"What happened to the Leisure Guild?"
Jack froze when he heard Rydel mention his former guild by name. Earlier Jack had realized that the many characters played by gamers were living, breathing heroes in ancient Kartonia, but personally hearing his guild's name confirmed it without a doubt.
"What happened to the Leisure Guild?" Rydel repeated himself. He wasn't antsy, but he could tell that Jack was distracted and wanted to make sure he got an answer.
"We disbanded." Jack finally gave his hushed answer.
Rydel was astonished by that statement. Not only because Jack said it disbanded, but Jack said "we" specifically. "You were part of the Leisure Guild?"
"I was a cofounder." At the time, Jack needed to start a guild and get it to control a nation as one of the strange achievements. It was too difficult for most players, but Jack_J the Achievement Junkie was up for the challenge.
"You were… a cofounder…" stammered Rydel. "But that means you… you helped start the Trodan Council."
"Yeah, I occupied the second seat. But like I said, we eventually disbanded and went our separate ways."
"But why?" asked Rydel.
"It wasn't in our control." It was too complicated to explain how his online friend and cofounder in the first seat quit "A Hero's Tale" along with most of the other main members of the guild. One thing led to another and it wasn't able to sustain itself.
"But if you disbanded, how come the Leisure Guild is still around?" questioned Rydel.
"What did you say?"
"The Leisure Guild is still around. It's nowhere near as powerful as it was during ancient times, but it's easily the oldest guild in Trodar, maybe even the entire continent," clarified Rydel. "It's one of the weaker major powers in Gilga and doesn't have too much influence anymore, but many people still admire and respect it for all the good it had done for Trodar in the past."
Jack didn't know how he should feel about that, let alone respond. When the Trodan Council was formed, it was originally filled by only members of the Leisure Guild. In modern Trodar, Jack guessed that it would be lucky to occupy two seats out of the eleven.
"Are you sure you don't remember any of your former titles? I'm sure I'd figure out who you were," said Rydel, nodding his head like a dog expecting a treat from his owner.
"Honestly I don't." Jack lied; thanks to some of the titles being part of achievements, how could he forget them all. But he didn't want too much attention, he felt that it would only get in the way of his leveling.
"Fine, I'll get you to admit it sooner or later," claimed Rydel, guessing at Jack's motives. "Anyways, records say that the Leisure Guild was once the strongest guild in all Kartonia, is that true?"
"In a way, it was. It's hard to say who was the absolute strongest, but our guild had achieved far more than anyone else's," answered Jack. He was referring to the Leisure Guild being first on the achievement board, where they were the undisputed king until they disbanded.
Pride and respect swelled through Rydel when he heard Jack confirm the fact. "What about the ancient guild wars? Was the Leisure Guild really the most powerful?"
Laughter rang out from Jack as he put two and two together, realizing Rydel was talking about the guild wars PvP event from the past. "We weren't the most powerful, but we were definitely one of the top three."
"That's still awesome!" Rydel was like an excited child that was easily enthused.
"What can you tell me about Trodar? It's been a while since I've been there personally," said Jack, trying to get some information of his own.
Rydel shrunk when he heard Jack and lost his pent-up excitement. He took his time to breathe and think, throwing Jack for a loop. After making Jack wait for almost a minute, Rydel said, "I'm not sure. I was born there but I fled the country when I was a few years old."
"What happened?"
"You want to go to Trodar to help the war effort, right? Well, my parents tried to escape the country before the travel ban was put in place. We made it past the border, but my mother and I only survived because my father led some soldiers in a different direction," answered Rydel with a softer tone.
"My mother was distraught and wouldn't stop traveling north until there was nowhere left to go. That's what led to us stopping at a port like Reinolt City and to me later becoming an adventurer. I joined the association and turned down the bribe partially because the members of the Adventurers Association are some of the few people allowed to enter Trodar without too much hassle. There's still a massive entry and exit fee, but money comes and goes."
"So, you don't remember much from Trodar? You learned all that other stuff from your mom, didn't you?" asked Jack.
"Yeah, either that or from paid informants." Nodding his head, Rydel's weighted gaze met Jack's. "If you're going back to settle the troubles in Trodar, you can count me in. I'm no hero, but not many can outsmart me."
Jack sighed and groaned. "Are you sure? I'm never orthodox and will do whatever I want on a whim, despite the consequences."
Remembering what happened when they tried to leave Reinolt City, Rydel chuckled, "If that's all I have to worry about, you can forget about persuading me otherwise."
"Fine, you can join me after I reach lv. 30. Now you know why I have no time to waste."
"No worries, we'll get you leveled up in no time. With that fox's help, you'll get there soon enough," said Rydel, returning to his usual mood. "Let's get some sleep, we've got a long day tomorrow."
Jack didn't respond; he laid down and pulled the sheets over him and the sleeping fox that fell asleep beside him. Rydel did his best to calm his emotions but it took him some time for him to fall asleep.
Morning sunlight crept through the corners of the single window, giving them both an early welcome call. They got on their feet and made their way downstairs. Like clockwork, Trom was there waiting for them.
He assured them that he would take care of all their needs and gave directions to the nearest medic and the local association building. Jack asked about the local Royal Court office too, but Trom insisted that they couldn't miss it if they found the association building.
Once they exited the Boars Inn, the streets were already full and packed with budding gossip about the two of them.
Jack laughed when he heard whisperings that Rydel was really a demon summoned to protect its master on command. His favorite rumor was that he had received a blessing from Kori the fox god and Bowser was a gift from above.
Though they were laughing the whole way, no one bothered them in the least thanks to the brutal rumors they all heard about Rydel.
A simple building came into view. It was home that had been converted into a business with a sign reading "medical services found here." They knocked on the door and were soon welcomed by a middle-aged man in plain clothes. He showed them in and immediately tended to Jack's needs since he was the first customer to show up.
It cost Jack seven silver for the basic-level healing, new bandages, and an ointment that would quicken his recovery. He found the price to be more than reasonable but, like everyone, Jack hated parting with his money when he was nearly broke.
With a quick bow and a thank you, they returned to the dirt road. Since Baltwood wasn't too large, it didn't take long for them to find the association building. That's when Jack understood Trom's advice to find the Royal Court office.
To the side of the plain and worn-out association building was the most extravagant building in town. It's bright purple and yellow colors stood out like a sore thumb, just like the Royal Court crest which was hanging above the building's entrance.
Sidestepping the Royal Court office, Rydel led Jack into the association office and yelled, "Vaul, where are you?"
A muscle-bound man with an unbuttoned coat rose up from behind the front desk. "That you, Rydel? Man, it's been too long. You need to visit more often otherwise, things here get too boring."
"We can talk about that later Vaul. First, where's everything that needs to be delivered to the main office?" Rydel got straight to the point.
"Here, take it already," said Vaul, who casually lifted a large, leather chest onto his desk.
Rydel placed his hand on it and stored the chest into his spacial bracer. "What's the news from around here? Anything we need to know about?"
"Yeah there are a couple of things, but let's talk in private," said Vaul as his finger pointed to Jack.
"He's a new member so don't worry about him. Just say what you need to say," barked Rydel. He was clearly trying to hurry Vaul along and keep the man from going off on tangents like he always did.
Vaul took a good look at Jack and was startled that he couldn't see through his level or anything. Based on his wardrobe Jack could be labeled as a newbie, but Vaul had never met a newbie with that level of privacy. This made him curious as a grin stretched across his face.