Chapter 6: Five

Following Darius to the third floor of the guildhall, I fought back the foreign, and animalistic need to sniff not only the guild leader, but every new thing I saw. The strongest was the playful urge to yank on his fluffy black tail, but restrained myself. I was pretty sure he’d return the favor if I did, and knew from yanking on my own tail it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

I’m a person, not a fox. I’m a person, not a fox. As we walked down a hallway similar to the one which led to my brothers room, I repeated the same words over, and over in my mind. 

“We normally pair apprentices together in shared rooms, but we’ve some single rooms free, so I’ll assign this one to you.” Darius said, gesturing for me to enter the room. 

It was smaller than my brothers, but that was to be expected with how massive the Minotaur was. Even the doorway to his room was thrice the size of a normal door. Glancing around at the room with its sparse furnishings, I decided I would need to see about getting a desk or workbench. The room was big enough that I could fit a small table along the far wall next to the wardrobe. Leaning my wagasa against the wall, I stacked the books I carried on the bedside table. 

“Have you eaten since you got here?” Darius asked as I finished putting away my few possessions. 

“No, but I was pretty tempted by all the smells floating around the market I walked through.” I told him as my tail went into turbo mode. 

  “I was about to head out to attend some business. You’re welcome to join me, and do some shopping at the same time. As you may have guessed from Markion needing to do laundry, clothing here gets dirty, and while more durable than clothing on earth, it can also be damaged. So you will need to buy some extra clothing. I also suggest you buy some basic armor, that kimono is only a standard clothing item, and will provide little in the way of protection.” Darius said, inclining his head at the door.

“Sure, that would be great. I was thinking about going out to explore, but was worried I’d get lost. So I was going to wait for Marcus, er, Markion.” I said, jumping up from the bed. 

“Bring your wagasa. It is important to never leave the guild hall without a weapon. While fighting is prohibited in cities, and towns, unlike other worlds, there is no ‘safe zone’ that prevents attacks. The only thing stopping fights, theft or other crimes is the guards who patrol the city. While we’re on that subject, how much gold do you have on hand? Have you already banked it?” Darius said, gesturing to my wagasa as we headed for the door. 

“I have a platinum plan. Markion said he’d to take me to a banker when he got back.” 

“We’ll do that first, then. As part of a guild with a good reputation, you can open on at a lowered cost. If we head into the market with all that gold, you’ll be pick pocketed for sure. There are some who have a sight ability that lets them find targets carrying high value items.” 

“Thieves can tell how much gold I have just looking at me?” I asked curiously, wondering how that would work considering Marcus claimed the world was one designed to be more realistic than other fantasy game styled worlds.

“Not exactly, so far as I’ve been told, they can only see that a person has an item of high value. Unfortunately, this is based on the owners perception of value. If you think a pebble if your most valued possession, it will appear to them as an item of value. It’s certainly resulted in a few interesting stories.” Darius informed me with a broad smile that showed of his sharp teeth. 

“Interesting,” I murmured, wondering why anyone would think a pebble was their most valued possession. 

“There are a few different abilities related to sight, some can see magical residue left by spells, or enchantments, others can see footsteps left by a person long after they’re gone. Your brother can tell see the quality of a weapon or armor, while also having some ability to determine what enchantments may be on it.” 

I nodded, remembering how Marcus had been able to tell the quality of my wagasa, and that it had an enchantment on it. As we walked down the hall towards the stairs, Darius pointed towards one of the doors. 

“This door leads to the showers and the baths are in the bath house at the far end of the rear courtyard. The bath house is split into sections, giving you a choice of using the larger communal bath or a smaller, more private bathing room.” 

“Got it,” I said, nodding and making a mental note to buy some soaps and hair products. “Wait, if we need to shower. Do we… You know, go toilet?” 

“No,” laughing, Darius shook his head. “We were spared that little bit of realism. Any food or drink you consume is converted into energy by your body. No waste means no need for a toilet. Plus, can you imagine the trauma a Markion sized shit would do to the plumbing?” 

“I’d rather not,” I said between giggles as a part of my mind wondered if a Minotaur defecated like a person or a cow. 

Arriving in the main hall, Darius spent almost an hour reintroducing me to various guild members who’d all transferred with the guild from Avalon. I didn’t remember most of them, but they all seemed to know who I was, which I found a little unsettling. I doubted they honestly remembered me from my time in Avalon, as I didn’t socialize much outside of Marcus’s close friends. 

If I was honest with myself, I did miss spending time with Marcus and his friends. When Kaledon went live, I was busy revising for the upcoming exams, and had wanted no distractions. I would have gotten a Kaledon subscription eventually, if only so I could use it to keep in contact with Marcus once he went digital. But, I’d wanted to wait until I was settled at university before doing so.

“Kadia, open the canopy of your wagasa and hold it over your shoulder so it covers your back. That will make it more difficult for a thief trying to approach from behind to pickpocket you.” Darius said as we exited the guild building and made our way onto the street. 

“You think someone is going to pickpocket me?” I questioned anxiously, doing as he instructed.

 The canopy was large enough that it covered most of my back, and I could feel my tail brushing against the bottom edge as it swished around behind me. 

“No with me here, but it’s good to always be aware of your surroundings, and to protect your coin.” The dark haired man lectured.

“How are you keeping your tail from moving? I keep hitting things with mine. It won’t stop wagging!” I whined, glancing down at the Ōkami’s tail that wasn't moving aside from a gentle sway with each step he took. 

“It will come with time. You aren’t used to controlling a tail, so your brain needs time to adjust. I think it took me about three days to stop hitting myself in the leg with my tail, and a week before I could control its movements. That was around the time I was first able to use the Yōkai’s transformation ability. Being in my full Ōkami form helped me get a better grasp on the more animalistic urges as well.” 

“Yōkai transformation ability?” I queried, distracted by the sight of a four shirtless male Centaurs moving down the street carrying a palanquin. 

I couldn’t see much of the person who was riding on the palanquin, as they were concealed by blue curtains. But, as the curtains swayed with the motion of the palanquin, I saw a glimpse of golden blond hair before the Centaurs trotted away into the crowd.

“All the Yōkai, whose nature is associated with a particular animal, possess the ability to transform into a their bestial form. This includes the Kitsune who can take on the form a fox.” 

“How many types of Yōkai are there?” 

“Many, but not all are deemed intelligent races.” Darius said as we moved around a group of people arguing in the middle of the street. 

Glancing back at the group, I saw a familiar looking short green skinned man was being held up by his throat, as a much larger green man snarled at him with a fierce expression on his face. 

“Only a handful of the Yōkai from Japanese mythology have been used by the creators of this world as an attainable race. Ōkami, Kitsune, Oni, Tengu, Bakeneko, and Onikuma are the attainable Yōkai races that I am aware of. There are no guides or lists of races, but through reading the books on Kaledon’s lore, these are the only Yōkai in Kaledon who appear to be classified as an intelligent race, and not ‘creatures’. Gaia corp has replaced some of the beast men races with the new Yōkai races, as there are no canine, bear or feline beast men present in the world.” 

“What kind of Yōkai are Tengu, Bakeneko, Onikuma?” I asked, furrowing my brow as I tried to recall what I’d read in the past about the mythological Japanese demons. 

Darius didn’t answer right away, instead pushing open the door to one of the buildings on the corner of the street we’d been walking on. Inside the building were ten counters, with a set of old fashioned scales placed on each counter. Several armored guards walked around the room, and I tightened my hold on the handle of my wagasa when one of them walked past, staring down at me with cold dead eyes glowing eerily from deep within the confines of its helmet. 

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“The Tengu are bird Yōkai and take on the form of different birds such as hawks, eagles, and ravens. Bakeneko are different breeds of felines. While the Onikuma are bears, also of varying species. Our guild has two Tengu, called Dravern and Helvern, who joined Kaledon from Galxia, a space exploration world. Calidus, who you might remember from Avalon, is now an Onikuma, and his wife Isabella is a Bakeneko. There are about six other Ōkami in the guild, all new recruits who are in different cities for training. As for Kitsune, we have you and Yuki, who was a druid in Avalon. Then lastly we have a female Oni, known as a Kijo. Her name is Victoria.” Darius explained as he guided me to a counter that, unlike the others, had no line. 

Seated behind the counter we stood in front of was a short man whose golden colored hair and beard were styled in an intricate weave of braids. Silver clasps and chains were woven into the braids, giving the man an almost kingly appearance with his display of wealth. The man didn’t glance up from the book he was writing in when we approached, and I took a moment to look at the items laid out on the counter. Aside from the large scales I’d noticed before, there was also a pile of papers and a strange looking silver box with dozens of glowing shapes engraved into the metal. 

“Greedy fucking dwarf,” Darius muttered in a teasing manner, tossing a single gold coin onto the counter which disappeared with a quick swipe of the golden haired mans hand. 

“Welcome customers to The Hand of Midas. How may I assist you today?” The dwarf said, putting down his quill and giving us a wide smile. 

“Henric old friend, this is Kadia. She’ll be opening an account, guild rates.” Darius said, gesturing to me as he spoke. 

“Of course, may I see Miss Kadia’s life token?” Henric asked, looking at me and I hesitated, glancing at Darius, who nodded before pulling out my pouch to retrieve my life token. 

“Ah, a Kitsune one doesn't see many of those around.” The dwarven banker muttered, pressing my life token down onto a fresh page of the opened book on the counter before handing it back to me. 

“Will you be making a deposit today?” 

“Uh, yes please.” I said before turning to Darius, who spoke before I could voice my question. 

“Keep two hundred gold on hand, you need clothing, armor and other basic items, it shouldn’t end up over a hundred and fifty gold, but it's better to have extra encase you find something you want. Saves us having to make a return trip for more gold. I also recommend changing about five gold into silver and 1 gold into copper.”  

Nodding, I turned back to the banker, who pushed the glowing box towards me with a wide smile. 

“Place the gold you wish to deposit in here, and place the gold you wish changed on the scale.” The dwarf directed, and I frowned, looking down at my pouch. 

‘Do I just pull the coins out one by one?’ 

“Think about how much you want to remove, and just tip the pouch upside down over the box.” Darius said. 

Ducking my head to hide my flushed cheeks, I tipped the pouch upside down over the box with its glowing symbols and watched as coins fell from it in a shower of glimmering gold. Once the flow of coins stopped, I pulled another six coins from the pouch and placed five of them on the scales. The scales glowed as they tipped to one side with the added weight, then it rose again as silver coins appeared on the opposite end. Reaching out, the golden haired dwarf spun the scales around so the silver coins were closest to me and I collected the pile of coins into my pouch before putting a sixth gold coin onto the scales to be changed to copper coins.  

“Now then, is there any else I can assist you with today?” Henric the dwarf asked, rubbing his hands together as he eyed Darius, or rather Darius’s pouch, greedily. 

“I’ll be making a withdrawal,” Darius said. 

“How much do you wish to withdraw?” Henric asked, flipping the lid of the box containing my gold closed with a huff.

“100,000 gold.” 

“Coins or bars,” the dwarf said impatiently tapping his fingers on box he held. “I’m not a mind reader.” 

 In response, I flattened my ears against my head, fighting the urge to growl at the dwarf who was scowling grumpily at Darius. 

“Bars,” Darius said, not looking at all fazed by the dwarf's attitude. 

“Why did he get upset about you taking out gold?” I asked, watching the unhappy dwarf stomp away.

“Guild bankers like Henric get a portion of the monthly fees for the accounts they manage. He isn’t annoyed I’m withdrawing, he was expecting me to make a large deposit.”

That still didn’t explain why someone working at a bank would behave in such an unprofessional manner. The few personal account banker’s I’d met were always courteous, and respectful.

“What are the fees? He didn’t give me any paperwork, or explain the accounting fees.” I complained, growing even more annoyed at the dwarf’s lack of professionalism.

“Your account fees as a guild member are 2% of the total amount of gold stored, non-guild members are charged 4%. Considering any money carried can be stolen from our bodies on death, it’s a small fee to pay to ensure the safety of our money.” Darius said as Henric reappeared, still carrying the box which he slammed down on the counter with a loud thump.

 I waited to ask my next question as the guild leader took the gold bars from the glowing box while Henric watched on. As Darius finished putting his gold away, he said a polite farewell to the still unhappy dwarf. 

As we walked away from the counter, I made a mental note to not do any business with the dwarf in the future. While Darius might not have issue with his behavior, I didn’t want to deal with someone who didn’t even bother informing his new clients the fees associated with the accounts they were opening. 

“You said money can be looted, can other items be looted? Do our bodies disappear when we die?” I asked once we’d exited the bank.

“Any items not bound can be looted, with clothing being the exception. If you are wearing armor with clothes beneath, then your armor can be looted. If removing your armor would leave you unclothed, than it can not be removed unless you are awake, and willingly remove it.” As Darius said this, he gave a slight shake of his head, a wry smile curling over his lips. “I don’t recommend wearing plate armor without clothing beneath, it’s rather uncomfortable.” 

“And our bodies?” I prompted, plate armor wasn’t something I needed to be concerned about, as I wasn’t planning on wearing any, with or without clothing. 

“Your body will remain in the world until you respawn. The stronger you are, the slower you take to respawn. When you respawn, you will be at the temple of new beginnings nearest to you or a location you’ve chosen by binding your soul to an altar or token. We have an altar at the guild hall, which you can bind yourself to. Revival tokens can bind six people, so we only give them to higher ranked teams that are sent on missions.”

Walking alongside Darius through the bustling crowds, I couldn’t help, but feel nervous as I scanned the surrounding faces. Wasn’t he making himself a target by carrying so much gold? As I expressed this this concern to Darius, he assured me he wouldn’t be carrying the gold for long, and pointed to a large white dome building further down the street. 

“Next stop, the auction house.” 

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