3 - Entertainment

“Having a bit of trouble there hmm?” Came a charismatic, charming, slightly irritating, but all too familiar voice, as a lanky man placed both his hands on top of Astrid’s head, peering over as she was staring at a paused scene on a projected screen displayed on the table. She was following a young man, waiting and hoping that he would answer one of the invitation letters she sent.

Astrid scoffed, recognizing it instantly, but knowing he was physically harmless, “What do you want Gunnar?”

He shifted and poked his head next to hers, examining the situation mischievously, “You know what I’m gunn-ing for, don’t you?” He said raising his eyebrows, hoping for a reaction.

Astrid turned to the unnervingly close head next to hers with an eyebrow raised, “Really? You’re still on the dad-joke/pun bandwagon? Thought you moved on from that old man.”

Gunnar stood and gave a hearty chuckle at the comment, “Oh come now my dear, dear Astrid! That simply won’t do! You know I like to have a little fun! Life’s far too short to take everything seriously.”

Astrid sighed, “Gunnar, I don’t have time for your nonsense. Spit it –” She caught herself and immediately thrust her index finger in front of his lips before he could make some corny joke out of it, “No. Just no.”

Gunnar gently caressed her hand, pulled it down and kissed the back of it, “I would never.” He said flamboyantly, and shifted his gaze back to the projected screen on the table, “So, who’s the boy anyway? I never really took you for the creepy, romantic, stalker type.”

Astrid knew Gunnar was just trying to annoy her and dismissed the remark callously, snatching her hand back and wiping her hand on a napkin on the table, “I don’t care for your games. I’m not here for your amusement.”

He crossed his arms, and nodded sincerely, “Of course, but you still want my help, don’t you?” He leaned the back of his legs against the table, “So I’ll ask again, who’s the boy, and what do you want from him?” He raised a hand, palm facing upwards, and let a small burst of pink and yellow flame appear and vanish in a moment.

Gunnar was a tall, lean man with wavy, shoulder length, sandy blonde hair casually tousled with a fair complexion, paired with mischievous green eyes that sparkled with delight and amusement. He carried himself with an effortless, but calculated grace in every movement he made, like the whole world was a stage, and he was one of the main characters. He exuded charm, charisma, and nonchalant confidence, like he never had a care in the world, and always wore a crafty, sinister, yet somehow trustworthy smile on his face that could take anyone off-guard. His lanky frame gave him a deceptive appearance of frailty. However, Astrid knew he had a dangerous set of quick skills, wits, and strengths that made him terrifying if you were on his bad side. Today, to add to his flamboyance, he wore a black formal button-up shirt underneath a blue waistcoat decorated with golden paisley patterns, as well as brown pants covering a pair of sturdy leather boots, and a belt that all matched seamlessly. To top it all off, a dramatic, but elegant white cravat adorned his neck.

              Astrid glanced over her shoulder, flicking her blonde hair out of the way to check if Bjørn the bartender/manager was around. He wasn’t; it was just them in the large, empty bar decorated with the dark rustic wooden chairs and tables, alongside some dark green sofas angled towards the large stone-built fireplace.

He noted her concern, “Don’t worry, Bjørn isn’t around. He can’t really ‘bear’ my presence either.”

Astrid laughed, “Ok, that was clever, Bjørn meaning bear.” She clapped slowly, “Good work with your cultural and translation awareness.” She ceased and gazed at the fireplace for a moment where Flikk, her little blue fuzzy cat-like ball/light-bearing lantern companion was sleeping in the fire; its blue glow intermingling with the dancing orange-yellow flames.

Gunnar followed her line of sight, curious to see what kept Astrid silent for so long, “Cat got your tongue?”

She snapped out of her daydream-like focus, “Right. You wanna know so bad?”

He dramatically put the back of his hand on his forehead and tilted it back like a cliché damsel in distress, “Yes, I’m dying to know my dear.”

She pointed to the man on the screen, “I want this guy to become a GuildCrafter. He’s got the potential, but every time I send a letter, he either ignores it, or worse, burns it.”

“Are you still following the cheesy invitation structures we are ‘told’ to write? I mean, we both know they could be ‘cheddar’.” He said with a wink.

Astrid ignored the pun, “You know we can’t change what we write, it has to be the same.”

“Pfft. You’re no fun. Switch it up. The GuildCrafters I’ve had almost never followed that invitation structure, and I’m still here.”

She couldn’t deny that all of Gunnar’s GuildCrafters were exceptionally talented. He could get away with such mischief because although he only taught a very small number of GuildCrafters, the initiates that Gunnar took under his wing grew to be incredibly successful. So much so, that the higher-ups in GuildCrafters wouldn’t even dare think to let him go, either because he was so successful, or because they had no idea what sort of chaos he would create if left to his own devices. It was rumored that even the leaders couldn’t fathom why he stayed at times. He always jumped between different GuildHub locations, but no one could predict his next move. She tried to figure out why he was curious about her problem, and why he was here, but she couldn’t get a read on him.

Gunnar could tell what Astrid was trying to do, “Stop trying to figure me out my dear. It really kills the mood, and the fun. Just be glad I’m offering my very exclusive services to you.”

She wheeled around to face him, “You’re not even going to tell me what’s in it for you?”

He gave her a sly, charming wink, “For you, I’ll make an exception.” He paused, “I’ve had my eye on this young man as well, but he doesn’t match my…” He paused to find the right word, rotating his wrist, and raising an eyebrow as he did so, “Style. Yeah, let’s go with style. So, you can have him, but I am intrigued to see who he would become under another, more suited steward’s guidance. One, such as yourself.”

“That’s unusually forthcoming of you.”

A second charming, but malevolent grin crept up further along his face as he looked back down at her, “Sure darling, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Astrid put a finger in the slightly green-hued projection sitting in front of her and let the recording of the young man continue to play, starting to study him again, “If you really want to help, convince him to open a letter and do what it says. I can’t let this one get away. He’s too valuable.”

Gunnar took another brief glance at the man, “Alright, I’ll do it. However, there is one thing I want in return. I get to give him a few GuildCrafting lessons of my own. You don’t get to hog him for his entire growth process. He needs some chaos and fun in his life. Just like you Astrid. You’re both so wound up all the time, it’s one of the reasons I like you. I enjoy the challenge of getting you to just loosen up and try to enjoy life for once, instead of taking everything so seriously like it’s an end of the world sci-fi fantasy novel.”

“Just go already.”

“Your wish is my command.” Gunnar gave an overly theatrical, courteous bow and walked towards the main door of the GuildHub. He turned the handle and opened it, looking back at her one last time, “I’d say, ‘wish me luck’, but let’s face it, you need it more than me, toodles!” He waved, threw himself through and slammed the door behind him.

The door acted as a portal/gateway between different areas of the world, and Gunnar used it to transport himself to near where the young man was working. Little did Astrid know, that he had already found out a lot about who Astrid wanted, “Right, so what ‘pun’derful plan should I use for this one I wonder.” He said to himself quietly. He took in his surroundings, knowing that he should see him in a few minutes, “Ah, I’ve got it!” He took a quick look at himself and the other people around him, “No, no, no. This won’t do it all…” He muttered to himself, and darted down a nearby sheltered staircase heading up to a road. With a wave of his hand, his entire outfit changed into something more casual. A long pair of black pants, formal black shoes, and a more casual dark green sweatshirt with a white scarf around his neck, “This’ll do.” He thought, “So long as he doesn’t touch me, the illusion will hold without any trouble. I’ll just make the letter, and…” Another wave of his hand, and a neatly three-way folded letter appeared out of nothing in his hand, “There we go, an invitation for me, and now we find Astrid’s new candidate. Oooh, this is going to be exciting! I can’t wait to see where this story goes!” He ran back out and started to casually stroll down the street.

Gunnar already knew who he was searching for, since he had studied him a lot as well, hoping for full potential for him to be his next GuildCrafter, but alas, he knew it was a forbidden romance for him. However, if someone else found him, and he could be an influence, well, that’s a different matter. He brought out a phone to quickly double-check the features of the man. Gunnar knew his routine, this man was such a creature of habit, it was almost painful, it was very rare for him to do anything spontaneous. He was certain he found him before Astrid. He knew he had a mentor from the association that kicked him out for breaking up with someone, and that if Owen, another GuildCrafter ever got in trouble, he was going to interfere. He hated when association leaders used their authority to demonize others and never get held accountable. It was one of the very few things that could take away his smile.

As he went over how the scene would play out in his head, predicting every step, using cunning to guide every direction the conversation could go, he was ready. He took in his surroundings, “Ah, I see why he likes this area. It’s lovely and peaceful, the strange architecture of the buildings, the sea at your doorstep…” He caught himself getting mesmerized, “He’ll be here any moment now, going to the same café like always.” He put himself in the scene, and started to look lost between his pretend invitation to a theatre just down the street, and the map function on his phone.

The young man Gunnar was seeking, sure enough, began walking down the street, right on cue. It was like he was trying to blend in to the very shadows of the building themselves. His hair was pitch-black, now with a short, well-kept beard, the only thing different from his previously unshaved jawline. He could just make out his amber eyes in the distance, contrasting like fire against the coal/ash color of his hair. He wore a black long sleeved formal shirt with matching black jeans and sneakers, contrasting a slightly tanned complexion. He actually wore a friendly smile today as he was approaching him on the footpath. For Gunnar, this was a bit unexpected, so he had to make sure he had the right person for a moment.

As the gap between them grew ever narrower, the young man noticed Gunnar staring between the letter and his phone looking confused, “Excuse me. Are you lost?” He asked kindly.

Gunnar looked up at the young man, letting the smile drop to make the façade work, “Yes actually, was it that obvious?”

“Maybe I can help? Where are you trying to go?”

“Oh, I’m trying to find a theatre nearby, I’ve been personally invited by a new friend to go and meet him there, but I feel like I’m going in the wrong direction.” Gunnar approached and showed the illusion of the letter, and the phone with the map pointing towards the theatre. His phone was saying he was going in the right direction, but needed to make a turn and go around in a large loop, but couldn’t see why.

The young man, bright-eyed, and bushy tailed, somehow very optimistic, had a gander at the invitation and back at the phone. As he did so, Gunnar indistinguishably moved each of his fingers under the illusory invitation, and made thin spider-like wisps of thread appear, almost invisible to the naked eye. He guided each individual thread up, and let it lay like a hairnet on the young man’s head. Gunnar delicately contracted his fingers and thumb ever so slightly, and the threads appeared to dissolve into the man’s hair. Since the young man listened and offered his help, the conditions were met. Now, he should be more willing to answer Astrid’s invitation. As he did so, he observed that the young man was wearing a name tag, Gunnar noted how he must have forgotten to take it off, but decided that he would use that to his advantage, it would make his party trick work even better with a name he could seal his skill with.

“Ah, here we go, it’s just a setting on your phone.” The young man said pointing to the symbols on the phone, “You’ve set it to how to drive to the location, not how to walk there. Just click that button, and you should be fine. Besides, that theatre is just down the road.” He pointed straight, “Keep following this road, and you’ll eventually see it on the left-hand side.”

Gunnar shifted his gaze back to the phone and the invitation, “Oh, that explains it. That makes sense. Thank you Lance. That’s very helpful.”

Lance took a step back, shaking his head in disbelief and shock, “How did you know my name?”

Gunnar pointed towards his chest, “Nametag. Sorry, just a habit of mine, I like to be polite and use a person’s name if I get the chance. May I ask one other thing? I’m a bit new to this area.”

“Of course, but to be honest, I haven’t been here that long either.”

“Would you go to this theatre if you were invited? Is it any good?” Gunnar asked this to make his seal even more powerful. The more he could relate a target to the experience he wanted them to go through, the easier it was to get them to agree or disagree to it, depending on how he worded it.

“Oh heck yes. It’s a bit pricey, but, it’s worth it for the experience.”

“Great, thank you, have a great rest of your day.”

“No problem, go well.” Lance turned and continued on his way, while Gunnar did the same.

              Once Gunnar knew he was out of earshot, he smiled, and turned towards the theatre, and ensured that no-one was around to hear, “Well, that went smoother than I expected.” He broke the illusion for the letter and for his clothing, then doubled-back to where he started, ensuring Lance wasn’t there to see him go back the way he came. He went back to where he started, activated the similar spider-like threads from his finger-tips as he touched the door knob, and walked through, entering the GuildHub again.

              Astrid stood bolt upright on Gunnar’s return, “What the hell did you do Gunnar?! I watched the whole thing!”

“Oh now now Astrid, this simply won’t do. It won’t do at all. He’s not going to answer those sad generic invitations, so, I played the game. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

She whispered to herself, “You played the game,” her voice amplified, “You played the game! You didn’t play the game, you set an illusory seal on him! What did you do?!”

“Oh calm down. It’s nothing serious.”

“Nothing serious? We can’t use those types of skills outside the GuildHubs, you know that!”

He dismissed her notion with a wave of his hand, “Pish posh, that’s just a formality, plus, he didn’t see anything, and it’s too late, I can’t take the seal off, it will only deactivate after the next invitation, so make it count. Let’s just say I charmed him to open and read the next one.” He suddenly turned serious, “And you better make it count.” He stated harshly, with a darker shadow covering over his eyes for an instant. He relaxed almost immediately afterwards, knowing he put some fear of, ‘getting it right’ into Astrid, “I see why you like him, he’s genuinely kind, charismatic, and willing to help. He would make an excellent GuildCrafter. I normally wouldn’t risk my skin to carry out an extra layer on this type of seal, so you better do this right. You won’t get another chance.” He paused, “Write a personalized invitation.” He commanded.

“Why?”

“That’s for me to know, and for you to have a new GuildCrafting apprentice. Go well.” He caught himself repeating the send off Lance used, “Wow,” he muttered to himself as he walked past Astrid without a care in the world, “I’m surprised he got me to say it too. Maybe he’s got some useful charisma as well… He could end up being better than me one day if he goes down the right track.”

“Wait.” Astrid demanded.

Gunnar stopped and looked over his shoulder to her, “Yes, my dear? What is it? I’m a busy man, with a few extra things to do today. That was a lucky favor for you.”

“Why should I trust you? What makes you so arrogant as to think that I will do what you say. I’m the Head Steward, you are a GuildCrafter.”

“Two things: One, you shouldn’t trust me. Two: I chose to stay as a GuildCrafter. I could overthrow this entire system in a few days if I wanted to, but that storyline is incredibly dull and boring. It’s much more fun to be a GuildCrafter instead. Never forget that. Also, Lance’s story seems very…” He stopped to select the right word, “Intriguing. If you don’t get him in this next invitation, I will. He’s starting to grow on me. But you found him first, so you get one last chance.”

“I thought you said I matched him better.”

“Oh, you do, my dear, that you do. But he seems very malleable. He could adapt to my teaching style. So, if you don’t want another GuildCrafter like me, you best get to it. Good luck.”