Everyone soon got used to their new life. Patrick started working full time a week after they arrived in the capital. Nathan, Arielle and Ashley started attending cram school in January, while Thomas and Chana began going to a public school nearby. After three months of throwing around medical jargon at home, Harold finally began working full-time at Patrick’s clinic in February. Maya regularly accepted weaving jobs from the Craftsman's Guild during her free time, when the children were in school. She would also visit the guild with Chana, Arielle and Ashley on weekends so that they could work on ranking up.
On a typical Saturday, at 6:30 am, along with the cold winter morning wind, Nathan, Arielle and Ashley arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild and joined the line of people on the Botanist queue at its entrance. By arriving half an hour early, the siblings were some of the first in line, there were only about twelve other children in front of them.
Most of the people at the front of the Botanist line were children. Just as Patrick mentioned, all the children were dressed in boys’ clothing, carrying root diggers, lunch boxes, and water bottles. Since wild animals occasionally attacked them, everyone also carried knives, swords, and sometimes shields for self-defense. The Botanist discipline was popular among children because mining required too much strength for their young bodies; fishing, to earn a living, demanded specialized gear, such as a fishing boat; farming necessitated both land ownership and strength; apprentice-level weaving and leather crafting paid meager wages. As Porcelain Botanists, children could earn just enough for a meager living by gathering herbs and a few valuable plants.
By 7:00 am, many lines for different disciplines and ranks had already grown very long. Thanks to the wide open plaza in front of the entrance, there was ample space and everyone orderly lined up. When the colossal gate of the guild slowly creaked open, people turned toward it with anticipation, and the lines started moving. It only took the siblings two minutes to reach the receptionist lady, where they sat down at the long bench in front of the wooden reception desk.
“Good morning. May I see your Adventurer’s IDs, please? Are you here to take the herb collection quest?” said the Receptionist lady, eyeing the empty straw baskets on their back.
“Yes, all three of us.” Nathan said.
Within seconds, the lady handed them three quest registration cards and replied, “Nathan, Will and Rey, you're all set! Our wagons are waiting at the East Gate – just look for our flags. Don't forget to show your quest cards and IDs to the driver when you arrive.” When they worked, Arielle and Ashley took on the pseudonyms Will and Rey.
“Thank you,” the children replied in unison and left.
A short five-minute walk took the children to the East Gate's bustling bus terminal. Tides of people were getting off their horse-drawn buses to head to the three guilds for work. The Adventurer’s Guild offered shuttle services to workers for transportation to their designated locations. Guided by the bus terminal ID on their quest cards, the siblings quickly tracked down their designated eight-passenger wagon, and climbed aboard. Five other children were already sitting inside. Two of the children briefly looked at Nathan when he climbed up, but then they looked away just as quickly. The driver efficiently recorded the siblings' IDs onto his quest card before hopping onto the driver's seat and departing immediately.
To ensure the sustainable harvesting of herbs and plants, the Adventurer's Guild rotated quest destinations daily, giving the flora ample time to regrow. Today, it took the wagon an hour to reach the destination. On the way, the siblings quietly enjoyed the scenery of the morning mountain path, and the scent of winter vegetation. Unlike living in the countryside, working as Botanists was the only time when the siblings venture into the wild. Sadly, they could not help but to be reminded of Urie Village.
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"If for any reason you decide not to return with us, please let us know immediately," The driver of the wagon said gently when they arrived. He was a combat adventurer, and a part of his job, or quest, was the safety of the quest takers. If someone went missing in his wagon, it would be his responsibility.
Within fifteen minutes, a total of four wagons arrived at this particular site; and a class of children scrambled to work in the forest and the fields. This year’s farm harvests were dismal. As a result, prices on herbs and many plants skyrocketed. This was the last comfort for children who were orphaned by bandits: to have a good head start as orphans. To earn more, many children took the risk and ventured into secluded mountain and forest paths, seeking rare, high-valued plants like wild lupine, and ginseng. Tragically, despite the valiant efforts of patrolling combatants, some never returned.
Thanks to their grandfather’s earnings, Nathan and his sisters didn’t have to take such risks. They stayed close to the wagon and stuck with the watchful combat adventurers, harvesting whatever they could find. To maximize points for ranking up, they only needed to demonstrate their ability to distinguish between weeds and useful plants, ensuring their baskets contained only valuable harvests. Initially, Ashley would repeatedly ask, “Wil, what's this?” “Nathan, what's this?” Her older siblings patiently answered all of her questions without any complain. Recently, she had been asking much less questions.
A few hours after they started, around 11:30am, the siblings finished their half-day work, stretched their legs and bodies, and prepared to leave. Although crouching down for hours to pick herbs was quite tiring, no one complained, not even Ashley, who was six. The receptionist ladies told all the children a cautionary tale: some children, affiliated with bandits, would first befriend them. Once these bandits gained the children’s trust, they would kidnap and sell them. In response, the ladies advised the children to shun all strangers and ignore any attempts at conversation. Therefore, no one talked to each other at all while they worked. Even Arielle, the most talkative of the three siblings, remained silent when she was working in the field.
As the morning's work concluded, two wagons came. Unlike the drivers from this morning, these two wagons were driven by non-combatants. With one filled to capacity and the other half full, they transported some of the children back to the city. Those who opted for a full day's work could take the 5 pm departing wagons with the combat adventurers. After the siblings returned the basket and collected their reward money, they left the guild and headed home.
Patrick worked tirelessly, six to seven days a week, to support his three grandchildren's costly cram school education. Cram school was where most nobles would send their children after they dropped out of Bluefield College, in the hope that they would gain admission the following school year. Therefore, its tuition was hefty. On occasion, Patrick would even spend the night at the hospital. So, Nathan and Arielle had grown accustomed to cooking for themselves. Maya kindly offered to cook for the children, but they preferred the taste of their mother’s recipes. So, they chose to cook for themselves whenever possible.
As usual, Arielle was very quiet after working in the field. Maybe she was under the influence of the other children, or perhaps the wild reminded her of the countryside back home. It was not until they started eating lunch when she turned to Nathan with curiosity and asked, "Hey, Nathan, Grandpa asked you to look for a combat school. Do you have any idea where to look?"
“There are a lot of schools on the street next to the Adventurer’s Guild. I plan to check them out and see how it goes.” Nathan answered. “I also got some fliers over the last few months.”
Following lunch, Arielle and Ashley headed to Maya’s home to practice weaving. Arielle had recently passed the entry exam, becoming a one-star Apprentice, while Ashley still spent most of her time playing with toys.
Meanwhile, as the afternoon sun cast its warm glow, Nathan set off toward the street adjacent to the Adventurer's Guild. Since the guild was responsible for assessing adventurers' skill levels by administering rank-up exams, numerous schools had been established around it, offering classes for these exams. Because of the fierce competition between schools, many distributed fliers around the guild to prospective students. For a fee, schools could also utilize the guild's advertisement board and distribute flyers inside the guild.
“Master Howard’s Shield Blade School. Your Path to a Distinguished Career. Meet Master Howard, a renowned Shield Blade expert and former Swordsman Champion, who will guide you every step of the way.” One flier read.
“Dad was from the Shield Blade School.” Nathan thought to himself as he walked toward the downtown area with anticipation. Finally, he was going to start learning martial arts!