Searching for answers (Finished)

[Lyra]

Lyra had to admit that after the last few days it was perhaps not the wisest action to go snooping around the Westminster Abbey. After the occurrence in the middle of the shopping district it was difficult to shake the words spoken by the bard. She certainly didn’t know Dumah well enough to draw any sort of conclusions about him. Needless to say that the girl was quite curious and wanted to find out for herself. After the incident cleared up Dumah had just sort of taken off without saying anything at all; but she did remember where his guild was located. For a while she had just sort of ignored it and went on about her own business with practicing her summoning; still doing her best to avoid actually going outside on her own. Carbuncle had been her companion for what seemed ages but Lyra did have access to other summon spells asides from him. So as she was nonchalantly was walking around the general area of the abbey; there was something circling around her hooded face. Sylph did certainly look like a fairy girl and it was difficult to tell the difference. In size she was maybe the size of Lyra’s hand; but maybe just a little smaller. Her skin had a light tan complexion to it and was adorable beyond belief; her emerald green eyes were always lit up. Sylph wore a simple white dress that almost matched the color of her fairy wings which carried her.

The area surrounding the abbey was unusually quiet today, something Lyra noted as she kept on casually surveying the area. Truth be told it was all an attempt to try and avoid Dumah; he seemed like someone not to mess with it. Her grey eyes taking a moment to appreciate how beautiful the abbey itself was; all the while hoping that she would never have to revive inside there anytime soon. “Something wrong?” she heard Sylph finally ask her master after the third time the two of them had lapped the cathedral. The female had gotten so used to Carbuncle not talking that hearing one of her summons talking still threw her off just a tad bit. Her hands reached up and tugged her hood down so Sylph could see her reassuring smile as she shook her head just a little. “Of course not silly”; Lyra laughed it off like it was nothing to not worry her newest friend. All the while her grey eyes darting around just to ensure Dumah wasn’t about to sneak up on her. This wasn’t the first time that Lyra wasn’t having second doubts about this insane plan of hers. Even if the two of them ran into each other it wasn’t like she was just going to come out and confront him. After all she had defended him without even knowing both sides of the story. Besides it wasn’t like that a guild leader would do such an awful thing to increase their numbers.

Tagged: @dumah
Word Count: 500
Total Words: 500

[Deleted]

Words: 357
Total: 357
Tags: Lyra

---

It was a warm day in Londinium, the winds blowing through the streets offering relief from the heat. It was the perfect temperature; not too warm, not too cold. Walking back towards the Cathedral was a group of three, all holding what seemed to be groceries. At a glance, Lyra could recognize two of the three people: Dumah Iino, whom she had encountered just days before being victimized by a crowd of people in the middle of the market area of Londinium; and an unnamed Person of The Land who had been accompanying Dumah that same day. Walking beside Dumah on the opposite side of the Person of The Land was a young girl, seemingly of only around thirteen years of age. She kept close to the guild master as they all approached the square in front of the Cathedral. Nearing the door, it seemed as though Dumah's ears perked a bit. The guild master smiled at the young girl beside him, speaking sweetly to her. "Alette, could you take the groceries inside for me? I will be in with you two in just a moment."

He handed her his bag of groceries, which the girl joyfully took with a big smile, nodding at his request. "Yes daddy!" The girl smiled brighter as her head was gently rubbed, leading the Person of The Land into the Cathedral and leaving Dumah outside by himself.

Once alone, he turned to the source of the speech just moments ago, turning his head in Lyra's direction, then walking towards her. "Pardon me, have we met before...?" Dumah scanned her with his eyes, then speaking with his eyelids a bit more open to show his recognition of the girl. "Yes, from the day before, you were trying to break up that crowd of people." Dumah smiled a bit, happy to see her, before giving a slight bow apologetically, his eyes closed as he spoke. "I am truly sorry for letting you get mixed up in such a situation as that." After apologizing, the guild master stood straight once again. "What brings you here to the Cathedral? Are you perhaps waiting for someone?"

[Lyra]

Time passed on as Lyra casually kept outside of the cathedral; slowly losing faith that Dumah was actually going to show up at this point. Perhaps she had the wrong information and his guild wasn’t here, perhaps a few more minutes until she would head off. As if on cue her patience decided to pay off; her grey eyes caught sight of Dumah headed towards the cathedral. Next to him was someone who looked somewhat familiar; but Lyra had no idea who the girl was. Sylph seemed eager to go over and say hello to them all; the fairy girl was certainly Lyra’s friendliest summoned companions. As the three of them got closer to the cathedrals door; Lyra would attempt to casually get closer like she belonged there. However she was certainly no assassin and somehow she managed to look awkward as she got closer; no doubt Dumah would have figured she was here. All the while Sylph casually sat herself on top of Lyra’s hair and remained. There was no feasible way that she could have ever noticed Dumah’s ears perk up as he finally picked up on there was an uninvited visitor. However what Dumah said next made her own ears perk up; wondering if she had heard him wrong. The two women both gave Dumah a smile before heading into the cathedral; and that was when the realization hit Lyra like a sack of bricks. Her eyes widened just a little as Dumah started to approach her.

Lyra’s short legs suddenly felt as if they had turned into stone; she wanted to move away but that wasn’t going to happen. Lyra could have tried to pull her grey hood up but Dumah could just look up her name to discern her identity. Her ears would perk up a little more as Sylph giggled; clearly amused by the developing situation. Eyes remaining wide Lyra nearly let off a squeak noise as her body reacted by trying to shrink down; wishing that she could make herself transparent right about now. Her hands would reach up and draw her grey cloak around her slender body; a foolish idea since it was clear that the man already recognized her from the day before. She would have responded to his question but Dumah managed to answer his own question seconds later. “Hi there, my name is Sylph”; chimed in her companion which Lyra sigh just a little as she lowered her head and shook it. Seconds later she looked up again despite her black hair somewhat obscuring her vision. Then her eyes darted up to glare at Sylph who was just smiling brightly and giggling softly. “Well my efforts seemed to only have made that day worse, and I do apologize for that”. It had been a foolish attempt to try and break up that crowd but it had infuriated Lyra enough to get a reaction out of her. People should be trying to work together in this world instead of squabbling.

She felt her cheeks flush a little as Dumah asked what she was doing here; something that she didn’t really desire to answer. “I actually was hoping to run into you…” she somewhat trailed off as she thought about what to say next. Just out right asking about the accusations was perhaps not the wisest course of action. Part of her didn’t actually want to believe what had been said, though there was no denying she was curious all the same. Lyra was awful at lying and it was quite clear that she was at a loss for words. Bringing up one of her hands to cover her mouth Lyra would fake a bit of a cough in the hopes to by herself a few more seconds before things became even more awkward. In fact she took that moment to sort of look all around her; hoping for any sort of random distraction to draw his attention from her. “I uhhh just wanted to thank you for protecting me from the people of the land” she sort of muttered in the hopes he wouldn’t question her awkward silence. Her words weren’t really a lie since she was grateful to him.


Tagged: @dumah
Word Count: 700
Total Words: 1200

[Deleted]

Words: 627
Total: 984
Tags: Lyra

---

As Dumah approached the young woman, she seemed a bit nervous. As if to contrast its master's nerves, the small fairy giggled and introduced itself as Sylph; it was of course only one of many fairies Dumah had encountered through his adventures. Even if he had tried to recall how many he had come across, the Spellsword would have lost count over the years he had been in Elder Tale. Dumah smiled and gave a small bow with his right heart over his hand. "Hello, Sylph. I am Dumah Iino, guild master of Noihara. I do not know how well word spreads to summoned companions, but I hope you can disregard any rumors you may have heard regarding my guild." The companion was smiling joyfully and giggling lightly, two gestures at which its master Lyra had glared upon her for. The Summoner then apologized to the man, stating that her efforts to calm the encounter had merely made things worse. In response to her apology, the Spellsword merely gave a handsome smile and held his hand up in objection. "I appreciate your apology, but I am afraid I cannot accept it. That man surely would have escalated the encounter to a duel even if you had not tried to interrupt the situation." He opened his eyes, a glint of appreciation in them. "No, if anything, I should be thanking you. It is not every day that I have the honor of being stood up for by a stranger; it would seem as though nearly the whole Adventurer population of Londinium has heard of the rumors surrounding my guild and turned against me. Now all who remain on my side are either the other major guild masters, the members of my own guild, and the People of The Land." Dumah gave a grateful bow once again, then stood back up straight.

Dumah looked at her once again as he began to speak. "Now then, I presume you did not come all this way merely to apologize. Is there something you need?" The girl's cheeks glowed a light tinge of pink before stating she was hoping to encounter the guild master himself. She then stood silent for a few moments as she seemed to be pondering her next action. It was almost clear the girl was a bad actor as she faked a light cough to allow herself a few extra seconds; from his time as a playwright and an actor in the old world - and his experience as a Courtesan here in Elder Tale - Dumah had learned how to pick up on someone's charismatic abilities. After a few silent moments, the girl spoke up in an awkward tone, thanking the man for protecting her from the People of The Land. "Well... Most of the crowd in that situation was comprised of Adventurers, but I understand the gesture. Again, I was merely doing what I believe to be right, protecting people is what I do. It is one of the many reasons I founded my guild, and it is one of the factors that earned me the title of 'Adventurer of Hope,' among the People of The Land and even some Adventurers." The man smiled warmly as he recalled some of his achievements. Dumah thought for a second to himself, then spoke. "Are you busy? If you are not, I would like to take a moment to give you a quick tour of my guild. I am sure the rumors have reached your ears, and I know the effect a lingering thought can have on a person; I would like to show you that we are nothing like the rumors state. Of course, this is assuming you are not busy, and that you are interested in the first place."

[Lyra]

Lyra had to admire how calm and collected Dumah seemed, but then again he was a guild master after all. He acted so polite and smiled in such a fitting manner as he greeted Sylph; who was content with making friends with this strange man she just met. Of course she was perhaps her friendliest companion out of the three she could call upon. Lyra would sort of try to reach up and casually swat at Sylph who just flew up higher than her master could reach; still giggling as if they were still playing a game. Finally the fairy girl would sort of tilt her head in a confused fashion, wondering what on earth Dumah was talking about these rumors in regards to his guild. Lyra would finally pipe up amidst the silence that had awkwardly fallen between the three of them. Just from conversing with the man Lyra was somewhat conflicted about her feelings about this whole situation. The rumors about his guild and their practices were horrendous to say the least but Dumah seemed so sincere and charismatic. On top of all of this it was somewhat awkward as Lyra had to keep looking up at him; he might as well have been a giant compared to the summoner. So she would just listen as he spoke; not wanting to seem rude and interrupt him all the while. Eventually she felt the sensation of weight on her hair as Sylph fluttered down and rested on her head.

As their conversation continued Lyra kept her grey eyes trained on Dumah’s face; looking for any ticks but so far she was failing miserably. Just from what she had observed with his face and the motions of his body he seemed sincere. Around them the already mediocre crowd of people clustered around the cathedral dispersed until it was essentially just the two of them. Lyra was certainly having her doubts about all of these rumors flying around; after all there was no solid proof to fall back on. It finally dawned on her that this entire time she hadn’t spoken a single word; perhaps because she was unsure of what to say in the first place. Much to her dismay it seemed that he had even picked up on her face becoming flushed and her lackluster cough; no doubt because he was a much higher level than she was. It made her feel a little flustered but Dumah just played it off like it was nothing; perhaps Lyra was mistaken in coming here to snoop around for answers. In fact now she was starting to feel quite ashamed of how she could assume something so terrible about a man she had only met once before. It was entirely possible that Dumah had seen through her actions and caught on to her intentions; but he was very cool and not letting on in the slightest. At the mention of his title Lyra’s eyes widened up just a little more in interest.

Before she even had the chance to finally speak up Dumah made a very interest proposition that required her to think over it a bit longer. Just casually offering her to come and look around his guild; the very thing she had wanted in the first place. In reaction Lyra would attempt to make her expression as neutral as possible; not wanting to give away her quite apparent eagerness to poke around his guild even for a little while. IT was somewhat tempting to make up an excuse as to not come off as strong, but odds were that Dumah would see through her thinly veiled lie. Sylph who had up until now remained still as a rock finally untangled herself from Lyra’s black and red hair. “We would love to look around your guild Mr. Dumah” she said in her high pitched enthusiastic voice. Lyra would of course sigh a little as she hung her head, just shaking it at her companion’s seemingly endless energy. “I suppose that would be a yes then”; Lyra would finally answer. She had already decided to say yes but her companion spoke first.


Tagged: @dumah
Word Count: 690
Total Words: 1890

[Deleted]

Words: 726
Total: 1710
Tags: Lyra

---

After Dumah had spoken up, proposing a tour for the young Summoner, the girl had done her best to hide her excitement in response to the offer. She tried to keep a straight face, the corners of her lips curling slightly to show her true excitement. The fairy companion made itself apparent once again as it spoke for its master, giving a very excited acceptance to the invitation. The pixie's master sighed slightly and gently hung her head, shaking it a bit before giving a nonchalant nod and agreement. The guild master smiled a bit - not too much, not too little; sincere, but not overly so; it was a rather handsome smile, a skill that had become second nature to the dashing man - before speaking. "I am glad to hear that you two are willing to accept my offer." The guild master gave a slight bow before leading the way into the cathedral. "You do not need to worry about sending your Sylph friend away; we keep skill usage permitted in the guildhall, as it tends to simply be more convenient and even liberating in ways. It can get rather dark at night, and a Magic Light can be quite useful." Dumah smiled and gave a light chortle as he spoke so as to lighten the possibly tense mood.

As the group entered Westminster Abbey's guildhall area, it became far more evident that it was an owned zone. As opposed to the plain resurrection area, which looked exactly as it did even back in the old world and in the promotional screenshots of the building before the game was released, the entire building deeper in, behind the resurrection area, had large, long, stone corridors reminiscent of a castle, throughout which were the occasional Noiharan banner baring the emblem of the guild. After a few moments of walking, the guild master spoke again. "I will be taking you first to see our Tavern. The owner is a good man, and an old friend of mine. I will let you know ahead of time though, his name changes each week. He has a name, though it is a sort of inside joke between the two of us, and it just stuck with him." After informing the Summoner of the man's peculiar name - or rather, lack thereof - Dumah opened a large set of double doors leading into a large room that had a very authentic air about it, resembling an old English pub in all ways. Inside were the two people seen beside Dumah before he split off to approach Lyra: a young girl in a dress, sitting on one of the bar stools and swinging her legs as she drank a beverage, and behind the counter stood a handsome young man - about Dumah's age, though perhaps a few years older - with short blonde hair and hazel eyes behind a pair of tinted sunglasses, making it much harder to tell exactly what color his eyes really were. The man had a slender body and wore a white shirt with long sleeves and an upturned collar under an opened black jacket. Finishing the outfit off was a pair of blue jeans and a nice leather belt. The man was washing the bar with a cloth, clearing taking much pride in his pub.

As Dumah and Lyra approached, the man gave a soft smile at them both. "Hey there Dumah, who's this?" It was clear he was referring to the Summoner, though he showed no exact sign that this was the case, as he looked at his guild master while speaking and kept washing the bar.

"This is Lyra, she was there to interrupt the confrontation in the market district the other day." As Dumah introduced Lyra, the young girl hopped off the bar stool and ran to her guild master, throwing her arms around him in a loving embrace. Dumah smiled and pet her head softly before gesturing towards the barkeep. "Lyra, this is Frye."

The man smiled and chuckled to himself as he spoke. "For now..."

After introducing him, Dumah then looked down at the cute girl beside him. "This is Alette, my daughter." He smiled a sincere, genuine smile at the girl. "She is a Sorcerer and been much of my motivating force through my time here in Elder Tale." The girl giggled joyfully as she was praised.

[Lyra]

Lyra had attempted to hide her genuine excitement about seeing the guild; after all this would be the first guild hall she ever saw in two years. Dumah had clearly seen through her failed ploy of not acted too eager about this little tour; but of course it would be quite the challenge to pull the wool over his sharp eyes. Sylph of course had once more taken the liberty to make her masters choice for her; though Lyra wasn’t going to argue her companions choice. Dumah just seemed to be amused by the fairy girl and kept on smiling as if the two were longtime friends; it was no wonder he was the guild master. “I am happy to hear that Dumah, my friend here would never forgive me if I sent her away”; Lyra would say before giving a soft laugh to ease the tense air that had been forming between them. Eventually the three of them would make their way over the abbey; Dumah acting the role of gentlemen and opening the door for Lyra so she could enter first. Truth be told the summoner had no earthly idea of what she was expecting from seeing a proper guild hall. Grey eyes widened and she actually grinned; this was a gorgeous looking area. It could not be any clearer this was an owned zone and the guild members had worked hard to make it their own. “This place looks amazing” Lyra spoke up as she looked up.

After she would take a few moments to admire the beauty of the entrance the three of them took down a long stone hallway. Over all it gave her the impression of more along the lines of a castle instead of an abbey; regardless it was still breath taking to see first-hand. The sounds of their feet treading across the cobblestone floor echoed throughout the hall as they walked; other than that silence remained in the air. Sylph had taken to flying around instead of riding in Lyra’s hair; she remained fluttering around by the right side of her master’s hair as they kept on walking down the hall. Finally Dumah spoke up and informed the two visitors that their first stop was the tavern; sort of a peculiar place to start. Lyra would shiver just a little from the chilling air that surrounded them from all around; causing her to tug her grey hooded cloak a little closer to her skinny body. She would just sort of wait until the two of them finally walked through the larges set of wooden double doors that led into the previously mentioned tavern. Her eyes scanned the room and well it looked like a tavern; again Lyra wasn’t exactly sure what she had been expecting of a tavern. Two other people were occupying the room and she recognized the girl from before. Lyra got a decent glance at who she assumed was the bartender given that he was standing behind the bar.

Dumah and Lyra approached the bar which gave her the chance to get a better look at the two people at the bar. She had to admit that the bartender was a handsome man; a thought that never had really occurred to her until now. Of course she would offer some courtesy and gave the man a very polite smile as Dumah introduced her. Out of the corner of her eye Lyra noticed as the girl hopped off the bar stool and ran over to embrace Dumah in a hug. Obviously the girl must be his daughter; it was the only thing that made sense to her. “It’s nice to meet you Frye” she would respond as she helped herself and hopped on the bar stool. As short as she was the stool made her nearly eye level with the two other men; Sylph deciding that she wanted to go meet Dumah’s daughter. The fairy girl would flutter over with the power of her tiny insect like wings and settled herself in front of Alette’s face. “Hi there Alette, my name is Sylph”; she would offer the biggest grin before giggling. Dumah’s motivations were becoming even more apparent to Lyra.



Tagged: @dumah
Word Count: 700
Total Words: 2590

[Deleted]

Words: 565
Total: 2275
Tags: Lyra
Note: "She had to admit that the bartender was a handsome man..." Oh I see how it is, Dumah's too formal for your tastes? I'm joking of course, don't worry~

---

As the fairy acquainted itself with the little girl, the Person of The Land that was just moments ago assigned the name Frye curled his fingers a few times at his guild master, beckoning Dumah over. The blonde man leaned over his bar, speaking in a soft voice. "So what, she a new member or something?"

Dumah shook his head and spoke. "No, no, she was merely curious about us. I thought the best way to satisfy her curiosity, and to dash any belief she may have in the rumors that have been floating around Londinium, would be to show her what we are truly like."

The barkeep smiled a bit. "The Adventurers of this city have begun to turn against you; just make sure to mend the damage to your reputation before it ends up ruining your reputation with the People of The Land. A lie told enough times becomes truth, after all, and there's really only so much you can do with your Courtesan subclass."

"You should know me better than that, Frye. If my reputation with the People of The Land ever took such a dramatic turn as it did with the Adventurers, you of all people should know I would not use my skills as a Courtesan just to win their trust. If I did, it would have no meaning, no sincerity."

The barkeep chuckled a bit at this, already knowing Dumah's answer before he even spoke it. "Yeah, I know. I've known ya too long to expect anything less of you, Dumah." Leaning a bit further over his bar, Frye gave his guild master a pat on the back, both smiling.

Dumah looked down at Alette and smiled at the girl. "Alette, would you mind staying here with Frye while I show Lyra around?" In response, the little girl gave a cherubic smile and nod, then told the guildhall's guest that it was nice to meet her. With that, she returned to her stool and sat upon it, continuing to drink her beverage. With that, Dumah gestured to Lyra, beckoning her to follow him. "Come, let us continue the tour." With that, the two left the warm comfort of the tavern and returned to the regal castle interior of the corridors connecting each room. Walking a ways down the hall, they reached another room. As Dumah opened the door for his guest, they were taken into a large room that had been nearly a labyrinth of bookshelves and desks.

Dumah stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "This is our personal library. We have many volumes of texts in here that document a wide range of topics, from Noiharan history to guild projects; maps of the dungeons and bestiaries; we have plenty to read, and plenty to learn." there were a couple of desks with books and papers just tossed about in a messy fashion. The guild master sighed to himself before stepping over and cleaning up. "I am sorry for the mess, we have been working on preparing ourselves for a raid as of late. I would love to simply sit about and chat about it, but I am afraid that for now our plans regarding this raid are only available to those involved, namely the Noihara Vanguard Corps; our military branch, of which I will be commanding once we are fully prepared to conquer the dungeon."

[Lyra]

Lyra was laughing softly as she watched Sylph playfully fly around Alette’s head; clearly the fairy girl was having a good time with her new friend. Alette seemed highly amused as she giggled and just watched the fairy girl fly around. Lyra was clearly not paying attention as Dumah and Frye would get closer and have their own little private chat. It wasn’t until a few moments later that she spotted them out of the corner of her eye. It suddenly became very clear that they were in fact talking; she could sort of make out their lips moving. Lyra wasn’t the type of girl to eavesdrop on people’s conversations and that wasn’t about to change now. Whatever they were talking about it must have been crucial; they were making it so that Lyra wouldn’t accidentally hear them. Causally she would reach up and brush the hair covering her eyes; trying to keep her attention on Alette. Then the sound of Frye chuckling hit her ears; something she hadn’t expected to come out of a seemingly important conversation. Dumah would pat his back and then moved away, leaving Lyra wondering what on earth they had been discussing. Finally it seemed that the two of them would be continuing their tour of the guildhall; as Dumah asked his daughter to stay put in the tavern. The girl smiled up at her father before sitting herself back down on her stool; drinking her beverage before Lyra and Dumah had entered the room.

Dumah would then gesture to Lyra and the two of them left the tavern; which of course left Lyra wondering where they were heading towards now. As they entered the seemingly endless cobblestone hallway Lyra would tug her grey cloak closer to her body once again. Finally Dumah would stop walking in front of yet another large and imposing looking wooden door. Lyra would give the guild master a little grin as she would make her way into the room. Her eyes would go wide as she attempted to take in all of this at once. Shelf upon shelf of books surrounded the two of them; a vast amount of books that Lyra couldn’t even begin to count. The summoner was so amazed that the feeling of Sylph sitting on top of her head was nearly lost on her. Dumah explained what this library contained and Lyra was listening with great focus; she loved to read and this was like her own personal paradise. The mentioning of a raid was something that piqued her interest, she knew that raids were quite the big deal when it came to organized guilds. Her grey eyes remained wide in amazement and hoped that Dumah would tell her more; but of course all guilds had their own secrets. It was challenging not to hide the disappointment on her face; but she understood where Dumah was coming from. She wasn’t a guild member and he couldn’t just divulge sensitive information to someone he just met.

She would link her arms behind her back as she helped herself and started to pace around the room. It was best if she made no attempts to actually pick up any of the books. Knowing that there were days upon days of reading to be done in such a wonderful room. Deep down Lyra was wondering if she should mention her possible interest in actually joining the guild. Of course there was plenty more of the guild hall to see but it was hard to deny she was thinking about it. “And what if I expressed interest in wanting to join?” she finally spoke up as she turned around to look up at him. She wasn’t about to just up and join without knowing more about them, but there was no denying that the thought had occurred to her. Being a solo player was certainly going to get her nowhere fast; not to mention the fact that she was always looking to make new friends. Since they were alone it seemed the best time to discuss this; Lyra of course would keep her options open just in case. Silence fell between them as she waited for Dumah to answer.


Tagged: @dumah
Word Count: 700
Total Words: 3290
Notes: Sorry for the delay

[Deleted]

Words: 503
Total: 2778
Tags: Lyra

---

As the two walked into the large library, the girl was seemingly ready to burst with excitement, grinning lightly and her eyes opening wide as she examined the large room in its entirety. As the guild master spoke, the Summoner listened intently. She was clearly quite the bookworm judging by her intrigue and focus. As the topic of a raid was brought up, the girl seemed to perk a bit in response, the disappointment on her face confirming her interest. She linked her arms behind her back as she walked around the room, looking at the countless tomes with the same longing eyes as a kid looking through the window of a candy store. She stopped pacing, turning to Dumah and asking what he would do if she showed interest in becoming a member of Noihara. "Are you sure? You barely know us, I would not wish for you to make a rash decision and feel inclined to stay in a guild that may not be what you are looking for." They were wise words, and quite the unexpected response from someone who, according to rumor, was forcing people to join him. "If you are legitimately interested in Noihara, I would be honored, and would of course accept you. We have a sort of initiation, but it is a simple test. I will show you some more of the guildhall, then if you decide you are interested in joining us, we can discuss it further at that time. If I may ask, what is your crafting subclass?" The guild master stood awaiting an answer. He could have simply looked at her character information, but he did not wish to do so. He was a formal man, and felt as if it were almost invasive to look at one's character information without permission, and as such he asked. After hearing the girl's answer, he smiled a bit and chuckled softly. "You are a tailor, you say? What a coincidence: so am I. We have another highly skilled Tailor in our crafting division, in fact. If you would like, I could show you our clothier, though it is nothing special I am afraid." Dumah then began to list the other rooms in the guildhall, giving his guest a choice of what to see. "We have a clothier, meeting room, armory, barracks, a forge, and a dungeon. Do not worry about the dungeon, though! It was part of the Cathedral when we bought it, and so I chose to keep it for its stats. Besides, it serves as a suitable multi-purpose room, able to be remodeled for whatever need we may require at any given time." Having a room such as a prison could raise some red flags and fuel the fire of the rumors, but surely Lyra would find out eventually. It was best not to hide such a room from her, as that would only make it suspicious; after all, it conferred some great stat bonuses for the guild. Dumah had nothing to hide.

[Lyra]

Lyra knew that joining the first guild she learned about would have been quite foolish on her part. There was a vague interest but she would need to know quite a bit more before ultimately making a decision. Dumah seemed to share her train of thought with what he said next; it really solidified her decision for the time being. “I can assure you Dumah, I am not about to make any sort of rash decision when it comes to joining up a guild”; Lyra assured him as her eyes trained on his serious expression. Sure there was always the plan to eventually join up with a guild; there was no way she was going to make it out there on her own. Of course she had her own motive for asking that question asides from the obvious; it was perhaps the easiest way to gage Dumah’s reaction. He certainly seemed sincere in his response and if he had been eager for Lyra to join then she would have been suspicious of him. It certainly didn’t hurt Lyra to at least consider the offer after seeing more of the guild hall; there was no denying her insatiable curiosity. The summoner girl would nod her head a little after agreeing to see what else this place had to offer; it wasn’t like there any other obligations that needed her attention. Once more she would casually reach up and brush their hair out of her eyes; it was like a nervous tick.

“My crafting class?” she was a little taken off guard by the sudden random questioned posed to her by the guild master. For a brief moment she would go quiet as she navigated her user interface; no doubt looking peculiar as she swiped at the air at seemingly nothing. In Lyra’s defense she had never used her crafting class before; so no doubt she had forgotten it. “A level one tailor” she would finally speak up after confirming her crafter for Dumah. Her intent was to be free to craft her own cloth gear in order to save money in the long run; but that wasn’t happening at level one. Dumah would then reveal that he was in fact a tailor as well, no doubt a much higher level one than herself. Having the opportunity to see the guilds clothier was certainly something Lyra wasn’t about to pass up. Over all she was becoming even more impressed with this building; it made her wonder how much it had cost them to purchase it. He listed off the different rooms but the mention of a dungeon was what grabbed her interest. Dumah seemed to have anticipated Lyra’s expressive face and kept talking before she could respond. Certainly that was somewhat suspicious activity given the critical importance of the cathedral. “Well it certainly seems there is plenty more to see”; she would laugh softly to ease the silence between them. Perhaps the opportunity to see this dungeon would present itself to her.

“One moment though Dumah” Lyra would speak up as she had a last second idea pop into her head. Lately it had dawned on her to give each of her companions one on one time with her; and Sylph had been out for most of the day. Knowing it was possible to use her spells in the building she was free to dismiss Sylph with the click of a button on her companion utility bar. After pulling up another spell Lyra pulled her grimoire from her belt and began to cast. A warm soothing blue light would radiate from the book as she watched the spell tick down on the casting bar. Upon finishing the same light would appear at the bottom of her feet; seconds later it died away and revealed an ankle high creature Lyra was all too familiar with. A wide grin spread across her face as she hastily put her grimoire away before leaning down to pick Carbuncle up in her arms. His adorable rabbit like ears stood up tall and his three fox like tails started to waggle at a rapid pace. “Okay Dumah now we can continue with the tour”; Lyra would finally say.

Tagged: @dumah
Word Count: 700
Total Words: 3990
Notes: Sorry for the delay

[Deleted]

Words: 272
Total: 2050
Tags: Lyra
Note: I'm sorry for the short post, but we really don't have much in our clothier...

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The girl gave a soft giggle to ease the silence that had grown between them before she said farewell to her fairy companion, dismissing it and casting another spell straight from her skills list to summon the companion Dumah had seen her with before, her small Carbuncle. She put her grimoire away before taking the creature in her arms and giving Dumah her claim to be ready to continue. With that, the two once again returned to the corridor, walking to the third and final major room of the Cathedral's ground floor: Noihara's clothier. It was a room that really gave off a workshop air, with one wall having a lattice-style shelf, with rolls of fabric occupying each diamond-shaped gap. The sheets were separated by color, texture, design, any number of different criteria. There was a long table for sitting at while working, there was a loom, and countless other tools for tailoring. On the table were countless nicks and cuts, seemingly from a large sword. "Sark, one of our tailors, has made this room quite into something of his own playground for tailoring. He is a skilled tailor, and a skilled fighter as well, though his uncontrollable excitement can often lead to difficult times. Frye cannot stand the boy, as Sark is often using Frye's bar to prop his sword up, leaving deep cuts in the wood of Frye's precious bar." Dumah sat and watched as his red haired guest examined the room. There was not much to see, but if she wished to work harder towards becoming a tailor, this would be where much of her time would be spent.

[Lyra]

Lyra felt at ease whenever Carbuncle was with her, and not because he was soft to the touch. After all he had been her main companion during the darker days of the catastrophe. It was therapeutic to have someone to talk to; even if he couldn’t talk back to her. So of course he was always the one she wanted around even if she wasn’t out and fighting hostile monsters. The summoner was confident that Carbuncle felt the same way just based on how he acted around her; always wagging his three tails like they were a windmill. Dumah would wait until she finished summoning him before the two of them walked off to their next stop in the guild hall. Once more the two of them walked down the chilling cobblestone hall; Carbuncle kept on looking around in curiosity. Lyra just looked down at her friend and laughed softly at how curious he was; this was his first time in a guild hall as well. His entire body radiated a soft blue glow that was nearly luminous to illuminate her face. Her attention was so heavily divided that she nearly bumped into Dumah as he opened a large oak door. This caused her to tear her gaze from Carbuncle.

The room itself was a tad daunting for Lyra and nearly gave her the feeling of an ant when compared to a giant. All of her senses were overwhelmed with how potent of an impression it left on her just from the first glance. Heck it even smelled like a proper workshop but Lyra knew that it was designed that way. It was quite apparent that the guild wasn’t dragging their feet when it came to tailoring; this was a place she could spend some time in given the opportunity. Dumah’s words were nearly fell on deaf ears as Lyra finally began to circle the room a few times. This work room was almost enough to convince her to join the guild but she kept that to herself; eagerness was one of her weaknesses. After lapping it for the third time Lyra would stop at Dumah and look up at him. “I must say that this is a very impressive room Dumah”. Of course there was at least one more place to look before the tour officially ended. Lyra felt as if she had wasted enough of the guild masters time and started to feel guilty for doing so. ”The armory would be a nice place to end the tour”.

Tagged: @dumah
Word Count: 420
Total Words: 4410
Notes: Don't worry about it, the thread is nearly over regardless

[Deleted]

Words: 816
Total: 2866
Tags: Lyra
Note: Just a heads up: I may be a bit inactive until Monday. Visiting family, and I won't have my laptop with me, so any posts I make will be on the 3DS. As such, I won't be able to include word counts for those posts, and they will likely be shorter than usual.
Note Two: By the way, I see you keep stating that the Cathedral's corridors are cobblestone. If anything I would expect them to be paved stone, either tiled or smooth.
Note Three: I figure after this post, if Lyra is interested in joining Noihara, then Dumah can inform her about the initiation ritual and then have her do it. After which, we can end the thread. Is Lyra considered level 5 in this thread? We never mentioned her level, so it's up to you. She will need to be at least level 5 to pass the initiation and become a full member of Noihara.

---

Much like in her reaction to the guild's large, magnificent library, the girl walked all around and took in the entire room with several wide scans, her eyes examining every nook and cranny, every detail, of the clothier. Dumah smiled a bit at her excitement, watching her circle around the room several times. Upon her third lap, Lyra stopped in her tracks and looked up towards Dumah, stating how she considered the guild's clothier to be quite impressive. Though the way she had worded the sentence after had confused the guild master a bit. "End the tour? We have only seen a mere fraction of the facilities Noihara has to offer. Are you sure?" She assured him that it was enough, and the guild master accepted this. "Very well then; the armory shall be our next, and final, stop." With that, the group left the clothier and once again walked down the large, marble corridor, leading back to the guildhall's large foyer, ascending the magnificent stairs to the Cathedral's second level. The second level was much more open, with a large center room and fewer corridors than the ground level. A few Noiharans with nothing to do had been relaxing in the center room, conversing about numerous topics, ranging from battle strategies to stories of adventure; exquisite recipes for a magnificent home brewed tea, to plans for researching a new product in their respective crafting professions.

The guild master was sent a casual wave and greeting by those few of his guild's members who were sitting about together. The greeting was of course returned by Dumah, flashing a friendly smile at them and a small nod of his head instead of a wave as he reached towards the handle of a door, turning it and opening the door to lead Lyra into the Noiharan armory. It was another large room, one which had actually been sanctioned off into three areas. In the first area there were numerous metal weapons on display, along with mannequins adorned in numerous clothes: cloth outfits one would expect to find covering the body of an Assassin or any other offensive fighter that would benefit from high mobility; leather armor meant to supplement the high evasion of a cloth armored fighter with the adequate defense of thick, solid leather. The waist-high walls held numerous items on display, including not only weapons, such as swords, staves, polearms, grimoires, and any other offensive piece of equipment one could imagine, (though no firearms, it seemed) but also offensive items such explosive runes and a deck of cards. How one was expected to use a deck of cards in combat was anyone's guess, but one could expect a creative battle out of those who were proficient in such a card duel. A wall hung on the ceiling around this zone, an icon of two crossed blades signifying that this section of the room was dedicated to the storage and maintenance of offensive equipment.

In the second area, symbolized with the icon of a metal kite shield, were many items one would expect to find being used by the defensive units of a party. Much like the first section, items were hung and displayed on the walls and mannequins, but the selection was fairly simple this time. Upon the walls were many different types of shields, ranging from small bucklers to massive tower shields. There were blades hung on display as well, though these were not as sharp as the weapons in the offense armory, suggesting that these blades were no weapons, but merely offhand gear meant to deflect and parry. On the mannequins were suits of metal plate armor, all of varying types and styles. Despite the variety, they all served the same purpose and effect.

The third and final zone was symbolized with an emblem representing the section's purpose of housing the guild's support equipment. The walls had a wide range of items, from staves to grimoires, potions to - once again - another deck of cards. There were more mannequins and armor sets among them, consisting only of clothes and robes this time. The majority of Elder Tale's support classes were casters, so it made sense that almost all of the guild's support armory would include only items one would expect to be used by a spell caster, save for a few instruments that were clearly intended for Bards.

"This is our armory. As you can tell, we like to keep it well organized. Much of these are excess pieces of equipment, and some of them are simply display items to fill some empty space while we procure more equipment. Unfortunately we have not had the chance to go on a raid and earn some rare drops, but we hope to change that very soon." The guild master smiled a bit as he surveyed the room, taking in the sight of his guild's collection of equipment.

[Lyra]

Lyra had seen enough to satisfy for her curiosity for the time being; after all she had no intent to join the guild at this time. There was no doubt in her mind that she had only scratched the surface of the guild but it didn’t honestly matter. If Lyra did up ending the guild then no doubt she would have gotten a full tour upon finishing the initiation. Dumah seemed a little taken back by her choice but the guild master went with the flow regardless. With that matter settled the two adventurers went off once more down a long and daunting looking hallway. Lyra kept Carbuncle pressed against her chest firmly; something that always managed to put her at ease when nervous. Once more the two entered the main foyer before ascending a large and somewhat elegant set of stairs that led up to the cathedrals second floor. This area was certainly more opened up than the main floor; there were even a few of the members just casually lounging around different areas. None of which seemed to pay Lyra any mind which made her content all the same. It was still reassuring to know that there were plenty of people to potentially befriend if she eventually joined up. In the meantime Carbuncle would suffice as her main friend; they had been through so much together as is. As she gazed around Lyra nearly lost sight of Dumah as he headed off to open up another wooden door.

The aforementioned wooden door led into yet another large room that was packed with all sorts of various items. At a distance it was somewhat of a challenge to confirm what each item was; so naturally Lyra would approach closer for a closer view. First off were different sorts of metal weapons; each one of them looking even more imposing than the other. Along with the weapons were mannequins dressed in matching sets of armor that made sense for the weapon. Honestly it was overwhelming for Lyra but she was intrigued all the same. With Carbuncle held it was easy to resist the urge to touch them; but back in her head she knew that would be a foolish idea. Finally she would move on to what seemed to items better suited for tanks. Certainly equipment that she would never see herself wearing given the simple observation that it was all bigger than her. She spent less time in this section than the last before moving onto the third and final section. From a first glance she could tell that this stuff was meant for the support classes; most of the armor here cloth robes. Over all it was a very impressive armory and clearly took a long time to properly get it all set up. Lyra finished up her very long lap around the massive room and returned to stand by Dumah’s side. There was certainly plenty to take in before she would consider joining up with the guild.

She offered up a warm smile up at Dumah, truly she was grateful for him taking the time to give a nonmember a tour of his impressive guild hall. “It certainly was an eye opener Dumah and I am glad you took time to show me”. Perhaps after she gained some levels and more confidence about her own skills she would return here. Carbuncle seemed to grow a little restless in her arms; he began to try and wiggle out of her grasp. The summoner only giggled as she bent over to set him down on the floor; she was always amused by his antics. “Though I do believe that is the end of this little tour, but I certainly will consider this guild after I level up some”. This guild certainly would have no use for a level one summoner who didn’t have the slightest idea of what she was doing. With that matter settled Dumah being the gentlemen he was started to lead Lyra downstairs. There was no doubt in her mind that she would see this place again someday. Possibly as a guild member but that was left to be seen; there was plenty more to do.

Tagged: @dumah
Word Count: 700
Total Words: 5110
Notes: I've sent you a pm about your comments