"Why [i]are[/i] you a little elf girl? That's... Actually a pretty good question. Maybe the world's just trolling you right now," Aaron quipped, watching as the group decided to split up instead of checking out any location in particular first.

That was fine, though. Divide and conquer, right?

"Well, if you need me, then, I'll be in the guild, fishing around for info," he called out to the rest of the group as he walked into the building, glancing around furtively before noticing a [i]very[/i] familiar face at one of the receptionist's desks. With a bit of a furrowed brow, Aaron walked up to the desk to get a closer look.

"Hello," the woman responded, her voice as businesslike as ever. "I see you've arrived. Welcome to the town of Lopel; this is the Guild Hall. Are you taking to your new equipment well? Any complications with the transferral process?"

Oh, yep. It was that secretary--Wyn. Of course.

"I'm fine, but a few others... Aren't, per se. One's a little elf girl now, and the other's a priestess who's gone off to get a drink at the tavern," he responded, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hm. That... [i]Is[/i] strange. In any case, your first official assignment from Ferim is still not ready. We will send a message via guild card to you once it is ready, but until then, you are free to explore and take up other requests at your leisure. Let the other members of your group know to come here and obtain their card when you get a chance, please," she said in turn, handing over a piece of paper with a bunch of information written all over it--his, incidentally. "If I can make contact with them, I may be able to diagnose the origin of the problem... Though likely not reverse it--I do not have the strength to do any such thing, sadly."

"Gotcha. I think they'll come in here soon enough, though; anything to note in here?"

"Certainly. You can accept requests from either the board in here or within the tavern, then submit the proof of completion to obtain rewards. This location also has the functions of a bank, a storage, and a post office, so make of that as you will."

"That it?"

"Yes."

"Aight, thanks for the info. I'll go check out the board, then," Aaron finished, thanking Wyn as he walked off to go check out the job listing.

"...Huh. Hunt kulas for food... Kulas? The heck is a kula?" he asked, eyeing the notice in confusion before noting the illustration below.

"...Oh. Those Kyubey-like things... Eh, I'll put off taking any requests for now," he said, walking out of the guild to try and find the rest of the group.

[hr]
The tavern was, even at this time of day, a tad raucous; people were getting drinks at the bar, food was being served as the norm... And so nothing quite seemed that unusual.

The bartender, an older man with greying hair and a moustache, nodded as Sophia ordered a drink and promptly filled up a mug with beer before taking the coins off the countertop and handing the drink to her.

"Ah, damn it all!" one man, whose larger body type mixed with less ragged clothes made for a strange sight in the middle of the tavern, shouted, slamming his own drink onto the wooden table in front of him. "Freakin' bandits raiding my carriages. Hard enough to get those goods from the north, and those so-called 'bodyguards' turn tail and run at the first sign of a fight. Goddamn cowards..." he grumbled, downing the tankard in his hands before tossing a few more coins to the bartender (who caught them rather deftly). "Another one!"

He didn't seem [i]that[/i] drunk, all things considered, but his irritation was made well aware to those in his general vicinity.