Over the next few days the guild hall was repaired, expanded upon, and restored into a delightful two story building. It used white as the base color with gold colored stripes running along the middle. Right above the double doors hung the guild's name, ‘A-Z Adventurer’s Guild.’
Upon walking inside, one is greeted by several wood tables and benches that could seat six people per table easily. Off to the left on the wall was a large bulletin board for quest postings. Next to the bulletin board were some stairs that lead to the second floor. Straight ahead from the entrance was the reception desk with a room behind it. A few feet to the left of the desk (while looking from the entrance) was a bar, complete with stools, a few pre-stocked barrels, and a kitchen in the back. There was a small balcony on the second floor with another double door in the middle, behind which was the guild master’s room. The room had a red circular rug on the floor with a glass table set up in the middle with two couches on either side, perpendicular to the entrance walls. The guild master’s desk was parallel to the entrance wall with a window behind it,which gave a clear view of the Bay of Ythos. To the right of the guild master’s office was a pair of doors, both of which were bedrooms for Zycor and Adria. Hanging in the middle of the guilds main hall was a chandelier with five magic items that all had fire magic, meant for illuminating the room at night, engraved into them.
While Adria took care of the last bit of formal paperwork needed to finalize everything, Zycor decided to look around. As he looked around he could only think about how big the building was. The head worker saw Zycor looking around and said, “Hey kid, if you want to check out your room, it’s on the second floor at the end.”
Zycor nodded and made his way upstairs to investigate. When he opened the door he was met with a room far larger than what he used to have. There was a window in the middle of the room's back wall with its own pair of curtains, a bed on the left side of the room perpendicular to the back wall. There was a bookshelf stocked with a couple books against the wall at the end of the bed and a writing desk to the right of the room with an envelope on it. As Zycor was about to have the note in his hands Adria called for him, so whatever it was would have to wait. He left his room and made his way back downstairs to Adria. When he got there she turned him around at the entrance to face the inside of the guild hall and put an arm around his shoulder and one around his waist. She warmly said, “Welcome home, Zycor.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
She couldn’t see any expression on his face, but his hug became tighter afterwards. Being unable to contain herself, she grabbed Zycor with all four of her arms and proceeded to lock him in a vice grip hug, repeatedly calling him adorable. Once that was out of her system and she realized he had passed out, she brought him to his bed. When he woke up later, Adria apologized profusely. After ten or so minutes, Adria finally left saying she was going to start on dinner. When she had shut the door behind her, Zycor went over to the desk and opened the first drawer and pulled out the envelope. When he opened it, removed the note, and opened the note, a small, thin plate fell out. Zycor didn’t know what it was or did, but he knew that Adria had one so he assumed it was important. He looked at the note, but to a six year old it was nothing but scribbles on a page so he figured it wasn’t that important. He took the note and plate and put it back in the drawer and closed it.
Later that evening, Adria called Zycor down for dinner. This would be the first time he would get to eat something Adria made not outside, and he would be lying if he said he was not looking forward to it. For dinner, she had prepared some smoked ham and steamed some corn. While they were eating Adria asked Zycor, “So, what are you planning to do? We finally have a permanent place to stay so we don’t have to worry about traveling constantly. Is there anything in particular you have in mind?”
Zycor’s hand, which had been devouring Adria’s food like it was going out of style, paused and, after a delay, he set his fork down. After a minute of silence Zycor looked at Adria, his eyes full of rage fueled conviction, and declared in a determined voice, “I want to get stronger, mama Adria.”
Adria asked, “Are you sure that is what you want to do? Starting young is certainly a good thing, it gives you more time to practice and gain experience. But do you really want to give up your childhood, I mean, you are only six.”
Zycor, holding the same intensity, replied, “All of my family and friends are gone. I don’t have a reason to act like a kid anymore.”
Adria, a little sad to hear a six year old child speak like that, let alone her child, could not help but feel sad for him. She simply said, “Ok, then we will talk about that in the morning, but for now let's enjoy tonight!”