As Cyrus walked through the streets of the city of Eristal, they noticed all the eyes on them, the whispers and overall everyone's weird manners around them.

‘Is there something on my face??’ They kept pondering as all of the eyes were focused on them.

They shrugged their head and tried focusing on other things.

Like the reward!

There were many outdoor vendors in their small stalls. Some of them were selling clothing, some foods such as meats and pastries, flowers, weapons and other things. Cyrus eagerly looked at them, knowing they now were ‘filthy rich’ thanks to the gold reward they had been given. 

*GROWL~*

Their stomach cries. Cyrus looks down on their stomach and pats it as they cried. They were really hungry from not eating for a few days. Cyrus looks around and spots a small stall that was selling pastries and they head closer. 

There was an old Grandma and a younger girl behind the counter with a gentle smile. Both happily selling pastries together. Upon seeing Cyrus, the grandma gasped. She started tapping the young girl who was helping her behind the counter, telling her to come closer.

“Isn’t this the young child who got beaten up at the festival?” The grandma whispers to the young girl. She whispered in the most ‘discreet’ way, making Cyrus able to hear.

While they were gossiping, Cyrus, on the other hand, was carefreely browsing what kind of bread they should buy. They ignored how the two were talking about them, since they had gotten used to the behavior after walking down the streets for a while.

“Excuse me, miss?” Cyrus calls out to Grandma. “Could I get four of these, please?” They point to the bread that was labeled ‘World’s softest milk bread.’

She hurries over and starts packing the breads. She would every now and then peek to take a look at Cyrus’ face, that completely looked unharmed at this point. Had she seen them a bit earlier she would have been more shocked.

Cyrus finally lets the gazes get to them and asks, “Is.. there something on my face?”

She looked surprised but then let out a laugh. “No.. you just resembled that one poor child who got beaten up the other day.” she responds with her raspy and shaky voice. “But I was mistaken. Although I did not see the whole event transpire, there is no way they could have come of it unbruised, let alone alive.”

“.... Yeah.”

Cyrus was indeed the ‘child’ whom the Granny was talking about. They ponder for a moment, if they should tell they were the victim of that day as they pay for the breads, but decide to let it go.

“One more thing miss!” Cyrus halted before leaving. “Do you know where the Adventurers Guild Novalius is..?”

.

.

.

Cyrus looked up in awe. The building was near the white border of the city but also near the seaside and the docks where all of the boats and fishermen were. They were staring at the Adventurers Guild that was almost as big and shiny as Eristal’s castle. But obviously still way smaller. People of all kinds were coming in and out of the place, the traffic was simply huge! 

Cyrus, being excited, took a deep breath and then took their first into Novalius.

The first thing they saw was how full the interior was. The inside looked rustic but still managed to have some elegant looking elements that made the place look unique. It made any newcomer feel at home the moment they stepped foot inside. 

Some were alone looking at boards filled with papers and fliers, and others were in groups enjoying their drinks at tables. There were games going on, announcements and even bards singing songs. Overall there was a lot of noise going on.

Cyrus tried to look around for a counter or guide of some sort, but people there were much longer than them and were blocking the way. So the only option was to squeeze through the crowd, hoping to find someone to ask help from. 

As they were looking around, their eyes accidentally met with a young man serving drinks to people behind a counter. The young man smiled widely at Cyrus and gestured to them to come closer. Cyrus looks around, then points at themselves in confusion. The young man points at Cyrus too and nods.

Cyrus pushed the crowd out of their way and finally managed to reach the bar counter, and leaned against it. 

“Hey, pretty one.” Says the young man. Leaning forward on the counter. 

Cyrus looked around again in confusion, then realized that he was probably talking about them since they were making eye contact. “Oh.. Hi?”

“Haven’t seen you around here before, I’m Elly.” He extends his hand outward. Cyrus shakes his hand back. “Elliot Weiss is my full name, but feel free to call me Elly. I’m the owner of Novalius, nice to meet you..?”

“My name’s Cyrus, nice to meet you too, Elly!” They reply with a smile.

Elliot; Elly was light-skinned, had dark hair and light brown floppy dog ears – he was a half breed. He wore a charismatic smile, which complimented his neat white button up with a cropped vest and dark pants. He looked fairly young for an owner of such a big business, but his attire certainly looked the part.

He covers his mouth with his hand. “Actually, I lied.”

“Um.. What do you mean…?”

“I was lying about not seeing you before. You’re pretty popular nowadays, Cyrus. Literally the talk of the whole city. Like, wow.” Elliot claps with a smile.

“Oh…” Cyrus felt uncomfortable. They really hoped no-one would recognize them but seeing what had happened back at the food stalls, they had their hopes way too high. “Wow, haha.. I didn’t know I was that popular.”

“Oh come on! Give yourself more credit!” Elliot says. “Imagine seeing someone getting their head repeatedly slammed onto the hard ground,” He imitated a person getting beaten up with his hands. “and seeing that same person suddenly walking in the streets fine with no wounds. How would you feel?”

“I mean.. I would be surprised?”

“Exactly!” Elliot says in an excited tone. He clears his throat. “Anyways, I presume you didn’t just come visiting, right?”

He pulls out a few sheets of paper from under the counter and puts them on top. They were all fliers that were filled with text and some photos.

“Here.” Elliot pushes them toward Cyrus. “All of these have the latest quests available. They all vary in difficulty, so if you’re interested, read carefully and take your pick. I’ll help you with the rest.”

Cyrus eyes the fliers curiously. 

“This–” As they were about to speak, a young man interrupted them, suddenly slamming a paper on the table.

“Elliot,” He pointed to the text on the flier. “hook me up with this quest, but quickly please. I need to depart before sundown.”

Both Elliot and Cyrus look up to the young man in surprise. It was Azrael. Who now looked two times worse than earlier at the castle. His eyes were puffy and seemed like he was mentally tired.

Cyrus straightened their back. “Azrael! Are you okay..?”

Azrael looks at them with a side eye and averts his gaze back to Elliot. Quietly awaiting for a response, though he didn’t look patient. 

Elliot picks up the flier on the counter, eyes it and sighs. “..You don’t look like you’re in a fine state to take this on.” He states. “I refuse to give this one to you. Pick another quest. Or even better, don’t take any?”

“I don’t care about your opinion. Just give me the information and I’ll be on my way.”

“...” Elly sighs as he ruffles his dark hair. “No. There’s like hundreds of quests available here, and you pick this? Literally stepping foot in the borders of Asteria could take your life… That’s why this specific quest is meant for groups and not to take alone.”

Azrael stared deep into the eyes of Elliot, hoping to intimidate him into giving him the quest. Sadly for Azrael, the Adventurers Guild’s owner wouldn’t be intimidated that easily. Otherwise he probably wouldn’t even have the job, considering the amount of scary looking adventurers are currently inside.

“Nice try. Either you choose something else or leave.” Elly states.

Azrael clicks his tongue and turns around to leave. But Cyrus quickly takes a hold of Azrael’s arm.

Startled, Azrael turned around in confusion.

“What– What if I joined Azrael in the quest?” Cyrus asks with a determined excited face.

“Wha–” Azrael and Elliot said simultaneously.

“Are you joking, Cyrus?” Elliot leans forward, looking distraught. “I have other quests for you that are less… likely to get you killed in an instant. I’m sure you’re tired of near-to-death situations, so let’s pick something more chill, huh?”

Azrael removes Cyrus’ hand from his arm. “I agree. No offense, but I would be better if I went alone.”

Cyrus pouts angrily.

“Yes, yes!” Elliot nods vigorously. “But I’m still not assigning the quest to you unless you form a group of at least two people.”

Azrael clicks his tongue. ”Then I’m leaving.”

Cyrus quickly grabs Azrael’s arm again. “Wait! But we can be a group.” Cyrus states. ”We fought together almost to death! We were totally in sync. It felt like we could read each other's mind and predict our next moves!” 

They were obviously exaggerating.

”…Damn you sure are persistent.” Azrael brushes Cyrus’ hand off again and starts walking toward the exit.

Cyrus’ ears move downward after having their proposition rejected. They turn back to face Eliot with a frown on their face. Elliot looks at Azrael who was leaving, then looks back at the frowning deer in front of him.

Elliot smiles at them. “Hey… don’t mind him, Cyrus. He always acts like that. I’ll give you a better qu–”

“Aren’t you coming?” Someone shouts from behind Cyrus.

The voice was so loud it caught the attention of over 200 people inside of the building.

Azrael looked around then at Cyrus. “We need to buy supplies and new equipment for you. We don’t have all day, let’s go.” He extends his hand.

Cyrus just stared at him with their eyes wide open from being stunned, but they quickly snapped out of it. 

They grab the quest flier from the counter. “I guess we’ll be taking on the quest after all. See you later, Elly!” They said enthusiastically, though they still sounded confused. Cyrus then runs to Azrael, and the both of them exit the Adventurer’s Guild.

. 

.

Elliot was left flabbergasted and it seemed like the rest of the people inside the guild were too.

“What the hell.. ignoring my warnings like that…” Elly angrily pours a drink into a glass and hands it to an adventurer.

An employee hesitantly approaches Elliot. “Should we go after them and offer them another set of safer quests?”

“No. Let them be. They’ll see what happens when you ignore my warnings.” 

“You say all that though you are preparing a care package for them…”

“...”