Chapter narrated by Lira
5/14/95
The city announces itself long before you reach it.
It was noisier than what I used to hear.
"Hmm, Sera, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, what does the little elf need?"
"Could you help me a bit? The sunset is near and my ability to travel in unknown spaces at night is not the best."
"Of course, partner, don't worry. Just take my hand and let the great adventurer Sera give you a tour from the city entrance to the guild hall, with awesome narration from your guide!"
She gave me her hand and I took it.
"Ooooh, your skin is so soft! How do you do it?"
"Ah, that is probably because I'm half elf. Elves' skin is softer than humans'."
"Really? And you are only half human? Damn, now I need to feel the skin of a full-blooded elf sometime."
Some time passed after that. Now it was night, and the only thing stopping me from making myself acquainted with the floor was Sera's hand and guidance.
"We already entered the city. If you turn left a little bit after the entrance you will get to the weaponsmith. If you go to the right you get to the park, and if we continue this path we get to the main market."
"And how do we get to the guild?"
"We have to go through the market until about the middle, then you go right, then right again, left, and you continue along that path until you get to the restaurant streets, then you go left and you arrive at the hall," she said as if it was the most s— "Simple to remember, right?"
"Yeah… sure…"
"Don't worry, Lira. You are very lucky you are travelling with Valeth's number one tourist guide. Just hold onto my hand and listen to how the life of the city sounds."
I decided that for this time I would do exactly what Sera said. I don't think I will be doing this very often in the future.
"Did you hear about the new house the Voss family built?"
Sera slowed her pace. Apparently she too was hearing the gossip.
"Yeah, they truly are one of the greatest merchant families of the region."
"People sure like to gossip, don't you think, Lira?" said Sera.
We continued walking through the city until Sera stopped.
"Sera, is everything alri—"
"MISS EZRAAAA!!!"
"Oh? What is it now?" I heard a voice — a young one, older than Sera's, but they shared the same energy. "Oh, look who is here! How are you, junior?!?!"
"Very good, Miss Ezra! I totally crushed Holt's expectations getting to Aelith's church. I arrived so early that I had to speak to the door for almost an hour before they let me inside — turns out they did not expect me to arrive so fast. Then I stayed with them for a week, and now I'm going to the guild for this little elf over here to register as an adventurer. She already said that she will form a party with me, so no trying to steal her, Miss Ezra!"
"Really? That is very good, junior. I was beginning to worry about you after what happened with Fi—"
"Don't worry about that, Miss Ezra. Now I have myself a brand new partner so there is nothing to worry about. Also, you are a full-blooded elf, right?" She is not going to ask what I think she will ask. Right?...
Right???
"Is it okay if I touch your hand for a moment? Lira here told me that elves have very soft skin and I want to try it out for myself."
"Sure, no problem, junior. And do you mind introducing me to your companion?"
Sera released my hand and then I assumed she went to grab the hand of Miss Ezra.
"What?!?!?! Lira, you were not lying — elves truly do have really soft hands, that is sooo cool!" Sera said with the same enthusiasm she always had.
"Hey, junior."
"Oh yes, yes, I completely forgot. Lira, this right here is Miss Ezra, senior adventurer and one of the most famous adventurers in the guild of Valeth. Right now she is a rank 8 adventurer — incredible, isn't it? But that is not the best part: she is also super fun to hang around. When I was starting out she helped me a lot figuring out how to do the paperwork, and since then we have been friends."
"And this beautiful girl over here is Lira. Have you heard about the oracle of the goddess of light, Aelith? Well, here you have her right in front of your eyes. She and I will become the greatest duo of all time and prove that guy he was completely wrong about me being a bad partner!"
"Wow, you really are an oracle — you surely must have a story or two to tell. I'm Ezra, it is a pleasure meeting you."
"It is also a pleasure, Miss Ezra. My name is Lira and I will happily tell you a story or two sometime."
"It is a deal then. I need to be leaving now, girls. Myrell asked me to fetch some herbs for him. Have a safe trip to the guild — also, Sera, don't use her as an excuse to ask Holt for a dragon-related quest."
"Bye, Miss Ezra, I totally won't do that," said Sera.
After that we continued our journey to the adventurer's guild.
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The guild hall announced itself before we reached it too, but unlike the city, it was not noise that gave it away. It was warmth. The smell of food and fire and something that reminded me vaguely of old wood and iron.
"We are here!" Sera said, squeezing my hand once before pulling me through what I assumed was the front door.
The warmth hit me fully then, along with a wave of voices, laughter, and the clinking of glasses. The guild was alive in a way that felt different from the streets outside. Louder, yes, but also more contained, like everyone inside had agreed to leave the rest of the world at the door.
"It is a bit overwhelming the first time," Sera said, her voice closer to my ear now. "But you get used to it fast. Come on, the registration desk is this way."
She guided me forward, weaving through what I imagined was a crowd of adventurers, some probably staring, others too caught up in their own conversations to care about a blind elf being pulled through the room.
"Excuse me, pardon, coming through, very important business, future legends walking, thank you, thank you," Sera announced to no one in particular as we moved.
We stopped.
"Good evening!" Sera said brightly.
A pause.
"...Good evening." The voice belonged to a man, flat and professional, with the tone of someone who had seen too many eager adventurers walk through that door to be impressed by another one. "How can I help you?"
"My companion here would like to register as an adventurer, please!"
Another pause, slightly longer this time.
"Name?" he said, and I realized he was talking to me now.
"Lira."
"Family name?"
I hesitated for just a moment. "Aurelios."
He did not push it. The sound of paper and a quill followed.
"Race?"
"Half elf."
"Birthdate?"
"Fourteenth of Reval of the year seventy-eight."
"Class or area of expertise?"
I thought about how to answer that. Sera answered for me.
"She is the oracle of Aelith."
The quill stopped. The silence that followed was a different kind than before.
"...An oracle." he repeated.
"Yes." I said simply.
"Do you have any identification, Miss Lira? A temple seal, a letter of endorsement, anything that confirms your status as an oracle?"
I reached into my bag, searching for the card dad had given me.
"I have this card that I was asked to give to Mr. Holt."
A pause.
"Is it okay if I take a look at the card?"
"Yeah, no problem."
I handed him the card.
"This is... legitimate."
The man went quiet for a moment.
"Mary, can you call Master Holt? Tell him that it is a card from the father of the church of Aelith."
"Please wait here a moment — Master Holt should arrive shortly."
We waited around two minutes before footsteps were heard. They sounded calm but imposing at the same time, audible even through the noise of the guild. The closer they got, the quieter the room became, until by the time the footsteps stopped right in front of us, nobody was talking. They were all staring.
"Hello, Master Holt, how have you been?" said Sera.
"Good, Sera. I heard you brought with you a special someone. Marcus, can you give me the card please?"
His voice sounded distant, not in the sense that he was not here — he was right in front of me — but distant in the way that someone sounds when they have seen everything there is to see and nothing can really surprise them anymore.
"Yes, sir."
He let out a sigh.
"Don't worry, Marcus, I will continue from here. Can you follow me to my office, miss..." He paused for a moment and I heard him pick something up — the registration form that Marcus had been filling out, most likely. "Aurelios."
"Sure, we will go with you, Master Holt," said Sera.
"Only Miss Aurelios."
Sera turned to me and whispered.
"Go with him, little elf."
I almost fell three times while following his footsteps. Master Holt must have noticed my difficulty because he said:
"Careful now — we will go up a floor. Seven steps and then to your right."
I followed his instructions and we arrived at an office. He guided me to a seat and I heard him take one across from me.
By the time I had reached the sixth step, I could already hear the voices beginning to talk again downstairs.
"So, the oracle of Aelith. This is the first time I have heard of an oracle joining the guild in more than ten years."
"Yes. I want to be able to see the world... in my own way."
"I see."
I was not sure if he intended that as a pun or not.
"Let me continue with the paperwork here — it would have been unpleasant doing it downstairs with everyone watching. I apologize for the attention you will receive over the coming weeks as a result of our interaction, but registering someone of your status requires additional paperwork that Marcus could not handle on his own."
"Let's see — name, family name, race... is there anything you would like to add to your area of expertise outside of oracle?"
"I am very good with the bow. I can shoot down a target at a hundred feet."
"Rank 2 bow mastery. Anything else?"
Rank 2?
A hundred feet was only rank 2?!?
"Hmm... no, that would be it."
"Any combat experience?"
"None."
"Any weakness other than the blindness?"
"You noticed."
"It was not very difficult."
"I am only blind at night. During the day I can see through warmth."
"Is it a reliable way of seeing?"
"I can travel rough terrain and use a bow without problems."
"Then I will note this down as blindness at night. Is there anything else you consider relevant?"
"Nothing that comes to mind right now."
"Then we are done. You will be starting as a rank 1 adventurer for the time being given your interview results. Welcome to the adventurer's guild, Miss Aurelios."
"Thank you, Master Holt."
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I left the room and made my way downstairs, somehow without falling once.
Good job, Lira.
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Sera found me before I found her, which was hardly surprising.
"So? How did it go? What did he say? Did he give you a special rank? Did he offer you a dragon quest? Did he—"
"Rank 1, Sera."
A pause.
"...That's it?"
"That's it."
"But you are an oracle!"
"And oracles apparently still start at rank 1."
She went quiet for a moment, which for Sera was the equivalent of anyone else being speechless for an hour.
"Okay," she said finally, with the kind of decisiveness that told me she had already moved on and was three steps ahead. "Then we will just have to climb the ranks so fast that Holt personally has to apologize for giving you a rank 1 card."
"That is not necessary."
"It absolutely is. Come on, I'll show you around the board — that's where the quests are posted. We should find something good for tomorrow morning before all the easy ones are taken."
She grabbed my hand again and pulled me forward.
"Also," she added, dropping her voice to what she probably thought was a whisper, "everyone is still staring at you. Just so you know."
"I know."
"Does it bother you?"
I thought about it for a moment.
"Ask me again after I've slept."
Sera laughed, bright and unguarded, cutting right through the low murmur of the guild hall around us.
It was, I decided, not a bad sound to have beside you at the start of something new.