Leek having undertaken the toad elimination quest traveled to the city gate, consolidating with the many others who had a need to be there.
Many caravans of people and individual carts pulled into, and out of, Faerilm with a smooth sense of efficiency. Some are pulled by a horse, with others being drawn with more unconventional creatures.
-Leek: Through the blanketing cover of passersby one mount, under use by a player caught Leek's eye. "An elemental warpig, that's pretty cool." He saw a single person sitting crisscross atop a large warthog.
The mount was highly contrasting to the blandness of every other person's. It needed to be cleared for entrance, as the element it exhumed was frost.
Any who happened to get near would have their feet set to a slow crawl, and even occasionally completely attached to the ground.
Ice was forming around its exposed tusks, and seemed to even form a crown above its head.
A guard covered head to toe in glistening armor moved from his post, shouting, "MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY FOR THE TAMER'S GUILD!" as he went.
Doing so ensures the safe passage of the man and his familiar, preventing anyone from becoming victim of a freak accident.
People split between the sides of the road, leaving most of it for the display of power, whispered in awe at the spectacle.
"Dude, I almost missed this. I got stuck in the Crept Mine Dungeon because my tank decided to use light armor!"
"I'm telling you, the Giant Frosthog is a crazy hard mount to get. I died six times trying to calm a regular one!"
"They let that guild get away with this, but if they even got a whiff of us trying to display our finds it'd be a problem!.."
"Am I missing something or... I thought we couldn't bring tamed beasts through the main doors?"
The words of people chatting to one another were picked up by Leek on accident, but they did give a better understanding of what it was that was going on.
People were not too keen on the idea of taming. Not in a negative opinion, rather they did not see it as desirable when starting the game.
Controlling the low-level monsters would not be valuable, instead considered as only roleplay. To supplement this the guild would host a showcase of their recent Journeyman's achievement.
Giving a clear road of progression for any skilled individuals who would join the guild drew in more inexperienced players. All looking to get their hands on the beast shown to them during these showcases.
Another main point was the ignorance when it came to the upkeep of tamed companions, they were not summons, and thus could not simply return to a state of suspended animation when not in use.
With time they would become hungry, angry, unfulfilled, and potentially die if neglected.
Backing of the Tamer's Guild would take the shouldering of initial debt, and effort, to properly take care of these creatures.
-Leek: He slowly waddled sideways to the main gate. "Once again. That's cool and all, but isn't something I'd try till late-game..." He said this to himself, but as if responding directly to the broad mentality held for the current exhibit.
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When he did finally reach the gate there was still the requirement to wait for the final tamed beast to enter the city.
Sharp Land Serpent, Vengeful Ape-Man, Ethereal WarHorse, WhiteYang Bear... Feasts for the eyes, but it drew long as Leek wanted to leave more than he wished to watch.
Eventually, the last tamer's passed Leek by, and the others who crammed to watch in anticipation.
The stationed guards returned to their post just outside the walls, and anyone to enter/exit as they pleased.
-Leek: The moment the gate was open again for any to use he briskly walked out. "Finally. That felt like an unskippable cutscene." He could now directly head to the fields where the toads tempted him.
""
-???"No portion of my expertise could hope to explain why he'd become audacious enough to seek admission to a guild." The stout man spouted this off, as he reclined further into his chair. "To refuse an offer of Student Journeyman status... What could he hope to gain outside of its sphere of influence, for it to be of no mind to him?"
-???: "No clue, his refusal of direct proposal throws out monetary gain... Maybe he's stupid, or not the most wise, either way, there's an eye on him. Nothing he does will go unnoticed." Between his words, the pot-bellied man scoffed down pastries he had on a silver platter placed in his lap.
-???: Responding to the second man's statement, he continued. "That of it does not placate my uneasy, trust for his kind will not be earned through thoughtless reconnaissance." A twinge of emotion broke through his controlled demeanor... "While we gather information I anticipate you have employed counterintelligence measures."
A piece of parchment was at the head of the desk. The first man to speak, who still sat reclined, pushed it back to the other, letting him know the information on it had been received appropriately.
-???: "Of course, I'm not dimwitted, you look down on me too much. Anyways, with help we can blackball the guilds, but players would be the problem." As he finished the man loudly sucked at his fingers, not caring for the layers of jewelry he had on, with viscous syrup getting stuck in between them.
At the noise caused by his unsavory antics, the room went silent. The first man brought himself to think. Players were always unpredictable, this was a clear issue, especially if taken into account beforehand.
-???: Sitting back up straight, the man dropped the air of thought he had. "That is something. Keep an eye on the boy and update me accordingly. I'll need time to think this over a bit more, for now... You're dismissed."
-???: "SIR, YES SIR!" With his now saliva-ridden hand, the man gave a firm salute. "Hehehehe, how stern you are."
With nothing left to communicate, the man took his leave, purposefully forsaking the tray and the piled mess he created.
""
Leek now stood where the quest had sent him, the step fields just outside Faerilm. He looked around at the others who were engaged in brawls against wild mobs.
-Leek: "Hmmm, let me prepare first." He put his left hand forward, drawing at his item to be equipped within it.
With a gust of wind, Leek managed to grasp his weapon. A glaive standing above his head, not a spot blemishing its beauty.
Very similar to the traditional ones seen from Chinese descendance, it was a piece of razor-sharp metal attached to a long pole. The backside split into its own point, angled in the same direction as the rest.
Opposing the ones with a large tapered edge this blade remained thin, remaining just about the same size before reaching the tip.
The razor's sheen was a metallic gray, with a minor accent of red at the base where it connects to the pole. The grip was a brown leather, wrapped many times over to ensure its inert feeling.
Cutting into the leather grip, separating it, was a diamond-shaped section of gold. This was not perfectly placed in the pole's middle, rather it was to give a format of hand placement.
Leek, admiring once again the look of this weapon, put his right hand forward this time. With recoil, his hand equipped a gauntlet.
Stopping at the high forearm this was made of a dark material, reinforced everywhere except for its joints with another gray metal. The difference was that the gauntlet had more blunt, and multiple times reinforced, alloy.
-Leek: "Nice! Too bad they didn't let me equip inside the city. I'd look crazy good." He snickered at his words, knowing they were a bit far-fetched.
He then went about placing a few potions, and throwables, of his in a hot bar as he did the gauntlet and his glaive. Dictating a specific command to summon them into his hands when needed.
Just as he went about concluding this a tremor shook the land beneath his feet.
-Leek: Preparing to attack he waited diligently for anything sudden to appear in his sight. "So that's where they come from."
Shooting from the ground rose a green serpent, its underside spotted with yellow. It was not the large toad Leek hoped for, but he fought it nonetheless.