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Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (105/?) WiP 1
🕑 Added 2024-11-03 00:17:44 +0000 UTCHey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 105 I hope you guys enjoy! :D
No sooner were those proclamations made, did the whole roomâs mood suddenly shift.
Doors to either wings of the central hall were shut, and the entrance to the guild itself was promptly cordoned off not long after.
Young and familiar faces belonging to the apprentice trainees flooded out one by one, as all stood at attention at the far reaches of the room; though the quality of their would-be âparade-restâ stances wouldâve sent Aunty Ran into a fiery fit.
What remained of the uproarious and chaotic vibe of the place quickly fizzled out, as competing conversations mellowed into an eerie silence; the attention of an entire room quickly landing on the two parties.
Eyeballs and eyestalks alike quickly landed on the quest listing in each party leaderâs hands.
Following which, the two leaders promptly took to what I now realized werenât actually weirdly-shaped bar stool fixtures, but podiums.
Remarkably short and stumpy podiums, with little in the way of presence like those found in the Academy, but podiums all the same.
This disadvantage in height though, was unconventionally rectified by the crowd, as everyone present began taking their seats; with those unfortunate enough to lose this impromptu game of musical chairs instead electing to sit on the floor.
A short clattering of weapons and armor later, and the intended effect was obvious⌠at least for the elf.
The dwarf still remained woefully too short for the podium, barely poking above a few of the taller seated adventurers, at least compared to his pay-to-win elven counterpart.
This turnout was reflected in the glare they exchanged.
Although something told me that there was much, much more going on beneath the surface to warrant that sharp and sudden of an ire-filled glare.
An assumption that began panning out, as they both attempted to speak at about the same time.
âThe party ofââ They both began, before stopping prematurely.
It didnât take too long for the guild commander to quickly step in however. Stopping this stalemate in its inception, with a quick nod directed towards the pay-to-win elf, much to the dwarfâs annoyance.
âThe Great and Bountiful Party of Elaseerâs Illustrious Questseekers, humbly accepts the quest listing submitted by the Lord-Mayor of Elaseer, for the tracking, reporting, and optional hunting of the Beast of the Elaseer Forests. Last heard terrorizing the warehouse prior to its destruction.â The gold-haired elf began, his shining and radiant suit of armor practically causing all within the room to experience some degree of lens flare. âAs is guild tradition, The Great and Bountiful Party of Elaseerâs Illustrious Questseekers is open to any who wish to compete for the right to this quest, or any who wish to join as adjuncts to our party.â
The man stopped, awaiting whatever response might come.
A few seconds of silence later, and a hand was raised.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, about half of the roomâs occupantsâ arms were raised up high, all of which I noticed were raising their left arms.
âRaising their right arm probably means a challenge then.â I thought to myself, as I became almost engrossed in guild dynamics, and the deeply entrenched cultural etiquette of it all.
Moreover, it at least seemed to be far more streamlined and efficient than Academy cultural norms.
âSplendid!â The elf beamed out, manufacturing a grin that felt so eerily fake, almost plastic in a way that I couldnât pin down. âHowever, I only need a quarter of you for this quest.â He shifted his tone abruptly, causing some arms to waver, if only slightly. Following which, the elf began raising his arm, and without once shifting that faux-positivity of his voice, he began pointing towards each party leader in the crowd. âYou. You! You⌠and you!â He began, going through about ten more people, before finally arriving at an unexpected conclusion. âAll of you will not be joining us. The rest of you may follow us to the private function room!â
The emotional whiplash was so sudden that even I was barely able to process it. As literally a dozen parties were left in the dust of their contemporaries, all of whom began marching up the grand staircase, following the pay-to-win elfâs lead; some much more reluctantly than others.
This wasnât Academy noble dynamics after all.
But still, there was clearly a pecking order here. One that the dwarf seemed to be painfully aware of as he began his own spiel with a sullen breath.
âSymâs Troubleshooters humbly accepts the quest listing submitted by the office of the guildmaster, for the scouting and reporting on the whereabouts of the amethyst dragon. Last seen terrorizing the town.â The man began through a tired mumble, looking around with half-lidded eyes at the disinterested crowd. âAs is guild tradition, Symâs Troubleshooters is open to any who wish to compete for the right to this quest, but not for anyone who wishes to join as adjuncts to our party.â
That latter bit proved to be interesting, as reactions amongst the crowd were mixed between quiet indifference or outright dismissiveness.
âYeah, of course heâd want to keep it a closed quest.â
âCheap bastard wants to keep all that gold for himself.â
âNo surprise, none at all. Sym needs every coin he can get.â
âThe poor blokeâs drowning in debt. I doubt the five-thousand goldâs going to put a dent in that, sadly.â
The chatter amongst the crowd was reasonably loud, or at least, loud enough that âSymâ decided to address it directly.
As he seemed to have little in the way of patience for would-be gossipers.
âAhem. If anyone, anyone at all wishes to compete for the right to this quest, now is the time to speak with the backing of fists and steel.â He cautioned, bringing the whispers to an abrupt halt, making an effort to meet each and every one of the adventurerâs eyes with an unamused expression. âI didnât think so.â He continued following the silence, though it was clear that beating back the gossipers didnât seem to bring him even a lick of joy or satisfaction. âGuild commander? May I ask permission to proceed to deliberations?â He turned towards the commander in question, who nodded approvingly.
=====
Nexus. The Crown Herald Town of Elaseer. Ambassadorial District. The Adventurerâs Guild Hall of Elaseer. Guild Masterâs Office. Local Time: 1722 Hours.
Emma
âNo.â Ilunor proclaimed with a degree of dismissive severity that only a competitive noble could muster, making an effort not to meet any one of the party membersâ eyes.
Comments
architectural engineer
SPOILER you were right! SPOILER
Michael Halpern
i mean with Nexian culture, its not that hard to do, just got to be nice to them
architectural engineer
i hope they don't end up being bad in a too obvious way. would make no sense to have a high death rate amongst those they bring with because then those that don't go would eventually notice nobody comes back from their trips and subsequently refuse to join their quests.
Willow Arkan
I wouldn't be surprised if a high death rate for his adjuncts is not uncommon.
Willow Arkan
Emma does have a habit of collecting the downtrodden, but capable. I wonder what the dwarf will think of the metal behemoth behind the quest or if her link to the library will come up again.
Gabu
Yep, it's a snipe hunt. I wonder if they get paid for just wandering around the woods for a week and finding nothing, or if the elf is going to end up on the hook to personally pay all those helpers he just recruited. Best case scenario I see for him is he spends a week wondering around the woods using up rations and doesn't get a single coin in payment. Whole thing will be a net negative. The dwarf meanwhile stand to make a pretty penny and get introduced to some revolutionary technology in the process.
UC-79
If lartia didn't report him when he arrived at elaseer there's a good chance he's tied to a tree dehydrated to death in the woods đż
UC-79
What happened to the were-beast after emma tied him up? His whole woods quest monolog was derailed with some drone recon and grappling line.
Pete Magnuson
"'No.' Ilunor proclaimed" could be the opening of so many scenes he's been in, to be honest
punthebun
Remember, they're trying to track and chase Emma, though the adventurers don't know that >:3 (she used recorded roars blaring from her suits external speakers during the whole warehouse debacle to quickly clear the area of civilians, as far as I recall...)
Skrzynek
Probably paying 5000 gold to people that look like homeless bums according to his high standards. Remember how Ilunor learned the quick clothes-change magic BECAUSE HIS SERVANTS WERE TOO INCOMPETENT? Viscount Vuberian may be small, but he has *big* expectations!
architectural engineer
wonder what the lizard is saying no too XD
Skrzynek
I do wonder if Emma ends up sending cloaked infil-drones to follow either party...
Skrzynek
I can imagine Emma getting really annoyed with the "premium" party because of that. That said, I feel like the werebeast alone won't be that big of a thread for a small crowd of adventurers. It's prolly gonna be something they don't yet expect that gets them...
Michael Halpern
if i were to guess Sym knows his shit.
Ultimatecalibur
Looks like clashing quests and possibly a lot of death due to the premium party's arrogance.
