It was late morning when Stormy left the Royal Palace and proceeded to wander around the Capital to get her bearings. A few minutes later, she finds herself in front of a crowded building with an unreadable signpost.

: "I wish I could read it..."; she mutters as a pop up message appears in the overlay of her vision:

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Translate skill unlocked

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When the pop up goes away, she discovers she's able to read the signpost.

: "Adventurers Guild. This might work."; she mutters to herself, walking in and making her way to the wooden reception desk.

: "Welcome to the Adventurers Guild Headquarters. How can I help you?"; she asks putting on her best customer service smile.

: "How can I join the guild?"

: "Just place your hands on the magic stone so we can get the needed information for the application form, have your abilities evaluated, interview with the Guildmaster, and if all goes well you should be all registered."

: "What kind of magic stone is it?"

: "It uses magic to perform a special version of the 'Analyze' skill that not only records your name & level, but also looks at things like criminal records (if any), your magic capacity & quality, and other things. You'll be able to see it also, so there's nothing hidden from you if that's what you're worried about."

: "No, I'm sorry. This is all new to me. I was just curious."

: "That's okay. Many people are like that their first time going through this. It's quite normal. Would you like to register now?"

: "Hmm...I suppose so, yes."

: "Great! Just place your hands on this magic stone here and state your name."; she says motioning to the grey stone on the side of the desk.

: Placing her hands on the stone, she takes a breath and says her name; "Stormy!"

The stone lights up and magic particles appear above the stone:

Name:  Stormy Level: 1 Race: Human Age: 16 Class: White Mage Title:

: Looking about in a panic; "I didn't want everyone to see this."

: "Don't worry...you and I are the only ones that can see this. Everyone else here just sees the stone glowing with magic, not any of the information."; she says as she reads the displayed information before returning to the form in her hand. "You can remove your hands now, thank you!"

: "Wow, that's convenient."

: "We've had problems in the past with unsavory types taking the information and causing problems for both the Guild members, and us on the staff...so we had to take such measures. Your information is quite safe."

: "Thank you. So how does the evaluation work?"

: "Please follow me out back and one of our experts will evaluate your abilities."; she says as she escorts Stormy around the desk to the evaluation area out back towards a hooded elven woman. "This is Sylva, she'll be evaluating your abilities."; she hands a form over to the elven woman, smiles, nods, then returns to the receptionist desk.

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: "Nice to meet you, Stormy! My name is Sylva." Taking the form, she begins studying it for a moment. "It's been a while since I've seen a White Mage...interesting. Let's begin."

Sylva spends the next several minutes instructing Stormy on how to cast certain spells and measuring the magic output as a result. This also serves to show Stormy just what a White Mage is capable of.

: "So it's more than just healing...it's buffing, warding, cleansing, and purifying as well. But why have there been so few of them? Do people just not want a healer in their party, so nobody chooses it? Or is there some other reason?"

: "Most adventurers seem more interested in attack power, even though a White Mage has Holy Radiant attacks that are quite effective against evil and undead foes. You have much more magic capacity and higher magic quality than most mages at higher levels...even at level 1. I think you'll do quite well once you get in a party that sees what you're truly capable of."

Sylva escorts Stormy to the Guildmaster's office for the interview and hands over the application form.

: "Ah, Stormy! Welcome. Please, have a seat."; he motions to a chair while sitting at his wooden desk. "It's good to see a White Mage join the guild, instead of being coerced into changing to the Priesthood under the church. Once people start to see you in action, they'll be begging you to join their party, I'm sure of it."

: Sitting down nerviously; "Thank you. I just want to make a living doing something good and helpful. If this guild doesn't work out well for me, I'll just go find another way to help people."

: Smiling in response; "The lack of greed will also be a good thing for you, as it tends to get many adventurers into trouble. Focusing on helping those in need is admirable. You've got no criminal record, and your evaluation is very good. Sylva tends to be harder on new guild members than most, but she's a good judge of character and she speaks highly of you. Here's your Guild card, welcome to the Adventurers Guild."

: "Thank you. So are there any escort quests I can start off with? I'd like to get out of the Capital and that seems like the best option."; she says taking her guild card and seeing her name & guild rank on it etched with magic.

: "Yes, there's an escort quest starting today actually. A merchant caravan is heading out towards one of the outer towns in the Kingdom, making a few stops along the way. I think it'll be a good fit for you, as there are reports of undead nearby one of the towns along the way that your cleansing & purifying will be perfect for. Stop by the receptionist desk on the way out. Don't hestiate to let me or any guild staff member know if you run into any problems."

: "Thank you. Farewell, then!"; she says as she heads out of his office and back to the receptionist desk to take that escort quest.

: "Hello there again! So you'll be doing the escort quest...that pays well for your rank, I think you'll do quite well. They leave after lunch today, so you've got about an hour to grab a bite to eat. Just meet right out front here. Thank you for your service!"

: "I'm new to the city, so I don't have any money yet. I was hoping to get to earning right away."

: "Thank you, Guildmaster."; she says as she smiles, waves and leaves for the tavern nextdoor. Taking a seat and placing an order, she hears bits and pieces of conversations nearby.

: "Did you hear a White Mage applied today? Who actually does that? Nobody purposefully picks that!"

: "I know, right? I hope our party doesn't get stuck with her, we've got plenty of potions on hand so we don't need a healer."

: "Shh....I think that's her right there."

Stormy sighs quietly as she receives her food and drink, which now seems to have a slightly sour taste to her. When she's finished eating, she smiles to the barmaid and heads back over to wait for the escort quest to begin.

: "It looks like Sylva was right...despite the good wishes of the guild staff, people truly don't like White Mages. Oh well...I'll just have to make the best of it."; she mutters to herself while waiting for everyone else. A few minutes later, the merchant caravan arrives in front of the guild and a few adventurers appear from within the guild and the tavern. She notices the two talking about her earlier were among them.

: "Are you all our escorts?"; he asks looking at the group of adventurers.

: "Yeah, we're all here...including that White Mage over there."; he said pointing to Stormy off to the side.

: Smiling; "Ah, good. She'll come in really handy towards the end." He turns to face Stormy specifically; "I'm real glad you're with us on this trip!"

: "Everyone to your assigned wagon!"; he said speaking to everyone else, ignoring Stormy.

: Offering a hand to Stormy; "You're welcome to ride with me, if you like. It seems not everyone appreciates White Mages in this country. I'm sorry about that."

: "I'm fine. I just want to be helpful, whether that's combat healing, or fighting undead...I just want to help."; she says taking a seat behind the merchant in his wagon.

Minutes later, then caravan heads out of the Royal Capital towards their destination, the small town of Ryoma.