The bell rang and the door swung open with Geralt carrying a plaque of wood carved with different numbers on it. He glanced over the counter and noticed Priscilla glaring daggers at him.
"Lass, that stare ain't bringin' any payin' customers."
"Speak for yourself. How could you, the blacksmith, leave his own store in the hands of an adventurer?"
"Lass, ye too good mannered fer ye own good." He made his way behind the counter and removed the previous wooden plaque, before noticing the lack of a certain pair of weapons on the rack. "Lass, where did 'em axes go?"
"I sold them."
"Ye what?!"
"Don't worry, I got the price right thanks to the plaque…" Her voice faded as her eyes traced to the other wooden plaque he held. It was tagged as a much, much, higher price than the previous fifty silvers. "Oh…"
A few minutes later, Priscilla was seen running out of the blacksmith store with Rionara under her arms as she avoided a clearly enraged Geralt throwing tongs, hammers and other manner of blacksmith tools at her.
"Ye dammed adventurer! Give me coins back!"
"Hey! You asked for it!" She quickly turned around in the middle of the street as three different sized hammers were thrown at her simultaneously before she intercepted them with her rapier mid air. "And stop throwing those things! You can hurt someone with it!"
"Aye, that was the intention! Ye sold me masterpiece for fifty silvers!"
"Well you should've told me beforehand then!"
Seeing that unfold right before her eyes made Rionara burst in laughter. But she wasn't the only one watching at the time. The central bustling square suddenly stopped, shoppers and workers alike stopped to witness Priscilla's swordplay firsthand as she effortlessly deflected every single item thrown in her direction.
At the end some of the nearby bystanders and other adventurers started clapping at her performance.
"Way to go lass!"
"I never seen someone avoid Geralt's hammers like that!"
With the angry blacksmith out of things to throw, Priscilla elegantly sheathed her rapier. However, the eyes drawn to her demanded some sort of closure and that is when she reminded herself of a play she once saw in Arcadia.
"Thank you for your attention."
Priscilla said, bowing at the end with a hand across her chest. Rionara, beaming beside her, mirrored her gesture and the crowd erupted in a fresh round of applause.
'I hope Lord Leonard never hears of this…' She chuckled nervously to herself. 'Thank goodness only Rhys knows who I truly am.'
After the laughter and applause calmed down, she made her way to the front of the guild. A familiar silver haired receptionist was standing with one arm beneath the other while trying to hold in her laughter.
"Ah." Priscilla felt the laughter was indeed directed at her earlier 'performance' which made her shoulders tense up slightly. "Miss Lucina, sorry you had to see that."
"No, no, don't be, if anything this city needs a bit of entertainment from time to time." She leaned to the side until her eyes met Rionara's. "More importantly, who is the small child you're carrying?"
"Oh, this is Rionara." She kneeled down and let her feet touch the ground, but in doing so the girl quickly vanished behind Priscilla's frame. She could feel her small hand trembling on her back, not out of fear—but anxiety. "You can trust her, Rio."
She held one hand on the half eaten loaf of bread while the other kept hanging on the hem of Priscilla's jacket as she shyly peeked from the knight's side.
"I… uh… my name is Rionara. Nice to meet you, Miss."
"My, how polite!" She smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you too. My name is Lucina, I'm a receptionist here at the guild."
The girl nodded, keeping herself hidden behind Priscilla, who proceeded to stand up and ask.
"Miss Lucina, are there any jobs related to exploring the dungeon?"
"Dungeon delving as your first official job?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "That is some confidence. But, I'm afraid I cannot permit it. You've just enlisted yesterday and to be frank…" Her tone changed as her eyes glanced sideways. "...we should continue this inside."
As the receptionist turned around with heavy steps into the main hallway, Priscilla looked over her shoulder and noticed some more well clothed individuals looking at her with a mix of disdain and disgust.
'Those people…'
The knight placed her hand on Rionara's back before gently pushing her forward inside.
"Eh?" The girl looked up at her clearly in confusion. "Should I go in as well?"
"Of course. I'm not leaving you alone outside."
"Ah… o-okay."
Inside, Priscilla was met with even more stares of other adventurers, but this time it felt mild compared to yesterday's animosity. Even if it was only for a day, she had become one of them in a way. Though easy for the knight to shrug off the pressure, the same couldn't be said for poor Rionara, who was shaking like a green branch.
It was painfully obvious to Priscilla, whose hand was still touching her back. She stopped and gently asked.
"Are you okay, Rio?"
She held the half eaten bread with both hands with each finger digging into its surface as a way to prevent the shaking.
"M-mhm…"
"Do you need me to carry you?"
"N-no, it's fine… I can handle it…"
Quiet murmurs stirred within the groups located at the far corners of the hall. Though Priscilla couldn't make out what they were saying, the mere sight of their condescending gazes was enough to tell her what was going through their minds.
She turned to Rionara and smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, I can still carry you. Besides, I'd rather avoid you stepping into something sharp on the floor without a pair of proper shoes." After effortlessly lifting her up, she then gently patted her head. "We'll talk to Lucina and then we'll find somewhere to get you clothes."
Rionara's trembling hands eased for a bit as she quietly nodded.
As they passed by one of the groups closer to the center of the hall—an offhand comment was overheard.
"Wasn't she the one who kicked up some trouble at the inn?"
"Hush idiot, do you want her to hear you?"
Her eyes met theirs for a brief moment and while she didn't do anything to threaten them directly, her presence unsettled them. It was like staring at a lion gazing at its prey.
Priscilla continued following the receptionist to the back of the guild. Past behind the main counter were many individual booths where they could talk privately. After politely opening one door for them, Lucina entered and closed it behind her.
Inside the room was a simple wooden table with four chairs arranged in pairs on each side with a window for natural light to come in. The lack of dust on the wooden surface told Priscilla that place was used fairly regularly.
After taking their seats, Lucina pulled a small sack out of her pocket and placed it in front of Rionara.
"Here, these are sweets that my younger brother and I used to make. I hope you enjoy it."
Rionara looked at the half open sack. The sweets were dried grapes covered in zenithian chocolate, they were each the size of a marble ball which was even more surprising to Priscilla since she only saw that kind of sweets being sold in a high end patisserie store in Arcadia.
'To give it for free besides…?! Are you a noble in disguise or something?'
Rionara glanced up at the receptionist without lifting her face as if trying to remain a small ball in her chair.
"Can I eat these…?"
"Of course, eat as many as you'd like."
She flinched a bit but shyly nodded as she muttered under her breath.
"Ah… thank you."
Rionara quietly reached for one chocolate and ate it. It was instant gratification for both her and the receptionist, whose face was beaming upon seeing the girl's delighted face.
After setting matters of sweets aside, Lucina interlocked her fingers on top of the table and started to talk to Priscilla directly.
"I'm sorry for the guild's attitude. Most adventurers don't tend to take care of children, you see."
The knight's gaze went from Rionara eating one chocolate ball to the receptionist's eyes.
"Yet, you seem very different from the rest."
"I was an orphan before coming to Arivaul. I can understand her hardships. But nevertheless, I am employed by the guild and I have a few things that I must discuss with you, Miss Priscilla." The knight felt like she was being addressed by her Queen, even if only for a brief moment. "We don't usually regulate how adventurers behave outside of the guild premises, but your 'threat' has reached the ears of those higher up the guild and needless to say they weren't happy with your outburst at the inn."
Priscilla's hands started to tighten into fists as she continued hearing her speech. Deep down she knew she committed a mistake—one that could expose her entirely, but at the time she couldn't just let it slide.
She was about to voice her complaints, when Lucina's tone shifted for a more calm and glad voice.
"But—given captain Rhys' influence within the guild and the fact that you saved two people's lives from armed thieves, I'd say you are in the clear. Just stay out of trouble from here onwards and–"
"Um! Pris was just trying to find a place for me to sleep!" Rionara's sudden outburst made both Lucina and the knight look at her in surprise. After a few moments of silence, she finally realized where the conversation was heading and her face started to redden. "I… uh… sorry… I didn't mean to shout…"
"Hahaha! It's alright, don't worry." Lucina knocked on the wooden walls of the booth. "These walls are enchanted with a silence spell, it's practically impossible to hear what we are saying from the outside." She turned her attention to Priscilla and bowed slightly. "Thank you for your services to this city, adventurer."
"Ah… it's my pleasure." She lowered her head, which prompted Rionara to do the same. "About the inn, is there any other place that could take us in? We spent the night at Geralt's home but I'd rather have a better place for Rio to sleep in."
Lucina's shoulders softened up as her gaze shifted towards the girl in front of her.
"While I can't formally introduce you to the inn where I go to, I can give you directions." She picked a crumpled piece of parchment from her pocket and slid across the table to Priscilla. "They aren't as strict as to who rests there as long as you pay. But buying better clothes for Rionara may help you avoid unwanted attention. Oh and regarding what you've asked earlier, we don't normally allow adventurers to enter the dungeon until they reach at the very least iron rank."
Priscilla raised an eyebrow while tilting her head slightly to the side as she was completely unfamiliar with the guild's policies.
"And that would be…?"
"Right, I never got the chance to explain it to you. In the guild, we divide adventurers by six distinct ranks." Lucina then pulled six plates of different materials from her pocket, letting the metals clink against one another on top of the table as she rearranged them in order. "Copper, iron, steel, silver, gold and platinum. Quest availability also changes the higher rank you are, for instance, the simple act of entering the dungeon requires an iron plate and exploring the deepest floors requires a silver or better rank."
"I see…" Priscilla held her chin as her eyes narrowed slightly. "Is there any way I can make it to iron in, let's say, a few days?"
The receptionist crossed her arms and sighed lightly.
"You really are stubborn aren't you, Miss Priscilla?"
"It's what my father also used to say."
"Is there any reason why you want to explore the dungeon so badly?"
At that moment the knight felt a pang of guilt. Lies and deceit weren't things that came naturally to her, but her mission demanded no less. She chose to do this alone.
"To prove my parents wrong. That I am no sheltered noble girl but a spellfencer at heart."
Lucina closed her eyes and lowered her head while still with both arms crossed. She let out a long and slow exhale, clearly showing she wasn't sure of what she should say, but words kept coming out of her mouth regardless. Maybe out of compassion, or pity.
"Hmm… I can't say I understand the need for you to rush things, but there is a way."
That statement lit a fire in Priscilla's eyes as she leaned forward with both hands on the table.
"Tell me what I need to do."
"Bounty hunting."