“Are you thinking of hitting the zones on the other continents as well?” Kim asked.
Alburet blinked, “I don’t know if any of us have even considered that.”
Laughing, Kim shook her head, “Don’t feel bad. Most people just get used to staying on one continent.”
“I guess I’ll bring it up to the others when we hook up.”
“Have fun out there. Which zone are you going to hit first?”
“Probably the Goblin Villages,” Alburet said. “I doubt the equivalent of the Goblin Fort zones on the other continents will give us much experience.”
“The dungeons would if you scale down to them,” Kim pointed out. “The quest experience for them is based on the level you’re at while clearing them, not your actual level.”
“Well, hell, that might make this even faster,” Alburet laughed. “Thanks for the heads-up, Kim. I’ll fill the others in. Going to sell off some loot and grab some more potions. Is there a way to notify the guild about a meeting that we can be sure everyone will see?”
“The guild master can send a broadcast to the entire guild that will pop up for them like a normal notification,” Kim told him.
“Okay. I’m going to increase your work load today,” Alburet grinned. “I’m going to send a message calling everyone in. I’ll set it up for when Gerald is finished with his meeting, before we head out hunting. I want to be sure everyone knows they can jump between zones on all the continents to help speed them along.”
“Ah, so we’re going to have a lot of people here for a bit, then,” Kim got to her feet. “I’ll get things set up for drinks and such. Anything else?”
“I want to set up a few quests for the guild. One for a retrieval quest, some item from each zone on each continent up to level fifteen. The other for clearing all dungeons in the level 10 range, with some specified item to prove it.”
“Both of those can be set up by officers, they just need to be approved by you,” Kim chuckled. “That will be fun for them. I take it me and Vanessa are excluded?”
“Sadly, yes, but me and my group will be as well,” Alburet shrugged. “It’s to give the others something to focus on.”
“It be a good idea, Asthore,” Stacia said as she was tapping at something before her. “There. The quests be made and sent to ya for approval.”
Alburet looked over the two quests and chuckled. He approved both of them, setting them up to go live in a couple of hours and gave Stacia a hug, “Well done.” He turned to Kim, “Besides the two quests we just talked about, Kim, if you have any ideas for more stuff let me or one of the others know, please. I’m always open for ideas.”
“I will,” Kim replied.
Alburet sent out the guild-wide broadcast before he took Stacia’s arm, “See you in a bit.”
“I’ll have everything ready,” Kim replied as the couple left.
It didn’t take them long to hit the shops and sell off what they had. They did take some time visiting with Grimgar and Almira, but not much as the shop keepers were doing steady business. They made it over to Herbal Remedies as their last stop. The bell announced them to Arion Greenthumb.
“Greenthumb, how have you been?” Alburet asked the owner.
“Well,” Arion frowned, taking in Alburet’s appearance. “Can I help you, sir?”
“We need health potions first. Though I was wondering if you would be interested in a contract to be Alpha Company’s go to alchemist?”
“I believe your leader is Alburet? He has purchased potions from me before,” Arion replied coolly.
“Yes, yes I did, Arion. Look at my name if you need to,” Alburet replied, leaning on the counter.
Arion squinted then blinked, “You aren’t human anymore. Interesting. How was your transition accomplished?”
“A gift from the Dark Lord,” Alburet replied. “As you can see though, I can make the deal I was asking about. I’ll point all my guild members your way for a discount if you’re interested. Right now, though, I need the second level health potions. Two for me and one for Stacia, please.”
Arion set the potions on the counter, “I’ve heard you managed to get a Royal Charter for your guild. That has stirred up the noble houses more than I’ve seen anyone manage for years. For that, I’ll take your offer to be your guild’s preferred alchemist.”
Alburet accepted the pop-up that gave his guild a 10% discount when purchasing from Arion’s shop. “Pleasure doing business with you, Arion Greenthumb,” Alburet shook hands with the merchant before giving over the gold for the three potions.
“I hope it is profitable for us both,” Arion replied as Alburet and Stacia left his shop.
When Alburet and Stacia got back to the guild hall it was already starting to fill up. Alburet greeted the people he’d met before and met even more people he’d only seen once or twice in passing until then. He paused when he was introduced to a statuesque raven-haired beauty who was wearing very little. What little there was turned out to be leather that clung to her.
“Violet,” Alburet greeted her with a grin. “What’s your class?”
“Same as yours,” Violet replied. “Summoner. I’ve helped pull a group together out of the guild. They now understand just how useful the class can really be. Being able to lock down up to four mobs at a go is worth the lack of damage.”
“Tha’ be true indeed,” Stacia added.
“What’s the meeting about?” Violet asked. “We came in from the Cursed Woods for this.”
“Were you the ones that cleared the Woods yesterday?”
Beaming, she stood with her hands on her hips, proudly displaying her body, “We were indeed.”
Alburet grinned at her brash nature, “You should talk with Karen, you two might set a house ablaze.”
“What about me?” Karen asked, appearing behind Alburet.
“Gah,” Alburet said as he jumped. “God damn it, Karen. Did you take another ability at twenty to make you even more stealthy?”
“That’s at twenty-five,” Karen laughed. “I think me just being around so often is dulling your sense of where I might be about to pounce.”
“Violet, this is Karen, one of the officers. Karen, Violet here is a Summoner in our guild. I thought you two might get along.”
Karen and Violet eyed each other appraisingly. Violet grinned first, “Nice to meet you, Karen.”
“Ditto,” Karen replied, her own lips quirked up. “I love the outfit. I take it your Destroyer takes all your damage for you?”
“Of course that sexy beast does,” Violet laughed. “Taking care of his mistress is his only desire. Sadly for him, I’m much more inclined towards a softer kind of touch.”
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Alburet chuckled. “Looks like we have most of the guild here now, so I’m going to get this kicked off.”
Alburet made his way to the desk, noting on the way the number of people with tea or snacks. He nodded his thanks to Kim and Vanessa, who were both at the desk before he climbed up onto it. He looked around the room and saw Fluff off in the corner. Gerald with Marysue walked into the rapidly filling room as Alburet cleared his throat.
“Can I have your attention, please,” Alburet called out in a firm, loud voice. As everyone looked over and conversation fell off, he nodded, “Thank you. I know you’re all wondering about why I called you in. We seem to still be missing a score of people, but they’ll just have to catch up later.”
He paused, making sure he had their attention before he went on. “It’s great that you’re all forming groups and going out to hunt. I’ve not heard a complaint against any of you from any of the Alpha World natives, and for that you have my thanks. To express that thanks, I have two quests for you all.”
Murmurs of conversation sprang up around the room at that announcement. Alburet called out to silence them again. “Hold up. The quests will be going live in about ten minutes, so you’ll get all the details then. I wish you all good luck with them. My team will not be eligible for them, so it’s a mostly level playing field for you all. The other reason I called you all in is to pass on a few words of wisdom from our receptionist, Kim.”