Open for business: Aides du Meropide

[moderni]

WHO: Maxima and anyone at the Fortress who wants to show up
WHERE: The Fortress of Meropide common areas, Libra and Gemini networks
WHEN: Early January
WHAT: Official announcement of the formation of an adventurers' guild based in the Fortress
WARNINGS: None

[The video opens on Maxima standing in front of a bulletin board down in the Fortress. A banner with a Cerberus logo in blue and gold covers part of the board, with a short list of rules beside it, and plenty of free space left over for job postings.]

Hello, everyone. For those I haven't met, my name is Maxima, and today I'm pleased to announce that after a successful first test run, we are opening up the Aides du Meropide, an adventurers' guild based in the Fortress of Meropide. [He scrolls the camera view over the banner and job board for a moment before coming back into frame.] In order to help with the expenses of running the Fortress, we will be doing work around the city of Kaisou, handling tasks that are below the Black Order's threshold of attention.

Most of the payment we receive will go toward Fortress operation, but there will be compensation to guild members once we've established some cash flow, based on the number of jobs recently undertaken. If you know anyone who needs some work done, please reach out and spread the word. [He zooms the camera in this time on a flyer with a phone number, and then on a letterbox next to the bulletin board.] We have a voicemail line, and we'll be accepting submissions through these boxes in various places around the city.

Whether you're interested in helping or need help yourself, we look forward to hearing from you soon.

((ooc: guild signups are over here!))

Comments

UN: Shroud | Video

[whiteshroud]

[Shroud speaks in his modulated voice, that long time users of the app may recognize. He's hoping if people see Shroud as part of it, it will add some legitimacy to it.]

If you wish to commission me for work that requires a holy knight, you may do so through this group.

Gemini Video | UN: makeitaventi

[venti_late]

Nice to meet you, Maxima~! I'm Venti!

[And now Maxima can finally meet the face that Jun was stuck looking like for so long! How fortunate for him!]

I could always use some help, that's for sure. Between my regular work, concert work, and wedding planning, there are definitely some things I'd love to get some help with from a more magical standpoint!

How often can we submit requests? As much as I need help, I don't wanna stretch you guys thin or, like, accidentally try to monopolize the guild's time or something.

un: neoteric

[moderni]

[Oh. That's the guy that Jun was pretending to be for the museum heist. The one who Wriothesley referred to as the "God of Freedom".

Well, Maxima agreed to be the public face of the guild, gods or no gods. As far as the role of guildmaster is concerned, this is just a resident of the city and a potential client. Good thing he has years of practice at pretending everything is normal.]

Since we're newly established, I don't know what our workload will look like yet; but as guildmaster, I'll be determining which jobs are accepted as within the guild's capabilities, and assigning the tasks to our members. If we're over capacity or there are more urgent jobs to handle, we'll let you know what work we might have to delay accepting.

video; un: blade

[unreachableside]

Adventurers' guild, huh. [Blade looks thoughtful, pressing the non-inked end of a pen against his lip as he thinks.] That makes sense. Not everything needs the Black Order's... stiffer hand.

How about this: as a blacksmith, I'm always looking for crafting materials, and I don't have the time to go out hunting for them myself. I've spent a considerable amount of money importing rarities like meteorite when I'd rather pay people I know and trust to bring me local materials.

Is that something your group would be interested in? I can pay you in cash, or we can work something out with a collaboration. I don't want to step on Varian's toes, and he's a talented craftsman in his own right, but the Black Order sponsored my forge for a long time so I'm willing to continue the relationship.

un: neoteric

[moderni]

[Maxima nods decisively in affirmation.]

That's certainly one of the types of work we're hoping to take on. Since you're familiar with Varian who is a guild member already, we can consult with him when discussing compensation. We'd anticipated more cash payment, so I don't have the Fortress' needs in terms of materiel handy just at the moment, but it won't be difficult to bring in those ledgers as well and see where we could bypass the exchange of money in favor of direct provisions.

video: un:trienemybest

[droptheious]

[Blade, you're gonna fill his whole heart with pride!!! ]

Aww, thanks! I'm sure there's plenty we can collaborate on too, we've always worked really well together.

Video

[prunedworlds]

"Huh... An Adventurer's Guild sounds like something out of an anime or videogame or something."

Ritsuka please.

[moderni]

"You know, I think one of our guild members said something along those lines." Though he rarely entirely understands what Ghilley is going on about. "Are you interested in signing up to help?"

video | UN: Thorn

[poisontippedcure]

You're a natural-born leader, Maxima. That was well-said.

[The compliment is genuine. Rose isn't here to offer a job, she's here to support her friends.]

I've said this before, but you all are doing good. I'm glad that Wriothesley has people to help him out; he seems unlikely to seek help himself.

un: neoteric

[moderni]

Thank you, Rose. [He smiles at her, clearly pleased.] It's shaping up to be an interesting challenge.

In the end, no one person can or should be responsible for an operation this size alone. It's only right that we, as the residents, step up to help.

video; un: photocutie

[trailblazingspirit]

Ooh, ooh! [A pair of pink ram's horns and a head of pink hair pokes into the camera view, and it takes a second for March to get the camera on her.] Do you guys need a photographer? Someone who can take all the cool action shots? I can do that! And shield you, that too.

UN: Shroud | Voice

[whiteshroud]

[hmmm]

Actually, having a photographer on the crew wouldn't be a bad idea. There are folks out there that'll pay a good amount for photos proving supernatural stuff.

un: neoteric

[moderni]

Photography? [Maxima tilts his head, thinking.] I'm not sure we have much of a use for photographs of our work, and I'm not sure that's the sort of jobs we'll be recruiting for. Shields would certainly be a valuable asset, however. We have a form for new members to fill out, where you can tell us in detail about what sort of skills you have and what kind of jobs you'd like to do.

gemini text; un: Phaethon

[greatlydares]

I don't need help myself, but I do want to help you guys out a bit. I'm a hacker and my clients tend to ask for various problems to be solved, and while I can manage most of their requests just fine, a few do need outsourcing. I'm not the athletic type, let's put it that way.

If it's amenable with you guys, I can send any requests you might be interested in your way and smooth your way through your missions if necessary.

un: neoteric

[moderni]

[He has to do a quick search for 'hacker' first before he responds, to make sure he understands what she does.]

We do have a policy of avoiding any activity that's outright illegal, and we won't harm civilians. If you have work available that meets our criteria, we'll welcome being put in touch. And it could well be that we'd benefit from being able to consult with you on occasion, depending on the work others come to us with as well.

video; un: DOINK!!!

[tonberrykin]

AIDES DU MEROPIDE RULES! WOO!

[ his French is atrocious, but he has a party hat on and it has a fun bobble at the top as he goes full fratboy. ]

And as a reminder it's not just fighting and weird magic shit tasks that we're lookin' for. You need your dog walked? We got legs. You need your driveway shoveled? We got arms. You need your apartment moved? Jun's got arms and legs last I checked and I look at least once a week.

un: neoteric

[moderni]

[Maxima smiles at Ghilley, clearly indulging the chaos.]

Depending on the volume of requests, we will prioritize tasks that couldn't be handled by asking a neighbor; but if things are slow and people are willing to pay for more mundane services, we won't turn the work aside.

voice | un: chaosraccoon

[actnormal]

I can totally help with transportation if you guys need it, or just if you get a delivery request.

un: neoteric

[moderni]

Thank you, that would be very appreciated. I don't know how many of us can handle our own transportation, whether magically or otherwise.

[And a pack of assorted dogs running through the streets on the way to a job would definitely draw unwanted attention.]

video: un:trienemybest

[droptheious]

You already know I'm happy to help out here. I'm better with uh... engineering, but I'll give anything a good try! I'll probably need someone with me if we're fighting anything though- unless I ever manage to wrangle another decent sized automaton together. That's always possible!

un: neoteric

[moderni]

[Maxima's response is a little slow and reluctant, as if he's not sure he wants to commit to what he's saying. But if the knowledge can be used for good...]

The army I served in back home had mechanized infantry. I'm not an engineer myself, but...I might be able to offer some input, on what our designs looked like and how they operated. So long as they'll never see mass-production.

voice un: Jeager

[liberios]

My name's Eren Jeager. I'm a soldier from the Survey Corps.

If there's manual labor involved you can count me in.

I can cook, clean and hunt. It was part of my training.

voice | un: neoteric

[moderni]

We'd be glad to have you, Eren. Those sound like exactly the sort of skills we're looking for.

[That voice sounds young...]

Out of curiosity, how long did you serve? I was in the military myself, back home.

text; un: doordasher

[doublethumbsup]

pay for the fortress??

uhhhhhhhhhhhhh do
we gotta pay rent????

text; un: DOINK!!!

[tonberrykin]

nah nah nah Duke Juicy Couture would never ask us for rent, he wants these digs to stay free. This is a volunteer operation to help him with expenses 'cause, y'know, everything is free and he has a sugar daddy.

Or something like that, Jun sent a text in the gc. Are you in the gc do you need to be added to the gc. Who are you.

voice: un: The Duke

[loupmorque]

[ technology is an amazing thing. back in his own world's meropide, he'd have to be careful and subtle with information-gathering. listening into conversations, having conversations with inmates and guards alike--having applications like Gemini and Zodiac where everything is just. Public unless posted privately, recorded and stored... it really made things easier for the Duke to go back and read.

Fortunately for those who have made more colorful comments about him are noted, but the Duke is definitely a bit too polite(and perhaps embarrassed) to address them directly. Maybe consider yourself lucky?

But that doesn't mean he's not going to at least express his gratitude. ]

I honestly never expected anything like this. The Fortress has always been my responsibility back in my old world--as its Warden and as an inmate myself, the way Meropide ran was by the people who lived there. But back in my world, they were criminals. I thought it'd make more sense that everyone got to live here free of having to work for it.

But.

Now that I've been convinced that not only do you all want to help--but you've been so excited about this project to start supporting your home...

...

I'm touched in a way that's difficult for me to express.
Thank you, all of you.

I look forward to working with all of you with this into the future, so long as this world is the one I live in.

un: chaosraccoon

[actnormal]

(((o(*°▽°*)o))) ＼(￣▽￣)／ 。.:☆*:･'(*⌒―⌒*))) °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°