If there was always hubbub in Lowtown, the area around the guild was a hotspot. People constantly moved in and out of the building, or moved materials from the back out to the factories for processing. The nearby streets were similarly occupied with traffic, as well as restaurants and shops catering to the valuable costumers that the guild housed.
Ark took a breath, tapping the paper envelope in his breast pocket for the umpteenth time, just to make sure the letter of introduction was still there. Mino, similarly, looked nervous, obvious from the way a vein in his neck was twitching.
This was it.
They looked at one another, one final time, nodded, and walked confidently up to the doors of the guild.
There were several entrances to the main lobby, and a constant stream of people walked in and out, and yet Ark knew the instant the guard at the doors tagged them. The look was unmistakable. Ark just ignored the stare, and the uniformed guard did not stop them from entering, but they were clearly noticed.
Inside, the main lobby was a wide space with waiting areas for guests and people wanting to do business with the guild on either side of the hall. The tiles were a dark slate, decorated with lines of sand-colored carpet, leading up to the front desk, and to the large stairway beyond.
Once again, the amount of people here was staggering. This was probably the business center of all Lowtown, since guilds were the lifeblood of Vanguard, and the Explorers Guild were the only ones operating here at the lowest level of society.
That, of course, meant there was a queue at the front desk. Ark and Mino stepped up in the line, which got them several looks, but no one tried to stop them here either. The fact that two street rats, clearly in poor quality clothing, could enter a prestigious guild without being questioned was quite impressive. Then again, everyone here was from Lowtown, and kids like Ark and Mino were the norm rather than the exception.
When it was finally their turn, Ark and Mino stepped up to the counter, where a bored-looking secretary, with a thin pencil mustache, greeted them without looking up from the screen in front of him. “Welcome to the Explorers Guild, one moment.”
He finished whatever he was doing and looked up. His reaction to seeing the two of them was a few blinks, then he gave a slight nod of the head. “What can we do for you today, Gentlemen?”
Ark withdrew the paper envelope and placed it on the counter. Mino did the same, as Ark explained, “We have letters of recommendation, and a commission for a riftrun. We would like to be considered for guild membership.”
The secretary raised an eyebrow, eying the physical paper. He then reached out and broke the seal, studying the documents closely. A glow to his eyes told Ark that he was running it through his netlink for authentication.
“These are in order,” the man said, after a moment, alleviating some of Ark’s nervousness. He did not think that the mustache from Edwar’s Emporium would cheat them, not when he had used Hera’s name to get the deal, but you never knew.
The man put the papers down on his desk, and began working the screen in front of him as he spoke. “These will cover a three-month training and evaluation period. We will provide rooms, training gear, and three meals a day—is that acceptable?”
“Y-Yes,” Ark said, immediately. That was perfect.
“Excellent. I’m looking at our records now, and it appears we have just started up a small team for training. You will be put on their training regiment for as long as you can keep up. Should you fail, or the instructor evaluates you as a liability, you will not be allowed to participate in the riftrun, but will receive minor proceeds as per your commission. Is that understood?”
“Yes.” At least they would make a bit of money, even if they failed. There was no way it would be the same amount as those who participated, but it would get them back on their feet so they could try again, Ark hoped.
“Very good, then all is in order. I have called for someone to come and give you a tour of our facilities, as well as to introduce you to your trainer and teammates. Do you need time to put your affairs in order before beginning training?”
“No,” Ark said, “We want to begin as quickly as possible.”
“Understood. I’ll make a note.” The man nodded and made a few, final inputs before looking up with a slight smile. “You can wait here in the lobby at your leisure. Your guide will be down shortly—he has your images. Welcome to the Explorers Guild.”
The second time around, Ark felt a lot more warmth coming from the man’s greeting, and he ducked his head in thanks. “Thank you.”
They stepped out of line, and felt a bit of relief wash over them. They found a couple of seats, and rested their feet as they waited.
“That was quick,” Mino said, wonder in his voice.
“I think they’re used to it,” Ark said, contemplating, “It’s one of the advantages they get from having a presence down here; there’s a lot of people like us who want a chance for a better life. You noticed how the mustache back at Edwar’s said he always kept riftrun commission in stock?”
“Yeah… in case someone discovers anything of value, down here,” Mino said, quietly.
“Exactly. That also means the Explorers Guild is willing to sell off those commissions, taking on new people. They’re looking for talent, and don’t care where they find it.”
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They kept observing their surroundings as they chatted, and soon Ark noticed a man coming straight for them at a brisk pace. He wore the sand-colored uniform of the Explorers, along with a white armband upon his right arm, with the blue and orange, intersecting rings that designated him a riftwalker.
Ark elbowed Mino, and they both stood up at attention, falling back into old habits. The man came to a stop with a jerk, surprise written on his face at their perfect posture.
“Ahh… at ease, gentlemen,” he said, his voice gentle, with the hint of a laugh in it, “I see you’re eager—very good. I’m Pathfinder Matthews, here to guide you through our facility here, and introduce you to your trainer.”
“We… We’re getting a tour from a riftwalker?” Mino said, surprised.
Matthews laughed and shook his head. “Not an active one, not anymore,” he said and rattled his hand in their general direction. From the sound, and the slightly uncanny look of it, Ark could tell it was a prosthetic limb. It was of relatively good quality, but not the kind that could keep up with the demands of a riftwalker. “I’m allowed to retain my rank, but I mostly perform administrative tasks, like guiding rookies. Shall we?”
He waved in the general direction of the stairway, as he began walking. Ark and Mino had to jog to catch up, and even then Matthews walked at a brisk pace. “I’m sorry, I forgot myself. Can I ask your names? You don’t mind if we walk and talk, do you?”
Ark and Mino introduced themselves, and accepted the moving briefing. Matthews smiled over his shoulder and then continued. “Excellent. Ark, Mino, welcome to the Explorers Guild; the foremost and most daring of all the guilds. Yes, they all say that, but with us it’s the truth. We go where no one else wants to go, we dare what most others fear, and we are faithful to our founding mission of discovering a path home.”
He led them up the stairs, a couple of flights, and then into a long hallway with images covering the walls, and statues depicting humans performing defining tasks, or just their general image.
“We begin in the hall of memory, before anywhere else. Here are your forerunners, those who have made discoveries or contributions to the guild that were worthy of commemoration.”
There were a wealth of pictures to look at, and Matthews even slowed down a little for them to take it all in. “How much do you know of our fine guild?” He said, stopping at a particular image of a man and woman standing in the full gear of a riftwalker—the man’s gear painted white, while the woman’s a subtle gray. Behind them, a veritable army of riftwalkers, all in full gear, stood at attention, ready for battle.
“Not much,” Ark admitted. “Just that you’re the biggest guild and that you work closely with Lowtown.”
Matthews smiled. “That’s right, but there’s a lot more to us than that. We were among the first guilds formed after Operation Moonfall, during some of the hardest times.” “These are some of the heroes we count among our predecessors. Do you recognize them?”
Both Ark and Mino knew the face of the man having studied the rise of the riftwalkers on Terra. Nodding Ark said, “That’s Helgir Orvason, or Avalanche. I don’t know the woman, though.”
Matthews nodded. “That’s his wife, Serah Milldew. She preferred to stay out of the spotlight, unlike Avalanche. Their contributions were pivotal to our guild's foundation.”
“So, Avalanche was a founding member of the guild?” Mino said, leaning forward to study the image of the two closer. Avalanche was a rather slender man; tall, but not imposing. His white hair and red eyes were the tell-tale signs of an albino, and his face was scarred by the many battles he had been through.
Serah, on the other hand, was dark in complexion, and with a pair of amber eyes gleaming into the lens that had taken the photo—as if she was still observing, looking straight at them through time. She was shorter, with black hair cut into a bob, and her hands resting on the hilt of two short swords at her hip.
“I believe he would have been,” Matthews said, smiling sadly, “But we were founded after we were cast into the abyss, and Avalanche died in the assault on the Red Moon.”
“Ahh, I see,” Mino nodded, understanding.
Gesturing them further down the hallway, Matthew continued, “No, it was Serah who founded the guild. During the battle, she was wounded and brought back to Vanguard for recovery. When the implosion cast us into the void, she was one of the few high-ranking individual remaining on station.”
They walked past images of the time that Matthews was talking about. Chaotic pictures of wounded in the dockyard of what was now Lowtown, along with images of Serah speaking before gatherings, along with other high ranking individuals, judging from the markings on their uniforms.
“She was the first to recognize the need for privatizing the riftwalker regiments, in the wake of the utter collapse of supply lines and military hegemony. Food, resources, energy; none of it can be produced on Vanguard in any meaningful capacity, and thus the rifts became vital to our survival.” Matthews spoke with an honest reverence that told Ark he was truly devoted to both his duties and the history that informed them.
They came to images of a company of riftwalkers with markedly less gear than had been on the image before operation Moonfall. These men and women looked desperate, but determined as they stood before a rift stabilizer, prepared to enter.
“Serah was trained as a scout, and had even started to map the web of realms before we were cast into it. She therefore formed the Explorers Guild with its primary directive being exploration and mapping; to find the connecting tissue between the realms and, most importantly, find the way back home.”
They stopped at a virtual image of the very same map that Ark had noted on the Explorers official emblem. This one was large enough to feature a miniature version of vanguard in the middle of the map, while white lines connected to a multitude of small nodes, all marked with the call signs of their respective realms. At present, there were over a hundred small nodes on the map, with lines extending outward to depict possible new realms awaiting discovery.
It looked like a spider’s web, with Vanguard caught in the middle like a fly, just waiting to be gobbled up.
Beyond it though, Ark noticed an indistinct shape, dominating the map with its circular form. Now that he was looking at it closer, the virtual image shifted, blurring Vanguard and its many nodes in favor of the background image. Ark’s breath caught, as he recognized what it was: an orb centered in a sea of stars, blue oceans dominating its surface, with the occasional brown and green landscape. The Blue Pearl it had once been called, Terra; the old world from whence the riftwalkers had come, and to where they longed to return. Earth, in the old vernacular, awaited.
Matthews gestured to the map, his voice full of wonder. “This, gentlemen, is our mission: to search the realms for clues to new paths, to explore where no one else dares go—to be the shining light that will lead us home.”
Ark could not help but feel his chest swell with excitement. He knew that part of what Matthews said was propaganda—paint of glory to cover some of the dirt that the guilds did—and yet, he wanted to believe. In that very moment, Ark wanted nothing more than to charge into the nearest rift and damn the consequences.
Smiling, Matthews turned to them, “I hope the two of you will come to share our dream, in due time. Until then, let’s get you set up in your rooms, shall we?”