The Guildhall stood near the Inn, merely a few meters away. In truth, the village itself wasn't even that big to begin with. We strolled past a modest count of four or five houses before reaching the guildhall, encountering only a handful of individuals along the way. Regrettably, the Guildhall itself presented as a relatively small structure positioned on the edge of the forest.
I thought it might be at least a little bit bigger.
Even though I was slightly disappointed, my excitement persisted. I couldn't keep myself from walking over there and swing the door open but Jack stopped me.
"Before we go in, I have to tell ya something. There are two rules you must follow. First, don't talk to anyone except the receptionist and the guild master.
Second, don't leave my side. It's not strange for a " he paused for a second to examine me " I say 14-year-old to try himself as an adventurer, but ya won't be very welcome there. We will only enter, ya get the things you need and then we go."
I nodded and pushed open the door with a slight feeling of worry. As the door swung open, I was immediately greeted by the smell of blood and sweat and the loud screeching sound of the door attracted the attention from the other adventurers which threw cautions glances towards us. But after they saw Jack, they immediately averted their gazes. I didn't know if it was out of fear or respect. As we made our way through the hall, we eventually reached the reception, where I was greeted warmly by a nice young lady.
"Hello and welcome to our humble little guild. You seem to be rather young. Do you want to register as an adventurer?”
I shook my head "Ah hello, no I came here to speak with the guild master."
The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "Do you have an appointment?"
"No, um- " I hesitated, not sure what to say. I threw a quick glance back at Jack who promptly stepped in for me.
"He is with me. We need something from the guild master."
Her expression changed immediately when Jack began to speak. The fear in her eyes was clear to see.
"I-I am truly sorry sir. I-I didn't know that you were an acquaintance of sir Lantern." She promptly walked to the door behind her and opened it. "P-Please this way. The guild master will be happy to meet you."
"O-Okay. Thank you." I was unsure how to answer and turned to Jack who just gestured for me to enter the room.
"I'll wait. Go in there and get the stuff."
I nodded and swiftly entered the room behind the reception.
Tony was not exaggerating about the sheer number of books in here. The walls were full of Shelves nearly bursting with books. Surprisingly though, the room was rather clean. The books which couldn't fit inside the shelves were neatly stacked in front of them. The whole room was illuminated by the natural light streaming through a large window behind the desk, revealing dusk particles which gently fell towards the ground. I began walking towards the desk at the end of the room were an old man sat quietly behind engulfed in his own reading. I was still in awe at how many books were in this room, but when I finally reached the desk, I quietly took a seat and waited for the old man to notice me.
Seconds flew by and then minutes. My patience slowly ran out. But I didn't want to be rude and disturb him. But somehow, I needed to get his attention.
I don't think that it would be a good idea to keep Jack waiting for to long. I should try and speak to him.
"Ehm, excuse me, sir. My name is Eldric and I'm here to borrow some books. A man named Tony said that this place would be perfect..."
No reaction.
This old man's focus on his book is admirable.
I nervously began to tap with my leg.
I don't want him to get a heart attack. So, it's probably best not to do anything which could startle him.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed. It could have been minutes or even hours but the old man finally put down his book and looked in front of him. He squeezed his eyes as to ascertain what he was seeing, and after a surprised look, he finally greeted me with a kind smile.
“Hello, young one. How long have you been here?”
I was mad, but after seeing his kind smile, I calmed down a little.
“Hello, sir my name is Eldric, and I was sent here to borrow some books about magic.”
“Nice to meet you, Eldric. I’m Gus the leader of this guild. If I may ask, have you never learned magic from your parents?”
I shook my head. “No um..."
Okay how do I do this now without telling him everything... Wait, didn't jack say that some people are not able to wield magic? Okay let's try this.
"My parents were not able to wield magic, so I never learned it from them. We were attacked by a monster and after they were killed, I found out that I was able to use magic." I tried to let a tear roll but was not able to.
Surprisingly though, the old man bought the lie. “Poor boy. How did you survive something like this?”
“A man named Jack told me that he saved me after I got knocked out.”
“Jack, you say? I didn't know that he had this kindness in his heart.” He pointed at a shelf to his left. “This shelf is full of books about magic. You can take as many books as you want.”
I nodded, stood up and approached the massive shelf. Its size became more apparent as I got closer. It had probably enough space to hold more than a hundred books. As I began skimming over the book names, I realized just how vast his collection of magic books was.
"Spells for intermediate, spells for master.... ah there! Magic for beginners!"
I took out a big old leather book with an already worn-out cover. I patted the dust of off it and made my way towards the old man.
"I will borrow this book for now. Thank you"
The old man just smiled and nodded. After that, he immersed himself in reading again.
Satisfied with my findings, I turned my back towards the old man and approuched the exit.
I can't wait to read this book! I don't even know what magic is yet, but somehow, I'm really excited!
As I reached the door, I heard a big crash and took a step back. Then the door swung open and a nevous and quite anxious lady stepped into the room. It was the women from the reception.
"S-Sir Eldric. Sir Lantern wants you to come out now."
I heard screams and swears from outside the room, and one of them was a rather pissed of Jack.
"Ya piece off shit! What did ya say?!"
I became worried and hastily left the room, clutching the book tightly under my arm.
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