Limits Chapter 220

My stay in the tavern, was uneventful. I expected that much. Although Golems were easy going, they would not allow fights and cri to be present in their own city. 'The group of humans that will co after , will probably eye , until I leave the city. This can also depend on how patient they are. Either way, I should first find out, which humans are eyeing ' I thought, and left the tavern.

I went around touring the city. Not only was I interested in the city, I also watched carefully my environnt. I didn't have to search for a long ti. I soon spotted a group of humans, that seed to be doing the sa thing, as I did. 'I highly doubt that, these guys ca here to tour the city. If I didn't receive the note, I might've thought of it as just coincidence, but this is too obvious now' I thought.

The question was, whenever that group, was the only group following ? As I walked through the city and explored the buildings. I didn't notice another group trailing . 'So it's just this one. I don't want to disappoint them. I should go to the building that offers work. They might have so kind of task, outside of the city' I thought, and headed to the building the Golem pointed to previously.

Inside, I could see many different creatures. So of them were talking to each other. So were looking through so posters, while others talked with the Golems at the front desk. I walked over to a Golem that was not occupied, and asked "What is this place?". The Golem answered "This place is called rcenary Guild, welco human. Is this your first visit to the city?". I nodded my head, and said "Yes. Can you tell more about this place?".

The Golem replied "Of course. The City of Varent is the biggest and the only city in the Land of Sands. You will be able to find and buy a lot of materials, tools and supplies here, that will allow you the survival in the wilderness. The building you are standing in right now, is called rcenary Guild, which I already ntioned. Here, you can take up certain tasks, that are displayed on those boards over there", then he pointed at the area with boards, which had so papers stuck to them.

He continued "You are allowed to take up one task at a ti. So tasks may require to form groups, but it is not our concern, how you carry that task out. In case you are unsuccessful, we will ask for refund. The refund is calculated based on how many days you were overdue with the task, or in case you couldn't do it, and returned the task before the expiry date, we will charge you for the amount of days that the task was not displayed for others. My suggestion is, don't take up tasks, which you cannot handle. Focus on things you are able to carry out, and don't be blinded by the rewards".

He then added "Would you like to register now, or when you choose a task?". I said "I will have a look at the tasks first". I then moved towards the boards, that displayed all sorts of tasks on them. I looked through those tasks, and they ranged from killing so scorpions and bringing in the materials, to collecting Lears in the caves. So simple tasks, like Lears collection, were not paid very well. 'For each 100 Lears that I bring, I would get 25 Copper Hals' I thought. Not a lot, but it was a quick job, without much of a hustle. The ti limit was 1 day, and the amount required, was at least 100 of them. One could of course bring 200, or 300 Lears, and they would receive a bonus.

'It doesn't say what type of bonus one would receive, but at least they ntioned it'. I took down the paper, and went to the counter in order to register the task. What I didn't realise, is that I would need a mbership of sorts. 'The Golem didn't explain that, he only said I would need to register' I thought. The Golem said "This mbership is tracked throughout the North. Any major villages and cities, will posses a similar guild to this. You can take up the jobs in there too, with that mbership. It also doesn't cost anything. All I need, is so of your details".

'This might be a problem' I thought. There was no need for them to know my real details. Especially since, I was a wanted man. Although the Golems may not care, it would still be on the record sowhere. 'He also ntioned that any large village or city, has this kind of establishnt. This would an, they may have access to my information. I don't need that at the mont' I thought.

There was another problem. To be exact, it was my na. Nex was not really common na, and my own grandfather's pursuit, might give them clues that I was in the North. This was another reason, for which I didn't want to reveal my na. 'Only Crow knows my na, and it should stay that way' I thought. The Golem anwhile, stood there as if waiting for sothing. He saw my confusion, and asked "Do you want to create the mbership?". I said "Oh, right, I was lost in my thoughts. Sorry".

He nodded, and said "Alright, then pay attention. I will ask you a few questions, and record them on your mbership. If you don't know sothing, say so, but it might invalidate your mbership. This will also be noted, and you will have a much harder ti getting one in the future. Proof will be required, so I suggest truthful answers".

I nodded my head, while trying to think of sothing, that could be passed off as my identity. The Golem asked again "We can terminate here, if you are unsure. You can always return later". I shook my head and said "Let's continue". The Golem nodded, and asked the first question "Your na?". I already thought about that, and said "I don't have a na. I've always been called Dark Traveller. I travel a lot you see, and due to my hair, that was the term people coined."

He looked at suspiciously, and asked "Why don't you have a na?". I said "My parents died when I was very small. I don't even rember them. Maybe they gave a na, but I was too small to rember that. I had no other family either, and the people who were my guardians, never really cared about my na . When I grew up a bit, I travelled with so rchants, and everyone just called "You". Then I started travelling by myself, visiting many places. Because I had no na, people coined the Dark Traveller term, and it stayed like this".

He seed satisfied with my answer, but I was sweating underneath. 'Good thing I can act a bit. Otherwise he might've not bought that answer' I thought. There was so truth in there too. I was the Dark Traveller's disciple, and my parents were really dead. The other parts were fabricated. He asked the next question "Where do you originate from?". I said "The South. I'm from the Endrosian Empire". He nodded his head, and didn't ask about any other details. Instead, he asked the next question "What is your current Limit stage?".

'Hmm? Why would they need to know that?' I thought, and asked "May I ask, why you need to know that?". The Golem explained "Sotis, you can get employed directly, if your strength fits the employer's demand. These type of jobs are usually very well paid. Besides that, so tasks are locked for higher ranking mbers, and you cannot participate or carry them out, if we don't know your strength". I nodded my head, and said "I broke through the Half Step of the Outer Limit". I figured that there was no point in lying. There were many creatures that reached this step, and of course, I rated my strength a bit higher than I said.

The Golem nodded his head, and noted that down. After that, he asked another question "What is your specialisation?". I thought 'Specialisation? As in fighting with dagger or sothing like that?'. I wasn't sure, so I asked "What do you an by that?". The Golem responded "What do you specialise in, it's exactly what I said. If you want an example, fighting with a specific weapon, infiltration, scavenging, production and so on".

'So I don't need to tell him my skills. Good, as I didn't intend to anyway' I thought, and said "Smithing and Close Combat". This was the most comprehensive answer, I would provide. The Golem didn't seem to mind that, and said "The last question. Are you a convict?". I looked deeply into his eyes, and said "No". He froze for a mont, then said "Congratulations. You have passed the test, and you are now a full mber of the rcenary Guild. I will bring you the identity stone in a mont, and explain how all the rules and perks work".

The Golem went sowhere for a while, then returned with a square, flat stone. He handed the stone to , and said "This is your identification. You may find that there are different styles of them. This is dependent on where the mbership was granted. In Varent, we use these stones as mbership identity. They can be exchanged to different cards, only when you want to advance in ranking. If you lose this stone, you will have to return here, and pay for replacent".

I nodded my head and looked at the stone. My "na" was written over there. The specialisations I provided, and the location I ca from. It simply said "The South". I asked "What if I break it by accident?". The Golem laughed, and said "For that, you would need a lot more strength, than you possess right now. It is a special stone, with Formations inside. The details you gave, can be read by the rcenary Guild if need be". He then continued "I will now tell you everything about the mbership".