I, Riolu, and Bidoof finally reached the bottom of the set of stone stairs, which led into a large, airy, and well-lit enclave. There were many square windows cut into the east wall, leaving the morning sunlight to fill the space. From our vantage point, we could see that there were many corridors webbing out from the enclave, making it seem like the hub of the guild. There was also a lot of activity so early in the morning, with multiple exploration and rescue teams moving between the corridors and past our group, going to the floor above, where we had earlier glimpsed a room with bulletin boards and job requests.
A Croagunk was chuckling to our right, in a stall that was fashioned into the enclave wall, stirring a bubbling pot and juggling items that a Raichu and a Pichu were giving him.
A Chansey and an Audino, both of whom I recognized worked at the daycare and the hospital in Treasure Town by their signature red-patterned smocks and nurses hats, were giving a check-up to a Starly with a broken wing, his beak turned in a grimace as they prodded it with medical tools and then proceeded to chant the move [Heal Bell] on him, emitting a green glow as it alleviated Starly's condition.
To our left, was a group of Pokemons, likely those participating in the guild's daily morning routine, led by a bright-eyed and squawking Chatot. His bright tropical plumage was of something one would find from the Southern Islands, overshadowed by something vibrantly pink behind him, whom I immediately recognized was the figure represented on the tent; Guildmaster Wigglytuff! Although his ears were wilted downwards, and a quite audible snoring could be heard, his eyes were wide open. Looking at the guild members, they didn't seem fazed at all, their expressions illuminated in cheering. 'Was that a normal thing?' , I thought to myself.
"AND THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"
The chorus faded, and many of the members began to disassemble, some wandering back to their rooms with bleary eyes, others brushing past us towards the job room.
Chatot immediately whisked around to face the guildmaster, and shook him roughly, urgently whispering, "Psst, guildmaster, wake up! The morning cheers have already ended!" The guildmaster paused his snoring for just a moment, before using an arm to wave Chatot away, but actually whacking him back like a rock from a slingshot, embedding the poor bird into the far wall. He struggled uselessly, squawking. "G-guildmaster! Hey! Someone, someone get me out!"
The guildmaster continued snoring, muttering, "Just another hour….zzz…"
A Machoke who was coming down the staircase behind us when it happened, saw the poor Chatot in the wall, sighed and turned around. There was a bunch of tools on his belt, and I immediately felt sorry for the construction worker. His work was certainly cut out for him. I then asked Bidoof, who was nervously trying to decide between helping Chatot or following the Machoke upstairs, "Does this happen often?" He nodded, a bit embarrassed.
"Hahahaha….. Our guildmaster is quite a character, y-you s-see…"
I stepped a little bit further away from Wigglytuff.
We then edged around Wigglytuff towards the wall, and began pulling at Chatot's wings. Turning my head, Wigglytuff was splayed out on the floor, a bubble forming from his nose. Wow. How versatile is this guy?! We finally pried Chatot loose, and he fell in a heap, huffing.
"Well thank you, kind Pokemon", he stammered, getting back up. "Now that I've seen you two, weren't you two the ones who were up at the grate this early in the morning? Quite admirable." Dust coated his once vibrant plumage.
Riolu and I stepped up. "Yes. We're here to apply as apprentices!", Riolu intoned excitedly.
Chatot nodded once, brisk and terse. He proceeded to hop over and open the guildmaster doors with his wings, which was located next to the large and open-lit window. They were sturdy and heavy things, reaching to almost touch the ceiling with their height, and gilded with gold and silver around the edges. It must take a large amount of strength to push them open.
"Please wait in here for a moment, while I go," - he motions towards Wigglytuff- "prompt the guildmaster." He turned to Bidoof, and whispers a bit conspicuously, his exasperation showing on his inflection. "Go get me that long stick- you know, that one." Bidoof nodded, and scurried off. He smiled warily at us and hopped over to the guildmaster.
After a few minutes of cursing and prodding, Wigglytuff and Chatot entered the chamber. It was pretty much covered in party decorations and perfect apples, except for an old desk in the center of the room, a Joy Globe gently spinning on its axis on top.
I didn't think the guildmaster would have such a thing. An item such as the Joy Globe was obviously very rare, to be found in the deepest and most remote dungeons! It was a sign that the guild might actually be more prestigious than we thought.
Wigglytuff was broadly grinning, singing ~Happy Friends, Happy Friends~, while Chatot was obviously not quite happy. He held a broken stick in his wing, likely, one of many. They stopped before us, and Wigglytuff bowed. "Friendly friends", he giggled, "Welcome to our esteemed guild!
He bent down, beginning to tremble, and Chatot backed up a step, covering his eyes with a wing. *YooooOOOOM...TAH!* A light exploded from his palms, with a large whoosh, and me and Riolu were blinded. When we recovered our eyesight, still slightly cringing, Wigglytuff was holding an ornate chest. It clicked and sprang open, revealing two bronze pins, with blue sapphires set in a locket at the center.
"These are your explorer badges" squawked Chatot. "When you complete a mission, these can be used to teleport you back to the guild." He glared intensely at us and then warned, "Don't you dare lose it. These cost a fortune to imbue by the psychic Alakazam, and we can't afford to replace them for every mission."
We stuttered our thanks and nodded and bowed, and he pinned them to two red scarves, then walked up to us and wrapped them around our necks. Contrary to its gaudy appearance, up close, it was very warm and comforting. The material was pretty good. I looked to my left, and Riolu was crying tears of joy.
Wigglytuff also took out a Treasure Bag and Wonder Map, his sing-song voice lifting the heavy mood. "These are yours too, for both storing items and visiting dungeons!" They stepped back, and Chatot flapped his wings. "Alright, now that you two are officially part of our guild, we need a team name! Do you guys have anything in mind?"
Riolu stepped up before piping, "We will be Team Crossroads!" I paused, and then nodded slowly in agreement, looking away. We went over it, well, Riolu went over it last night, in the inn. He was so enthusiastic about it I didn't bother to argue. It wasn't my preferred, but it didn't matter to me. Honest. "Team Riot", I coughed under my breath.
Wiggly nodded, and again with a giant flash and a *YOOM-TAH!*, motioned for us to check out our badges. Carefully inscribed around the sapphire jewels, was our team name.
Chatot coughed, and after we looked up, began to inter us in guild duties.
"...And finally, tomorrow we will begin your first apprentice mission. We like to ramp things up quickly, so we are bringing a mentor to supervise. I hope he'll be to your liking. Now...", he turned, pushing open the door, "I and the guildmaster must reconvene our daily meeting. You two should go explore Treasure Town, and meet with the other guild members. Now shoo, shoo." He pulled out an intricate watch, squawked in alarm, and pushed us out. and while closing the doors, we could hear him say, "The town meeting begins in an hour, Guildmaster! Don't fall asleep again!", and Wiggly's deep snoring.