With a great deal less urgency and force than last time, Rohl pushed open the guild’s twin doors and stepped into its abode. As expected, his much calmer entrance hadn’t drawn any undue attention, no one's eyes were glued to the door or showed annoyance at the interruption. If anyone remembered his previous rude departure, they didn’t show it, that was if these were even the same people as last time, Rohl hadn’t even spared a second to take in the guild’s layout never mind memorise the faces of its inhabitants.
If I'm going to be an adventurer, I'll need to know the lay of the land.
And so, with no one questioning his arrival, Rohl finally took the chance to study the guild.
It was much larger than he’d have expected given its entryway, then again, it was hard to tell where one building started given how tightly they were packed together. Even then, the building’s size was considerable, enough to contain both a sizable meeting area and a reception all on the central floor. There were at least a dozen tables and benches all fit spaciously on the ground floor with an impressive selection of trophies and tapestries spaced along its wooden walls.
Of course, none of those caught Rohl’s attention as much as the quest board did, its sizable frame and countless posted quests were surely a sight he would become very familiar with. He’d need to gain plenty of experience before he went after that forsaken beast after all.
After peeling his eyes away from the sight, Rohl soon found his gaze drawn to the small stairs at the far side of the room and the small library to which they led, it seemed as if a small section of the upper floor had been converted to a small seating area, library, and balcony. A design choice that did make a lot of sense, when going up against an unfamiliar monster, any wise adventurer would surely want to do as much research on it as possible. Even when the sky became dark, the balcony's closeness to the chandelier would make reading as easy as in day.
It is impressive.
It was a place Rohl was surely to frequent once he had finally joined the guild, as was the reception area where he could claim the rewards for his deeds. Given the guild's size, it wasn’t surprising that they had employed multiple receptionists, but the fact they were twins was. They had the exact same green eyes, neck-length brown hair and soft features, even after taking a moment to examine them, Rohl couldn’t discern any differentiating features. The twins were identical in seemingly every way, including the expressions and gestures they made as they interacted with any approaching adventurers.
I’m kind of surprised I didn’t notice that.
The entranceway he had left the guild master's office emerged from just behind the reception desk, there was no way he could have left without passing by the twins.
Then again, I was very distracted and maybe they hadn’t been working that day.
It was a curious thought and a rather pointless one. He was here to join the guild, not examine its receptionists, and so after quickly pulling him out of his distracted thoughts, Rohl finally left the entranceway and approached the right twin.
Whether it was from his hesitancy, previous gawking, or appearance, it was clear the receptionist could tell he was new. And so, seemingly did her best to appear friendly and welcoming. She gave a bright smile, maintained eye contact, and sneakily tried to push away the bleeding monster part that lay on the end of her desk.
It was clearly some kind of monster loot used as evidence of the kill and given everything he had witnessed, all the blood he had seen, the sight did nothing to bother him. Still, it was nice to know the twin at least cared enough to dispose of the part all whilst simply pretending she had just been tidying up her workspace.
Given the effort she had put into the task, Rohl made sure to smile back and pretended to have not noticed her actions.
“Hello and welcome to the Elmon branch of the adventurer’s guild, how can we assist you today?” the twin greeted softly, likely having repeated that line countless times over.
“Hi, I uh don’t know the protocol but can I join the guild please.”
“Becoming an official member of the guild is not quite as simple as the stories make it believe, there is an interview first, followed by a small trial period. It is also required that you own the required adventuring necessities or be able to provide the funds to purchase them.”
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I suppose that makes sense, it would do their reputation any good if they accepted just anyone. Plus, I’m sure they'd prefer not to send new adventurers to their deaths without some kind of training.
“I have some money for armour and a weapon, I’m free whenever for the interview and trial.”
“Excellent, the trial will take a little longer to arrange, but the interview can be completed now if you would like.”
“Sounds good.”
“Excellent, then please follow me if you would.”
With that, the receptionist gestured for Rohl to follow as she moved from behind her desk and began to make her way down the same hallway where Rohl had met the guild master.
However, instead of heading straight to the far end or returning up the stairs to where he had rested, the twin guided Rohl down a second hallway that veered off towards the left.
“The majority of this floor is devoted to practice and training rooms. There are designated places for sword fighting, archers, knife throwing, and even magic use should you possess that particular talent. As you may be aware, the second floor is designated as storage. It is where we keep any spare weapons and armour, monster trophies and some basic remedies. Should you be granted membership, these benefits can be explained to you in further detail.”
The guild employee's speech was clearly one she had spoken many times before, and one apparently designed to ease prospective new adventurers into the trade. Still, its effectiveness was clear, especially since they appeared to reach the interview room the moment the twin had finished speaking.
After quickly unlocking the door, the receptionist entered and after offering a seat to Rohl, took her own at the opposite side of the rather small wooden table. It was a very simple set up and just from a quick glance around the room, Rohl could tell it fit the rather plain aesthetic of the room.
Maybe they figured impressive monster trophies might scare away the hopefuls, not inspire them.
The room's interior served as only a brief distraction, long enough for Rohl’s interviewer to pull out a small quill and parchment from a drawer under the table. After taking a quick second to seemingly check if Rohl was seated and ready to begin, the twin finally spoke again.
“For reference, my name is Kayla Grassom, the date is the nineteenth of Autus of the year 1051 and the interviewee is one…”
“Rohl Bluedawn.” Apart from the subtle inquiry of his name, Kayla’s first few words seemed to be more for the benefit of the guild’s records than anything else.
“One Rohl Bluedawn, now that formality is over with, let’s start with the first question. What is your reason for joining the adventurer’s guild?”
“To slay monsters and protect people from them.”
Do they really care, surely it doesn’t matter if someone fights for glory or money.
From the twin’s expression, it seemed she wasn’t exactly surprised by the answer, yet after hastily writing Rohl's answer, she spoke again.
“Do you have any previous monster-slaying experience?”
“I fought a few common monsters back home and I got caught in an attack on my way here with Quinn Terriney and his party, I didn’t really do much killing though.”
“You survived, that counts for something, I did hear a few rumours of the attack, well not so much rumours, Mr Terriney likes to boast. Still, you survived and gained some experience of battle, it is nothing to shrink at,” replied Kayla with a soft somewhat reassuring smile.
Her words whilst unexpected did make Rohl feel a little better about the encounter, enough to smile slightly at her words.
“Do you have any skills or abilities you wish to disclose, for example, magical talent or sword mastery?”
“No.”
Whilst his blessing was surely a great gift, there was no chance of his revealing it until he was ready and experienced, it would do him no favours to get hunted by warriors seeking to prove their strength by beating a blessed in battle.
Blessed hunters, small in quantity but deadly.
“Any injuries or conditions that may impact your performance?”
“No.”
The twin didn’t exactly seem convinced, the fact Rohl was dressed in clothes commonly associated with discharged panacea patients wasn’t likely doing him any favours. Still, she didn’t question him on it and there was no chance of Rohl bringing it up either.
I could maybe do with more clothes, not that I have the money for new clothes, armour and a sword. Going to be tight or very cheap.
That’s all the information I really need from you, but before I dismiss you, I will give you some more information on the next steps.”
After taking a short pause to breathe, the twin continued “As you already know, you are required to own the basic adventuring equipment before you join, if it is not already in your possession, you may purchase a basic adventuring bundle for one hundred and ten twilling’s, which will cover a sword, light leather armour and some basic supplies. Would you be interested in this package?”
“Yes please.” I may as well, sounds a lot easier than tracking down a blacksmith and armourer.
“Excellent, I shall lead you to one of our supply rooms shortly, but first how familiar are you with the guilds ranking system?”
“Fairly but I could probably use a refresher.”
“Depending on your level of experience and deeds, the guild will grant each adventurer a rank ranging from novice to master although different guilds and nations sometimes have their own ranking system. Now these rankings are an estimate of your strength and should serve as a guide on which contacts you should take. Of course, being in a group does increase your chances of handling higher-ranked contracts.”
The guild employee’s speech was definitely far longer and factful than Rohl had anticipated still he did his best to pay attention and made sure to occasionally nod along to her words to prove that.
“You will be assigned a provisional ranking after your trial, given the current hour, it would be best to arrange your trial for tomorrow, plus it will give me time to find an experienced adventurer or group to guide you. Unless you have any other questions, then the interview is over.”
That really wasn't bad at all.