It was the third floor, and the sign on the door read 'B', but the name was not 'Sara'. Raed checked the information on his card. 'Sara Hagan, Finulid Branch, 3B', it read, under the line for 'guild representative'.
So why did the actual name on the door read 'Christine'?
Should he try and go in anyway? If he had the wrong room at least whoever Christine was could help him find his real guild rep.
For its part, the closed wooden door stood in silent judgment.
While Raed debated his options, a tall woman dressed in a neat business suit walked up behind him, the soft red carpet muffling the sounds of her black heels hitting the floor.
Standing shoulder to shoulder and still undetected, she asked, "Are you going to knock?"
"Ah!" Raed screamed.
"Ah!" The woman screamed back.
"Who are you?" Raed asked.
"Same to you back! Who are YOU?!" The woman asked, louder.
"I'm a new adventurer." Raed corrected himself, "Old adventurer. New card. I was told that my guild rep is Sara and that this is her office, 3B?"
The woman facepalmed. "This was Nina's doing, wasn't it? That lazy idiot..."
"Yes, I got this info from Nina. Say, you wouldn't happen to be Sara, would you? I'm trying to figure out why the name on the wall says 'Christine', and none of the offices have 'Sara' on their nameplates."
"That's because I am Sara and Christine."
"Right..." Raed said.
"Long story short, Sara's my former adventuring alias. My real name is Christine. Christine Hagan. I am your guild rep." Christine extended her gloved hand, the thin black fabric covered up to her wrist.
Raed took her hand and shook it. "Raed Kening," he replied, "nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. Now, would you like to knock or shall we walk in?" Christine asked.
"Lead the way."
The interior of the office was rather cluttered. Among the disorganized piles of papers, folders, and books, there was a semblance of two sofas facing each other and a coffee table between them.
"Go ahead, have a seat. Push away what you need to make room for yourself," Christine said. She did exactly what she suggested, carelessly shoving a stack of pages to the beige carpeted floor before dropping herself on the couch, bouncing slightly off the cushion after contact.
Raed carefully shifted a stack aside on the opposite sofa, clearing out enough space so he could also sit comfortably, or about as much as he could while surrounded on multiple sides by towers of paper sheets.
Christine extended her gloved hand. "License, please," she requested.
Raed handed her his crystal-made card, which Christine swiped through a device that looked like a smaller version of the console downstairs. She returned the card to Raed.
A holographic screen projected from the console. Christine scanned the information quickly.
"The technology used here is impressive," Raed remarked.
Christine stopped reading for a moment to respond. "Hm? Yes, our branch has been lucky to be in Finulid City. Other than the capital, I think we're the only location to get desktop and handheld consoles."
"I don't remember seeing them when I was in the capital, when did they start using them?"
"Maybe two years ago? Might be three? I remember there were a lot of people unhappy when they first came in," Christine said, as she resumed reading the information on Raed and his accepted quests.
"I'd imagine it would be easier to store and organize than all the paper that used to be required." Raed looked at the paper pillars to his left and right.
"I know, right? I'm so dependent on the consoles now, I hardly even use any actual paper to do guild paperwork now!"
Then what is the meaning for all this paper? Raed thought, as he searched for a single unoccupied spot in the room that was not covered by at least one sheet.
"Ok, Raed, so I reviewed your adventurer log and your active quests," Christine said, raising her head from the console screen to look Raed in the eye. "Now, I have to ask about the ten years since you last recorded an adventure. What have you been doing and what have you done to get ready to return to adventuring?"
"I cultivated a garden and wrote some books," Raed replied. "As for preparing for adventure, I didn't really do anything in particular. Maybe I traveled here from Silas Village? Does that count?"
"Oh, I see," She said, slightly concerned. "And you intend to complete all eight of these demon hunting quests solo?"
"That's the plan."
She inhaled deeply. "Alright, then let's see what you still can do. Obviously we don't have space for you to do a full on combat demo, but it says you're an alchemist and a healer. So maybe you can show me some transmutation and healing magic?"
"About that," Raed clarified, "I don't exactly transmute the way other alchemists do it. And I don't actually have healing magic."
"So you mean you're neither then?"
"Well, no I can still alter matter and I can treat a lot of injuries and illnesses. It's just not what you'd expect from the typical person doing the job."
Christine stared at Raed skeptically. "Uh huh. Then, can you show me what you meant by that?"
"Sure," Raed said. "Now, do you have a cup or a glass or any other container?"
"I think I might have a cup around here somewhere let me see." Christine tossed away a folder on the coffee table to uncover a coffee mug. It was a plain white cup with an interior that was heavily stained with prior use. She handed it to Raed.
Holding the cup in hand, Raed closed his eyes and visualized the elements. He thought of a perfect substance to make for Christine. After first listing out the required components in his mind, C8H10N4O2, Raed then visualized a simplified representation of those elements creating bonds with each other in the form of lines. He was thankful that some background mechanism would automate the remaining steps such that he never needed to consciously form the structure. From that point forward, he could let his internal alchemy slate take over, create the final structure and replicate the molecule until enough material physically manifested. Finally, to make it palatable, C12H22O11, and dissolve in an easy solvent, H2O.
When the cycling of trillions of iterations working at the scale of milliseconds in Raed's internal universe completed, he opened his eyes to observe the results of his version of alchemy.
In his hand, the plain white coffee mug was nearly full with a clear liquid. He offered it to Christine, who viewed it with suspicion.
"What is that?" She asked, sniffing the cup.
"Caffeine and cane sugar in water. It won't taste as good as coffee, but I think you'll get the same energy boost."
Christine took the cup and took a sip. "It's sweet," she said.
"Well I did add sugar. Just using caffeine would be bitter."
"Is that why coffee is bitter?" She asked.
"There are other things in coffee that make it bitter. Same with tea."
"Interesting. Now what about your healing?"
"It's not my primary role, since I'll admit that healing magic performed by real healers is much more effective. I can perform non-magical treatments, such as cleaning wounds and setting bones. Sometimes there are ways to heal someone using a compound I transmute."
"Then you're more of an apothecary or a physician than a healer? Those would be an occupations and not traditional adventurer classes."
"Right, so I guess I'll stick with alchemist then," Raed accepted.
"But I wonder, if you can heal with your alchemy, you can do the opposite as well?" Christine asked.
"You mean poisons? Sure, I can make those too," Raed said.
"No, I mean, the ones that can cause sickness. Like plague, or consumption."
"Ah. That depends on what's causing the illness. If it is caused by a living organism, then I cannot, since that would be creating life from nothing."
"You mean like rats and...where does consumption come from?" She asked.
"The soil," Raed said. "But no, I don't mean the rats, although those would also be impossible for me to create."
Raed stopped himself. He recalled that this world did not yet have their version of germ theory, and a lot of diseases were still attributed either to internal or external forces, essences, elements, or poisons.
"It's more complicated to make something that can cause disease like a plague than it is to create poison," Raed explained.
Christine clapped her hands together. "Maybe we should move on, this conversation is not going where I thought it'd be by now," she said.
"A fighter class uses spears, axes, or swords to fight. An archer uses bows or crossbows. I see no reason why an alchemist wouldn't use poison as a weapon."
"That's more fitting for an assassin, wouldn't you think?" Christine asked, growing ever more uncomfortable.
"True," Raed conceded, "They are often the end users, much like the warrior, and not the smith, is the end user of a sword. But the way I see it, if it is something that can eliminate an enemy while exposing me to minimal risk, that's the best weapon I could have."
"Ok, I agree, can we move on to talking about your quests now?" Christine asked unsteadily. "You have eight active quests in the local area, and three expire in a week."
She turned the console display around so Raed could read the descriptions. He read the first quest in the list:
[Quest: Demon in the Woods]
[Expires in 6 days]
[Description: A vicious demon has been spotted in the forests surrounding Landis Town. Find this demon and eliminate it to protect the peaceful lives of the townsfolk!]
[Objectives: Slay/capture the demon (0/1)]
[Rewards: 5 lei]
[Completion awarded upon proof of capture or elimination]
"This part where it says to capture or prove elimination, I understand the capturing part. But what counts as proof? Do you need me to bring back a body part from each of them?" Raed asked.
Christine recoiled. "What? Ew! No!" She shouted. "Why would you bring that back with you? And what would we even do with them?"
Raed shrugged. "That's how it worked when I was doing these types of quests ten years ago."
"Gosh, you've really been out of the loop haven't you?" Christine said. "We haven't done that for at least the past eight years now! Like, why would we want rotting body parts? You'd be carrying those smelly things and spreading disease everywhere. Wait, aren't you supposed to know about that? Why are you practicing something so unhygienic?"
"Alright, slow down, I get it," Raed said. "Then, what would the guild accept as proof of elimination?"
"Something really valuable to the demon, like an intact part of their armor. But not weapons. It's too easy to disarm one and claim the reward so we started to limit what counted as instant proof items. Now we only accept things that a demon is wearing and most likely wouldn't part with easily while still alive. Jewelry, armor, underwear. Say, Raed, do you think demons actually wear underwear?"
"What a weird question. Why do you care?"
"If they do then I can propose adding that to the list of instant proof items."
Raed looked at Christine, trying to read her expression. She looked absolutely serious about the idea. He wondered if the caffeine and sucrose mix he gave her earlier was too concentrated.
"If I ever encounter a situation where I end up possessing a demon's underwear, I will let you know," Raed said, surprising himself.
He quickly reviewed the rest of the quests with minimal talking. When he finished, he thanked Christine and prepared to leave.
"Before you go," Christine called out to Raed, who was already at the door and turning the knob. "Try to get your equipment evaluated and see if you need any upgrades. I don't know if you still have your old gear but chances are they're obsolete now. I added the name and address of a great blacksmith I know on your card. Happy questing!"
Raed waved his thanks and goodbye, then exited through the door.