Tarrus marveled at the sensation of a breeze across his clammy skin. He slowly panned his gaze across to the wall, noting that all the windows were closed. Huh, they must have some kind of air-conditioning magic. I didn’t notice that earlier. And why didn’t he notice that earlier? It felt like all he could do right now was notice things. The way the light from the nearby crystal played across the tiled floor, the sharp angles and gentle curves built into the desks spread around this room, the neat, organized papers on one of them and the almost beautiful dichotomy of disorganization that was its neighbor. Everything just felt so clear.
Wait, have things always stood out to me this much? Did- What’s happening? He looked down at a new sensation, a hand on his arm. Following the arm back to its source he saw a woman- the receptionist, Evie. He gazed at her, taking note of her frown, and the way her lips were moving. Huh. I never realized how interesting it was to watch people talk. I wonder what she’s saying?
<+>Evie<+>
-=-<^>-=-
“Tarrus, are you okay? Hey, talk to me, what’s going on?” Evie said, gently shaking the boy. He sluggishly reacted, turning to face her with an expression she recognized. Oh man, I know it can gut people to have no or low magic potential, but I’ve never seen actual shock shock. I’m more used to seeing this kind of thing around failed Domain raids. She looked him over, turning his gently mumbling head from side to side. That said, he’s clearly got some illusions of grandeur, and I’ve only known him a day.
Coming to a decision, she moved him over to a chair and sat him down. “Ok, Tarrus? I don’t know what kind of life you may have had planned out for yourself that this has shocked you so much, but I want you to know that your life isn’t over, okay? There are a lot of people who get by with no magic, and you’ll be fine. It’s very common. Now,” she called in another person working in the back, “I’m going to go get your parents so they can talk to you, alright? And then, when you’re ready, we can talk about your results and how you can work with the guild, and what kind of training you can do. I’ll be right back.” She started walking away, holding her hands out to him in a ‘stay’ gesture, leaving Tarrus in the care of her coworker.
As she walked away, she heard him quietly muttering to himself. She stopped at the door, her hand on the frame, looking back at him with concern. It had really seemed to hit him harder than she’d expected.
“...mon.” She heard faintly. She strained her ears to listen in, hoping to get some insight into his mental state. In the most defeated, horrified voice she’d heard from a child, he quietly said “I’m common. Me.”
I want my concern back.
<+>Will<+>
-=-<^>-=-
<3 Months Later>
Will looked from the portrait on the wall to the receptionist in front of him. Then back. “So,” he said, trying to fill the silence. “Employee of the month, huh? I didn’t realize Gran had a large enough permanent staff to be giving out awards.” He looked away from the portrait, sitting above a conspicuous plaque, a staple in customer service positions, a gold star to one’s name. Looking back at the receptionist, he gulped. “Wow, that portrait looks exactly like you! They really captured your…” dead, soulless eyes, “Smile! Ha ha…” He trailed off nervously. The receptionist just kept staring blankly.
Will turned to his party, desperate. Oh gods, making me party leader was a mistake. I’m already cracking under the stress of talking to people and it’s a receptionist. They let him sit in his suffering for another moment, snickering, before pulling him out of the fire.
Chuckling, Annette stepped forward, waving lightly to the receptionist. “Sorry about that. Will can be a bit awkward for his own good sometimes. We’re a party from out of town and just arrived in Gran today. We’re just checking in so the guild can update their records, and to see if there are any quests or Domains you can recommend for our party to ease us into the area.”
He nodded, hand already moving, arranging documents before them. “Understood. In that case, you’ll need to fill out some change of branch forms, here, here and here,” he said, indicating places to sign, “and then we can take care of filing those and distributing the information to the rest of the guild. For quests,” he stood, gesturing to a board a short distance from the desk, “You’ll find many of our contracts over there. As the primary population of Waystation Gran is adventurers, you won’t find the same variety of quests you may be used to; there is substantially less Domain related industry here, though there are adventurers who also work as crafters that will post material requests occasionally. However, most of your work here in Gran will consist of regular monster subjugation, in the desert or in the Domains. There isn’t enough Domain or monster dependent industry here to generate quests for parts, but there are enough raw materials here to attract caravans for those parts. You can bring monsters to the guild to be harvested, or you can harvest them yourself if you have the skill. You can try selling them yourself as well, but the merchants generally only deal with the guild out here, and contributions to the guild will also go toward your rank evaluation.” He sat back down, taking the now signed paperwork back from them, and replacing it with a small book. “We provide guides to the local Domains for adventurers free of charge. If you need anything else, you are always welcome to ask,” he said with an expression far from inviting.
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“Actually! We did have some questions we were hoping you might be able to help with. We heard some… interesting information about the ruins around here. That there are relics recovered here regularly. Is that true?”
This elicited possibly the first emotion they’d seen from the receptionist; his face darkened, twisting into a scowl. “Hardly. Some of the Domains formed over areas with magic items, and they spin out cheap copies every so often, but true relics, the items of power are all gone by now.” His expression relaxed, turning a bit wistful. “If there’s something you’re after, you’d have a better chance of finding it out in the world, likely in the hands of some powerhouse, and good luck getting it then.”
The group glanced at each other. “And if, by some stroke of luck, we do find a genuine, original relic, what are the guild policies on that kind of salvage?”
His eyes narrowed a bit, peering at them suspiciously. “If you come across any relics, they are yours by right, but the guild asks that all parties report on their findings, so that we might have a more complete understanding of what can be found in the region. After all, any magics present in an area when a Domain forms affect the domain itself.”
The group nodded, poorly concealing their excitement. “Of course, of course!” Will said, finally stepping back into the conversation, “Well! I think that’s everything we wanted to know for now, se we’ll just go find ourselves some lodging and get out of your way. Thank you so much…” he glanced at the boy's name tag, “Tarrus!”
-=-<^>-=-
None of the party was used to being on an entire compound for adventurers, but they hardly even looked around as they made a beeline for lodging. They were buzzing with excitement.
The youngest member, Nina, was looking curiously all around. “So many people look like real fighters here.”
Gerald, the oldest of the group, glanced at her. “Yeah. I told you, you’ll fit right in.”
She grinned at him, flexing dense muscles on her small frame. “I could take ‘em.”
Annette frowned, looking at the younger woman. “I don’t know how you’re thinking about fighting right now. All I can think about is that, if this information is real, we could be set for a while.”
Gerald nodded. “Mmm, I could finally retire.”
Annette snorted. “You say that at least once a month, you’re not fooling anyone old man.”
He grinned, pointing at her. “I could, though. By the way,” he turned to Will, “where did you even get a tip like this? Even if we don’t find the relic… This information suggests there is an entirely unmapped section of a Domain. That alone is a good payday from the guild. Hard to believe nobody turned it in already.”
Will shook his head, “They couldn’t. It was a rumor my dad heard from some of his connections. Basically, a party goes into the Domain, and they follow all the typical routes, making good progress and all that. They ran the Domain pretty frequently, so they were familiar with it. On this day, though, they decided to take a break in a room that was off their regular path. There wasn’t anything special about the room; it was a fairly empty bedroom, a few chairs, a table, bed, mirror, but that’s it- totally normal ruins otherwise. One of the party stepped out of the room for a bit, and when he got back,” he stopped, leaning forward a bit, hands splayed out, and continued in a whisper, “everyone was gone.”
The others looked at each other silently for a moment. Nina spoke up, “but why did he step away from his group in the middle of a Domain? That’s dangerous.”
Gerald glanced at her, “hmmph, probably took a shit,” he turned back to Will, “and then fed it to anyone who would listen. This is what we came out here for? Sounds like any two-bit adventurers campfire story they peddle for sympathy.”
“Well, yes, on the face of it, it could look that way. But, worry not! Dad wouldn’t pass this along without vetting it first, and he’s convinced that there is truth in the rumor.”
Annette cut in, “And, it makes for a much more compelling story when you get the context.”
“What, you already told Annette? No fair!” Nina said
“Hmm, well, if Annette buys the story, then I’m in.”
“You're in when Annette’s on board but not when I am? Do you think I’m gullible or something? You know what,” Will said, noting a gleam in the old man’s eye, “don’t answer that.”
Nina grabbed the edge of his jacket. “Will~ finish the story~”
He pulled himself away, groaning, “I was going to! Gosh. Okay, so, like Gerald said, the story sounds fake, the kind of thing you’d hear kids telling each other to scare each other off. My dad was ready to write it off, but the contact he heard it from initially was solid, and she was convinced there might be something behind the rumor. So, he went looking. Eventually, he found the source of the rumor. He found record of an adventurer who came to Gran with a party, and left alone. Everyone else in the party was marked as Missing. The adventurer retired soon after.” He raised his hands, “Now, of course, this kind of thing happens from time to time, and it’s not uncommon for parties to wipe. But when he looked into the specifics of where this particular adventurer ended up, he found something interesting. In the town the man had retired to, there were tales of a crazed adventurer coming back, scared of his own reflection, to the point where this guy would even go destroy mirrors in the town. He was never actually able to find the man himself, but he got a thorough recounting from multiple sources.”
A knowing look had entered Gerald’s eyes. “So, you think that this relic, which supposedly should have added new regions to a Domain, went undetected for this long because it’s… a mirror?”
Will grinned. “Exactly. And a week from now, it’ll be ours.”