“So, what are your plans now?” I asked my sister as we stood outside the restaurant, taking in the cooling day.
“Oh, I’ll swing by my father’s house.”
“Really? What for?”
“Oh, nothing in particular,” Rosalina answered with a sly smile.
She’s up to something.
“What about you?”
“Well, I think I will crash in one of the adventure rests. Plus, I got a gold rank today, so I can get a nice room for once.”
“Wait, did you seriously never reach gold rank before?”
“Nope, I was kicked out pretty much instantly after the dungeon expedition. I capped out at silver. Until today.” I winked at her, taking satisfaction in how I’d managed to screw over the asshole who had been bothering her.
“Well, what about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? Well, I’ve got to return this nifty sword to Samgen, or he tells me he plans to haunt me.”
“And after that?”
“I guess I’ll be returning to Akadia. Going to have to hike a few days through the desert to find the nearest ring gate, which is a pain, but that’s just how it is.”
“Will you wait for me outside Samgen’s tomorrow?”
“Of course,” I said as if it were obvious. “I wouldn’t leave without saying farewell.”
Rosalina glanced away for a second, unable to meet my gaze.
Probably just doesn’t look forward to saying goodbye.
“Well, this is goodnight then.”
This time when Rosalina rushed me, she did hug me.
Which my face was thankful for.
“Goodnight, Pips,” I whispered before releasing her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.” She said, a glimmer in her eyes that, looking back, I should have noticed, too mischievous to be innocent.
Leaving my sister, I made my way through the darkening night before finding myself at one of many adventurers rests.
“A room for one, please,” I said, smiling politely as I walked in.
Always wanted to see what a gold's room would look like.
---------------------------------------------------------------
“Leaving already? You only just arrived.”
“Well, I did say I wouldn’t be staying long.” I sighed as I watched Samgen’s soot-stained face frown at me from beneath the goggles he wore.
“Bah, in one day, out the next, like you’re some damned ghost.”
“Ghosts aren’t real, Samgen.”
“Tell that to my dear mother, who haunts me to this day.”
“Isn’t your mother still alive?”
“That’s why she haunts me.”
I cracked a grin, sticking a handout as Samgen met me halfway, grabbing each other’s forearms.
“It was nice to see you were still alive. Even if you did kill my three babies.”
“You’ll survive.” I rolled my eyes at the man as we released our exchange.
“By the way, did you ever deliver my message to Ms. Rose?”
“Oh, shit, sorry.” I frowned, realizing I never did.
“That’s fine.” A new voice cut in; as pushing through the door, none other than my sister appeared.
“Ahh, there you are,” Samgen grumbled. “I’m still upset about those hammers you smashed.”
“You’ll survive.” Rosalina shrugged.
“Gah, you sound like him.” Samgen jabbed a finger toward me.
“Speaking of him.” Rosalina turned toward me. “I need to have a word with Samgen. Could you give us a moment?”
“I was actually just on the way out,” I answered before looking at Samgen. “It was nice to catch up.”
“Yeah, yeah, enough sentimental crap. Out with you.”
Turning around, I quickly left the store, standing outside as I leaned against the sandstone bricks, letting the sun warm me.
Wonder what she needed to talk to him about?
From what she’d told me, she had spent much time pestering Samgen for various reasons but mostly looking to become a part-time apprentice. I wasn’t sure why, but I supposed everyone had their own strange hobbies.
Never took her for a wanna-be blacksmith when she was younger.
The only issue was, apparently, she had little in the way of fine-tuned control, and with her strength, it meant many broken tools or projects.
I continued waiting for several minutes, the sun causing a drowsy haze to slowly hang over me until Rosalina finally appeared, hands on her hips with a look of self-satisfaction.
“Took you long enough,” I grumbled, standing straight. “But I guess this is where we part ways. I’m sorry that-”
“Part ways?” Rosalina laughed. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I know you probably don’t want me to, but I’ve got to leave. We’ve been over this.”
“No, I think you’re the one who doesn’t get what I’m saying. I’m going with you.”
“Huh?” I stared at her, failing to make sense of her words.
“Oh c’mon, is it that hard to understand?”
“You have a life here!”
“A life I learned was nothing more than a glorified hostage situation.”
“And your father?”
“He doesn’t like it, but I’m an adult, and it’s not like I’ve lived at home for the last two years anyway.”
“Your job?”
“You think I want to keep working for the guy who was basically holding me hostage against you?”
I floundered with my words. I was at a total loss, having never expected this.
“Do you want me to stay here?”
“Lords above, I do not,” I answered instantly. If I could get her away from the city, I would, something I should have tried to do long ago but could not, given I trusted none other than myself to escort her away from here.
“Well, where else do you suggest I go?”
I was silent; she had a fair point.
“It sounds like you don’t want me to go with you.”
“No, it’s nothing like that.” I shook my head. “I just wasn’t expecting this.”
“Well, get over it. I’m coming with you, and that’s settled. So, are we leaving immediately, or is there any last unfinished business?”
“There is, actually.” I sighed. “I have to pay a visit to the guild.”
“Why?”
“Because I originally went on this entire goose chase at the behest of Dion. May as well report my findings.”
‘Hmm.” Rosalina seemed lost in thought before nodding. “Alright, let’s go.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“You really don’t have to go with me,” I said in mild protest.
“What, and give you a chance to give me the slip like before? Not happening.”
I winced, rubbing at the back of my neck. “You don’t plan on letting that go, do you?”
“Not as long as it wins me arguments.” She smiled triumphantly. “Plus, I also have a few things to say to Dion.”
“Right, that sounds alarming, but I can’t say I’m averse to it.” I chuckled. “Then, off we go.”
Stepping toward the roadside, I flagged down a passing cab pulled by a three-humped camel.
“Where to?”
“The Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Climb in back.” The cab driver jerked a thumb toward their open-air cart, waiting as Rosalina and I boarded.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
“I can’t wait to see the look on his face,” Rosalina whispered to me after the cart had been winding through the streets for some time, now closing in on our destination.
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. Dion is one of the last few people you’ll likely get much of an honest reaction from.”
“Well, a girl can dream.”
“You have odd dreams if that’s the case.” I snorted, in a better mood than I’d been in quite some time. “Anyway, we’re here.”
I pointed off to the side as we pulled up to the guild. Not waiting for the cabbie, I flicked him an entire rost as Rosalina, and I quickly disembarked.
“Now remember, don’t do anything too severe. Dion is a piece of shit, and I’d like to beat him black and blue as much as you would, but it would be easier for us in the long run if we don’t antagonize him more than necessary.”
“Roger.” Rosalina stiffly saluted, eliciting an eye roll from me.
Pushing through the door, I was flooded with nostalgia as I entered the guild headquarters. All around me were familiar sights, but I ignored them, walking straight to the front desk, where an old man I recognized was working.
“Can I help- Zero?”
“Been awhile, Al.” I forced a smile as the man looked me up and down.
“Huh. Heard you disappeared.”
“I did.”
“And now you’re back?”
“No, just delivering a message.”
“Good because you always found yourself in some sort of trouble.”
“Is Dion in?”
“The guild master? Yes, he’s in his office.”
“I’d like to meet with him.”
Al glanced away from me, instead exchanging a nod with Rosalina.
“Rose.”
“Al.”
“Break any of our adventurer’s bones?”
“Just Hilee’s.”
“Not much of a loss then.” The man grumbled. “Yeah, I can send you back to see him. You aren’t planning anything bad, are you?”
“Not at the moment, no,” I answered.
“You’re not the one I’m worried about,” Al said, gesturing toward Rosalina.
“She won’t either.”
“Good, because I’ll be the one chewed out otherwise.”
Flicking a switch under the desk, I heard static discharge as the nearby door to the backrooms suddenly swung open.
“That’s new.”
“Things change.” Al shrugged. “Now, get.”
Nodding in thanks toward the man, I quickly made my way through with Rosalina in tow, navigating through the backrooms, pausing only once to stare at a door I recognized, the same meeting room where the dungeon quest had been explained to our groups.
“Rook?”
“Sorry, just needed a moment,” I answered, tearing my eyes away from the inauspicious room. After only another minute or two of walking, we found ourselves in front of a non-descript door. Had you not known better, one would never have guessed it was the office of the guild master.
Probably does that on purpose, on the off chance anyone searches for him for less than stellar reasons.
“Enter.” A voice called out from inside, muffled by the thick door.
Why am I not surprised he already knows?
Pushing the door open, I entered the spotless room. His desk was a beautiful but straightforward mahogany adorned with strewn papers, envelopes, and other mundane office material.
“Ahh, Rook, you lived. Oh, and Rose, nice to see you again.”
Standing up from his chair, he walked around his desk, hand outstretched toward us.
Gritting my teeth, I smiled as pleasantly as I could as I shook his hand; I imagined I could feel the slime of his soul exuding from his grip.
Turning toward my sister, his hand outstretched, my sister met his grip, smiling with perfect innocence.
Before, with a toss that a wrestler could envy, she whipped him with as much force as she could muster into the wall.
The proper response would have been to rush to his side and see if he were okay, perhaps to chastise my sister or even just a wince of sympathy.
Rather than behave properly, I simply whistled, impressed.
That was a nice throw.
I had tried to warn her, but I would be lying if I hadn’t still half-expected her to do something precisely like that.
Admit it, you wanted her to.
“Ahh, so you found out,” Dion spoke up, not a hint of surprise in his voice. “I do suppose I deserved that, then.”
Picking himself up from the ground, the man appeared utterly unphased, dusting himself off.
Nothing? Not even a scratch?
Switching to my mana sense, I could make out what appeared to be glyphs sewn into his clothes, made up of materialized mana.
Interesting. I’ll have to investigate how it’s done. Practical theory suggests enchantments like that can’t be inlaid without specially prepared tools.
“I will say, I could have you arrested for that, but I doubt that will prove effective given either of your talents, and I’d rather not involve the crown where I can help it.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have acted like you cared when the truth was you were just keeping an eye on me as a damn hostage.”
“You were never truly a hostage. You could have left the city at any point.”
“I was a kid.”
“You are a kid.” Dion corrected with a tsk of his tongue. “Your adopted brother barely qualifies as an adult himself.”
“Yeah, didn’t come here to be patronized.” Rosalina raised a twitching fist, fingers curled up like claws, but I finally stepped in and placed a hand in front of her.
“Alright, enough.”
“But-”
“I know.” I cut her off again. “But unless you want to go on the run, enjoy your freebie and let it go.”
“See, this is why your brother there qualifies as an adult, and you do not, my dear Rose.”
“Don’t push your luck,” I said. “If it weren’t for who you are, I’d beat you within an inch of your life myself for what you’ve done.”
“Yes, yes, do lecture me more murderer of my daughter. Now, have we all vented our angst, and could we move on to business?”
Smoothing out my expression, I deftly pulled a seat back, settling in as Dion and my sister followed suit.
“That’s better.” Dion smiled pleasantly, an expression faker than my teaching credentials. “So, what do you have to report on the dungeon business?”
“It’s nothing to be worried about,” I answered.
“What’s the cause then?”
“It’s undergoing magical resonance. Somewhere in the world, there is magic of a matching frequency being performed.”
“Hmmm.” The man frowned before shrugging. “Alright. So nothing else to report? It’s not about to behave in any other unexpected manners?”
“No, it’s stable.”
“Alright, you’re dismissed.”
“That’s it?” I raised an eyebrow at the man. “You aren’t going to ask what might be causing the resonance.”
“The magical arts the dungeon served home to are lost magic. From what I can gather, it’s far beyond the understanding of any individual country. Therefore, everything points to some secret mage cabal delving into ancient history.”
“And that doesn’t… worry you?’
“Not particularly,” Dion confirmed. “If it’s within the bounds of Haerasong, then some of our adventurers will quell the problem if the need arises. If it’s overseas, well, then it’s not our problem whatsoever. For performing my request admirably, you’re now free to come and go through Dunehold as you wish. Except I figure that won’t be needed much anymore, will it?” Dion glanced at Rosalina as if prompting her to talk.
“I’m quitting,” Rosalina stated with absolute confidence.
“Yes, I figured. That shoulder toss from earlier was a rather effective way of conveying your feelings. As thanks for being one of the founding Sentries, I’ll even remove you from observation.”
“As if you plan on no longer tracking a person of interest.” I interrupted with a snort, not believing the man for a moment. “I’m certain you’ll have her tracked as soon as you reconfirm her whereabouts.”
“Alright, you got me.” Dion raised his hands as if he’d gotten caught doing something no more severe than stealing a cookie. “I won’t have you actively followed. Better?”
“About as much as you could expect,” I muttered to Rosalina, who frowned.
“Fine. But if I find myself followed at any point, I will beat them to a pulp.”
“I’d have it no other way. A learning lesson for my contacts.” Dion smiled agreeably. “Zero, I will give you a single heads up regarding certain… affairs.”
“How charitable.”
“Mock and belittle if you please, but you’d be wise to heed my warning. Keep your eyes peeled for trying times.”
“What does that mean?” I felt ice flood my veins. Similar warnings had been cropping up more and more frequently.
“I myself am not certain. But if you know where to look, you will find things amiss in ways I have not seen before.”
Before I could ask any other questions, Dion stood up again, clapping his hands together loudly.
“Alright, I can bear to see your faces no longer. Rose, I have no specific feelings toward you; I apologize for misleading you this entire time. On the other hand, I cannot stand your brother, so do me a favor and leave.”
“Feelings mutual,” I muttered as I rose from the chair, turning my back toward the one person I could qualify as a genuine antagonist. “Rose?”
Rosalina followed me as we left without another word, passing through the halls in silence before she turned to look at me.
“Rose?” She arched an eyebrow at me. “Since when have you called me that?”
“I keep hearing everyone call you that,” I answered.
“Yeah, but it just sounds… strange coming from you.”
“Sorry, let me correct myself. Pips. That better?”
“I’m not a kid anymore.” Rosalina pouted before smiling faintly. “But I guess that’s better. So what’s the plan now?”
“I mentioned it before, but we’ve got a nice desert hike to look forward to. We’ll have to do a bit of Ring Gate hopping; the nearest Ring Gate to Dunehold doesn’t route directly to Akadia.”
“Why is that anyway?” Rosalina questioned.
“Ring Gates aren’t simple portals that can take you anywhere,” I answered, switching to lecture mode. “They’re rips through space that connect to other rips through space. Think of them almost like spatial tunnels. Some tunnels branch off to other tunnels. Of course, with enough mana, you can make a direct tunnel anywhere.”
“And how much mana is that?”
“A lot,” I said simply, thinking of the sheer volume of excess mana coursing through the temporary Ring Gate formed within the glacial dungeon and how all that had only been enough for a single one-way ticket to Dunehold.
“How were Ring Gates made anyway? If they took so much energy-”
“I can give you my hypothesis once we’re-” I waved at our surroundings, my meaning clear.
“Ahh, right.” Rosalina nodded, catching my drift.
Leaving as quickly as we could without appearing as if we were fleeing, we soon left the guild behind, passing through the streets until we made our way toward the closest city exit.
Which also just so happened to be the direction we were bound.
“About… two or so days hike from here, depending on a few factors, there is the Ring Gate. That specific gate is usually stable, but it should be fine regardless since you’re with me.”
“Oh, what makes you special?” She asked as we stood around.
“I’m a Sage,” I answered as if it were obvious. “I can tune the Gates if they seem out of whack.”
“You can?”
“Well, to a limited degree.”
“Comforting.” Rosalina sighed before looking around. “Uh, why are we just standing around?”
“I’m waiting.”
“For?”
Appearing as if summoned, a black featureless blob dropped from above, landing on Rosalina’s shoulder and perching herself there.
“That.” I stifled a laugh as Rosalina stared at the cat in surprise.
“When you said she’d find her way over, I didn’t think….”
“She’s a right bit smarter than you probably realize.” I laughed as I finally began trudging away from the city’s relative safety.
“That’s right.” Rosalina snapped, remembering something. “You never did explain anything about her when you were supposed to after dinner yesterday!”
“I got sidetracked.” I shrugged. “But if you must know, she’s not a cat.”
“What is she?”
“A type of monster.”
My sister eyed the demon cat with wariness, trying to see through an illusion that wasn’t there until seconds later, she broke.
“I don’t see it.”
“Of course you don’t; she hasn’t matured yet. She’s a shadow blossom. As she ages, vines will begin to wriggle through her fur, and her fangs will fill with a toxin that literally rots flesh straight off the bone. Trust me, I’d know.” I muttered the last part under my breath.
“Ohhh. Does she bite?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “But only me.”
“That’s a relief.” My sister visibly relaxed. “Anything else I should know?”
“Hmmm… no, not really,” I said before pausing. “Actually, there is one thing.”
“What’s that?” Rosalina asked, curiosity written across her face.
“You’ve got some lettuce in between your teeth.”
Slugging my shoulder, she grumbled as I continued to chuckle, staring far ahead.
Akadia, here we come.