“Well, that should about cover everything,” Jake said as he looked over the form I had handed him. Are there any Questions?”
“Not that I can think of right now,” I say.
“Well, if you have any questions, I’m sure your dad or one of the people at the reception desk will be able to help answer them.” Jake said, “This looks to be in order, so all that’s left is to issue a Guild Card. Wait here a moment.” Jake added before making his way behind the reception desk and grabbing an object from under the counter. Putting it on the desk between us, Jake started inputting something on a screen only he could see. Jake nodded at something, saying, “Okay, that should do it. Just put your hand on the crystal on the top of the Inscriber, and we’ll get your Guild Card created.”
I did as instructed, and a soft glow emanated from the square object before a thin rectangular object was spat out the side. Picking it up when Jake motioned me to do so, I was surprised to see it was solid crystal no larger than my hand. On its face was my name and current rank within the guild. There was other information, like what branch issued it and when it was issued, and some bar, which I wasn’t quite sure about.
“The first one is free, but if you lose it and need a replacement, it will cost you a large gold coin. So I suggest you don’t lose it. Not only is the Guild Card your identification within the Guild, but it will also allow you to enter any city or town without paying the entrance fee. More importantly, that Card will keep track of any request you’ve accepted and their status. Oh, and while it might look like Crystal, it's not; you could throw it into a volcano, and it just floats in the magma with barely a scratch or scorch mark.”
“Anyway, that’s everything,” Jake said, interrupting my conversation with Gem, “welcome to the Guild. If you want, you can wait for the boss man to come back,” Jake added, waving over to a sizable area off the side with several tables and chairs arranged in five rows.
“Thank you,” I respond with a smile.
“Just doing my job,” Jake says, matching my smile. “Plus, the Redemption desk is always slow the day after the Initiation Ceremony. So I should thank you for preventing me from dying of boredom.” This last bit was said just as my dad walked up behind Jake, and apparently, something in my expression gave it away because Jake asked, “Your father is behind me, isn't he?” and I just nodded.
“If you're so bored, Jake, I'm sure we can find something else for you to do,” Dad says, and I shivered in sympathy, having been on the receiving end of that frosty tone quite a few times. “Like maybe helping over at the reception counter.”
“No, Sir,” Jake says hastily. “You know how I like to exaggerate. I’m happy managing the redemption counter.”
“I’m sure.” Dad says, letting it go, “I assume Melissa has been registered and issued a Guild Card.”
“Yes, Sir,” Jake responded.
“Very good,” Dad said, hefting the bag. I noticed he was carrying over his shoulder before turning to me. Let's head home; you can come back tomorrow, when it’s less busy, to see what requests are available.”
“Ok,” I say, waving Jake goodbye as I follow Dad back out of the building.
“Um, if it's so busy today, shouldn’t you be back there helping? What if something unexpected happens,” I ask
“That's what I have an Assistant Guildmaster for,” Dad responds. “She already knew I was going to be taking the day off. Plus, when I went to get this, I stopped by her office to check in, and everything was going as expected. That’s also the reason Jake is on Redemption duty; it gives him a reason to be in the reception hall and help without people realizing it.” See my curious look; Dad added, “He may not seem like the most reliable person, but in his younger days, he used to run the Reception hall of the Captial Branch, so dealing with our version of self-important residents is nothing to him.”
“Oh, then how did he end up out here,” I ask, surprised.
“No one really knows, but the popular rumor is that Jake and the Capital Branch’s Guildmaster at the time had an incendiary argument, and Jake decided instead of killing the man, he’d get as far from the capital as he could.”
“Wait, you said at the time, did something happen to the guildmaster?”
“You’re as sharp as ever, honey,” Dad says with a warm smile, “a few months after Jake left the capital, the Captial Branch’s Guildmaster decided to step down.”
“Oh,” I say as we turn onto the street our house is on.
“Well, anyhow, Jake has been an asset, whatever his reason for coming here was,” Dad concludes as he opens the door to our house and gestures for me to proceed. “well enough about my guild employees, I’m a little surprised you didn’t ask about the bag,” Dad says, dropping it on the kitchen table with a thud.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I figured you’d explain what it was,” I respond. “Plus, I have a feeling I already know what's in the bag.”
“Oh, you have it all figured out,” Dad laughs. “Okay, if you think you know what's in the bag, why don’t you tell me?”
“Well, obviously, it has something to do with adventuring; otherwise, why would it have been at the guild,” I began, only for Gem to comment
“You’re partially correct; it will help with adventuring, but it wasn’t just for you. I set this aside for either your brother or you on the off chance that the System granted either of you the Adventurer class or a similar class.”
“So what is it?” I asked, intrigued.
“Why don’t you open it up and find out?” Dad says, pushing the bag towards me. I promptly opened it to find a set of leather armor and a sheathed short sword.
Name: Administrator's Armor Set 1 (Basic Leather Armor) ( Edit )
Level: 1
Type: Light
Grade: Administrator (F)
Armor: 10
Durability: 99 / 100
Description:
A simple leather armor that is great for beginning adventurers.
Administrator Description:
A configurable set of armor. Seriously, everything about this armor can be configured; you could make it withstand a nuke. Happy birthday, Kat.
Current Configuration: default.
Name: Administrator's Weapon 1 (Basic Iron Short Sword) ( Edit )
Level: 1
Type: Short Sword
Grade: Administrator (F)
Damage: 10
Durability: 98 / 100
Description:
A simple short sword that is great for beginning adventurers.
Administrator Description:
A configurable weapon. Seriously, Kat, you could turn this thing into a gun if you wanted to.
Current Configuration: Default.
“Where did you find these, Dad?” I ask aloud, my mental conversation with Gem taking only a few seconds.
“During my early days as an adventurer, I found what I had thought was a hidden dungeon about five days' ride from the capital in the middle of nowhere. I quickly realized that if it was a dungeon, it was like one I had never heard of. The walls were made of a metal I had never seen before, and these glossy rectangles were embedded at regular intervals. More importantly, there were no monsters or traps like I had expected to find if it was a dungeon. Well, to make a long story short, after some exploring and finding a whole lot of nothing, the only thing of value was that armor and sword.”
“That's kind of cool, Dad.” I say, “Um, out of curiosity, did you tell anyone about your find.”
“No, it wasn’t a dungeon, so even if I had reported it, I still wouldn't have gotten the finders fee all adventures get for finding new dungeons, and there really wasn’t anything of value in there. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” I say with a slight chuckle as I pick up the bag with the armor and sword. “anyway, I should put these in my room and try on the armor to see if it fits.”
“Sure. Your mother and brother should return from the market in a few minutes, and then we’ll have lunch.”