- ADVENTURERS GUILDHALL -
The tension in the hall was slowly escalating, Hielgan could tell that old man Hersey was starting to get agitated. In his words, he had claimed that the deity Moria was forging a path for the restoration of the Bouncing Clam.
Hielgan recalled the recent events he had been through, and he could easily put the pieces together and find the true mastermind behind it all.
'Princess...'
Three officials, Grargastiel, Surwoolien, and Mercarien all had ash grey hair and ancient features, they all sat in three comfortable-looking armed chairs at the far end of the enormous table, while Hielgan and Hersey sat next to each other on the other side of the table on small cushioned stools.
"The fourth condition requires your guild Hersey to have at least five members." Surwoolien stated grumpily while shifting his nose to keep his glasses from falling off his face.
"Yes, we do have the members." Old man Hersey lied. "They are just not in the city at the moment."
"Oh, is that so? Then you won't mind sending them here once they return do you?" Surwoolien responded with a raised eyebrow.
"They will."
Unconvinced the Adventurers Guild officials eyed the old man suspiciously, but without any valid proof of his claims to be untrue, they merely wane off the statement and proceeded to press the old man on another matter.
"However that may be, the Adventures Guild Jurisprudence states that each official guild must meet the presented requirements for it to be recognized in Quaria." Grargastiel stated with a firm tone.
Hielgan recalled how old man Hersey had warned him to be wary of Grargastiel, he was the head of the Adventurers Guild and the current oldest living adventurer in Morland. His knowledge of Morland could be traced back to the First Emperors' time, he was the one they had to convince to get their Adventurer's Guild Certificate.
'How do we convince him?'
Old man Hersey had expected Grargastiel not to speak during their meeting, but he understood what the officials were truly aiming for, so instead of complying with them on their turf, he stood up from his seat.
"Seems the council has made its point." Old man Hersey beckoned to Hielgan. "Come lad, we dare not take up their time anymore."
Hielgan stood up.
"Stop." Grargastiel halted them. "The reason we called here today was to ascertain that the Bouncing Clam was following the guild's laws."
"Since we can not be sure of this yet, we will give you three days to put the guild in order." Surwoolien finished with a puffed expression.
"You have three days to complete the final requirement, once the time expires your certificate will too."
The old man and Hielgan left the Adventurers Guild and made their way back to the Bouncing Clam, the look of worry filled the old man's face as Hielgan understood the pressure the council had placed upon him.
- QUARIA -
Hielgan's recent accomplishment seemed to have forced the Adventurers Guild to reinstate the Bouncing Clam as an active guild once more, however, due to the manner in which the quest was handled, the officials at the Adventurers Guild needed certain requirements to be fulfilled before they could fully allow the Bouncing Clam to take other quests.
The first condition was for the Bouncing Clam to have a GuildMaster, that person had to be a seasoned Adventurer in both wisdom and strength.
Fortunately, old man Hersey was once a renowned adventurer in Quaria, records of his many accomplishments rested in scrolls at the Adventurers Guild Headquarters, so that condition was already met.
The second condition the Bouncing Clam needed to fulfill was a stable source of income. With the lack of registered adventurers in the guild, old man Hersey had struggled to maintain the guild building. He had resorted to turning the guild into an inn so that he could earn enough money to cover his annual taxes.
Hielgan wondered if his recent public attraction with the Princess had caused more harm than good to the Bouncing Clam, most mortals would prefer to join a guild where the adventurers were doing well and the guild was thriving, and it was nearly impossible to find individuals who wanted to build something out of nothing.
Quaria was a big city, but finding members to join the Bouncing Clam was still easier said than done.
'Even I ended up joining because I was lacking funds to find a decent inn, joining a decent guild didn't need coin.'
Hielgan recalled how he saw several guilds when he first came to Quaria, but as the Princess had stated, the mortals in the city did not seem to rely much on the guilds in these modern times.
The old man may have been deterred for a moment, but his heart still burnt hot to revive his fallen guild.
"What do you think Hielgan, do you believe that Moria is on our side?" Old man Hersey asked Hielgan with a curious gaze.
Hielgan could tell from his voice that the old man was starting to get concerned for the future of the Bouncing Clam, he understood that this was not the time to hide the truth because of how the old man would feel, he needed to be honest with his words.
"No." Hielgan said stiffly.
Hielgan felt his throat croak as the rest of the words he wanted to say failed him. His earlier intention was to assist the old man with a few jobs before departing, he had not expected that one job would create the current chain of events nor did he imagine himself getting attached to Hersey.
"I do not believe that Moria is on your side." Hielgan's throat loosened. "However, I am on your side."
The old man held Hielgan's shoulder for a moment, he could tell that he was holding back tears but refrained from saying a word.
"The renovations on the Bouncing Clam seem to have started." Hielgan noted.
The old man looked towards his guild and saw the mortals placing construction apparatus outside the establishment, the makeover would take at least two days to complete, so Hielgan and old man Hersey had to find accommodation in a regular inn.
Later at the Inn, the old man went straight to the bar while Hielgan went to bed and mused about events that passed.
The morning came quickly, Hielgan woke up early and went for a morning jog to clear his mind. He wished that the Princess would visit him again and help him find recruits for the Bouncing Clam, but he knew this would be asking for too much.
As he jogged through one of the city squares, the sound of wood striking stone filled the air. He stopped and listen to the sound for a moment, this sound brought back memories and he could not help but follow its origin.
Hielgan walked around the square, through the well-trimmed plants in the park that appeared to form maze-like shapes in the park.
Then through the interior park fence, he saw a boy practicing his swordsmanship on one of the decorative statues while using a wooden sword.
The boy jabbed the statue's abdomen swiftly and then skipped about before landing a few chops to the legs and knees of the statue. Hielgan could tell that the boy had talent, but he still had much to improve on.
Hielgan was reluctant at first, but he then recalled a part of the Dragonkin text that his father had taught him.
'For when our people were weak and poor, the dragons descended from the heavens and blessed us with knowledge and great power, thus the dragonkin were born.'
Hielgan mused.
"We were not blessed by the deities of Morland, nor did Moria see us." Hielgan muttered. "My ancestors sought after the divine dragons and were rewarded by their faithfulness."
"Hey, I have seen you before." The boy called out to Hielgan.
Hielgan noticed this and approached, he wondered if it was during the Princess' speech at the city square.
"Wait, you are friends with that girl that brings us food!"
Hielgan recalled Molina, he had been escorting her for a few days now as she sold the produce from Seabed to the local merchants, he wondered if the kid's parents were one of them.
"Yes, I am." Hielgan responded.
"I haven't seen her lately, is she okay?"
"Yes, she went back to Seabed, but she will be back."
Molina had given Hielgan ten gold coins for protecting her during and after her journey, but Hielgan knew she had overpaid him. So he took two coins and the saber's pelt and gave it to a blacksmith to craft him a more durable armor, and the rest of the coins he paid towards the Bouncing Clam's renovation.
"So what sort of stance are you practicing?"
"It's nothing..." The boy shied away from Hielgan's question.
"Well if you happen to ever practice again, maybe this could help." Hielgan reached his hand out to the boy who looked at him keenly.
'What's this?'
Hielgan felt a sudden intent, and without warning the boy took a stance and then swiped his wooden sword toward Hielgan. However, after getting his blood pumping from his recent jogging, Hielgan quickly shifted his weight and leaned to one side, evading the strike in the process.
"Wow, you are not bad..." The boy remarked, then he turned his blunt blade and pointed the handle to Hielgan with a smile.
'This kid...'
Hielgan looked down at the boy, he knew that if he had not exercised that morning he could have been struck by that attack.
"Satisfied huh?"
The boy nodded.