Milo pressed his fingers against the palm of his hand. His nails dug in, and right before pain arrived, he pulled back and repeated the process. It was almost an unconscious action at this point. He was nervous, especially so with the mission that had been given or, more likely, forced upon him. Even though his sister’s words about stopping the bad habit rolled through his mind, his body did not obey.
The sorry state of the buildings around him would indicate to any person that he had traveled further into the impoverished outskirts, yet that was not the case. In fact, he was well on his way to the middle city. Burn marks from the Sky-razor’s attack scarred the ground, but still life went on. Temporary stalls occasionally appeared along the road, and people bartered with vendors. A cacophony of voices permeated the air in merry business while men sorted through the splintered wood and blasted stone that used to make up homes, storefronts, schools, and whatever else normal people used to lead normal lives.
The more time Milo spent up here, the more he realized the people in Subterris weren’t too different from those in Deepburrow. Everyone, but the guild members. He still hadn’t sorted that group out. Strange people, no matter what guild they subscribed to. Ahead, the guild hall of Shatterfold loomed like a fortress, stone walls battered from the battle that had taken place little more than a month ago. Those were the strangest of them all.
Unlike me, they talk more with their fists than mouths. Milo squeezed his hand again and released it. Why would they even let me enter a place like that? I’m not even a Morltin seeker; there’s no way they’re going to let me in. Towers twirled up into pointed spires that looked like spears assaulting the sky. A slash of red and green carvings along the ramparts provided a little brevity to the pensive structure, and a bright yellow tree sticking out of the center was alluring, but beyond that, everything was made to show strength.
Not far to his left, two young men, not much older than he—in fact, they could be younger now that he got a better look at them—were struggling to lift a supporting beam that had collapsed into the wall of a house. Their faces grew redder with each grunt and pull against the immovable object. An electric sensation spread across Milo’s palms, the same sensation he had grown accustomed to when using his skill. It was as if his skill was begging to be used again.
“Hey,” Milo waved the two young men down, “do you all need help with that?”
They both looked up as if they were in trouble. One held to a sash hanging across his torso, containing a variety of knives, while the other’s green eyes darted to a pouch hanging off his waist. The one with the sash reluctantly spoke up. “Um, sure. But I don’t think this beam is going anywhere even with the three of us.”
“It’ll work,” Milo responded with cocky confidence. Stepping over broken ground, he placed a hand on the beam and squatted into a position to lift. He could feel his skill straining, but that didn’t matter. It only needed to work enough to move the beam a little bit. “Alright. On three, let's lift.”
The two boys glanced at each other and then silently agreed another attempt was worth it. Once they were all in position, Milo counted down.
“And one!” The beam was thrust into the air, and they all stumbled back in surprise. Even Milo didn’t expect his skill to work so well. “Push it to the side. I can’t hold it up much longer.”
The boy with the pouch jumped and tapped the beam with the tips of his fingers, which made it glide out of the way. Once they were clear, Milo let out a deep breath as he released his skill.
“That was impressive.” The boy with the sash smiled at Milo as he took a firm stance to observe what they had accomplished. “I never got your name.”
“Milo and yours?”
“Will and that guy’s Derin.” He pointed to his partner, who was already digging through the rubble that was hidden by the beam.
“Well, nice to meet you guys.” Milo noticed an emblem patched onto Will’s shoulder. A triangle with two bolts of lightning piercing the two sides of the shape. It was the symbol of Shatterfold. “I’m always happy to help with the rebuilding effort. I heard a Sky-Razor attacked a bit ago.”
“That blasted creature couldn’t take all of us down,” Will said proudly. “The monster was bigger than anything I’ve seen, and it took nearly the whole guild to drive it away. Like the coward it was, it ran away, but we’ll get our revenge one day.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Found another one,” Derin interjected as he raised a long sword out of the debris.
Milo backed off as Derin tossed the sword towards them. Thankful Will caught it before the blade landed squarely on his head. “So what are you guys doing out here now?”
Will carefully inspected the sword and then let the tip of it fall to the ground as he used it like a walking stick. “We’re searching the surrounding area for any valuables still buried in the rubble.” A hint of frustration slipped into his words. “It's the only thing they’ll trust rookies like us with and the only thing we can afford to do if we want to get enough money to retake the Morltin test.”
Derin stood up and brushed the dust off of his dark, baggy pants. “Shatterfold is supposed to be the premier monster-hunting guild, but we’re stuck with this crap.” He scanned the house one more time. “I think that’s all; let’s go back to the guild hall.”
“Mind if I tag along?” Milo spoke up before they went on their way. “I’ve actually been interested in joining a guild, and I want to learn a bit more about Shatterfold. With it being the premier monster-hunting guild, it sounds fun.”
Will and Derin glanced at each other and then nodded. “Sure,” Will said. “We’ll show you around.”
Walking along a dirt road with flattened structures along either side only made Shatterfold’s headquarters appear bigger than it actually was. Black scars marred the stone face, and a tower on the right sloppily teetered over into a pile of indistinguishable debris. Several people in simple but sturdy armor painted with violent slashes of red and green patrolled the ramparts. Their stern gaze made Milo’s chest tighten, so he decided to stop looking up. “So if Shatterfold is really the best monster-hunting guild, how could they let a Sky-Razor wreck their base like this?”
“It’s because they won’t let most of us be armed on the third layer,” Will responded as he passed another guild member who waved the three of them through the front gate. “Those stupid bureaucrats at the lower council won’t let seekers below the Polonite rank carry the weapons needed to fend off a Sky-Razor as big as the one that attacked.”
It must be those laws Wilfred was talking about. No wonder Faulpher-tek sees a market for unrestricted weapons. Milo decided to press further. “And the guilds don’t have any say in the council?”
“They do. Each guild gets one seat out of the fifteen. Typically the leader or co-leader.” Will twirled the hilt of the sword between his fingers and gazed towards a structure hanging in the middle of the Abyss.
A structure Milo hadn’t noticed till now. From here it looked like a black bead balancing on five wires that anchored it to the walls. Maybe that has something to do with the lower council. Milo returned his attention as Will spoke up again.
“And Couldin, the guild’s co-leader, hasn’t been able to drum up enough support to change anything.”
“But that won’t be a problem soon,” Derin said as he cracked a smile. “I’ve heard Couldin has been getting weapons from a new supplier, and we’ll be ready to go after the Sky-Razor within a month’s time.”
Milo raised his eyebrows as his eyes darted toward a group of rowdy Sky-Seekers on the other side of the courtyard. It felt like he was about to hear something he shouldn’t, but that was the whole reason he was here. “Really?” Milo tried not to over-exaggerate his eagerness.
“Yeah, I’ve heard on Seeker’s Day…”
Will shushed Derin and shot him a stare sharp enough to pierce his throat. “Don’t go blabbing about that to just anyone!”
“Sorry,” Derin said as he lowered his head in shame.
“Couldin’s got an in with Faulpher-tek, doesn’t he? My uncle works there.” Milo lied, feeding into Derin’s excitement that Will had nearly snuffed out. “He’s told me the company is seeking a deeper partnership with Shatterfold, and I’m all for it!” Now he hoped his lie was convincing enough.
It was like Milo had flipped a switch. Derin’s face lit up. “See, he knows what’s going on; we don’t need to hide it from him.”
Will scrutinized Milo with a cautious gaze. “You know your floating skill could be helpful during the job. I’m sure Couldin would like to bring you on. He might even get us off of recovery and retrieval duty if we introduce him to someone like you.”
“You see, Faulpher-tek wants us to give the lower council a little scare to get them to loosen weapon restrictions, and of course, they’ll supply us with what we need to take down that Sky-Razor. On Seeker’s Day, we’re going to cut down their meeting house and show them that they’re vulnerable just like the rest of us.” Derin glanced up at the black bead suspended far above them.
The realization hit Milo’s stomach like a boulder slamming into a lake. “But won’t that hit people on the first layer? Your whole guild will be wiped out by the Terras. Everyone will be branded a criminal.”
Derin blinked like that was a ridiculous question. “Couldin say it’ll all be taken care of. Faulpher-tek will protect us. So are you in?”
Milo’s mind raced, and his heart beat so loud he wondered if Will and Derin could hear it. Occasionally stuff from above would fall into Deepburrow, but nothing that big. It would surely injure or kill at least a hundred people. Maybe even his sister, but he couldn’t let up now. He had to find a way to stop it. Taking a deep breath, he tried his best to muster a confident grin.
“I’m in.”