Chapter 4: The Birth of Bearclaw

  In the morning, Garfield removed his clothing, cleansed it with magic, and put it back on. ‘I’m going to need to produce clothes in the local style. They look pretty uncomfortable so I’ll need to figure out a way to match the fabric from my existing clothes…’

  Garfield decided he would solve that problem another time. After swapping his comfortable bed for the original one, he went downstairs, ate a quick breakfast of fruit-filled pastries, and then proceeded to the Adventurer’s Guild.

  When Garfield arrived at the guild hall, it was much more crowded than when he was there the previous day. Likely, first thing in the morning was the busiest time. While he tried to figure out whether he should muscle his way to the counter or stand aside, Yttria walked over to him.

  “Ah, Sir Garfield! How did you manage yesterday?”

  “Fine,” said Garfield. “I earned enough from my request to spend the night at an inn. I didn’t even eat any bear.”

  “Hahaha. That’s great to hear. I’m still waiting for—“ Yttria was interrupted by a 30-something archer who came up to Garfield.

  “Are you Garfield?”

  “Yes.”

  The archer looked down at Garfield’s clothing and mumbled something about not believing it. “Anyway, I’m Gerald. Our party, Nightshot, was assigned by the guild to evaluate you. Are you really a summoner?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right,” said Gerald. “We’re going hunting for monkeys in the forest northeast of the city.”

  “…Monkeys?”

  Gerald responded, “Yea, the guild just reported to us that some strange monkeys were sighted by a guild staff member while he rode a carriage on the forest road yesterday, returning from another guild branch. Apparently they’re not like anything spotted there before, so we have to investigate them and either capture or kill them, depending on the situation.”

  “That sounds challenging.”

  “Just so you know,” Gerald explained, “we’re ranked Gold, so this shouldn’t be anything difficult for us. We specialize in scouting and ranged attacks, so we’re a good match for this request. We’re going to see what you can do with your summoned creatures before we move in, though. You sure you have everything you need?”

  “Yes.” Garfield was empty-handed so his answer may not have been terribly convincing. “Do I need to check in with the guild before we go?”

  “Nah, you’re with us. Follow me.”

  Garfield didn’t appreciate how informal this all was, but didn’t make a fuss, either. He was introduced to the team: In addition to the archer Gerald who was the leader, there was another archer, a warrior equipped with sword and bow, a rogue, a mage trained in attack magic, and a priest (for healing). They set out immediately.

  Exiting the city went smoothly this time. The party tried to extract some information out of Garfield in the course of normal conversation, but he avoided revealing much. The group proceeded on foot and stopped at the edge of the forest.

  “Garfield, do you think you can find evidence of these monkeys with your summoned creatures?” Gerald asked.

  Garfield wasn’t sure what to do. Was it okay for them to capture the Macaques? Should he kill them and bring back their bodies? Just make them disappear in a puff of smoke? Suddenly, he had an idea. “Okay, I’ll give it a try. ?Summon Creature of the Forest, a Beast, Angry Chimp?.”

  A larger primate than any of the Macaques appeared. It weighed as much as an adult male, was much stronger, and looked pretty darn angry. The rest of the party stumbled backwards a step or two.

  Garfield commanded the summoned animal. “Bring me one of the strange monkeys hiding in this portion of the forest. ?Magic Telegram: Mellow Macaques x1? Find Angry Chimp, return your soul to the world of your origin, and leave your body behind. ?Magic Telegram: Angry Chimp? Find the Mellow Macaques that’s looking for you and then bring me its body.”

  The Angry Chimp ran off into the forest. Garfield used this as an opportunity collect information. “Did the guild have any idea where these strange monkeys came from?”

  “Who knows?” said Gerald. “Our party is good at collecting information in the field and hunting, but not at investigating the source of magical mysteries or the happenings of the forest. The guild did seem pretty freaked out about this, though.”

  ‘Oops,’ Garfield thought to himself. “Any idea why they chose this request for my evaluation?”

  “Probably because we’ve evaluated several recruits before,” Gerald explained, “and also, our party is good at providing ranged support to the adventurer we are evaluating. I don’t think they chose you specifically because of this request, you know?”

  The group waited mostly in silence for a few minutes until Angry Chimp returned with a dead Macaques in tow. It dropped the dead Macaques at Garfield’s feet. The rest of the party came over to take a closer look at the strange monkey.

  “What a weird monkey,” Garfield offered.

  “Poor thing,” the priest said through a sniff. “Where did it come from?”

  The rogue proposed, “There may be more, according to the guild.”

  “Garfield, your Ape did a good job finding this guy,” said Gerald. “Does it have time to go back out to find more monkeys?”

  “Yeah. Angry Ape, go find more and bring them back if you can.”

  The Ape growled and then ran back into the forest. Garfield decided to take matters into his own hands. He sent a Magic Telegram to the remaining Macaques. A few minutes later, the party was suddenly surrounded by several screaming monkeys.

  “Contact!” Gerald shouted. “Multiple Directions! Fire at will!”

  Garfield secretly rolled his eyes at what he himself was going to say next. “Oh crap! ?Summon Creature of the Forest, a Beast, Bronzeclaw Bear?. Hurry, Bronzeclaw Bear, use Growl of Opposition!”

  The bear growled loudly, drawing the attention of the charging Macaques. They lunged at the bear from multiple directions, attacking it as best they could. The bear proved both powerful and surprisingly agile. It quickly dispatched the Macaques in sequence with its precise swipes. The rest of the party barely had a chance to fire a shot.

  Gerald cautiously checked for life-signs on one of the monkey bodies. “You think that’s all of them?”

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  “Probably…” Garfield answered. “It seemed like they came for their brethren…”

  “All right, let’s bring these dead monkeys back.” Gerald turned towards the bear. “Man, that bear was intense!”

  The whole party was looking at the bear with stars in their eyes. Garfield dismissed the Angry Chimp. Gerald’s party didn’t realize that one Macaque remained in the forest to continue spying for Garfield. The group returned to the Adventurer's Guild.

  Gerald instructed Garfield, “Go to the waiting area. We’ll turn in the monkeys and report completion. We have to meet with the guild staff to discuss your performance, which was pretty awesome by the way.”

  “Thanks. I’m glad nobody got hurt by the monkeys.”

  Garfield returned to the waiting area and sat down. ‘Hm. Maybe I actually won’t bump into Yttria this time.’

  After about thirty minutes, a guild employee walked over. “Sir Garfield?”

  “Yes.”

  “Please follow me to the Deputy Guild Master’s office.” Garfield was led upstairs. The employee knocked on a door and received a positive response. “Please enter and have a seat.”

  Garfield sat in a chair opposite a middle-aged man. “I’m Joker, the Guild Master’s deputy. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He stood up and shook Garfield’s hand.

  “Garfield. Yes, a pleasure.”

  “I apologize for meeting with you in lieu of the Guild Master, but he’s been extremely busy looking into another matter. Normally, when recruits are promoted to Silver or higher, the Guild Master meets with them personally. I hope you understand.”

  “After what I heard happened yesterday, I completely understand,” offered Garfield.

  “Sharp, I see. Anyway, allow me to congratulate you for demonstrating fine ability during the second part of your guild evaluation. Nightshot was very impressed with your summoning ability and how you conducted yourself in the field. They say you practically completed the request all by yourself.”

  Garfield secretly thought to himself, ‘It wasn’t difficult considering I was controlling the enemy, but I probably shouldn’t mention that.’

  “Reportedly, you were a bit flustered when those strange monkeys unexpectedly surrounded you, but that’s entirely understandable. I am authorizing your immediate promotion to Gold – Lower Half. Since it’s difficult to evaluate summoners, I’m including a note in your guild record that you are eligible for an expedited promotion to Gold – Upper Half once you complete your informal six month ‘novice’ period.”

  Good. This was the approximate result Garfield was looking for. Joker continued.

  “Of course, as far as skills go, you’re clearly not a novice. However, all adventurers are expected to acquire at least six active months of adventuring before considering themselves veterans or providing serious mentoring to their juniors.”

  Garfield nodded. He had no problem with this restriction. It wasn’t really enforceable anyway.

  “I also recommend you remain very cautious about accepting requests solo if they are commensurate with your rank of Gold. You should either join or form a party or perhaps complete easier quests while you build experience. Do you have any questions or concerns?”

  “No,” said Garfield.

  “A man of few words, I see. Anyway, when the Guild Master has more time I’m sure he’ll call on you to meet with him. Please report to the support desk to acquire your guild badge. They may have another surprise for you, as well.”

  Garfield stood up and accepted Joker’s extended hand once again. “I’ll… look forward to it. Thank you.”

  Garfield returned to the main hall and approached the smaller counter. The employee was waiting for him.

  “Ah, Sir Garfield. Congratulations on completing your evaluation! May I see your temporary badge? While we’re getting your new badge ready, there’s something I need to do. Oh, I don’t get to do this very often!”

  Garfield turned over his temporary badge and watched the employee scurry over to the nearby corner of the staff area. She picked up a baton of some type and smacked it into a metal bell. The gong drew everybody’s attention in the crowded guild hall, and it suddenly became quiet.

  “Announcing the newest named adventurer, today’s recruit, Bearclaw!”

  The guild hall erupted in shouting by the various adventurers.

  “A named RECRUIT!?”

  “It’s been a while!”

  “Why don’t I have a name!?”

  “What are you all talking about?”

  Well, responses were mixed. A few veteran adventurers walked over to ask Garfield about how he managed to stand out so much on his first day, but he kept the responses brief. Something something bear vs. monkey melee. As the fervor calmed down, the guild employee called him over again.

  “Bearclaw, here is your Gold badge. Note that the shape indicates you are in the lower half of Gold.”

  Garfield accepted the Gold badge.

  “I also see a note from yesterday that your request completion was not processed, so we’ll take care of it right away. Here is your share of the earnings from today’s request. Do you have any questions?”

  “No.”

  “Okay,” the employee said. “I’m looking forward to a promising career from you!”

  There were a few surprises, but Garfield accomplished his immediate objective of establishing a steady income source that would also provide him information and some entertainment. As he exited the guild, he thought about possibly stopping by Yttria’s inn to see if she was there and to compare notes, but decided against it.

  At the King’s evening meeting…

  “Who has anything new?”

  “My King,” the Adventurer’s Guild Master began, “today, while monitoring the divine beast, my adventurers witnessed it playing catch.”

  “…Playing catch?”

  “Yes,” the Guild Master continued. “It would toss a large object up into the air with one head, and then catch it with another head.”

  The King noticed nervous smiles all around the table.

  “Any sign of it relocating or attacking anything?” the King asked.”

  “None so far.”

  “Okay, continue to observe it. Who else?”

  “My King,” the Captain reported, “the only other information received from the guards who witnessed the divine beast up close is that the gates were open and unmanned due to the commotion. A number of suspicious individuals could have snuck into the city at that time. It’s possible people connected to the divine beast entered as well.”

  “If someone is capable of controlling a beast like that, do you really think they would need its help in order to sneak into our city?” the King asked. “…No offense intended, of course.”

  “That’s a fair point, my King. My only concern is that people do not always act rationally.”

  “Very well. Continue to investigate. Leave no stone unturned. Anybody else.” There was a long silence as the King looked around but nobody volunteered to contribute.

  “That’s not good enough. We need to put this meeting to better use. Each of you, I want you to report at least one or two things that were unusual over the past day, even if you don’t see how they could be related to the issue at hand.”

  The Prime Minister went first. “My King, we have received no communications from the Empire, although it may simply be too soon. Also, there has been a decrease in reported criminal activity within the southern and western districts since the appearance of the large beast. That is all.”

  The King nodded.

  Kay, the Court Mage, was next. “My King, I still have not learned anything new regarding the history of very large hydras. My retired teacher had nothing to offer as well. With your permission, I will reach out to my counterparts in the surrounding nations and try to learn more.”

  “Hold off on that for now. Next.”

  The Magic Guild Master offered, “My King, I was consulted this morning by my friends at the Adventurer’s Guild. I’m sure they can speak more to this, but they discovered unusual monkey creatures in the forest just northeast of the city. These monkeys were hardly as large as children, but it’s the only other unusual occurrence we noticed related to beasts.”

  The King nodded and looked at the Adventurer’s Guild representative.

  “My King, as my colleague already said, one of my employees discovered several small but dangerous monkeys in those woods. The guild has no records of monkeys in this region aside from harmless stage monkeys imported for performances. However, these monkeys did not look like any type of monkey we’re aware of. One of our adventurer parties hunted them down and brought in their corpses just this afternoon. If we learn anything useful, I will share that information tomorrow.”

  “Very well,” the King acknowledged. “If it’s urgent, submit the information via the Royal Guard. What else? New members? Rumors?”

  “Since the arrival of the divine beast, three new members have joined at the capital branch. The first is a fox woman warrior of around twenty who promoted straight into Silver - Upper Half. The second is a 12 year old helper child from the southern district who was brought in by some older children, as is common.”

  The King was aware that children would often band together to receive simple work through the Adventurer’s Guild to keep them out of trouble and hopefully support their families.

  The Adventurer’s Guild Master continued. “The third is a summoner in his thirties who promoted straight into Gold – Lower Half. He also received the moniker Bearclaw.”

  “Bearclaw?”

  “It’s very unusual for a new recruit without a reputation to promote directly into Gold or to stand out enough to receive an epithet shortly after registering with the Guild. Apparently, he summoned a very impressive bear which defeated those monkeys you heard about earlier with its claws.

  “Hence, Bearclaw,” the King concluded.”

  “Yes. Also, the party which evaluated him said he summoned an ape which tracked down one monkey and brought back its corpse. I would have liked to question him, but I was working on the divine beast issue while he was debriefed by my deputy.”

  “A summoner?” the King emphasized. “Hmm… this unusual new summoner defeated the unusual monkeys? And he summoned an ape? There’s a lot going on there. Please look into it.”

  “Yes, my King.”

  It would be a little while before anyone actually learned the truth behind Garfield’s magic.

  “And who is that fox-girl?”

  The Adventurer’s Guild Master hesitated for a moment. “About that…”