Chapter 22 - Crafter's Guild
"I'm not planning on heading out of town soon," she wasn't certain she'd mentioned it before and wanted him to know that in case it would change his mind.
A slight nod answered her, "Guild identification doesn't expire though it does require regular updates. If you leave to travel to another town or take on a quest that is expected to take a particularly long amount of time, they will let up on expiration so long as they are kept informed," he explained as he turned towards the door, not bothering to say goodbye to Arfved as he was already too engrossed in his work to pay it any mind.
Once they reached the front of the shop, Yarrow flipped the sign that had the hours scribbled onto it over to display a message that stated that the owner was working on projects and entirely unavailable. Considering his skill level, Ash came to the conclusion that it was likely that even with the impatient Godsborn that might not understand the closure he probably made more than enough money to stay closed whenever he wanted.
The first guild they visited was crowded but organized, a massive building with several smaller sections each with their own reception desks - the crafters guild. Ash was personally interested in alchemy but spent some time in each section learning about them from a helpful receptionist. It seemed the guilds were very happy for the influx of Godsborn considering they had more craftspeople and, more importantly, more ingredients to work with than ever.
Yarrow watched, knowing from having seen them throw fits in the past that the Godsborn were restricted by the gods from choosing more than one of the crafts guilds to join. Most picked things they proclaimed would be most useful to them. Ash took her time, looking carefully around each guild area and talking with not only the receptionist but any of the Earthborn crafters that were willing to speak to her. Yarrow's presence likely helped her with that part, he knew.
She asked simple questions, never demanding more information than the person she was talking to was willing to give. Eventually with a slight nod, she made her way back to the alchemy desk. A Godsborn chose that moment to step into her path.
He was a handsome enough human, a rarity so deep in the elven wilds where Redwood Stars was nestled. Short cropped blue hair, deep emerald eyes, the build of a warrior. Ash was entirely disinterested in him but paused to hear what he had to say anyway.
"What's a pretty little Godsborn like you doing hanging out with these boring Earthborn?" He'd obviously picked up on the terms easily enough but rudely didn't wait for an answer, instead rushing forward to continue speaking, "You also shouldn't be picking Alchemy, it's useless. The crafters around here can make better than you'll be able to for a long long time and for much cheaper too. A pretty willowy little thing like you should take something like Jewelcrafting or Enchanting to help you stay out of the line of fire so no one scratches your beautiful face."
Ash moved to glance at Yarrow to ask his opinion, one she valued far more than the stranger that was busy trying to get her into bed with him. She froze as the man in front of her caught her chin, his tone taking a belligerent edge.
"Princess, where do you think you're looking? I'm right here."
Normally, such behavior would have had her attack him herself but she wasn't fond of confrontations and hadn't gotten the rules from Yarrow yet on such things. She was saved from having to do anything, as was Yarrow, when magic forced his hand away from her face. Fi and Fel both walked up, the former's face entirely unreadable while Fel just looked disgusted.
"Do not place your hands on a guest of the temple of Sidus," Fi advised in her soft, even voice, "Did your parents not teach you that it is rude to touch others without permission?"
It was the most she'd heard Fi talk since they'd met, she was pretty sure. Her eyes moved to Fel, who'd paused right beside her but looked as if she wanted to reach for her. She also looked as if she didn't want Fi to call her rude. Ash provided a slight nod that Fel took as permission, threading an arm through hers and walking her away from the confrontation.
On the way to the counter, Fel gave a rough sigh, "He's not entirely wrong, you know. It's going to be a bit before you can make anything particularly good for a price that makes it worthwhile to sell or anything."
Ash gave a slight nod of agreement, having heard the same from the crafters she'd spoken to, from all of the crafters she'd spoken to, "That's the case for everything, it just shows a little more with alchemy because you are actually making a number of things you'll use and you can't recycle most of it, if any of it at all. With most of the other crafts, you end up making something then recycling what you can to make something else. Otherwise, you end up making something small and simple repeatedly until you have the skill needed to move on to something else. It's like the age-old thing where the blacksmith apprentice is only allowed to make nails for what feels like forever."
"And you're absolutely sure that Alchemy will help you?" Fel continued, "I think you'd be better suited to go after Enchanting considering what I saw you do to those spells earlier."
Ash nodded once more, "Alchemy will always have a use to me personally. Most everything else will eventually require me to branch out to making things for others or doing petty tasks in order to learn. I don't want to sit around in the square with the Star Ash and look for Godsborn that need small enchantments engraved into items in order to make sure my skills are progressing as they should. As a Godsborn, I'm also not likely to find myself apprenticed to someone because there's not enough gain. The master doesn't get a student to carry on their craft or take over their business because there is no guarantee that the student will continue to show up."
Fel smiled slightly, pleased to find that Ash had actually thought things through and hadn't just chosen something at random or what she thought would be the best craft for herself without any research. Lacing her fingers behind her head, she watched Ash sign the papers to join the guild and joined her in looking over the quests. Ash didn't take one yet, confiding that she didn't exactly have a lot of money to her name beyond basic necessities such as food until she was able to earn it in some way and that she wasn't ready to do so yet.