Sorcerer Monthly 29: Hob House

Questions:

1. What is the best quality of Hob House?
2. What is your future dream?
3. With whom do you have the best relationship?
4. What was the most difficult job you have ever taken?
5. How have you changed since joining Hob House?
6. What is the best time you've had with your guild?
7. Personal Segment!
8. Is there anything else you want our readers to know?

Bastly Ugard, Guild Master

https://rentry.org/BastlyInterview

"I like to believe that our best quality is how welcoming and supportive we are. I want the Hob House to be a place where the youths can grow into their best selves, even if they were dealt some bad cards at the start."

"I have plenty of them, just like the Hob House has plenty of members. Each single one fills me with hopes about their future."

"As a Guild Master, it wouldn't be great of me to play favourites. By the nature of being a large organization, my relationship is deeper with the senior members, who receive their duties directly from me, but I also spend a lot of time with those who just joined us because it's a vulnerable time for them, and when I think they need my support the most. I'd like to think I have a good relationship with all of them, or that if it isn't quite there yet, that we'll manage to get there in the future. This goes not just for the Hob House, but all the employees of the Ugard Industries as a whole."

"Depends what you mean by 'difficult'. When I was younger, I did some hard physical labour, the type that'd break many. I risked my neck when I served in the village militia and had to fight off bandit raids. I put in the effort to rise in the Ugard Bathhouse, and through many more years filled with it, I managed to build the Ugard Company into what it is today. Founding a Mage Guild with my minuscule talents also was not easy. Each day is a new challenge, I try to rise to. But what I think is personally the most difficult for me, and many other Guild Masters, is when we have to send our pupils on jobs that carry with them certain risks. We, of course, try to minimize them, but we cannot eliminate them completely. Taking the responsibility for that, that is the most difficult job I have to take."

"It's difficult to perceive your own changes. It might be better to ask those who knew me back then as well as now. If I had to point out something, maybe I've become more patient? And old. I'm certainly older than I was back then."

"I love spending the holidays with our guild members, and each next one is more wonderful than the last. We have new members joining every year, but having to set another table is always worth it when you see smiling faces behind them."

7. We've heard rumours about your rivalry with the Mistress of the Hag's Hex. Would you like to shine some more light on how that came to be?

"I'm sorry, but I'd not like to go into the details of that. I'll just say that I hope those who've lost their ways, may find them again and find solace in that."

"If you know someone in need of help, reach out to them. If you are someone in need of help, don't be afraid to ask for it."

Ibuki E. Fiore, Local Princess

"Naturally it has to be the baths. The minerals have been doing wonders for my skin. Of course, it was already perfect, but now it's even more perfect.'

"To be Queen of course! Though, I wouldn't call it a dream. More an inevitability."

"Alaric, of course. It's only natural that I'd keep such dependable company."

"For a mage of my caliber, nothing is truly difficult. Unpleasant and demeaning, maybe, but not difficult. What is difficult is the company I'm forced to keep for jobs. That thing seems to enjoy mocking me. It must think itself quite the comedian to make such crude attempts to trick me into lowering my guard. Unfortunately, I can't simply ignore it. No one else seems to give a damn about the Demon prancing around, so I'm forced to keep a watch on it. Of course, I'd do anything to protect Fiore."

"I've never spent quite so much time among the masses. I feel I better understand the hearts and minds of my people."

"The welcome party was actually rather nice. Nothing compared to even my least impressive birthdays, but I could tell they were pleased they were to receive me."

"What does it mean to rule? That's obvious. Maintaining order is the one thing a King or Queen absolutely must do. Perhaps they don't always appreciate it, but it's what people need most. Without order everything would descend into madness."

"As your princess, I want you to know that the tears you shed and the pain you feel — I feel them too. Not a day goes by when my heart does not grow heavy from all that my subjects are made to endure at the hands of those who would make a mockery of this kingdom's order. They selfishly discard the rules that allow us to thrive. They force you to bear a greater burden because they desire more than what is rightfully theirs. For now, I can only take limited action against these criminals, but as your Queen, I promise to rid this great land of them."

Alaric Falk, Royal Bodyguard

The owner appears eager to help those in need of a little guidance, and he has lived enough for his advice to be of value to them.

I try to take things one day at a time.

Princess Ibuki, for obvious reasons.

You can ask the princess how helpful I was when she was assigned kitchen duty. I am not very familiar with this country's recipes, so she had to take over both of our stations. Considering how hopeless I was and how inexperienced she is, she did quite well in picking up my slack.

I'm a little less sore lately on account of the excellent baths.

I wouldn't say we have an abundance of natural swordsmen in the guild, but I have appreciated the enthusiasm shown by those I've given lessons to thus far.

7. And where is it you come from originally? I've never heard that accent before.

[Interviewee elected not to answer]

"Wait, how many people read this again?"

Seph Lynnesgrave, Normal Mage

"The chance to make mistakes and then correct them. To change."

"I... don't want to think about that."

"I'm not sure. Mister Ugard, I suppose? I have a friend outside of the guild, however!"

"Handling Ibuki. What, you meant missions? Uhm, probably tracking down and recovering that one child. It almost went very wrong."

"I changed course right before I joined the guild, so it's hard to say what was this and what was that. I guess the biggest difference is that I've barely used magic since."

"Watching the stars fall."

7. Can you explain your demonic... "curse"?

"It seemed like a good idea at the time?"

"If it's important to know, you probably won't understand it until you figure it out for yourself. Also, Ibuki snores."