Chapter 27

After a while they reach a very large building, built like an inn. Arc opens the door "What you are about to see will be a bit overwhelming, so please keep it together!" He says as he opens the door wide for them to walk in. A massive room is revealed, expertly lit by crystals floating at the ceiling. At least a dozen people talk and hang around the massive room filled with couches, tables and a few low bookshelves filled with various literature. The room almost looks decorated for Christmas with the lights around.

People sit on the couches, talking to each other as if they are in their own homes. Most of the people turn and notice Eska, Arc and Denise, some of them stand as Arc shouts "HELLO EVERYONE!" The room falls to silence "Our new guildmates are here!" Arc exclaims loudly. "Let's give them a warm welcome!"

People stand from their seats and approach them. Everyone greets them with a warm smile as they are brought into the building. Eska can't help but be overwhelmed by everyone's enthusiasm, almost shouting out their names as they introduce themselves. Arc seems to notice this and calms everyone down.

"Alright alright! Let's leave the rest of the introductions for later! This one here isn't very used to the attention!" He shouts with a bit of a laugh "Everyone knows Miss Ciela! She decided to join us after Lady Eska joined us as well. This one here is special, so treat her well!" He says cheerfully.

"A special member for a special guild!" One shouts and everyone laughs with them. Arc makes his way to a small counter in the middle and after talking with the person behind it he turns around towards the girls "Eska, Denise, your ID will be ready by tomorrow morning. I've made sure everyone knows you will be staying here from today on."

He beckons them "Come! I'll show you where you will be sleeping!" He then begins moving towards another door. After passing through a long hallway they come upon another room, though much smaller than the last one. There are two rows of beds on opposite sides of each other and an open window in between them.

Arc gestures around the room "This will be where you will be sleeping! If you would like a different room, bring it up to whoever attends the counter at the front, or any Warden in the guild!" He says cheerfully as he comes in and the girls follow behind him. "The bathroom is through this door on the right." He opens it to show them a fully stocked bathroom with a shower, a separate bathtub, toilet, the sink and a mirror above it. "If you wish for something more for your rooms, whoever is at the counter can help you with it. Everything runs through the guild account so we can get you anything you need" He says before walking out once more and showing them the rest. "Each side of your beds has a closet for your things" He opens one of them, revealing a whole other room. Much smaller than the middle but enough for people to walk inside. The walk-in closet has drawers and space above them to hang clothes, and on the far wall there are a few hangings to place weapons and tools.

"We also have another room in front of the beds for the kitchen." They all turn around to spot a small kitchen fully stocked. "You have a stove, pans, plates, silverware, and a fridge. This way you can make your own food if you don't like what we serve at the mess hall!" He lets out a laugh before continuing "But I can assure you, the food Crockel and his team cooks is delicious!"

The girls laugh with him as he makes his way out of the room. "Well ladies, I'll be heading out for now. The mess hall always has food so feel free to step in at any time of the day. I do have to go and take care of some paperwork so I'll have to excuse myself!" He closes the door and his laugh can be heard even through the door.

Denise is happy "This is so, so so much more than what I thought they were going to give us." She says as she flops herself onto one of the beds. Eska simply sits on hers, overwhelmed by everything that just happened today.

"That man knew my mother." Eska whispers to herself. Denise hears her and she gets up to sit next to her. "Do you need to talk about it? I'm here if you need to." Denise says in a comforting voice.

Eska just looks down at the weapon in her hands as she speaks "My mom always seemed to be ready for everything. Always. Even for the day she died." She pauses to look at her weapon once more, "And even after the day she died." Tears fill her eyes as she speaks, taking a deep breath. "All that time and I still know nothing about her. She died and I couldn't say goodbye, but she already knew this would happen and she left me this."

Denise extends her arms around her, bringing Eska's head down to her chest as she begins to sob uncontrollably.

The next day they both walk around the halls of the guild house, exploring the massive property. They find a library, the mess hall, a research lab and a few storage rooms along with many rooms for the guild member's quarters. The facility surrounds a space in the middle big enough to be separated into a small plaza for strolling and relaxing as well as a combat area meant for practice sessions.

They are about to end their exploration when they see a few guild members training at the combat area. Eska stares at them as they spar for a while. One of them notices Eska and walks towards her with a smile on his face. "Good morning you two! Are you both the new members?" The man asks as he reaches them, wearing heavy armor with a shield on his back and a mace on his waist.

Eska waves back, a bit uninterested "We are." She answers back with a straight face.

The man keeps smiling at them and extends his hand to Denise "My name is Javan! You can call me Jav!" He says cheerfully "You guys were personally scouted by Ren aren't you? That is some impressive rapport. I don't think he has recruited that many people."

"It just kind of happened." Eska says to him as she looks down. Denise is quick to jump in "Thanks Mr Jav! We appreciate it! I'm Denise and she's Eska." She says as she shakes his hand.

Jav points back at the sparring group "There are still a few minutes left in our session, would you like to join us? Most of the people here are new as well, though I've only been here for a year myself."

Eska nods her head, showing more interest than before, "Sure" She answers him in a low tone. Denise is quick to give her approval as well.

They head into the combat area, with everyone there greeting them along the way. Once inside, Jav turns towards them once more "Are you two familiar with training weapons? They are all wood and unsharpened so they will only leave a bad bruise or in a bad case a broken bone." He asks them both as he makes his way to a weapon rack in the corner of the area. Eska and Denise look at each other briefly before looking at Jav and answering in unison "No." Eska then continues explaining herself "I don't really use a conventional weapon" She says as she shows him the handle.

"That is... An odd weapon." He says but then tries to move on with the conversation "Well there are training weapons made of wood and dulled metal over here!" Jav tells them both as he picks up two swords one of wood and one of metal. "They are great for keeping mortal wounds at bay. We always have healers on standby just in case, after all there is no point in training with safety nets all around."

Eska and Denise nod in understanding. Denise picks up a wooden sword and immediately practices swinging it around. Seemingly having fun.

Eska smiles at her friend's sudden joy. She walks around, looking at each of the weapons. She remains undecided about each of them. 

"There is no rush in mastery. You have all the time you need." The voice inside her says. "My first weapon was a pair of gauntlets, and I mastered the sword afterwards. You also don't have to stick to one, after all you can make any weapon you want with your blood." Seech tells her with confidence. Eska smiles at the thought. She looks back at the people training for a few seconds before turning and picking up a spear, swinging it around clumsily. "I'll try this one" She says with a smile on her face.

"Perfect!" Jav says as he points towards the cemented area where a few men wait while others practice together. You can go there and pick one of them, some like waiting for challengers. Denise laughs nervously "Maybe I should wait for someone else, I'm not really the combat type..." Jav looks at her then says "Of course, just remember. Some combat knowledge is better than none. Everyone can always count on their own skill when it comes to the very end."

Denise laughs nervously again, afraid of swinging the sword a few more times.