Lumina nodded completely agreeing with the charismatic woman. “That’s genius. Why tie yourself down to a single activity when you could be making money and having adventures at the same time.” She concluded.
“Exactly!” Raymi happily responded, “That’s what the Adventurer’s Guild is here to provide. And with our low annual membership fee, you can have access to not only the resources our organization can offer, but also choose your own work and when you want to. It’s pretty much the perfect life!”
Eldin couldn’t deny Raymi’s logic, but he could also see that she was an incredibly talented businesswoman who was pushing a sale on his friend. “Uh… Exactly how much is the annual fee to be apart of the Adventurer’s Guild?” He interrupted.
An annoyed but subtle sigh slipped from Raymi's mouth. She was so close to getting the Fereece pay the membership fee. “It’s 1 red crystal per party.”
“Party?” Lumina asked.
Excited to speak to the Fereece again, Raymi started explaining, “Another amazing aspect about the Adventurer’s guild is that we encourage people to form a party. Not only does it make joining our guild affordable, but you can go on adventures with friends!” Raymi exclaimed happily as she threw her arms in the air. “A party can have anywhere from 4-8 people. Though if the party extends past 4, we do charge an additional small annual fee for a large party.”
“So it’s a group discount.” Eldin remarked.
Raymi raised her hand in front of Eldin’s face and moved her index finger from side to side. “Part of the deal is that every party has a leader. This party leader is responsible for choosing what requests will be taken, as well as filling out all the paperwork and information on their party members. If a client wishes to discuss more information, we will directly contact the party leader. This not only leads to a more streamlined and efficient method of communication, but it also makes it cheaper to settle disputes as the leader is responsible for whenever the party fails to complete a job.”
Listening to this woman speak made Eldin’s stomach churn. He thought his mother was shrewd. This woman not only had a knack for money, but she could probably sell sand to the Pyrans living in the Crystal Desert.
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“What are the leather badges everyone here has? I assume that’s a part of this guild?” Lumina asked as Eldin counted the crystals in his pouch.
“Yep. Those badges as you call it are how we differentiate who is an experienced member and who isn’t. Think of it like a level of trust. The more important requests like guarding a political official or delivering magical items is reserved for those who we have the utmost trust in.”
Finishing his count, Eldin had about 362 cryst. The fee for this guild alone would wipe out almost a third of his life savings. Then again, if this place provided such a wide assortment of jobs, then getting paid could prove to be fairly easy.
In terms of counting crystal.
1 green crystal = 1 cryst (slang for crystal).
1 blue crystal = 10 cryst
1 red crystal = 100 cryst
1 yellow crystal = 10,000 cryst
1 silver crystal = 10,000,000 cryst
-Continental Treasury Pamphlet pg. 2
He knew that the other guilds probably had similar fees and provided jobs but having access to virtually any type of job seemed too good to pass up. Not to mention, it would allow him to get a feel for different types of work. Pulling Lumina away from the colorful devil in disguise, he asked, “What do you think? Should we join this guild?”
“I think it’s a good idea. Think of all the different things we could get paid to do. Not to mention, there will almost always be an available job right?”
Eldin was happy that Lumina had come to the same conclusion in the job safety the guild provided. He wished that his friend was a little more aware of sales tactics. “Lastly, who should be the party leader?”
Lumina poked his chest plate with her finger, “You obviously. If we have to speak to those employing us. It would be a lot easier to speak to you than to me apparently.”
Eldin couldn’t deny the logic. Although Lumina would make a great leader, she understood that things would be easier if he was in charge. “Alright then.” Re-approaching the front desk, Eldin set 100 crystal on the counter.
“I see you are looking to apply to our guild then?” Raymi said with a smile as she skillfully scooped up the crystal and deposited it in some container behind her. “Who will be the party leader?”
Eldin raised his hand slightly to signal that he was going to be the leader.
Raymi grabbed a packet of paper then handed Eldin a pen. Please fill out the necessary paperwork. Once your finished, bring it back to me. Then we’ll have the guild master interview you to see if you can join the guild.”
Eldin paused as he grabbed the paperwork. Interview? Didn’t you say it cost 1 red crystal to join?”
“I did. That’s simply the non-refundable application fee. The guild master will decide if you can work here.”
Holding back unkind words, Eldin moved to one of the only empty tables located in the middle of the building. Lumina could easily hear the many swears he muttered quietly as he began filling in the blanks.
Sitting quietly next to her angry friend, Lumina noticed that she was the only female adventurer in the building as far as she could tell. Add in her ears and tail, and she stuck out in more ways than one. She could feel all the stares bearing down on her from the other members. It was quite obvious that she was not supposed to be there.
Shout out to Gameknight2169 for offering the idea of adding book references to make it look more natural. This also means I need to make some more reference books too.