Before us was Mr. Romano, leader of the guild called Aventus, the second one that had been formed in the city of Elker.

To explain his problem, he shared a brief history of the events that positioned him where he was. His father had been the founder of the guild. Mr. Romano had inherited the institution when his father died, a little over ten years ago. Before that, Mr. Romano was an active member of another guild in Durkmon, so he already knew the most important aspects of the trade. Managing a guild usually didn't pose significant challenges, except for those related to violent members, but the government was always willing to take their side in resolving any conflicts.

He —contrary to his father's wishes— decided to maintain discrete expansion while consolidating the most reliable, effective, and responsible members he could recruit, as if it were a family rather than a business, as many consider guilds to be.

—I eliminate those members who are more aggressive or possess any of the other malign qualities that proliferate in men when they learn to harm others —he said—. Meanwhile, I stick with those whose noble spirit doesn't falter in the face of the power of their skills. My policies yield slow but outstanding results. The guild has been growing at a very slow pace in recent years, but I am convinced that the resulting brotherhood is more valuable than any of those cold metrics that kings use to assess the progress of their nations.

Currently, he already had a reliable team of people who defended and transmitted the ideology he professed. Bruno, Drigo, Roben, Hermes, and Isela —the newest— were his guild leaders. Mr. Romano firmly believed that both his judgments and values were as unyielding as his own. They had performed their duties successfully, and he had never had any complaints about them, except for those that arose due to human errors. All had been well until two cycles ago, when the tragedy threatening to collapse their progress began.

—You probably already know how an adventurers' guild works —said Mr. Romano—. Clients make requests, and we prioritize them based on two criteria: their reward and their difficulty. Then, we distribute them among our members. We do other things, of course, but that's the core of our operations, and that's where the misfortune began for us.

» First, it happened to Roben, a Berken usshyer whom we entrusted with protecting one of our clients. It was Mr. Odal, an explorer who wanted to document the caves in the mountains of Elker, a task hindered by the creatures that had invaded them. Roben fulfilled his task, and Mr. Odal was satisfied with the work done. Both returned to the foothills of the mountain, took the same transport, and only separated upon entering the city. However, the next day, Lieutenant Roldus surprised us by informing us of the tragic news of Mr. Odal's murder. We were all shocked to hear that, especially Roben, who was the last to see him. The lieutenant began asking us questions, probing into every detail of our relationship with Mr. Odal. We quickly realized that his visit was not a mere routine procedure, as he had initially stated, and that the lieutenant seemed too interested in Roben and his possible motives for attacking the client. We were greatly offended by this confirmation, as you can imagine. We had never been involved in a scandal of such magnitude, and we didn't understand why we were being pointed at in that way.

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—Pointing at Mr. Roben —my master interrupted.

—Sorry?

—They were pointing at Mr. Roben, not at you.

—But, as I said, we are all so close that it's an offense to the entire guild —Mr. Romano said, reflecting the indignation he must have felt at that moment in front of the lieutenant.

—However, I doubt Lieutenant Roldus acted without reason —my master said, completely ignoring the reaction of his interlocutor.

The way the murder had been committed was the main reason. Mr. Odal had been brutally murdered, subdued despite being a man in the prime of his adulthood, immobilized and beaten until his body was shattered and his face disfigured, then his belongings were stolen. Mr. Romano gave me a brief glance before continuing to talk about it. It was obvious that he didn't want to discuss the gruesome details of the crime in front of me.

Mr. Odal was a Warkber usshyer, the strongest usshyer class, second only to the Berken. The suspicions of Lieutenant Roldus arose from that reasoning. Roben fit the profile of the possible attacker: he knew the victim, had the means and motivation. Additionally, investigators had discovered that much of the harm done to Mr. Odal had been caused by a large, blunt object, a description that matched Roben's shield.

My master admitted that the guild was in a very adverse situation, sympathizing with the position they were in.

—You're right, you're right —Mr. Romano said, sighing with relief as he rubbed his forehead—. Everything worsened from then on. We had the support of the government due to our good track record, and the authorities lacked solid evidence, so they couldn't proceed against Roben. We continued operating normally and giving our best to overcome the terrible event, although overshadowed by the bad time we had gone through, until another similar tragedy occurred a week later.

» Drigo is a Masken usshyer whom we usually send on missions abroad because he knows the territory and specializes in survival. He uses a saber reinforced with fire seals, a very common one among the Warkber, but modified to materialize as soon as the bearer brandishes its hilt. There was a frequent client who was perfect for him, a pair of professors who traveled from city to city to teach classes in their specialized area.

My master interrupted Mr. Romano to ask about the professors' area of expertise. "Construction and reinforcement of materials", the man replied, commonly known as Restructuring. There were about twenty people in the entire kingdom with the duty to impart knowledge on such matters in each city under strict guidelines, all designated by the University of Stavenger with the direct approval of King Kaenius. Professors were among the few people with such significant responsibility. Both were frequent clients, so they already knew each other, and there was cordiality in their relationship. On that occasion, Drigo traveled to the kingdom's capital to escort them from there to Elker, where they would give a lecture to the restructurers tasked with expanding and reinforcing the city's borders. Drigo performed his mission as expected, accompanying the professors alongside the private guards assigned to them for protection. He brought the couple safely after a long journey; they bid farewell once they reached the city, and each went their way. However, the next morning, Lieutenant Roldus appeared again at the guild to report the terrible murder of Modris and Dera, the professors, in their own home.