Desiderio Domini

Chapter 8

“Ay kaloka! So may assignment pang nalalaman si Grasya para sa inyong tatlo?! Iyong tataa? Mega teacher mowd? Ek!”

We can’t help but smile at the flamboyant and gorgeous resident Glaciemancer ng Neox Sodality na si Candice Leanne who is now “baking” her make-up kaya may time siya makipagkwentuhan sa amin bago ang kaniyang show.

Tumango ang katapat niyang Hydromancer and sister na si Cailee Ariana na nag-eeyeshadow ngayon sa tapat ng kaniyang kapatid habang nakaupo sila sa sofa sa gild ng foyer without a care in the world, “Turon swiss! Mukhang nakakuha ng matatalinong mga students and Divina at tuwang-tuwa ang merlat kanina na naghahanda para bukas ng modules! Humanda kayo! Charot!”

 “Wish ko lang na sana maglubay na siyang mag general cleaning ng ating mga kweba out of boredom, Cailee. Bago ko malaman kung nasaan ang mascara ko ay wala na finish na, start na ng show! Bere rong!”

“Ay sa true swiss! Naku po! Muntik na akong mapagkamalang kampon ng kadiliman ng pumasok akong walang foundation, koloreta agad! Nasugod ako ng mga hunky guards for all the wrong reasons, Candice!” kwelang sang-ayon nito sabay wisik ng glitters sa kaniyang mukha for maximum kinang effect.

Wynda just sighed when she looked at the two, “Ever since nakapasok ako dito sa Neox, hangang-hanga na ako sa inyong dalawa. Ang gagaling ninyo!”

“Hindi ba, Wynda? Kaya naming gumawa ng ilusyon ng hindi Hazemancer or Illusionist! Tamang ganda, kapal ng mukha, glitters at make-up lang sapat na para maguluhan silang lahat!” taas noong wika ni Candice as she stood up and spread her arms before turning around for us to bask in her enigmatic glory and glamour, “Half-real, half-pamada, nasa nagdadala lang iyan ate ghorl! Kailangan mong paikutin ang leeg mo three hundred sixty degrees at kumurap-kurap para nga ba malaman kung babae nga ba kami o halimaw!”

Tumayo na din si Cailee who just finished her own preparations and not one less fabulous than her elder sister, “Why not both?! The more the merrier I say! Kailangan kumita ng anda kaya dapat magmaganda, magmakapal ng mukha at higit sa lahat, sikmurain lahat ng pamumula!”

“Saan ba kayo nagtatrabaho? Judging by young luxurious pieces of jewellery, hindi mahina ang kitaan ninyo to say the least,” curious na tanong ko sa mga ito as they playfully let Mors act as their escort papunta sa entrance ng guild manse kung saan may naghihintay na itim na limousine sa kanilang dalawa, “You just don’t wear something so extravagant kung mamamasyal lang kayo sa gabi.”

They giggled among themselves before answering me, “Isa kami sa mga biggest earners ng Neox, Vladira. Ang trabaho namin sa guild na ito ay magdala ng pera by performing entertainment shows sa mga cabarets owned by our guild squattered in the continent of Sapienos and beyond! Kailangang maglandi para may maisaing bukas my dears!”

“Siyang tunay bakla! Kaya kahit puyat, nakakapagod at minsan ay nakakaiyak, tuloy ang lavarn! At least we can do what we want and still being useful sa samahan. Besides, the queen herself is one of our biggest fan at tonight, manunuod siya ng aming performance kaya tiba-tiba na naman tayo!” excited na sabi ni Cailee as she pinched the cheek of the Apprentice and went inside the car quickly.

Kumaway na lang kami sa kotse as it disappeared from our sight leaving the three of us as we returned inside the manse kung saan naamoy namin ang mabangong niluluto ni Grasya for our dinner.

Pagpasok namin sa engrandeng dining area ng manse ay nakita namin ang nag-iisa naming makakasama sa hapunan, ang pinakamalakas na Electromancer sa Neox.

Ang gwapong si Faz Slim, tubong Libertad at napaka-smooth talker. He is very nice overall at siya ang nag-tour sa amin sa buong guild manse noong bagong dating pa lang kami.

“Nakaalis na ba sila Candice at Cailee?” magiliw na tanong nito ng mamataan niya kami na naglalakad papalapit sa kinauupuan niya as he pointed the seats nearby, “Dapat hindi sila ma-late, bigatin ang v.i.p for tonight.”

Umupo kaming dalawa ni Wynda sa tapat niya as he pulled a chair for Mors na mukhang gaya ng lahat ng members ay kinagigiliwan at kinakatuwaan.

“Kaka-alis lang nila actually,” sagot ko sabay sandal sa velvet covered na upuan comfortably, “Queen Zabel herself will be watching. Grabe, kung fan nila ang pinakamakapangyarihan at maimpluwensyang tao sa Sapienos, it can only mean one thing.”

Faz chuckled and winked at me meaningfully, “Sasha often says proudly that Candice and Cailee are thrice bigger than her when she is on her career’s zenith. Twice or thrice a year, nanunuod ng charity performance ng dalawang iyon ang reyna.”

“Charity performance?” takang tanong ni Mors na nagpabuntong-hininga sa electromancer.

“Well, as you may already know, wala tayong backer na myembro na myembro ng aristocracy. If we want to continue existing, we have to conduct civilian business. And even then, kung may malakas at mayaman na patron tayo, gaya na lang ng reyna, we are maximizing our profit by putting on charity performances para sa mga gaya ng dalawa nating members para makakuha ng dagdag na pondo for rainy season, Mors.”

Tumango si Wynda na napataas ang kilay in approval, “Basically, walang stable income ang Neox Sodality so pag may mga gaya nila Cailee at Candice na malalakas humatak ng pera, you really maximize the opportunity to save money. Well, it’s not just them, actually ikaw ang naatasang humawak ng casinos and resorts business ng guild and you are raking it all in lately so todo tabi ako ng pera kung sakaling magkanda leche-leche ang buhay.”

“Exactly, Wynda. There are a lot of guilds waiting for us to go bankrupt and be gone pero sorry na lang sila, mahigit isang dekada tayong pwedeng mag-exist if the unthinkable happened,” he said calmly while Grasya finally entered the dining room from the kitchen pushing her food cart excitedly, “Mukhang pasarap ng pasarap ang mga luto mo Grasya ah! Akala ko wala nang isasarap pa!”

The Photomancer smiled sweetly at him before serving us with our dinner, “Ginataang baka, crumpets, tossed vinigrette salad and ginger tea. Mas nakakatuwang magluto pag may batang kakain! Besides, oras na din para magpractice ako ng aking kinakalawang na cullinary skills. Mahirap pakainin si Vladira, may taste!”

“I’m sorry, Grasya. It’s just masarap din magluto ang tatay ko so I tend to expect the same thing from other people’s cooking. Don’t get me wrong, yours is perfect enough to be sought after by aristocrats.”

Magalang na tumungo naman ang governess namin gratefully as she helped Wynda slice a rather large slab of beef carefully, “Naku, buti nga at dumating ka at hindi ka takot magbigay ng feedback! It can only mean one thing, mag-iimprove pa ako and that’s exactly what I want!”

“Hindi ka ba kakain?” tanong ni Mors dito at umiling naman siya quickly.

“Naku, kasabay na ako nila Cailee at Candice kanina maghapunan ng maaga para naman hindi sila solo sa hapag-kainan,” she then looked at Faz sadly and sighed before gazing at the three of us, “Pasensya na kayo ha? Normal talaga na kakaunti lang ang nakakasabay ninyo pag nakain. It’s either super busy ang iba o night shifts kaya patama ang oras ng meals nila. Don’t worry, I will make sure na never kayo magsosolo sa dining hall, besides, si Faz ay laging sakto sa oras ang pagkain ng dinner so maaasahan ninyong always present, never absent yan sa paglamon ng hapunan.”

The Electromancer winked at her and smiled, “Of course. Night shift din ako so breakfast ko na din ito. Buti na lang at may fixed time ang pasok ko unlike Gaius, Sasha and those two. Nakakahilo ang paiba-iba ng oras at araw ng trabaho.”

“So nagtatrabaho din para sa guild finances ang Guild Hero at Madam?” tanong ni Wynda at tumango naman sila Grasya at Faz.

“Yes. They are the ones who do guild requests sent by civilians and governments alike. Hindi man kasing laki ng kinikita ng ibang negosyo ng Neox, it is good for public relations at lamang tiyan din ang pera,” sagot ni Faz as he finished his dinner quickly.

“Mukhang isang korporasyon ang napasukan namin at hindi guild,” I pointed out that made the two senior members looked at each other first quietly before bursting out laughing.

Si Grasya ang nagsalita na parang napapahiya, “It is what it is, Vladira. Iyan ang nakukuha ng kaisa-isang guild sa Sapienos na walang aristocratic backer. We have to work to earn our keep so much hindi na kami makapag-recruit ng members by the numbers. Nag-settle na lang kami sa mga gaya ninyong tatlo.”

“Yep. New members na may malaking potential na magpasok ng malaking pera sa guild. Mga tipong hindi papansinin ng kahit pinakamababang level ng samahan dahil walang pakinabang sa guild duties pero para sa amin, you three are diamonds in the rough. Who knows, we might be able to save enough money during your training, we will finally be able to focus our attention to being more of a guild than a corporation,” Faz said as he prepares to stand up and go to work while he stretches his arms and yawn.

Nagkatinginan kami nila Mors at Wynda as we can’t believe that they saw even a modicum of value despite of our seemingly useless jobs for money making.

“Hindi ko pa din makita kung paano kami makakatulong sa financial stability ng Neox,” Mors said honestly that made the Photomancer shook her head slowly, “An Apprentice who still doesn’t know his trade, a powerful Illusionist shunned by the masses and a Spiritualist who is feared by every sane person in the continent.”

“Don’t worry about the specifics, Mors. Hindi ko man masasabi personally na kami ang pinakamagaling, pinakamalakas at pinakatatakutang guild dahil madami sa lower ranks ang mas matitindi sa atin, I think I can safely say na we are the best when it comes to pushing the skills of our members to the absolute limits no matter who they are, what jobs they may have or their genders. Pag nakitaan ka ng potensyal ng Madam at Hero, it is only a question of when, not if magiging useful kayo sa amin. That’s a fact.”

Faz gave us three a thumbs up and a grin, “Kung hindi kayo pumasa sa paningin ng dalawang iyon, hindi kayo papasalahin dito. I think that’s the reason why we barely recruit any new members like the other guilds. We tend to look for diamonds in the roughs rather than those who are already at the top of their careers. Tingnan ninyo na lang sila Candice at Cailee, nang mapulot sila ng Madam na natutulog sa gutter ng Libertad dahil walang tumanggap na pa-rentahan, guilds o trabaho sa kanila because of who they are, she immediately saw the potentials they hold even if they are mere Cooler and Surfer with no proper education whatsoever. Ngayon tingnan ninyo naman. Barya lang ang kinikita ni Madam Sasha kumpara sa kanilang dalawa. And that applies to the three of you. Keep on learning, training and expanding your knowledge, mapapakinabangan din namin kayo like everyone else in this guild full of misfits and outcasts of society.”

We just smiled a little at the two who are looking at us expectantly.

I sure do hope they will get at least the return of investment from our training after they are done with us.

-0-

Six months later...

“I saw on my way home back to guild manse ang tarpaulin ng mga top-notchers sa Royal Guild Servant Examinations at hindi na ako nagulat nang nakita ko ang pangalan ninyong tatlo sa top three,” natatawang sabi ng Guild Hero namin when he arrived in a massive explosion of fire and smoke out of thin air habang naghihintay kami sa tatlong upuan sa tapat ng kaniyang desk, “Top one, Wynda Laverna, two, Mors Finis and third is Vladira Sandugo. All members of Neox Sodality. Matindi din kayong tatlo ano?”

The three of us exchanged gleeful looks and smiled at our leader as Wynda spoke for us, “All thanks to Grasya. Aminado ako na masama ang unang impression ko sa Photomancer employed by a certain guild pero hindi ko akalain na bukod sa masarap na siyang magluto, napakagaling pang magturo. She saved us from ignorance.”

“Not an exaggeration, Gaius. Mukha kaming mga basang sisiw na tinuturuan niya ng mga bagay na hindi namin akalain na nag-eexist pala o ng mga dapat at hindi dapat gawin when dealing with other people inside and outside our guild,” I followed as Mors nodded quickly in agreement.

“I wonder why they never teach those things that Grasya pounded on our heads at school?” takang tanong nito na nagpatawa sa aming leader.

His aura is as suffocating as usual with his sheer power oozing from the air distorting around him in heat, I can’t deny the fact that he is a rather eyecandy as the rest of our guild members.

Ang ganda ng pangangatawan nito at ang tangkad pa. His tanned skin and flaming red hair makes him look like a burning hunk of a man, nakinig ko from Cailee at Candice na napakadaming nagpapalipad hangin dito from all genders and amongst the guild leaders, isa siya sa hottest, both physically and literally.

“Because they are guild trade secrets. It’s something that are taught only on qualified members of guilds. Hindi nga nila tinuturo ang mga dinikdik sa inyo ni Grasya sa military academies. Pero ni minsan, wala akong nakinig na reklamo mula sa resident Photomancer natin regarding you three. Ang dadali ninyo daw turuan at hindi mahirap paliwanagan. Pustahan tayo nasa kwarto ngayon ang governess ninyo at nagpapakalasing with Cailee and Candice in celebration of your success at laman na naman ng mga media articles, news at tsismisan ang Neox.”

Before we can even answer biglang bumukas ang pinto at pumasok na ang aming Guild Madam with a wide smile on her lips and the official Royal Broadsheet on her hand that she spreads to show us the front page at napasinghap kami nang makita namin ang blown-up stolen picture naming tatlo na naglalakad palabas ng testing center a week ago chatting happily among ourselves.