Kya’s Notes:
What might be the hardest thing for me to grasp: Lifespans. Archie is a good example of it I guess, but with each Star I gain, my life expectancy massively increases. It varies slightly between species and classes and whatnot, but on average, I can expect to live past 200 with just my 1st Star. By my 3rd, they say I’ll be able to live for a whole millennium. Pure insanity.
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The Guild Master put on his finest maroon waistcoat overtop his billowing white shirt. He carefully folded down the collar, ensuring the crease went exactly as it was supposed to. Though many saw him as somewhat hands off, he had always been of the mind that careful and well executed work should seem effortless from the outside. Finally satisfied, he took one last look in the mirror.
He would need a haircut soon; it wouldn’t do to have his appearance grow unkempt. Nevertheless, a part of him actually enjoyed the small streaks of gray at his temples in what had once been midnight hair. He felt it lent to his air of wisdom and authority, an air he quite liked to have.
Finally, he put on his light overcoat, still breathable in the warm air of Lyra, but fashionable all the same.
He had just finished adjusting the cuffs to be exactly at his wrist bones when a knock came at his door. With the suns having only just risen, this could only be one thing.
“Enter,” he called in a calm, measured voice.
A shorter woman entered the room, her almond skin contrasting with the light gray shirt she wore. Her braided hair was taken back in a tail, a simple red hairband holding it all together.
“Miss Soeri, do you have an update for me? I assume they have realized what’s about to happen and are taking steps to avoid it?”
Koen Soeri, who was standing as rigidly as a plank of wood clenching and unclenching her hand in an endless loop, nodded her head. “Yes sir, uh, Guild Master. They were training atop the northern walls this morning. We were about to step in when they saw both the light from the slain leviathan and the incoming fleet on their own. It seems they plan to head out as soon as possible and complete the missions they took in the neighboring towns.” Her ruby red eyes wouldn't meet his own, instead gazing slightly downward.
“Good, good. I’d rather not have them meet the Loterran’s just yet. It will get quite messy after that, and I’d like her to have a bit of a stronger foundation first. I must go with the Lord Myrin to greet the ‘esteemed guests’ but please continue to keep tabs on the group. If possible, have them take another contract or two while they’re out even, I want them to stay out of the city for as long as possible-”
“Sir- oh, uh, were you done..?”
The Guild Master tried to hide a smile, but just nodded and said “please, what’s your question?”
“Sorry sir, I just, I know you explained it to me somewhat after I briefed you on the dwarf and the ritual out in the farms and everything, but I still don’t fully understand. Why are you helping her against the Loterrans? This is their land and their laws apply. By all rights, shouldn’t we be helping them?”
Walking over to a side table, the Guild Master gestured to an empty chair, prompting Koen to walk over and, somewhat awkwardly, seat herself. With a touch, he brought a kettle to boil and then poured out two small cups of Kaoe tea. The golden liquid steamed and bubbled slightly as Koen brought it to her lips, but one didn’t dare let Kaoe cool.
Finally, after sitting and having a sip for himself, the Guild Master finally said “My job, more than anything else, is an act of juggling. You are a smart girl, Koen, and I know your father well enough to know he didn’t raise you without a fair bit of rigor. So you tell me, look at what I’ve done with regards to this girl, why have I done it?”
Taking another sip, both to savor the delicious drink as much as to buy herself more time to think, she started talking slowly at first but gaining speed as the wheels started to turn.
“You said very publicly that she was to see you as soon as possible, an order she has all but refused to follow. You won’t go after her yourself, as that wouldn’t look dignified for someone of your status to go after a random 1-Star… But still, she’s the first spatial user to appear for over a century, I don’t…”
“What was our stance in the last war, child.” He prompted calmly, trying to nudge her in the right direction.
“We were neutral, but we… we…” Her face suddenly shifted as realization dawned on her “So you are going to remain detached from the situation on the surface, publicly following the tenets of Loterre as the host nation, while helping-” She paused when he held up a slender finger, then continued “While not... actively hindering her progress to 2-Star. Once she has completed these contracts and gains a reputation for… oh, oh!”
Koen beamed, and the Guild Master returned the smile. “It’s not a terribly complex plot, but the Loterrans as a people are not very politically minded to begin with. They like things to be calm, stable, they don’t like change and are somewhat slow to adapt. Still, that’s why I’m having you and the other two trail on in secret rather than making it an outright contract. You'll get your second star within the month, Miss Soeri, and when you do, I'm going to start assigning you larger roles in this. Speaking of the current job though-” his ring glowed for a fraction of a moment before thirty silver agren appeared neatly stacked in his outstretched hand. “A small advance to pay for your travels. Send word back if anything should happen.”
They both stood, and Koen inclined her head “Thank you, Guild Master.”
She scooped up the coin and started to leave, when he called “Koen.”
She turned to see him standing palms together in front of his heart as he gave a small bow. “Be safe.”
Returning the gesture, she said with a slight tremor in her voice “I will, Master.”
As the heavy wooden door clicked closed behind her, the smile slowly fell from the Guild Masters face.
“Effortless.” he muttered, before finishing his preparations. It was time to meet with the city lord, and then the Loterran military.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kya Raced through the lobby and up the winding stairs of her dormitory building, her legs twinged and ached with every step, still utterly exhausted from the morning's workout, but she had only about eleven minutes left to be back at the gates and out of the city, and she wasn’t going to waste them. There was one thing more than anything else she needed to do. One thing she almost refused to go without.
Slamming open the door, startling two elven women who were at the sinks, Kya ran in and spent four of her remaining minutes to bathe and get clean and refreshed. She knew they’d be on the move and though she knew there were wonderful magical means available, she doubted there would be much opportunity for another shower anytime soon.
After drying off and changing into some light travel clothes with her storage ability, she swept through her room packing up everything she could and was down the stairs and back out onto the streets a moment later. With thirty seconds to spare, the city gates came into view with an ever-stoic Wade and ever moving Alder waiting for her.
“What took you so l… did you shower off?” Asked Alder in an absolutely incredulous tone.
Kya just grinned and said, “That doesn’t matter, now come one, aren’t we in a hurry?”
“I-” Alder started, but just shook his head and nodded as he started walking through the gates. “Alright, whatever. Here, by the way.”
He handed over two sheathed and unimpressively identical looking daggers. Not that hers had been anything special, but these were just so… ordinary. The double-edged blades were about seven inches long, a simple cross guard separating it from the black leather wrapped handle.
- - - - -
- Item: Quality Iron Dagger
- Rarity: 1-Star, Uncommon
- Description: A simple yet reliable dagger for any fighters starting out on their path. The Self-Repair enchantment will keep it from chipping and rusting, so long as it is supplied mana.
- Enchantments: Self-Repair
- Requirements: N/A
- - - - -
“They aren’t much, but they’ll suffice until we can come back for your nicer ones.” Alder said while Kya read over their description. “Plus, I paid a little extra for the self-repair enchantment to keep them in good condition. So long as you don’t lose it, it’ll be fine for the contracts we’ve taken.”
Shrugging, Kya strapped one to her waist, and opted to store the other. “Thank you, I appreciate it. So then, speaking of, which contract are we doing first and how far away is it?”
Wade turned and looked over her shoulder before answering. Following her gaze, Kya saw that the line of ships was much closer now, not quite at the entrance to the harbor, but close.
“Come on,” Wade said “Let’s pick up the pace a little. We won’t run the whole time, but for now I’ll be a lot more comfortable with some extra distance between us and them.”
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Cringing inside and wishing they had chosen for afternoon workouts instead, Kya just nodded and started to jog after the other two, thankfully moving slower than they had this morning, but still at a measured pace.
“To your other questions, the crab-tide is the closest, about two or three days away depending on how fast we move and if we run into any trouble along the way. There should be an alignment in about a week which could slow us down, but it shouldn’t be too bad.”
Mentally pulling up the guild quest she’d gotten from the guild hall, Kya read over it quickly, unfortunately with the ever-helpful assistance of her narrator.
- - - - -
- Open Guild Contract - Crab Tide in Cetus - 1-Star - Common
- Well, it’s that time of year again! Those mommy crabs and daddy crabs are trying their hardest to fall in love and make lots of little baby crabies, in one of those beautiful mating rituals of nature. Unfortunately for the people of Cetus, these crabs need a lot of food to feel… properly motivated. Be the damper on their party and kill as many as you can to help out the village!
- Objective - Kill as many Blue-Fanged Crabs as possible. Minimum number - fifty.
- Time Remaining - This is a seasonal quest! It will continue for as long as the crabs keep coming!
- Guild Rewards - Four agren at the minimum number, One curen per two kills after that.
- Quest Rewards - The Magic Conch Shell - Unranked
- - - - -
“So, we’re just going to be… what, killing a bunch of crabs all day? Also, what’s an alignment?”
Alder laughed in the most haughty, obnoxious way possible and said “We? No, no, no, of course not. You, on the other hand, will be attempting to kill crabs all day though. I don’t know if you saw on the contract sheet though, but we aren’t the only ones on this quest. This is a good chance for you to get in not only some experience fighting in larger groups but fighting against larger groups. It won’t always be one on one fights you know.”
Wade spoke up then, “It’s a pretty famous quest around here, as the crabs come every year. The village was built close enough to the mating site largely because of them. Both in harvesting and selling the crabs, as well as being a way stop for the Users that either come for the quest or on their way out of Lyra and to further settlements, it’s a nice little town.”
Kya noticed Alder give Wade a look for just a moment, before he continued on as if it hadn’t happened at all “Right, so yeah. Should be a fun time for you. And how do you not know what alig- oh right. Other world. Basically, a couple times a year, the moons will come into alignment with either of the suns, flooding the lands below with ambient magic and increasing the rate at which monsters manifest.”
“I thought that’s what the big wave was, that the hourglass is counting down to?”
“Yes and no” answered Wade. “Think of the alignments as minor waves, the three moons will be aligned with either sun, but the wave is when both suns and all three moons line up perfectly. It happens every winter, though the day shifts from year to year, the hourglasses were built and enchanted to always predict it within a few hours or so.”
“Wait so… in about a week, there’s going to be a massive increase in monsters just… appearing out of nowhere? Why is that not a bigger deal?”
At this, they both started to laugh. “It’s not that it’s not a big deal” Alder said “It’s just that an alignment is pretty standard and doesn't lead to nearly as large of an impact as a Wave. Again, think of these as minor increases. They’re a problem, but not a disaster. Something to plan and prep for, not something to panic over. We’ll be fine, especially in this region with it’s overall lower ranking monsters.”
“Alright, so then, what do manifest-”
“Nope, hold on.” Alder cut in “You’ve been asking a lot of questions, but about thirty minutes ago you told us you came here from another world. So, before we answer any more questions about… anything, you’re going to need to elaborate on that, I think.”
Kya sighed, “yeah, alright, that’s fair.” She took a moment to collect her thoughts, the sound of the trio’s footsteps on the simple stone creating a steady rhythm, their long shadows in the morning light leading the way.
“So, I’ve only really talked with Rory about this-”
“Rory?” Alder immediately cut in “What does he know about this?”
Wade just hit him lightly on the shoulder “If you let her get more than a sentence out, she’ll probably tell you.”
“Right, right, sorry.”
Hiding a smirk, Kya continued “he actually knew quite a lot about it, from what I could tell. Founders is the term your world apparently has for people like me. I’m not entirely sure why yet, though Rory thinks it will become more clear as I increase in rank. Basically, Founders are people that come from other worlds and have access to special abilities. It’s pretty simple in concept but-”
Alder scoffed “Your definition of ‘simple’ is nowhere remotely close to mine. I still don’t understand what other worlds even means, and moreover, what special abilities do you have?”
“We can come back to the other world thing again in a bit- seriously, I’ll make it make sense to you” Kya said to forestall any further interruptions as Alder had looked quite ready to speak up again. “-but my abilities are known for the most part. I have a looting ability, translation ability, and I can use an identify on items and people to see basic properties they have. Plus, my class gives me a personal inventory space.”
Wade nodded her head, her tightly braided auburn hair coming out of its bun both from the running and the gesture. She slowed just slightly to put it back up while saying “That makes sense. A lot of racial abilities are fairly utilitarian in nature, especially for you humans. The inventory spaces are extremely useful as well. They’re common in knowledge and peace users, which is why so many of them choose to be merchants. But none of those sound particularly ‘strange’ or anything. Nor does it explain why you were able to simple… choose a class, especially without a ritual or awakening source.”
“You didn’t have a source?” Alder asked, head whipping around from where he ran just ahead of her. “I knew about the weird no ritual thing, but it’s crazy you didn’t have a source.”
“That… would be my last ability I guess you could call it. I can’t find anything about it, and nothing I can find really talks about it. So…” She trailed off not really sure how to put her quest system into words “You know how the guild offers contracts?”
They both nodded, not saying anything.
“Well, I have something like an internal version of that. I don’t understand how it works or why, but sometimes I get prompts that will give objectives and rewards I need to meet. They pop up in front of me as small growing green page of text.”
“Like an information crystal at the high-end merchant shops? That’s interesting but… hm. Can you give an example of a quest you have?” Asked Wade.
Kya pulled up her active quests and picked one at random.
- - - - -
- Quests
- Pirating from Preachers
Objective: Gain access to the benefits of this domain.
- No Tag Backs
Objective: Tag another 1-Star member of the evasion league.
- Guild Contract: Fell Serpent in the Korilus River
Objective: Slay the Fell Serpent roaming the waters of the Korilus River.
- Open Guild Contract: Crab Tide in Cetus
Objective: Kill as many Blue-Fanged Crabs as possible. Minimum number - fifty.
- Guild Contract: Phantom Lynx in Arnon
Objective: Find and slay the group of Phantom Lynx plaguing the village of Arnon.
- - - - -
Simply deciding to go with the crab one, as it was the one they were on, she pulled up the quest again, and read off what it said.
“So let me get this straight. In addition to the rewards the guild offers, you get a bonus when you complete a quest? Also, why does the description sound so... weird” Asked Alder.
Kya grinned, “pretty much, yeah. And the descriptions have always been odd, but I feel like they've gotten weirder as time has gone on to be honest. I'm not sure why.”
“And this can sometimes just happen, it’s not just with contracts?”
“Yeah, so the reason I was able to get my class - to answer your earlier question - was as a reward for my first quest. I woke up in the middle of those woods over there and was given the objective to survive and reach the city within seven days. When I woke up in Rory’s clinic, I had a prompt that let me choose any of the twelve classes and I chose space.”
“Little offended you didn’t choose Earth…” Muttered Alder.
“Or War, for that matter.” Added Wade “It’s the objectively best class.”
“Now hang on, that’s definitely… alright, calm down.” Alder, who had been heating up for a serious debate, realized that Wade had been goading him from the smile that played on her lips. Kya laughed and a moment later Alder joined in, before saying “Earth is the best though, no question.”
Ignoring Alder and looking at Kya with sudden comprehension in her eyes, Wade asked “Hang on, is that how you uncovered that business with the cult out in the farmland?
The laughter from a moment before suddenly seemed like a far-off dream as the mood between the three took a turn at that.
“Yeah, I uh… did a contract in the area and when I was about to leave, I got a prompt telling me to investigate and well… one thing led to another.”
Silence sat between the group as each was absorbed in their own thoughts for a few moments, the sounds of the forest and the pounding of their feet the only thing to accompany them.
Finally, Alder said “So… other worlds?”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Carcello, along with every other soldier from their expedition, stood at attention on the docks as the five captains walked forwards. Though one of them had a heavily bandaged left arm, and they all seemed a bit weary from their fight, they each still displayed their auras with expert control to lend an air of power and authority to their steps.
Ahead, a group of nobleman and guild officials waited to greet the party. Carcello didn’t know either of them personally, but from what he’d been told, the Guild Master was the thin, black haired fire User on the left, while the City Lord was the gruff, larger man with a large braided white beard.
Carcello wasn’t close enough to hear the quieter words they said, but he did hear the standard welcomes and pleasantries. However, everything- literally all operations and movement in the whole harbor, came to a stop as Lord Cain blasted out his aura in a quick pulse. Not enough to harm anyone of a lower rank, not even a mortal, but still enough to get everyone's undivided attention.
He walked slowly down the gangplank of his vessel, then past each of the soldiers and finally stood before both the Guild Master and City Lord, the captains having made way, standing at attention like all the other soldiers.
The city lord spoke up, the first person to break the silence. In a carrying voice, he said “My lord, it has been quite a long time since someone of your prestige came to our city. I am Eulustees Mayfoll, or Mayrin to use my-”
He cut off suddenly, as Lord Cain put a hand on both his shoulder and the Guild Masters. In a deep booming voice that carried all the condemnation of the heavens themselves, he said “As the two highest ranking officials in the city, all successes and all failures fall to you, and fall on your heads. So then, which of you can explain to me… What. Have. You. Done.” and here he punctuated each word with the weight of his aura, every syllable adding more and more strain to Carcello, even as a simple bystander. He couldn’t imagine what the two who were the focus of his ire were dealing with.
Finally, the Guild Master spoke up, face calm but voice hoarse with effort “My Lord, let us return to my office where we can discuss this more… privately.” And when neither the hand on his shoulder nor the weight of the aura seemed to budge, he added on with evident difficulty “I have tea, and freshly baked sweet bread to help you relax from your long journey.”
The weight disappearing like dust in the wind, Lord Cain spun both men around and put his arms around their shoulders. “That sounds wonderful. Throw in some sausage links, and I think we can make a morning out of it.” Then slapped the Guild Master on the back, sending him stumbling forward a few dozen meters while Lord Cain just laughed.
Hjaldin, who was standing next to Carcello whispered under his breath “If nothing else, I think that man will make this an interesting trip. Whether it happens on its own, or he stirs something up.”
Carcello could only agree with a grunt. They had finally arrived in Lyra, and it was time to get to work.