Each branch of the Adventurers Guild ran itself independently, but they had strong lateral ties to one another. When one was in trouble, others would pitch in to help. Several former adventurers had come to assist during the stampede.
“Are you done yet?” demanded a stern-faced adventurer, coming to the desk. This was the fellow who couldn’t read, then. He had a quest listing in his hand and looked like he was on the verge of throwing a fit. “Hurry it up, dammit! Is there anyone in this damn town who’s not just some obnoxious little kid?!”
This was the problem with ignorance. The old man was likely to have this guy hanged.
“Oh, I can—”
April moved to take the sheet, but a young man came by and snatched it first. He had blond hair and blue eyes and looked friendly. He seemed to be another staffer.
“Let’s see, now,” he said, and proceeded to read the listing in a loud, clear voice, even substituting some of the more difficult words with easier ones.
“Took you long enough,” the adventurer huffed, turning away without a word of thanks.
“Thank you very much,” said April.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” the young man said breezily, heading for another counter.
“Who’s that?”
“That’s Donald. He’s new here,” April said proudly. “He comes around to help with reception and sorting out the adventurers, but his real job is to go into the dungeon and help people in trouble. I guess he’s kind of in Dez’s position.”
The more people who went into the dungeon, the more who couldn’t hack it and needed rescuing. Depending on the circumstances, the guild could send in people to find or rescue them.
“Poor guy.”
No explanations. Learn by my example. Don’t ask questions.
That Beardo was a model of the kind of person somebody didn’t want to have to learn from. Unlucky sap. I’d recommend he find a new job or placement before he lost his life.
“Well, you seem to be busy here, so I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Oh, wait.”
Another staffer approached and whispered something into April’s ear. Surprised, she told me, “Grampa…I mean, Grandfather wants you for something, Matthew.”
“I don’t want him, though.”
Whatever that conniving old badger wanted from me, it couldn’t be good.
“Just come with me,” she demanded. I was weaker than a piglet and couldn’t fight back; she dragged me up to the guildmaster’s office on the third floor.
“And make sure you do whatever he tells you. Don’t do your usual thing of being arrogant and insolent,” she instructed me, then left. Which one of us was older than the other here? I’d have to ask Big Sister April if she could give me some allowance money next time.
“You seem to be as close to my granddaughter as ever,” the old man noted coldly when he and I were alone.
“Only because her grandpa isn’t teaching her well enough.” In most cases, she was the one who bothered me and forced me to take care of some task or another. “If you’re that concerned about the squirt, don’t have her hanging out around here. She doesn’t even have any protection with her.”
Not long before, April had armed guards watching over her, a pair named Silas and Jane. They were good at what they did, but it seemed they’d spent a little too much time together, because Jane discovered she was pregnant. Now they were married and had gone back to their hometown. So the hunt was on for new personal guards.
“I have the staffers keeping an eye on her. I’ve also got a carriage taking her to and from the guild.”
“There are always exceptions, aren’t there? This is a dangerous place in a dangerous town.”
Just being the guildmaster’s granddaughter didn’t ensure her safety. She’d nearly been abducted not long ago.
“Huh. Which one of us is her actual family, I wonder?” he said.
“Taking care of her like you’d do a pet cat isn’t the same as giving her an education.”
I didn’t think she needed to be whipped or anything, but spoiling her wasn’t going to be good for her in the long run. The old man just grimaced and changed the subject.
“I want you to do something for me.”
“No. Good-bye.”
“It’s about the sun god,” he said. I stopped and turned back. “It seems we’ve got an issue with a believer of the sun god infiltrating our guild.”
I wasn’t surprised. Since the stampede, the sun god’s teachings had been forbidden in town. His believers weren’t allowed in. But the so-called sun god’s goal was the Astral Crystal in the depths of the dungeon, and the quickest way to get it was to send his flunkies to infiltrate the adventurers and their guild. It was easy to see that coming.
So when I had time, I made my way to the guild and watched for signs of them. I’d warned Arwin about them until my face turned blue, but so far I hadn’t spotted anyone who seemed to fit the bill.
“Kill them.”
“Don’t have proof,” he spat. “If they claim they used to follow him but don’t anymore, there’s nothin’ more we can do.”
People were checked for evidence of belief when entering or leaving the town gates, but that process was a sieve that was easily bypassed. I knew they were allowed to lie about their beliefs, so there was no way to catch them. And outside town, their religion was perfectly legal. Naturally, the people in charge had heard about who was responsible for the stampede, but there was clearly more to the situation than that, because they hadn’t issued any orders nationwide.
“The problem is trying to figure out if it’s just a simple believer or if it’s someone plotting more bullshit like the last time.”
If there was another disaster while the town was trying to rebuild, it would spell the end of Gray Neighbor.
“They’re going to be watching out for me and the other staff members. I want you to figure out if they’re actually a follower or not,” he said.
It seemed to me like I’d be the one they would watch out for instead, but I kept that to myself. “It sounds like you already know who the individual is,” I noted. “Why not just torture them? You’re good at that.”
“I’d do it if I thought this person would speak after their eyes were gouged out.”
The old man was crazy enough to do it.
I could see what he was after. The old man knew about my past. He was also aware of my history with the shitstain sun god. Given that he was asking me to get involved with this anyway, he clearly had something up his sleeve. If I failed at whatever it was, I was unaffiliated with the guild. He could cut me loose and pretend he never knew me.
Honestly, the thought of doing exactly what he wanted galled me. But that paled next to the thought of that curled-milk sun god’s followers getting away with their infiltration. Plus, if his followers were among the guild staff, it meant Arwin was in danger. She was the one who had directly stopped the stampede. She was the perfect target for their vengeance.
“You’re not expecting me to work for free, I trust,” I said.
“I can pay you for the travel.”
Old skinflint.
“So who’s the potential perp?” I asked, setting aside my annoyance.
He pointed out the window. I walked and looked down at a young man near the gate, heading toward the dungeon.
“His name’s Donald. A brand-new recruit.”
Donald’s place was on a street to the east of Glowfly Lane. He lived alone in an upstairs flat on the corner.