A reed thin eight-year-old boy came right over. “What do I need to do?”
“Take this scroll to Smith’s Carpentry. The faster ya do it the more coin ya get. Deal?” Stacia asked, holding out the scroll.
Kevin grabbed the scroll and took off at a sprint down the street. Alburet watched him go, “How do you know he’ll complete the task?”
“It generates a quest for him. When I was younger and runnin’ errands for dad I would often get a quest or two from others while I was out. When he completes it I’ll be notified, and he will get his coin.” Stacia explained as she took his arm, “We can go meet up with Fluff now.”
They found Fluff in the waiting area just as she said, her eyes pinched slightly as she tried to ignore a guy talking to her. “Oh, come on baby, help a brother out. Just group up with me for a few hours killing goblins. It will be easy with your level, right?” the tall, dusky skinned man was saying as he stood two feet away from her, leaning down to stay in Fluffball’s field of view.
“She already has plans,” Alburet spoke up as he and Stacia came forward. “Sorry. She promised yesterday to go gnoll hunting with us.”
Fluff let out a small sigh of relief as she got to her feet, carefully so as to not touch the guy talking to her, “See? As I told you, I already have plans.”
The guy’s lips twisted as if he had tasted a lemon as he looked over at Alburet. As his eyes reached Stacia though, he smiled again. “I see. You just got some game, man,” the man told Alburet before eyeing the women again. “I understand you’re busy then and it ain’t no big deal. If either of you honeys get tired of this dude, though, I can help you out. Let’s just trade info, so you can get ahold of me later.” The guy pulled out his Mindstone giving it a small waggle with thumb and fingers. “What do you say?”
Stacia’s lips formed a condescending smile, “Tha’ line be old, heard it too many times in me life already. Me thinks ya would be best served by tryin’ to be less smooth, it comes across as fake.” She hooked one arm through Fluff’s while holding Alburet’s with her other. “Iffin there be nothin’ else?”
The guy stepped back as if he had been slapped, “Ain’t no need for that. Just say you ain’t interested, don’t go making it personal. If you two think this dude is better than me, that’s your bad. I was just trying to show you what a real man could do for you is all.” The guy snorted through his nose before walking off as if he had shown them.
Alburet’s eyes narrowed briefly as the guy walked away, then he let out a deep breath to get rid of his irritation. “Nicely handled, Kitten,” he said as the trio began to move towards the stairs.
“Thank ya, asthore. Last time ya got into a duel so it seemed better if I tried to dissuade the man this time.” She gave him a sweet smile, kissing his cheek.
Fluff smiled, “Thank you for extracting me from that situation. You did a good job running him off, Stacia. I’ve never been good at telling people to go away.”
The trio waved at Kim as they went past. Kim waved back at them with a smile, wishing them luck. The trio tossed back wishes for a pleasant day to her before they climbed the stairs. They met Rolland coming down from above. “Back at it again today?” Rolland asked with a smile.
“The monsters won’t kill themselves,” Alburet laughed.
“True enough,” Rolland replied. “It’s just that you two-souled are always off to hunt. Don’t you ever feel like taking a week off and enjoying your loot?”
“Just had a few days off,” Alburet told him. “Went to the castle, met with Sir Jones, visited the Royal Museum and got married to Stacia here.”
Rolland’s jaw opened slightly, as he tried to take in what he had been told. His eyes grew round. “But, I mean, you’re a two-souled…”
“It be true,” Stacia interrupted his stunned attempt at speaking. “Alburet married me the other day at the Temple of the Dark Lord. The reception was held before the Dead Man Inn. We even have a house as well as a building for our guild.”
“It’s a nice place,” Fluff added softly.
Rolland finally seemed to regain some composure, “Well, that is news indeed. If I had known I would have brought Kim along to the wedding. A belated congratulations to you both.”
Stacia nodded her head in thanks, dipping a one handed curtsy as she kept her other attached to Alburet’s arm. Alburet’s grin broadened, “Thank you, Rolland. If I had known you would have come I would have made it a point to let you know. We’re off to hunt gnolls today. We hope your day goes well.”
Rolland took the hint, “I’m sure it will. Just a quick question, your guild, what is it called? I see you already registered it with city hall by the emblems on your armor.”
“Alpha Company,” the trio replied slightly out of synch but close enough to not drown each other out.
“Good to know. You might want to know that the portal guild can set up guild accounts, which give a vast discount on portal fees. Kim downstairs can fill you in on that if you want,” Rolland said as he slipped by them, pausing as he was still headed down.
“If it gets us a discount, we might as well check it before we head out,” Alburet replied. “If you don’t mind a small delay, Fluff?”
“A small delay is okay,” Fluff replied even as her brow furrowed slightly. “If it takes more than a few minutes though, I might head out before you. I won’t be on tomorrow and I was hoping to try out my upgraded skill from leveling the other day.”
“We be quick about it, then,” Stacia said as the trio followed Rolland back down the stairs.
Kim glanced up, puzzled, as Rolland led them over to her. “These folks have a guild registered with the city and wanted to see about setting up a guild account with us,” Rolland told her as they got to the desk.
Kim’s eyes twinkled, “Oh, first two-souled guild to ask about that. It’s simple, it works just like the personal portal accounts do but the deposits come from the guild leader or the guild bank account. You should see about setting up a guild bank account if you haven’t already. Anyway, it requires a two hundred gold deposit for a guild account. Anyone in your guild who has permission from the guild leader will use the funds from the guild account when portalling. If the account is too low, it uses the person’s personal portal account. All of that can be accessed via the guild menus if you’re the leader or an officer. Did you want to open an account with us today?”
“Err, what is the rate if you’re using a guild account?” Fluff asked in her usual soft tone.
“Half of what it costs normally,” Kim replied.
“If we get a lot of people though, it could deplete that account fast,” Alburet mused.
“That’s a reason to set up a guild account at the bank,” Rolland added. “You can then set a guild tax on your members for various things. Using a portal with the guild fund, selling items, even when coin is gained as loot. One of the reasons why guilds have always been so hit or miss is because of the taxes that can be imposed. For instance, with the portal guild here we get free use of the portals, but we lose half of all money looted if we go hunting.”
Stacia whistled softly, “Tha’ must hurt a bit.”
“Yes, it did. Back when we,” Rolland motioned to Kim and himself, “used to hunt with some friends it really put a dent into our loot. That is the only tax the guild imposes, though. If we go hunting we might die the final death and as such deprive them of talented people. Everyone who works for the portal guild is required to be a member.”
“Means I need to hit the bank tomorrow, then,” Alburet muttered as he looked into his coin purse to see if he even had two hundred gold on him.
Stacia nudged a small purse into his hand, “I have almost a hundred gold.”