Misplaced

Chapter 3

     After a much needed sleep at the inn, I awoke in my small bed and pushed myself up. My mind felt clearer from the sleep and strangely, my body didn't hurt at all. I had at least expected severe soreness from the day before. I pulled up my sleeve and examined the area the mug from the tavern had hit. Last night, there was a purpleish bruise forming, but now, it was if it had completely disappeared overnight. I definitely wasn't complaining though, because from what I was told last night, today was going to be hell all over again.

     I lumbered towards the door and slowly pulled it open. My room was on the second floor and the stairs down were at the end of the hallway. While walking through the hallway, my eyes caught on a painting on the wall, that I had not seen the night before. 

     There was an enormous dragon, with the sun glaring off it's dark green scales, flying low to the ground. Despite the dragon being much bigger, there seemed to be more attention towards a man standing near the bottom. The man was holding a long sword, that was glowing so brightly, almost the entire bottom half of the painting was affected by it. 

     "It's a painting of the elven hero, Arunim. He was said to be the only true wielder of Casnir, the holy blade." Dimora's voice rang out from behind me. 

     I turned to look towards her, she had caught me off guard in all honesty. 

     "He fought against a dragon? That's incredible just by itself." I exclaimed in awe, rubbing my finger along the frame.

     "Not just any dragon, it's Valethar, dragon of the west. There was a period of time, far in the past, where he was corrupted by a sinister cult that was comprised of dark mages. Arunim was able to use the power of Casnir to purify Valethar's soul, but unfortunately, not without losing his life in the process. The event was actually nicknamed as "The Great Reconciliation", yet it was truly a tragic time in our history." Dimora added, with a sad look on her face.

    Down the hall, a voice rang out. "Are you two coming to the lobby or what?"

     Of course, it was already impossible to forget that voice. It was Zeno, and he was standing on the top step on the stairs and leaning around the corner, waiting for us. 

     "We don't have all day and we still need to get him to the guild Dimora. Did you forget?"

     "I know Zeno, you do realize that your impatience is unnecessary right?"

     "Yes yes, I will try my hardest to work on that." Zeno replied with a sly grin on his face.

     Dimora rolled her eyes and chuckled. "He is right though, we better get to the hall before all the new applicants arrive."

     With the insults Zeno was throwing yesterday, I didn't feel very comfortable talking around him. Thankfully, the two of them struck up a conversation about a past quest they had been on together. They seemed to be very close. Walking outside, it was not as bright as I expected, it seemed to still be before dawn. With how well rested I felt, I figured I had at least slept for about eight hours. 

     Zeno was walking several feet ahead of us when Dimora leaned over and whispered, "Zeno used a healing spell on you last night, after you had fallen asleep."

     That didn't make much sense to me, considering our previous interactions. 

    "Why would he do that? I mean I'm grateful but I was under the impression he resented me."

     "My words got to him I suppose. He is young after all so his vision can still be a bit... limited at times." Dimora explained.

     "Your words? What do you mean?"

     "Do you remember when I said you were in a similar situation as Zeno was? Well, I meant it. I came across Zeno in a near-identical state as you were in." Dimora whispered, a little more quietly.

     "Hm."

     I didn't really know what to say, but luckily, we had arrived at the adventurer's guild. The guild hall was the huge building with the long line I had seen yesterday.

     "There's not many people here so we can just head to the west entrance if we need to." Zeno noted.

     Dimora thought about his statement and shook her head, "Don't worry, that's not going to be necessary."

     We walked through the main doors to what seemed like a castle on its own. The walls had a golden tint and there were lines of portraits on the walls, each of a different person. Below the portraits, was a list of accomplishments that the adventurer had done. Zeno was far ahead of us, talking to one of the secretaries. 

     "How are we going to get a quest if there is so much competition?" I asked, still mesmerized by the interior of this place.

     "Quests aren't public unless they're D rank quests, which means people give the quests directly to the adventurer or group. Most of the portraits you see here are B Tier, with maybe a few A tiers in between. Zeno is a B tier, I am an A tier, and you will be a D tier. You're technically supposed to be an F tier since you're just now starting but I'm gonna put a good word in for you." Dimora rambled on, with a grin on her face.

     Although I was appreciative of her generosity, from my knowledge, tiers were in regards to strength. Being a tier above your skill set would only get you killed. 

     Dimora saw the look on my face and added, "You'll be in our group and we are more than enough to protect you until you get some experience with combat."

     Zeno looked back and motioned for us to hurry, even though we were already near him. 

     "They won't move Aspen to D tier yet, but they did allow for me to put him in the group. After today's quest, we can just ask them again. They're not likely to refuse after that." Zeno explained to Dimora, while ignoring my existence.

     "Better than nothing. Come on, Aspen" Dimora said, pulling me by my arm, over to the secretary's desk.

     "I've copied the card down already, all I need now is his facial stamp." the secretary said with a smile. She turned to look at me and continued, "Just look into my eyes and don't move."

     She locked her eyes onto mine and the awkwardness was almost unbearable. I didn't know what a facial stamp was or why she was staring at me, but I did what she told me to and remained still. After about five seconds, she tapped the card with her finger and my face was suddenly printed onto the card. 

     "All done! You all have a nice day now!" she beamed, and handed me my guild card.

     I turned back and Dimora and Zeno were still standing there, waiting for me. A part of me expected them to be gone. Their generosity was unnatural. Zeno's personality to me at first was more understandable than Dimora's, but now Zeno seems to be less agitated by my existence. On the walk to the tavern the night before, he just glared at me every couple of seconds or insulted everything I did not know. Maybe Dimora's words did get to him after all. 

     "Now, to the equipment shop!" Dimora beamed.