Chapter 20: Thaw
Kat’s party exited the Lower Gordu Forest to continue adventuring and collecting information for DM. They reported the results of their trip to the Narrow Cliff Woodland. The Guild clerk acknowledged that the girls were skilled enough to branch out into more serious adventuring work but asked them to be patient. Due to their young age, she wanted to discuss their next steps with the Guild first.
Later that day, Bandit was called into the Guild Master’s office, allegedly to discuss logistics regarding her special alchemy training. In addition to the Guild Master, a short woman wearing a hooded cloak was present.
“Bandit, this is Thaw.”
“Thaw?” she asked the Guild Master.
“Well, her full name is—”
“Guild Master, there’s no need to introduce my full name.”
“Huh? Isn’t it just an alias anyway?”
“Nevertheless. Bandit, I’m Thaw.”
“Is your full name weird?”
“I don’t want to hear that from someone with the alias Bandit.”
“What’s an alias?”
“Bandit,” the Guild Master interrupted, “I’ll leave you two to discuss your training. Thaw, we’ll address that other issue later.” The Guild Master descended to the Guild’s main floor.
Thaw looked at the closed door and shut her eyes for a moment before returning her attention to Bandit. “An alias is a fake name that you use so that you don’t have to use your real name.”
“Oh. Bandit isn’t an alias, then.”
“It’s not? I’ll never understand beast-folk culture.”
“What’s your full alias?”
“Well, we’ll be working together, so I suppose I can be open with you. Within the Guild, I’m known as Thaumaturge.”
“It is a weird name!”
Thaw sighed. “I’ll have you know it means I work miracles.”
“Is that why you’re here to teach me?”
“An intriguing question,” Thaw considered. “I was requested to pass along some skills to you, but that’s only if you can keep up. First I’ll need to assess your current abilities.”
“Okay.”
“For starters, let’s see how keen your senses are. What have you figured out about me so far, besides my alias?”
“You’re a dwarf?”
“You’re correct, but if that’s all that’s occurred to you, I’m also really worried.”
----------------------------------------
Thaw questioned Bandit for a while, assessing her knowledge and mental acuity. After determining that Bandit was naive, simple-minded, and immature, she led the raccoon-girl to an outdoor training area and tested her in various ways, including her dagger and crossbow skills, speed, and agility.
Among other tests, Bandit threw daggers and fired her one-handed crossbows at stationary and moving targets while running around according to Thaw’s whims. Moving targets included swinging logs, balls rolling along the ground, and even clay discs launched into the air. Satisfied, Thaw brought Bandit to a private room in the bowels of the Adventurer’s Guild to continue their conversation.
“I’ll still need you to demonstrate producing poisons, but you seem sufficiently gifted to handle yourself.”
“So I’m able to learn from you?” Bandit presumed.
“Yes, but I should be honest with you. You don’t strike me as the type to lead others or make big decisions on your own. The Guild gives me a fair bit of latitude to operate independently, but you’ll most likely be expected to follow simple orders to the letter, at least for the foreseeable future. Is that acceptable?”
Thaw considered this moment to be critical. If Bandit simply agreed, that would be too suspicious. Why would Bandit just follow orders from the Guild, without expecting them to meaningfully reciprocate? If Bandit expressed disgust, then no amount of cajoling would make her suitable for the role she was tentatively selected for. The dwarf was skilled at hiding her emotions, but in truth she was eager to hear the response. Thaw leaned forward ever-so-slightly in her seat.
“Besides giving me training, will the Guild take care of me and my friends?”
Bandit’s response was almost ideal. All she wanted from the Guild was loyalty in return. She would be quite useful.
“Yes. The Guild will recognize your four friends like family members for so long as they do not betray the Guild.”
“Then okay.”
“We have an agreement. I don’t think you need me to tell you what will happen if you betray the guild.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Bandit shook her head.
“Tell your friends we’ll be doing some training away from the Guild today.”
----------------------------------------
Bandit informed the rest of her party of what Thaw said she could share. Of course, she’d keep them apprised of the secrets as well once she was sure they weren’t being monitored. Thaw escorted Bandit to the basement of an unmarked building. The room, reminiscent of a safehouse, included a simple table with chairs, bedding, food, and other supplies for hiding out.
“There’s much to tell you before we start your training in earnest. For starters, tell me who you work for and who your friends work for.”
“The Guild,” Bandit answered matter-of-factly.
“That’s true, but whose orders should you all follow, above all else?”
“The Guild Master?”
“Oh? Which Guild Master?”
Bandit froze, not understanding what Thaw was getting at.
“The one we were in the room with a few hours ago?”
Bandit nodded at Thaw’s suggestion, figuring that answer made sense.
“That answer is correct for your friends, but incorrect for you.”
“Do I follow your orders instead of the Guild Master?”
“Hm. A decent answer, but not the best one.”
“Whose orders do I follow?”
“Bandit, you know the Guild has multiple branches spread across the country and the continent, right?”
Bandit nodded again.
“To an extent, each Guild branch is independent. However, all Guild branches in this nation are subordinate to the main branch in the capital. In addition, by training under me, you report not to the local Guild branch, but to the capital Guild branch.”
“So I would follow the orders of the Guild Master in the capital?”
“Correct. However, don’t expect to receive any orders other than through me for a while.”
Bandit was able to follow along. She didn’t actually care deeply about any of these details, so they didn’t bother her. “Okay.”
“With that out of the way, do you know why you were selected for special training?”
“No…”
“You see, currently there’s a great deal of tension in this nation. The Twin Cities Guild branch, isolated as it is, doesn’t receive much attention and in turn, doesn’t care much for the rest of the nation’s Guild structure. Also, the Guild and the national government have been at odds. Further, the eastern territories, including the Twin Cities, are ruled by an anti-royal faction that’s becoming increasingly belligerent. Finally, the Church is denouncing the actions of everyone I just mentioned.”
Thaw could practically see the smoke streaming out of Bandit’s ears. She wasn’t ready to think about such adult issues. The good news was, she didn’t need to. Still, a bit of background was warranted.
“O—Okay…”
“Due to some recent events involving the Lower Gordu Forest, the Guild Master became fed up with his Guild branch’s long-term mistreatment and demanded support from the capital. He also wanted a Guild agent similar to myself stationed at his branch since he lacks that type of asset. The capital branch agreed to send me to train someone provided he selected a candidate of sufficient talent and suitable background.”
“And he picked me?”
“Yes. I don’t fully know how he went about it, but the selection does seem appropriate. Still, I should be honest and tell you that the guy’s an asshole and I don’t care for him at all.”
“Oh…”
“The capital branch has neglected the Twin Cities branch for too long so we’re playing along with his wishes. Still, although you’ll be stationed here in the east, make no mistake that you report to the capital branch, not the local one.”
“I understand.”
“Good. I don’t think that jerk of a Guild Master himself understands, so you might be in for some trying times later.” She paused to allow those words to sink in before continuing. “Now for a quiz. Tell me, why else am I here besides to train you to serve as a special agent of the Guild?”
Bandit had a leg up on this question. “That thing about the Lower Gordu Forest?”
“Very good. Perhaps I underestimated you a bit. I look forward to your growth. Anyway, yes, I have some of my own investigating to do, so you’ll be mostly on your own for a little while.”
Bandit nodded.
“I’ll be very clear with you about what a Guild agent is. If anybody asks, you and I are just adventurers, not Guild agents. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth, though.”
“I kind of understand from my training so far, but what does a Guild agent do?”
“We are the Guild’s secret corps. When a Guild employee or adventurer is suspected of betraying the Guild, we investigate. When the betrayal is wanton, we eliminate the threat. When the Guild needs answers, we extract those answers from the target.”
“What does wanton mean?”
“Bandit, I’m both glad and upset that your only response to my description was asking for clarification on one of the words.”
“How many Guild agents are there?”
“Not many. A newbie like you isn’t even permitted to know who else is an agent, but I’ll assure you the number in this nation can be counted on the fingers of one hand. You’ll join our ranks once I’ve gotten to know you well enough to assign a fitting alias.”
----------------------------------------
DM had suspended all other activities in order to closely monitor Bandit’s conversations.
“Is it just me, or is Bandit’s current situation an incredible opportunity for me? She’s basically being handled by the capital to spy on the Twin Cities, with me learning everything she does. She may even learn more about the situation outside of this region after she proves herself.”
DM was quite excited, but promised himself to keep a close eye on her so he could protect her if she ever was overly distressed by her circumstances.
“Still, having a LVL 26 assassin investigating the forest is not comforting.”
----------------------------------------
Bandit returned to her party that evening. The following morning, the five girls reported to the Guild, hoping to learn about their next mission.
“Ah, welcome,” the Guild clerk greeted them. “I talked it over with the Guild. As I thought, since you’re all young relative to your level and overall, we need to ease you into adventuring while you acquire more experience.”
“What should we do then?” Kat asked, hoping they wouldn’t get held back too much.
“Basically, for any missions that require protecting clients, we need you to team up with others.”
“What should we do next?” Until now, Kat had received guidance from the Guild about what their choices were, although she wasn’t sure if that would continue. DM had explained that the Guild likes to develop its junior members by providing them sparse guidance while letting them squirm out in the world.
“You should all have a look at the board where missions are posted. If you want to accept one that requires protecting a client, let me or another clerk know.”
“Okay.”
Kat’s party walked to the board.
“Can any of you read them?” Shiba asked.
“Kind of,” Vulp offered.
While the girls deliberated over how to proceed, another pair stepped up to the board and noticed the girls staring at the mission requests intently.
“You’re one of the new parties, right?” asked a young man, perhaps 17, in the robes of a black mage. Standing next to him, another young man in leather armor grinned slightly.
“We’ve already completed missions in the Lower Gordu Forest and the Narrow Cliff Woodland,” Kat clarified.
“Ah, veteran adventurers!” the mage joked. “You all having trouble reading the requests?”
“Yes…”
“Let us help you, then. In fact, why don’t we work together on a request? It’s our responsibility as adventurers who have been at the Guild longer than you.”
Kat thought back to the clerk’s condition that they need to work together with other parties for requests involving protecting the client. She secretly invoked the sensing magic which DM had bestowed her recently.
“Are there only two of you?”
“Ah, no. I’ll introduce you to the rest of our party. They should be arriving soon.”