Stacia nodded, “As ya wish. Iffin ya have another one like this tomorrow though, me be thinkin’ I should at least give ya sleep with nay dreams.”
He looked up at her, “If you can do that, then please do so until we can start working on my memories.”
“Aye,” she leaned down and kissed him gently. “I was goin’ to be wakin’ ya soon as it was. Go take ya bath, an’ when ya get out I will be havin’ food ready for us.”
“You treat me so well,” he told her, standing up and giving her a squeeze. “I’ll be out soon.”
They stepped over to the guild hall after they’d eaten. Kim was seated at the desk with an Elf seated beside her. She looked up as Alburet and Stacia walked in, “Here he is. Alburet, this is Vanessa. Vanessa, this is our guild leader, Alburet and his wife, Stacia.”
The Elf extended her hand, “It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. Kim has explained the terms of employment, but I wish to verify them with you if you do not mind? One hundred gold per year paid in advance, plus acceptance into the guild. Is that correct?”
Alburet smiled at the business-like elf, “Yes, those are the terms. I didn’t know Elves had a dark purple hair color.”
Vanessa gave him a grin, “It is dyed, my natural tone is brown. I like to stand out just a little, though.”
“It goes well with ya outfit,” Stacia added. “Are ya okay with the terms?”
“Indeed, I am. Where do I sign?” Vanessa replied.
Alburet handed over a hundred gold and a scroll, “Go ahead and go turn that in. When you get back Kim can bring you up to date on everything.”
“Of course.”
Alburet got a good look at Vanessa’s nearly skin tight silk outfit. It was in varying shades of purple that did go well with her hair. As she came around the desk, Alburet could see that her boots sported three inch heels. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. It has been a pleasure to meet you, Alburet, Stacia.” She shook both their hands before she left.
“She’s a little odd, but she holds no prejudices,” Kim told them.
“I was wondering why she didn’t seem startled about my race,” Alburet replied.
“It be nice to see someone who nay holds ill will,” Stacia added.
“What are your plans today?” Kim asked.
“After Gerald has his meeting we were going to go back and hit the lower level zones, do the quests for them. This way we can make up some of the levels we missed and see more of the world.”
“Are you thinking of hitting the zones on the other continents as well?” Kim asked.
Alburet blinked, “I don’t know if any of us have even considered that.”
Laughing, Kim shook her head, “Don’t feel bad. Most people just get used to staying on one continent.”
“I guess I’ll bring it up to the others when we hook up.”
“Have fun out there. Which zone are you going to hit first?”
“Probably the Goblin Villages,” Alburet said. “I doubt the equivalent of the Goblin Fort zones on the other continents will give us much experience.”
“The dungeons would if you scale down to them,” Kim pointed out. “The quest experience for them is based on the level you’re at while clearing them, not your actual level.”
“Well, hell, that might make this even faster,” Alburet laughed. “Thanks for the heads-up, Kim. I’ll fill the others in. Going to sell off some loot and grab some more potions. Is there a way to notify the guild about a meeting that we can be sure everyone will see?”
“The guild master can send a broadcast to the entire guild that will pop up for them like a normal notification,” Kim told him.
“Okay. I’m going to increase your work load today,” Alburet grinned. “I’m going to send a message calling everyone in. I’ll set it up for when Gerald is finished with his meeting, before we head out hunting. I want to be sure everyone knows they can jump between zones on all the continents to help speed them along.”
“Ah, so we’re going to have a lot of people here for a bit, then,” Kim got to her feet. “I’ll get things set up for drinks and such. Anything else?”
“I want to set up a few quests for the guild. One for a retrieval quest, some item from each zone on each continent up to level fifteen. The other for clearing all dungeons in the level 10 range, with some specified item to prove it.”
“Both of those can be set up by officers, they just need to be approved by you,” Kim chuckled. “That will be fun for them. I take it me and Vanessa are excluded?”
“Sadly, yes, but me and my group will be as well,” Alburet shrugged. “It’s to give the others something to focus on.”
“It be a good idea, Asthore,” Stacia said as she was tapping at something before her. “There. The quests be made and sent to ya for approval.”
Alburet looked over the two quests and chuckled. He approved both of them, setting them up to go live in a couple of hours and gave Stacia a hug, “Well done.” He turned to Kim, “Besides the two quests we just talked about, Kim, if you have any ideas for more stuff let me or one of the others know, please. I’m always open for ideas.”
“I will,” Kim replied.
Alburet sent out the guild-wide broadcast before he took Stacia’s arm, “See you in a bit.”
“I’ll have everything ready,” Kim replied as the couple left.
It didn’t take them long to hit the shops and sell off what they had. They did take some time visiting with Grimgar and Almira, but not much as the shop keepers were doing steady business. They made it over to Herbal Remedies as their last stop. The bell announced them to Arion Greenthumb.
“Greenthumb, how have you been?” Alburet asked the owner.
“Well,” Arion frowned, taking in Alburet’s appearance. “Can I help you, sir?”
“We need health potions first. Though I was wondering if you would be interested in a contract to be Alpha Company’s go to alchemist?”
“I believe your leader is Alburet? He has purchased potions from me before,” Arion replied coolly.
“Yes, yes I did, Arion. Look at my name if you need to,” Alburet replied, leaning on the counter.
Arion squinted then blinked, “You aren’t human anymore. Interesting. How was your transition accomplished?”
“A gift from the Dark Lord,” Alburet replied. “As you can see though, I can make the deal I was asking about. I’ll point all my guild members your way for a discount if you’re interested. Right now, though, I need the second level health potions. Two for me and one for Stacia, please.”
Arion set the potions on the counter, “I’ve heard you managed to get a Royal Charter for your guild. That has stirred up the noble houses more than I’ve seen anyone manage for years. For that, I’ll take your offer to be your guild’s preferred alchemist.”
Alburet accepted the pop-up that gave his guild a 10% discount when purchasing from Arion’s shop. “Pleasure doing business with you, Arion Greenthumb,” Alburet shook hands with the merchant before giving over the gold for the three potions.
“I hope it is profitable for us both,” Arion replied as Alburet and Stacia left his shop.
When Alburet and Stacia got back to the guild hall it was already starting to fill up. Alburet greeted the people he’d met before and met even more people he’d only seen once or twice in passing until then. He paused when he was introduced to a statuesque raven-haired beauty who was wearing very little. What little there was turned out to be leather that clung to her.
“Violet,” Alburet greeted her with a grin. “What’s your class?”
“Same as yours,” Violet replied. “Summoner. I’ve helped pull a group together out of the guild. They now understand just how useful the class can really be. Being able to lock down up to four mobs at a go is worth the lack of damage.”
“Tha’ be true indeed,” Stacia added.
“What’s the meeting about?” Violet asked. “We came in from the Cursed Woods for this.”
“Were you th
e ones that cleared the Woods yesterday?”
Beaming, she stood with her hands on her hips, proudly displaying her body, “We were indeed.”
Alburet grinned at her brash nature, “You should talk with Karen, you two might set a house ablaze.”
“What about me?” Karen asked, appearing behind Alburet.
“Gah,” Alburet said as he jumped. “God damn it, Karen. Did you take another ability at twenty to make you even more stealthy?”
“That’s at twenty-five,” Karen laughed. “I think me just being around so often is dulling your sense of where I might be about to pounce.”
“Violet, this is Karen, one of the officers. Karen, Violet here is a Summoner in our guild. I thought you two might get along.”
Karen and Violet eyed each other appraisingly. Violet grinned first, “Nice to meet you, Karen.”
“Ditto,” Karen replied, her own lips quirked up. “I love the outfit. I take it your Destroyer takes all your damage for you?”
“Of course that sexy beast does,” Violet laughed. “Taking care of his mistress is his only desire. Sadly for him, I’m much more inclined towards a softer kind of touch.”
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Alburet chuckled. “Looks like we have most of the guild here now, so I’m going to get this kicked off.”
Alburet made his way to the desk, noting on the way the number of people with tea or snacks. He nodded his thanks to Kim and Vanessa, who were both at the desk before he climbed up onto it. He looked around the room and saw Fluff off in the corner. Gerald with Marysue walked into the rapidly filling room as Alburet cleared his throat.
“Can I have your attention, please,” Alburet called out in a firm, loud voice. As everyone looked over and conversation fell off, he nodded, “Thank you. I know you’re all wondering about why I called you in. We seem to still be missing a score of people, but they’ll just have to catch up later.”
He paused, making sure he had their attention before he went on. “It’s great that you’re all forming groups and going out to hunt. I’ve not heard a complaint against any of you from any of the Alpha World natives, and for that you have my thanks. To express that thanks, I have two quests for you all.”
Murmurs of conversation sprang up around the room at that announcement. Alburet called out to silence them again. “Hold up. The quests will be going live in about ten minutes, so you’ll get all the details then. I wish you all good luck with them. My team will not be eligible for them, so it’s a mostly level playing field for you all. The other reason I called you all in is to pass on a few words of wisdom from our receptionist, Kim.”
All eyes briefly went to Kim, who just smiled at the group. “Kim reminded me how vast the world is. The fastest way to level is hitting all the zones in your range and doing the quests, as I’m sure you’ve all worked out already. I’d like to remind you all that there are zones and dungeons for each level range in the Dwarven, Elven and Lunari lands as well. That gives you all eleven zones and dungeons to work through at each step, not just three.”
That caused lots of excited chatter as people realized how many more options they had. He let it go on for a minute, then held his hands up for attention again. “That’s what my team and I will be doing, working our way through the quests and dungeon for each zone. We’re actually going to backtrack for a bit, since we missed a chunk of them. So we’ll all be out and having a good time at once, but spread out enough so we can hit them all without crowding any one zone at a time. Any questions?”
“Can I join your team?” someone in the crowd asked.
“We’re full up, sorry,” Alburet replied. “If you’re not already part of a team, now is a good time to hook up with anyone else in the same boat. I’d like to see everyone part of a team. If we’re short on tanks or healers, grab people from outside the guild. If they’re good at what they do, then build a relationship with them and use them. Any other questions?”
“About the quests, are they solo or team driven?” Violet asked.
“Team driven, mostly. One is for dungeons the other is for loot from each zone, so a team will always be ahead. We are thinking up stuff for our solo players to do as well, but it might be a few days until we can finalize anything. While you’re all here, I also want to thank you all for adhering to Alpha Company’s guidelines. It makes me proud to know that you’re all as driven as we are, yet can still act civilly to the people who call this world home.”
“Can I get me a wife like yours?” another voice called out from the crowd.
“It’s possible,” Alburet replied. “But, just like in the other world it takes effort. Find someone and see if you click, just treat them like you would anyone else. Okay, that’s it. Quests launch in five minutes. Happy hunting, folks.”
As he clambered down from the desk he saw several groups headed out already. He chuckled, knowing they’d got the hint and were headed to the portal guild.
“Not bad,” Gerald told Alburet once he was back on the floor. “Not quite polished, but still it made them feel like we care.”
“Because we do,” Marysue reminded him.
“So how was your talk last night?” Alburet asked.
“I told him I am willing to see if we can expand our friendship,” Marysue replied, “he seems a little lost now.”
“I’m not lost,” Gerald retorted gently. “I just want it to be perfect.”
Karen shook her head, “Nothing ever is, Gerald. Just be you, but now you can do things like hold her hand.”
Marysue took his hand, “She gives you good advice. We can take it slow, we have time here away from dad. Slow and steady, okay?”
Gerald swallowed, nodding, his eyes focused on their joined hands. “I… yes.”
“Aye, she cares for ya just as much, Gerald,” Stacia added.
“They all left in a hurry,” Kim cut in, nodding at the now empty room.
Alburet grinned, “Good. Speaking of which, guys, let’s go hit up the Cursed Woods first.”
“Sounds good,” Karen said.
“Alburet?” Fluff said softly.
“Yeah, Fluff?”
“About the offer Stacia made the other day,” Fluffball swallowed and groomed an ear, “Lilith said Stacia is ready. Can I take you up on the offer?”
Gerald blinked, “What offer?”
Alburet ignored him and took Fluff’s hand gently, “Of course you can, Fluff. Tonight after hunting, okay? Yes, you too, Karen.”
Karen stopped bouncing in place and grinned, “I’ll help her get all her stuff together, and thanks.”
“Aye, ya both be welcome under our roof,” Stacia gave them both a hug.
“Wait you’re going to be living with them?” Gerald asked.
“We have a second room, and it will help Fluff to be close to Stacia,” Alburet told him. “Now get whatever thoughts you have in your head out.”
Karen cocked her hip to the side, “Send them to me, instead. Maybe it will give me more ideas on how to tempt him out of his idea of monogamy.”
Gerald blinked in surprise as Alburet face-palmed, “Oh, so it’s not like what I thought, then. Err, sorry about that. It’s just that they all like you, and, well, you’ve already been with two of them.”
Fluff was beet red, hand frozen in the air near her ear “No! No, it’s just so Stacia is closer, to make it easier for her to help me with my issues.”
Marysue raised a brow as she squeezed Gerald’s hand, “Leave them alone. Look at how uncomfortable Fluff is right now.”
Fluff turned even redder and began to groom both of her ears. Karen stepped over and started rubbing one of her ears, “Sorry, Fluff.”
“So am I,” Alburet added, rubbing her other ear.
Fluff froze but began to purr loudly. Her blush faded, her eyes closed to slits and she shifted her head slightly side to side, as if trying to find the optimal spot.
The others watched with grins at just how cat-like she seemed in that moment. After a minute, Ka
ren and Alburet stopped rubbing her ears. “Okay, we ready to go hit the Cursed Woods?” Alburet asked.
Unanimous agreement met his question and the group filed out of the guild hall in pairs, looking like three couples out for a stroll. Vanessa turned to Kim, “Wow, that is an odd group.”
“Two-souled all seem odd to me. They are the best I’ve met so far. At least they care about us.”
Vanessa pursed her lips, “You might have a point.”
Chapter Twenty
They picked up the quests from the Sergeant at the fort and headed out. They were able to easily kill off the Cursed Imps, Cursed Destroyers and Cursed Succubi required for one set of quests before heading into the dungeon. The ‘dungeon’ for the Cursed Woods was a set of stones like Stonehenge, only larger, set in a clearing deep in the woods. Instead of a portal to walk through, this dungeon was handled in a different way.
Alpha Company (Alpha World Book 3) Page 25
