Rise of the Nightmare Crestmaster

"Alright, alright, did you guys have breakfast yet?" Sam asked.

"No, not yet." Answered Aldrich and the other two shook their heads.

"Lets go then it's my treat."

Aldrich took notice of Sam and Liam's badges on their chest, they had the two wings of the guild's sigil but it was also different. This one had a green background and the number 1 in between the wings.

The Guilds district was as the name implied, home to most guilds headquarters in Voryhrm. There's the Gleaming swords guild, the Rising star guild and the shield clan guild.

These were some of the top guilds in all of Vorian and since Ordoram was occupied by the new governors since the end of the war sixteen years ago.

That was why most businesses had quickly found reasons to reallocate here. In the past Ayemon once said that Voryhrm was now the real center of Vorian, and he was right.

Ordoram was a capital in name alone.

After a hearty breakfast he understood that many people were not like him and his friends Cole and Frank. Kip and Kate, had no idea if they were ever going to ignite their crests.

They both took the Oath, and so their chances were much higher than before but the Oath was by no means a guarantee that things would work out.

Aldrich didn't tell them that he was sure about his chances he mirrored their stories and gave them sympathetic looks as they all shared in uncertainty.

Sam and Liam were two such examples of initiates who never ignited their crests, they were working part time, adventurers in the guild where most their quest were of this nature.

They could also be hired by other Crestmaster parties to work as scouts and to do menial tasks. Like preparing the tents and cleaning and so on.

The other job was Ether supply and Glyph repair, which was a good job that only initiates can do.

See, the walls and defenses of Voryhrm were protected by thousands of protection and repulsion Glyphs that need to be repaired and supplied with Ether every once in a while.

These were jobs that were always in demand.

After the breakfast consisting of omelets fried fruits and bacon, they followed Sam and Liam to a shop, it's sing read: Leaf it to me.

Yes, it said 'Leaf' not 'leave' which could have been a mistake. However Sam explained that it was in the past but it got people curious and the owner kept it like that.

This was a weapons workshop, all kinds of weapons were displayed in cases and lined both sides of the wall. There were swords, maces, spears, machetes, lances, bows, muskets and even shotguns.

"Welcome!"

A short-haired elven woman greeted them happily.

"What can I help you with? Looking for something specific? Want something custom made just for you? Just say the word!"

"It's just me." Declared Sam as he walked in last.

"Darn it," the woman's demeanor suddenly changed, "what kind of bad luck do I have to be cursed by you cheapskates? Just hurry up."

Sam laughed and looked at them, "guys do you have short swords? If not you can rent some from here and when your done just return them."

"Why short swords? My weapon of choice is the spear." Complained Kate.

"I-I haven't killed anything before and I only use knives to eat." Stammered Kip.

"We will be going into the well which is a small and closed area, you need a short sword unless you guys have a musket?" Liam asked, despite knowing the answer.

No reply.

"Alright, we're not going to need them anyway but while going through a quest you must be prepared for things to go bad. I have some spare change so it's on me this time."

Sam explained to which all three expressed their gratitude.

"Since when did become that nice?" The elf asked.

"Hey, these guys are going on their first quest, as their senior isn't it better to help them out?"

Aldrich was celebrating on the surface only, inviting them to breakfast could be explained by Sam wanting the team to get closer to work better.

,m That was also what Aldrich was trying to do when he first talked to Kip and Kate. And yet even id it's just renting weapons it had to cost quite a bit for Sam. So why?

Why would he do that? Was he just a good person? Was he rich enough that he didn't care? It might look silly and turn out to be nothing but Aldrich had to think.

He had to pay attention to even the moat trivial details, it was because he slacked off that the whole debacle with Yasbel happened. If Aldrich didn't have the Eyes of Insight he would be living a different kind of life right now.

And while that ended up playing in his favor, it was just a lucky coincidence. He couldn't possibly expect it to happen again.

"Short swords also have their differences, look around and choose one which suits you, be careful not to choose one that's too heavy. This madam is going to take care of you, we'll go for a smoke break." Said Sam.

Sam and Liam walked outside and took out their cigarettes and his vision was then blocked by the door.

Aldrich and the two of them started going through the swords with the elf and trying the swords out.

Aldrich suddenly facepalmed, "oh, I forgot to ask Sam something. I'm going now."

After saying that he ran out of the door, both Kip and Kate didn't suspect a thing and the elf didn't seem to care at all.

Aldrich opened the door softly but didn't see Sam and Liam outside so he looked around for them at bit and smelled tobacco shortly after. He peered from the edge of the building and saw them.

The my were talking in the alleyway.

Aldrich could hear only bits of what they were saying.

"Hey, don't worry man, we're going to….. for sure this time…." Liam said.

"I know… I know…. This time for sure… the newbies seem like they can follow orders and the quest is simple enough."

"Yeah…. But that Kip, he seems like he might be a pain in the ass. Even the girl's better than him."

"I know. But think about it, every party needs a meat bag."