Sarah's Story Chapter 018 - Application

Several minutes later, a woman in her late twenties came out with Tiffany trailing behind her. She also wore a long skirt and a plain white blouse, but made of significantly better fabric and with better stitching than Tiffany’s, and her hair was pulled back into the same tight bun.

She reached the counter and smiled. Tiffany stood a step behind her and to the side, also smiling, but with visible strain.

“Hi, Sarah, is it? My name is Beth. Do you mind if I…?” She made a twirling movement with her finger and Sarah nodded.

“Yes, I’d appreciate it.”

“Of course. [Private Conversation].”

Sarah could feel the Skill even more strongly than when Tiffany had done it.

“There, now nobody in the city should be able to overhear us, but just in case, do cover your lips like me.” Beth put a hand elegantly her mouth, blocking it from view. Sarah copied her. “Good, now no lip reading skills will work either. Now, Sarah, Tiffany here tells me you might be interested in registering with the Guild, and that you’d like training to help you obtain a second class to find your missing brother.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Sarah replied, feeling a little silly covering her mouth like this. Beth showed no discomfort at all and continued.

“Very well, and she also tells me that your Class is Brawler. Is that true?”

Sarah nodded. “Yes, why?”

Beth ignored her question. “And you said your mentor is your mother?”

Sarah nodded again. “Yes…”

Beth turned to Tiffany, who was flushed red and also covering her mouth with her hand like Beth and Sarah were. “And now, Tiffany, do you see why it is Guild Receptionists must be impeccable in their etiquette and interpersonal skills, and be nothing less than perfectly polite?”

“Yes ma’am,” Tiffany said meekly.

“And do you understand why studying the Big Book of Rare and Unusual Classes is so critical as a Guild Receptionist, so that you can recognize these situations immediately and come to me right away?”

“Yes ma’am.” Tiffany shrank on herself even further.

Beth narrowed her eyes. “I’m not entirely sure that you do, but observe the rest of this registration procedure silently.” Beth then turned to Sarah with a smile. “As long as you consent, of course. Is it alright with you if Tiffany observes as part of her training?”

Sarah blinked. “Uh, sure, that’s fine.”

“Wonderful, thank you so much, Sarah.”

“Um, can I ask what exactly is going on…?” Sarah asked.

“Of course. You see, the Brawler Class is both Rare and Unusual,” Beth said as if that was supposed to mean something, “and the Guild has standing orders in regards to Brawlers.”

“Is… that a bad thing?” Sarah asked, worried.

“Oh no no no!” Beth said quickly. “No, not a bad thing at all! The Guild is quite happy to induct Brawlers into our ranks. It just requires a minor alteration on our part for the entrance exam to accurately rank your abilities. And, well…”

Beth paused, searching for the right words.

“There are… well, warnings passed around the Guild branches about certain classes, and about certain people. I’m sorry to pry, but you said your mother was your mentor… is your mother’s name Nadine?”

Sarah tilted her head to the side. “No, that’s my aunt.”

Beth’s face grew just the slightest shade more pale, although her smile remained in place behind her hand. Tiffany, on the other hand, looked like she’d seen a ghost.

“I see, then, may I ask your mother’s name?”

“It’s Helen.”

Beth nodded, and Tiffany started trembling. What the heck was going on?

“I see, from Mortimer Barony?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Tiffany.” Beth said without turning. Tiffany jumped slightly. “Did we receive notice from the city guard that Mistress Helen had arrived in the capital, on…?”

Beth looked at Sarah expectantly.

“Uh, we arrived yesterday.”

“Right, thank you.” This time Beth turned to Tiffany. “Did we receive notice that Mistress Helen arrived yesterday from the city guard?”

“N-n-no ma’am! I’m certain we didn’t!” Tiffany’s voice was high pitched and strained.

“Oh dear, please relax. That’s not your fault. Although we will need to lodge a complaint with the head of the guard…” Beth now turned back to Sarah. “But that’s nothing to do with you, dear. I just would like to reiterate that it is Guild policy and the law that your parents will be notified of your application to register with the Adventurers Guild, and out of consideration for your mother, if she objects to your registration, your application will be denied. Do you understand?”

Sarah recalled the time her mother hand single-handedly taken down a squad of knights. The night her brother had disappeared.

“Uh, yes, I understand.”

“Very good.” Beth’s smile brightened. “Allow me to reiterate, the Guild would welcome you with open arms. Brawler is quite the Class! Although, if your mentor is the Mistress Helen, then I’m afraid I don’t see why you would want training from the Guild…”

Sarah explained about her brother and how she wanted to obtain a class to help find him.

“Ah, I see.” Beth turned back to Tiffany, who although pale, had at least stopped trembling. “Tiffany, be a dear and find the request from Mortimer Barony, under missing persons, for Smith James, son of Farmer Stephen and Homemaker Helen.”

Tiffany nodded quickly. “Yes ma’am!” and she scurried off to the back of the work area, opening a drawer and flipping through documents.

Beth turned back to Sarah. “Well, my first instinct would be Scout type training, which we certainly do offer, although it’s not so much for finding people. My next thought is the Bounty Hunter class, which is unusual, but not so uncommon as to be rare. However, if I recall correctly, there aren’t any Bounty Hunters in the capital right now, and I’m sorry to say I don’t know when any may arrive. But if your registration is approved, I can certainly put in a request for training for you.”

Tiffany returned to the desk and placed a piece of paper in front of Beth, then stepped back and covered her mouth again.

“Here you are, ma’am.”

“Thank you, dear.” Beth replied, looking down and quickly reading the request. “A reward of ten silver from the parents, and another fifteen silver from the Baron himself… Interesting…” Beth looked back up at Sarah. “But I can see why this is a cold case. The last increase in the reward was over two years ago, and there’s no indication James was brought to the capital.”

Sarah nodded. “Can I add to the reward now, and would that get it posted again?”

“Yes, of course dear.”

Sarah reached into her pocket and closed her hand around three silver coins. It was all the money she had in the world, saved up from doing tasks around her village over the last two and a half years.

She placed it all the table.

“I’d like to add three silver to the reward.”

“Three silver it is. Tiffany, update the flier and post it on the board.”

“Yes ma’am.” Tiffany took the silver and the request and sat down at one of the desks and started working with a quill.

“We’ll get that posted for you immediately, Sarah. Now, I believe Tiffany explained that there is a discount on training if you register, but it isn’t a requirement. Would you like to request Scout or Bounty Hunter training by itself, or would you also like to register as an Adventurer? Just keep in mind that I cannot guarantee when a Bounty Hunter will be available or willing to give training.”

“I think I’d like to register.” Sarah replied.

“Excellent, we’re so happy to have a Brawler join us.” Beth smiled professionally and pulled out a form from under the desk. “If you could just fill this out… Or, if you’re not comfortable with a quill, I can fill it out for you.” Beth was being polite, just in case the new registrant couldn’t read or write, which was rather common.

“I think I can manage.” Sarah said, and with only minor blotches from spilling ink, filled out the form. Name, parents, address, age, classes…

“Oh, for your second class, you can just put Scout. I’ll add a note to your file for those who need to know, but this should save you some awkward questions.”

“Uh, okay, thanks.” Sarah continued to fill out the form and handed it back. “Is that it?”

“That’s it! Or, well, we’ll have to confirm this with your mother, but if you say she approves, I’m sure it won’t be a problem. The Guild just doesn’t want to… well, drama, you know?”

Sarah tilted her head, not quite sure what Beth meant by drama, but nodded anyway. Her mother was aware and fine with it, so it would be okay.

“In the meantime, since we’re both sure it’ll be fine–” Sarah found herself growing less sure with how often Beth was bringing it up. “We can continue on with the entrance exam.”

Sarah suddenly felt nervous.

“Uh, exam? I haven’t studied, I didn’t know…”

“Oh don’t worry dear, it’s an assessment. There’s no downside, at worst you’ll enter at Rank F, and I would say odds are good you’ll be approved for higher ranks in certain areas based on the results.”

“Oh. Okay…” Sarah said.

Beth smiled, and pulled out another sheet of paper from behind the desk, and stopped covering her mouth with her hand. “First question…”