After clearing the tower, we’d returned to Fandor to ‘give in the quest’ as Hendrix called it. When I’d asked why nothing had happened, the bard explained that we had gained experience, which was the invisible and intangible fuel to leveling up. A certain amount of experience was required to achieve the next level, and each new level needed more experience than the last. We’d also each acquired fifty silver coins, even though Fandor himself never physically gave us any. The life of the adventurer was still foreign to me, but I was learning.

The wizard told us to leave Brookdell, head to Warm Meadows' capital, Firemane’s Run, and find his brother Gandor who would give us more clues on how to find Kaloriann. Hendrix explained that none of what Fandor said was important, that our true reason for being there was to form our guild and recruit adventurers. Whatever Kaloriann was doing, wherever she was hiding, there’d be no way to stop her unless we had a strong party to do it with. “And even then, it might not be enough,” Hendrix said as we neared the city. “There are hundreds of guilds in the world, dozens of which are considered elite. But right now, being an elite guild means raiding the Mana Wastes once a week, killing the same boss over and over, and hoping to find some clue to help finally progress. Some of these guilds have been stuck in this monotonous rhythm for nearly five years now.”

“And you think the princess’ diary will give us the clue that everyone’s been searching for?”

“To be in one of the elite guilds used to be the most honorable positions an adventurer could attain,” Hendrix said. “A couple years back, however, they started hiring adventurers of all levels and skillsets. Whether they were competent enough didn’t matter. They wanted to swell their numbers for one reason: to find the same book that rests in your pocket. They figured the more adventurers they had under their banner, the higher their chances of finding it would be. It hasn’t worked yet.”

The princess’ diary suddenly felt heavy in my pocket. With how doggedly everyone had been chasing it, I wondered if it would be prudent to continue my adventure without disclosing my possession of it. I couldn’t imagine the pandemonium if word got out. Hendrix’s whole plan hinged on using my ownership of the book to our advantage for recruiting, but that plan didn’t seem as ideal as it had before.

Thundering hooves sounded behind us. I turned just in time to sidestep a tall, slender human with long, pointed ears and the massive buck he rode. I ducked to avoid broad antlers. “Watch where you’re going!”

Hendrix rushed to extinguish my shaking fist. “It might be hard to believe, but trust me, that mount could have run right through you, and you wouldn’t have felt a thing.”

“That makes no sense.”

“How much of what you’ve learned the last few days makes any sense based on your previous views of the world?” Hendrix clapped my shoulder, and we continued toward the city gate.

Dozens of adventurers fought before the gates. Dueling, as Hendrix called it, was quite common before the gates of the capital. A way for adventurers to hone their skills, for guild masters to assess applicants, and sometimes, merely a way to pass the time. Their spells and weapons made my wrench seem as deadly as the dumplings in my pack. Their suits of armors matched and radiated vivid colors in the sun. I wanted to turn back. Entering such a place in my simple clothing seemed foolish. Diary of the princess or not, who could take a duo like us seriously?

“Don’t let these guys intimidate you,” Hendrix said as if he was reading my mind. “It’s usually the max level adventurers who hang out here. There are hundreds in the city who look a lot more…” he cleared his throat, “like us.”

He was right. Once we passed the lifted portcullis and moved onto the crowded cobblestone street, I saw many more adventurers like us. Mismatched clothing and armor, weapons so plain they barely looked threatening, but one thing most adventurers had that I didn’t was a look of purpose and apparent knowledge of what they were doing.

The houses that sprung up all over were indeed built in a similar style as the tower of the cultists. Each had a sign over its door and dozens of adventurers rushing in and out. The street opened into a large courtyard, surrounded by more of the same buildings. A towering statue of King Antonio stood at the center of the courtyard, surrounded by four adventurers. Each shouted at the same time, causing all their words to melt into a soup of incomprehension. Each raised a unique banner high for all to see.

A male human held the first. The banner was all black with a blood-red skull in the center. The second was held by another male human, this one with darker skin. His banner was green with a purple dragon head roaring in the center. I wondered if the purple meant he had anything to do with the cult of the Ann, but remembered adventurers seemed to follow completely different rules than the rest.

The third was a monstrous creature with skin like a lizard. It stood on two strong legs and loomed three heads higher than male humans. It wore armor like the others, the only difference being the hole in the back for its massive spiked tail to push through. Its banner was white with a red flaming torch on it. “What is that?”

“Guild recruiters,” Hendrix said.

“No. I mean that one in particular.” I pointed at the scaled creature.

“That’s a Drakkon,” Hendrix said. “One of the tank classes. I told you about them already.”

“I didn’t know they looked like this,” I said. “You told me there were only five races of adventurers. Humans, dwarves, elves, toadkin, and raventaur.”

“Drakkon is a class, not a race,” Hendrix said. “He’s one of the five races. I’m not sure which, but only turns into this form when in combat, or in this case, when he wants to impress people into joining his guild.”

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The last banner was lower than the other three as it was held by the first dwarf I’d ever seen other than the one in the mirror. The banner was a black mountain peaked with white over a grey background. “These are all guilds?”

“Four elite guilds, yeah,” Hendrix said, inspecting each building we passed while my eyes were set on the recruiters. “You’ve got the Blood Skulls, Mana Roar, Defenders of Rohan, which isn’t even a real place or person, so I have no clue what that name is about, and the dwarf there represents the Mountain Ears.”

“Which one of them is the best guild?” I asked. “And why don’t we join one of them? I’m sure having the book will serve us well in the application process.”

Hendrix stopped and turned to face me. “Trust me. You want your own guild. Join one, and you’ll have to do whatever the master tells you to do. You’d have no autonomy.”

It didn’t sound like such a bad thing. I knew little about adventuring. Having a well-established guild leader to guide me through it all could’ve been the perfect situation for me to find Kaloriann and eliminate the threat before it reached mother and Dara. But something felt wrong about abandoning whatever it was that Hendrix and I had going with our duo.

“To answer your other question,” Hendrix said. “Defenders of Rohan is the top guild out of those four.”

“Who’s the top guild in the world?” Every question felt like a risk. I never knew if the next one might be the straw that broke the ox’s back as far as Hendrix’s patience went.

“Champions of Velour.” Hendrix spat.

“You mean Valor?”

“No. I mean Velour,” Hendrix said. “Before you ask, I have no idea what it means, but they are the most successful guild. They are closest to Atlaris, and they’ve cleared the hardest raid almost twice as many times as the next guild.”

“Who chose the name?” I asked. “Did they ever reveal why they call themselves something so strange?”

“You don’t choose your guild’s name,” Hendrix said. “You’ll learn about all that soon enough. First, we’ve got to get to the wizard’s brother.”

We continued forward until the traffic in the streets thinned. Hendrix had been right about the strange man on the mount outside the front gate. He wouldn’t have hit me after all if the countless horses, boars, bucks, bears, and other beasts that ran through me like I wasn’t there were any indication. Each one made me flinch, and it was difficult to get used to. Hendrix sauntered on as though he didn’t even notice them. His demeanor calmed me. The bard didn’t need to pluck his strings to affect my mood.

Straight, wooden lamp posts were replaced by floating lanterns. Roofs began to twist into a shape like the peaks in frothed cream. The adventurers we met in the streets diminished in number and tended to be of a particular type, usually robed and carrying a staff or wand.

“This is the mana district,” Hendrix said. “Home to mana channelers still loyal to the teachings of God. It’s also where we’ll find Gandor and get all of this over with.”

We found the right building, listened to a few words of thanks from a man who looked exactly like Fandor. Hendrix was right about him not saying anything important, just something about heading over to the dark forest to the west. We collected our reward of experience and coins — ten silver each — and headed for the inn. We both spent the silver on food, which got me eight honey tarts. Hendrix got crab biscuits instead.

The bard laughed the moment we left the inn. I said nothing and waited for the explanation. I expected that I’d done something wrong again. Perhaps I’d said something I shouldn’t have to the innkeeper.

“I could’ve eaten.”

“What are you talking about?”

“At the tower,” Hendrix said. “Instead of crawling up the stairs half-dead. I could’ve eaten my wolf flanks. You’ve got two dumplings. That’s sixty HP I could’ve healed up before the fight with Mallar.”

I didn’t know what to say. “You thought about the food on the first floor. You made me eat a dumpling.”

“I know.” There was a hint of pain in his laugh as he moved on toward wherever we were going next. I let the subject drop. I hadn’t thought of the food either. The shock of seeing Hendrix in his flayed, bloody state had had my mind working at a fraction of its normal strength. It couldn’t happen again. Whatever the situation, we’d have to be prepared and aware of every tool we have at our disposal. It nearly cost us our life at the tower, and things would most likely only get worse from then on.

We returned to the central district close to the front gate in earshot of the guild recruiters. We entered a small house that had no sign in front. Inside, two booths were set up on the far wall. Each had a female human stationed there. Hundreds of blank banners hung on the other walls, and empty tables and chairs crowded the floor leaving only a small trail to get to the booths.

“This is it,” Hendrix said. “Just go talk to that lady, tell her you would like to purchase a guild permit, and just go with whatever comes next.”

I didn’t like the sound of that last part as I weaved through the tables and chairs and settled before the booth. The lady looked down at me and smiled warmly. “What can I do for you, gadgeteer?”

“I’d like to form a guild, please.”

Her smile widened. “Of course. Have you thought of a name?”

Everything went dark. The booth, tables, chairs, even the ladies and Hendrix had all faded from sight. I stood in a void, my feet finding purchase on what looked like nothing. Or was I falling? I grew sick and dizzy as if looking down from a high place. There was nothing to hear, smell, or taste, and I dared not move.

An immense presence appeared behind me. I couldn’t see it in the pitch black, but I felt it. It gladdened my soul much like Hendrix’s songs but a thousand times over. I nearly wept from joy. Was it Him? Whispers danced around my ears—the soft, gentle whispers of women and children. I couldn’t make any of them out, but somehow, I understood what they were telling me.

Everything rushed back to normal. I inhaled sharply and nearly tripped over a chair while recoiling from the sudden reappearance of the booth. Hendrix watched me with a wide-eyed smile beneath his purple hat. The lady held the same expression she’d had before the darkness had come. “The name?” She said.

“Keepers of the Book,” I blurted. It was what the whispers had been trying to convey. I didn’t understand any of it, but I knew it was the name of our guild.

“Beautiful,” Hendrix said. “What was it like? I’ve heard stories, but man. I would have loved to experience that.”

“Fifty silver, please.” The lady handed me a cream-colored scroll in exchange for the coins. I thanked her and led the bard outside. “It was amazing.” No words came close to describing what had happened.

“You asked me a while ago why some guilds have strange names,” Hendrix said. “We don’t choose the names. He does.” He pointed to the blue sky, then clapped his hands together and skipped a step in his excitement. “We’ve got the guild.”

“What’s next?” It was the one question I’d ask that I already knew the answer to. I wasn’t looking forward to the next step with anything other than anxious anticipation.

“Now we recruit,” Hendrix said. “We need three signatures to make our guild official. That’s when we can design a banner. We will be spending an absurd amount of time in the coming months with whoever we recruit, so we’d better choose carefully.” His lip curled in the familiar smirk. “And I know just who to start with.”