The Guild was packed due to it being late morning when we arrived. Most of the adventurers would come to the Guild in the morning after waking up. They’d check the Quest Board, have a chat with others, maybe form a party if they didn’t have one and would go explore the dungeon in order to complete the quests they have picked up. I came here to talk to someone about my clan’s identification badge, but I thought checking the Quest Board for some quests wouldn’t hurt either.
“Hey, Furball,” right before we were to go to check the Quest Board, I was stopped by a familiar voice.
“Oh, Tarrion. Hi, how’s things? Hello Krisel,” I greeted them. Since the Guild was so crowded, I didn’t bother looking around to see if there were any people at the Guild that I knew.
“You ok?” Tarrion asked me.
“Yeah, never been better,” I said with a slight smirk.
“It’s good to see you being in such a good mood, Rockin,” Krisel chuckled. “Hello Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira. How have you been?”
“Hello, Miss Krisel,” Ranalaiya greeted her back and so did Sylfrin, and Lilfira, the ladies hitting off with some chatter in an instant.
“Everything ok?” I asked Tarrion.
“Yeah, well, sort of,” Tarrion grunted.
“Got into a fight with dragonkins?” I asked, squinting my eyes.
“No, but with them lurking around, Savirei’s diner is becoming emptier,” he told me.
Oh, wow. He actually cares about Savirei’s diner. I was impressed. On the second thought, he probably hasn’t been to the dungeon since the last time I saw him because he was sticking around to protect it. He must be irritated about it.
“Well, yeah. We’ve just come from her diner ourselves,” I said.
“What’s the plan?” Tarrion asked, probably thinking I had one.
“I came here to ask about how to get an identification badge for our clan,” I told him.
“That’s not what I meant,” Tarrion grunted, showing a frown.
“Yeah, well. I have something in mind, but that depends on how reasonable those dragonkins will be,” I added, knowing what he meant while rubbing the back of my neck. “In any case, mind keeping an eye on Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira while I talk to someone about getting an ID badge for our clan for now?”
“Humph, sure,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said before telling my three lovely companions to stay with Tarrion and Krisel.
They went to see if they can find a table to sit down while I went to stand in line to get to the reception counter. It hasn’t been five minutes of me waiting in line however, when a commotion started at the Guild’s entrance. It was loud at first, apparently somebody pushed someone who bumped into somebody else, raising their voices at someone, but then the noises calmed down, with people making way for whoever had entered the Guild’s building to pass. I couldn’t see who it was due to so many people standing around me, but the people who entered the Guild were the dragonkins, Lilfira’s father being one of them.
The dragonkins turned to go to her the moment they saw where she was sitting, people stepping aside to make way for them. Two dragonkins who were accompanying Sanokard looked impressive on their own. They were much bigger than humans or even some beast-humans and they looked rather threatening too. As powerful and frightening escorting dragonkins looked, they didn’t even compare to their Chief, Sanokard. He was half a head taller than the two of them, with wider shoulders, larger legs, longer tail and much more outstanding horns that grew on top of his head. Add to that the absolutely imposing and powerful looking armor that Sanokard wore, and you knew you better not get in his way. Heck, some people were too afraid to even look his way because of how frightening Sanokard looked.
“We’ve come for you, half-breed,” the dragonkin whose name was Bregerthak spoke to Lilfira when the three dragonkins reached the table where she was sitting at.
“What? No,” Lilfira exclaimed, fear jumping on her face.
“I think not,” Tarrion stood tall to block Bregerthak’s advance.
“You’re not taking Lilfira with you,” Ranalaiya added, jumping to her feet before taking out and equipping her Vicious Talons.
“You will not take Lilfira away. Summon Spiderling,” Sylfrin stood next to Ranalaiya, Voras jumping out of the green magical circle the next second.
“Don’t think you will scare us, dry-skins,” Bregerthak threatened them, taking out a two-handed axe from his storage himself.
“Woah, a fight! No way!” Someone exclaimed, adventurers getting away from them to not get caught in it.
“Humph,” Tarrion squinted his eyes, gripping his shield tight, but did not move from his spot.
“Now, now. Why don’t you people calm down?” A voice interrupted them.
“Huh? Oh, sorry, sir,” Tarrion said, lowering his shield and mace.
“Who are you?” Bregerthak snorted.
“Bregerthak,” Sanokard, the Chief of the Raging Flames Tribe spoke to him from behind.
“Ah, but Chief… Huh?” Bregerthak wanted to say something, but backed down after seeing the look in Sanokard’s eyes. “Yes… Chief.”
“Greetings, Guild Leader Ronald,” Sanokard spoke to the man who showed up with an added respect.
“Good day to you, sir Sanokard,” Ronald greeted him back. “I am certain you are aware off the rules regarding the fighting inside the Guild?”
“Yes, I extend my apology on behalf of my brethren,” Sanokard said, dipping his head slightly.
“Apology accepted. Now, may I be of any help in… solving whatever matter you need help with here?” Ronald asked.
“The only reason I have come here is to get my daughter,” Sanokard said, his words sounding like a demand too. “However, these humans decided to stand in my way.”
“Your daughter?” Ronald wondered.
“N… no. I don’t want to,” Lilfira said, her voice trembling.
“Oh, I see,” Ronald added thoughtfully.
“You have no choice. You are a red dragonkin and my daughter. You belong to me,” Sanokard told her.
“No, I…” Lilfira said, her body shaking from fear.
“Excuse me,” I interrupted their talk. I thought it was just unimportant commotion at first, so I ignored it. But when I heard someone shout a fight was about to break out, people scattering to the sides and opening a view for me to see what was happening, I rushed to come over, finding Ronald talking to Lilfira’s father when I got here.
“Master Rockin,” Lilfira exclaimed, a look of relief showing on her face.
“Hmph,” Sanokard squinted his eyes, giving a stern look at Lilfira before turning to look at me.
“Hello… sir Ronald. How’s it going?” I greeted the Guild’s leader in a lighthearted manner.
“Hello Rockin. I’ve been well. How about yourself?” Ronald returned the greeting.
“Ah, you know, going into the dungeon, doing quests, trying to protect my clan members from unfriendly dragonkins. Every day stuff,” I said with a shrug.
“Protect your clan members you say?” Ronald asked, turning to face Sanokard again.
“Hmph,” Sanokard snorted, squinting his eyes.
“Shall we talk about the matter in my office?” Ronald offered suddenly, a look in his eyes showing he very much insisted on it.
“I agree,” Sanokard said, surprising me with his answer.
“Ah… ok,” I said. Hearing Lilfira’s father agree to it, I had to agree on it too.
“If you please, gentlemen,” Ronald invited us to follow him.
“Wait here,” Sanokard gave an order to the other two dragonkins.
“But Chief…” Bregerthak wanted to say something.
“Stay put,” Sanokard raised his voice, slamming his tail on the floor, more so to make a point than to show his strength.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Yes… Chief,” Bregerthak obeyed, lowering his head.
“Ok, I’ll be back… soon,” I told my clan members, nodding to Tarrion to keep an eye on the women, he nodding back to show he understood me. I then followed the Guild leader to his office.
“Now, you may know each other, but how about we start with the introductions?” Ronald suggested after we sat down at the table in his office. “I am Ronald, the Guild leader here in Hirvant.” He then added.
“Sanokard Rageflame. Chief of the Raging Flames Tribe,” Sanokard introduced himself which was rather a shocking surprise to me to hear him speak in such a polite manner.
“Ah… Ok, nice to meet you. My name is Rockin Starling. I am the leader of the Rockstars clan,” I introduced myself last.
“Thank you. Now, what seems to be the issue here?” Ronald asked before leaning with his elbows on the table.
“I came here to get my daughter. She is a red dragonkin and belongs with us,” Sanokard told me.
“She may be your daughter, but that doesn’t mean you have the right take her away,” I said. “Besides, we both know why you want to take her away.”
“You know nothing, human,” Sanokard growled at me.
“I know what Lilfira has told me about you and the red dragonkins in general herself,” I countered his comment.
“Excuse me,” Ronald intervened, raising his hand to have us become quiet. “I’m sorry to say this, Rockin, but sir Sanokard has full right to take his daughter away with him.”
“What? You must be joking?” I asked him, overcome with a bit of a shock.
“I’m afraid not,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Don’t get me wrong, I am not siding with sir Sanokard here. The thing is, as her father, sir Sanokard has the full right to take his daughter away with him.”
Damn, no way. I clicked my tongue, not expecting for Ronald to side with Lilfira’s father like that.
“That maybe so, however Lilfira clearly stated she doesn’t want to go with… sir Sanokard, and since she’s a member of my clan, it is my responsibility to protect her,” I came up with what I thought was a good reason for not letting Sanokard take away his daughter.
“No, she does not,” Sanokard said.
“Say what? Yes, she does,” I retorted, becoming agitated.
“A clan that doesn’t even have an identification badge is no clan at all,” Sanokard responded calmly to my agitated comment.
“Yeah, well. You have to start somewhere and I was about to get my clan’s identification badge, but then you guys showed up and now we’re here, so…” I tried to make it sound like I had it under control, but I was faking it for the most part.
“As it stands now, my daughter does not belong to any clan which means if you or your so-called clan members stand in between me and my daughter, you will have no one else to blame but yourselves if something were to happen to you,” Sanokard spoke calmly, but it was clear he meant every single word that he said.
“Are you threatening my clan members?” I asked him in a serious tone of my voice.
“I am warning you, human,” Sanokard answered calmly.
“Oh really? I wonder what the Guild has to say regarding that?” I turned to Ronald, wearing a somewhat confident smirk on my face.
“The Guild’s job is not to babysit people, Rockin. The Guild’s job is to provide quests for adventurers and assist them with whatever we can in that regard. There are rules within the Guild that everyone must follow, but the matters that happen outside of the Guild is for the general law to take care of,” Ronald told me point blank, my confident smirk changing into a sour frown.
Damn it. This doesn’t look good at all. I should’ve gotten my clan’s badge the very next day after registering my clan, so at the very least I could’ve used that as a leverage here, but now. Shit, I messed up big time. I scolded myself in my head. I need to think of something or else a lot of people will get hurt.
“Ok, fine. But let me you ask this then… sir Sanokard. Why do you insist on taking Lilfira with you? Why can’t you let her live the life that she wants?” I asked, taking the polite and respectful approach too.
“My daughter is a red dragonkin and that’s why she belongs with me,” Sanokard simply stated.
“Really? It didn’t sound like the other dragonkins were of the same opinion. They kept calling Lilfira the half-breed. Even you yourself have never called Lilfira by her name this whole time. Sounds rather dishonorable to address a red dragonkin in such manner,” I could see my words hit the spot, Sanokard snorting in an agitative way after hearing me say that.
“That’s because my daughter hasn’t proven her worth as a red dragonkin yet,” Sanokard said after a short pause.
“And how can she prove herself as a red dragonkin if I may ask, sir Sanokard?” I asked, trying to sound genuinely respectful.
“She needs to pass the Rites of Strength. Only then she will be acknowledged by the other dragonkins… and me,” Sanokard said.
“Does that also mean Lilfira will be able to make her own decision on how she wants to live?” I pushed for some more.
“If she passes the Rites of Strength… she will be equal to the rest of the dragonkins,” was all Sanokard said.
“Ok. In that case, I have a request, sir Ronald,” I said, turning to face the Guild’s leader.
“Yes?” Ronald asked, sounding curious.
“Would the Guild allow sir Sanokard to use the arena for the Rites of Strength?” I asked.
“I don’t see a reason why not,” Ronald agreed.
“That’s unacceptable! I have never agreed to it!” Sanokard raised his voice, also slamming his fist on the table, leaving a crack at the spot where he slammed it.
“Why not?” I asked, acting like it shouldn’t be a big deal.
“We have our own customs and I will not allow anyone to interfere with it!” Sanokard roared at me.
“Interfere? I’m sorry, I was just trying to be helpful,” I said, raising my hands in front of me defensively.
“This doesn’t concern you, human, so stay out of it!” Sanokard demanded.
“Hey, calm down, will you?” I added, showing a sheepish smile. “Just think about it, if you hold Rites of Strength here at the Guild’s arena, you will be able to show everyone how strong dragonkins really are. Besides, with the Guild overseeing it, nobody will be able to dispute the end result.”
“Humph?” Sanokard snorted, squinting his eyes inquisitively while looking at me.
“The Guild will stay neutral and will honor your customs without interfering. I can assure you of that, sir Sanokard,” Ronald added.
“…” Sanokard stayed silent for more than a few minutes, none of us saying a single word.
Keep quiet! Keep quiet! Keep quiet! I was yelling at myself in my head. I have learned in sales and in negotiations while working at the company in my previous life that when you want to get a favorable outcome, after you state your case and need to shut up and stay quiet, because whoever speaks first after the presentation was done loses.
“Ghmrrr…” Sanokard grunted, crossing his arms in front of him. From the look on his face, I could tell he was on the fence, and I was about to say something, but pinched myself on the leg under the table to stop myself from speaking. “If I were to agree to it, I have two demands that will have to be fulfilled.” Sanokard finally said.
“Ok. What are… the demands?” I asked, bracing myself to hear them.
“First, I will not allow anyone to interfere with our customs. My daughter will have to prove herself on her own without anyone’s help,” Sanokard stated in a very serious tone of his voice.
“Yes, of course,” I instantly agreed.
“I will make sure the Guild will not interfere with your customs, sir Sanokard,” Ronald reassured him.
“The second demand is that the Guild will have to take responsibility if my daughter doesn’t show up,” Sanokard said, turning to face Ronald before furrowing his eyebrows.
“Huh?” I became both surprised and confused about Sanokard’s second demand.
“Hmm…” and for some reason, Ronald leaned on his chin to think about it.
“Sorry, I am a little confused here. Didn’t you say you want the Guild to not interfere, sir Sanokard?” I was genuinely honest with my question this time.
“And who will take responsibility if my daughter runs away?” Sanokard asked, making a pause before adding. “Or if someone helps her escape?”
Escape? What is he… Ooh… I was at a total loss at first, but then it hit me. He thinks that I will take Lilfira and run away? Aah… Yeah, well. That never occurred to me, actually. So, that’s why he was so hesitant to agree to it.
“I can’t talk for the Guild, but I am willing to take full responsibility if Lilfira doesn’t show up,” I finally said.
“That is not enough,” but Sanokard wasn’t convinced.
“Rockin,” Ronald said, turning to face me directly. “If I agree to sir Sanokard’s second demand, it means that the Guild will be forced to issue an urgent Fugitive Quest to find his daughter and bring her to him, treating anyone who will stand in Guild’s way as an enemy. To say it bluntly, everyone siding with Lilfira will be branded fugitives. They will lose their Adventurer’s status and will be punished accordingly no matter who they are. Worst case scenario, they will be enslaved or even killed.”
“Ok, that’s fine,” I agreed without hesitation.
“Humph?” Sanokard snorted, his eyebrows shooting up. He clearly didn’t expect me to agree to it, at least not so easily.
“In that case, I agree to your second demand, sir Sanokard,” Ronald said.
“So be it. The Rites of Strength will be held in three days time from now,” Sanokard said, standing up to leave.
“Woah, hold on. Three days time?” I exclaimed, raising my hands up to stop Sanokard from leaving.
“Yes,” he responded half-angrily.
“You can’t be serious. Lilfira told me that during the Rites of Strength she’ll have to fight another dragonkin who has already passed the test,” I said.
“Yes,” Sanokard grunted.
“And what would be the level of her opponent?” I asked.
“Humph… No higher than level twenty,” Sanokard informed, looking irritated.
“Level twenty?” I stared at him, my eyes being as big as the owl’s eyes. “You want Lilfira, who is level five right now, fight a dragonkin who is a level twenty? Are you saying your customs say that as soon as a dragonkin reaches level five, they have to go through the Rites of Strength and they have to fight someone who is three… no four times their level? I’m sorry, but I’m a little shocked here.” I didn’t even need to put much effort to act that I was actually shocked.
“Ghm… No. The dragonkins go through the Rites of Strength only after they reach at least level ten,” Sanokard said.
“With all due respect, sir Sanokard, but you understand that Lilfira being level five has no chance to even hold out against someone who is so much stronger than her,” I said, extending my hands to the sides for an extra emphasis.
“It is not my responsibility if my daughter neglected her training,” Sanokard retorted back to me.
“Ah… yes, of course not, but… it wouldn’t be unreasonable to give her at least some time to raise her level. Hirvant has a dungeon nearby where she could train, so I’d appreciate if you could give her some extra time before participating in the Rites of Strength?” I was trying my best to remember all the negotiation tricks to have Sanokard extend the time for it.
“Ok, fine. I can give her a week,” Sanokard said.
“A week? Really?” I made a frown. “How many levels can someone gain in a week’s time? If you take into account the travel time and all the other preparations, the actual time someone will spend time fighting monsters will be five days at best. For somebody to reach level ten… they would need maybe a month to-“
“Absolutely not!” Sanokard interrupted me with a loud roar.
“Ah, yes. Sorry… one month sounds a long time, doesn’t it? But one week is definitely too short,” I countered his argument.
“Ten days,” Sanokard became more lenient.
“Only ten days? Well… I am sure you will need to prepare for the Rites of Strength from your side as well, right? You wouldn’t want to rush things yourself, would you? So, how about three weeks?” I was pushing for more.
“No!” Sanokard raised his voice once again, shifting his body to the side before turning back to face me again, squinting his eyes when our eyes met. “Two weeks and that’s final, or else I am taking my daughter with me right now.”
“Ok, great. Two weeks,” I agreed, raising my hands in front of me defensively. “So, aah… two weeks counting from tomorrow, right? Just checking.”
“Humph,” Sanokard snorted before turning away from me. “My daughter better show up on time or else I won’t spare a single person from your so-called clan.” With those words, Sanukard left the room without even saying goodbye to Ronald.
“Does that mean it’s two weeks starting tomorrow?” I asked out loud, scratching my cheek with one finger.
“Wow, I have never seen anyone negotiate like that,” Ronald commented instead of answering my question. “I would be very curious to know where you have learned to do that, Rockin.”
“Yeah, well… I’d love to chat, but I really need to go now,” I said, showing a silly smile.
“Yes, of course. How about we have a chat after the Rites of Strength are over, Rockin?” Ronald asked.
“Sure. I need to go. Bye,” I said before rushing out of his office.
“And how is it that your companions are level eleven and level fifteen yet you are still only level seven, Rockin?” Ronald asked, but he was speaking to himself this time, because I was already gone. “Humph, I am honestly looking forward to it.”