Archivuald woke slowly, blinking as he stared at the ceiling. He groaned, his blurry vision taking a few seconds to clear. Head swimming, he glanced down at his rumpled cotton shirt and tattered cotton pants.
It took him a few seconds to realize he was still on the couch he passed out on. Had he been here for the whole procedure? He tried to sit up, and immediately fell back down his head hitting on the armrest of the couch.
"Take it easy. The side effects from the Aralia venom will take a while to fully wear off," said a familiar female voice.
He blanched as a wave of pain hit him. His face throbbed something fierce, and his mind felt heavy as if he had drunk ten pints the night before.
Turning his head, his vision swimming as he did so.. He blinked rapidly to try to clear the fog.
It was the same ridiculously beautiful woman who spoke to him before, sitting across the table.
There were a few differences from before, namely the mirror on the table next to her.
She smiled at him, a stunning smile that made his stomach do flip flops.
With each passing second, the haze was quickly clearing. Wiggling his toes, he gently let his legs off the couch as he carefully sat up.
He swayed unsteadily but didn't fall over this time.
"Ughhhh. I feel like shit," he grumbled, his voice sounding odd to his ears..
"That is to be expected. We did extensive shaping of your facial structure. Even if you were unconscious, your body still remembers the trauma," she said.
"It's getting better quickly. I already am feeling much better," Archivauld said.
"That's great! I thought you would be out for longer. Your body has a much higher recovery factor than expected, it caused us quite the headache," she said.
"Was it really so abnormal?" Archivauld asked.
"You almost woke up several times during the procedure. We had re dose you with venom twice to keep you out," she said a mild rebuke in her tone.
Archivauld grimaced.
"I was unaware," Archivauld replied. He wasn't exactly lying. But not telling the truth either. He was aware his other form has amazing recovery. Did some of that transfer over to his human form? It must have, what other benefits did it provide without him knowing?
The flesh shaper cleared her throat softly, noting his distracted look.
""Would you like to see your new appearance?" she asked, giving him a gentle smile.
His racing mind came to a screeching halt. Oh, right, he had a new face now! His heart beat with excitement as he nodded.
"I'm ready," he said, his voice slurred a bit.
She turned the mirror, and Archivuald blinked at a stranger staring back at him. He knew he would look different, but knowing, and seeing were two different things. It was creepy as all hell staring at yourself, and seeing a stranger in the mirror.
He still had a sharp jaw, but it was more pronounced than before, with his nose being a little longer, and slightly hooked. The skin around his eyes was also tightened in some places, and smoothed out in others.
His face had been clean shaven, and his hair trimmed short, revealing ears that were slightly different than he was used to seeing. Alot of small changes that when combined made him unable to recognize himself at all.
The only thing he supposed looked the same was his teeth and his steely grey eyes. They had even dyed his hair a dirty blond. All in all, he looked like a completely different man.
As promised, he didn't have the perfectly sculpted beauty of the woman across the table, but he didn't look too bad. In fact, he thought he looked better than before.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"It is better than I expected, im not drop dead beautiful like yourself but i guess some might find me handsome," Archivauld said turning his head one way, then the next examining himself from different angles. He smiled, and the man in the mirror, the new him, smiled back. It was incredibly weird, but he supposed he would get used to his new face eventually.
She giggled softly. "You are quite the charmer. It's good to hear that you approve," She pulled something from her lap, a thick envelope, that she placed on the table. Her teasing expression turned serious, all business.
"Here are all of your documents, as specified by your employer. From now on, you are Alexander Sharp or just Alex if you prefer. You are from a small town three hours north of here. You left the town of Sticks when you reached eighteen to become a rift walker, going against your parents' wishes. Since then, you have not, nor will you ever contact Margo and Helinka sharp. They know of your existence, and are being paid well to keep their mouths shut, as per the deal," she said.
Archivauld nodded, his mind a whir as he listened intently.
"You really went all the way didn't you?" Archviuald asked.
"Of course we did. Why do you think it's so expensive? We take our business extremely seriously. It is why our services are so highly prized. Do you have any other questions?" she asked.
"Ya, where is my ax?" Archviauld asked.
She gave him a tight smile.
"That ax could be tied to your previous self. The same goes for what you are currently wearing. We took your measurements while you were out, and a new set of clothing has already been made," she said.
"I see…. Do you have another weapon to replace the one I lost?" Archivauld asked.
"Sadly, that is not in our purview. You will have to discuss that with your employer. We will, however, cover the cost of getting rid of the weapon to hide your tracks," she said.
He hated to see the bearded ax go, but it was probably for the best. That ax had been stolen from some rich merchant by Yurlan before he met them. It was a shame. It would be quite expensive and difficult to get one of that quality again.
Feeling better by the second, Archivauld reached forwards and took the envelope. She sat patiently as he rifled through the neatly arranged documents.
It was all there. His formal documents, with an official-looking stamp, right next to an image of his new face. It had his age, hair color, and eye color right beneath his image.
There was even a red stamp for a drunk and disorderly charge on his papers. There were also a couple other stamps, stamps that the guards at the gate would give to enter the city.
It was extensive, more than he could have hoped for. It still didn't change the fact he couldn't hide his tattoos, but with this kind of paperwork the inquisition would be unable to strip search him without just cause. That alone was worth the ten gold he would be forced to pay back. Archivauld's heart raced with excitement as his future suddenly brightened.
A clean slate and a new chance at life. He couldn't help but grin. He hadn't quite believed it before, but with the documents in his hands, he could no longer deny it.
From now on, he was going to take his future into his own hands. Or at least he would after he changed and put back on that smelly bag.
In all the excitement, he had almost forgotten about that.
With everything covered, the woman left. Not long after, Turner returned, and the bag went back on. This time, instead of returning to the warehouse, the mask was taken off inside his new accommodations.
Turner pulled off the sac, revealing a small, unadorned room, probably in some random basement.
Archivauld blinked, immediately greeted by not only Turner, but Pelas as well. His new boss nodded in approval.
" The clothes and shave are a good touch. You don't look half bad Alexander," Pelas said.
Archivauld grimaced, happy to be free from the smelly sac.
"Please, just call me Alex," Archivuald said.
"Very well Alex. How much time do you need to acclimatize to your new appearance?" She asked.
"That depends on the task," Archivuald replied.
She smiled. "It's our first task as an official rift walker guild. We bidded on a nearby copper tier rift, and won. We have to prove we can clear it before being able to bid on knight tier rifts," Pelas replied.
Archivuald couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face.
"I see you have been quite busy. We are an official rift walker guild now, you don't mess around do you?" Archivauld asked.
"I take my goals very seriously. This has been in the making for quite some time. With a Holder joining our ranks, I decided it was time to step from the shadows. It's time for the Black Heart guild to start our rise to fame," Pelas said, her voice filled with passion, and excitement..
A bit of a dark name for their shady organization. They probably should have gone with something less attention grabbing.
"So, how many members do we have?" Archivuald asked, deciding to keep his thoughts of the name to himself..
"Well," Pellas shifted hesitantly."We have Me, yourself, and Turner though the both of us are in logistics. Aside from that, we have six copper tier users," Pelas said.
Archivuald raised an eyebrow. "So, our only other two members with knight tier emblems won't be participating in the fighting personally. How many of those copper have experience fighting monsters?" Archivuald asked.
Pelas gave him a distressing look.
"That part is complicated. Most of them are former pickpockets and thugs. None have actaully entered a rift before. I procured their emblems through other methods," Pelas said.
Archivuald felt a headache coming on.
What had he gotten himself into?
Well shit, he might have to do this by himself. Tackling a rift alone would be dangerous but not as much as trying to babysit a group of completely inexperienced thugs.
"I will clear the copper rift by myself. You can send the other too, but I will search for the nexus alone. My emblems are prone to cause casualties amongst everyone around," Archivauld said.
Pelas hesitated for a few seconds.
"I suppose we can try that out. But, you need to be careful. The rift might only be a copper tier, but I can't have my investment dying on his first rift. It would be humiliating for our guild to fail to clear the copper rift. We will be laughed out of any future negotiations. No one will want to sign up either," Pelas said.
Archivauld nodded.
"I get it, this first rift is important. Not only for monetary value, but also for our future prospects," Archivauld said, deciding to ignore her referring to him as an investment.
"It's more important than you know. A Lot of people in very high places want me to fail. But, if you succeed, I guarantee you that you will become famous. You will be the rising star of the inner expanse, Alexander of the Black Heart guild," Pelas said, her eyes gleaming with determination, as if trying to convince herself.
Archivuald liked to think of himself as a realist, but even he was swept up in her passionate speech. The dream was something he could get behind. Not because he wanted to be famous, but because it was a step in the right direction.
"Sounds like a good plan, boss. I'll need a new ax, and some supplies. Also, i would like everything you know of this rift. I wish to start preparing right away," Archivauld said.
Pelas grinned.
"That's what I like to hear. Turner is our logistics manager, while I deal with politics, procuring deals, and signing contracts. If you need anything, add it to a list, and Turner will acquire it for you," Pelas said.
Archivuald couldn't help the flood of excitement that filled him. He wasn't sure it would go the way they were hoping, but he didn't really care. He was going rift hunting, and that meant there would be monsters from which he could acquire more essence and even emblems. The thought was exhilarating.