Chapitre 20: 500 Gold
"Come on, Myrene! The three of us are all platinum, we can handle ourselves!"
Inside the Guild, Yulia leaned in on Myrene's desk. Apparently, Marionne and Telmano already had an ongoing quest and are currently out of the city.
"You do know what job you're taking, right? If the guildmaster finds out he's going to fire me."
Myrene raised her tone a bit, hinting at her annoyance. She was willing to break a few rules for Yulia, but this is where she draws the line.
"Wait, what job are we taking?" Antani asked, currently huddled next to Ellamir.
"I already told you at Moon world, didn't I?"
Ellamir chimed in, "You told us that it's going to be a job for four people. That's it."
Yulia withholding information wasn't borne out of deceit, she knows the lovebirds are strong enough that the quest would be like a walk in the park.
The tiefling tilted her head, beckoning the couple to follow her.
After walking for a few seconds, they arrived at a room with a gargantuan guild board containing quests that are separated by ranks.
There were a few adventurers around them, perusing carefully which quest they would take.
While Yulia was looking for the particular quest, the couple's eyes darted around to check what other quests were available. Some quests that intrigued the couple are :
{Emerald : Gather beholder eyeballs.
Quest giver: Alchemist Trelawney
Reward : 40 Gold coins
No additional info}
{Gold : Investigate the source of the mindflayer dust getting sold by drug dealers
Quest giver: The Government
Reward: 5 Gold coins
Additional info : Inform the authorities immediately if you find the source, no gold will be given for actions beyond the indicated instruction}
"Ah, here it is, look!" Yulia enthusiastically pointed to the supposed quest.
{Any rank : Retrieve the legendary artifact from the deep inside the new dungeon that sprung up, located at the city outskirts
Quest giver: Guild Master Caduceus
Reward: 500 Gold coins
Additional info: 4 people is a MUST. Also, try not to lose a limb or die}
The couple's eyes widened once they saw the reward. That means 125 gold for each of them. They were no strangers to wealth since they were both royalty, but they're currently runaways and right now that 125 gold reward is looking mighty juicy.
Ellamir's train of thought wandered to how she could finally take Antani out again on a date and finally spoil her. The Amazon on the other hand saw it as the perfect opportunity to fund her lascivious plans on how to one up Ellamir at their little game.
Yulia saw the lovebird's stunned faces, "Now you see why I pushed for Myrene for it to be just us three."
"That is a lot, but how come no one's attempted to clear this before?" Antani was correct, you would assume every adventurer would already be jumping to take on this quest but it seems like Yulia was the first one to actually pay it some heed.
"Is there something you're not telling us?" Ellamir narrowed her eyes, questioning the tiefling.
Yulia looked like he wanted to evade the question but ultimately decided to give in, trust is the foremost foundation of a party after all.
"Guild Master Caduceus is a respectable Grand wizard…but he's a bit of an eccentric. Once, he posted a quest to retrieve his pet from a cave, the pet as it turns out - is actually a giant magical snake. It cost one of the Emerald adventurers an arm. Another time he made a package delivery quest, little did the courier know that the package had a magic circle inside that would teleport them back from where they started once they were about to reach their destination. No one takes his quests unless they want to be injured or ticked off. Those ranked diamond don't even bother since they're already filthy rich."
The couple glanced at each other, Ellamir was the first to speak. "Do you want to do it?"
Antani faked a gasp, "Right in front of everyone? How bold!"
"I'm talking about the job, you idiot!"
Antani laughed, she just couldn't let every opportunity to mess with Ellamir pass. Her laughter transitioned into a warm smile, the amazon then locked her arms with Ellamir's. "Let's do it, I'll take on any quest as long as I'm with you."
Antani's touch combined with her saccharine words resulted in Ellamir's face turning red from too much giddiness. "Hmph!" She pretended to be annoyed and looked away so Antani wouldn't see her beet red face, in fear of her relentless teasing.
"Eugh. T.P.O.! If you two are done flirting in public I suggest you accompany me in search of our fourth member" Yulia reprimanded the two.
"Weren't you Sir Garreth's squire?
Yulia turned to face where the voice came from. It came from a young man right next to her, his height was average, standing as high as her shoulder. His looks are average.
"That pendant, you must be from Alcune's church of Mithra. Does Garreth still drop by your church from time to time? How is he? " Yulia asked.
"Yeah, he visits bishop alexander at least once every week."
An idea struck Yulia, "Are you planning on taking any quests right now?"
"None at the moment, why?"
A confident grin manifested on Yulia's face, she's about to make an offer he can't refuse.
"Join my party, we're one person short. It's not a big deal, we're just going to clear a dungeon and retrieve a legendary artifact. The reward is pretty hefty, by hefty I mean we each get 125 gold coins."
Stefano almost choked on his saliva, 125 gold coins! The amount was enough to cover his rent for a year, or better yet he could move out so he wouldn't be subjected to the hedonistic noises his neighbors make.
He was about to agree when his eyes drifted towards the couple behind Yulia. It was them. The heathens who did nothing but moan and screw each other all night.
"IT'S YOU TWO, YOU'RE BOTH THE REASON WHY I HARDLY GOT ANY SLEEP THE OTHER NIGHT!" Stefano shouted. He then tries to regain his composure as he rejects Yulia's offer, "If these two are with you then I'm sorry but I'm going to have to decline your offer."
Antani looked as if she just had remembered something, "Wait, I know you. You're the guy who recently moved into the apartment next door."
"I don't want him in our party. He's already shouting and it's only the first time we met him. Also, he's wearing three necklaces at the same time. So sketchy." Ellamir delivered her observation with a blunt but calm tone.
The amazon sighed, "You do realize he's right in front of us, right?"
"Good, let him hear it."
Stefano's fashion sense getting shamed didn't help in improving their chances of recruiting him. He didn't want to take off his Pendant of Mithra, He needed to wear his bronze necklace, and he just added the dragon tooth necklace for good measure, I mean he was already wearing two, why not add a third one?
"Oh yeah!? Well...well..." Stefano clenched his fist, if he wasn't an ardent follower of Mithra he would've rained curses upon the dark elf by now. "...your eyepatch looks sketchy!"
Stefano was about to bolt out when Yulia caught up with him, wrapping her arms around his shoulder.
They just needed an extra body, she knows the three of them could handle whatever the dungeon throws at them.
"Come on, think of the gold. Or since you're a clergyman of mithra, maybe you're worried that you would be tempted with three beautiful ladies in your party? You don't need to worry about that because I'm into women and those lovebirds are into each other."
"You don't need to worry about it as well because I am celibate. Not that I'm joining you or anything."
"Then there's no problem...wait…you're what?"
"I took Mithra's vow of celibacy."
Yulia released an amused laugh, confusing stefano. She was familiar with that vow, it's a vow that forbids him from having sex before marriage.
"Hahaha! Are we living on the same continent? You're not supposed to take that vow seriously. I know a lot of clerics and paladins who took that vow and immediately disregarded it."
Stefano knew what Yulia meant, when Stefano was taken in there were five others that the church raised alongside him. When they became teens they all took the vow at the same time, but it seemed like he was the only one who took the vow to heart. His other clergy mates, were for the lack of a better word, horndogs - they would sometimes sneak erotic literature into the church and read it in their free time. Had it not been for his deep sense of brotherhood with them, he would've long told the bishop about them. Now an adult, he sometimes regrets it but his faith in Mithra remains true, he convinces himself it will not be for nothing.
"My faith is steadfast, I'm sure Mithra will reward me for it someday." Stefano had a defeated look on his face as he gently removed Yulia's arm from his shoulder, it was an absurd vow but she did feel bad for mocking his faith.
Stefano once again turned her back against Yulia. Luckily, Yulia still had an ace up her sleeve.
"I can teach you how to fight."
The tiefling's words caught Stefano's attention.
"Imagine, being trained by Garreth's personal squire. It's like receiving training from the man himself." Yulia's grin came back, she's throwing quite a few unrefusable offers today.
Considered as the strongest and most pious paladin in all the lands. The Pride of Alcune. He knows how legit she is, every citizen of Alcune lost their minds when he took in Yulia as his squire. If he remembers correctly, she was supposed to be a paladin of Mithra but that was the end of Garreth's pull. Even his reputation couldn't win against Alcune's intolerance.
"The higher the rank the higher the gold you could earn from quests. If you want to just scrape by from day to day then you could just stay in bronze, nothing wrong with that. But if you want to never worry about being broke ever again while earning a name for yourself, spreading the word of Mithra far and wide - then you already know the answer. What will it be, my cleric friend?" Yulia knew that the fish had already taken the bait, all she needed was to reel it in.
Stefano reconsidered, 125 gold and a personal training from Garreth's squire. He would be a fool not to accept it. He glances at the two behind Yulia, The Amazon, she seems reasonable enough, maybe he could ask her to not make the room next to him sound like a bordello? The dark elf, he squints his eye, he's not dealing with her.
"My name is Stefano, what's this quest that we're taking?"
Yulia introduced herself and the lovebirds behind him to their new party member, while he was mouthing off about Mithra or something, Yulia forms a wicked grin as he looks at the cleric, (You made the right decision, Stefano, my boy. I'm going to make sure you reach the same rank as us. While we're at it, we're going to find the right person to pop your cherry.)
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone