Taken by surprise, Severin quickly whirled around - until the voice suddenly called out to him. He was too lost in thought and wonder to notice that he had arrived at the head of the queue.

“What can I do for you?” The man behind the counter repeated.

“Ah, yes! I’m looking for a map. Specifically, one of The Golden Mountains. I figured that’s something the Society should be able to provide.”

“Naturally. If you head to the third floor and keep to the left, you will find a variety of readymade maps for some of the more popular travel destinations, for both adventurers and regular folk. The Golden Mountains undoubtedly fit that description to a tee. But in case I am mistaken or if you're looking for something even more detailed, or something else entirely than we have to offer, our in-house [Cartographers] located on the same floor will be more than happy to help.”

The elf paused for a moment, giving Severin the chance to interject; when the [Shopkeeper] didn’t, the man asked, “If there is anything else?”

Realizing he had missed his cue, Severin thanked the man and hastily formulated his next question.

“It’s my first time in Hanvia and I’m still unfamiliar with the city. A bit of difficulty finding my way around. So, I wondered where I could ask for directions and maybe get some general information on some establishments.”

While it wasn't too high on his list of priorities, Severin hadn't forgotten that he wanted to visit an [Artificer] or [Artisan] or whatever profession that made all these flying artifacts. And since he hadn't found what he was looking for along the way, Severin was still quite interested in finding a restaurant that specialized in buff food; since he had already located some of his future potential competition in regard to alchemical products, why not check out what his fellow [Chefs] had to offer as well?

“Again, I would suggest you visit our third floor. Our collection of city maps is quite extensive and some of the premium versions also include a full register of all local stores currently registered with The Adventurer’s Society. As well as all the major attractions Hanvia has to offer, of course.

If you prefer a more personal touch, I can only recommend checking out our Information Guides on the second floor.

A complete register? That was even better than what Severin had hoped for.

It was one thing to be able to look something up you already knew existed. To be able to look for things one wasn’t even aware of was something else entirely; especially when in a world full of magic.

“Amazing! Thanks.”

Barely able to contain his excitement so as not to seem even more of a hick than he feared he already did, Severin - this time more present mindedly than before - took the initiative to address the last problem on his list. Without having to be asked first.

“One more thing.”

Despite this branch of the Society towering so plainly above everything else within its vicinity, it was only when Severin stepped inside that he realized it was probably too big and too crowded to actually serve as a reliable meeting place. Just waiting in this oversized lobby and watching the foot traffic pass through the entrances was not how he wanted to spend his time. Not when he could attend to some other business instead, in the meantime.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“It’s like this. I’m supposed to meet up with someone, but…”

“I understand.” Severin didn’t have to explain himself any further as the elf sensed his hesitation and replied while giving him a knowing look. Apparently, this kind of situation wasn’t too uncommon.

“If your acquaintances are already expecting you, they likely have already checked in with us. Let me see whether I can find their names. In that case, we can easily notify them for you. ”

“Timothy. Miriam.” Relieved, Severin answered the implied quest.

The elf acknowledged his answer with a curt nod and looked down at an empty sheet of paper before starting to write a few words.

The next moment, the sheet was completely blank again.

“No Timothies.” the elven clerk shook his head and started writing again without giving a further explanation.

This time, while the words written by the clerk again disappeared, in its stead a short list of names appeared.

“Miriam, right? Class?”

“[Berserker]”

“Hmm,” the man double checked the list multiple times. “I’m afraid no luck either.

Maybe they didn’t want to register and instead left you a note? If you want me to check.”

“Well, sure, I guess. Let’s try. Name’s Severin.”

Without further prompting, the clerk consulted again with the magical piece of paper. And again, he shook his head apologetically.

"Seems like they're late." Severin had known that there was a very real chance the two of them still hadn't finished their business and therefore didn’t yet bother to head towards the agreed meeting place, but the current situation had become awkward enough for him that he felt like he had to explain himself and his circumstances.

"No problem. In that case, I can offer to officially register your arrival so that others can look for you - just as we just tried to look for your acquaintances.

While on our premises, we can then notify you directly if someone asks for you.”

With no better idea himself, the choice was easy.

“Please do.”

“Very well, but… while the service itself, of course, is free, I would still have to ask you for a temporary one-gold-deposit in exchange for our notification device.”

Without much ado, Severin - much to the clerk’s apparent, yet silent surprise–materialized a gold coin and handed it over.

The elf let the gold coin disappear somewhere beneath the counter. He then confirmed “that was Severin, right?”, before writing down the name and some other information that couldn’t be read from the other side of the counter. After he was done with that, he turned around towards one of many drawers behind him and grabbed a small, round, stone-like object and handed it over to his customer.

“Please keep it close and refrain from storing it inside your inventory. Otherwise, it won’t be able to notify you. When it does, please head over to our group assembly room on,” the clerked stopped for a moment and quickly checked his paper,” the one on the second floor. The one right opposite the Information Guides.

Anything else?”

“No, that will be all. Thank you for your assistance.”

“My pleasure. And please remember to return the device on your departure and to collect your deposit.”

With that, Severin headed towards one of the human-sized staircases and used his [Identify] ability on the item in his hands.

[Vibrating Stone (Part B).

Vibrates when its counterpart is infused with magic.

Commonly used as a primitive communication device.]