A Hand-Woven Universe

It only took a minute for the shopkeeper to return, in his hand were two red bottles each in their own leather pouches to provide some cushion - protecting them from accidental destruction.

"That will be 20 gold coins." He said casually, putting the bottles down and writing down a note on an itinerary behind the counter. Noone nodded and began to take out his money pouch when a familiar voice entered his mind.

"15." Alaviv said simply. After a moment of pause, Noone understood what Alaviv was doing and he wasted no time repeating the number to the shop-keep. The man stopped writing for a moment and gave Noone a look, trying to determine whether or not this odd-looking man was haggling for the sake of it, or if he knew the exact price of the liquid fire.

Noone maintained his stoic expression, carefully keeping his face neutral as he stared at the man. His gaze was strong; however, the clerk was an experienced mage and had no problem matching Noone"s even look.

"He has some strength. But he also seems a bit young." The clerk thought. "Eighteen." He said. "That way I still make some profit."

Noone frowned and waited for Alaviv to give him the go ahead.

"16 or I will go to Lydia"s shop." Alaviv transmitted. Noone paused for a moment before swiftly repeating the gnome"s exact words - keeping his voice carefully neutral. Internally he wondered who Lydia was.

The clerk"s eyes widened, and he took a good look at Noone. "Fine." He said, sighing as he scratched out something in his itinerary and wrote over it.

Noone handed over sixteen gold coins, almost a quarter of what he made from raiding the bandit camp. However, he did not regret giving it away. To someone who grew up in a society without the need for monetary wealth, money was just a tool to be used - not h.o.a.rded.

He swiftly tied the bottles to his waist and gave his thanks to the shopkeeper. The man smiled wryly but otherwise said nothing and watched Noone and the gnome leave.

As he watched Alaviv step out the door, Alaviv turned his head at the last moment and flashed a charming smile at the store-keep before swiftly exiting.

The man sighed. "Ah." He thought. "I see what happened." He shook his head and grabbed a rag from his waist, wiping down the counter.

"Thank you." Noone said as they exited the store.

"Not a problem. It"s the least I can do considering how much you have made for me." The gnome smiled playfully. Noone looked down at the small wizard, his eyebrows furrowing.

"What?" Noone asked. But the gnome ignored him, continuing on through the crowd the way they had come.

From down the street, Noone noticed a large three-story building unlike any of the buildings around it. Not only did it tower over everything nearby, but it was an aesthetically beautiful mixture of wood and stone and gla.s.s windows. On the front of the building there was no hanging sign, but instead large letters etched into the wooden front.

"Adventurer"s guild." Noone mumbled. He didn"t know much about the adventurer"s guild, or guilds in general apart from what Raelith had told him. However, he did know that they were one of the largest organizations in the continent.

Noone looked at Alaviv who continued to walk on casually through the entrance of the grand building. He followed swiftly behind, avoiding the constant stream of people flowing in and out of the multiple entrances.

When Noone pa.s.sed through the doors, he had no expectations. At most he had a curiosity. But upon laying eyes inside, Noone couldn"t help but go wide-eyed. The inside was like nothing he had ever seen.

The ground was covered in smooth stone squares, carefully laid to be in perfect alignment with each other. The room was large and had stairs going up three floors, and when Noone looked up he realized that the ceiling to the main room was all the way at the top, making the scale of the building seem that much more ma.s.sive.

Adventurers wandered about, pa.s.sing into side rooms or sitting at a nearby bar. There were many party"s that sat around large tables, sharing drinks or splitting up items.

And the thing Noone found most interesting was the atmosphere created solely by the people who casually wandered around. The entire building felt like it was buzzing with energy and power like a powder keg in the heat. At any moment, the right spark could send the entire building into an uproar and bring down strength unprecedented. Every person Noone saw gave off the faint aura of potential hostility.

Alaviv glanced at Noone and chuckled. "Close your mouth Noone, we have business to take care of."

Noone nodded and followed the gnome, but he continued to look around, casually spreading his divine sense.

While he looked around, Noone had inevitably caught the attention of several of the adventurers who noticed his arrival. At first, he had only garnered a casual glance, but after several moments of being overwhelmed by the surroundings, everyone had noticed him.

Several of the parties began to casually discuss the grey-stone-skinned man who had followed the gnome wizard inside. The white lines on Noone"s body glowed gently in contrast to his skin, catching the attention of several different mages and other magic enthusiasts.

Just as Noone was able to sense the aura of strength surrounded the adventurers, they too were able to read into Noone"s energy a bit. However, no matter how hard they tried, no one was sure what level Noone was at. This was especially true for the magic-wielding adventurers.

Those who trained in magics were used to standing above others. While physically weaker, they were beacons of knowledge and wisdom and everyone knew this. While this led them to have a reputation of pompousness, when push came to shove, no one doubted their knowledge.

However, when their parties inquired of them about the large being which just walked in, these magic-wielders could only smile wryly and shake their head.

"Perhaps he is one of the goliaths of the eastern land?" Someone proposed.

"No… he"s big, but goliaths are big-big, almost a foot taller than him. Also, their markings are painted on. He obviously has some kind of magic in his body which has caused his unusual white lines." Another spoke.

By the time Noone had drawn the attention of the room, he had approached the front counter with Alaviv who casually hopped onto it as though was his right. He stood face to face with a very startled clerk. Noone could only chuckle at this.

Alaviv waved his hand casually and produced a white token which he handed over to the young woman behind the counter.

When she laid eyes on the token, her breath caught in her throat and she glanced up at the gnome and back down at the token before subconsciously straightening her uniform. Noone was curious, and used his divine sense to scan the writing on the white surface.

ALAVIVGREHMLA GNUCECAK

Gnome

Level 17 Wizard – Conjuration

Age 2111

S-Cla.s.s."

Noone"s eyes widened, and when he glanced down at the gnome standing boisterously on the counter, he noticed Alaviv looking at him with a knowing smile – seeming to know that Noone would scan over his badge.

"Mr. Gnucecak," The young woman stuttered, tripping up over the gnomes last name. "U-Um, how can the guild serve you today?" The girl was honestly scared out of her mind - this was her first time ever meeting an individual of such a high level, but she did her best to restrain herself and remember her training.

The gnome flashed what he believed to be his most charming smile and returned the token to wherever he had grabbed it from.

"Three things, if you don"t mind." He spoke smoothly. "Four actually. Firstly, you can call me Alaviv. I think you will find it much easier to p.r.o.nounce." He chuckled. The young clerk turned red. By this point the nearby adventurers and clerks were beginning to notice the odd behavior of the young girl.

"Secondly, I would like to exchange some weapons for cash with you." Alaviv smiled.

"S-sir, if you want to exchange weapons then a weapons-smith would be able to give you a much better deal than we could." The young woman said out of obligation. Alaviv merely nodded.

"That is true, but I have too many and am afraid that trying to sell all of them would be too much of a ha.s.sle, so it is easier to leave it to the guild. Even if I take slightly a smaller cut." The way he said the word "slightly" caused a cold chill to run up the young girl"s spine. He looked back at Noone, making sure Noone was paying attention.

Noone watched the exchange with curious interest.

"Thirdly," Alaviv continued. "I would like to collect the rewards on some heads." He motioned to a wall behind the counter, on which was poster after poster of outlaws and criminals with bounties on them.
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The young girl nodded but was quickly becoming overwhelmed by how much the gnome was asking to do all at once.

"And lastly, if you would get a token for my friend here, I will be sponsoring him into the guild." Alaviv"s charming smile had never left his face through the whole exchange, but the tone in his voice made it clear that he was here for business. He turned to Noone wagging his eyebrows as if to say "look how cool I am."

Noone could only smile wryly, but he said nothing. As far as he could tell, there was no harm in joining such a guild. Especially if someone of Alaviv"s status was going to sponsor him. The only question he had was…

why?

"Y-yes! If you will follow me, I will show you to a private room!" The girl said a bit too quickly. The gnome nodded and hopped down from the counter. He and Noone followed the young girl in a luxurious and s.p.a.cious side room on the second floor.

"One moment please." The girl said, before disappearing back out into the hall. Noone and Alaviv sat down comfortably on a set of extremely st.u.r.dy and well refined chairs on one side of a crystal table. Noone wanted to ask the odd gnome what he was thinking, but after coming all this way – he knew that he would most likely find out soon enough.

It wasn"t long before a well-dressed human male returned, with the young girl following along behind him.

"Mr. Gnucecak. I have been informed of the reasons for your visit and would be happy to help you." The man said flashing a bright smile. Noone"s expression was neutral, but he couldn"t help but fight back an uncomfortable twinge in his spine that formed when the man entered the room. His aura was sharp, like a stack of razor blades.

"Perfect." The gnome smiled. "So where should we begin?"