Chapter 171
Working as a cable television installer is not an easy job. Sure, it has its easy points but most of it involves climbing up or crawling through places other people don't go. Like roofs. Or attics. Or basements.
Basements and attics were frequently filthy, poorly cleaned, or both. Running cable lines up to roofs and through cramped attics and pitch black basements is a nightmare. Toss in sweltering hot days during the summer and frequently frigid conditions during the winter and you had a recipe for a miserable time.
There were other jobs that were worse, but that wasn't the point. It wasn't a contest. The job sucked enough that it was impossible not to notice. But Jay had done the work and done it well because he needed money to feed himself and pay for his mortgage. The pay hadn't exactly been impressive either, now that Jay thought of it.
The cable company raked in billions of dollars while Jay had to budget for food. Somehow that never quite felt fair.
Working hard had only gotten Jay more work. When other techs failed to do their jobs it would be added to Jay's list of things to do because his bosses knew that he would get it done. He would frequently end up going home late. Jay's extra labor had never been rewarded with extra pay.
Now Jay was in somewhat of the opposite situation. He didn't have to work for his money – it just showed up. As long as he didn't spend more than 5 silver every fifteen seconds he'd never go broke.
Being a Patron had been amazing so far.
As he stood in the dungeon room auditorium he loved the feeling of not having to go to work tomorrow. Out of all the magical things he had experienced since his arrival it was the absence of having to show up for a depressing job every day that constantly amazed him. It was as if he was finally free – or retired, only better.
Even without a job he still had things to do that week. Quite a lot in fact. He had to attend his final evaluation. He needed to pass his graduation exercise. He needed to attend an auction, his auction, that week. He had to attend the grand opening of M'redith Meadows at the end of the week. He should check in on Redgrass too. He'd intended on going to explore some ruins with his group and invite Sha'li too.
That was quite the list and would take up plenty of time as it was already. Having the free time to pick and choose what he would do during the week was a great feeling.
Jay's reverie was broken by the sudden quiet as T'lly waved her hands to indicate that class was about to start. Everyone quieted down and she spoke loud enough to be heard enough by everyone but without yelling.
The room had been magically rearranged and was now a large flat room somewhat like their classroom had been earlier in the day. The room was lined with rows of tables, six seats to a table, which Jay found odd. The tables all had people working at them along with pictures and displays set up along with pamphlets and advertisements.
T'lly nodded to the gathered students. “Welcome to class everyone. Today we will not be running Dungeon Room. Instead we have gathered a number of public companies, private employers, and adventuring groups who are in the market for a fresh Guild graduate. Some of them will take you as you are and bring you on after you graduate.”
T'lly paused and smiled as she brushed her hair back with one hand absent-mindedly, “Others will provide additional training or even send you off to a secondary school for specialty training. They all offer varying levels of pay and benefits. You should be sure to see what everyone has to offer before you make a decision!”
Warren smiled warmly and pointed out, “Those of you who are not hired on will be sent directly to train with a Guild group for your specialty education after graduation. Those who are hired here today will not have to do so.”
Jay pursed his lips in thought. He and his friends had formed and registered an official Guild group – the Glimmerhides, made up of Jay and his three friends. What would happen to their group? Could they be sent off separately to train with other groups?
Jay thought that neither option Warren had mentioned were quite right for his group.
T'lly waved towards the many tables, “Once we finish with our introduction you may walk freely throughout the auditorium and speak with those who have come to show what they have to offer. Warren and I will be circulating throughout the room and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the process as well as any potential employers.”
“All offers are contingent on you graduating. Remember. If you don't graduate, all of this goes away.” Warren pointed out with a wry smile.
“Lastly – we won't be seeing as much of each other every day going forward. Welcome to the more self-directed portion of your training. Because of this it is vital that you examine whatever is posted outside your original classroom building every morning. We will post class schedules as well as any mandatory events you must attend. Failure to attend a mandatory event because you failed to check the posted notices will not be accepted as an excuse.” T'lly said a bit hotly towards the end.
Warren smiled, “We've done what we could. It's up to you now. Go ahead everyone, and good luck with your employment search!”
T'lly made a motion as if to encourage the students to start moving. They all moved and spread out through the cavernous room and the volume in the room quickly rose as everyone began to speak with everyone else.
Jay and his friends stood in a tightly bunched group, there wasn't a lot of open floor space due to the presence of so many students.
“What about us?” Norri asked. “Do they split us up after graduation?”
Jay shrugged, “I don't know. I guess we will have to find out. You guys want to go look around? I'm not looking to get hired on by anyone else – I think I have enough money. I'm more interested in running dungeons and finding hidden loot. Heck, we could probably set up a table and hire for a fifth spot at this point.”
M'redith laughed and leaned on Jay. “Come on. Let's go look just for fun!”
Jay smiled, “Sure, why not.”
Norri saw something out of the corner of her eye that caught her interest and she begged Jay to let her go look. “Pleeeeeease can we go look?”
Jay shrugged, confused. “Norri, we're in class. You can go wherever you like – I'm not in charge here,” he pointed out kindly.
M'redith pushed Jay playfully and spoke in to his ear as he stood still and kept his eyes on Norri.
“She's not asking permission, she just doesn't want to go look by herself you foolish man,” M'redith said playfully.
Jay made an 'oh' sound as he realized what was actually going on. He changed his approach. “Sorry Norri, I misunderstood. I'm happy to go over there, lets go see what you've found.”
M'redith smiled happily at Jay's willingness to listen to her and Norri smiled at Jay's change of heart.
Aiden didn't smile. He looked disappointed that there was no food involved in this process. “Couldn't they at least have brought snacks?”
The group trudged over slowly to the table Norri had picked. It had two poles which held up a banner over the table that read “Friends of Eden,” in bright green letters bordered in black. The banner was otherwise covered in drawings of animals, birds, fish, the works.
The table was covered with a red tablecloth which was itself covered with pamphlets, books, and a dish of pins.
A smiling woman greeted them, “Hello! Are you interested in FOE? We're always looking for new members – our main requirement is that your Class Abilities be nature aligned. Creature Whisperers. Wind mages. Earth mages. Water weavers, Firecrafters, you know – in that vein.”
She had long white curly hair and faded blue eyes. Her face wrinkled when she smiled with perfect looking teeth.
“I can transform in to a bear!” Norri informed the woman excitedly, forgetting in her excitement that she could also control animals to an extent.
The woman smiled a grandmotherly smile, “I bet you can! How tall are you in bear form?”
Norri grinned a predatory grin and the woman was momentarily taken aback by the sudden change.
“Seven feet!” Norri informed her happily.
The woman raised an eyebrow and blinked before she looked at M'redith and Jay who nodded as if to back Norri's statement up.
“That...” the woman said thoughtfully, “would be a very big bear.” She went quiet for a heartbeat before she extended her hand to Norri, “I'm Emily! You've got my interest Norri. Are you interested in joining?”
“What does FOE do exactly?” Jay asked as he picked up a pamphlet with a rhinoceros with mournful eyes on the cover. Its horn had been hacked off and only a ragged stump had been left in its place.
Emily looked over at Jay and the pamphlet darkly with her faded and now sad looking blue eyes. “We hunt poachers, for one. Many of our members possess incredible tracking Class Abilities. Cutting off a horn and running away with it just means that they'll be tired when we catch up with them. There is no escape once we catch a poacher's scent. We will hunt them to the ends of Eden.”
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Norri's mood darkened as well when she saw the photo on the cover of the pamphlet Jay was holding.
“That is awful! Why would anyone do that?” Norri asked angrily as she picked up a copy of the pamphlet too.
Emily shrugged, “It all boils down to money. They do it because someone is willing to pay for it.”
“Why not go after the ones that pay for it too then?” M'redith asked curiously.
Emily showed her teeth but it was nothing like a smile. “We do.”
The group went quiet for a beat.
“We do other things too besides kill poachers. We manage wildlife rescues and relocations. We handle rehabilitation of injured wildlife as well. Does that interest you Norri?” Emily asked seriously. Emily was there to recruit new members and she seemed focused on Norri as a potential recruit.
Norri still looked angry. “It does. But I'm already in a group...” she said sadly.
Emily looked confused, “Aren't you still a student?”
Norri looked at M'redith and M'redith spoke up, “We're a registered Guild group, the Glimmerhides. We were given...special dispensation. We're official but are still looking around to see what is on offer.”
Emily looked sad. “We might have loved to have you Norri, but it sounds like you're already taken.”
It was Norri's turn to look sad and Emily finally took pity on her.
“Listen,” Emily said as she looked left and right to make sure no one was listening. “We do have some intermittent slots but those are usually reserved for specialists. We never have enough people it seems. If you'd like I can take your information and put you on our intermittent list. If a need for your abilities comes up you'd be contacted and offered a short term contract for your assistance. I can think of plenty of times a seven foot bear would have come in handy for us.”
Norri smiled and it was like the sun had just risen, “I'd love to! Sign me up! Oh, you guys can go on ahead if you want to, I don't know how long this will take.”
The woman smiled, “Five minutes?” she said and motioned Norri over to a chair and took out some forms. She filled them out as she asked Norri for whatever information the forms needed.
Jay, M'redith, and Aiden took the hint and waved goodbye to Norri before they moved further in to the room. There were plenty of adventuring groups hiring and they were easy to pick out because they usually all sat at a table, the four of them. Most tables had only a single person at the table, but adventuring groups always had three or four.
Jay figured they probably all wanted to be there to give their opinions on any new additions to their group. Jay and his friends steered clear of the other Guild groups. Since they already had their own group there was really no point in taking up any of their time.
They stopped in front of a table manned by an older gentleman who wore a brown suit. His banner said “Lockbusters!” complete with exclamation mark. The table was strewn with a number of disassembled locks, pamphlets, pins, and books – all of the tables had some combination of those save for the locks.
The man noticed Jay's interest and nodded at him, “Interested in locks?”
Jay's brows furrowed, “I mean...when they're keeping me from getting at loot I'm pretty interested in locks,” he answered with a shrug.
The man didn't appear impressed and seemed to lose interest.
“Does your company only pick locks?” Jay asked.
The man nodded, “What? That isn't enough? Picking locks is a real trade and requires skill. Our company not only picks locks, we build 'em. Custom. You'd be amazed at how much work we get – we can't keep up with the demand. So here I am, standing in a school auditorium, talking with students about how they feel about locks,” he finished with a drawn out sigh.
Jay smiled, “I've done traps but haven't done much with locks. Thankfully none of the chests we've found have been locked.”
The man in the brown suit smiled as if Jay had mentioned something interesting. “Right! But if you ever do find a locked chest – and you probably will – you'll need someone who knows how to open it. That would be us. Sure, you could give it a go yourself but some locks only give you a single go at it. Some locks destroy their contents when picked. Locks can be a lot of trouble.”
Jay smiled, “Sorry to waste your time – your table just caught my interest is all.”
The man nodded and looked him over. “So if you aren't interested in joining the 'Lockbusters!' then what are you planning on doing?”
Jay shrugged, “We've already formed a registered Guild group and been on a dungeon run. I plan on doing that.”
The man tilted his head, “What is your group name?” He wasn't sure if he should believe Jay.
“Glimmerhides,” Jay answered.
The man peered at Jay a moment as if he were trying to remember something. “Hey, aren't the Glimmerhides the ones that changed the Kagan's Dome dungeon?” the man said as if he didn't believe Jay.
M'redith smiled and pointed to her collar device, “That's us.”
The man in the brown suit's behavior changed as if a switch had been thrown. “Really great to meet you guys! Here, take a card!” he said and handed them each a small folded metal card slightly larger than a business card would be.
“Next time you have a locked chest you can't get open – you call me. First one is free. My boy is in line right now for Kagan's Dome. I appreciate you getting him the hell out of the house for a change!” the man said happily.
Jay stored the card in his backpack and shook the man's hand before he promised him that he would visit him as soon as he found a locked chest.
“He seemed nice,” Aiden said as he looked around for food but found none.
M'redith smiled, “Well he certainly seemed happy to have his son out of the house,” she said with a laugh.
Norri arrived a moment later and showed off a little metal pin fashioned in the shape of a gecko. “LOOK. I got a pin!” she said as she excitedly showed her new treasure off to the rest of the group.
They continued walking. There were tables looking for a single person to fill a single role as well as tables just looking to gather whoever they could, like the FOE. There were people looking to hire protection, others looking to staff hospitals, trading companies looking for escorts, the selection on offer was overwhelming.
They went from table to table and spoke with people, it was always good to make new connections. Norri spent the majority of the time gathering new pins for her growing collection from any table that would allow her to take one.
She now had the gecko from FOE, a lighthouse from a medical group, a set of paw prints from a tracker's organization, and a dagger pin which she couldn't figure out where she had gotten it from.
M'redith noticed Norri trying to wear all of her pins, “Um, Norri? You might not want to wear all of those pins.”
“Why not?” she asked as she paused in her efforts to attach the dagger pin to her armor.
“Those pins all represent actual organizations. Wearing them is sort of like showing your support for them in a way that other people can see the moment they meet you. Do you support whatever organization gave you the dagger?” M'redith asked kindly.
Norri shrugged, “I can't even remember who gave that one to me.”
M'redith narrowed her eyes, “A good reason not to wear it,” she said and then let the matter drop.
Norri, to her credit, sadly put the dagger pin in her bag along with the other pins. She kept the FOE pin on though. She absolutely supported them.
“ATTENTION EVERYONE!” yelled T'lly and all noise in the room ceased whether they were student or potential employer. “Thank you,” she said kindly, “it is now time for dinner. If you are done here you may go and eat, BUT,” she said loudly as people started to move. They went still as she yelled the word 'but.'
“As I was saying, BUT you may stay as long as you'd like to continue speaking with attendees. Don't forget, tomorrow morning be sure to check the posted notices outside your normal classroom!” T'lly called out loudly.
Warren spoke up and managed to make himself heard without yelling, “Go eat! See you all again soon!”
A good sized crowd of students left for dinner but twenty or so students stuck around to talk more with those looking to hire.
Jay and his friends were pretty much done there. They'd already spoken to everyone at least once and Norri had amassed quite the collection of pins. Jay was debating having a pin made for the Glimmerhides when Warren almost passed by him.
“Warren!” Jay called out and Warren quickly stopped and looked about before he noticed Jay and turned to face him.
“Jay! Question?” Warren said with a smile.
Jay nodded, “You said that students would go on to secondary training if they weren't hired. What about Glimmerhides? We already have our own Group.”
Warren laughed, “You do! Don't worry – no one is disbanding your Group. Listen,” he said as he put an arm around Jay's shoulders. Jay was taller than him so the action proved to be a bit more awkward than he had at first anticipated. “Your leader, M'redith, will have to attend the Leadership Training Course. That is standard for a Group leader and she is your registered leader.”
M'redith listened in with intense interest.
“Your healer could use a run through the Advanced Life Saving course for healers. He still has very little training in healing. Healing is about more than just using your Class Abilities.” Warren pointed out.
Warren waved to someone as they passed by, “Norri is fine as is. For a damage dealer she just needs practice and experience. More training isn't what she needs right now.
“As for you, I don't think there exists a training course for the Adventurer Class. You guys are too rare. I have a few ideas but I'd rather talk about them with you during your final evaluation, ok?” Warren finished as he let go of Jay and shook his hand. “Does that answer your question?”
Jay nodded. Now he had all new questions though. He'd save them for his evaluation. “It does, thanks Warren, you've been a big help.”
“Thank you Jay, that's nice of you to say. You all have a good night!” Warren said before he was stopped by another student who leaned over to ask him a question.
Jay and his group headed for the exit and left the building. Outside was practically silent compared to the inside of the auditorium and Jay was momentarily taken aback by the sudden quiet. The sun had almost set and dusk was quickly arriving and sent long shadows across the ground. A loud grumbling sound broke through the quiet.
“What?” said Aiden as he rubbed his armor over his belly. “It IS dinnertime.”