Roan's Point of View

Chapter 4

After enjoying the scenery for a bit and spending the night at an inn, I really couldn't avoid the local adventurer's guild anymore. I was completely out of missions and needed to restock.

The adventurer's guild was at the edge of town, which was a common place to put guilds since they often got pretty rowdy. The training grounds out back sounded especially lively today and the light from inside the guild glowed warm and bright. I knew when I opened that door, adventurers would greet me, sit me down for a meal, and ask about all the cool missions I'd been on since the last time I was here.

My shoulders tightened, already feeling a bit claustrophobic. When I was young, walking into a guild with my parents had been the best feeling in the world, being welcomed like heroes returning home. But now? It just reminded me of things better left buried. They'd left me at one of those guilds, just tucked me in and never came back.

Apparently adventuring with a child in tow just wasn't as fun.

I gritted my teeth and yanked the door open. I hated how often this happened when I walked into a guild hall. I avoided them at all costs unless I needed to pick up a mission like today. Helping people was what I loved, not the guilds themselves.

Laughter and general merriment greeted me, buzzing against my senses as if I was walking into a beehive. The quest board was in the back with a few adventurers staring longingly at it, as if they didn't know what to pick.

My choice was always easy: find an S-rank mission, grab it, and get out. No fuss, no muss.

"Roan!" a woman's voice called out. "You're back."

I almost sighed, but then realized it was Jade, one of the adventurers I sometimes teamed up with when I was here. She was a battle junkie, just wanting to fight the biggest thing and have fun doing it, which fit my style perfectly. I could get out of here quickly, help people in need, and hopefully make some money in the process.

Jade was lean, but strong, and armed to the teeth. Twin swords peeked over her shoulders, daggers lined her belt, and even her long braid had a few spikes in it in case anyone tried to grab on. Not her usual lounging around attire, which meant she was probably on her way out for a mission before she'd spotted me.

"Hey Jade," I said, nodding at her in greeting. "Heading out?"

"I was, but now I've got better ideas. Do you know what time of year it is?"

I frowned, trying to remember the missions in this area since a lot of them repeated on a cycle. Legend said that all the monsters in the world were created by the gods as a way to test us, because nobody could be a hero without something to fight against. I wasn't sure if that was actually true or not, but repeat missions did make me wonder.

When I was here a few years ago around this time, I'd joined a team of adventurers fighting...

"Is the Ant Queen migrating again already?" I asked.

Jade grinned. "I knew you'd remember. The guild's gathering a team to go hunt the ants down in a few days, but I bet you and I could handle them all on our own."

I sighed, running my hand over my eyes. "You want us to do what? Why not just wait for the whole team?"

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked, leading me to the bar and ordering two drinks. "Come on, let's talk."

Well, I could use a drink, and the ants did pose a threat. After they devoured all the gold they could find underground, they'd surface and start looking for it in new places and they didn't care where it came from. Merchants paid the guilds highly to deal with them before they caused too much damage. The more gold they ate, the tougher their armor was though.

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The bartender handed me an amber beer that was one of the guild's specialties. It was rich and strong, just the thing to ease my anxiety about being back in a guild hall. I drank deeply, enjoying the malty flavor as we sat down at a table in the corner.

"So what have you been up to?" Jade asked, eyes glittering like I was about to tell her some juicy gossip. "You've been gone a long time, so I'm guessing you did a lot of tough missions. Tell me everything."

Despite the situation, I felt myself smiling. "Well, I did just help a librarian carry some books up a very scary mountain..."

A beautiful librarian full of passion. She'd been so fiercely protective of those books that I almost thought she was going to slap me when I offered to buy them. If I'd known she was bringing them to another library, I'd have bought even more for her. Restocked the whole place just to see that smile of hers.

"Wait," Jade leaned closer, "are you talking about the Misty Mountain Library?"

I nodded, downing the rest of my drink before motioning for another. What was Nyssa up to right now? Had that noise really been an alarm or was there something in the library waiting for her? I should really go back and check...

As a waiter handed me another drink, I realized the guild hall had grown quiet. And everyone was staring at me.

"What's going on?" I asked, glancing from wary look to wary look.

Jade shook her head. "Ignore them. Tell me more about the librarian."

"Well, she's determined and damn sexy," I said, leaning back in my char as I remembered her hair shimmering in the sunlight. "I've never seen anyone as passionate about a library as her and--"

"Not that," Jade snapped. "What's she doing bringing books to that library? And why were you helping her?"

I set my drink down, eying Jade and the rest of the guild cautiously. The vibe in here had changed the moment I mentioned Nyssa and the library. That was never a good sign.

"If there's something going on, you should just tell me," I said.

Gruff laughter pulled my attention to the guild master's cocky son, Sylas. "Shouldn't you know already? You are the big bad S-rank adventurer Roan. People speak your name like you're some kind of hero, but you're really just a fool aren't you? Flirting with women when you don't even know what's going on."

"So does the mission bother you more or the flirting?" I asked jokingly. "Because I can only help you with one of those."

Sylas sneered. "Like I'd want your help with either."

"Calm down," Jade said, motioning with her hands. "Roan just got here, there's no reason he'd know about the library yet."

My muscles tensed. "What are you talking about? Is Nyssa safe there?"

"Well, probably," Jade said. "It's just...a little haunted apparently."

"A little haunted?" I asked, voice raising higher than I meant it to. "Why haven't you dealt with it yet?"

"It's not that simple," she said. "There's never anything out of the ordinary when we go there."

"But you still think it's haunted?"

"Well obviously," Sylas said. "Why else would the board be covered in missions about it?"

The board. I hadn't actually looked at it. I hurried over, gaze sweeping over mission after mission about the strange noises on the mountain, the lights and figures at the library, and about the shadows that seemed to come to life and chase people away. The town was terrified.

And I'd just left Nyssa there, all alone. I'd heard that roar. I knew deep down it wasn't an alarm, but she hadn't seemed very worried. She must have known about the rumors, about the so-called haunting. With how much she loved that library, she'd probably go inside and try to make friends with the spirits.

Dammit.

"I've gotta go," I said, but Sylas blocked my path.

"Not so fast," he said. "What makes you think you can do something when none of us could?"

I didn't have time for this. If Nyssa was in danger, I had to get there. Had to help her. Abandoning people in need was not something I did. Ever.

"Move," I said, staring Sylas down. "Or I'll make you move."

A hush fell over the guild. Sylas was always trying to prove himself so he could take over the guild one day, but everyone knew he wasn't even in the running. It didn't matter if he was a good adventurer or not, the guild would never accept somebody with his bad attitude as their leader. And he knew it.

Sylas stepped closer, filling my personal space. "You think you're tough shit, but one day, everyone will see you for who you really are. A coward. I know why you don't stay long at any guild."

My blood pounded in my ears, but I refused to take the bait. He wasn't worth my time, especially now. I ripped all the library missions off the board, slamming them down on the counter next to the guild's receptionist.

"I'm taking these missions," I said.

"All of them?" she squeaked out in the tense atmosphere, gaze darting to Sylas.

"All of them."

Sylas shook his head, laughing. "Okay, but don't come crying back to us when you can't find anything either. Or maybe, you will find something and the spirits will gobble you up."

Nyssa. I had to get to Nyssa. I gripped my sword hilt firmly as I displayed my adventuring credentials so the missions could be assigned to me.

"Are you okay?" Jade asked. "Don't let him get to you. I'm sure there's nothing really there."

"We'll see."

The moment the receptionist was done, I was out the door, heading for the Misty Mountain Library.