With a worried heart, and what felt like a thirty-pound weight inside both of her shoes, Sulika headed towards a staircase near the very center of the building. Along the way, she passed a dozen or so civilian workers heading towards the lobby, three of which were even wearing copper pins that marked them as members of the crafter's league. Sulika assumed they were the artificers Abby mentioned, and a part of her wondered which of them was the boyfriend. Sulika ended up walking for another minute before arriving at the door she was looking for. Twisting the wooden knob and pulling the door open, Sulika looked at the 'main' staircase for the first time in weeks. The staircase wasn’t impressive in the slightest, she'd even go as far as calling it boring- lacking even the red carpet and painting that made the other stairwells more comfortable to move through.

The stairs led to a small landing about halfway between the ground floor and the first floor, before pulling a one-eighty and continuing upwards to the next floor. Sulika stepped into the stairwell and pulled the door to, but she didn’t start climbing yet. After all, the training room wasn’t upstairs, it was down in the basement. After hesitating for a moment, because she really didn't want to go downstairs, she took a step towards the handrail on the right and lightly placed her hand on the end. It took a bit of feeling around before her finger brushed against a button on the backside of the rail.

"Here it comes..." Sulika shuddered as a Ward of Silence passed over her. She hated being silenced. The feeling of having not only her voice, but also the sound of her breathing stolen from her, was something she doubted she’d ever get used to.

It started on the floor in front of her and moved up. As mana coursed throughout the staircase, it caused it to ripple like the surface of a calm lake after someone threw a rock into it. Sulika watched with a sense of growing irritation as the stairs gradually shifted towards transparency until it vanished from sight altogether, revealing a fifty-foot-long sloping tunnel that carved through the bedrock beneath the building. Glancing at the landing between the ground and first floors, Sulika saw two men waiting for access to the ground floor; an old, gray-haired dwarf and a youngish looking human were leaning on a small, wooden fence that wasn't there when she last looked.

Sulika genuinely hated how long it took to enter the basement, which was why she normally went out of her way to use any of the other four staircases spread throughout the building. She'd rather just avoid situations like this altogether.

Sulika mouthed an apology to the two men before hurrying down the slope. As she passed through the spot where the staircase used to be, Sulika felt a slight resistance from the ice-cold remnant of what used to be.

The first time she'd been brought to the basement was back when she was on Eli's team. And originally, Sulika was impressed by the magic required to make the stairs disappear so thoroughly... But the stairs weren't actually gone, just displaced. The vanishing act was a partial banishment from this realm, placing the stairs somewhere between this world and the world of the dead. Sulika didn’t know how they pulled such a thing off, and with her tenuous grasp of spacial magic, she doubted she ever would. But she was fine with that. She didn't need to know how it worked, to know it was annoying as hell to use.

Halfway down the slope was a palm sized button set into the wall. Sulika pressed it as she passed, knowing that would reverse the process and let the two men go about their day. Sulika stopped for a second to watch the stairs return to normal. Even she would admit, the magic was interesting to watch from this side, since the runes powering the transformation were on inside the tunnel; the walls lit from within by a pale blue light, and the sparkled against the spot where the stairs used to be. The light allowed the underside of the stairs to be viewed by the naked eye, albeit with a one hundred percent more 'ghostly' appearance. The light receded after a few seconds, peeling away the banishing spell as it left the tunnel in darkness, save for the pale blue runes carved into the walls that gave off just enough light to keep Sulika from tripping over herself.

Arriving at the bottom of the slope, Sulika pulled open the nearby door and entered an expansive, wide-open area that spread beneath the guild, the market square, and a few of the houses on the outskirts of the market. Countless overhead lights illuminated the entire area and cast a yellow tint over all of it. Though Sulika disliked the yellow tint, she tolerated it because it also allowed her to see the fifty-six heavily reinforced pillars supporting buildings overhead, and the dozens of civilian workers going about their business down here.

Looking around to get her bearings; Sulika saw countless boxes, barrels, and cargo containers sorted and getting moved by the civilian workers. Off to one side of the storage area were five doors in a line, each with a small wooden sign mounted above. Behind those doors were the five artisans assigned to the guild, though Sulika had never actually gone through any of those doors. She'd never needed to. The artisans sent their apprentices up to the guild offices at the end of each day to collect orders or drop off equipment... Now that she was thinking about it, would she even be allowed in if she asked? There was a chance the artisans lived behind those doors, and Sulika certainly wouldn't appreciate someone showing up at her house whenever they felt like it. Even so, she really wanted to enter the second door from the right. Her sword was behind that door, and she didn't know if she'd be around long enough to get it back from the apprentice. Even if it pissed off the artisan, she would need to remember to grab it on the way out of the basement or risk leaving it with the guild forever.

She turned away from the five doors and headed for a tunnel a short distance away that led to the rest of the guild’s ‘extra’ amenities- A reinforced training room, an armory, and probably the most important room in the whole complex- The bunker. They- meaning the founders of Auris and original settlers of Azuris island- had originally constructed all of this to be a shelter for the citizens of Auris. It was to be used in the event the city ever came under attack by demons or otherwise. The idea was to give the citizens a safe place to hide and wait while they dealt with the invaders- or until reinforcements arrived to save them. But over time, as the city’s defenses were further developed and the need for such bunkers became less and less, the local government figureheads repurposed most of it into what it is today.

Now this section of it stands as the resource and equipment hub of the hunter's guild, while a few of the other powerhouse groups occupied the rest of it. Sulika had never had a reason to interact with most of them, save for the crafter's league, and she hoped it stayed that way.

After a few more minutes of walking through the tunnel, Sulika arrived at the door leading to the training room. Supposedly, the nearly black door had been carved from the core of a very dense stone- Eli had tried to convince her the stone had come from the sky, but since it was Eli who’d said it… Well, Sulika didn’t believe a word of it.

Knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, Sulika grabbed the well-polished, bronze handle, took a breath to steady her nerves, then slid the door open and stepped inside. “You wanted to see me-” Sulika’s breath hitched, and she quickly dropped to the ground. A hulking half-orc woman flew over Sulika’s head, her body twisting like a leaf in the wind. The woman’s wooden club was knocked from her hand as she passed through the still open door to slam into the stone wall of the tunnel.

Sulika watched the woman land in a heap; her body was heavily bruised on her face and neck, and the awkward angle of her right arm said it was probably broken in at least one place.

“Captain Wysarie, nice of you to join us.” A rough male voice reached Sulika’s ears, causing her body to tense. Sulika turned her head to regard the owner of the voice; The Guild Master watched her through a single blue eye. Having lost his left eye over a decade ago, the Kandis man covered his left eye socket with a black bandana that was tied to cover the left side of his head.

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Sulika could vividly recall the first time she’d laid eyes on the dogman; Standing at a mere three feet tall with a lean body, pitch black fur, a big blue eye, and even bigger ears that stood straight up from the crown of his head. The Guild Master made for a peculiar sight.

Today, the GM was wearing his usual battle attire, which comprised a baggy red robe, loose black pants, black slippers, and a pair of leather gauntlets that covered everything from the tip of his fingers to just below his elbows. Both gauntlets had thin iron plates sewn to protect the back of his fists, and thick leather reinforcements to protect his fingers.

While climbing to her feet, Sulika glanced around the training room. The entrance was a large, open space with spongy mats covering the floor.

If you headed left from the entrance and passed through a wide archway, you would find yourself standing in the melee room. Heavy wooden and stone weights lay scattered across the floor, momentarily forgotten by the ones using them. Six leather wrapped stone pillars stood in two rows of three near the back of the melee room, while a cordoned off sparring ring sat against the far-right wall.

Meanwhile, if you were to head right from the entrance, you’d pass through another archway and find yourself in the target range; They designed the three lanes to support up to four targets at varying distances.

Sulika counted twenty-two people in the sponge room. She recognized everyone as a member of either a closing team or a member of the security team… Actually, after taking a closer look at the people present, Sulika believed the only closing team that wasn’t present for… Whatever this was, was her team- she even spotted Eli standing off to the side, gazing at her through narrowed eyes.

“Erm- Hello, Guild Master.” Sulika said, clearly anxious about what was happening and why a half-orc had just been thrown at her.

“Captain, do you know why I called you here?” The GM asked, not bothering to respond to the greeting. It was clear to anyone with eyes that the small Kandis was upset over something, and Sulika couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was at least partially responsible for the GM’s foul mood.

Sulika swallowed the urge to say, “How the fuck should I know?” and just shook her head. The GM watched her through narrowed eyes for a few seconds… Then he sighed. He shrugged and beckoned Sulika to follow. He led her to the semi-circle of hunters at the back of the room and motioned for her to join them.

She did as he asked, but there was no way in hell she was standing within ten feet of Eli. She moved to the opposite end of the group without another glance in his direction, not even caring about the glare he was now giving her.

“Is there a problem, Captain Valdove?” The GM asked, his voice pulling Eli’s eyes away from Sulika out of fear he’d face the same fate as the half-orc.

“No, sir. No problems here.” Eli replied. His face could barely suppress a frown, showing how upset he was about being called out.

“Perfect. Exactly what I like to hear; I just love hearing about how studiously my captains mind their own fucking business and do their jobs. It’s great, isn’t it?” The GM asked while staring directly at Eli.

Eli’s face shifted through a couple of emotions before landing on a begrudging acceptance. “Yes, sir,” Eli said, this time sounding as if he were about to pout.

“Perfect- Hey, get a move on, CerLon. We’re waiting for you.” The GM said in an annoyed voice. He glanced over his left shoulder at the half-orc woman who was climbing to her feet.

Sulika fought back the urge to smile at the GM’s words and settled for speaking to the woman standing to her left. “What happened there?” Sulika asked, motioning to the half-orc. Sulika recognized the Dwarf as being from the second closing team, but was drawing a blank on the name… Maewyn, maybe?

“Nothing serious. The half-orc is a newcomer to the guild, and she was raised in a tribe.” The dwarf smiled as she muttered ‘tribe’, as if that was all the explanation Sulika needed… Which, to be fair, was enough to understand the gist of it.

Full-blooded Orcs were terribly large, impossibly strong, and healed from injuries much faster than other races. But unlike trolls or ogres, who shared similar biological advantages, Orcish culture revolved around the strength of their bodies, the honor of their tribes, and the worship of their ancestors. Centuries of living within this culture resulted in them becoming prideful. Most Orcs see themselves as the greatest warrior race to have ever lived- and after seeing the GM in person, Sulika could imagine someone raised in such an environment might take offense to being bossed around by someone literally half your size.

Unfortunately, most Orcs didn’t have access to the system. They had also never met someone like the GM. If they had, they might’ve needed to change some of their opinions about what true strength really was.

Sulika watched the half-orc limp back into line with the other hunters. She was clearly in pain, but she didn’t seem angry. Rather, she looked almost pleased with herself. Sulika wondered if the GM needed to get a medic in here to check her for brain damage?

*Crack!* Sulika flinched at the sound of a bone breaking. Slowly, so as to not be obvious about it, she turned her eyes towards the half-orc woman… Who’d snapped her arm back into its proper position and was flexing the bicep- presumably to make sure her arm still worked. After a few seconds of this, she smiled again and allowed her arm to fall to her side.

“Bloody orcs.” The dwarvish woman standing beside Sulika shuddered at what they’d both witnessed. Sulika couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Orcs, even half-orcs, were a scary bunch.

“Captain Wysarie?” The GM said, drawing Sulika’s attention to him instead of the Half-Orc. “I received some troubling news this morning, and I was hoping you could explain it to me- since no one else seems to be able to.” He said, his voice revealing the strong sense of irritation he was feeling.

“Here it comes.” Sulika thought. She didn’t trust her voice to speak, so swallowed her nerves and simply nodded. She knew what was coming. And she could guess why he was doing it here, in front of the other closing teams. It wasn’t common for a captain to be dismissed from duty; Most either quit… Or died. So, this was likely a good opportunity for the GM to show the others what would happen when you disobeyed orders-

“Not a single member of your team, other than yourself, of course, has shown up to work in the last two days. Why is that?” The GM asked. His voice and face were equally serious… And it was absolutely not what Sulika imagined he was about to ask. “Captain Wysarie, I know the act of closing dungeons can be taxing on both the body and the mind, but disappearing for days on end without notice is unacceptable. I hope you know that?”

“Yes, sir. I do.” Sulika replied, growing more confident of herself now that it was clear the GM hadn’t spoken with the VM yet. “I might save their jobs after all…”

“I’d like to hear the reason for their absence later, and for your sake, I hope you have a good explanation, Captain. Otherwise, this isn’t a good look for a newly promoted captain like yourself. Get your team under control. If it happens again, we’ll have to discuss disciplinary action. Understood?”

It took everything Sulika had to hold back a laugh. The VM was dead set on firing her, so, unless Edward had a major change of heart in the last twenty-four hours, the GM could take his ‘disciplinary action’ threat and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine... But Sulika wasn’t stupid. She knew interrupting him now would do nothing to help her teammates keep their jobs- if they wanted to. So, she forced down the laugh and told him what he wanted to hear. “Understood, sir. Won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t…” He said and offered her a gentle smile. The GM glanced around at the hunters present. He offered the same smile to everyone and looked for all the world like a kind old man- “Now, which of you sorry sacks of shit would like to explain to me how an Ogre got into our fair city?” He asked, never once losing the gentle smile that set Sulika’s nerves on edge.