Somewhere Someplace

A street. An alley. Somewhere derelict and all so conveniently…empty. The sky was now thoroughly oranging in a dim as the sun began to truly set. The guiding corvid landed on top of an abandoned building of sorts…leaning against the wall of which, to no surprise, was that…familiar weaving patron, who immediately spotted the foreigner’s arrival.

“Hey! Mask lady! Teha! So we meet again!” so greeted the patron in hailing shout, waving away his hand.

The foreigner sighed…not even bothering with donning any feinting affect—a skill that had rusted quite a bit, to be frank. Hmm…though, he seemed somewhat…different than the last time she remembered; more on edge…so to speak, as if time was no longer on his side.

She approached and halted before him. “Yes. I am here, thus: what do you want?” she interrogated, bluntly.

He chuckled in an intentionally…annoying manner; “About as cold as always haha! But I see you’re…somehow both more alive yet also more dead…aren’t you one big contradiction?” he replied and remarked with scanning eyes.

The foreigner stared, however, unamused; “What do you want?” she interrogated again.

Yet the patron simply smirked; “Ohh…you know, I just wanted to see you again! Is that so bad?”

The foreigner sighed…before she simply and all so abruptly…turned right around and began to depart away, without even a single word to say.

“…” the patron stared…his mind blanking somewhat, not really expecting such a blunt response; “W-wait! Hold! Fine, fine! Straight to the business it is!” he called out.

She halted, her mask-obscured eyes glancing behind…before she turned back around with a sigh, reapproaching and rehalting before him, staring unamused and disinterested by default. “Stop wasting my time; I have the things needing to be done” she stated bluntly.

He ahemed; “Rightly right—ahem—anyway, I guess I just wanted to tell you some…goodish news: you’re no longer…permanently banned from the Guild” he finally said.

Rather instantly, upon hearing this, the foreigner froze solid in place…her head tilting…her mind processing; « …h-huih? Quid? Quid diçhes? Nûm verù’st—» “ahem—is that true? How…?” her voice blurted out, her flat affect hiding any sense of surprise.

He chuckled somewhat; “Haha! Yep! Your whole profile and record’s been scrubbed completely clean! No more anything about being ‘expelled and banned for serial thievery and threatening with blah blah blah’…nor anything about ‘documented quest obsession’ and especially nothing about ‘strange magical glow-blood’; nope nope, none of that, all perfectly blank and empty: just like you” thus he explained…rather cheerfully…albeit somewhat condescendingly.

Ah…of course, so they had documented…that certain peculiarity of hers into their records; though, such was not any her present concern.

He took in a breath, clearing throat; “Though, when I say, ‘emptied’, I really mean emptied…so, no more anything about you massacring glow-spiders and glow-golems, and all the other interesting shit about you…that was their condition, not ours: either they scrubbed it all or none” he added.

The foreigner’s head tilted further…before glancing down somewhat, nodding away, stepping back but not really…still trying to process all of this…suddenty. A strong…temptative itch deep down within began to…flare…all so suddenly. Her breathing…unnoticeably, but still nevertheless, affected. “So…does that mean that…I can do the…the…those quests again?” she inquired as her head looked back up at him.

“Haha, fuck no.” thus the patron so bluntly replied, the foreigner’s head instantly tilting in a sharp hehing fashion. “Lady, the Guild keeps detailed records and profiles of everyone—we most especially, and I’ve been keeping track; sure, you’re dangerous and with actual prowess estimated to be more in the Gold to Platinum range at the least, but you’re also a binge-quester who was on the verge of becoming an addict” he explained frankly.

“I mean, yeah, it’s all been scrubbed crystal-clean on a branch-level, but our records are still sharp and shiny…and neither me nor those eggs above me want another fuck-festive like this to happen again” he remarked further; “we just…don’t have that time anymore for playing around, you know?”

The foreigner stared…somewhat blankly, her head faintly nodding; “Uhuh…” she mumbled out.

The patron sighed somewhat…indeed, that sense of ‘edge’, once inferred, now became more…explicitly visible. “Besides, as I said…we only got your permanent ban rescinded…the Guild branch here refused to make an immediate effect…so you’re still banned from this branch until the end of this year…also, you’re still expelled so you’d have to rejoin from the bottom” he explained.

The foreigner…lightly nodded her head slowly; she was still…somewhat staggered in mind, but the sudden flaring itch…calmed itself as realization stabilized everything deep within.

“I see…” she began to reply, “so…I am still banned but not forever, then? That is…reasonable, I guess” she remarked, before turning her glare straight to his eyes; “Though, it is clear to me that this was done for a reason; you have an interest, as well as this ‘us’ and ‘we’ of you” she stated bluntly; “Thus, who are you? What is it that you want? Why are you doing this?”

He smirked in a nasally chuckle-like inhale; “Oh, you know, I’m just some random pest of a man with a special…interest in you and your sweet weirdness; I’ve got my own reasons for a bunch of things, such as why I keep staring at your—” thus, he was…answering in the usual manner, but the foreigner sighed in a grand ugh.

“Rightly, of course” she cut him off, “so to ask better: who is the ‘we’ and ‘us’ you speak of, then? Answer properly or I walk away and disappear forever” she interrogated and somewhat…bluffed—walk away, yes, but disappear…not necessarily.

The patron, rather atypically and oddly…went completely mute. He remained static…that smirk fading away as he contemplated in mind…his eyes glaring up to the setting sky up high. His breaths became more…audibly…edged and…disconcerted, albeit in a way hard to detect.

He nodded away lightly before sighing; “Fine, yeah…no real point in waiting anymore, guess it’s about time” he began to say as he turned his eyes back to her, “I am…I guess to say, just a pair of eyes and ears; a finder, collector, and seeker…for the Bureau of Scribes and Documentation, or as most just call it, ‘the Bureau’…which is basically the Guild’s ‘information, records, and documentation service’ to use Guild-speak…but they do a whole lot more than just that these days, a lot more…” he finally answered…albeit somewhat vaguely.

The foreigner tilted her head; “Huh?” she murmured out.

“Yeah, ‘huh’, great response; don’t let the words ‘adventurer’ and ‘guild’ confuse you; the Guild’s the most sophisticated thing of knowledge and records in these entire lands and even the entire world—and I don’t say that lightly. It’s never been beholden to any sovereign or government; it’s independent and has always had its own interests in keeping its status and power…though these days, it’s more about ensuring its long-term survival while it’s slowly squeezed to death” thus he explained; “and, the Guild’s always been great at repurposing already existent capabilities for…new sort of stuff”.

Ah…of course, thus this ‘Bureau’ or whatever…was essentially the Guild’s very own intelligence gathering and operation’s service, then? Truly, the pieces were all coming together. “So, you are the ‘spy’, then?”

He chuckled somewhat; “Ehh…like I said, I’m many things…sometimes I’m a spy, sometimes I’m a finder and seeker or problem-solver, other times I’m just some bystanding looker…and other times I’m a…talent-acquirer” he replied.

She stared with a faint tilt; ah, so…that was it, then? “You are trying to…recruit me, then?” she remarked; “this entire time…you have been trying to recruit me?”

“Eh…think more…‘asset acquiring’, it’s like I’ve said: you’re just one who…ought not to be some ordinary Guild member…you can actually be something useful to the Guild and its interests” he replied.

Hmm…was that so? “Or, more specifically” she began to reply, “be useful to this…‘Bureau’ of yours? I do not think you care for your Guild as much as you claim. There is more, no?” she bluntly remarked.

However, the patron simply shrugged; “Yeah, well…as I’ve maybe said…things tend to be big and tangled up and they only get bigger and even more tangled…” he replied…vaguely. He fixed and straightened his posture, no longer leaning against the wall, as if he was making ready to leave.

He ahemed, clearing his throat; “Well…that’s enough of all that, don’t you think? Like I said…time’s not really a friend anymore and…since I’ve pulled string after string to get you out of your mess and’ve given you an actual path back into the Guild…now’s about the time I say…well…nothing’s free” thus he began to say as he walked somewhat away from that wall, halting with his back turned against her; the tone of this voice had shifted somewhat, seemingly.

The foreigner…turned her eyes and glared, sighing; of course…“Fine, what is it?” she…permitted him to continue.

Immediately, he tossed her a badge of sorts, which she swiftly caught in hand. Rather elaborate and fancy, clearly Guild in origin and style…yet it was different from any other; shiner, more refined, and more…elite and special in its indication; it had a slot of sorts at its center…one that was empty.

“Take that” thus he said, turning around and staring her down; “that’s a special marker badge…my special marker badge…it marks you as a candidate for advanced selection…of which I am your sponsor and manager; you just have to firmly shove that thingy-a-thing I’d given you awhile back into it and lock it in place to mark your acceptance” he explained and instructed.

The foreigner tilted her head, staring at the strange badge now in hand; “Heh?” she mumbled out, shifting her mask-obscured eyes back to him; “What is this to mean?”

However, the patron was seemingly no longer…interested in answering questions, he simply explained away. “Now, usually, that marker badge and token are given to exceptionally interesting adventurers, Platinum or higher, or sometimes non-Guild people of exceptional talent and usefulness—but hardly ever a Copper or other lower ranks. It’s why I was hoping to wait until you rose up the ranks before…completing the process, but goodness did you do the opposite…”

“Now, advanced selection is a separate process from general admission and entry, and happens at a ‘capital’-level—not branch, so your ban doesn’t technically apply. And it is, as I said, a process, and a very competitive one at that, and always takes place in one of the Guild’s direct domains—in this case, the ‘Capital Citadel’ as the Guild calls it, since that’s where the head-eggs are; the next selection evaluation is set to take place at the first month of the coming year; now, it’s called an ‘evaluation’ but really it’s an over-glorified combat ring, but point being: near year’s end, you are set to leave this city and travel all the way down central” thus he explained in sudden detail…very quickly too, not allowing the foreigner to interject.

“And before you even interject, don’t worry about expenses or your rent for Gunslinger’s apartment; as your sponsor, I’ll cover your expenses starting…well…today; but keep this whisper in mind: you are an investment and I expect you to payout; neither I nor the Bureau would’ve taken all these measures if we didn’t think you would, but I have to stress: you need to payout” he continued onwards.

He slowed his speech, his throat becoming somewhat dry and raspy from his fast speakings. “Ahem—anyway, so all you have to do now is wait and prepare until the last month of this year…during which I’ll talk to you again, and discuss more in detail; until then, this is all you need to know” thus he stated in full…before he turned back around and abruptly began to walk off.

The foreigner, standing there…still processing all the words that had been so quickly spoken, was staggered in mind; she was still trying to wrap her head around all of this. “Wait, hold.” she said imperatively and strictly.

The patron paused and turned around to stare, his glaring eyes…so much colder and emptier than ever before.

“This is…very confusing to me; and, I cannot simply leave this place. What are you trying to make me do? I refuse to do anything with the detai—” she was saying, but “Lady, there is no ‘trying’ anymore, only is…and that is what you are going to do” the patron interjected bluntly.

“Maybe if you didn’t get yourself expelled and banned, then we could’ve had this conversation…but that is not the case; instead, I had to pull some strings and use some…stern negotiation and the Bureau’s going to have to invoke a whole bunch of favors to not have the administrative demon come for our balls…all just give you a door back in” he explained; “and now that you have that door back in…this is how you are going to walk through it, since this is the only reason why I and we did all of that to open that door for you” he added.

Silence…suddenly ensued. The foreigner continued to stare, her head tilted to a degree, confused and by no means amused.

Echoing in the air from the sky up high…griffons patrolling or perhaps…traveling overhead. The patron sighed…scratching his head, turning his eyes to that sky up high. “Lady…I don’t know wherever fuckwhere you and ol’ Gunslinger are from…but I know you aren’t one to be paying attention to anything outside that bubble of yours and I bet you don’t give a care at all…but if you haven’t noticed…this whole Trinity’s damned continent is unraveling around you” thus he began to remark…his voice so very…different from ever before.

“A fuck-festive of all fuck-festives is starting to brew…the Empire’s starting to make its moves…and the Coalition’s responding; Pegasus isn’t what it was fifteen-years ago…and if things boil out, it’ll burn in a way…even worse than the last war did… the Guild’s just trying to keep itself alive…” he remarked onwards; “not to mention the great powers of the Far West are only getting hungrier and more bold…they’ve started to pick their choosings and take their bets…”

He went abruptly silent for a few seconds…still staring at the sky; “so much shit is happening behind locked curtains even if no one’s paying attention…the whole county’s in a crisis but it’s all kept hidden…nobody here’s got any idea how easy it is now for some random shit from halfway across the world to come washing to these shores…” thus he remarked with fainter breaths, his own…sincere thoughts…bleeding out, seemingly.

He cleared his sored throat…turning around and looking at the foreigner, sighing again; “So yeah, I wasn’t lying when I said that we think…and that I think…that you have the potential to be a helpful asset to make our situation less sodomized…to be something more useful than some random adventurer…and not just to me, not just to the Bureau, and not just to the Guild…but maybe the whole forsaken world if reached high enough…you know, making the world slightly less shitty than it already is” he remarked…in a voice rather solemn, even if cold and frank.

He sighed yet again; “Yeah…sure, fine…I won’t lie, I do have my own specific interests in you, beyond this Bureau stuff…but, as I said, that’s all you need to know for now. Again, you have the rest of this year to sort through your own shit…because afterwards, you will be departing” he stated sternly. “Though, that’s all assuming nothing happens and I’m almost certain something is going to happen…so don’t be surprised if a birdie comes visiting you early” he stated in finality…his monologuing finally coming to an end.

He turned around and began to walk off; “Anyway, that’s that…I’m off now; and if you still have issues with this arrangement—and I bet you do—just keep in mind: what else is there for you to do, anyhow?” he remarked; he waved his hand in goodbye…departing off and away, leaving the foreigner without a word to say.

« … » she stared blankly, her mind still piecing together all of those words having been said, for indeed…quite the many the words had been said.

Remaining firmly where she was, she looked at the strange ‘advanced selectee’ badge in hand.

Hmm…she cogitated…primitive clandestine intelligence, such was the impression she was getting from all of this—right, Remnant records had clear mentionings of such apparatuses.

Hmm…information collection and documentation…this ‘Bureau’ or whatever…likely had quite the information, knowing far more than implied. Likewise, that weaving patron…or now this ‘sponsor’ of hers…also seemed to know quite more than implied.

Indeed…if so, then maybe she was intrigued by this. Information…that was her…vague goal, after all. Never mind also that…right, as part of this arrangement, her rent would be…covered…she would not have to bother with being concerned about her rent…at all. Huh…

The sky was becoming darker…best to start making way back before it became too late. She finally began to walk off, yet her eyes remained glued to that badge…her mind trapped in contemplation.

She sighed; she had…many…problems with this; she did not trust this ‘Bureau’ nor him still…but fine, she might as well play along. Cooperating with him and this ‘Bureau’ could potentially…‘payout’ for as her as much as them. And besides…he had raised a good point: what else was there for her to do, anyway?