Chapter 11: Never enough until it’s too much

Chapter 11: Never enough until it’s too much

Beth found me first. She was waiting by the window when I got back.

“I was worried about you today,” she said in a low voice barely above a whisper. “Where did you go?”

I sat next to her. It seemed like a thing to do, and it made her smile.

“I think I found a way to get better food,” I whispered. My voice didn’t go as low as hers. “I had a sandwich for lunch today that you wouldn’t believe.”

“Do you need help?” She asked, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight shining through the window.

I shook my head. “I’m already in enough trouble for ditching my jobs. It will only get worse if I start recruiting orphans.”

She sighed. “I see. Well, you have to promise to tell me all about it.”

“I will,” I promised, though I had no idea how I to explain anything.

“Well, good night,” she said, getting up so suddenly that she startled me.

“Good night?” I asked, questioning her out of confusion.

Beth winked and disappeared around the corner.

I was ambushed for a second time the moment I entered my room.

“What the hell, Man? You snuck out,” Sam roared as he grabbed me in a headlock and dragged me back into the hall. None of the other kids followed as it was normal for us to bicker back and forth.

“Sorry,” I choked, trying to wriggle free. “I had somewhere to be.”

“Fine!” He grumbled as he suddenly let me go. “You can make it up by taking me with you tomorrow.”

“I can’t,” I stammered.

He gave me one of the lopsided grins he was so famous for. “You can and you will. Now that I know you’re going, you can’t stop me from following you. Besides, I’m invoking the code.”

I groaned at the mention of the code. We both swore to never leave the other behind. Any opportunity that one of us had was to be shared with the other.

“Fine!” I gave in. There was nothing else I could do. “But I’m not sure you can get in where I’m going.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he replied. “What time are we leaving?”

“We need to leave early,” I explained. “Before anyone else wakes up.”

“Did we have to skip breakfast?” Sam whined, rubbing his arms as we walked in the early morning frost.

“Don’t worry,” I replied, feeling quite warm as if on a summer’s day. Were the magic clothes repelling the cold? “We can eat when we get there. By the way, you can’t use me to get out of trouble with Miss Havasu. I made a deal with her.”

“Really?” He asked, his eyes widening. “What kind of deal?”

“The kind of deal where I make money or pay the price,” I shot back. “This is do-or-die for me.”

“Guess we better do then,” he replied.

Sam was shocked when we got to the Chrysler Building. “You work here?”

“Sort of,” I replied, pushing the doors open. “Come on.”

Sam rode the elevator in stunned silence as we made our way to the secret top floor. I could tell he was just as amazed as I had been when we arrived at the guild hall.

“Wha…wha…wha…?” He mouthed as he took it all in.

“Welcome to the guild,” I replied, leading him to the reception table.

“I remember you,” the kind-looking woman said from behind the counter. “Welcome back, Mr. Evans. Who is your friend?”

“This is Sam,” I replied, wondering if she was about to kick him out. “I don’t think I know your name.”

She smiled and said, “That’s right, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Vicky. Do you need to register too, Sam?”

Sam turned to look at me. “What is she talking about?”

I ignored him. “Can anyone register here?”

Vicky raised an eyebrow at me. “If he’s unawakened, you shouldn’t bring him here?”

“What is she talking about?” Sam asked, giving me a hard stare.

Samuel Young

Class: Orphan

Level: 1

Age: 13

Weight: 122 Lbs

Height 5’7

My skill Analyzed someone unbidden again. I wondered if it would do that every time or if it was trying to train me to do it in the first place.

Vicky, meanwhile, had taken out the magnifying glass and was intently staring at Sam. I assumed she was seeing the same thing I was which she confirmed by frowning.

“This boy is unawakened. He can’t register with the guild,” she said curtly. “You shouldn’t have brought him here.”

Two men I hadn’t noticed stepped forward and grabbed Sam by the arms, dragging him deeper into the guild. He kicked and screamed, looking terrified. Nobody paid any attention to the ruckus he was raising.

“Hey! Where are you taking him?” I asked, starting to panic.

“Calm down,” Vicky said softly. “They are going to question him to see if he needs re-modification. If he passes, he will be given a pass and he will be able to accompany you so long as he follows the rules.”

“And if he fails?” I asked, worried I’d just gotten my friend thrown in Peasant Jail.

“Then he will be modified,” she replied as if that explained everything. “He will have no recollection of his time here and will be reunited with you outside. If that happens, you will be forbidden from bringing him here again.”

“They won’t hurt him, will they?” I asked, looking at the door he had just vanished through.

Vicky shook her head, sliding my daily pass across the counter to me. “I assure you, the process is completely harmless.”

Realizing I would need to act quickly in case they kicked him out, I mapped out what I needed to do.

“Vicky, can I buy items here at the guild?” I asked, looking around for shops of any sort.

She stared at me, surprised by my sudden change of topics. “Uh, yes, you can. There are a few ways to buy things at the guild. First, you can browse the auctions. Adventurers sell a variety of items they pick up during their quests. The Crafting Association also offers products they make to the guild. You can get a discount depending on your rank. Finally, if you’d like something specific, you can issue a quest. The guild will determine the value of your request before assigning the quest.”

“Interesting,” I muttered. My mind was whirling, and I needed to hurry if I wanted to get everything done before Sam was released. “Thanks for the help.”

The first stop was the quest board. As with the previous day, there were an abundance of F ranked delivery quests, about a dozen or so. I snatched all of them and made a dash for Mishun’s Southern Grill.

She saw me the moment I burst through the door. “Oliver! Did you bring me some Slime ooze?”

I shook my head. “Not yet but I will. Can I get a sandwich to go, please?”

She smiled, holding out a hand. “That’ll be five copper.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my quest earnings. One, two, three, four, oops. I’d forgotten the copper I paid my shadow.

“Uh, what can I get for four copper?” I asked, hoping there was something cheaper than a po’boy.

“Water!” She shot back. “Truth be told, there is nothing on the menu under five copper. My special is dirt cheap as it is. Tell you what, I’ll spot you one copper just this once. If you don’t pay me back, then no more food for you. And this is the only time I’m giving you a loan, so don’t try that again!”

I watched haplessly as she scraped the four copper out of my hand and replaced it with a wrapped sandwich.

“Thanks, Miss Mishun,” I said. “I promise I’ll pay you for sure.”

“You better,” she called after me as I ran out the door.

The next stop was the Crafter’s Association. It was the most logical place to request what I needed. I took the stairs two at a time on my way up. I noticed an imposing lady with long braided hair as I passed the high-level quest area. The guards parted immediately to let her and her group through.

Leila Kirk

Class: Paper Tank

Level: 77

Age: 92

Weight: 165 Lbs

Height 6’4

I let out a whistle when I saw her level, and an even louder one when I noticed her age. That had to be a typo. There was no way she was ninety-two years old. She looked to be in her twenties. I chalked it up to the mysteries of magic as I continued to the Crafter’s Association.

I was out of breath when I got to the window. The receptionist looked up and scoffed. “Your application hasn’t been processed yet. Come back in a-”

I cut her off. “I’d like to buy a bag.”

“Week,” she finished the sentence, only processing what I said once she stopped. “Wait, you want to buy a what? A bag? Um, hold on, let me see what we have in stock. We do have some bags starting at twenty silver. Would you like to take a look at our selection?”

“Twenty silver?” I balked at the price. That was going to take forever to save up for. “Never mind. Thank’s anyway.”

The receptionist didn’t say anything as I stalked away. In any case, I’d gotten everything I needed. Everything I could afford in any case. Food and quests. Sam and I were about to be very busy. I just hoped he didn’t get his memory wiped.

Back on the first floor, I made my last stop at the special window for delivery parcels. The boy behind the counter gaped at me when I presented all the quests. “You want to deliver all of these?”

I grinned at him. “Yep. That’s right. I’ll be taking all of the delivery quests from now on.”

“Have it your way,” he called over his shoulder as he headed to the back. “Be careful what you wish for.”

I was starting to wonder what he meant when the kid returned with a dolly stacked high with packages of every shape and size. There was no way I was going to be able to carry all of them at once.

“I told ya,” he chuckled as he began stacking them in front of me. “Do you want to start with just a few?”

“What are you doing?” Leslie called out from behind me, sounding a little annoyed. “Didn’t I tell you that you can’t get any experience that way?”

I sighed. “I can’t get experience killing rats either, and what I really need is money.”

She sighed. “I suppose you’re going to want my help with this.”

That was the last thing I wanted. Twelve quests that paid five copper each were only going to earn me sixty copper. That was barely more than half a silver and not nearly enough to feed everyone at the orphanage. Splitting it with Leslie was going to make it even worse. Still, there was no way I could carry everything.

“I guess,” I mumbled, trying to figure out how my grand plan was going to work. “Are you sure you don’t want to go on another rat quest without me?”

She crinkled her nose. “No! I don’t want to go on quests by myself. Why else do you think I joined you? We’re a team, right?”

I was confused. Everything we’d done together gave me the impression she was doing me a favor, yet here she was upset that I was trying to do things on my own. It made me feel guilty.

“Of course we are,” I replied, chastising myself for not seeing it. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you trying to do here?” She asked, looking at all the packages laying at my feet. “These quests are awful. You have to haul heavy packages all over town. They aren’t worth the money.”

“I can get a sandwich for every one of them,” I replied, crossing my arms. “Do you know how many people I can feed?”

“There are other quests though,” she replied, defiantly crossing her arms. “Better quests. Quests that help us level up.”

“I’m a Craftsman,” I argued. “I didn’t get any of those words when you killed rats.”

“Words?” She asked, looking confused.

“You know, the yellow words that say you’ve gained one hundred experience?” I replied. The look on her face told me something was off. “You have seen them before, right?”

“No!” She exclaimed. “I only know I’ve gained experience when the appraiser tells me I did. How do you gain experience if you don’t mind my asking?”