The Finders Guild

Druuna had always been interested in things from the lost times, and a whole guild of people with interests like hers was more than she could have hoped for. It took Druuna only a few minutes to find a watch post near the entrance, where a guard gave her directions to the Finders Guild.

Druuna walked down the packed city streets, taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling settlement. Places like these had formed all over the world after the Great Disaster. Gas was scarce, so civilization reverted to using the waterways as the primary way of moving large amounts of items. Most coastal cities from the lost times had been destroyed by the Disaster, so isolated areas near the coast became prime spots for settlements. From what Druuna could tell, this city, like many along the coast, was an independent trade republic. While a far cry from the “Democracies” from the lost times Druuna had read of, trade Republics were much more fair than the tribal war chiefdoms in the desert lands.

Eventually Druuna came to the building the guard had told her about, a large three story building made of whitish-grey adobe walls. A large sign hung over the guilds doorway, indicating that Druuna was indeed at the right location. Smiling with glee at the prospect of joining a guild for others like herself, Druuna stepped inside.

Inside the building Druuna came to a reception area being watch over by a wizened old man who was tinkering with a pocket watch when Druuna came in. Without looking up from his work, the man said to Druuna “The Courtesan’s Guild is over on Maple Lane. This is the Finders Guild. Have a nice day.”
Druuna crossed her arms and responded “I know. I want to join the Finders Guild.”
The old man put down his work and looked over at Druuna “You do, do you? Well then it’s nice to meet you, my name is Ezra Vanheim. I’m the junior grandmaster here and I can get you into the guild quite easily.” Ezra reached into a nearby desk and took out a sheet of paper “I’ll just need your signature on this form saying that you understand the risks involved with exploring ruins and your three hundred cap joining fee.”
Druuna frowned and asked the man “Three hundred caps? Why do I need to pay three hundred caps?”
Ezra sighed and responded “Stuff from the lost times is worth a lot of caps. Some people will try to join the guild just so they can steal and loot our salvaging areas for a quick buck. We charge a fee to make sure we only allow people who really want to help resurrect the old technology in. No caps, no membership Missy. Sorry, it’s the rules.”
Druuna pouted and wiggled her hips at the man “Maybe you can make an exception for me? I can be very….persuasive.”
Ezra laughed and went back to work on the watch “That wont work on me missy, I lost the equip necessary for that years ago in an excavating accident.”
Druuna was taken aback, that was the first time that trick had failed for her! Thinking how much she wanted to join the guild, she asked “Well, how am I going to get all that money?”
Ezra responded without looking up “I already told you, the Courtesan’s Guild is over on Maple Lane. Of course they charge an even higher fee to get in. A girl like you could still make a decent profit on the docks. Lot of lonely sailors just coming off the sea with their pay checks. Don’t go near the upper class district and the guards don’t care if you do a little street work. Heck, they’re the second biggest customers after the sailors.”

Druuna left the guildhall, thinking about how she’d make enough caps to buy entrance into the guild. She only had thirty-six bottle caps left, so she’d have to do a lot of work.