When Alexander asked Tay to meet his team, Tay had certain expectations. Adventurers are paid well, and only make more the higher level they are.
So take a team of level 3's and above, and you'll have an income that would make even wealthy merchants blush.
Tay expected to be taken to some beachside home, perhaps with its own yard of green grass. He hadn't, however, expected to be taken to the mansion of Baron Finick himself.
It was an amazing place, huge in every metric and only dwarfed by the tower, which wasn't something to be ashamed of. It was made out of a dark grey stone from the Halion mountains to the east.
Three domes made its outline with pointed peaks that reached far into the sky. Pillars ran along its Perimeter with at least twenty foot spacing between them. They supported the incredible weight of such a structure.
At least A hundred stairs were before them that led to the towering main double doors. Tay swallowed down a lump that had formed in his throat.
"I think you've taken us to the wrong place." He said quietly. Even being around a place like that made him nervous. It was Understandable considering his background.
"Huh? Oh, nope! This is it." He said happily. "Did I not tell you?" He asked. Tay shook his head.
"Our sergeants dad is Baron Finick."
Tay stared at the man for a long time. He wasn't sure if he was playing some sort of very untasteful joke, or if he was being serious.
He didn't have time to finish his thoughts as Alexander began to ascend what would be a considerable exercise. Once they had reached the top, Alexander Hammered a fist on the hard wooden door. It sent waves of vibration through The ground, the door acting like an amplifier.
After several moments, one of the two doors Slowly creaked open. It made a massive scraping sound as it grinded the hinges it was hung to. A man appeared before them, seemingly too small to have been the one to have opened the figurative gates.
He wore a fine white suit with red stitching. The man's hair was greying, but was still full in a slick-back style. He had no visible weapons, but Tay suspected that there might be some hidden in the folds of his clothes.
"Master Bouma. Have you finally decided to come back to us?" The man asked. He had a dignified voice that wasn't too deep, but did nothing to embarrass him.
"Praty!" Said the large adventurer happily, clapping the man on the back with enough force to break something. If it did, Mr. Praty showed no sign of it.
"For a time. I've got a new friend I want to introduce to the team." He gestured to Tay. The man studied him for a moment, those eyes assessing Tay more quickly then he would have liked.
"Very well, just don't cause trouble this time." Praty waved them in.
Tay had seen opulence before at the Association Inn, but he realized only after seeing the mansion that his idea of what luxury meant was exactly as small as he had been living.
Floors of white with thousands of cracks like golden lava frozen just before it surged from the depths. Twisting pillars spread throughout the grand main hall stretched up into the ceiling like a forest and its canopy.
Suits of armor lined the walls far off in the distance while glowing orbs gave off a golden light at each pillar. Ahead of them, at least fifty yards away was a spiraling staircase that must have led to the second floor.
As they walked along the hall—big enough to be called a courtyard for the royal palace, Tay must have seen a dozen doors all around the room. Servants moved around like finely dressed ants amongst towering marble grass.
The stairs led both up and down. You could see all the way through the center, which gave Tay a frightful feeling. Down, he saw shifting shades like hundreds of precious stones were being shown through by light.
They danced along the floor casting odd faint shapes on the walls in the dim light.
Tay and Alexander were led upwards, sunlight replacing artificial. Great panes of glass made up the huge domes. They were made in such a way that they projected noticeably warm rays.
The Stairway led to a long open hallway that stretched from one end of the mansion To the other. Praty led them to the right.
Tay eventually lost count of the number of doors at fifty. What was even more was that not one of them was exactly the same.
They all followed similar designs, but each had a hint of something different as if they each represented something.
Alexander was telling Tay about a mission they had gone on back when they still found the tower challenging when a door displaying a serpent coiling around it, opened.
Tay froze. The man that walked through that door had hair as black as a starless night, and his eyes looked like someone had plucked those very stars and put them inside. His attire was startlingly simple with only a blue gemmed necklace around his neck as the only extravagance.
If it had been the Tay from a few weeks ago, he would have never known that someone like that could even exist. He made Harow look like a match against a great roaring fire.
Alexander and Praty bowed easily, and Tay stiffly followed, glad to not be able to look into his eyes.
"My lord." Alexander said with an uncharacteristically serious tone. Praty stepped away, giving them space.
"Brought another stray into my home, Alexander?" He said, his voice booming unnaturally through the great marble hallway.
"Only another with potential." He said with a nod. The towering man smiled faintly. "I hope to see good results then." The man locked his gaze onto Tay, and then onto Orby.
Tay saw his mouth move faintly, making the words "I expect I shall…" and with a final bow of his head, the man left them.
Alexander let out a pent-up breath. "Ahhh, never get used to him." He said. Praty gestured for them to follow once again.
"Who…was that?" Tay asked in a frightenedly serious voice. "That, my friend, was Baron Tornin Indris Finick, the lord of this city. Terrifying, isn't he?" Tay could only nod. He couldn't stop thinking About those eyes, he had never seen anything quite like them.
It wasn't exactly like looking into the sky, but rather that you were In the sky, as if it was all around you, and you could do nothing to escape it. It made Tay shiver for minutes, even in the well heated mansion.
After some time, Alexander broke the silence. They had still somehow not arrived at their destination.
"They say he has an unusual power. Say he can control the very stars." He turned and began walking backwards. "Spooky." He said making odd wiggly motions with his hands
"Wouldn't you know?" Tay asked. "Someone like him has very few reasons to use his power in a place like this. And the few times he might have, have become nothing more than myth." He paused.
"...There is a chance," he said hesitantly. "that the guild Captain of the Red Cross might know, but it's not like anyone could force him to talk." He chuckled.
"Those two have been in this city longer than almost anyone else here has been alive." He turned, walking normally again.
"Though," he said, jabbing A finger into their guide's ribs. "Ol Praty might have been around." Praty actually snorted at that, but otherwise kept his silence.
After what felt like an unusually long time, they stopped. They were at the far end of the mansion where the hallway wrapped around.
"My lady has been informed of you and your friend's arrival. You may enter." Said Praty. He quickly left, what must have been years of experience let him leave with hardly a sound.
Alexander pushed open the door. It slid smoothly, revealing what used to be a bedroom.
The bed—the only part of the room that was in order—had a rather beautiful young woman lying boredly on it, her legs were partially off the bed, dangling just above the ground. She had black hair that cascaded over the sheets like vains of black ether. She wore a plain, long black dress that reached just above her ankles, even in such a position. She was staring blankly at a clock on the wall opposite To her bed.
In the center of the room was a large table that looked to have been cracked down the middle, and then put back together. Playing A card game Tay was not familiar with were two men.
The first was a large man. He wore a pair of slacks and a long v-neck shirt that looked far more lavish then someone like him would normally wear. His hair was an extremely dark grey, teetering on the edge of black.
He looked to be in a very bad mood.
The man opposite of him looked much more calm. He had a general sense of composure that the others didn't. His fine clothes—similar in design to the other Man's, seemed to fit him and his slicked-back white hair.
The last person in the room was another woman. She looked slightly younger than the first who had a certain grace that came with maturity. It wasn't that this girl didn't have it, but rather she had a permanent sense of youth to her.
She had more practical Clothes. Her pants were loose, but not so much that they would get in the way. She had a jacket—although it was resting on her knee as she sat, cross-legged, on a comfortable padded wooden chair. Tay could see that the jacket had several pouches that would doubtlessly be useful for an adventurer.
Her hair was a pleasantly soft blond, just slightly darker than Tay's own unusually bright blond hair.
The room had taken quite a while to fall silent as the bulky grey haired man was being rather loud. Tay noticed that they all seemed to be around the same age of early to pre-adulthood like Tay.
"Fellas!" Said Alexander loudly. "I've brought a guest." He slapped Tay on the back, sending him a step forward. "Tay Mallor. Tay Mallor, friends!" He gestured to the group of now very interested people.
The big man was the first to get up, evidently pleased to be free of the game. "Names Brown, Olms Brown." He said, taking Tay's hand a Little too firmly. He had a voice that Tay couldn't quite tell if it was one of a dignified proper sort of man, or that of a forest giant.
Tay rubbed his hand as Olms stepped away. The next person to greet him was the younger looking woman. "Olivia Bellmen. A pleasure." She said, her voice betraying her girlish appearance.
Next was the black-haired woman in the dress. It wasn't fanciful, but it did well to accentuate her figure. Her eyes—a deep purple, striked Tay. Even if he hadn't seen her before, he was sure that he at least knew her last name.
"Raya Vania Finick." She said, her voice soft like the rustling of leaves with a hint of the higher class. Those eyes were like her father's. They had a power in them that Tay couldn't fully comprehend. However, unlike her fathers eyes that felt like the vastness and beauty of space, her eyes were the emptiness and endlessness of it. He felt that if he looked at them too long, he would lose himself. Like he would cease to be.
"And he," explained Alexander, pointing to the man who had been beating Olms. "Is Alen Marbay."
Alen bowed his head slightly. "It's good to see that you wasn't spending all of you time outside alone." Alen said. He had a strong accent that Tay wasn't familiar with.
"So," said Raya suddenly. "Is this a social visit or do you plan on staying for a while?" She asked Alexander. The big adventurer rubbed his hair awkwardly. "Both?" His voice had a hint of uncertainty. Olms scoffed.
"Look, I can't sit in this mansion for days on end!" Alexander Pleaded. Olms huffed before going And sitting down in a chair.
"We're supposed to be supporting Raya, Alex." Said Olivia Bellmen. Alexander stared at her, annoyed.
"You know damn well that her dad doesn't give a rat's ass about any of this." He gestured around the messy room.
"The only thing that will get him to listen to us is Ray Getting to level 5. And that's simply because he can't afford to not listen."
Tay was slowly stepping back, wanting to keep far away from any possible violent disagreements these level 3's and 4's might have.
"Aww," cried Olivia. "Is this really the scene we want your friend to see?" As if he had forgotten, Alexander noticed Tay. He gave a sympathetic look to him and waved for him to come and sit.
With nowhere to sit, he took a place at the foot of the bed. Raya Sat next to him. Tay quickly noticed a pleasant scent coming from her.
"I'm sorry about that, Tay." Said Alexander.
"Like I told you before, her dad," he waved at Raya. "Is a bit overprotective." Scoffs came from all the adventurers except the lady of the manner.
Raya kept silent, untroubled by the negative light which her father was being talked about in.
"How did you two meet?" Asked Alan, leaning forward in his chair. The rest of the group grew interested as well. Alexander then explained, in detail, their meeting and training.
Questions were asked such as "What Was your realization like?" Or, "what did you think of the tower?" Tay actually began to enjoy the sincere conversation.
After almost an hour, Alexander had taken Raya to a small table in the corner of the room. A servant came in and served cups of fresh, steaming tea that smelled fabulous to Tay. After a bout of jokes between Olivia and Olms, in which Olms became rather frustrated, Alexander and Raya returned to the rest.
"Mr. Mallor. We've come to an agreement." Raya said, pointing between her and Alexander. "We would like you to go into the tower with us and allow us to see first hand your capabilities. Alex tells me that they are quite impressive." Tay sant in silence, wholelly unsure of how to respond.
"That is if you are willing to." She said after a moment. "And obviously we will have to wait for my probation to be over, but that will only be a few more days." Alexander took a step forward.
"Tay, I know we've not known each other long, but I think you could be a good fit for the team." He said seriously. Tay felt a tenseness in his stomach.
"But I'm just a level 1." He said uncertainty. Someone like him with a team like theirs was nothing but a loss for them. He would get the rewards from their missions, but be able to do almost nothing to earn it. He couldn't possibly be of much use in the higher floors.
Alexander shrugged. "We all started out at the bottom. Olivia joined when she was a fresh level 2." The blond haired woman nodded.
"With some time you'll get There."
Tay was feeling sick now. This was starting to get dangerous for him. The Red Cross guild had Already offered him a position among their ranks, and Tay wasn't sure how they'd react if he turned them down.
But…
Alexander and the rest were a part of a private guild. That meant more leniency, more freedom, and better conditions. And if Alexander wanted him to join, he at least owed it to him to give it a shot. He had saved his life.
Sighing, Tay nodded. It couldn't hurt to see.