A/N: Heya, peeps! I'm back! Finally, National Exams are finished and I am COMPLETELY FREE FROM SCHOOL. YUSH.
Sure, I'll be in another country for a bit, but I am bringing my laptop there, so I'll write down the chapter if I have the chance. For now, I'll write as much as I can before I go, so yeah! ^v^
Enjoy~
*warning and disclaimer is the first chapter, btw*
Chronicles of the Drowned City
C.5: New members.
"We are seriously broke...,"
And just when they thought they had a lot of money. Ah, you didn't spend it to wisely, I see.
See, things in Armoroad are not cheap. At all. They come in relatively high prices, especially at Napier's Firm.
Still, you can't really blame them, though. These are tough times, and people needed as much money as they can get. And new Guilds should know that firsthand.
They, apparently did not consider those things and simply wasted all the money they had.
...Ahem, maybe it wasn't really wasted. But, it kind of is, actually. All they really bought was better armor that's been newly made from the materials they got in the Labyrinth. Honestly... They don't even have that much source for income. About the only thing they can do to gain money is selling materials they got from monsters! Now, those don't really sell for much, do they?
"Arrgh, what do we do..?" Adisa said, facepalming, regreting ever buying that piece of armor she oh-so wanted.
"Well... maybe there's a quest in the pub that gives money as a reward," Zakharia suggested, startling everyone momentarily. They keep on forgetting she's not mute.
"Really?!" Cia said, life suddenly finding it's way back to her almost dead eyes.
"Well... depending on what quest it is...," Zakharia answered nervously. Cia's eyes went dead again a little.
"But some quests can give you items that could sell pretty well. If we're lucky, we may actually fetch a quest that really gives us money," Zakharia explained, still with an emotionless face and a quiet tone. Yuki looked at her for a second. 'How could she know so much?' he thought. "Oh wait...," he murmured,"she's already been to the second floor...," he said, mentally slapping himself.
"Hey, hey!"
Heinrich started at the voice, and turned to where it came from. Hey, isn't that...?
"Wait a second, I think I've seen you before," the old man-ahem- captain, I'm sorry, said, pointing at Heinrich. It then came back to him.
"Oh, hey! It is you! Nice to see your Guild's well on it's way towards exploring deeper parts of the Labyrinth!" The captain cheered.
'Well on our way to exploring deeper parts of the Labyrinth?" Cia thought ,"You... wouldn't really want to put it that way..."
"Well, um, we're broke right now, and-"
"Say no more lad! Heinrich already came and showed me those documents last night! You'll have your own ship from now on!"
Cia's eyes then shone with light like never before. "R-Really?! This ship?!" She pointed it at the ship on the docks.
"Yes! And whatever you catch serves as your income," the captain said.
"In other words money?!" Cia and Adisa both said, simultaniously.
"That right!" The captain nodded.
"Yes!" Cia said out loud, prancing about like a kid. Then, came a hit to the back of her head by the Shogun himself.
"Stop it," he said in a venemous tone. Cia then stopped prancing and pouted a little bit.
"'Bout the only thing you need to do now is give her a name. So, what'll it be?"
All five of them then gathered up in a circle. "What do you think, Heinrich?" Adisa asked. Heinrich cupped his chin, thinking. The others are thinking as well. A name for a ship... what should we name it, Heinrich thought.
"How about... "Enterprise"?" Heinrich suggested.
"Or Leviathan?" Adisa inquired. The others thought about the two names.
"Well, Leviathan... sounds nice~, so I guess I'm all for it!" Cia said. "It's connected to the sea, too~," she added.
"I think we should just go with Enterprise," Yuki said,"simply because of that," he continued, pointing at another ship that's also docked. A carving on the ship's side says "Leviathan".
"Argh, damn it... Someone stole that idea from me...," Adisa pouted.
"Or rather you stole their idea," Yuki said, ice hinted all over his tone. Adisa sighed. "I guess you kindda have a point," she said.
"Anyway...," Heinrich said, and walked over towards the captain. "The ship will henceforth be known as the "Enterprise"," Heinrich said. The captain smiled.
"Good, good. I know it's not the best ship here, but she can sail. With a little work, she could actually become one of the best ships around. I mean, she once was...," the captain said, his tone shifting at the last part of his sentence.
"What do you mean "once was"?" Zakharia asked. The captain turned to the little girl –ahem- Zodiak, looking shocked for a second.
For one, he knows those eyes. The girl's blind. Second of all, she is really short. He guessed that the girl actually looks older than she looks .
But enough about that. The captain sighed.
"Let's hop to it, then, shall we?" The captain said, trying to change subjects. Zakharia didn't want to let it go yet, but she decided to just let it go and let everything flow as the captain wants it to.
"Sure, alright," Heinrich said.
"But what about that quest?" Cia asked. Heinrich sighed.
"Fine. We'll split in groups. Who wants to do the quest and who will go on the ship?" Heinrich said. Cia and Adisa went for the ship, as did Heinrich. Which leaves Yuki and Zakharia for the quest.
"Right then. Just head over to the pub. It's west of here. You remember, right?" Heinrich said. He knows the layout of this town pretty well now. His little tour last night took him back and forth, passing the Inver Port and the Butterfly Bistro most of the time.
"And if we find any other Guild member?" Yuki asked.
"Up to you," Heinrich said and went off into the ship. He had decent experience with ship, despite his sea sickness. He'll be able to drive one, as long as he keeps his eyes away from the water.
...Erm, scartch that. That is COMPLETELY impossible. His sea sickness is one if the worst after all. Hey wait a second. He knows that fact.
Then why the hell is he currently standing on the ship's docks?
His stomach started to churn. The ship hasn't even sailed yet! Ok, time to get out of here!
Too late.
Before long, the ships anchors are raised, and the ship sails, the captain warning them to hang on.
Before long, Heinrich and the ship itself is already above water, sailing, the vessel swaying from left to right gently as the waves rocked it.
Before long, Heinrich started pouring his breakfeast out of his stomach.
Don't worry. It wasn't like what he ate was good or anything. In fact, he's at least glad it's out.
Meanwhile, outside of the port, Yuki just realized his mistake. Ah, if only he was able to travel back in time and swap places with Heinrich...
Well, that's not possible, so he grabbed hold of Zakharia's hands and guided her towards the pub.
When they got there, the pub looked more crowded than it did the last time they went in here.
"This place is... really crowded now, isn't it?" Zakharia asked.
"Yeah. And looks like most of them are new guild members looking for quests," Yuki said, but then got dragged towards where Zakharia want's to go, which initially was the counter, but she ended up straying to one of the tables.
After succesfully guiding Zakharia towards the counter, Yuki's eyes immediately spotted one of the bills- the reward being money.
100 En.
Hello, this looks good. There are only two bills left at the moment. Yuki carefully read both. One requests for them to collect frog parts- preferebly cheeks and legs-, the recipient being the pub owner herself, who's standing in front of them right now.
The other requests them to find a sunbathing spot inside the Labyrinth. Ok, that's a weird one. Who would want to sunbathe in the Labyrinth?
"Hello," the lady greeted. Yuki jumped, snapping his head towards her. W-Was she staring at him this whole time?!
The Shogun sighed, trying to hide his embarresment (which apparently he did succesfully), and opened his mouth to say something when the lady cut him.
"Were you looking for quests just now? Sorry, but we'll need to see some papers before we can let you accept some," she said apologetically.
'Right,' Yuki said,'those.' He then rummaged his bag for those papers Heinrich gave them and took it out, showing it to the bartender.
The bartender read it, and happily nodded.
"Alright, good! Time for you to accept some questin's, then!" She said, going back to her normal way of speaking.
"It's simple! Just accept a quest, get the requirements, and get back here to collect the rewards!" She said, cheerfully.
Zakharia smiled. She then outstretched her hand and touched the board, her hands feeling around the board until it came in contact with a piece of paper. She then grabbed it and tugged on it lightly.
"Which quest is this one?" She asked. Yuki read the paper again. "It's a request to find a sunbathing spot in the Labyrinth," he said, then reads over the rewards section,"and hey, the rewards 200 En. Not bad," he said.
"Why would someone want a sunbathing spot in the Labyrinth, though?" Zakharia asked,"It's pretty dangerous down there, you know."
"Well, I have no idea, but they say there is a spot on the first floor," the bartender inquired,"and that spot's oddly safe from monsters, too."
"Then I guess we find that spot?" Zakharia asked. Yuki nodded.
"I'm guessing you'll take this one then? Ok," the bartender said, and ripped the paper off the board, then handing it over to them. "Keep this with you, 'kay?" she said.
When they got out of the pub, they saw two people outside –one drunk pirate-looking guy, the other being a dark haired boy, way smaller in terms of stature,wearing black clothes, a straw hat, carrying a...
Is it just me or is she carrying a rake?
Well, if he's headed to the Labyrinth, that wouldn't be good, now would it?
The drunk pirate lookng man happened to turn backwards, spotting the two people who got out of the pub. And the paper they're holding.
A cheeky smile crept up to his face.
"'Ey, there, fella's! *hic*," he said, as he walked towards them, his drink spilling all over the place from inside his bottle.
" !" The young boy next to him called, running after him. Yuki felt something bad coming. 'Oh shit,' he thought.
Before long, the captain reached them and swung his hands over Yuki's shoulders.
"Ye'r *hic* a Guild, ain't 'cha *hic*," the captain asked. Yuki nodded awkwardly.
"Yes, we are... I'd appreciate it if you would get your hands off of me, though," he said, grunting a bit as he shoved the man's hands off of him (in a way that didn't make him look like a total douche). He's surprised by how heavy the man's arm is.
"Oh no, I'm sorry!" The boy apologized, bowing. "He's like that sometimes," he said, raising his head.
"No, it's ok," Zakharia said. The young boy sighed. "Listen," he began ,"we've actually been here for a few days, looking for a guild to join," he said,"so, if you really are a Guild," the boy paused for a moment. The others looked at him, telling him to continue.
"Would you... let us join?" He finished. Yuki considered his offer for a moment. The boy, he noticed, had a sheep following him. The rake, a sheep, and the clothes he's wearing. A Farmer, from the looks of it. He remembered sneaking a peek into one if the scrolls Heinrich had when he and Cia joined, and in one of the sections, it said "Farmer".
The other man, however, is quite different. He had pirate looking clothes on, as well as weapons usually owned by pirates. He could easily tell this man is classified as a Buccaneer, in terms of class.
The guild could use more members. Eh... if only one of them isn't a drunk addict. But hey, why not? Besides, this means they would have more people to manage things in the guild. And this man has an accuantince with him who'll keep watch, so it should all be good.
Hopefully.
"Alright. What are your names, so we can get you registered?" Yuki asked, cold as usual. It sent shivers down the Farmer's spine. Ok, looks like he's going to have quite the rough stay.
"'K, then... *hic* Name's Rudollf," the Buccaneer said, his cheeky smile getting wider.
"And I'm Guad, a farmer. Nice to meet you," Guad said, bowing again. The other two nodded.
"Alright, then, let's get you to the Explorer's Guild and get you registered," Yuki said, and dragged the drunk Buccaneer, Zakharia and Guad following him.
-To Be Continued-
A/N: Ah, I'm so sorry for the long hiatus! *I am so not making any promises anymore* This chapter was harder to write than I thought! Anyway, next chapter shall be uploaded with this one (and a possible 3rd one, though we'll just see how well that turns out)
Haha, so yeah. On to the next one! *GH, what are you doing here?*
And now I shall go to school *creeps to school gates*