Even after finishing breakfast, along with his morning routine, it was still rather early. It wasn’t until he was halfway done with his food did he realize that the guild hadn’t given him an exact time to stop by today. Of course, if you don’t give a child specific information they are free to devise their own answers to their questions. As such, Ethan came up with the perfect plan to not wanting to wait longer than necessary; he would simply go and hang out at the guild and watch the other adventurers while he waited. If, perhaps, they wanted to meet with him sooner rather than later it would be perfect if he was there waiting. Having come up with a solution to his dilemma of impatience Ethan smiled happily, made sure everything was taken care of in his room, and then grabbed his pack before slipping out the door, which he locked behind him.
Making his way downstairs he waived to Ms. Badger, adding an excited, “see you later!” and then made his way outside. Despite his urge to get there as quickly as possible he knew better than to slam the door behind him, so he closed it carefully and then turned around to look up and down the street.
“...woa...”
That was the only “word” he could come up with when he looked upon the great masses of people moving back and forth along the walkways on either side of the street. In the street carts, some pushed by people, others pulled by animals, moved side by side with carriages and wagons.
All in all it took the boy nearly 10 minutes before he gathered the courage and found a path between the people, around the street traffic, and to the other side which was going in the direction he needed to go. Had he simply stepped down on the walkway on his side of the street he feared he would have been moved along like a leaf in a stream and carried away.
It took him a little effort to keep pace with those around him without walking into them or falling behind. Soon though he was walking proudly with the townspeople, his eyes wandering about as it felt like he was in a completely different place than the day before. Though the streets were busy yesterday the morning rush had subsided by the time he entered, and since he was passed out last night during the evening rush today was the first time he had experienced such heavy traffic. In truth it wasn’t any where as busy as the capital or even a city, but to Ethan it was a flood of bodies unlike he had ever experienced before.
It was by sheer good luck he noticed the street he was supposed to turn onto, his gaze just happening to catch the side of a familiar building between the bodies of those next to him. Shifting to the side and then leaping at the right time he was out of the flow of the main street, though he was still in a steady stream of people, though it wasn’t as packed as before. Finally he made it to the square where the guild entrance greeted the town. Sighing in relief he made his way carefully around those milling about outside and soon found himself inside and off to the side with his back against the wall. He was definitely overwhelmed but was managing to hold it together pretty well, especially now that he was out of the way and didn’t need to consider what may be behind him.
Rubbing his hands together to help warm them up he looked around the main hall, which while no where near as bad as outside, was still filled with adventurers and staff bustling about. He could see a mass of adventurers over by a large cork board that covered the entire wall left of the front desk. On the cork board were pieces of scroll of almost all the same size, though the writing and presentation varied greatly from each one. He watched in silence at different adventurers, some alone, others in groups of varying numbers, reached out and pulled down a different scroll at a time. While rare, at least during his time observing, he did notice a couple of instances where one individual or group pulled down three or four scrolls before walking over to the counter. He wondered if there was a limit, and if so, how it worked, but figured he would learn more about it later. He continued to watch as the adventurers talked a little with the different receptionists after picking a scroll, with each conversation ending with some kind of stamp being placed near the top right hand corner of the scroll.
Looking past the entrance area he was slightly surprised to see the cafeteria and sitting area, for the most part, quiet and empty, though the imposing figure of the bar tender was definitely visible behind the bar. Despite it looking like his attention was on the receptionist desk, it was only a second or two after Ethan’s gaze fell on him that he turned, smiled and gave the boy a big handed wave. It took a second before Ethan realized the way could have been at him and stupidly turned to look behind him. Stupidly? Well yes, because his back was too a wall. The frown that appeared on Ethan’s face also spoke volumes of the ridiculous of his actions. Sighing he turned back with what could be described as an apologetic expression and waved back. He thought he could see the bar tender’s chest heaving, and got a little embarrassed thinking the big man was laughing at him.
“Why hello there Mr. Kipley.”
That voice. He knew that voice. As soon as the first word slipped into his ear and registered with his brain he felt a skin crawling chill speed down his spin. He didn’t want to look. Maybe if he didn’t look she would just go away? His luck was hardly that good and after visibly gulping the young Ethan slowly, haltingly, turned his terrified gaze to the source of that greeting.
