20 – The Petty Power of Small Men

“Hey Rose!” the newcomer said. “Yep, turn out it was nothing special; just a couple of stray scree wandering around.” She plopped a small leather sack on the bar in front of Rose, where it clattered dully.

Alistair joined the others in looking over the woman, Asha. He nudged the thin spectacles further up his nose. “It is always a pleasure to see one of our esteemed members upholding the order of the region.”

“Yeah, yeah, power and responsibility and all that. Save it.” She winked over at the group of three. “Like I said, I’ll vouch for them, at least for the temporary membership.”

“That is most gracious of you, however, as I was explaining to the these three.” He gestured vaguely towards them. “We have rules for a reas—”

“Any refined guild member in good standing may, at their discretion, choose to sponsor up to five prospective individuals for temporary membership lasting not more than ten days, contingent upon scheduled proof of their refined cores, ending with a verified demonstration of their commensurate skills. Prospective candidates must not be wanted by The Steel Judges, be in trial, or have an active bounty on them.” She smiled kindly, her white teeth shining in the now early afternoon light streaming through the tall windows. “Section sixteen, subsection seven.”

“Well, I… that…”

Asha turned to the group. “You all haven’t broken any laws recently or have a bounty on your head, do you?”

“What? No, of course not,” Jax said, staring at the woman.

“We do not.” Kaylin was smiling.

Asha turned back to Alistair. “Ok, then everything seems to be in order, so I vouch for them. Rose, I don’t have any active member sponsorships at the moment, right?”

“You do not.” Rose looked as if she was working very hard to keep a straight, professional face.

“Well then I have the spots free as well. You’ll probably need this.” She placed a round, silver medallion on the bar in front of Alistair.

The thin man stared at it for a long moment before his shoulders sagged and he let out a long breath. “Yes, well, if you insist on using your guild-right of sponsorship…”

“I do.”

“Right, then.” He grabbed the medallion, reached under the bar to retrieve a small metal box with what appeared to be a fragment of obsidian sticking out of the side, and placed the trinket on top. The silver brightened and the obsidian began to glow a very faint violet.

Ren sensed the barest aura surround the device, fading as quickly as it had come.

Alistair made a note in a thick, leather-bound book. “Asha Ravenswing, guild sponsor for.” He glanced at the three stacks of forms. “Jax Lar, Kaylin Sael, and Ren… What is your family name?”

“Oh, uh. Do you really need it?”

“It is, quite clearly, marked as a required field.”

“Right, um. It’s Ren… Stevens.” Mentally he added, you know, like Shia Labeouf’s sister from that show.

“Stevens? Most unusual, how do you spell that?”

You know, Ren, you could have lied there, idiot. “I’ll just write it for you. Can I borrow that?” Ren was suddenly acutely aware of the line of people milling behind them. To the side, he noticed a short man with graying hair come into the main hall, leaning over to talk to another woman on the far side of the room.

Alistair grunted, his knuckles whitening as he tightened his grip on the metal tipped quill.

“Here, you can use mine.” Rose handed over the long white feather she had been holding.

“Thanks.” Ren turned the top sheet of the far right stack of papers around, scribbled his last name in the blank space before handing it back over to Alistair.

“Yes, well.” He fidgeted in his padded chair before letting out a final, weary sigh and sliding the silver medallion back across the polished wood surface where Asha scooped it up, tucking it back away into one of her many pockets. He made a note on three small sheets, sliding them over as well. “You three are hereby granted temporary limited membership to the guild, pending a confirmation of your refined state either via core analysis or skill demonstration. Since this outpost facility lacks the prerequisite mana-tech for core analysis, you will default to a skill demonstration in three days’ time.”

“Thank you very much, this was an… enlightening experience.” Kaylin said, grabbing the three sheets.

“Now for the bounty!” Jax said, placing the sack full of stings back on the table.

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“Ooo, smells like scorpion venom,” Asha said, leaning forward. “Those can be nasty work, I didn’t know there was a nest nearby or a contract out for them.”

“There isn’t,” Alistair said.

“Ah, well, I’m sure you all will work out the details. Anyway, my job here is done. Rose, can I get the payout for the two patrols?” She handed over her medallion.

Rose took it, slid the small box over, and touched something on the side. “Yes, of course. Always great to see you Asha!” Rose handed the tall leather-clad woman a small, clinking bag along with the round piece of silver.

“Likewise!” She turned back to Ren, Jax, and Kaylin. ”Nice to meet you folks, hopefully I’ll see you around!” She turned to stride out of the hall.

“Wait, please!” Kaylin called out. “We’re staying at Stubbs’s inn, the Bee’s Bounty. We’d love to buy you a drink later; this evening if you’re free?”

Going to be hard to do that without any money, Ren thought.

Asha paused, tilting her head to the side. “We’ll see, I may stop by. Take care.” Without another word, she strolled out of the guild hall, several eyes following her as she left.

“So, what about collecting for our services in—what was it?— upholding the order of the region?” Jax said, nudging the damp bag with a grin.

“Creating an ad-hoc bounty would be most… unusual; especially for temporary members. And will require managerial approval.” Alistair scanned the room, eyes pausing on the short, overweight man on the far side of the room. “Ah yes. Excuse me, Mr. Carthain.”

The man looked up.

“I have a brief matter in which your attention would be most appreciated.”

Mr. Carthain made a sharp dismissive hand motion towards the woman he had been speaking to before striding over, shoulders back, head tilted up, mouth formed into the barest hint of sneer. He had an air of someone who knew with iron-certainty that everyone around him existed for his use and subsequent discarding.

To the side, Rose’s back straightened as she suddenly became fully engrossed in the papers in front of her.

“What is it now, Alistair?” The man said, his voice dripped with impatience.

“So sorry to bother you, administrator. These people.” He motioned towards Ren, Jax, and Kaylin. “Are allegedly newly refined and now are temporary members by right of member sponsorship, pending skills demonstration.”

The short man loomed over the desk. “Alister. Am I a busy man?”

“Of course, Mr. Carthain.”