Shock took over his face, and after a few seconds, an astonished but excited grin began to invade it.
"So there are humans who can speak jackaloid? That's neat!" Althos told the human, honestly grinning at him. Althos then used his divine "Identify" power on the human.
[Name: Zabuli Grave
Class: Ranger
Species: Human
Faction: The city of Namira
Alignment: Lawful Neutral]
Upon reading it all over, none of it surprised the will but it was nice to have confirmation that what he had seen so far was accurate.
"Yep! I myself was not born here. I was born in a small village not far from here and immigrated when I became an adult. Early in my childhood jackaloids began to visit the town and so some of us tried to learn their language." The human explained, grinning at the monk and his companions.