In the middle of the forest going through a long bumpy road inside a creaking carriage, warm air blows through the wind seeping through the hole where outside the coach sits pulling on the reins of the horses. Inside, four passengers are seated shielding them from the heat of the sun, the other two were normal passengers but the larger passenger definitely puts him on edge. As a demi-human and a rabbit one on top of it all, was rightfully careful wherever he went to since leaving the comfort of his house for the first time.
"We're getting close to Rivermist, please get off at the next stop!" The coachman shouts, waking the passengers.
All of them collectively gathered their belongings, some checking the contents of their bags carefully. With one seemingly not caring and immediately hopping off the cart, his large bunny ears bounced out of the hood before he tucked them back in.
A larger cloaked figure also followed a minute later causing the carriage to shake as he stepped off carrying an almost comically large bag they carried on their back holding the string going over his shoulder. Stretching and letting out a satisfied groan.
"Hrngah! Finally back to Rivermist!" he enthusiastically exclaims.
The voice was loud enough to be heard all the way to the gates causing the Bunny to also reflexively look back at the loud man.
Later ignoring the figure's cries upon noticing the line increase in length making him swiftly get in line with the rest.
The town had wooden walls, a stark contrast from the stone bricks he was used to in his hometown. Handing the Identification card to the town guard they read the contents of the ID and asked.
"What's your name?"
"Sylas."
The guard nodded and signaled the other two behind holding spears to open the gate. The wooden hinges on the large door made a scratchy noise while it slowly moved to allow the bunny to enter.
Just within earshot, from behind the gate the larger figure followed but his advancement was stopped by the guards not allowing him to enter.
"Hey what gives? Let me through!"
"Sir, could you give us something to Identify you with?"
"I was here just a week ago, have you already forgotten about me?"
The guard didn't budge and stayed silent waiting patiently for the large cloaked figure to give the required documents.
"Agh alright! just give me a moment." The figure tapped around his clothes checking the pockets, his tense body seems to drop as he checks his bag furiously.
"Agh, I don't have it, I may have lost it somewhere on the way."
"You're gonna have to pay the fee for a temporary one then sir."
"Aahh! Wait, come on! you can't do this to me, do you know how expensive replacements are!"
Sylas, tired of the noise, left the area and wandered the town until they ran into an inn.
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Looking up at the sign [Bountiful Inn]. The building itself wasn't the worst; it only went up to three floors and it was far from the ideal resting place but he couldn't be picky. Just outside, roguish looking men are slouching and loitering near the entrance eyeing Sylas, they squint their eyes as if trying to find out what he looked like under the hood.
Sylas, while warry, isn't at all worried since guards still patrol the town and keep order. Rather he's more worried about thieves, he tightens his hold on his sling bag as he walks inside the inn, the group of rough men following him with their eyes.
Once inside, there were many empty tables with some occupied by groups talking amongst themselves, others had a map and an assortment of equipment laid out on the table. Sylas tried not to look at the groups as they were focused on getting to the counter for now.
"Heya! What can I do for ya?"
A girl stood on the other side of the counter, her ears were sharp and fluffy and a long thin tail swished behind her back. Clearly a descendant of Cat-folks. This put a feeling of discomfort for Sylas, regardless he mustered enough grit to get the words out of his mouth.
"Y-yes I need a room for myself for the next week. Include free meals too."
Sylas' lips facial features lightly twitches while they put up an act. his palms also started to become sweaty making him wipe them on his pants as he reached for the money in his bag.
"Alright! Put your name here. And that will be 4 silver coins."
After a quick explanation of the Inn's policies Sylas pays for the room. The Cat girl hands him keys to his room and provides them with seven stamps with dates written on.
"We will not be responsible for any lost property during your stay, and if you miss a day for meals we will not give any refunds."
That last part about no refunds in particular got his attention. Checking his bag, they shake it lightly allowing the buried coins in the bottom of the bag to reveal itself. He sighed and took the stamps and keys and looked for his room.
Upon entering the door hinges made an audible creak, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand. The room inside had a single bed on the corner with a desk cabinet just on the side. A single window, and a surprisingly well kept cabinet that barely has dust.
No point backing out now... Sylas thought, they put their bag under their bed, removing the cloak finally able to give their head some ventilation. Their green hair was slightly damped from the sweat.
"I hope at the very least, be able to take warm baths here."
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They unfortunately did not have any. Apparently hot bath water is a luxury.
Sylas locked his door and went down stairs, making sure to bring the stamps. Missing a single meal just means more costs in the future, they have to make the most out of what they have.
"Here are some sticks of carrots, a Salad, soup bread and some barbecue sticks!"
The cat receptionist is now working as a waitress while someone else takes on her previous role.
"Yeah thanks." The smell of meat was slightly overpowering their sense of smell. They took small bites off the skewers slowly but surely swallowing each bite. The skewered meat was over seasoned for the tongue of a rabbit, regardless they powered through the gamey taste of the meat.
"urp- one last bite..."
Hesitantly opening their mouth for the last bite, the moment his teeth went into contact with the last piece, it seemed even worse than before. The oily fat squirted juice inside his mouth almost making him gag.
Ugh, disgusting. How can anyone stomach such a meal?
it's not like the bunny can't eat meat, luckily inheriting some genes of a hare in his bloodline, his family has always been able to enjoy meat. But Sylas' tongue is just simply not built handle meat seasoned as much as this.
Finally swallowing they let out a sigh of relief and can finally move on to the meal they enjoy.
"Nothing beats Carrots and Salads after all. The soup bread isn't bad though."
Looking around the loud room, Sylas spots multiple mercs and adventurers. The distinction between the two occupations are almost indistinguishable, Both take requests and finish them within an allotted time and are promised payment. What sets the two apart is freedom, Inherently adventurers can only take jobs posted on the guild postal boards which are filled by the locals, some are official requests by the government typically have higher pay.
Somewhere close by a group of Dog-folk adventurers are bickering complaining about something.
"Not a lot of good jobs in this town." the battle-worn man said.
"Well what did you expect, cap? Not a lot of jobs our party can handle." The woman added.
"Weavers are hard to come by, We would be lucky to even find one. Even a novice would be useful" Said by the man with a beer belly.
"Wanna try our luck back in the capital captain?"
"And what pay them half of our total earnings? I swear those pompous bastards have no respect. There is no chance any of them will accept our terms. Not like they will even stay long in our party in the first place."
Hearing the conversation from the party made it clear that becoming a mercenary was a superior option in his case. Simply the freedom to accept jobs from more sources other than a guild board was a huge advantage for someone with no background.
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Finishing his meal, he went out the door and roamed town. They never really paid attention to the small town the first time he entered. Most of the houses were humble and small in comparison to what they were used to. there wasn't a town map in the plaza detailing landmarks due to its small size. Just wandering around aimlessly for a while is enough for you to find everything the town has to offer.
After asking around he was eventually led to where the Mercenary guild is. It was actually quite obvious there was a large sign just above the entrance, the structure has obviously been through some things with how scratched the wooden beams are from the various brawls there probably have been.
Sylas entered, it was clear how much they stood out from the rest of the people inside. Like being stranded in the middle of the ocean, all around him were clad in metal armor and armed with blades compared to him who only wore light clothes and a cloak while carrying a single heavy sling bag. It won't be strange for many to mistake him as someone who wants to put up a request.
"Hey! putting up a request? You can be sure my team can cleanly finish the job! Whether it's extermination, bounty hunting or escorts you won't regret it!" A Bear Therian approached Sylas with an almost sales pitch like manner.
A therian?!
Behind the bear therian were three other similar men, all equally larger than the bunny. Fangs peaked through their snouts, Large claws on the tips of their fingers, and most of all their overpowering builds. Their appearances couldn't be any more different.
One look at their fangs was enough to increase Sylas' heart rate, Therians had stronger senses than Demi-humans so they all could probably tell how nervous he already was as the tiger therian pulled the bear by his clothes creating space between the two.g
"Alright give the little thing some space! Bruce, you know how rare it is for our kind to be in this part of the country. Sorry about that kid, I'll put some sense into this idiot."
Sylas gulped trying to calm himself down, as he tries to suppress his shaking limbs.
Therians... Its hard not to get timid around them since that day...
"T-Thanks, uhm I'll get going now."
"Agh! See what ya did to him! you got him all twitchy, you should move along kid, but seriously consider hiring us!"
The Tiger gave him a toothy smile exposing her fangs while she waved him off, giving him tiny shivers. As he got close to the counter, unexpectedly behind the counter was an older man, hair grayed from age along with his short scruffy beard and face scarred with one going across his forehead all the way through his eye right to the side.
The older man had triangular shaped ears that have black tips, behind him was also a large sword sheathed in a scabbard hanging on his back adding onto his already intense aura causing his already shaking form to weaken.
"What do you want, kid?" The old man said in a grizzly voice while he leaned down using his arms as support to get a better view at the bunny, his brows furrowed lightly as he waited for a response.
"I want to... well register into the merc guild."
"... Huh?" The old man looked around the guild lounge looking for something.
"You mean you want to register a request or?" Confused, he looked at the bunny not any taller than his shoulders.
"No, I want to register as a m-mercenary." Bluntly Sylas repeated and placed five silver coins as payment.
The old man scratched the back of his neck and let out a restrained 'Hrm' sound from his throat.
"Look kid-"
"I'm not really a kid."
"Right... Do you know where you are right now? This is a merc guild and you don't exactly have the body for this kind of job."
"Could you just register me... Please?"
The old man stared at him for a moment wondering what the person in front of him was possibly thinking, registering in a guild filled with tough, musclebound idiots.
"Alright, put your name here and if you have a party already then you can list the name of the members here."
Placing a piece of paper and slid it closer to Sylas, he promptly filled out the information required on the document and handed it over once finished.
"?" The old man raised one of his eyebrows looking back at Sylas. "You're 20?"
"Yes."
The old man shrugged it off, simply putting it away after reading everything.
"Alright, listen here. First off your life is your own so take requests at your own risk, Second cause any kind of fraud and I will deal with you myself. Finally, just a piece of advice, no amount of money is worth your own life." He looks back at a rusted sword hung in display.
"In any case welcome to the guild [Sage]. I see you're already using an alias, at least' you got a good head unlike a certain someone."
"Guild policy says you have to finish one quest equivalent to your skill level at least once a month, but seeing as you are still new you are free to choose whatever request you want to take so long as it's not any higher than C rank difficulty for evaluation."
"Thank you."
"Since we will be working together for a while let me introduce myself. my name is Alwin but you can call me 'Al' kid."
"Again not a kid."
"You are to me, now you should go find yourself some comrades. These guys may look rough around the edges but most of them are nice guys."
"Right-"
Suddenly a loud BANG came from the entrance doors swung open hard hitting the walls. Making the crowd collectively look to where the noise came from as they all fell silent, with some holding the handles of their weapons.
"HAHA! I'M BACK!" A large wolf draped in cloth holding a large sack behind him held by a string, Everyone who raised their guard shortly after released their hand from their weapons after seeing the wolf.
"Oh boy..." Sylas looked back at the old man. With a look of confusion.
"Hey gramps! Finally got past the gates, damned guards kept me from getting in the city so I snuck in."
"You lost your identification card again?"
Removing the cloak covering his face, showing the snout and brown fur, under his eyes were two black marks like an arrow pointing down. After he placed the cloak on the counter, the bushy brown tail shook, making dust fly off everywhere.
Sylas looked at the Wolf therian, The wolf was by far the Largest among the therians he has ever met. Not that he had met a lot of them in the first place but it was clear to him that his size was by far the largest from height alone. This admittedly put Sylas off, making them move away on reflex and they start working up a cold sweat.
Sniff The therian's nose twitched as they searched for the sudden appealing smell wafting through the air.
"What's that smell- GAH!" The old man hit the Wolfs head before he could finish his sentence, making an audible Thump noise on his noggin.
"Yeouwch! What's the big deal!?"
"You're sending dust everywhere. And take a bath you smell like shit."
"Yeah just give me a minute."
The wolf looked at Sylas, peaking his interest. After all seeing someone this small inside the guild was a rare occurrence.
"Who's the kid?" the wolf asked, ears pointed up in interest.
"That 'kid' you call is about the same age as you. his name is [Sage] from today onward he will be part of the guild, though his rank is still gonna be evaluated."
"Him? A merc? Pfft- Funny, didn't know you grew a sense of humor while I was gone gramps."
The old man only gave him a serious look of what looks to be a mix of annoyance and disapproval.
"You serious? or am I missing something here?"
Sylas went on to the board and ignored the two having a heated conversation and took a look at the requests pinned down.
Not a lot of good ones...
Most of the posted requests are extermination quests with some requiring to gather plants and such at a place far away, hardly worth it.
Sylas eyes one request in particular it caught his eye especially due to the high reward. but for whatever reason no one has taken it yet. [Abomination clearing, C-Rank] the piece of paper read, 200 silver could last someone a year if they live frugally.
About to snatch the piece of paper off the board, A large beastly hand stopped him from pulling on the parchment, slamming onto the board. Making Sylas flinch, retreating his hand.
"You are not taking this." The Wolf from earlier now behind him kept their hand on the request holding it down.
"Those arms of yours look like they'll snap if I even do as much as grip it and you're thinking of doing an extermination request of abominations of all things? You should at least form a party or something?! unless you're planning on going to kill yourself-"
Sylas took a few steps away from the larger wolf. Reaching into his bag out of habit rummaging through it nervously looking for something feeling out each crevice.
"I'll be fine. I-I'm not an idiot, I can handle myself, I can deal with a few Abominations so just leave me alone."
The wolf stammered his words bewildered at the bunny's out of place confidence. Out of frustration, the wolf grabs the bunny's shoulders pulling them closer him causing the rabbit the yelp in surprise. The old man seeing this immediately got out of the counter and rushed over to them.
"Do you not get what I'm saying?!" Sylas was taken aback with the aggressive reaction, instantly causing their heart beat to thump faster as his vision blurred from shortness of breath. As much as he wanted to struggle free, the sudden experience of intense emotions caused them to stay frozen, paralyzed from fear.
"Boris! Let go of em dammit!" Alwin pried Boris' hands off Sylas' shoulders and separated the two using the span of his arms.
"Sasha help me out would ya?"
"Ok big guy calm down!" The tiger woman Sasha from earlier nodded and held back Boris from behind. While he didn't struggle it looked like he was about to lunge at the little bunny any minute if she even released him for even a second, She dragged him away just in time and forced him to sit in a seat far off in the room.
"Apologies for his behavior, He isn't usually this sensitive."
After things settled down, Boris was impatiently tapping his foot somewhere in a far away table from where Sylas and Alwin are. Sylas looked to where Boris was in the corner.
That glare is intense... What's his problem?
"Forgive him, he's had some terrible experiences."
"Terrible? I thought he was gonna tear me apart." Sylas still shaken from the event rubbed his palms together like they were squeezing out the built up nerves.
"...... All I can say is that, Before arriving in Rivermist that boy's been through something. He won't say what specifically but I could tell with how he acts around smaller Demi-humans that it must have been rough."
"S-still..."
The old man pulled down his hood and sprayed something on his hair and handed him the bottle.
"Ugh-! W-What was that?" Sylas looks down on the small bottle containing transparent liquid.
"Deodorant, it's obvious from how you smell alone you're some kind of small herbivore, one spritz is enough for at least 6 hours."
"Hmm." Alwin puts his hand on his chin, looking over both Sylas and Boris from faraway an idea popped into his head.
"You still don't have a party, yeah?"
"That's right but I intend to go about it alone."
"Sure you're free to do that, but I don't need any mercenaries who can't handle therians. So how about this, You get over you'r fear of therians by working with Boris."
"Wait!? Y-you cant just-!
Boris with his large ears could hear the conversation from afar shook off Sasha's grip, and got closer to the two and interrupting Sylas.
"Look Gramps! I may be looking for a group to finish requests with but this guy ain't it!"
"I have a feeling this kid has more to him than meets the eye. Ain't that right?" Alwin said in confidence.
Sylas, a little bitter with how the old man's sharp intuition seems to have already figured him out all the way. They removed their cloak revealing their floppy ears and mint green hair and took out a small box from his bag, opened it to reveal a stick which expands into a staff as tall as them.
"Y-yes, you're right. I can use magic. But how did you figure it out?"
"I've been in this business since I was little, at some point you just start getting a sense of things. Oh and you reached into your bag earlier so I assumed there must be something in there you would use." Alwin points at the bag Sylas is carrying.
"Gotta work on keeping your cards hidden better kid." He ruffled the bunny's head through the hood and looked over to boris.
"Well then Boris? You get to have a Weaver as a partner and you get to keep an eye on the guy at the same time, win-win if i'd say so myself."
"Wait?! you can't just decide that on your own-!"
"Deal! Ya hear that, you ain't leaving my side anytime soon little guy! HAHAHA!" The wolf immediately agreed with the old man and let out a loud laugh, leaving Sylas in a state of disbelief.
"I- Wou- wh- huh?!?" Sylas couldn't get the words out of his mouth. As the other two haphazardly signed a document deeming the two as part of one party probably indefinitely. By the time they had shown him the documents it was too late.
"Then both of you will finish [Abomination extermination] as a party. Shouldn't be too difficult knowing what you can do. And you finally found a Weaver so it should be a smooth mission."
The wolf letting out a smug satisfied huff while puffing out their chest, he gave off an aura of arrogance that did not sit well with Sylas at all.
This has to be a nightmare-