Chapter 30
Jay awoke just as the first beams of sunlight crested the horizon and fell across his bed through the window. He had almost gotten used to being awoken with a knock on the door and its absence felt odd. Jay grabbed his dirty clothes and left for the bath house, paying to have his clothing cleaned while he soaked in the steaming hot bath.
Barely able to see through the steam he laid his head back against the edge of the bath, which was more like a pool really. These weren't the baths you would find in your home on Earth but instead large pools you walked down steps in to, the water constantly moved about using magic jets and cleaned using magic as well.
Jay felt a little out of sorts. He was worried he may have made a mistake last night throwing around money like he had. He'd come to the realization that money on Eden just didn't feel like real money to him. It felt like pretend monopoly money and he had handed it out like that is what it was.
But it wasn't pretend money. On Eden it was the primary manner in which to pay for what you wanted and he needed to start handling silver and gold coins with more respect. Jay had been good with money back on Earth with a credit score to match. He was considered a very good risk when it came to loans. He always paid his debts back, even paid them off early when he could.
So far he had blown through what his friends considered to be a rather decent fortune. If Mini-Golf didn't take off and pay well he'd be almost broke again. He still had a little money left in his account, but not much. Jay started to feel the stirrings of anxiety in the pit of his stomach.
Jay left the bath house after he had finished cleaning himself up and after a quick stop at his room to drop off the newly cleaned clothes along with the soap he had used he walked on over to The Guild's resident dining hall.
Breakfast was lonely as neither M'redith nor Aiden showed up while he ate. The food was good and was piping hot 4” bread sticks that released steam in to the air when you cut them open. Each meal came with a small tray with various jams on it to use with the bread and a small bowl of various cheeses.
It was probably delicious but Jay couldn't stop thinking about last night. What had come over him? He had spent two gold like it was nothing but at the time it had seemed so right; as if it would have been silly to let the opportunity pass him by.
Now in the light of day the next morning Jay wasn't so sure.
Had he just wasted 2 gold?
Someone hugged him from behind and the scent of clean soap and sandalwood washed over him.
“Mm. Morning M'redith.” he said with a smile as he chewed a teeny cube of sharp cheddar cheese.
“How'd you know it's me!” she said with mock shock as she sat down next to him with her tray.
Jay shrugged, “You smell good.”
She grinned in reply as she started eating. Aiden arrived right after her and took a seat across from Jay. “Morning Jay. Sleep well?” Aiden said casually.
“A bit. I've been thinking about last night.” Jay said as he brushed a hand through his hair giving him a slightly frustrated appearance.
Aiden and M'redith shared a look and Aiden set his breakfast back down on his tray. “Jay. We wanted to talk with you about that.” Aiden looked a little hesitant but Jay waved him to continue.
M'redith took over for Aiden, “We think you are having.. difficulties? Grasping the value of the various coins here on Eden. Sometimes.”
Aiden nodded seriously, “We had a talk this morning about you and we're worried.”
“You've spent a fortune like it's nothing and we are just.. concerned. For your future.” she finished. She seemed unsure how Jay would take that.
Aiden went back to eating but added, “You need to start saving money, not just spending it the minute you get it.”
Jay sat at the table in thought. He could feel the warmth of M'redith's leg pressed up against his as she ate her breakfast. Aiden made a mess as he dropped some jelly on to his plate by accident. They all focused on eating as Jay pondered what they had said.
They were right. He should have some savings. He had handled money with care on Earth as if it were a finite resource, rare, and difficult to acquire. On Eden it felt different. Money felt like it just seemed to find him. The labor he put in to get paid had seemed more like fun than work. On Eden Jay felt like money would be easy to come by, even though he did not have a whole lot of evidence to support that feeling.
“Thank you.” he finally said. “I think I needed to hear that. I'm going to change how I handle money from now on. At least silver and gold coins I mean. I'll try to be better with my coppers too but I like eating out.”
Aiden grinned, “You've been spending coppers just fine. Even the silvers aren't too bad. Its the way you spend gold that worries us a little. Just a little.”
M'redith looked at Jay with a strange expression, “Plus, I know you're better than this. You can do better. I'll help you.” She placed a hand over Jay's and squeezed.
Jay smiled, “Great. I feel better already.”
Aiden and M'redith looked relieved at Jay's reaction and pleased he had come around so quickly to their way of thinking.
Aiden brought up all of their trays as M'redith and Jay chatted for a few moments.
“Do you really think Mini-Golf will be that popular?” M'redith asked.
“I think it's going to be something everyone wants to at least try and if I can make the entry fee expensive enough and exclusive enough the rich will show up in droves. Especially if it is open after the theaters let out.” Jay said thoughtfully.
M'redith studied Jay's face as he answered her. She must have found what she was looking for because she finally nodded and said, “Good. If I can help then let me know.”
“Oh you can help alright. I'll let you know how when the time comes.” Jay said with a sly smile.
Aiden arrived and the group ran off to their separate rooms to gather their items for class. When they finally arrived at their class they found that it was full of students, a marked difference from the ten or twelve classmates they usually saw.
“Settle down everyone, get in to your weapon groups.” Warren said from the front of the room and people quieted down and broke off in to various groups.
T'lly didn't look happy but then again she often didn't. She had a way of making you feel not good enough. She also had a way of making you feel like if you just tried maybe you could be good enough. Jay thought it was a good combo and tended to motivate more people than it alienated.
“I can't believe I have to tell you guys this but if you see a second group that matches yours then you also need to combine groups. Listen up people! We've lost a few students over the weekend,” she almost yelled in emphasis. “so we've combined classes for weapons training. You might meet some new people! Combine like weapon groups people! Staffs with staffs, swords with swords, and so on!” she yelled.
Warren and T'lly finally had to leave the front of the class and walk among the students, showing them which groups to combine. Getting a group of people to do anything can be challenging even in the best of times.
This time Jay managed to be placed nearby to M'redith's group. In between exercises Jay would look over to see her fighting men that had huge muscles and were quite a bit taller than her. They frequently beat on her with brutal strikes that she would either block or attempt to accept gracefully.
Jay worried a little about her until he watched her destroy a barbarian looking fighter who found her strikes to have as much force behind them as a full grown man. She moved with the grace her smaller frame afforded her but struck as if she weighed a few hundred pounds more than she did.
The sword fighters eventually caught on to her and Jay noticed they sometimes fought over who would have to pair up with her. Apparently fighting with her hurt. Jay grinned, impressed with her and happy to see she could hold her own.
After a while they broke for water and Jay rubbed his knuckles which were raw and bleeding from his opponent's repeated strikes to his hands. It seemed that his partner during exercises would constantly strike towards his hands trying to force him to drop his weapon.
After their break they switched partners and Jay was happy to find that his new opponent was happy just to exchange strikes and blocks. This did not last very long as shortly after they began T'lly came over and pulled the man across from Jay aside and spoke with him softly.
After that Jay found that no matter who he fought they would all end up having a word with T'lly after which they would focus on striking Jay's hands. Jay didn't complain, even the stupidest person knew that you did not complain during basic training unless you wanted to get yelled at.
So far The Guild training was a mix of the college experience and a military boot camp. They were pushed hard in training, sustaining injuries that would have required hospitalization back on Earth. On Eden however you were just healed up and told to get back to training. If you weren't injured but just hurt you were told to get back to training but without the healing.
They trained until lunch time arrived with only small water breaks up until that point. Jay found that he had to get in line for healing as by the time class ended he could barely use his hands. Still, he hadn't dropped his staff once that day.
As he went to leave Warren pulled him aside for a moment and Aiden and M'redith watched them from off to the side as they waited for Jay near the exit. Leaning towards Jay he spoke softly as was his usual manner, “I have a gift for you,” he said as he looked at Jay closely, “a word of advice from Walter.”
Jay nodded and waited.
He handed Jay a small piece of paper folded simply in half.
“Thank you,” Jay said but not opening it yet.
“You're welcome. Focus on your training Jay. Don't become distracted.” he said seriously while looking at him and then towards his two friends waiting for him. Warren didn't wait for Jay to respond but walked off to speak with another student.
Jay rejoined his friends and they walked to lunch together. There was a light rain, more of a gentle mist than anything really. They took their time and enjoyed the walk.
“What the hell happened to your hands?” Aiden finally asked. “I saw you multiple times during practice with your hands looking absolutely shredded.”
Jay shrugged, “I've no idea. I had to work constantly just trying to keep from dropping my staff all day. It was like everyone I fought had a hatred of my hands.”
M'redith said “Hmm.” but didn't say anything else.
Jay grinned, “How about M'redith? She was beating the hell out of the sword users all day!”
Aiden agreed, “I saw! I'm glad we're on the same side!” he said jokingly.
M'redith blushed in embarrassment but still managed to thank the two for the compliment. “Thanks. It's my level 1 Class Ability. When I fight my strikes are treated as if they were made by a person one size larger than me. It really surprises people when they first fight me.”
Jay smiled, “Well, I thought you did really well today. I wish I had done as well, I feel like today was a failure. I'm not great with a staff it seems.”
Aiden shrugged as he held the dining hall's door open for Jay and M'redith, “You already knew you weren't going to be a fighter. Combat isn't your thing and that is ok. Just keep up with the class and do your work. You'll be fine.”
The three grabbed trays of cheesy lasagna with fried green beans and cinnamon applesauce.
After Jay had finished eating he took out the note from Walter and took a look at it. It had a single sentence written on it:
Never drop your weapon in a fight.
Jay put the note on the table and started laughing. Aiden grabbed the note and after reading it laughed too. After M'redith read it Jay explained.
“I dropped my staff a few times on the dungeon run I did the other day. It seems Walter heard about it and had enough pull to make sure The Guild would train that out of me.” Jay said with a half grin.
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M'redith nodded seriously, “Good. You can't be dropping things in a fight. Practice is good.”
Jay sighed, “I suppose it was helpful. Still, kind of creepy he got so involved in my training.”
Aiden grinned widely, “You suck at keeping your head down, you know that?”
M'redith laughed, “He's doing fine! It's not his fault he has useful abilities everyone is going to want.”
Jay grinned as well, “Not a bad problem to have I think.”
“Sure,” Aiden agreed, “as long as you don't mind having people keep an eye on you. You think Walter is going to stop at a note? You just wait, I bet he'll pop up again and change your training.”
M'redith didn't seem too upset over it, “So what? Sure he got involved but it was helpful involvement. Is it so bad having someone in power look out for you?”
“Sure, but I have a feeling Walter isn't looking out for Jay so much as he is looking out for Walter.” Aiden replied.
Jay pursed his lips as they left lunch. “Good point.”
They were sent to a different class for this week and wouldn't be running Dungeon Room. The room was packed full of desks with traps on each.
“Welcome to Trap Week everyone!” T'lly said with excitement. “I hope you took my advice and enjoyed the use of your limbs because there's a good chance you might lose one this week.” she said with a smile.
The class went quiet at that and looked at the traps dotting the room a bit more closely.
“You need a trap tool and a way to take notes for this week. We won't be running any Dungeon Room this week. It's traps traps traps all week long!” T'lly said happily. Jay couldn't be sure if she was just really interested in traps or if she enjoyed watching students set those traps off. He supposed she could enjoy both.
The rest of the class were not as enthused as T'lly but were quickly sorted in to their seats. There were no groups or partners in this class. It was just the student and the trap and the fight they would wage between them.
The class went quickly for Jay and he wrote everything down in to his Mighty Book whose Traps chapter was quickly filling out.
There was a brief moment of levity when T'lly had to explain to one student why checking a tripwire for tension was so important before trying to disarm it. The student hadn't paid attention and found that after he had set off his assigned trap his arm no longer worked the way it should. The trap had initially spread glitter everywhere to the class' amusement but ended in wrecking the arm the student had used to cut the tripwire with. He was sent to the infirmary and the class continued.
Jay thought a maiming would have a sobering effect on the class but they treated it as just another thing that happened that day and continued on with their studies.
“Focus people. Don't make a move on a trap unless you are sure of what you are doing. If you aren't sure then ASK!” she said as she went around from student to student and gave aggressive yet constructive criticism.
After class had ended Jay was pleased to leave with all of his limbs intact. The traps had been tricky but not difficult and Jay felt as if he had learned quite a bit.
Dinner was pan fried fish with a crunchy breaded crust. Sweet buttered corn and a lovely cup of rice pilaf rounded out the meal. Dessert was a slice of cookie-crusted apple pie along with a scoop of iced cream.
They were on their way out of the dining hall when they were approached by two Guild guards who made a beeline straight for Jay. They wore shining armor with a badge device over their left breast with The Guild's crest on it. They each carried a sword sheathed at their hips.
Students usually saw Guild Guards on one of two occasions. Either the guard was passing by on the way to somewhere else, or the Guard had come for the student to remove them from the training course. There really wasn't any third type of interaction that students ever saw.
So it was with some trepidation that Aiden and M'redith watched as the Guards stopped in front of Jay and stood ramrod straight.
The Guards didn't ask which one of them was Jay but looked directly at Jay before speaking. “Sir,” he stated in a respectful manner, “your presence is requested at one of our meeting halls. Others await your arrival. If you would please follow me?”
Jay nodded. There was no other response one could give. If two highly armored guards wanted Jay to go somewhere then Jay was going somewhere whether he wanted to or not.
The Guard who had spoken led Jay away from his friends and the second guard fell in behind him. Jay was led through parts of The Guild's grounds that he had yet to visit until they entered what looked like a church with high ceilings and richly painted artwork on the walls. The room was lit with a cool luminescence that leaned towards the blue end of the spectrum.
The lead Guard nodded to Jay respectfully and then left him alone in a room with a couch and some chairs. Jay looked around before finally taking a seat. If he had to stay here then he might as well get comfortable. He took out his Mighty Book and began studying the traps from earlier that day. He liked his limbs and would prefer to keep them if at all possible.
The room had two sets of doors. The ones he had entered through and another larger set of doors that looked a little ridiculous due to their impressive size. Jay lost track of time as he focused on studying and was surprised when the massive set of doors finally opened to admit Walter.
“Jay!” he said warmly, “I'm so sorry to leave you out here waiting like this but there were a few things that needed attending to first. We're all finished up now though, why don't you come on in?” Walter adjusted a cuff-link as Jay stood up and followed him in to the next room.
The next room was the meeting room and contained stained glass windows, a tall ceiling, indirect lighting, and plenty of chairs. At the far end of the table sat a well dressed older woman. She stood as Walter and Jay entered the room and Jay assumed it was out of respect for Walter.
“Welcome Jay,” she said as Jay shook her hand and waited for Walter and the mysterious woman to sit before he sat down in a chair at the side of the long table.
Jay looked worried and still had no idea what was going on.
The woman noticed Jay's facial expression and looked over at Walter, “Did you at least tell him why he was brought here?”
Walter shook his head, “Too busy, I was lucky I could fit this in as it is. I'm sorry for that Jay. Just relax – you're not in any trouble. Although you and I will need to have a separate talk after this one.” He looked back over at the woman as if to end his portion of the conversation.
“My name is Constance. I don't expect that to be familiar to you. My family name however might make things clearer. Stringe.” she said as she watched Jay for his reaction.
Jay smiled warmly at that and with no pretense he said, “Oh! I found one of your rings! Did you get it?”
Constance nodded slowly, “I did. By that I mean I personally received it. I am the Head of my family. I appreciate you ensuring that the ring reached me directly.”
Jay grinned, “It had already been lost once, I would have been upset if I had learned it had been misplaced as I tried to return it. It seemed easier to just get it to you directly.”
Constance looked over at Walter for a moment but said nothing to him as if to say “See? I told you so.”
“I must ask,” she continued, “were you looking for this ring in particular?”
Things suddenly felt tense and Jay swallowed without meaning to. Walter sat off to the side and although he was present it seemed he was here merely as a witness to the conversation rather than a participant.
“Not at all,” Jay replied. He then launched in to a description of his new ability and the walk around the lake. He even told them about Zuzu.
Once he finished the room was quiet for a time before Constance spoke again. “The ring is very important to my family. Priceless you might even say. Its return will change the structure of power within my family, I believe in a good way. Although others might argue with me over that.” she said with a sad grin.
“The details are unimportant and do not concern you but I can tell you that there are those that will be very unhappy to see the ring's return and my family's fortune increase. By returning the ring you have triggered a number of thorny political issues. Mostly for others however. For me I am only happy at its return.” she continued.
“I wanted to meet you and weigh your intentions myself. You do not seem to be very politically minded?” she asked.
Jay shook his head firmly. “I'm not a politics kind of guy. I leave that to others.”
Walter let out a dry laugh. “Except for this time.”
Constance looked over at him and made a shushing sound. “His heart was in the right place I think. Jay can you tell us briefly why you returned the ring? Why not keep it?”
Jay shook his head, “I wasn't going to keep it. I just like helping other people out, especially when they have lost hope. I like being the good guy. I love seeing that look on their faces when they realize things are going to end well after all.”
Constance smiled, “You're right. Politics is no place for a person like you.” She leaned over to the side of her chair and placed a squat box on the table. She pushed it towards Jay. “This is for you in thanks for the service you have rendered my family. Please accept it with our thanks.”
Jay opened the lid on the box and found the inside divided in to a grid. The interior of the box was covered in velvet and divided in to four sections. Each section held a fat shining gem roughly four inches long and an inch across.
Jay's mouth fell open as he Identified the items.
Upgrade Stone each of the four gems read.
The box represented more money than Jay had yet received on Eden. Thinking of the morning's conversation over breakfast Jay hesitated to accept it.
“What is it?” Constance asked with a little concern. She had thought this would have been the perfect gift for a young Guild trainee and represented a large sum of funds. It was an expression of how much she valued the ring's return. A lesser reward would have been an insult not just to Jay but to her family as well.
Jay thought about how to word what he was about to say. “It has recently been brought to my attention that I lack.. a proper fiscal sense, I guess you could say?”
Constance laughed, “You're bad with money. Many are. Still, wouldn't this help?”
Jay nodded, “Temporarily. And then I'll be right back to being tight on funds. I'd like to break out of that. May I make a suggestion? I don't want to offend you or your family.”
Walter looked a little incredulous at Jay's behavior. Anyone else would have snapped up the four upgrade stones in a heartbeat. Some might have used them to upgrade their stats before they even left the table. If Jay was angling for a greater reward Walter would be beyond disappointed in him.
Constance didn't seem insulted at all, “I would love to hear what you think would be a more appropriate reward. What would you value even more than upgrade stones?”
“Advice.” he replied. “Fiscal. I need a financial advisor that won't steal all of my money and run. Someone that can keep me from blowing through every last gold I earn. I want to do better.” Jay said while holding his hands out to the sides in emphasis.
Walter laughed, “That's all?”
Constance raised an eyebrow though. “But he didn't ask for just a financial advisor, he asked for one he could trust. How many of those do you know of?” she asked Walter while turning in her chair to face him.
Walter quieted down at that but didn't respond.
“Very well,” she said as she took the box and set it back on the ground. “I will make the arrangements to have you set up with a man I know of that you can trust. I expect him to reach out to you within the week. He will report directly to you and his fees covered by my family. I will arrange for him to offload his other clients.”
Jay looked a little anxious at that, “Oh I don't know if I want to ruin his current business..” he hesitated.
“Nonsense,” Constance insisted, “I have a sense for these things and if I'm right he's going to need every minute he can find to keep up with you as time goes on. You seem to attract wealth from what Walter has told me.
Jay looked over at Walter just in time to see him wince slightly. Apparently that was told in confidence. Constance waved at Walter as if to indicate it was not a big deal. “It's not like the man himself hasn't noticed it by now I'm sure.” she said while motioning towards Jay with one delicate arm.
“Again, thank you Jay.” Constance said making it sound like the dismissal it was. Jay got up and shook her hand before he was sent in to the adjoining room to wait yet again. After a short time Jay was joined by Walter.
Jay looked up from his chair and smiled. Walter looked tired.
“Jay, what you did with the ring, do you have any idea what a ring like that represents?” he asked him without sitting down, his face strained with stress.
Jay shrugged, “Not really.”
“Think of it like a political key. If you have it you can do things other people can't. Politically I mean. It opens figurative doors for the bearer of the ring not to mention the bearer's family. You could have done a lot with it. You could have easily held it over the Stringe family's head for a number of different concessions.”
Walter sighed and took a seat across the room from Jay. “Or you could have sold it to one of their adversaries for more than just coin. Or used it in any of a dozen different other ways. That ring was valuable to you even if you didn't know it. No one on Eden in their right mind would just deliver it to its owner without conditions attached. Even the owner would expect there to be a price for its return.”
Walter kindly pointed towards Jay with one finger, “So when you had a random stranger hand deliver it to the Head of the family and with no conditions attached – well, to the politically minded what you did was terrifying. There were all sorts of nefarious things you could have been trying to do.”
“All except for just giving it to her. Something no one would have thought to do normally.” Jay said half to himself as he began to understand Walter's point of view.
Jay had been trying to do something nice but had accidentally gotten involved in politics. Jay realized that was why he had been brought in under guard. They hadn't just been an honor guard, they were there in case Jay's intentions were bad.
Walter wiped one hand over his face, “Jay, good work. Again. I just wish you had come to me first. You need to remember that you represent The Guild now that you are in basic training. Politically speaking Constance could have read the note you sent as an indication that The Guild was the true finder of the ring and returned it with the expectation of concessions in exchange.”
Walter sighed, leaning back slightly.
“You made a lot of work for me today but now its all cleaned up. I want to tell you to come to me next time but who knows what it will be next time with you.”
Walter clapped his hands on his knees and stood up. “So instead I'll just tell you this. Keep out of politics, you'd get yourself killed within a day or two, you've no mind for it. Lastly, just keep doing what you're doing, be a good guy. You're good at that.” Walter finished.
Jay sighed, “Eden is weird sometimes.”
Walter nodded, “Indeed.”
Jay and Walter shook hands and Jay was escorted back to the dining hall area but this time by just a trainee, not by two guards.