Chapter 63 - Harsh Treatment
As Amukelo finished washing his face and adjusting his new clothes in the dim reflection of the tarnished metal mirror, he felt a sense of quiet satisfaction. He was just about to step out when there was a soft knock at their's room door.
He opened it, slightly damp, and saw Pao standing there, her hands clasped in front of her, wearing a simple but elegant tunic that contrasted her usual mage robes. "Oh, it's you," she said with a warm smile. "Bao and I are already ready. We can finally make you a proper guild member today."
Amukelo's heart skipped a beat at the thought. "Oh, that's great!" he said, wiping his hands on a towel. "I didn't expect it so soon."
Before Pao could answer, Idin appeared around the corner, stretching his arms and rubbing his temples as if trying to will away the headache he clearly had. He spotted them and raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice a bit rough.
"They're ready to get me added to the guild," Amukelo replied, his voice carrying a mix of excitement and nervousness.
Idin squinted towards Amukelo, then toward Pao, before sighing. "Well, I'm ready," he muttered, "but what about him?" He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder toward Bral's room.
Amukelo hesitated. "Should we wait till he wakes... up...? I mean... only this seems right. I think that leaving him would be rather rude..." he said, but before he could continue, Idin was already storming toward Bral's room.
With no hesitation, he strode up to Bral's bed. He clapped his hands loudly and shouted, "Wakey, wakey! Everyone's ready, and you're still snoring like a pig. Time to get moving!"
Bral groaned from under the sheets, his head barely peeking out. "Huh... what's going on?" he grumbled, his voice hoarse.
"We're making Amukelo a guild member today. That's what's going on," Idin snapped. "Now stop whining, get up, and don't annoy me. You brought this on yourself with all that drinking."
Bral rubbed his temples, clearly nursing a brutal headache. "Ahh... my head is exploding," he murmured, massaging his temples as he sat up, squinting against the light.
Idin wasn't having it. "Nobody cares, Bral. You drank too much, and now you're paying the price. Either get up or we're going without you."
Bral waved a hand dismissively, still squinting through half-closed eyes. "Alright, alright... just give me ten minutes to get ready."
"Fine," Idin said flatly. "We'll be waiting outside." With that, he stormed out, leaving Bral clutching his head and groaning.
Amukelo stood there, stunned by Idin's tone and the ease with which he'd berated Bral. It wasn't something he'd expected. He looked over at Pao, his eyes silently asking for an explanation.
But Pao only smiled softly at him, almost as if she found the whole thing amusing. "Don't worry about it," she said gently, her tone laced with warmth and understanding.
They left the inn together, stepping into the crisp morning air. The streets were already bustling with merchants opening their stalls and townsfolk going about their day.
Outside the inn, Bao was already waiting, leaning against the wooden post near the entrance, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She wore a simple, practical tunic with a dark cloak draped over her shoulders. Her expression, however, was far from welcoming—her brow furrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Idin greeted her first, still rubbing his temples. "Morning," he muttered.
Amukelo followed, his voice more cheerful despite the tension in the air. "Good morning," he said.
Bao barely acknowledged them, offering only a sharp nod, clearly in no mood for pleasantries.
As they stood there waiting for Bral, Amukelo leaned closer to Idin, curiosity gnawing at him. "Why were you so harsh with him?" he asked, still puzzled by the dynamic between Idin and Bral.
Idin sighed heavily, running his hand through his short-cropped hair. "Because he made me drink too much," he muttered, clearly still feeling the aftereffects. "I've got a splitting headache, and I'm probably still half-drunk. And honestly, I'm hoping that if I'm tough on him, maybe he'll think twice next time before dragging everyone into another one of his drinking contests." He shot a glance back toward the inn. "A guy can hope, right?"
Amukelo scratched his chin, processing that. "I mean... yeah, I get that. But I feel fine. He made me drink as much as you guys, didn't he? Shouldn't I have... what did you call it? A hangover?"
Idin raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "Wait, you're telling me you're not feeling it? No headache? No nausea? Nothing?"
Amukelo tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "Well, I feel kinda... weird. But not bad. I don't feel like throwing up or anything. My head's not hurting either."
Idin rubbed his temples again, clearly exasperated. "Damn it, kid. You've got the gift."
Amukelo blinked, confused. "The gift?"
"Yeah," Idin said, grinning despite his headache. "You're naturally resistant to alcohol. You can drink a lot and barely feel it. Meanwhile, I'm over here wanting to die from a few too many mugs." He chuckled dryly, shaking his head. "Lucky bastard."
Amukelo chuckled awkwardly. "I guess all that time in the wilderness toughened me up in ways I didn't expect."
Pao, who had been listening quietly, giggled softly. "You really are something, Amukelo."
Bao, still in her sour mood, huffed. "Or he's just too dumb to notice the headache."
Idin chuckled at that, and Amukelo offered a sheepish smile, not sure whether to feel proud or embarrassed.
After some time, the door to the inn creaked open, and Bral finally stumbled out, still rubbing his temple and wincing against the bright sunlight. His hair was a mess, and his clothes, though put on correctly, looked like they had been thrown on in haste. "Uhh... Gloram really made me drink too much," he groaned, his voice raspy from a dry throat. "Even for me, that was a lot." He looked around at the group, who stood waiting outside, most of them visibly less than thrilled.
Trying to summon his usual cheer, he plastered on a grin and raised his arms as if presenting himself to the crowd. "Good morning, everyone! We're making Amukelo our guild member today, aren't you all excited?"
The responses were... underwhelming. Bao didn't even glance at him, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she stared down the street, clearly still in a bad mood. Pao offered a polite but subdued nod, her warm demeanor slightly dampened by the lingering awkwardness. Idin crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against a post, his expression flat but his eyes narrowed at Bral. Only Amukelo gave an enthusiastic response, his face bright with excitement. "Morning! I can't wait to join your guys' guild!" he said earnestly, though even he could feel the tension in the air.
Bao had already begun walking away toward the main street, her steps brisk and sharp. Bral watched her go, frowning in confusion before jogging a few steps to catch up with the others. "Hey, hey, what's going on with this mood?" he asked, gesturing around him. "It's a big day, isn't it? We're adding a new member! That's supposed to be exciting!" His words fell into an awkward silence, no one immediately responding.
He slowed his steps, sidling up to Idin. "Hey, Idin, what's going on? Why's everyone acting like I kicked their dog?"
Idin didn't even bother to look at him. "Next time, control yourself when it comes to drinking, Bral," he said flatly. "We want to get started on quests as soon as possible, but now almost everyone—well, maybe except Amukelo by some miracle—has a hangover. And how do we grow our guild's rank if we're just wasting days lying around nursing headaches?"
Bral winced at Idin's words, rubbing the back of his head as if to ease both his headache and the sting of the scolding. "Yeah... I know," he admitted. "I messed up yesterday. Got too inspired by Amukelo's story, and I definitely overdid it." He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry for that, guys. I didn't mean to drag everyone down."
For a brief moment, there was silence. It wasn't the kind of heavy silence that comes before an explosion, but it wasn't entirely forgiving either. Pao glanced over at him and offered a soft smile, clearly willing to let it go. Amukelo, in his usual awkward yet sincere way, gave Bral a thumbs-up, still too new to the group to understand the depth of their tensions.
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But Bao? She just kept walking ahead without slowing her pace. Her shoulders were stiff, and it was clear Bral's apology hadn't softened her mood in the slightest.
Trying to keep the mood from sinking deeper, Bral let out a forced laugh. "But why do we have to be like that?" he asked, throwing his arms up. "It was a mess-up, yeah, but let's not ruin today just because of yesterday's mistakes. It's a new day! We've got stuff to do!"
Idin sighed heavily, shaking his head. "You should've just stopped at 'I'm sorry,'" he muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Bral to hear. "But whatever. At least you know you messed up. Let's just make sure it doesn't happen next time."
Bral shrugged, accepting the semi-forgiveness. He looked around, realizing they'd been wandering down the street for a bit without any real direction. "By the way," he asked, scratching his head, "does anyone know where the Adventurer's Association is in this town? Or are we just walking aimlessly?"
Bao, who had been leading the group without saying a word, suddenly stopped and spun on her heel. She gestured dramatically at the large stone building directly in front of them—its grand wooden doors wide open, a carved sign above that read Adventurer's Association of Llyn.
"It's literally in front of you," she snapped, her eyes narrowing. "Are you really that stupid to not see it?"
Bral was taken aback by her sharpness, blinking as if slapped. He opened his mouth to respond but found no words. He knew she was in a bad mood, but this was harsher than he expected.
Idin, however, chuckled under his breath and clapped Bral on the shoulder. "Yeah, that was kind of stupid. You earned that one."
Amukelo, still trying to figure out the group's dynamics, chuckled awkwardly, unsure whether he should be laughing. He could feel the tension but also sensed that, somehow, this was normal for them. Bao, despite her irritation, was part of this odd family dynamic.