Vittorio and Gloria entered Imones town hall, a large open space with walls and floor of pale stone and wooden ceiling. Some simple cloth drapes broke the monotony, but overall it was quite plain. Near the doors a young woman with the olive skin and dark brown hair common to the League sat, dressed in a deep blue dress slashed with yellow - a stark contrast to the browns and greys of everyone else. Even Vittorios Mother didn't own clothes of such vibrant colours, and she only wore hers for special occasions! To Vittorios mind the woman was not a local, and must be very rich. As they approached she looked up from a large book and gave them a friendly smile.

“Here to see the Guide? Do you have appointments?”

“Yes!” Gloria burst out. “I’m Gloria Innkeeper and this is Vittorio Merchant.”

“Very good, you’re expected. Take a seat on the bench over there and wait your turn please.” There were two people already sitting on the bench, a girl their age and a somewhat older man.

“Are you a [Class Guide]?” Gloria asked. The woman gave a small smile.

“Yes and no. I have the class but I’m still in training. I’m just here as an assistant and student.”

“But you know the Guide we’ll be seeing, right? Is he” and here Glorias voice dropped to a whisper “is he good? I’m just asking ‘cause, you know, this is nowhere. We don’t exactly have the best of anything around here.”

The woman continued to smile. “Not to worry, Master Kahe is quite accomplished with decades of experience. The Society of Guidance doesn’t let just anyone perform commencement guidance. And between you and me”, she said, her voice also dropping lower “he’s told me he chooses to go on these types of assignments. Says ‘the finest gems are found in the harshest rock, not cobblestone’. He’s a bit of a romantic about changing people's lives.” Raising her voice to a normal volume she continued “So don’t you worry, you’re in good hands.”

That chat both comforted Gloria and boosted her enthusiasm, so she hurried over to the bench with Vittorio dragged behind her. The man in front of them in the queue gave them a nod. “Getting your classes? Exciting stuff! I shouldn’t delay you too much, I just need a bit of advice.”

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They chatted for a little bit. The man's name was Bonizio. He was a [Woodcarver] living right here in Imone. Gloria tried to get Bonizio to tell her about what was going to happen in her meeting but he couldn’t tell her much: Some talking, then the [Class Guide] would give her access to the Interface and she’d be presented with a few classes to choose from. He said he’d been so nervous and stressed it was mostly just a blur.

While they talked a woman left the meeting room with a thoughtful look on her face and the girl at the head of the queue was soon called in. The three of them continued to chat - or two of them did, with Vittorio mostly listening - while waiting.

Something he could talk about was Talents. Every level after 1 you gained a Talent point. Most levels it was a Minor Talent point which didn’t do too much but were helpful, but every 5th level you got a Standard Talent point which could do a bit more, and every 10th level a Major Talent point. He’d just reached level 20 and couldn’t decide between two Major Class Talents.

That’s what he was here to talk to the [Class Guide] about. He was thinking of two: One would make him better at decorating furniture, the other would let him start making his own things from scratch. His passion was for creating new things, but there was little call for it so he was worried it wouldn’t see much use and effectively slow down his progress. He admitted he was already levelling quite slowly - there's not as much work for him as he'd have liked.

Eventually the girl came back looking quite excited, her eyes bright. The call for “Next!” came after a brief pause. Bonizio gave them a smile and left.

And then there were two, both too nervous and thoughtful to really talk. Gloria muttered to herself a bit, seemingly about what she should mention to get the right class. Vittorio only barely registered that however, his stomach turning to lead as he kept asking himself the same questions over and over: Obey his parents or go his own way? Were they wrong to do as they did, or were they right and it was actually Celeste who was hurting Gloria by not disciplining her? What did he really want?

Bonizio returned after about 10 minutes. He looked relaxed. Confident. Pleased. He’d clearly come to a decision and was happy with it. He gave the two of them a big smile and wished them luck before leaving.

“Next!” Gloria shot up from her seat, took two hurried steps towards the door, and stopped. She went back to Vittorio and put her hands either side of his face.

“Don’t do what they told you. Please Vittorio, don’t.” Then she turned and hurried through the door, practically slamming it behind her.

And then there was one. Left on his own Vittorio basically shut down: He stared straight ahead, unseeing, while his stomach roiled and his skin sweated. He just… didn’t know what to do. He had no answers, but he needed them soon. For the better part of an hour he stayed that way, barely moving, feeling like he was close to vomiting. Other people sat down on the bench but he took no notice.

He was shaken from his staring by the door being thrown open.

“Vee!” Gloria practically skipped over to him, her face flushed with joy and excitement. She threw her arms around him. “Oh, that was so much better than I thought it would be! And I got a really cool class, [Fervent Warrior]! And the guide was so nice and good! And I’m sure he can help you, just talk to him!”

“Next!”, came the voice from the meeting room.

“Go, go!” Gloria said, pulling Vittorio up off the bench and gently pushing him towards the door. “It’ll be great! Don’t do what they told you. Also, he’s a dwarf.” She closed the door behind him.