Wild Era, Ch 15: Guild Benefits

The two guards at the door saw Kelin running forward. They should have recognized him, but instead they drew their swords as they readied themselves to meet him.

Kelin didn’t care why they were blocking the entrance. He borrowed earth essence from Gaius and the mana shield around him flared with yellow runes as he slammed into them. 

The hit was so hard that they crashed through the exterior wall and landed inside the inn’s common room in an explosion of wood and force.

Then he was through.

Captain Sandren was right behind him as he ran toward Yao and Naomi’s room. He could sense the wards clearly here and the impacts were continuing in a staccato beat. 

Someone was hammering on them as they tried to break through.

Then he saw what it was, although more with his mana senses than with his eyes. 

There was a shadow outside the door, surrounded by a blur of Darkness-aligned elemental energy. The figure was slashing at the door with two daggers as streaks of mana and shadow dug into the wood.

The door itself was looking battered, but the wards Kelin had infused into it still stood, preventing it from breaking down completely. It glowed with golden runes and a touch of fiery light.

There was a silence spell around the figure that was keeping his actions from disturbing the rest of the inn. He must have tried to get into the room only to find out the door was sealed, so he decided to attack it.

A soul arrow appeared in Kelin’s hand as he targeted the figure, but at that moment Sandren sped past him in a blur.

There was the dull echo of an impact and the dark figure slammed into the ground. The heavy weight of a mana field spread out around the captain, pressing down on the attacker like a mountain as she stood above them.

The mana field breezed past Kelin, since it wasn’t targeted at him. Sandren had good control of it and with all of her attention focused on one person, they wouldn’t be moving with the level difference between them.

Each Evolution had its own unique nature, and a mana field was the signature power of the Second. They were like miniature domains that formed as your mana extended outside of your body. Used properly, they shielded you from damage, augmented your attacks, and suppressed your enemies. It was one of the reasons why it was so difficult to fight across evolutions. 

There were no other enemies in sight, so Kelin let the soul arrow dissipate into a blur of ethereal light as he analyzed the attacker on the ground.

Sannor Illorik. Shadow Stalker-Shadow Illusionist. Level 62.

At the same time, Sandren reached down and yanked the man’s hood back, revealing his features, but it wasn’t anyone that Kelin recognized.

His class was a variant of the rogue line, a mix of stealth skills and shadow magic. His primary class was a melee combat one, while his subclass was a shadow mage specializing in illusions.

That must be how he’d gotten in here.

Kelin checked the door and the soul signatures of Yao and Naomi inside, but they felt healthy, and Gaius confirmed it as well. 

He let out a sigh of relief. 

“I am Captain Sandren of the Stars Alliance,” Sandren said as she looked down at the man. Her tone was calm, but her expression was flat. “You have attacked the room of two guests of my guild and threatened their safety. By the laws of the city, your life is forfeit. Any mercy will be at my discretion. I suggest you start by talking. Who are you and why are you here?”

The rogue grimaced as he looked up at her, but he kept his mouth shut, apparently unwilling to give up anything.

At that moment, the results of the destruction Kelin had wrought coming into the inn finally arrived as the two guards and a handful of off-duty mercenaries rushed into the hall.

“Stop or die!” One of them shouted as he lunged forward. 

Normally, that phrase would have been followed by a pause, but the mercenary didn’t hesitate as he swung his blade at Kelin from the back. He was apparently of the camp that killing people while telling them to stop was fine.

After all, it was hard to prove. 

The guards were only in the 40s, so Kelin’s mana shield intensified to deflect the attack, but it wasn’t necessary. 

Before the sword could land, Sandren’s mana field spread out. A crushing wave of mana flattened everyone in the hall except for her and Kelin.

Then the hall was still.

“I’m not sure if you all are enthusiastic or just stupid.” Her words were blunt and she didn’t look happy. “But at least I’m not bored anymore.”

She glared at them all.

“You should have already heard who I am. I wasn’t being quiet. I am Captain Sandren of the Stars Alliance. There’s an assassin right here, but you’re attacking the ones who came to stop him. Aren’t you idiots supposed to be guarding that door?”

She pointed at the rogue who was lying at her feet. Then she pointed at Yao and Naomi’s door, which was badly battered.

“So if you have two thoughts to rub together in your skulls, tell me what the void you were thinking.”

There were eight mercenaries in the hall and as Sandren relaxed her mana field, they were able to scramble to their feet, but they did it slowly, which showed that she hadn’t fully lifted it from them.

“You’re a captain from the guild?” One of the guards muttered as he caught sight of Sandren’s badge, which was a solid silver. 

Her rank was Middle Silver, not the Low Silver of the early 200s, which showed that her combat ability was considerable. In an area like this, the flash of that badge was enough to cow everyone.

The guards turned nervous as they looked at it and then at each other, apparently trying to figure out what to do.

Kelin caught sight of the two external guards that he’d knocked through the wall, who were in the middle of the pack. They were glaring at him from the corner of their eyes.

“You two tried to stop me as I came in,” he said in a cutting tone. Then he looked at the guard who’d attacked him from behind. “And one of you attacked me as soon as you saw me. I’ve seen all of you before, and you should know that I’ve been paying the rent on this room. I only left this morning. Are you killing your own guests now?”

“You sold out to the Wind Hunters!” One of the two guards snapped as he pointed at Kelin. “The lieutenant came by just now and warned us about you. He told us to keep you out if we saw you, and to keep the two kids here for now, but that he’d be back to take care of you soon. Right after that, you showed up.”

That was a strange thing to hear.

“Let me guess, that was about five minutes ago?” Kelin asked as he shook his head. “Don’t any of you have a decent Analyze ability?”

The answer was probably simple, especially with the culprit here. He pointed at the rogue on the ground. 

“You mean this Shadow Illusionist looked like your lieutenant,” he said. “He showed up and told you a lie, and then he pretended to leave while he snuck past you to this door to kill the people you’re supposed to be protecting. And you let him. Call your lieutenant. I want to ask him what he thinks of this.”

The guards took in the rogue and suddenly turned a bit paler.

“Do it,” Sandren ordered. “If he’s not here in five minutes, I’m going to find him myself. He won’t like that.”

One of the guards muttered something that sounded rude, but then he pulled out a communication amulet and began speaking into it in a hurry.

“Thanks for coming along,” Kelin said as he gave Sandren a nod of appreciation. “This would have been a lot messier otherwise.”

It was lucky that she was here, and also that her position left her effectively immune to complaints or backlash. 

His wards would have held up for a while and he could have dealt with the assassin, but his methods would have caused more trouble, especially when it came to the guards.

With her here, all of that came to a screeching halt.

“If you have things in hand here,” he added, “I’m going to check on the kids.”

“I’ll take care of this,” she said with a grin. Her tone was starkly different from the one she used to talk to the guards. “Maybe they’ll act up again and I’ll get to punch a few. Or maybe I can punch their lieutenant for framing one of my guild members. Who knows?”

The guards turned even paler at that, which made Kelin snort.

His opinion of the Blade and Steel was almost as low as his opinion of the Wind Hunters now, but for now he would let Sandren deal out her version of justice.

He would have been surprised by all of this, but he hadn’t really been relying on the guards to protect the room. That was what the wards were for. 

They’d only been there as window dressing to keep the Wind Hunters away, and it was really the threat of their boss that did that.

The real question was why an assassin had tried to sneak through now, since the Wind Hunters had seemed content to wait for the kids to come out.

He suspected it had to do with his arrival. It was the only change to the situation, especially with his guild badge in the picture. 

Perhaps they’d seen their targets slipping away and had taken a chance. It wasn’t absolutely certain that the rogue was from the Wind Hunters, but that was the most likely scenario.

Now that he was here, he could tell that the watchers outside were no longer there. They’d been pulled back, and that must have required the order of someone higher.

He stepped up to the door and touched the wards on it. 

Lesser wards would have needed to open completely, but these flowed out until they covered him, bringing him inside their protection. As he opened the door and walked through, they moved back to their original place.

Yao and Naomi had flipped the small table over with the top toward the door, and were hiding behind it. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing, and Kelin smiled when he saw it.

“Kelin!” Naomi shouted as she stuck her head out. “You got the message?”

“Yes,” he agreed simply as he looked around, but the room looked secure enough. “Things will be fine. I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

He pulled the two amulets off his belt and handed them each one.

“Put these on. They mark you as guests of the adventurers’ guild. A captain from the guild is here with me. We’ll settle things outside. Then we’ll head to the guild and our new rooms there. Give me a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Yao said as he stuck his head out from the other side of the table. “I know you told us you had wards up, but that was incredible! I heard those hits. It sounded like a giant was beating on the door.”

“Just a rogue, probably from the Wind Hunters,” Kelin said calmly. “Gather your things and get ready to go. I’m going back into the hall for a bit.”

The kids’ eyes were wide, but they hadn’t seen what happened. They’d just heard the shouts. Since no one had gotten in, they weren’t too shaken up by it.

Kelin gave them a nod as he stepped back out and passed through the wards again.

Sandren’s guild badge was glowing in the hallway and she was talking to someone at the guild. Her mana field was still slightly present around her, and the guards knew better than to cause trouble.

At her feet, glowing green manacles had locked up the rogue, who was looking a little worse for wear. They were a standard type of restraint that blocked mana, which locked out a lot of abilities, and they also exerted a slow effect on the person wearing them, which kept them from moving very quickly.

They weren’t a guarantee that a prisoner couldn’t escape, but they made it harder and they were easy to use.

At that moment, a thin and waspish looking man ran into the hallway and skidded to a halt, looking slightly out of breath. Kelin didn’t bother being polite as he analyzed him.

Galer Nooten. Wind Duelist-Blade Dancer. Level 61. 

Double combat classes that were so similar to one another made Kelin shake his head. It was better to go a bit farther apart, to get more breadth, but many people fell into the trap of trying to reinforce their initial class.

From the silver Blade and Shield badge on his chest, this was apparently the lieutenant.

“This is the one who told you that?” Sandren asked as she looked up from her badge, glancing at the newly arrived lieutenant and then at the guard who had explained what happened.

“Yes,” the guard said hesitantly.

“Told you what?” the lieutenant snapped, looking displeased. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Were you here about ten minutes ago?” Sandren asked bluntly. “These guards said you came with instructions, told them that one of your guests had defected to the Wind Hunters, and that they should hold two kids staying here.”

“Of course not,” the lieutenant said quickly. His words were sped along as he took in Sandren’s badge and her level. He had been arrogant when he arrived, but that was changing. “I haven’t even been by this inn in the last two days!” 

“That settles most of it then,” Sandren said. “You stay here.” 

Then she turned to the guards. 

“The rest of you, get out. If I need you, I’ll summon you to the guild.”

A few moments later, it was only her, Kelin, the lieutenant, and the rogue.

“You owe him a refund,” Sandren said bluntly as she looked at the lieutenant and then pointed at Kelin. “This rogue used an illusion to look like you, tricked your guards, and nearly broke into the room he paid for, where two kids are supposed to be under your watch.”

She reached down and hauled the rogue to his feet, making him stand in front of her. He tried to struggle, but his movements looked like they were under water. Faint ripples of Wind fluctuated around him from the manacles he was wearing.

“As for you, you’re coming to the guild where we’ll do a bit more questioning,” she said. “You’ll tell us the truth sooner or later, but I think I’ve got most of the picture.”

She pointed at her badge, which had fallen silent.

“The guild’s information desk says you’re registered with the Wind Hunters and that you’ve been a member there for the past five years. The only question is why you snuck in here, but you’ll spit it out sooner or later.”

She looked back at the lieutenant. 

“You might want to report this one to your boss, since I understand you and the Wind Hunters don’t get along, but whatever the result of that is, I expect you to keep it out of my city, or I’ll be talking to you at the guild next.”

“Understood,” the lieutenant said, looking uncomfortable. Then he looked at Kelin. “This was all a bit fast, but it seems the Blade and Shield needs to apologize to you. I’ll look into it. If we broke our protection promise, I’ll send an appropriate recompense.”

“You can send it to the guild,” Kelin said. “We’re done here for now.”

He didn’t care about the apology, but if they wanted to send money, it would help to pay for the rooms there. 

He could sense Yao and Naomi heading to the door, so he turned away from the lieutenant as he began to disable the wards, taking them down in a more permanent way. 

He didn’t have to, since they would fade on their own, but it was a matter of cleaning up the area rather than leaving his signature all over it. 

A minute later, the wards dropped on the door. The kids walked out cautiously, looking around at everything. They each had a pack on their back with their things in it, but they weren’t very large, just a change of clothes and a few personal items they’d kept over the years at the orphanage.

When they saw the rogue in manacles, they flinched and edged toward Kelin.

“He won’t bother you now,” Sandren said with a grin as she saw that. “Nice to meet you two. I’m from the guild.”

“Captain Sandren is one of the bosses at the local adventurers’ guild,” Kelin corrected, but his words were amused. “Be polite to her. She’s probably more powerful than anyone you’ve ever met before. Say hello.”

“Ahh, hello...” Yao and Naomi echoed, but they looked a bit wide-eyed as they moved behind Kelin, keeping him between them and everyone else.

“Alright, let’s go,” Kelin said as he glanced around. He had no interest in staying any longer. “I don’t think there’s anything left here.”

He led the way out as Yao and Naomi followed him. At the rear, Sandren dragged the rogue along with one hand, keeping him upright whenever he tried to fall over.

It was slow going through the city like that, but before long a prisoner cart from the guild showed up. It was driven by a Level 120 Earthen Guard and pulled by a couple of scaled horses. 

The guard saluted as he stopped the cart by them, and then he took the rogue off their hands.

“I’ll see you there, ma’am,” the guard said as he chucked the rogue into the cart. Then he saluted again. “For the stars.” 

Sandren returned the salute and the guard drove off. 

“I’ve contacted some of the information sources at the guild,” she said as they walked on. “By the time we get there, they might have some answers about why the Wind Hunters want to kill you two so badly.”

About half an hour later, the four of them arrived at the guild. Sandren checked her badge for messages, and then nodded. 

“Follow me,” she said. “I think we have some news.”

They bypassed the main hall as she led them to her office. It was a modestly sized room, but well appointed, like most of the guild chambers. 

There was only one chair in front of her desk, but she waved her hand and a couple more appeared. They landed on the polished tiles with a thud.

Kelin waved the kids to the seats as he took the third.

Sandren flopped down behind her desk and leaned back, sticking her boots on a stool underneath. Her gaze was unfocused as she looked at her badge again, and she spent a few minutes talking to someone on the other side, apparently one of the guild spies.

Spying was a time-honored class, one that went hand in hand with administration and organization, and the guild had some of the best in the area.

“Alright,” she said as she looked up again. “That rogue is trying to keep silent, but the investigators got a few things out of him, including who he works for. I think I understand the general concept. Maybe you can help me put it together.”

“Go ahead,” Kelin agreed. “Whatever information you have is appreciated. I know they’re after these two, but I don’t know why they care so much. All I’ve heard is that they were witnesses to an attempted theft, the Wind Hunters saw them and tried to frame them for it, and that got them kicked out of the orphanage.”

“I’ve heard mostly the same,” Sandren said, “but I think there are two key points that explain it better that aren’t in that version.”

She turned to the kids.

“Who did you see there? And what were they trying to steal?”

Yao and Naomi shared a look, and then they held up their hands as if they weren’t quite sure what to say, but finally Yao spoke up.

“It was two of the kids at the orphanage that wanted to be Wind Hunter recruits, and there were two other young members of the Wind Hunters with them. I couldn’t Analyze those two, so I don’t know their names, but I’ve seen them come by the orphanage before.” “Every time they came by, they talked a lot about money and loyalty to them, even more than to the Wind Hunters,” Naomi offered. “But that’s all I know. They kept it pretty quiet.”

“They were trying to steal some books,” Yao said, “and a few materials that help to test for class affinities. There was a mana stone, a few elemental crystals...things like that. It was in the headmistress’s office. We were on cleaning duty that night.”

Naomi nodded in agreement.

“She didn’t bring those items out much,” she said, “but every six months or so, there was a standard test for affinities, just so people could start thinking about what class to get...even if there wasn’t much focus on it. Apparently, it was a city requirement.”

“Standard affinity testing each year,” Sandren agreed. “Those materials are a gift from the city, as well as from us. They aren’t worth that much, maybe a dozen gold, but the headmistress would have been responsible if they were lost. I suspect they targeted them just because they were the only thing of value there.”

She glanced at her badge and then back to the kids.

“Did one of those Wind Hunters have dark hair, usually pulled back with a silver hawk clasp, and a small scar over his left eye?” she asked. “He would have been about 20, not too old, and about an inch taller than Yao. Habit of wearing a gold ring on his left hand?”

“That’s him!” Yao said instantly. “But how did you know?”

“Alright,” Sandren said as she looked off into space for a moment. It seemed like she was putting things together. Then she held up one finger. “First thing. That guy is Yaris Nellan. He’s the youngest son of the second in command of the Wind Hunters. They’re a local mercenary guild. Their average fighter is low, only around Levels 40-50, with a handful of sergeants at 60-90, a few lieutenants around 100, and the boss at 154, plus his second in command, Orest Nellen, at 121. That’s Yaris’s father.

“Yaris was probably at the orphanage trying to recruit personal guards for himself, ones that were young and would grow up with him, which would make them more loyal to him than to the rest of the Wind Hunters. You see that a lot with some of the power plays in those groups.”

She held up a second finger. 

“Second thing, and this is the important one. That theft you saw implicated Yaris, which made you witnesses who could inform on him. While it was just some affinity testing materials and a challenge for his new recruits, being seen put him in a difficult position. 

“If you’d reported on him, he’d probably have been arrested, maybe had to pay a fine or spend a few days in jail until we kicked him out, and that would make his father look bad.”

She shook her head.

“That meant getting rid of you two was the simplest way to clear his name, but it looks like the whole Wind Hunter gang wasn’t involved, just him and his father, which is who that rogue works for. Those recruits watching your inn were some of Yaris’s newer guards as well, the ones he’s recruited in the past year or so.”

She folded her hands on the desk as she put her feet back on the ground and leaned forward.

“So here’s the question,” she said as she raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to handle it, or should I? They’ve broken a couple of city laws, and that gives us some options.”

She looked at the kids first, but then her eyes settled on Kelin. 

“I see now,” he said. “That does explain why they were so interested in you two, and why they were slow and didn’t send anyone with a higher level until the end. Yaris must have heard about my guild badge earlier today, when the guards noticed it at the inn. Then he ran to his father, or maybe just to that rogue, and asked for help to settle things.”

“That’s what I’d say too.” Sandren nodded in agreement. 

Kelin steepled his fingers as he considered Yao and Naomi, and what the guild taking action on their behalf would look like.

If he asked Sandren to deal with it, she would probably arrest Yaris and do what she’d said, imprisoning or fining him as an accessory to theft. That would probably get his father involved, but the two of them might avoid any penalty for the attack on the inn.

He had no doubt they’d let the rogue take the fall.

That was two enemies who might try to get revenge on the kids again.

“Leave it alone for now,” he said as he came to a decision. “Give the rogue a penalty for trespassing on the inn and kick him out. Tell him privately to go back to Yaris and warn him to drop the matter unless he wants more trouble, but that it’s the only time that courtesy will be extended, for their prior services to the city as mercenaries. 

“Also warn him that the only reason it’s being dropped now is because the kids have asked you to, and that they said they didn’t see anything.”

“We can do that,” Sandren nodded as she looked at the kids. “You’re the two who got attacked, so are you okay with it? It might help things blow over, and then this trouble will be out of your hair, but you should still avoid Yaris and the Wind Hunters in the future.”

“If Kelin says so,” Yao said, looking over at him. “I trust him.”

Naomi nodded in agreement.

“Alright, I’ll handle it.” Sandren smiled at them. Then she glanced at Kelin, apparently wanting to say something else, before she looked back at them. 

“Why don’t I call Jesra up from the front desk?” she offered. “She can take you two to your room that Kelin’s arranged for you. Go get some sleep or settle in. She’ll show you around too if you like that instead. There’s a lot here that you’ll have access to as guests.”

“Go ahead,” Kelin agreed reassuringly. “You’ll be safe here. Keep those medallions visible on your chest for a bit. Even if Yaris’s father were here, if he saw those he’d hesitate a long time before trying anything else.”

Yao and Naomi traded another look, apparently uneasy at the idea of being on their own in the guild, but a few minutes later, they followed Jesra out of the office.

“So, are you going to leave it at that or not?” Sandren asked once they were alone. The look she gave him was perceptive.

“Of course not,” Kelin replied honestly. “I just hope you don’t look too hard if a few of those Wind Hunters disappear. Is that a problem?”

“They’ve earned it.” Sandren said, shaking her head. “Targeting kids like that. Let me know if you need help. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve cleaned up some of the worst elements in the city. The guild roots out criminal elements almost every year.

“The Wind Hunters are on my mind now, so I’ll look into them more, including that mine sabotage you mentioned. If they’ve got more secrets buried, I’ll find them. They might have earned more than a few disappearances.”

“I’m glad you’re on our side,” Kelin said with a grin. He was quickly growing to like Sandren. She had a practical mindset that was similar to his.

He also felt a sense of relief that things were finally starting to work out, since it meant that he could get on with the leveling plan he had for himself.

Everything came back to power. If he’d had more, Yao and Naomi would never have been in danger.

“I’d like to keep the kids out of sight for a few weeks,” he added. “That will give things time to settle and for me to hit up some dungeons. They can take advantage of all the training here while I’m gone.”

“That’s what the guild is here for,” Sandren agreed. “We have some of the best training rooms and methods there are. They’re welcome to all the standard options for guests, but the speciality training rooms take different payments. If you cover it, they can use them. You know how it works, I think.”

“I’ll explain it all to them,” Kelin agreed. “You’ll pass on what you learn about the Wind Hunters to me?”

“Of course,” Sandren said, grinning slightly. “Although you know, it’s only because you scored so well on that assessment.”

“Of course,” Kelin said drily, but he shook his head with an ironic smile. “Nothing’s free in the world. Let me know what you need later. Either way, I’m glad we’re off to a good start.”

She was helping him far more than she needed to, including in letting him choose how to deal with the Wind Hunters, and it was all because of the potential he showed, as well as what he might be able to do for the guild in the future.

It was just a fact of life, and not one he had a reason to complain about right now. His general view on the Chaos War matched up with the guild’s.

He stood up and held out his hand to Sandren, who stood to meet him. Her grin was even larger now, but her words were serious.

“Glad you understand,” she said. “Now let me get you a list of the really good dungeons around here, the ones we keep a little secret for our own people.”