Clay - Solo RP & Special Missions

Master Nob listens quietly as Clay describes everything he and his compatriots have been through in the last few months. When Clay is finished, the aged martial arts instructor heaves a sigh. "Honestly Clay? This all sounds way out of my league. Aura? Legendary Pokemon and country-wide death threats?" He shakes his head. "I don't know what I can say to you Clay, that hasn't been said before. I want to help you in any way I can, of course, but based solely on what you've just told me it sounds like you've long since surpassed my teachings. I only wish I could do more for you. More than just saying 'I believe in you'."

Master Nob stiffens briefly, then sighs heavily. "No, Clay. I'm afraid I did not. I followed up every possible lead I could over the time I've known you, but I never did discover anything. I'm sorry."

Master Nob smiles at Clay, ruffling his hair a bit. "I always have time for my students. Former or current. You can come to me any time, Clay."

Surprisingly, Front Desk Person is still there, dutifully continuing in their role as person-who-is-asked-all-the-questions. They take Clay into Normal Branch, and then down a little-used hallway within it that leads to a set of stairs. They inform him that the Archives are at the bottom of the stairs. Someone is always on duty watching/guarding the door.

The silent guard glances over his pass, then unlocks the door. There is another person on the inside. Clay is instructed to speak with inside-person when he wishes to leave. Beyond that, they are not required to assist him (though may do so if asked).

Thankfully, inside-person doesn't seem bothered by Clay's query. The Archives may not be accessed often, but they're still enormous. It takes nearly an hour for inside-person to lead Clay around to find all the books on the requested topics, simply because the sections in question are so far apart. Once Clay is settled in, they point out a 'book return' set onto the wall nearest the door. Apparently, when he's finished, he's expected to place the books within and their return will be taken care of.

On The Founding of the Dark Branch: There isn't even an entire volume on this, it's just a small blurb within a book talking about the founding of the Guild in general. Due to this, there really isn't a lot of helpful information to be gained. Clay re-learns what he already knew: D'Mara is the founder of the Branch in question, as well as its current leader. The Branch is only a few years old, and to date is still among the smallest of the Branches, roughly tied with Steel for number of active members. Coincidentally, Steel Branch was founded mere months after Dark. Details on the events surrounding either of these Branches is almost non-existent.

On the Founding of the Adventurer's Guild: As it turns out, the Adventurer's Guild is much older than it seems. The building itself is over half a century old, and has been in use nearly as long. However, it was only recently (2 years ago) that the Guild received official recognition from the crown, and began seeing a large influx of new members. Fifteen years ago, the Guild consisted of what would later become the Normal, Grass, Fire, and Water Branches.

Back then, however, the 'Branches' as they are known today did not exist. The Guild was little more than a fancy gathering place for people who wanted to aid others and be a part of a greater organization. Clay recognizes the names of the leaders. They are the same as they are now, which means that either these women are much older than they appear, or they became leaders around his age. Prior to this, the names of the 'Guild Leader(s)' were different. There is, in fact, a roster within the Archives that this book references, which was helpfully retrieved during the book collecting journey earlier.

Adventurer's Guild Roster (circa Year 493): There are a lot of names here. Since the Fighting Branch as it is now didn't exist, and the list is organized alphabetically, it seems unlikely that Clay is going to be able to puzzle out who his likely parents were based on name alone. He doesn't even know his last name, after all. However grim it may seem at first glance, there is also a marker by each name indicating whether or not they are alive at the time of the writing of this book (the book itself was written only five years ago). Alas then that Clay also spots a disclaimer involving the list that informs him of the fact that there may be names that are missing or incorrect. In any case, based solely upon this list in front of him, Clay is able to determine that at least half of the names on this list are deceased as of five years ago. Whether some big event happened fifteen years ago and killed off a lot of people or something happened to them in the interim is unclear. The only way to be sure is to ask someone who was there and knew these people.

Inside-person nods in acknowledgement before unlocking the door for him and allowing Clay to leave. Back on 'ground level', in the main hall, Clay is able to discover that he spent at least several hours down there, as it's nearly dark out now.

Seems like Grass Branch has mostly turned in for the night, save for a few night owls maintaining nocturnal plants. Guess he'll have to wait for morning then.

A few hours later, Clay finds himself standing before the closed gates of Celadon Castle Town. Turns out, the entire city has an effective curfew. At dusk, the gates are sealed for the night, and don't open again until the dawn. Guess he's camping out tonight.