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  Waking up from his deep slumber on the best bed in town, he cleaned himself up and made his way down the stairs into the main area of the Guild. Kaz avoided the Quest Board, wanting at least a week to take it easy, and he also reserved his room for a week. He winced at the thought of blowing thirty Silver Tokens so easily, but he deserved it after such a long and tiring adventure.

  Kaz took a seat on a bench to take a second to figure out what he needed to complete after his period away from town. Looking down, he looked at his broken glaive and decided that should be the first thing he should do, assuming that it would take time to repair it. Second, he had to get his robe cleaned and repaired, which then caused him to grimace, knowing that it will be a hefty price to pay. Sure, he gained a lot of Gold Tokens, which was still difficult for him to believe, but that didn’t mean he was free to be careless with it. Third, he needed to go visit Elder Aelon for a long discussion in hopes of getting some answers to his questions, which he desperately needed for his own sake. Finally, he should probably meet with Broff’s group, as he promised to seek them out when he returned from his Questing.

  Slightly overwhelmed by the mountain of tasks to complete, he got up, and made eye contact with Laelara, who was looking at him with concern. Kaz felt terrible about the way he interacted with her yesterday, and he decided he should clear it up so she wouldn’t think badly of him. Approaching her desk, he greeted her politely, making sure to bow his head low in respect. He then explained himself, “About last night, Laelara, I wanted to apologize for the way I interacted with you. I was so tired and overwhelmed from the whole trip that I just needed some time to recuperate.”

  With a horrified expression, she waved her hands aggressively, quickly assuring him, “No no, don’t worry about that, Kaz. I totally understand. I was just very worried about your wellbeing, and also with the information you brought, it was just a lot, very overwhelming like you said.”

  With an awkward smile, he responded, “Okay, just wanted to make sure you didn’t think I was being rude or anything.”

  Laelara shook her head in denial, and they stared at each other, the awkward silence dragging on. Kaz then decided to speak up, remembering something he needed. He asked her, “I need your help with something,” and then remembered also to ask about Broff, “Actually, two things I need your help with.”

  Giving a small tilt of her head to confirm she was listening, he continued, “I was wondering if the Guild offered training with weapons, or if you would be able to help me find a mentor of some kind, to show me the basics of using my glaive within the next few days, as I still need to get it repaired. I understand it’s a rare weapon, so a spear or staff user would be more than enough to teach me the basics.”

  She nodded her head, but didn’t reply, which meant she probably wanted him to list his second request, to which he then asked, “Also, would you be able to get me in touch with Broff, by letting him know I am back and would like to meet with him and his group.” He internally cringed at the awkward way he phrased that, hoping he didn’t come off weird or anything.

  Laelara smiled at him and replied, “Of course! So, for your lessons, I can contact an experienced Fighter, who works with the Guild through contracts to train those who request the Guild for any training with spears. I will admit, she is a bit pricey, with it being one Gold Token for a week of training,” Kaz shuddered at this, but Laelara assured him, “but I will ask the Guildmaster to help pay for it. If he doesn’t approve for any help with funding, I will still strongly encourage you to still pay for it, as it is the best learning experience you could get.”

  Kaz reluctantly agreed, already feeling his pocket getting one Gold Token lighter. She continued, “As for Broff, I believe they are in town, so when they come into the Guild, which they do every few days, I will pass on the message to find you here.”

  He thanked her for her help as always and set out to get his robe fixed first instead of his glaive. He decided to do that first, deciding that he should fix his appearance before doing business with someone, and to avoid as many pitiful looks as possible from the residents of the town. Kaz approached the small shop run by Bilbas and entered the quite busy shop. There was surprisingly a lot of people in the shop, so Kaz had to wait his turn to be helped by Bilbas.

  After some time, and awkward eye contact with the patrons of the shop, his turn came. Bilbas immediately recognized him, and without many words, took his robe, looking both distraught and excited to work on it. He quoted Kaz twenty Silver, which was slightly more than last time, but this time around his robe’s condition was visibly worse.

  Bilbas returned ten minutes later, visibly strained from his repair, he charged Kaz eighteen Silver for the repair and cleaning, to which Kaz forked over. He thanked the talented Gnome for his work, and exited the store, to the relief of the other customers, who seemed agitated having to wait long in line because of him.

  He pulled his robe over his shoulders and sighed in comfort, relishing in the comfort of his robe which felt just the same it did when he first put it on in Forith. Kaz made his way over to the Dwarf Blacksmith he spoke to briefly before meeting Elder Aelon. He got lost a few times, but after an hour or so he finally made it to his shop, and to his relief, he was in, working on a rather impressive looking battleaxe.

  Kaz approached the Dwarf’s counter, and waited patiently for him to finish his work, feeling too awkward to interrupt the Blacksmith who was absorbed in his task at hand. With a deep voice, the Dwarf called out to him in a strained voice, “I’ll get to ya shortly, le’ me finish dis up.”

  After banging his hammer on the hot metal, he dipped it into a pool of glowing water, and then took it out, wiping it dry. He set it aside, and then turned around, making direct eye contact with him. Kaz gulped but then unexpectedly, the Dwarf’s face lit up and he almost skipped over to Kaz.

  “Say, aren’t ya the lad with the interesting looking weapon who was here a few weeks ago?”

  Kaz was dumbstruck by the sudden shift in attitude in the manly looking Dwarf, and quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts. He brought out said interesting weapon, his broken glaive, along with the broken piece of his shaft. He explained to the Dwarf, “I was in a fight with a bear, and he swiped at me. I used the shaft to block the blow, but it cracked my shaft in half.”

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  The Dwarf looked impressed by his small story, giving him an approving nod, and assessed the break in the shaft, noting the condition of the blade, again switching into a more professional state. Kaz remained silent as the Blacksmith examined his weapon, until the Dwarf spoke up, asking him, “Lad, is dis a (Refined) weapon?”

  Kaz hummed in confirmation, mentally activating the white glow of his glaive, to which the Blacksmith sighed, making Kaz worried for a second. The Dwarf then explained, “Nothing ta worry about on yer end, unless ya are strapped fer Tokens. Simply put, dis will require more time an’ better materials in order to keep it (Refined). I can get it done, along with several modifications in order ta make sure it’s more durable.”

  Kaz lit up, immediately nodding his head violently. This is exactly what he thought earlier when he was presented with his bonus rewards, that the Blacksmith back in town would be able to do the same thing. He confirmed, albeit with some concern in his voice, “Yes sir, that will be good. You said it would be expensive, but nothing like a few Gold Tokens right?”

  The Dwarf looked at him blankly, and then bluntly told him, “First off, not sir, but Gruss, got it? And definitely not a few Tokens, but closer ta one Gold Token perhaps at tha most.”

  Kaz exhaled in relief, and realized that he hasn’t introduced himself to the Dwarf, named Gruss, responding, “That sounds good, Gruss. My name is Kaz and I am a Mage. Looking forward to seeing what you could get done with the glaive!” He also took out a Gold Token, and slid it over to the Dwarf, who happily grabbed it and tucked it into his apron, a wide grin on his face.

  “I think it should be ready by tomorrow, I’ll get straight to it,” Gruss informed him. Not waiting for a reply, he giddily grabbed Kaz’s broken glaive, and immediately went to work, shouting out at Kaz as he was leaving, “Make sure ta close the door on tha way out, don’t want people ta bother me while I work on dis piece of beauty!”

  Kaz chuckled as he closed the hefty door behind him, and then took a second to recollect his thoughts. He has taken care of two things so far, and most importantly he handled the tasks that required him to go to a shop, and spend his hard earned money. Next, he probably should go to the Academy to see if Elder Aelon would be free to talk with him.

  On his way to the Academy, he stopped by a small food stall, as he was feeling quite hungry. The woman at the stall sold a stuffed bread that made him close his eyes, savoring the delicious savory treat. After so many weeks on the road, he was stuck eating dried rations, and having something fresh caused him to almost fall to his knees. He devoured that treat, and without hesitation ordered another one, even though he was full. The stall Cook giggled while handing over the freshly baked piece. He bit into it and was quickly stuffed, realizing he wouldn’t be able to finish it. He asked for some napkins and he rolled it up, stuffing it into his bag for later.

  As he was walking off, he noticed a group of three children who seem like they were without homes, or if they had one, they were severely neglected. Looking at the rags they wore, he felt pity, and decided to get them a baked treat as well. He returned to the stall, and ordered three more, asking for more napkins as well.

  He approached the group slowly, making sure they saw him before he was on them, just to make sure they wouldn’t be scared by him. He kneeled in front of them, and handed them each one of the bread treats, along with a Silver Token. He explained to them, “These are for you three. And also, here is a Silver Token.”

  The three kids hungrily ate the baked treat and pitifully dipped their heads in thanks once they ate them, avoiding eye contact with him. Kaz walked away, wondering why there wasn’t an orphanage around to take in the kids. They had plenty of them in Forith, so that’s why there was never a kid on the streets. Shaking his head in disappointment, he approached the Academy, seeing the magnificent building looming in the distance.

  As he approached the Academy, again he was received with mixed reactions. Some of the students ignored him and moved out of his way, some looked at him in awe, and there were some who smiled pleasantly at him, as if they knew each other. He made sure to pull his hood on tighter but made sure to smile weakly and nod his head to those who reacted to him positively.

  When walking along the path, he felt exposed without his glaive, unsure how to walk without it. Kaz also felt like he was more vulnerable and didn’t know what to do if someone attacked him. While he did have the dagger still, it was still a weapon he wasn’t comfortable using. He tried to shake off the uneasy feeling as he approached the gate that was guarded by two Mages.

  He bowed politely to the Guards, and then introduced himself, “Greetings, my name is Kaz, and I am here to visit Elder Aelon. I have been here previously.”

  The older looking Guard winced at him, confusing Kaz. With a slow, regretful tone, he informed Kaz, “Greetings. Unfortunately, Kaz, you are not allowed inside the Academy after your… incident. The Headmaster has decided that you were to be prohibited from entering for the… safety of the other students attending.”

  Kaz stared at the Guard, at a loss for words. What did that mean, that he was prohibited? Realization dawned on him that it was because of Nahan Faedusk, that he probably wasn’t able to get into the Academy. His family name carried weight, which Aelon did say, and this was the first time that the consequences of his lack of knowledge came up.

  With another polite bow, Kaz replied, his voice cracking with not only anger but distress, “Understood. Thank you, sir.”

  Walking back to the Guild, he kept his head hung low, avoiding any contact with the people of the town. How was he going to reach out to Elder Aelon now? Could he possibly ask Laelara at the Guild to send a message to the Mage? Or maybe he should ask if he could pay someone as a Quest maybe to deliver a letter to him, and they wouldn’t get stopped at the gate. Or maybe he could ask a student who was outside the Academy to deliver his message. So many options, but he couldn’t stop his body from mechanically walking towards the Guild.

  He was more upset than he could imagine, almost like something within him broke. He felt this hollowness within him, as this was one of the things he was looking forward to most. Not only did he miss the Elder, who not only assured him that he did not go astray of his Calling, but also provided him with knowledge that he desperately needed. And now he needed him more than ever, as frankly, Kaz was lost with all of his new changes.

  Huge waves of anxiety rolled through him, as he realized he needed someone to talk to, even if the Elven Mage couldn’t provide Kaz with the answers he needed. He always knew what to say, when to say it, and Kaz had no doubt that he would give him the words that he needed to hear. Elder Aelon was simply put, someone he could rely on.

  Sighing in defeat, he looked up at the Adventurer’s Guild in Sarus, which was essentially his new home. He was glad he met Laelara here, as she was vital in his beginning of becoming an Adventurer, walking him through the process and answering all of his questions with patience. Also, when he first came to Sarus, he was a newcomer, and she helped him acclimate to the town, letting him know where he needed to go. Sure, it probably benefitted her own Calling to be as helpful as she could for the Adventurers that come in, but he would like to think that she put in more effort for him.

  He strode through the front doors and headed straight for the stairs that would lead to his room. Kaz would ask Laelara later on how he should go about contacting Elder Aelon, because at the moment, he just wanted to bathe and relax, mostly to get his emotions under control. As he was about to ascend the stairs, a rough, heavy hand gripped his shoulder, and he immediately felt his heart drop. This is how it always started when bullies got to him back in Forith, they would grab his shoulder, say something threatening to belittle him, and shove him to the ground. This is the last thing he needed at the moment.