The exterior of the building was an interesting yet harmonious blend of tavern aesthetics and fortress architecture.
The lower portion features solid stone blocks, expertly crafted and reinforced with iron bands, giving it a formidable appearance.
Arched windows with heavy wooden shutters punctuate the walls, allowing just enough light to filter into the interior.
The roof of the building was lined with thick-looking battlements, behind them I could see various figures in light armour seemingly standing guard and chatting amongst themselves.
"What is that place, a garrison?" I ask.
I thought it was, but considering the number of people walking in and out of the building, I assumed it was an old fortress repurposed into something else.
"That's the capital branch of the Schuster Trading company, in simple terms it's like an adventurer's guild," Cephi responds.
"Ah, is this where we'll meet the guardsmen?" I ask.
"Yes," they respond laconically.
Walking towards the building, I ask Cephi about Schuster's Trading Company.
"Do they function exactly the same as those adventurer's guilds I read about?"
"Not exactly, for instance, They're called contractors, not adventurers, they rarely do any exploration, most contractors are employed to do escort missions and function more as mercenaries," Cephi said.
"They function as relatively cheap bodyguards for the merchants that wish to do business with the Schuster Trading Company, of course being hired to do various miscellaneous tasks by regular citizens is common," they continue.
I simply nod. "So is Schuster the name of the owner?" I ask.
"It used to be. However, after committing various acts of treason, the entire Schuster family was wiped out, and the company was absorbed by the Intelligence Service," they respond.
"So everyone employed is basically an employee of the state then?"
"Not really, after all this was done secretly, contractors, by nature, are always dabbling in things that are prohibited, so It's believed that most would leave the company if they were subject to regulation by the state," They answer.
"I see, so not wanting a bunch of unemployed people trained for combat, it was done secretly?" I ask after thinking about it.
"More or less, there were many reasons for the acquisition to be secret, that was indeed one of them," they said.
I simply nodded and remained silent, as we had arrived at the entrance to the building.
Entering through the heavy wooden doors, I quickly scan the interior.
Immediately in front of me was a spacious foyer that doubled as a common area for patrons.
To the left of the entrance, a wide staircase lead to the upper levels where I'd assume private rooms are located. The stairs were crafted from polished oak, worn smooth by countless footsteps over the years.
Intricate ironwork railings provide support and add a touch of elegance to the otherwise rugged surroundings.
The main hall, located to the right of the entrance, appeared to be the heart of the establishment.
Its high ceiling boasted exposed wooden beams, giving it an expansive and open feel. Large wooden tables and benches fill the space, inviting patrons to gather and revel in camaraderie.
Looking behind the main hall, one would see the bustling kitchen, where skilled cooks prepare hearty meals and delicacies for the hungry guests. The tantalizing aroma of roasted meats and freshly baked bread mixed with the suffocating smell of tobacco permeated the air.
"Follow me closely," Cephi said, before making their way to the left, and up the staircase.
All those present immediately turned to scan the cloaked figure, however, their gazes immediately turned from one of intrigue to being wary and on alert.
Then, immediately after, they removed their gazes and continued as though nothing had happened.
Noticing this peculiarity, I asked Cephi, "What was that about?"
"Nothing important," they respond, continuing up the stairs.
Coming up the staircase, we made our way down a hallway lined with various doors. Walking right up to the last door, Cephi lightly tapped it four times and waited for a response.
A second later, with a -click- sound, the door opened, revealing a figure cloaked entirely in a dark crimson cloak.
Nothing about the figure was uncovered, and the figure's face was shrouded in a deep shadow.
The figure briefly scanned the both of us before stepping aside with their head lowered.
"Welcome, Your Highness," a voice from within the room said.
Following Cephi into the room, I gave a quick once-over of the interior, which was surprisingly simple, with two soft-looking sofas surrounding a simple-looking table.
The room was covered in beige wallpaper and well-lit by the single chandelier present.
Standing before the opposite sofa, a man stood with his hand to his chest and his head lowered.
Strangely, no matter how much I scrutinized the man, I could not make out any details about him beyond his general height and demeanour while standing.
I couldn't even make out the colour of whatever article of clothing he was wearing if he was wearing any at all.
Gesturing to himself, the man spoke.
"I am Robert, the Branch manager of this establishment, as well as a lieutenant with the empire's Intelligence Service," gesturing towards the cloaked figure beside the door, he continued.
"That is Karver, a contractor in the Service's employment."
Sitting on the sofa, I ask, "The Intelligence Service employs contractors?"
It was surprising to hear, as you'd assume that contractors would naturally be deemed too much a risk to employ since they wouldn't necessarily be loyal to the empire.
Still standing, the man spoke.
"We do, most are employed without knowing, it would be inconvenient if we had to send agents everywhere to do everything, so when something is deemed low-levelled enough, we use a shell company to employ a few contractors."
Tilting his head towards Karver, he continued.
"Whenever a contractor does exceptionally well, we will typically employ them in a few missions to gauge whether or not they'd be a good recruit before officially employing them with the service and sending them off to our headquarters for training and education, as a sizeable number of contractors are illiterate."
I responded with an I see before I moved on to the main topic.
"Are the guardsmen ready?" I ask.
"Always, Your Highness,"
"Then let's depart immediately," I say, standing.
"If I could inquire, do you have any plans regarding how you'll make your way to the east?" Robert asks.
"For now we'll simply take the main road to it, there are no concrete plans."
"Then if I can suggest an option, why don't you try becoming a contractor and taking an escort mission to the east?" he says while taking up a document from the table.
"Most missions would take you to the relevant waypoints," he continued.
"Obviously, you can skip the admission process, and I can give you the appropriate rank," he said while handing me the document.
"You can show that to an attendant downstairs if you decide on it, I apologise for not being able to accompany you further, but I must report to my superiors..." he said while giving a courteous bow.
I nodded and promptly exited, with Cephi following behind me.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"That Karver fellow is interesting," Cephi responds.
What is this usually aloof angel on about?
"What are you on about, I meant about becoming contractors, what's interesting about Karver?" I ask.
"He's been blessed by the Goddess of the night, it's not important for now, as for becoming contractors, it's up to you."
"Then let's do it," I respond, and make my way to the main hall.
Being an adven--err, contractor, even if it's temporary, sounds like fun.
At the main hall, there were several counters where I assume requests were made, behind them were attendants doing various tasks.
Walking up to a free attendant, I placed the document on the counter and inquired.
"Can I sign up to be a contractor here?"
The attendant, a lady wearing what resembled a business suit from Earth looked down on me for a second with her brow raised, then shifted her gaze towards Cephi, who silently stood behind me.
Unlike the others, her gaze did not seem to be too affected by Cephi's presence, then she answered me while giving a quick glance at the document.
"You can indeed sign up to be employed by the Schuster Trading Company at this counter..", she paused as she finished reading the document.
"If you'd please follow me," she continued while gesturing behind her.
Following her, she seemed a bit confused as to why someone of my stature would want to become a contractor, but she didn't voice her thoughts.
I couldn't blame her either, while this cloak and mask did hide my face, with my height and voice, It would be hard to not mistake me for a kid.
Admired by her business etiquette, Cephi and myself followed her in silence.
That's when the attendant suddenly spoke up. "Are you well informed about the duties and responsibilities of a contractor? Are you aware of how our ranks work?" she asked.
I myself was pretty familiar with the concept of adventurers, so I was sure I didn't need an infodump on that.
"I only require an explanation on ranks," I respond.
She fell silent for a second, before responding with an 'I see' and beginning her explanation.
"In total, we at the Schuster Trading Company use four ranks to determine the status of our contractors, they are all differentiated from each other by a tag of the corresponding metal "
"The lowest rank is referred to as Castor, and they are identified by Copper tags. Above them is the rank of Uvorn, recognised by their Iron tags."
"The second highest rank is Rhea, recognised by Gold tags, and finally, the highest rank is Verim, contractors of that rank have the privilege of being assigned Blood-iron tags"
She went on to explain other things in detail, and soon, we were on the roof of the building, a part of which had been turned into a sparring area.
I could see a few figures standing near the sparring area, and a man dressed in a shabby pair of armour reading a few documents standing in the centre.
The armour itself wasn't too bad, however, it was clear that its owner wasn't painting it correctly, as it had long lost its shine and there were stains of questionable origins decorating it.
Following the attendant, we ended up standing with the crowd surrounding the man in armour, who had a tag hanging from his neck which was red in colour, signifying his Verim rank.
The people around him had similar tags that shined with their golden hue, making them all of the Rhea rank.
The attendant walked up to the man reading the documents and whispered to him for a while.
He seemed shocked at first while looking at me, but soon after he stroked his scruffy beard with an 'I see' and handed her a document, dismissing her.
She returned beside Cephi and me and handed me a document, speaking.
"Please fill in your information on that, if you aren't literate, I can assist you."
I nodded but noticed something strange.
"What about them?" I ask, pointing to Cephi.
"Clergymen and women of the Church of The God of War aren't required to fill out such documents," she responded, immediately clearing up my earlier confusion.
So that's why those people earlier seemed suspicious of Cephi, she was cosplaying as a member of the church.
It should be noted that the Church of the God of War was entirely subservient to the Aegis Imperial Family, which made sense considering that we often called ourselves the children of the god that they worshipped.
This peculiarity of church and state being one and the same could only be found in Aegis, other churches and nations held clear distinctions.
Anyway, for a bunch of almost criminals like contractors, it was obvious why they'd be suspicious around someone like that.
Nodding, I simply filled out the form and handed it back to the attendant, who returned it to the man, who then gave her two tags, blood red in colour.