The Adventurer’s Guild was unique, a fortification inside the fortified city. Its walls were more symbolic than anything, but the spikes atop the wooden wall would be no less lethal regardless. The gate, such as it was, swung up rather than down, facing out, then to be secured at the base by a series of metal latches.

It remained an authorized posting despite being apolitical in part because of tradition. Legend had it that the city itself grew up around the fort, and that it was adventurers who laid the foundations for the castle with their own hands, promising to protect the kingdom from monsters as long as they were not forced to shed the blood of men in war.

For hundreds of years that tradition stood, and the adventurers of Gelia protected the Kingdom from harm. ‘Now we’re on the verge of collapse.’ Deirdre considered that with a dispassionate mind. Looking back, she could see her father’s missteps in failing to bring the nobles to heel. Failing to properly prepare his sons for succession. Failing to abdicate properly to the one worthwhile. Failing to do more than ‘defend’ the Kingdom in the last twenty years, bringing an end to the conflicts without bringing about a real victory. And of course, ‘Failing to quash the corruption that has crippled the state. If he’d shown the ruthlessness of a brigand, he’d have been a better King.’

She felt no hatred for her father, no more than she did any other, instead he was an object lesson never to allow sentiment to bar the way to success.

The Princess shook off the thought and went straight for the entrance. The interior of the fort had several buildings of reasonable size. An inn just for their use, so that traveling adventurers could have a place to stay, a blacksmith for repairs, an enchanter for those who could afford it, a workplace and meeting area for adventurers and sign up, a small tavern, even a place to buy general travel supplies, a kind of ‘general store’ for their exclusive use. It was almost like a very small village.

She went straight for the main office, and unlike the rest of the capital, her presence was little noted, save for the receptionist, an old woman with a wrinkled face and a stern demeanor that changed only slightly when the daughter of the King entered with her bodyguard.

“I need to see Freydis Eirik, and I need to see her now.” Before the receptionist could respond to the Princess’s words, a feminine voice called from the upper floor.

“Princess! We’re up here, come and join us!” Freydis shouted, her voice was rich and full of life, even to the banal and focused spirit that presently consumed Deirdre Fomorisa.

Faust remained at her back as the Princess ascended the smooth winding open staircase, ‘If only I could guard her from both sides.’ he lamented, even though he had no reason to fear the Thorns meant her any harm, it felt like a lapse of duty to be only on one side of her at a time.

He watched her slender back, her every graceful step, the epitome of royalty in his mind. She held the rail with slender fingers, barely touching the polished wood but ready to grip it at a moment’s need.

Behind her, Faust could only feel like a brute, his steps heavy enough to cause the stairs to creak under the weight of his body. His one relief was that he almost completely obscured her so no attack could come from behind with any ease.

At the top of the stairs, Brunwaeld of the Maul gave a friendly wave. Her ruddy, fierce, oval face lit up when she saw Faust come into view. “So you’re finally ready to accept my offer, cherry boy?” She smacked her hands together and looked down at him, rubbing her meaty palms together like she was eyeing a delicious meal.

Her long, wild brown hair hung loose and tumbled around her thickly armored shoulders. On the crown of her head she wore a metal band with two horn protrusions arching out, a ‘functional and fashionable’ approach that would deflect most blows to her head, while also enhancing her fierce appearance.

She towered easily over Faust, and every other man and woman in the building, her broad body and thick muscles would have almost been mistaken for a man save for the womanly curve to her hips and the shape of breasts etched into her armor. The armor was a gift from the Princess, form fitting and heavily enchanted, it followed the Brunwaeld’s complaint that she was often mistaken for a man and, ‘It makes seducing young male adventurers so much harder when they can’t tell what’s inviting them to bed.’

Faust rolled his eyes. She had a reputation for sleeping with male adventurers after their first successful quest, saying, “Nobody should leave this world a virgin, and nobody leaves it sooner than adventurers except actual children…and there’s not much difference between the two.”

Faust shook his head. “I’m afraid not, but thank you for the offer, Brunwaeld.” He still blushed at her brashness, but after years of it from the day he first donned his armor, it was more friendly banter than serious intent.

“Give the boy a break.” A slender woman said from her seated position. She could never be mistaken for a man, as Brunwaeld of the Maul sometimes was. The speaker wore a witchs’ cloak of almost rusted brownish red. A form fitting studded armor and had long dark hair that tumbled down to her shoulders. As to her face?

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Neither Faust nor Deirdre knew, as she wore a mask that ‘may’ have been the face of a helmet, and a hood that she never took down in public. It was a virtual trademark appearance for Belladonna the Witch, and she was never seen dressed any other way.

“I’m just teasing the boy, Belladonna.” Brunwaeld said, somewhat chided at least, she ceased her taunts.

“You say that, but if he said yes, we would have to pay for yet another broken bed.” The speaker was a dark elf woman, skin a little darker than tiger’s eye stones, and eyes that matched the rock. Her hair was colored gray and hung short, stopping just at her neck. On her belt she wore a pair of curved blades, short and purpose built for close combat. Her clothing was a mix of charcoal gray and green, ideal for the shadows of the forest where her party often went through in their endless hunt for threatening monsters.

“By ‘we’ I’m sure you mean ‘me’ Nazari?” Brunwaeld asked.

“No. I mean you will borrow it from me and take three months to pay me back…again.” Nazari’s words might have been accusatory in any other context, but given the passive way the dark elf woman tossed it off, and the broad smile on Brunwaeld’s face, it was more like a running joke in Faust’s eyes.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough, Princess, won’t you join us?” Freydis asked and gestured to the empty chair, “Faust, you can sit if you like, she’s safe here?”

As the Princess took her seat, Faust shook his head. “I guard the Princess, it wouldn’t be proper for me to sit with her.”

“Stuffy.” Freydis said without malice.

“Freydis, I need your help.” The Princess spoke up, and the table fell deathly quiet. There hadn’t even been any tea brought yet, and in her entire recollection of knowing the Princess… ‘Has she ever talked business with me ‘before’ we had tea?’ Nothing came to mind.

“Belladonna?” Freydis asked.

The witch held up her hand, [Silence]. She cast the spell and then said, “Alright, nobody can hear anything we say, at least for the next hour. Go on.”

“The city is going to fall.” The Princess didn’t question the witch, not even slightly. She launched straight into the heart of the matter, informing the high ranking adventurers of what lay ahead and roughly how much time they had.

“Auxkos…I thought I was through with them, now they come here…” Nazari bit off her words like tough meat from tougher bone. She clenched her blade a little tighter, but did not say more as their leader began to speak.

“Princess, I understand your concern, but we’re adventurers, we can’t fight in the siege. I could probably justify going home to defend my family’s lands, but if I know mother, she’s already bargained to let the Emperor’s knights just march right through unopposed as long as they don’t disturb her or destroy anything.” The casual mention of the likelihood of treason would have been a problem for anyone else.

But Deirdre had no doubt that the adventurer would have happily thrown away the title to secure the adventurous life she now had, so the mother’s actions were almost inconsequential in the daughter’s eyes, or in the eyes of the Princess who recognized the differences between the two.

“I’m sure she has. But that’s not what I want. I was combing through the library a few weeks ago, and I found something that might help. Something that might save lives.” Deirdre said and leaned forward in a conspiratorial fashion, silence or not, it felt right, and the others leaned forward. “There’s supposed to be an old tunnel, somewhere down deep within the castle, something that will help people escape. I want your party to find it. Then go to wherever it leads, and make sure there are no monsters, creatures, or other foul beings there that will pose any danger.”

“I see, you want us to get you out in secret?” Freydis asked, but to her surprise, the Princess crossed her arms and sat back defiant in her seat.

“Absolutely not.” She said. “My sisters are all out of reach and already married. I’m very sure that since I’m unmarried and ‘here’ the Emperor is going to send his host straight for me. If I run, the city defense will collapse, and my father and brothers will lose all credibility. The war will be over. If I stay, we can put up a fight and buy them time to rally and resist. So here I will remain.”

“But you’ll be captured.” Freydis answered. “He’ll drag you back to his capital and-” She stopped when Deirdre shook her head.

“No, he won’t. He intends to. But I won’t let him make me some token bride so he can claim ownership over my country. I’ll stay alive until the last hour, and then I will end my life. He will have no victory over me.” Deirdre said with a ferocity no one so young should possess, and Faust exclaimed…

“I won’t let that happen!”

The rest of the table was mute with disbelief as she confessed her intentions. “I won’t let you stop me, either.” Deirdre said while looking up at her bodyguard. “That’s why I’m here today.” She tore her eyes from Faust with the greatest effort and said to Freydis, “I want you to make sure my Faust and as many people as possible, get out safely when the time comes. When the lines tighten around the city, take him and some soldiers to safety. You should only have to fight monsters, which is perfectly permissible. You have no involvement with me, you just happen to have knowledge of an old passage, and used it. You can stay perfectly within the guild rules.”

“I won’t leave you.” Faust answered, grim faced with his brow furrowed, “You know that, Princess.”

“I have to stay, you don’t, and this isn’t something you can protect me from. I’ll let you take whatever treasure you like from the palace, and then you can get out of the Kingdom before it falls, and go live a decent life somewhere.” Deirdre bit off her words and only reluctantly focused her eyes back on Freydis and the others, leaving Faust to struggle with a raging, angry, embittered heart…

‘If I were only stronger… I would give anything to be strong enough to protect her properly…’ He mourned his weakness as his Princess went on.

“So, will you help me?” She asked.

“Yes!” The four voices answered at once.

“We’ll go right now.” Freydis said and rose to her feet. “Lead the way, Princess.” And with that, the four members of ‘The Thorns’ stood up.