Alice Angel of Mercy

I stood in front of the Adventurers Guild. It was a four story tall building or should I say buildings? The fact was that while it only had one entrance, it looked like somebody took four rectangle blocks and made a square out of them. The middle of these buildings appeared as though it was open from how the roofs slanted but without going in I was simply guessing. The Guild was placed in a rougher part of town so getting here was a different experience than I have ever had! I, in my 'hooker bunny' outfit, had received catcalls and whistles to the point I ended up buying a cheap cloak to cover up a little. Especially, my face. It wasn't a full cloak but it was still a bit longer than my skirt. 'I'll get use to the outfit tomorrow,' I thought as I had tossed it on. I was still trying to convince myself that fur counted as clothes with mixed results.

I was a bit skittish and, as I looked over the building, I bounced from one foot to another. I found that I had new habits in each form. I wasn't expecting it and really hadn't noticed until Lilly pointed out how cute I was being. In my bunny form I tended to flex my toes when I was stationary and nervous which translated into me bouncing a little. Which in this outfit was noticeable.

I was trying to convince myself into going in. After facing monsters, I didn't expect to be so nervous. I just stared at the outside of the building that was as dirty as the people that went into it. You could tell by the amount of grime on said people, who was returning and who was going out on adventurers. Some were injured and I had to quickly remind myself that I was not a holy mage before I went up to heal them. Instead, I had tiny, cheap metal tins that held different balms strapped to my belt and a flask filled with a drink called 'Dew of the Morning Mist' that increased healing. I finally sighed and walked into the building. This was it! The true test if our plan was going to work. 

The inside was a bit cleaner but not by much. A big welcome desk was placed right at the entrance. I guess to catch the newbies, like myself. A couple of women and men stood behind it answering any questions people might have. After that, there was a room with multiple doorways that lead further into the building and a couple of stairways leading both up and down. Bulletin boards were plastered on every wall. I flipped the hood off and gawked around as I waited for my turn. My guess was that those bulletin boards held requests, missions and groups looking for members. It didn't take a lot of brain cells to guess it but there had to be thousands on them. I was pretty sure there were even more up above. The system they used, that would allow anybody to find things in all of that, was beyond me.

Soon it was my turn and I was met by a man that had scars crisscrossing his face and body. It looked like he had been mauled by something and lived to tell the tale. "What can I help you with?" His voice was raspy as he asked me. Judging from the scars, he probably damaged his throat.  

"I want to join the guild." I said it in a rush. "Umm... how do I do that?"

He gave me a look after I finished. One I hadn't seen in a while. It was a gentle fatherly look, similar to the one my father gave me when I was nervous about something and he was trying to show me it would be ok. "No worries, I can walk you through it or if you like I can get one of the girls to help you. It's up to you." 

"I am ok if you do it.” 

He nodded once I finished and said, “Ok, then let's move to the side and fill out the registration form." There was only five questions because most of the country is illiterate and even those were easy. Even so, he stayed to help me to fill out the form. It made sense since the guild probably didn’t have a lot of people from the educated class working for them. 

He began to read me the questions and I didn't correct him that I could read. In his broken raspy voice I heard him ask, "Are you a criminal of the crown?" To which, I quickly answered no. He wrote down my answer and moved on. "What name do you wish to be known as?" I answered Hope. I would like to say that the name was meant to be inspiring or that it had deeper meaning but in reality I picked the name because I just added an "E" to hop. I mean come on, what better name could there be for a bunny then hop? My friends liked the name Hope until I explained my reasoning for it. That was when they took my naming rights away and gave me the name ‘Yuki’ for my fox identity. It was supposed to mean ‘snow’ which fit an arctic fox. I heard him continue with, “Your class?” I told him Druid and was relieved that nothing else came out. Perhaps because I was planning to using only druid spells while in this form. 

"Do you have any combat skills you wish to disclose?" These were meant to be weapon skills or defensive skills and I wanted to say that I could use a short sword but it came out "I have a short sword but can't use it." He wrote it down and told me to not to worry they had trainers. “Any other talents or professions you wish to disclose?” and with the answer of, “Beginner first aid and herbalism” the form was completed. I finished waiting for him to write in my answers and he took out a concaved metal tray that he put his finger into. When he lifted it a saw the tip of his finger was red before he pushed it onto the paper, leaving a bloody fingerprint. He then held the tray out to me and I did the same. Once the paper had our fingerprints he tossed it into a bin and motioned me to follow him.

He led me through the building explaining first that we were going to do an assessment. How I did would dictate what type of things I could do. The first assessment was free but after that it was a silver every time I wanted to do it again. As we walked he would point out different areas within the guild. What we mostly passed were places that trainers gathered. These trainers were guild members that took a test showing that they had the skill they were teaching. After that, those trainers could only charge so much based on how well they could teach. So, even though there were many that could teach a certain skill, how quickly you learned it was generally based off how much you spent. 

It turned out that the middle of the guild was a huge courtyard. The inside of the building was where most of the transactions were haggled over. The central courtyard was where the training, especially the physical ones, were taught. The area was huge. It was sectioned off into different areas; some held beasts as if they were horses, others were about the size of boxing rings where men fought, while others seemed to be holding class lectures.

He led me to a space near one of the building walls. There were six obsidian discs on the ground. On one of them, a man stood as still as a statue while another stood in front of him simply waiting. My guide pointed at one of the empty disks. “These are simulation disks.” He then held up a red crystal about the size of a penny and said, “This is your crystal. It will keep all your information on it. As you adventure it will keep track of things you do so we will have an accurate evaluation of what you are capable of. If you have any storage magic don’t use it or you might not be able to get credit for quests that are disputed." He then placed the crystal into a little notch on the disc. “Ok, just step on and it will start your evaluation. It is all fake so don’t be too worried. As a druid, you are supposed to be versatile, both as a healer and a combatant. Keep that in mind, the further you go the higher your guild rank will be.” With that he motioned for me to get on.

The world faded away as I stepped onto the disc. I was at the beginning of a very pixelated forest with the words, “Mission: find Sammy” displayed in front of me. With spells like ‘Know the way’ and ‘Eyes of an Eagle’ he was easy to find. I then did basic first aid as well as casted ‘Mending’ to help him heal faster and ‘Sprout’ to carry him. It then turned into a poorly made video game like escort mission where he would not quite know the way and take us into danger over and over again until I died. The fights kept increasing in difficulty and I managed to kill groups of goblins, kobolds, dire wolves, and finally a stone golem. I called forth dryads and fought with them to get as far as I did. Sadly, my lack of fighting ability with this persona ended up with me dying to a group of wild harpies. 

Wild harpies, unlike the ones that lived at the college, were feral monsters. It was pretty easy to tell the difference but even so, those in the college had to deal with labels and fear that the misunderstanding caused. Either way, my lack of a ranged weapon cased my downfall. Because of the enchantments, my bow was pretty noticeable so I had it hidden away. Should I learn to use a sling or bolas? Maybe both? ‘Something to think about,’ I thought as the world came back into focus.

****

Spells: Druidic

A dryad's song – calls forth the spirit of a tree, limitations on time, strength and area it can go

Animalistic – Take on one trait of an animal of your choice

Call Animals – Animals of a selected class within a certain area will come to your aid

Chameleon – Able to blend into your surroundings while stationary 

Cold Blooded – increases heat resistance of everybody within range

Den of the lone wolf – Creates a personal shelter with a mystic wolf that will guard you. 

Eyes of an Eagle – Increase perception by five

Know the way – You will instinctually know the direct to get to a certain place in natural environments  

Masquerade – Take on the appearance of the selected type of Beastkin; poorly made - increased cost

Mending – Helps to mend bones, skin and natural objects

Natural Immunity - Increases immunities to fire, water, air, and earth magic

Photosynthesis – Replaces the need to eat by absorbing energy from the sun

Skin of the Plains Beast – Gives armor the equivalent of scale-mail to your skin

Sprout – Summon an earth sprit to help fight against your enemies

Stone of the Ancients – Absorb energy from nature to store one spell within 

Strength of a Bear – Increase strength by five

Supple as the willow – Increase dexterity by five by increasing flexibility 

Tangle Thorns – Creates a field of bramble thorns to block, slow, or trap your enemies

Tough as a Bull – Increases toughness by five

Whispers from the trees and mountains – Gives the locations of all the monsters within a certain area

Drinks:

Dew of the Morning Mist – Promotes healing both natural and magical

Mithridate – cast on a glass of wine to make user immune to poisons for 24 hours

Water from the flowing creek – imbues a cup of water to replace the need for water for 24 hours

Salves:

Herbal Salve of the New Woods – Helps to mend broken bones

Numbing Salve – Removes pain

Salve of earthen skin – Decreases damage taken from physical attacks for ten minutes after application