The First Dragon of Marble

The next day I woke up later than I wanted. I sit up in bed and head to the bathroom to perform the sacred act of relieving my bladder. Once done I sit on the chair at the desk and close my eyes. “Invoke Personal Scroll” I think and check my status. 

            “Okay so it seems resting or sleeping rids myself of the status effect of exhaustion. To be honest I feel better than when I first hatched so…progress I suppose. My wounds are healed as well only leaving scars. I think endurance attribute has something to do with that. Or maybe the question mark by human is what affects the healing of my body. Time will tell, first I need to go to the Adventurer’s guild. According to the group in the forest they were doing a job for the guild so maybe I can to and use it to get stronger… At least that is what happens in books.”

            Done thinking and a way to move forward I don my clothes and bag to head out. I open the door to see the same short woman from before with her fist ready to knock. Surprised she steps back. “Ah sorry miss I was about to head out. Can I help you with something?” “Umm…” “Miss?” She was just staring at me which for one who didn’t like to stand out I am starting to get annoyed by all the staring though I suppose I’ll have to get used to it after what I saw in the mirror. She finally speaks with a shy voice, “Breakfast is ready would you like it in your room or downstairs?” I almost forgot about eating. A bad habit from past so I say, “Right breakfast I forgot about that. I’ll have it downstairs if you don’t mind.” “Of course, just sit anywhere and I’ll bring it to you.” I nod and follow her downstairs. “Doesn’t she have other people to notify of breakfast?” I notice she doesn’t stop at any other room to notify others of breakfast.

            I reach the bar area downstairs and decide not to take up a table and just sit on a stool at the bar counter where Cliff was behind. “Good morning, sonny.” I furrow my brows at him calling me sonny thinking that I am too old to be called names as such but remember that I look around eighteen years of age. “Good morning, Mr. Cliff.” “What does mister mean?” He asks getting a confused look from me. “I have been hearing English since coming here. Has some words been lost, or meanings changed. I guess that would make sense. 125,000 years has passed since I was last alive. Just more shit that has changed.” I wipe the confusion from my face and say, “It’s an honorific where I come from to show general respect to someone.”

            He puts his hand under his trunk where I assume a chin is hiding and makes a face in thought. “Ah… you mean like how we say lord or lady for the nobles?” I nod but add, “Yes, but where I come from mister and miss are used for everyone not including family and close friends. We didn’t have lords or ladies or nobles for that matter.” He looks at me with wide eyes. I was about to ask why he was looking at me like that when the short woman from before struggles to put my plate of food on the counter. “Oh, thank you, miss…I never got your name I’m sorry.” She blushes and says, “My name is Helen.” She looks at Cliff and sees he is still staring at me with wide eyes. “What’s wrong Cliff?” she asks which snaps him out of his stupor. “Ah nothing just something Ladon said that caught me off guard.” I raise an eyebrow at him and ask, “What did I say to catch you off guard?”

            Cliff scratches his trunk and shrugs, “Humans don’t show much respect for the other races.” “Why?” I ask. Helen sits next to me and speaks up, “Not all humans discriminate especially here in the Kingdom of Akan which welcomes all races but there are still cases of discrimination. Even here in Melcox which is a trade hub. Minks get it worse than us dwarves though.” At her last sentence she looks at Cliff with a sad face. I try to let them know I am not like most saying, “Well I have learned to respect everyone regardless of race, religion, or creed as long as they earn it. Cliff, you have been nothing but accommodating to me, a stranger, with fair trade. The same goes for you Helen course it helps you are cute.” I smile at Helen who blushes.

            Cliff chuckles, “Haha…well enough of social thinking. What do you have plan today Ladon?” I tell him about heading to the guild and finding a job because when I checked the leather pouch of coins I only had about ten bronze coins left and judging by the price of the inn stay that isn’t much. We chatted about the different monsters in the area and about the quests that they overhear from the adventurers that stay in the inn. “Well barkeep,” I turn to Helen and bow a little, “my lady I need to get going. Coin waits for no one, and I have come to like your establishment and company, so I need to go make some more.” I stand up and walks towards the door with my bag with the spears strapped to it.

            As I walk out the door, I hear Helen say, “Good luck, Ladon.” I smile and say thank you and walks towards the Adventure’s guild which is a couple buildings down from the Drunken Elephant. I walk up to the building that has a sign that says, “Adventure’s Guild” and below that a motto is written, “For the ones who seek adventure and have the bravery to seek out the forces of the unknown.”  “That would lure in any bored teen.” I mutter as I shake my head. I open the door and see various people of different races all with weapons and amor varying in leather and metal amor.

            I look around and see a long counter with uniform people standing behind them talking with adventurers in line. I see a short line and get in line. Once again, I can see other people staring at me. I ignore them and eventually reach the receptionist which was an older human woman. “Hello sir, my name is Sherry. How can I help you?” I smile and say, “Well I would like to know more about the adventure’s guild and possibly register…” I was about to give the metal dog tags but realized I may be connected to the massive crater in the forest. I decide to hold on to it until I take a job in the forest and say I came across his body then turn it in.

            She gives me a business-like smile and says, “Well the Adventure’s Guild is a middleman for clients from anything from mana cores, monster parts, escorts, etc. All jobs are posted on the board.” She points to the far wall with a few people looking at it before continuing, “Adventurers are ranked from lowest being F to highest being S. Jobs can only be accepted according to rank or below rank. This is to ensure that appropriate strength and experience are assigned to jobs to ensure lives are not wasted. Teams of adventurers with different ranks are assessed to determine the rank of the party and can take appropriate rank jobs.”

            Sherry finishes her introduction speech into the guild and waits for me to speak. “This does sound like a good job for me at the moment. Though the Adventurer’s Guild being the middleman probably means taking some of the reward from a job as a fee…Fuck it. I need money and they seem to like to ensure the safety of their employees as best they can judging by the ranks.” I look at her and smile, “Well the Adventurer’s Guild sounds good to me I would like to register ma’am.” She smiles and says, “Great, here is a registration form.”

            The form asked for basic information and what weapons I use. I haven’t seen any rifles of any sort since arriving in the city so I can rule out guns. I was mostly using spears and a knife when I was in the forest. I write down shield and spear for my main weapons and axe for my secondary weapon. I didn’t write down knives because I would rather not use them but could be used as backup-to-backup weapons. There was another section for labeled magic. I write N/A because I have yet to learn how to wield magic. I pass the form back to Sherry and she nods before saying, “At noon there will be a ranking assessment for new adventurers. You will show your skills in combat and knowledge of monsters, herbs, magic, tracking, and so on.”

            I nod and say thank you before stepping away to find a seat since noon wasn’t far away. Soon the new adventurers were called by another guild employee. Before we were led to the training ground and tested for our combat prowess first, the employee brought out a Scroll of Law to make sure none of us were criminals and to verify names on a list.  They let us choose the weapons with dull edges wrapped in cloth. I pick up a spear and shield and move towards a man who was a wolf mink. He looks like a wolf only bipetal with the paws shaped more towards a human’s hands. He had blue fur, ears, and tail with muscles clearly showing holding only a sword. “Hello young one, my name is Beau, I see you chose a shield and spear. May I ask why?” His voice is low with a few growl noises after some words. “Must be because of his snout and vocal cords.” I reply to his question, “Well I’m not used weapons of hand-to-hand combat nor am I any good with a bow so I figured the short spear would be the better choice. The spear keeps multiple enemies at bay while the shield can be used to defend better than just having a spear. I plan to have an axe as backup since I have no experience in swords either plus, I may have to throw the spear.”

            The man nods and says, “Good, you know your limits and don’t go straight to a weapon that would require training to get a good handle on. I’m impressed. Now let’s test your effectiveness in combat. What is your name before we start?” I get into a defensive stance and state, “My name is Ladon sir, it is nice to meet you Mr. Beau.” A little confused by the word mister, Beau gets into a combat stance holding his sword with one hand. He charges at me while I defend my chest with the shield and thrusting forward with my spear. He dodges and swings his sword at my shin. I bring the shield down causing the sword to divert course. I swing my spear to his forward left leg to try and trip him only for it to swatted away with the claws of his empty hand. I leap back to gain distance while he does the same.

            “So, he uses his claws as natural weapons as well. I’m sure he uses his claws more often than a sword. He must be taking it easy on me.” I thought to myself before getting into a defensive again. Beau takes his stance again and says, “Very good Ladon though I can tell you haven’t used the spear or shield before. You have good instincts to make up for that, but you need training if you want to take on more than goblins and imps.” Once again, we clash with no clear victor for ten minutes where in the end I was on the ground with the sword at my neck.

            “Ladon, you have a quite a way to go but I put your combat power around E rank. Combat power is not everything that makes up an adventurer though. It takes instinct and cleverness which you have. I’m sure you will become a fine adventurer in the future.” “Thank you, Mr. Beau.” I say as he takes my hand and pulls me up. He smiles which looks more like a snarl and says, “There are training programs with the guild I’ll be more than happy to help you.” Surprised I nod vigorously because I needed training in using the weapons that had long gone out of date. “Good, training will keep you alive. Now head over to the other assessors to gauge your knowledge in other fields of being an adventurer. Don’t worry about not the knowledge part you’ll at least be an E rank.” I nod and head over to the other stations to be assessed on my knowledge of monsters, herbs, magic, tracking, and other aspects of an adventurer.

            The sun was now low in the sky signaling night was approaching when we finished. The assessors called each of us by name and handed dog tags with our name and rank. I received the rank of E like Beau said, not surprising since I know nothing about monsters or magic. I knew a little about simple tracking and herbs. When everyone had their dog tags a dwarf started speaking.

            “Good evening new adventurers. My name is Jon, and I am the Guild Head for the Melcox branch. I will keep this short so you can go about your day. The guild offers training for a fee in various weapons and a little training in offensive and defensive magic. Though we do not require you to participate in training, it is highly recommended for new adventurers. Also, there is a small library in the guild that has books and reports of monsters and herbs in the area and beyond. If you are new to the area or simply do not know much about monsters or herbs it is advisable to broaden your knowledge. For those who needs weapons the guild rents out equipment for a fee. Now as your Guild Head for Melcox I welcome you into the Adventurer’s Guild and as our motto goes, we welcome those who seek adventure and have the bravery to seek out the forces of the unknown.” The Guild Head waves and walks back into the building.

            Everyone starts to disperse talking with each other making plans to team up for their upcoming jobs. I avoid the people trying to ask me to join because right now I am not up to trusting anyone. It may be trauma from my past but to me it feels like it happened only a few days ago. I enter the building again and before going back to the inn I ask Sherry who was still at the counter to use the library. “Of course, though we will be closing the building down by nightfall which is in a couple of hours. The fee is fifty copper coins, and no books are allowed to be taken out.” I nod and give her a bronze coin and she gives me fifty copper coins in return. “So, one hundred copper coins equals one bronze coin. I’m sure there are other types of coins. I need to find out how money works in this new economy.” I say to myself in my head as I follow Sherry to the library.

            We reach the library on the second floor, and I look around. It was medium sized room with one window at the far wall and bookshelves took up the walls. Placards were placed to help find certain topics such as monsters, flora, fauna, history, and dungeons. I head to the monster section to learn as much as I could before the guild closes to have a better idea what is around the area. I plan on taking a job tomorrow morning to earn money and levels as fast as possible. Time flew by as I skimmed through a book with reports of the different types of monsters and beasts in the surrounding area that the city of Melcox’s influence. I hear a knock on the as Sherry comes into the library. “The Guild is closing now Ladon.” I nod and grab my bag and head back to the Drunken Elephant.

            I enter the inn and see it more crowded with people than when I first arrived yesterday. Cliff waves me to the bar where I drop my bag next to me and sit on stool. “How was the guild Ladon?” Cliff asks me while putting my meal that I already paid for in front of me. “It was good, all I got out of it is testing my fighting skills and the library for today.” I take a bite of the chicken looking meat and sip the rather pleasing taste of ale. “Library huh. Not many new adventurers go straight to the library, they instead head straight out on a job.” I figured having better knowledge of would-be enemies that I have no clue about besides the biases I may have from games about monsters would be better. “Yeah well, when I was in the army I was taught, its best to have as much information as possible about your enemies before planning missions. As they say, knowledge is power.” Cliff looks at me confused so I ask, “What? Is it so uncommon for adventurers to have some common sense?” He chuckles and says, “No. No. Most adventurers learn that quick after a couple of jobs. What I am confused about is that said you were in the army, but you don’t look much older than sixteen.” I just look at him with a smirk before changing the topic panicking in my head by my mistake of mentioning I was in the army. “Where is Miss Helen?”

            Taking the hint that I didn’t want to talk about it he says, “Oh she has the night off. I don’t like to run my employees ragged. She has been working for ten days straight already.” I caught a hint of worry behind his statement and decided not to pry. I have to many things on my plate to worry about anyone else right now. “Two ales, Cliff!” another patron of the inn yells at the bar so he goes to fill the order. I finish my food and say good night to Cliff and head to my room upstairs. I drop my bag by the bed and take a shower. Once done I lay down tired from the tests. “Tomorrow I’ll probably stay in the forest to save money while taking on jobs.” I say to myself before in invoke my personal scroll.

            “Hmm…so no level ups from training it seems. I remember the notifications say soul essences. I guess I must kill to gather essence to level up. Jesus, the world has turned even more bloodthirsty than the past if that is true. Well, it’s only been a day and it’s not counting the feats and titles that might affect people’s attributes. Ahhh… to much is unknown to me. How am I supposed to survive? Haa…calm down Ladon it’ll take time to acclimate.” I shut down my brain and try to sleep for the struggles ahead are sure to multiply.