5 The Best

Curt stopped right before rounding the corner. They got their quarry cornered this time. The sun was beginning to dip below its peak in the sky. Curt waved at Bauph to go around to the other side. They had been tracking their prey since morning, and Curt was more than ready for this mission to be over.

Once Bauph was out of sight and hopefully in position, Curt moved in for the prize. Their mark leapt to its feet the moment Curt appeared in the alleyway. It bolted away from him, and right into Bauph's waiting arms.

"I got it!" Bauph cried as he wrangled with the rabbit. The vicious thing struggled for all it was worth, but Bauph had a firm grip on it.

"Thank god," Curt breathed out. He dropped his hands to his knees trying to catch his breath. He felt like after chasing that rabbit through Mid Town, he knew all of its streets and alleyways. He glanced over at Bauph who was only breathing slightly harder than normal. The stamina of this guy, thought Curt. Or maybe I'm just out of shape?

"Let's get this guy back to that old lady," Curt said, standing up straight and trying not to look as exhausted as he was.

The two of them had taken on what seemed like the easiest D-rank job posting on the guild boards. Find an old lady's pet, sure, piece of cake. But damn, if that thing isn't the fastest rabbit Curt had even seen. For a pampered pet, it'd run any of the Dust's hares to the ground.

Bauph looked ready to finally receive some payment after getting roped into being apart of Point Blank. Despite being forced into joining and having all his savings scammed, Bauph took things less seriously than Curt thought a Holy Order member would act. Or maybe it was the fact that guild registration fees were non-refundable that made the priest resign himself to his fate.

Delivering the rabbit to its owner was thankfully as easy as it sounded. The old lady was overjoyed to see her pet back, a sentiment that didn't seem shared by the pet in question.

"Oh, my beloved Botis! You're finally back! Thank you two so much," the old lady said as she smothered the rabbit. She handed Curt a handful of coins.

A total of 50 gold pieces, enough money for maybe one nice meal. D-rank jobs all seemed to pay around the same amount, and they seemed to all be fairly mundane tasks too. But as a D-rank guild, they were barred from anything else. The priestess went through the basics of being a guild in nearly one breath, probably trying to get rid of them quickly. Guild ranks were D, C, B, A, and S. D being the lowest possible, and S being the highest. Jobs were rated accordingly, and the respective rank guild could take on anything at or below their rank. Apparently, S-rank guilds numbered in the single digits.

But at least it was Point Blank's first successful job and the first amount of gold that Curt earned himself. He still kept the pouch of gold that Luke had given him earlier, refusing to use it. He also made sure to stow that away where Otto wouldn't find it.

Bauph and Curt walked back to the decrepit room in Low Town. Now that Bauph had moved in -- apparently robbing the man of all his gold meant he couldn't afford the inn room he was staying at -- the place had gotten quite crowded. Curt's small corner somehow got smaller, and he had to sleep with his legs bent. Well, at least it was a roof over his head. And besides, he'd slept in worse places before back up in the Dusts.

"We're back," Curt announced as he opened the creaky door to the shack.

Somehow, it looked like there was even more space in the room than in the morning. Maybe finally getting paid was giving him a more optimistic perspective in life.

Kirina nearly pushed past him while holding a box full of tools. "Oh Curt, you're back. How'd it go?" She continued on, obviously not caring for his response.

"What's the occasion?" Curt asked, seeing that the corner where Kirina usually worked in was cleared out. He figured this day would come. Otto could be insufferable sometimes, and surely after spending over ten years with that guy even someone like Kirina would eventually get fed up. He didn't blame her.

"Made it big, so I'm moving out. You guys can have this room. Best of luck," she replied as she ferried another box of stuff to the cart outside. "But I'm taking the cart with me, now that you guys are a full-fledged guild, you shouldn't need it."

"You're moving out?" Bauph asked with a frown.

Given that the pretense for Bauph being a Point Blank member was that he'd get closer to Kirina to hear out her story, there goes one reason for him staying.

"You heard me," said Kirina. "Research paid off. I successfully used those magic crystals to reinforce some guns. I also found out the process works for other weapons and even armor — that became popular with adventurers real quick. It's not perfect yet, so there's still a risk of the base equipment breaking from the stress, but I'll iron that out later."

She dropped the last of her stuff into the cart and fixed Curt's weathered pistols a look. "And Curt? Now that I've got expendable income, I'll let you have a free pick of one of the guns I made. We can finally get rid of those eyesores of your's."

Curt glanced down at the pistols by his side. They served him well enough sure, but they were also looted off a Hawk corpse years ago. They were makeshift and were probably as likely to shoot in either direction of the barrel.

"Sure, I'll take you up on that offer," Curt said before Kirina got impatient and changed her mind. For someone who barely had patience with people, it was amazing she stuck with Otto this long. He had wondered why Kirina tolerated Otto.

"And you, Bauph," she said looking up at the priest. "I'll give you an initial discount for your first reinforcement once my shop's set up. So drop by later. It'll be set up in the Market District. Otto'll know where it is."

She waved for Curt to follow her back inside the room, where the only things left in Kirina's space was a spread of several guns.

"Otto already got first pick," Kirina said, gesturing at an empty space on the table. "Of course, he picked the best revolver of the bunch. Despite being possibly the worst person I know, he's got an eye for the best. I'll admit that much. Anyways, take your pick."

Curt scanned his options. There was a repeater, a musket, several pistols and revolvers, and a crossbow. He grabbed the two matching revolvers out the bunch. They'd make an easy replacement for his old ones.

"Figured you'd pick those," Kirina remarked as she packed up the remainders. "You Dust types all seem to pick revolvers. Though the only Dusters that I've seen use two revolvers are you and Otto. Those are actually Otto's old revolvers. They were some of the first guinea pigs used in my research, so they might be a bit unstable."

Curt thought about putting them back. Seeing him eye the other selections, Kirina added, "Don't worry, worst that could happen is they'll fire one last big shot and then explode. Harmlessly. Mostly. Might get your fingertips burnt a bit and blinded temporarily, but it won't be too bad. Otto liked those revolvers enough to keep around him, so they aren't too unsafe. He also told me if you picked anything else of the lot to sell these up so you'd pick them."

Kirina marched out the door with the last of her belongings and hopped onto the cart. Bauph was still standing outside, his chin resting on his fist, looking deep in thought. Given the circumstances, Curt wondered if he should come back to the place tomorrow morning and get an alibi in case Otto's corpse showed up. Speaking of which, Otto was usually lounging and smoking a cigarette during this time. It was odd that he was out during the day.

Kirina drove the cart out of Low Town, and then it was just Bauph and Curt.

"You think anyone'd report it if he went missing?" Bauph asked, referring to, of course, Otto.

"I wouldn't," Curt replied.

Bauph sighed. "Well, not like that'll bring back my savings. At least being in a guild means I can take on guild jobs."

"What were doing before?" Curt asked, genuinely curious. "To have that much in savings, you must've been doing something."

"They're called savings for a reason. I helped out with the Holy Order doing blessings and healing every now and then. It paid about as well as the job we just did, so I might as well keeping doing the guild jobs."

"Back so soon, you two? I'm guessin' the job was completed without a hitch." Otto strolled into view, smiling around the cigarette between his lips. He waved at them, his hand holding a rolled up poster.

Otto blatantly ignored the glare from Bauph as he walked up to them, still smiling. "I see the cart's gone, so Kirina's left already." Looking down at the new pair of revolvers by Curt's side he added, "And I see you made the right decision. Well, come on in, I've got great news to share with y'all."

He slipped into the room before Bauph or Curt could say anything. Curt figured Otto probably knew what Bauph was thinking, and was trying to delay. Bauph went inside, and Curt reluctantly followed. If things got ugly, he probably could escape by kicking down a wall — they were barely thicker than parchment anyways.

Otto was sitting on his bed and motioned for Curt and Bauph to sit on the floor.

"Our luck's on the rise," Otto began right as Bauph opened his mouth to say something. "While you two were finishing up that job, I worked tirelessly to get some information. I'm sure you guys found that D-rank job boring as hell, and I ain't plannin' on staying at D-rank forever. Point Blank's destined for the big league, so I've been lookin' at ways to climb the ladder."

He unrolled the piece of paper in his hands, revealing a large poster with two crisscrossed swords with large type above it reading "GRAND GUILD TOURNAMENT". Otto smiled as Curt and Bauph read the poster.

"GRAND GUILD TOURNAMENT

Let the finest guilds compete in Endyre's first ever guild tournament! Watch as guilds from all over the country send their best fighters to duke it out in a tournament bards will sing of for years to come! High placement can increase the rank of your guild. The winner will receive a grand prize of 100 million gold pieces, as well as a ticket to the Star City!

Eligible guilds include any from D to S rank. The only requirement is that the guild must have a minimum of 10 members to fight for them."

Curt narrowed his eyes. "Ticket to the Star City?" He looked up at Otto. "Of all the people to be fooled by this poster, Otto surely you can't believe this a legit tournament?"

Otto shook his head at Curt. "It's legit, Curt. Poster's up all over Guild District, and I confirmed it with the Holy Order that the prizes are real. I even asked 'em about the ticket part, and that priestess told me she couldn't tell me how, but that it's gonna be real. Says the higher ups guarantee it."

"The Holy Order is sponsoring this?" Bauph asked, raising his head to also stare at Otto. "They're saying the winner gets to visit the Star City?"

Otto nodded. "Holy Order and the King himself. And frankly, I'm quite curious about the grand prize too. But first, we gotta win this thing. But even if we don't, this tourney'll set us up as a reputable guild, and we'll earn a pretty penny for participation."

Curt now was shaking his head. "You seem awfully confident that we can even win the first match. Anyways, we don't even have ten members."

"I said I've been busy," Otto grinned. "Been busy thinkin' out all the logistics of this stuff. As guild leader, I'll make sure we're in this tourney. 'Sides Curt, think of this as a chance to finally show these folk how Dusters fight."

Otto pulled out another piece of paper from his pocket. Or actually, it appeared more like some scribbles on a tavern napkin.

"I was gatherin' information too," Otto said as he handed the napkin to Curt. A beer stain colored the corner of it, threatening to smudge some of the writing. "I've been sifting through a lotta info about potential recruits, and I found one that I think will really help out our fightin' power. I need you and Bauph to go get this guy to join our guild at all costs."

Curt could hardly read the scratch marks on the napkin. He handed it back to Otto. "Might as well tell me cause I can't read that."

"There's a swordsman way up north in the mountains. Rumor has it, he saved the tribe up there about a month ago from some kind of ice dragon. But apparently a huge blizzard kicked up and it's been ragin' since. No one can get up or down there right now. Though not many have tried. Tribe's pretty isolated and off the beaten path."

"Wait," Bauph interjected. "You want us to go visit the Tu'ban tribe in the mountains? And get there by going through a blizzard that no one's been able to pass?"

"Yep."

"What makes you think you won't lose your two only guild members?"

Otto's expression softened a bit as he smiled at them. "I believe in you two. It's been brief, but I know you guys can do it. Anyways, tomorrow's the best shot at makin' it there. A large merchant caravan's gonna pass by the base of the mountain, and they set off in the morning. I already talked with the merchants and they agreed you guys can hitchhike that far with 'em."

"Any reason why you're not going?" Curt asked.

"I'm gonna be busy finding the other members we'll need," replied Otto in a matter of fact tone. "And remember, make him join at any cost. Kidnap him if you have to."

Bauph and Curt sighed synchronously.

"Alright," Bauph relented. "Better than chasing lost pets I guess. When's the tournament anyways?"

"Three months from now. Deadline for registering is in a month. Also, we're already registered so you don't gotta worry about the deadline. Focus on making those members join us."

"How'd you register already?"

"I told 'em that the other members prefer their names be kept a secret 'til the tourney. As a D-rank guild, they didn't seem to care much about who'd participate. Probably expect us to drop out of the first match." Otto shrugged.

"Well," Otto said standing back up. "Go get some rest you two. Y'all got a long journey ahead of you."