Glendon

Gwen and Kai passed under the massive portcullis raised over the Southern gate of Glendon's city walls and gawked at the sight before them.

Hundreds of people mulled through the streets this morning, carrying sacks, pushing wheelbarrows, pulling carts, hawking wares; it seemed like each street was a river, itself branching into alleys and paths like tributaries off the main trunk.

Kai, sullen from hearing the fate of Cloud Level, seemed to lighten a bit at the sight of the many foreign wares in the marketplace. 

"Gwen, look at this. Knives made for throwing! Have you ever heard of such a thing?" 

The shopkeeper urged the pair to try throwing them at a target, apparently unaware that he spoke with the two poorest people in town. 

Kai's knife missed wide and he cringed as it embedded itself into the side of a neighboring stall.

Gwen hit a perfect bullseye, and threw another that embedded itself into the handle of the first.

The shopkeeper's eyebrows seemed ready to leap from his face, but before he could say a word Gwen had pulled Kai away toward a fountain in the center of the market.

"Faye said we should search for the adventurers' guild. How does anyone find anything in a place like this?"

Suddenly, a group of three gruff men in armor with large swords on their backs turned to the duo.

"Oy, lad and lass, ye be lookin' for the guild, no?" a bearded man with a scarred face asked. "We always be scouting for new and healthy recruits. I know ye menks know a thing or two about fightin', no?"

"They're MUNKS, Gar, not MENKS," a second scruffy warrior chimed in. His armor had a bulge built in to accommodate his belly.

"Oh shove off will ye Tag, what'er he is he has the heart of the warrior, I can feel it," Gar replied while poking Kai in the chest with a fat finger.

"I do want to be a warrior!" Kai shouted back. "I think I do, anyways. What is a warrior?"

Gwen rolled her eyes and slinked away quietly. Kai had gotten the men to gloating. She would catch up with him later.

First she needed to backtrack a few alleys, to a storefront with no sign. A familiar storefront.

○○○

A small, one-story shop lay in front of Gwen within a shaded alley. The door was purple. This felt significant, but Gwen wasn't sure why.

She pushed open the door slowly, revealing a room illuminated by lamps of blue flame that housed crowded tables full of magical wares. Wands and staves sat in vases in corners, flanked by tables covered in amulets, trinkets, and the occasional blade or piece of clothing. 

An appraisal shop.

"Gwen, it is always a pleasure to see you," a voice chimed from a hunched, robed figure in the back corner of the shop. "The usual stat appraisal for you?"

Cautiously, Gwen approached the robed figure. She couldn't remember anything about this man. His magical aura gave off a sickening smell, like burnt hair and blood. 

He was certainly a follower of the Ashen Prince. Gwen's hand instinctively felt her dagger.

"Yes."

"Very well. It has been some time since I have seen you, I trust you are working hard for our Lord." 

She was still unsure of the meaning of "stat appraisal," but if she had done it before then it may help her to understand her past.

The hunched man pulled back his hood, revealing that he was a halfling. Gwen stifled a gasp - she had never seen one in person. 

"Your head, Gwen? Come now."

Gwen bowed her head toward the halfling obediently, who placed his hands on her temples. A piece of parchment in front of him began to glow and write words on its own in bright blue ink.

After a few minutes the writing ended. The halfling sat back down and handed Gwen the page.

"Well?" he asked as Gwen reviewed the information.

[Level 64 Human.

Classes: Level 60 Rogue, Level 4 Monk

Specialization: Assassin

Weapon Masteries: Dagger Master, Longbow Master, Improvised Weapon Master, Thrown Weapon Master, Unarmed Intermediate.

Bloodline Trait: Chameleon

Skills: Shadow Blade, Assassinate, Shadow Rush, Snipe…]

Her skills continued for a while.

Gwen wasn't sure what this information meant. The monks measured their progression through training bouts and discussion. Was this how the rest of the world measured it? And what did Bloodline trait mean?

"Been training with the monks, have you? I hear they hold a secret to gaining masses of experience without killing," the halfling sneered. His teeth were black. "You are only 16 levels behind Isshin, and 34 behind the Ashen Prince himself. Very impressive for a girl!"

'Assassin?' This specialization was reviled as a traitor to humanity. 

The halfling's aura was making Gwen feel nauseous. She needed to leave before he realized something was amiss.

She headed for the front door without another word, and had almost made it before the halfling called out again from the darkness.

"May our Lord rise." 

Gwen repeated it back as she knew was tradition. She was surprised how calm the phrase made her feel. 

○○○

"Gwen, I am glad you are back, look at me!" 

Kai was clad in a suit of plate armor with a large broadsword on his back.

"Those men from earlier got these for me! They say it is only for beginners but I feel powerful already!"

Gwen smiled for Kai as she looked over his new equipment. 

"Where is your robe, Kai?" 

He grimaced as if Gwen had suddenly called rain from the sunny sky. 

"I do not need the robe anymore. We are no longer monks.

"They were too weak to save themselves, Gwen. That would never happen to those warriors.

"Even you carry weapons now. I have noticed," he gestured to Gwen's waist where the dagger and empty quiver hung. 

Gwen sighed but accepted his words. She couldn't bring herself to tell him about her appraisal. 

How could she tell Kai that she was made for killing other humans?

"Let's just go to the guild, Kai."