Chương 21: Lorelark Guildmaster and Evelyn's Request

Gil didn't like to work. He was supposed to be retired. The only reason he accepted the position as guildmaster at the adventurers guild was because Hughston had talked him into it. The role needed someone with credibility and clout, he'd said. A veteran adventurer in good standing with the city authorities was ideal. The work kept piling up, but luckily none of it was that important. Amy handled all the everyday functions of the guild like putting up quests and paying out completed ones.

He only really needed to come in for special occasions. Like today. Amy's disappearance had been one of the worst things to have ever happened to him. He'd grown fond of the girl. She was a hard worker and everyone loved her. Evelyn from the mages guild had filled in while she was gone. They'd all been hoping to get her back. He'd pressed Hughston about it. Hard. Made sure it was the watch's top priority. What use was clout if you couldn't use it to help the people you cared about?

He'd have left retirement if he thought he could help. He'd told Hughston that he could call on him. But he never did. They both knew that Gil's eyes didn't see so well in the dark anymore, and his sword arm was a bit shaky with the arthritis. There was a reason he retired, after all. But today. He had the most joyous start to the day. There'd been a pounding at his door. His wife called him out. He was crotchety in the morning, he'd admit it. But then he saw who it was. Amy. And Evelyn along with her.

The story they told him, it made no sense. Or maybe he just had trouble following complicated plots in his old age. But there was one thing he did understand. He had to find this Lady Amberlin. He'd asked around. The city watch was very helpful, and eventually he was directed to the Wicked Heart Inn. There the innkeeper confirmed that Lady Amberlin was a guest, though she seemed surprised to learn that she was housing a noble. But that was okay.

From what Evelyn had told him, Lady Amberlin was trying to keep a low profile. When he knocked on the bedroom door, he expected a grumpy reception. The noble lady had been active since yesterday morning and all through the night. It was natural for a person to resent having their sleep interrupted. Ask him how he knew. Instead the lady who opened the door appeared fresher than he was. Seeing the sharp and intelligent look in her eyes, he knew he'd found the right person.

"Lady Amberlin, I presume?"

"Please, just Amberlin." Of course. She was supposed to be undercover.

"If you have some spare time, would it be all right if you stopped by the guild? I'd like to discuss your promotion." She grinned.

"Sure, I have time! Let me just feed my cat first." He looked over at the tuxedo cat on her bed and suddenly felt a bit uneasy. It was staring at him with utter contempt. He felt an unusual energy from it. It was dfficult to discern, as he never was that sensitive to that kind of thing, but for him to be aware of it at all meant that it must possess great power. Amy had warned him to mind his step around the cat, though she hadn't explained why.

She'd been incredibly reticent about the details of what happened down there in the sewer caves, and about Lady Amberlin in particular, as though she was sworn to secrecy. He looked away and pushed the thoughts out of his mind. It was only natural that a great witch would have a powerful familiar. Once Lady Amberlin was ready to leave, they walked together to the guild, which was closed because he'd given both Amy and Evelyn the day off.

It would have to stay closed for a little while longer while he handled matters with this important guest. He was going to invite her into his office, but when he saw the mountains of paperwork waiting for him, he asked her to sit with him at one of the tables in the open lobby instead. They would still have full privacy there as the guild wasn't opened to the public yet.

"I've heard from Amy and Evelyn," he said.

"You've done a great thing for our city."

"I was glad to do it," Lady Amberlin replied.

"I know what it's like to fear the loss of a friend." It was a statement like this that made him realize just how much her appearance belied her true age. On the surface she may have appeared to be in her twenties—practically a child in his mind—but he could sense from her words that she had much experience with loss.

"We're all lucky you happened to be here when you were," he said. His words seemed to make her uncomfortable. She said shiftily, "I'm not sure yet how much luck really had to do with it." Of course. There was clearly a lot more happening beneath the surface that mortals like him weren't aware of. And as much as he hated to pry into the business of the strong, he had a duty to this city.

"Is Lorelark going to be in further danger?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I think the major problems should all be dealt with now. You shouldn't have any more problems with kidnappings or catnappings." The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Catnappings?" He tried to understand why his afternoon fatigue was a security issue for the city.

"All the animals being stolen." Now that she mentioned it, he'd noticed that there were far fewer strays on the streets than there used to be. It had never occurred to him that it could be linked to a more sinister plot. There truly were many layers to everything.

"From what I know about everything that's happened," he said, "I can wholeheartedly approve a promotion to gold rank." Truthfully he suspected that platinum or even ruby was more appropriate, but he could only go by the official record. And if Amy was downplaying last night's events, he could think of only one good reason. As if to confirm his judgment, Lady Amberlin said, "That's a bit much, don't you think? It's only been my first real job."

"I think I understand," he said.

"You don't want to draw attention to yourself."

"I just want to travel around the world and taste all the cakes. The only reason I joined the guild was to earn a little spending money to help pay the way. I don't want to get involved in any big mess."

"I take it this means you want me to downplay your accomplishments in our guild records?" he asked.

"Yeah, and don't be going around talking about me," she said.

"I haven't even told anyone from the cave my name. Though I think Amy will probably figure it out with Evelyn."

"I know both of them well. I'll make sure they respect your desire to remain an anonymous hero."

"I'm glad you're such a reliable man," Lady Amberlin said cheerfully.

"I still want to arrange an appropriate reward to show our appreciation, though this may take some time. Is there perhaps a bank account we can deposit your money into?" She handed him a bank deposit card. It looked brand new. He copied the details down and handed it back to her.

"What would you like to do about the promotion?" he asked.

"Make me silver. It'll stop buckos from looking down on me while keeping nosy nobles from seeking me out."

"In that case I can process that for you right now. Would you mind coming with me?" They went to the room with the Maker's Shift tablet. He activated it with a touch and then asked for her guild card, which he then placed on the surface. From there he tapped his fingers on the appropriate sequence of words and images that appeared on the obsidian surface, and then confirmed his intention by pressing his thumb to the image of a button that appeared.

When the image of a hand popped up, he asked her to press her hand to the smooth surface. Once she did, there was a flash and a silver badge appeared on the tablet. He handed the badge and card to her. She immediately removed the bronze badge from her cloak and replaced it with the new one. And then she held her guild card up and studied it with a [Light] spell.

"That is so cool," she said.

"Congratulations," he said with a smile.

"You're a silver-rank adventurer now." On their way out, Lady Amberlin stopped and said, "There is actually another reason I came to Lorelark." He turned and gave her his full attention. From the graveness of her tone, he knew that it had to be the most serious matter.

"I came here to ask the city to improve security in the Restwood," she continued.

"Particularly around a town called Restford."

"I've heard of Restford," he said.

"It's supposed to be one of the safest places in all the land."

"It should be," she agreed.

"But then one of my friends was attacked by a rock troll."

"A rock troll? Are you—" He bit his tongue. He was about to ask if she was sure. Of course the lady before him would be able to identify a rock troll. The only reason for his momentarily lapse of judgment was just how abnormal the situation was. A high-level monster like that shouldn't be spawning anywhere near Restford.

"I think it came down from the mountains," she added. It was true that the Moonfoot Mountains harbored some of the most dangerous monsters in all of Kalimor. But that region was an anomaly, and none of the monsters ever wandered down into the Restwood. But what made it particularly strange was that even a rock troll would be out of place there.

"I don't think it'll be a common occurrence," she said.

"But I would like her to have forewarning of any danger approaching."

"I'll make sure the watch posts a presence there," he promised. It was the sensible thing to do after all. Not only to get into the good graces of Lady Amberlin, but for her to be worried about something, it had to be important.

Evelyn was waiting outside the adventurers guild for Lady Amberlin. She was exhausted, and even that spot by the wall over there was starting to look like a nice place to sit down and rest her eyes. But she didn't know how soon Lady Amberlin would be moving on, and it was important that she got to tell her what she wanted to say. She was in there with Guildmaster Gil, and Evelyn knew better than to intrude. At last Lady Amberlin emerged, beaming all around and almost looking like she was glowing.

The moment she saw Evelyn, she asked with concern, "Is everything all right? I thought you'd be happier, having been reunited with your friend Amy."

"I am!" Evelyn's voice squeaked. She proceeded with a bit more control.

"Um, is there a private place we can talk?" Together they walked back to the inn, where Lady Amberlin invited her up to her room.

"This is Boots. He's my cat." Evelyn smiled at Boots.

"He's adorable." Lady Amberlin beamed.

"Isn't he?" This was her first time meeting Boots, and she understood why the hero kept him out of sight. With all the energy swirling inside him, it would easly give away that his owner wasn't a normal person. She looked around at the rest of the room.

"Wow. Everything looks so... normal."

"That's me. A normal girl. Hahahaha." She swallowed her nervousness and said what she'd come to say.

"I'd like to thank you for getting Amy back. For a while I'd lost hope and thought I'd never see her again."

"I was touched by how much you cared about her," Lady Amberlin said. She'd wondered why someone like Lady Amberlin would take the time to help in the problems of an insignificant person like her. It was a relief to hear that she still felt compassion for those beneath her. This gave her the hope she needed to push through with her request.

"I have to confess I've been a little selfish," she began.

"It isn't selfish to want to help your friend."

"I don't mean that. What I mean is that up until this morning, I was ready to come beg at your door for you to go to Ardark because that's where I thought Amy had been taken. But then I got Amy back and I didn't want to bother you anymore."

"You feel guilty that you care more about your friend than you do for total strangers?" Lady Amberlin asked.

"I don't know," she replied.

"I just feel guilty. That's why I'm here."

"It sounds like you've been through a lot," Lady Amberlin said gently while stroking her cat. The sound of his purring filled the room.

"Why don't you tell me what's going on in Ardark?"

"That's where all the other missing people have been taken," she said. Lady Amberlin sank into a deep thought. She didn't dare to interrupt. At last Lady Amberlin sighed.

"What a silly oversight on my part. Of course there were more missing-persons posters up than people in those cages." Then she turned to her and said, "You're absolutely sure the other people have been taken to Ardark?" She nodded.

"That's what the bandits told us when questioned."

"Ardark is the next city to the north, isn't it?"

"There's a direct road that leads there. But it's treacherous with bandits lately. There's a safer route if you head west to Ygg Latten Bay first before circling north. But it'll take a lot longer." Having said that, she already knew which route Lady Amberlin was going to take.

"Then I suppose I have only one more question," Lady Amberlin said.

"Of course. Anything."

"Do you know the best cake shop in Ardark?"