When Rain Rises

Chapter 2

"And you are?" The hoarse voice of an old, graying man croaked.

This should be good.

"Rain Vivien," Rain replied curtly as the man wrote his name down on a clipboard.

"Do you have any relatives already established as merchants?" The man asked in a monotone voice.

"No."

"Any experience traveling outside the city walls?"

"Nope."

"Any experience in a shop, be it trinket, bakery, etcetera?"

"Not even."

"What work experience do you have?" The old man pressed, cocking an uncertain eyebrow.

Rain actually gave it some thought, already well aware that he wasn't exactly being presented as the perfect candidate thus far.

"I did a lot of jobs from the job board," he replied after a few seconds.

"Such as?"

"Oh, you know, delivering letters, chasing rats...diving through garbage."

"Right," the old man said coldly, writing none of it down. "So your skills would be..."

"Being awesome."

"I'm sure you realize that you're not exactly coming across as 'awesome'."

"Well," Rain began, giving him a cheeky grin. "I'm more of a work in progress, really."

The old man chuckled. "Fair enough. Go right in, Mr. Vivien. Perhaps you can make up in humor what you lack in...everything else."

Rain gave him a sly bow before he turned to Peter and tossed him a thumbs-up before stepping through the gate, the long line behind him moving up as he went. Peter simply shook his head and began his turn at the gate.

As Rain looked about he could a lot of people just standing around the courtyard huddled in groups. There wasn't much in the way of scenery as the ground was paved over and there were only a few sparsely occupied benches; so it wasn't like they were sightseeing. Rain found their behavior peculiar, as right by the large compound's entrance was a sign that read 'Recruiter' with an arrow pointing to the door. Yet no one seemed interested in going inside.

Rain walked up to a small group of teens in an effort to sedate his curiosity. As he drew near he could see the visible worry painted across their faces.

"Hey, guys-why isn't anyone going inside?" Rain asked innocently enough. The group ceased discussing whatever topic was on their collective minds and turned to him. Judging by their closed body language it was quite apparent they were uncertain about him, giving each other darting glances. Finally, a blonde-haired girl spoke up.

"The last six people who went through there came back as teary-eyed rejecteds," she explained slowly. "Nobody's exactly in any hurry to go in."

"Sheesh," Rain muttered, frowning. "That sucks. Here I thought just about anyone could skate right into the faction."

"You usually can," the girl agreed. "That's what we were just talking about, actually...something's changed. You know the ongoing feud over the bridge, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Apparently Antigo got some sort of hold on the bridge now, so it's a lot harder to trade between Apollo and Ashington now.

"Which means less need for merchants," another added. He was tall, had red hair and somewhat beady eyes.

"Which means it's harder to get in," Rain finished, nodding. This wasn't good at all. "Damnit." He felt a hint of fear begin to brew in the deepest pit of his gut before he squashed it instantly. "Well, I'll be getting in all the same."