Grimm Tales: Rise of the Yokai

Chapter 3: The Mage's Guild

Saturday dawned bright and clear, wisps of clouds streaking through the sky. The temperature had dropped off some since yesterday, so even as my friends and I walked up to the Mage's Guild with the sun high in the sky, it was much more bearable.

Crystal City may be full of magic, but if you went walking around town, you might not even notice. Okay, yes, some of the people are a dead giveaway (looking at you, Jason), but when it comes to the town itself, it looks just like any other seaside town. Some of the paint is a little chipped from the salty spray off the ocean, and yes, sometimes the marina smells like old fish, but overall, just a nice, coastal community.

That being said, I can't deny that the guildhall does stand out, just a bit.

Thick posts of weathered wood had been driven deep into the ground all along the massive plot of land, a thick cord of rope running through each post and off to the next, forming a waist-high fence around the edge of the property.

It wasn't really meant to keep anything in or out. Mostly just a friendly reminder, like 'keep off the grass' or 'don't feed the birds'. But more along the lines of 'Hey, lots of crazy magic going on inside. So, if you decide to cross this line, any curses, mutilations or transformations are not our fault. Have a nice day'.

The path leading to the guildhall was shaded by massive southern live oaks, their branches wrapped in a coat of Spanish moss. Lining the top of the dunes at the back of the property, just barely visible from the street, sea oats swayed lazily in the breeze.

Now, granted, with its sea green paint and sun-bleached roof, the guildhall didn't look much different from many of the other buildings in town. I'd been here once before, when we came here for school to learn how the guild works, but it was still a bit of a shock. It's just that, well, I don't know that there's really any other way to put this.

It was big. I mean, really big.

From the outside, the guildhall looked to be about six stories tall, which made it easily the tallest building in town. Stepping inside, the cool air offered a welcome relief from the summer heat as I looked around the main lobby.

The guildhall was built with many things in mind.

Subtly, apparently, was not one of them.

Pale hardwood floors covered an area triple the size of what you would expect from the outside. Sunlight spilled through the massive window that had taken the place of the entire rear wall of the room, sending beams of light dancing through the column of water standing in the center of the room.

Wider than a pair of redwoods, the water was filled with aquatic plants. Tropical fish of all sizes and colors swam through the column of coral stretching up the column all the way to the ceiling. As soon as it reached the top, the coral branched out, forming rafters of weathered stone that fanned across the ceiling.

If you ran your fingers through the water, sometimes the fish would follow them. I tried that the last time we were here.

You just had to be careful with the eels.

They bite.

And, yes, you read that right. There's not a single shard of glass holding that water in place. In a place this overflowing with magic you don't need it. Glass aquariums are for the weak.

A pair of staircases curved around the aquarium, leading up to the second floor.

But wait, from the outside, it's the third floor. So, then which floor is it? Second? Third? Secird? Thircond? Maybe we should call it the... you know what, never mind. Thinking about stuff like that always gives me a headache.