Chapter 3.1

The streets of the Guild District were as busy as one could expect once the day had gotten underway. Patrons of the different Halls milling about, merchants galore no doubt visiting the halls in order to file orders or ply their wares to the patronage. Activity so abuzz that as Soren and Syr made their way along the busy walkways, the Alf was almost falling behind with how much she was getting caught up in looking around at everything, while Soren smoothly waved through the crowd with all the practiced ease of a longtime resident.

“So, where in the district is the Silver Scale at?” asked the Alf, Soren pocketing his Deck.

“Time for another lesson about the city,” Soren chuckled, Syr giving a bemused look. “The typical Lagunan city structure follows something of a hierarchy of its own.”

“So, like the Guild Association?”

“Similar idea, different context. The structure basically goes like this: City, Districts, Wards, and Streets.”

“Ahhh… so the city as a whole, the larger districts, more specific wards, and then the streets within them.”

“Exactly. So, to specify it, right now we’re in the Ward called Mercenary Cove. Most of the Guilds, like Amber Dawn, which operate here are a lot more of the generalist types… I should explain guild classifications first or else this isn’t going to make any sense.”

“I suppose this is the more complex version of the summary yesterday?” Syr let out a musing trill as Soren nodded. “Hahaha, alright then, enlighten me o’ experienced one.”

“Hah. Alright…”

As Soren went on to explain, Guilds under the Grand Guild’s oversight did not merely divide into the individual Halls and the groups they associated with following such. As it were, each Hall also fell under a classification that served as a quick tell of their aims of activities and who they were likely to associate with, there being three classifications a Hall could be placed within.

A Hall such as the Amber Sky was, for example, known as a Mercenary Guild. Its generalist nature meant that the Hall associated with many organizations and people in whom they hired and the kind of Freelancers they sent to work. Freelancers that did a little bit of anything, either filling out spots in Jobs from other Halls they couldn’t or being the vanguards more specialized groups followed suit from. Hence the usage of the now antiquated title of “Mercenary” for them, as they were perhaps the closest sorts to that old role, since their Freelancers were sent far and wide on their tasks and routines.

The second type happened to be what the Silver Scale fell under, known as an Investigator Guild. Where Mercenary Guilds were generalists, Investigators were… well, investigators. Primarily slanted towards taking jobs purporting to research and discovery and other kinds of introspective works, these Guilds were the ones that often found themselves working with the more business-oriented side of the Association. Freelancers employed by such Guilds, while assuredly capable, were often the ones more intent on digging into things long-term opposed to being wide reaching.

The third type was the Guardian Guilds. If Mercenary Guilds were the vanguards, Guardians were the soft-spoken back row among Freelancers. Guardian Guilds were a sort that tended to be a lot more specific in their operation, working with their home locales as extra defense and protective measures rather than running out and finding their glory in exploration. By Soren’s account, many members of Guardian guilds tended to be former soldiers or those who found association with the military, with the convenience of being able to operate in situations state forces such as the military or police forces could not.

“Makes for quite the setup,” Syr mused as the brief lecture ended. “The spearhead vanguard of the Mercenaries, the inquisitive Investigators to dig into what they discover, and the backline Guardians to ensure the regular folk aren’t caught up in the mess.”

“Has to have some kind of structure,” Soren mused. “Of course, you do have some less… official types. You know, things like the Hunter Guilds set up at Frontier borders and the like. Official but a bit too specialized and regional to be considered normal stock.”

“Well, sometimes things have to be suited to their specialty after all,” Syr mused. “So, how much further until we find your friends at this Silver Scale place?”

“Well, considering the place is run by folks from Vanira, let’s say they ain’t hard to find. We call that Ward Evergeen Row.”

“Is that… oh.”

Syr went quiet as their walking finished on reaching another split in the road. What stood out was the fact that every building on this street was of the same nature-weave architecture Syr knew from Vanira, creating its own web of branches and pathways that would have otherwise been of the same stylings as the other roads with more mixed architectural stylings. If they wanted to make it deadly clear the kind of people who primarily occupied it, they certainly knew how to do it.

“Well… certainly reminds me of home,” Syr commented as they began moving down the road, “Just… busier. And minus the rays of sunlight coming through the branches… and the smells of the forest. It’s sort of there.”

“Ahahaha! Well at least it’s a bit of a reminder. We call this particular road Ainsel Avenue. Name should be familiar.”

“Named after the Ainsel Woods region, right?” Syr chuckled. “The same part of Vanira where the College is located. Not a bad choice. Though Ainsel is known for its silverwood trees. And not much of…” her voice trailed off as they approached a quite large tree-building further down the avenue. “Consider myself corrected.”

The building that rose before them stood out against the others by simple way of its outer look. A shell of shaped wood that gleamed like silver, coursing upwards into wide branches that merged into the walkways above them, even higher then into a treetop covered end to end in dark blue, faintly glowing leaves. The doors into the building matched the dark blue of the leaves, elegant and natural in shape as people flowed in and out through them into the warm light within.

An entire building formed of silverwood.

Found in the Ainsel Woods of Vanira, silverwood was well known in the homeland of the Alfs for its strong conductivity to aether, making it a prime material to use in their weaving arts. In fact, Syr could boast to her staff having been formed of the very material, hence its excellence as a magical catalyst for her spellcasting. But rare was it to see a building formed entirely out of the magical wood. Syr usually saw it as an inclusion to construction, meant to facilitate the flow of aether rather than form the entire structure itself. Clearly, the one who had commissioned the thing must have possessed rather deep pockets and a visionary idea to go with it.

“… such a waste of money…” Syr droned, Soren suppressing a snicker as the Alf’s face stilted. “I mean it’s beautiful, of course! But… why would one use so much silverwood to do it? I understand it must be an aesthetic, considering the name and all but…”

“Let’s just say the Scale’s proprietor is, uh… extravagant, I suppose. He’s a mogul from Summerset so uh… yeah.”

“Ah… I’ve heard people from the Summerset Archipelago are prone to such things… what with the Archipelago being controlled by the Mariners.”

“Well, stereotypes tend to have a nugget of truth in them. Let’s not waste more time than we have.”

Syr nodded and followed Soren in as they merged with the entering group to the hall. And immediately, the Alf was hit with a very different atmosphere than that of the Amber Sky.