The inside of the guild was an open layout, with two stairways leading to a second story that overlooked the main floor. It was bustling with activity, mostly with wooden tubs full of soil samples and rock chunks. All of it was being analyzed by the various races that worked in the office. Unlike the Blacksmiths guild, which was mostly monopolized by the Dwarves thanks to their racial bonuses, the Miners guild had a ton of viable species.
I found myself dodging various busy-bodies as they ran between tables and did tests. In the upper floor, I saw an array of uncut gemstones. How they managed to find such rare minerals and ores in the middle of my town (I think that was where I was) was beyond me. I didn’t know much about geology but I was pretty sure diamonds and copper and such were found only in certain areas. And yet, this mine seemed to have it all.
On the second floor, I saw a well-dressed Sapphire Dragonborn watching the activity below. He wore a linen shirt and a waistcoat and I recognized the style as one of the science teachers who taught in Middle School. A new one, not a teacher I’d ever had. Mr. Harrison retired the year after I entered high school.
Another faculty member who was head of a guild, huh? That seemed to be a common trend. Honestly, I hadn’t expected the coach to actually play video games at all. In fact, it was rather weird how many old, out of touch adults were not only playing but mastering the game. My own mother worked on a computer all day and even she wasn’t big into computer games.
“You there!” A strong voice called from above.
Keely Mcintire, the sapphire dragonborn, was staring at him, his horns circling his head. I vaguely remembered that the gem dragonborn had psychic powers. The Guild Master gestured for me to come up the stairs. I did.
“What do you have for me, Courier?” The dragonborn eyed me.
I produced the work order.
His scaly brows raised.
“That’s quite a lot of silver. And moonstone ore-not very common either.” He pursed his scaly lips. “You’re practically buying us out. Did he say why he wanted it? No, never mind, of course you wouldn’t-”
“Vargruf said he needed it for a vanity project for some elf.” I replied, a little annoyed.
The dragonborn looked up from the list, startled, eyes going to the pin on my tunic.
“You are a Courier, are you not?”
“I’m new.” I shrugged.
“Very chatty for an NPC.”
“I’m not an NPC.” I glowered.
“That’s not what your pin says.” Keely tapped my sigil.
“Hands off!” I slapped his claw away. “And, uh, add Variscite to the list.” I pointed over to a box of ornamental rocks.
What the overgrown lizard didn’t know, and I did, was that Variscite was another possible werewolf killing method. It only worked in one of the fantasy novels I’d read, but why not give it a shot? Plus I was tired of this guy assuming that just because I was a Courier, I couldn’t think for myself.
“Why?” Keely’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not on the work order.”
“Because I said it is. If I’m an NPC, I can’t be lying, right?”
“...So that’s what happens when you give a human a pin, eh.” Keely guessed, tapping a clawed finger on his chin. “Not a complete drone then.”
“Hey, how did you get a copy of Reborn Venture?” I asked.
“What?”
“The VR game. All of the teachers are guild leaders. Right?”
“It was sent to me for free for testing.” Keely replied. “I’ll have the materials delivered.”
He took the order and signed off on it. His signature glowed for a brief moment, then faded. Transaction complete.
“Have a good day.” I said and walked briskly to the door.
So all of the teachers had been given the bracelet for free, huh? Things were starting to fall into place. The game was intended to hit everyone it could, so it could alter reality. Why someone would want to change everyone into monsters and erase humans was the real mystery.
I left the Miner’s Guild and couldn’t remember what was next on my list. There had been three stops for today…er, for the quest, so it shouldn’t have been that hard to remember. I didn’t even have a VR headset-and neither did anyone else down here, from the looks of it. A feeling of unreality washed over me, but a gentle pulse from my bracelet steadied me. I patted it lightly.
My hand naturally patted down my cargo shorts and, to my surprise, I found a piece of parchment. I pulled it out and read it, despite the strange blocky dwarven ‘rune language’ (just English but with extensively altered letters) giving me a bit of a headache. A gentle pulse came from my bracelet as I continued reading, and the text grew easier to decipher, though as I wondered why that might be, an answering pulse came from my cock, and I moaned and adjusted myself. It didn’t matter how I was reading the dwarven script so easily or why I had a parchment in my pocket that wasn’t there before, I had my work orders to complete.
With that in mind, I read it over. Back to the Forgemaster to drop off the silver and moonstone ore, along with the Variscite (I wasn’t sure if I’d get in trouble for that, but I’d made a judgement call). Then to the Fighter’s Guild to circulate rumors about Mugrel’s weaknesses and then on to The Far Seer’s Guild, a private adventuring guild that apparently operated out of my school’s computer lab, to try to persuade them to come with special offers. They were the best non-crafting specific adventuring guild and they were the geeks that could…I paused, avoiding the thought so as not to trigger the bracelet.
Then I could go save Martin.
I smiled and saw the next row of carts heading back to the Blacksmith’s Guild and Little Kharn-Adan arrive. Dwarves fresh off their shifts, looking dirty and tired, hobbled into the cart. I hurried after them and found myself awash in the smell of sweaty dwarves and their lovely musk. The carts pulled away from the transit station and I glanced at my fellow-at the other-at the dwarves.
They eyed me with interest and I winked, rubbing my pin. Their smiles grew lurid. The one in front of me was rather large, a beard falling to his belly, well-kempt despite long hours in the mine. His wide ass was-intentionally or not-grinding into my crotch, swaying with the rattle of the carts.
We entered the pitch black tunnel again and I felt grasping hands tugging at me, groping me in the dark. I found myself groping the dwarf in front of me, rubbing his pillowy pecs and his vast belly. He turned and kissed me, beard on beard, and I realized he was grinding his ass into my crotch after all. My hands drifted lower and I fumbled with his belt, tugging it free and sending pants around his ankles. Someone else’s hands did the same to my belt and soon my shorts were around my ankles and my hard cock sprung free into the cool air, throbbing.
I wet my finger and gently prodded the dwarf’s hole, finding it slip in easily. As I did, the dwarf behind me had the same idea, and it slid inside me with a similar ease. I groaned as the digit stroked something inside me and mimicked the action on the dwarf in front of me. All around me, I heard the other dwarves' engaging in the same kind of activity.
A bearded chin brushed my shoulder as the digit in my ass withdrew and was swiftly replaced with a thick cock. I gasped and gripped the dwarf in front of me. I spread his cheeks and positioned myself against his hole and then shoved in, not wasting time. His depth were warm and his anal ring clenched my shaft. I clenched my own ring around the dwarven meat currently stuffed in my ass and then fell into a rhythm of bucking and thrusting back into my other partner.
I lost myself in the groans and moans in the darkness of the mine carts, just enjoying myself, the bracelet on my arm clenching in time with my own asshole. The pulses were shooting into my brain instead of my cock, making me feel a bit lightheaded and woozy, in capable of forming a coherent thought as I was fucked.
The tightness of my cock between the lead dwarf’s asscheeks was growing too much. I found myself bucking faster, shoving my cock deeper and deeper. The dwarf behind me was latched on tight, his thick cock filling me up and slamming again and again into my prostate. With a grunt, I came. The dwarf behind me quickly followed and warmth flooded me again.
The fuck and suck went on for a few more minutes and then the tunnel’s opening appeared in the distance. Everyone began making themselves presentable as the bright light of the torches in our mine tunnels appeared. I pulled my shorts back up to my waist and found my boots had been laced too tight. I loosened the knots and flexed my toes in my kicks. Perfect fit, though I vaguely remembered them being too big for me.
After I straightened myself out, putting my medium-length beard back into place and patted my small belly, the minecarts slowed to a stop. I got out and made my way back to Vargruf. He’d want to know about the extra purchase I’d made. Why I’d do that, I couldn’t fathom. Couriers weren’t supposed to make independent decisions. They were neutral, after all.