Seruna Guild Hall

The anger. The struggle…. My vision starts to golden. Not again. I hit a hand against my head and tightly grip the tooth around my neck. The pain of the tooth cutting my skin seems to lessen my loss of control. Thankfully the sensation quickly passes.

“You all alright?”, Orchid asks as she walks up to the back of the wagon soon after. My focus returns to that woman’s muscular build. It is wonderful. Muscle mommy is the only way I can think of to describe her.

“Is it over?”, The boy in the wagon asks the elf.

“Yeah, we’re just about to head out again.”, Orchid answers him. “Why do you keep staring at me?”, The elf asks me in annoyance. I blink and lightly shake my head.

“Sorry.”, I mutter quietly in response. The muscular elf walks away from the back of the cart. Damn, she is sexy. Are all elves muscular like that here? If so, wonderful.

“You okay there?”, The large girl asks me as the wagon begins to move again.

“Huh?”, I respond in confusion as I look at her. She is rather muscular too.

“You okay?”, The girl asks me again.

“Oh!”, I reply. I blink for a moment before continuing, “I’m alright. Thank you.” Wait… why would I find a young girl like her attractive… I quickly look away and frown. That is not okay. I am forty years old and she is probably like fourteen! I dry heave at the thought.

“Okay, you are definitely not well.”, The boy says at the sight of my dry heaving.

“I’m fine.”, I reply properly collecting myself. The two other passengers look at me with confusion. I clear my throat before lying, “Just had something stuck in my throat.”

-- -- --

The wagon comes to a stop. I look out the back to see nothing worth noting really. A wide river I suppose is noteworthy.

“We’re here.”, Gerard states as he pulls the triceratops to a stop. I look forward to the sight of a sturdy stone wall and wooden gate. “Welcome to Halota. Our final destination is on the opposite side of the town.”, He explains further as he gets the dinosaur to move again. So was the town built around the guildhall or was the hall built later?

I observe the bustling town from the back of the wagon. People coming and going across the pathways for various reasons unknown to me. I notice a child running around with a small raptor like dinosaur. Of course there are more dinosaurs here then just an allosaurus and a triceratops! I lose sight of the little dinosaur as the wagon stops once again.

“Okay you three.”, Gerard says once the dinosaur begins to move once more. “Welcome to the Slayers’ Guild Seruna hall!”, The stout man says feigning cheer.

“Oh wow.”, The three of us in the wagon all say as we look around at the large courtyard around us. I notice not many people are in this spacious area. Strange since it is the middle of the day.

“The end of the road for you three.”, Orchid says as the cart stops. “Let’s get your things and head into the hall proper.”, She adds as she hops onto the ground. The three of us pile out of the vehicle with our luggage.

“Thank you very much for the trip here.”, The large girl says to the two adults.

“Yes, thank you.”, I say with a slight bow.

“No need for that.”, Gerard responds with a raised hand, “We aren’t nobles girl.”

“Indeed.”, The boy next to me mutters. “Thank you for the, mostly safe trip.”, He continues before grabbing his large chest and walking into the large rundown hall. How long has this civil war been going on? But I had something else I could have answered immediately, I look at the triceratops.

“Can I touch it?”, I ask Gerard without moving my eyes from the dinosaur.

“I guess so.”, The man answers clearly confused.

I cautiously put a hand on the triceratops’s body. It is rough and a bit bumpy, I thought it would be scaly.

-- -- --

“The new recruits huh?”, An old man greets us at the large ornate doors with a crooked smile. Odd, the door is rather well maintained despite the rest of the outside. His gaze lingers on me as I pass him. “Oh ho! Something’s special about you.”, He says surprising me. “Can’t place my finger on it.”, He continues as he rests his chin in his hand blocking my way in. “Maybe it’s cause you’re so young.”, He looks up at the awning above us as he rambles on, “That ain’t it. Though it is notable.” He moves his hand from his chin to his temple as he mutters, “I used to be better at this.” Without saying anything else he steps inside the hall.

-- -- --

“You all won’t be here much longer.”, A muscular woman gruffly says to the three of us as we stand near our luggage in the dilapidated entry. I can see why they do not bother trying to clean up most of the place. This woman is the only other person I have seen here besides the old kook. “You’ll be teleported to the main hall.”, She says as she turns around. “Now please follow me.”, She continues as she walks away from us. We grab our luggage once more and follow the woman.

“Do you know how teleportation works?”, I ask the woman as we walk through a poorly maintained hall. I adjust my luggage so it does not damage the floor, despite it not really mattering.

“Not a clue.”, She answers without even a pause. “Is this the first time you’re going to be teleported?”, She asks us.

“Yes.”, The large girl responds.

“I haven’t either.”, I reply.

“Once before.”, The boy says, “I was very little though so I don’t remember it.”

“Well for you two girls it’s gonna be rough on your bodies.”, The woman explains to us as we step into a large well maintained room.

“I’d say don’t scare them Hilda.”, A congenial man says as he steps into the room from another entrance. “But you are correct.”, He sighs. I am not attracted to men but even I can tell he is quite handsome. “You could at least reassure them.”, The handsome man adds.

“And how should I do that?”, Hilda replies annoyed as she puts her hands on her rather impressive hips. The man quickly raises his hands in defeat. “I thought so.”, The woman says as she walks out of the room.

“So you’re the Seruna applicants.”, The man says as he examines the three of us. “You all look rather healthy.”, He explains as he turns away from us.

“Why does that matter?”, I unintentionally ask aloud.

“Well the teleportation process takes a toll on the body. So being fit and healthy helps reduce the possible problems.”, He cheerfully explains. Despite his looks he is definitely a total nerd. Not that I am one to talk. “Now please stand in the circle.”, He says as he walks away from us. “This process is, quick but can get a little tedious.”, The man chuckles awkwardly. So not all handsome nerds are good speakers. “For me that is.”, He continues. We step into the massive circle marked over most of the floor in this room. The man begins to recite something, “Where light travels there is always shadow.” One part of the circle lights up. He is casting a spell! Wait, why does he have to speak to cast a spell? “Only shadow can travel faster.”, The caster continues, “Through the merging of shadow and light the travel of all of the worlds will be swifter than even the gods!”

The entire circle flashes blindingly for an instance. It feels as if my insides have become my outsides.

I feel dizzy. My surroundings are different but I cannot tell exactly how. I close my eyes and expel everything in my stomach.