A Guild Without A Name

With their group complete, the five of them stood in silence for a moment.

"So," Rika said, grinning as her tail swayed behind her, "now that we have a full team, we just need one more thing."

Rei already knew where this was going. "A guild name…" he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Exactly!" Kajala clapped his hands together. "A strong guild needs a strong name, something that shows off our—"

Regulus cut him off with a dramatic pose, flipping his grey yellow hair back. "Fear not! I, Regulus Xaler the 3rd, have already thought of the perfect name. We shall be known as—The Golden Kings!"

There was an immediate silence.

Rika scrunched her nose. "Golden Kings? There are two girls in this group, ya know."

Regulus waved a hand dismissively. "Fine, fine. Then… The Golden Rulers!"

"No," Eryan said flatly. It was the first time she had spoken in a while.

Regulus blinked at her. "No?"

"No," she repeated, adjusting her cloak.

Rei sighed in relief. At least he wasn't the only one shutting that idea down.

Kajala tilted his head. "How about something that represents all of us? Something that sounds mysterious or cool?"

Rika grinned mischievously. "The Night Prowlers."

Rei shuddered at how she said that. It felt like it had some kind of weird, hidden meaning.

"No," he muttered.

Kajala laughed. "Okay, okay. What if we think about it while we get something to eat? We did just meet, after all."

Rika's ears perked up. "Oh! Yes! I like the way you think, whip boy."

Kajala blinked. "Whip boy?"

She smirked. "Yeah, whip boy. That's your nickname now."

Kajala groaned as the others laughed.

With that, they left the meeting spot and headed into the village to find a place to eat. The streets were lively, knights-in-training walking around in small groups, shopkeepers calling out deals, and merchants selling everything from weapons to strange-looking dungeon artifacts.

As they reached a food stall selling grilled meat skewers and hot soup, Kajala stepped forward with a grin. "It's on me!"

Rei blinked. "You sure?"

Kajala nodded. "Yeah, yeah! Consider it a celebration meal for forming our guild!"

Regulus laughed. "A fine gesture, my friend! I shall order the finest—" He paused, looking at the menu. "Uh, what's the cheapest thing here?"

The group ordered their food and sat at a small table outside. As they ate, the conversation naturally drifted back to dungeons.

"So, Rei," Kajala said between bites, "you've been reading a lot about dungeon monsters, right?"

Rei stiffened. "Uh… yeah, kinda."

Rika's ears twitched, and she grinned. "Ooooh? What kind of monsters?"

Rei hesitated. He had been researching, but the things he found… they weren't comforting. Especially the rumors about a certain dungeon.

"There's…" He swallowed. "There's a rumor about a dungeon that's not far from here. It's different from most. People say a knight—no, a corpse of a knight—wanders inside. A rotting, undead knight with two massive swords, stronger than any living warrior."

Rika looked fascinated. Eryan quietly listened. Kajala leaned forward, interested.

Regulus, however, took a large bite of his food and waved a hand. "Hah! Rumors are rumors! A corpse-knight? Please, that just sounds like an old ghost story."

Rei shook his head. "No. The reports are… disturbing. People who go near that dungeon hear footsteps. Heavy ones, like someone in full armor. And when they turn around, there's nothing there."

Kajala's expression shifted. "That's… kinda creepy."

Rika, however, was still grinning. "I like it. Let's check it out."

Rei immediately shook his head. "No."

Rika pouted. "Aww, come on. Don't you want to see it?"

"No!" Rei's voice was louder this time. "I don't want to meet that thing! I just like learning about them, not—"

"Ohhh, so you're a dungeon monster nerd, but you're too scared to actually face them," Rika teased, leaning in closer.

Rei turned red. "Th-that's not—!"

Regulus slammed his hand on the table. "Fear not, comrades! If such a creature truly exists, we shall vanquish it with the might of our guild! In fact, we should name ourselves after it! The Rotten Knights!"

"…Absolutely not," Rei muttered.

The group laughed, and as the night went on, they continued talking and arguing about guild names. The future was uncertain, but one thing was clear—Rei had just gotten himself into a guild full of weirdos.

And, somehow, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.