Pills and Guilds

Will woke up, stretched, and washed his face. Sitting on his chest of drawers, next to his wash bowl, was a package and a small note. After using a towel to dry his face and hands, he picked up the letter and read it.

"Marshall Rolf asked me to put this in your room last night, Dorm Master," read the letter.

The Dorm Master oversaw the servants and security in the dormitories. The Dorm master sat at the receptionist's desk inside the building. Whenever Will left or arrived, he always made sure to say hello. Besides greeting the old man, Will rarely interacted with him or the housing staff, except when Vincent complained about some problem or 'unsatisfactory service.'

Inside the package was another note, this time from Marshall Rolf, "Commander vont Ballard, here is your guild welcoming package. I asked Master Thaddeus want to get you and recommended the following herbs, pills, gold dust, and mana core to help your cultivation. Also, included is your Quartermaster Commander pin."

Will had to admit he liked the look of the Quartermaster Commander's pin. The pin had a gold color eagle with wings spread perched on the navy circle. Centered in the circle was the Guardian Guild crest. Superimposed on the wheel, written in gold lettering were the words: Quartermaster Commander.

Will was so taken with the pin, that he forgot to read the last bits of the letter.

"This pin shall identify you as one of the five guild commanders on campus. Please wear this pin with honor," was the last message from Marshall Rolf.

Will knew the herbs and pills were common items to help young mages refine and purify their mana pools. But the gold dust and mana cores, why would Elder Thaddeus tell Marshall Rolf, he needed these items?

He was so confused. It was a week since he last saw the elder. But he planned to visit the library today to check in. Tomorrow was his first day working in the library. If he didn't see Elder Thaddeus today, maybe he would see him tomorrow.

Will quickly put on his new pin and looked in the mirror. He admired how his Knight Academy uniform seemed more distinguished. His uniform had three ribbons and three pins. While Will would not let ribbons, pins, or badges inflate his ego, but he had to admit, that his insignia looked dashing.

After he finished admiring himself, he walked to the dining hall to join his classmates for breakfast. With the weekend gone and classes resuming, the dining hall was crowded.

Will watched as cadets staggered into the cafeteria after him. No doubt they had a fun first weekend. Will join the buffet line behind a sleepy cadet, who yawned at most every minute. The cafeteria workers put pork bacon, toast, oatmeal, and milk on his tray.

After getting his food, he looked for his classmates. Seeing his fellow stag students, he made his way over to the stag table and quickly found a seat.

As Will put his tray down on the table, half the class stood up and saluted him. Will looked around wondering who they were saluting and if he had to salute too.

"Why are you saluting?" Will asked.

"We are saluting you, Commander sir," Vincent replied with a sneer. Will could tell how much Vincent hated saying those words.

Inwardly, Will laughed. Knowing Vincent those words probably tasted like sandpaper rubbed against his tongue.

"It was too early for this, please stop saluting you're starting to draw attention," Will complained.

"Yes commander, sir," replied Even.

"Are you all going to all day? Please don't make this a habit," Will asked.

"No commander, those of us in the guild have to salute the Guild Master, commanders, captains, and sergeants. It's in the rulebook," Evan said energetically.

"How do you not know that as a commander? And how did you become commander, before me? This is a travesty. Or maybe this is some type of sick joke," Vincent asked.

Everyone seemed genuinely happy for Will, except for Vincent, who looked so angry or constipated, that he might explode out of his uniform at any minute.

Although they were given an hour for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, those hours were precious. It was the only time they could catch up and check in on each other because everyone was always so busy.

The group ate and chatted about their weekend. It did not take long until the conversation turned toward guilds and who joined which.

"Half the class joined the Guardians," Will repeated back in astonishment.

"Some of us didn't have a choice, did we?" Vincent said grating his teeth. "Nobles are required to join the Guardian Guild, at least male nobles!"

"I didn't know that," Will said curiously.

"Well fring'er, it's common knowledge. I guess country bumpkin nobles really are retarded," Victor said with a wide grin.

"Victor that's enough!" Chole chided him.

"Well not all of us, can be with dumb luck," Vincent pointed to Will.

"Vincent shut your mouth, that's not how you speak to a commander. Will has every right to bring you before Marshall Rolf for insubordination. Do you remember the penalty for insubordination?" Evan rebuked him.

All of a sudden Vincent turned as pale as ghost and his breathing became shallow. Will couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Seeing Vincent's pained expression, Will decided to play along.

"I have decided not to report you, Vincent vont Wright. But if this happens again, I won't be so nice. I'll report you and I'll file a subordination complaint," Will said in my best commander voice.

Vincent stood up and gave me a slight bow and mumbled a soft "thank you" before returning to eating his breakfast.

"So, what guilds did everyone else join?" Will asked.

Mark and three people (two women and another man) joined the Golden Knights; Anna and Chole joined the Valkyrie; Samuel joined the Black Night guild, two joined the Wayward Knights; one joined the Merchant Knights. There were also a few commoners who joined the Guardians Guild, along with most nobles.

Everyone happily discussed their guild and why they joined. Except for Samuel, who only said he join the Black Night and nothing else.

The only time the table was quiet, was when Samuel told everyone he joined the Black Nights. Samuel's black hair, glossy eyes devoid of life, and black clothes gave the impression of danger.

If there was a student who could literally stab you in the back, Will felt Samuel was that student. Mostly because Samuel was proficient in knives and looked like he'd kill anyone for coin.

Samuel was also the scariest student in the class. Most of the class did their best to give Samuel space to himself, as he gave them the creeps. Joining the Black Night only confirmed everyone's suspicion, that he was an assassin in training.

Unlike most of his classmates, Will had experience being around assassins. He was excited he knew Samuel. In the past, he hired a few on Earth to kill the competition or throw a business into chaos to lower its stock value for a hostile takeover of a company or two.

Mergers and acquisitions became easier when a company was thrown into chaos. His shareholders would rejoice every time he bought a company at a fraction of the price.

At the same time, he'd been the target of assassins as well. Fame and wealth came at a price.

The Black Night was mostly used to spy, and target foreign spies. The guild served as a terrorist and counterterrorist organization. At least it was supposed to, it was still common for the past kings to use them to put down domestic rebel leaders and troublesome nobles.

It was also rumored that the Black Night worked closely with the Thieves and Assassins' Guilds.

Hearing the bell chime, Will put up his tray, said goodbye to his classmates, and made his way to the library. Will had finished reading the advanced history of the kingdom and returned the books he borrowed, except the diary.

When Will arrived at the library he was greeted by Elder Li, who told me Elder Thaddeus would return to the Knight's Academy library tomorrow for my quest. He bowed and thanked Master Li for letting him know returned the books he read.

"Now that you turned in your books, what do you want to read now? Do you want to learn more about beastmen, elves, and dwarves?" Elder-like purred.

"I would like to read about arrays, please? I really what to learn about different arrays and rune craft," I replied.

"Very interesting...Elder Thaddeus said...hmm...never mind. Only Elder Thaddeus can approve those items being checked out. We don't carry those books here, you'll need to loan them from the Mage's Academy next door and only the Master of Libraries can approve such a transaction," she said.

"That's okay, how about I read about beastmen, elven, and dwarven customs. That way when I met them, I'm somewhat familiar with their customs and greetings," I said.

"Are you planning on being a slave trader, then" Elder Li looked at him quizzically.

"Gods no! I want to sell beastmen, elven, and dwarven products to humans," I said.

"Really?" Elder Li looked at Will doubting his intentions.

"Yes, I believe slavery is wrong. I think people be that humans or humanoids are more productive when they work for a living. Slavery is also bad for the economy, it decreases the tax base and inhibits market capitalization" said Will.

"Are you sure you're 13?" Elder Li looked at him for a minute not saying anything else.

She walked me to my table and pulled out three books one for each group. Then she left me to read in silence.

The rest of the day followed as normal, with more classes and conditioning before dozing off to sleep.