Okay, so here's chapter 1! Umm... that's really all I have to say about it, sooooooo... yeah.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wakfu. So begone, robots!
The inside of the building was not as densely populated as the outside, but still dotted with a few guild members. Two long tables were set up on either side of the door, and a few smaller ones around the bar. An ebony furred Ecaflip woman stood behind the bar, polishing a few mugs with a cloth. Sitting at one of the small tables was an elderly Enutrof jingling a few kamas in her hand to play with the snoofle on the table. The guild banners hung from the walls proudly, billowing lightly to make a faint flapping sound.
Frederick looked around the spacious hall, adjusting his glasses to see a bit more clearly until Lulianne grabbed his arm tightly, making him look down at her. She gestured to the bar and once he looks over he has to muffle a yelp of excitement. "That's Stone Skin Griswold..." he mumbles, focusing on the Sacrier sitting at the bar nursing a drink. Specializing in earth/air magic, the orange haired man was hailed as the greatest warrior in all of Brakmar and a lieutenant in the guild.
Shoshanna sighed and jabbed both of them in the ribs. "Focus you two." she scolds. "We have to find the guild master, there's no time to gawk." She was oddly unfettered by the star-studded cast of Gobball Horn. She looked around the room to look for the head of the guild. The sounds of the doors opening behind her caused her long ears to twitch.
"Excuse me." comes a masculine voice from behind the trio. Shoshanna moved aside so he could pass, but once she did Frederick watched her freeze up. He went around to see if she was okay. When he did he swore he could see a giant beating heart in her eye and her freckled cheeks tinged with pink. "Th...th-th-that's... Jaques LeFoue..." she mummered.
Frederick recognized that name. Also known as "The Yellow Storm", Jaques was a legendary Cra and a master of the battlefield. The trio watched him step up to a bulletin board and look at all the flyers attached to it. He was a tall, athletic looking man with dark blonde hair cut short with the exception of the traditional Cra braid resting on one of his Emerald colored pauldrons that matched the armoring on his boots. His cloak fluttered a bit as he moved, thumbing through the papers. Shoshanna, as it just so happened, was his biggest fan in all the World of Twelve. Frederick could not help but picture how her room back home looked. The walls were littered with posters and news articles detailing his exploits, an army of figurines occupying every available inch of shelf and desk space not including the diary full of her plans for when she became "Mrs. Jaques LeFoue." Being his biggest fan was honestly the closest Shoshanna ever got to being girly, which is why only he and Lulianne were ever allowed to set foot in her old bedroom.
"What was that about not having time to gawk?" Frederick sighed, trying to pull Shoshanna away before her knees gave way and she was reduced to a quivering pile of obsessive fangirl. She certainly did not make it easy on the poor boy, desperately trying to break out of his grip and talk to her idol. While the two wrestled Lulianne simply stood, her hands folded in her lap as she waited for them to settle down. She watched them so intently she did not notice the clacking sounds of a metal striking the wood floor until it was too late.
Lulianne squeaked when the old Enutrof woman suddenly appeared beside her, staring intently at the young Eniripsa. The end of her golden shovel struck the floor with a clack while she pet her chin. The two were roughly the same height, although the Enutrof was hunched slightly from old age and her puffy ball of snow-white hair peeked a few inches above Lulianne's head. The wrinkles on her face showed that the old woman had seen plenty of stressful events in her day, and the slightest dimming in her amber eyes told that only recently had age started to overpower her. Her straw sandals made a faint scratching noise as her feet shifted, never once looking away from the frightened girl. Finally the old woman smiled, causing her gold tooth to shimmer in the light.
"Lookin' fer someone special, darlin'?" asked the old woman politely. Her snoofle, which seemed to be pretty up in years itself, sniffed at Lulianne's feet for a moment before its wagging tail caused the bells to jingle. "Heheh. He likes ya." The Enutrof laughs, petting her shaggy pet gently.
"Erm... w-w-we're looking for the guildmaster, ma'am." Lulianne mummers shyly. "Would... that be... you?"
Her question makes the Enutrof laugh heartily. "Gwahahahaha! Me, the guildmaster!? Hehehe!" she howls, slapping her knee and leaning on her shovel so she does not collapse. After nearly a full minute she settles back down. "Aha, no missy, I'm not the guildmaster. Yer lookin' fer Asie! She'll be along shortly." Lulianne nods before suddenly meeping as the snoofle's trunk snakes up her leg. The old woman quickly smacks it with her shovel. "Hey now! Ya ain't got no business sniffin' her hiney!" she snaps as the creature hurridley goes back to its master's feet.
Lulianne's face could not have been a brighter shade of crimson. Her small insect-like wings fluttered rapidly with embarassment. The Enutrof simply looked up at her and smiled. "Sorry 'bout him. He can be a mite frisky at times." She quickly set her rather bony hand on Lulianne's back. "Come on, I'll get'cha and yer little friends a drink to apologize." Before she could protest the young Eniripsa found herself being pushed towards the bar. The old woman was much stronger than she appeared to be. By holding he shovel horizontally she was able to sweep Frederick and Shoshanna as well, making the two yelp as they found themselves being drug towards the bar. She pushed the three kids into some stools and looked up at the bartender.
"Julie, get these younguns a drink if'n ya'd be so kind." The Enutrof said, patting Lulianne on the back. "And I'll have one too while yer at it."
"Right away Granny." the Ecaflip woman replied, going over to the root beer pumps. Frederick looked to Lulianne for an explanation as to what was going on only to receive a shrug. Shoshanna just smiled, thanking the old lady for the drink and tapping the bar with her hands. This was not the first time she was offered a free drink at a bar on their travels, not even by a woman. That was a rather confusing night she had to admit.
The Enutrof shuffled over to the stool next to Shoshanna, currently occupied by Stone Skin Griswold. "Move over, Andre! Give yer granny some room." she hollers, smacking the back of his head with the flat of her shovel. Frederick, Shoshanna, and Lulianne all look with shock and horror. Did she really just hit one of the strongest men in the world?! The Sacrier groans, spinning around in his seat to glare at the Enutrof with his empty white eyes.
"Must you always hit me in the head, Granny!" he snaps, only to be met with her shovel smacking him in the face.
"Don't you raise yer voice to me, mister!" she scolds. "I'll tan yer hide so dark you won't know what to do! Now scoot!"
Much to the shock of the three young teens shock Griswold stood up and moved to the next seat over, mumbling to himself how unfair the old gobball could be. The Enutrof hopped up in his stool, leaning her shovel against the bar. "There, was that so hard?" she smiles, patting the Sacrier's cheek. He grumbles and turns back to his drink only to find her snoofle's trunk slurping up the contents of the mug. "Hey! Knock it off, Kamawa!" he shouts just as it drains his drink and zips across the bar to the safety of Granny. "Oh, leave him alone, he's just thirsty." she says, tussling the snoofle's fur.
"She really does spoil that thing." Julie sighs, setting a mug of root beer down in front of the kids and Granny. "It's okay, Andre, I'll make you another." she assures him, taking the empty mug from him. He growls and asks for a clean mug. "Sacrier only knows where that thing's nose has been." he mutters, glaring at the snoofle in Granny's lap. After a moment he looks up at Frederick and the girls. "You kids said you're looking for Asie, right?" he says as Julie sets his new drink down.
"That's right." Shoshanna says proudly, assuming this "Asie" was the guildmaster. "We're looking to join Gobball Horn." Frederick and Lulianne nod in agreement. Griswold smiles over his mug. "I wish you all luck." he says before taking a drink. The trio can't help but grin at this. Stone Skin Andre himself just wished them good luck! Best day ever!
"Humph." came a huff from behind them. Frederick turned around to see a figure breeze across the room to the bulletin board just as Jacques had finished his business and taken a seat. His body was covered by a dark green shroud, but his dark blue mask and the ticking coming from his body easily gave away his identity as a Xelor. A bandaged hand shoots put from the shroud and snatches a few flyers from the board.
"Do you have a problem with that, Xelor?" Shoshanna growls at the stranger. Lulianne begins to fear the Cra might try to pick another fight. Just once she would like to stop somewhere without Shoshanna trying to fight someone.
"Let me guess," says the Xelor without looking at the angry Cra. "You three come from a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, where you were the best warriors in the entire town. Convinced you deserve only to rub elbows with the very best and brightest the World of Twelve has to offer. We get a million of those every day." He turns his head, his round glowing eyes blasting on the trio like spotlights that highlight their incompetence. "You wouldn't last a week." He says firmly.
"Be nice, Horloge." Julie says quickly. He lets out a "Humph" and vanishes in a blink of cyan light. Shoshanna snarls angrily at where he stood. "He's got some nerve." she mutters, taking a deep swig of her drink.
"Don't mind him. He's an ass." Griswold shrugs.
"He's looking to get his stupid, raggity butt kicked!" the Cra snaps.
"He's not worth the effort." Jacques says from across the room. He does not look up from the map in his hands so he does not see the young lady turn from an angry boowolf to a harmless bow meow mezmerized by a ball of twine. "If you say so, Mister Jacques." she mummers dreamily. Frederick sighs deeply. There is simply no helping that girl.
The doors suddenly swing open and a pair of women step inside the hall. The first was a tall, lithe Pandawa woman, her arms folded across her chest. Soft swishing noises came from the giant bamboo tube tied to her back. Her ears flickered a bit at the sounds coming from outside until she pushed the doors shut. Frederick recognized her from the news articles. Li-Li "Fireball" Chen, expert martial artist, proficient user of Fire spells, and an unrivalled drinker. She also happened to be a lieutenant in the guild like Griswold.
The woman beside her was nearly a whole head short, and a Sadida based on her dark skin and the traditional leaf skirt. A black and red hat was nestled atop her head with a cascade of curly green hair flowing down her back. Unlike most Sadida she wore shoes, rather nice looking black boots and a captain's cape with sleeves. Her dark hunter green eyes sparkled with excitement and joy under her wide brim as she and Li-Li approached the bar. "Six mugs of the strong stuff please!" she says to Julie in a cheery voice. "And I'll just have a cactus juice." Li-Li rolls her eyes and looks down at the Sadida grinning at her, knowing the larger order was meant for her.
"Yew girls and yer booze!" Granny laughs, holding her arms out receive the tight hug from the Sadida. "Don't do anythin' I wouldn't do, Asie."
Shoshanna's ear perked up at the name. Before the other two could realize what she was doing she spun around to face the Sadida. "You're Asie? The guildmaster?" She says, earning the dark clad woman's attention. "Indeed I am." she replied, standing up from hugging Granny to show off her shiny Gobball Horn belt buckle. "Asawale Sheram Sharm, Guildmaster of Gobball Horn, at your service!" she says with a bright smile. Both Frederick and Lulianne look over with a hint of shock. Not as much as Griswold getting hit with a shovel. Twice, but a good amount. This Sadida seems so young. How could she possibly be a guildmaster? Sheram Sharm sounded very familiar...
Frederick cleared his throat and scooted his stool closer. "The three of us were umm... hoping to join your guild, Miss Sheram Sharm." he says, earning the attention of both her and Granny. Asawale pets her chin, examining the trio closely. "Hmm... We could always see what you have to offer..." she ponders. "Okay why not. Come on out back." The three of them beam at the Sadida brightly as she turns and heads to the backdoor, practically jumping out of there stools and chasing after her just as Julie returns with the drinks.
"They're certainly spirited." says the Ecaflip.
"So's every other applicant we get." Li-Li says, downing the six mugs of alcohol almost instantly and setting the empty cups back down. She grabs Griswold by the arm and yanks him from his seat, dragging him with her to the back door. As Lieutenants they must be present for all guild trials.
Thanks for sticking with me guys! I'll have the next chapter up soon!
