I closed the door behind me as I entered the small side room from the main hall. Shelves, bookcases, and weapon stands lined every wall of this room that spanned no more than three times my own height in either direction. Books, fake cheese, scrolls, weapons, magic artifacts, loose paperwork, little turtle statues, more fake cheese, and other oddities too varied to describe found purchase wherever there was space to hold them. To be fair, it was organized, but also, no empty spaces were to be found to add to the collection. In the middle stood Serideth, who faced away from me and attended a pedestal with a strange orb on top. I pondered the orb for a moment, considering what purpose it may serve, surmising with a fair degree of confidence that it would assess my Blessing or magical aptitude. Unbidden, I stepped forward opposite her, as nothing else in this room seemed to be noteworthy for my application process.

Her face a few shades less red than before, she apparently found some measure of resolve as she spoke clearly. “This device will tell us your Blessing and give a general assessment of your capabilities. Jobs are tiered from least to greatest, those being Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond, and likewise, so are the ranks of Adventurers. Normally, you cannot take jobs higher than your rating unless the customer specifically requests it or with the mentorship of someone of appropriate rating.” She gestured one hand to the orb. “Place your hands upon it and try to relax and clear your mind.”

I followed her instructions. The orb, a dull black color normally, seemingly sprung to life as light, much like a galaxy of stars shining in the void of space, spewed forth bright enough to see, but otherwise not greatly changing the level of light in the room. The galaxy within took form into a rough effigy of me, and the orb fluctuated between being cool and warm to the touch. I gazed inwards, not just into the orb, but into myself, transfixed by the rushing sensation of calm wonder and determination as inspired by the orb’s apparent magic. The light inside all but faded before exploding in a violent display of colors the likes of which I have not seen before, and then it faded entirely.

A small clank was heard from within the pedestal. Serideth reached into an alcove on her side of it and withdrew a metal gorget, itself intricately engraved with the crest of the Guild and covered in writing. Despite never giving my name, such was found written there, along with the Blessing of [Dragoon]. I admit I was nervous about that part, that it would instead say [Lesser Elder Dragon Emperor], my true and current Blessing at that time. Blessings rarely evolve to higher tiers for most people, mostly because only the ambitious push their limits, but I knew mine certainly would over time. Perhaps [Dragoon] was the base level of my Blessing that I had as an infant.

Serideth looked puzzled. “This is… unusual. I have never seen nor heard of [Dragoon] before. I don’t know that I even know what that means for the word itself, much less what your Blessing does.” She looked up at me questioningly, her face no longer showing the red tints of embarrassment.

“Does this mean I pass, and if so, what is my ranking?” I inquired.

She pointed to a silver square on the gorget as she handed it to me. “Silver, as indicated by this square colored as such here. Periodically, you can be reassessed, and should you advance, this square will change to the appropriate color and pattern to reflect your rank. You are lucky, most people who come here are Copper rank. Perhaps you are already well trained, or perhaps your Blessing is that strong,” she mused as she looked at me inquisitively.

I took the gorget as she handed it to me and donned it appropriately around my neck. “Perhaps I am just lucky. Is that all, or is there a fee? Can I take on jobs now?”

She jumped a little and stood straighter with a slight squeak from her mouth. “Of course, the payment, how stupid of me to forget. The service fee to register is two silvers. You can either pay now or your wages can be garnished until it is paid off. Which do you prefer?”

I reached into my secreted coin purse and withdrew two silvers. Eight more remained, along with a few coppers and one gold, the remnants of Mother’s earnings. I promptly handed over the coins as requested. “Here you go. Do I get a receipt or sign some document saying I paid?”

Serideth snatched the coins, then deposited them into some sort of strongbox with a slot just big enough for the coins. She then grabbed one of the largest books I have ever seen and plopped it down onto a small table with no lack of difficulty. She opened it to a page by virtue of a bookmark. Within appeared to be a ledger of names.

“All applicants sign here, and then I will sign and date here and mark that you have paid in full. This is an official record of your membership and status within the Guild.” She scrawled away to fill out her part, all I had to do was sign twice, once for membership and again for payment. Both of us equally satisfied that all was in order, she returned the book back to where she had found it with a similar nature of struggling as associated with its retrieval.

“That is all that I have for you. Chooka will have more paperwork for you. You can now go look at job postings. If you find a job you want, they are first come, first served, so grab the posting and bring it to myself or Chooka so that it can be claimed. You can also get food at the bar in the main hall.” With that, she turned to bid me to the door.

With an exaggerated bow, I teased her a little, “Thank you, Serideth, for helping me with all of this. I will ever remember your name and the kindness you have shown.” A hint of embarrassment once again flocked to greet her fair face, and she hurried for the door and left, standing just outside the room. I followed suit and she closed the door behind me before she returned to her post next to Chooka.

“You two sure took your sweet time getting to know each other in there. Was she everything your heart desired, or do you perhaps find yourself wanting something a little… more?” Chooka casually pointed to herself to punctuate what she could possibly be hinting at.

I glanced at the windows to the outside and saw that the last vestiges of sunlight were withering away as they struggled to add any additional illumination to the room. I felt as though I had only been in the room for all of ten minutes, but the orb must have warped my perception of time, for clearly at least two hours had passed since I had first walked into the guildhall. Such a passing of time had done much to increase the active patronage of the hall, as more tables were now full of rather rowdy Adventures of every sort.

Remembering the game with Chooka, I decided to up the ante, “She is a good girl and did her best to satisfy me, but she promised you still had a little something for me. I will be over after I have found a job on the board. Wait for me, will you, darling?” I gave her a wink as I walked off to the bulletin board.

From the entrance, the bar was on the left, the bulletin board to the right, and the customer service counter on the far side of the room. Tables were arranged with a surprising level of organization to allow ample passage between each location, with an especially broad path directly from the bulletin board to the service counter. Perhaps mad dashes to claim a job were common enough to warrant safe thoroughfare.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Jobs were printed onto paper, and the paper attached to wooden boards. The boards hung from a grid of hooks on the bulletin board. This had the effect of ensuring no job listing would cover another, that there was only one of each, that they could be detached safely, and that they could be sorted to their ranking. I looked over the jobs of all categories, all of which involved slaying monsters for one reason or another. Kill slimes infesting some farmer’s pond, slay a dragon living in an old mineshaft, desecrate lesser amphiptere plaguing an apiary, demolish a pack of cheese-stealing goblins, another job for cheese-stealing goblins at some different farm, a job to bring the head of a miniature minotaur, and so forth. Some were too easy, while others clearly remained outside the scope of my abilities, so I focused on what Silver jobs I felt I could accomplish on my own. Satisfied, I plucked the posting that I wanted.

I returned to Chooka, dodging an Adventurer deep in his cups who stumbled into my way. For his part, he quickly discovered how cool and refreshing the wooden floor felt on his face as one foot interrupted the perambulation of the other. Surprisingly, no one heckled me as the new guy, and I wondered if perhaps I was cursed to dissuade people from liking me or if they were too caught up in laughing at the fool.

“So love, did you find something you desire?” Chooka reached out to take my posting. She glanced over it, then eyed me over, seemingly more with a critical assessment of my gear than her typical appetite for my features. “Giant Frogs, eh? Eight of them no less. I think you could handle that if you are careful. They are not the brightest of creatures.” She set about the purpose of logging my acceptance of the job. “I have paperwork here for you to review and sign. Please take care of that for me while I do my part here, would you, love?”

“It would be my pleasure,” I replied with an exaggerated bow. I looked through the paperwork diligently. Information and directions for bathhouses and toilets, guides for acquiring services to keep my equipment in good order, instructions for laundry services, legal privileges and responsibilities, and housing options. I filled out what forms I needed to and handed them back to a patiently waiting Chooka who had finished before me. As I completed my own stack of papers, she took my paperwork and processed it as well.

“Hmm, lodging provided by the Guild with room and board subtracted from your fees. A smart move for those just starting out, as the prices are reasonable.” She squinted slightly as she studied closer, seemingly rereading several times. “If I have this right, you only want to be paid one coin in the highest denomination available for the job, the rest to be put into an account. Is this right?” she asked as she eyed me quizzically. “This is an unusual request, but not outside of our capabilities.”

“It is as you say,” I confirmed. “I am confident I can live within my means, and this will help me secure funds for emergencies.” In truth, I had more practical and mechanical reasons associated with my Blessing in mind, but I spared her the details.

She gave me one last perplexed look before she continued. “As you wish. I will set everything up for you. Feel free to order food while you wait. Our [Line Cook] makes a mean chimichanga if you’re accustomed to the results of goblin cooking.”

I took her up on the offer, but only after I had relieved myself at the privy as pointed out in the paperwork. The bar had standard tavern fare. Cold cuts, cheese platters, hot dishes, soups, several kinds of bread, something resembling burritos only in that whatever food it contained was wrapped in more food, more cheese, some sort of pancakes, and ample ale and wine offerings. Seriously, what is it with this city and cheese?

I found a table to eat by myself in the corner where other individuals brooded in solitude. I had selected soup with bread and weak ale with a side of whatever the pancake equivalents were. They were far taller than the ones Mother made, about as deep as a finger is long, rather than as one is thick. All said, it was quite delicious despite them being entirely too fluffy. Mother was but a mediocre cook, her dishes sustaining but unimaginative in flavor or variety. I vaguely recall having had better meals in my past lives, but it had been so long that this may as well have been a banquet of the highest caliber. Satisfied, I took my tray to the clipper, as no waitresses facilitated such services at this establishment.

Satisfied, I returned to Chooka, who for her part seemed eager for my return. “Is your appetite sated, or do you perhaps hunger for something else?” she inquired with the same air of flirtatious intent.

“I am full of food, but one never knows what other needs this city may provide by night’s end.” I gave her a beaming smile, which was rather honest of my feelings, truth be told.

She handed me a piece of paper and a key, “Instructions to and the key for your room. I suggest you get over to the bathhouse before they close, as you could stand to freshen up first.”

“Oh, that is absolutely my next stop,” I said while sniffing myself with exaggerated effort, ”I smell of the road. Thank you for all your hard work. I hope to see you again soon.” I waved goodbye and left promptly to do as I had said.

The bathhouse was all well and good, not spectacular compared to what nobility may experience, but it was clean and well maintained. Few words can truly capture how relaxing it feels to wash off the grime from a tenday of travel and sleeping outside on the ground. I indulged my desire to soak for a while as no other people were here at this hour, at least for the male side of the bathhouse. A woman had tended to my clothes, apparently cleaning them during that time by virtue of her Blessing. I do not know if her Blessing was something like [Laundress], or if she had been creative in finding other ways to use her Blessing to the task of cleaning, but the results were more than satisfactory.

Clean, dressed, and generally well-groomed once more, I made one last stop at a privy before making my way to my room for the night. Chooka had even graced me with a small, hand-drawn map of how to get to my accommodations, complete with a heart for my final destination. The dormitories for Adventurers who bothered with such a service were but a short walk from the guildhalls, no more than five minutes away for the farthest of such. I found the building I was looking for without much difficulty. My room was on the third floor of four, the last room to the left down the hall on the northeast side.

As I approached the door and applied the provided key to its intended purpose, I heard shuffling from inside the room, which sounded exactly like someone walking to the door. With my free hand on my dagger, I opened the door. I knew not what to expect, but I wanted to be ready for a fight.

“Hello there, handsome. I am so clumsy, I must have given you the wrong key,” said a tall woman with red and blue skin, none other than Chooka, unless I have suddenly been stricken with prosopagnosia.

I had not expected this. Sure, she flirted shamelessly, but this was something else entirely. Not one to back down from such a game or to look a gift horse in the mouth, I gave my best counter to see if she would finally fold.

“Well, it is rather late, and there is not much to be done about it now. Dinner was rather filling, but perhaps you could show me what other appetites one could satisfy this night.” It was my smug smile versus her suggestive grin, a battle of wills for who would back out first.

I expected some sort of coy retort. I did not expect her to lunge forward, grab me by the belt buckle, and to pull me into the room before closing the door behind me. I will spare the full details of what happened that night, but let’s just say that she was the first of many lovers in this lifetime. She was as spirited as she was skilled, and she spared no effort in showing her desire for me. I stayed the night, and by morning, I found myself as the little spoon with her in a bed bereft not of occupants, but certainly of ones clothed in any garments. Truthfully, it was one of the best nights of my youth, indeed my life, an experience that she and I would come to repeat with enthusiasm on many occasions.