Saya/History/Guild Master
From Create Your Own Story
Some years ago you heard rumors of a devilish new guild master and decided to confront him since he apparently ruined a lot of people's lives. You stormed his office in full rage, demanding an explanation. He calmly answered your questions, unaffected by your rage which makes most people want to hide in a corner. After you talked with him for a while, you realized he wasn't quite as evil as they depicted him. Merely a little strict when it came to the rules, as in : he wouldn't break a rule if his life depended on it.
Still, you couldn't let things be as they are and tried asking him if he could be a little more merciful because his way of doing things made a lot of people suffer who could have recovered and paid their debts if they were given a little leeway. He didn't want to hear it and simply said : "I didn't get this far by being merciful, this is a harsh world. I never relied on the help of others and they shouldn't rely on me either". You left that day but didn't give up and started regularly going there along with his victims, often helping them with small loans or ideas. After a while, it became apparent that by far most of the people you helped came around and paid you back, very grateful for the help. You confronted the guild master with the results of your little humanitarian campaign, showing that you could help people out just a little and still make a profit. He sighed and ignored you. Saying you still know little of the harshness of the world. You replied that, maybe, he simply knew too much of it.
Some time later when you were just leaving his office after arguing with him for the hundredth time, a man stormed past you into his office, as he passed by you, you noticed the knife in his hand and the crazed look in his eye, so you rushed after him.
When you entered the guild master's office, you saw the man from before cornering the guild master and yelling at him "My sister begged you not to do that to her either - but you just ignored her, sold her house and kicked her out on the streets. You didn't care she didn't have anywhere to go did you? Not your problem that she got raped and killed is it? Just as long as you don't have to wait a few more days to get your money back right?" the man yelled in the guild master's face hysterically. You could see a shocked and pained expression written all over the guild master's eyes and saw him closing his eyes as the man charged at him with the knife.
You were confused by the guild master's reaction who wasn't making any move to defend himself, but wasted no time dashing forward to intervene. You couldn't get there in time to stop the knife thrust so you blocked the knife with your arm just before it hit the guild master, getting a large scar across your left forearm, which is still there to this day. The man was startled and backed off, his shocked eyes staring at the heavily bleeding wound on your left arm. the Guild master opened his eyes, confused for a moment, then he saw you and the wound on your arm, and got much the same look of horror the man who assaulted him was showing.
Before long, the guards came running into the room, but you told them to leave because you wanted to handle this matter personally. It took some convincing, but they backed down after seeing the look in your eyes and you ended up alone in the guild master's office with the two of them.
"so", you sighed, "care to give me the whole story?" the man who introduced himself as Karl, a sailor who recently returned to his hometown (he didn't mention the part where he served on a pirate ship back then, probably a wise choice), told you how his father had amassed quite a debt with gambling and drinking, then hung himself when they came to collect. The previous guild master offered their mother a loan to cover their debts, the question as to how she got him to give her a loan considering the circumstances is left unanswered - you decide not to pry. His mother worked hard to gather the money to pay off the debts so her children wouldn't be burdened by them, but her body couldn't keep up and she fell ill. The doctor refused to see her because they didn't have any money, as a result she died a few days later. If that doctor hadn't already passed away by the time you heard this story you'd have charged straight there and given him a piece of your mind. - considering the circumstances, his chances of surviving your 'piece of mind' unscathed would've been dreadfully low.
After she passed away, the debts passed on to her children, so Karl declared he'd return with the debts owed in 3 years' time and enlisted as a sailor on a ship sailing into 'dangerous' waters since its captain offered a high enough 'pay' (as in : loot) to cover the entire debt.
But when he proudly returned with the money, only 2 weeks after the appointed time because the wind had delayed his ship. He found that his sister had already been driven out of her home 2 weeks ago by the new guild master and was brutally murdered in a dark alley a few days later. He was devastated and since they couldn't find the one who killed her, decided to go after the guild master who didn't even wait a day to drive his sister out. Even tough a delay of a month or more isn't uncommon with ship travel.
You can see his eyes start watering and at the sight of a rough-looking sailor about to cry, you can't help but hug him and let him cry on your shoulder.
The guild master stands there quietly, looking a little lost. You ask him mockingly how he thinks his strategy of playing things strictly by the book without mercy is working out for him while giving him an angry glare. He flinches, which surprises you since he usually isn't affected by it at all. He bows his head in shame and you can see him clenching his fists and shaking on his legs.
"I- when did I?" he stammers, you frown and Karl gives him a foul glare. "So you don't even remember huh?" he starts to get up burning with anger, but the guild master collects himself, sighs and calmly interrupts him. "That's not it. Although its true I didn't pay much attention." he confesses while trying to sound calm, but his raspy voice betrays him "I was just wondering exactly when I became the heartless man I am today and ended up in this kind of situation." You both look at him as if he's lost it, but he continues "The reason I became involved in the financial world is because my parents were driven into suicide by a cruel loan shark after they dropped me off at the local church. I was still little at the time, but I remember clearly how i swore to myself I wouldn't let him get away with this. In the church they taught me maths, I picked up on it quickly and decided to return the favor to the man responsible for my parent's suicide by driving his back against the wall in the very same way. I succeeded in my plans, but crushed a lot of other people along the way. they held grudges and took advantage of every opportunity to harm me, so I decided to ward them off by becoming heartless, that way, They couldn't hurt me. Yet.. i never realized I'd become exactly like the man who drove my own parents into suicide when I was little - I only saw what I'd done when you yelled it in my face, looking at me the way I looked at him".
That said, he stands up and looks Karl in the eyes. Unafraid. "Kill me if it'll make you feel better, just don't go down the same road I did." he says with a sigh. Karl takes a step back looking at him wide-eyed as if he just got a cold shower. You were probably showing a similar expression. Several minutes pass in silence.
"Bah, this isn't worth it, life's a bitch." Karl grunts "Just wait till I get my hands on the piece of scum that dared touch my sister." Karl stomps off without looking back, fuming with anger that is no longer directed at the guild master. You doubt he really understood much of the guild master's story, but he clearly decided killing a pathetic bean-counter who lost his way and is drowning in guilt wasn't worth his time. Not that you understood that much more of the story.
"I can't say i know how you feel - but if you want to atone, helping people a little from now on and not making anymore mistakes in the future, is a far better atonement than death. I bet living with the guilt will be plenty of a punishment" You tell him before you walk out to tell the guards who are restraining a half-frenzied Karl to let him go.
After that, you ended up helping him catch the culprit of his sisters' murder. Being well known around town you can easily get people to tell you everything they know and suspect. Soon, you find there's an outsider living in an abandoned house who was seen hitting on her several times before the incident. People all avoid him saying he's 'creepy' and some say they see groups of suspicious people coming and going from there. You also find that several girls have gone missing in the neighborhood recently. Putting everything you've heard together, you decide this abandoned house is definitely worth paying a visit.
Karl tries to charge right in ready to kill, but you stop him saying you don't have any proof yet and you want to investigate his other 'activities' first. He eventually backs down, if only because he knows he can't fight you.
You stake out at the abandoned house and soon see the man they were talking about enter, carrying a large mattress over his shoulder.. a mattress big enough you could hide a full-grown woman in it.. You're instantly suspicious and stalk him to a room in the basement. As soon as he opens it and you see whats inside, Karl lets out a howl of rage. You have no intention of stopping him this time tough, having half a mind to tear the man apart with your own hands. Inside of the room are three girls chained to the wall and the man just opened the mattress revealing an unconscious girl rolled up inside.
You slowly walk over to Karl who is beating the life out of the man. After a while you stop him and check the man's pulse, he's beaten beyond recognition but still alive... somehow. Karl asks you why you stopped him, eyes full of hatred, you return his glare with an even more vicious one and say icily "I have no intention of letting this scum die so easily". Karl gulps, sobered up at once by the bone-chilling look in your eye, and nods. He seems to have just decided there's no worse fate for this guy than to be at your mercy, with good reason.
You return the girls to their families and they tell you Karl's sister was also kidnapped like they were, but she refused to give in and he killed her to set an example. There were other girls before them too, but after he was done with them, the man sold the girls to a bunch of foreigners, which must be the suspicious people the villagers saw. You 'extracted' the identities of his contacts from your prisoner and proceeded to roll up a large system of slavers who were kidnapping people in your country. You end up recruiting Karl into the army and he prosecutes any leftover slavers with frightening determination.
At this point in time, the guild master has mostly recovered from the lifelessness he had after the event and is now using his influence to help people in need out. Although he is still quite strict with those who waste their chances - which you have to agree with, is their own fault.
Karl hunted slavers for a while around the country, but as he couldn't find any more, he took to the seas again. You provided him with a ship and the money to gather a capable crew because you got the feeling, from the look in his eyes and the looks of the crew he gathered (several of them family or friends of the missing girls), that any slaver ships he runs into are gonna have a problem. Which is a cause you are more than willing to support.
| Status | ||
| Health | 100 | Equipment:
Black Dress |
| Stamina | 100 | |
| Mood | Reminiscing | Inventory:
Mother's Katana, Full Black Leather Armor |
| Purse | ??, ??, ?? | |
