Cynthia was finishing up with her current quest when Penelope came up to her.

“Hey, there, Nellie. What brings you here?” Cynthia inquired as she tied off the herb bunches together in groups of five. Penelope saw this and went to do the same with the leftover herbs.

“Minerva says we’re eating out tonight for dinner,” Penelope responded as she meticulously tied off the herbs into neat bunches.

“Is that right? What a treat! Let’s take all of this to the guild and we can head to the restaurant together!”

Once everything was packed away, Cynthia picked up Penelope and they were off to the Adventurer’s Guild.

The building which housed the guild had four floors and was enough to take up a good corner of a city block. People kept going in and out of the grand main doors, which were carefully labeled for entry and exit uses (words that Penelope committed to memory when she tried to open the exit only door); this assured a constant and proper flow of business. The building was made of solid constriction, with brick and mortar that could withstand the salty sea air. There were stone pillars all around the building, each one with a different regal figure chiseled into them.

Penelope actually had to squint a little because she noticed something peculiar about the statues as she went inside with Cynthia.

“Say, I could be wrong, but…are the statues all the same person?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah. According to the clerks, those statues are modeled after the second king of Birain in various poses.”

“Oh.” Weird style choice, but all right. “I guess he was really important, huh?”

“He was the archetype of the wandering adventurer, so yes, he is.”

In the main room where quests were handed in reminded Penelope of a bank, where people lined up in front of tellers to have their account transactions done. Since Cynthia kept a firm hold of her in her arms (while Penelope held onto the herbs) she had a bit of extra height to look around; someone nearby was arguing over prices, while someone else was at a different counter making a request about a lost item. There were three people in front of Cynthia, updating the clerks on their quest progress, the one currently with a clerk was scribbling away at a form, scratching his head about this part or that.

Oh, yes, quite like a bank, Penelope thought. I do not miss paperwork, but this might be me one day, so I should pay attention.

Back in her life as Kasumi, she had worked for an advertising firm as a general worker. Not assigned to any particular department, but many things were placed on her plate by coworkers and this included paperwork she had no business doing. Out of necessity she had researched policies, terms and a variety of information in order to perform at work. Every time something came up, she would make a quick search on the internet with the hope it would give her advice on what to do so she could clear the next hurdle.

I actually am glad I don’t have the internet anymore. The internet was a scary place.

She did have some good experiences on it, as occasionally, she fought off the lonesomeness with going into chat rooms. Making some connections, no matter how fleeting, eased the daily pain and made her want to keep going. Some chats were more toxic than others, but she did find some solace in strangers who happily talked with her about art or just complained alongside her about lazy coworkers and families who did nothing to help at home. There had been one person whom she met frequently, though, as they often appeared at the same time, in the dead of night, when Kasumi had been on break. Kasumi and that person spoke every other night through chat over the course of ten years, sharing artwork that they liked and encouraging each other. It was a light in a small, uncaring world.

Penelope wondered if they would miss her, or wonder where she went after not answering any chats. She hoped that wherever they were, that they were still going to be happy…

“Next!” called out the desk clerk. It was their turn; Cynthia stepped forward with Penelope readying to hand over the collected herbs. “Name, rank, membership number and job number, please.”

“Cynthia Riverthorn. Rank C. Membership number 8-9-0-2-2-2. I’m here for job number C-6202.”

“Please hold.”

The clerk left the counter to go to the massive wall of books behind her, climbing up a ladder to grab something from one of the higher shelves, before returning with the correct page already open.

“This is a job to gather Chamo herbs. Our requester has agreed to 5 Draks per bundle, with bonuses if we deem the herbs of higher quality.” The clerk gestured to the desk in front of her, which was Penelope’s cue. The girl carefully bent forward and laid out the bundles she and Cynthia had put together. The clerk checked them over with a spell, her eyes glowing a strange red which caught her attention. Was that some kind of appraisal ability?

After a minute the clerk smiled and nodded, dividing piles into the ones that Penelope had bundled and ones that Cynthia had put together.

“Well, as usual you do great work, Cynthia. These herbs are great. But, how come these look a little neater than these ones?” Pointing at Cynthia’s pile. “I know you did these since you didn’t cut the herbs the same length and tied them off quickly. These other ones look much more even.”

“Oh, I had a little helper. This is Penelope. She’s been staying with Minnie and me,” Cynthia explained.

“I see! Well, hello Penelope. Thank you for your hard work,” the clerk said with a smile.

Penelope, feeling shy, just pulled the cloak further around her face. The clerk laughed.

“Aw, she’s shy. Well, it’s not much, but for how neatly they came I’ll add a little extra. We have ten bundles in all, so with your bonus, that’s 51 Draks.”

The money was quickly counted out and handed over – five silver coins, plus one copper. While Cynthia collected the silver coins, she handed the copper one to Penelope who looked at it quizzically.

“What’s this for?” she asked, the coin still just laying there in her palm.

“I got that extra from your neat work, so that one is for you,” Cynthia explained.

“You mean I actually get to keep this?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

Penelope was stunned, but also a bit happy, and not a little teary-eyed. She had worked before, as Kasumi, day and night, and when she got paid, her family always helped themselves to her money, even when she worked hard to save for something. Their hands dipped in with little consideration. This was the first time someone willingly just handed over money to her. Even though the amount was small, she was grateful to have received it.

“Thank you very much!” Penelope chirped. She had to properly express her gratitude.

Even as they walked away from the counter, Penelope couldn’t help admiring the copper coin. Her delight amused Cynthia.

“Now, you can’t officially sign up for the guild until you’re a bit older, so don’t get any ideas, all right, Nellie?”

Penelope blinked at that. “What do you mean?”

“Labour laws in Birain are pretty specific about hiring kids under 13. Not that it doesn’t happen, but most respectable places tend to avoid it, like the guild here. And even when you sign up, they won’t give you anything too difficult or dangerous. Mostly local odd jobs that kids can do.”

“I see…”

As they were making for the queue to exit the building and head off to meet with Minerva and Yule, the pair were stopped by a portly man in a shop apron.

“Excuse me, you two! May I have a word?” the man asked.

“You may,” Cynthia replied, gripping Penelope a little tighter.

The girl looked between her guardian and the man in front of her.

He looked to be middle aged, with a larger frame and belly. His hair had long gone white and was wild and bushy. While appearances could be deceiving, his brown eyes held a kind and tired quality to them. Penelope recognized the dark bags under his eyes – this was a man who barely got enough sleep.

He stuck his hand into his apron pocket and pulled out a familiar book.

Penelope’s eyes widened. “Oh, that’s mine!”

“Yes, I noticed you at my shop window earlier and you dropped it when you ran off. I came to the guild to hand it over to someone here so they could find you and give it back, but it seems that won’t be necessary.” He handed the workbook back to the girl, who safely put it away in her satchel. “By the way, that is a finely illustrated book. Do you happen to know where you purchased it?”

“Oh? Nowhere,” Penelope replied, looking proud. “I drew all the pictures!”

The man was surprised. “R-really? Those amazing pictures?”

Penelope felt like the guy was being a bit too forceful with his praise and laughed nervously. It felt weird being told her doodles were good.

“They’re not that good,” she insisted.

“Oh, but they are. If I may, I’d really like to ask of you a favour…” There was a silent plea in the man’s eyes, something he needed to ask. The look of someone who needed some kind of help…

“Hey!” Someone’s voice cut through the air, disturbing their conversation. There were people trying to move around them or standing near their little group. “Could you move it along? You’re blocking the path.”

The shopkeeper waved for the two of them to follow him.

“Ah, my apologies everyone. Could you two come with me? There is something I’d really like to discuss.”

Cynthia looked to Penelope.

“It’s up to you, kid. You all right with talking to him? I’ll come with you, of course.” There was no way the warrior was letting her charge go anywhere alone.

Penelope, curious as to what the shopkeeper wanted, nodded. “Sure, why not?”

Without much further ado, the three of them left the guild building to go discuss at the stationary shop. As they got out, the sky was beginning to change its hue to something richer and deeper, though night had not yet fallen. A dusky twilight had settled over Ceralde as the business of the streets wound down, with stalls being put away and wares packed up. The shop wasn’t too far from the guild, but it took them a good few minutes to get there, during which time they made introductions.

“My name is Ulfric Gidget. I own the stationary store with my wife, Matilda.”

“My name is Penelope Snowflower,” Penelope returned, followed by Cynthia who also stated her name in suit.

“I’m sorry for taking up your time, but there is something I need help with.”

“I’m sure you do,” Cynthia stated evenly, “But you know you could just make a request with the guild and they could probably do better than a little girl.”

The man fumbled with his shop keys, almost dropping them as he got the front door open to usher them all inside.

“Thing is,” he began, “this was not something they have the power to arrange to fix. And I am quite desperate for anything that can help with my situation.”

Penelop, distracted by everything within the store once they entered, turned her attention back to Ulfric. “And that is?”

“Truth be told, my wife is very sick and I am at my wit’s end about it.”

“Tell us more about it.”