When World Eaters Fall

"Marc…." the echoes of a familiar gruff voice distantly tickled Marcie's thoughts. "Marcie…" the voice became louder and more clear, enough to snap the poor woman from her deepest thoughts. Richard handed her a sub sandwich wrapped in a thin waxed paper. The printing of the business's branding all over it.

How long has it been since they left the hospital? Twenty minutes? An hour? From the moment she got her answers to that moment now, Marcie had zero recollection of the events. "Thanks…" Taking a bite helped her recall. Right, I was just discharged, they're taking me out for lunch and bringing me home…" Home. That apartment felt like a foreign place to her. It had been too many weeks since she was last at home, that place that was both comforting and felt empty at the same time.

Marcie's gaze drifted to the streets where the chanting of protesters were coming from. Somehow through the rhythmic calls, her sandwich, which in its first half tastes so heavenly, suddenly lost some of its flavor. As gruntled as she felt, however, she tried her best to distract herself with the two gentlemen who sat with her.

"Look, I'm not saying it's the best decision a small guild like ours could make but our choices are quickly dwindling. You know that there has been speculation that the dungeon auctions are being rigged…" Antonio barely got a properly pronounced word out as he gorged himself on his extra large sub sandwich. Using his healing skills must have not just made him tired, but also hungry. That makes sense.

Richard passed him some extra napkins to which his comrade accepted gratefully. "No, it's a REALLY terrible idea Antonio. We still have some sway with our guilds record. We're small, but not completely vulnerable." Richard sounded quite confident, almost like he had some ace up his sleeve no one knew about, either that, or he was just blowing hot air.

"Uhm… s-sorry, what are you guys talking about?" Marcie inquired, finally alert enough to be present in the conversation. Richard and Angelo stopped mid-conversation as their eyes lit up. They knew since the tests that Marcie was really out of it, especially once she learned of the cause of her ailment. They were just giving her time to process while they treated her to a much-needed and deserved meal.

"Welcome back mija." Angelo passed her an untouched beverage that had been sitting on the table waiting for her. She finished her bite before sipping on it. "We were just talking about the last few dungeon auctions. There's been something fishy happening about them."

Marcie looked even more puzzled. Richard interjected "It's not common knowledge among the general public, though it's also technically public knowledge, but every year, there is an auction held for the established guilds for each region where we can bid for exclusive rights to stabilized dungeons. It's how we farm for specialty materials that we use to improve our ability to do our jobs as well as improve the lives of everyday people."

Angelo scoffed. "That's what's SUPPOSED to happen, but for the past 2 years, all the high-demand dungeons have been going to only three guilds, which has led them to growing into some extremely powerful organizations." He only paused his rant to take a sip of his drink. "It is leaving only scraps behind for us smaller guilds. Even if we scrape enough money to win a bid on a good dungeon, there's some legal issue that occurs and all of a sudden it's going to one of those three instead."

"It's a part of why our guild has started doing rescue missions in the instant dungeons." Richard continued for Angelo so he could keep eating. "We get the first recordings on a portal pathway, on the off-chance that a more stable portal opens up to those locations, our guild gets a pioneer grant and permit. It gives us first dibs on a new dungeon for a period of 6 months until it goes to auction."

Marcie pondered for a bit. "So then to have exclusive rights to a dungeon is longer than 6 months? And being the pioneers means you are taking the biggest risks are you not?" Marcie seemed more concerned for her new friends' wellbeing now.

Angelo shrugged. "Big risks could have big rewards. Besides, it would not be an issue if we could win some of those bids."

"Are all stable dungeons auctioned?" Now Marcie was getting invested in this conversation. Learning something new about her own society was an interesting concept. Richard shook his head.

"Most of them are auctioned, and the contract for them are set to either 3 or 5 years, then the dungeon goes back to auction, but if the dungeon is on someone's private land, the landowner has the power to give permanent exclusive rights to whichever guild they want, usually for a percentage of the profits."

"I see…" Marcie pondered a bit on what she just learned. "When will I be starting work at the guild?" One could tell the wheels in her head are already turning.