It wasn't a guildhall at all.

Morgana had been impressed by Quarrygate's other guilds. Besides being fascinated by another world's architectural designs, almost every guildhall had been of clearly wealthy construction. Guildmasters tended to be older, often retired folk with significant wealth to throw into their burgeoning business. Their guildhalls would be expansive, sometimes luxurious spaces for adventurers to call home and go about their business within.

This was anything but that.

Rather, it was a simple house a fair distance from Quarrygate, built not so much on the outskirts of town as completely outside of it. Like most buildings in Quarrygate—barring a few exceptions from the original mining town—it looked freshly constructed. So it had that going for it, at least.

But otherwise, it was a somewhat large, plainly built one-story house.

"Are we at the right place?" Vesper asked, perplexed.

"Seems like it." Morgana gestured at a sign hanging above the door. "The Gryphon Company, like the advertisement said."

"Huh," Vesper said.

The two of them were silent for a bit.

"Nothing wrong with humble beginnings, right?" Vesper finally said.

"Not in my eyes," Morgana tentatively agreed.

The two of them approached the building, up and onto the porch. After a few loud knocks, Morgana heard someone rushing for the door. Amusingly, the rapid thump-thump-thumping suggested they were running.

The door swung open, revealing a young woman.

She was medium height, brown hair with curls, and younger than Morgana. Her cheeks dimpled as she all but beamed at the two of them.

"Hi! This is The Gryphon Company. How can I help you?"

"Uh," Vesper said, clearly caught off guard by the enthusiastic welcome. "Is the Guildmaster there?"

"You're speaking to her!"

Vesper stared.

"You're the Guildmaster?"

"Yup. Rune. It's nice to meet you."

Even Morgana, a stranger to this world, understood why Vesper was surprised. Every Guildmaster up to this point had been at least in their thirties. It simply wasn't a business that young people got into. As much because of the monetary requirements as requiring familiarity with adventuring life. At least, so Morgana surmised; obviously, she couldn't speak on any aspect of life in this world with certainty.

But this woman didn't even look like she was in her twenties. Younger than Morgana and Vesper, perhaps eighteen or nineteen? Surely she had to at least be an adult, so that was where Morgana tentatively placed her.

How was she a Guildmaster?

And what kind of person who could afford the massive guild establishment fees would be set up in a house on the outskirts of town? Just, why?

"Right," Vesper finally said. "And you're recruiting?"

The woman's eyes widened. "You're applying? Oh, come in, please, I'll take you to my office. Can I get your names?"

"Vesper," Vesper said, trailing in after her, giving a quick half-amused, half-confused look to Morgana. For the first time, the [Thief] seemed off-foot. She'd been a smooth talker throughout the previous encounters. Perhaps not a 'silver tongue,' but she'd made a solid effort in trying to wiggle her way into the other guilds. At least by Morgana's standards, who had never been good at 'talking.' Too many years spent with her nose in a book.

The inside of the so-called guildhall was no more impressive than the plain exterior. Morgana could at least take solace that it was clean and furnished…if a bit bare in that regard too. Rune led them through the house and into a small room purposed as an office. Like the common room and glimpse of a dining room, there wasn't much in the way of luxury. Just a simple desk, chair, filing cabinets, and other such necessities. There was only one visitor's chair. Rune froze briefly, seeing that, her eyes widening as she recognized the mismatch between applicants and places to put them.

"I'll stand," Vesper said dryly.

"Sorry," Rune said. "Still, um, setting everything up."

Morgana settled into the free chair, Vesper standing to her right.

"So," Rune said, her enthusiasm returning. "You two found out about us at the recruitment board, I assume?"

"Yeah."

"Well," she said. "I'm sure you can tell we don't have the most traditional of guildhalls," she joked, "and, um, you two would actually be our first members if you join, but that said, I'm positive I can convince you why The Gryphon Company is the guild for you."

They would be the first to join?

Yeah. Morgana couldn't say she was surprised by that. Of their many meetings with Guildmasters today, this was the first in which the sales pitch seemed to be happening in reverse. Trying to convince them rather than the other way around.

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Which boded well, Morgana supposed, for the possibility of wiggling their way into having a roof over their heads and legal access to the dungeon—the only two things they really cared about. Which Vesper also recognized, Morgana could tell, by the way she shifted in place, trying to hide her excitement. She kept her face neutral, trying not to seem too interested.

It felt like a somewhat absurd situation, the roles so suddenly and starkly reversing. And while in such a strange 'guildhall'—really, just a large house—run by a single young woman with no other members.

"I see," Vesper said. "The best guild for us. Why is that?"

"First," Rune said, raising a finger. "Since we're new, there's tons of opportunity for internal advancement. We still need to fill out our Officer ranks."

"And your regular ranks," Vesper said.

Rune coughed. "That too. It'll happen in time. But also! We've got nearly sixteen acres to ourselves out here. Plenty of space to expand when we need—both for our Guildhall and the grounds. Out in a quiet, peaceful part of town, instead of all cramped in by everyone else."

"So slower access to the adventuring hub. And a longer trip to the dungeon. Also, I thought this isn't technically in the city's borders?"

"Well, yes, technically," Rune said.

"And what's up with the guildhall, anyway?" Vesper asked. "Why does it look like…a house?"

Rune seemed briefly embarrassed. She fiddled with a pen on her desk. She seemed like she was trying to come up with a more palatable reason before obviously settling on the truth. "It was all I could afford," she admitted. "There's a [Builder] who works with schematics as part of his class. Can only make templates, but for fast and cheap." She coughed. "But like I said, all temporary! In no time, The Gryphon Company will be the premier guild in all of Quarrygate. You're getting in early."

"The best in the entire town?"

"In less than a year, without a doubt!"

"A year?"

"Maybe two." Rune coughed. "Three at the most. I'm absolutely certain."

Vesper shared a look with Morgana. It was obvious the thief was trying not to show her amusement too blatantly and instead putting on an aloof demeanor to make Rune more eagerly pursue their membership. But the strange sales pitch was putting her stoicism to the test.

"What do you offer?" Vesper asked. "I didn't see anything about an alchemist, an enchanter, or even a vault?"

"W-Well," Rune stammered. "Like I said, we're in the process of setting up. But you'd get your own room?"

"Isn't that just expected?"

Rune desperately searched out for a way to spin that obvious truth but failed. A brief awkward pause filled the air. Then she perked up. "Oh! And there's a guild mascot if that matters."

"A guild mascot?"

"Here, wait a second." Rune jumped up out of her chair and rushed out, leaving Vesper and Morgana alone.

Vesper's mask broke, and she looked at Morgana incredulously. Morgana covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. Pounding footsteps from across the house announced Rune's rapid return, and Morgana quickly mastered her brief break in composure.

Standing in the doorway, beaming like she was presenting her ultimate trump card, Rune held a disheveled-looking gray cat by the armpits, his fluffy white stomach exposed and his legs dangling down without protest.

"This is Gryphon," Rune said. "And you can pet him whenever you want. He's really good with strangers."

"Gryphon," Vesper said. "Like The Gryphon Company."

"Yep." Grinning, Rune walked over and set the cat down on her desk, then settled back into her chair. She idly scratched at his head, and the animal headbutted up into her palm, happily accepting the touch.

Vesper was briefly at a loss of words, obviously not knowing how to continue the charade.

"You make a convincing argument," Morgana said seriously, chiming in for the first time—and also leaning forward to pet Gryphon, which Rune beamed at. "But we've got some concerns about the lack of traditional benefits." Morgana might not be the best people person, but she was getting a strong sense that simply being frank with this woman—this…rather strange woman—would get them pretty far.

"And we've got some personal issues of our own," Vesper added, maybe sensing the same thing. "We're just starting out. Came here for the dungeon, like everybody. Still need to buy gear and supplies, so making the full registration fee might be tough, since your guild won't have a shared vault we could borrow gear from."

"Oh," Rune said. She considered that for a second, then sheepishly suggested, "Maybe we could temporarily waive the registration fee? Higher monthly dues instead, or something?" She scratched her cheek. "Since, yeah, I know we don't offer much of the normal stuff you'd want."

Morgana hid her excitement. Waiving the registration fee? It was going to be that easy?

Then again, all they would really be getting was a roof over their heads and legal access to the dungeon. Six silver would've bought plenty of the former, just not the latter.

"Also, we have a third," Vesper said, and Morgana could hear the excitement in her voice, realizing they might actually manage to squeak into a guild. "My brother. That's fine?"

"Sure! What's his class?" Rune paused, and her eyes widened, probably remembering that she'd failed to extract an important bit of information from them. "Uh. What are your classes, actually? And you're level one right? Since you're just starting out."

"Yeah. Morgana is a [Mage]. I'm a [Thief]."

"Mage? Thief?" Rune blinked rapidly, both of those announcements catching her attention in different ways. She appraised Morgana in a new light, obviously happy that she might be getting one of the 'better' classes to join her guild. Then her gaze turned to Vesper, becoming the slightest bit wary.

"It's in the past," Vesper said. "That's why I moved here. I want to start over."

The wariness was for obvious reasons: a person received their class most frequently based on what they were talented at. So earning the class [Thief]? It spoke volumes about what Vesper's past must have been like.

But Rune's hesitation lasted only a second. "Well, rogue-type classes are great in dungeons, especially at the higher ranks, I've heard. Where the traps get scary." She nodded, then faced Morgana. "And a [Mage]. That's so cool! Any idea why you got it?"

Morgana paused, the question catching her off guard. Vesper had actually come up with a backstory for Morgana, but for the most part, Guildmasters tended to care much more about current capabilities than whatever their past was. Rune had only asked out of a friendly sort of cordiality, Morgana was pretty sure.

"Got it cause she was a scribe's daughter, she figures," Vesper said, answering for her. "But who knows why, really?"

It wasn't the most exciting of backstories, but it was a common, uninteresting one somewhat suitable to her situation. Should prevent further questions—that had been Vesper's goal, giving it to her.

"Ah," Rune said. "Yeah, fair enough. Always did wonder why some people became mages. What spells did you get?" She coughed. "Not trying to be nosy. Just curious. Magic is super cool."

"[Magic Missile], and some other stuff," Morgana said, being vague.

Rune didn't press her on the lack of a detailed response. One's skills were the kind of thing even a Guildmaster wasn't entitled to.

Probably, in a prestigious guild, the vetting process would be more thorough. Maybe they wouldn't demand what her skills were, but they would test her some other way. Perhaps a trial dungeon run with other members?

"Neat," Rune said. "I'd like to see it whenever you get a chance." She turned to Vesper. "And your brother?"

"No class yet," Vesper said after a moment of hesitation. "But he's good with a knife like I am. I'd bet my boots he'll get one in no time. After just a few runs. He's out checking other guilds for us, since there's a lot to work through."

"Oh." Some of Rune's enthusiasm waned at that, though not because Flint didn't have a class but rather how they'd mentioned other guilds. Clearly, Rune hadn't caught on that the two of them were as desperate as she was. She perked up after a moment. "Well, tell him about Gryphon. It'll definitely convince him that we're the best choice."