First Quest: Complete!

I did as the official instructed, and was indeed met with a small group of guards on the other side of the gates. One of them held a rope between their hands, and as Moya and I got off - no one seemed to care much about the kobold's presence at this point, by the way - they looped one end around Rockford's neck.

When they attempted to lead the stony beast away, however, they were almost knocked off their feet by the resistance they felt in return. Rockford would not be moved.

Silently, I instructed him to follow and do what they asked, and as the guard gave another exaggerated tug, all parties involved were relieved to see Rockford move with them. In a few moments, he was led away into some deeper component of the guard quarters near the capital gates, his entourage in tow.

Moya and I stood in the street, as the citizenry of Athelens moved, uncaring, around us. Rockford was gone from the party.

"Well, that sucks," I began, putting my hands on my hips. I looked down at Moya, who in turn looked up at me, and smiled. "Shall we be off to the Guild before something else goes wrong?"

The kobold did not return the smile, but merely nodded instead.

"Do you want me to...you know..." I asked gingerly, putting my hands out with my palms up. Moya was small, after all, and the capital was a busy place. It would be easy to get separated...

Moya looked up at me with her usual expression, making it difficult to know what she was thinking. After a few seconds of looking at me, and then at her surroundings, she nodded. As I reached out to her to grab her as if she were a small child, she seemed to dodge out of the way, only to grab ahold of my pantleg the moment after. In a split second, the kobold clambered up my body and took up a position on my shoulder, keeping a grip on my leather shoulder pad and positioning her feet on my back. As she settled in, I noticed her head was on a constant swivel - I had a feeling she was taking in her surroundings again, from her newfound height.

"That...works too, I guess."

"Objective fulfilled: Become another's mount."

"Weird way to put that, but technically not wrong."

I began working my way through the crowds of Athelens, secure in the knowledge that Moya was not likely to get lost now. I didn't receive nearly as many strange looks as I was expecting, even before Moya took up her position on my shoulder, though, which I was thankful for. Time and time again I was presented evidence to suggest that kobolds in the service of Adventurers was an uncommon, but not TOO uncommon, of a sight. Perhaps I should just accept it already.

It took a while to find the Guild again. In my defense, so much had happened - it was already nearing the evening, by now - since I had last been there that I struggled to remember the route. Thankfully - or, rather, mercifully - Moya did not comment on my haphazard trek, and I wasn't about to, either.

It was starting to get dark by the time we, at last, reached the imposing wooden doors of the Guild Hall. Pushing them open, I found that the Hall was as populated as it was the last time I was there, with Adventurers laughing, arguing, and being merry with one another all around. I imagined most would be done with adventuring for the day, unless they were after a very specific type of Quest.

Approaching the counter, I found a different, yet equally as professional-looking woman standing on the other side. She gave a slight bow as I approached.

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild. How may I assist you?"

"I'm here to report that my entrance exam assignment has been completed. Though, I understand it will take a while to-"

"Great, may I see your Identification Card to confirm?" the receptionist cut in, reaching out expectantly. After a moment of hesitation, I placed my Card in her outstretched hand, which she quickly took under the desk to do...something.

After a moment, she returned the Card to me. "Your entrance exam assignment has been identified and confirmed. Congratulations! You are now cleared for official work with the Guild." The receptionist smiled as she concluded her declaration. I, meanwhile, was just confused.

"But I thought the guards-"

"Objective fulfilled: Complete a quest. Objective fulfilled: Complete a combat quest. Objective fulfilled: Reach Rank-"

"Every Adventurer starts at Rank F once their entrance exam has been completed. You will need to complete more assignments to rise in rank with the Guild," the receptionist continued, refusing to let her spiel be interrupted. "This ranking does not prevent you from taking on higher level assignments, however. In fact, completing assignments that are a higher level than your associated rank will let you rise even faster!"

"...Experience threshold reached. Level advanced to 10."

Somehow, I had managed to keep myself from getting completely overwhelmed, and was still able to parse the information that was being conveyed to me in spite of Penta's onslaught. Maybe I was finally, finally getting used to it?

Getting back to the matter at hand: quests get rated by level, Adventurers by rank, apparently. It felt a little clunky, but it was still pretty standard-fair. The lack of restriction on accepting higher level tasks was a bit alarming, though, but if your profession is closely associated with glory and heroic challenges, forcing every applicant through the boring stuff wouldn't be good for business.

It made sense from that standpoint, but from a moral standpoint, well...

"Ah, I almost forgot!" the receptionist said suddenly, clapping her hands together. She dug around inside the desk again - just how much was she hiding down there, anyway? - until she finally pulled out a decently sized bag of what definitely sounded like coinage. "Your reward for the quest: 100 gold pieces!"

"Objective fulfilled: Receive a reward for a quest."

Did I ever look to see what the quest reward was? I feel like I was far too concerned with passing the exam at the time. But, with this added to the meager sum I found at the kobold nest, I was sitting on a cool 123 gold!

Now...exactly how valuable was gold in this world?

"A question, if I may...?" I began sheepishly. The receptionist just continued to beam at me, apparently waiting for me to continue. "How much is it to stay at an inn in Athelens?"

"20 gold pieces a night, on average."

That...felt expensive, given what I was just rewarded with. This was not new information, I slowly remembered, considering what Angrea had told me. No wonder Damien and the kids stayed off-the-books...

"I wonder why they don't just move to a village like Troph, if that's the case?" I thought to myself, though I knew their reasons were probably far more complicated than I realized.

"Thank you. I'll be back again tomorrow."

"No, thank you! Until next time!"

I walked away from the counter as if I knew what my next destination was. In truth, I was stumped - I definitely wanted to check up on Damien and company, but wasn't sure I'd be able to find them on my own. I finally had money to spend, and fully intended to do so, but was it really fair to stay at an inn, when my friends were still on the street, and might even be waiting for my return?

As my mind battled with itself on what to do, I suddenly felt Moya grab ahold of me in a strange way - as if she had almost fallen off her perch and had barely caught herself.

"You alright up there?" I asked, glancing up at my shoulder. The kobold's face was staring back into my own, her expression the same as always, but her stance indicating that she may have, in fact, almost fallen.

"I could ask you the same," was all she said in return, and I could sense a hint of confusion behind her gaze.

"Me? Yeah I'm fine, why do you-wait. Don't tell me."

I knew this pattern.

I looked down - and, sure enough, found that my clothes were completely different. Again. Instead of leather armor suited for battle, I wore now what seemed to be some sort of fur-lined getup, with only parts of it being reinforced by leather. I could instantly feel the warmth this outfit provided, and immediately felt it was way too much for the well-heated Hall.

With a sigh, I took out my Identification Card.

"Class: Hunter."

"Well, it could definitely be worse," I thought bitterly to myself. I didn't even try to understand the how and the why anymore. I put the Card away again, and decided to bring up my Skill List to take a-

"CHALLENGE COMPLETE. ADMINISTERING REWARD."

"...Zeta?! Where have you been, you crazy-wait, what?"

A surge of energy coursed through every fiber of my being so powerfully that I was instantly knocked to my hands and knees.

"Objective fulfilled: Complete one of Zeta's challenges."