Woke up to a dream

I woke up to the pink sun's rays peeking in the window.

Rubbing my eyes, I looked around, confused I wasn't in my dorm. And why was everything so large...?

Oh.

"It wasn't a dream, then?" I asked.

"Nope. We're still here." Rei said. "So? Any thoughts on how much we should tell them?"

"Well... you summed things up well last night. I don't think we should tell about where we're from, or... yeah. But we should try finding some leads on how to get back, and earn money. God, my dad... I left him all alone. I really need to go back home."

"Yeah, he will probably get lonely. But I'm sure he'll wait for us. He's been in a good place lately."

I was about to say he wasn't his father, then I realised the cover Adele created and closed my mouth. Ugh. I would not have chosen it. But it explained why we were together, I had to give her that.

"Hey, you two! Come on, we've been waiting for ages!"

Speak of the devil.

"Adele! Give them some space, will you!"

"But Mooom!"

"She's right that we've been waiting, though. You have fifteen minutes."

"Yeah! Hurry up, will you!"

I feel like we've been ganged up on just now.

Me and Rei went to the bathroom in turns, then he put the couch back to its original shape while I folded the bedding we used.

Eventually we were done with everything we could have stalled with, so we went to the kitchen. I was restless, full of anticipation for how things could go wrong. Rei seemed a bit nervous but he walked confidently, and by the time we were therre there was no trace of it on his face, smile taking its place.

"Finally!" Adele threw her hands up.

There was a man at the table. He was tan, with dark hair cropped short, as well as some well-maintained stubble on his entire lower face. He had stern features, but a calm air about him. His hands were in his lap.

"Hello, you two. We didn't get the chance to meet yesterday. I'm Gus, Belle's husband and Adele's father."

"I'm Rei."

"I'm Akichi."

"Nice to meet you two." he said with a warm smile.

"Likewise." we nodded.

Belle clapped her hands.

"Now that introductions are done, can you tell us again what you were up to yesterday? Just for clarity, you understand."

"Sure." Rei said, "The two of us woke up in the middle of nowhere, with no memory of how we got there. We've walked and thankfully found this town, but had no money on us so we couldn't pay for anywhere to sleep. We would love to get back home, but we're from," Rei looked at me, "Very far away."

"Yeah. This place is totally different to our hometown." I said to back him up.

"So if you know of any way for us to earn money, or any clues about who could have teleported us like that, we would be very grateful if you told us." Rei finished.

"I see. Gus, what do you think?" Belle turned to her husband.

"Hm. They'll do. Boys, how would you feel about doing some miscellaneous work for an adventurer's guild?" he asked us.

That came out of nowhere. Hm.

"What would our tasks be like?" I asked.

"Mostly helping with paperwork, refilling some resources - nothing too heavy, don't worry - as well as doing a few tasks that are nearing deadline and are unfinished. Only the lowest rank ones, the higher ranks are handled by your seniors. So? How about it?" Gus asked, making a triangle with his hands under his chin.

I looked at Rei. "I'm in if you are," I said.

Rei seemed thoughtful still.

"If we join this guild, are we going to find clue about our kidnapper?" Rei asked.

Negotiating. Perhaps I agreed too easily; that's smart.

"I'll put a word out for them. Someone able to transport two young males across... how far, again?"

"The entire other side of the continent, I think." Rei said.

"Stupidly large distances, then. They'll keep an ear out. Anything else?"

"Is there anywhere we're much more likely to find clues?"

"The magic districts, I suppose. But they don't let non-magicians in without good reason. Do either of you have the aptitude?"

Damn, that would be cool.

"We've never been tested." I said, "Is there a way we can get tested?" I asked, perhaps a touch too eagerly. Rei looked at me strangely.

"There's a way to test for it in the guild." Gus said. "That's already been two requests. We can do those, but if you'd like more, you'll have to work for it. Will you accept, then?"

"Yes." "Yes." we said, one after the other.

"Good."

"Aww." Adele whined. "I would have offered you to work in our flower shop if you said no. Now I won't get two little brothers for company in the shop." She said, wiping a tear. I wasn't even going to start unpacking that.

"Settle down, boys and Adele. Breakfast is here." Belle chided, balancing three plates on two arms.

Wow. Something that looked like pink potato mash, some mystery meat, and a blue vegetable sliced to neat little pieces. I didn't even know what it was and it looked appetizing.

"Thank you for the meal!" I said, Rei echoing me. They looked at us strangely. Was that not a custom here?

Ah. I just realised I ate so fast yesterday I forgot to say it.

Oh well.

It was as delicious as it looked, and it was gone in no time.

"Alright then. You didn't come with any personal belongings, right? I found two small sidebags that we don't need anymore," Belle said, taking out two tiny satchels that hung from a strap made of some thicker string, "I put a biscuits in for each of you. You won't be getting your pay until tonight, and you'll be glad for these at lunch. You can thank me later." She held them out, then changed her mind and showed us how to wear them. Apparently, you put them around your neck so it hung diagonically.

"Well! Off you go, then!" Belle said.

"Bye, Rei and Akichi!" Adele said way too loudly.

"Come on, I'll lead the way." Gus said, putting on his coat and hat on the way out.

We walked to the centre of the town, stopping in front of the largest building we've seen here so far. It was rectangular and plain white, with some engravings near the bottom.

"Oh, is this the first time you see one? I guess it makes sense, with how far you're from..." Gus asked, tapping his chin. "It's a teleport centre. There's one in most towns around Demi - ah, Demi is the name of the country we're in. It takes up the centre of the continent, Regia, and is known for its magical achievements and the danger of its dungeons."

"But not the strength of its adventurers?" Rei asked sharply.

"Haha, you're a smart one, aren't you." Gus laughed wryly. "Yeah, we're not. Most adventurers here couldn't even hold a candle to a trained knight here. But we do have a lot of them, and in a lot of guilds. The one we're going to is the one I work at, so I can vouch for you two. Also, we're as clean in our business as we can be, unlike many others." Gus said, a bit of darkness creeping into his tone. "But that just mean jobs are plenty! It's why I can just bring you two in like this. You don't even have identifications, do you?"

I shake my head. Rei just lowers his.

"Thought so. The guild will make you rings to identify you as members. Ah, we're up next." Gus turned to the receptionist, having a short talk with her. After signing some papers, he led us to one door of the many, Many, that were lined up by all four walls.

It led to an anticlimatically small room.

There was nothing I could see that was out of place, either.

"Here we are. This is the place of teleportation. Don't fret, but you're going to feel a small shock soon. It's just the magic." Gus warned.

"How does it work?" I asked in wonder. Gus smiled.

"The whole room is made of a material that pairs with another in Trexia, the place we're going right now. Or something like that; I've never learned magic myself. Only heard this from mages in the guild. Ah, mages are those who do magic in a practical way. Sorcerers and sorceresses are those who study it to understand it. And... well, battlemages are those who use it exclusively for combat. Ah, we've arrived."

Gus opened the door, and we found ourselves in a very similar area to the one we departed from.

The outside, though.

It was different.

The streets were just as full, if not more so. But every other person wore armor and had some kind of weapon on them. The merchants were louder. Conversations from the bars reached the outside.

The sky was green, for some reason.

We were led to a large brown building that vines ran up its sides, with both gates open and a moderate crowd in and outside of it.

"Welcome to my guild, Proud Antlers!" Gus grinned, putting his hands on his hips.