The Cranky Guardsman

The sky was clear, while the birds sang wondrous melodies all around the trio; Tashi the tank, Neya the assassin, and Tao the healer. Citizens carried on as if there wasn't a care in the world, while the numerous battered guild members that were mixed up in between them were more straight faced; always on alert, even when they needn't be. 

As the trio approached the massive wooden gate that stood stories high, they were greeted by a bitter guardsman of the civilian guild. He looked at them from head to toe and grunted to himself, before he led them inside of a small guardsman's building that stood just inside the entrance of the city. He had only given them a small hand wave to tell them to follow him, but once inside the building, he quickly demanded they show him their contract as well as their identification. He knew who they were, but the procedure must be followed to the exact detail. Inside the small, hut-like building was where people were screened coming in as well as when they wanted to leave. 

The guards need to know why people wish to leave the safety of the barriers, and to keep track of their citizens; especially if one were to turn rotted, they would know exactly what to expect. 

"Are you familiar with Jora Herta?" Neya spoke up, breaking the loud silence. 

"What's your business with that name?" The guardsman demanded, peering up from the ID of Tashi as the guard sat at his desk. 

"Our current contract involves relieving him from his suffering," she informed, "he was killed and became rotted on a contract about 2 days ago." 

"Ah," the guardsman simply spat, grunting once more before turning back to his paperwork. The three of them looked at each other in confusion. After only a moment, he handed Tashi his ID back, "what do you want to know?" 

"What effect does his weapon have?" Tao asked him, taking over the questioning. 

The guardsman got up from his desk and made his way to a section of giant, metal filing cabinets that were perfectly lined up together. He went through a few, overly packed drawers before finally finding what he needed and made his way back to his desk. He smacked the folder onto it with a loud slap, before sitting back down onto his metal, barely cushioned chair. "This is the paperwork from that day, it'll be a moment for me to find their sheet," he then flung open the folder and began to shift through the thick stack of papers that contained all the visitors and those that had gone on missions for that particular day. 

"How long will it be?" Neya pushed, staring at the fat stack in front of him. 

He glared up at her, then proceeded to lean back in his chair, intertwining his fingers together and then resting them onto his stomach. "As you can see, we had a lot of traffic 2 days ago, and you are asking about a name that will only appear in here..." he held up 1 finger, "1 time. That's not a lot to go on, so please, make yourself comfortable; it'll be a moment," he sarcastically told them.

"Thank you," Tao smiled thanking the cranky guardsman while guiding Tashi and Neya out of the building like they were his children. 

"Of all days, we get him as the one to sign us," Tashi complained, visibly angered as he crossed his arms across his muscular chest once outside. "It's not our fault he decided to go into the civilian guild and not one of the others," Neya shot him a menacing glance, "I mean, nothing wrong with the decision either," he quickly corrected, intimidated.

The civilian guild comprised of positions that directly affected the inside of the city in which they are stationed. They are the police, guardsman, firefighters, doctors, all the ones that keep the city running smoothly. Out of all the positions, however, only the guardsmen are allowed to leave the city, mainly to protect those within a short distance of it. Anything further than a mile, one of the other guilds were in charge as they were more knowledgeable of everything on the outside, and better trained in raw combat. 

Neya took out one of her weapons to fan herself from the heat that was beating down on her as the trio waited as patiently as possible outside of the wooden guardsmen's building. The cicadas were buzzing loudly, reminding those that the sun was scorching the world, all the while there was no end in sight as to when they would have the information that they needed. 

"Perhaps he is pulling our leg?" Tashi suggested, breaking the silence as he grabbed Neya's other weapon to begin fanning himself as well. "It's a green weapon, 1 effect, we have 3 legendary weapons, 6 effects in total. If we can't defeat him we deserve to be demoted."

Tao flicked his finger, sending a small rain cloud only a few inches above his head that began to mist him, cooling him down without effort, while Neya and Tashi peered at him with the glare of jealousy. 

After what seemed like an eternity, though only a few hours, the cranky guardsman walked out of the building with a singular piece of white paper in hand as he made his way towards the trio. The three met him halfway, relieved to finally see him, "what's the news?" Tao asked excitedly, once he knew he was within earshot of the man. 

"Well, nothing," he simply replied, holding the piece of paper out in front of him once they were closer to each other.

"What do you mean nothing?" Neya asked him, taking the sheet from him almost rudely, and looking at it immediately. Her eyes scanned the sheet frantically before finally spotting what she was searching for. "The weapon isn't listed- why?" 

"Not sure," the guardsman answered, less snappy than before. "The one that did the paperwork has disappeared," He shifted his stance, uncomfortable with the new discovery, his angry demeanor briefly being masked. "There's nothing that lists the effect, I'm sorry." He took the sheet back, before folding it in half and sticking it into his pocket. "But on the other hand, all the paperwork is done for you three to get on with your contract." 

"Wait, disappeared?" Tashi interrupted, catching the gaze of his wife and friend to confirm if he heard correctly. 

"That's correct," the guardsman confirmed, "civilian guild isn't for everyone, and people quit often, so we didn't think much of it," he shrugged. "More than half the time they leave through the doors and are never seen from again; they're too ashamed that they couldn't handle the responsibility." He began to lead them towards a smaller, more human sized door that was built inside the giant's door like a mouse hole.

The trio followed him silently; the idea of a somewhat unknown rotted human, even if he was almost 20 levels lower than them, was still a dangerous situation to be in.

Tashi gave Neya her fan back before she sheathed them, while he unhooked a few straps to make drawing his broadsword easier. 

"I wonder what's it's like to have to carry around such nuisances," Tao mocked them, patting his hip where a small dagger lay; He only used it in extreme cases due to his advanced knowledge in magik. 

"Remember to check back in upon your return," the guardsman remarked as he opened the door for them, allowing them to finally exit and continue with their small journey. "Be safe."