Raina pushed back from the small clerical table that had been set up in the tavern hall for our use. It was grueling work, but until the investigations of Qelona and the Fire Sprites came back with some sort of conclusion, this was the only way to make ends meet…

When I said that everyone would know the name of Malzifrax, I did not expect that would start with a complete census of the entire roster of guild members. Lizzie had given us the job as a way to prepare for the expedition to fight Qelona. After all, Level 29 was nothing to scoff at, and only a party of appropriately leveled heroes would be able to take the task. To that end, the Guildmistress-in-all-but-name had tasked us with inspecting and documenting every single adventurer to cross the threshold…which turned out to be a lot of people. Most of them were more on our level, between levels 10 and 20, but a rare few sported levels into their twenties. These were the ones we were tasked with documenting.

It was dull. It was pointless. It was boring.

It was not the kind of work that would make my name a legend.

“Thank you for your time, you can go,” Raina said to the latest adventurer sent our way. He was a knight with a sword and that was all I cared about. The inspection had yielded his name, but why should I devote the memory to keeping track of it? He wasn’t one of my hench-humans.

“You know,” he began before he turned. “If you’re looking for a party to take you away from this dull sort of work, consider us interested.”

Raina gave him a polite smile before reciting the same, well-practiced excuse she had given the last six parties bold enough to make the same offer. “I’ll consider it, but at least for now, I think I should stick to jobs more on my level. I wouldn’t want to be a burden on the battlefield.”

I hopped down to the floor. My work here was done, and I didn’t want to hear the love-struck adventurer’s response. He was but one of many. He wasn’t even all that special! The members of his party were all around level 17, with only a handful of titles between them. Did he think that was something to be proud of?

“Malzy!” Lizzie called. I looked up just in time to see the ice cube fly through the air. I caught it deftly. “Good work, today, kitten.” At least Lizzie knew who to really praise. Though the gold for my labors would ultimately go to Raina, since we were still operating under the pretense that I was a worthless, unsouled familiar, it didn’t make the attention, or rather lack thereof, any less painful.

Raina was the one who got showered in praise. She was offered drinks and meals by any adventurer who thought they might stand a chance at getting the only inspector in all of Aldar on their team. She politely turned most of them down, preferring to spend what little coin we made with our work to make sure she and Terrowin didn’t go hungry.

What I wouldn’t give for the investigation teams to return so we could be officially recognized as adventurers and take our own jobs again. Lizzie had paid us for daily quotas of adventures documented, knowing full well that the full census would take weeks or months with the rotation of adventures in and out on their own quests. If we were stuck here for any longer, I might just go insane.

I took my chilled cube and trotted outside to chew on it while I stewed in my own anger and frustration. This was getting us nowhere! This stupid census was a waste of time! Inspecting others only yielded the pittance of experience we gained for meeting the quota of adventurers at the end of the day. We’d been at it three days and had received little of value. Amsiii did not crave paperwork! Amsiii craved violence! Amsiii craved the quality violence of overcoming an enemy greater than oneself!

At this rate…no one would know the name of Malzifrax…or rather, they would know it, but it would continue to belong to the frightening bedtime story to which it originally belonged.

No…I had to claim it back. It was my name! I claimed it as my own! I just…didn’t know how…

Even now, only Terrowin showed me the appropriate reverence…occasionally stroking my spine in a way I didn’t much like but tolerated if only to receive any attention at all. Most of the others didn’t give anything, and Lizzie and Raina were both too busy to spend time on the cat who made everything possible.

“Hey Malzy!” I pricked my ears. It was Aelisra. She still wore no armor, her old stuff having been beyond repair. The scrap had been sold to the local blacksmith to earn some coin to feed us, but, in the end, she’d had to return to the temple rather than remain with us at the guild.

The paladin approached and scratched my ears. “You enjoying your ice cube?” I nodded the way the humans did. “Good, you can bring it along. We need to find the others! I have a job for us!”

* * *

“Where exactly are we going, Aelisra?” Terrowin wondered as we climbed the streets of Aldar.

“The Temple of Valencia,” she answered.

Terrowin frowned and looked around. “Are you sure? I thought we just passed the turn for it.”

I huffed in amusement. Leave it to Terrowin to be completely clueless when it came to directions. The Temple was located at nearly the highest point in town, yielding dominance only to the Guardian Tree of Aldar, the park that surrounded it, and the Lord’s Keep.

From here, we could see the very tops of the canopy of that great tree. It was something of a spiritual center, but I wasn’t really sure of its significance. It was common knowledge to the people of Aldar, which made it impossible to find conversations on the subject to eavesdrop on.

That wasn’t the part I was most interested in, though. I’d taken to stalking streets at night, and there was an owl that made its home in the upper branches that had attacked me two nights in a row. It hadn’t done any harm. It was only level 3. I doubted very much that it was capable of hurting me in the same way we’d proven largely incapable of hurting Qelona. That didn’t mean that I wasn’t interested, though. It had personally offended me. One of these nights, I would see it grounded and stripped of its feathers.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Raina idly scratched my ears as we approached the grand white and gold structure of the Temple of the Goddess of Heroes. There was a rather large crowd outside, all clamoring and shouting over one another.

“What’s going on here?” my witch asked to no one in particular. The crowd didn’t seem to be facing the temple, which meant we could probably just slip by.

Aelisra shrugged. “They weren’t here an hour ago.”

A sharp whistle drew our attention to the door itself, where Cithrael was leaning against the entrance. He motioned us over and we climbed the stairs to meet him.

“Lord Erik is making an announcement,” he explained. “Apparently, Crystal Bay and Kelsfar have been put under Guild Law by the King.”

Looking around the group, it seemed Raina and I were the only ones who didn’t know what that meant. Terrowin had turned his full attention to the crowd. As a wanderer, had he been to either of those places?

“Um, what’s Guild Law?”

“You know how the Adventurer’s Guild is a strictly neutral entity?” Aelisra explained. “Well, they never get involved in the wars of the countries they work with. However, in an effort to keep their adventurers on retainer while their homes and families are being threatened, they offer a contract to the kingdom. The Guild employs their adventurers as peacekeepers and guardsmen to repel monsters, dungeons, and other non-political threats while the kingdom sends their people to the warfront.”

“It means tensions between Ketiran and Teralys have finally come to a head,” Terrowin muttered. “Those are the countries to the north and northwest of here. They’ve been in a spitting match for as long as I can remember.”

“But, what does that have to do with us?” Raina asked.

“For our king to invoke Guild Law means that he’s worried we’ll soon be drawn into the fighting,” Aelisra said.

“Or planning on starting it,” finished Terrowin. His expression was dark, and I sensed cold calculation behind his eyes.

A loud, commanding voice silenced the crowd. “Easy, easy, my people. We are not in harm’s way!”

From our vantage point, I could see an older man with platinum hair trying to steady the crowd. He wore very fine clothes, showing off his wealth with a blue tunic embroidered with the same white and gold of the temple. He even wore a golden shield amulet around his neck, not unlike Aelisra.

Behind him was a younger man with dark hair, but the same blue eyes of the man who was clearly his father. They had the same sharpness to their chins. Unlike the man placating the crowd, however, the son watched stoically, scanning the crowd for any sign of danger.

On a whim, I inspected them both.

Name: Lord Erik Tendali

Species: Human

Type: Humanoid

Level: 47

Description: A lord who once roamed his dominion as an adventurer and Paladin of Valencia.

Name: Kiren Tendali

Species: Human

Type: Humanoid

Level: 35

Description: An ambitious nobleman who yearns for his father’s title and privileges.

Hmmm. The son had a most interesting description. He craved power. I could respect that.

“My people, I assure you that Aldar is not in any danger,” Lord Erik continued. “We have no intention of invoking Guild Law as other cities have done. Our guardsmen will remain here for the foreseeable future. I have every faith that the King is doing everything he can to ensure that the fighting does not spill to Senelari soil. Guild Law in Crystal Bay and Kelsfar is a simple precaution to aid in that endeavor.”

“But, what if Teralys invades?” called a voice from the crowd.

Lord Erik raised a hand. “Teralys would be foolish to invade. Senelar may be a small kingdom, but we have no shortage of Strategy Class Heroes to defend us. Rest easy, my friends. You are safe.”

Whispers surged through the crowd. I didn’t catch them all, but I was able to pick a few names from the mess of sound. Haila the Firebreath, Ser Kayla of Terralia, Shifter Rhyleth. Those were names I tucked away with great interest. If I wanted my name to be among theirs, I’d have to do some research on the heights I was aiming for.

“Come on, they’re just afraid,” Aelisra said. “Lord Erik will likely be calming them down for quite a while, knowing the people of this town, and the Priest will be waiting for us.”

One by one, we shuffled into the temple. Rather than turn left and go to the hospital wing, Aelisra led us into the main chapel. It was arranged more like an arena than I would have expected from a holy place. Two warriors in mismatched armor did battle at the center of the white stone room while an elderly man watched.

“That’s Ser Rivan, the Priest of Valencia here in Aldar,” Aelisra said softly. We waited patiently for the bout to end. One man thrust his sword forward but overextended himself. His foe took advantage of the situation to gently tap him on the shoulder with his weapon.

“You have too much energy,” the priest critiqued. “Power is not just strength, it’s having control over that strength. If you thrust too far, the enemy will strike. Controlling what you can will allow you to attack and defend without exposing yourself to harm.” Both acolytes nodded and bowed before the priest. A moment later, he dismissed them and turned to us. He smiled at Aelisra. “A lesson I believe you still have yet to learn, Aela, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes, sir, so you keep saying.” Though her words were dismissive, her smile betrayed their relationship.

The priest looked to each of us in turn. “So, these are your chosen companions for the rite?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “Terrowin Misolef, Cithrael Elrana, and Raina Whitehex. They rescued me from the Unholy fiend who stalks our woods to the south.”

A low grumble threatened to spill from my throat, but I choked it off. Who had actually rescued whom? Who had played a critical role in keeping everyone alive that night? Despite that person’s contributions…who was it who was left off that list of heroes?

“Yes, I heard about that.” The priest frowned. “It is the duty of a hero to protect the innocent. We’ll be working with the Guild to assist in taking the beast down.” He gestured for us to follow as he turned to the altar at the back of the room. “But, for now, happier subjects. Aelisra has reached her tenth level, which entitles her to begin the Rite of Purity. It’s the second rite in her journey to understand what it truly means to be a Hero of Valencia.”

“So, the job is to assist in this rite?” asked Terrowin. Aelisra nodded.

Ser Riven reached beneath the altar and pulled out a golden box before setting it on the altar. From inside, he pulled a small orb which sparkled with divine energy. Even from several feet away, I could feel the mana swirling within it.

“This is a pearl which contains mana of aspected with light and purity,” he explained. “Aelisra must bring it to Shaleheart Spring, a water nexus in the northern forest. Once there, she must place the bead in the spring and cleanse herself in the waters.”

Terrowin nodded. “Sounds fairly simple. How do we play into it?”

“The spring is often guarded by monsters, and Aelisra will be vulnerable as she performs the rite. You three must protect her.”

Cleansing waters…divine mana…and a nexus of water mana. I wondered what would actually happen to Aelisra once she was “cleansed.” There was an awful lot of mana involved in the process. Was it safe to be around that much? More importantly, was it safe for Raina and I to be so close to that much impure magic? I’d need to be careful, lest we risk corruption ourselves.

“Will you three aid her in this rite?” Ser Riven asked formally.

With a single glance towards one another, first one head nodded, then a second, and finally a third.

Ser Riven smiled. “Then I bid you good fortune and may the Lady of Light be with you on this most holy of missions.”