Adventurers Union

I spent the next day resting before making my way to the Adventurers Union the following day for recruitment. A sign outside directed me to the visitor's chamber next to the main entrance to the Union Hall. It was filled with benches and had three windows at the back where a representative sat at each. The one on the right had a sign above it that read, 'Recruit Sign up.'

I joined the small line and waited for my turn. Most of those sitting around the room were wearing light armor and had various weapons on them. A few had robes and staffs indicating they were mages. Two had on the vestments of priests of the Lightsworn. I even recognized the iconography of a paladin of the Court of Masks.

"Name?" The young man behind the counter asked.

"Wilmaer." I said.

"Age?" He asked.

"19." I lied by a year. It wasn't much but could keep someone from finding me.

"Place of Origin?"

"The city of Cordivon in Ardonius."

"Have you achieved any stages in aura? And if so, what stage?" They didn't even look up at me as they spoke. I didn't blame them, having to ask the same questions over and over again.

"I'm a Novice in basic aura." I said.

"Any Lineage aura?"

"No."

"Do you have a mana core?"

"No."

"Previous training relevant to adventuring?"

"I've worked as a merchant guard and have basic training in Harvesting." I wasn't fully versed in how the Adventurers Union worked but I knew if you didn't have enough qualifications on your own, you'd end up having to work for other adventurers for a time. I wanted to avoid that without sticking out too much.

"You'll be a part of group three. Wait here until someone calls you back." He set the paper he was writing on in a pile to the side and handed me a small wooden token with a three on it.

I sat on a bench away from others. Shortly after as the room began to fill, another young man sat next to me.

"The names Ketill." He extended a hand to me. His leather armor was cheaply made and he had a wooden mallet as a weapon. He did have a decent build and with enough training would be a decent brute in battle. But there was no doubt that he didn't have much experience in fighting.

"Wilmaer." I shook his hand.

"I can't believe I'm actually here. My brothers kept telling me I'd never actually come. Not that I had much of a choice. Three older brothers taking our fathers inheritance before me doesn't leave much else for me to do. I could have tried to get into a lord's guard but where's the fun in that? Am I right?"

He nudged me with his elbow and I gave him a weak smile.

"How about you? What made you decide on adventuring?" He asked.

"Similar to you but my father didn't have any inheritance to give me." I said.

"Who knows, maybe we'll get apprenticed to the same guild. I'm hoping to get into the Green Shields or even the Goblin's Terror. It'd be a dream to get apprenticed by the Rainbow Blades but you'd have to be really good to get noticed by them." He said.

"Yeah." It was obvious he was nervous. As I looked around the room most of those waiting had the same energy about them. The priests and the paladin were the calmest, they would have decent training. A few that were older were also calm, most likely they had worked as guards or mercenaries.

Before Ketill could continue a side door opened. An older woman wearing the Unions outfit with three stars on the collar took a step into the room. "Those of you that are a part of group three, follow me." She said.

About 20 of us rose and headed towards the door.

"Oh looks like we're in separate groups. I'll see you later." Ketill said.

The hall contained a few doors then opened up onto a large courtyard. There were a number of training dummies and other implements around the area. A group similar to ours was in the middle of the courtyard as part of their assessment. A balcony wrapped around the courtyard with a number of people watching what was going on below. I presumed they were representatives of guilds.

The woosh of a fireball filled the air as the far side of the courtyard erupted in flames. The flames were soon extinguished by the same mage as a swirl of snow covered the area. Behind the mage the examiner pulled out a ball and chucked it at the back of the mage's head. It bounced off a transparent shield that gave off a yellow glow. The examiner gave a brief nod before making a note.

"Next." He called out.

A young woman pulled out a sword and stepped up to a practice dummy. When the mage turned around to join the others waiting in the courtyard our eyes met. It seemed that Vesta wasn't going to hide any of her talent and had caused a bit of a stir among those in the balcony above. She didn't hold eye contact with me for long, scowling and turning away.

Our group was led into a room with a number of desks, each with a small pouch on them. Along the walls were diagrams of various monsters, herbs, weapons, and magical runes. The front of the room had a lectern with a large blackboard behind it.

After we took our seats the woman that brought us here started. "I am Senior Union representative Hulda. I will be leading you through the first part of your guild assessment today. I'm sure many of you have an idea about how the Union functions but I'll go over the basics to avoid any confusion. Save all your questions until I ask for them.

"The Adventurers Union is sponsored by the royal family and has branches in all major regions of the kingdom. We fill in where the local nobility either can't or won't handle a problem. Quests are mostly commissioned by towns, wealthy individuals, or even the nobility themselves. Keep in mind that by joining the Union, you agree to be pressed into service by Dutchess Torgeir or her heir in case of emergency.

"The Union provides support to Adventurers in a number of areas. Guilds and individuals are assigned a representative to help secure materials and information necessary for the completion of quests. Rooms like this one, libraries, along with the training courtyards are available to members of the Union on the west side of the Union complex. Shops specializing in smithing, alchemy, and artificing are on the east side and can be used at a discount for adventurers.

"The north side contains apartments and townhouses available to rent to Unions members. The south side that you came in through contains the main hall, the visitor's chamber, and Union offices. Meals are available in the main hall, though guests are strictly limited, so don't expect to bring dates here to try and impress them.

"The last thing I will go over before the assessment is the Union ranking system. The lowest rank is E going up through A with S being the top. Before any of you get ahead of yourselves S rank is reserved for heroes of the realm and is only given out by Dukes with the approval of the royal family. Our Union only has three S ranked adventurers.

"Most of you will receive the E rank. As such you will have to be sponsored by a guild as an apprentice or work directly for the Union. Through them you will receive training until you are deemed capable of holding your own on a quest.

"Keep in mind that some of you aren't going to be cut out for a life as an adventurer. Working in a support role here at the Union is nothing to look down on. Adventures need our support to gather information and resources for quests. Those of you with skills in other trades may find this as an opportunity to gain an apprenticeship in those areas.

"For those of you that are a little more talented don't expect to gain a higher ranking right off the bat. Only a few of you will receive a C rank at the most. If you truly have the skills of a B or A rank, you'll get there soon enough. One of the purposes of the Union is to make sure you don't get yourselves killed on your first quest. The Union has learned from centuries of experience, don't just assume you know better then us.

"Quests are ranked in a similar manner. Though it can get a little more complicated when factoring in how many C ranked adventurers are needed to take a B ranked quest and so on. Your Union Representative can explain that in greater detail."

"Now on to the actual assessment." She pulled out a pouch similar to the ones sitting on our desks and removed a thin rope with a knot on the end. Next she removed a handful of colored beads.

"There will be two main parts of the assessment with a third part for those that indicated a separate skill. The first is a test of basic knowledge. I will be asking you a series of multiple choice questions. You will place a colored bead on the rope to indicate your answer. Are there any questions?"

When no one raised their hand she continued. "First question: Which is considered poisonous?"

Pulling out a wand she tapped the black board and a series of answers appeared. Blue: Jackalope, Green: Pixie, Red: Fossegrimen, Yellow: Hydra.

"Wait aren't.." Someone tried to say before being interrupted.

"There will be no clarification. Answer the question as best as you can." Hulda said.

I understood where they were going with their question. It was the difference between poisonous and venomous. The pixie would poison you if you consumed one and the bit of the Hydra was venomous. It was about who was biting who. The treatment of each would also be different.

Most people dropped a green bead on the rope with a few yellows. Some changed their bead from yellow to green looking around to see if they were going to be called out for it.

"Next question…"

There were 12 questions in total getting harder as it went on. Those that weren't as sure of their answers kept looking towards those that seemed the most confident to see what they answered. Both the priests started to hide their ropes as time went on. The paladin and a few others didn't seem to care. A few whom I could tell didn't know the answer stuck with their guesses even after seeing others with the right answer. Then there were those who waited for the confident ones to answer before pulling out their own beads.

My thought was that this was a part of the test. Hulda and anyone watching covertly were most likely keeping track of what everyone was doing. Adventurers didn't always work alone. You would have to rely on others to make up for your own short falls. In the same vein, those who were too arrogant to admit they didn't know an answer could get others killed with a wrong guess.

After the last question Hulda walked around collecting our ropes and taking our names. We then followed her out for the practical part of our assessment.