Conan The Adventurer
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
The Adventurers’ Guild was a huge building with an open area for meetings, a large library, and a series of private rooms that were rented out to adventurers by the day or week. There was even a small restaurant in the back, where you could get all manner of foodstuffs.
It wasn’t quite as fancy as the guilds in the other countries, but it still had everything you’d need when adventuring around a new country.
“It’s not much different than the guilds in my previous world,” Conan said while he looked around the place. “This is how we did business.”
“You’ve been here before?” Mina asked him curiously. He nodded. “I thought so. I saw you come and go from the guild in Kite Town.”
“Yes, well…this is the first time I’ve actually set foot inside one.”
“That’s right!” Valeria agreed excitedly. “I remember seeing you at the front desk when I came here on a trip! You looked just like a young adventurer, but there was something about your eyes…”
He’d been staring at her chest then? Well, that certainly explained why she hadn’t remembered his face. She seemed very pleased with herself for remembering that detail.
Mina gave them both a dirty look, but Conan ignored her. “What are you two talking about?” he asked. “Are you saying I’m some sort of pervert who stares at women’s chests?”
Valeria rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, no…it’s nothing like that. It’s more that I couldn’t believe someone as handsome as you would be interested in me. I mean, I can understand that you might stare at a woman if you’re interested in her, but what man wouldn’t want to marry into royalty?”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Conan said, nodding. “And speaking of marriage…have either of you heard anything about Lady Lishba lately?”
“Lady Lishba?” Valeria frowned. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, I met her once,” Conan replied. “She told me that she’d be marrying Lord Suth, so I assumed they must have gotten married already. But I haven’t seen her since, and no one seems to know anything about her whereabouts.”
“Hmm…” Valeria pondered this information carefully. “If I recall correctly, Lady Lishba was engaged to the crown prince at one point, yes?”
“Yes,” Conan confirmed. “But they broke off their engagement after they ran away together.”
“Ahhh, now I see…” Valeria muttered quietly. “So she didn’t really run away with Lord Suth; she was just trying to get closer to the throne. And I suppose Lord Suth isn’t aware of any of this.”
“I doubt it,” Conan shrugged. “They’re probably planning to announce their marriage soon. They’ll probably hold it sometime next month. I think I’ll try to stop by during the party.”
“Sounds good,” Valeria replied. “Let’s meet up again afterward.”
“Okay,” Conan agreed. “We should probably find another inn tonight. We don’t want to miss the party.”
“Right,” Valeria said. “There aren’t many inns near the guild. Let’s go talk to the receptionist and see what they recommend.”
“Alright,” Conan agreed. He followed her over toward the reception desk, but he stopped short when he noticed something odd. There was a strange-looking man standing behind it wearing a white robe that covered his entire body. His skin was pale blue, and he had long black hair. The only thing visible was his bright red eyes.
“Excuse me,” Conan called to him. The man turned around and regarded Conan suspiciously.
“Oh, hello,” the man said. “Can I help you with something?”
“Yes,” Conan answered. “Do you work here?”
“Of course,” the man said. “My name’s Sir Aris. What can I help you with?”
“We’re looking for an inn nearby,” Conan began. “Is there anywhere nearby we could stay?”
“Certainly,” the man said. “There’s an inn across the street from us. Would you like me to book a room for you?”
“Sure, that would be great,” Conan said.
“Very well,” Sir Aris smiled. “I’ll take care of everything for you. Please wait a moment.” With that, he disappeared back into the depths of the building. After several minutes passed without him coming out, Conan began to wonder what was going on. Was he trapped somewhere or being held captive? Or maybe he was sick and dying? Maybe he wasn’t even real.
Conan glanced nervously at Mina, but she simply shrugged and kept walking ahead of him. No matter how much Conan wanted to question her, he knew better than to bother her while she was working.
After waiting for several more minutes, Conan grew worried. Had he made a mistake? Perhaps he should have stayed at the other inn instead. If he tried to leave now, would he be able to find his way back? He couldn’t let himself become lost in this city. That would put him in grave danger.
As Conan stood there worrying, Sir Aris reappeared. He walked past Conan, then gestured toward the exit with his hand.
“You can follow me now,” he instructed. “The inn is just through that door.”
Conan nodded and followed him inside. Inside, the lobby was surprisingly small. A young girl sat behind a counter in front of him, writing down all of his personal details. As soon as the girl finished taking down his name, Conan realized that he recognized her.
She looked very similar to the receptionist at the inn where he had stayed earlier. It seemed likely that both girls worked for the same establishment.
“What are your names?” the woman asked them.
“Conan,” Conan answered.
“Valeria,” she responded.
“Are you staying here too?” Conan continued. “That’s weird.”
“Maybe not so weird,” Valeria laughed. “This place has a lot of employees.”
“How do you know each other?” Sir Aris asked.
“We went to the Academy together,” Conan explained. “Back before I left.”
“Aha!” the woman exclaimed. “I thought that might be the case! You’re quite popular with our customers these days, Mr. Conan. I’ve heard people say that you saved a child from a fire last night. How wonderful.”
“Thank you,” Conan replied. “It was nothing.”
“Not true!” the woman insisted. “I’m sure it meant a lot to everyone who witnessed it.”
“Really?” Conan said, surprised. He hadn’t known that anyone outside of the guild had seen him do anything heroic lately. He wondered if anyone else besides his family had seen him fight those goblins too…
“I see,” Sir Aris cut in. “Well, please enjoy your stay. My name is Sir Aris, by the way. If you need anything, please feel free to ask me. Now, if you will excuse me, I must attend to my duties elsewhere.”
He bowed politely, then left the room. The two women exchanged glances. Then they both turned their attention to Conan.
“So, you’re Conan?” the younger one asked.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Who’re you?”
“My name’s Lillia,” the older woman told him. “And I work here part-time. Why don’t you tell me about yourself? I bet we have a few things in common.”
“Oh, right…” Conan said, suddenly realizing why he recognized her.
“Wait, aren’t you…” he trailed off, trying to remember where he’d seen her before. Then he remembered.
Lillia had been the receptionist at the inn where he’d first met Mina. But Conan didn’t think they were friends; she had always been a little bit standoffish toward him. Still, it did make sense that the two would meet again eventually.
“So, Conan,” Lillia continued, “what brings you here?”
“Actually, I was hoping to get some information on the city,” he started. “But I guess that doesn’t really matter anymore. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Same thing as you,” she admitted. “I came looking for work. I’m supposed to start tomorrow morning.”
“Huh, cool,” Conan grunted. “Do you live nearby? We could go grab something to eat sometime. Maybe catch up on old times?”
“Sounds good,” Lillia agreed. “I’d love to. When do you want to go?”
“Tonight,” Conan decided. “I’ll show you around town tonight. Meet you at the entrance gate after dark?”
“Great!” Lillia exclaimed. “See ya later, then.”
“Bye-bye, Conan!” Valeria called out, waving goodbye.
She and Sir Aris exited the building, leaving Conan and Lillia alone in the lobby. After a moment of awkward silence, Lillia cleared her throat and spoke.
“So, uh… what do you usually do when you come here?” she asked.
“Meh,” Conan shrugged. “Usually hang out with my friends or check out the shops. Do you like shopping?”
“Eh,” she mumbled. “Sometimes.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Conan objected. “Don’t leave me hanging like this! I haven’t even introduced myself yet!”
“Oh, sorry,” she apologized. “My name is Lillia. And yours is?”
“Conan,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” she replied. “You can call me Lillia.”
They shook hands firmly, and Conan took another look around the lobby. It was empty except for the two of them. That’s strange, he realized. There should be more people here working during the day. Did all the employees sleep in shifts? Or maybe they just worked late nights only? Either way, Conan figured he ought to introduce himself properly.
“Um… Lillia,” he began, “you seem pretty young. Are you an apprentice too?”
“Yes,” she replied. “That’s why I wanted to work here so badly. I mean, I never imagined I’d actually get to meet you.”
“Are you kidding?” Conan laughed. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be here today!”
“No, no,” Lillia protested. “This is thanks to you, Conan. Thank you for saving me back then.”
“Ahahaha,” Conan grinned. “What makes you think I did that?”
“Because you’re famous,” Lillia explained. “Everyone knows your name now. They say you’re the Hero of the Sword!”
“Hmm…” Conan thought back to the events leading up to his battle against the goblins. He couldn’t believe he’d been so foolish as to let someone hear his real name. Now there was no way to explain away his presence in the village without admitting how much trouble he was in.
“Let’s keep our names a secret from each other for now,” Conan suggested. “Okay?”
“All right,” Lillia nodded. “It’s a deal.”
“Good,” Conan smiled. “Now let’s get going. We’ve got places to see.”
The pair made their way through the lobby, heading outside into the main courtyard. As usual, there were plenty of people wandering around, but none looked particularly suspicious. A few of them stopped to watch as Lillia passed by, but she ignored them completely. Conan wondered if she was being deliberately rude. If so, it didn’t bother him; he didn’t know anyone in town, either.
He followed behind Lillia as they walked down the path between the buildings, keeping an eye out for anything out of place. The street seemed quiet enough. No one was running about screaming. Everything seemed normal.
The End