The Promised Visit [Intro - Open to SW]

The puzzle was complete and with it, the hurdle that Eero had to overcome before he finally ventured to the guild of Silver Wolf. After he pieced it back together he didn't even bother going back to the Peace Village to restock for the journey. He was too ecstatic to share his news with the blonde girl. The boy also wanted to get used to this new feeling of power he felt within. /"The power of a dragon, it seems..."/ He wondered as he made his way slowly towards the snowy peaks. He found it surprising, though. He was pretty sure that the magic he now re-awakened to was the lost dragon slayer magic he had heard and read about. It felt strange that he was one of such users. When he unlocked the bits of memories, Eero felt his magic sort of drain away. In the numerous tomes he had read in his time, he didn't come across such an occurence. It was something that he had to document, once he had a proper desk to write at.

As the boy kept going forward, the amount of snow increased, making it tougher to walk. He was thankful for the extra socks and gloves he bought before in Peace Village. He was doing his best to follow the instructions he was given by the blonde girl. As he walked, his panic slowly, but steadily rose. He didn't know whether he was going the right way, but he knew that he had to trust himself and Poko's words. It didn't take long for him to find himself in a snowstorm, making it nigh impossible to see around him. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself. Shortly after he noticed strange lights ahead. They were shimmering blue and the closer he got, he realised that those were the spirit wolves, that were supposed to guide him to the guildhall. The spirit wolves didn't move, but instead watched his every step, as if they were judging his worth. He noticed how the storm was somewhat dimmed near their presence, but their gaze froze him in his tracks. For a moment he thought that they would reject him and attempt to hunt him down, but thankfully for him, the wolves turned around and started walking in a direction, with a purpose. The boy followed.

It took his frozen limbs a bit to get to the guild grounds. The spirits vanished, leaving him alone for the last part of the journey. With a sigh the boy stepped forward. Suddenly, he found himself in a much less stormy area, but equally as snowy as the mountains around. He assumed that there must've been a magical bubble of sorts, that protected the guild grounds. A few snowflakes were falling down here and there as he walked through the front garden. Everything looked so beautiful. Eero cautiously took the steps up to the front door and gingerly pushed it open, quietly slipping inside. His breath was taken away by the wooden interior that had an incredibly cozy feel to it. Even if he knew that he has never been here before, it still felt familiar somehow. He let the door close behind him on its own, as he could only look around himself in pure awe.

Arghast yawned as he came downstairs. He had overslept! A thing that should never happen. Popping the top of a nectar phial as he hit the bottom step he tipped back the clear glass and drained the yellow-gold contents in one gulp feeling his hunger start to vanish.
'There, that should do until I can get something else proper for myself.
Though he hadn't been here long Arghast was beginning to get more comfortable with the Guild he had joined.

As he got to the main hall on his way to the kitchen he spied a blonde haired girl in what looked to be quite the crushing embrace with a young man with some... Extravagant hair.
The small rabbit-like creature hovering round by the pair was Zephyr there was no mistaking those ears anywhere! That would make the blonde Poko of course.
Arghast smiled to himself remembering their first meeting.

Not wanting to intrude but wishing to greet the young man all the same Arghast walked over quietly.
As he got closer his anxiety flared up briefly at the thought of interrupting what was clearly a very touching moment.

He hesitated then unsure of himself all of a sudden and cursing that he could be seen hanging around like a creep at any moment.
If he tried to turn tail he could be seen by the two and then what might they think...
'Deep breaths' He told himself.
Arghast took a deep breath and took another step forwards
'Let him breathe Poko, he' s made his way up here in the snow it looks like he may need something to eat or drink'
He smiled in what he hoped was a joking manner at Poko and then 'Hello my name is Arghast who might you be?'

The boy was looking around in awe, when he was met with a gust of wind and a person appeared in front of him. He was met with yellow eyes and blonde hair, he knew exactly who it was, especially when he had to judge by the squeal that he heard just a moment before the gust hit. Poko. He didn't know that she missed him that much, so he was taken by a surprise, when she hugged him. The good kind of surprised, though. The boy hugged her back, maybe lingering a bit too long before he let go. "Hey. It's great to see you again, Poko." Eero would say, softly. He couldn't help getting slightly attached to the girl. She was the only one who seemed to actually care about him, which was quite the contrast with the last few years of his life. The reunion was slightly interrupted by a voice that Eero did not recognize. Most definitely a resident of the guild, maybe his future guildmate, who knew. The boy would turn towards the source of the voice - a man that was definitely older than himself named Arghast. It was time to make good first impression. "I'm Eero, pleasure to meet you, Arghast. It's quite alright, I already got warmed up, that's all I needed. Thank you for the offer, though." He would introduce himself with a smile. In reality, he was starving. But that was beside the point. The girl's companion was there with the blonde girl, sniffing him, looking sort of sad. Perhaps he still felt bad about the last time they saw each other. While it was quite an experience, it wasn't all that bad. He recovered a tiny bit of his memories afterall. Especially his lost magic, the power of a dragon slayer. It still felt kind of surreal to him. Eero would only smile back at Poko's companion. "It's great to see you again too, Zephyr."

He wanted to tell the girl everything about what happened after they went their separate ways, but he decided to leave it for later or another day. He was excited to be at the guildhall, ready to explore the guild grounds and possibly join the guild itself. The boy would take off his gloves, stuffing them inside his jacket's pockets and the jacket itself, slinging it over his travelling bag. "Can't wait to see what Silver Wolf has to offer for myself. I may have arrived, but as to what happens next, I have no clue." Eero would say with a light shrug, but prepared to follow either Poko or Arghast, or both and possibly become a bed for Zephyr again.

Arghast smiled and tilted his head slightly, remembering how hungry the journey had left him when he had first made it. If he wasn't wanting food yet though he must be made of much tougher stuff than his body told of.

Arghast nodded and let his own hunger slide, Eero seemed pleasant to be around and he did want to conquer his own anxiety. Being around people was the best way to do that Arghast reminded himself.

When Zephyr suddenly made a move towards Eero's hair Arghast could only tense up, as most sudden movements had that effect on him, until he saw that Eero seemed to have no problem with Zephyr nesting there. He doubted Zephyr would have just jumped in if that wasn't the case.

Hearing that the young man had a puzzle of some kind piqued Arghasts interest though. A puzzle was always a decent way to keep a mind sharp and he'd enjoyed many as a child. 'You have a puzzle? What kind is it? I-I used to enjoy puzzles when I was younger as well.' Arghast ventured.

'The library is a very good place to start Poko, even in my short time here I have found it to be the heart of the Guild.'
It was true, most members spent enormous amounts of time nestled deep within the stacks of books with one research or another. He himself had been in a few times to roam the stacks and see if he could find any books on exotic insects or on the lost arts in general.
He wondered what Eero would make of it? Poko seemed very eager to show it off. Arghast could sense her excitement coming off of her in almost palpable waves of energy.
Or that could be the residual wind magic he supposed it was difficult to tell.

It sure didn't take long for the blonde girl to inquire about the state of the artifact. It was natural that she would be interested, though. It was also quite normal for Zephyr to jump into his hair again for a nap, making his blonde fringe fall into his eyes. "Yeah, I fixed it. It took some time, but I did." The boy would reply to Poko's question and then turn to Arghast. "It's... not exactly that kind of puzzle that you are probably thinking of. We just started calling it like that. It's more of an artifact-thing." He would say with a hint of embarassment in his voice as he carefully took it out of his bag, the chain it was attached to, rattling. It was back together, just like it used to be. Eero would hold it out for a moment, looking at the eye-piece of the artifact, before putting it back into the bag. Judging by the lastest experience, it seemed that it would be safer to keep it away from others.

The idea of a library visit excited him, though. The thoughts of many different topics on which he would like to read already started forming in his mind. "Library sounds great. You guys lead the way, I'll be right behind you." The boy would say with a smile, ready to see more of the guild.

When Eero took out the puzzle Arghast could see straight away it was like nothing he'd ever seen before. An artefact rather than a puzzle Eero had said it seemed fascinating, it must have some kind of moving part to be called a puzzle surely? Unless it was a magical puzzle which used different means to be solved? Or maybe it generated problems to solve and that's what made it a puzzle?

Arghast took a breath ready to ask at least one of the questions but saw the look in Eero's eyes as he put it away and decided that these questions may be best held until a more comfortable time.
Instead he turned to Poko and used the breath 'I did not realise that building the library underground was meant as a defensive measure. I always assumed it was because there was so much more space underground than above ground here.'

He could see Poko was incredibly excited to show off their guilds library, eagerly moving forward with Eero, Arghast followed not far behind allowing himself a small smile at her energy. The boundless energy of those younger than him almost made him wish he was a good bit younger himself again, almost.

When she led them to an obscure corner of the library, well lit and surrounded on all sides by books Arghast was initially surprised. Though he had been in here many times he had never ventured this far in to the library, not knowing this far even existed.
Looking around he could see many tomes here that he had never thought to be down here, surprise gave way to excitement and Arghast made a quick mental note to actually explore the library next time he was down here. He may even allow himself to get lost here for a while, it was after all the most effective way to find new things.

Arghast realised his attention had wandered and brought it back to the group tearing his gaze away from the shelves and seeing Poko dwarfed by a chair. Hearing her admission 'I don't blame you for falling asleep here, there's so much here I had not even known existed....'
The awe he felt at the sheer size of the place revealed to him evident in his voice.
Arghast knew there was a lot more to be seen of the guild as well as the library, but this was Eero's tour so his curiosity should guide them onwards.

Eero accepted Poko's arm and followed her to the library. The group walked through a corridor that led to a wooden staircase, which they descended. Poko explained the reason for the library being underground with Arghast also offering his own thoughts on the matter. The boy didn't know who the Leila the blonde girl mentioned was exactly, but he could only guess that she was either the guild master or somebody ranked pretty high in the guild's hierarchy. Maybe one day he would be a high-ranked mage himself, the boy thought to himself amusedly, as the trio reached their destination - the library itself.

Just from the first glance at the wooden interior made Eero squeal with glee internally. There were so many books and tomes in this place, it would take him some time to get through them. With the amount of books that lined the countless shelves, there had to be at least one or two of them about the magic that was his now. He had to stay a bit sceptical, though, as to not get his hopes too high, only to discover that there were no such tomes in this library. The blonde girl led them to the far corner of the room. Besides the amount of books that still lined the shelves, there was also an armchair, that made Poko look tiny when she sat in it. It was a nice and quiet place and Eero could see the appeal. It was also apparent that Arghast was also in awe with this place. This portion of the library, at least. Eero would have to come back to the library soon.

The boy realised that it was most likely up to him to decide where they would go next or what they would do. As much as he wanted to stay and search for books, he also wanted to see more of the guild. After he took an another quick glance at the library, the boy would speak up in a cheery voice. "I really like the library. Can't wait to explore the shelves!" He would continue: "I would like to see more of the guild, though, if you don't mind. Where would the guides recommend going next?" Eero would ask the duo guiding him around with a smile.

Arghast agreed very much with the sentiment of exploring the shelves, he'd already seen several books on etymology that he itched to take hold of just whilst they had been stood by Poko's comfy chair.

Arghast stood pondering for a short while, turning over the options open to them, though he admittedly hadn't gotten as acquainted with the buildings that made up the guild as a whole he knew there existed places to pursue ones own research into magic, though he had no idea where they were from here or what rules where in place about disturbing whatever may be going on in those rooms.

He shuffled his feet nervously unsure of what to say or suggest. He could feel his anxiety starting to return to the fore as his mind went, predictably, blank.
Thankfully help came from the most surprising source as Arghast heard Poko's suggestion of food. Recognising her embarrassment he decided that from what he had seen poking fun at a hungry person would be a bad idea, particularly when he himself was starting to feel the effects of a prolonged putting off of breakfast.
With his stomach making its dissatisfaction clear Arghast cleared his throat quickly
'I agree I think some food right now may be the best course of action, the kitchen is one of the most important places here. After all a hungry wizard is.... Well hungry and likely to do harm if not fed..i suppose..' that statement wasn't very well thought out Arghast winced and started gestured for Poko to lead the way ' Ladies first and all that' He half mumbled hoping they didn't think him as lame as he'd just sounded. He must have been hungrier than he'd originally thought, curiosity seemed to be good at keeping hunger at bay.
He'd watch for that in future.

Both of Eero's guides seemed lost in thought for a few moments. Whatever they were thinking about was cut short by Poko's stomach. Eero knew that feeling well. Arghast's stomach took that as a cue to speak up aswell. Up to that point, the boy was successfully fighting against his hunger. But when both of the people who were around you were this hungry aswell, one's stomach wouldn't be able to resist. As such, even Eero's stomach growled out loud, agreeing with the rest. The blonde girl then logically suggested a visit to dining area of the guild. That was an idea that Eero could not and would not refuse. There was no need to pretend not being hungry anymore.

With a chuckle of embarassment that mirrored Poko's, the boy would nod. "I think that all of us are in agreement then." Eero's stomach would decide to make its presence known, once again. The boy would step aside to let Poko walk by, just like Arghast did. "Indeed, ladies first." He would say with a giggle and bow lightly towards the blonde girl.