Jeze woke to the sound of bustling people. It was a moment before she realized she was not in the Old Crone’s tower, but rather she was in some sort of infirmary. She was lying in the corner and was able to see the whole room laid out before her. It had a dozen other cots and some were filled with moaning people that wore bandages. Medical staff and caretakers walked amongst the rows and checked on their patients. The teenager recognized one of the caretakers.
“Mom?” Jeze asked.
The caretaker looked up. She had loose dark hair, like Jeze, streaked with gray that fell on muscular shoulders. Jeze’s mom was named Jin, and she wore a tanned tunic and pants with thick leather vambraces over her forearms. Jeze recognized that this was her mother’s undergarments when she wore armor. Jin must have removed her gear to aid in the caretaking.
Jin perked up at Jeze’s voice and responded, “Oh, hi sweetie!”
She came over and embraced Jeze and added, “I’m glad you are well. We were worried.”
“What happened?” Asked Jeze.
“You blacked out again, knucklehead,” Ziplocke said as the Goblin materialized from the shadowy corner.
Jin’s face scrunched and she wagged a finger at Jeze. “We met your familiar, could you have picked something more pleasant?”
“Hey!” Ziplocke cried.
Jeze’s head was still spinning, and her mother gave her a small cup of water. “Easy, straining the Will can take longer to recover than the body,” Jin said.
“Where’s dad?” Jeze asked.
Jin smiled gently with moist eyes. “He is out helping the others fight off the monsters. I heard you performed well and made it to Initiate. You father and I are proud.”
Jeze’s heart ached at her mother’s strained voice. It had been weeks since she last spoke with her parents and it had ended in an argument. They lost a son, and demanded that Jeze throw away the idea of becoming an Adventurer. Her father had pleaded that she could join the military instead. Jin suggested that Jeze use her Runic skills to find a promising career in Capitol City. But in the end, Jeze’s mind was set. The young woman could not see herself doing anything other than to defeat the Wandering Spire. Especially now with the possibility that Daverius’s soul was trapped in there.
Jin placed a hand on Jeze’s cheek with a sad smile.
“We raised such wonderful and capable children. I’m so proud,” her mom said with a choked voice.
The ache in Jeze’s chest grew, but she pushed it down with cold determination. There was no life for her other than to be an Adventurer. There was a passion in her that raged like a fire, and her fight with the Howlers further proved to her that she was on the right path. The Adventurer life was one that she was meant to live, or to die by. Jeze reflected darkly.
“How’s the farm?” Jeze asked and wiped her eyes.
The young Initiate recognized that she was in the main town of Narcadia. No more than a mile from where she grew up, from where Raynor’s cabin was, and from where the Old Crone’s school was located. Jeze was not concerned for the school, the Runic protections were more than enough for the Howlers.
“It's fine. We got everyone in the cellar and only had to fight off a few monsters. We saw Raynor’s smoke signal and rushed to join the defense effort as soon as we could,” Jin answered.
Jeze studied the room they were in. It was the town hall converted into an infirmary. Narcadia had mobilized its defenders to respond to the Howler attacks. This was common around the pending appearance of the Wandering Spire. Judging from the amount of people coming in injured, there was a lot of fighting going on that Jeze was missing. She rose up and scanned the room.
“Where’s Raynor?” Jeze asked, her voice cracked.
“I’m fine, girlie,” the Old Hunter appeared in the door.
Raynor limped inside and was followed by a large muscular man with dark skin, dark hair, narrow eyes and a gray speckled bear.
“Dad,” Jeze said quietly.
Her father was named Guo and he wore a heavy mail shirt over a thick padded jacket. Guo set his polearm to the side and strode across the room as he removed his leather gauntlets. Guo hugged his daughter with the smell of sweat and steel.
“We are proud of you,” he said in a strained voice.
Raynor settled with a grimace on the empty cot in front of them.
“I owe this girl my life,” the Old Hunter said.
“Did Howlers always attack with this many numbers?” Jez asked.
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She recalled monster attacks in the past being much smaller and never on this scale. Jeze glanced around the room at the number of wounded. Out the window she watched villagers, like her parents, mobilizing and marching through the streets.
“Eh, we have not had Howlers in some time.” Raynor muttered.
Guo looked up and scratched his thick black hair. “Eight or ten years, maybe?”
“Never this many monsters. All the Initiates were called in from the surrounding farms and villages,” Jin said, and rubbed Jeze’s arm.
“Aye, that is true. A handful here and there. I always figured it was your brother that kept the numbers low,” Raynor said.
Jeze noticed the slight flinch of pain on her parents’ faces. They recovered. Guo’s face remained stoic, and Jin smiled softly as she wiped her eyes. Raynor’s sharp eyes saw this.
“He was a good lad. Strong, and brave,” the Old Hunter added.
Guo nodded with a firm jaw and looked out the window. Jeze felt the sadness well up in her chest and the pressure of tears formed behind her eyes.
“He fought them all?” The teenager asked.
Raynor rubbed his leg and replied, “He did something. He would travel into the Deep Wood, further than I felt comfortable going.”
Jeze’s parents remained quiet. She needed to learn more. Did he find something in the forest? Was that his “Good Authority?”
“Did he find the source of the monsters?” The teenager asked.
Raynor shrugged. Jeze wanted to scream. Sometimes the Old Hunter was difficult to talk to.
“Anything else you can tell us?” Jeze demanded.
The others looked at her. Jin rubbed her shoulder, and Guo turned his gaze to the floor. Raynor arched a bushy eyebrow and looked at her with his squinty eyes. He sighed.
“Daverius would come back banged up. I figured he was training to prepare for the Wandering Spire. That boy always trained hard like you do now, girl. He didn’t say anything to me, and I didn’t ask,” the Old Hunter answered.
Ziplocke was nowhere to be found. Jeze suspected the Goblin watched from the dark shadows in the corners of the room. She wanted to ask more questions, but held off. She saw that the talk of her brother made her parents sad, as if she picked at an old wound. Jeze changed the subject.
“Dad, can a Captain of the Legion also be an official with the Adventurer Guild?” She asked.
Guo looked up from the floor and nodded. “The Guild takes all the resources it can get. As long as there are no conflicts of interests or duty.”
Jin added, “Every Nation sends military units to attempt the Wandering Spire. Specially trained units.”
“Why?” Jeze asked.
Guo took a deep breath and answered, “Every king wants to be immortal like our Emperor.”
Raynor huffed, “Plus there be plenty of treasure even in the lower levels, and a good way for a young person to make a name for themselves.”
Jin smiled and added, “Our Emperor is rumored to want an immortal wife. He has offered a very generous reward to any soldier that is able to return with the gift of Immortality.”
Jeze recalled her brother’s words, “...the promise of Immortality at the top of the Spire is a lie.” She shook them out of her head.
“So a Legionnaire that serves in the guild would come from a highly trained unit?” Jeze asked.
Raynor chuckled, “Aye, that be true. The Wandering Spire is no joke, girl. Your parents and I never had the skill to even attempt it.”
Special training? Like an agent? Jeze reflected. She would have to be careful around Captain Drake.
Guo slapped his thighs and glanced up. Jeze recognized the look in his eyes and she steadied herself for another argument.
“If you are going to the Wandering Spire, promise us this. You will back out when it gets too difficult. You promise?” He asked softly.
Jin rubbed her husband’s broad shoulders and smiled at Jeze. Raynor sat back and remained quiet.
“I’ll be careful,” Jeze responded.
“Don’t be like your hard headed brother…” Guo said angrily and gasped with tears in his eyes.
The large man shook off Jin’s comforting hands and walked away. For Jeze, this was much worse than an argument. She considered for a brief moment to not attempt the Spire. To leave this mess of conspiracies, and agents of the Empire behind. To take her parent’s suggestion. Maybe join the military? No, not the military. The Empire is up to something no good. But perhaps she could work a career as a Rune Master. Jeze was talented and could live comfortably. The more she thought about it, the less she wanted it. She would hate herself. Besides, Daverius’s soul may be trapped in the Wandering Spire. Jeze’s passion for adventure blossomed in her chest and pushed all other thoughts from her mind like an erupting volcano. She gritted her teeth with steely determination.
“Jeze, listen honey. There are plenty of unexplored parts to this world for an Adventurer. Please consider them, instead of the Spire. Your father and I traveled to many places filled with wonder and danger. That was when we discovered we didn’t need to go to the Spire. We had our fill and started a life here in Narcadia,” Jin said.
“That was your life. Not mine,” Jeze stated.
Jin saw the look in her daughter’s face and didn’t push further. Instead she rose up and wiped her eyes.
“Let me check on your father,” Jin said and left.
Jeze felt horrible, but with her parents gone she had an opportunity to talk with Raynor. If what Daverius had shared in his note was true, the less they knew the less danger they were in.
“Can you take me to where my brother went in the Deep Wood?” She asked.
Raynor looked at Jeze for a moment with his squinty eyes under his thick gray eyebrows.
“Aye, but just like what I told your brother. I won’t go any deeper. I’m too old for that nonsense. You will be on your own,” Raynor responded.
Soldiers entered the infirmary.
“Aww there is my new Initiate! I see that you are well. Come and let us meet in my office to finalize your Guild Application,” Drake boomed from the doorway.
The Guild Trial Observer was flanked by two legionnaires armed with spears. Why did he come with soldiers? Jeze wondered and was a little afraid.
“I’ll leave you to it, girl. You know where to find me,” Raynor said and rose with a grunt of pain.
The Old Hunter never had much care for the Empire.
“Be careful with what you say,” Ziplocke whispered from the shadows.
Jeze nodded and put on a fake smile for Drake. She got up and followed the Captain out of the building.