Chapter 2

A truck drives through a somewhat busy city, getting lucky as each traffic light allows them to continue driving before switching. Despite being in a city, there were several trucks driving at the same time with symbols painted on the side of each of them. It wasn't uncommon to see so many trucks in a city, but at the turn leading to this truck's location, the light turned red.

"Crap, and we were about to be on time." In the drivers seat was Bell. He was a black bear with a fairly feminine appearance with long black hair and wore baggy black clothing. His clothes had no design on them, making him seem like he was going through a phase to most who would see him. His clothes were incredibly baggy and made it difficult to see his feminine figure; only leaving a vague trace of his body.

"Don't worry, we should get there before the Guild runs out of quests." Rebecca was beside him in the passenger seat. She was a slender racoon who liked to wear similarly baggy clothes, but it clung to her form more than Bell's. She had messy, gray, long hair that had a few thin stripes going on her hair. She seemed to have proper posture that gave her an air of sophistication.

"You say that, but we always get there before it opens and we never get jobs up to our ability class." Bell was very annoyed by this. They never got the correct jobs so they were always struggling for money.

"That's the curse of the Gemini. Not much we can do about it, but we should be happy we're still alive. Not to mention most jobs require a group of four or more and there's only three of us." 

"I know. That doesn't mean I can't be frustrated." They continued to sit as more cars drove into the parking lot of the Guild. "The line just got a lot longer and we're still stuck here. We'll have to take a lot of smaller jobs to make up for this."

"Unfortunately, you're right." Rebecca sighed dejectedly. She knew Bell was right. Gemini often got the short end of the stick with jobs whether its inflated Guild shares, lowered rewards, or incredibly dangerous jobs.

The light turned green and they took the turn when they could. They drove through the busy parking lot trying to find a spot. Every spot that had a car exiting was immediately getting taken by another car. Both of the occupants of the truck began to look at the filled lot trying to find a place to park in total until Bell's phone rang.

"Holy-!" Bell yelled, scaring Rebecca further as she jumped in her seat and hitting her head on the roof. Rebecca rubbed the top of her head while Bell rested on the top of the steering wheel. "I'm putting that on vibrate from now on." They took a second to collect themselves before answering. "Hello?"

"This is the Guild Manager, go to the Courier Package Pick-up Site. You got a special request." The call ended after that. 

"God damn it." Bell hit his head on the horn, now being gridlocked in the parking lot.

"I really hope you have a high paying job for us because the parking lot was hell to drive through." Bell said as he and Rebecca stepped out of the truck. A worker walked to the truck and took it to its pick-up location. "A Courier Special Quest?"

"Yes, and the one who requested it is from the Frozen Shard in the Mountain Region." The Guild Manager said. The location took Bell by surprise.

The Guild manager was an old golden retriever who wore an all red suit with the lone exception of his royal purple tie. He always carried a clipboard and a binder that had every single quest that they had at the time. Despite the foul reputation of the Gemini, he treated them fairly. All things considered, he was harsh and made sure people got a lecture.

"Really?! They only ask for rank S Star-born; they never ask for a Devil-born!" The Manager put a hand over his mouth with an annoyed expression. He glared at the Bear who shrank away from the old Manager.

"Look, I don't know who or what caused someone to trust a Gemini, but this was a special request from a wealthy benefactor so I'll look in the other direction." The Guild Manager removed his hand from Bell and looked at the Gemini's truck. "Your cargo is a steel crate. We don't know what's inside or its importance, but we can't allow the contents to get damaged."

"Understood." Bell sounded dejected although he knew any attempt in talking back would result in his rebuttals being shot down. "This'll be a little difficult since Cici has the day off."

"One person missing won't make a difference if you know what you're doing. The Shadow Wolves keep to themselves as long as you stay out of their territory." Bell nodded as Rebecca walked to Bell's side. "Where were you?"

"I was hungry." Rebecca said simply. Bell could only pinch the bridge of his nose in disappointment. "I got extra, want some?" Rebecca held out a couple of bars.

Bell could only sigh. "You know what, yeah." Bell took them and bit into one.

"I can't believe I have to leave this task with you people." The Manager left the two to eat before he heard a crash. The trailer that held the steel box broke, but the box was strapped down.

"We have time before we leave, might as well grab some equipment." Bell knew it would take a while for the crate to be moved to a new trailer not counting the two hours of the Manager yelling at them.

"Neither of us use weapons." Rebecca stated, the faint sound of yelling could be heard.

"Healing and Mana potions."

"Fair point." The two began to walk inside the Guild.

"It would also help to get some camping supplies in case this takes a few days." The doors to the Guild closed; leaving an angry Guild Manager and a lot of scared warehouse workers.

"We'll need knives! Monster parts sell for a lot!"

The workers mentally prayed for something to save them, but nothing can save people from an angry Manager. The Manager noticed something off about the way the trailer broke, but he didn't care. Those taking the trailer were Gemini; the most hated Star-born Sign in recent years. That showed in the glares they received from most of the other Guild Members that they passed, but it was just something a Gemini had to get used to.

"Alright, everything is hooked up and all the preparations are made. The Pyramid Guard have already been notified and the Bridge Guard are waiting for your appearance. I did everything I could on my part, now you have to do yours." The manager said he gave them a few papers. "Make sure you handed this to Blake. He's the Guild Manager there and should make sure you get your full reward. He's like me in the regard of integrity when it comes to rewards."

"Thank you, sir." Bell said as he took the keys back from the Manager who had an unusual expression; a smile. The canine's face had an odd warmth to the smile. Considering that he almost always had a scowl, it was a nice change for him.

"You may have cursed Star-Sign, but I always love the feeling of a party moving up in the world." Bell felt a surge of happiness well inside him. An odd hope he never got from any of the attendants that often tried to put them in higher rank quests than they could handle. "Make the Barren Shard proud."

"Yes sir!" Bell and the manager shook hands and began to go their separate ways. Rebecca was already waiting for Bell to finally start their journey. She wasn't much for small talk and it beat standing awkwardly next to someone for no reason. "Now it's time to make it through the pain that is Pyramid Guard."

"I may be a little too understanding, but those guys are, by all rights, complete assholes. It's not like they try to do their job correctly." Bell completely broke down into a laughing fit after hearing what Rebecca said. 

"Hearing your curse is always a treat." He turned the key as the motor roared to life. A satisfied smile spread across his face, enjoying the feeling of the truck. "This is going to be a nice… fifteen minutes. Great." Just like that, he made himself depressed. "Let's get this over with."

"Look on the bright side. Once it's done, we don't have to deal with it for weeks and we can get quests from unprotected towns after this." Bell gave her an unamused look. "Yeah, I know it's worse."

Bell pressed on the gas and slowly began to make his way out the Guild to begin their journey. They didn't have to wait long since the early morning traffic died down. Everyone was at their jobs or in their schools and a majority of those employed at the Guild don't have a car so they walk; something Rebecca and Bell were grateful for.

Neither said a word for the duration of the ride to the Pyramid Guard checkpoint leading out the city. They had to mentally prepare to pass the checkpoint. The passing buildings only made them become more tense knowing that they'd get there soon.

Soon, they arrived at the checkpoint with they're minds prepared for whatever absurd method they'd have to pull to cross. Unlike the others under different Star-Signs, they didn't have the money to bribe them. Bell slowed down the truck to an open lane.

A canine in a military uniform walked towards them with a rifle slung over his shoulder. On his shoulder was a shield shaped patch that had a white pyramid with a golden G in the center of a navy blue background. In his hands was a clipboard with a pen on the top of it. There were several others walking to cars, already waving others through, or just sitting around and waiting for someone to pick their lane.

"Quests, IDs, and/or reason for leaving." The guard said he didn't look at them and held a professional demeanor. This took the two by surprise since they recognized the guard.

"I didn't realize that you were working at this station, Jake." Rebecca said, a wave of relief washed over the two as the guard looked up at them. His face quickly turned to surprise before a smile grazed his lips after seeing a couple of his friends.

"Yeah, with the attacks at the entrances, we're being sent to one location to have better security." Bell and Rebecca gave him their IDs as he wrote a few things on his clipboard to get them through quickly. "The Guard is on edge since they can't do what they used to since The Hero, Jackson, is coming to set up his permanent Guild office here. On the bright side, you should get through much easier after he does."

"Do you know when he gets in?" Rebecca asked as Jake handed back their IDs.

"Sometime this afternoon, but you shouldn't hold me to that. I've only got second hand information." Bell nodded as Rebecca sighed. She looked up to him and wanted to be there when he came into town. "Don't worry. He's been looking for Gemini so there's a good chance that he'd want to talk to you."

"Unfortunately, we'll be gone for about three months. It'll be a while before we get back." Bell said as he prepared to go into the unforgiving wastes of the Barren Shard and away from the Central Pyramid. "Anyway, we'll be seeing you, man." Bell gave a light wave to his friend, a smile grazing his lips.

"Same here. I'll see you soon!" With that, Bell and Rebecca drove into the unknown and away from the safety of their home.