Chapter 11: Special Training for a New Adventure

The contract with the guild was simple to understand. They didn’t mess around with the fine print or any of that nonsense. There were just five points.

1. The guild hall is to be considered sovereign land and not part of any nation.

2. Guild employees will receive limited immunity as it pertains to the executing of guild business.

3. Adventurers associated with the guild are to be granted access to the nation as it pertains to the completion of quests.

4. All rewards associated with quests will be assigned by the guild at a fixed rate and charged to the issuer directly.

5. All disputes with the guild are to be arbitrated by the high house.

Sevache patiently answered any questions I had about the stipulations.

“The immunity only applies to the execution of official guild business,” she explained. “Anything they do outside of work is subject to the rules of the land.”

“What about the access clause?” I asked. “If someone issues a quest to invade my castle, can they do that legally?”

“That depends,” Sevache replied. “Typically, issuing quests to investigate the ruling class is off-limits. However, if there is evidence of corruption, special quests may be granted. The high house would likely get involved at that point.”

“Can I kick the guild out if they do something like that?” I asked.

Sevache pointed to the top of the contract.

The term of this agreement is two years and shall be renewed unless either party submits a cancelation notice in writing of at least 30 days.

“Okay,” I said, feeling nervous about the agreement. “Is there someone with a lawyer class I can get to look over this?”

Sevache chuckled. “You have every right to have this examined by a contract mage. However, you will be hard-pressed to find one outside of Dabia. Would you like me to forward your contract to the Dabian Adventurer’s Guild? My superiors will be more than happy to process your request after you’ve had a chance to have it reviewed.”

I sighed. “I don’t have time for that. This will have to do for now.”

“Excellent,” Sevache replied, sliding the contract across the table. “Just place your mark like you’re making a purchase.”

The ink glowed when I touched my hand to it. Sevache did the same, and the whole document glowed before splitting into two.

Sevache handed one to me. “This is your copy. Don’t worry. The guild has no alternative motives. Our primary goal is to govern adventurers and complete quests. We strive to stay in good standing with the local government.”

“That sounds good,” I heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Sevache.”

“You’re welcome, Alex,” she said with a smile. “Do me a favor and visit Yew from time to time. Your presence here has been good for the town.”

“I’ll come back,” I promised. “Hopefully, after I complete my quest.”

“You’re on a quest?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not a sanctioned one,” I replied. “I’m going to save some friends.”

“I see,” she replied, rubbing her chin. “Is there anything the guild can do to help?”

I thought about it for a moment. “There just might be.”

The grin on her face got even bigger. “Excellent. Let’s issue a quest!”

***

I headed to the mayor’s house. There, I found Pippa and her parents huddled together on the couch, looking at pictures. It made me wonder. Did they have cameras on Gaia, or was there a photo mage? Either way, the pictures looked well-developed.

“This is Jasmine…err, Pippa when she was a kid,” Pippa’s mother explained, holding up a photo of a chubby baby with a swirl of ginger hair on its head.

“You were a cute baby,” I said, looking over her shoulder.

Pippa’s face turned almost as red as her hair. “No, I wasn’t! I was a fat baby.”

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“They call that baby fat for a reason,” her mother soothed her. “Besides, look at you now. You’re drop-dead gorgeous.”

“I have to agree with your mom,” I added, earning a scowl from Francis.

“Is it time to go?” Pippa asked, covering the remaining pictures with her arms so I couldn’t see them.

“Already?” her mom whined.

“Yes!” Pippa barked, grabbing my hand and dragging me toward the door. “Alex is very busy and needs me to help him.”

I waited until we were a good deal away from the house before talking. “Um, I thought your mom was in Dabia?”

Pippa sighed. “She hired a portal mage when she found out I was back.”

“Oh,” I replied. “How much do those cost? Maybe we can get one to go to Dabia.”

She shook her head. “The closest one is in Dabia, and he can only go to places he’s seen.”

“Can we send him a message and ask him to come back?” I asked.

Pippa shook her head. “I don’t know how to reach him, and I doubt mom will help if it means I’ll leave again.”

“Actually, I want you to go do Dabia with her,” I explained. “There’s somewhere special I need to go, and I’d like you to find Gideon and recruit Miss Everthought of The King’s Jester along with anyone else you can convince to come to Albion.”

She sighed. “Can’t I go with you?”

“It won’t be safe,” I explained.

“You’re going to Xanadu alone, aren’t you?” she asked, tears welling up in her eyes. “If you die, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“I haven’t died yet, have I?” I asked, trying to make her feel better.

“No,” she sniffled, trying vainly to hold back the tears. “But this is different. I have a bad feeling about you going alone.”

She had a point. It would be the first time since arriving on Gaia that I went out without any support. In the past, even when I was alone, I had Pi. With him by my side, there was no challenge I couldn’t overcome. But what happened when the challenge was Pi? I couldn’t rule out him trying to kill me if I cornered him. For all I knew, Zelle and Nax’s souls were part of his sinister plan.

We arrived at my house while I was deep in thought. Pippa walked past everyone in the living room to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

“What did you do to her?” Isa asked, her arms crossed in an accusatory gesture.

“Nothing!” I balked, looking for an open seat.

Isa sat between her parents. Three empty plates sat on the table in front of them. I knew Bori was still in the shed with her mother. The only one absent was Cordelia. I kicked myself for not inviting her back to the house after lunch.

“Is everything okay, Dear?” It was Zelle. She sounded so out of character when she showed concern for me.

“Uh, yeah,” I stammered. “There’s just been a change of plans. Do the three of you mind accompanying Pippa to Dabia before returning to Albion?”

“And where will you be going?” Nax asked, raising an eyebrow.

I took a deep breath but decided to explain the plan. “I’m headed to Xanadu. I just got word that Mardella is here and distracted by something happening in the south. This could be the perfect opportunity to sneak in and rescue Nax and Zelle.”

“Then I’m going!” Isa announced, jumping to her feet so fast that it startled her parents.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Honey,” Zelle said, tugging Isa’s arms as though sitting would mean not going.

“You don’t have to come,” Isa gave her mother a sad look. “But I’m definitely going. I will get them back. And you!” she added, pointing to me. “Don’t even think about trying to ditch me. I’ll go by myself if I have to.”

I groaned. “I’d rather you didn’t. This is going to be dangerous, and I don’t think I can handle it if anything happens to you again.”

“That’s not up to you!” Isa roared. “If you want me to settle down and take it easy, get Zelle and Nax back. Not a second sooner.”

“It probably is safer to go as a team,” Nax said after a long moment of silence.

“But you guys are all low-level!” I said, exasperated.

“We got several levels each today,” Zelle said, giving me a thumbs up. “Give us another week, and we will get into fighting shape.”

“You could use some training yourself,” Nax added. “You’re never too strong to add a few levels. Give us the week. Then we will all go.”

I sighed. A part of me was relieved not to be going alone. Also, there was always a chance of reconciling with Isa if we traveled together.

“Fine. I need you all at least level thirty before we go.”

Zelle smirked. “If that’s all you want, we can get there by the end of the week. We had a good day today.”

“Really?” I was shocked, to say the least. There, I was worried about everyone else, and those three silently leveled up.

Nax Def (Vincent Strome)

Level: 29

Class: Berserker

Affection Level: Stoic

Zelle Lhor (Annabelle Strome)

Level: 31

Class: Aquamancer

Affection Level: Resigned

Isabelle Strome

Level: 25

Class: Revived Curandera

Affection Level: Determined

I whistled to show my appreciation. “You guys leveled a lot since the last time I saw you. Also, it’s nice to learn your name, Vincent.”

I already knew Annabelle’s name since I’d heard it before.

“I wish we could have gotten to know you under better circumstances,” Vincent replied. “Call me Vince.”

“Anna is fine for me,” Anna added.

“What is the deal with your classes?” I asked. “You have different ones than what Nax and Zelle had.”

“That is true,” Vince replied. “Those are apparently tied to the soul. Anna’s water magic was quite useful in the dungeon under the lake. We cleared several rooms by flooding them.”

“I did that once by accident,” I chuckled.

Isa giggled despite herself. “I remember that.”

“Anyway, we had a good day in the dungeon,” Vince said. “And I’d like to continue for at least a week. You can wait that long, right?”

Waiting and being patient was the last thing I wanted to do. However, the voice of reason told me I was better off with friends. I just hoped I wouldn’t get anyone killed. Not again.

***

“I’m going with you,” Aura’s construct crossed its arms as she spoke through it. “Just like your daughter accompanied you, I’ll reside in that stone arm of yours and fight alongside you. Because of the goddess’s blessing, you have enough mana to sustain me.”

“Mana?” I asked before remembering Bori fed off my mana while she traveled with me. “What about Bori?”

“You are not taking my daughter into danger,” she replied resolutely. “She will reside here in my dungeon until we return. This will be good practice for her. She will eventually have to take her place in the ground as a proper dungeon. You can’t keep wearing her like an accessory all your life.”

“But I like being with Daddy,” Bori protested.

“Be that as it may,” Aura replied in a soft tone. “This is life for a dungeon. I am sure you will have plenty of adventures with Daddy. For now, you need to learn how to do this.”

“Oka~ay,” Bori chirped.

We watched on a portal as Isa, Anna, and Vince faced off against the first boss of the dungeon. This time, it was a Baeagle, part bat, part eagle. It hung upside down in the center of the room, watching the trio of adventurers approach cautiously on the ground below.

“You’re going to have to train, too,” Aura said casually as we watched the battle begin. “If you defeat my boss monster, I might even give you a special reward.”

I glanced back at the bed that was mysteriously back in her inner chamber.

“Not that,” she chuffed. “I’ve been accumulating some mana for quite a while and should be able to generate some interesting treasure, but only if you earn it.”

Again, I looked at the bed, and she rolled her eyes. “No! Not that. There are rules dungeons must follow. For truly good treasure, you must beat a tough monster. I think you’re up for it.”