Sarah's Story Chapter 019 - Beth and Mr Tenns

Sarah’s heart sank with each question. Questions about laws, questions about the city’s layout, questions about monsters, questions about other Classes, a math question, and so on. She got the sense that after the first few questions in each section, Beth was just skipping the rest.

It made her want to cry. Just a little.

What had she been doing all her life if this was the expectation for new entries into the Adventurers Guild?

Her father and mother had been training her as a Brawler, and her fight in the bar last night had given her a little confidence that she could hold her own, but now…

She felt like she didn’t know anything at all.

Towards the end there were a few hypothetical questions about fighting; actually, as the questions kept coming, there were more questions about fighting than the entire rest of the exam put together.

Beth wasn’t skipping any of this section. Sarah felt grateful for that. Even though for some of her answers, Beth raised her eyebrows just the slightest bit, probably unconsciously, before writing down a note. What was weird about sitting on top of the tallest wagon in a caravan while protecting it? That would be the best vantage point.

At the end Beth put her sheet of paper away back under the desk and folded up her notes from Sarah’s answers. Sarah couldn’t help but gaze at it with a sad frown on her face, but Beth’s voice pulled her eyes away.

“Sarah, dear.”

Sarah looked up at Beth’s face, which had a kind expression on it.

“Have you never taken a test before?”

“Er, no, I haven’t…”

“Well, let me just be clear that you passed.”

“I passed?!” Sarah couldn’t help but exclaim, shocked.

Beth giggled elegantly. “Of course dear, I said from the start it was an assessment. You can’t help but pass. It’s only so that the Guild knows your capabilities and what training to recommend before you advance to E Rank.” Her eyes dropped down for a moment to look at the folded piece of paper. “Still, though, you did exceptionally well on the section regarding combat. I’ll make sure that your combat assessor is made aware before you begin.”

Beth turned to the wall, and Sarah followed her gaze. There was a round plate on the wall with little sticks attached. “Well, it’s getting close to lunch time. We’ve already sent a messenger to find your mother and get her approval for your application, so let’s take a break for now while I go find Mr. Tenns to conduct your combat assessment. Do you need a recommendation for food nearby? I’m sorry to say our bar isn’t open for lunch, and the day’s bread from the Baker’s Guild…” Beth shuddered. “Not quite edible, today.”

Sarah shook her head. “No, thank you, my mother packed me a lunch,” she explained.

Beth nodded. “Very well, feel free to take a seat here in the Guildhall or go where you will, just be sure to return by one o’clock.”

“Uh, sure, I’ll just take a seat here. Thanks.” Sarah wasn’t sure what Beth meant by that last statement, but she figured if she just stayed here, she’d be ready as soon as this ‘Mr. Tenns’ arrived.

She sat down at an empty part of the long table, and her [Danger Sense] flared for a moment when one of the men who had been casting glances in her direction shifted in his seat, but when she turned to look at him directly he froze, his face paled, and he sat back down.

In fact, all of his companions looked a bit pale. Were they eating the free bread?

Sarah decided to be a little wary of things offered without charge from now on.

She unwrapped her lunch: a set of sandwiches cut into cute triangles, and two apples. They were delicious, and she felt a tension she hadn’t known she’d been carrying start to unwind in her shoulders. Yeah, she was in a strange place, surrounded by strangers, but her mother was just a couple miles across town, and anyway, Sarah was an adult! She had a Class and she could handle anything this city threw at her!

She was a level two Brawler, after all.

Time passed and most of the men and women in the bar area filtered out. A tall, skinny young man covered in dust and sweat walked quickly into the guildhall, but he simply dropped off a piece of paper, spoke a moment with Tiffany, and then quickly walked out again with several new pieces of paper.

Eventually it had been long enough that Sarah was officially bored, and considering doing some training exercises just to kill time, when Tiffany called her from the reception desk.

“Sarah. Sarah! Sorry for the wait, Mr. Tenns is ready for you out back!”

Sarah quickly got to her feet. “Thanks Tiffany. Uh…”

“You just go out the front door and around the building to the left. There’s a large yard out there, you can’t miss him!”

“Okay, thanks!” Sarah replied and walked out the front door. She heard the faintest sound behind her as she did, was that… a sigh of relief?

Sarah shook her head to refocus. That didn’t matter, she needed to get ready for this assessment.

The Adventurers Guild Headquarters sat on a fairly large plot of land compared to the cramped buildings around it, and was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence, although it lacked a gate. The front yard was small and nothing but bare, packed earth. Weeds grew along the side of the building as she walked down the wide path between the fence and the walls of the building, and she quickly realized it wasn’t just one building, but several. The front building was the tallest, and smaller, simpler buildings huddled up against it out of sight from the main road. Beyond all these was a broad open yard, some fifty yards long and wide.

Standing there was Beth next to a man bulging with muscle, wearing only cloth shorts. His body was smeared with dirt, or was that dried mud? It looked oddly appropriate on him. He had close cropped brown hair, less than an inch long, and was clean shaven. Mud was smeared on his face as well. Sarah couldn’t help but grin: this man didn’t look afraid of a scrap.

She quickly shook her head again. Where had that thought come from? She schooled her expression and walked up to Beth and the man, finding that he completely dwarfed her in height and width.

“Welcome, Sarah. Sorry for the wait.” Beth nodded her head politely at Sarah, with her hands clasped in front of her waist.

“It’s quite alright, thank you.” Sarah nodded back, feeling like she needed to match Beth’s politeness.

The large man stood with his hands on his hips, looking Sarah up and down.

“And this,” Beth said gesturing to the man, “is Mr. Tenns.”

Mr. Tenns nodded, “Well met, Sarah. Is it tr–”

“Just a moment.” Beth twirled her finger around, and although she didn’t say her Skill out loud, Sarah could sense it take hold on the area around the three of them.

Mr. Tenns clapped a hand over his mouth. “Ah, sorry. We good now?”

Beth nodded. “Yes, but before you get into it, Sarah.” Beth turned to face Sarah directly, and Sarah gulped nervously. “We received word from your mother that she consents to your application. So as soon as you complete your combat assessment–”

“No need,” Mr. Tenns interrupted. “She’s approved. You can have Tiff start the paperwork immediately.”

Beth turned and raised an eyebrow at him. “Without assessment?”

“No, we’ll still hold the assessment, but based on my [Survival Instinct], there’s not a doubt in my mind that she’ll clear E Rank, maybe even D Rank.”

Beth smiled tightly and narrowed her eyes. “In that case, we’ll wait for the assessment results to start the paperwork.”

Mr. Tenns blanched, and raised a hand from his hip, palm out. “Ah, sorry, I’ll leave that up to you.”

The man turned to Sarah. “As I was saying, is it true? Your combat class is Brawler?”

Sarah nodded.

“Fascinating. My class is Survivalist, and I’ve never had someone fresh from Choosing Day set my skills off this hard before. Beth tells me you’re level two?”

Sarah covered her mouth with her hand. “Yes, that’s right.”

“So you’ve already seen some combat?”

“Yes, I got in a bar fight last night and got a level there.”

Mr. Tenns’ expression tightened into a frown. “Any deaths?”

Sarah was shocked. “Huh? No, of course not.”

“Any injuries?” he continued.

“No! I mean, I knocked a guy out, but he came to a couple hours later and he was fine!”

“Property damage?”

“Mr. Tenns.” Beth finally interrupted. “Is this really relevant to the assessment?”

The man turned stiffly to the prim and proper woman, hand covering his mouth. “It’s for my own safety, but no, I suppose the property damage isn’t relevant here in the yard. You… you don’t feel it?”

Sarah tilted her head, not sure what he was talking about.

“No, I don’t ‘feel it’ any more than with any other strong adventurer who walks through our doors.”

Mr. Tenns shook his head slowly. “You might want some more training yourself, Beth.”

“Duly noted,” Beth replied tightly. “The assessment?”

“Ah, yeah, sorry.” Mr. Tenns nodded apologetically to Beth and turned back to Sarah, one hand on his hip and the other covering his mouth. “Sorry, Brawler Sarah. Let me explain the assessment.”