Weekend 2

Falling asleep, Will finally felt like he was on the right path. Tomorrow, he told himself, he would visit the commissary to check out a quest.

The next morning, Will woke up and looked over his Merchant's Guild card for the fourth time. "Finally, I'm on the right track," Will sighed. "But, regardless, I still have to live this life according to the norms of people around me. I guess I better get dressed and head over to the commissary," said Will as he got out of bed.

Eating a quick breakfast, Will headed to the commissary to check out a suitable quest. The commissary was a giant pagoda. On the first floor cadets and faculty could check out quests and submit monster parts or bodies for points.

Also, the first floor had different picnic tables for people to sit and chat. Recruiters were also present on the first floor, trying to get first-year cadets or stags to join established guilds.

Knight guilds were a lifetime commitment and different guilds focused on different missions. The Guardian Guild's mission was to defend the kingdom and they often took senior positions in the military.

The Black Night Guild were assassins for the kingdom, the Wayward Knights were mercenaries, the Golden Knight Guild fought against injustice (the Golden Knights were mostly commoners), the Merchant Knights sold themselves as bodyguards for merchant caravans or rich nobles and the Valkyrie was a knights guild composed of only women whose mission was to protect the virtue of women. The Valkyrie did several jobs but was best known for protecting the queen and princesses.

Will was amazed at the number of people, interactions, shouting, and soliciting happening on the first floor. Different guilds occupied the upper floors of the pagoda. And different guilds also received specific quests that could not be found on the first floor.

Guilds also offered protection for cadets from being victimized by others, be the other cadets or influential people. He was amazed at the pagoda and stood at the entrance taking in the building.

"First timer, huh," said an older cadet. Based on the lion insignia he wore on his left chest, Will could tell he was in the fourth year. Will also noticed the senior had several medals.

"Let me guess your William vont Ballard, right?"

"How…do you know me," Will asked confused.

"I'm Gerald. I'm in the Guardian Guild. Your brother reached out to guild this summer and asked us fourth years to look out for you!" He replied.

"Jason reached out to you?" Will said in shock. He never thought Jason would tell his guildmates to look out for him.

There was an 8-year age gap between Will and Jason. For that reason, Will and Jason were never close. When Will did see Jason, they interacted more as strangers than brothers.

When they did speak to each other it was usually between Jason's military breaks. During those times, Jason spared against Will and Marcus.

Unlike Marcus, Jason never tried to physically assault him. Jason acted more as a sword and martial instructor, giving Will pointers and advice.

In those brief encounters, Will could tell sparing with Marcus and Will was his attempt at bonding. Will could tell Jason was protective and kind, a real knight in shining armor kind of guy. But Jason and Will never developed a relationship beyond that.

"Are you kidding me, Jason is a legend around here! He had the greatest number of points before he graduated. He also won the most mock battles before he graduated. Now, he is the youngest lieutenant in the army, and the rumor is he'll make captain by the end of the year. Your brother is a legend here, why do you think so many people haven't bothered you yet. They know our guild is looking after you," Gerald said excitedly.

Just then Will realized, he was an idiot. He realized he had been so concerned about joining the Merchant Guild, that he failed to look outside his bubble.

Will knew hazing happened in college and it was normal for cadets to duel after classes. Yet, he never stopped to think about why no one challenged me to a battle? Why people would walk by him in the garden, while he trained, without being bothered.

Now, he knew. He felt so naïve, so clueless, and he hated that feeling. He hated feeling ill-informed. He spent an entire week at the academy completely clueless about what was happening around me. He was so ashamed and embarrassed, that he bowed to Gerald and asked him to thank the guild for their support.

"So, are you going to join?" Gerald asked.

"Oh no, I wasn't planning on joining a guild. I just wanted to check out quest for new cadets," Will tried his best to avoid being disrespectful, after all, they had done him a favor.

"Ha-ha, your brother said you try your best to wiggle out of joining a guild and just focus on being a merchant," Gerald stared at Will and laughed.

Will felt ungrateful and exposed at the same time. How did Jason know his plans, and expose him so publicly like this?

'Jason, you stupid older brother, just wait I'll pay you back for exposing my plans,' thought Will silently as he clenched his fist.

Now, that Gerald and the Guardians knew his plans he felt cornered. This was the same feeling he felt when his father convinced him to join the Knight Academy.

'Why do my life goals always seem to diverge from my plans? Why could not my life ever go the way I planned. Wait, I'm an older man, why do I sound like an adolescent brat. I know life never goes according to plan, yet here I was complaining like a normal 13-year-old,' Will wondered to himself.

Will exhaled and agreed to follow Gerald to the top floor of the pagoda to the Guardian Guild. He followed behind climbing the stairs to the top. The steep climb made him the luxury of elevators.

As they walked upward, Gerald informed Will about the Guardian Guild. To his surprise, Will found out the Guardians were the most prestigious guild on campus. Gerald explained that the guild got most of its funding through the king and the military.

While other guilds made their money through quests tax, the Guardians never taxed their members or forced them to pay guild dues.

The more Gerald spoke, Will realized that joining a guild was akin to joining a fraternity back on Earth. On Earth, Will joined the Freemasons. He made it to the 30th degree before he died. While he rarely attended the meetings, he always enjoyed them when he went.

When they reached the top, Will looked around the floor. He saw several new members, and others like him, still deciding where to join.

Gerald introduced Will to several nice and extremely patriotic guildmembers. Some of the members reminded him of jingoistic Americans who obsessed over patriotism. Those were people, Will always tried to avoid. The United States was a nice place to live, but so were 20 other countries. For Will, his patriotism began and ended with the almighty dollar.

"Hey William, let me introduce you to the Guardian Knight Commander at the academy," Gerald said leading me around a corridor to a large room, sparsely decorated.

"Come in Will," said Marshall Rolf.

When Will saw Marshall Rolf, he at once stood at attention and gave his best salute. He was scared Marshall Rolf would ask him to run extra laps or do more physical training if he did not salute right.

'Oh, how I regretted following Gerald. This was a trap, I walked into a trap, right? How can I turn down Marshall Rolf, I'm afraid he exercise me to death?' panicked Will internally.

"Relax cadet, this isn't class. Frankly, I am happy to see you. I wondered when you were going to come for a visit. Jason told us so much about you, he's very proud of you and I can see why," Marshall Rolf said sounding like a different person.

"Thank you, sir," That was all Will could muster. He was so confused and off-balance.

Will wondered if the Marshall were putting on an act, how else could he explain the Marshall's nice demeanor? Will was accustomed to hearing the Marshall shouting, he did not expect the Marshall was capable of actual conversation.

"Listen, Will, you have a higher than normal mana pool at this academy. And it's no secret that Elder Thaddeus has taken a liking to you. Those two things indicate you may have a bright future ahead of you.

Jason told us that you didn't want to be a knight and fighting on the front lines is the last thing you want to do. But I think there is room for someone like you in our guild. We get lots of requests that other guilds do not get because of our role in the kingdom.

I don't expect you to join a guild, but if you do, we can provide you with resources and a quest specifically targeted to our combined interests. We've never had a cadet like you, and I think you could fill several different roles in the guild and academy.

As a new merchant, you'll have trouble building your base, but if you join us, you'll have access to the guild's connections, influence, and a chance to build credibility," Marshall Rolf said setting the term of the agreement.

It was a good recruitment offer. Will was hesitant to join a guild and ready to reject any offer. But the terms of the agreement were interesting. Will knew Marshall Rolf was right, the Guardians' reach, and name recognition could give him a head start on his business.

Advertising in his world depended on word of mouth. Offering to help Will build his credibility, influence, and use the guild connections enticed him. Without the guild, building those three was time-consuming.

Having done that in his past life, Will knew the amount of time and commitment it would take. Will knew that people would buy, sell, or trade based on the person you were. At least, until the business gained status.

"If I was to join this guild what would be the expectations?" Will investigated.

"Cadets who join the Guardians must swear to uphold the laws of the kingdom, fight against the kingdom's enemy, and swear to protect the royal family from harm.

After being inducted into the guild, guild members must complete at least two quests per week, unless they are taking a respite.

As you know, after graduation cadets are expected to join the military for a mandatory year of service. As a knight, you will be commissioned as a lieutenant in the army and command a small platoon of soldiers.

What you do not know is that due to our closeness with the military, you can choose any military occupation you want and the location," the Marshall explained.

Everything was expected, except that he could pick his unit. By all standards, Will knew this was a good deal. Besides that, he knew that if he wanted to enjoy his continued solitude, he had to join a guild. And he might as well join the same guild as his famed older brother.

Will agreed to join the guild and signed the paperwork Marshall Rolf handed him and took the oath.

After taking the oath, Will received a shield pin, next to the stag pin, above his ribbons.

After joining the guild, Gerald escorted Will to the quest board. Will was surprised to see the hundreds of requests, some similar to the first floor, others different, and even some were a secret mission that required a meeting with Marshall Rolf.

Will did not look long before Gerald handed him a quest.

"Marshall Rolf said to give this to you if you ever decided to join the guild," said Gerald.

The quest was for a bookkeeper for the library to keep track of overdue fines. Funny enough, Elder Thaddeus issued the quest for a bookkeeper to come to the library twice a month, meeting my guild requirement.

Even better, the number of points for a successful job well done was 10 points. While 10 points didn't seem like much, it was the average amount first-year cadets earned for completing a quest. Some quests could take weeks to turn in, and some cadets would fail to complete a quest.

Will knew he'd earn a steady stream of points, without a chance of failure. He would also get a chance to spend more time reading. Will turned the quest into Marshall Rolf and then reported to the library on the second and fourth day of the week.

Just as Will was about to head out, Marshall Rolf told him to wait.

"Will before you leave, I forgot to mention that guild members could earn guild points, by helping the guild with areas of deficiency.

Currently, the guild is lacking a Quartermaster Commander. There are only five commanders in the entire guild. As the Guardian's Quartermaster it will be your job to create a sustainable logistic system to make sure our guild's cadets maintain their advantage.

This position has been open on and off for ten years and no one applied for it despite it being one of the five commander positions in our guild. I want you to be the new Quartermaster," Marshall Rolf said.

Will was shocked by his request. In one day, Will received two different office jobs. While Will was happy to receive graduation or guild points, that also meant he lost time to build his business.

Initially, he wanted to reject the Quartermaster position and tell Marshall Rolf he already had his hands full. But Will wanted to investigate the position before he said no. But, if the job gave him the flexibility to work outside the college, then he'd jump on the opportunity.

With a salute to Marshall Rolf, Will left. Gerald escorted Will out of the pagoda. Before Will left the pagoda, Gerald stopped on the first floor to wish Will off.

"Hey Will, I know Marshall Rolf surprised you with that job. He kind of voluntold you, did he?" Gerald said rubbing the back of his head guiltily. "But you should know being a commander is a high honor in the guild. The guild has never had a first-year commander. Even your brother did not become commander until his third year," Gerald said trying to lift Will's spirit.

"Gerald, what are the five commands the Marshall was talking about," I asked.

"The five commands are infantry, intelligence, engineer, signal, and quartermaster. The infantry is the most prestigious and the quartermaster is the least prestigious. Out of the five corps, the only quartermaster is a non-front line or support branch.

You know what infantry is, intelligence gathers information on the enemies, the engineer creates or removes obstacles for the infantry to engage or inhibit the enemy, and signal communicates with headquarters and different infantry unity," Gerald informed him.

"Thank you. Do you know what the Quartermaster's job duties are?" asked curiously.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. That might be the problem. But I recall the last person in that job was to work with the Merchant's Guild to make sure the guild's supplies arrive on time and that the needs of each command are met.

The commanders of the different corps shall reach out to you with requests, and it is your job to fill the orders. I could be wrong, but I think that's correct.

The last guy complained all the time. But every commander is under monumental pressure and has a lot of responsibility. Be sure to report on the third and fifth weekdays to meet your duties otherwise, you will be penalized. And the guild master's penalties are brutal," Gerald finished before leaving him to wallow.

Will spent the rest of the day, studying and planning out his week now that he has two jobs to work every month. Will set a goal to meet my quest, and guild duties; complete the rock armor, and start on [Rock Spike].