Mourne Town used to be a dwarven city, given its proximity to all the different mines contained in these mountains, it was a central hub for their operations. However, now, since dungeons had spread throughout the various mines, inviting monsters of varying degrees, the dwarves had abandoned these mines many years ago. The town was still a central hub of sorts, but instead of dwarven miners, it was now young adventurers. Since Mourne Town was very far north, most of the traffic here ended up being adventurers returning from clearing the dungeons in the area. Because of this, the guild had set up quite a sizable branch here, despite the mid-sized town.
The guild hall was the large stone building Niss had seen on his way into town. It was the largest and busiest building in the whole town. Many young adventurers could be seen roaming the streets around here, and even more were within the building.
The group entered into this great hall and were filled with a sense of pride. They were among the peak of this world, people who cultivated their auras and trained with all their might to delve into dungeons and protect the world. Though they were low-ranked, it was an amazing feeling to be part of this.
The guild hall they had met at, back in Rivenwood was very small given the poverty of the area and the lack of dungeons close by, the guild hadn't invested many resources there. However, here, it seemed they went all out. There were many receptionists chatting with adventurers who had come up to them with concerns or questions. Finding one awaiting someone to help, Niss walked over to her.
Josie, a bright-eyed receptionist for the adventurers' guild, had short strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes, always showing a bright smile to adventurers that came in.
"Hello! I am Josie. What can the guild help you with today?" Her smile beaming brightly.
Niss returned her smile, appreciating her welcoming demeanor. "Hello, Josie. I'm Niss, and these are my companions, Siarra and Trevor. We've just cleared Darvinia Mine, and we're here to report our success and provide proof to the guild."
"That's fantastic news, Niss! Congratulations on your successful dungeon clearing," Josie exclaimed, genuinely pleased for them. "We always appreciate the dedication of adventurers like you. If you could please present the proof of your accomplishment, I'll get everything documented for you."
'Damn, she is really nice.'
Niss nodded, reaching into his bag and producing a few goblin ears and the shamans wand, proof of the dungeon clearing. He handed it over to Josie, who inspected it briefly before recording the information in a logbook. Once she finished she produced three decent sized pouches of gold handed them over to the three members. The total reward for clearing Darvinia Mine was 100 gold.
"Thank you, Niss. Your efforts are invaluable to our guild. Is there anything else I can assist you with?" Josie asked, her gaze attentive.
Niss thought for a moment before speaking, "Actually, we're looking for our other companion, Gerard, he should have come by here yesterday to send a message over to the guild hall in Rivenwood."
"Of course, let me check that information for you." Josie pushed some papers aside on her desk grabbing a specific sheet of paper. "Hmmm, I'm afraid we have not had anyone named Gerard come in yesterday or today." She had a slightly worried look on her face as she never liked not being able to give an answer. "Let me head out back for a moment and speak with my supervisor just in case." with that she abruptly left through a curtain separating her area from the large room behind.
The group had worried looks painted on their faces but they remained patient hoping she would return with good news.
Returning through the curtain and setting the paper down she looked at Niss. "I'm afraid it is true, nobody named Gerard ever came by here." She seemed much less perky than she was before. "Is there anything else we could do for you today?" She looked at them with a sad expression, hoping there would be some way to redeem herself.
Niss had a profound expression as he thought about what may have happened, however for now he had to handle matters with the guild and then he could find out what was going on with Gerard.
'Wait is this girl about to start crying????'
Trevor was the one who spoke up this time. "Hello, miss Josie. The name's Trevor," he said with a bow. "This is actually my second dungeon clear as an F-rank, and I feel my aura is strong enough for me to be elevated to D-rank." Trevor had clearly run this over in his head many times so it would be perfect.
Josie met his gaze, her hazel eyes slightly watery, suddenly turned thoughtful. After a moment, a warm smile spread across her face. "Absolutely! Trevor! Congratulations on reaching this milestone. You've earned it. But before we proceed, I'll need to inspect your adventurer's badge." She held out her hand her perkiness fully returned, Trevor placed his silver badge in her palm. Looking it over and taking a moment to write something down on her desk, she responded, "Done! Please head to the 3rd floor, first door on the right. You'll find our aura evaluation specialist there. Good luck, and may your aura shine brightly!"
With a wicked grin Trevor went running off towards the large stairway the lead to the upper floors.
"Is there anything else today?" Josie asked again.
"Yeah, actually, I wanted to get this appraised. I'm pretty sure it's D-rank, but being an artifact that an F-rank dungeon dropped, I wanted to get the guild's opinion." Niss held his kama up so that Josie could see it.
"Wow! That is very lucky. If you head up to the 5th floor, there should be an appraiser who can help you."
"Thanks for your help, Josie. I appreciate it. Oh, also, my friend Siarra here was hoping to browse your spell tomes." Niss gestured calmly towards Siarra, who was as red as a tomato, blushing hard as Niss asked that for her.
'Why is he asking for me!?!?'
With that, Niss made his way towards the stairs as well, waving towards Siarra and Josie as he left. Hiding a cheeky smile.
"Y-yeah, so, u-uh, what he said. I was gonna ask about spell tomes." Siarra was annoyed at the effect Niss and his charm had over her.
"Sure, Siarra, the 6th floor is where you will find our selection of spell tomes." Josie tried to hide her chuckling. "You can still catch him and go up together if you run." She winked at Siarra and motioned with her hands to hurry up.
.....
The dungeons of Aetheria have long been shrouded in mystery, but one thing the adventurers' guilds across the world have determined is that when a dungeon is cleared, the magical energy used to draw in monsters condenses into an artifact. These artifacts vary widely in power, often reflecting the potency of the dungeon from which they originated. Sometimes, these artifacts take the form of items, armors, weapons, or even spell tomes.
Spell tomes, in particular, are a unique kind of artifact. They contain knowledge of specific spells, allowing the reader to learn and harness the intricacies of magic. These tomes are inscribed in an unknown language. However, with the aid of a detection artifact, the spell contained within can be deciphered. Spells, while accessible to all aura users, are complex manipulations of mana. For instance, a mage like Siarra can easily create and control fire due to her strong elemental affinity. However, when it comes to casting intricate or non-elemental spells, a spell tome becomes invaluable.
For example, the spell Siarra cast to enhance Trevor's strength. This complex spell was learned from a spell tome, enabling Siarra to extend her magical abilities beyond her elemental expertise. In a world where magic is key to survival, these artifacts and spell tomes serve an important purpose.
....