Chapter 36: New Guy in Town

I turned to try and make an excuse, but the girls had been dragged off as well. Some fisherman were happily chatting with Katrina as she showed off her sharp claws. Damara, sitting to my left, was lost in conversation with an older woman. She poured them a cup of steaming fluid, by the color I assumed it was tea.

"Looks like you’re with me," a large man said, gripping my shoulder. "Nothing crazy. I’d like you, since you’re new, to register at the local guild."

"We’re not adventurers though," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.

"That’s no problem. Even for non-adventurers it’s mandatory. You can’t take jobs without registration first," he answered, grinning widely. "I’m Calvin. It’s nice to meet you–"

"Sam," I interjected, shoving a hand forward. The man took it and I gripped tightly. "Sam Smith, we just moved here."

He escorted me through town, stopping a few times along the way to pleasantly greet a few people who were shopping. All greeted him back with kindness and wide grins. A feeling that we would enjoy this change of scenery washed over me as I followed closely.

"W-well uh," I said, stumbling on what to say. "It’s nice to meet you too, Calvin," I managed. "How’d you know we were new?"

"Only on the fact that your massive mansion appeared right on top of some prime land," he winked at me before continuing. "It’s not very often that happens. The whole town gathered and watched you all walk up," he replied, as we rounded a corner. "I help with the guild, official business and such."

After that, Calvin led me to a large building. On the outside it was decorated with gold and silver lining decorative emblems. Several groups of people stood outside chatting. Soon after greeting them, we entered the guild house.

Once inside the air changed, it felt almost charged as we walked to one of the women working the front counter. She looked me over and grabbed out a silver medallion, placing it under a contraption.

"I’ll assume since Calvin brought you in, you are a new face registering with the guild," she said, very matter-of-fact like. "Please place your right hand on the machine."

I looked at Calvin, he gestured for me to ’go on’.

"Like this?" I asked, placing my hand down on the cool metallic surface.

She nodded her head as the contraption started to emit a glow. The medallion below lit up as well. As the light faded, writing was left on the medallion. The women grabbed it quickly, placing it on a lanyard cord.

"Here," she said, handing it over to me. "Do not lose it. Without identification, you will find it hard to survive in New Haven."

Calvin spoke with her for a few moments before rejoining me. He pointed at a large board in the back, scattered all over, notes and maps pinned across the surface. While giving me an explanation of how quests work, someone approached and grabbed his attention, leaving me alone at the quest board.

I inspected the pages. The requests varied from mundane farming and fetch quests to monster hunting. Some even had crude drawings of the creature in question. I shuddered at the sight of a few with bones in questionable places.

"Pretty wild entrance," an unfamiliar voice said.

The voice caught me off guard causing me to jump. Looking to my left revealed a new face. A petite woman, long blonde hair with the points of her ears peaking out. She wore a green dress and had a bow strapped to her back. She looked at me and grinned fervently before stepping forward and snagging a paper off the board.

"I’ll be done by sundown with this one," she said as she fixed her hair. "I’m Eliza or Liza. Nice to meet you," she announced, placing her hand out.

"Sam. Just Sam," I said, giggling a bit as I shook her hand. "If you mean my house, then yes. Some wild stuff going on there," I rubbed my neck before continuing. "Not too bad of a first impression was it?"

"Haha naw. As long as you aren’t evil or something you’ll be fine."

"No promises," I shot back before laughing loudly. "No. I don’t see any problems there. We wanted a slow paced place to relax. Calvin had other plans though."

Eliza laughed, a bright, easy sound that cut through the low murmur of the guild hall. She tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her pointed ear and gestured toward the dense grid of postings behind me.

"Well, if you’re looking for slow-paced, you probably want to steer clear of anything pinned near the top left," Eliza advised, flashing a knowing grin. "That’s where the guild buries the stuff they can’t handle with normal patrols. Usually keeps folks out of trouble... unless you’re looking for it."

"Thanks for the tip," I said, offering a relieved smile. "I think ’trouble’ is the exact opposite of what my group needs right now."

"Fair enough. Welcome to New Haven, Sam," she said, turning toward the front doors with a casual wave. "See you around."

As Eliza disappeared into the midday crowd, Calvin reappeared from his conversation with the receptionist, wiping his hands on his trousers.

"All set?" Calvin asked, clapping a heavy hand on my shoulder. "Got your orientation sorted?"

"Yeah, I think I’m officially a legal resident now," I replied, holding up the silver medallion dangling from its lanyard.

"Good deal," Calvin grinned, steering me back toward the center of the hall. "Most newcomers start slow with clearing garden pests or hauling timber for the expansion up by the ridge. Take your time, get your bearings—"

He stopped talking because my eyes had drifted back to the quest board, specifically to that top-left corner Eliza had just warned me about.

Pinned right in the center of a cluster of weathered notices was a thick parchment sealed with a drop of dark crimson wax. It didn’t look like a standard community chore.

While the rest of the board was littered with crude sketches of goblins and stray farm animals, this one featured a clean, sharply detailed engraving of a cavernous underground ruin, flanked by warning runes that actually seemed to shimmer faintly under the guild hall’s lights.

Bold, elegant lettering spanned the top: [ HIGH-GRADE APPARATUS RECOVERY: SUNKEN CAVERNS ]

Objective: Retrieve a sealed precursor relic from the lower damp-tunnels. High magical hazard.

Recommended tier: Gold/Expert.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, as if activated by looking at that area of the quest board. Retrieving my phone revealed a notification from the Harem System.

[ OBJECTIVE: Explore the Sunken Caverns and complete the task. ]

[ TASK: Rescue a fallen adventurer. ]