Chapter 7 - Holdenville Guild

The Holdenville Guild was full of surprises.

As expected, the interior was elegant and expansive. The wood shined brilliantly, as if it had just been installed. The furniture was sturdy, a necessity when housing many drunken guests. The smell of beer wafted through the air, the sounds of a lyre accompanying it. A man with a beautiful blue coat stood behind a counter next to the bar, his beard finely trimmed and his hair combed to perfection. A bulletin board with pieces of paper pinned to it and several drawers were behind him.

"That must be where I get work," Peter thought to himself as he walked over to him.

The man, busy with documents in front of him, didn't notice him at first. He wondered if he needed to speak up, but he eventually looked up and spotted him.

"Ah! Good evening, sir and madam! I don't believe I've seen you two here before."

"Madam?" He turned back and saw Maya, gripping her rifle's sling tightly as she averted her gaze towards the floor. He looked back at the man. "No, I've never been here before."

"Great! My name is Hawkins, the manager of the Holdenville Guild and partner of the international Kervan Quester's Association. How may I help you?"

"Well, sir... I was hoping to see what I can do here."

. . .

The last thing he expected to do at the Guild was take a job about killing hogs.

As it turned out, the Guild's system didn't include any proper Adventurer's ID, or anything else he might've seen in shows back then. Instead, adventurers went after any job applicable to their skills, with evidence of the done deed being proof enough for the payment. The evidence required often changed from job to job, the most common being a written letter by the one who posted it. This job in particular only needed a pair of hog ears; Hylokans put out a request to all guilds to kill a particularly invasive species of hog, defined by their naturally chipped ears. Maya went after a different job, hoping to get used to the work by herself before joining a squad.

And thus, he stood in a barren field the next day, six hours away from Holdenville, surrounded by the same hogs Hylokans wanted dead.

The hogs were definitely vicious in their own way. Aside from their chipped ears, the hogs bore huge tusks, a few of which were spotted in dried blood from the hapless animals and hunters they gored. Their eyes, although tiny, had a type of malice in them that he'd never seen anyone have, let alone an animal. It was very lucky that they only attacked whatever bothered them first; it gave him a lot more time to think about his current plan of action.

He surveyed the land for anyone else that was looking. Seeing nobody, he put on a bandana, hiding the bottom half of his face, and a hooded cloak. precautions for if someone came by. Taking his dagger out, he sliced his palm open, just as Hemofemina did, gritting his teeth as he did so. He had somehow completely forgotten how bad a cut could hurt. He watched the blood hit the grass and dirt below him, then closed his eyes just like last time. Soon, he saw the fruits of his labor: his blood, formed into a spike, floating right in front of his eyes. He grinned, admiring his handiwork.

He did not grin at the realization that all the hogs were staring at him now.

Before he could wonder if the warning to never use blood magic near people also applied to animals, three hogs charged at him. He managed to dodge the first two, but the third clipped his arm, sending him flying and breaking his concentration. He landed on his back, clutching his now broken arm. As he saw more hogs charging him, he scrambled onto his feet and ran as fast as possible, trying to conjure his blood again. The pain in his arm prevented him from fully focusing, and his blood took a painfully slow time to take shape again. As he ran, multiple hogs collided with each other, competing to see which of them could kill him first.

Eventually, he saw his blood take shape again. Turning around, he saw a hog break out from the crowd, charging at him full speed. Desperate to stop it, he dived onto the floor and sent his blood spike towards it. Aiming true, the spike ran through the hog's legs, going in and out cleanly, before lodging itself in its throat. The spike corrupted, and the black blood splattered onto the ground, but he didn't need it anymore; he had the hog's blood now. He stared at the rest of the hogs, who seemed ready to charge him again. He smirked. Now, it was time to let loose.

. . .

A dozen dead hogs later, Peter returned to Holdenville Guild with a bag of ears, exhausted and hurting.

Hawkins checked the ears thoroughly, counting each one. "Twenty four ears... that makes twelve pairs, which means..." He disappeared through a door to his side, before coming out with a bag of coins. "Three hundred sixty silver coins for your troubles, sir. Feel free to kill more of them if you wish."

He lifted the bag, surprised by its heftiness. "Thank you, sir. I'll see what I can do." Before he left, Hawkins stopped him.

"Just a quick question, to satisfy my own curiosity. How did you manage to kill twelve hogs for your first job? It's hard enough to kill one as it is without proper equipment."

He smiled. "I just have a few tricks up my sleeve for occasions like these."

"Prefer to keep your secrets hidden, do you?"

"Can't have people stealing my methods."

Hawkins nodded, his curiosity unsatisfied but understanding. "Well, have a good day, sir."

"You too."

He left the building, stowing his reward away. He saw Maya come around with a sack like his, and waved at her. She waved back as she entered. As he headed towards the Holden Hotel, Hemofemina spoke to him.

"That was a little too close for comfort. Are you sure you won't get caught?"

"He didn't seem too suspicious of me. Besides, if nobody knows what I look like when I'm fighting, there's no harm done, right?"

"People have their ways. But if you're insistent on getting work this way, then I won't stop you. Just be careful, yes?"

"Of course."

Suddenly, pain ripped through his arm, and he headed back to the Guild to ask where exactly he could find a doctor.