Nend Ardhon Chronicles - Complete

Chapter 8 – Byia, the Apprentice

When Byia was returning home, she stopped in front of the Explorers Guild. She kept staring at it while thinking. She slapped her face with both paws and mumbled, “Today. After this night, there will be no turning back. I will…”

A familiar voice interrupted her monologue. “If you are going in, I will go as well. It’s us against the World, remember?”

Byia turned back and smiled at her childhood friend. “What are you doing here, moron? Shouldn’t you be sleeping at this time?”

Guyi Mohryi shrugged. “You know very well that Water-Dragons don’t need to sleep much; we just sleep if we are tired enough. I wasn’t, and I saw you leaving your house.”

“You mean… You followed me to Lodon…”

“Yes, I also overheard your talk. Who would have guessed that guy had such circumstances?”

Byia bit her lower lip. “I told him I wasn’t going to tell, and you?”

“I told him I wouldn’t hesitate if he did something against you, and you forgave him because of his mother. I don’t care less if that moron has a crazy mother or not; I won’t let him harm you ever again. I got scared when you were sent flying against the wall this morning. I hated that, and I can’t forgive him so easily, like you. You are too good for your own sake, Byia Calla. Lucky for you, I am a vindictive young male who won’t have a problem ruining that guy’s reputation. Now, care to explain to me what you are doing in front of the Guild? You want to join… You are going to join! It’s written all over your face! Cool, I am in!”

Byia shook both front paws. “No, you won’t! Your parents would never forgive me if they found out that I let you follow me to my weird dream of becoming an Explorer like my father!”

Guyi crossed his arms over his chest. “Really? I wonder what your mother would say about that. Do you think I will ever let you go all alone on an amazing adventure like that? Fat chance! I am going!”

“You wouldn’t dare to tell my mother… Yeah, you would, you scoundrel!”

That insult granted her a slap on the head from Guyi’s tail. “Mind the language! Pretty girls can’t talk like that! Are we going in or not?”

Byia nodded and pushed the doors open. Inside, there were only a couple of male grown-ups, sleeping over a table with a bunch of empty cups in front of them.

The receptionist raised her head from her sleep over the desk when she noticed the change in the water and frowned at the little couple that was swimming towards her. She asked while rubbing her eyes, “What might a couple of children want from this Guild at this hour?”

Byia stared at her with a serious face. “I am Byia Calla. I want to see the Guild Master.”

The receptionist blinked a few times to wake up completely and stuttered, “Sergge…”

“Yes, that was my father’s name. This Guild and the Guild Master owe me. I came to collect the debt.”

The receptionist quickly nodded and signalled for them to follow her.

At the end of the corridor, right past the reception, she gently knocked on the closed door. Two short knocks, a pause, and then another two. There was some noise inside, and an aged grey Water-Dragon opened the door with a worried look.

He stared dumbfoundedly at the receptionist and saw her pointing at the young couple next to her. He immediately recognized the little female. “Byia… What are you…”

“I came to collect your debt. You owe me.”

The Guild Master nodded and signaled them to enter, closing the door before a worried receptionist.

Guyi was in silence, wondering what that strange code was that Byia used to get into the Guild Master’s office. He sat next to Byia and heard her speaking with such seriousness that she looked like a different being: “You owe me for my father’s life. Until now, you and your Guild could never find him or his corpse, as well as a suitable explanation for his disappearance. My mother never came to collect the debt that you have with my family, but I am not as understanding as she is.”

“I… see. What can I do for you?”

“I want to join this Guild and train to be an Explorer. When I reach that Level, I will do your job of finding answers for my father’s disappearance.”

“A bunch of experienced Explorers tried over the last Tides but without success. What makes you so sure you will succeed?”

“Because, Guild Master, none of those Adventurers loved my father as much as I did. You and everyone else have quit, but I will never stop looking for him. Ever.”

The Guild Master frowned, and after a couple of seconds, he turned to Guyi and asked, “What about you, young one?”

“Wherever she goes, I go. Two for the price of one. Not a terrible deal, if you ask me.”

The Guild Master made a slight smile and turned to Byia. “Is that all that you want?”

“Not quite. My mother and brother can never know. I will be a secret member of this Guild and Guyi here will be the first member of my Party.”

“I see… You two must start low, as an Apprentice, taking low-Level Quests or jobs, for as much annoying as they might be. No Quest is too small if you can learn something from it. I will warn all our members about your special circumstances. All of us admired and respected your father. A lot of our members miss him, and despite what you believe to be true, we never gave up on him. Every time a Quest is near the Abyssal Pit, we do everything we can to search for him or find answers. And for Caddy Doggu as well, your father’s Party member and best friend.”

“You weren’t trying hard enough if you never found a clue for what happened to them. Where do I sign?”

The Guild Master swallowed his hurt pride and took from the safe behind him two pieces of a special paper made from the sweet plant that Byia liked to eat so much. “Fill out these forms, together with the Skills you have, proficiency with weapons or unarmed fighting, as well as Magic Ability. I will make you two a Guild Card, and you can get it by tomorrow. How are you going to complete your Quests without your family finding out? Are you going to skip School? Because I can’t allow that.”

“During our off days, weekends, and at night. Or anytime I can escape my mother’s and my brother’s sight without skipping School, of course.”

Guyi and Byia began to fill out the forms, and the Guild Master patiently waited. When they both handed him the completed forms, he blinked at Guyi’s form, and his jaw dropped when he read Byia’s. “This can’t be right… A young male such as you can’t… I mean, you are too young to know how to fight with so many weapons! And this Skill really exists, the ‘Mathematical Mind’? Because I heard about it, but I never met anyone… And Byia… so many Skills related to Magic… Is this for real? Your father had an impressive set, but you are so young…”

Byia answered with an inscrutable face. “I am the heir of the Calla Magic. I am the great-great-granddaughter of Senpyia Calla, the greatest Healer that ever lived. Together with the Magic I inherited from my father’s side, I guess I will be an excellent addition to this Guild when I get older. Guyi got a lot of fight training from my father and his while we were growing up.”

The Guild Master slowly closed his wide-opening jaw and spoke, “You two are already a good acquisition, with all these Skills… Well, it just needs my signature here… and here… All done. Welcome to the Guild, Apprentices! You can start taking Quests tomorrow when you get your Guild Card. The p*****t for each Quest will be on the Quest Form, of course.”

Byia got up and nodded. Guyi made a slight smile to the Guild Master and followed her to the exit, leaving behind a very cogitative Guild Master, mumbling to himself, “I would never guess this could happen in my lifetime… The youngsters nowadays are full of wonders…”

Guyi kept following Byia and waved timidly at the dumbfounded receptionist. Outside, Byia was looking at the Guild’s sign on top of the entrance with a slight smile. “I am going to find out what happened to you, father; just wait for me a little while longer…”

She turned away and swam in the direction of her house, lost in deep thoughts. Guyi followed her, unable to muster the courage to ask her how she was. He could tell that she was about to cry, and he didn’t want to see that. He always hated to see her cry because he always had a lot of trouble stopping himself from crying while hugging her.

When they finally reached her house and when she was opening her room window, Guyi held her paw and asked, “Are we really going to do this? You know I always backed you up, even with your craziest ideas, but this is a very serious matter.”

“I am sure. I made this decision on the day my mother told me that my father had disappeared. I nagged the Guild Master and the Explorers for days, trying to find a reason for my father’s disappearance. I read the Guild’s Rules and found that debt clause, and I told the Guild Master I was going to collect it when I got older. That clause would grant me any favor, even a criminal one, if needed. I was hoping to grow up a lot more, but I can’t delay this any longer considering that I won’t grow up much more than this for a very long time. I should have eaten all the baby food my mother tried to feed me without spitting or throwing up everything because I could be as big as Nayima by now. You won’t need to come along if you are having doubts, you know? I would be happy and feel safer if you did, but I understand if you…”

“What are you talking about? Of course, I am going with you; I just wanted to be sure this is what you really want, and it’s not a whim. You know how much I liked your father, so of course I want to help you search for him. It’s the least I can do for all that he taught me while I was growing up. But it can take a very long time for us to become Explorers and go to the Abyssal Pit to find answers. You know that, right?”

“I know; that’s why I wanted to start my training as an Apprentice as soon as possible. Tomorrow, we can go on our first Quest. I wonder what we can do…”

Guyi shrugged. “Probably search for a few special plants or snails. I saw two Quests about that with only one-star mark. I think that is the lowest Level, right? I remember your father telling me about that.”

“Yes, that’s it. Nice, two Quests that we can apply for. Now, don’t forget, absolute silence about this!”

“Of course! I am not your stupid brother who babbles about everything when he is so immersed in his reading! I will come to get you in the morning to go to school, okay? I wonder if your brother’s girlfriend is going to come as well.”

Byia winked in one eye. “She is not his girlfriend yet, but she will be if he does what I told him to do. Hehehe!”

“You have a weird smile on your face; you are up to something, I bet… Poor Paullu… See you later!”