The morning sun seemed to have come quick on the third day of Eustus' stay at The Feral Inn. It was time for him to head on back to the guild to explain the failure of his quest; and the reason behind it. Eustus grimaced at the thought of this, as this was his third failure this month. He knew that it was just a matter of time— if it didn’t happen today— that he would get demoted from a Bronze II to Bronze I. Even that would be a desirable outcome if they don’t decide to go about another route.

In the continent of Ristelle, all the guilds had the same ranking system throughout their branches. The rankings from lowest to highest were as follows:

Bronze (I, II, III)

Silver (I, II, III, IV)

Gold (I, II, III, IV)

Diamond (I, II, III)

Platinum

As one progressed through the ranks, it became more trying to achieve a higher rank. A promotion from Bronze III to Silver I, for example, would require the adventurer to complete a series of Silver I requests. There would be exceptions from time-to-time, when an adventurer would take down a high-class monster befitting of that rank.

Eustus, much like any adventurer, aimed for the platinum rank. The Platinum rank is the most legendary among the adventurers. They would tell tales of how they could leave massive craters just by punching the ground, or be able to annihilate an army with a single spell. It was terrifying to think of, but also exciting to Eustus.

Eustus stretched his arms and noticed the temptress from last night stretched out and snoring loudly next to him. He nudged at her to wake her up, but she continued to snore and babble his name. Eustus sighed. He thought he might as well let her rest from the intense aerobics last night.

The quicker he left and got this over with, the better. He was resigned to his fate; it was his fault after all. He couldn’t just keep his hands off of the merchandise, much like a kid at a candy store.

Scumbag. Pervert. Womanizer. He’s heard all of these, plus some other harsh names to define his character.

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I need to learn some self-control, Eustus thought, as he walked out of the bedroom of the Inn’s third floor. Just down the steps, he could hear the bantering and raving of the other guests.

“I betcha,” a boomy voice echoed up the stairs, “I betcha a ten silver coins, ya couldn’t take on a banshee alone.”

“What the hell are you even talkin’ ‘bout,” another voice boomed, “they don’t even exist ya old drunkard. Of course, I couldn’t beat something that doesn’t exist,” he chortled.

Eustus just chuckled at the lively voices so early in the morning. He thought, You idiots should keep it down this early in the morning. The sound tends to carry through walls.

With that thought out of the way, Eustus left. Out on the streets, children were playing. Chasing each other and throwing rocks and sticks at each other. You know, things kids do when they have nothing else better planned.

The guild was a short walk from the Inn, about twenty or so minutes. It was not that hard to discern it from its surroundings, as it was the only building surrounded by a large fence and an elegant fountain with the lord of Nur’Anfell’s likeness. The statue resembled an older— and balding— heavy-set man. A scabbard dangled from his thickened waist, and in his hand a sword pointed towards the entrance of the guild's grounds.

On the front of the fountain, a plaque nailed within the stoned based read: Crafted in thanks to the kind Lord Barry Regis, for his unwavering faith and support of the guild.

“If that statue had lost a few extra pounds, it’d surely be more intimidating to any foes who dare cross the grounds,” Eusus chuckled. Just like the rest of the citizens, Eustus had respected Lord Regis. Even though the joke was distasteful, he said it with no ill intent towards him.

“You might want to be careful with that thought, Eusty. Someone might consider those some fighting words,” said a silvery voice. The voice could have only belonged to one person that Eustus would know. Elizabeth Gould.

“Ms. Gould, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, it was a joke. A harmless joke,” Eustus shrugged.

“I may know that, but someone else may not. You need to be more careful with what you do. You’re always so reckless and thoughtless, show some tact!” Elizabeth said, scolding him for his carelessness, “How was the escort? Did you not mess anything up this time?” she had a questionable look in her eye.

“Well, it’s a long story… But I kind of, may have, slept with the client’s—”

“Why would you even think about doing that,” Elizabeth slugged Eustus in the stomach, he knelt over out of breath, “Can’t you even just keep it in your pants for a minute? What is wrong with you?”

Eustus rubbed his stomach, “Well, we were getting along just fine, and things just happened. Plus the client was asleep, so I thought it’d be a reasonable moment to slip away from camp.” Elizabeth raised her fist, and almost in sync, Eustus flinched.

“It’s to earlie for this Eusty, good luck with the guild. I’ll let them deal with you,” Elizabeth left the grounds of the guild laughing annoyingly on her way out. In turn, Eustus moved towards the guild building, ready to meet his fate.