After what Ambrose would consider a terrible day of classes, she found herself wandering into the streets of the castle town of Diestol. Diestol histories had been mind numbing and centered around the ‘greatness’ of the humanoid races. Combat class had been something of a horrible joke, where everyone involved was either too timid to strike with practice swords, or a violent asshat who wanted to beat up the nearest person without consequences. Dungeoneering had been a class full of people who had neither hunted, nor foraged in their life being told how dangerous and scary places with trees could be. And creative skill usage had been a flop because most of Ambrose’s forms didn’t have skills, but instead made use of natural abilities.

  The sun was fairly low in the sky, but hadn't begun dipping into the horizon just yet, telling her that she had time for at least a little exploration. Rather than waste that opportunity, she set to the road, her hooves clacking against the even stone pavement as she moved past the stores nearest the Academy. She had a few destinations in mind, the most important of which was the Adventurers guild, followed by the sales commission office, which she had seen near the guard captain’s office when she and Henric had arrived.

  The looks she received as she moved through the streets were interesting to her if only for the fact that she could partially understand the confusion. As far as she knew, nothing like a Hollam had been seen around the kingdom. So a four horned lambda was very likely something these people had never encountered. On top of that, Demi-humans didn’t attend the Academy, so her being in her school uniform as she wandered through the city was likely even more off-putting to them. But she didn’t really care. She wasn’t here to entertain the masses, just to get her business done.

  The Adventurer’s Guild Hall was about a quarter hour walk from the academy at a lazy pace, Ambrose was fairly certain she cut that time in half, as she caught sight of the building. The guild hall was a towering feature in its own right, stone walls held up with enchanted wood beams that gave the building the look of a grand inn. Tall windows lined each of its three floors giving peeks at the business within. Adventurers of all types were already moving about on the ground floor, gathering information, food, and speaking to one another. Even from the outside, it seemed like a rowdy place.

  Ambrose didn’t have a problem with rowdy, even if she didn’t love human company. Moving to the steps that led to the porch of the building, she found herself blocked by a tall man who seemed to be looking over her head. She guessed he was checking her name and rank to see if she’d be permitted in.

  “That accurate?” he asked, giving her a more nervous glance once he was done reading.

  “What accurate?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and eying him. The gesture seemed to make him very uncomfortable.

  “That ranking?” he clarified.

  “Oh. Yes. M. I’m here to register. Not for a fight, if you’re worried,” she said.

  He nodded, stepping to the side and opening the door out for her. The gesture made her smirk. There was something a little gratifying about his recognition, and she took his gesture to enter as the invitation it was, stepping onto the tiled floor with a clack.

  The interior of the guild was pristine, even with all the people moving to and fro through it. Tables were lined to the left of the entrance for teams to meet, eat, and deliberate. On the far wall next to the seating area was a line of boards with open quest postings. Directly to the back from the entryway was a group of five stations, each with a guild representative standing behind the counter to serve the public and the adventurers who were a part of the guild. A short line, guided by cloth dividers was in place to see the men and women behind that counter.

  Not one to cut in line, Ambrose stepped over to the back of the line to wait while she looked over at the right side of the establishment. That area was filled with accolades and trophies, and led to a door with a plate that read ‘ACQUISITIONS’ on it in bold letters. Ambrose supposed that that would be the place where successful adventurers would go to turn in their loot from quests and receive rewards.

  Before she could explore a bit more with her eyes, the line started to move, so Ambrose stepped with the other people who were waiting. Ahead of her was a tall elvish man with a sturdier musculature than she was used to seeing among his people. He was broad shouldered and moved with a simple confidence, but less grace than the elves were known for. Ahead of him was a sorceress with a tantalizing figure that she had girded in a dress meant to garner attention. She walked with a tall staff made of spiraling white and black wood that hooped into a hook at the top around a large, glowing ruby.

  Someone stepped up behind her, and Ambrose, who was having fun seeing all of the other adventurers, found herself looking at a rather basic human warrior, a human woman who seemed fit for brawling, and a halfling whom Ambrose would have assumed was their caster. The warrior was a little taller than her, maybe a bit over half a head, with clean blond hair and some strong brown eyes. The girl had long dark hair and brown eyes as well, though her lips quirked up at the corners, giving her a mildly impish affectation. The halfling was runty and had a somewhat childish face, as most halfling men did if they shaved often. His hair was a fiery kind of red and made him look cute in the lighting. The entire group was in line, rather than just one of them, so Ambrose assumed they were there to perhaps officially register their group with the guild.

  Ambrose had heard registering the whole group had some benefits and could also lead into expanding into a guild. She turned away from them to mind her own business and was about to wish them luck, when one of them had to speak and ruin everything.

  “Look at the tits on this one,” one of the men growled, “Not often you catch a whore with horns in the guild.”

  Ambrose winced as yet again, someone labeled her a whore while transformed. Honestly, what were these people doing to the Demi-humans who lived in the area for the assumption to be this prolific? She was wearing an Academy uniform, not body exposing silks, and nothing had changed, so it wasn’t what she was wearing… At least, she hoped it wasn’t, otherwise she wasn’t sure what that said about the reputation of the Academy girls.

  “So big I didn’t catch her face,” a voice that Ambrose presumed was the smaller one replied. “And an ass to match. Could do without all the fluff in the back though.”

  "Maybe she’s here to register as a guild concubine,” the woman joined in with a cruel laugh. “They can rent her a room and let the real adventurers relieve themselves. Not that she has the stamina to handle anyone over level five.”

  Ambrose grit her teeth, choosing not to justify any of that with a reply. Even when she felt someone tug at the fluffy furs on her tail.

  “Soft. Maybe she’s for shearing,” the little one prodded, seemingly trying to goad her.

  “Shearing and child rearing,” the blond chuckled, joining in on tugging at her tail, trying to raise it.

  Ambrose knew she was likely in her rights to turn around and start a fuss with even this much harassment, but her current form was likely to cause a stink and might not allow her to register with the guild if it looked like she was starting trouble. Rather than say anything, she moved with the line, remaining silent.

  “The horns might make good handlebars,” the first pig said, chuckling. Ambrose heard him elbow the girl, who slugged him and made him grunt.

  “Always thinking about getting your dick sucked. What if it has razor teeth, hmm?! What then?” the girl asked, “probably has diseases.”

  Ambrose nearly turned at that insinuation, but forced herself to take a deep breath, which caused her chest to bob with the motion.

  “If she has razor teeth I’ll put it between the tits,” the man said, persisting with his disgusting behavior even as the line continued to move. They were in the middle by that point, with people behind their group who could obviously see what they were doing. Even the sorceress who had rounded one of the dividers and was now faced in the opposite direction from Ambrose scowled at them, but she made no attempt to help Ambrose, averting her eyes once she saw the Beastiary’s horns.

  This was the look. That same look that Mizz Shatterhorn had gotten whenever they had gone into town at Grimwater. Whenever some man had goosed her, or tried to bully her out of her money. It was the look of someone who didn’t think she was worth fighting for. Someone who would let another person be abused because it wasn’t worth causing trouble for themselves. It was the look of a coward. And Ambrose hated it.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “It doesn’t have the decency to put away those udders in public. I thought bindings were obligatory for leaky sluts in town,” the martial artist goaded. “Maybe she got out of it fucking the guards, loose tart.”

  “She’s got enough rear end to satisfy some guards for a long time,” the short one goaded again,” making loud grunting noises that Ambrose was certain were accompanied by rude gestures.

  “That she does!” the warrior guffawed. There was a loud whap as a hand slammed into one of Ambrose’s ass cheeks causing a light wobble but nothing more. Part of Ambrose’s patience shattered as the warrior put hands on her. “She’s sturdy enough, aren’t you girl?” the filthy pervert asked.

  Ambrose turned and faced the boy, part of her wanting to lower her horns and charge. “You should keep your hands to yourself if you want to keep them at all,” she hissed, her eyes narrowing as she focused in on the boy.

  “Oh? And what if I don’t, cow slut? Gonna splash me in milk?” he mocked.

  There was a collection of noises from the line, some groans and some chuckles.

  “Please keep all personal altercations outside of the guild and do not touch one another in the line,” came a reprimand from one of the service women at the counter.

  Ambrose huffed, and started to turn away, only for the man to speak up again.

  “No, no. This beast seems to have a problem with me. I think I’m within my rights to put my hand on simple animals. If someone brings their pet to work, everyone should get to pet it,” he said aloud.

  “She’s showing around her chest like a whore, he can treat her like one,” the fighter added in, backing up her teammate.

  The elf in front of Ambrose turned, looking back past her at the skeezy man. “Drop it. You are making a scene,” he said, frowning at the blond and the dark-haired girl.

  “Shut it, plant kisser. Unless this cow is your pet, in which case, put the thing on a leash,” the man spat.

  The elf frowned, glancing at Ambrose before frowning deeper and looking over her head. A moment later he smirked and turned away. “Your funeral,” he chuckled.

  “I asked you a question, stray,” the Blond asked, turning his attention back to Ambrose. “What are you gonna do if I don’t keep my hands to myself? You don’t have a class. You don’t have the strength to stop me. You’re nothing. And that’s why you’re gonna do nothing,” he said, raising a hand and blatantly reaching for Ambrose’s breast. Everyone saw it. From the people behind him, to the people ahead in the line, to the woman at the counter who was starting to shout something in protest.

  It no longer mattered if she hurt him. He had started this and escalated it, plain for everyone to see. She cocked back her fist and threw a punch. It wasn’t with all of her force and certainly not with her weight behind it, and the moment her fist made contact, she was very glad she hadn’t gone all out. The crunch of bone shattering was followed by silence as the man cleared the divider and hit the floor, skidding all the way over to the wall in a senseless heap.

  The martial artist didn’t check to see what happened to her friend, lifting a leg and launching a kick at Ambrose’s side. She blocked with her shield arm bashing the back of her fist against the woman’s shin and knocking the blow and leg aside hard enough to make the girl wince and gasp. The short one must have taken the opportunity to cast a spell, because a moment later, Ambrose felt a light electric tingle, her hairs frizzing and starting to stand at odd ends.

  Unable to see the halfling past her own bust, she made an educated guess and punted the small man, sending him under the divider and skipping back across the tile into the door with a thud. A second later, the bouncer at the door opened the door to see who had knocked.

  The reaction to the scene was fairly immediate after that. People moved to restrain the fighter, who was looking around in abject shock, and several people moved between her and Ambrose to prevent further fighting, not that there was likely to be any. Ambrose was looking at her hand with bemused fascination at the damage she had caused.

  Before that point most of the people she had gone into combat with had been stronger than her or significantly higher leveled. Whomever this group of people were did not fit those descriptions. She had felt his skull fragmenting against her fist the instant she had made contact. She’d tried to pull the punch as much as she could after that, but she was fairly certain he would need some serious potions to recover from that blow. Blocking the girl had likely done significant damage as well, even without a shield to add to the effect. The only person she felt she may have applied a reasonable amount of strength to was the halfling, and he still hadn’t moved.

  “Calm down! Please, everyone, calm down!” the people at the counter called, gesturing to the bouncer.

  “Gregory! These three need to cool off some place else!” a woman shouted, indicating the fighter and her worse for wear group.

  “You! Miss! Come to counter 5! Now please,” a young man said sternly. He seemed to be a half elf, with long brown hair done back and golden brown eyes that gave him a welcoming look, even if he was frowning.

  “That’s not fair! That demibeast bitch started it!” the fighter cried out, trying to push past a large warrior in plate and a Half-orc woman who looked to be of some kind of berserker class to no avail.

  “No, she did not,” the elf in line in front of Ambrose said with a smile, turning around. “The young M rank did nothing to provoke your crude behavior, and you were warned to stop. ,” he continued, vouching for Ambrose.

  “M?! What the fu-?!” the woman protested. “She’s a monster! She doesn’t have a damn raaan-k” the fighter protested until her eyes landed over Ambrose’s head and then her words lost speed and volume, dragging to a halt. She went wide-eyed, looking at Ambrose fearfully, before turning and running toward the door where the bouncer, whom Ambrose now knew was named Gregory, was tossing out her halfling friend.

  “Miss! Counter five, please!” the elf repeated. Without another glance their way, Ambrose stepped over the divider and cut the line toward the requested counterspace. The elf waved her over, obviously trying to get her business done with.

  “Hello, miss and welcome to the Diestol Adventurer’s Guild Branch. Do you have an ID with us, are you here to register, or do you have some other business with the guild?” he asked, taking a professional tone with her once she was in place and the commotion started to die down.

  “I’m here to register, and to have a look at the board, to check for anything I can do in the city,” Ambrose said with a smile. She hadn’t planned on picking up a job, but after her recent encounter, she felt the need to do something.

  “Very well. Can I get your name, class, rank and level?” the man asked, pulling forms out from under the desk and drawing a quill.

  “Oh. Sure. Ambrose Di, Mystic Beastiary. Rank M. Level 10,” she listed off honestly, wondering why he had asked her for the first three details, as those could be seen without Ambrose choosing to willingly share them through guidance. In fact, he did double check her answer a moment later with a glance over her head. She commended him for keeping on his professional fa?ade and not letting his jaw drop when he confirmed her rank.

  “O…kay, ma’am. Are you aware of the fees necessary to join the guild?” he asked, wincing.

  “I know there are fees, just not how much,” Ambrose replied honestly, not sure if she had enough on her. She had some coppers and very few silvers of her own that she had taken with her when she’d left home.

  “It’s a nominal fee of five copper to join. You’re basically paying for the plate we’ll give you and nothing else at first. As you try to go up in rank for the guild, the fee will be larger as we’ll expect you to be able to afford it with the jobs you’ll be taking,” the man explained.

  Ambrose sighed in relief, returning to her human form and pulling out the coins to hand them to the man, who openly gawked at her when she casually changed before his eyes. Rather than stay human, Ambrose shifted back once she’d delivered the currency. “Um… Very well. The paperwork will be done by this evening. You might be… You might be called in to do some verifications. It’s something that happens with our S rank members,” he said, gently setting aside the papers.

  “Is there anything else I can help you with?” he asked.

  “If you could put me up in a listing as looking for a group, Demi-human adventurers welcome, I’d appreciate it,” Ambrose said, knowing none of the other listings would be willing to take normal Demi-human party members for the same reasons the jerks in line had chosen to pick a fight with her. Demi-humans wouldn’t have a class, and wouldn’t be able to level. So they likely seemed like a dead end to humanoid groups. Still, something about Ambrose’s own ability to evolve had given her ideas. Ideas she was eager to test out if the opportunity arose. “Also, any tips for picking up a job in town are welcome,” she added.

  The man paused, then nodded. “I can definitely put this up on the looking for groups board once it’s been processed. That said, we don’t usually give jobs to people who aren’t fully in the system,” he said, glancing at her rank again before chewing his lip.

  “I.. I do hear that the night shift guard captain is looking for help around the city, though. Tonight, likely. Several members of the night guard were found dead outside of the wall, and there have been illegal substances being smuggled into the city. If you want something to do,” he said with a kind smile, “I would suggest talking to her.’’

  Ambrose raised an eyebrow at that. She hadn’t known about the missing members of the night guard, but she did have an idea about some illegal material in the city… “I think I’ll do that,” Ambrose said, smiling at the man, who gave her a gentle nod and a slight bow. With a smile, she patted the counter before turning from it and beginning to head toward the door. She had a new stop on her list of places to go for the night.