After sitting in the most comfortable chairs they had ever had the pleasure of resting in, Floris and Alvis noticed a girl approaching them. She wore a pink hoodless robe and carried a wooden staff on her back. She had very long blonde hair with bangs that covered her right eye. In short, she was very attractive; even more so than Anabelle from the previous town. As she approached the two boys, she folded her arms behind her back and tilted her head a little as she greeted them with a welcoming smile, "Hi, there! I was informed we had some new members of the guild and was told to show them round. I take it you're our new members?"
Neither Floris nor Alvis could say anything. They were completely taken aback by the beauty standing in front of them. Her voice was soft, gentle and kind, and they had never seen such long beautiful hair before. The girl seemed to be wearing something on her face that made her even more attractive. Her eyelids and sockets were dark with some kind of coating and her lips were coated in red, but just the right amount. Thew two boys slumped their shoulders as they stared at the girl before them, all but drooling at her.
"Um...hello?" The girl said, snapping the boys from their daze.
Floris shook his head a little to clear his thoughts, then refocused his attention on the girl, "Uh...sorry about that. Yes, we're the new members. My name is Floris."
"And my name is Alvis." Alvis said.
The girl closed her eyes and bowed to greet them, "Welcome to the Mages Guild! My name is Elizabeth and I'll be the one showing you around!" She smiled welcomingly to each of them, then looked at Floris, "So, you're Floris Fetcher, huh? It's a tremendous honor to meet you! You're a legend and a hero around here, Mr. Fetcher."
Floris smiled under his scarf and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I've kind of figured that out. I just got my first kiss from a girl in Swamp Watch a few days ago."
"Oh, well aren't you the lucky man." Elizabeth winked at Floris and pointed her finger teasingly at him, "Better get used to it, boy. Once it gets around that you've joined the guild, a lot of the girls are gonna be flocking to you."
"Really? Why's that?" Floris asked curiously. He didn't know whether to be excited or nervous.
Elizabeth giggled before answering, "Because girls love heroes. Especially famous ones. That scarf you're wearing better be secured tightly because they're all going to want to know what you really look like."
"I...I see." Floris said, definitely feeling a little more nervous than excited for his future.
"So...what about me? Will I be getting any of the ladies?" Alvis asked in a flirty tone as he raised his eyebrows a few times at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth stared blankly at Alvis and blinked a few times, "Who the heck are you?"
Alvis' jaw fell loose and he stared at Elizabeth with giant eyes, unable to say anything. All that left his mouth was a loud rejected moan.
Floris shook his head and laughed a little, then looked at Elizabeth, "He's my friend. We've known each other since we were little. He's...we're...still in the process of learning about this new world we've stumbled into."
Elizabeth nodded at Floris, then smiled softly at Alvis, "That's alright. I didn't mean any offense. Anyway, shall we begin the tour?"
Floris and Alvis both nodded, eagerly wanting to see the building.
"Great! Let's get started!" Elizabeth said, leading the way.
The ground floor turned out to be far larger than they were originally expecting. It seemed to be a study and visitation area with all of the furniture set up the way it was. Countless tables of varying size could be found all over the place with lavish chairs surrounding them. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling over the tables, each one burning with flames of different colors. There was a huge population of members on the first floor alone. Floris had lost count of the new faces a long time ago. Some seemed relatively new while others seemed to be fairly high in rank just based off the impressive robes they wore. Some
people weren't even wearing robes or mages attire, but were instead, wearing clothing similar to what they saw people wearing outside. This confused both boys at first, but they looked at Elizabeth as she started speaking.
"So, the first floor is where we do most of our meetings. It can also be a study area if needed, but most of what we do here is go over the progress of our research with our teammates and the higher-ranking members of the guild. This is also where the head of the guildhall will discuss certain topics with high ranking military officers or the nobles of the area surrounding Misty Lake." Elizabeth explained as she showed them around the first floor.
Along either of the walls at the ends of the building were staircases that led up to the second level. Elizabeth led the way, but there was something that was bothering Floris, and he couldn't hold back his question anymore, "Elizabeth, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at Floris as she continued to walk, "Sure. What's on your mind?"
Floris thought about how to word his question, then proceeded, "I was just wondering. To get into the guild you have to show some skill with magic, right? I was just wondering why Etrix didn't test us earlier."
Elizabeth stopped walking and turned her whole body to face the two boys, "That's a fair question, Floris. Hmm...how do I put it?" She scratched her chin as she thought for a moment, "Well, I suppose the most basic reason is that the Mages Guild also acts as an orphanage."
"A what?" Alvis asked.
Elizabeth looked at Alvis, "An orphanage. It's a place that shelters and feeds children who lost their families somehow. I heard about what happened to your home and I'm deeply sorry for what happened. But I'm assuming both of you are younger than the age of eighteen?"
Floris and Alvis nodded silently.
"Well, then there's one reason you were taken into the guild!" Elizabeth said with a sweet smile, "As for other reasons, it doesn't just boil down to magic being needed to join the guild. Anyone who can
perform alchemy, enchanting, staff making, or one of the other numerous tasks the guild relies on is welcomed into the guild. It's not expected for new people to know how to cast spells right off the get-go, either. It takes time and a lot of patience to learn magic. So, don't feel discouraged if you're not sure about your magical abilities. Even if it turns out you can't perform magic or do any of the things the guild relies on, the guild will still shelter you until you come of age. I hope you can find some reassurance in that."
Floris and Alvis had melted away with the soft and caring tone of her voice. She was so welcoming and friendly, it was a nice refresher from the business of the outside world. The smiled softly at her, then continued to follow her up the stairs.
The second floor had caught Floris by complete surprise. Bookshelves upon bookshelves upon bookshelves were lined up in isles from one wall to the other. The bookshelves reached from the floor to the ceiling and were completely stocked full. The room was dimly lit but was bright enough to see where to go without bumping into anything. Small and large tables were placed randomly throughout the room. Some had single chairs for more private studies with other tables having multiple chairs around them for groups. Most tables had people sitting at them, mostly in groups. However, lots of people were roaming the isles, looking for specific volumes to read.
Elizabeth stopped walking and turned to look at Floris and Alvis. She started to speak, but in a low and very soft voice that neither of the boys wished would stop.
"As you can see, this is our archive or library. Many of the books here will go into detail about the basics of magic control, but there's a huge variety of other topics. You'll find books going over Fiorra's history, the history of the continent, military history, alchemy studies, enchanting, maps, lore and so on. However, while this archive is vast, it pales in comparison to the one at the Arcane University." She smiled softly at Floris before continuing, "I'm sure you will be most happy here, Floris. Anyway, let's continue on."
Elizabeth led the boys to the third floor, which was vastly different compared to the rest of what they had seen so far. The room was divided into multiple hallways with a vast number of doors going down each one.
"This is the dormitory for new or lower-ranking members of the guild." Said Elizabeth, "Each room contains two to four beds for you to sleep on. This is a multi-gender dormitory, but males must stay with males and females must stay with females. Once we get done with the tour, we'll see if we can find a room for you two. I'm sure you must be exhausted after your journey."
Floris and Alvis nodded in agreement, "You have no idea." Alvis said sleepily.
Elizabeth smiled warmly and led the way to the next floor, "Well, I'll try and wrap this up quickly, then."
The fourth floor was the diner and had a vast variety of food laid out on a seemingly endless ocean of tables. Foods ranging from meats, fruits, sweets, vegetables, and drinks. Most of the stuff laid out, neither Floris or Alvis had ever seen. However, the air smelled of freshly baked bread and freshly cooked meat. Just the smell alone was enough to make the boys forget about their travels. They had relied on old venison meat for the past several days and were ready for something new. The room was so welcoming and inviting that they wanted to jump in and fill their bellies with as much as they could. However, their eyes snapped to Elizabeth as she started talking.
"As you can see, this is our Diner. You can get your fill of food here any time of the day and it's completely free to members of the guild. On occasion, the guild may throw a party for a certain event, in which case, the entire guildhall comes here to celebrate. You'll find just about anything you could imagine for food or drink here. However, alcohol is only for those eighteen or older." She went quiet for a few moments, then smiled at the boys, "And that pretty much wraps up the tour."
"But what about the other floor?" Alvis asked.
Elizabeth smiled kindly at Alvis, "That's where the senior members like yours truly stay. There's no need to take you up there. Anyway, let's find you two a room so you can rest for a while."
Elizabeth opened a door on the third floor and let Floris and Alvis step in before stepping in herself. She clapped her hands twice, and the room illuminated with candles on each wall, "Hey. Not bad for the low ranking quarters."
The room was fairly large and was basically divided into cubes. There was the entryway, the main area where the two twin size beds were, then two separate areas that were dedicated for studying. Each area had a single chair and a large table with a decent sized bookshelf for storing their studying material. At the foot of each bed was a large chest for storing supplies and clothing.
For Floris and Alvis, the room was a major upgrade to what they were used to in the swamp. They had no words for new living arrangement, but it was obvious from the looks in their eyes that they were beyond happy.
Elizabeth smiled warmly at the two boys, then started to walk away, "I'll leave you two alone now; I need to get back to my own studies. I'll look forward to seeing you two again tomorrow." She waved good-bye to the boys and gently closed the door behind her.
Floris and Alvis then chose their sleeping areas. Floris chose the bed against the far wall from the door that had white sheets with a red blanket, while Alvis chose the one around the corner from the entrance and the one that had white sheets with a blue blanket. They both took off their traveling gear for the first time in weeks and sat down on what truly felt like a cloud.
The beds were extremely comfortable and soft; before they knew it, the boys passed out from exhaustion.