The adventurer guild hall stood oppressively silent, the massive room loomed like a carven, a towering imposing board filled with quests dominates one side, despite every table taken the hall felt hallow, a husk of stifled voices and vacant stares. Heads hung low, faces pale and whispers barely escaped cracked lips. This was the norm here, adventures were seen as little more than Demi human and drifter scum.
Occasionally the silence was broken by the sounds of heavy boots, pacing in front of the quest board.
At the far end of the hall, Ashen a cat folk Demi human stood in front of the guild master, a hulking scared man whose single eye gleamed beneath a furrowed brow.
"Congratulations kid, you're now C ranked" the guild master said slamming a silver badge with the letter C boldly written on it against Ashen's chest "don't die today"
Ashen barely reacted, he turned away, he's gaze fixed on the badge in his hand, his ears twitching beneath his hood.
Across the hall a party of three sat huddled together, Jax a broad shouldered man with mechanical arm augments, lounged back with his boots propped on the table. Beside him sat Lyra an elf folk, with sharp hawk like eyes, Jax hand hanged around her shoulders. On Lyra's other side sat Nina, a dog folk who kept her eyes fixed on the table, her small hands clenched tightly against a mission scroll.
"Babe it's barely a C rank monster slaying quest" Jax said, tossing his mechanical arm over the back of the chair, "besides we are low on coin"
Lyra sighed, brushing a strand of dark hair behind a pointed ear. "You're right. We haven't taken a quest in weeks. At this rate, the guild might drop us altogether."
"I don't know, guys..." Nina murmured, eyes still downcast.
Jax thumped a fist against his chest, the impact ringing through the hall. "Come on, Nina! I'm here! Any monster that gets too close will answer to me, the Iron Bastion!"
"I know, Jax," Nina said softly. "But the guild master said we needed a party of four to take the quest."
"Then we just need to find one more," Lyra said, her eyes already scanning the room.
Her gaze landed on Ashen, who stood staring at the quest board, still clutching the silver badge.
"Hey, new C-rank!" Lyra called out, raising her voice above the low murmurs.
Ashen hesitated, his grip tightening on the badge. A part of him wanted to ignore them and just go home, but the other part, the adventurer part, was curious. He took a deep breath and stepped toward them.
"Looking for a quest?" Lyra asked, her tone casual but her eyes keen.
Ashen swallowed, his throat dry. "I just got promoted to C-rank," he said, voice rough and uncertain. "You sure you want me?"
Jax snorted, folding his arms over his broad chest. "A C-rank is a rank. Besides, a catfolk's senses could come in handy."
Ashen's ears twitched beneath his hood. It wasn't exactly a compliment, but it was close enough.
Lyra crossed her arms, eyes tracing the faded scars across Ashen's knuckles. "Got any useful skills?"
Ashen swallowed again, forcing himself to meet her stare. "Blood manipulation," he said, the words raw. "I can harden my blood to make weapons."
For a moment, they all stared at him in silence. Nina's eyes finally lifted, meeting Ashen's. The silence stretched uncomfortably.
Jax clapped his hands together, breaking the tension. "Welcome to the party, kid. I'm Jax, C-rank, the team leader and tank. This here is Lyra, D-rank, and Nina, F-rank. Our scouts."
"We've got a monster-slaying quest at Hollowcrest," Lyra added, giving Ashen an intense, probing look. "Apparently, it's crawling with monsters."
"The guild master said it's just a bunch of F-rankers," Nina said, as if trying to convince herself more than anyone else.
Jax puffed out his chest, the metal joints in his arm creaking. "Damn right. We've got a C-rank, a D-rank, an F-rank, and me, the Iron Bastion. What could possibly go wrong?"
Ashen's eyes flicked to Nina's hand, trembling as she clung to Lyra's sleeve. The knot in his stomach tightened.