Alaric arrived at the guild.
The building looked old. As far as Alaric knew, it was old.
It was made of large stone blocks stacked on each other.
It almost had a church like shape, having straight sides going up into two slopes that meet each other. There was also a large tower at the back. The tower was thick and went straight up vertically about the distance of a lighthouse.
It wasn't particularly remarkable otherwise. There were many windows.
One fun thing about the architecture was the fish gargoyles. They were littered about, strange, menacing looking fish. This was a common tradition. Other than scarecrows to scare crows, totems to ward away danger were extremely common.
Especially due to the strength of certain wild animals, in areas where they were common, statues of their natural hunters were set up. After the incident at his school, there was a massive statue of a ironskin bear was set up, the natural hunter of wolves. Statues of bears were the most common as wolves are plentiful around here. Hence the Wolf Slayer Guild.
The gargoyles set up on the fishing guild weren't for this reason. Aquatic gargoyles were set up on large ships, but not for land based buildings. These gargoyles kind of just looked cool.
The common trades were all closely linked.
"It was probably a hook up from the mason guild." Alaric thought looking at a large stone cod that was carved with detail in the scales.
Alaric stroked the cod mildly.
He felt the cold stone rub against his hand, and then he took it off. The cod didn't sit right with his hand.
Alaric entered the guild building through the large wooden doors.
"Very old... very old..." Alaric thought.
Entering the hall, he was met by reception.
"Hey young fucker, ain't seen you here before. Whatcha you need?"
A grizzly old man greeted him from behind the counter.
He was a slim built but toned old man. He had completely white hair, more specifically a beard. The top of his head was buzzed so there was only thin suggestions of hair at the top. His face was shriveled due to the sea winds, and his hands were even more shriveled. He was standing behind a desk wearing a navy blue jacket.
"This is exactly who I expected to be hear. Swearing old men. Looks like i'm in the right place." Alaric thought.
"Get rid of the fuckin rat. Filthy beasts.... you're lucky I don't snap its neck now." The man said.
"Alright sure." Alaric placed the rat outside of the building.
"Wait for me..." Alaric whispered to it.
He felt a vague nod like aura emitting from the rat, indicating that it understood the situation.
Alaric felt normal about this. He didn't expect many people to be fine with a rat scurrying around.
In fact, it was likely that inside the guild there would be at least one cat loose solely for the reason of cleaning out rats and mice.
Alaric reentered the guild.
"I'm here to register for the guild. I'm 18 and planning on become a fisherman." Alaric said to the man at the desk.
"You're young kid, you're probably shit at fishing. Skill comes with time and effort. As a matter of fact, let me see your hands." The man said in an grisly tone.
Alaric presented his hands. He had farmed a lot as well as fished in his previous years, so his hands were pretty worn.
"Farmers boy. All you farmers think you're better than us fishers. Well alright, at least your hands aren't soft like those mage boys." The man said. "Fuckin mages...." He whispered under his breath.
"Alright kid. Head over there to sign up." The man pointed to a counter further in the guild hall.
"Thanks!" Alaric said.
"This guy is such a classic old fisherman... its like straight out of a caricature..." Alaric smiled as he thought about the man. Despite his mean outside Alaric could see that he was still mean, but he had his heart out for fishing. Sometimes thats all you need, a heart of fishing.
Alaric headed over to where the old man pointed to another old man.
This time it was a fat, like fat old man. He was blonde, had a large beard (that seemed to be a common thread) and he had long hair.
"Hi there young man! How can I help ya? I'm Emil, head of guild registration. You looking to register?" Emil asked earnestly. He seemed like a nice guy.
"Yeah, what do I have to do?" Alaric said.
The man then pulled out a sheet of paper.
"Fill out this application then give it to me. If you can't read go get..... " the man scanned the room. "Old Charlie over there..." the man pointed to an old man. "He can read and write perfectly. He's a writer as well as a fisherman." The man said.
"I can fill it out myself. Could I trouble you for a pen?" Alaric asked.
"Here you go young man." The man handed him the sheet as well as a fountain pen.
"Alright, lets fill this out real quick." Alaric thought.
He was in the guild hall right now, there were tables everywhere where men and women were conversing. Some of them had food and drink, some of them were telling stories, and some of them were playing music.
First name: Alaric
Last name (if applicable):
Title (if applicable):
Age: 18
Location of residence: Staying in an inn
Other organizations (If applicable):
Highest level of education: High school
Previous occupations: Farmer for parents farm
Fishing experience: Recreational fishing since young age
Type of fishing speciality: Game fishing (fishing for prize fish)
Favorite fish: Salmon
Do you have a boat: In construction
Are you mentally stable: Most likely (yes haha)
Fishing history in family: Grandfather and grandmother had domestic crabbing experience
Reason for joining guild: As an aspiring fisherman for my future, I hope to connect with the fishing community and broaden my horizons.
Do you pledge your loyalty to the guild and its members: Yes
Signed name: Alaric
Alaric finished the application. It was relatively simple. The guild was open to most people, the level of distinction within the guild was the real element of contention.
Alaric went over to Emil to hand over the application.
"Alright. Thank you." The man scanned over the application and nodded approvingly.
"You're in." Emil said.
Emil then went into a drawer and brought out a necklace with a hook on it. The hook was blunt as to not hook the wearer.
"Wear this." He said.
Alaric put on the necklace.
He was now a very entry level guild member.