Ch. 22 A duo of idiots

A couple of laughs were heard from the tables behind them as Peter felt a little foolish, but he continued holding his expression. After a few minutes of silence, the woman looked up once more.

"Eep!" Sarah ducked behind Peter.

"So two off to the meat grinder, then?" The woman at the counter said, sighing. "I hate unnecessary paperwork..."

Taking a few folders from under the desk, she handed them to the two. "Fill these out and prepare your gear. When enough people sign up, you will be summoned for the trial."

Peter looked at the papers and back at her. "How long does it usually take to get a full team?"

"I don't know kid. Sometimes a few days, sometimes it's a few months. If you want to speed up the process, come back with willing sacrifices..."

Peter nodded and left the facility. Sarah close behind him, ignoring all the snickering from the other adventurers.

Once they were outside, Peter took a deep breath and sighed. "That was tougher than I thought. It looked like they all had seen some serious action."

"Do you think we'll end up looking like them one day?"

"By the God's, I hope not."

They sat on the steps leading into the hall and contemplated their next actions. Peter looked up in thought like he usually does, and Sarah held her legs to her chest, and she looked at the ground.

"How are we going to find more people who want to join us and have the coin to do so?"

Peter had an idea. "Perhaps we could display our skills in town and see if anyone is interested. We could also earn some coin in the process."

Sarah shook her head. "I know you could do cool tricks to wow the crowd, but how was I supposed to bring in anyone?"

Peter looked over Sarah and laughed a little. "What do you mean? You're super cute. You could show off some moves that Perish taught you, and I am sure you would build up a fan base easily."

Sarah blushed and covered herself from his gaze and shot back. "We're trying to get party members, not some kind of creepy fanbase!"

Peter continued to laugh a little longer before calming down. "We need to figure something out. Perhaps we could just ask around and see if anyone is in the same predicament as us."

Sarah gave him a frown but nodded her head. It seemed like the only real option they had at the moment. Spending the rest of the day asking around, they found that many people were looking for party members, but most of them seemed shady and rubbed Sarah the wrong way.

The day was almost over, and the two decided to call it. Heading to the cheapest inn, they could find they settled down and ate some food. When the food got there, a young girl handed it to them and smiled. "I heard you were looking for some candidates for the adventurer's trials. Perhaps I could interest you in my services?"

Peter looked over the young girl, who was probably a couple of years younger than he was, and wondered just want kind of skills this girl had. "I'm sorry, but isn't there an age limit to join the trial?"

The girl pouted and placed the food on the table with some force, almost knocking the cups of water on them over. "I'm 18, you buffoon. I can take the test whenever I want. I just need people who are willing to join me!"

Peter was shocked. This girl looked so young. She had blond hair that went down to her shoulders and bright yellow eyes, almost like a cat. Her dark and light brown baggy pants did not accentuate her body at all, and if anything, it made her look even younger. The green jacket she wore was bandaged at the arms, and her goggles had long green strips on them that tied in the back.

"What skills do you have that could be useful to us? I am a mage, and my friend is a warrior, so we would need a skilled cleric and thief. Do you qualify for either of those?"

Laughter that started slowly and grew into something almost evil arose from the girl's mouth. "I dare say I do possess one of those skills. Can you guess which one?"

Sarah was worried that this girl was just another weirdo. She went to grab some money from her pouch and found that her pouch was missing. "My money pouch, it's gone!"

Peter looked to see if his was still there. "Mine's gone too!"

The girl continued to laugh maniacally as she held the two pouches up. "I'm sure no cleric, but I have the fastest hands in this joint." Peter swiped the bags back and gave Sarah hers. He looked at Sarah and nodded with a smile.

Sarah pouted a little. "Fine..."

Peter looked back at the girl. "Do you have the fee to get in?"

"Of course I do. Working here has made me more than enough to get in!" Peter knew that she was not talking about the wages she made. He extended his hand to shakes hers. "My name is Peter, and this is Sarah. What's yours?"

"I go by Bell in these parts." She extends her hand out, and when they connect, Peter feels something slimy in his hand.

"Ewww. what was that?" Peter removed his hand from hers and looked at it to see something bluish-green sticking to his palm. When he looked at Bell's hand, he saw what looked like a long piece of slime.

Bell giggled and raised her hand palm to reveal what it was. A bluish-green slime crawled up her arm and waited on her hand, smiling at them. "This here is my companion! His name is Goo."

It gurgles a little in comfort before sliding back up her arm out of sight. Sarah looked disgusted, but Peter was fascinated. "Just where did you manage to get something like that!?"

He started to lift her sleeve, and she slapped him. "Don't you know it's rude to touch a lady without her permission!"

Peter backed down and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I tend to get carried away when it comes to monsters."

Sarah looked at Bell and decided to ask a question she probably already knew the answer to. "Do you know anyone who could fill the cleric role?"

"Of course! I have a good friend of mine who is great at healing spells!"

That surprised Sarah. She assumed there would be no one foolish enough to follow such a crazy girl around, but she was mistaken. "What's their name?"

As if on cue, a sharp-looking boy walked up to the table with what appeared to be clerical robes and a mace strapped to his belt. He extended his hand out to grab Sarah's and kissed it gently before looking her in the eyes. "The stars shine bright this night but not as bright as your eyes."

Sarah blushes and looks away. Bell pulls out Goo and turns him into a baseball bat before swinging and hitting the boy in the head with it. he hits the ground and looks at her with anger in his eyes. "What the hell was that for Bell?"

"Roland, quit hitting on the customers when you're supposed to be working!"

Roland snaps back. "Only if you quit stealing from them all the time!"

Bell coughs a little and looks the other way. "It's not stealing. It's earning my tips ahead of time."

Sarah and Peter look at each other and sigh. It may not have been the party they were hoping for, but it looked like they had the two members they needed. Peter looked back at Bell and asked. "When will you be ready for the trials?"

Bell perked up and smiled. "I've been ready all my life, and so has Roland." She looks over at Roland, who is now getting up and wiping the dust off his robe. "Right, Roland?"

He nods confidently and looks back at Sarah. "If it means healing your wounds, miss, then I will join in a heartbeat!"

Sarah grabbed herself and shivered. "I think we might need to rethink this idea, Peter."

Peter gave an apologetic smile and shrugged. "I think this is the best we're going to get."

They finished their meal in partial silence as Bell and Roland continued waiting tables. Once they were finished, they all went down for bed. The next morning they heard a knock on their door, and waiting for them outside were Bell and Roland decked out in adventurer clothing. Roland had a backpack that seemed packed to the brim, and Bell wore the same outfit with nothing changing. They arrived back at the adventurer's hall and handed in the papers.

"Very well, Peter, Sarah, Bell, and Roland. You will begin the trials immediately."

As she finished her words, they all felt a tingle as the world around them turned white.