Nemmal strolled down a sparsely crowded street. Her relaxed smile and neutral eyes belied the excitement within. What parents told their children about making a silly face too much and it would get stuck was true in her case; she couldn't remember a time before she didn't have her trademark expression on. Why was she excited? Only three months after turning sixteen, she finally got her mitts on thirty gold. She was now old enough and had enough coin to become an adventurer.
Becoming an adventurer wasn't necessary to reach her goal, but becoming one would make it far easier. Adventurers got certain freedoms that would greatly help her, like delving into dungeons, using magic freely, and having restrictions to parts of the world lifted. The latter being what she was most interested in. You need ten gold to get an honorary adventurers badge; the badge didn't do much, only letting you take low or below low-level quests or jobs. She has thirty gold because she wasn't the only one wanting to become an adventurer.
Making her way to the barracks, she greeted the two guards posted at the front and made her way to the training grounds. Upon arriving, she saw an all-too-familiar scene. Two young men were intensely sparring—Centri was tall with reddish brown hair and green eyes that complimented his cream-colored skin. The other, Torrin, was a head shorter than Centri but taller than her. He had raven black dreads he kept tied back, though some were too short to reach fully back. His yellow eyes contrasted with his dark caramel skin. Not wanting to interrupt, she sat on a nearby bench and watched.
After about five minutes, she got bored. Watching Centri dodge every punch or kick Torrin threw and trying to counter, only for Torrin to block was only interesting for so long. She held up a finger, and a small glowing circle appeared at the tip. Less than a second later, lines of red and orange mana weaved into it, making a sharp flame symbol. Aiming at them, she flicked it, and a tiny spark shot out.
Centri jumped back well before she flicked it which made Torrin the only victim. The spark hit his shoulder, causing him to wince slightly and turn in her direction, dropping into a fighting stance—before relaxing, noticing that it was her.
"You could've said hey, y'know?" Torrin said, dusting off his shoulder and looking over her small stature for injuries. He knew it was unlikely, but he felt that if he ever stopped checking them, he'd regret it.
Centri laughed as he made his way to Nemmal. "I saw her when she walked out. I had a feeling she'd get bored, so I dragged out the sparring match." He was still chuckling when he plopped down beside Nemmal and draped himself over her. He grabbed some of her long, light brown hair and put it above his upper lip, twisting the end as if it were a long mustache. "Your hair got so long. Can't lie, I miss it being short."
She leaned back against the wall of the barracks. Sunlight soaked into her bronze skin, her violet eyes shimmering as they slowly opened. "Yeah, maybe it's time for me to cut it." The corners of her relaxed smile tugged slightly as she felt Centri release her hair and saw Torrin's widened eyes. She remembered her promise not to cut her hair until they all could become adventurers and it looked like they did too.
"You have the coin?" Torrin spoke first. Getting a nod from Nemmal, who raised a coin pouch. The sound of the coins jingling was like music to their ears.
"What!" Centri yelled, grabbing the pouch and shooting up to his feet. "How did you- Wait, you didn't-"
"I wouldn't finish that sentence." Nemmal threatened, wagging a finger.
Centri smiled awkwardly, "Sorry."
Torrin took the pouch back and handed it back to her, a proud smile on his face. "It's about time; I was starting to get impatient." He said, petting her on the head.
She blushed slightly, her face still relaxed. "Can't wait to be the strongest?"
Centri hopped onto the bench, spinning until facing them. He clenched his fists with a confident and determined grin. "Damn right! And I can't wait to hear the world scream my name!" The two of them just looked at him–with happy and relieved expressions.
The trio thanked the guards for letting them use the training grounds as they left. The streets were now much more crowded; due to the sun reaching its peak. There weren't any clouds so it was quite hot, but there was a cool, gentle breeze that made it tolerable.
Torrin's eyes were on high alert, scanning every few moments for any potential dangers. He didn't bother looking behind him. Cen was with them and his awareness was something only he could dream of. But he had confidence in his gut–it'd warn him before anything could get them from behind.
His eyes glanced over to Cen; who had on a confident, impish smirk with his hands locked behind his head. They flicked down to Nem, the tip of her tongue sticking out. This caused him to relax slightly. It reminded him of a stray kitten that they kept a few years back. It also was the only way he could tell she was actually relaxed and felt safe. He always hated her ever-lasting relaxed expression ever since a few years back–she got jumped and mugged one day and came back with that damn smile like nothing happened. He didn't find out until a couple days later when he found Centri killing the guys that did it and her on the ground crying, trying to cover the bruises.
He glared softly at Nem, flicking the side of her head. She looked up at him with furrowed brows, asking, "Why?" with her eyes.
"Dumbass," he muttered, no real bite to it.
After a few minutes, they walked into the town's guild. It looked similar to a rundown tavern; the floor and roof were made of creaky, aged wooden planks, with the walls being the same but darker and cracked, showing the cobblestone behind it. Squared wooden tables with various amounts of chairs were dotted around at random. The reception was the only pristine thing in the whole building; a long slab of glossy marble acted as the counter. The receptionist was also pristine with her long, curly amber-brown hair and doll-like features. Her kind, gentle smile tied it all together. Most of the men didn't bother looking at who came in because their eyes were glued to her. Torrin was one of them who was captivated by her beauty.
"Good afternoon. Welcome to the Stonewall Adventurers Guild." The receptionist greeted, her voice as sweet as honey.
"Kasey!" Cen exclaimed, loudly, breaking some men out of the trance. "Your favorite adventurers have arrived!" He continued, arms thrown high and wide as they approached the counter.
"Who told you you're my favorite?" Kasey replied, her kind smile turning impish. Her gaze swept over Nem and Torrin. "Nemmal, Torrin."
"Hey, Snow." Nem greeted back, causing Kasey to giggle at the nickname she earned after singing to animals. Both women's smiles turned kind once more–matching each other's energy.
"Good afternoon, Kasey, you look good today," Torrin stated, a warm smile tugging at his lips.
"Oh, did I not look good yesterday?"
"You did. Today's occasion just makes you look better."
As if reading his mind, Nem put the coin pouch on the counter. "Thirty gold and we're all sixteen and over."
Kasey looked over each of them; a hint of pride in her eyes. She began counting the coins out with practice ease. "You three have been chasing this since the orphanage. I'm glad you're finally able to do it."
A few quiet moments passed as she counted. Once she finished she swept the coins into a large sack before handing the pouch back to Nem. She pointed a finger at Nem, Torrin, then Cen and said, following that order, "Sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen. Correct?"
They all nodded.
"You're all eligible for honorary adventurer badges. Nemmal, I know you probably already know this but sit with me on this." She said, placing three sheets of parchment on the counter and handing each of them green badges; the badges were no bigger than a palm and had a crossed swords design.
Kasey took a deep breath, her face reverting back to how it was before they came in. "Honorary adventurers are not Adventurers. You're not allowed to act as Adventurers and are only allowed to do street quests and low-level quests." She tapped the parchment, telling them to follow along. "To become official adventurers you will have to complete five bronze quests—either tier one or two.
Any jobs you completed before the day of receiving your badge will not count to your five. If you were hired personally by a third party before receiving your badge and have not completed it, said employer will have to come to the guild and make the request in person for the guild to add it to your five. If you understand this, please sign it with a thumbprint in blood." She finished, putting sharp needles on each parchment.
Cen bit into his thumb while the others used the needle. Once they placed their thumbs on it, an empty line started to fill out their names in glowing red: Nemmal Gray, Torrin Canin, and Centri Burnin.