It’s rainy again today, with the drops as pebbles no one likes going outside. The class that Luxios gave the students today was all talk. Luxios likes to have at least some outdoor training but today was just no good for that. The lesson has left him exhausted, teaching is not an easy thing to do. He sits down now at the table inside the guild on the first floor next to Clara again, him and his friends and the rest of the guild members are busy as always, even more than as always actually.

“Pot roast again? Don’t you ever grow sick of it?” Shills asks Reah who gets her usual order at the table.

“Never, and on a day like this? How could I not?” Rhea answers, almost drooling at the warm meal that arrived.

“Let her eat, we’re going on a quest tomorrow.” Gahn defends Reah “It’s Barguas by the sound of it, but it could have a bigger monster rallying them.”

“He’s right, Shills, mind your own plate.” Luxios tells him when he sees that Shills ordered his usual too, Fish filet.

“Yeah, yeah. How are the rascals wanna be hunters? Heard you decided where to go for the test dungeon.” Shills redirects the conversation.

“Yup, most of the nobles went to the Summit, that thing is still going, but we got around to having a piece of land decided on. I thought it would be much harder without the guild master but Carla had little trouble negotiating with the nobles who got left here in the city.”

They all look at Carla’s desk, presently she’s just left it to hang more quests on the quest board.

“When are you going to do a quest, Shills?” Gahn asks him with a smirk “Even the rascals are going on a test-quest, you’re going to be left behind.” just as he finishes the waitress puts his order on the table.

“I would love to go out on quests but someone has to look for the guild master.” Shills answered expecting a reply but Gahn already managed to stuff his mouth.

They all eat silently for a while, it’s easier to enjoy the room without all the noise. The sound of the raindrops hitting the roof and the wind outside mixed with the warmth of the hearth in the corner and the hot meal. Luxios feels much more at ease now, it’s been a rough day in a rough week in a rough two and a half months, maybe three, since the guild master disappeared. It’s running through the minds of everyone at the table, it’s these interactions that keep them sane, gives them the power to keep going.

“Luxios, how are the preparations for the test-quest for the orientation?” Clara interrupts the silent moment, or rather joins in as a welcome addition to the table.

“Did you order something?” Gahn asks her.

“We can order something for you, our treat.” Shills offers her.

“No, no, I already ate earlier.” Clara fills with joy at their kindness. They really won’t be holding on as a guild if they wouldn’t have supported each other like this. Clara is only a receptionist, she’s never even held a sword, let alone gone on a quest. Nonetheless she’s being treated well by everyone.

“I thought it would be difficult as always talking with the nobles about the test-quest, but it was much easier than normal. We got more time to prepare than usual.” Luxios tells her.

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“Great, you can comb the library with me then.” Shills interrupts.

Luxios’s reaction is… not surprisingly unenthusiastic, but suspiciously ingenuine. He would take it with humor normally but it looks like he has something to say.

“What?” Reah prods him “Are you too good for the library now?” She smirks, and it almost makes him giggle.

“I’m just thinking…” Luxios starts saying “ I’ve been thinking that maybe we don’t need to look for him.” He said it now. Everyone stops talking and the rain takes over the ears again, getting audibly louder the longer the pause takes until finally.

“Are you mad?” Gahn reacts first.

“We can’t just leave the guild like this.” Shills also shows his opinion on this.

“It’s the guild master we’re talking about!” Rhea can hardly believe her ears too.

“That’s just what I’m saying! It’s the guild master, it’s someone who won’t be found if they don’t want to be found.” Luxios makes a good case. “I don’t think anything can even harm the guild master, so I’m more worried about us than the guild master.”

Everyone is silent, they know it’s true but they need to know where he went. Everything has been left so vague that they can’t leave it like this.

“What do you suggest then?” Rhea asks almost impolitely.

“I don’t know, we can ask some of the stronger veterans to run the guild for a while, in the absence of the guild master.” Luxios knew that if he spoke his mind there would be scrutiny.

“What do you think, Carla?” Shills asks for her opinion. “This isn’t just the guild master finding themselves enamored with someone again and being gone on a lover’s trip for a few days. We don’t even know if the guild master will be back.”

Carla has a grave expression on her face, she considered this but who will be able to do what the guild master did? And how? The guild master was an anomaly unlike any other, even the hunters that traveled all over known Mythos did not encounter a similar phenomenon. Trying to replace it is just too… she doesn’t even know what word to describe it with, only that it is doomed to fail. Her mouth opens but no words come out.

“Sorry.” Luxios apologies. “Forget I said anything.”

“Sorry to drag you into this, Carla.” Shills also apologizes.

“I don’t think the guild can last much longer like this.” Carla finally makes a sound, with eyes sparkling with tears held back from dropping she continues. “With a different guild master, DragonShifter just won’t be DragonShifter anymore. And if we don’t get someone else to run it, it won’t be running anymore. I don’t know what to do. Our quest count is low and there are no recruits and there is so much paperwork coming in all the time that needs hunting experience to fill in, but If we get someone else to do it we will be just like every other guild.”

Not even one in the table knows what to say, and they all agree. None of them could presume to be able to hold the position themselves.

“We can just be like every other guild then.” Gahn bravely states, to everyone’s surprise. “I know we can’t do what the guild master did but we all remembered what the guild master taught us. DragonShifter will still be DragonShifter because of us.”

With a deep breath Carla says “Yeah, you're right.”

“After the test-quest, then we can have time to work on deciding who will be the new leader.” Luxios adds.

“We can’t drop dead when our leader leaves. If we do, it shows what little we’ve learned.” Rhea stands up with the courage of a dwarf.

“So what? Do I stop looking for clues?” Shills asks.

“You can help Carla, she said she needs someone with hunting experience.” He’s told by Luxios.

“You do it! I’m the junior at the table.” he answers.

They continue to argue but more like friends do, the rain hasn’t stopped and the hearth is still warm but the plates are empty and the guild is facing a great change in the future.