Chapter 1 - Billy the Guide

Billy sat on a rooftop, overlooking the streets of his home town. Because, of course, he was. All of the good alleyways were taken and it was the best dramatic vantage point that was free. He rubbed his greedy hands together like a storybook villain while watching the crowds pass below. He looked inwards at his Gift once again.

* Guide: F-rank. Help others find their way.

The boy grinned. By all accounts, his Gift wasn’t anything to brag about. Some kids his age could sling fireballs, others could crush boulders without breaking a sweat. Billy had heard that one of his fellow street urchins had even manifested the peculiar ability to ripen cheese with a touch. Billy’s Gift was vague, but at least he wouldn’t be known as Cheese Touch Steve for the rest of his days.

He waited, perched on his rooftop until he found what he was looking for. He hopped down onto the cobblestone street and made his way towards his first marks. He sidled up to two, clearly lost, arguing adventurers.

Billy planted his feet shoulder width apart and slapped his hands on his hips. He tilted his head back to look up at the two human adventurers, and, with a beaming smile, he proudly proclaimed :

“Hi! I’m Billy! Ain’t nobody knows these streets like I do. You two are lost. And now you’ve found me! If there’s business to be had, it’s my business to…” He fumbled at the blank stares he was getting. Ok, not a great reception. He took a deep breath and tried again.

“Look, you two are sticking out more than a stick in a place that doesn’t have sticks. Just stick with me and I’ll show you where you need to get going.”

One of the adventurers, a tall, sturdy looking woman in clunky looking ill-fitting leather armor, scoffed. “Typical street trash.” Rolling her eyes, she tugged on her adventuring companion’s arm. “Let’s go before it makes more of a scene.”

The second adventurer, a man in lighter, but equally ill-fitting, armor glanced back at Billy as he was led away. “Not today, kid.” He shrugged helplessly as he was pulled down the street.

“Pfffft. Wrong way, morons.” Billy kicked a pebble, sending it impressively tumbling over twice before finding a new home in the cracks of the cobblestone. How was he supposed to skyrocket to S-rank if nobody gave him a chance? It's fine. It's fiiiiine. Everyone loves an underdog story arc and those always end with badasses who can take on entire armies. He sulked around, grumbling to himself about useless Gifts and of dumb tourists until he felt it again.

It was a gut feeling. Like a new awareness that was awakened when he received his Gift. It was tugging at him now. He looked around, searching the streets for who or what his Gift was trying to point out.

There. It was an adventurer. Shabby, as always. You didn't get stuck here if you had half a nut's worth of talent. He was eyeing up a potion bottle at what seemed to be a local con artist’s stall. The potion was obviously fake. Like, really? Glowing bright yellow, stamp on the cork, no description or price? But the adventurer seemed so weary, willing to do just about anything at that point to turn his luck around.

Weren’t we all?

Billy sucked in a deep breath and plastered on a grin. He swaggered up to the fake potion stall and leaned up against it. “Hogart,” Billy said with all of the nonchalance he could muster, “are you selling horse piss again to adventurers? You know what the old alchemist said last time. You almost caused a plague! Did you at least boil it this time?”

The fake potion merchant turned red and started spluttering. “Hogart? Who? What piss? I’m Jared! Jared Millhouse. These — why, these potions have been verified by the Alchemist's Association itself. There’s a seal right here.” He attempted to point out the arcane symbol on the cork of one of the bottles, but the adventurer had already recoiled and was swiftly walking away.

The merchant, apparently named Jared, balled up his fists and took a menacing step towards Billy. “You just lost me a customer, boy. You’re gonna regret that.” Lightning crackled between his fingers.

With a Gift like that, why was he peddling potions? He could easily have found his way onto a combat team. Or as an enforcer for some rich brat. Or even in an artificer’s workshop. Maybe the potions weren’t fake, after all?

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These thoughts spun through Billy’s mind as he raced down alleyways, slipped between crowds and slid under carts. Jared the maybe legit merchant mage was right behind him, stabbing out with his fingers.

Well, at least he couldn’t throw the lightning.

Bzzzt! A tiny lightning bolt smacked into the stone wall of a coffee shop as Billy rounded the corner. Tiny bits of stone flaked off and tumbled to the floor. Scratch that. He could most certainly throw the lightning.

Billy ran as fast as he could, dodging and weaving through the crowded streets. Jared was right behind him, hurling bolts of lightning and causing chaos wherever he went. People scattered in fear, and Billy could hear shouts and screams echoing through the streets and alleyways.

He knew that he had to find a way to escape Jared and stop him from causing any more damage. But how? He didn't have any weapons or defensive magic, and Jared seemed determined to catch him and make him pay for ruining his business. Then, an idea struck him. He changed direction slightly and headed towards a massive set of wooden doors set in a stone archway.

He sprinted the last dozen feet down the road and burst into the Adventurer’s Guild. The tinkle of the bell above the door was as glorious to Billy’s ears as the sound of a handful of silver coins tossed onto the cobblestone street. It was the sound of salvation. Nobody in their right mind would dare attack him in the Adventurer’s Guild. He was safe.

“Get out.” The croak came from the reception desk. A woman so old it was a miracle she wasn’t mistaken as a museum exhibit stood behind the counter. A light in her hand pulsed slightly as papers on her desk signed, sorted and filed themselves.

“I’m, uh…” Billy searched around the room frantically, trying to figure out a lie. The guild was bustling with activity, as adventurers and mercenaries came and went, discussing their latest quests and contracts. His eyes landed on the notice board. “I’ve recently manifested my Gift and I want to try my hand at adventuring,” he said with as much confidence as he could, while trying not to show how winded he was.

“Mmmmmmmhm,” came the skeptical reply from the receptionist. The bipedal fossil reached over and placed an open book on the counter. “Place your hand on the Tome of Knowledge and don’t interfere with the process. If you resist, you’re banned for life.”

He nervously strode over to the counter and looked at the book before tentatively placing his right hand on one of the empty pages. The large, leather bound book began glowing blue, then briefly orange, and then finally fading to a dull gray. He felt a surge of… something… enter his body and swirl around where he could feel his Gift. As soon as it had started, the feeling faded away. The light coming from the book winked out. Billy blinked, looking around in confusion “Is, uh… Is that it?” He was kind of hoping for a few gasps, maybe some trumpets or a choir of angels. But there was just… nothing.

“Hmph,” the receptionist grunted. Her name was Tilly, judging by her name tag. Tilly grabbed the book, turned it over and read dispassionately through the new information inscribed onto the previously blank page. “Billiam. No last name. Guide. F-rank. Minor, underdeveloped sagacious and/or precognitive properties. Growth dependant on the user. Combat utility: untested. Recommendation: further testing required.” She looked up from the book. “The Tome says you can only take F-ranked missions.” She fished out a pendant from below the desk and slid it to Billy. “This is your Adventurer’s Guild pendant. Its safety features include being on a chain so that it stays around your neck. That’s about it. Keep it with you while on any job. That way, if you get caught somewhere you shouldn’t be, we can check your current job and smooth things over if that job requires you to be in any sensitive areas. Get caught trying to use this pendant as a get out of jail free card and you’ll be strung up and used as a squirming deterrent for the rest of the guild. Any questions?”

Billy shook his head nervously as he slid the pendant over his head and around his neck. The pendant was made of dark wood and had a large F engraved onto it.

“Good,” Tilly grunted. “Now, get to work. The notice board is over there.” She waved a hand towards the note-covered board. “No more than two requests at a time. Not until you get promoted to E-rank.”

He nodded his head and slunk off to the notice board. There were hundreds of pieces of papers tacked to it. He looked through the F-ranked quest section, his shoulders slumping more and more as he read. F-ranked quests were awful! He flitted through requests for everything from garbage disposal to cat sitting to tree trimming. Finally, after almost giving up a half dozen times, Billy found an at least salvageable request. He snagged it and brought it to the counter.

Tilly accepted the request, read it over, then looked Billy up and down as if trying to decide if he seemed like the type to rob someone or not. “Farmer Tim lost his glasses and needs someone to help him find them? Peculiar. You don’t necessarily match the oddly specific description of what kind of adventurer he’s looking for, but I guess he’ll have to make do.” She stamped the request and filed it away, then handed Billy a slip of paper. “Here are the directions to his farm. Go perform your assigned task. When you return, the Tome of Knowledge will ascertain whether or not you’ve truly completed the job or not.”

Billy nodded eagerly as he accepted the directions. “Don’t worry ma’am! I’d bet half a gold coin that the old pervert doesn’t even wear glasses.” He just winked at the receptionist’s befuddled expression and left the building, a new spring in his step.