Guild Introductions

"You're certain they were from the Western Wastes and not further North?" Stewart, the Guild Master, asked my father for the third time. Father, bless him, took this without even the slightest bit of annoyance. He was a far better man than I.

"I am not certain beyond a doubt, but they were found closer to the western edge of the wood than the northern. Perhaps they sidestepped the Hawk Peaks, but I doubt it. Those mountains are impassable to near everything."

Hawk Peaks were apparently the name of a grouping of mountains further North, at the edge of this kingdoms border and filled with Creatures like Trolls and Drakes, not Dragons, but Drakes. I was already making plans to visit in the future when I grew stronger. Getting either of them as an infant would ensure I obtained a powerful Creature for my use.

Both men were ignoring me, the child, I had to admit I enjoyed that perk. I also realized how often I had done it myself in my last life. Adults tend to ignore children during serious conversations thinking it beyond them. I didn't mind, they were both a font of information. You couldn't see the mountains from the farm, not really, so I never learned of them until now. I knew the forests name, rather what everyone called it,'The Wood.'

"Alright, James. I have what I need. Will your farm be fine hosting a few of my B-rank Adventurers for a time while we weather this Tide?"

"Yea, we can and will. I'd appreciate the extra security as well. I have myself and the hands but we only number a few dozen. If I unleash the beasts it'll increase but I have no guarantee the Lupine won't just attack at random in the heat of things. The Frackles will just stampede and our rabbits are food, not fighters."

I actually disagreed with him on the rabbits right now. That one male was a lot stronger than he thought. It's why I convinced him to not sell him or butcher him. If I remained at the farm then the Lupine would follow Saga because they knew she was mine. I wasn't really sure how they knew or understood it but they did. Without me there though his concern was warranted. They were still powerful and dangerous Creatures after all.

"I'm glad you'll be accommodating. They'll escort you and your son back to your farm in an hour." The old man got up to leave but father stopped him. "A second, Guild Master." Stewart turned around and waited. Father just looked at me a moment and sighed.

"The boy wants to become an Adventurer. We had planned to bring him in tomorrow to be admitted into your training programs as a Beast User. The Tide and resulting events sped that up a bit. If you'd be alright with it, I'd like to enroll him in the Guild before I leave. He'll likely remain regardless." He wasn't wrong if I was denied I would still remain behind and make my own way. The Guild was simply the more effective option.

"A Beast User, eh?" the old man looked at me and then Saga in turn before nodding as if something clicked inside of him and continued. "Sounds good to me, we get very few Beast Users. Not many people enjoy the idea of raising them properly so they can be useful. I'll enroll him myself, you can get ready. My teams will meet you at the town's gate in an hour."

That was easy, so easy I didn't really believe it and became cynical about his reasonings. It could be because he actually believed the fact I killed a Goblin on my own in combat or how well-trained Saga was. I was also worried about what they would do on the farm if they saw Lily. Mostly because she was meant to be my replacement for mother. If she got taken away I'd have to deal with the woman hunting me down. Something I did not want.

"Well, boy, you got your wish. You get to be an Adventurer. Yer mama is gonna kill me when she finds out what happens but she'll come around. Go with Stewart, remember your promise." I looked at my father for a solid minute. I wondered at his odd understanding and insight once more before mentally shrugging it away. I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I'll keep my word, father. Mama should be occupied enough with the new baby as it is. You'll be fine." He started laughing at me then, wincing when his still sore leg was jostled from the deep belly laugh.

"Oh, boy, you don't know yer mama at all. Yer her precious baby-boy and always will be. When she learns that we were ambushed by Goblins and I was injured it will take myself and probably the majority of his B-rank teams to keep her on the farm and not come to carry you home."

I personally doubted the dainty woman had that much fire or strength in her. I'd leave it be for now though. Father must have noticed the confusion in my eyes however because he just chuckled more. "Yer mama use to be an Adventurer, boy. A warrior classification, and a powerful one at that. How do you think we even got Lupine to begin with? She subdued the buggers and brought them home. Don't let the packaging fool you, with anyone."

Huh, new information that explained a very great deal about some of her more interesting actions. I knew about the packaging, had to with my job on Earth. It was always hard to see something beautiful and dainty, or curvaceous and a bomb-shell as something truly dangerous though. My response was more joke than seriousness. "I shall pray for your survival."

He just nodded, looking utterly serious. Alright, going to move on from that then. I parted with my father, receiving another of his massive hands on my shoulder for a light squeeze before he shoved me toward the door and the old man, Stewart, my superior. I whistled for Saga and left the room after the old man, picking up from little rucksack of belongings from the wagon outside the Guard House.

Saga must have smelled her lamb because she started paying very close attention to the bag, sniffing it and nudging my arm over and over. She looked like she was begging but in reality, she was demanding her 'baby.' I sighed, knowing that if I did not give her the toy she would begin acting out. Nothing major, of course, but she would become irritable and grouchy. To save myself a future headache I pulled the lamb from the sack and tossed it to her. She snatched it from the air and I swore she glared at me for throwing her 'baby.'

Stewart, who walked just a step ahead of me down the narrow dirt path looked back when he heard the rustling and saw what she did. The old man chuckled a deep and grinding sound. "That is an interesting Lupine, to say the least."

"She's a special case, sir." The sir was an automatic response, I didn't even think about it when I said it. The man had become my direct superior in an organization that was close enough to a mercenary band, for all intents and purposes, that I did it instinctively.

"Stewart, or Guild Master. Sir is reserved for the guard, army, or minor nobility. If you plan to be an Adventurer you should get started on learnin how we do things." Charming, he was one of those. Very well, I could play along for now.

"Guild Master then. She is a Lupine I have raised and trained from the moment she could stand." The old man nodded and smiled at me. The action made his wrinkled and scarred skin look like it would shatter into pieces. It reminded me of a cliff face right as pieces of rocks started to fall before becoming a rock-slide. How old was he, exactly?

"That makes sense. We don't get many Beast Users, for the reasons I said back with your pa. I do know training though. If that story happened exactly how it was described, which I am inclined to believe, she'd been trained to think in a fight rather than dive headfirst towards death or grave injury. That takes a lot of work." He paused, chuckled to himself and moved to face forward, dodging a sprinting man in light chainmail. "I imagine you'll give Old Sab a run for his money. Sab is our resident Beast User. He'll likely pepper you with questions and demands, just don't let him touch that Lupine of yours, he'll never stop badgering you for her in trade. The man is obsessed with unique colorations, which she is."

Unique? I looked at Saga who was carefully carrying her 'baby' while wagging her tail beside me. It's true I'd never seen her coloring before, but was it really that unique? Perhaps for tamed Lupine, or bred Lupine it might be. I shrugged it off, she was mine and that was enough.

"Now how this is gonna work is we will sign you up at the receptionist desk at the hall. We will get your name, what style of fighting you use, and then you will be granted a card which will depict your Guild Rank, F like all trainees. After that, you will be placed under the care of a D-rank Adventurer that will be in charge of training you in group tactics with other classifications and how to operate with each other. You will not go on any Guild Assignments, period. Until you graduate our training course in six months if you pass, where you will be promoted to E-rank and go into the field under the care of a C-rank Adventurer to keep you kids safe. You'll learn all of this again later, but I think it'd be good for you to figure it all out a bit sooner. Just act surprised when whoever trains you tells you this. It's a sort of tradition after all."

I could understand tradition, though I had no idea why people would be surprised about how they did things. It seemed logical. Then again, people were seldom logical with this. People, children, in particular, would join this wanting adventure and action as well as the supposed glory that came with it. They wouldn't have any idea about the true horror of combat, least of all with Creatures that would be stronger than Humans, I had no idea about the other 'good' races, but at least Humans were weaker normally. I imagined magic or some other way this world worked would allow them to fight back to a degree though.

"Understood, I will pretend to be surprised when they inform us of something logical." I lifted a hand and rubbed the side of Saga's neck, just above her shoulder, forcing her to look down at me a moment before she went back to 'loving her baby.'

"Logical? What are you on about kid?" came the old man's reply. He seemed genuinely surprised and curious.

"Logical, Guild Master. It is logical to have anyone of my age relegated to a training course for a period of time so you can learn our strengths and weaknesses, ensure we have the best chance at survival as well as pick out potential 'Elites.' Keeping us under supervision while we are still so young is even better. I am curious about the rise to E-rank after six months of this training, I feel it is to soon for those that would be around my age. I assume the Missions we are assigned or allowed to choose will be things that children in town might have done normally, like gathering plants for a time."

Stewart stopped in his walk, forcing me to stop with him and push into Saga to avoid my own rushing guard. He looked at me, his eyes hard and searching. "You're ten, how the hell could you understand that?"

"I'm not your normal ten-year-old, Guild Master." was my reply. He looked at me for a while longer. His hard eyes still searching before grunting and pointing at the building to our right. It was one of the few stone buildings, the rest of the narrow road was lined with wooden stores and houses. The stone was uniformly cut and styled. It looked like a miniature castle, honestly. "Go in, Crispin. I'll have Sally, our Receptionist, set you up with your paperwork and card before taking you to a room to rest and situate yourself."

That was the first time he'd called me by name, I believe. I wasn't sure I liked it, but I had made my bed by speaking the truth about his training and ranking system in the early stages. I made my way toward the building when the Guild Master said one last thing. "Get a collar for the beast, she'll need it as an identifier. It'll mean less hassle later on for you."

Then he was off, speaking to an attractive redhead around the age of twenty with a spattering of freckles and brown eyes. I ignored her when she turned toward me with her head tilted to the side and took in the interior of the building. It was three stories, the first seemed to be an odd seating and dining area with a board behind the receptionist desk that had several papers posted on it. The second, from the looks of it, seemed almost like a shop of sorts. I couldn't see the third from down here, but I knew it was up there. Perhaps the living quarters? I had no idea how large the actual plot of land the Guild owned was. I could only go off of the size of the building itself though I was fairly sure they had a set amount of land in the back for training purposes.

"Welcome to the Ludicuse Adventurer Guild!~ Guild Master Stewart informed me that you will be a new inductee. I'll need you to fill out this simple form if you cannot read or write I will be more than happy to fill it out for you!~" I blinked a moment at the sheer bubbliness of her. The woman practically oozed sugary sweetness and I distrusted it almost immediately. No one, and I mean no one, was that fucking perky without wanting something.

Saga looked at her and I had to lean against her to calm her down, her hackles had begun to raise. Yeah, the woman wasn't to be trusted then, always trust an animal's instincts with people. Saga rubbed her head down on top of mine and that set the woman into a moment of 'Awwww~' that was high pitched enough it made my head hurt.

"That's so cute!~ How did you get her to be so well behaved? Can I pet her? Is she friendly to people? What's her name? Why is her coloring like that? What's your name? Do you need me to fill this out for you? I'm Sally!~"

Oh. My. Fucking. God! Shut up, woman! I snatched the paper and chose to ignore her and her prattling. I was more amazed she didn't pass out from a lack of air without quickly she spoke. I shook my head and read the paper. It really was fairly simple. I filled it out and waited for half an hour while my 'card' was created. When it was handed to me, with another round of questions attached, I looked at it curiously.

Name - Crispin

Classification - Beast User

Rank - F

Active Missions - 0

Missions Completed - 0

The card itself had my basic information and a Mission section that was obviously to keep track of my progress. It was a thin piece of bronze colored material and had a strange sheen to it as well. I flipped the card around a bit and when I couldn't figure it out I asked the woman what I wish to know. The first words I had spoken to her at all, which seemed to require me to lean harder into Saga and pat her neck, why did she seem to dislike this woman so much?

"Why is the card colored bronze, and what's this sheen?"

"You spoke! You sound so cute, let me hug you!~" I took a small step back when it looked like she was going to lunge at me from her place behind the counter. The step back was a mistake, Saga decided to growl then, a deep and air vibrating sound. The woman came up short and looked at Saga before sighing in defeat and looking at me with her lower lip jutted in a pout. I was half tempted to tell her to act her fucking age, she was an adult, not an adolescent pre-teen that couldn't control her fucking hormones.

"The Bronze is the lowest card color. It goes up as your Rank increases. Bronze is for F and E Rank. Silver is for D, C, and B ranks. Gold it for A rank and Platinum is for S rank Adventurers. The sheen you noticed is a magical spell. It's placed on all Guild Cards to help track them in the event they are stolen and allows them to update automatically upon completion of a Mission. The higher the material the more functions the card will gain."

She was downright mumbling near the end of her explanation but at least I understood the basics of it now. I wasn't sure exactly how they could trust a spell over proper paperwork though. I chalked it up to another oddity of this world I'd never get used to. "Thank you, Sally."

She perked up when she heard me say her name. That was a mistake on my part, now she seemed to be more enthusiastic. Was she my mother in disguise? I frowned at her, resulting in another 'awwww~' which made me sigh.

"Where am I sleeping?" I asked instead, ignoring the reignition of the bubbly persona.

"Oh! You're to be placed in the trainee hall out behind the building in the Field. Your beast will be sleeping in the stables." I lifted a brow at that and told her that wasn't happening. I slept where Saga slept. She seemed at a loss for words there for a moment before pulling out an odd crystal and talking into it for a moment. Was she insane?

"I just spoke with the Guild Master, he said if you can convince the person you're rooming with then she can sleep with you in the room. If not then you can stay in the stables with her." She had a confused look for a moment before she went right back to normal and pulled out a massive strip of leather with a metal buckle on it and handed it to me.

"This is for your Lupine, she'll need it to be on from now on so she isn't mistaken for a wild beast in the future when you go on real missions." I grabbed it before she could explain how to put a collar on and sized the strip of leather, forcing a hole into it with the sharp metal bit and ensuring two of my small fingers could fit through without issue so she wouldn't choke.

"Oh. Ok, I suppose I'll lead you to your room now!~" The beginning of her sentence had me hope I'd managed to shock her enough she'd leave behind that bubbly shit. I was wrong. I followed behind her, Saga trailing behind me because we couldn't fit side by side in the halls. She was too large. She also made it known she disliked it by putting her head down over my shoulder and allowing her weight to hit me. I scratched her ear to help appease my pooch and ignored Sally as much as I could.

We left through the back of the Guildhall and I saw just how much land it actually had. The place was massive. The empty plot of land itself was at least one-hundred yards, if not a bit more, in size and it had several smaller buildings placed all around it creating a form of a ring around the space itself. I'd need to see the blueprints to be sure, but I would swear on nearly anything that the Guild owned every building on the street I knew was on the other side of the far buildings and used them as housing for members or some other purpose. I wasn't as sure about the side buildings. I assumed the ones with doors leading to the field were Guild owned and the ones with their back doors removed were not. How much power did they hold in this town, exactly? It wasn't a large town by any means. It had six hundred people, at most, which I was surprised to learn was a tiny population even in this medieval world.

Of course, this wasn't the only Guild for Adventurers, it was a branch set up on near the borders of the kingdom after all. The main branch was located in another Kingdom entirely from what little I did know as well. There was a lot odd about that for me. I mean, it would be easy for other nations to send in spies via Guilds over time and cause instability where it mattered most. It didn't matter to me in the end, of course, but it was odd all the same.

"Here we are cutie!~ You're in this dorm, room five. Your beautiful Lupine should fit without any real issue. If the roommate refuses to allow her with you then the stables are over at the far end there, you can't miss it. I'll see you in the morning!~"

She moved in to try and latch onto me for a hug and Saga planted herself between us. The problem was she wasn't growling, she was quiet. I had to shout out before she attacked the woman. "Saga, sit!" She sat instantly and looked at me, her lamb still in her mouth, with something as close to emotional hurt as I had seen on her. What on earth was with her today? I just stroked her neck and ignored the oohing Sally.

I went into the building first, it was two stories and room five was on the second floor. No one was visible, likely sound asleep or getting ready for it right now. Saga trailed behind me, still seeming fussy. I only knew that because she had started to suckle on her lamb, a habit she had when she was a puppy. I could have sworn she grew out of that.

Entering the room I saw it was about sixty feet by sixty feet with two beds, one on either side of the room and two desks. A footlocker was at the end of the beds and between them, both was a window. It was a neat and tidy affair that I appreciated. What I did not appreciate was the gangly ten or twelve-year-old boy that seemed to have the beginnings of lean muscle and a sneer on his lips looking at me as if I were a bug, then looking at Saga and shouting out in fear and anger.

"Get that filthy thing out of here before I have it killed!"