Sharon/Stories
Alk and Light arrive at a Guild outpost to pick up an employee named Sharon and bring her to Palpebra, where she's being transferred. Before they leave, she takes them on a monster-hunting mission and proves paperwork isn't all she's capable of. In Palpebra, the group finds out that Pur Lilie hasn't been able to secure housing for Sharon yet, so Alk invites her to live at Starview.
Alk: We're finally here!
Light: Of all the Guild's outposts, I hear this one is the most secluded. It's a several day ride from Palpebra.
Alk: Which building do you think's the outpost?
Light: The largest. The rest look to be homes or small shops.
Guild Staff: Phew! All packed up here!
Guild Staff: Boss, I put together a manual that should help you keep things running when I'm gone. I'll leave it on this table.
Outpost Manager: Sharon... Hardworking to the very end…
Sharon: I wouldn't have to be if you'd get off your butt once in a blue moon.
Alk: Hello?
Sharon: My! Are you a new adventurer?
Sharon: Welcome to the Guild. We've got a few low-level quests lined up today, including trash pickup, roof repair—
Alk: No, um, we're here from the Guild of Palpebra. We were hired as security detail?
Outpost Manager: Harumph. HQ's lackeys, huh? Sure got here fast.
Sharon: Please, mind your manners...
Sharon: Now, let's start over. My name is Sharon. I'm the one you'll be escorting to Palpebra.
Sharon: I'm sorry about my boss. He's... upset about my transfer.
Sharon: But what are you gonna do? HQ is just booming with business, and this place is... You get the picture.
Alk: Yeah. Whatever the opposite of "booming with business" is.
Light: Then why build an outpost here?
Sharon: We're the town closest to the neighboring country. They're right on the other side of Sablewood.
Sharon: Important quests DO come through here, but not often enough to justify two employees.
Outpost Manager: Give me a break. Only reason we were able to stay afloat is 'cause you did the work of three people.
Sharon: Boss, that wasn't Guild work. Most of the time, I was out maintaining town facilities or settling disputes.
Alk: Wow. Talk about multi-talented...
Sharon: Speaking of, I've got a few things left I want to take care of. Mind waiting a bit before we set out?
Alk: Nope. We got time!
Light: It's your last day. You should tie up all loose ends. Is there anything with which we could help?
Sharon: Let's see... I've got some welfare paperwork to process, and then... You boys could help me clean out the forest!
Alk: Clean out the forest?
Alk: Nooot what I was expecting.
Sharon: Return to the void!
Alk: I was thinking more, picking up trash...
Alk: ...Why are we here, again?
Sharon: Well, I'll be going now!
Outpost Manager: Sharon. If they overwork you over there, come running right back, you hear?
Sharon: Loud and clear, sir!
Sharon: Goodbye!
Pur Lilie: Welcome to Palpebra, Sharon! I've been waiting for you!
Sharon: Sharon Elt, reporting for service.
Sharon: So, what do you have waiting for me, Manager?
Alk: Manager?! Wait. Lilie, you're a manager?
Pur Lilie: Yep. Manager of the Palpebra Guild Headquarters: Adventurer Safety, Advertising, and General Quality of Life Division, to be exact.
Sharon: If you're wondering why it's got such a long name, it's because the division was made for Lilie. Some nepotism may or may not have been involved.
Pur Lilie: You can't just say that!
Sharon: Sorry. Give me my new address, and I'll stop spilling all your deepest, darkest secrets.
Pur Lilie: Yeah... About that... You know Palpebra... Big population, stupid high rent... You maaay have to live with me for the time being.
Sharon: I gave you months to look for a place!
Alk: Wait. You don't have a place to stay?!
Alk: What if I told you I've got a room that's clean, safe, AND comes with free meals?
Alk: Help out with work, and you won't even need to pay rent!
Pur Lilie: Hey! No headhunting at the Guild!
Sharon: Alk, you are a lifesaver! And the Guild doesn't have rules against taking side jobs.
Sharon: Consider it a done deal!
Stella catches Sharon burning the midnight oil, taking care of extra paperwork. Sharon explains that she was once a fledgling adventurer, but after failing to make it big, found her true calling working behind the scenes. After learning that Stella is not a fighter herself, Sharon takes her on as an office protege.
Sharon: *yawn*
Sharon: Morning...
Sharon: Night...
Alk: HELLO?!
Alk: Look, here's your breakfast! And coffee! DRINK THE COFFEE!
Sharon: C'mon, Mom... Five more minutes...
Alk: No! No more minutes! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE!
Sharon: Yes, that's right. All you need to do is fill out this form, and you'll be good to go.
Sharon: Next please! I understand you're looking for a refund? I've prepared the paperwork, so if you could…
Alk: How?
Stella: She's like a completely different person.
Sharon: Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild!
Sharon: What's first? A budget for setting up a new orphanage? Cap's probably going to want me to keep this under wraps.
Sharon: Oh. A program to help aging adventurers find new employment. Not a bad idea, Manager.
Stella: Sharon?
Stella: Is this why you're always sleepy?
Sharon: Haha... You caught me.
Stella: You're a hard worker.
Sharon: Well, technically, this isn't work. You could even call it a hobby.
Stella: Is fighting also a hobby?
Sharon: Heh. More like a skill set I picked up from my previous job. I used to be an adventurer.
Stella: I didn't know that.
Sharon: I always admired adventurers. Wanted to be one of them. So I came to Palpebra a long time ago and registered for the Guild.
Sharon: But, well, I wasn't really good at Kaleidoscope-trawling.
Sharon: So I left Palpebra, took up a job at my local guild, and realized I'd found my calling... I'm not cut out to be on the front lines, but I sure am a force behind the scenes.
Stella: You are.
Sharon: ...Stella, you ever want to fight on the front lines?
Stella: I think it highly improbable. I have difficulty coordinating my limbs.
Sharon: I... I see...
Sharon: Then how about I teach you this kind of backup work?
Stella: That would be—
Stella: Bad. Very bad. You wouldn't have time to sleep.
Sharon: For now. But once I've trained you to be my assistant, my life'll get a whole lot easier.
Sharon: It's all about priorities. Now, would you do me a favor and look over these?
Stella: Of course.
Stella: Alk will be so happy...
Sharon: *yawn*
Alk: Rise and shine! Breakfast's here, and it's happy to see you! Now drink your coffee!
Alk: You're gonna be late! Stella, help me—
Alk: Why... are YOU asleep?
Not long after Sharon attempts to discourage a headstrong young adventurer from wandering beyond the shallows, she learns two startling things: that the midways are shifting, and that the headstrong young man is heading right for them. After being rescued by Sharon and Alk, the young adventurer is initially discouraged, but eventually decides to explore the Kaleidoscope again, one step at a time.
Sharon: I'd advise you to reconsider. These quests are much more suited to your—
Callow Adventurer: No, they AREN'T!
Callow Adventurer: I'm, uh, sorry for yelling, but these quests aren't gonna cut it.
Callow Adventurer: I've been to the shallows. A million times. I come back with hardly anything. A few coins and experience barely worth mentioning.
Sharon: I understand what you're saying. But the deeper zones are dangerous. People who rush in too early don't return.
Sharon: It might not feel like the shallows are teaching you much, but your time there is acclimating you to the Kaleidoscope's shifts and monsters.
Sharon: I've drawn up some new courses, which might help trigger more growth. But in the end, there's no rushing—
Callow Adventurer: If you don't rush, you get left behind!
Alk: What happened?
Sharon: I messed up.
Light: He's a new adventurer then?
Sharon: Yeah, but he registered at the same time as a real prodigy. She's been clearing the Kaleidoscope at an astounding rate, and he feels like he's getting left behind.
Light: They stumble that run fast... But the hasty never pause to listen.
Sharon: I'd even drawn up a few new courses for him, to see if any would help him get past this bump. But he ran off before—
Pur Lilie: Sharon, we've got trouble!
Sharon: Manager? Why? What happened?
Pur Lilie: One of our veterans came in with a report. There's been indications that the midways are about to shift.
Pur Lilie: We need to put out an alert at once! And someone has to get into the Kaleidoscope and warn the adventurers, stat!
Sharon: Understood. I'll contact our runners and—
Alk: No need. I'll go the Kaleidoscope!
Pur Lilie: Sharon!
Pur Lilie: Someone saw your rookie heading to the midways.
Sharon: What is he thinking?!
Stella: You should go, Sharon.
Sharon: G-go? Like, to save him? But...
Pur Lilie: Sounds like a good idea. Folks'll be quicker to listen to official staff.
Pur Lilie: I really shouldn't be sending employees into the Kaleidoscope, but we're almost out of time!
Sharon: Alk!
Alk: Right behind you, Sharon!
Callow Adventurer: *sigh* Guess I really am a failure.
Sharon: HAAAH!
Sharon: You're not getting past me!
Adventurer: Heh... The Guild lady even came to save me... with a kid and a rabbit…
Light: Are you enjoying the view, Sharon?
Sharon: You know, being up here, feeling the wind, takes me back to when I first came to Palpebra. I was also young and rash and set on making something of myself.
Sharon: ...He said he was going to quit adventuring.
Light: Like you yourself did?
Sharon: I saw the old me in that boy. Normal kid, surrounded by extraordinary people.
Sharon: It's why we were so eager to prove ourselves.
Sharon: Pride. Hubris. The inability to accept that things don't always go our way.
Light: It takes a strong heart to come face- to-face with your limits, and yet strive to grow into something more.
Light: And even if, in the end, you find the wall too high to scale, you will still be wiser and stronger for the attempt.
Light: But of course, you already knew this.
Sharon: ...Thank you.
Sharon: I hope that kid learns the same lesson…
Sharon: It was my pleasure. Come back any time.
Sharon: Next in—
Callow Adventurer: I, uh, really did mean to give up on adventuring, but…
Callow Adventurer: I was eating lunch with my girlfriend, and I remembered.
Callow Adventurer: You said you drew up new courses for me, right? Mind telling me about them?
Sharon: ...!
Sharon: I'd be happy to.