Night out (Mercurial Storm/social/closed)

Nemuru sighed as she sunk back into the pool water. "Place to ourselves, hrm, Ciran? I doubt it will last long. Yet it might be nice before we go get some dinner. Wanna move over to the hot tub? It's getting kinda chilly in here."

"I've been meaning to ask, as I'm a bit stronger now and can take on harder requests, should we up our game? High risk, high reward? How do you think we'll do in a fight? I mean this job was great, but the train job was a nightmare. Honestly, we aren't making too much doing this simple tasks."

He nodded at the hot tub part, heading in that direction "Hnnn....might be best to look at some of the bigger jobs. Nothing risked nothing gained as they say

Nemuru carried their belongings over, then slipped into the hot tub. A delighted expression crossed her face. "Yes, but how much are we willing to risk? At what point is a job not worth the reward? What types of tasks are you willing to take on? After that job, I'm thinking kids might not be too bad to deal with, sometimes."

She sighed and lay back towards the jets, letting the water ease her tired muscles. "At least this is nice for a change of pace. What will we need to accomplish our dreams?"

"Thats the kicker. Balancing risk versus reward." He went quiet at the dream question, looking thoughtful. "A home base would be nice. As you said, somewhere to set up a forge, have our own bed. A home to go back to after jobs. So either save up and buy a house...or get in with a guild and live near the guildhall."

"A guild could be useful, if we find one that suits our views. Perhaps, soon we should consider training to further our understanding of magic. If we set up a home it won't mean we have to stop our travels. The other option..." she hesitated, " y-you said you wanna someday have a guild of our own. Perhaps, we could find a location for our team. An area in which we could set up a future guild hall."

"Hmmm. Maybe feel out some of the guilds, get more experience that way, and then have allies if we part on good terms to set up ourself. Kind of a parent guild perhaps?" He scratched at his beard, thinking a moment. "Allies are good things."

"I don't think we want our ties that strong if we make a guild. Perhaps an alliance, where we can support each other but maintain more freedoms. It'll prevent animosity from their enemies. Or at least I hope it will. Either way, we'd be expected to help them out with their problems. Allies within guilds on the other hand, we can use. Informants and job help are always useful."

He nodded slightly, leaning back, eyes closed. "We should start feeling them out soon then. Will also be helpful with learning stronger magic as we go along. And there are jobs that we won't get offered unless we have a guild backing us."

"I'm still hesitant. We haven't found a job shortage, yet. Besides there are more jobs that will open up to us as we grow in strength. It will be a matter of what can we offer to a guild and what benefits can they give us. Perhaps, we should look into contract agencies, as well."

Her eyes glazed over a bit, "there is a possibility. What if instead of creating a guild for now, we set up an agency, after we build connections. It will give us a good base to focus on when we do try for a guild. A provider of information and goods perhaps."

She frowned as she looked at her partner, "what exactly are we looking to accomplish with a future guild? What goals or ideas would we hold? Plenty are not fond of the Rune Knights or the council? Would we be a home for the lawless with a sense of honor? Perhaps a home for those with nowhere to go. Perhaps in direct, but discreet opposition of the council? How far will we go?"

"A home. A family for those who have none. A safe place for those unjustly persecuted. We will not go out of our way to antagonize the rune knights, but if they come looking for trouble, trouble they will find."

"Perhaps one of the independent guilds already offer that. We should meet people from other guilds and see what they say of their own." The poison mage sighed and stretched in the hot water.

"I think, unfortunately we've been in here long enough. Let's get out, eat and go find somewhere to poke at the job board. Tomorrow, early morning, we can go to the job boards and grab a new request. Something with more responsibility and difficulty, with a high payout."
(Fin)