> The winds of change were blowing. They were blowing so hard in fact that it went beyond just a storm. No, this change was a hurricane. It tore up roofs and homes and lives and planted them just as easily. It poured down on those affected. It flowed and only gathered more and more momentum until it was an unstoppable deluge. It did not stop until all of Calchet, and truthfully much of the surrounding territory, was swept up in it’s change.
>
> When the hurricane of change died down to a mere blustery breeze, everything was different. The path the storm took could not have been more apparent. Houses were torn up and in its place were inns and restaurants and shops. The population was swollen and the very city distended to cover the long road between the lake and dungeon.
[ ] Hmmm.
The parrot harpy brought his quill to his beak and chewed on it thoughtfully. As he chewed on it, he casually destroys the beautiful red and green feather. Truthfully, they were good quills, but being plucked from himself, he hardly treasures them.
[ ] Heeeey. Polly! Quit trying to write that news article for the capital and let’s go! The adventurer’s guild is finally open today!
The energetic and loud voice gathered everyone’s attention to the familiar voice. Despite being an original inhabitant of Calchet, she managed to get familiar with most people that moved here. At least, most of the people who walked through these streets anyways. Despite being a young woman, her childish behavior, openness, and willingness to help has won over quite a few people. Despite her body looking frail, the two tentacles longer than she is tall, and lined with numerous suckers, showed otherwise. She could even lift things by herself that would take two or three of most merchant men.
[Polly Paul] Oh you’re here already Carolyn. I keep telling you it’s Paul, not Polly. And yeah I’m still writing. Just cause my dad owns the paper doesn’t mean he won’t fire me. I’ve gone through so many drafts that I’m running out of ink though.
[Carolyn] E-eh ? You you can’t just ask a lady to make you ink!
One of her large tentacles wrapped up most of her body in self defense while the other gave Paul a gentle smack that only pushed him off the bench he was sitting on.
[Paul] That’s not what I meant! Ugh nevermind. Look Adis and Vara are here.
Carolyn looked around and sure enough she spotted her other two companions. Adis was a human boy, blond hair, and pretty normal all around. He had an open mind and took his job seriously, even if he was a bit slow, so Carolyn was satisfied with picking him as a party member. Vara was following close behind him. She stood out a little in the day as a dark elf, but in darker areas she was good at disappearing. Adis had his sword and shield in place already and Carolyn knew Vara had a variety of daggers and needles on her even during casual events. Of course like Paul and Carolyn herself, they were all wearing standard issue leather armor. They were wearing it because they weren’t idiots. New adventurers aren’t fast enough or strong enough or smart enough or generally good enough to wear cloth or less or to wear metal plates and certainly not rich enough to afford some of the more renowned products.
They were allowed to dye their armor, at their own risk and expense of course. Vara dyed hers black, naturally. Paul’s was red and green to match his feathers. Carolyn’s own was pink, because it was cute. Adis dyed his white. After a couple of trainings, nobody could tell. But it was white, and that’s what’s important he had said.
[Carolyn] Over here! Hey guys!
Carolyn’s voice was raised as high as her waving tentacles. Naturally, she succeeded in getting Adis and Vara’s attention, along with half of the square. They hurried over with wry smiles. Everyone had gotten used to Carolyn’s energy since they partnered up a week ago.
[Adis] Morning. Sorry for being late.
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[Vara] Hah you should be. I can’t believe you overslept. Do you know how hard it was to climb in through your window to wake you up?
[Adis] Haha come on forgive me already. I was just too excited about today to sleep well last night.
[Carolyn] Oh me too me too!
Vara and Paul just sighed.
[Vara] Kids.
[Paul] Right well let’s go. We might have already signed up as adventurers but it’s still good to go early. It’s going to be our first job and all. Besides I want to hurry up and send back some first hand accounts of not only the town but the dungeon.
[Party] ‘Kaaay~
The party strolled through the city. Despite the sun only having just risen, the sounds of the city could be heard all around. Shops were opening, people cooking, adventurers like them heading to the guild, and the distant sound of bells ringing in the religious district. Paul of course had plucked a new feather and was writing down much of what he saw. He had long since made a map of the city during his stay but it was in constant need of updates. Passing from the residential district through the mercantile district, they saw new shops opening and various carts and storefronts being filled with new merchandise. As they neared the adventurer’s guild, the stores changed to those that advertised towards adventurers. Stores dealing with equipment, alchemy, healing centers run by some of the religious groups. There’s even a place that sells boxed lunches that it touts as being sold in a solid and easy to carry box and the insides will be fine even if you shake it around or dunk it under water.
The adventurer’s guild was soon visible. It was a large and grand building. Well, all of the major guild buildings were. Although the adventurer’s guild was certainly large, it was by no means tall. A mere 3 stories above ground. However it was sprawling and had several underground levels. It needed the space for the various facilities required of the adventurer’s guild. It had everything important to adventurers from a library to training grounds to the select stores allowed to open within their grounds. Of course a lot of carriage parking space was provided next to the dismantling area.
As the group pushed through the front door, light and noise spilled out.
[Pyria] What do you mean we gotta do guild work instead of dungeon diving? That’s not what we came to do.
[Fravit] Come on now Pyria. You know that we can’t turn down special guild requests. The money’s good too.
[ ] You wouldn’t be satisfied with how much it’s developed anyways. The dungeon is too young.
[Pyria] You don’t know that. You don’t know her. She’s already sentient and I’m sure there’s a real cool dungeon waiting for us.
[Gnet] No. There’s nothing requiring a C ranker yet. Not unless you intend to enter the dungeon’s real defenses and be labeled as an enemy. I believe under the rules of our new governance, the guild would be tasked with hunting you down should you survive.
[ ] You know we can’t do that. We might as well retire from adventuring.
[Pyria] Ah geez fine I get it ok. We just gotta hang around and help the guild until some harder stuff shows up right?
The C ranked party that first entered the dungeon, along with the guild master, were trying to placate their half elfed party member. Successfully this time it seemed. The dwarven priest seemed quite bored of this already and the ice gensai was so still she may as well have been a statue. They were already well known to most of the adventurers that came. Not only for being their only source of information so far, but also for being the highest ranked party in Calchet. C rank was already pretty experienced and a strong party just doesn’t have that much to gain in a new dungeon.
As the party bickered between themselves more parties arrived. The receptionists windows were closed and the job board was covered with a cloth so the parties just hung around waiting for something to happen. It took a little while but the guildmaster finally tapped his metal boots on the floor, making a clear sound that caught everyone’s attention. The room fell silent and all eyes gathered on the half orc that towered over the crowd.
[Gnet] Good. Well it seems like this should be just about all the people we can expect for now. You lot should know I am the master of the adventurer’s guild, Gnet. This is the C ranked party that will be assisting with this site. They will be teaching some classes soon too and we suggest you take some. Either way, everyone who is registered has been informed of the rules and breaking them will be treated seriously.
[Fravit] Yes please adhere to the rules and also keep yourself safe. Remember, just because the first three levels is denoted as rank G zones, does not mean that you can not or will not be attacked and possibly killed.
[Gnet] Yes. As you all know, the adventurer’s guild ranks adventurers from S then A and all the way down to F. All of you should be F ranked adventurers who came here to avoid the crowds of the well established dungeon towns. Some of you may even be G ranked, that is to say the general public who is limited to the lowest tier of jobs. Either way, don’t let your guard down or you’ll regret it.
[Pyria] Maybe we’ll go diving later and give any party who’s not paying attention a nice big kick to
[Fravit] Right. Well most of what you need is covered in the previous information sessions and of course any information you do need from now on can be requested or researched by yourself. Think for yourself and act as an adventurer should and maybe you won’t be stuck in the E and F ranks. Good luck everyone.
With a nod from Gnet, the receptionists pull off the cloth from the job boards and open their counters for the day. There isn’t much reason to rush as the quests are pretty much set for the first while, at least until more is discovered. Paul picked up a few gathering quests for herbs and fish. Lacking any people with major earth affinities, they decided to skip the ore gathering quests. Like they said, the first few floors are G ranked so even the general public would fare fine in them and before making any promises for quests on the fourth floor, they should explore it themselves first to see if they can handle it. After all, they weren't fools.