The building was much more modern and big than the Autumn Branch HQ.

Jack walked boldly into the building, he doubted anybody would recognize him, for what he did back in Rorin.

A party of what he assumed were Aldarians , walked past him, staring at him, as if to say; What are you doing here?

At the counter there was a desk with a guy standing at it.

The guy smirked at Jack. “Can I help you?” His name tag read: Hans. He looked little over twenty, Jack was also in his twenties, but harsh work and life showed.

“Registration, please.” Jack said. Long gone were the days of excessive politeness.

The guy Hans grumbled, “you want to register for what?”

“Hey!”

A man behind him, with a leather jacket and a bronze ax, called out. He looked no older than sixteen or fifteen.

“Give me one second.” Hans grunted.

He walked to the back of the room. “Shut your ass up Donny, I said I'd be back in a minute.”

The other guy looked down at his wrist for some reason. “Seems like more than a minute, also it's Danny.”

Hans jerked his thumb, and shoved a paper into Danny’s chest with his other hand. “Go out back and shoot at some targets. Thirty tries. Write down how many you get. Oh, and one more thing, if I see you cheat, pull out a homing arrow, put the wrong scores, any bullshit, I will kick your ass out of here, no buts.”

Danny giggled at the statement. He promptly received a shove out into the yard.

Hans walked back to the desk.

What do you want to register for?

Jack was confused at the question. “What can I register for?”

Hans grunted, as if he had to explain many times to many people. “You register to be a hero with no guild, with a guild, or you can be a worker here.”

“Hero.” Jack said, flatly. “Unregistered.”

“Okay unregistered… Jeez, you look like you've been through shit. What happened? Divorce? Rough finance? Someone died or something?”

Jack resisted the urge to choke the man in broad daylight. What was supposed to be a cheeky jab, hit too close to home.

“Okay, what's your name, where were you summoned, and do you have any sort of affiliation with any government?”

Jack hesitated, he didn’t know if the police or Aldarians were still looking for him for what he did in Rorin, maybe a fake name would do.

“Jake.” He said.

Okay, where were you summoned?

Jack stopped again, he didn’t have to lie on this part.

“I wasn’t summoned, I was born here.” He answered.

“No problem. We got a lot of second gens here.” Hans said, as he lifted the pen.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief, glad he didn’t have to explain himself.

Okay, one last step. Even though you’re technically registered, you have to kill at least one boss before they accept you. Them's the rules. If you don’t, within thirty days, your temporary membership expires.”

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“So it will be deleted?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, basically.” Hans replied. “Some people do that though, for some quick cash, or status. There used to be a rule for it though, but now we have so many applicants, it doesn't really matter anymore.”

“Let's say I wanted to join, where would a good boss be?” Jack asked.

Hans shrugged. “I dunno”, he pointed past Jack, “A cave over there. That’s the closest one, but don’t get too excited, from what i’ve heard, killing the thing in there ain’t a walk in the park. But it’s the closest one, so if you know your stuff… I guess it’d be done fast.”

“Wait… You said Aldarians have killed it, so why is it still alive?”

Hans blinked at Jack as if he were stupid. “You do know that bosses come back from the dead every now and then, right?

“Uhh…”

Jack genuinely didn’t know that bosses were immortal.

“Well technically, not all of them are immortal, only the divine ones.” Hans shook his head at Jack. “Man, what kind of parents did you have? Did they teach you anything? Maybe they were too busy arguing with each other.” Hans had stupid smile on his face.

Jack gritted his teeth. One last jab to end the conversation.

Jack entered the encampment. His tent was old and used, and had a few holes, but it was very large. Big enough for him to stand up. The tent was fitted with a weapons stand, a small sleeping pouch, and a small stool, which the owner apparently left behind. The tent was, by far, the most expensive purchase he had made since Keywark, but it was a smart move. Since sleeping in it was practically free.

He sat on the pouch, and put his hands together, facing the ceiling. He had to make an actual plan. He couldn’t just storm in, He had to be smart about it.

He planned to rescue Bel first, he didn’t know how strong the castle defense was.

He could try…

Suddenly the sound of flapping wings and a crow. Jack shot upright.

The crow slowly made its way down from the roof. It had something tied to its leg.

It read on it; Bel.

Jack grabbed the letter off the bird, which immediately flew away. He opened it frantically.

Jack,

I am going to be executed in a week, less, by the time you are reading this. I have news of trouble for the king, there are uprisings, gangs and the orcs have declared war. He has sent his only daughter, Zalina, out of the kingdom somewhere. She could be used as bait to lure the king out so we can strike. So I can strike.

If you’re scared, don’t fret. My imprisonment has given me much time to scheme. I have many plans.

First plan:

You come to Keywark, free me, we escape, start a riot, kill the king in the chaos. Simple, fast.

Second plan:

Free me from the cell, find parents information scroll, my mother had the ability to write in the hand of any she chooses. There may be information she passed on to me to learn about it.

I will write in the King Boneh’s hand, threaten the Iron legion, AFHA, LHA, or any hero group you know, and the Aldarians will come and bring down hell on him.

Third plan:

By far the longest, but bear with me, it yields the most promising results.

Find my friend Gor, he lives near the coast, south of Keywark, East of Quow. Be cautious, as he is not fond of unexpected visitors, if he spots you, tell him I sent you.

He will tell you likely where the gangs are, and where rebels are, and he might know where Zalina is.

Find Zalina, kidnap her, alive, if possible. Do not underestimate her, despite her appearance and personality, she is a VILE woman, just as horrible as her father, many have died under the laws she passed. She will happily let those under her suffer. Do not hesitate to kill her if you have no other option. She will beg, she will cry, she will manipulate you, don’t make the same mistake I did. If she gives any resistance, you must bring your sword down.

Blackmail Lord Boneh, get him to open his gate and let down his defenses. Even if you kill Zalina, he will respond. He WILL send his entire army to you.

But old age has been brutal to him, he is not as sharp as he once was. If you can slip past his forces, the castle will be undefended.

Once you get to the kingdom, you will have two options, you can find me, or find the king first. But I do not know where I am, so do not waste your time if you cannot find me. Once his army wisens up, they will close in on you. If you can kill the king or get him to surrender, we win.

It does not matter which one you choose, I will be waiting. Please, take care.

-Bel.

At the bottom there was a small drawing of a rock.

Jack grinned, he had been burdening himself with coming up with a plan for days, hoping that some sort of idea would pop into his mind, but alas, Bel had everything laid out for him. The first plan was pretty vague, the second, good, but he didn’t like the idea of entrusting hero associations with the task of punishing the king, even with damning evidence against him. Besides, the king could easily slip away to a safe house, assuming like the one Bel claimed he put his daughter in.

But the third was nothing short of ingenious. Playing it safe while collecting information was certainly a great plan.