Jack enters the Black Talon Mercenary Guild. The inside of the building is rugged, made of stone and dark oak reinforced with iron.
Once inside, he can see a great wide hall with a massive hearth at its centre. The room is filled with mercenaries sitting around long wooden tables. The room is warm and smells like roasted meat, beer and sweat.
As he takes a few steps into the hall, he can see that the walls are lined with banners, swords, shields and other similar decorations.
A bar is placed on one side, with a trophy wall nearby showcasing weird parts from monsters.
A contract board is placed close to the entrance, covered in various parchments.
Jack is quickly noticed by several mercenaries who size him up, seeing if he is a potential recruit or a rival.
Jack makes a note of his own appearance. He still wears the working clothes he borrowed from Joe, simple pants, sturdy boots, a plain shirt and a thicker jacket to cover his arms and add another layer of warmth.
He stands somewhat tall, above average height. He has wide shoulders and looks strong, but most of his perfectly toned muscles are hidden beneath his outfit, which makes him fit in here quite well.
Most people around are rough-looking, strong, tall and look like typical fighters and warriors. There are also a few females, so not exclusively men.
Jack has his wooden shield equipped in one hand and his warhammer in the other.
An older man with several scars across his face notices Jack and shouts.
"Hey, never seen you before. The trainees are out back. Look for Baldric if you are interested in joining"
"Thanks!" Jack responds and heads through the hall, aiming for the back doors.
'I thought I could just show up and take a job, but this works too. They obviously want to know I'm capable first before actually going to fight somewhere' Jack thinks to himself.
He passes through the hall and opens another large door towards the back, and enters a large courtyard.
The courtyard has the same wooden palisades which surround the town, and has target dummies scattered around. In the middle is a sparring pit, and in the corner next to the hall is a large forge and a smith.
A short, wide and muscular dwarven man is standing beside the forge and working.
'That's a dwarf for sure.' Jack thinks and casually approaches.
"Hello, sir, I'm looking for Baldric. I want to join the guild." Jack says with a nice smile.
The dwarf gives Jack a short glance, then nods his head in a direction before continuing his work.
Jack looks in the direction and notices a tall man with barely any hair on his head, he is covered in a large plate armour and is screaming drill instructions at a few younger people.
Jack thanks the dwarf and walks over to Baldric.
He is currently shouting at the recruits in front of him to hit target dummies with their swords, using certain sword techniques, and whenever someone fails to do the right technique, they have to do several push-ups before they can continue.
"Hello, Baldric. My name is Jack, and I would like to join the guild." Jack says when he has approached Baldric.
The tall man in plate armour turns around and sizes Jack up, looking at his outfit, his weapons, trying to figure out whether he is a potential recruit or not. After a few seconds, he seems pleasantly surprised and nods.
"Alright, you look strong, Jack. Do you have any experience fighting?" Baldric asks.
Jack thinks about his answer. Should he mention how powerful he is? Should he hide it? He wants to quickly learn as much as possible about this world so he can make some informed decisions, but right now, he can't even answer where he's from.
"I've had some fighting, fought a few wolves now and then. But I think I could improve my technique." Jack answers thoughtfully, trying to look strong but not too much.
"You've fought wolves before? Dire wolves?" Baldric asks.
Jack thinks back to the wolves he fought.
'A dire wolf is a really large wolf, right? And the wolves were big, but I don't know if they were considered to be dire.' Jack thinks before answering.
"Probably, I've fought a few different wolves and not really paid much attention to what type they were." Jack tries to play dumb so he won't get any further questions.
"Ha ha, sure, if you've ever met a dire wolf, you would know. But alright then, why don't you join here and show me what you can do?" Baldric raises an arm towards the other recruits.
"Sure, but before I do that, I wanna know how you determine when someone is eligible to take on missions? Is it by a show of strength, or do I need your recommendation first?" Jack asks.
Baldric seems a bit amused and answers quickly.
He explains how there are different tiers within the guild.
First, there is the initiate, the new recruit, who must showcase a certain skill in combat and monster knowledge before becoming a full-fledged member. The initiate must show one veteran they are capable of fighting, then complete a minimum of one contract with a veteran there to supervise.
The initiates are given lodging in the guild and access to basic necessities and armoury, but cannot take contracts.
After completing a contract and having a member vouch, you become a full member, which is referred to as a Talon. Talons can take any contract they think they can complete, either solo or in a group with others. They have access to better gear with an advanced armoury and specific gear and training.
After you have been a member for a long time and proven yourself worthy in combat, you can advance to become a veteran, referred to as a Claw. Claws have priority for elite contracts and rare equipment. They also typically take on leadership positions within groups when they take contracts, and occasionally help train recruits.
Jack ponders the information a bit, thinking about how this all sounds like a medieval take on modern capitalistic companies, with interns, full-timers and managers.
Baldric also quickly explains about guild officers and the guildmaster, people who negotiate with nobles, merchants and the town for better contracts, manage finances and other important things.
Jack absorbs the information like a sponge, his brain quickly adjusting to it and comparing it to the real world once again.
'So a guild officer is like management, and guildmaster the CEO... Very familiar concept actually' He thinks for himself while listening to Baldric.
"So, Jack, you think you have what it takes to become a member? If you can showcase some real skill in combat, I can put you in on the next contract with other recruits?" Baldric says with a slightly jovial tone.
"Sure." Jack answers concisely.
Baldric instructs Jack to approach a training dummy and attack it like he would attack an enemy, motioning him to utilise any weapon skills or techniques he has.
Meanwhile, the other recruits have slowly paused their training and are looking over at Jack, who just joined them. Most of them seem to be in their teens, eagerly looking at Jack and hoping to see him fail.
Jack takes his battle stance in front of the dummy. He clenches his shield in one hand and his warhammer in the other. However, he calms himself down and decides not to go in with full power, instead using just enough to appear strong but not godly strong.
Baldric watches intently while Jack takes his stance. Noticing the raw power Jack channels but still maintains and controls.
Jack raises his shield, pushing forward and knocking the dummy backwards. It wobbles and gets pushed backwards, but not enough to flip it completely.
He then follows up the push with an overhead swing with his warhammer, once again using just enough strength to make a large dent in the dummy's head, but not enough to destroy it.
He then takes a step forward to kick it, once again making it wobble and sway, then proceeding with yet another swing, this time much quicker and more precise while aiming for the neck instead.
The swing connects, and the dummy, which is mostly filled with cloth, gets a hole in it, showcasing its insides.
Jack then quickly steps back to resume his original position, waiting for the opponent to attack back as if it wasn't just a target dummy.
Baldric watches with an amazed look, pleasantly surprised at seeing Jack crush the head of the target dummy.
The teen recruits watch with their mouths agape, but quickly close them and start mumbling to each other while walking, resuming their training session.
"Well done, Jack, you seem to have a knack for this. Excellent work with putting your opponent off balance before swinging, really gives your blows quite a bit more power when they can't defend." Baldric says with a real smile this time.
"Thanks, does this mean I can join the others for the mission?" Jack answers.
"Of course, we have three recruits waiting to go fight some goblins who seem to have created a scouting post a bit too close to human land. They leave in a couple of hours, I can introduce you." Baldric says happily.
Jack thanks Baldric, but doesn't show too much enthusiasm about the mission.
'Killing goblins? Are they like humans? What if I can't do it? Would I really feel okay with that? I mean, a monster that looks like a person is still somewhat considered a person, right?' Jack starts contemplating the morality of his future actions.
'What if goblins are just really misunderstood creatures? Would I be able to forgive myself for slaughtering a bunch of goblins? I guess only time will tell...'
Baldric complains about some of the recruits' form, forces them to do push-ups, before he proceeds to tell them to take a break and drink something until he is back.
He then brings Jack with him to give him a quick tour of the building before introducing him to the other recruits.
The building is quite large, containing the great hall, which Jack walked through before. There is also a war room, used by Talons and Claws to plan difficult contracts, hunts or defend the city from monsters.
The training yard has already been seen by Jack, but he still gets a proper introduction to Torvin the Scarred, the dwarven smith working the forge and is responsible for the guild's weapons.
Next is the sleeping quarters, bunk beds each with a small chest, which fill the top floor of the guild. There are also some private rooms, but they are reserved for Talons and above.
Beneath the great hall is the cellar, which doubles as an armoury. It contains rows of weapons neatly stacked, potions and ointments, healing salves, antidotes and other things to help with wounds and treatments. The cellar also has a locked vault with rare or enchanted gear, which only seniors or the guildmaster have access to. Lastly, there are tons of barrels with food and ale, salted meat and preserved rations.
The final room to make note of is the guildmaster's office. Jack isn't allowed to enter, but he is shown where it is and is told that Edrik "Ironhand" Voss is the current guildmaster. He is a man of few words and strong discipline, someone who expects results over words, at least according to Baldric.
After the tour, Baldric asks if he will be staying here or if he has someplace else to stay.
Jack responds that he will be staying here, but first, he needs to find a friend to let him know.
"I will head out quickly and find him, then I'll come back and meet the other recruits before it is time to leave." Jack says before leaving the building, heading to the market to look for Joe.