The town of Figliad was a human settlement governed by Desmond Kinjiel Gridnoir Figliad, a noble lord. Which was divided into two sections: the first was the town's outskirts, where most of the lower classes, such as peasants, lived, members of society who make a living by serving landowners in exchange for pay and a free home to live in. Second, the inner part of town, near the marketplace in the town's center, where the upper members of the town's society lived, merchants, families of the noble knights, and the house of the noble Lord's family could be found.
Throughout the town, there were numerous concrete gray roads used by the people to travel around, with hundreds of merchants and passenger carriages passing by every day. The sound of the horses and people's voices echoing throughout the area served as farewell music to the setting sun.
Citizens passing by wore clothing ranging from simple, thin tunic tops and pants worn by ordinary citizens to intricately designed gowns for women and tunics with jackets, thick leggings, and leather shoes worn by the upper classes.
There were a number of establishments and houses of various sizes on the side of the roads towards the center of town, and unlike the houses on the outskirts of town, which were made of woods and hay as roofs, the buildings in this area were made of woods, cobblestones, and chiseled stones.
Right in the middle of the town, where a roundabout connected all of the roads, was erected a huge towering eight meters tall white fountain made of chiseled white stones. The fountain's four elevated levels were filled with crystal clear water that poured down from the top into a circular pool at the base. where social interaction could be observed.
Although the town was divided into two classes, lower and upper, members of the lower classes were more than welcome to visit the town center and interact with members of the upper classes. Unlike in other towns where peasants were treated as glorified slaves, Figliad's upper classes treated them as manpower or working class with equal rights. It was due to the governance of previous noble lords of the town who believed in the rights of the lower class, which Lord Desmond Figliad was not even attempting to change, but rather supported, with a few exceptions, especially when it came to how his family members would be treated.
However, ten years ago, the town's citizens were divided into three groups following the establishment of the guild hall in the town center, directly in front of the giant fountain. Where a new group of people, the adventurers, emerged. Unlike the other citizens of the town, they were not subject to any of the upper classes, or even the noble lord himself. They would be classified as members of the Adventurers' Guild if they registered as adventurers, and as long as they did not commit what the general norm considered a criminal act, they would be considered free people.
The group of people who were under the protection and authority of the Adventurers' Guild, which had sway over many races and cultures throughout Eteria. The unrestricted people who were not bound to obey nobles, and with sufficient rank, even a king could not command them unless an adventurer willfully accepted a quest, which was a type of contract that could not be easily broken and must be completed as one of the rules of being an adventurer.
Once an adventurer accepted a quest, it had to be completed or else, and if an adventurer failed to complete a quest or decided not to complete it without a reasonable reason, it would affect their credit in the guild, and at worst, they would lose their license as an adventurer permanently.
The influence of the Adventurers' Guild was solely based on their reputation and achievements, and this rule was one of their methods of maintaining it.
A certain flag swayed in front of Figliad's massive fountain as the wind blew. A red fabric flag with a yellow logo in the center, an image of a sword, shield, and spear combined, as a memento of the two founders and the very first adventurers who founded the Adventurers' Guild 107 years ago.
Under the flag was a black roof made of chiseled stones, covering a massive dark blue infrastructure with smooth concrete walls, the town's widest and tallest building. An establishment owned by no one in town and operating as an independent department, sustaining itself by accepting quests from town residents. Since the guild's inception, the adventurers had significantly increased the town's productivity by performing dangerous tasks for citizens who could not. Figliad's branch of the Adventurers' Guild.
Ordy laughed loudly as he emerged from the guild hall's entrance's double wooden doors. "We're back!" he exclaimed as he entered the massive dome.
The people inside responded with a synchronized burst of screams that echoed throughout the room.
The guild hall's interior was a vast open space with a high white ceiling. The walls were all painted a sky blue color. Several wooden tables and chairs were scattered around the area, where the adventurers sat, waving the wooden cup with booze in their hands while smiling at Ordy. They were 32 in number, but their roaring screams gave the impression that there were more.
Two counters were located in the far corner of the dome, with designated attendants sitting on them. The registrar, located across the room in front of the guild hall's entrance, was where applicants could apply to become adventurers, citizens could submit quests and give rewards, and adventurers could deliver their quest materials to complete the quest and receive their rewards.
And the canteen, which was located across the room on the back side of the building, where adventurers could order food and drink while resting inside the guild hall. And between those two counters was a wooden staircase leading to the second floor, where the guild master's office and residence could be found.
"Ordy, my friend!" exclaimed the person in the line of people ordering food.
"How's the quest?" the bald one asked, his face still planted on the table, his double-edged sword dangling from his back. The tumbled empty, brown bottle of booze was next to his face.
"How about you sit here first and let's talk about your party's adventure while drinking booze?" suggested the muscular man, waving his half-empty bottle of liquor.
Ordy laughed at the response he got. "As expected, it was difficult; fighting against armored giants was never easy." He raised his right arm. "However, we have triumphed!"
Another round of roars rang out.
"That's what I'm talking about! That's our Ordy for you!"
Mian, Halini, Vien, and Gideon trailed Ordy, content to observe the wild crowd in front of them. When they arrived, the already raucous crowd erupted, with the other adventurers jumping in delight.
"Look! It's the adorable Halini!"
"I still can't believe it! How come you have three beautiful girls at your party? What's your secret, Ordy?"
"Vien! Give us a wave!"
Halini waved her hand at them with a big smile, and Vien followed her with a shy wave. Mian, on the other hand, just exhaled and shook her head, which she accepted as a normal occurrence inside the guild hall every time they returned from a long quest.
Gideon narrowed his eyes as he looked around, taken aback by what greeted them. "Wow, this place is crawling with drunkards."
Ordy just chuckled and shifted his closed eyes to Gideon when he heard what he said. "This is what adventurer life is like... we get excited about everything," he shrugged. "But that's the fun part of being an adventurer: living a happy life the way you want it to be... and now you'll be a part of it."