Mission 5: Chaz's Little Apprentice
"Chaz, the Guildmaster would like a word with you in private."
"Huh?" he blinked, "We have a Guildmaster?"
"Of course we have a Guildmaster." replied the Secretary, "We're a Guild."
"Th... that sort of makes sense..." admitted Chaz, "But I've never seen him before. I've never even heard of him before!"
"That's because the Hunters who get sent up to the Guildmaster's office never return! Don't you know that?" she gave him her best patronising secretarial smile which he hoped meant she was joking, "I take it you need help finding the office, then. Honestly, I thought everyone knew about the Guildmaster. Fancy a Hunter of your experience not having found out yet!"
Chaz was at first paranoid about the mysterious and reclusive Guildmaster but was now more paranoid about everyone else in the Guild knowing about the Guildmaster but him. Had they been keeping it a secret from him all this time so that they could laugh at him for his ignorance? What would this Guildmaster turn out to be like anyway? His first thought, for some bizarre reason, was that he would walk in to find a Telepathy Ball like Lutz's on a table in the middle of the room. How was Rune doing anyway? He hadn't heard a word from him since he had wandered off into the Motavian desert that day, claiming that he still had more training before he became fully worthy of the title of Lutz. Then he imagined that the Guildmaster was an AI, like SEED's enterprising little cousin. He hadn't seen Wren either but he didn't suppose he ever would. The android wasn't the type of person for surprise visits to his friends, especially as he would have to fly a spaceship all the way from Zelan Space Station to Motavia.
The receptionist lowered the barrier so that he could walk behind the counter, then took a pole with a curved hook on the end that looked a little like a window opener and used it to pull open a trapdoor on the ceiling. Chaz took the opportunity to look at the desk to see if the receptionist really was withholding all the best jobs but she had already locked away all her paperwork in her impenetrable shield wall of filing cabinets. He didn't suppose that there was actually anyone she would reserve the jobs for. There wasn't a single person in the Guild she liked.
The trapdoor led up to a whole level of the Guildhall that Chaz hadn't been aware even existed. It was mostly administrative. The busy secretaries didn't even bother looking up from their ledgers to acknowledge Chaz and the receptionist. Chaz wasn't aware the Guild required that much paperwork to be done. He was aware that his work wasn't always as straightforward as just killing the monsters – in fact, the Guild seemed to go out of its way to find him the most complicated missions possible – but this was ridiculous. Trees were still sparse in Motavia. They shouldn't be wasting paper on this much bureaucracy.
At the end of the dusty corridor was a much sturdier looking door with a brass nameplate that said 'Guildmaster'. The receptionist knocked once, then pushed the door open and walked in. Chaz was greeted by the sight of an impressively large desk made of solid Laerma wood, above which hung the Hunter's Guild symbol, along with several skulls of different Biomonsters, a collection of weapons and a detailed map of Motavia. Behind the desk was a sandworm-leather executive swivel chair and on the desk was a paperweight made of Laconia.
"One moment, please, I'll just fetch the Guildmaster!" said the receptionist. Then she disappeared through a side entrance. Chaz sat on one of the smaller seats at the back of the room. A few minutes later, the receptionist re-emerged, now wearing a black Hunter's uniform with silver brocades. She settled down on the Guildmaster's chair and crossed her legs. While it was obvious to Chaz that it was the same person, she had done a good job of transforming herself into a figure of authority. The aura of command around her was palpable. Her trademark condescending smile was now a porcelain mask of impartiality as if she cared not for the trivial business of mortals.
"Ah, hello, Chaz Ashley, I'm glad you could see me at such short notice." she said in a slightly different accent.
"What the... YOU'RE...?"
"The Guildmaster, yes. All the rumours that I secretly manipulate the affairs of the entire Guild are true. Except its not secret. The Guild hasn't been able to afford a separate receptionist and Guildmaster for years. We're emerging from an Apocalypse. You can't expect the economy to recover straight away."
"Er... so... why did you want to see me... ma'am?"
"I've been watching your performance during missions for a long time now, Chaz Ashley, and I'm impressed. For such a young Hunter to have achieved so much hasn't been seen since Alys Brangwyn, may her soul rest in peace." Chaz wished people would stop reminding him of the grief he was still trying to get over, "Ahem. That's why I'm giving you a promotion."
"Promotion?"
"You're now a senior Guild member. I'm giving you the authority to start training your own apprentices."
"Me? Train apprentices?" It didn't feel right. He still remembered being an apprentice himself. He imagined he was probably the same age as Alys was when she first started accepting trainees, except that Alys had never admitted how old she was. He didn't get women at all. Why did it matter? She wasn't even particularly old! Wren was 999 years old, for crying out loud!
"Now that its actually possible to reach Aiedo without dying, we have a constant influx of young people wishing to train as Hunters. I'm going to assign one of them to you." said the Guildmaster/receptionist, "You're due to meet Mr. Culvers in the front reception in two hours. Oh, and Chaz? Never tell anyone my true identity."
"Yes, ma'am!" he saluted.
"You are dismissed." she told him. Then, like a switch being turned off, she changed her accent again, "Do you need showing back to the reception desk?"
"Yes please." he was a little worried the paperwork would eat him. Nothing in the Guild was safe if SHE was really in charge.
He thought he had heard the name 'Culvers' before. Now he saw the young man, he remembered it clearly. He didn't look much different. A yellow tunic and trousers, dark brown hair, an impressionable face that warned Chaz that he had to be careful what he said or the boy would believe it pretty much whatever it was.
"Chaz! Its really Chaz Ashley!" he said, his eyes lighting up.
"You're the boy with the plastic sword, right?"
"That's right! The Sword of Alis! I knew you'd remember! Alis came to me in a vision and told me so!"
"I see you two know each other already." said the receptionist/Guildmaster, who had reverted entirely to her primary personality, "I won't need to introduce you, then. But I will anyway. Otherwise I won't be following procedure. Chaz Ashley, this is Ryan Culvers. Ryan Culvers, Chaz Ashley. He's the senior Hunter who will be monitoring you during your apprenticeship period."
"So, you decided to join the Hunter's Guild?" asked Chaz.
"At first I thought about joining the Church of Alis in Termi. Then I couldn't remember where Termi was and I ended up in Aiedo. Its hard enough just getting a raft from Torinco to the mainland. I was about to use the money I had left over to hire a Hunter to guide me to Termi when I realised that I was taking the wrong path in life. Alis wouldn't have cloistered herself away in a temple somewhere, she would have been out there on the front lines, saving people from evil monsters!"
"I see."
"I've been practising with my sword every day like you told me to!" he said, "Do you want me to show you?"
"Um... maybe in a less crowded area?"
"Chaz is going to guide you through a training mission." said the receptionist.
"My first mission? Wow!"
"Its only a very basic mission I picked out because of its suitability for apprentices, and Chaz will be on hand to support you if you get into any difficulty. You will treat him with respect as a senior Hunter at all times. Chaz, you mustn't let him wander off. If you get any of our apprentices killed, you will be required to pay a fee out of your own wages."
"Of course I wouldn't disrespect Chaz! He's the Paladin of Alis!" said Ryan.
"I'm the what?"
"Paladin of Alis." repeated the receptionist, "Paladin. As in 'Paradin Blow'."
"Okay, what's this mission?" Chaz prayed to Alis that it was something actually suitable for an apprentice, or at least something not designed to get him killed, instead of a mission like the last one, which had almost destroyed his local space-time continuum.
"We need someone to go and clear out the biomonsters underneath Piata Academy again." she said, "Report to the Headmaster at Piata. He adds 'don't interrupt the exams going on in the eastern wing of the building and don't open any cupboards marked 'Highly Radioactive''."
"Will do." Chaz nodded. The mission sounded genuinely straightforward. Clearing out the basement was something every Hunter did for some spare cash. Every time the Academy found out who was creating the biomonsters and expelled them, another student immediately took their place. Fortunately, none of the students seemed to know how to create particularly strong biomonsters, or else the technology they were using wasn't very effective. The Hunters never entirely got rid of the problem but they always had it under control for now.
"We're going to be slaying real biomonsters!" said Ryan happily.
"Um... where are you sleeping? I need to go home and prepare now. You should get your equipment too." said Chaz, "Is it okay for Rika to be involved in this?"
"Of course, although it is advisable not to take a large party, so that your apprentice has at least some kind of role in the battle." said the receptionist, "He's staying with you. Do you expect him to go all the way back to Torinco? You're supposed to buy his equipment for him, by the way, he hasn't been trained in what equipment to buy yet."
"Oh..." Chaz wasn't sure what Rika would have to say about a stranger coming to stay with them. She might start becoming paranoid that he would make a mess. She was just as obsessive about keeping everything neat as Alys had been.
As it happened, Rika was quite keen on the idea.
"He's such a cute little boy!" squealed Rika, embracing Chaz's unfortunate apprentice. He could tell how uncomfortable Ryan was by the look on his face and the way he looked desperately around for a way to escape, "We're like a family! What a brilliant idea, taking on a trainee!"
"Believe me, it wasn't my idea." said Chaz, "And that 'little boy' is technically three times your age."
"Do you need a hand with anything? You can have Chaz's room. He's used to sleeping in uncomfortable places so he'll be fine on the sofa." Rika told the boy, ignoring Chaz's protests.
"I'll be fine. I don't want to intrude on the saviours of Algol!" said Ryan, gazing around the room, "This doesn't look like a hero's house. Where are the souvenirs of all your adventures?"
"Saviour? Hero? Chaz, what have you been telling him?"
"This is nothing to do with me! I just told you!" insisted Chaz. He took his boots off and flopped onto the sofa. He had only been in the Guildhouse talking to the receptionist but he felt as though he'd spent all day working. That was the effect she had on him.
"Listen, Ryan. Chaz isn't a hero. Nor is he very dependable." Rika told him, "You have to keep an eye out for yourself. Don't just assume he knows what he's doing."
"Aren't you coming as well? Chaz said you would be coming!"
"You can't go basement clearing on your own?"
"If we do happen to find the technology they're using to generate these biomonsters, you'll be the most likely to know how to operate it." said Chaz.
"I suppose so." said Rika, staring at the mirror, a sad look on her face, "I miss SEED."
"Oh, I'm sorry." said Chaz, "I miss Alys too."
"Its sad when valiant heroes die in battle." said Ryan, "But it has to happen. It always happens in the ancient sagas. That means they'll be immortalised and their deaths will not be in vain. It makes the story better when that happens."
"Chaz, why don't you go and help Ryan buy some equipment? I'll unpack the bags and sort us out some lunch." said Rika, "Buy some Trimate, we're clean out. Its high time you bought some Escapipes."
"No Escapipes." said Chaz firmly. Making sure that Ryan was actually following him, he walked out of the door and closed it carefully behind him.
"I had a bad experience with an Escapipe." he explained to his apprentice.