Chương 6: Valindra - The Adventurer's Guild

A chorus of cheers filled the streets of Highview, following the procession of adventurers. Leading the gathering, the most elite party of adventurers in the Adventurer's Guild's history. The Dawnbreakers. Alexander, their leader, rode in upon a stallion of pure white. His silver armor glistened in the sunlight, but his smile shone even brighter. Behind him, the remainder of his party. Each with a name celebrated enough to warrant their own parade, but behind him, they became nothing more than an afterthought.

Valindra watched the parade from a stage in the distance. She sat atop her high chair, next to her father and the rest of his council. A crowd fanned out across the plaza below, all waiting with bated breath for the party to arrive. At the adventurers' current pace, it would take another ten minutes.

"Why do they always drag this out so much?" Baron Hyland—her father—complained. He raised an empty glass, and a servant sprinted forward to refill it with red wine.

"We have more important things to do." At her father's other side, the leader of the Adventurer's Guild, Roland Foss, clapped his hands. The skinny man raised a questioning brow.

"You must be patient. It builds morale among the citizens."

"It is one of their greatest achievements," Valindra said.

"They cleared an entire dungeon in less than a month. From what I've heard, they even squashed a new, would-be lich from taking a stranglehold on the local region."

"The dungeon was new, and the lich was a no-name necromancer. Remember, Valindra, that these adventurers will make crushing an acorn sound like flattening a boulder."

"Do you really have so little faith in our scribes, Baron?" Her father harrumphed, and Valindra chewed on her cheek, hoping that the conversation wouldn't devolve into another shouting match between the men about finances. The Gods were kind this day. The Dawnbreakers approached the square before her father drained the last of his bottle of wine. Almost record timing. The party of five gathered in front of the stage, and Alexander dismounted.

With a flourish, he bowed to the Baron with a depth that might have been reserved for a king. The square lit up with applause. Roland stood, clapping his hands together with the rest of the crowd.

"Alexander! You return much sooner than anticipated. We received your missive and have gathered a celebration deserving of your findings. Please! Present to us the great bounty you have uncovered!" The party's Berserker, Franklin, dismounted his horse and gathered the chest on the back of his saddle. The thing must weigh a ton, but neither he nor the horse strained under the weight. He set the chest down and unlatched the heavy padlock, allowing Alexander to have the honors of flipping open the lid.

Valindra gasped, and her father jumped to his feet.

"We bring you the skull of a lich," Alexander announced, "and his ancient phylactery." The crowd oohed, and Alexander waited for the height of suspense before speaking again.

"And of course, the bulk of the lich's treasure." Below the skull and the strange-looking glass bottle, the chest overflowed with gold coins, bars, necklaces, and sparkling gems. Generational wealth. A heavy wagon came in behind them, overflowing with bulging crates.

"There is more, of course." Roland laughed.

"You've done it again! The guild thanks you for your continued effort. These funds will be gathered shortly, and your sum doled out as is custom. A 50% share, split amongst you all." The other 50% would be distributed to the Guild—both to enrich Roland and the other Guild leaders, but also to fund quests for newer bands of adventurers. With the loot from this dungeon alone, the Guild could fund years' worth of quests into the wilds. And maybe—just maybe—Valindra could be a part of them.

Baron Hyland stumbled over his words.

"Highview appreciates your continued efforts. We have prepared a feast for you tonight within my halls, to thank you for defeating this great enemy. If there is anything else you could ever want, you need just request it." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Alexander raised a single finger.

"I have just this one request. That you continue to be graceful in your acceptance of our ventures! That, in your times of need, you remember me and my companions—" Alexander's jaw hung open, and he stumbled forward. A wave of energy moved through the crowd, sending many of the watching adventurers to their knees. The Dawnbreakers' healer, Galant, collapsed off his horse, falling face first into the square. When the wave hit Valindra, her mind split and her stomach grew sour.

The burst of energy carried a single message along with it, and she cried out as it repeated endlessly. Death. Death. Death.

"What is happening?" Baron Hyland barked, unaffected by the pulse. Her father's court wizard, Sevara, shouted in pain, but pushed past it, hopping up to her feet.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Alexander grabbed his head, and vomited.

"A…a…" He chewed on his words, and a bit of this morning's stew.

"Something has awakened." A staff slammed down onto the stage, sending out a competing wave of energy that washed over the crowd. Valindra blinked, cracking one eye open. Sevara stood tall and confident, bearing a heavy frown. She clenched her fist around the staff.

"Is this something you have brought here?" she demanded.

"No!" Alexander said, face pale.

"This was something else. The pulse, it came from far away…" Uncomfortable murmurs turned into a cacophony of shouting and cries from the crowd beyond. The Baron shouted, his heavy voice cutting through everyone all at once.

"Silence! There is no reason to fear what we do not know. This ceremony is concluded! Alexander, Roland, gather your mages and come to the keep. I demand an explanation." Valindra couldn't help but smile. This had the fixings of a great change in the world. One she was ready to face head-on. Valindra sat at the far end of the great hall, a dry piece of potato poking off the end of her fork. A veritable feast cut her off from the conversation between her father and the rest of the Guild members.

Roasted meat, seasoned with fragrant herbs, went untouched by all but her. The conversation was a whisper, faces down-turned and pale. The heavy wooden chair next to her scraped across the floor, and a mug of beer slammed down on the table. Kara—her father's personal champion—smiled down at Valindra.

"Why the long face?" Valindra grit her teeth as a dozen stares met her from the other end of the table. Her father growled.

"Please keep quiet, Valindra." Kara took her seat, setting her plate filled with smoked meat in front of her.

"Sorry about that," she whispered.

"Everyone is so serious tonight."

"They are worried about what omens that pulse from earlier may bring."

"And what does it matter?" Kara laughed, ripping a bite of meat off a rib. The woman was huge, well over six feet tall, and with short-cropped black hair.

"They will just send off their adventurers to deal with it, no matter the cause."

"I don't disagree," Valindra said, taking a bite of her cold potato.

"But Sevara is especially concerned. Missives have already come from the capital. The pulse even reached them."

"More meat for the meatgrinder," Kara said, popping a thick sausage in her mouth and grinding it between her molars. They ate in silence, Valindra scooting closer to the conversation, their words lost under Kara's ravenous chewing. There would be an opportunity here soon enough. She just had to wait for it. Kara elbowed her.

"You're thinking about doing it, aren't you?" Valindra's face warmed. Why must Kara be so frustrating?

"No." Kara barked out a laugh, drawing more eyes.

"Valindra, I recognize that look on your face. You cannot lie to me." Grabbing a steak with her bare hands, Valindra ripped a piece of meat off the bone—stuffing her face and wishing she could disappear. The steak melted in her mouth.

"I know you want to, but you've got a life here. The Dawnbreakers wouldn't take you with them. Especially not in something like this."

"They would if my father asked them to."

"And why would he do that? You're next in line to rule this place, and the Baron's patience with the Guild is at an all-time low."

"Because I am wasted here. Everyone knows that." She met the champion's eyes.

"How often have we sparred, Kara? How often has Sevara trained me in magic? Not once has Father ever trained me to balance a book, or had me speak to the public. I am unwanted here." Kara hung on those words for a moment, turning back to her plate.

"He has his reasons." Valindra scoffed.

"I will ask my father tonight. If he says no, I shall leave anyway. If the Dawnbreakers won't take me, then I'll find another group. I won't let this opportunity pass me by." The Baron's chair scooted back, sending a screeching sound through the room. He slammed his hands onto the table, sending the silverware clattering.

"No! We will not continue to pour funds into this! Sevara has been in her study all afternoon trying to find the reason for that wave of energy. This is not a matter for the Adventurer's Guild. It is a matter for the King." Roland shook his head.

"After all we have brought you, Baron. You could be a king yourself, you know. No need to bow to King Gystav—""Treason!" the Baron shouted again.

"I have no desire to be a king. My sole desire is to run Highview in peace. To keep my people safe. You have walked over me and my people for years to enrich yourself, Roland, and while Highview has prospered, this is different." Roland scoffed, and left the room.

"We will do this with or without you. Your tune will change when you no longer receive a piece of the pie." Each of the Dawnbreakers stood, wringing their hands, save for Alexander. The Paladin remained seated, leaning in to whisper something in Baron Hyland's ear. The Baron paled, stood, and then excused himself from the hall. Alexander smiled to his companions.

"Come now, we must get rest if we are to depart by the end of the week." They left the room, leaving only Valindra, Kara, and a few servants. What the hell was that about?