Ernie stopped in the middle of a road in Vraxridge. Althowin’s was a huge compound full of buildings interconnected with raised skyways and hidden tunnels. The casual employees and merchants that visited hardly knew how to get around. It was only her two apprentices that ever received full access.
From outside, the compound looked like a miniature city on its own. Vraxridge was a bustling place as the heart of trade in all of Verdantallis, but the line outside of Althowin’s dwarfed anything else in the expansive city.
“Busy day,” Katalin said.
“As if she is going to see any of these heroes,” Ernie said. There were undoubtedly some Shard Heroes within the line of hopeful customers, but none that would have drawn her attention. It was like that every day. People waited in hopes that Althowin would allow anybody inside. Sometimes she did, but those days were unpredictable.
“How late are we?” Katalin asked.
“Three days.”
“Fuck.”
“Is the plan to wait outside and wallow in your sorrows of the potential punishment or to get inside and actually do the job you have been assigned?”
Ernie felt his heart freeze in his chest. The unassuming, seemingly calm voice directly behind him was unmistakable. No matter how calm it sounded, there was a constant fire behind it.
“Master,” Ernie said, bowing his head.
Althowin stepped between them, playfully nudging Katalin with her elbow. “Took you long enough. What held you up this time?”
“How did you know we were here?” Ernie asked.
Althowin’s fox tail swished behind her as she cocked her head. “Really?”
The 7 Shard Hero looked like a normal older woman except for her distinct fox ears that grew from the top of her head and the fox tail behind her. The kitsune mob she had fused with had been powerful, but not powerful enough to fully change Althowin’s appearance. Her classic pink and white outfit was marred by the blue work glove she wore, holding yet another toad.
“Oh, is that Jenny?” Katalin asked, leaning close to the toad.
It croaked loudly.
“Yes. Jenny has been quite angsty today.”
Jenny croaked again.
“Come on inside before the plebs notice.” Althowin pivoted and strode confidently past the line of heroes, right into the front door of her compound. By the time anyone realized it was her, she was already safely inside. Ernie hurried after with Katalin right beside him. He closed the door and locked it as soon as he entered.
The front lobby held little more than some benches, exotic plants, and a desk for Indulf, the receptionist.
Indulf waved meagerly as Ernie rushed to keep pace with Althowin. She went up the stairs, through a skyway, down a set of stairs, two turns, and stopped in her primary workshop.
“Mushrooms,” she said.
Ernie carefully took the gilled mushrooms from his bag and placed them on a table under a heat lamp to dry. While doing so, Katalin strolled around the room, taking a look at all the new things Althowin was building. There were weapons powered by claverstan technology, swords made from specters, armor made from ogre skin, and more that Ernie noticed just at a glance. Althowin never stopped working, and her creations could vary from a simple health potion to anyone’s wildest dreams.
“What held you up?” Althowin asked. “This is the latest you’ve been.”
“We hired a Golden Bull who died on the third floor. We went to Atrevaar to hire a Nimble Hog, but Chorsay wasn’t there because he was arrested for harboring a goblin that escaped the Great Forest.”
Althowin let Jenny hop from her hand onto a table nearby. “I’ve heard of this. I assume you know more about the goblin?”
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“He was our escort through the Ocean.”
“Fascinating. We’ll address the issues with Arkasti later. For now—”
“Arkasti?” Ernie asked, interrupting. He sensed agitation in Althowin, but the alchemist remained calm.
“The hero you promised I would help. A foolish promise, even for you.”
“He traded us a revive—”
“Yes, he told me the story. He’s waiting now in the guest quarters.”
“He made it to the top?” Katalin asked.
“The thousandth shard hero,” Althowin said. “At least, for now. One or two are bound to die in the next few days.”
“I’ll tell you the whole story,” Ernie said. “You aren’t going to like a lot of it.”
“I figured I wouldn’t when it resulted in you promising my services to a lowly 1 Shard Hero. Katalin, take Jenny to the terrarium and collect as much bufotoxin as possible for our experiment. Use the others if necessary. We need at least one full vial. If Ernie leaves anything out, you can fill me in later. Now, Ernie, I want to hear it all.”
Ernie sighed and bowed his head. “Yes, Master. Owin is a goblin darkblade from the first floor of the Great Forest. He’s kind and scared, but he’s also ruthless when he wants to be. He took on the third floor swarm alone with two knives. And you won’t believe it, but his class is deficient wizard. He fights like a mad berserker and . . .”
The story went on for hours as Ernie recounted every last detail from the moment he had arrived at the Nimble Hogs to the moment they left after Owin declared he would conquer the Ocean.
***
Siora stood outside the Void Nexus Hero Company headquarters on the edge of Atrevaar. Nikoletta harrumphed beside her, still complaining about the alchemist’s threats. Clearly, she was a fucking moron. Nothing about Katalin’s threats had been a joke.
“Time to get it done,” Siora said.
“You’re overreacting,” Nikoletta said.
“How the fuck am I overreacting? Veph might kill us both.”
Nikoletta shook her head slowly. “The righteous will guide us to the light.”
“What’s that even mean?”
“Trust me.”
Siora rolled her eyes. She was wasting time for nothing. Even if she fled, Veph could find and kill her in a fraction of a second if she wanted to.
“Let’s get this over with,” she muttered.
As soon as she stepped inside the huge headquarters building, a woman appeared in a puff of smoke. She was stone faced, as always. Not even the funniest thing in the world could crack Sylmare’s face.
“She’s waiting for you,” Sylmare Virtress said. The umbra gestured toward Veph’s office.
“Yeah, I know.”
Sylmare didn’t hesitate in gesturing toward the door again, implying a sense of urgency. Siora rolled her eyes and strode through the expansive lobby, straight into Veph’s office. It was a huge office built by magic, with windows that looked from the top of the building despite being on the ground floor. It was overly bright inside with little decoration except the ancient ticking clock right in the center of her desk.
Vephthru Veriss, the illustrious leader of the Void Nexus Hero Company, sat at her desk with her feet resting on top. Her flawless brown hair was up in a ponytail, and she wore her normal crystal headpiece and golden face mask combination. Her golden suit didn’t have a single wrinkle or imperfection anywhere, and her leather boots were perfectly polished. She was the image of perfection and confidence. Her legendary wand and crystal sword rested on the desk as her metal hand toyed with the feathers on her familiar’s head.
“Siora Rilokos and Nikoletta Olah. The two heroes that caused the 7 Shard Hero to ban me from any future business.” Veph pulled her feet from the desk and picked up her twisted wand. “Do you know how difficult it is to get business from Althowin?”
“Impossible,” Siora said quickly, eyeing the infamous wand.
“Take a seat.”
Her familiar was a short furry creature with a bird head. It walked around the desk and gestured at the only two seats available, as if Siora couldn’t see them.
“Thank you,” Siora said, despite the uselessness of the assistance.
Veph leaned on the desk, carelessly waving the wand in the direction of Siora. “The cause, apparently, of this ban comes from you two assaulting the apprentice of Althowin Alegarra. Is that accurate?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Nikoletta said without hesitation.
Siora wanted to swear and smack the mender, but Veph chuckled, which was out of character, making Siora even more tense.
The Void Nexus leader was usually difficult to read with most of her face hidden behind a mask. But now, as she chuckled, Siora saw a gentler version of Veph than she had ever seen before. That could only be a bad sign.
“There are plenty of qualified alchemists working for Void Nexus. Who, other than myself, would Althowin assist?” She looked between them. “No one,” she said before either could answer. “The 7 Shard Hero doesn’t waste her time with anyone she deems lesser. What I am curious about is this goblin.” She set her wand back onto the table and leaned a little farther forward. “This has to do with him, yes?”
“Yes. The alchemists had hired the goblin, who now works for the Nimble Hog Hero Company.”
Veph’s eyebrows dropped. She lost all humor in her voice.
“You’re not angry about this?” Siora asked.
“Tell me everything about this goblin and his connection to the Nimble Hogs. If your story is good enough, I’ll forget about your mistakes.”
Siora’s heart hammered in her chest. “Yes, ma’am.”