The Journey Of Alanna Ch. 10

The air was crisp and full of the scent of spring. Winter had retreated from the forest and many of the plants had started to bloom again. Alanna had been on her guard, in spite of the nice conditions of her long walk to Wildbrook, but found little reason to do so.

She had been walking for about half a day and so far had seen no monsters near the road. A patrol of elven horsemen in gleaming armor with long spears passed her, not sparing her a second look. Many cities employed patrols like these to keep the roads clear for traders and travelers, without whom many places would wither. Few people appreciate the value of trade until it stops happening.

Finally, she broke through the treeline to see the walls of Wildbrook in the distance. It was much smaller than Birchhaven, but also much more fortified. There was a slight slope to the road as she descended towards the city, allowing her to see over the perimeter wall, which stuck out about a mile from the city. Unlike Birchhaven, whose perimeter wall was a big construct of brick and cobblestone that extended around the entire city, Wildbrook's wall extended only about a mile out towards the north, circling towards the river from which the city took its name.

Alanna had read about this place some time ago. When the elves and humans warred about twenty years ago, it forced all the civilians out of the area between the Elven Queendom and the Human Federation. This area became a no-man's land, and after the war died down was left full of small fortresses and the dead, which naturally attracted monsters that hadn't left until this day. 

Wildbrook was a fortress along this frontier, skirting its northern edge, and while it was once a military outpost it was now a bustling hub for adventurers from far and wide. Due to its proximity to no-man's land it was full of spell crafters and artisans looking for monster parts to ply their craft with, while nearby towns sent representatives to hire help whenever something nasty reared its ugly head. Particularly elves but also humans, dwarves and gnomes came here to prove themselves. If you wanted to get your start in the Elven Queendom as an adventurer, this was the place to be.

As she approached the gate, made of immense logs reinforced with steel, she saw a few elves talking to the guards and exchanging paperwork, their cart full of freshly-cut hardwood. 

"We're expanding the walls again?" one guard asked the other.

"Not again, still. Captain Zindove wants the walls to be in peak condition and is looking to put a new patch of grassland behind the perimeter wall to the east. There's never enough wood to keep up with his plans," the other guard responded.

"Long as the money keeps flowing we'll keep 'em coming," the older elf signing off on the paperwork commented. The guard and loggers had a shared chuckle at that and allowed the cart through. The gate swung open ponderously and closed with a loud thud before Alanna reached it. The elven guard, wearing very similar armor to the riders she had encountered earlier, looked down at her without much in the way of a greeting.

"State your name and business," the guard asked, his tone somewhat disengaged. Clearly this was routine for them.

"Alanna, I'm here for the adventurer's guild." 

The guard studied her for a moment, then motioned towards the top of the wall a signal to open the gate.

"Lotta new adventurers this season," the guard said. "You look new, so I'll give you the advice we give every newbie. Find a good group and keep your nose clean, alright? The Captain tolerates a lot because he wants everyone here to get along, but we won't hesitate to kick you out if you're caught stirring trouble."

"I'll be good, I just need to find work," Alanna replied nervously. The guard nodded and the gates swung open. 

"Go on then. Once you get to the settlement the Adventurer's Guild is near the keep, to your right."

"Thanks," Alanna said, walking past the guard into the farmland that surrounded Wildbrook. It wasn't anywhere near as expansive as Birchhaven, stalks of wheat and potato plants swaying in the breeze, with plumes of smoke rising from chimneys up ahead. The atmosphere at the second gate was significantly more relaxed, the guards mainly being concerned tallying supplies and goods as they arrived and not checking lone travelers like herself.

Wildbrook was very unlike Birchhaven. Alanna saw a riot of different species moving to and fro, mainly groups of adventurers but also merchants, couriers and craftsmen going to and from their place of business. The most common races were humans and elves, but there were plenty of gnomes, dwarves and half-orcs, as well as numerous beastfolk and half-beastfolk. Birchhaven was predominantly populated with elves, with humans and half-orcs forming the majority of the rest of the population, and most of the non-elves were quite poor. Here the wealth gap was clearly formed between new adventurers and veterans, rather than their species, which Alanna found a welcome sight.

She quickly noticed everything seemed geared towards adventurers. Blacksmiths sold weapons, armor, ammunition or offered immediate repairs to gear.She even saw a stand selling potions, and one prominent store offered magical items for sale. Alanna considered getting some healing potions, but the price tags were in the triple-digits, far beyond what the small pouch of gold she had would be able to pay for. A lot of food stands offered jerky or hardtack, colorful signs indicating their food would last for weeks before spoiling or losing flavor, while others cooked and sold food on the spot to hungry adventurers. The smells made Alanna's mouth water, but she resolved to reach the Guild first before stopping to eat. 

Finally, she reached the Adventurer's Guild. It was one of the larger structures in town, though not particularly ornate, save for the illustrated sign that read "Adventurer's Guild of Wildbrook." She pushed open the doors and was greeted with at least a dozen different groups of adventurers, drinking, eating, socializing, discussing battle plans for a coming quest or checking out the notice board. Outside the orphanage Alanna hadn't really had any experience with crowds this size, so she fought the feeling of being overwhelmed as she approached the half-elven lady at the front desk. She had her hair in a long braid and wore a very professional looking uniform. Her eyes were down, focussing on a roll of parchment as she moved her quill rapidly across it. She didn't notice Alanna approaching.

"Excuse me?" Alanna asked.

The women looked up with a start, only now realizing Alanna was there for her.

"Oh hello!" the elf said with a warm smile. "Welcome to the Wildbrook Adventurer's Guild. My name is Renestrae, how can I help you?"

Alanna was already impressed with the hospitality in Wildbrook. She never really had much interaction with people outside the orphanage in Birchhaven, but she occasionally enjoyed watching people go about their business from the window, and half-breeds rarely got a warm reception anywhere they went in that city.

"My name is Alanna, I'm here to be an adventurer," she said, though she immediately regretted her choice of words. She couldn't have made it more obvious she had no idea what she was doing if she wrote it on her forehead.

"That's great!" Renestrae responded, Alanna immediately getting the impression the elf must have heard those exact words at least a thousand times already. "Being an adventurer is hard work, but the rewards are great for those who help protect the nearby towns and villages from monsters. If you'll show me your status I'll figure out an established group to hook you up with. Most level one adventurers are assigned a 'mentor' group, so you'll get a smaller cut of the rewards but you'll be doing simple quests with some seasoned adventurers to reduce the risks to yourself and others until you get some experience. We know you get a bunch of knowledge through your Class already, but there's plenty of things you won't learn until you've fought a few monsters. Let me guess, light armor, short sword, you're probably a... Rogue? Ranger?"

Alanna gulped. She was tempted to lie or talk her way out of showing her status, but she wasn't sure there was even a convincing lie to tell. 

"S-sure," she responded. "Status."

Her status popped up, and to Alanna's surprise the elf picked it out of the air and held it in front of herself like a letter. She didn't even know you could do that, but bit her lip to avoid expressing any surprise. She felt incompetent as it was.

As soon as Renestrae's eyes began to read, her professional smile immediately fell. "Oh, I'm very sorry, but we don't accept Peasants," she said firmly.

"Y-you don't understand," Alanna began, but was immediately cut off by Renestrae.

"I'm genuinely sorry, I'm sure you have good reasons, and I'm sure that gear of yours cost quite a bit of money, but we can't take you. You simply don't have any skills or abilities that we can use. You should go home."

"Keep reading my status!" Alanna responded, trying her best to be assertive.

The elf rolled her eyes, her professional demeanor broken. "Sure, but I can guarantee you there's not gonna be anything in there that'll impress anyone." Her eyes continued scanning the glowing ephemeral screen. "Level 3... That's... That's very odd, but not enough to get you onboard."

"Keep reading," Alanna stated, this time even more confidently.

"If you insist... Your uh, ability scores are pretty high, for a peasant. Nothing under 10 is outrageous actually... Darkvision?" She looked past the screen, looking Alanna up and down. "You're not supposed to have that," she said in an unbelieving tone. She turned back to the screen, now more alert.

"What on earth? Goblin Trapfinding? Tremorsense?! A mutation trait?!" Her voice grew louder with every discovery, and Alanna noticed the Guild had grown quiet as everyone was listening in. 

"I'd ask you if you forged your status somehow, but if you could cast illusions like these, why would you even pretend to be a Peasant? This isn't a joke, is it?" She gave Alanna an incredulous stare and Alanna immediately shook her head. "Then how did you even get these traits?"

"I uh..." Alanna stammered. She looked around the room and realized Renestrae's outburst had drawn every eye in the room. She couldn't just tell people she could steal a monster's traits, Solizzar already warned her that would draw a lot of unwanted attention. She had to come up with something quick.

"I killed a giant mutant centipede?" she eventually blurted out. That raised a few eyebrows, but most of the reactions seemed to be some sort of disbelieving mockery. Like fishermen, every adventurer had a story about 'this one huge monster I killed.' It was a poor explanation at best: It was common knowledge adventurers would occasionally pick up special traits during their adventures you couldn't get any other way, not even through your class, but this was a rare occurrence, and those traits were definitely not labeled 'Racial' or 'Mutation.' At least her bad excuse was making some of the adventurers lose interest.

Renestrae shook her head. "Okay, let's say I believe you. I don't, but that's besides the question. We have certain rules in the Adventurer's Guild: One of those is we don't allow in anyone without an adventurer-grade Class. Level three means you're already ahead of the curve for a newbie, and you have some... Really weird abilities, clearly, but if you don't have an adventurer-grade Class you simply don't come packaged with the skills you'd need to not get anyone killed."

"I can fight! I've been training for over a year to use this sword."

"I'm sure you have. However, it's my call whether or not to let someone join us and I just can't in good conscience sign you up. Considering you're already level three at your age means you shouldn't have any problems finding work in town. I'm sorry."

Alanna felt the urge to fight Renestrae on this, but instead hung her head in defeat, her status screen flickering out of existence. She turned and started walking away, already thinking of other jobs she could do. She supposed Renestrae was right on one thing, anyone below the age of forty who was a level three Peasant was a rarity, so she'd probably be able to help some farmer till a field somewhere.

"Hey, you," a voice called from one of the tables. An elven man stood up, with an angular face and short blond hair, wearing a silvery suit of scalemail. He had a long scar on his chin, indicating this man had definitely seen combat. "Did I overhear correctly when Renestrae said you have Trapfinding?"

"Yes, though, it's Goblin Trapfinding."

"Really? Got any other traits that would help with scouting?" 

"Well, I guess I also have Great Hearing, Darkvision and Tremorsense."

"That's a pretty good combination," the elven man said, before holding out a gauntlet-covered hand. "My name is Khilseith Origwyn, group leader. We happen to need a scout." Alanna shook his hand eagerly, though before she could respond, Renestrae started yelling from across the Guild.

"Now wait just a minute! That girl is not an adventurer! She might have some sort of Trapfinding trait, but she won't know what she's doing out there!"

"Is Barwick back?"

"I already told you he's still out on his search-and-rescue quest."

"All we need to go on our next quest is someone who can scout for the group. I don't care if she can swing that sword or not, I just need my party to not wander into every trap in our way. In addition, I recall that in the Adventurer's Guild regulations that, quote: 'Adventurer's are allowed to bring anyone with them on their quests that they believe have skills necessary for the quest's completion, as long as they take responsibility to keep these third party's safe.' I'm opting to bring this girl with me as our scout."

Renestrae put her face in her hands and groaned but did not return an argument. 

"Looks like you're in," Khilseith stated bluntly. "Come, let me introduce you to the rest of the group."

Alanna couldn't believe her luck, eagerly following him to a table. He sat down at a table that had two other adventurers sitting there already, who looked like they came from two completely different worlds. One was a human woman, clearly some kind of spellcaster, wearing a stylish outfit that seemed more at home at a noble's party, with boots that reached over her knees, a long cloak and a wide-brimmed hat. She was immaculately groomed for someone who supposedly went out on adventures, and if Alanna was perfectly honest, far too pretty for someone who had to go out and fight monsters. 

The other appeared to be a Half-Ratfolk, sitting on a box to help her actually see over the table, wearing a robe made of animal fur and with a few leaves sticking out of her grey hair. She looked like she woke up sleeping on the forest floor and was perfectly happy with the end result. She definitely looked more the part of an adventurer, despite her size.

"Ladies, this is our new scout," Khilseith stated. "This is Melisandre, our Sorceress, and Prutina, our Druid."

"Alanna, nice to meet you," she said, addressing the table.

Prutina, chewing on what seemed to be a cheese sandwich, waved hello and tried to utter a greeting through her chewing, to little success. Melisandre, idly playing with a little ball of light between her fingers, seemed less impressed.

"Are you sure she'll be able to scout?" the Sorceress asked Khilseith. "I overheard the desk clerk saying she's just a Peasant."

"It doesn't matter," Khilseith replied. "After all, the scout leads, if there's any traps in our path she'll find them." He shot her look, and Alanna felt as though Khilseith's choice of words had been chosen very carefully. She suddenly felt a lot less excited about her first quest.

Khilseith took a poster from his backpack, unrolling it on the table and tapping an illustration of an inhuman-looking woman with flowers in her vine-like hair. 

"This is our next target. There's a lesser alraune that took over a section of the woods. Those types of monsters like to take over a territory and really make it their own, so there's lesser monsters and traps everywhere. Alanna here will lead us to the alraune herself, then we'll take care of the rest. She gets ten percent for her trouble, we take the rest and the forest is made safe for another day."

He grinned wickedly. Melisandre stretched, her cleavage practically pouring out of her top. "Works for me," she stated. "Waiting for Barwick was getting dull anyway."