Yuri Abel's Story

"Hey... Boss. Wake up."

"Ugh... What.. What time is it?"

"Oh, I'd say about a little bit before noon. Did you really sleep all night up there? Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"Up there? What are you... Oh shit," Finally, the owner of the voice, a large burly man sporting a number of scars on his face alone rose to a sitting position to find himself, indeed, on top of the bar counter surrounded by tankards, bottles, and a cracked barrel of spirits. He glanced around for only a second before cradling his head in his hands. "Damn, it feels like I've been hit with a hammer... Again," The man said, rubbing his temples. "Do you have anything to make this bloody hangover end?" He asked the woman behind the counter. "Aside from more booze or an actual hammer to the skull? Nothing I can think of, Boss."

The man sighed and looked down at the woman. "Lila, I told you not to call me boss. It's Yuri," he said, with a raised eyebrow and a hand caressing his head. That hangover would kill him yet. "Oh yes sir, mister Yuri Abel sir," She said with crossed arms and a grin. Yuri sighed and looked down at Lila again before shaking his head, "Here, help me down. It wouldn't be good for your 'Boss' to fall down a break his neck, right?" He said, swinging his feet over the counter and planting them in the floorboards of the guild hall. "Of course Boss. Then who would pay me?" She teased.

"The hell was the celebration for anyway?" He asked as Lila helped Yuri around the bar. "Don't you remember boss? It was for Apotheosis's hundredth job, right over there," She said, pointing to a paper stuck to the wall with a dagger and the word 'Completed' stamped in ink. It was among a number of likewise papers, weapons, and assorted trophies. "Oh... Why'd we stop then?" He asked in jest. "Probably the risk of alcohol poisoning maybe," She responded, finally making their way around the long bar and to the nearest stool where she sat Yuri down.

The burly man held on to the edge of the bar so that he wouldn't fall over into the floor. Still, as strong as he was, he was unsteady. "Hey, why don't you start making breakfast.. Or lunch?" He said, glancing out the nearest window and out into the sunny day. "Please? Something to chase this forsaken hangover off. I'm sure I'm not the only one wrestling with this," He pleaded looking around trying to pinpoint the rest of the guild. She relented and nodded, making her way to the kitchen, leaving Yuri, as far as he could tell, alone. Who knows what bodies could lay under the bottles and cups though.

Apotheosis. A relatively new up start guild, situated inside a renovated inn. The bar that dominated the wall was a major selling point for Yuri. The cobwebs and rotted floors... Were not. It took a while, but time, a bit of money, and a lot of manual labor turned the ramshackle inn into a respectable guild house. At least they wouldn't have to worry about falling through the floor any time soon. Plus, they had room to grow. The current inn could easily house more than double the current number of members.

Yuri uneasily spun around on the stool and came to bare witness to the entirety of Apotheosis's first floor. A number of tables randomly thrown around, a couple of structural beams with throwing knives embedded in them, a large fire pit near the back wall with a number of chair around it, and of course, the ridiculous number of bottles and flagons strewn out across the room. Drapes of gold and purple with the guild emblem emblazoned on them framed the windows and a larger emblem on the doors.

"Hey! Where in the hell did we get all of these mugs? I didn't think we had this many in the entire building," Yuri called into the kitchen. "I don't know, but I'll tell you, there isn't a sign of a cup one in here- You even took my bloody measuring cups and one of my sauce pans! Boss, if someone is wearing it, I swear I'll beat them with it," She threatened causing Yuri to laugh painfully. "Please, don't make me laugh. It hurts," He said, spinning back around and holding back onto the bar for dear life.

Before long, the girl came back into the room holding plates of eggs, waffles, pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, and a big jug of fruit juice. It was enough food to feed the whole guild. "Breakfast is ready!" She called, "Even though it's noon," She added to Yuri with a sly smile.

"Lila. You are an angel and a godsend," He said, gathering a pile of food on his plate. "Aw, you're making me blush boss. But if you think that means I'm cleaning this mess up by myself, you are bloody insane," She said, waving a finger in his face, "Think of it as Apotheosis's hundred and first job."

There goes another two. Well, it's probably better for my luck to run out now, rather than later. Beneath the shifting rays of sunlight breaking into dawn, a golden-haired child stood alone amongst a clearing; just beyond which were the frantically retreating backs of a local gang of bandits. Two smoldering, half-melted swords were set in her hands, the unfortunate victims of one Rhea Bryant overloading lightning magic. She had, in all her infinite wisdom, thought that scaring some group of half-witted thieves away was probably a better idea than personally beating some sense (and also easier to do). The only redeeming aspect of the local gang, as it were, was that they were overly stubborn, weak but surpringly resilient. Or so she had heard.

The plan worked, but even such a carefree kid like Rhea cringed at the prospect of losing another large chunk of her paycheck; so quickly after the last. Hiring an enchanter, or something akin to that, took more in this day and age than it had ever used to; and there was no other way out of it. It was just her luck to pick such destructive magic; to need a high-grade 'staff' to keep up. And even then? They couldn't take the full brunt of lightning. Been going through these swords like water. Anyway, since when have I been considered such an easy target? But then again, one sigh and a shake of the head later, her optimistic attitude came back in stride; and the girl promptly set off in some, as it seemed, random direction. Because, quite frankly, there wasn't anything she could do to cut losses. The only course of action left was to rearm herself as soon as possible. And I was going back to Apotheosis anyway.

Speaking of which, it's been over a month, hasn't it? The last time Rhea went 'home', it was just to replace a set of shortswords. Now, though? It's probably better for me to be there, in case war actually breaks out. In her travels over the past few weeks, the tension between guilds had risen alarmingly high; so much so that this normally indifferent mage was so pressured to make it back. She'd even cancelled all her sight-seeing plans after completing her initial 'caravan guarding' job, to ensure a fast route home amidst the strange, low-crime lapse. Needless to say, the situation was worse than she'd thought. Obviously nobody else thinks an all-out war like this is idiotic.

As it was, her journey had been relatively safe and uninterrupted; besides the little skirmish just the little while ago. With the last leg being from the city doors to her guild-house, no other unfortunate incidents followed in her wake; although entering Apotheosis almost made her plant a palm in her face in exasperation. Because, as she saw with a sigh, the floor was covered from end to end in beer bottles. Again. Did I miss something? Being away from the guild the vast majority of times, Rhea often missed their extravagent celebrations; although she was usually in time for the clean-up. Of course, like now. The whole thought of spending her afternoon helping out Lila through the mess wasn't probably not the best thing to realize, right at the crack of dawn. But then again, she was used to it.

Rhea's mood, however, took a quick turn for the better the moment she pulled her eyes from the floor; to the smell of breakfast and, more importantly, a dog. The moment she caught sight of it's shaggy, although dirty, fur her eyes lit up; and all her stern comments about the mess were --temporarily, mind you-- driven out to make room for a five year old's dream. Of, you know, having a puppy. Eyes now shining, she made her way to Lionel, giving him a large smile and a thumbs-up. Which practically meant something akin to "I forgive you for drinking so damn much", underneath a casual "Good job." while admiring the new guild mascot. It wouldn't be far-fetched to say she was sparkling.

Done with her fill of staring appreciating, Rhea settled to the bar; putting down a small sheet of paper stamped 'Completed' among a stack at the back. Then, after giving a hug and hello to Lila, (and before initiating any kind of converstion with a couple men with hangovers) Rhea systematically set to replacing her swords; going through her room in the process. Only when she was sure that she was well-prepared did she set herself down next to Yuri for breakfast; with a half-menacing smile on her face. He'll surely know why. She poked a single finger to his forehead, a small magic circle appearing as she worked healing a ridiculous headache. "So. What did I have the pleasure of missing?" Because this mess better be worth the explanation. Although carefree, she still had the morals to help the fellow women working for her guild if she needed to. There's little of us as there is.