39 Mark
Just as Luke was going to use everything he had to run, an invisible pressure bore down on him and OriginalMagus, preventing them from moving a muscle.
"Why are you in such a rush? I went through the effort to dress up as a waiter and wait here for you, I think you are obliged to sit down and listen don't you think?"
The teasing tone used by the strange waiter was completely wasted on Luke, who had experienced the very civilized and cultured gaming community first hand.
"Sigh, go on." Said Luke as soon as the waited lifted a little bit of the pressure. "Why are you searching for me?"
"You dear me. Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Zuckerburg-"
As soon as he said that, Luke and OriginalMagus both suddenly remembered the world's very first fully sentient AI, and also the owner of a long dead social platform, Facebook.
While OriginalMagus was wondering what the game developers were thinking giving a high-level NPC such a name, Luke on the other hand was thinking of a prevailing conspiracy theory.
'Ultimatum was made by sentient AIs, including the world's first sentient AI…'
As his thoughts were trailing off, the man continued, "The Leader of the Guild of Magic'
A hint of a smile crept on the waiter's face, which began to rapidly change from a young and energetic male, to an aged yet well-groomed magician, whose every fiber practically yelled a sense of wisdom.
'Leader of the Guild of Magic?!?!'
Alarm bells began ringing even faster in Luke's mind as he began to assess his situation, while portraying a calm expression on his face as much as he could.
"Well, you see. I was on Roland this morning. While I was researching some magic, I had a premonition. One that told me to come here and wait for someone called The Sage. My premonitions have never lied to me before, and they continue to help me out a lot. Therefore I came here and waited. Just as I thought that it would be hard to find someone using only their codename, you walked in with 'The Sage' literally carved onto your mask."
'Huh… so it was the mask. I need to use masks without my name on it I guess. Sigh, my old age is getting the better of me once more.'
Mentally shrugging, Luke asked the leader of the Magician Guild, and a member of the Council of 12, Mark, "So, what now?"
"Hmm, as far as I know, all my premonitions have led me to the solution of something. But the time it takes for the solution to be fixed varies. Once I got it within a few seconds, while another time it took me nearly 20 years! So I guess I will wait."
"Then I will take my leave-"
"I will wait with you" interjected Mark.
"Huh?" Luke was confused. The old geezer made less sense than when he himself was an old geezer.
"I will wait until you solve my problem. I fill follow you around."
"You can follow me around from anywhere on the continent after marking me with energy, or using some spy spell!" Luke retorted.
"It doesn't work that way. I must be with the one in my premonition to solve my problem."
…
After a while of useless argument, which clearly bored OriginalMagus, the two old geezers came to a consensus.
"You know, you aren't too bad at this young fellow"
"Hmph! A 200 year old fossil like you shouldn't be this greedy either."
"Alright. I will help you get rid of this Rachel. But I will not do it now. I'll do it once you give me the solution. And in return, you will have to cough up the solution as soon as possible."
"Yes"
With this, the group ate a quick lunch before leaving the restaurant, with an extra member.
"Hmm, you are tracking someone?"
"Yes. She is an escaped slave."
The old geezer turned back to give Luke a sharp glare before retracting it, as if he had re-assessed the young man in front of him.
Ignoring the geezer, whose style seemed completely the opposite of Luke when he was old, Luke continued to follow the signs of lingering energy.
Soon, they arrived at the location where all signs of energy ended.
"The Adventurer's guild?" questioned OriginalMagus
"Sigh, she has done it this time." Sighed Luke as he led the rest of the people into the Adventurer's guild.
