Enlightenment Through BDSM

I wasn’t really sure how I’d missed it, but the building Kalia was undoubtedly referring to was enormous. I’d seen it from the walk in, the tallest building in the town by far, but I’d thought it was just one clock tower. Below that lone white tower though the building sprawled out with no rhyme or reason, spreading out into numerous streets from the town square we found ourselves in. The most disturbing part were the hanging portions, section of white stone that jutted out from the second and third floors with no support, large enough to be entire building themselves if they were disconnected, seeming to beg to collapse off the main structure and onto the people walking beneath them like nothing was wrong.

“That cannot be safe,” I said, stopping in my tracks as I stared up. It certainly wasn’t as tall as the buildings I was used to in cities back home, but the five or six story tower still looked intimidating with all those terrifying offshoots.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Kalia said, grabbing ahold of my wrist and pulling me forward.

“They’re gonna fall! There’s no supports!”

“If that were true, they already would have. You have to remember there’s magic here.”

“Magic,” I said. It was obviously true, but that wasn’t going to make getting use to things any easier. “I’m still not quite sure I’m not dreaming.”

“Me either, but even in a dream it’s best to just go along.” She was right, I guessed.  

Aside from the offshoots, both grounded and airborne, the building looked normal enough, had a large door that I guessed made sense for a structure of its size, and as we walked in to the sound of a ringing bell I realized the inside wasn’t quite as strange as the facade. It was large, still unlike anything I’d seen, but at least in the realm of something I could imagine, wood floors, plenty of long benches like you’d find in a cafeteria. Honestly, it reminded me kind of like a medieval version of a student center with the various tables, numerous bulletin boards, a counter people were pulling food from, the raucous laughter and cheers competing with general conversation being held at shouting volume.

If there was one thing that this hall had my old student center beat in though, it was diversity. I didn’t exactly go to a homogenous school, but this building was bustling with all sorts of things I’d never imagined, Elves and Felyn and Orcs like I’d seen already, Human-looking people of all sizes and colors, hair in every color of the rainbow. There were also people I didn’t have the knowledge to put names or labels on at all, a guy that looked like he was part fox in the way I was part cat, a couple of people with scales all over their body and thick reptile tales, even a man with what looked to be angel wings on his back off in the corner, surrounded by over a dozen people laughing and drinking out of large tankards.

“I thought I’d seen them all,” I muttered as Kalia and I walked towards the center of the room, a large reception desk carved out of what looked to be a giant pillar with a winding staircase going up it. 

“What?” she asked, yelling over the crowd.

“There’s still so many types of people!” I said.

“Oh, yeah, that’s the Guild for you. We’re in a Human kingdom, so the locals are mostly Human themselves, but adventurers travel by nature.” 

Things did seem to quiet down remarkably as we approached the reception counter, almost unnatural so. No, it was definitely unnatural, a gradual process for a couple of steps, and then almost complete silence as we reached the deck itself.

“Greetings,” a young woman dressed in a black and white uniform said with a small bow. She almost looked like a flight attendant to me, for some reason. “Welcome to the Guild. I’m Alise; how may I help you two today?”

“We need work, but she’s also newly Reborn,” Kalia said, as she presented her card in a burst of flames. 

Alise took the card with both hands and another bow, eyebrows perking up as she read it. “Oh, of course Lady Kaliasthar! My I have your card as well, Miss?”

“Sure,” I said, my hand going to my back pocket. I winced as I realized that actually there was no back pocket, that I was grabbing my own ass for no reason, and then pivoted to just holding out my hand, closing my eyes as I produced the card from the fire.

“Alrighty then,” the lady said as she took it, looked it over, blinked three times, turned it over to look at the blank back side, turned it back over again. “Huh…”

“Is something wrong?” I said, looking to Kalia for reassurance. 

“Oh, no, sorry, it’s just— well, I’ve never seen a Job quite like this before.” Kalia giggled into her hand as I puffed my cheeks. Was this going to be every conversation with a new person? “Anyway, I can get you registered right away. What’s you’re name?”

“Mai,” I said.

“Any last name?”

Last name? Well, my Dad’s name wasn’t going to cut it in this strange world I was pretty sure. “Uhm, is no last name okay?”

“Of course,” Alise said, taking a quill from her desk and taking it to my card. She didn’t write on it though, just tapped it a single time, and fire wrote out the letters itself. “All settled,” she said as she handed the card back to me with another bow, deeper this time. “Welcome back, Mai, and thank you for your service in both the past and future.”

“Thank you,” I replied, looking back down at the card. My name was there now, emblazoned in the same red ink as the rest of the card, same handwriting too—or font? I wasn’t sure.

“Is there any quick work you know of that’s available for the two of us?” Kalia asked, looking off in the distance.

“Oh, just the two of you?” Alise said, her face darkening a bit. “I’m not sure if there’s anything you would meet the requirements for, but the workboard is just on that wall.”

“Of course,” Kalia said, giving a polite smile. 

“Will you two be needing lodging tonight?”

“Maybe later,” Kalia said. “Thank you for everything though. May your evenings be bright.”

“Yours as well,” Alise responded as Kalia turned away.

“What’s the thing about bright evenings?” I asked as I hurried to catch up. I wasn’t used to having shorter legs.

“Just how lots of people say bye here,” Kalia said. Her eyes were straight ahead, focused, distracted. I wanted to say something, but what? She was the cool one, the knowledgeable one, the one that had everything figured out. 

“Dreck didn’t say it,” I eventually decided on, not really addressing the problem, whatever it was.

“He’s not much for politeness.”

“I can hear you, ya know,” a gruff voice said from the bench we were walking by. Both of us turned, both seeing Dreck sitting there with what looked to be a gallon sized mug of beer.

“Oh, Dreck,” Kalia said as she stopped. “I didn’t expect to see you—”

“At the Adventurer’s Guild workboard?” he said, smirking as he brought his drink to his mouth. 

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Kalia finished. 

“Well, we’re both piss broke, ain’t we? Only makes sense we end up here.”

“Broke?” I asked as Kalia glared at Dreck. 

“I’m not broke, and the flagon of ale at your lips suggests you aren’t either.”

“On the contrary, this flagon of ale be the reason I’m broke,” Dreck said, smiling as he took another long swig. “You’re out of luck if you want two person work, by the way, or if you want to join up with someone for the afternoon. All the day laborers left this morning, apparently.”

“Fuck,” Kalia said, sighing and slumping her shoulders. “Can’t we get a break?”

I felt like shit, standing there with that yellow dress in my hands. I wasn’t sure how much money Kalia had spent on it, and I got that I needed clothes, but did I really need two outfits? Armor? Was I really just going to be burden here, just like back home?

“There’s one opportunity though,” Dreck said, pulling out a crumpled flyer from his pocket and slamming it onto the table. “Rabbit hunting, levels 1-2, party size 3-4.” 

Kalia and I stared down at the poster. I was surprised once more I could read it, but surprised even more at how cute the rabbit drawing in the picture was!

“Are you saying you’ll come?” Kalia asked.

Dreck shrugged. “I grabbed it, didn’t I? We both need work, and I knew you two’d be coming this way soon enough. This is the last time for real though, understand?”

Kalia nodded. There was a glint of happiness in her eye that had been missing since we’d entered the building, one I was more than happy to see. “One last ride, for old time’s sake.”

Dreck grunted, dumping the rest of his drink down his throat and slamming the glass on the table. “Well then, let’s get going, and hope the cat here doesn’t get eaten.”

“Eaten?” I said.