Stepping inside, Lily and Mia entered the main hall of the building. Large flags and draperies hung all around the mostly empty tables which lined the walls. Some carried the Guild's insignia, others had the coat of arms of Lundin but there were many Lily did not recognize. The few people sitting paid no attention to the new arrivals, and Mia motioned towards the large desk at the end of the hall. The girls made their way over there, and the man sitting behind the desk adjusted his glasses before greeting them:
"Good morning, welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, how can I help you today?"
"Hello, I am Mia Dawnheart and this is Lily Spears. I believe the Guildmaster is expecting us," Mia replied crisply, and the man started shuffling through his papers.
Eventually he found what he was looking for, and nodded.
"Ah, yes, it says here that you are 'visitors of great importance'," he said, before shrugging. "That's above my pay grade, follow me and I'll take you to the Guildmaster."
He stood up and started walking up to the second floor. The girls followed him and soon found themselves in front of an ornate door with 'Guildmaster Orion Prax' engraved in golden letters. The man entered without hesitation and approached the older man who was sitting behind his own desk inside.
"Sir, Miss Dawnheart and Miss Spears are here to see you," he said, which caused the Guildmaster to quickly get up.
"My deepest apologies my Ladies," he said as he approached Mia and Lily. "The staff was briefed about your arrival and status, but Michael here is a genuine airhead and must have forgotten." He gave the clerk a furious look, but the man remained unperturbed, just adjusting his glasses in response. Orion let out a sigh in resignation, before telling him to go back to his post.
"I swear, the only reason we keep him around is that he is a wizard when it comes to paperwork," the Guildmaster said after the man left. "Please, have a seat," he said, pointing to the sofas across the desk he had been sitting at. The girls complied, and the man sat back into his chair.
"An Avatar, huh?" he said, giving Lily a questioning look, and she nodded in response.
"Well, let me start by saying that it's an honor to be the Master of the Guild chapter which has the pleasure of registering an Avatar. I am sure you've been hearing that a lot, Your Grace, but it still needs to be said. Avatars don't show up just every day, you know, and it is important to treat them with the respect they deserve," he said with a smile, before turning more solemn.
"And it is a way to remind them of their responsibilities. I am a well read man, and I know that Dahlia and the other Deities don't send their champions to our world on a whim." Lily was about to respond, but Orion raised his hand to halt her.
"Please let me finish, Your Grace. I am not asking you to reveal the nature of your quest to me, for I am too lowly of a figure for that. I just want to let you know that if you need any assistance, the Guild here in Lundin will provide it, no questions asked," he said, tapping his fingers against the table. "And to give you a warning: not everyone is going to cooperate in the same way. After the Deluge, many see the Avatars as an ill omen, and as the reason the disasters they are solving happen in the first place. It didn't help that we had no war for centuries, until the last Avatar before you, Jason, stopped the Pax kingdom's attempt at establishing an empire and reviving slavery. Now, I am a reasonable man, and I know that they would have invaded others even if no Avatar appeared, but not everyone thinks so. Especially not most of the Elves."
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"Because they lost the most in the Deluge and the Sundering," Mia chimed in, and Orion nodded.
That wasn't something I really considered, but I suppose it makes sense. Powerful figures and events which define history are often polarizing, and there will always be those who feel like losers. Just look at the recent history of Earth, and we didn't have an excuse of an Apocalypse destroying most historical records, Lily thought, the memory of Earth still causing her pain.
"Thank you for your kind words, and your warning, Guildmaster," Lily replied eventually. "It's certainly something I'll keep in mind."
"You are a stranger to our world, Your Grace, and not everyone on Teras will admit to you that our world is not perfect in its faith to the Gods and their Avatars. I felt it was my duty to give you a warning," the Guildmaster said solemnly.
"I think you'll be fine, however, judging by the excellent company you keep," he said, looking at Mia
"Yeah, Mia has been a huge help," Lily replied, and gave the smaller girl a wide smile.
Mia blushed a little, and Lily was once again amazed at how cute she could be.
The Guildmaster interrupted the awkward silence with a loud clap, and reached to open a drawer in his deck. "Now that you've heard the ramblings of this old man, let's deal with the business you are actually here for," he said, pulling out a small jewelry box. "The High Priestess was here yesterday, and she helped create your identification."
He opened the box slowly, as if he was afraid to damage its contents, and pulled out a small rectangular object. He handed it to Lily, and she saw that it was a metal plate with 'Lily Spears, Avatar of Dahlia' engraved in large, golden letters. There were two crystals in the top corners, alongside the Guild's insignia and a number engraved in silver at the bottom.
"Go ahead, channel some mana into it," Orion said, and Lily complied. As soon as she did, the letters lit up and the crystals started glowing purple.
"Only you with your Divine nature can activate this enchantment. It allows you to show your identity to any law enforcement or Guild official you wish to," he said.
"It has your Adventurer's number, which we use to track your level and handle quest payouts." He then pulled out another, similar card and gave it to Lily. This one only had her name engraved in silver, alongside her number.
"In case you want to remain anonymous while doing business with the Guild, we also created a regular identification plate for you," the Guildmaster explained and Lily nodded.
"Thank you, this will certainly prove useful," Lily replied as she deposited the two plates into her inventory. She was about to get up to leave, but the Guildmaster interrupted her.
"Speaking of payouts, there is one more thing we need to deal with, before you leave," he said, and once again reached for the drawer. This time, he pulled out a sack which he placed on the table, in front of Lily.
"Your payout, for defeating the bandits and recovering their inventories. The Watch had us evaluate their contents, and once I knew you would be coming here today, I thought that I should give you the money myself, to spare you from a potentially unpleasant trip to their station," he explained, and turned to Mia.
"Apparently, your father gave a speech to Major Jacobs, where he was very insistent that Her Grace gets the reward she deserves for her actions in saving you, and gets it fast. He made some less than complimentary comments about the general level of intelligence in the ranks of the Watch. Apparently, words like 'gnat' and 'cretin' were used," he said, smiling. He was no fan of the Watch himself, Lily thought as she picked up the money pouch.
"That does sound like my father when he is angry. He never suffered fools gladly," Mia replied. "Thank you for helping us avoid any further unpleasantness."
"My Lady, any blow struck against the Watch's bureaucracy is a blow struck for the betterment of all mankind," Orion replied, making Mia giggle.
"I am sure that young ladies like you have much to do, so I will not take any more of your time," he said, standing up. The girls also got up, and the Guildmaster escorted them to the door.