—{At Jude's Place}—
In the dimly lit room there was the presence of three individuals. The curtains now didn't block the sunlight to enter as they were now pushed apart. There were creaking noises as if something scraped the floor. Chairs.
Riven and Shirin were seated at the desk, facing Jude as he poured himself a glass of warm water. Jude added a pinch of salt in the water, he started mixing it then looked up at them.
Before Jude could ask Shirin spoke first.
Shirin: "Why are you drinking that?" both her arms and legs were crossed and she was leaning back onto the chair.
Jude: Still moving the spoon in a circular motion, "I haven't eaten anything this morning." Dropped the spoon in the glass itself and lifted it up to his lips. "It's good if you haven't eaten anything in the morning."
After a sip he couched a bit. Covering his mouth with his hand, "Oh, that's a bit too much salt."
Riven: A small smirk appears on his lips and he glances towards Shirin who was now covering her own mouth by her hand but with delight in her eyes and a tiny smirk was visible by the corner of her lips.
Jude: After clearing his throat he placed the glass aside and looked at them. "I can see Shirin. No need to hide it." Shirin dropped her hand and the smirk on her face grew.
Jude cleared his voice again. "Now, tell me. What was it that you two came here?"
The moment Jude asked this both Shirin and Riven stiffened. Riven glanced towards Shirin and noticed that her smirk was gone.
Shirin: "Okay so, the contract got updated and now it's Danger level 5… And we don't make up the needs… We don't make the minimum requirements."
Riven: Still had his eyes on Shirin as she spoke, and even when she was silent. Riven spoke under his breath. "We'd need someone else's assistance." Though his voice wasn't audible.
Riven's eyes adverts from Shirin as they came to see Jude who seemed to be in his own deep thoughts.
Shirin: After a moment of silence, "I believe we could handle it even if we don't make the requirement. Again. So, could you talk to the guild like the last time?"
Her posture slouches as she leans forward and joins her hands together under the desk. Her eyes didn't leave Jude's as he was silent, his knuckles on his lips and muttering something under his breath.
"Could you do that again? Convincing?"
Jude: "No." He said without missing a beat. He shakes his head, "I believe I cannot."
Riven: "Why so?" His body straightened up and his voice rose a bit but then lowered back to normal for his next words. "Any reasons why?"
Jude: Look up at the ceiling, "I don't think I'd be able to convince them this time."
Shirin: Riven was about to say something but Shirin spoke first, cutting him off, "Why?"
Jude: Look at her. "I just said so, they won't be convinced."
Shirin: "Tch, tell us why. That sounds more like an excuse rather than a disability."
Riven: Jude was silent, his gaze lowered and said nothing, then Riven joined in with a much softer tone than Shirin. "Hey, something happened?"
Jude: Looks up at Riven and sighs. "... I had gotten into an argument…"
Both Riven and Shirin shared an "Oh" At the same time. "... So that's why?" Asked Shirin to which Jude nodded.
Shirin: Riven and Shirin glanced at each other at the same time then eyes back on Jude who's cheek rested on his knuckles. And elbows on the desk.
"There's no other option left. No one from the guild would join us. What do we do now?"
Ravin seemed rather sceptical to what Shirin just said, she noticed it, "Oh come on. Don't believe me…? When was the last time someone joined our party and stayed for over a week…?"
Riven couldn't answer. "Even this guy." Points to Jude, "The closest one to us refuses to help us."
Jude: Forcefully coughed, "Nah nah, I'm helping you guys with potions, so yes I do help a lot… From the background. But yes."
After Jude's statement the room again silenced with both the eyes of Jude and Riven on Shirin… 'I meant front liners.' She muttered something like that, though they weren't sure.
Riven: Shirin sighed in defeat and rested her head on the desk. Riven shifts a bit on his chair and meets eyes with Jude, "Hey, what about getting help from outside the guild?"
Jude: He leaned back on the chair and his legs came to the edge of the desk, "You mean freelancing. Not a good idea." Hearing that Shirin lifts up her head to listen to what Jude was about to say.
"Um, you see… In my opinion that's a bad idea. In freelancing, if you've ever used one it's either fraud or they charge a lot."
"That's the problem."
Riven: Slumps back, running a hand through his hair. "So the Guild's out. Freelancers are out. What's left? Praying the Danger Level gets downgraded before... before it's too late for your client?"
Jude's face tightens slightly at the mention of the client. He doesn't answer.
Shirin: She stares at the wooden desk, her mind working. Her eyes drift up, past Jude, to a dusty shelf where a single, tarnished sniper cartridge sits as a curio. A souvenir from a story Jude once told.
A slow,mischievous smile appears on her lips not one of joy, but of sheer, absurd ideas. "Well," she says, her voice changing tone. "There is one other category of hunter."
Riven: "What category? We've covered guild and non-guild."
Shirin: "The legendary category." She nods toward the cartridge on the shelf. "The ones who are on the ledger but aren't really in the system. The ones who... mix drinks."
A beat of silence.
Jude: Bursts out laughing. "Oh, wow. You're not serious. The Sniper of the Damp Wick? You want to ask Calira Rustwood to be your pack partner for a Gloomwater harvest?"
Riven: His face displays an abundance of emotions from confusion, realization, horror, and then a deep, embarrassing blush. "Shirin, no. That's not a plan, that's... that's social suicide. And it's disrespectful."
Shirin: She's fully grinning now, feeding off the absurdity. "Is it? Hear me out. We don't ask her as Silvers to a Platinum. We... we frame it as a favor. To Jude. For his important client." She winks at Jude, who is still chuckling.
Jude: Wipes a tear from his eye. "Oh, please try. I need a new story to tell. 'The day two Silvers got thrown out of a bar by an alcoholic for wasting her time.' It's classic."
Riven:"It's not funny! She'll say no, and we'll have humiliated ourselves for nothing!"
Shirin: Grin fades, but the determined glint in her eye doesn't. The joke has crystallized into something else. "Riven. Look at us. We've humiliated ourselves in this room already. We have nothing. No leads, no help, no time."
She leans forward, her voice dropping. "The worst she can do is exactly what everyone else has done, say no. But what if... just what if she doesn't? What if her saying 'no' to the Guild for a year means she might say 'yes' to something... real?"
Riven: "That's… Kinda risky…"
Shirin: "Also our last option!"
Riven: "... Nah… I'd rather wait until Danger Level is downgraded…" His eyes wander around.
Shirin: "Tch, And let the kid suffer!"
Her voice came out loud and Riven flinched.
Riven: "B-But, Shirin! It's not some random person, it a–a platinum. If we get refused we'd be a laughing stock. And we'd never live this down even if we just get ignored."
Jude: Shirin seemed like she was in the mood for a further argument but, "Shirin, is right. My client doesn't have the time for a downgrade. No idea how long it may take. It's better to just go there and ask, or even try to convince her…"
Riven: "It's easy for you to say. You're not the one who's gonna ask her— No. If you're insisting so much, why don't you go and talk to her. And I watch from the back."
Jude went silent. His eyes widen a bit as he lets out a huff of air. He looked at his hand, then back at Riven. Riven's own breathing was heavy and fast, his fist clenched tight.
Shirin's eyes glanced between the two but didn't interfere with them. Then, Jude's gaze dropped at his foot and opened his mouth.
"Fine."