It did not take much longer for everyone to go their own separate ways. Once I finished explaining, Robert and Evelyn left to inform their father of everything I had discovered. My mother left with Marian and Ayla; I suspect so that when she returned, she could get the real story from me without Ayla being there. And my father and I left to go get Nixy.
It turns out that registering a bonded animal is actually extremely easy. You just have to take it to the Adventurer’s Guild, and they can do it there.
The entire way to the gate that I entered at I could see my father messing around with the ring that he had on his finger. I was actually very surprised by the fact that Robert or Evelyn did not take it or even ask about the ring, but I was sure it would be brought up the moment we got home. I was also hopeful that there was something inside that would maybe solve this, but that is just not how my luck seemed to be going.
When we arrived at the gate, I recognized the same two guards who had arrested me, and a mischievous grin tugged at my lips. I knew they were just following orders, and honestly, I didn’t blame them for it. In the military, orders are orders, no matter how ridiculous they might seem. Sometimes you have to carry them out, even when you'd rather not. It's just the way things work. The real problem starts when the ones giving the orders don't know what they're doing, but if everyone refused to follow through, the whole system would crumble.
“Hey dad.” I said loudly as we approached the gate, and I could see both guards turn at the sound of my voice. Only to visibly wilt the moment they saw me. My father also saw this and immediately knew what happened. Before I could have my fun with the guards, my father gave me a firm smack upside the head, a not-so-subtle reminder to behave.
“These fine men were doing their job Jace. While what they did was wrong by your standards and specifically to you, they did their job remarkably well. There is no special treatment because of who you are when it comes to the guard. Remember that son. “
I responded with a mumbled, “yes sir” and nodded my head as the guards stood up straighter at my father’s praise. Apparently, they had been more worried about it than I thought, because as we passed both men bowed their head slightly to me and apologized. It made me feel better that they had at least done that.
As soon as we got outside the city, I could feel Nixy coming. I made sure to warn my father and the guards not to attack and kept walking in the direction that I felt her coming from. I knew that she had been doing some hunting since she had been out here. Curious, I decided to pull up her Status to see if she had grown any.
Name: Nixy
Level: 3
Experience: 26/300
Race: Void Touched Nyxalith
Strength – 49
Dexterity – 42
Endurance – 37
Constitution – 47
Wisdom – 28
Intelligence – 39
Luck – 59
Skills:
Void Claw – Level 2 Void Warp – Level 3 Bite – Level 2
Not a massive amount of growth but considering it had only been a few hours, and she is probably still getting used to the influx of stats I was very impressed. Also, her growth with her skills was way faster than me. I needed to see what she was doing to maybe get an idea.
It only took a few seconds before she cleared the forest, sprinting for all she was worth. I could hear the guards gasp and move around behind me, and my father groaned. When she was close enough, she leapt as though she wanted me to catch her. I would not be surprised to find out that my eyes grew to the size of dinner plates seeing her leap at me. Luckily, there were no cameras in this world.
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Collapsing under her weight she proceeded to sniff and lick my face and body. Checking me over in the way a dog does when you have new smells on you. “Get off me Nixy.” I said, pushing her to get her off my chest. She did not want to, but currently she was not as strong as me and I could still move her.
When I got back to my feet, I kneeled in front of her and rubbed her cheeks while giving her a kiss between the eyes. After that I turned to see the guards with their weapons drawn pointing them at us but shaking slightly. My father was just shaking his head at everything going on. “Jace, let’s go get her registered.”
My father had brought with him a leather loop that could be used to identify Nixy as an owned creature, and another length of leather to act as a sort of leash until I have her registered. Nixy didn’t even try to fight when I placed the collar and leash on her. Just following along and looking at everything.
The Adventurer’s Guild was in the outer section of the city not too far the North Gate. Even though it was close to where we were, it took us a long time to get to where we were going. People would stop and stare at the massive creature that was acting very docile. A few of the children that we passed wanted to run up and pet her.
Surprisingly, at least to me, no one screamed and ran. Instead, people froze in place, their eyes wide with a mix of awe and apprehension. A few brave souls whispered excitedly to one another, while others edged cautiously out of Nixy's path, watching her every move like she was a ticking time bomb. A particularly bold child tugged on his mother’s sleeve, pointing eagerly at Nixy, only to be yanked back with a sharp shake of the head and a whispered scolding.
The whole scene felt like something out of a play, some people stood rooted to the spot, while others tried to sneak closer for a better look. We had to weave around groups of gawkers, and then there was one very persistent man who wouldn't stop trying to buy her, offering increasingly ridiculous sums of money and refusing to take no for an answer. Thankfully, he wasn't allowed into the Adventurer’s Guild, apparently, for similar behavior, and was promptly blocked at the entrance, much to my relief.
The inside of the guild was exactly what you would expect. As soon as you entered, in the center of the room there was a round reception desk with multiple receptionists working. Each one helping one adventure or another. Some of them were human, but there was a Beastkin, a Dwarf, and even a person that I would call a merfolk, as they had gills and scales. Though I later learned that this was the Brinthera I had been told about.
Off to the left of the reception area was another line of desks with more workers that seemed to be the area that the adventurers went to, to sign up for quests. Once again it was everything you could imagine. Dozens of people were lined up to speak to a worker, while dozens more, the people that looked like the leaders of groups, were looking at boards filled with paper.
On the right side of the reception area was what looked like a bar. It had seating for hundreds of groups and most of the tables were already taken. Here and there you could see waitresses working their way through the tables to bring food and drinks. While you could see the groups laughing and having a great time, some even standing and obviously yelling, none of the noise reached the reception area. Or well it did, you could hear a soft hum to know that it was present, but it was only enough to let you know it was there.
We made our way to an open receptionist and were quickly given a form to fill out. I looked forward to the day I could come here and sign up to be an adventurer. Travelling this new world and all the lands it had to offer with Nixy at my side.
My father was the one who filled out the form for me. However, after turning it in, the receptionist looked through the paperwork for only a moment before going pale. “Uh, um, sir. Are you absolutely sure that, that is the beast that you have here?” She asked.
I looked at my dad knowing that this was going to be a huge issue. Instead of letting him answer I stepped forward, “Excuse me miss. We do not actually know for sure that she is that type of creature. That is just what the Revenant that had caged her up, called her.”
At my words the receptionist’s eyes became hard. “You both are going to have to come with me to see the guild master. A Revenant is no small matter and needs to be dealt with quickly before it can build an army.”
She did not even give me time to respond before she left the desk and started heading for a door in the back. My father and I looked at each other quickly before heading after her. We did not have to follow behind her for long before we reached another door. There was nothing special about the door itself, but when the receptionist knocked it opened on its own.
The receptionist bowed slightly while giving us the signal to go inside. The room itself was very spartan. A single bookshelf behind and to the right of a desk. A large stack of paper on one side of the desk. With a smaller stack on the other, seemingly the side with completed paperwork. Two chairs were on this side of the desk facing it for guests. Behind the desk sat a very small man. I don’t mean in just height as though he were a dwarf, I mean small in every way. He looked as though he were a younger child sitting in their father’s chair.
If I had to guess, he was somewhere around 5 foot 1 at the tallest. With a very petite build, slim arms, long dark blue hair, with eyes like polar ice. He sat behind his desk with his fingers steepled in the gesture most adults make when they are trying to appear intelligent.
After my father and I entered the room, I saw then energy moving about the room through my Panoptic Sense constant ripples of potential energy everywhere. The door handle had a sudden burst of energy right before it shut itself. With that knowledge, I deduced that the guild master likely possessed a talent akin to telekinesis, which would explain the odd metal balls on the bookshelf.
“Well, it would seem you have an interesting story for me, Mr. Jace Obexis.” He said after a moment of looking over my father and me.
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