I walk into the cafe and look around. It's mostly empty, save for a couple chatting about their days at a corner table. I find a seat facing away from the front windows and take off my ski mask. Nice thing about winter is that no one bats an eye when you wear fully concealing clothing. I ended up ditching my hat, changing jackets, wearing a ski mask to cover my face, and slipping out the back door to avoid any possible detection. It seems to have worked, since I wasn't accosted on the way here.
I'm twenty minutes early, which gives me plenty of time to settle in and observe the place. Not that there is much to observe, It's a quiet little cafe I've never visited before. The atmosphere is ocean themed, with boats sailing the seas painted on the walls with ropes and life preservers acting as decorations on the wooden counter. It's a self serve establishment, you go up and buy whatever you want from the counter then sit down. The girl manning it eyed me when I walked in but otherwise doesn't seem to care. I might go over and buy a sandwich or pastry while waiting for Marcy.
I don't get the opportunity though, as the bell on the door chimes indicating someone has entered the establishment. I crane my head back to check who it is, making sure they aren't trouble or anything. Standing near the door scanning for a place to sit is a woman with strawberry red hair and wearing one of those nice business suits with a skirt. Her eyes cross over me as she scans the room. They widen in surprise for a moment before a friendly smile settles on her face as she makes her way over to me.
I did a bit of research on Renders before coming here. A small to medium sized guild that focuses on front line combat, but does dabble in a bit of everything. Not exactly a hard no, but I'd prefer a guild with a little less focus on fighting. Still, the diversity is a plus, lots of doors to get my foot in. Marcy sits down across me from me at the table, placing her briefcase down next to her but not pulling anything out yet.
“My apologies if I kept you waiting. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.” She says all smiles. Lady, we're twenty minutes early, like damn.
“It's fine, I was early. So, I'd like to get right to the point if you don't mind.” I reply with a smile of my own.
“Certainly not a problem. Our guild Renders is a medium sized guild focusing on front line tours of duty. We do offer a wide variety of other avenues such as crafting, enchanting, community service, but they aren't as big as our front line program.” She says while pulling out documents from her case.
She offers one to me and I take it and read it over for a moment. It's listing off all the benefits of the various programs and avenues they offer. Including a list of everything they do offer.
“Hmm, how exactly does front line service work?” I ask, my interest piqued.
“Well, you first join a guild or military. As a part of a guild, you would then volunteer for front line combat. A guild doesn't need to have a presence on the front for members to volunteer, but it can make their lives significantly easier while there. The pay while performing front line service is also very very high, we are talking six figure salary for even basic army personnel. Defenders of course get even higher wages. In the case of a guild that does front line work, we give you extra training to help you survive, haggle to get you better pay for your skills, and sometimes widen the range of areas you can choose to serve in. We also have deals in place allowing our members to pick who they serve with if they want to, including with people from other guilds. Finally, we maintain guild member exclusive facilities ranging from housing, workshops, armories, stores, and even recreational facilities near the front to assist with your needs while deployed.”
Interesting, I knew people could volunteer to go to the front. But I didn't know it was so complex. She also didn't mention what non combat class would do, though I assume those are who run the workshops and whatnot.
“Hmm, good to know. But I don't know if front service is for me. What other programs and opportunities do you offer?” I ask.
“Of course, we have a wide variety of opportunities available. Some of the ones I think might interest you are the community outreach, magic exploration program, veteran support. And of course our healing services program.” She says, carefully trying to gauge my reaction to each one.
“Cool, but why do you think healing services would be good for me? I'm pretty healthy.” I say feigning ignorance. I'm hoping to probe to see how much they know. If Renders also knows I'm a healer I might be able to figure out how they know and plan accordingly.
“Oh, I was under the impression you have a healing class. Do you not?”
“I do, I'm just trying to figure out why you know that information, I certainly haven't told anyone.” I say, giving her a pointed look.
“Oh that, I'm not privy to details but let's just say larger guilds have connections for obtaining information, sometimes very quickly. The things they tell you are secret actually aren't if you know who to talk to. Unfortunately it's less a matter of how protected your personal information is, but how fast it gets spread around.” She replies, catching on that she should at least play along enough to give me a general idea.
“Ugh, great. That might explain that ass from earlier today at least.”
“Oh, you were already approached by another recruiter?”
“Yea, a guy named Mark something from Healers Incorporated. Approached me and a friend while we were out and wouldn't take the hint to leave us alone. Ended up making a huge ass of himself so I rejected his offer.” I say, not bothering to try and filter the annoyance out of my voice or the scowl off my face.
Marcy on the other hand blanks for a second, before looking worried.
“You rejected them? Pardon my lack of professionalism for discussing another guilds recruitment with you. But surely they couldn't have made that poor of an offer?”
“I didn't even hear the offer. Dude walked up to me out of nowhere and made a fool of himself, so I told him off and told him to take a hike.”
“Wow, you… you're not aware of their reputation are you?”
“No?”
“Oh dear. Healers Incorporated has a bit of a….. Reputation. They don't like being told no, and tend to get aggressive. You should expect them to start using underhanded tactics to pressure you now. But, I'm surprised they learned about you this quickly though.”
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“Yea, I guess you could call it that.” I say, trying to gauge her reaction. I need to know if other guilds will react poorly to healers Inc having it out for me.
“Oh no, don't tell me they're trying things already. What did they do?” She asks, sounding even more concerned.
“Well, I have no proof it was actually them. But after rejecting the dude some guys tried to stalk and kidnap me.”
Marcy froze in place, her fingers hovering over another piece of paper she was getting ready to pull out of her briefcase. Well, that's not a good reaction. Though that might be part of their plan. No one might want to get involved with someone who has thugs after them, risk of bringing trouble along with the.. But Healers Inc would still graciously accept me into their ranks and even offer protection.
“You're not joking, are you?”
“Do I look like I'm joking?”
“No, have you gone to the police yet?” She asks while pulling out her cell phone and doing something on it.
“No, the last few times I've talked with police or army it's been five hundred questions about my personal life and magic. I'm not dealing with that again just so they can tell me to avoid parked cars and shady alleyways.” I reply.
Marcy doesn't say anything in return, instead she keeps messing with her phone before putting it up to her ear and calling someone.
“Excuse me for one moment. I need to check something with someone.” She says as she stands up and walks outside. Unfortunately for her, I can still hear her outside because the door doesn't close all the way. Albeit barely, passing cars and ambient noise sometimes drown out what she’s saying.
“Hello, Randy. Sorry to bother you so late but we might have …. hiccup in the process.” She says before pausing for a moment.
“Well, it …… underestimated the competition a little. …… already talked to her.”
“No, she ……. Apparently they didn't take it well. She says someone ………….”
“Says they won’t help. Do we want to get …….?”
“You’re sure? Alright.” With that she turns and comes back inside, but instead of hanging up her phone she holds it out to me.
“My boss would like to talk with you if that's ok.”
“Sure. Hello?” I say while taking the phone, a little skeptical.
“Hello, you must be Lucy. Pleasure to speak with you, I’m Randy Stocks, recruitment manager of Renders and fellow defender. I understand that you’re having some trouble with some pushy recruiters.”
“I guess you could call it that. I take it you're still interested despite the potential problems.”
“I’m even more interested now. Healers are hard to come by, and most of them cower away when confronted with a challenge. It’s refreshing to find one with some spine.”
“Thanks, but flattery will only get you so far. I'm hoping that joining a different guild will make them leave me alone, so I'm exploring my options.”
“Smart move. Though if they are actually the ones trying to kidnap you joining another guild might not fully dissuade them. But a guild could help shield you from the effects of their harassment. And generally repeatedly going after another guild's members is grounds for a fight, which a guild consisting of all healers would try to avoid.”
“Why would they? I'm sure they have plenty of friends in high and low places. And some are capable of fighting.”
“Yes and no. It's a very complex environment, the politics between guilds. But generally when two guilds go at it for a legitimate reason all bets are off. Which would let them directly attack each other's members and property with near impunity.”
“Wait, they’re allowed to just start murdering each other and shit?” I ask, my composure dropping for a split second at the sheer insanity of his statement.
“Not quite but pretty close. You can only damage property owned by the other guild. And you can only target other defenders employed by the guild, not regular people. That's what is meant by members.”
“Even so, that's still extreme. What if a defender doesn't want to participate?”
“Then they leave their respective guild. Yea it's extreme but the process to a guild war is long, complex, and very open. Everyone will know when a fight is starting and have time to get clear. There are rules in place to manage this kind of thing after all. The government learned long ago that trying to stop two groups with superpowers and super egos generally ends poorly.” Randy says. He pauses for a moment before continuing.
“Still, we're getting off topic, the point is that harassing other guild's members is considered acceptable grounds for a guild war. So joining a guild would go a long way to shield you from their more overt attempts at harassment. Renders of course would provide you with as much protection as we can, including physical, should you choose to join us.”
“Well I am here to explore my options. So what else are you willing to offer me?”
“I believe Ms Marcy has the full details on our offer. It would probably be better for you to read over them while we negotiate to prevent any misconceptions. Also due keep in mind this offer is based on what we know about you. If you have anything you would like to add we are open to negotiation.”
Right on queue Marcy hands me a tablet. A quick glance reveals it's showing a contract, specifically an offer letter for membership. I ask for a minute to read over it. A quick glance reveals A LOT of legal jargon I can hardly begin to comprehend. Yea, I'm going to need an expert opinion for most of this. But some of the parts I do understand, especially the ones dictating what I would get paid. One hundred and seventy five thousand a year is a lot of money for… well anyone. That's not accounting for the other stuff they say they are going to give me, like secondary education, equipment, training. To call it a shock is an understatement, I knew defenders got paid well but this is ridiculous. There's gotta be a catch somewhere in here. If it's too good to be true, then it is. Oh god I just realized unless I wait another month my parents would also need to look at and sign this. I do not need my mom seeing this, the bullshit would never end. I'll deal with that later. Right now I need to see if they will let me try to get a second opinion or hardball me. Because a hardball approach would be an instant no.
“You wouldn't mind if I took this and got back to you later would you?”
“Of course not. We wouldn't want you to sign without full understanding of everything. Unfortunately, I have to go now. Ms Marcy will help you with the rest of the process. I'll also have her give you my contact details as well. And a final word of warning, as you can tell from our offer you're quite the catch. As other guilds and groups discover you they will also come to you with similar offers. As you discovered with Healers Incorporated, some will be aggressive than others. Expect to be approached a lot while in public, and your primary email and phone number to get inundated with spam.”
“Thanks for the heads up.”
“you’re welcome, goodbye.” And with that the phone beeped indicating the call had ended.
I hand the phone and tablet back to Marcy and in response she slid a business card across the table. On the front were her details, and written on the back where Randy's email and phone. I started to wonder about her timing until she turned her head to pull something else out of her briefcase. That's when I saw the earpiece hidden away mostly under her hair, how sneaky.
“Alright, I think that covers everything. Any more questions?” Marcy asks as she hands me aa few pieces of paper, all extolling the virtues and advantages of her guild.
“Nope, all gold on my end. I take it you already have my email for the contract?”
“Yes, I'll send over the current version after our meeting. We will have a revised one that includes details on protection and assistance ready by the end of business tomorrow. It's been a pleasure but I'll head out now, have a nice day.” She says while extending her hand for a hand shake.
“You as well.” I reply while shaking her hand.
With that she got up, stashed her tablet, phone, and a few loose pieces of paper back in her briefcase, and left. I walked over to the counter to grab some food really quick before heading home. Mom will probably have dinner ready soon, but it isn't fair to the cafe to use their table space and not buy anything. Not that the space would have been used otherwise. I think maybe one person walked in, bought something, and walked out in the time I've been here. The two at the corner table left a little while ago, leaving just me and the clerk inside. And this girl honestly doesn't seem like she could give less of shit. I get up to the counter…… and a city wide siren starts to wail an ear piercing screech. You gotta be fucking shitting me.