The Thundergard Adventurers’ Guild had five locations throughout the city. Four were near the main gates and specialized in accepting and dispatching quests. Emily, however, led the way to the central guild branch, where the guild’s core activities were conducted. It was frequented by both adventurers seeking news and servants of the nobles who were the guild’s major clients.
The stone building it occupied looked well over a century old. The history imbued in the weathered bricks was palpable. It had been built for strength, with heavy walls and pillars. In the past, when Thundergard had warred against monsters, it was said that the guild had been a base for the combatants who’d needed it to be absolutely impenetrable.
Inside, the lobby was large and full of tables of people deep in conversation—none of whom paid Nina and her friends any attention as they entered—as well as several notice boards covered in too many posters to count. Some advertised requests for protection, ingredients, or monster hunting; others were for missing persons, lost items, wanted notices, and offers of information; and then there were the shadier posts, like requests for dangerous items, news of deaths, and quests into dangerous areas.
“Amazing...” Nina gasped.
“Right, we want that counter over there,” Emily said, pointing.
“You think they’ll have news of lupalunes?” Astrid wondered.
“They’ll have it.”
At the Werther Adventurers’ Guild, Emily had heard of a pair of lupalunes in the capital of the Yupiter Empire. Lupalunes weren’t the sort of species that you came across just anywhere—indeed, they hadn’t seen a single one in the Werther Duchy capital. With how rare they were, Emily assumed they would be happy to see Tien. If they could find them, of course.
When they reached the counter, the woman behind it greeted them with a smile and said, “Hello, how may I help you today?”
All the guild workers were dressed in deep purple uniforms with pale green scarves held in place with silver pins that sparkled distinctively.
“We’re looking for information,” Emily told her and introduced Tien. She recounted how the lupalune had been abandoned in the mining town of Izumi in the Werther Duchy, that she was now searching for her parents, and lastly what they’d heard about lupalunes in Thundergard.
“I see...” The woman blinked at Tien with her black hair and pointed ears, then her gaze moved past Tien—to the maid standing behind her.
“I don’t suppose your name is Nina, is it?” she asked.
“What? Oh, ye—”
“Nope, it’s not!” Emily said loudly, cutting Nina off. Her Nina-in-danger antenna had just pinged, letting her know that Nina was about to get herself into trouble.
“Huh?” Nina, of course, didn’t know any of that.
“This maid is called Noodle, ma’am,” Astrid said. “I just hired her here, in Thundergard.”
“A-Astrid?!”
“Emily, I’ll take Noodle and head back to the estate, all right?”
“Thanks!”
With that, Astrid steered Nina quickly out of the guild. Once they were gone, Emily turned to Tien, who nodded at her. As a member of the Keep-Nina-From-Getting-Into-Trouble Alliance, she was on board with their policy of removing Nina from the scene any time things looked risky. Incidentally, they currently had six policies, a number that looked like it would only increase.
“She’s from Thundergard? I beg your pardon,” the receptionist said. “I only wondered because you don’t often see a maid and a lupalune together.”
“Well, lupalunes as a species are pretty rare,” Emily replied. “The truth is, I only met that maid today. Is, uh, the maid traveling with a lupalune in trouble or something?”
“Oh, no. It’s just that Duke Werther is apparently searching for her. Say, didn’t you mention you’d come from the Werther Duchy?”
“Y-Yeah! But we were just passing through! We actually came from Freja!” Emily said hastily, trying to gloss things over. She panicked a little at the sudden mention of such an important figure. Why’s the duke of Werther of all people looking for Nina?!
“Ah well. In that case... You said you were looking for a pair of lupalunes. I expect you mean the ones in the Dark Frost Mercenaries.”
“They’re mercenaries?”
“Yes, and of some renown. That band is well-known in other countries too. We’re glad to count them among our fellow imperial citizens. You know, I think the pair of lupalunes in question were just the right age to have a daughter as old as Tien.”
Emily gasped. “They’re a couple, then?”
“That is what I’m told.”
Emily and Tien exchanged a hopeful look.
“The man’s name is Pearly Cloud, and the woman’s name is Morning Star.”
Emily and Tien returned to the inn to find Nina with her arms folded, pouting as hard as she could. It was obvious she wanted them to know she was angry, but at the sight of her, Emily only said, “Aww, what’s got you looking so adorable?”
“I-I am not adorable!” Nina said furiously. “Emily! Why did you get rid of me back there?!”
“Oh, that. Well, it turns out Duke Werther is looking for you. Which means...you did something, didn’t you?”
“I haven’t done anything! Besides, we were together the whole time that we were in Werther!”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Now you mention it...” Emily paused, then quickly rallied. “But even if you didn’t mean to do anything, you still might have. Think back. You can’t remember any trouble you got mixed up in, or something that he might really want to thank you for? There’s got to be something. Don’t worry, I won’t be angry.”
“There’s nothing! And that won’t change just because you ask me nicely!”
Emily looked at Astrid. “You buy that?”
“Seems suspect,” Astrid agreed.
“Chi thinks so too.”
Despite Nina’s best efforts, none of the others believed her.
Finally, Emily said, “Well, we’ll just have to wait for Nina’s memory to come back to her.”
“I didn’t do anything!”
“Say, Emily,” Astrid cut in, “what did you find out about Tien’s parents?”
Nina looked like she might cry when Astrid ignored her. Tien patted her consolingly on the head.
“Right. Long story short, it’s not impossible that the pair of lupalunes in Thundergard could be Tien’s parents. But even if they’re not, they might be able to tell us about other lupalunes.” Emily related the rest of what the guild receptionist had told her.
“Tien,” Nina said, “what are your parents’ names?”
“Xiao and Baicai.”
“Those are totally different...”
“But lupalunes usually go by different names with those other than our own kind. My mother and father could be calling themselves Pearly Cloud and Morning Star.”
Nina’s eyes went wide. She seized Tien’s hand as it stroked her hair—yes, Tien had been patting her head this whole time—and squeezed it tight.
“Then we must go and find them!” she cried.
Tien nodded and mumbled her assent, a little flustered by Nina’s enthusiasm.
“Ah, but before that,” Emily cut in, “there’s something else we need to do.”
“Something else?” Nina repeated.
“What is it?” Tien asked. Both of them looked nonplussed.
In response, Emily only grinned.