He went around, making sure all the public rooms were well lit and got ready to start welcoming people. Stacia and Erin returned a moment later with the cups, then began to ferry kettles of tea from the house as well as starting more tea in the kitchen Kim had installed in the guild hall. Karen and Fluff showed up in time to help get everything set up in the main room, which was the biggest space they had. Twenty minutes later Gerald and Marysue came along, leading the seventy plus recruits behind them.
Everyone was able to fit inside the main room, but only just barely. Alburet climbed onto the reception desk to address everyone. “Okay, first off welcome everyone to Alpha Company. I’m Alburet, the leader of the guild. You’ve all met Gerald, who’s the second in command. You should also have met the three officers, Marysue, Karen and Fluffball. Here in the guild hall we have two receptionists. One of them is here now.” He pointed to Erin, who got a few appraising looks from the guys in the room, “Her name is Erin Crowley, and she is the assistant to our head receptionist and guild accountant, Kim, who isn’t here currently. I should mention to those with a gleam in their eyes that Erin is currently seeing a city guard, so maybe cut those fantasies a little short.”
A few groans and chuckles greeted his words, before Alburet continued. “If you wish to join us you first need to know what our guild is about. All of us are testing long term immersion, that’s one of the prerequisites for joining us. The reason it’s required is simple, this guild will be looking long term. This isn’t so much a game once you’ve been here for a month or more, it’s more an alternative reality. However, if you drop from the test you can stay in the guild. The second thing our guild stands for is treating the people of this world like real people. Do not tarnish the guild name by being an unrepentant asshole, because if you are I will boot you. Everyone has bad days, but if you have a bad day apologize for it the next day.”
Silence greeted him as he paused to look around at his audience. He flashed back momentarily to the days when he’d been one of the instructors for new cadets joining the detention facility. He shook his head to clear the image and continued. “Third, treat your fellow guildies with respect. We all have people we would rather punch in the face,” laughter made him pause for a second. “But don’t do it. If you have some disagreement with a guild mate and can’t work it out, then both of you come to an officer. We will figure something out. We want everyone to enjoy themselves here. So those are the basic rules, and now that they’re out of the way let’s hit the good news about what you get for joining.”
A cheer rose up from the crowd and Alburet paused again with a smile. “We have a number of agreements in place with various merchants in the city. Guild members get a bonus ten percent discount when you buy from them. We’ll provide you with a list. Also, the cost of using portals is cheaper for guilds. You’ll wind up paying half of what you have been for portals, though the actual set up is a little more complicated. The guild has a fund set up that is charged the discounted rate every time a portal is used by a guild member. There’s also a matching tax on the player, which keeps the guild’s portal account funded. It all happens automatically though, so you just get to enjoy the discount.” There was some initial muttering as Alburet mentioned the tax on portals, though it died quickly as people realized they were still getting a better deal.
“Next, more good news. Ours is the first two-souled guild to be recognized by the crown. What that means is that we should be seeing unique quests come our way from a variety of sources as we gain levels and reputation. So, don’t blacken the guild name and we should be seeing some really good shit by the time we hit the Dead Lands.” Alburet wasn’t entirely sure about that part, but another large cheer drowned him out so he let it be. “Lastly, and this is going to be the bad news,” more boos sounded, “There is a guild tax in place on all looted coin.”
Alburet had to pause as people started asking questions. He held up his hands until it died down, “Hold up. This building has to be paid for, there are regular taxes levied by the city. The receptionists have to be paid, as well. We’re well set up here to be the forerunners on a whole lot of stuff, but only if the guild doesn’t get shut down for lack of funds. A guild leader can impose a tax on damn near anything a player can do, including buying and selling items. I’m trying hard to keep taxes for our members as low as possible and I’ll always be up front about them. The tax is a simple five percent of looted coin and only looted coin.”
Alburet glanced at Gerald who gave him a small nod, “Okay, that’s all we have. If you still want to join up I’ll give you a scroll. Take it to the city hall in the morning and they’ll give you the Guildstone and you’ll be a member. Any questions?”
“What guarantee do we have that the tax is being spent like you said?” a pale, lanky man who all but screamed Necromancer asked. The man’s name came up as DrBone when Alburet looked, confirming his class.
“None whatsoever, besides my word,” Alburet replied calmly. “The choice to join is yours. But if you stick around you’ll see that I was right.”
“Who’s the other redhead behind you?” a massive, muscle bound man asked.
Pulling up the name of the player, he replied, “That is my wife, Stacia. She is not an officer, but she’ll be helping us as she can. Is that going to be an issue, Croman?”
“Fuck. Do all the hotties in here have guys already?” Croman sighed.
“Even if they don’t it’s not like they’d want you, not with that attitude,” a man called Shadowblade replied with a sneer. “Woman like a finer touch, not a ham-fisted ape.”
“That’s enough,” Alburet said, using his command voice. Conversation came to abrupt stop as everyone looked at him with surprise. “A little back and forth is fine, but I will not tolerate pointedly goading others into a fight. If you have to work out your differences with a physical confrontation, the city arena should suffice.” He pointedly met the gazes of both men before he looked at others in the crowd, “Any other questions?”
“Can I sign up yet?” A dwarf asked leaning on his shield. “Me and the misses, would like to get out of the city and hunting.”
Alburet chuckled, “Sure thing, Rocknar.” Alburet targeted him using the guild interface to summon a scroll, then target his supposed wife Brignar and summoned one for her as well. “Here you go and welcome aboard.”
The dwarven duo took the scrolls with thanks and hurried out of the room. Alburet was very busy for most of the next hour handing out scrolls and answering questions. Almost an hour later and all the players were gone. Sixty-eight people had opted in while a few others had decided to see what other guilds could offer. Once all the new players were gone, Alburet looked at his friends, “Well, that was fun.” The sarcasm dripped off each word.
Gerald chuckled darkly, “That was child’s play. Try handling a board room of lawyers. And now that that’s done, me and Marysue are going to see about finding accommodations for our six-month stay. Should we meet up in a few hours to get some hunting in?”
“I’m down for that,” Karen said as she stretched. “I should see about a room somewhere as well.”
“I know a good inn,” Fluff added softly.
Karen smiled, “Well then, why don’t you show me the way Fluff?” She took Fluff’s arm and the duo exchanged goodbyes before they left.
Marysue watched them go with a small frown, “I think Karen is trying to seduce Fluff.”
Alburet snorted, “Well, yeah.”
“More power to her,” Gerald added, before seeing Marysue’s frown. “What? Karen obviously likes her, so good for them.”
Marysue chewed her lip for a second before nodding, “We need to go see about rooms as well. We’ll see you later.” With that she hooked her arm to Gerald’s as Karen had done with Fluff and all but dragged Gerald from the room.