Yarris had already stopped crying at this point when he heard Mariayn mention that he hadn’t told them why he was even there. Crap he had thought of that, though in his defence he hadn’t the chance to think about it considering the past weeks he had endured he was about to respond but then Thord decided to threaten to punch him in the face. Not only did the threat do absolutely nothing to Yarris but it had the opposite effect on him, it just made him annoyed with Thord, he moved away from the chinchilla like creature and just shot him an icy glare: “I don’t even know who the hell you are, I’ve just met you and you think “a punch in the mush” is gonna make me feel better? Like my problems are just gonna disappear just like that? He sarcastically replied back clearly offended with Thord’s actions. His tone was calmer as he continued but it was still annoyed.
“I’ve lost my guild, I’ve had to endured weeks of nothing but people callin’ me a monster and otherwise wantin’ to attack me. Ya not helpin’. I don’t wanna a fight, I don’t wanna argue with you, I just wanna have this day end already if I’m quite honest.”
As soon as Mariyan returned with a scarf that the guild’s emblem on it, Yarris was grateful that she did this for him: “Oh thank you so much, Mariyan. Much appreciated, not what I have in mind but yeah it’ll do for now. Seein’ as I’m worn out what do you suggest I do next then?”
Edited by TheStarscream759 on Nov 8th 2020 at 4:08:12 PM
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild
"You're worn out? Well, you should probably figure out where you'll be staying in town. If you don't even know what you're looking for in the dungeon or how deep you may need to go, you shouldn't try to get all the way in your first try; that's going to mean being here in Markonville for some time" Mariayn explained to Yarris. Then in a sales pitch of a tone she continued, "we have rooms available here at the guild for 30 silver a night, or a gold and a half for a whole week if you pay ahead. Aside from the lord's manor, this is most certainly the safest place in town."
She tapped a finger to her cheek and glanced about the street in a thoughtful manner. "Of course, if that price is too much for you, there are multiple inns in town that have cheaper prices, buuut who's to say how they'll react to a skeleton of a man walking in and asking for a room?" Mariayn asked in a rhetorical fashion. "And none of them could provide our level of security, I'm sure" she added in a not so subtle attempt to continue to up-sell the services of the guild. A typical inn would easily cost less than half that, Yarris would already know from his life experience as an adventurer before his alchemical incident. (And depending on how much he knew/had overheard about Markonville, he might know that there was a certain inn called the Charging Bear that had rooms for as little as a single silver coin for a night.)
Ertisah was silent, still with that fairly neutral expression, and seemed to be thinking, then looked at Yarris. "... Do you have money?" Ertisah asked simply.
It was about that same time that the other members of the party that had just recalled into the guild were filing out, staring somewhat at Yarris while Reynial awkwardly tried to shepherd them away from the scene. "Yes, I know it looks weird but it's fine" Reynial assured them, before muttering under his breath in an uncertain tone, "I think..."
You are reading this.
Yarris then pondered this proposition, he did indeed know that if he went for anywhere else but the Adventurer’s Guild to stay in, he would more than likely be turned away than be served as a paying customer at Inn that he may possible find. And unfortunately it was the sad truth of the matter. Well....maybe. But then again maybe not. But was he sure that he could take that risk? “Well…I’ve gotten this far to Markonville at least. Not that many can say that a human turned skeleton can walk around the place lookin’ for a cure to return him to his former self and live to tell the tale about it. I’m aware of the other inns, personally I’m not even sure if they will let me in, let alone care about me.”
He then pondered over the price, it was a bit expensive but it was probably the best he could go for. He acknowledged Ertisah’s question of ‘Did he have any money’ and simply said: “Yes.” in response. “Alright then Maryian, ya got a deal. But will I have to pay, oh I dunno, tomorrow mornin’ or right now? Just out of checkin’ to make sure.”
Edited by TheStarscream759 on Nov 23rd 2020 at 4:56:21 PM
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild
Ertisah's expression didn't really change but there was an ever so slight relaxation of her posture, as if in approval of Yarris' response.
Meanwhile, Mariayn seemed to have a slight hesitation about responding to Yarris' question. "Well, there is some leeway allowed in timing of payments for our various other services; however, the guild's policy on payments for lodging is rather strict, I'm afraid. A full payment in advance is required" Mariayn admitted. "Too many attempts by rogues to sneak out in the morning to avoid payment, apparently" she explained simply, waving a hand dismissively, as if to indicate along with her tone that she hadn't actually witnessed many examples of such personally.
"That will mean either thirty silver now for a night, or a gold and a half for a whole week. Of course, even if you are certain you would be staying longer, you would not be required to pay for additional time until the time you have already paid for has passed" Mariayn continued, back to her more friendly and professional tone.
Edited by FirockFinion on Nov 24th 2020 at 1:24:07 AM
You are reading this.
"I just don't want to have to listen to any ninny tears. Seems I'm just the only one here bold enough to say it." Thord boasted, still not moved by Yarris' tragic story.
"I for one won't be staying at any place that coddles this bony git. Monster or not, you look like one! If you used to be a warrior, then you better well start acting like it!" Thord declared before storming out and finding one of those cheaper and less reputable inns Mariayn talked about.
Markonville Adventurer's guild
A spark of electricity flashed at Haze's shoulder as he held himself back from telling the chinchilla exactly how he felt about his warrior pride, or worse. But he just pinched his nose and took a deep breath as Thord left.
"Actually, Yarris, I might have a job for you tomorrow." The cloudscale started, seeing as the conversation had moved to payments the skeleton may or may not have at the moment. "I do item identifications, but I also run a bit of a pawnshop of adventuring equipment. It could be good to actually see some of the dungeon myself..."
Not to mention Haze had some doubts that most people would want to knowingly hire a skeleton even with his backstory. Perhaps he could just take jobs from the board anonymously until his reputation was established, but a good starting opportunity never hurt.
Thord then complained that Yarris was displaying emotions and like a child decided that he had enough and stormed away and proclaiming that he didn’t need emotions. Yarris at this point had really had enough with Thord’s behaviour and just rolled his eyes at the comment and once he had left Yarris just mocked his comment in response sarcastically: “Ooh look at me, everyone, I don’t have emotions so I need to act like a numpty to prove I don’t!” Yarris’ tone returned to normal but it was a mixture of annoyance and exasperation: “For the love of the makers, no one cares. Ya not the first person to discover emotions and no ya don’t need to proclaim ya don’t have any.”
Yarris sighed: “…I’ve met people like him, he’s the sorta person that would probably get drunk in a tavern and pretend he’s a bull. ‘Warrior pride’, peh nothin’ special ‘bout it.”
Yarris then wheeled around at Haze after hearing that he might have a job for him: “Really? A job? Ya think you can do that for me? Excellent. I’d like that a lot, thank you. It’s settled, I’ll stay here at the Adventurer’s Guild but I may need to be conspicuous about how I do the other jobs. But I’d say Haze is onto somethin’ here."
Edited by TheStarscream759 on Dec 5th 2020 at 4:22:57 PM
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild
Mariayn didn't hide her displeasure about Thord's response, but Ertisah just stared at him with that same seemingly neutral expression she basically always had. Only after Thord had stomped off a ways did she glance at the others and comment simply, "he's rather rude."
Mariayn let out a disgruntled scoff in agreement, she returned her attention to the rest of the conversation, perking up as Haze made his suggestion. "Oh, I have an excellent idea! We'll write it up into an official guild quest contract! That will give it more legitimacy!" Mariayn suggested in an excited tone. "While I can't do anything about the lodging fee, I can see to it that our usual contract fee and cut is waived- at least this time- that way it won't cost any difference to either of you" the mountain elf continued.
"I want to go with too" Ertisah stated, though her tone and expression were still just as neutral as before.
You are reading this.
Markonville Adventurer's Guild
"Certainly" Haze nodded to Yarris "Making it an official quest ought to help your reputation too, so it would be beneficial to all of us"
He paused when Ertisah requested to join in as well, but after a brief mental calculation for how much this spur of the moment quest was likely to cost he responded "Sure, why not? A bigger party would make things easier"
Not to mention having another adventurer along should quell any mistaken belief that Haze was a necromancer commanding Yarris... Or at least most of them.
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild
"Excellent!" Mariayn exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together. "I'll go get a contract together, and..." she trailed off, as movement a bit down the street caught her attention. The guard captain along with another town guard had both walked into view, and were coming straight towards the conversation. Their weapons were away and they didn't seem to have any hostile posturing, but it was also clear from the way they were steadily walking that they were there for business.
"Oh, uh... Maybe you should let me handle this" Mariayn suggested, stepping past Haze and then raising an arm into the air to wave and call out, "hello Captain Buckley!"
You are reading this.
Markonville Adventure's guild
"Ah... Alright" Haze said rather dumbly as he watched the guards approach. He thought he was prepared for the possibilty that supporting Yarris might reflect badly on them, but not for guards to show up immediately after offering him a quest.
“Well at the very least, I’ve managed to turn this day a…round…” Yarris begun but as he was saying this the guards from the dungeon arrived but this time he had the captain with him. Yarris then let out a weary sigh at this: “Ah man I forgot ‘bout ‘em.” He then turned his head to Haze and whispered to him: “If I’m right, I think I know why they are. Let’s hope it’s somethin’ good.”
THE SLORG!
Markonville, outside the Adventurers' Guild
Captain Buckley stopped a few paces short when Mariayn approached; the captain turned her helmet a bit to acknowledge the mountain elf. "Miss Fortensia... My guards at the dungeon entrance claimed that a talking skeleton arrived seeking entry and left to come here. I assume, that's him?" Captain Buckley questioned, motioning to Yarris; her tone was still of that surprisingly soft femininity, as if she didn't know how or didn't feel bothered to make herself sound more authoritative.
"Yes, we just concluded using some magic detection to confirm the nature of his, er, apparent undeath" Mariayn answered with a nod and a brief glance back at Yarris. "Amazingly, it is not any known form of necromancy; instead it seems to be the result of an alchemical accident" the mountain elf explained.
"A potion did that to him?" Captain Buckley asked, a bit incredulous.
"A poison actually, but more or less" Mariayn replied, with another nod. "Since he is acting under his own free will and has made no apparent aggressive motions, we have decided to give him access to quest contracts into the dungeon" the mountain elf continued.
Captain Buckley was silent for a few moments, turning her helmet between Mariayn and Yarris a few times. With her expression still hidden under the helmet, it was hard to be sure just from her body language if she was unsure how to react, or just doubtful of Mariayn's claims; probably a bit of both, though. "I suppose... That's alright then" Captain Buckley muttered in an almost shy tone, but then regained her composure as she added, "I'm still going to have to inform Lord Ledford of this."
"Of course" Mariayn acknowledged simply, like she already knew that; because she did.
"One more thing" Captain Buckley said, and took a few steps past Mariayn, closer to the group. "So just who are you then, anyway?" she inquired of Yarris.
You are reading this.
Yarris was calm when the Captain of the Guards addressed him, he turned to face her: “My name is Yarris. I came here specifically to look for a cure for myself. But as you can already tell, my situation is anythin’ but smooth at the moment. I’m sorry to have inconvenienced ya guards, ma’am but honestly I don’t think there would’ve been any other way this would’ve panned out.” He then added: “The reason I came here is because of the dungeon. I wanted to see if there was a cure inside said dungeon, that’s why I’m here.”
He then thought for a few seconds and then asked: “Speakin’ of which, seein’ as I’ve cleared things out, does it mean now I can inside the dungeon?”
Edited by TheStarscream759 on Jan 18th 2021 at 1:56:53 PM
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild
"Yes, as we just discussed" Captain Buckley said to Yarris with a nod, referring to the chat she'd just had with Mariayn. "A-as long as you stay out of trouble, of course, and Lord Ledford raises no objection" she then quickly and somewhat awkwardly stated, then took a moment to adjust the sheath of her sword before adding, "well uh, good day to you all."
As Captain Buckley turned to walk away, the other guard stood in place, watching her go for a moment, then turned his helmet back towards them. "Make sure to identify yourself when you approach, and don't have a weapon out this time" the guard suggested to Yarris in an instructional manner, before turning and following the captain.
There was a short silence as the two guards left, broken by Mariayn. "... That went well" Mariayn said in a gleeful tone, turning to look at Yarris and Haze. "Now, shall we get back to that contract?" the mountain elf asked in an upbeat manner, and headed back into the guild, quickly moving behind the desk and rifling through a couple of drawers.
"Mister Haze, you said you wanted to be personally escorted into the dungeon, yes? That would be... One of these, yes" Mariayn was more thinking out loud to herself than really asking, as she pulled out a form and marked a few boxes, then quickly put her own signature on a line. "We'll just need your signatures" the mountain elf informed them, turning the form around and pushing it to the other side of the desk.
Edited by FirockFinion on Jan 18th 2021 at 10:26:41 AM
You are reading this.
Markonville Adventurer's Guild
"That's a relief..." Haze said once the guards left the building.
He nods as the form is located and prepared "Yes, an escort to explore as far into the dungeon as is reasonable on a first trip." He briefly scans the document before signing the indicated space.
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild, in which rules get explained
If Haze was looking for ways in the wording from which the contract might come back to bite him later, the only significant caveat was that by signing he was waiving any right for himself or any next of kin to hold the Guild directly liable for any sort of injury received over the duration of the contracted escort, whether it was related being escorted or not. (The wording went on to specify that this included poisoning, inflicted curses, mental trauma, and even death.) It held an additional caveat that while the Guild couldn't be held liable directly, the contracted adventurers signed on to escort him most certainly could.
Mariayn was already busy opening a little lock box behind the desk as Haze was signing the contract, and she stood back up about the time he was finished. She placed three small, smooth stones with clear magic rune enchantments. That much was obvious even without enchanted spectacles, but with those it was easy to tell that these were enchanted with a simple displacement spell; with a simple touch and thought, they would transport the holder to a designated location. "This here is the main benefit we provide by signing this kind of contract through us, rather than just making an old fashioned direct agreement: Our recall stones. Using one will bring you right back to the safety of our main hall, though only as a one way trip" Mariayn said, motioning over to the open hall where there was a small space to one side marked off as the recall point for the stones.
"As both of you are first time signers, I should explain some more details about how the contract will be executed" Mariayn started, looking to Haze and Yarris. "Mister Haze, as you are the party being escorted into the dungeon, it is primarily up to you at all times how far into the dungeon you would like to go, and at any point whether you would like to continue or go back; however, if your escorts feel that their talents cannot guarantee further safety were you to continue into the more dangerous levels of the dungeon, or there is pressing need to return due to injuries, they can opt to return without automatically voiding their part of the contract. When you do decide to return, you are all to use your recall stones to return to the guild hall, and have all the items you acquired within the dungeon appraised of value; failure to do so will result in an automatic void of the contract. Depending on the circumstances surrounding why you did not return to the guild hall via recall stone as directed, you will be at least charged an extra fine next time you wish to make use of our services, but more heinous reasons could result in you being blacklisted from the Guild's services entirely, and possibly even have your actions reported to Lord Ledford's estate for legal consequences- but this would generally only be for if, say, one of you killed the other and then ran off so that they could keep all the loot for themselves" the mountain elf went on, doing her best to sound reassuring; that these measures were meant to be for exceptional circumstances rather than the norm. As Mariayn was talking, Ertisah walked up to the desk and scribbled her own signature onto one of the lines beneath Haze's signature.
"Now, ordinarily after you have returned, your injuries tended to, and your haul appraised, the first thing to happen is the guild would take a flat five percent of the haul's value in currency directly out of the haul, or take items roughly equaling to at least five percent if you chose to not take any currency from the dungeon at all. However as I said before I have used my special permissions to waive our usual fee, so for this time the entirety of your haul will be split between you. For the splitting of the haul, as the contracted adventurers are the ones presumably putting themselves at risk for your benefit, they will each be entitled to a share of the haul roughly double the monetary value of the share you get, and otherwise being split evenly; however, you will be the one who chooses what you're taking from the haul for your share first, before the rest goes to the adventurer or adventurers that escorted you. So since you're being escorted by two adventurers this time, that means you'll get one fifth of the haul, while they each get two fifths. If the worst were to occur, and only two or even just one of you came back, then you would still only be entitled to that much of your haul, and the remaining unclaimed portions would go directly to the Guild; this is again to discourage any of you from killing each other or allowing each other to die in order to gain a larger share of loot" Mariayn explained at length, finally taking a moment to breathe once she'd finished.
"Now, did you have any questions, or need me to explain any of it again?" Mariayn asked with a big, friendly smile.
Ertisah said nothing during all this, and just looked to Haze and Yarris with that same blankly neutral expression she always seemed to have.
Edited by FirockFinion on Jan 27th 2021 at 2:22:34 AM
You are reading this.
When the guard instructed not to draw his sword again, Yarris little bit embarrassed so he put his hands behind his back and then kicked the ground softly once and then proceeded after Haze and Maryian into the guild where the latter explained the agreement and then asked if they had any questions.
Yarris didn’t really see an issue with the agreement and seemed quite content for the time being if not a bit exhausted. “Nah. I’ve got nothin’ really.” He replied shaking his head.
Edited by TheStarscream759 on Mar 12th 2021 at 3:05:26 PM
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild
"Excellent!" Mariayn cheered, clapping her hands together. "Well then, take the stones and feel free to head off to the dungeon at your own discretion" the mountain elf said, handing one of the stones to each of them.
"Then let's just go now" Ertisah suggested, still seemingly neutral as always, and promptly walked out the door after pocketing the recall stone. She started making her way towards the dungeon entrance, seemingly intent to just take the main road rather than take back alleys or any other kind of less conspicuous path.
You are reading this.
Markonville, Adventurer's guild
"No, that all seems fair enough" Haze stated as all the formalities were dealt with.
Once the stones were distributed it seemed like Ertisah was actually a bit eager to get going despite her neutral expressions. Or maybe she had something else to get to afterwards. "Certainly no time like the present. I'll need to stop at my store for my gear first, but no need to wait on me, I'll be at the dungeon soon"
Fortunately the Serpent's Eye was quite close to the dungeon, the better for returning adventurers laden with unidentified loot to find, so their paths wouldn't need to diverge for long once they were on their way.
THE SLORG!
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild
"Good luck in the dungeon!" Mariayn said cheerily, waving a hand high in the air goodbye.
Markonville, the dungeon entrance, one handwave later
Ertisah waited just outside the gate, only a few paces away from the posted guards. While waiting for Haze and Yarris, she got her spell book back out again, and was idly flipping through some pages, getting prepared for some spells during the delve.
You are reading this.
Markonville, the Adventurers' Guild, finally reuniting the other scene
"Wh-what?! That wouldn't solve anything!" Mariayn protested in alarm when Thord made his threat to punch Yarris. "We've already established he's not a monster, and you can't just punch people who aren't monsters!" the mountain elf continued.
Ertisah glanced at Thord when he spoke up with the same kind of neutral expression, then looked to Mariayn. "You can get something to make people not attack him on sight for looking like a skeleton, yes? Go, I'll keep an eye on him" Ertisah suggested in a calm tone.
"What? Um... Ah, yes! I'll be right back!" Mariayn exclaimed, and hurried back into the guild hall.
It was not too long after that inside the hall there was the telltale flash of light of a recall stone being used, and soon after other voices were faintly heard.
"I told you it was a bad idea!" Ailuin the elf argued as the party appeared there. "If it weren't for Berryleaf's healing magic and this recall stone, we probably would've lost at least two of us! If not all of us!" the elf went on.
"We still got an extra treasure chest though" Trikiz pointed out. "We just need to get it checked for traps or curses and then we've made an extra payout" the half oni continued.
"I'd have to say you're both right" Dhremir told them both. "We'll just have to be better prepared before we try going to the third floor again" the dwarf added.
"Oh dear sister? Where are you?" Reynial called out, and his footsteps wandered to the open front door. "Are you out h-" the fire mage stopped abruptly, having walked out the door with a bundle in hand that seemed to consist of a bag haphazardly filled with dirt and a writhing vine plant then all wrapped up in a net. He stared wide eyed for a moment at Yarris, then glanced at the rest of those outside.
"Oh, Reyn! Good timing!" Mariayn called out as she reemerged from the guild hall, carrying a scarf emblazoned with the symbol of the Aldanian Adventurer's Guild on both ends and striped with their signature light blue color. "This uh, let's say 'flesh-challenged' gentlemen is in need of our assistance" she told her brother.
"... You mean the skeleton?" Reynial asked for clarification.
"We've confirmed he's not a typical undead; apparently a potion did this to him. He wants to venture into the dungeon, but first he needs proof for the guards that he's not, and something to help keep him from getting attacked by them on accident" Mariayn explained as she stepped over towards Yarris, then added with a sideways glance at Thord, "or punched by some violent thug." Mariayn then carefully placed the scarf around Yarris' shoulders, so that one end hung in front of his right shoulder, and the other hung behind his left shoulder, making the guild's symbol visible from the front and the back.
"There, hopefully that should suffice for a little bit; we should see about getting you something even more official looking... Though that might require some kind of payment. Which could be in the form of services rendered" Mariayn said to Yarris, being a bit quieter with the last part.
You are reading this.