“Sturmbreaker. In full common it’d be Storm Breaker. Originally founded by Carradorian Refugees during the collapse of the First Nautican Union. Once a fishing settlement, the growing populace necessitated a need to protect themselves against the elements given the harsh tides near the Ascari coast. With this increased manpower and more supplies, the people built a gargantuan seawall and expanded it over the years to what it is now. Ironically enough, the seawall that halted the storms only saw about two decades of use before climate change; through magical interference or natural causes, ended up calming the seas. Now it just acts as a reason to draw in visitors, and perhaps to act as an emergency bastion against any southern incursions on League territory. Which, now that I think about it, kinda fits the name. It also helps that it acts as the Ascari League’s second largest political entity to counter the Berenians to the north. ”


    - ??Captain Joseiah Osmund to Aryana


    <hr><hr>


    Aryana was giddy, no she was positively giddy. Her head swivelled around constantly, her hands pointing and prodding at all the different sights and sounds. How the stone looks so pristine here, or how the bricks seemed misaligned over the stall, perhaps the guards were antsy as one shouted particularly loud compared to the others. She could tell both Sophie and Annalise were on different levels of the ‘about to perish’ scale. Sophie was still uncharacteristically silent and looked miserable, but at least she supported Annalise while they walked despite how wary of her own hands she was. Anna on the other hand just seemed to have a lot on her plate.


    The two originally wanted to get some more things sorted at the guild before Sophie would head back and Anna herself would go meet with Taurox to arrange transport for the group. Thankfully for her, Aryana’s insistent pleas had meant the other two let her tag along. She felt for the older girl of course. Anna had clear signs of fatigue and Aryana wondered just how many break the group has gotten since. She understood the desire to persevere too, to just push through and reach some arbitrary goal.


    Back when she was alone on the farmstead, she would have to forage for food as well as tend to what little crops she could raise. Sometimes the village children would come up and make fun of her. In the worst cases, she would find some of the crops trampled over. It took all her willpower to ignore them and push on through. After all, her parents had long since disappeared and, when then apprentice but now chieftain Galan Frostfyre set her as his victim of torment, she never had many good moments to herself. The memory brought forth a small scowl and she shook it away, she didn’t like being alone.


    Relishing in the new experiences she threw her all into enjoying what little time they would be spending in the city, buying snacks aplenty much to the ranger’s increasing dismay. They eventually reached the town square and Aryana was blown away by just how many things were happening at once. Vendors hawking their wares, tradesmen walking by carrying their materials, people chatting or eating, even a random priest was preaching to a small crowd, his red and blue striped robes catching her eye. Even the buildings too were busy, people opening windows to air clothes, others trying to attract customers, or doors endlessly opening and closing.


    It took almost twenty minutes before Aryana was able to be pried away from her wandering, the party finally moving into the guild hall. Even here she could barely hold herself back from gawking. Heavily armed heroes, scruffy looking champions and some more plain looking folk mulled about the hall. Annalise flashed her guild tags at the clerk, exchanging a few words and pointed towards Sophie, before a little more reluctantly pointing towards Aryana. The clerk raised a surprised eye at sighting the ginger but thought no more of it and waved them past the entry hall where countless others waited.


    Her ears caught a few murmured whispers about the strange arrivals, a cripple, an elf, and a tribal from some far away land. But it did not distract her from soaking in the details around her. The weapons that adventurers carried, the murals and shields that adorned the guild walls, or the crowd picking away at a board filled with fliers. Bronze, steel, copper, tin, and lead on the board, and there’s silver and gold on the far side. So they name them after the metallic elements, I wonder if they go any higher? To her increasing delight, the others led her up a set of stairs through the silver and gold assigned lounge, the trio bombarded by the witheringly judgmental stares of the few gathered around, allowing her to get a glimpse of what more veteran adventures looked like.


    Much more armoured or almost donning tailored pieces, they looked leagues deadlier than some of their counterparts in the common area. Furthermore, the area was also decorated by paintings of local heroes who rose to fame. Hmm platinum and adamantine as well, I wonder if those are like, really special?


    “The guild master will see you now.” A bored guild clerk dressed in dark green intoned.


    Annalise grunted her acknowledgement while Sophie carried the ranger into the office. Aryana hurried along, stumbling inside the spacious office. There she found an amused slightly older but young looking man also in dark green, but with red epaulets in addition to his uniform.


    “Welcome! Welcome!” The man flashed a smile, “I’ll admit, I’m a little intrigued at receiving an urgent notice yesterday about the reformation of a silver ranked party AND information about the Eichafen and Melisgrad branches. Come in, take a seat!”


    There was a decent amount of stubble on his shin to indicate an air of ruggedness but his relatively clean shaven face overall told Aryana of a man used to the desk job. He offered some teacups that he pulled from a side desk. Annalise accepted the offer whilst Sophie refused. Aryana stood confused at how she should be acting when Anna beckoned her over, directing her towards a sofa in the corner of the room. Turning to look at the man, he just shrugged and nodded before focusing back onto the other two.


    “So, let’s get started with the less important things alright? I just get the feeling that I’ll be having a headache by the end of this.” He chuckled mirthlessly.


    “Fair enough.” Annalise agreed, “Sophie?”


    “Mmm.” The elf grunted.


    “Great!” The man dripped with false enthusiasm, “So if I got this straight, you were the former co-captain of silver ranked team Runebound based in Carrador?” He gestured to a sheet of paper.


    Annalise nodded.


    “And right now you’re proposing reforming this team down to two members?”


    Another nod, but Aryana could tell this was tenser, Anna’s hands clenched shut under the table.


    “I’m guessing this is the new recruit then?” He nodded at Sophie, “And nothing good happened for you to be down to yourself and…” He looked over at the ranger’s missing leg and they all understood.


    “Yeah, I’m hoping for her to get tested and assigned as my partner.” Annalise brushed past the obvious question.


    “Right, and might I ask why involve me? Not that I mind, but usually these things are done with the staffers are they not?”


    “Well…I’m hoping you’ll give her notice to be tested in Arteria since we’re looking to head there at once. And I’m aware that only promotions usually involve the guild board, but this time I’m asking because I intend to derank my party to tin, copper if need be.” Annalise stated.


    “Anna…” Sophie spoke with a hushed voice, the guild master sucking in a breath of his own.


    “I see, that is…quite unusual for a request but I can see the logic behind it.” He tapped his desk with his index finger, “I suppose I can grant you the writ and have the documents ready to confirm your voluntary demotion. A newbie and a cripple…I hope you know what you’re asking for.”


    “I do.”


    “Anna…” Sophie weakly protested again.


    “It’s fine Soph, I’m just heading off any potential concerns while we have the chance to do so without causing a fuss.” Annalise reassured her.


    “But…”


    “Your friend is right, ermm…” The guildmaster began.


    “Sophie.”


    “Ahh, Soph for Sophie, makes sense. But your friend is right, Arteria is…let’s say the guild headquarters there is a little more…chaotic than here.” He chuckled before turning to the ranger, “I assume you’d want these documents by tomorrow?”


    “If that’s possible, that would be very helpful.” Annalise nodded.


    “Very well, I’ll have Tolsten take care of it. Your address?”


    “The Resting Melon, two blocks right of town square and three from the cathedral.”


    “Ah! The Resting Melon, a fine choice. Very well, Ranger Annalise, I’ll have them delivered there. Now then, onto other matters. Should I have some blank papers ready to jot down notes?” He raised an eyebrow.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    “It might be good to do so, we’ve…got a lot to tell.” Annalise and Sophie shared a look.


    Aryana was a little surprised when the guildmaster pointed at her, his mischievous eyes meeting hers, “Very well, and if you don’t mind me asking…are you also on-boarding her into the team? I can have the writ state for her to get tested at the guild as-”


    “No. No she is not.” Sophie stated resolutely.


    Aryana was surprised at the blunt interjection and refusal, the guildmaster and Annalise too seemed a little stunned at the sudden interruption.


    “Oh…oh well, I was just asking in case and-”


    “She is not becoming an adventurer.” Sophie sternly growled.


    “Sophie, you don’t have to be so rude. It’s just a question and-” Annalise began before the elf narrowed her eyes at the ranger.


    “No.”


    Aryana was a little hurt at how harshly Sophie had denied her. A part of her wondered if the elf truly did consider her as nothing but a burden. The guildmaster puffed out some air as he reeled from the dourness that settled in the room, Sophie refused to meet anyone’s eyes and just looked away. Aryana sank slightly into the chair and only held her emotions in check when Annalise looked over with apologetic eyes as if to say, I have no idea what happened either. Steadying her breathing she distantly listened on to the proceedings as the guildmaster quickly tried to defuse the tension in the room.


    “Ahem, right…right. Let’s move on, shall we?” He suggested with a nervous pat on his belly as he forced out a smile.


    Annalise nodded enthusiastically, the ranger still casting a few concerned glances over at the now sullen half elf. But neither seemed willing to continue the conversation regarding Aryana, at least not for now.


    “So about Eichafen and Melisgrad?” He asked, his fancy looking writing utensil at the ready, nervously tapping at the paper.


    Annalise looked up to the ceiling with a big sigh and the guildmaster bracing himself for the bad news. Aryana was feeling a little depressed, but still glued her ears to the conversation, eager to learn more about the group’s adventures so far even if she had been so fiercely rejected.


    “It’s not going to be good news is it.” The guildmaster grunted.


    “No…no it’s not good at all.” Annalise let out another heavy sigh, “But where do I start? I guess from meeting Guildmaster Albert and the debrief…”


    <hr><hr>


    Aryana was mortified at all they had learned. Melisgrad was not the first to fall, nor will it likely be the last. Another town, Eichafen had evidently been razed by the dead as well and many villages also suffered at the hands of the cultists, the same ones that decimated Melisgrad.


    Over the course of three hours the ranger recounted their harrowing tale, the room growing by five more participants as three gold ranked team leaders alongside the guildmaster’s assistant, and a senior clerk from below. Their questioning of the duo had been so aggressive that she had already forgotten their names. But the revelations the ranger shared had stuffed the room with a cold chill, the gathered leaders growing more and more concerned as they learned more about the situation. It was only with the guildmaster’s sudden cough that the room descended to silence once more.


    “And you’re sure the traitors are dead?” He asked, his eyes holding an impassive glare that hid his emotions.


    “Most of them if not all.” Annalise replied.


    “To think that there would be traitors this deep in our ranks…” One of the team leaders murmured.


    “How are you so certain about that?” Another asked.


    “Well we-” Annalise began before Sophie interjected.


    “I killed Markus myself, he’s dead. Tore his heart out too, right out of his fucking chest.” Sophie snarled, the aggressive response putting everyone on edge as she practically leapt from her seat.


    “Now, now, we believe you. They’re just asking to be sure.” The guildmaster quickly intervened, seizing the moment and stopping any potential retorts and words, “Regardless, accusations will mean a transnational response will be needed. We have no way of telling just how embedded these cultists are.” He tapped his pen on his chin before gesturing to his assistant, “Prepare a message for headquarters, tell them of what we learned. I don’t care how long it takes but I want it done by tonight.”


    “Yes guildmaster.” The assistant replied as he began rifling through the nearby drawers and producing several ornately decorated pieces of paper.


    Meanwhile, Annalise calmed Sophie down and eased her back into her seat, the half elf shaking slightly. But, whether from fury or stress Aryana couldn’t tell. She just gingerly continued sipping on the long past lukewarm tea, attuning her ears for any other words.


    The guildmaster furrowed his brow, brushing his hand against his stubble before he stood up from his chair, the room suddenly feeling much more cowed as he flexed his intense presence. Aryana had thought the man a lackadaisical leader but, by the way he strode forth towards the map table. Only making a single gesture calling everyone to follow; she knew at once that this was the gait of a warrior. Like the proudest warriors of the tribes, he clamped his hands down on the table, waiting silently as everyone filtered in around him. A warchief waiting for his underlings.


    “Ranger Annalise, I know you and your party are stretched to exhaustion but since you’re headed for Arteria I have one emergency commission for you. Do you accept?” He spoke in a commanding voice.


    Annalise turned to Sophie but the elf just shrugged, to which the ranger turned back and nodded. “What do you need us to do?”


    “When Tolsten finishes scribing the letter, you are to hand deliver it to headquarters in Arteria.” He pointed somewhere on the map.


    “Got it.” Annalise acknowledged before meeting the man’s gaze again, “But why do I think there’s something more to this?”


    He smirked, like someone had just fallen into his trap, “Transport to and fro are a little…shall we say risky as of late.”


    “Oh?” Annalise quipped. But, behind her, Aryana noticed Sophie’s cold demeanor had turned to one of curiosity, her pointy ears wiggling slightly in an attempt to listen in. Whatever’s in Arteria must be important to her.


    “Some academy know it alls smashed deep into one of the caves at the edge of the High Wall, wiping out a den of goblins. Now, usually this isn’t a problem, but here…” he pointed somewhere on the map that Aryana couldn’t see, “happens to be an old mining complex with a passage that leads out here.” His finger slammed into the table again, and Aryana tried to crane her neck to see but to no avail, too many people were in the way. “They sealed the other end with smoke and fire, but, unfortunately for us, that meant we now have a horde of goblins and orcs crawling between the plains between the border.”


    “Shit.” Annalise stated.


    “Shit indeed. Now, we, alongside the city of Foreach, have already sent a few teams to sweep the area. In fact, the Boom Hammers here are going to try and locate and eradicate any lairs in the vicinity.” He nodded at one of the team leaders. “But, given the current situation, if you have no pending commissions I would like you to try and push through and get to Arteria as soon as possible.”


    “Right. But how do we do that?” Annalise asked.


    “I hope you’re alright volunteering.” The guildmaster grinned.


    “Do we have a choice?”


    “No.”


    “Then yeah, sure.”


    “Good,” The guildmaster clapped his hands together, “I know it’s short notice but get your affairs sorted. There’s a caravan intended for Arteria leaving tomorrow afternoon. You are to join that caravan as additional guards, here…” The guildmaster pulled out a small token from under the table, “Present this to them and tell them we just want to make sure they break through any resistance.”


    “Sounds easy enough. What’s the catch?” Annalise tilted her head as she grabbed the token.


    “There’s already a team who took the commission for the caravan job.”


    “Ah…that…that might be an issue. Competition is…oh, right.” Annalise said.


    “Exactly, just make sure they know this is a volunteering job for you, charity work of sorts. You’ll get nothing from it and the pay belongs to them. But you were already looking for a way to cross the border, weren’t you?”


    Annalise grunted before pointing at the map as well, “Fair enough, you figured us out. But I do have one question, why not one of these other guys, I mean you guys are more competent right?”


    Her question elicited some light chuckling from the team leaders before the guildmaster smirked, “They are, if they push through they’ll deliver a copy of the message to headquarters, if you break through first you will. Consider it…like a back up. The hope is both sides succeed but, on the off chance there are say…too many goblins or the caravan hits a snag, someone will make it through. It’s just convenient you walked in also bound for Arteria. Just…one more thing.”


    Annalise crossed her arms and one of the team leaders sniggered before the guildmaster shushed him.


    “The team…” The guildmaster sighed despondently, “The Dragon Shout are led by an outworlder, they’re competent and silver ranked, almost gold so they know what they’re doing. Just…he’s a tad…”


    “Eccentric.” One of the team leaders sniggered.


    “Yes, eccentric. So try not to stir up trouble.”


    Annalise shrugged nonchalantly, “Fair enough.” But what surprised Aryana was once again Sophie’s reaction. At the mention of outworlder the half elf’s face lit up for a brief second, not with the surprise that had filled her own, but with a look of nostalgia or wonder. As if she had dealt with them before. But of course she has! She’s a Vaettagh! Stupid brain, stop being so easily suprised.


    “Perfect, Reagan.” The guildmaster addressed the other clerk, “Have another set of warnings drafted for the Slender Swords here.” He pointed towards a team leader, “We’ll have to get word out to the other Ascari guild halls and cities. That’ll be your commission then, Bernard.”


    “Aye guildmaster.” The team leader nodded.


    “Gather the rest of the Hammers and have them meet me here. Firefly be on standby for now, I apologize for the lull but I need you to keep your commission schedule clear for this week in case of emergency.”


    “Yes guildmaster.”


    “Yes guildmaster!”


    Came the other two replies.


    “Tolsten, get those papers to the ranger asap.”


    “Yes guildmaster.”


    “And you, Annalise.” The guildmaster turned towards the ranger, “Consider Runebound reinstated as a silver ranked team for now. Remember you act with my authority, so don’t fuck up. Make sure you’re at the east gate by noon. Got it? Good. Now if there aren’t any questions, anyone who isn’t with the Hammers or staff, dismissed.”


    “Yes guildmaster.” Annalise quipped and the room began emptying at once.


    Aryana followed along, catching a polite smile from the guildmaster as she left. She didn’t know why Sophie had been so hostile to her but it didn’t matter. Her heart had started racing near the end of the meeting, the pounding shaking her entire body. So this is what it feels like to be part of something, it feels…exhilarating.