Chapter 38: Just Another Adventurer (2/2)

“I’m just another adventurer,” Humphrey said, getting to his feet. “I only expect the same treatment you would give anyone.”

“Of course,” the man lied transparently. “This way, please.”

Left alone in the waiting room, Jason absently tapped his feet.

“I need to do some clothes shopping,” he said to himself. All his current outfits had been looted, and most of them hadn’t travelled well.

“Rufus dresses nicely,” he mused. “Maybe he knows a place.”

Humphrey wasn't gone long before coming back with Stash, still a puppy, tucked under one arm. Humphrey looked rather disconcerted and was a full shade redder than when he left.

“You alright?” Jason asked.

“The priest,” Humphrey said breathlessly. “She was a priestess.”

“Pretty?” Jason guessed.

“Oh, gods, yes,” Humphrey said. “I’m sure I made an idiot of myself.”

“You don’t have to worry,” Jason said, scratching Stash behind the ear. “You’ve got this little guy.”

“She did seem to like him.”

“Of course she did.”

“I didn’t know what to say.”

“I’m sure it was fine.”

“I didn’t even get her name.”

“No worries,” Jason said, slapping Humphrey on the shoulder. “I’ll get her name; you hang about in the lobby for a few minutes and we’ll grab an early lunch. Sound good?”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Mate, I’m going in there anyway. It’s not exactly out of my way.”

Jason sent the still-flustered Humphrey back in the direction of the main lobby. Shortly after, the man who had come for Humphrey then came out to get Jason.

”Mr Asano?” he asked, all smiles.

“That’s right.”

“Do you know Young Master Geller well?”

“We just met here.”

Friendliness sank from the man’s face like a torpedo had struck it.

“Oh,” the man said flatly. “Well, come on, then. We haven’t got all day.”

The man marched off, not bothering to look if Jason was following.

“Wow.”

Jason trailed the man through a small antechamber, then into another room where two people were waiting. The woman was wearing flowing robes of blue and white, with a sigil of a book sewn prominently into them.

He saw what had gotten Humphrey so bothered as she was quite pretty, although still with the rounded edges of youth. She was around Humphrey's age, maybe sixteen or seventeen, and Jason guessed Humphrey would have to move quick or in a couple of years, he'd have a small army of rivals.

Jason hadn't seen any evidence of cosmetics in this world, but he was beginning to suspect essences were taking up the slack. Except for himself and the blood priest, Darryl, every essence user he'd seen ranged from moderately good-looking to stupidly attractive.

The man next to the priestess was in his mid-thirties, also in a robe. Where the priestess' garment draped down her body with grace and elegance, his looked like a sack held in place with a rope belt. He had stubble, not the sexy kind, and his hair was an unruly mess. Even then, Jason recognised the handsome bone structure underneath. He looked like the hapless man who gets a make-over from the love interest in act two.

The third person was the man who led Jason in. He looked to be around thirty, with the generic handsomeness of a guy who had a supporting role on a teen drama a few years ago, but didn’t break out and is really bitter about going back to his catering job.

“So you’ll be the Adventure Society guy,” Jason said to him. He had the aura of a bronze ranker, although not as strong as Rufus, Gary and Farrah. They were all near the top end of bronze, where he felt more like Anisa, who had only recently moved past iron rank.

”And you must be the priestess,” he greeted the young woman. ”Jason Asano, lovely to meet you. May I have your name, or do I just call you ‘your worship,' or something. The last priestess I met was bit of a stickler. She did like to keep things formal, but mostly she just didn't like me.”

She shook Jason's hand with a laugh. Jason mused over a handshake being common across worlds when it wasn't even universal to his own.

“My Name is Gabrielle Pellin,” she introduced herself, “and I’m just an acolyte, not a full priestess. You can call me Gabrielle.”

“Is it alright just to have an acolyte?” Jason asked. “What if I’m really good at hiding how evil I am?”

“It is unusual,” Gabrielle said, “but my Lady directed me specifically to be here today.”

“Your Lady?”

“The goddess, Knowledge.”

“Is that her actual name? Knowledge? I suppose it would be weird if she was called Beryl or something. Especially if your name was Beryl. It’d make church service confusing, although, I imagine quite flattering, as well.”

He turned to the last person as the other three looked at him strangely.

“You must be from the Magic Society,” Jason said. “Not sure what they do, yet, but they seem very important, so well done, there. Jason Asano; nice to meet you, mate.”

“Er, I’m Russell,” the man said, warily shaking Jason’s hand. “You don’t know what the Magic Society does?”

“I’m not local,” Jason said.

He noted that the priestess, Gabrielle, was holding what looked like a crystal ball, while Russell had a clipboard.

“So how do we do this, then?” Jason asked. “She waves the thing at me and you write down what she sees?”

“That’s more-or-less the process,” Russell said.

“Great,” Jason said. “Fair warning, my essences might come across as a bit sinister, but they weren’t on the restricted list. Not when I checked, anyway.”

“You don’t know what the Magic Society does,” Russell said, “but you know enough to check the restricted list?”

“It’s been an odd couple of weeks,” Jason said. “I’m picking things up as I go.”

“Can we please get started?” the man from the Adventure Society asked, impatiently.

“Yes, sorry,” Gabrielle said. She held up the crystal orb in front of Jason. She frowned at it, giving it a small shake.

“Miss Pellin?” Russell prompted.

”It seems Mr Asano is impervious to the aura reader,” Gabrielle said.

“Just call me Jason. Don’t worry, I’m not evil. I’ll cop to naughty, but that’s as far as it goes. Of course, that’s what an evil guy would say, isn’t it?”

“I’m not sure that’s what anyone would say,” Gabrielle told him. “I think you might be a rather unusual man.”

“No,” Jason said. “Common as muck, me.”

“That I believe,” the Adventure Society official said.

Gabrielle tilted her head as if distractedly listen to something.

“After we’re done here,” Russell said to Jason, “could I convince you to discuss the power that shields you from the aura reader?”

“Got lunch plans, sorry.”

“Sorry,” Gabrielle said, refocusing on the group. “The essences were dark, blood, sin and doom.”

The other two turned to look at Jason.

“What?” he asked. “I said I’m not evil, although that could be part of my cunning ruse. Still, not on the restricted list, yeah? It’s not like I can make zombies or something. Kind of played out, where I come from, zombies. Same with vampires. Not as many werewolves, but they haven’t been done well in a while. Probably need the moon essence if I was going to make werewolves, though. My friend Rufus has the moon essence, but he’s more of the swordsman type.”

“Would you please stop talking for five seconds,” the Adventure Society official said.

“Sorry about that… whatever your name is, I didn’t catch it. Is this your only job, or do you do catering on the side?”

“What? Shut up. Russell, record this idiot’s essences so we can get him out of here.”

“Just a moment,” Russell said. He was looking over a blue and white marble tablet of a kind Jason had seen before. Farrah had checked an identical one when they were looking up Jason’s essences.

”Here we are,” Russell said. ”Dark, blood, sin and doom. Affliction specialist, no restriction. You're all good to go, Mr Asano.”

“Thanks, mate.”

“Very well,” the official said, writing on his own clipboard. “You’re cleared for field testing. Should you successfully complete field testing, you will be allowed to take up membership with the Adventure Society, with all privileges and responsibilities that entails. Field testing takes place at the start of every month and you can sign up at the administration desk.”

“There is the matter of registering your individual essence abilities,” Russell said.

“I’m going to give that one a miss, sorry mate,” Jason said. “I would, but I have a friend waiting outside. Lovely to meet you Russell, Gabrielle…”

He turned to the official.

“…guy.”

“How did you know my name was Guy?” the official asked.

“Seriously? I’m on a roll, today. Bye, all.”

Jason sauntered out of the room.

“What an unusual man,” Russell said.

“I thought he was fun,” Gabrielle said.

“I thought he was on drugs,” Guy said. The other two looked at him, then nodded.

“That would make sense,” Russell said.

“Will that be a problem for his membership?” Gabrielle asked.

“No,” Guy said. “If we banned that kind of thing, we’d have to kick out half the alchemists.”