From the moment she agreed to join things sped up drastically.

  In this world there was a kind of caste system for peoples day to day lives. Not serfs and masters and the like, instead it was a ranking system of who you would trust to execute a certain task.

  At the bottom were people who could reasonable handle simple tasks. Your neighbor, your best friend, a stranger receptive to a coin. If you needed someone to deliver a letter or a message and you didn’t want to wait for the post. This is the class you looked to.

  If there was an issue that called for a bit more expertise, you called the next group, these ones had a proper name being “Artisans”. If you need a shirt patched, a sword made, or a meal prepared they were the one for the job.

  One step up were the peace keepers, guards, soldiers, and other similar positions. When crime was taking place or there was the threat of violence in general. You call them.

  Lastly was the head of the pack so to speak. As well as the only group officially recognized and cataloged by the governments of the world. Guilds.

  Guilds, and their members, were tasked with jobs that required the most attention. While every other group was reactionary, this group is proactive. In theory anyway.

  Their tasks can range between nearly anything. But generally you call upon a guild if you have a task that requires the attention of more than one person.

  They are also the group that works under the obligation that they are rewarded for their efforts. To move a guild to action and not repay their work is considered a crime in most places. Though in a lot of cases a guild will have some good will to the less fortunate. Once again, in theory.

  Andromeda? She skipped all the fluff and went right to the last group. Making herself an “Adventurer”.

  The process of actually doing it wasn’t that hard. There was no arcane system of membership or duty. The only requirements were being sponsored by a guild in some way, and calling yourself one.

  Cain’s Hall was a small outfit in Sil, and they were what might be called a “Scouting” guild. They would send their team out to a location to scout it out and access the urgency of a problem. If it was small they would personally handle it, if they couldn’t, or if their team never returned, then a larger guild would take over. Not withstanding their untimely deaths they always get paid regardless. As no other guild wanted to send their people to their dooms unnecessarily.

  That might sound a bit harsh, and that’s because it is. But its a well paying niche to be in. Not only that, but it allows the guild’s members to take long periods of rest between missions, a far cry from the constant axe grind other guilds put their members through.

  All of this was explained to Andromeda over the course of a day. Once she agreed to join they decided to give her the full benefits of being part of the guild. One benefit was access to the shared guild credit.

  She had no gear, or materials, or really anything to her name. So as a bit of a celebration it was decided to take her on a shopping trip to prepare for her first mission.

  There was a long argument between Martin and Oren vs Circe about being allowed to come clothes shopping. But it eventually came down to the fact they couldn’t find a good excuse for entering a women’s clothes shop. So Circe took her.

  “Remember that just because we’re treating you today doesn’t mean you can break the bank.” Circe said.

  “I won’t, I’ll just be getting the essentials. I’ll need some help finding things though. I’ve not shopped here before.” Andromeda said.

  “Naw, I just planned on dumping you with the tailor and skipping out for lunch.” Circe said with a playful slap on the back. “That reminds me, any thoughts for boons?”

  “Boons?” Andromeda said.

  “Do… Do you not know what those are?” Circe asked.

  “No… Is that bad?” Andromeda asked.

  “You should definitely learn this as soon as possible.” Circe said.

  Sil as a city was divided into 4 main districts. The guild district was where Cain’s Hall and the other guilds were located. It also moonlighted as the nightlife district for the city. The Mercantile District was where any merchants, traders, and craftsmen were situated, there were also a few merchant families based out of this district. It also happened that the shop Circe was taking Andromeda to was in this part of town.

  Though those are the two more active parts of town, the the other two districts were the residential and “Fading” district. The latter of which is where an expansion to the residential district was to be, but some event or another required that the city back out of it. So now the half developed land has become infested with the city’s criminal element.

  After some wandering and some light window shopping on Circe’s part, they reached their destination. A small shop tucked away in an alley between two larger shops off the main street of the mercantile district.

  They walked inside and the first thing that hit Andromeda had was the dusty smell of fabric, the second thing was a folded blanket that was sitting on the door frame when she walked in.

  “Oh dear me, I’m so sorry lass!” A rotund woman said, running in from behind the counter to help Andromeda out from under the blanket.

  She finally escaped after the frantic assistance of the woman and Circe. Once outside she nearly hacked up a lung and was quickly brought a chair and a glass of water.

  “I feel so terrible, I was airing that blanket out and must have forgot. Not many people come by anymore.” The woman said.

  “Its *Hack* fine.” Andromeda said.

  The woman turned to Circe while patting the dust off her sweater.

  “Allow me to introduce myself, I’m Fila, and assuming my fabrics don’t assault you ladies, what can I help you with?” The woman said.

  “Ah Ms. Fila, I thought you’d recognize me.” Circe said.

  Fila adjusted her glasses and took a hard look at Circe, but after a minute of scrunched faces and sighs she just couldn’t do it.

  Circe roller her eyes with a smile and picked up her hair in two hands to fake pig tails. Seeing this Fila’s eyes shot wide and she gasped.

  “Little Circe! Is that you!?” Fila asked with excitement.

  “It sure is.” Circe said. The two hugged each other and mumbled about this or that. Andromeda continued to clear her throat of dust and steadied her breathing.

  Once she was sure she was fine again and no rogue rugs were out to get her, she managed to sway Circe and Fila from their argument about Circe’s outfit.

  “Right, ah sorry I was caught up in old memories. What can I do for you ladies today?” She asked.

  “Yeah, this is Andromeda, she is new to town and has nothing but what she has on to wear. She also joined my guild. So we need her to have some work clothes.” Circe said.

  “I see, well dear, any friend of Circe’s is mine as well. I’ll give you the house discount.” Fila said.

  “Thank you ma’am.” Andromeda said.

  “Oh you make me want to pinch your cheeks, tell me. What do you specialize in?” Fila asked.

  “Its complicated.” Andromeda said. Circe snapped her fingers to catch Fila’s attention and pulled her aside.

  “What is it dear?” Fila said in a whisper.

  “She is going to tell you something very surprising, please do your best not make a big deal about it. She is in a hard place right now.” Circe said.

  “Of course.” Fila said.

  “Go ahead.” Circe said. Andromeda nodded.

  “I’m a Medea, but I can heal, and mend, and more.” Andromeda said.

  There was a single moment that passed faster than Andromeda could see, but shock passed through and she recovered with the grace of a professional.

  “Is that all dear? Don’t worry, I’ll have you right as rain.” Fila said. Like a small child Andromeda wore her relief on her face, and Circe smiled.

  “Tell me, what attributes do you want to focus on the most?” Fila said. She made it back to the other side of the counter and started bringing several fabrics out and laying them out flat.

  “I’m quite new to all of this, if I’m a healer what should I be focusing on?” Andromeda said.

  “Good question dear, most healers don’t need to mind their boons very much, but seeing as you have more on your plate we need to be more careful about how we assemble your kit.” Fila said.

  She flicked her wrist and a length of string and a needle appeared in her hand from thin air.

  “If I were to make a piece for a Medea, I would focus on increasing their range and potency. But if you must focus on other fields than we must take care of the toll it takes on your body.”

  Fila waved her hand and a large white spool of thread flew from the shelves behind her and landed before her.

  “A Mender’s clothes need to be more practical, if they handle broken materials or work in smithing fields then we need to be careful about exterior as well as the lining. But if you need that more delicate touch than we must compromise on the exterior for the sake of appearances.”

  Another wave and a length of thin leather flew from the shelves and placed themselves at her finger tips.

  “The most important part of Saints is not only the quality of their abilities, but the figure they cut with those they work with. The mind is just as important as the soul in this case. You must be as approachable as you are untouchable.”

  One last flick and a length of red fabric came somewhere beyond Andromeda’s view and landed with the rest.

  “This will be a challenge for me, but I love a challenge. Give me a day and I’ll send for someone to find you.” Fila said.

  “Thank you ma’am.” Andromeda said.

  “Nope, stop right there.” Fila said.

  “What?” Andromeda said, caught off guard.

  “None of this ma’am nonsense, as I said before. Any friend of Circe’s is a friend of mine, and names are used with friends. Call me Fila.” She said

  “Right. Thank you Fila.” Andromeda said.

  “The pleasure is all mine.”

-----

  Once they left the shop Circe was quick to head off somewhere else. Leaving Andromeda with a quick point toward the general direction of the guild hall and well wishes. This left her standing in the middle of the street alone, surrounded on all sides by shops of all shapes and sizes. She had the good sense to bring her bag that she got from the king along with her spare coin. What she didn’t have a good sense of was on how much or little she should put on the guild’s card. So she decided it was better to save selfish purchases for her own balance.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  She walked down the street for a bit, she was smart enough to not get caught up on every call from the stands to get her to purchase something. It was around that point that it dawned on her that she didn’t really know much about the products around her.

  In her old world it was common for tricksters and crazy people to try and sell magical crystals or gems. Claiming that they could heal from just owning them. That line of thought was dashed and smothered by the fact that she could do that exact thing with her bare hands. What she elected to do was use common sense. If it was too good to be true, it probably was. She was banking on the idea that human nature didn’t change much between worlds.

  While she was musing she heard someone yell from around the corner. She peaked her head around to find the source of the commotion but was surprised when a young boy ran head long into her and bounced to the ground. If she wasn’t lucky she might have fallen too.

  “STOP, THIEF!” A man yelled, sprinting around the corner to see the young boy on the ground with her standing over him.

  “What happened here?” She asked while regaining her balance.

  “This little gutter rat stole a bag of apples from my stall.” He said, fuming at the person standing between him and his prey.

  “Wait, he was stealing?!” She said. She bent a knee down to the boy and helped him up.

  “What did I tell you about stealing? If your hungry you come find me.” She said, the boy was confused for a moment before he caught up on her plan.

  “I didn’t want to bother you again, you’ve been so nice to me.” He said, using his best faux sad little boy voice. A better acting partner she couldn’t have asked for.

  “I’m sorry sir, he cares very much for me and doesn’t like to bother me for a stomach ache, we are quite strapped for coin.” Andromeda said.

  “Ugh, fine, tell him to stay far away from my stall. Can I at least be paid for my spoiled fruit?” He said.

  “Oh, I thought you said he stole it?” Andromeda asked.

  “He did, but the little bra- I mean, the kid dropped it and a horse got to it.” The man said.

  “I see, tell me sir, how much to repay your kindness?” She asked. The man interogated her look for a moment to see any sarcasm, but came up with nothing. He sighed and shrugged.

  “2c and I can forgive. It wasn’t worth much anyway.” The man said.

  “I see.” Andromeda said. She pulled out the bag from her bag and pulled out a golden coin and handed it to the man. When he looked down to see it his jaw nearly hit the floor.

  “Is this a gold piece?” He asked.

  “Is that not enough?” She asked.

  “What? No, I only asked for 2 copper, 2c.” He said.

  “Let’s not worry about the difference. Let’s call it even.” She said.

  “You can’t be…” he said, petering off. Andromeda took the opportunity to take the young boys hand and walk off with a wave from the confused stall owner.

  They continued walking for a bit until they reached a small park area at the edge of the market, where they sat down at a bench. The boy was staring up at her, mouth agape, trying to form words.

  “So, tell me, what’s your name?” She asked.

  “Miquo.” He said quietly.

  “Are you hungry?” She asked.

  “Yes…”

  Andromeda pulled another smaller bag from her bag and unwrapped a piece of bread. She hoped that despite being a day and a half old it would still be good enough to eat.

  “Here.”

  She handed him the bread and he just looked at it.

  “Go on.” She said.

  He waited for a moment, then took a small bite of it before trying to hand it back.

  “No no, that’s yours. Go ahead.” She said. Then, with no formality, he nearly stuffs the entire half of the loaf in his mouth and eats it in two bites.

  “How are you feeling?” She asked. Miquo took a moment and looked around them, then leaned in toward her.

  “Why did you help me?” He said.

  “Why not? You seemed like you needed it.” She said.

  “But you gave up a gold coin for me.”

  “I have a whole bag of them right here.” She said, then she opened it up and showed him the contents, inside was over 50 golden coins.

  Miquo took on a similar look of disbelief to the man from before, but an order of magnitude more intense.

  “I’ve never seen more than one gold coin before.” He said.

  “In that case…” She said, then he handed him 2 gold coins.

  Miquo’s face drained instantly and his eyes started to water.

  “But… Why…?” He said, barely able to contain his tears.

  Andromeda put her hand on his head and smiled at him.

  “Good deeds return good deeds.” She said. “On that note, if you ever feel the need to steal food come find me at Cain’s Hall in the guild district. If you need something to eat just tell them that it's on me.” She said. He stared up at her with tears in his eyes.

  “Are you real?” Miquo asked.

  “I hope so.” She said, she stood from her seat and walked away. Leaving the boy feeling as though he had met an angel.

  She knew that she needed to be smarter with her money, from the way that man and Miquo reacted when she gave them gold coins, she realized that they might be worth more than she originally though.

  But she didn’t really care. Not in that moment.

  A long time ago when she was little, she remembered visiting a city named London. She and her father were visiting the city for some reason that she never knew because she was too young. But at once point between meetings her father took her to a market. There was a festival or celebration going on because there were stalls just like here, and performances on a stage.

  At one point she got distracted by someone juggling while walking beside her father. Once the juggler finished their routine she realized that her father was nowhere to be seen.

  She wandered the grounds for a while, lost in a place she didn’t know with no hope of figuring out where her father went. Her young mind was all too unready to think rationally about these things and she found a park bench and started crying.

  Not long after, an old woman sat down with her and consoled her for what felt like hours. They talked and chatted about so many things in that time that she almost forgot that she was lost.

  Eventually she heard commotion from the celebration area when she saw her father and a small army of men pushing the crowd aside looking for her.

  The woman stayed with her until her father could confirm that she was safe.

  She didn’t know what happened to that old woman after that day, as she never saw her again. The pessimist in her told her that the woman was likely gone now, but a small part of that woman carried with her for the rest of her life.

  That was the spirit that pushed her to help Miquo. The circumstances were a little different, and the world was very different, but in a small way it felt as though she was paying that kind old woman’s kindness forward. Andromeda wondered if she would be happy knowing her good deed carried across dimensions.

  Andromeda wandered around the market a while longer, but with nothing catching her eye she eventually found her way back to the guild district and back to Cain’s Hall.

  As she entered she could see that things were much quieter in the hall compared to last night. The only person she saw inside was Garret, who was washing tables.

  “Oh good, Andromeda, the others are in the side room, I think they’re waiting for you.” He said before getting back to his task.

  Funny, she remembered him saying he worked in the morning.

  She entered the side room and found that everyone was indeed sat down, Martin and Circe were playing cards while Oren was reading a book. Cain was sat quietly in his seat at the end of the table.

  “Andromeda!” Martin said.

  “Oh good, she made it back. I was worried for a moment there.” Circe said.

  Then Oren reached around and slapped her on the back of the head.

  “Oi!”

  “You shouldn’t have left her alone there.” He said flatly.

  “Don’t worry about me, I made it back fine.” Andromeda said.

  “Good, good. Please, sit, we have some business to talk about.” Cain said.

  “Is this something about me?” Andromeda said.

  “Not this time, but I have some good news for you. First, I need to talk about a request I received earlier this morning.” Cain said. Martin and Circe put the cards away and Oren folded his book. Then Cain pulled a leather binder out from under the table and slid it toward the three.

  “The exact details are in there, but I got the gist from our client’s conversation. They say that there has been some strange activity in the region to the north. Unusual monster activity, it even has the local wildlife spooked. I want you four to investigate. Remember that you don’t need to be heroes, just access the situation and return here.” Cain said.

  “We’ll get on this as soon as Andromeda is ready. Her outfit is being made right now and should be ready sometime tomorrow.” Circe said.

  “That’s fine, this is a low urgency request so far, we can take a day or two to prepare. But after that we do need to get a move on.” Cain said. “That brings me to our next point.”

  “Andromeda, this mission will be your first. So I took care to find a job that seemed simple on the outlook. But remember that anything could happen with this many unknowns. Like it or not you are already our most valuable asset. It may sound cold to say, but your survival is going to be your top priority.” Cain said.

  “I’ll do my best to keep myself safe, but I won’t leave anybody to die if I can help it.” She said.

  “That is fine, I don’t actually want anybody to die, but if it comes down to you or somebody else then I need you to be very careful.” Cain said.

  “I heard you, but like I said, I won’t let that happen.” She said. Cain sighed, but shook his head with a smile.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve worked with a Medea, I forgot how strong willed they could be.” He said. “There is another matter. I know that you have natural talent with healing, but there is still more that you can learn. I’ve sent a letter to an old friend of mine, it will take some time for her to find us here, but once she does I was hoping she could teach you about healing.”

  “That sounds good. How long will it take her to get here?”

  “About a month, maybe more if she gets distracted.”

  “I’ll be sure to learn as much as I can.”

  “Good, now everybody get some rest. You three can sleep upstairs if you want. I need you ready as soon as you can be.” Cain said, Oren and Circe nodded and made their way to the door, Oren with the leather case in hand. But Martin remained at his seat.

  “Before I go, can I talk with Andromeda?” He asked.

  “It is entirely up to her.” Cain said. Martin turned to her, but was surprised that she had stealthily made her way to him already and sat down right beside him.

  “Go on.” She said. Martin took a moment to collect his thoughts.

  “I need to apologize” He said.

  “You already did.” Andromeda said.

  “I know, but all that ended being was me putting you out again.”

  “I really don’t mind you know.”

  “This is more for my own conscious. The first time I think about my mother in 10 years is when somebody I just met had to see her final moments in my mind. It’s hard to live with.”

  “It really is fine, I-”

  “Let him speak.” Cain interrupted.

  “I’ll make this quick.” Martin said. “It was about 10 years ago, I was a little older than you are now. My mother was struck with an illness we couldn’t identify. No amount of healing or study could figure out the cause. It make her hair turn white, and turned her body frail. In her last moments it was hard to breath or move. This illness wasn’t even a quick one either. It ravaged her body for years until she couldn’t take it anymore.”

  The room was filled with a cold pause.

  “Martin. I’m so-”

  “I had grown numb to thought over the years, eventually I stopped thinking about her. I came here to Sil eight years ago and worked with Cain for seven. Not once since I left my home did I think about her. Until the other night.”

  “Martin, slow down.”

  “As hard as that was, I could maybe live with it, given some time. But then I heard you mention her ring. It was the wedding ring from my father. He disappeared when I was young, and it was her most treasured possession. She had told me she lost it. But now I know that she gave it away. For my sake. It was her last memory of my father, and I was the reason she had to lose it.” Martin said.

  Andromeda slammed her fist on the table. The sound echoed through the room twice and drew blood from her hand.

  “Martin, I will not let you believe something as stupid at that.” Andromeda said. Martin, and even Cain were stunned to silence.

  “You heard what she said, I know what she said, I could SEE her saying it. She wanted that portrait for you, It was her last gift to you as your mother. She would turn in her grave to see you blame yourself for this. If you want to blame anybody, blame the man that forced it out of her.” Andromeda said.

  As she lifted her hand a small string of blood drip of blood fell from her hand. Then the air between the table and herself glowed slightly green, the small splintered hole she made knitted itself back together, and her hand swiftly stopped bleeding.

  Martin went to say something, but every time he tried the words failed on his lips.

  “I’m sorry… But don’t blame yourself for things like this. It’s unhealthy.” Andromeda said. She stood from her seat and left the room. Leaving Martin and Cain alone.

  “I’m never going to live this down.” Martin said.

  “Stop that.” Cain said.

  “Not you too…” Martin said.

  “That girl just told you to get over yourself. The moment she leaves you turn right back around and do it some more? That’s not the person I hired as a Vanguard.” Cain said.

  “But-”

  “Martin, you aren’t the only person with skeletons in your closet. Think about that before you pour your heart to your team.”

  “You’re right.” Martin said. He stood from his seat. “I’m going to go to sleep now. I won’t make this a problem again.”

  “Sleep well, you need to be ready.” Cain said.