The young woman breathes steadily beneath the healer’s watch. The elderly man’s crushed foot is splinted and stabilized, while the child remains safely unconscious under a clean blanket.
The youngest guild runner returns with two senior ward officials, a middle-aged woman in a blue mantle and an older, broad-shouldered man carrying a ring of ward seals, followed by four attendants.
The Senior Ward Woman
Mark this courtyard as a medical station. Keep the passage clear, guide residents through in small groups, and send the injured toward the healers.
Attendants raise blue cords, hang a healing pennant, and begin directing displaced families through the cleared route. The ward officials receive the healers’ account and assume command without disturbing the patients.
Brunna Coppervein
The handover is sound, lad. The people are safe, the healers have control, and the authorities know what lies beneath the street.
Al
No one here needs our teeth or steel, small one. We can leave this place to careful hands.
Brunna and Al remain beside Artania until the officials confirm the courtyard’s protection. Then a guild attendant approaches with a folded message bearing Maelin’s seal, waiting quietly for his attention.
“Thank you, I take it and read it.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -3)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thank you.
Artania accepts the folded message and breaks Maelin’s seal. The paper is warm from a fresh ward, and its faint blue ink shifts into clear writing beneath his gaze.
Maelin’s note confirms the guild has recorded the evacuation, credited Artania’s aid, and assigned the eastern ward to the senior officials. He is not required to investigate the opening.
Maelin Voss
You have done enough for today. Leave the buried disturbance to the ward authorities, return when you are ready, and let your hand remain healed.
As Artania finishes reading, the warded ink flares and the paper’s edge singes his fingertips. The message remains legible, but the guild seal is consumed and cannot be reused.
The Guild Attendant
Maelin asked me to say that the courtyard is secure. You may return to the guild, rest with your companions, or remain only if the officials request it.
Beyond the blue cords, healers continue their work and families pass safely through the cleared route. The capital’s silver glow fades behind the rooftops, leaving Artania with the message’s quiet permission to step away.
“I read Maelin’s sealed message”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Artania reads Maelin’s warded message from beginning to end. The blue ink confirms the evacuation is recorded, his aid credited, and the eastern ward placed under senior officials’ command.
The note states plainly that he is not required to investigate what opened beneath the capital. Its final lines grant him permission to return to the guild, rest, or remain only if requested.
Artania Nero Thornson
The guild has taken responsibility for the disturbance.
The Guild Attendant
Maelin wanted you to have the whole message, Silver Adventurer. The courtyard is secure, and no further duty has been assigned to you.
The warded paper grows cool in Artania’s hand. Beyond the blue cords, healers continue treating the injured while families pass safely through the cleared route.
Brunna Coppervein
You have done enough here, lad. Come back with us when you are ready, and let the officials handle what lies below.
Artania Nero Thornson leaves Eastern Ward behind and arrives at Adventurers’ Guild.
“Alright, Brunna lead the way home. I stop. Raising my hand to my mouth. Home I had said. A single tear falling away. I now considered the guild to be home.”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +1)
Brunna leads Artania through the guild’s familiar doors. Warm lamplight, polished wood, parchment, and stew-scented air gather around him as the busy hall welcomes them home.
Artania stops just inside, raising his hand to his mouth. A single tear slips free and falls, bright against the guild’s floorboards.
Brunna Coppervein
Home, lad. You said it, and no one here will make you take it back.
Brunna rests one steady hand against his shoulder. Nearby clerks—young adult human men and women with varied builds and hair, dressed in dark blue vests over cream shirts— glance up, then return soft smiles and quiet greetings, giving the moment room instead of spectacle.
Maelin Voss
Welcome back, Artania. I have marked your ward duty complete, your aid credited, and your evening entirely free.
Healer Odelia Marr
And before you attempt anything strenuous, you may sit, eat, and let that healed hand enjoy a peaceful night.
Al settles beside Artania’s leg, while the guild’s hearth crackles behind them. On Maelin’s desk, a fresh slate waits with a simple heading: Homecoming, Eastern Ward.
“Thanks you three. Would it be to much to ask a little business discussion, while we eat?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thanks, you three. Would it be too much to ask for a little business discussion while we eat?
Brunna guides Artania toward a long table near the hearth. Odelia brings a bowl of stew, Maelin gathers the fresh slate and ledger, and Al settles beneath the bench.
Brunna Coppervein
Not too much at all, lad. Food and practical talk are both better shared. We can start with your purse and the debts you have cleared.
Maelin Voss
Your odd jobs repaid Brunna and left you with a modest reserve. I can list current guild work, equipment costs, and likely silver-ranked earnings without committing you to an adventure.
Healer Odelia Marr
And I will listen while you eat, provided business does not become an excuse to skip the meal or strain that newly healed hand.
Maelin opens the ledger beside the steaming bowls. The page shows Artania’s settled accounts, his forge equipment, and several practical contracts waiting beneath the heading Homecoming.
Maelin Voss
Tell us what you want organized first, Artania: immediate income, travel expenses, equipment upkeep, or a careful look at future guild contracts.
✓ Quest Accepted
Review finances and organize inventory
“I eat my stew quickly, then begin to talk. Maelin what is my money situation currently? What do I have from odd jobs? That is my first step to being preparing to set out on more dangerous adventures.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Artania eats the stew quickly, finishing the bowl before its heat fully leaves. In his haste, a splash catches his wrist, leaving a small red burn beneath the table’s edge.
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, what is my money situation currently? What do I have from odd jobs? That is my first step toward preparing for more dangerous adventures.
Maelin Voss
Your accounts are settled. You repaid Brunna, owe Mistress Flint nothing, and have eighteen silver crowns remaining from the odd jobs.
Maelin turns the ledger toward Artania. Neat entries list the market awning, sealed parcels, runaway goat, and caravan supplies, each payment recorded beneath the guild seal.
Maelin Voss
Those jobs earned thirty-six silver crowns in total. Eighteen covered food, lodging, travel incidentals, and the two crowns borrowed from Brunna, leaving this reserve.
Healer Odelia Marr
Hold out your wrist after you finish speaking. A small burn is manageable, but eating like a starving wolf is not a training method.
Brunna Coppervein
Eighteen silver is a sound beginning, lad. Enough for ordinary preparation, not enough to mistake a dangerous contract for a casual outing.
Quest Complete
Speak with Odelia about training
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Superb→Legendary
“Alright Maelin, I need something sturdy for the road to show my authority. Since I am silver ranked now, could you turn the parchment that shows my rank into a guild badge? Like the bronze one when I first joined?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, I need something sturdy for the road to show my authority. Since I am silver ranked, could you turn the rank parchment into a guild badge, like my bronze one?
Maelin studies the Crown-sealed parchment, then retrieves a thin silver plate, a guild punch, and a spool of binding thread from the records desk.
Maelin Voss
Yes. I can preserve the Crown seal, mount the parchment beneath clear warded resin, and stamp your silver rank into the guild plate.
He trims the parchment to fit, folds its excess into the backing, and binds the plate with a brief blue ward. The magic consumes one silver crown from Artania’s reserve, leaving the badge sturdy and legible.
Maelin Voss
There. Your silver guild badge is recognized at guild halls and official checkpoints. The cost is recorded, and the parchment remains part of the badge’s sealed backing.
Healer Odelia Marr
A useful purchase, Artania. Now finish eating, and let me examine that burned wrist before your new badge encourages you into another hurried task.
Brunna Coppervein
It suits you, lad. Authority you can wear, accounts you can explain, and eighteen silver reduced to seventeen for the road.
“I hand my burnt skin over to Odelia and finish my food more slowly. Then I tell Maelin that my sub-space has some things in it I no longer need. The ward cloth that was holding the bronze mark is ruined from its duty. So that is garbage and must go.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania offers his burned wrist to Odelia and slows his eating. The stew’s warmth settles him as she examines the small reddened patch beneath the table’s lamplight.
Healer Odelia Marr
Good. That is the pace I wanted. Hold still a moment, and I will cool the skin without disturbing the healing beneath it.
Odelia lays two cool fingers against the burn and guides a gentle healing current through it. The sting fades, leaving only faint redness before she releases his wrist.
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, there are things in my sub-space I no longer need. The ward cloth that held the bronze mark is ruined from its duty, so it must be discarded.
Maelin Voss
Understood. Bring it out here, and I will record it as expended protective material before it leaves your stores.
Artania opens the quiet blue-white fold and removes the ward cloth. Its fibers are dulled and brittle from containing the marked object, with no useful ward remaining.
Maelin Voss
It has completed its purpose. I will place it in the guild’s mundane refuse, separate from active magical materials, and mark the record accordingly.
Quest Complete
Review finances and organize inventory
Skill Upgrade: Lore Great→Superb
“Alright next up the Eastern Traffic Sign-Register should go to the proper authorities, no be held by me. In all that court excitement before I forgot to hand it off.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, the Eastern Traffic Sign-Register should go to the proper authorities. I forgot to hand it over during all the court excitement.
Maelin sets aside the ward-cloth record and brings out a sealed evidence folio. Artania retrieves the Eastern Traffic Sign-Register from his sub-space and places it carefully on the table.
Maelin Voss
You are right to correct the omission. This belongs with the Crown’s Eastern Traffic Office through the magistrate’s evidence chamber, not in a private adventurer’s stores.
Maelin wraps the register in fresh evidence cloth, adds the guild seal, and writes its chain of custody. Brunna witnesses the entry while Odelia keeps the folio clear of Artania’s healing hand.
Brunna Coppervein
That is the proper road, lad. The register helped expose the conspiracy, and now the authorities can preserve it where its legal weight will remain recognized.
Maelin Voss
I will send it under guild escort to the magistrate’s evidence chamber tonight. Here is the receipt, recording that you surrendered the genuine register voluntarily and in full.
Maelin presses the receipt into Artania’s hand, then locks the sealed register inside the guild’s evidence coffer. Its custody passes formally from Artania to the proper authorities.
+ New Item Acquired
Evidence Receipt
“What is it that I can do with this receipt Maelin? Is it just paperwork? Or may I file it here with the guild?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
What can I do with this receipt, Maelin? Is it only paperwork, or may I file it here with the guild?
Maelin Voss
It is proof of lawful surrender, not mere paperwork. Keep it for your records, and I can file a certified copy here so the guild preserves your chain of custody.
Maelin places the receipt beneath a fresh sheet of archival paper and copies its details into the guild ledger. The original remains in Artania’s hand, bearing the evidence chamber’s seal.
Brunna Coppervein
That protects you, lad. If anyone questions where the register went, the receipt proves you surrendered it openly instead of hiding or selling it.
Maelin Voss
I have filed the certified copy here under the Eastern Traffic conspiracy records. The cost is one silver crown for archival sealing, leaving you sixteen.
Maelin stamps the copy with blue wax and enters the silver crown against Artania’s account. The receipt is now both personal proof and a guild-backed record.
Maelin Voss
Keep the original dry and unaltered. If the magistrate, Crown, or guild needs confirmation, this document gives them a clear road back to the register.
“Alright, I ask Maelin if she has a spare paperwork folder. And if she does I slip the receipt into and place that into my inventory.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, do you have a spare paperwork folder? I would like to keep this receipt protected with my records.
Maelin reaches beneath the records desk and retrieves a sturdy gray folder bound with blue thread. A small guild mark is stamped on its corner.
Maelin Voss
I do. This one is clean and suitable for evidence receipts, contracts, and other documents you must keep dry and unaltered.
Artania slips the original receipt into the folder, keeping its evidence chamber seal visible through the protective inner fold. The folder settles safely into his inventory.
Maelin Voss
There. Your receipt is protected, and the certified copy remains filed here. Keep the folder separate from loose coins, food, and active magical materials.
Brunna Coppervein
A sensible habit, lad. Good records can protect an adventurer almost as well as good steel, especially when officials start asking questions.
+ New Item Acquired
Paperwork Folder
“Thank you both. Up next, I no longer need the stamped slips. Actually where did I get these I ask the group.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thank you both. Up next, I no longer need the stamped slips. Actually, where did I get these?
Maelin glances toward the sealed evidence coffer, then opens the ledger to an older custody entry. Brunna leans closer, recognizing the significance at once.
Maelin Voss
You recovered them from the hidden vault beneath the abandoned weighhouse, Artania. They were sealed slips from the Eastern Traffic Office, stored beside the genuine sign-register.
Brunna Coppervein
They helped prove the forged route orders and the double-hook seal’s connection to Corvin Ash. You carried them back to us under your cloak.
Maelin unfolds the slips for confirmation. Their old ink remains legible, but one corner flakes away onto the table, forcing him to place each document beneath fresh archival paper.
Maelin Voss
They are no longer needed in your personal stores. I will add them to the conspiracy evidence file, but the brittle edges mean they must be preserved immediately.
Healer Odelia Marr
And after that, leave the records alone for tonight. You have answered the question, protected the receipt, and done enough careful work for one meal.
“Thanks Odelia. Alright Maelin. I have just a couple of things left that I do not need. First the warning fragment. And second the court note fragment. Note sure if they count towards the evidence or not. But I no longer need them.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thanks, Odelia. All right, Maelin. I have two things left that I no longer need: the warning fragment and the court note fragment. Do they count as evidence?
Maelin closes the stamped-slip file and clears a space beneath the archival paper. Brunna watches as Artania brings out the two carefully preserved fragments.
Maelin Voss
They do. The warning fragment supported the evidence of the attempted escape and witness silencing. The court note fragment belongs with the hearing records and confirms the same chain of events.
Maelin compares their edges with the certified copies already filed, then places each fragment between fresh sheets of archival paper. Neither is discarded or altered.
Maelin Voss
I will add both to the guild’s evidence file and record that you surrendered them voluntarily. They will remain connected to the conspiracy case rather than your personal stores.
Brunna Coppervein
That is the right place for them, lad. You carried the pieces when they mattered, and now the proper record can preserve what they prove.
Maelin seals the fragments into a labeled evidence sleeve and enters their custody beside the sign-register and stamped slips. Artania’s inventory is lighter, while the case record grows complete.
“Alright that is it for everything I do not need, item wise. Brunna, what were the basic items I got the other day from the market, did they include rope and sealed rations?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
All right, that is everything I do not need, item-wise. Brunna, what basic items did I get from the market the other day? Did they include rope and sealed rations?
Brunna checks the supply notes beside Maelin’s ledger while Artania’s cleaned inventory rests in its magical fold. Odelia continues watching his recently healed hand.
Brunna Coppervein
They did, lad. The market bundle included a sturdy coil of rope, six sealed travel rations, two waterskins, a flint-and-steel set, a wool blanket, and a small oil lantern.
She taps each entry with one blunt finger, separating the ordinary travel goods from the evidence and worn ward materials Artania has surrendered.
Brunna Coppervein
You also bought spare cord, a cooking tin, basic soap, and a canvas groundsheet. Nothing magical, but all sound road gear and still serviceable.
Maelin Voss
I will mark the rope and rations as retained supplies, not discarded items. Your inventory is lighter in evidence, while your practical travel stores remain intact.
Healer Odelia Marr
Good. Those are useful preparations, Artania. Keep the rations sealed, inspect the rope before climbing, and let your hand rest tonight.
“Okay Maelin please make a list of everything that Brunna just mentioned. I’m sorry for making you all work so hard for me. I am overly-cautious, I know.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Okay, Maelin, please make a list of everything Brunna just mentioned. I am sorry for making you all work so hard for me. I know I am overly cautious.
Maelin turns to a clean ledger page while Brunna gathers the supply notes. Odelia remains nearby, watching Artania’s healed hand without interrupting.
Maelin Voss
Of course. Retained supplies: one sturdy coil of rope, six sealed travel rations, two waterskins, one flint-and-steel set, one wool blanket, and one small oil lantern.
Maelin Voss
Additional road goods: spare cord, a cooking tin, basic soap, and a canvas groundsheet. I will mark every item as serviceable and retained.
Brunna Coppervein
You are not making us work too hard, lad. Careful preparation is part of adventuring, especially when you mean to bring everyone home.
Healer Odelia Marr
And caution is preferable to another injured hand. Ask what you need, then rest once the answer is safely recorded.
Maelin Voss
There, Artania. The complete list is entered, your practical stores are accounted for, and nothing important has been overlooked.
“Alright I ask for new list from Maelin, and place it into my subspace, and the waiting paperwork folder.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, please make me a fresh list of the retained road supplies, and place it in my paperwork folder.
Maelin turns to a clean sheet and copies the supplies in orderly lines: rope, six sealed rations, two waterskins, flint and steel, a wool blanket, and an oil lantern.
Maelin Voss
I will add the spare cord, cooking tin, soap, and canvas groundsheet beneath them. This copy is complete, legible, and marked as serviceable.
He folds the fresh list once, seals its edge with a small guild mark, and slides it into the gray paperwork folder beside the evidence receipt.
Artania opens the Magic Pouch. The blue-white fold appears beside the table, and the paperwork folder settles safely within, separate from food, tools, and active magical materials.
Brunna Coppervein
There you are, lad. Your supplies are recorded and protected, ready for the road whenever you decide the time is right.
“Oh man, Brunna thank you, Maelin, thank you. Odelia thank you. You three are probably the best friends I’ve ever had. Besides Al of course. You three are also terribly competent. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Oh man, Brunna, thank you. Maelin, thank you. Odelia, thank you. You three are probably the best friends I’ve ever had, besides Al. You’re terribly competent, and I don’t know what I would do without you.
The three friends pause around the table. Hearthlight glints across the paperwork folder, and Al lifts his head beneath the bench as the words settle warmly over them.
Brunna Coppervein
You would manage somehow, lad, but you should not have to manage everything alone. We are glad to stand beside you.
Maelin Voss
And you make our work meaningful, Artania. Competence is easier to offer when trust, honesty, and gratitude meet it halfway.
Healer Odelia Marr
Then hear this clearly: you are valued here, not merely useful. Let that knowledge support you as surely as any healing spell.
Al
They are your pack, small one. A good pack shares burdens, meals, and foolish worry. I remain the one who guards your trail.
Brunna reaches across the table and squeezes Artania’s shoulder, while Maelin closes the ledger and Odelia nudges the stew nearer. Their attention remains wholly with him.
“Cool, I say. A broad smile opening on my lips. I finish my stew then, with a full stomach, and a full heart. Afterwards, I let everyone know that I should probably go to bed and they don’t have to use anymore of their time on me.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Cool.
A broad smile opens across Artania’s lips. He finishes the stew with a full stomach and a full heart, while the hearth warms the quiet table.
Artania Nero Thornson
I should probably go to bed now. You three do not have to spend any more of your time on me.
Maelin closes the paperwork folder, Odelia gathers the empty bowl, and Brunna rises from the bench. Al stretches beneath the table, already prepared to follow.
Brunna Coppervein
Then we will walk you to your room, lad. That is not time spent on you. That is what friends do.
Healer Odelia Marr
Your hand can rest, your meal is finished, and your bed is waiting. No arguments tonight, Artania.
Maelin Voss
The records are safe, the accounts are clear, and tomorrow can wait. Come along, Silver Adventurer.
“I walk to my bedroom with all my friends in tow. I reach the door and step inside. Leaving it open. I tell Marlin, and Brunna goodnight and ask Odelia for a quick healing lesson, before I go to bed. I realize that I am bad settling down and sleeping. But her kind lessons, and motherly teaching tone help me relax. I know it’s selfish but o ask anyway.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania walks through the guild’s warm corridors with Maelin, Brunna, Odelia, and Al following. At his bedroom, he opens the door and leaves it ajar.
Artania Nero Thornson
Goodnight, Maelin. Goodnight, Brunna. Odelia, could you give me a quick healing lesson before I sleep?
Maelin Voss
Goodnight, Artania. Rest well, Silver Adventurer. The records, your room, and tomorrow can all wait.
Brunna Coppervein
Goodnight, lad. We will be close by, and you have nothing left to prove tonight.
Odelia steps into the open doorway and settles beside the bed. Her calm, motherly manner softens the room as she guides Artania through slow breathing and gentle awareness of his healing hand.
Artania Nero Thornson
Settling down and sleeping is harder for me than facing danger, but Odelia’s kind lesson helps my body relax.
Healer Odelia Marr
It is not selfish to ask, Artania. Let the breath lengthen, let the hand rest, and allow yourself to be cared for. Goodnight, dear.
“Maybe one day once I reach the top of adventuring, and I have had my fill of danger and daring, I’ll come back her and be a healer.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Artania Nero Thornson
Maybe one day, after I have reached the top of adventuring and had my fill of danger, I will return here and become a healer.
Odelia studies him in the soft lamplight, then reaches into her satchel and draws out a slim, leather-bound primer marked with the guild’s healing seal.
Healer Odelia Marr
That is a worthy thought, Artania. You need not choose tonight, but if you return to healing, begin with this. It teaches foundations without demanding power.
Healer Odelia Marr
Read one page whenever you rest. I will answer your questions, and the guild will recognize your study as the beginning of a healer’s apprenticeship.
She places the primer on the bedside table, its silver clasp catching the candlelight. A folded note inside bears Odelia’s personal mark and a list of safe exercises.
Healer Odelia Marr
You may become many things before then, dear. For tonight, let yourself sleep, and tomorrow we can discuss the first lesson when your hand is rested.
“Thanks I say sleepily, I will see you in the morning. My hand finding Al, I fall into a deep, restful, sleep.”
SUCCESS (Good Health, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thanks, I say sleepily. I will see you in the morning.
Healer Odelia Marr
Goodnight, dear. Sleep deeply, and let tomorrow bring its lessons in its own time.
Healer Odelia Marr dims the candle and quietly leaves the door ajar. Artania’s hand finds Al’s warm fur beside the bed, his fingers resting gently against the Al.
Al
Sleep, small one. I am here, and I will guard the quiet until morning.
Al settles close against the bedside, steady and watchful. The primer’s silver clasp catches the last candlelight before darkness gathers softly around the room.
With his hand resting against Al, Artania’s breathing slows into an even rhythm. His body releases the day’s strain, and he falls into deep, restful sleep.
+ New Item Acquired
Healing Primer
“Sleep until morning, then go find Odelia for a lesson over breakfast. You plan on doing some intense training, and some more odd jobs before finally setting out to silver-ranked work.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Healing, rolled -2)
Morning sunlight reaches Artania’s room through the ajar door. He wakes rested, though the healing primer has slipped from the bedside table and its corner bears a small crease.
He finds Odelia in the guild’s common room, where breakfast steams beside the hearth. Al settles beneath the table while Brunna passes with a warm greeting.
Healer Odelia Marr
Good morning, dear. Sit, eat, and bring me the primer. We will begin with the foundations before you spend yourself on training or odd jobs.
Artania opens the primer beside his bowl. Odelia guides his fingers through a simple healing exercise, teaching him to sense strain before directing any restorative magic.
Healer Odelia Marr
Healing begins with attention, not force. Name what is damaged, understand what it needs, and stop when the body has received enough.
The lesson succeeds over breakfast, but a careless turn tips berry tea across the primer’s lower margin. Odelia quickly blots the page before the ink can spread.
Healer Odelia Marr
There. The lesson is yours, and the book is still usable. After you finish eating, train carefully, take honest work, and leave silver-ranked danger for when you are ready.
“Thanks Odelia, I know all of this preparation will see me safe on the road. I clutch the primer to my chest and hug Odelia, quickly before running off to see Maelin. My face bright red. Like a berry.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thanks, Odelia. I know all this preparation will keep me safe on the road.
Artania clutches the primer to his chest and hugs Odelia quickly, his face bright red like a berry before he releases her.
Healer Odelia Marr
You are welcome, dear. Keep the primer dry this time, and remember that preparation includes knowing when to rest.
Artania hurries from the common room toward the records desk, the primer held securely against him. Al rises from beneath the table and follows at his heels.
Maelin looks up as Artania reaches the desk. Ledger pages, sealed folders, and a clean writing slate surround him beneath the morning light.
Maelin Voss
Good morning, Artania. You look eager to begin something. Has Odelia given you another lesson, or are you here about the guild’s practical work?
“I open my sub-space quickly and place my primer inside. I ask for common work so that I may earn some silver, over the next couple of weeks. I will work during the day and train in the evening before bed. The goal is fifty silver, some new techniques for battle and travel, and maybe some more equipment.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania opens the Magic Pouch, and a quiet blue-white fold appears beside Maelin’s desk. He places the healing primer inside, separate from damp supplies and loose tools, then closes the sub-space.
Artania Nero Thornson
Maelin, I would like common paid work over the next couple of weeks. I will work during the day, train in the evenings, and aim for fifty silver, better battle and travel techniques, and perhaps more equipment.
Maelin Voss
That is a sensible plan. I can assign ordinary work without sending you into the eastern disturbance or committing you to a silver-ranked adventure.
Maelin turns to a clean slate and divides it into daily entries. He lists market repairs, parcel carrying, caravan supply work, and supervised route errands within the capital.
Maelin Voss
Those jobs should bring roughly forty to fifty silver over two weeks, depending on how many you accept. I will keep the work practical and record each payment.
Brunna Coppervein
I can oversee evening drills when I am free, lad. Footwork, shield habits, spear control, and travel discipline will serve you better than exhausting yourself.
Healer Odelia Marr
And I will expect rest between work and training. If your hand or body complains, you stop. That is part of becoming stronger, not a failure.
“Alright, give me the jobs that will earn me 50 silver over two weeks, what job do I have for today?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
All right, give me the jobs that will earn me fifty silver over two weeks. What job do I have for today?
Maelin studies the slate, then adds several entries beneath the ordinary capital work. Brunna leans over the desk while Odelia listens for any sign of overambition.
Maelin Voss
Accepted together, these jobs total fifty silver over two weeks: market repairs, parcel carrying, caravan supply work, supervised route errands, and two days assisting the guild stores.
Maelin Voss
Today, you will repair awnings and shutters in Lantern Market with a guild carpenter. The work pays four silver, remains within the capital, and should finish before evening drills.
Brunna Coppervein
That is honest work, lad. You will earn coin, practice careful hands, and learn which streets need watching without chasing anything beneath them.
Healer Odelia Marr
I approve, provided you use both hands sensibly and stop if the healed one tires. Training tonight must remain light after a full day’s labor.
Maelin marks the two-week schedule and places a work chit beside the slate. It bears the Lantern Market seal, today’s instructions, and the promised four silver payment.
+ New Item Acquired
Lantern Market Work Chit
“I take the lantern market work chit and head out to the days work location. I ask if Al wants to stay with me or go explore the city? Maybe the countryside?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +2)