A short ceremony was held within the barracks-like tent. It included Miss Heng and a dozen other members of the Amber Guard. Jeze was impressed and somewhat intimidated by each of them. Scarred warriors at the peak of human condition and combat skill. This group enforced the laws for adventurers, an already impressive cadre of people. Miss Heng gave a brief speech that outlined Swordslayer and Rainbow’s achievements. She didn’t need to say much as the two were known among the Amber Guard. For Jeze, it was hard to determine if the stoic members approved or disapproved.


    “Are there any objections?” Miss Heng asked.


    The gathered Amber Guard stood with their backs straight and arms crossed. None objected. Or, Jeze thought, they refused to respond. Even Rainbow fidgeted on her feet while Swordslayer glowered at them.


    “I didn’t think so,” Miss Heng stated and with that she concluded the ceremony by handing Rainbow and Swordslayer each one thick red cloak.


    Each Amber Guard came over to congratulate the two. This varied from a firm handshake to an embrace. One Amber Guard, a man with piercing green eyes and short-cropped brown hair, gave a short speech to Rainbow and Swordslayer.


    “We are now family. Brothers and sisters in arms. Not only do we face the darkness, but we ensure that the Guild remains strong,” the man said in a deep voice filled with conviction. His belief was so powerful that Jeze could feel it in the air like the energy before a thunderstorm.


    Rainbow nodded, and Swordslayer muttered, “Yeah, sure. Whatever.”


    With the ceremony over all of the Amber Guard filed out to resume their assignments. All except Miss Heng and three others remained. The three had athletic builds and rugged demeanors. One was a bald man with a jagged scar that ran the length of the left side of his face. Another was a woman with broad shoulders and short red hair. The last one was the man with the cropped brown hair, piercing green eyes, and strong conviction.


    Irvin shook his head, and his thick, bushy eyebrows were scrunched up as if he were about to sneeze. “Never thought I’d see the day,” the old man grumbled.


    Swordslayer smirked at him. “Irvin! It’s not so bad,” the sword fighter said.


    Irvin grumbled some more, and Jeze patted her friend’s back. Miss Heng introduced the three that remained. They had gathered their equipment and were prepared for adventure. Jeze learned that they had lost two members of their team, but she could not see any hint of sadness on their hard faces. These were experienced adventurers with calloused hearts.


    Miss Heng started with the man with the strong conviction and piercing green eyes. His name was Aaron and he was the tallest of the three and was the same height as Swordslayer. Aaron wore a steel cuirass over heavy mail armor. Jeze saw that he was a man-at-arms that had a weapon for every occasion. Strapped to his hips, shoulders, and back was a heater shield and an assortment of armaments that included a sword, an axe, a mace, and a crossbow.


    “Don’t look so glum!” Aaron’s voice boomed. He gripped both Rainbow and Swordslayer’s shoulders as if they were long-time friends. “We are the best of the best! Financially, the Guild will take care of you and your family. Very flexible schedules, and we still go on adventures. We are assigned tiered seven or higher assignments, and we go after the hardest criminals in the world!”


    Swordslayer perked up and asked, “Is that the bounties? We get paid a lot for them?”


    Aaron’s grin widened. “Yes, we get paid very well.”


    “You know there is a bounty on Vornicus,” Irvin stated.


    Aaron’s eyes went wide, “Ahh, yes, the Vampire Lord. That is a big bounty. Whoever turns that one in can retire and live like a fat king!”


    The red-haired lady snorted. “Who wants to grow fat?”Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Swordslayer glared at Irvin but did not say anything more. Jeze wondered about something.


    “Are all Adept ranks part of the Amber Guard?” She asked.


    Aaron grinned again and replied, “No. Only a select few join our ranks. We need to be able to enforce the laws among the toughest people in the world. If you work hard, little girl, you may put on the red one day.”


    Jeze scowled at the man. She did not like being called a little girl. Miss Heng introduced the next member. The broad-shouldered lady with the short red hair. Her name was Tara, and like Aaron, she carried an assortment of weapons. Most notable to Jeze was the long-bladed spear with a cross guard at the base of the blade and before the wooden haft. Tara had a basket-hilted sword sheath at her hips, a small round shield and a crossbow hung from her shoulders. Jeze recognized the weapons as coming from the rocky Highlands north of the Ironfist Kingdom, where the people had fiery red hair. The Highlands were known to be cold as they bordered the Frozen Sea, where the Frostsworn sailed their ships. Unlike Aaron, Tara wore lighter armor, which consisted of a brigandine coat that hung low to protect her thighs and a steel cap similar to the one that Jeze wore. Tara smirked and waved. A woman of few words, Jeze thought.


    The last member was the bald man with the jagged scar on his left cheek, who was slightly taller than Rainbow. Miss Heng introduced him as Zabo. He had dark sun-kissed skin and a wiry build. He wore a simple mail shirt with steel vambraces and greaves to protect his arms and legs. A wide-bladed curved falchion hung from his hip, along with an assortment of daggers at his waist. Jeze guessed him to be the team’s Scout and recognized a simple channeling tool that hung around his neck and was engraved with Runes. Like Tara, Zabo appeared to be a man of few words and simply nodded in greeting. The talker of the group was definitely Aaron and probably now Swordslayer, Jeze thought.


    Rainbow glanced around the emptying tent and asked, “I thought there was more Amber Guard.”


    “Everyone is on assignments or venturing the Spire,” Aaron explained and grinned. Did he always smile? Jeze wondered.


    Swordslayer narrowed his eyes and asked, “How come you all are not wearing the red cloaks?”


    Tara smirked and answered, “We only wear it when we are enforcing the peace. Otherwise, it is bad luck to wear it on an adventure.”


    Rainbow arched an eyebrow and asked, “Really? Why?”


    Tara shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”


    Zabo grunted in agreement. He stood straight with his arms crossed. Swordslayer smiled and rubbed his hands together.


    “So, are we heading in? To the Spire?” The sword fighter asked.


    “No,” Miss Heng replied. “You are to wear the Red Cloak and keep the peace.”


    Swordslayer’s eyes narrowed. Already, he did not like this new role. Before he could voice his opinion, Miss Heng continued. “Jeze will instruct Rainbow on the portal aspect. First thing tomorrow, we head in.”


    Jeze glanced up. She didn’t like being ordered, but she also thought it was a good idea to teach Rainbow the Portal aspect. They desperately needed more Safe Zone squads. In fact, Jeze was surprised that Rainbow was never instructed on it in the first place. It was a rare thing to see such a high level Rune caster. Probably because she and Swordslayer were never in a desperate situation where they were without a team and hunted by a powerful enemy, the Prince. Tara threw on her red cloak and smacked Swordslayer on the back.


    “Come on, if we are lucky, we might get to crack some heads,” the red haired woman stated.


    Swordslayer looked at the cloak in his hands and smiled. “That sounds fun!”


    “I have a bad feeling about this,” Irvin said to Jeze.


    The teenager smiled. Good or bad, Swordslayer as an Amber Guard will undoubtedly be interesting. Rainbow tapped Jeze’s shoulder.


    “Do I call you teacher?” The multi-haired lady asked.


    Jeze smiled. That had a nice ring to it. She would have never thought that she would be the one teaching Rainbow. Jeze still looked up to her as a mentor.


    “I was joking. I’m not calling you that. Not by a long shot,” Rainbow added.


    Jeze narrowed her eyes and said, “But you have to listen to me. The Portal Runes are very difficult to learn and dangerous. One mistake could be catastrophic.”


    Rainbow pointed to her multi-colored hair, which was a result of magic gone wrong, and said, “Look who you are talking to. I may know a thing or two about dangerous Runes.”


    “Enough talking and get to work, all of you. We have one day,” Miss Heng snapped.


    Rainbow grinned with a twinkle in her eye. “Come on, Teacher Jezie, show me how to make Safe Zones.”


    Jeze pulled out the tome she retrieved from the Pyramid. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she explored the old ruins in Narcadia. A pang of sadness struck her heart as she thought about Ziplocke and Raynor the Old Hunter. Jeze shook the memories out of her head. This was the life of an adventurer and how one can develop a calloused heart. Jeze started her instructions, and Rainbow listened with full attention.