Troy looked around expectantly as they sped down the dirt path, his head ducked low to avoid hanging branches. While he had nearly missed it, Alcydes had been kind enough to point out the well-trodden ground before he had shot past. Since then, he had driven down the road steadfast, hoping to find that town for Alcydes.
As the sun continued to rise higher in the sky, Troy rose over the hill. He looked over the coastline, only to perk up at the distinct shape of roof tiles. With a screech of the tires, Troy came to a stop and looked at the coast more intently. “Is that the town you were talking about, Alcydes?” Troy asked, pointing at the distant town.
Alcydes let out a faint heave at the stop and looked over at the distant sight. “Yep. That’s Shallowcoast,” he said after a few seconds, his hands finally letting go of Troy’s shirt.
Troy let out a breath at the confirmation. As he looked over the coastline, Troy’s hand came off the gas. At first glance, he thought it was a simple shore town, given the docks and fishing boats. However, despite there being multiple streets and buildings, a sense of bleak pessimism seemed to permeate from it. Maybe it was because far too many boats were still docked while few were out fishing. Or the look of disrepair on several of the outer buildings.
After some extra glances around, Troy restarted the ATV and sped down towards the town. As Troy got closer, he noticed locals on the road giving him looks. Troy wanted to believe it was because of his vehicle, but for all he knew, maybe it was uncommon for folks to travel with an elf.
As Troy approached the wooden gate set over the path, the sudden blare of a horn made him abruptly slam on the brakes. Troy lurched forward at the drastic drop in speed, and the ATV skidded to a stop several feet from the gate. Feeling Alcydes’s body plastered against his back, Troy sat back down with a faint curse. But as he looked back up, several people rushed out into the path towards him, clad in metal and leather armor.
Troy gulped in apprehension as they stood threateningly in the path, their hands on spears and sheathed swords. While Troy was quick to raise his arms in surrender, the faint hiss of drawn steel told him that Alcydes was more than willing to fight them.
Before any fighting broke out though, the soldiers shifted to a ready position.
“Stop right there!” a deep, robust voice called out. To Troy’s shock, a green-skinned, muscular man stepped out from behind the other soldiers. Sporting several scars, a braided ponytail, and standing seven feet tall, Troy didn’t even need to see the man’s jutting jaw to know he was a textbook example of an orc.
While Troy was confused at how the officer was speaking English, the veteran didn’t wait for any words. The orc spun a massive poleaxe in one hand, then slammed it end-first on the ground. “I don’t know why you’re speeding towards our town, but I won’t let you run roughshod through it!” he bellowed, a stern glare set on his face. The orc effortlessly pointed the solid steel weapon at Troy, then demanded, “So, do you intend on going into town peacefully? Or will we have to detain you with force?”
Troy gulped at the not-so-subtle threat and glanced back at Alcydes before he looked the orc in the eye. “If I agree to not drive the vehicle in the town itself, can I still use it to come to and from the town?” Troy asked, keeping one hand on the accelerator.
While the orc didn’t immediately reply, his posture did relax somewhat. “I have no issue with what you do outside of town,” the orc said, his voice surprisingly clear, “But you can’t have your vehicle out in the streets. So either store it or park it outside our walls.”
Despite negotiations going peacefully, Troy winced at the blunt ultimatum. While he didn’t mind the options, if someone decided to steal it, or worse, sabotage it…
After some consideration, he looked at Alcydes speculatively. “Do you think the ATV can fit in your storage?” he requested.
The brunette hummed in thought, then looked to the back of the trunk. “Let’s empty the trunk first,” he eventually stated, and hopped off the vehicle. Troy turned the engine off, figuring it was the best option for now. Once he shouldered his bag and weapons, Troy stepped back and watched with interest.
While Alcydes was hesitant, he walked around the ATV for a bit, then finally tapped his pendant against the vehicle’s brand logo. The motor vehicle flickered for a few seconds, the glow seeming to fail at first. The blue hue eventually stabilized, and Troy could only watch in amazement as the 700-pound vehicle vanished into the pendant of a preteen boy.
Once the pendant’s magic ended, Troy looked over at the orc and raised an arm to draw attention. “I hope that this is good enough for you?” he requested, gesturing towards the recent magic act.
The orc let out a snort at that but gave a curt nod. “I suppose so,” he relented, and gestured to the guards. As the guards began to disperse, he looked back at the two with a faint scowl. “I trust that you two can handle yourselves from here,” he stated, “If you cause a ruckus like this again though, I promise I will be a lot less forgiving. Understood?” Troy nodded back, and the orc finally holstered his polearm.
As the orc walked away, Troy let out a deep sigh that made his whole body slouch. “Thank god we didn’t have to fight through that,” he said aloud. When he felt the gaze of a certain elf boy on him, Troy glanced down at him with confusion. “What? We don’t have to fight everyone just because they’re hostile. Sometimes talking can fix things without needing anyone to die,” Troy told the kid, only to get a perplexed look in response.
Troy stared at Alcydes for several seconds, just to shake his head. “Anyways, since you were so insistent on going to the guild, how about you show me where it is?” he asked the kid. Alcydes gave a simple nod, and soon Troy was briskly following him through the street.
As the two walked down the dirt road, Troy noticed several gazes on him and Alcydes. They weren’t intent glares, but each time Troy tried to spot them, the folks watching seemed to look away bashfully. Did they not get a lot of newcomers around here? When Alcydes tugged on his jacket to lead him to a new street, several faint giggles arose from the onlookers. Troy blushed at the attention, and tugged his jacket collar up to hide his embarrassment.
Intent on hiding his embarrassment, Troy looked around with curiosity at the surrounding area. While the town had the worn look he had first assumed, the people seemed to be managing. Several groups of men were hard at work processing massive logs and fish, while a small crowd of women gossiped next to a produce stall. In fact, as they passed by one of the bigger docks, Troy spotted a small group of kids run over a beached schooner in a form of unknown game.
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“Gather all and hear the latest news! For good or for ill, you should know what brews,” a reedy voice called out, earning Troy’s attention. As Troy looked up, he spotted a brown-haired elven man atop a well. Several people approached closer, and the elf bowed before he pulled out a scroll.
“The house fleets of Brunheim and Blonheim have clashed off the Keddor Cliffs north of here. Several ships have capsized, but neither side has managed to land yet. As such, several Heroes have set out from Karst to keep the battle from overflowing,” The orator read off. While Troy wanted to hear more, insistent tugs dragged him away from the speaker. Troy gave one last glance back, then followed Alcydes further into town.
The two continued to walk for several blocks. As Alcydes took a sharp left into a larger street, Troy’s eyes widened when he spotted the building he was being led to. It wasn’t drastically different from the other larger buildings, being two stories tall. But between the layer of mortar being more cared-for, the doors being visibly polished, a wooden sign with a shield etched in, and the gathering of figures around the building, it stood out compared to the other stores.
Alcydes walked up to the building undeterred and walked past the loiterers to push the door open. The din of the building died down slightly as the two entered, but soon returned to a constant murmur after a few seconds. Troy glanced around with curiosity as they passed through, but Alcydes passed the bar and several card tables to stop in front of a reception desk. Now at his destination, the elven boy stood up on his tippy toes, but minutely slumped when he saw no one immediately at the booth.
Alcydes glanced from side to side, hoping to catch someone’s attention. After several seconds of no assistance, the elf boy reached up and placed his hand on a silver bell. While unaware of his intentions, Troy soon snorted when Alcydes spammed the bell relentlessly. Each ring sent a bubble of light to dimly float in the air. However, with how fast Alcydes was hitting it, the air above the desk was being polluted with a thick cloud of bubbles.
“Ah! Coming, I’m coming now!” a soft voice exclaimed, and Alcydes stopped his intense ringing. Troy fought to keep a snort down at the phrasing, only to lose it when the receptionist walked into view. In terms of attire, she was dressed rather conservatively, with a leather vest over a white, long-sleeved shirt that was tucked into a green skirt. Even her elongated, pointed ears were hidden under strawberry-blonde locks. But as she stumbled to a stop, her sharp turn caused her ‘hefty coin pockets’ to sway from side to side.
When she faced the two, the red-haired elf gave a short bow before she gave a tight smile. “Welcome to the Shallowcoast guild hall. My name is Yvalyn. How can I help you?” the now-named Yvalyn asked, waving the bubbles away with one hand.
While Troy forced himself to stare straight ahead, Alcydes pulled out his lanyard and held it out with both hands. “I’m here to turn in the marsh boars for my quest,” he told her, his voice slightly covered under the background noise.
Yvalyn nodded to his words, then pulled out a metal plate from under the desk. “Alright then, I’ll just need to check your records and storage,” she stated, and held it close to the pendant. Troy watched in fascination as both pendant and tablet lit up a pale white, and the auras joined together before a flat rectangle formed mid-air. While he couldn’t see any text, Yvalyn pressed a finger to the screen and moved it down. After a few flicks, she listed off, “So, you have seven juvenile boars, five adults, and… a Great Marsh Boar?!”
The closest tables fell silent at her outburst, and several heads turned towards the desk. Realizing her mistake, Yvalyn let out a cough before she leaned forward. “My apologies, I wasn’t expecting a monstrous beast to be brought in,” she told the two, “Normally, few marsh boars grow big enough to be considered a Great Beast around here.”
“That sounds like a real problem, especially given how I found him fighting the beast less than eight hours away from here,” Troy interjected, one hand dropped down on Alcydes’s head, “If I hadn’t found him, it likely would’ve torn him to shreds.”
Yvalyn looked confused at that, and she gave him an indiscernible look. “You’re telling me you actually took him down for him?” she questioned with a hard tone, one hand sneaking down below the desk for something.
Troy’s head drew back at the accusation. “What? No, it would’ve killed me if I was alone,” he quickly corrected, and pointed at Alcydes with a free hand, “I just distracted it for a few minutes so he could finish it off.”
The red-haired gal let out a small noise at the comment, and her gaze softened. “Oh, that’s perfectly fine! We just take poorly to folks claiming the kills of others for quests,” she stated with the cheeriness from before, and her gaze returned to the form. She continued to look the details over for a bit, then finally erased the illusion from sight.
“Well, everything looks to be in order! You’ve brought back five more boars than needed, so your final pay will be… 137 jhodes and five krams,” she declared, and held the metal sheet higher, “Would you two like your payments directly Stored in your guild tags, or in a coin purse?”
While Alcydes was quick to hold up his tag, Troy looked hesitant at the question. “Just give it to the kid all the payment,” he eventually decided, then shrugged as he added, “Granted, I don’t have a tag anyways, so that doesn’t help matters.”
Yvalyn let out a gasp at that and leaned in closer. “You don’t have a guild tag? I’m surprised that you dared to travel alone without a party to protect you,” she whispered with astonishment. Troy squirmed faintly at the shock, glancing around for any support. Yvalyn looked at the two for several seconds, then eventually reached for a sheet of yellowed paper. After she pulled it out, she shook it off and offered, “If you’d like, we can sign you up right away for a guild membership immediately.”
Troy’s eyes widened at the offer, only to narrow his eyes in thought. While the offer was unexpected, it was hard to tell whether it was the right option. After all, there was a reason jokes were made about army guys and car loans. “What benefits and costs are there to being a guild member?” he asked, hesitant to accept off the bat.
“Oh, there’s several benefits!” Yvalyn revealed, and started pointing at several details, “In exchange for doing monthly quests and being available for national emergencies, you get the Guild Tag features; access to guild quests; Discounts at many stores, including on-site smiths and armorers; Even access to the inter-guild transport system!”
Troy nodded along to this, thinking over the details. “I supposed that makes sense, but how many quests are needed monthly?” Troy asked, “I won’t be in town full-time, after all.”
“That’s understandable,” Yvalyn responded, and pointed at the board on the wall, “Luckily, the quest limit for the kingdom of Nymue is rather low compared to others. Just complete at least five quests of equal ranking monthly, or the equivalent rate for lower quests. You can even use extra missions your party’s taken to meet the quota.”
Troy hemmed and hawed for a while longer, but after a look from Alcydes, he eventually gave a short nod. “In that case, I guess I’ll have to take it,” he said, and tapped the table with caution. As Alcydes gave a small smile, Troy hesitantly added, “Will I need to go with Alcydes for handling the deliveries, though?”
“Oh, I can have my co-worker help him with that!” Yvalyn happily answered. The ginger elf glanced over at a booth, and called out, “Ziaana, could you take this boy over to Storeroom Six for carcass processing? I need to handle this application.” A squat, well-built woman with brown hair glanced up from her papers and gave a curt nod back before gesturing Alcydes over.
With the matter now settled, Yvalyn stood up from her desk. “Just follow me, and we can get started on your interview shortly,” she told him, and Troy glanced back at Alcydes one last time. However, seeing as how the kid had already darted off to the other worker, Troy let out a slow breath and followed Yvalyn in the opposite direction. While he knew Alcydes must have done the delivery before, he still worried about how long it would take…