46: Guild Master

As we sat waiting in the office, I half expected to be called in for a switch, so I was surprised when Jackson entered again, this time followed by a lady who stood at about chest height to me. But there was no mistaking her for anything other than a warrior. Her arms were scarred, and her face looked hard.

 

When she entered, everyone began to stand. Following suit, I started to rise as well.

 

“Enough of that. Stay seated,” she said, waving us back down.

 

She approached the desk, and I saw her raise an eyebrow at what I could only assume was the blood still covering it.

 

“Something happen in here besides a discussion?” she asked, looking over to Jackson, who had now taken a seat in a very soft, large chair near the bookcase.

 

He chuckled. “No, that was where the head of the Galvonson was before I left.”

 

“I see. Well, let’s get to it. My name is Kara, and as I’m sure you’ve gathered, I’m the Guild Master of this particular branch. Jackson gave me a very basic rundown, but I’ll have you recap it for me just so we’re all on the same page,” she said, looking at all of us.

 

Hari nodded, then, almost word for word, repeated what he had told Jackson. When he finished, Kara seemed to be deep in thought.

 

“Well, this is completely unprecedented. If the poor boy were simply being stalked by the Cat for sport, I’d unfortunately be considering expelling him from the city to save the many,” she began. Jen and Liane were both about to say something in response to that, but I just sat there, shocked.

 

Raising her voice slightly, she continued, “But, as it is not the case that the boy is being stalked for sport, but rather out of curiosity, or dare I say, some other reason such as familiarity or protection, this course of action would likely backfire on the city as a whole.” She turned her gaze to me.

 

“Trevor, isn’t it?”

 

I just nodded, unable to find any words at the moment.

 

“What is happening here has never occurred in our recorded history, and although sacrificing one to save many sounds cold, it is the unfortunate duty of leadership to make difficult decisions,” she said. Then, to my surprise, she broke into a smile, though it looked frightening on such a stern woman.

 

“But luckily, today, I do not have to make such a decision!” she added, almost happily, leaning back in her chair.

 

“I don’t have any light mages in the city who could effectively damage a Shadow Cat of the strength you’ve described. So, in the event it appears again, the order will be for others not to engage under any circumstances. This goes both ways, you must understand,” she explained, her gaze hard as it shifted to both me and Hari, who just nodded in understanding.

 

I’ll admit, I was still stuck on the part where I could have been sacrificed, but when both Hari and Kara looked at me, I just nodded as well.

 

“This brings us to our request,” Hari began.

 

“In all the run-ins we’ve had with the Cat, it has taken food, specifically Trevor’s infused meals. We were hoping to get access to a private kitchen where he could prepare some meals in advance, just so there’s something ready,” Hari explained.

 

Kara looked thoughtful for a moment before turning her attention to Jackson.

Jackson, seemingly reading the unspoken question, joined in. “They can use mine. We all know I don’t cook anything, and my wife is away on a job at the moment,” he said, seemingly satisfying Kara’s silent inquiry.

 

“That works,” Kara said. “I’ll leave you to discuss the details with Jackson regarding his kitchen space. I’ll also pass the word on about the Cat and the ‘do not engage’ order. If anything changes in this situation, please bring the information either to Jackson or myself directly.” She said, rising from her chair.

 

“Pleasure meeting you all. I must get back to my work,” she said, then left the room. Jackson finally stood from his chair and returned to his desk, seemingly only now noticing the blood covering his paperwork.

 

“Ugh, this is going to be a pain to clean up,” he muttered. “Alright, the kitchen. I live in the residential district. Do you have a map handy?” He glanced at Hari, who promptly pulled out a massive map, at least three or four times larger than the one I had been given.

 

Jackson marked a building on Hari’s map.

 

“Come by anytime. The kitchen is on the lower floor, on the left-hand side. I’ll inform the house staff and Gael of your arrival and the plan. But I’ll make sure they keep their distance while you’re cooking.” Jackson sighed, clearly already regretting the mess.

 

“Okay, back to proper business. Let’s discuss the Galvonson and their attack on the village.” Jackson said, prompting Hari to recount our story—how we arrived at the village under siege, the eventual battle, and how it almost certainly had a nest in the mountains above.

 

“Right, I see. Would your group be comfortable heading back out to clear the nest?” Jackson asked. “With a Shadow Rogue, Earth Sorcerer, and Piercing Archer, I suspect you’ll have an easier time than most. I’ll send another group to the village to assist with any repairs, or if anyone tries to prey on them in their weakened state.”

 

“We’re happy to take the job,” Hari replied, “but we do have several things to take care of in the city first, which will take at least a week.”

 

“That’s fine,” Jackson said. “I can’t imagine a nest being much of a threat yet. We have some time. And lastly, the Galvonson corpses—are they still on the road? Does that need to be cleared?”

 

“No, Trevor has both birds in his storage, and Milo did some basic repairs to the road to make it serviceable on our travels here,” Hari answered.

 

“He has both? Whole? What storage device has that kind of space?” Jackson fired off his questions rapid-fire, both in disbelief and curiosity. Before I could answer, Liane spoke up.

 

“He’s going to cook them!”

 

“I shouldn’t be surprised by that answer, I suppose,” Jackson mused. “Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to get a taste if you’re using my kitchen.” He shot me a wink.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

 

“I noticed, of course, that you ignored the other question, but I get it—people have their secrets. The Guild, of course, will be more than happy to buy any of the non-cooked ingredients—feathers, claws, beak—that you might get,” he added, before standing up, clearly ready to move on.

 

“And with that, we’re all done! I’ll assign you the job for the nest search, but finish up what you’re doing in the city first. It’s been a pleasure meeting you all, and I’m sure our paths will cross again soon if you’re using my kitchen,” Jackson said, shaking Hari’s hand before leading us out of his office and back downstairs to the main entry room.

 

As we made our way through the main hall, being escorted by Jackson, we drew a lot of attention. That was only made worse by his next action.

 

“Sorry, excuse me, Eric,” he called to the clerk nearest the door, interrupting a conversation he was having with a party at the time.

 

“Once you’re done, could you please organise a cleanup in my office? There’s a large amount of blood on my desk up there at the moment,” Jackson said with a smirk.

 

“I can’t work in a puddle of blood now, can I?” he added, turning to us. “So, it’s time to get a drink. Have a great day!” With that, Jackson left the Guild, heading outside.

 

I noticed a lot of murmuring about what just happened. I also saw a lot of eyes on us, specifically.

 

“Right,” Hari said, “we still have a couple of things to do here.” He lined up at one of the counters. “We need to collect our payment for the job completion. It should be ready by now. I’m happy to do this if you want to head upstairs and see if they have the fire resistance gear, or the Runescribe book,” he offered, looking at us.

 

It took a moment, but Jen was the first to speak.

 

“Shopping?!”

 

Milo let out a sigh. “Let’s go see if they have the book. If not, we’ll definitely find it in the scholars section of the city. It’ll just be much cheaper at the guild, that’s all,” he explained, while Jen and Liane looked excited at the prospect of going shopping.

 

We parted ways with Hari, leaving him in the line at a desk that had been thrown into chaos by Jackson’s announcement, plus the absence of Eric, who had gone to sort out the blood. We headed towards the central staircase. As I approached, I noticed a pedestal with the same screen I’d seen back in Forest’s Edge, with a guard standing nearby.

 

As I approached the stairs, the screen flashed up with the following: