Xander Ch. 02

He then saw an assortment of bottles on front of him, and picked one that had the word 'Shampoo' written on it.

"What's this 'Shampoo' shit?"

After reading the back of the bottle, he looked for, and found the brands' matching conditioner. After reading that as well, decided to give them a try. He squirted a generous amount of shampoo into his palm, and brought it to his head. He placed his hands on his head, and started massaging his scalp. Then it hit him; how the hell was he shampooing his hair with the mask on? He knew it was working, because he could feel his hands on his scalp.

'Must be the same shit as with the whole eating and drinking thing.' He thought to himself, as he continued to massage his scalp.

Once he was finished with applying the shampoo, he stuck his head under the shower head, and he rinsed his hair. He watched, as near black water came pouring out from his mask. He wasn't surprised or grossed out, as he had no idea how long it had been since he bathed. When that was done, he applied this 'Conditioner' and let it set. He took something called 'Face Wash', squirted some into his palms, and applied it to the front of the mask. He felt hands washing his face, and really wondered how the mask actually worked. He could feel hands on his face, but he couldn't feel his face on his hands; only the mask. After rinsing off his face, with more black water coming out of the mask, he then gripped a loofah, and lathered it in some soap, before he started scrubbing. He scrubbed each and every inch of his body, and more of that near black water started to fill the shower bottom. Once the water that came off of his body ran clean, he rinsed the conditioner out of him hair, and after struggling for 5 minutes, figured out how to switch the shower off.

He got out of the shower, and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist, and looking into the mirror. The mask was dry, and he didn't feel wet underneath it, as he did when he was taking the shower. He looked into the mirror, and carefully examined the mask. It was plain black, with silver lines running down the side. The eye slits glowed white, and produced a slight hue.

'Damn, this mask actually looks kind of cool. Well, I'd think that if it wasn't GLUED magically to my head. Shit...'

After he examined the mask from every angle, he looked over, and saw more products and bottles; body lotion, deodorant, roll on, all sorts of things. After reading the backs of all of them, he then applied each in the correct order. After doing that, he saw a tube of something called 'Toothpaste'. Picking it up, he read the back, he looked around until he found one in some packaging, as the toothpaste said not to use a used toothbrush. He opened the package, and removed the toothbrush, before squirting some of the white paste onto the brush, and brushing his teeth. When he was done, he left the bathroom.

Xander noticed the clothes that were nicely folded on the bed, and went to examine them. He saw a fresh pair of boxers, a white tee shirt, and a pair of black trousers, with some socks, and a pair of almost knee high boots. After getting dressed in everything, Xander looked over towards his sword. He walked up to it, and pulled it out from the ground, and placed the tip on the ground, next to the hole that it originally came out of, and just as Master Darius said, the tip no longer pierced the ground, it just stood perfectly on the surface. After that, he brought the sword up to his back, and placed it there. He removed his hand, and the sword just stuck, without being in a scabbard, or being tied or hooked to anything. Xander could smell something rancid, and realised that it must have been his smell, which had merged itself with the bed linen. He felt pretty bad, and walked out of the room, seeing Master Darius waiting for him.

"Damn, even though those are the largest clothes I have, you still look like you're going to rip them."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Oh, and sorry about your bed sheets as well, I think it'd be better to just burn them. I really stank, why didn't you say anything about it?"

"Why would I say anything about it Kid? I understood your situation. How was the shower? Felt good didn't it?"

"Yeah, it really did thanks. I was also able to wash my hair and face, and it was the same principal as with the whole eating and drinking thing."

"Someone went to a whole lot of trouble to ensure that you don't die with that mask on. I also see that your sword really is yours; it's staying on your back, magically. Anyway, we'll worry about that later; let's go get some breakfast, and I'll explain some more things about being a member of the Guild."

As they made their way down a set of stairs, Xander could hear sounds of people talking and laughing; much like he did on the street. As they approached, Xander stopped walking.

"Hmmm? What's wrong kid? Haven't you recovered yet?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just...I need to....I don't know how to..."

"It's okay; you don't need to say anything."

"No, I do. I woke up not knowing who I was, or where I was, and if it wasn't for you, I'm sure I would have died of starvation by now, or been killed by people trying to steal my sword; so thank you Master Darius. Thank you for saving me."

Master Darius walked up to him, stretched his arm up, and placed his hand on Xanders' shoulder.

"You're welcome Kid, and please, just call me Darius; everybody else does."

Even though Xander knew Darius couldn't tell, he was smiling; and it was the warmest smile he could muster. Almost as though he could sense it, Darius smiled back at Xander.

"Now come on, let's go to the cafeteria, they'll be out of breakfast if we don't hurry."

"Sure thing...Darius." Xander said nervously, as he nodded, and followed after Darius.

They both walked into the large hall, only for the room to go dead quiet. Everyone looked at the rarest sight they had ever seen; Master Darius coming in to eat breakfast with them. They had often seen him pass by the hall, and pop in to say hello or something, but this time, he walked in, and led a giant of a man wearing a black mask with a sword on his back over towards the cafeteria line, which dissipated, as they both approached. They moved towards front, and stopped at the kiosk type thing.

"Morning Mary! Could you please have 2 breakfast platters brought over to that table in the corner? They're for us."

"Oh my Darius, you've come to eat with the rest of the Guild? You don't do that very often; are you getting senile in your old age?"

"Oh shut up Mary! Just hurry up and organise our food woman!" Darius said, laughing happily.

"Yes, yes, right away. And when are you going to introduce me to this hulking giant of a man, wearing a mask, no armour, and a giant, scary looking sword on his back?"

"Oh yes, where are my manners; Mary, this is Xander. Xander, Mary. Xander is the newest member of the Guild."

"Pleased to meet you."

"And you dear boy. How did you two meet, and did you offer him the position personally, or did he go to the recruitment office?"

"Oh, I met him about 4 nights ago, when a group of thugs tried to kill me for a reward. The Kid here saved me from them, so I offered him a position in the guild."

''The Kid'? Darius is being awfully chummy with this Xander fellow."

"Really? So this is who you brought back that night? I heard that you had brought some unconscious person here, and let them stay in your room. I thought it was some young woman or something!" Mary said, laughing good naturedly.

"No, no, no, no attractive young women Mary, just my saviour!" Darius said with a smile.

"Saviour? Oh please; don't believe a word he's saying Ms Mary, Darius completely dominated the guys I didn't attack. He was finished long before I had even defeated my 1st opponent."

"That's not true Kid! You were..."

'Darius?! Xander just called him by his 1st name! What on earth does that mean? It usually takes Guild members years of hard work, and high ranks in the Guild, before they can call him by his 1st name. Who is this guy?!'

Well, I'm going to go and organise your breakfast platters. Why don't you two go your table, and wait there?"

"Huh? Yeah, good idea. Come on Kid, let's go."

"Oh, sure. It was nice meeting Miss."

"Oh my, people with such deep voices aren't usually that polite. Thank you boy." And with that, she headed off to the back.

Xander and Darius turned around to see the entire hall standing, waiting for Darius to turn around.

"Good morning, Master Darius!" They all said with enthusiasm."

"Yes, good morning everyone. I hope you're all well. Anyway, we'll be going to our table now, enjoy your breakfast, and have a productive day."

"Thank you Master Darius!" they replied with the same enthusiasm as before.

'They called him Master Darius, and not just Darius. Maybe they're just being formal.'

"Wow, you really seem to be well loved. How long have you been the head of this Guild?"

"Since I started it, nearly 40 years ago."

"What?! You're that old?!" Darius just laughed loudly as they walked towards their table.

"You know, Mary was onto something. Men with voices as deep as yours shouldn't be surprised by things. Anyway, yes; I am that old." He said with a smile, as they sat on the benches of their table.

"There's something I've wondering about Darius."

"What is it Kid?"

"Why do you call me Kid? You don't know how old I am. Heck, I don't know how old I am. For all you know, I could be some middle aged guy, who is almost the same age as you."

"I know that you aren't, just by looking at you. Your skin is too firm to be old, and your hands and feet are those of a kid. You can't be much older than 20, and I'll be really surprised if you're older than 23, so, you're a kid. That's why I call you Kid."

"Oh, okay then; that makes sense. Anyway, I'm noticing many of the people in here are wearing armour, of varying weight classes. You said that there a 3 classes, being Warrior, Mage, and Battle Mage/Mage Warrior. Judging by your weapons, you're a Warrior, yet you're wearing leather armour, while there are some men your size wearing heavy armour. Can you explain that?"

"Sure. It's all about their affinities. One of my affinities is Speed, which is why I have these 2 short swords as weapons. I also explained how the Elite have more than one affinity right? If I also had a Strength affinity, I'd be able to wear heavy armour, but Speed is my main one, which is why I wear light armour. I belong to a sub class called the Rogue class. You will also notice how there guys who are using bows as weapons; their affinity would be Ranged. If they also had the Speed affinity, they'd be Rogues, who use Ranged weapons. Thing is though, most if not all of the people in this hall only have 1 affinity, and their armour, or robes should tell you what it might be."

"Oh, okay, that helps. Do you have any idea what my affinity is?"

"No, but we'll be finding out when you are closer to your full strength."

"Oh, I see. Oh, by the way, in the shower, I thought I saw small creatures light up the room; how does that work?"

"Oh, sorry about that; I forgot to mention all that. Our ability to use magic has allowed us to make technological advances as well, so what happens is, we breed those little creatures you saw, which are called 'mites'. Depending on the kind of magic that is pumped into them, they either light up a room, or open a door, or move a car, or heat water, or operate a stove, anything and everything that we need them for. Every kind of mechanical and automated invention is powered by these mites, and we use them every single day in our lives."

"What about these creatures? Don't they have a choice?"

"They have been specially made for this purpose; they only come alive when injected with Magical Energy. Once their source of energy ends, they fall back into a state of unconsciousness."

"Shit, that's pretty weird isn't it? Oh, it looks like our food is about to arrive; thank goodness, I'm starved!"

"You and me both Kid. Anyway..."

The conversation between the two never stopped, and they spoke about many things; most of them unimportant. The important things that were spoken about were mostly the classes, special items, and the like. Mary watched from her post, as Darius was laughing, and talking with Xander.

'I'll have to ask Darius what exactly is so special about that guy, and why he's being so friendly with him.'

Everyone in the dining hall just watched the two of them, as they spoke. Master Darius seemed to be enjoying himself with this rude guy, who hadn't even taken that mask off while eating. How did he eat with that mask on anyway? What kind of magic was it? The feelings in the hall were mixed; others were impressed, others were confused, while others were impressed, and others were angry, while some were jealous; all in all, very mixed feelings.

"Hey Kid, you finished? I want to show you something, and we should go soon."

"Oh, yeah, I'm done Darius; thanks for breakfast. What are we going to see?"

"You'll see when we get there. Oh, I might as well introduce you. EXCUSE ME EVERYONE, CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE? THANK YOU."

When everyone had stopped eating, and started paying attention to Master Darius, he continued.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to our newest Guild member; Xander. Xander is an amnesiac, and the mask on his head has been placed on his head magically; this means he cannot remove the mask no matter how hard he tries. He is very strong, and this sword of his is very dangerous. Don't ever try to touch it without his consent, because Willy did that 4 days ago, and has a huge cut on his arm; the sword cuts anyone who is not its' wielder. Anyway, that's all the information we have about him, but don't be afraid to talk to him. Despite his size, voice, tattoos, and mask, he's actually quite a nice guy, if a bit clueless because of his amnesia. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. Thank you, and you can go back to eating."

Everyone nodded, and went back to eating. Xander and Darius then left the hall, and Xander followed Darius.

"They didn't seem to be very friendly towards me, although I do understand why."

"Yeah, well it's not every day I dine with them, so it was probably them just being shocked at seeing me down with them."

"Oh? So who do you normally dine with?"

"My friends and those who are considered the Elite in the Guild. Oh, here comes one of them now, back from an S rank mission."

A man had just walked through the door, and had dumped something on a table that seemed to be the reception area. He was a man, who was about 6'0", and he just appeared as though he was strong; he walked with the confidence of a man who knew he was one of the best. He was wearing light armour which was made of leather, just like Darius, but he had a single sword; a Rapier. His face was covered by some wrapping, and only his eyes could be seen.

"Ewan, how the mission in the desert? Did you just get back?"

"Yeah, I did Darius. It went well thanks, I even brought you back a souvenir, but I'll give it to you later."

"Yeah, I've got something to do in the city right now. Oh, this is Xander by the way; he just joined the Guild today."

"Hey Xander, it's a pleasure to meet you." Ewan said, extending a hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Ewan." Xander said, gripping his hand, immediately swallowing and taking a step back.

Ewans' grip was firm, and he squeezed Xanders' hand as he looked directly into the eyes of the larger man. Even though he was only looking into the eye slits, Xander felt as though Ewan was looking into his soul. Ewan was trying to pressure Xander into submission with his handshake, to show who the superior of the two was. The air around them seemed to thicken, and Darius saw a yellow glow, sort of like an aura, emanating from Ewan, almost enveloping Xander. Xander struggled for a bit, swallowing again, but steeled himself, and recovered from the loss. After recovering from the initial shock, something within Xander snapped, and he refused to bow down to Ewan. Xander started to squeeze Ewans' hand, and cancelled his step back by taking a step forward. He then looked down, and focused his gaze into Ewans' eyes. The light that came out from the eye slits of the mask slowly started turning from white to black, as Xander stepped forward again, increasing the pressure of his grip. That was what Darius had hoped Xander would do, but would be shocked to see what happened next; Xanders' own aura came out from behind him, and started fighting back, pushing Ewans' aura back. A shockwave pushed outwards in a circle from where they were standing, causing the clothes of all 3 men to flutter about, as Xanders' aura kept pushing to gain space. Black and Yellow were clashing for dominance, as the two shook hands. As the two auras were almost the same size, sharing the same amount of space, Darius had to step in, before Ewan got serious.

"Well Ewan, if you'll excuse us, Xander and I have to get going; there's something I want to show him." Darius said, snapping the two of them out of their little scuffle.

"Oh, okay then; please, don't let me keep you. Welcome to the Guild Xander, and I hope you do well. Have a good one, and I'll see you later Darius." Ewan said, placing more emphasis on Darius' name, letting Xander know he was on a 1st name basis with the Guild Master.

"Thanks Ewan, I'll see you around. By the Darius, what exactly are we going to see?"

That sentence stopped Ewan in his tracks. He was at the base of the stairs, and couldn't believe his ears. He waited for Darius' reply.

"Stop asking me, I'm not going to tell you until we get there! Now follow me, I'll take you to our ride."

'What the fuck?! Who is that guy?! Why is he on a 1st name basis with Darius, on his 1st day as a Guild member?! Where did he come from?! WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED HERE?!!"

Xander followed Darius out the front door, and they made their way to some covered parking.

"Um Darius, did something happen back there? Ewans' handshake didn't seem all that friendly; just who was he?"

"Ewan is one of the Elite of the Guild. In fact, among the Elite, he is one of the best. He's ridiculously strong, but also just as intelligent as he is strong. It really is a powerful combination, and he's one of those who I regularly dine with."

"Oh I see, well he did seem strong—"

"You don't understand just how well you did. Ewan tried to dominate you, and standing up to him was good enough, but you actually started to push him back, even though you aren't at your normal strength level, which is extremely impressive. I really didn't expect you to push him back with your aura, but understand that Ewan is really much stronger than you are right now, so it wouldn't be a good idea to try that again. But take heart in the fact that you pushed as much as you did."

Xander didn't know how to take the news, as he didn't even know that he had pushed back; he just refused to lie down.

"So where is our ride Darius?"

"Right here." Darius said, stopping abruptly.

Xander looked down, at a massive vehicle. It had 4 wheels, and was made of metal and what not. Xander opened the passenger door, and was greeted by large leather seats, and wood, and screens, and buttons. He removed his sword from his back, pushed the seat back as far as it went, and climbed in, holding onto the sword, while having the tip rest on the floor. Darius got in, and pressed a button. All of a sudden, the vehicle came to life, and made a humming sound, while multiple screens turned on, and holographic images were displayed everywhere.

"This is some confusing shit Darius."

"Tell me about it! I no longer look at any of it; I just get in and drive!" This made them both laugh, and Darius drove out from under the cover, and drove out of the front gate of the Guild. As Xander looked around, he noticed many apartment buildings, and was about to inquire about them, before Darius spoke