"I believe the scales of morality aren't as black and white as the fairy tales would leave you to believe," Amber declared. She looked into the Captain's eyes, then squinted in annoyance, "For you to judge someone you haven't even met based on the actions of other people that are only slightly relevant is nothing more than a brass generalization."
"We don't intend to become evil if that's what you're wondering," Adrian smirked as he brought his leg over the other. He clasped his fingers over his knee, then looked back at the Captain and smiled, "But if the cards fall that way, so be it. All we wish is to survive. What happens in the meantime doesn't matter, in my opinion."
"So you've chosen a stance of apathy?" The Captain sneered as she slowly put her hands against the table. She slowly clenched her fists, her gaze lowering as she took a deep breath.
"Not apathy- just simply necessity. We wouldn't want to see somebody suffer under torture, but we also wouldn't risk our necks trying to save that person," Amber explained. Adrian nodded, then leaned forward and took a small bite-sized chunk of pancake off of the Captain's plate. He threw it into his mouth, then readjusted his body to rest more comfortably.
"I can assure you, Captain, we have no intention of allowing rage and cruelty to make our decisions for us," Adrian told her, "So no, we won't be burning down any houses or destroying the lineage of any noble families. On that, I promise."
After a moment, the Captain slowly looked back up, her eyes moist with tears, before she took a deep breath. Her shoulders drooped as she relaxed against her chair. After another few seconds of silence, she leaned back and turned to Adrian.
"I suppose your mentality isn't as dark as I assumed it would be," the Captain said quietly as she stood up from her seat. She looked back at Adrian, then pushed her plate toward him, "Take this and eat, both of you. You have your work cut out for you, that much is certain. Oh, and- welcome to Boreshire."
At the moment, the town of Boreshire was the best thing the twins could hope for as a home base. The crafting district, which held every shop they could ever need, was located just next to the residential district. After the Captain left, Adrian and Amber were left to talk amongst themselves. Both of them quickly agreed that their biggest problem was their desperate need for money.
If Adrian and Amber wanted to win the game, they needed to get stronger. To do so, they would have to fight the monsters located outside of the city. So, their main priorities were to fight monsters and gain money. After a moment of gathering their options, Adrian and Amber settled upon only two options that would mark both of their checkboxes.
"We can either sign up with the Coin Guard or we can become freelance monster hunters," Adrian summarized. The Coin Guard, this world's equivalent of a mercenary association, was a large worldwide organization. The Coin Guard was one of the oldest organizations on the Continent. The highest members of their organization had their hands in every major political theater in the world. Most of the time, the mercenaries of the Coin Guard only worked odd jobs here and here. Occasionally, though, some of the mercs would be tasked with hunting monsters outside of cities. The pay wasn't glamourous- it would be barely enough to fit their needs- but a basic position came with free training and lodgings.
Their other option, which was much more dangerous but more lucrative, would be to hunt monsters on their own as freelance monster hunters. In another world, this would've been called poaching- but that didn't seem to be illegal in Aoera. As Hunters, Adrian and Amber would have no free training and no official dorm. However, the pay they would gain from such a job would be much better than as a merc with the Coin Guard.
Because of the various pros and cons of either occupation, Adrian and Amber were both having trouble deciding what to choose. After a long period of deliberation, the twins eventually settled upon choosing to join the Coin Guard. The idea of becoming a freelance monster hunter sounded very nice, but it was too dangerous. Once Adrian realized they would be fighting monsters with no form of defense other than long-distance spells, he realized it would've proven too risky.
As Adrian and Amber left the inn, they turned to the massive building just opposite the inn. Across the fountain, only forty or so yards away from them, was the Coin Guard's headquarters. Adrian had seen it the last time he was outside, but now that it was morning the city was much busier.
The fountain, which had been dry last night, was now active. Water spouted from the top and fell into the basin below in perfect semi-circle arcs. The town's occupants, common people who wore very medieval-looking styles, sat around the fountain and conversed like it was any other day.
Adrian saw many different races walking around. Although he saw mostly humans, he also saw a few halflings, dwarves, an elf or two, and even a single dragonkin. Adrian, although he wanted to talk to many of these people, ignored all of them as he walked through the crowds toward the Coin Guard headquarters.
After a few seconds, he and Amber arrived at the front entrance. Before they could walk up the stone stairs to the front doors, though, they watched as the doors suddenly opened. Two guards, each wearing dark plate armor, quickly walked to the top step. Between them, grasped in their hands like some sort of doll, was a man of extremely dark skin. His hair was similar in style to Adrian's, though it was much shorter, and his golden eyes were bright like candles in the darkness. The man did not wear the same style of clothing as everybody else around the town. Instead, he wore a dark brown trench coat worn over a black suit. His suit was tattered and worn, but some of the seams were brand new.
If Adrian had a guess, the design of the man's suit was copied from the remnants of an Artist from a previous game, but the one who made it didn't have the original suit to reference their work from. Therefore, some parts of the suit were too tight, and some were not tight enough. The man's tie was far too wide, almost as wide as his hand. Yet, in a way, the man was better dressed than anybody else around.
The guards, only a moment after they reached the top step, quickly lifted the man into the air before throwing him onto the stairs. The man tumbled forward, yelling in surprise as his hands fell onto the concrete below.
He began to roll very quickly as he grunted in pain every time a sharp edge of concrete bumped into his back. The man fell to the ground, his chest moving up and down like the waves of a turbulent sea. His groans of pain betrayed any sort of calmness the man tried to express.
"Uh," Adrian said as he looked down at the man. Coincidently, the man's rapid and painful descent had planted him just in front of Adrian's feet. The man slowly rose to his feet, though he held his palm against his hip as he groaned in pain once more. He turned to the guards on top of the stairs, then pulled up his hand and flipped them the bird.
"Go to hell, fuckers!"