Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty-Seven - Outside Context People

"Hi," I said as I bounced up to a nice wooden counter. It wasn't so much nice because it was nice wood (though it wasn't ugly wood, certainly, the grain was... very grainy, and the counter had little filigree decorations along the outside) what made it nice, at least to me, was how worn it was.

The counter had been treated with oils and such to keep it nice and shiny, but that didn't prevent a large area of it from being worn down. It looked like the kind of counter where a thousand little touches and scrapes had started to dig into the wood.

It made it feel homey, and it fit in with the rest of the place.

The Adventuring Guild reminded me a little of the Exploration Guild, but it did differ in some big ways.

For one, it was a lot busier.

For another, the Exploration Guild branches I'd stepped into had usually been pretty quiet and stately spaces. Comfy, sure, but like... luxuriously comfy? The guilds had nice furniture and a focus on classy materials that would last a long time. A lot of them felt almost like stepping into a museum, or a bank.

I supposed that fit. The Guild had people that were nobility in their ranks, and old-timey Explorers were tough and usually on the well-off side, so their hangouts kind of felt that way. Like really fancy hunting lodges.

The Adventurer's guild felt like more of a cross between a dingy-but-well-loved bar and an accountant's office.

In one corner was fireplace with cheerily crackling flames, and in the other was a bar with moderately rowdy patrons. Behind the bar was a kitchen, from which wafted the scent of garlic and roasting meat and fresh bread, while in front of the bar were round tables and chairs and a lot of adventurers. On the other side of the seating were short counters with people behind them, including the one Desiree and I had arrived at.

The young man behind the counter looked up from some papers and seemed to do that thing where he rewound and replayed my greeting. "Oh, uh, hello," he said. "How can I help you? Are you adventurers?"

"Nope," I said. "I just thought that this might be the best place to ask a few questions, but we could be wrong."

"Certainly," the man said. He sat up in his seat, eyed mine and Desiree's ears for a moment, then refocused on my eyes. "So, what can I help you with?"

"We're members of the Exploration Guild," I said, thumbing my pin. "We're coming in from... I guess Port Royal? We're basically on a quest!"

The receptionist blinked a couple of times, then started. "Oh! Well, that's very nice. We don't often get visitors from out of town. I mean, from out of the Empire. I suppose that explains the, uh..." he gestured vaguely above his head, making little ears out of his hands.

"I guess?" I said. "I was born a human, though," I said. "It's only when my class evolved that I got the bunny ears. See, I still have my old human ones." I shifted some hair out of the way to show him.

"Oh, you have an evolved class?" he asked. "That's impressive."

"Almost everyone on the crew has at least evolved once," Desiree replied.

The receptionist's smile turned a bit wooden at that. Was that something wrong to say? "R-really? Well, that's very, ah, impressive. In any case, did you wish to speak to the head of the guild?"

"No no," I said. "We're just looking for information about a small town."

He blinked. "Okay. Well, we do have a member who hands out missions in the vicinity. Is this small town close to Southerfell?"

"It should be," I said. "It's along the coast of the Moonstruck Sea, at least."

He nodded, then gestured for us to give him a minute. A solid three minutes later, the receptionist returned, escorting an older gentleman in the local equivalent of a suit. "Hello, this is mission commander Joshua Paperson. I think he might be able to assist you with your inquiry. If that inquiry turns into a mission for the guild, he should be able to help with that as well."

"Hello," Mister Paperson said with a nod. "Pleasure to meet you, misses. Shall we have a seat somewhere a little more discreet?"

"That'd be nice!" As homey and warm as the main lobby was, it was also kind of on the louder side.

Mister Paperson led us through a thin wooden door into the back area, which was quite richly appointed, with a thick carpet on the ground and oil lamps hanging on the walls providing enough soft light to see by.

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We were brought into a small sitting room. "Tea? Coffee?" Mister Paperson asked.

"You have coffee?" I asked.

"Yes! Sourced from the jungle, in fact. It's one of the more popular types of missions to hand out to lower levelled adventurers. Of course, these come from local companies that ship them elsewhere, but a few beans always end up at the guild. I daresay some of our staff couldn't live without."

"Wow! That's neat," I said. "But, ah, no thanks! I was never much of a coffee drinker. Some tea would be nice?"

"I shall try this 'coffee,'" Desiree said. "Why venture so far from home if not to attempt new things, yes?"

Mister Paperson left, then quickly returned with two pots and something that looked like a French press. He poured for us while we made ourselves comfy on a pair of couches. "So, how might the guild assist two young ladies from our... sister organization."

"Is the Exploration Guild well-known here?" I asked, curious.

"Not as well as the Adventurer's," he said. "Though the reputation of the Exploration Guild does precede it. Common folk in the Empire either see it as a knock-off of the Adventurer's guild--forgive me for that, I know it isn't accurate--or as a foreign take on something familiar. Those who know better are generally aware that the level caps in the Exploration Guild are a lot higher than what we usually keep."

"Oh, I don't know, I haven't even been a member for a year."

"But you did complete a dungeon and gained your second class," he pointed out.

"Well, yeah, I've completed ..." I paused and tried to count it out. "Nine dungeons? No, eight. I never got all the way through that Freudian one."

He blinked.

"Anyway! We're getting off topic! My friends and I came to Southerfell because it's the nearest city to the place we're looking for."

"And what place is that?" he asked.

"It's a small town along the coast. We don't have a name for it, but we're pretty sure it's to the east of Southerfell. It might be right next door, or some ways away. I don't know, but I was hoping someone here might!"

He reached up and rubbed at his chin. "We could provide you with a map with such locations, but I'd be failing at my job if I don't at least charge a nominal fee, you understand?"

"Yup! That makes sense," I said. Maps had to be made, and that couldn't be cheap! There were probably people out there with some sort of Cartographer class, though. But I bet that they weren't exactly common!

Mister Paperson nodded. "In that case, I'm certain we can help you. Would you mind if I enquire as to why you're looking for this town?"

"I don't," I said. "If you know about the Exploration Guild, then you'll know that we like exploring things. We're hunting down an old mystery. Have you ever heard of the Black Avatars?"

His eyebrows rose. "I have. In children's stories, mostly."

"Neat! That's kind of what we're chasing after. Apparently they had an old fortress next to one of the towns near here, and one day it up and left. The entire fortress! That's really neat, so we want to check the area out."

"So ..." his expression had turned a bit uncertain. "You chartered an airship and ... flew all the way out here to investigate this ... fortress?"

"Chartered?" I asked.

"I mean, booked passage."

"Oh, no no, the ship we came on--the Beaver Cleaver--is ours," I said.

He cleared his throat. "I see." He tugged at the neck of his nice suit. "Well, in any case. For one gold piece, I'm certain we can provide you with a map, and I can canvas the adventurers that are present to see if any knows what town, specifically, you'll be looking for?"

"That would be super nice!" I said. I opened up my pouch, rooted around for a moment within, then set down the smallest gold coin I had onto the counter. "Is that good enough?" I asked.

"Of course!" he said.

Desiree was shaking her head next to me for some reason.

"I'll get that for you right away. Wait here for just a moment."

"Okay!" I said.

Now... since we were mostly done, maybe I could ask someone local about their way of celebrating New Years? It'd be fun to try!

***

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