“50 gold!”

“I told you they were expensive.”

The pair stood within the entry hall of the Scribe’s Guild. The scent of ink and vellum filled the air as scribes toiled over reams of paper, painstakingly copying text. Honeycomb bookshelves held scrolls upon scrolls of varying quality throughout the halls that could be seen from the entry.

An older demon stood before them at a small desk. Graying of hair and thick with wrinkles. A small pair of half-moon spectacles perched upon his sharp nose as he stared at Autumn as a copy of a barony map lay before him.

“The quality is unbeatable. We only sell these to those with Guild licenses.” The old demon croaked.

The detail was exquisite to be fair, with every tree, rock, or hill depicted.

“Don’t you have something a little more simple? We don’t need so much detail, just so we have an idea of where we are going. The major landmarks and towns would be enough.”

The old scribe glared for a moment before sighing, rolling the map back up, and slipping it into a protective case. Moving back over to the shelves, he replaced before retrieving a smaller vellum roll. As the calf-skin was unrolled, Autumn saw a much less detailed map, but it still displayed the basic layout of the barony’s roads, forests, coastlines, and major settlements.

“10 gold non-negotiable.”

While cheaper, it was still most of the wealth Autumn had on hand. With a wince, she handed over the gold.

“Do you have any day planners? A calendar? That sort of thing.”

The scribe grunted before fishing around the shelves once again and retrieving a leather-bound notebook. The first half as she flipped through was indeed a calendar, although there were only ten months in total, while the back half was blank for notes.

“2 gold and that’s already 30% off given it’s already the 4th month.”

The last of Autumn’s gold disappeared into the scribe’s hands. Only a handful of silver and copper remained within Autumn’s deflated coin pouch. Exiting the dusty guild hall, the pair reemerged into the bustling guild district.

“I could have paid for some of it, you know,” Nethlia spoke up.

“It’s alright, I can earn some money later. You keep hold of yours in case we need something.” Autumn reassured her.

As they walked through the city streets, Autumn took a brief look through the months and days. Luckily, before they had left, she had the foresight to ask the scribe to mark today’s date. She simply claimed to have lost track.

The 7th of Nusraura, 482nd year of the 5th Reign.

As the 4th month was named after a goddess, it stood to reason in Autumn’s mind that the rest ought to be too.

In order they were Avros, Ondite, Milanis, Nusraura, Netix, Suthir, Cesuna, Noton, Utia, and Cilene. Every month had 32 days except the last with 33. The lone outlier was labeled “the lightless day”, fairly ominous.

That made 321 days if her math was correct, not too far off of Earth’s 365. That’d make Autumn roughly nineteen and a bit years old on this planet. Not that it mattered in the end, as she still had lived the same amount of time, but it was good to know.

Different to Earth as well, the months were divided into four, eight-day weeks. The days were named Kinera, Furtho, Maroth, Zetani, Alepho, Nuim, Hellus, and Cejax.

The 7th of Nusraura fell on a Maroth.

A rapturous boom that shook the stones beneath her feet interrupted Autumn’s reading. Stumbling, she almost fell but was steadied by Nethlia’s firm hold. Glancing about, Autumn saw they had somehow made it to the Alchemist’s row without her knowing. The pedestrians, while shaken by the explosion, didn’t seem surprised or bothered by it. They continued on their day like normal.

“Damn it, girl! I told you it was too hot!”

Spilling forth from the entrance of Ember’s Elemental Elixirs, alongside a billowing cloud of multi-hued smoke, were the familiar forms of Ember and Pyre. The pair bickered as they coughed and sputtered behind leather face masks and protective eye goggles, the colorful smoke proving too much for the equipment to handle.

“And I told you we needed iron shavings, not copper!”

“Iron shavings! Do you think we can afford that?! No, it’s better if we tweak the recipe than give a single copper to those vultures at the Merchant’s Guild!”

Back in the guildhall, Nethlia and Autumn had both agreed upon Pyre being the better pick. While having a priestess around would fill in their religious gap, having an alchemist on hand would be far more worthwhile.

Something Autumn was doubting as she waited for the smoke to clear.

Pyre was an Ignis Lutum, a type of elemental being related to fire. Autumn could only guess whether there were other varieties, but it stood to reason that there were. Currently, she was clad in her work attire comprising a black dress trimmed with copper-colored highlights over which she had on a thick leather belt, thick gloves stained with chemicals, and a pair of heavy-duty leather boots.

“Excuse me, is this a bad time?” Autumn called out to the pair.

The two spun about to face Autumn, having not noticed their presence before.

“Huh, oh yes, a bad time. The store is closed for renovations.”

Another rumbling pop from within the building sent out a wave of sparkling smoke, sending the group retreating away.

“Hmm, it wasn’t supposed to do that. Anyway, come back another time.”

Nethlia stepped forward with a copy of Pyre’s guild form in hand.

“We’re here for Pyre. We’re forming a team, you see, and we were hoping to interview her for a role.”

Seeing the guild logo, Ember scowled before turning to Pyre, who jutted out her chin in defiance.

“Bah. I see you haven’t changed your mind. Go on then, get. I’ll clean this mess up again.”

The acrid billowing smoke tickled the back of Autumn’s throat, causing her to cough. Turning to a delighted and nervous Pyre, Autumn gestured back out the way they had come.

“Do you mind if we talk elsewhere, away from all this smoke?”

“What? Oh sure, there’s a nice little cafe just at the end of the street.”

Soon, the trio found themselves situated in a rather small shop selling teas and cakes. Sitting themselves down, Nethlia started the interview as she was nominated (by Autumn) as the team captain since she was the highest rank right now.

“First, my name’s Nethlia, and I’m gold-rank. Beside me is Autumn. She’s a copper-rank like yourself. We’ll ask a couple of questions first, then you can ask some. If we all think we’re a good fit, we’ll register at the guild in the afternoon, happy?”

Pyre held up her hand in question.

“Yes?”

“Is it just the three of us?”

“No, we have three other candidates to form a party of six. My first question is, will you be able to brew or provide health potions? We’ll allocate you gold and ingredients from party funds to cover it as necessary.”

“Yes, that’s an easy recipe. It just takes specific ingredients. I can brew a few minor healing potions in the field if I have the right equipment.”

There was a confidence in her posture that was hard to fake. It reassured Autumn that the girl knew what she was talking about. It was their one major concern regarding choosing her over the priestess, who would definitely have healing prayers.

“What kinds of potions can you craft?” Autumn asked this time.

Pyre held up her fingers as she counted.

“I can craft most things in my dad’s shop: health and stamina potions, hangover cures, burn ointments, basic soaps both for organic and non-organic uses, Alchemist’s fire, and a few various antidotes. Plus, I know most plants and ingredients in and around the barony.”

Nethlia looked impressed and satisfied with her current abilities.

“Aside from the distribution of funds and loot, which we’ll cover once the full team is gathered, I think that’s it. Autumn, did you have anything else?”

Autumn shook her head.

“I’m happy. Do you have any questions, Pyre?”

“I have one. Are we expecting to travel far? Or are we operating mainly out of Duskfields?”

“We’ll be based here in the city unless things change later down the line, but we’ll discuss it as a group if that happens.”

Pyre took a deep breath as she took in the situation before her. It was an opportunity that she had been waiting for, a place to test her potions and improve upon them while not running the risk of blowing up her laboratory again. But it was a lot. Almost overwhelming still, she resolved herself, the flame upon her head grew brighter.

“Alright. I’m in. Where and when are we meeting?”

Nethlia cracked a toothy smile at the steel in her voice.

“At the Adventurer's Guild in the afternoon, don’t be late, and make sure to bring your ID.”

---

 

“Well, hello you two beauties, if this is about the gold I owe we can talk this out all civil-like.”

Lounging before Autumn was cherry-red-skinned Inferni dressed in the regalia of a pirate. Tattoos of all manner of sea creatures displayed themselves upon her skin. Classic knee-high leather boots patterned with brass metals were crossed over as they rested on a low table. Her narrow hips and thighs were clad in tight gray and white vertical striped pants While a billowing shoulderless white blouse left her narrow shoulders exposed, it barely covered her small chest, and the material was thin enough that Autumn could see she wasn’t wearing anything under it.

Off to the side, a long leather coat lay limp alongside a fancy-looking belt holding a sheathed cutlass and dagger. The only thing missing to complete her look was a hat.

Here within the Drunken Devil Inn sat the Kraken Eater herself, Liddie Eastoft.

After parting ways with Pyre, the pair had made their way to this particular tavern as this was where two other members had listed as their current residence. The Drunken Devil Inn was unlike anything Autumn had seen before, a towering pagoda-like building. It rose higher into the skyline than most others around.

In the early noon rush, it was packed with patrons, the smell of meat and ale heavy in the air.

Nethlia stood star-struck before her hero, words locked up in her throat.

“Come now, there’s no need for such fine women to stand about. Let’s have a toast together before whatever violence must be done.”

The words fell from battle-scarred lips. The r’s rolled off the tongue in a subtle melody. A hint of gold flashed upon her tongue as she spoke, a piercing to match those that dangled from her lips or upon her brow. Her earrings swayed as she took a swing from her mug with eyes still trained on the two of them.

Seeing as Nethlia was taking a backseat for this conversation, Autumn stepped up even though she didn’t want to.

“We’re not debt collectors or anything like that. We’re here about forming a team. My name’s Autumn, this is Nethlia. We got your application from the guild and were wondering if you were still interested, as well as seeing if you’d be a good fit.”

A beautiful smile bloomed upon the pirate’s lips.

“Well, why didn’t you say so? My, where are my manners? Liddie ‘Kraken Eater’ Eastoft at your service.”

The pirate jumped to her feet in an instant and gave them a sweeping bow without spilling a drop from her mug. As she did so, a high-pitched squeak escaped from Nethlia. Liddie cast a curious gaze upon the mostly silent berserker.

Turning to Autumn, she mock-whispered.

“Say, what’s up with your friend? Are they the strong, silent type?”

Autumn sighed.

“No, not usually. She said she’s a fan of yours. I think you might be her hero or something.”

Liddie straightened up upon hearing her and flashed a bright smile. Nethlia, face flushed, just nodded rapidly as she tried to contain herself.

“Well, to answer your earlier question; yes I am still interested in a team-up.” Along with a charming smile, a twinkle of mischief appeared in her eye. “So, a threesome. It’s been a bit, but I just need to stretch out first.”

She wiggled a gold studded eyebrow as she spoke. Heat flashed upon Autumn’s face and burned her ears red.

“What?! No, it’ll be a party of six!”

Liddie smirked.

“Ambitious but I like it.”