Rewards II

"So this is a Devouring Lumbricus tooth." Marveled one of the tree top merchants as he studied the almost arm length tooth in his hand. It was thick and sharp, and carried about itself a foul smell from the hundreds of dead bodies it must have chewed on during its life. Looking back to Sven the man seemed to see him in a new light. "You know, you heroes aren't as bad as all the stories make you out to be." Some of the villagers had crowded round to take in the spectacle before them, all sporting welcoming smiles which was a nice change of tune from when they had first arrived in his settlement.

"Well of course master isn't bad." Ignis stuck up her nose impolitely, ever still the man hater. Sven scratched the back of his head a little nervously, still not used to being praised for completing a quest. Ignis lifted her leg up onto the merchants stand and peered down at him menacingly, not realizing she was revealing a glimpse of her panties to the startled man. "So what reward do you have to offer my master for his daring battle with a legendary beast?!" Ignis had heard of the shoddy reward Sven had received from the Botany Fields hamlet and was devoted to making sure he wasn't short changed again.

"You know, you fought the beast too-" Sven was waved away by Ignis who was still glaring at the confused merchant for an answer.

"W-Well the reward is a pooled effort of our town, we came to the fair marketplace value of such a quest." The man reached into his leaf sewn tunic and produced a small satchel of gold coins, 40 in total Sven estimated. Ignis picked up the coins, feeling its weight as she lightly tossed it up and down a few times before she casually threw it back down onto his chest.

"You think my masters life is worth 40 measly gold AxM?" She asked flatly, the man began to sweat ever so slightly. "What else have you got? If you don't cough up something worth while soon then-" Her violent promises were cut short by the merchant before Sven could try and deescalate the situation.

"You're right, how rude of me to offer something so small for what you've both done for us! Here, I've recently managed to acquire some unique merchandise that you're unlikely to find anywhere else!" The man rushes to reach for his purse and pulls out a small circular key-like device that he inserts into a secret compartment in his stall, reaching inside he pulls out two identical parchments, causing Sven's eyes to light up in shock as he recognized those papers.

"These two letters will get you into any guild you want, they're priceless to me due to their rarity but I've been holding onto them for far too long, and after what you've done for our small town I can't think of anyone more deserving of these documents." The man thrusted the papers towards Ignis who was looking to see Sven's reaction first.

"These will get me into any guild I want?" Sven accepted the papers and held them in both hands. The credentials were all left blank, the document wasn't forged as it came with a royal seal of authenticity, seeing Sven's confused look at the blankness of the documents the merchant elucidated the properties of the papers.

"If you channel some of your mana into the paper then all of the credentials will be filled in for you, go on and try it for yourselves!" The man encouraged, Sven handed Ignis her paper as he channeled mana into his, as if by magic the document filled itself up of all the relevant information, including a picture taken of his likeness at the top left of the parchment. This was a guild form back in AxioM, but it was a form given by and meant for other players - if heroes are players in this world then why were 'NPC'S' owning and controlling guilds?

"Look master, it even took a picture of me!" Ignis showed Sven happily. "If only I was naked, that way master could enjoy it better!" Sven choked a little before regaining his composure, Ignis giggled as she enjoyed his reaction. Looking back to the merchant with a fading blush, Sven thanked the quest giver before he set off back on his journey.

"Thanks once again hero, you and your companions will always be welcomed back into this town at any time." The villagers proceeded to cheer as the two left down the rope ladder to continue their adventuring exploits.