Jordan arrived at the border between the 2 districts and began the process of matching his den to the environment. After a few minutes of struggle, he finally managed to touch the ground of the Gold District once again. Passing by the Gold Districts Georgina’s location caused a small amount of nausea for him, but that wasn’t enough to distract him from the message painted on the front door of the jewelry shop next door.
“Mayhem starts at home”
This was the catchphrase a lot of citizens had taken to using when they were displeased with how Everwatch used its resources. Paying someone like Jordan to kill slick rats meant that his money and points were not going to other, more skilled adventurers who could deal with other problems. Ever since the rift to the elemental plane opened outside of the city, along with other issues throughout the districts, people have been clamoring for them to funnel its resources into paying high-level adventurers more and to delegate the smaller tasks to civilians that can make use of technology or alchemy to do the job.
Of course, the Everwatch would argue that the only way these high-level adventurers earned their skills and status was by starting at the bottom of the ladder, working their way up through herb collection and the blood of slick rats. No low-level adventurers meant no future high-level adventurers, and that would make business difficult for Everwatch. Jordan could empathize with the scared citizens having to witness these problems that are out of their control and being upset.
As worrisome as the troubles around him may have been, Jordan only had a couple of things on his mind: get his reward, and bathe as soon as possible. Entering the guild, Jordan was met by the usual avoidance of eye contact, though this time it felt less personal as he did smell like a large dead rat. He made his way up to Mays'desk and placed the jar of ears on it, noticing her slightly wince at the sight of his “trophies”. He was sure May had seen her share of monster body parts in her day, but it takes a long time to be numb enough to not react to a jar of greasy ears.
May looked down at the ears and her face twinged ever so slightly before she formed her face into her familiar customer service smile. “Wow, you’re getting faster at these Jordan. You wrapped that up in less than three hours, they didn’t give you too much trouble I assume?” She asked in her usual whisper as she picked up the jar with a napkin and gave it to one of the other guild workers who took it into the back room.
“Not in the traditional dangerous sense, I'm probably off chicken wings and waffles for a while though,” Jordan said, gagging slightly at the thought of diner food.
He had to admit he admired the business strategy of the guild. Normally this quest would be a full day's pay for 3 hours of work, this time of course being an exception pay-wise due to the dorm quota. Receiving the normal pay would be pretty good though, considering minimum wage would require an extra 5 hours of work for the same money. This allows the guild to seem generous, but the proof of success components the adventurers turn in, such as the ears, are sold by the guild to local shops. Along with the equipment they sold and the pricey skill training classes they offered, the Guild could definitely afford what they paid Jordan and then some.
“It’s only noon since you finished that job so quickly, were you looking to do a double today?” May asked unconvincingly. She and Jordan both knew her job was to make him get as much work done as she reasonably could, and they both knew Jordan still had visible brain matter on his armor.
He hated washing this armor.
“May, I will be going home and showering immediately. As I wash the grease and guts off myself and consider my life decisions, I’ll contemplate whether I’ll come back to work today or ever” Jordan said in a sarcastic tone with a hint of truth to it. The vacant look in his eyes was all it took to convince May of his sincerity, and she entered his quest as completed into the system.
“Ok you’re all set, any jobs you do for the week will be paid out and you are only 100 points away from level 3. We’ll see you next time” May said, giving a flawless customer service smile while also clearly only breathing through her mouth. Jordan thanked her and as he made his way towards his coveted shower, a figure in a grey cloak slammed into his legs, knocking the wind out of him as he slammed on the tile floor.
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Dom took a moment to catch his breath before figuring out what happened. He kicked his legs out to get his assailant off him, and as he rose to his feet he looked at the man for the first time. He was a young birdman, probably early 20’s, and Jordan screamed. Partially because of a traumatic event involving a seagull he had as a child, and partially because he had never seen a Tengrathi in person before.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” he muttered as he tried to scramble to his feet. Jordan was still caught off guard and a little upset at being tackled out of nowhere, but it was clear this guy was not trying to threaten him.
“It’s alright, I’ll live. Did you fall, or were you practicing somersaults? I do that sometimes, you never know when it will be useful in combat” Jordan said.
The Tengrathi man looked at him with a confused expression “Are you making fun of me?” He asked.
“No, he does that from time to time. Management asked him to stop but I think it’s funny so I let him” May said from behind Jordan.
“No, I’m not… somersaulting. Let’s just say work is difficult and I can’t afford the most filling meals off of this awful pay. I just need to sit down and collect myself.” he said sitting on a nearby bench with a sad, slightly squawky voice. Jordan felt empathy for him at that moment. He was fortunate enough to have roommates who were generous with their takeout, or he would have gone to bed hungry a few nights to make ends meet. He walked over to the bench he was sitting on as the Tengrathi man continued talking.
“Anyway sorry for running into you. I can’t take any quests today so I’ll rest up at home once I get my wits about me” he said, clearly still shaky and unstable.
“Hey if you’re just going to go home, come with me for a few minutes,” Jordan said.
“What for?” He said.
“The instant noodles down the street are buy one get one free, I’ll give you the free one. I don’t know how to make adult friends so I think that’s what this is” Jordan said. The people in Jordan’s life had always said he was a little more blunt than necessary. “What’s your name?” He asked.
The Tengrathi man looked floored by Jordan’s bizarre behavior, but he did seem less embarrassed for himself. “My name’s Bryn, nice to meet you,” he said cautiously.
“I’m Jordan, let’s go eat I’m starving,” he said, walking briskly towards the door. Bryn looked confused, but he eventually followed after him. He partially wanted the food, but this man was so strange it piqued his curiosity. The pair began walking to Hasty Nelson’s, the grab-and-go convenience store version of the Adventurer supply store.
As they entered, Jordan thought about why he enjoyed walking through the aisles, looking at his options. It was a simple, unpretentious place where you could escape the judgment of the city for a moment. Being one of the few places he could afford what they sold, it felt as if he belonged there, a rare feeling to him in Zephtal. He grabbed 2 of the chicken-flavored instant bowls and checked out at the front register, receiving a raised eyebrow from the clerk as he smelled Jordan’s stench. They filled up their bowls with hot water and sat on the sidewalk in front of the store.
Instant noodles weren’t the most magical invention the Infinite Thought came up with, but the moment he felt the heat from the styrofoam cup, it was all he wanted in the world. He looked over at Bryn who was staring at the bowl.
“Eat up my man, chicken’s the best… wait is that cannibalism, I can switch it for beef if you want. It’s not as good though” Jordan said.
“Do you think I’m some sort of half human half chicken?” Bryn said staring at Jordan with a raised eyebrow. “Tengrathi are birdfolk born of the god Korvan, we have a godly bloodline and are not at all related to chickens,” he said in an offended tone.
“Then eat up your holiness it's getting cold,” Jordan said pointing his chopsticks at the steaming bowl. Before Bryn could say anything else, Jordam dug into his meal viciously. Before too long, Bryn also begins eating. He paced himself politely for about 10 seconds before also ravenously devouring his chicken bowl. Once the pair finished their meals, they basked in the glow of their full bellies.
“So why aren't you in a party Bryn? A dashing avian man such as yourself could get some interested people I'm sure. What class are you?” Jordan asked. He assumed Bryn was a monk, or perhaps a caster who used a wand since he didn't see any weapons.
Bryn looked down, with a bitter look in his eyes. “None, when I came to Zyphtal 4 months ago, I immediately went to Everwatch to be onboarded. After they did their tests, they told me I was incompatible with the Adventurers Boon Skill”. Jordan let out an involuntary “oof”, to which Bryn nodded in agreement.
The Adventurer’s Boon is a skill that is given automatically upon applying to be an adventurer. This skill lays the foundation of what an adventurer can do because it is what allows den to be channeled. Den is the magical power adventurers use, and a common misconception is that casters like wizards and druids are the only ones that use den.
In reality, every class of adventurers uses some amount den to channel their skills. The use of a skill consumes some amount of den, and the Adventurers Boon is what allows someone to utilize their den in accordance with their skill. Without it, den cannot be channeled, which means no class, no skills, and no way to get stronger.