Beastborne

by James T Callum

  “How do you mean?” Mira asked, her purple eyes sparkling.

  “You do not receive much in the way of benefits from the Guild, do you?” Ashera asked rhetorically. “The Guild does a lot of good but I feel with such a large membership it changed somehow. Though I do not know how, I would not be surprised if Rinbast forced a change upon them to prevent competition.”

  “Because the Guild’s Manaseed came from Rinbast,” Hal reasoned.

  Ashera blinked away her startlement and stared at him. “As far as I know, that is correct.” She motioned to the Manaseed. “This is… not?” Her hand inched out tentatively and Hal let the seed roll off his palm and into Ashera’s.

  She held it reverently, eyes wide with wonder as she rolled it around in her palm, examining it from every angle.

  “Well?” Elora prompted after several long moments of silence.

  Giving the Manaseed back, Ashera shook her head. “I could tell no such thing. Nothing, in fact. I know it is a Manaseed, it is similar but clearly different from the one that was once in your possession, Elora. Aside from that, I cannot tell if it is an offshoot of Rinbast’s or not.”

  “It isn’t,” Hal said confidently. He stared into the sphere of light encompassing the tiny mote and knew without a doubt that he was correct. This was something much older.

  “The color is different,” Elora agreed. “And the aura around it is much larger. The one I had looked stunted by comparison.”

  “Well, make the Guild already!” Mira said, shooting to her feet and pacing in the cramped space. “Or now that ya got what you want, are you afraid of taking command?” She turned on him, putting her hands on her shapely hips and leaning down until her golden tanned face was inches from his. “You gonna punk out now that we’re right at the finish line?”

  “I mean, we’re not,” Hal argued. He motioned to the caravan outside the walls of the wagon. “We still have to get to the Shiverglades and find a suitable location. Having a Guild isn’t going to change that. And once I set up a Sanctum… what of the Guild then? Will it grow to become the governing body of the Sanctum or is it going to be the military?

  “There are a thousand questions like that rattling around in my head. I don’t have the answers to any of them. Do you?”

  That put Mira back on her heels. “Fair enough. Maybe I let my excitement get the better of me. Don’t take too long though, yeah? If the Guild can get Leveled Up, we’ll need to work toward that sooner rather than later.”

  “Duly noted,” Hal said, putting away the Manaseed. He had so many thoughts swirling in his head. He just needed a night to think about it. Though he didn’t look forward to yet another sleepless night.

  “Well, that was anticlimactic,” Angram said with a grin. “So long as you don’t call us the Beasts or something nonsensical like that, I don’t care what you name the Guild.”

  One by one the occupants of the wagon went to sleep, the lanterns doused and darkness settled upon them. Hal tried to sleep as usual but after a few hours, if that, he had to admit he was doing more tossing and turning than actual sleeping.

  Quietly as he could, he snuck out from the wagon, putting on his boots only after gently latching the wagon’s rear door.

  Your Stealth has risen to Level 7.

  +1% Stealth success (+7%).

  +1% Stealth speed (+7%).

  -1% SP drain (-7%).

  Hal found it darkly comical that his Stealth increased by sneaking out of the wagon and not around deadly enemies. Then again, it seemed to suggest that he was successful. It never seemed to Level Up if he failed, though it was hard to remember since he rarely used the skill.

  With a shake of his head, Hal finished lacing his boots and strode off toward the dying embers of the campfire.

  43

  Approaching the campfire, Hal’s thoughts whirled in an uncontrollable maelstrom. The truth he could only admit to himself was that he never thought he would get this far.

  Tomorrow they were going to be setting off toward the Shiverglades at all speed. There was nothing more for them to achieve here, even the potential other camp or the tower was of less consequence to the group than he thought it should be.

  They finally had all but one piece to establishing a Sanctum. And that only required a location. Hal could feel the desire to be planted emanating from the Manaseed. So close, yet so far. How many days of travel would it take, even once they reached normal ground again?

  And that would be if another Manastorm didn’t hit them.

  Something he was far less confident about facing again after having barely survived the previous encounter. He thought the Manashield would have done more to help.

  Hal let the thoughts slide away as he picked a seat by the glowing coals of the campfire. It gave off enough heat to ward the chill of the night and it was late enough that nobody bothered him.

  Focusing on the Manaseed, Hal brought up a prompt he only half-expected to see. Though it was stranger than he expected it to be. Almost as if the Manaseed was talking to him.

  As the Rightful Heir, you have the right to create a Guild.

  Guilds are powerful entities of cooperation and coordination toward a singular vision. More than one Guild has gone on to found a Kingdom or Empire. As a Rightful Heir, you are possessed of this capacity as well, should you so choose.

  Would you like to create a Guild?

  Nodding, Hal sent the mental confirmation to the Manaseed. It glowed brightly for a moment, drawing several looks from the few people out so late that night.

  Pushing them out of his thoughts, Hal felt himself drawn into the Manaseed.

  What would you wish to name your Guild?

  This can be changed at any time should you wish, though a waiting period of one week must pass after a new name change.

  He’d given the name a lot of thought, despite what Ashera said. It seemed important. He didn’t want to name it something egotistical that included his name. Nor did he want something bland and generic like the Adventurer’s Guild.

  Naming was never his strong suit, but after quite some thought he believed he came up with a name that was suitable to their style. Seeing the name written out in the prompt brought a smile to his face.

  You have selected: Bravers Guild.

  Is this correct?

  Far from perfect, but it encapsulates the ethos of the Guild I want to create, he thought. Defiers Guild seemed too on-the-nose, and a little cringy beside. Not that Bravers is much better, but it’s the best I can come up with and I don’t want to leave the Guild nameless. Who would want to join that?

  Once confirmed, the prompt scrolled by to the next section, filled with information relevant to a Guildmaster.

  Guilds

  Guilds expand and grow based on their Guild Level. Guild Levels are attained after hitting certain breakpoints of Guild Experience, which is gained by performing a variety of actions while within that Guild.

  Whenever a Guild Member gains EXP, Levels Up, gains a Skill Level, completes a Guild Quest, or performs certain unique actions the Guild gains EXP. As the Guild Levels Up it attains Guild Perks to expand its scope and capability based on the Guild Archetype unlocked.

  “What’s a Guild Archetype?” Hal muttered, and found to his surprise, that the Manaseed answered him.

  Guild Archetypes

  All fledgling Guilds have 4 available Archetypes: Mercantile, Adventure, Authority, and Settlement, with the last requiring a planted Manaseed.

  Every Level Up awards a Guild Perk which can be spent on one of these Archetypes. Advancing Guild Tiers requires specific conditions unique to the given Archetype.

  Mercantile Archetype

  Mercantile Guilds focus on the creation and acquiring of wealth or rare items. They are often specifically focused on one or two types of generation within a given skill set. Many Mercantile Guilds are formed around a singular discipline such as the Goldsmith's Guild, or the Alchemist's Guild.

  The Perks associated with a Me
rcantile Guild revolve around increasing generation of goods or the acquirement of raw materials within the Guild Territory, as well as various boons to crafting quality.

  Each Mercantile Guild Tier requires a certain amount of stored wealth in a Vault - which must be constructed prior to advancement - as well as rare items created or discovered.

  Adventure Archetype

  Focused on fighting and braving the wilds, an Adventure Guild is one of the most common types of Guilds because of its ease of expansion and requirements. All that is required for an Adventure Guild is a Guild Hall, and those willing to go out into the wilds and fight monsters.

  Perks of the Adventure Guild Archetype involve boosts to damage, defense, exploration, and general capacity to improve the combat ability of its members within the Guild Territory.

  Guild Tiers require a number of monsters slain, rare monsters slain, and in some cases, rare ingredients harvested from monsters or dungeons cleared.

  Authority Archetype

  The management and improvement of the Guild as a whole is achieved through the Authority Archetype. As an agnostic type, Authority allows for the Guild to grow without being constrained to the various requirements imposed upon by the specific Archetypes. As a result, its improvements are often more utilitarian in nature.

  Settlement Archetype

  Requiring a planted Manaseed, this Archetype is focused on building a community and the various resources necessary to sustain daily life for a thriving populace. Settlement Archetypes allow Citizens to join your Guild, members that do not directly contribute to your Guild Population but benefit your Guild all the same.

  Unlocking the Settlement Archetype unlocks a separate Settlement Management panel that allows the Founder Guildmaster to manage the Manatree of the Settlement, dedicate Construction Points (CP), and Research Points (RP) toward specific goals as well as to plan and build out a city.

  Head spinning, Hal read through each of the descriptions more than once. He shut his eyes, digesting the information.

  That was much more than he expected. What he thought would be little more than naming a group and inviting people – like an expanded party system – was something far more in-depth than he imagined.

  It was a lot to process as well.

  Over the next few hours, as the rays of morning began to peek above the eastern skyline, Hal explored as deeply as he could within the Guild systems.

  Aside from a golden, jewel-encrusted coffer that appeared at Hal’s feet when he inquired about a Guild Bank, there were no major surprises. Just a lot of information that he could use to improve his understanding and management of his newfound Bravers Guild.

  The Guild Bank was a physical item that only he, as the Guildmaster, could move or open unless he granted that permission to another. It could hold 200 items and the description heavily suggested it could be upgraded further.

  Inventory within the Guild Bank could be managed remotely but to deposit or withdraw required a physical connection. As soon as everybody was awake, he’d transfer the items he was storing for the caravan as a whole into the coffer. Provided nobody objected.

  For the first time, it occurred to him that perhaps the dwarves wouldn’t want to be part of his Guild. They had their own clan after all, why would they want another organizing structure?

  Hal brushed those thoughts aside. There wasn’t anything he could do about it if they chose to decline but he was adamant in giving everybody an option to join if they wanted.

  At first, he expected there to be heavy limitations to the number of people that could join. After all, his Guild was Level 0. That didn’t apparently matter. More likely, was that it was a sign of the scope of things to come.

  His Level 0 Bravers Guild had a capacity of 140 members. The Guildmaster didn’t contribute to that number apparently, because he was able to invite the full 140 when the prompt was pulled up.

  The options were robust as well. He could invite people in a specific area, those belonging to certain groups – such as the Bouldergut Clan, the koblins, or the Rangers – or invite people one at a time.

  Deciding it was best not to wake everybody up at once, Hal held off on that for now.

  The ability to configure various ranks and grant permissions was nothing special and Hal found himself immediately setting up a rank of Council for his immediate advisors.

  To that rank, he afforded a great many permissions. Second only to his own.

  More than a few things were hidden beyond later Guild Levels. When he looked at the Guild Status he saw a few items that had no explanation, presumably because he didn’t have access to those things yet.

  [Guild Status]

  Guild Name: Bravers

  Emblem: N/A

  Guildmaster: Hal Williams

  Members: 0/140

  Guild Level: 0

  Experience: 0

  Perks: 0

  Guild Points: 0/0

  Generation: 0/day

  Territory: N/A

  Alliance: N/A

  Opposition: N/A

  Guild Skills: N/A

  Management games were one of the few guilty pleasures of his life back on Earth. Simulation games, city-builders, they were all a strange amount of fun to do.

  But like with everything since coming to Aldim, he wondered whether that enjoyment would transfer to the reality of actually doing it. Magic was amazing, but it was terrifying as well. It wasn’t at all like any of the books, shows, or games.

  He had a literal abomination inside of him, waiting to break free and destroy everything in his path in order to do so. It wasn’t as simple as attending a magical school and having fun while learning how to make things levitate with proper pronunciation.

  It was hard work and often dangerous.

  Would managing a Guild be any less dangerous?

  44

  “Figured I’d find you out here,” Noth said, coming to sit down beside him. “Couldn’t sleep?”

  Hal shook his head. “Not lately, no.”

  “Dreams are weird,” Noth agreed.

  “It’s not the dreams, exactly.” Though his dreams were far stranger and more vivid since coming to Aldim.

  “Then what?” She turned a quizzical glance his way.

  He didn’t know how to explain without it sounding lame, so he just shrugged and said the truth. “I simply cannot sleep. It’s not anything particularly bothering me as far as I know… I just don’t need as much sleep as I used to.” He paused and shook his head. No, that wasn’t quite right. “I still want the sleep, but I can’t seem to find it.”

  “That doesn’t make much sense.”

  “Welcome to my life.”

  Noth reached out and placed it on his shoulder. “If it helps, I am sorry you are going through something you do not wish to go through. I hear that expressing emotional solidarity with a person going through a hard time is good for bonding.”

  “Kind of spoiled it at the end,” Hal said with a chuckle. His smile stopped her growing frown cold and she caught on to the fact that he was making light of it. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

  Her returning smile was a bright contrast to her usual dour and sullen mood. It did his heart well to see Noth smiling.

  “How would you like to be the first person to join the Bravers Guild?” Hal asked.

  Noth’s golden eyes brightened as they widened. Then they immediately thinned into suspicious slits. “Is this because I’m the first person you saw after you created it?”

  Hal did well to keep his expression completely neutral, even going so far as to put on a look of betrayal. “Of course not.” It was a little bit. “I wanted you to be the first, is that so wrong?” He could have easily woke up the wagon since the sun was now a bright eye-watering crescent of blinding light in the east. But he had waited and spent the time alone.

  Despite that, it felt right to offer it to Noth. In a short period of time, she had become a great deal closer to him than he would have ever expected. More to t
he point, she was the first one to come see him.

  None of the others did that.

  At her perpetual skepticism, he only offered a friendly smile and sent the Guild Invite over to her. Her expression changed again, to one of curiosity instead of concern.

  It was an improvement, even if it wasn’t a major one.

  Noth has accepted your Guild Invitation.

  Noth is now Rank: Council.

  She turned a hesitant smile on Hal. “That was kind of you.” With a glance toward the golden coffer at Hal’s feet, she added, “Even if you only offered it to me because I was the first person you saw.”

  Hal motioned to the dwarves moving about. “I’ve seen them this entire time,” he reminded her.

  Noth still didn’t fully believe him but she gave a curt nod and didn’t openly argue with him about it.

  The caravan woke up steadily and in waves. Campfires were refueled and the smells of dozens of breakfasts being prepared filtered among the camp, waking up any stragglers that had stayed asleep.

  Watching it all beside Noth, Hal had a strange sense of pride as everybody went about the beginning of their day. They set up tables, gathered around, and greeted everybody.

  He always viewed the caravan as a disparate group of people performing a task but now he started to see them as something different. Something more akin to citizens of a small town.

  What would they be like when they had homes? Neighborhoods and shops to go to? Parks to relax in?

  “What’re you thinking about?” Noth asked, and by the sound of her voice, it wasn’t the first time she had posed the question.