>"Might as well look into it."
>Take the paper.
>Are there any other of interest, something easy to give us some money to eat on?
>Lunasa nods. "Who knows? Maybe it'll be more interesting than it sounds."
>You're not supposed to remove notices yourself. Aside from contracts which clearly cannot be simultaneously attempted by more than one person (such as deliveries), jobs can remain open even after one Seeker undertakes them. Many of the more interesting contracts can take a fair bit of time and luck, and could have multiple Seekers competing to be the first to complete them. If notices could be removed freely, certain... enterprising Seekers would be liable to strip the job board bare, so that no one else would have a chance of getting to anything before them.
>As poor as you are, you still have more than enough money to cover food for a little bit, and you could always duck into the communal kitchen; apprentice's duties cover basic meals, and you're sure no one would object merely a day after graduation.
>Still, scanning the other notices, you note a couple more beyond the usual:
>A restaurant complaining about a delayed shipment. Likely only involves pestering someone, but their supplier is probably out towards Easthaven and the pay isn't very good for the legwork. Still, it would probably only be time-consuming, not actually difficult.
>An herbalist is looking for an additional supply of fresh bloodmoss and arlan, picked in their natural habitat. Apparently the ones found in the wild are more potent and effective than cultivated varieties, although you cynically suspect that's probably because it's cheaper to hire a desperate Seeker to traipse around the woods than to pay someone who actually makes a living growing it.
>Another notice from a bar towards the harbor district brings a slight frown to your face. Although they beat around the bush, what they really seem to be asking is for someone to go collect tabs from severely overdrawn customers. Normally the oni take care of such things on your own, which makes you curious what the deal is.
> Examine the other people in the room. Do we recognize them at all?
>You recognize one of the two people playing shogi in the corner. One of the younger apprentices - Mika, you think. You don't recognize her partner at all; might be a friend from out of guild. You're allowed to bring outsiders into the common area, as long as they're supervised. You think you may have seen the document-scrutinizing man once or twice before, but he doesn't stand out in your mind. Might be a casual member.
>Grin a bit at Lunasa's description of Merlin's current state.
>"Hope Lyrica knows to stay upwind of her whenever possible."
>Lunasa scrunches her face up a little. "It's not the first time this has happened," she says. "I've started to give up hope that she'll ever remember what the morning after is like until it
is the morning after again." She sighs and shakes her head.