“What do you think?” Avery asked as they came to a stop by a bench near a long street lined on both sides with carts. Each of the carts had a symbol somewhere on them, but most were all over flags hanging above them.

“About what? The guild Gibbus mentioned?” Elijah asked, squinting at the buildings as they passed.

“Yeah. It could let us get some reference for how strong the other people here really are,” Avery said, taking a seat. “And possibly some money and resources.”

“Weren’t you the one talking about not taking risks?” Elijah smirked. “But I’m more than willing. Their methods seem a little… interesting. Recruiting a bunch of people for no obvious reason? Sounds like they’re looking for cannon fodder, doesn’t it?”

“It’s possible,” Avery replied, coming “I suppose there’s only one way to know for sure. I think this might be them.”

They came to a stop before a blue flag embroidered with a golden wing, open in flight.

“Creative aren’t they?” Elijah chuckled.

The flag flew from a wooden pole attached to a cart. A slender man in simple chain mail and a yellow tabard stood behind the stand, a quill in hand. He was locked in a voracious conversation with a very confused looking man in leathers. The Goldwing member’s shrewd voice pierced the air as Avery and Elijah came closer.

“Now if you will just quickly sign this right here, we can have you suited up and ready to earn glory and riches within the dungeon in hours.” The recruiter said, tapping his quill on a piece of paper lying atop the cart.

“Uh... yeah okay, that sounds good I guess,” the leathered man muttered before taking the quill and signing his name at the bottom. He scratched at a scraggly beard that had taken root below his chin. “There are pretty women in the guild, right?”

The recruiter snatched the quill out of the man’s hands with practiced precision. “At least one. Welcome to the guild! We’re more than thrilled to have you join our prestigious ranks as a temporary member™.”

“You kind of said that last part weird,” the man muttered. “What’s that mean?”

“You read through the contract, didn’t you? Ah, don’t worry about it. Just head on over a little ways east of town. There are signs, so you can’t get lost. The dungeon is called Moss Burrow. The Goldwing guild is already there, training your fellows and making us all rich in the process!”

“I - uh, sounds good. I’ll head on over now, I guess. Thanks for taking me on,” the man said, slinking away into the crowd.

“You can practically feel the self-confidence oozing off that one,” Elijah said with a snort.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“The motives of that recruiter seemed a little questionable. We shouldn’t sign anything without checking exactly what we’re getting ourselves into,” Avery said in a low tone.

“What’s the worry? We can just lie.”

“What if there’s some sort of magical binding or power that will force us to obey the contract?”

The humor drained from Elijah’s eyes. “You’re right. We can’t be having that. I don’t work for anyone but myself now.”

“No,” Avery agreed. “And likewise. Let’s see what they can offer us, but make sure to avoid agreeing to anything.”

The two approached the Goldwing recruiter, whose eyes lit up upon seeing them.

“Ah, the two of you look like adventurers. Would you be happening to be searching for a guild?”

“We’re interested in learning about the Goldwings,” Avery replied noncommittally. “We heard about you whilst in Daniel’s Delights. They spoke fairly highly of your guild and said you were recruiting.”

“That’s thrilling to hear,” the recruiter said, extending a hand. “My name is Bob.”

Both assassins stared at the man’s hand. Neither of them took it.

“I don’t like touching people. My apologies,” Avery said.

“And I’m a recovering kleptomaniac. You’ve got a few too many rings for me to get close,” Elijah said. “I’m more than happy to shake if you’re still okay with that, though.”

“Ah, I’m quite alright,” Bob said, yanking his hand back and eyeing Elijah. “Well, regardless, you are looking for a guild to join, yes?”

They both shrugged.

“Maybe you could tell us more about Goldwing?” Avery suggested.

“Or that dungeon thing you were telling the other bloke about,” Elijah added.

“Well, I am more than happy to. Goldwing recently discovered and purchased the rights to a plot of land with a new and magnificient dungeon on it.”

He paused, gauging their reactions. Evidently, they weren’t impressed enough, because he frowned slightly.

“New dungeons have the potential to house many rare items in them. I won’t lie to you and pretend that this is an incredibly high level dungeon - but you should be happy about that, and there are still many riches inside. The two of you are pretty new, right? Your gear looks plain.”

“We haven’t been adventuring for too long,” Avery replied.

“I knew it! That means you’re going to want to start with a pretty low level dungeon like this one. And, as far as low level dungeons go, this is the best you can get! The Goldwing guild will be there to make sure you can get in safely, and that your exit is protected so enemies won’t beset you from all sides. The monsters aren’t too difficult to fight, and we’ll make sure to pair you up with a party so you don’t have to go in alone.”

“That seems like a whole lot of benefits,” Elijah said. “What do we have to give you in exchange?”

“A cut of your profits to start,” Bob said with an easygoing grin. “Just ten percent. Pretty low. We’ll also be asking you to map out the areas you pass through, so our future recruits can travel through the dungeon easier.”

“That’s it?” Avery asked.

“Well, it’s quite beneficial for us as well. Our high ranking members don’t have the time to clear something like this. It would be wasted on them too. The experience you gain for killing monsters drops when you’re higher level than them. By recruiting new members, we get to build some goodwill with you and hopefully make you high level Goldwing members in the future.”