Syl

Chapter 67: Guild Master

"Well, well. Seeing is believing." Harris said, "Not that I doubted you, but seeing the actual emblem on your profile certainly adds to the flair."

I could only assume he was referring to my [Dungeoneer] emblem. I spoke up, "Nice to meet you?"

"Yes, sorry, where are my manners." The man said with a friendly smile, "I'm Harris and leader of this branch until Roderick here finally takes over and lets me retire."

"You'll be bored out of your mind as soon as you retire, unless you plan on taking up cooking like Trevor?" Roderick said with a grin.

"Cooking? Nah. Maybe smithing or farming. Put my strength to good use."

Tabitha cleared her throat, and the two men stopped their rambling back and forth.

"Right. So. Let's get this out of the way first." Harris said, raising his right hand. A soft light enveloped him, but [Mana Sight] didn't reveal even a hint of magic. "By my authority as Guild Master of Stantondale, the contents of this discussion are not to be revealed to any other party outside and remain strictly confidential."

I grimaced at the name of the town, which I had just found out. As he finished speaking, I noticed my necklace and Roderick's shone brightly. Tabitha also had a hint of a glow around her while Harris spoke.

"I agree," Roderick said, and his necklace dimmed.

I looked around confusedly.

"One of the perks of being Guild Master, comes with the emblem." Harris said with a grin before explaining, "If any of us violate this after agreeing, that individual will be immediately expelled from the adventurers guild and our profile blacklisted and published to all branches."

"By making it official, we hope you'll trust us, Syl," Tabitha said.

I nodded, "I agree."

"How...?" I murmured at the notification.

"Long ago, a great hero saved the world, and her request from the Gods was to make an organization to unite the world, which then became the Adventurers Guild." Harris explained, "The Gods accepted her request and gave us the emblems and tools needed. Every now and then, another great hero makes a final request, which gets added to the growing list of benefits."

"This seems oddly specific, though," I questioned.

Harris laughed, "If my memory is still good, I believe there was a dark time in the guild where lawlessness and thuggery were prevalent. Adventurers threatening towns or only offering to help if paid exorbitantly, backroom deals, absolutely disgusting behavior happening behind the scenes. So the request was some way to enforce guild law, so to speak, which led to things such as this."

"Thanks for the explanation."

"No problem. Anyway, let's get down to business." Harris said, taking a seat. "I did some investigating. The guards were bribed and, supposedly, threatened. Although I have my doubts on the latter, we found them piss drunk."

"Bribed to leave their post?" Tabitha asked.

"And inform the Stanton boy when it opened up," Roderick added.

"But why?" Tabitha asked.

"Well. I have my suspicions, but I assume he was after the elven legacy emblem." Harris replied.

'I knew this emblem would be trouble.' I thought bitterly.

Tabitha gasped in shock, staring at me in horror. "But... Oh, Gods."

"So, Syl, did Keaton Stanton attack you in the dungeon? I swear, on my honor, as a Guild Master, nothing will happen to you."

I paused before answering, "Yes."

"And you dealt with him and his accomplices?" Harris followed up.

"...Yes."

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"Good riddance." Roderick spat.

I looked at them, confused by their attitude to the situation. I was half expecting to have to fight my way out of here, despite Harris' promise.

Seeing my disturbance, Harris spoke up and explained how they'd been investigating Keaton after I returned. Sylthaeryn had originally entered the town beforehand and interacted with Keaton, only to disappear completely. Worse, he made zero effort to report what had happened, and they suspected foul play. Considering I found her bleeding out and poisoned, that was obvious.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Well, the guild won't hold you responsible, in fact, we want to protect you. We take self-defense very seriously, our members are out there risking their lives fighting monsters every day, and you're expected to protect yourself. However, we can't say the rest of the Stantons won't cause something, as this is their town. They are already asking what happened to their precious boy." Harris explained.

"As much as I hate to say it, I'd recommend you leave Stantondale," Roderick said, looking apologetic.

"Sorry, Syl, I know you just made friends here," Tabitha said, looking downtrodden.

"Which is where your quest comes in." Harris continued, "You'll be doing a merchant escort to Kaerlin. Which will get you promoted to Silver and get you away from that horrible family."

"Of course, this is just a suggestion. You're free to do whatever you want." Roderick pointed out.

"No. I think it's a good idea. I'd rather not need to worry about constantly watching my back if his family decides to come after me."

"Kaerlin is also a city, not a town, so you might find some of the items you were looking for." Tabitha pointed out.

I nodded. All things considered, this worked out well for me. In a bigger city, I'd have access to more resources and hopefully stand out less.

"We're also paying out the bounty for the Blade Wolf, AKA the Forest King. It's been deposited into your guild account. Should you need the funds, you can withdraw it from any guild branch." Harris said.

"That bastard killed many fresh adventurers," Roderick said, looking very grateful.

Tabitha informed me there was a caravan going out tomorrow or next week, and I could choose either. I agreed to tomorrow since I couldn't see much reason for staying in this town anymore. Even the dungeon hardly held anything worth killing for experience, and I didn't want to test Simon's patience.

"Why do all this for me?" I asked before getting ready to leave.

"I said before, us adventurers look out for each other. One of the reasons for having a worldwide organization is to prevent nobles from pushing their weight around." Roderick responded.

"Besides, if the Gods are giving you Dungeon Trials already, clearly there are big plans for you. I'd rather not face divine judgment so close to retirement." Harris added.

Tabitha just gave a thumbs-up and a friendly smile. I thanked them and headed to the inn, Tabitha joining me to grab a late lunch. During lunch, I was given the details of my quest. A shipment of potions and reagents was being transported to Kaerlin, and I'd need to protect the caravan from bandits or wandering monsters. It wouldn't be just me, but I'd be assigned to the lead caravan. Roderick would help in an emergency, but his duty was to assess me.

After lunch, Tabitha took me shopping for supplies. When I mentioned I didn't have money on me she laughed and said I'd better make sure I get my Silver promotion. When I reached Silver rank, I'd receive one of the upgraded guild tags, which could make purchase orders with almost all city vendors. Tabitha demonstrated by swiping her own employee tag on a small crystal the shop owner had.

"Your tag keeps your balance. It'll stop if you try to exceed your balance. The shop owner then comes to the guild and can withdraw the payment, although we do vet purchases to ensure you aren't being scammed."

"Does that happen a lot?"

"Some adventurers are... Special. You try teaching commerce and bartering to a Barbarian or Berserker."

"I'm just glad I don't need to worry about keeping track of money."

"Whitney really wasn't kidding. You are hopeless." Tabitha expressed, dumbfounded.

"Was this another request to the Gods?"

"Yes. A dwarf king wanted a better way to facilitate trade of wealth between nations without needing obscene amounts of security. The Adventurers Guild recently adopted it, so the enchantment required is a bit rare and thus only limited to Silver and above members."

'I wonder if I get to make a request if I pass this experiment.' I thought to myself while being dragged from shop to shop.

After Syl and Tabitha left, Roderick and Harris were alone in the office. Harris visibly sighed and seemed to deflate in his chair.

"Do you think she bought it?" Roderick asked.

"Gods, I hope so. The last thing we need is a war between the elves caused by our shitty little town." Harris responded while rubbing his temples.

"You still think she's a noble?"

"With that presence, I'd almost guarantee it. Regardless, someone has their eye on her. Who's ever heard of a Dungeon Trial in a beginner dungeon? I almost think it was a warning for us not to fuck up."

"What I don't understand is why she came back when she knew he'd try to kill her. Or why she didn't tell any of us."

"Maybe she's testing us, seeing if we humans are keeping up the peace treaty? Maybe she's giving us a chance to prove that one bad apple doesn't spoil the bunch. Maybe she wanted revenge on Keaton and knew he'd come after her. Maybe she lost her memory and had no idea who Keaton was until he attacked her in the dungeon. I could make a hundred speculations."

"Maybe I should reconsider trying to become Guild Master of this branch if I have to worry about all this crap. Travel the world, get to Gold rank, kill a dragon. Sounds much more fun." Roderick said with a cheeky grin.

"Ha! I'd recommend it, although your fiancée might leave you if you don't settle down." Harris countered.

"Is there a reason for all your concern, though?"

"My Grandfather survived the war, and he'd always tell me the horrors they faced, entire battalions wiped out with a single spell. The forest itself turned against them. All because of greed. I'll be damned if some greedy lesser noble dooms our entire race."

"Heavy..."

"Sorry, Roderick. Forgive a slightly paranoid old man." Harris said, then smiled, "It's not all doom and gloom. If she becomes a successful adventurer, perhaps we can get a foot in the door on getting the elves to sign on with the adventurers guild."

"That's quite an ambition for someone who said he was looking forward to retirement."

They both laughed at that.