Runeguard 033

I sheathed my daggers and picked up my battlehammer. “How many, Night?”

She was silent for a moment. “Too many,” Night said. “They are surrounding the tent.”

Goddamn, I cursed. There was no use running. I had no illusions that I could fight my way out, not with all the surviving Crows coming to finish me off. 

If I was going to die, then so be it. I had done what I came for—mostly. I looked around at the bloodied tent. This is as good a place as any. Best I make my stand here.

“Tell me when they begin their attack,” I said and set my stance.

There was a drawn-out moment of silence. 

I shifted from foot to foot as I waited. What was keeping the Crows? They should have attacked by now.

Eventually, I ran out of patience. “Night, what is going on?”

“The humans are conferring,” she said. “They seem uncertain about what to do.”

I frowned. What was there to be uncertain about?

“One man is approaching the tent, Dace.”

“One man?” I murmured and lowered my battlehammer. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be an assault.

Leaving my weapon resting against my leg in clear threat, I folded my arms and watched the tent opening.

Shortly, a tall man dressed in leather armor that had been dyed green ducked inside. He had a longbow strapped across his back and a longsword sheathed on his hip.

My frown deepened. Whoever my visitor was, he didn’t look like a Crow.

“Adi, talk to me. Who is he?”

“His name is Everett Longmire, and he is from the Wardens Guild,” she answered.

The Warden looked me up and down, taking my measure, and I did the same. Everett looked to be in his early forties. He was whipcord thin, with a cracked and weather-beaten face, buzz-cut hair, and hard, piercing eyes. 

The Warden was a man who looked like he had spent most of his life on Earth outdoors. He seems to be doing the same in the Proving Grounds, too.

“So, you are the one,” Everett declared finally.

“The one what?” I asked.

“The one who took down Marcos.”

“How do you know that?”

Everett’s face broke out in a smile. “What? You mean aside from the bloodied corpse lying at your feet?”

I waved away his response. “You only saw the body now. You had to have known Marcos was dead before you entered this tent, or you wouldn’t have come inside alone.”

The Warden nodded. “You’re right, I knew he was dead already,” he said. “I had a quest to kill the bastard.” His smile turned wry. “A task that you seemed to have beaten me to.”

I tensed. Had I angered the Wardens by stealing their quest? Were they here to extract some sort of retribution? I unfolded my arms and let them dangle near the shaft of my battlehammer.

Noticing my reaction, Everett held up his hands. “Whoa there. I don’t hold it against you. In fact, I came here to thank you. We’ve been racking our brains for days trying to figure out a way to take down the Crows.” He shook his head in rueful admiration. “And here, you’ve gone and done it all by yourself.” 

He held my gaze, his own eyes grave. “Marcos and his Crows made the lives of the people around here a living hell. You’ve put a stop to all that now.” The Warden ducked his head in a short bow. “Thank you.”

I nodded curtly, a bit uncomfortable with his praise.

“Can I ask you something?” Everett asked.

“Go ahead.”

“Why’d you go after Marcos? Not that I don’t think it was a worthy enterprise, yet you must have known you didn’t have much chance of succeeding.”

I bowed my head, letting the silence deepen. “You’re right,” I said finally. “I took a risk, but Marcos has been hunting me for days, and last night, he had a friend of mine killed.”

“Ah,” said Everett. “The smith. The Weavers Guildmaster mentioned him.”

I picked up my head. “Evelyn sent you?”

The Warden shook his head. “No, she didn’t.” He chuckled. “Though she did strongly suggest we help you. At first, I dismissed her request. But then, like everyone else in town, I heard tales of the crazy bastard who was killing Crows,”—he smiled to take the sting out of his words—“and my interest grew. So, tonight, when I saw the Crows camp was burning, I knew that this was our chance.” 

Everett shrugged, somewhat apologetically. “Though truly, we didn’t come here to save you. We came to put an end to Crows once and for all.”

I gave him a shrug of my own to show I wasn’t offended. I would have likely done the same in his place.

“So what now?” I asked.

“You’ve ripped out the heart of the Crows already.” Everett glanced at Yannick’s corpse. “And now, all the Crow headhunters are also dead or accounted for. The Crows that still live have scattered, and my people are hunting them as we speak.” He gestured to Marcos’ corpse. “So, I guess all that is left is for you to claim your loot, and for me to escort you back to town.” He smiled. “After the day you’ve had, we wouldn’t want some random Crow to knock you off.”

I grinned in appreciation and bent down over Marcos’ corpse.

You have acquired: 5,023 gold coins and a steel plate armor set, including cuirass, legs, gloves, boots, arms and helm.

Congratulations, you have fulfilled all primary and secondary objectives of the task: bring the thieves to justice. As reward, you have gained +6 ranks in strength. 

My eyes widened at the fortune in gold on the dead Crow leader’s person. But then, a moment later I frowned. Besides my armor, the gold, and Marcos’ own clothes—which I didn’t bother taking—the vampire carried nothing else of value.

“What’s wrong?” Everett asked, seeing my expression.

“Other than my armor and some money, Marcos barely had anything else on him.”

“Ah,” Everett said. “That’s not unexpected. The Crows were quick to sell off whatever they stole or looted. I think Marcos thought the money—rather than a bunch of basic items—would be of more value outside of the Creche.”

“So, the money Marcos carried is all stolen loot?” I asked. I noticed Everett hadn’t inquired as to the amount I had found.

The Warden nodded grimly. “Yes. Marcos’ people preyed primarily on newcomers, robbing them of their possessions before they even had a chance to orient themselves in this damnable world. It has left hundreds bereft, naked, and without the tools they need to survive.”

I blinked. For all that the gold in my inventory weighed nothing, I suddenly felt heavily burdened by the ill-gotten gains. 

Is any of it mine to keep? 

Surviving in the Creche was hard enough when it was only the monsters you had to worry about. How much harder must it be for players robbed of their starting capital? 

It must have crippled them.

I gaze searchingly at the Warden. “Everett, who is the Wardens’ guildmaster?”

“I am,” he replied.

I wasn’t surprised. “Can I trust you?” I asked softly.

He looked at me in confusion. “What? Why?”

I could, I decided. Evelyn had vouched for him, and Everett and his people were the only ones in town who seemed to have actively opposed the Crows. My course set, I initiated a trade with the Wardens Guildmaster.

Trade Window

Goods Offered by Dace Tolman

4,523 gold. 

Goods Requested from Everett Longmire

None.

“What!” the Warden exclaimed. “I can’t take this.”

“You must,” I said. “I’ve kept ten percent. Call it a finder’s fee. The rest is for you to distribute amongst the players robbed by the Crows—those still alive. It’s theirs rightfully. Can I trust you to do that?”

Everett met my eyes. “You can.” He inclined his head. “And on behalf of those players, thank you again. This will mean a lot to them.”

I waved off his thanks as he accepted the trade. “One more thing. Have any in your guild entered the Swampy Place yet?”

“The dungeon,” the guildmaster said with a grimace. “I won’t lie, I know little of such things. Some of my people keep telling me it’s important we attempt completing it, but honestly, with matters in town the way they’ve been, we’ve just haven’t had much time to consider the notion.”

“Listen to your people,” I advised. “The dungeons are important, and while I can’t claim to know what lies beyond the Creche, I suspect surviving in the wider sector will be much harder than in here.” I paused. “The dungeon richly rewards the players who complete it. They may receive Class Stones, and perhaps even tier two Essences.”

“Tier two Essences? Truly?”

I nodded, then went on to describe the Swampy Place’s layout, and how the Paragons and I went about defeating it.

“So, you’ve met Bayan, eh?” Everett asked when I was done. His lips turned down. “I tried for days to convince him and his people to help us take down the thieves. But Bayan wouldn’t hear of it.”

I shrugged, not wanting to discuss the Paragons. “Spread knowledge of the dungeon around town,” I said. “It may help the players robbed by the Crows recover some of what they’ve lost.” Another thought occurred to me. “Oh, and if your people can manage it, try escorting some crafters from the Weavers and Silver Hammers through. It will be interesting to see what, if any, tier two Essences the crafters can earn.”

“Those are all good ideas, and I will be certain to discuss it with Evelyn, Juyorah, and the other guildmasters,” Everett promised. He looked at me thoughtfully. “You aren’t, by any chance, interested in joining a guild?”

I shook my head. “Not right now.”

The guildmaster nodded, not pursuing the matter further.

“Well,” I said. “I must be off now, and no need for the escort. Best you see to distributing that money as soon as you can instead.”

“I will,” he assured me.

“Goodbye Everett,” I said. On my way out of the tent, I paused, catching sight of something. Bending down, I scooped up the throwing axe. I turned to the guildmaster. “You mind if I keep this?” I asked.

“Not at all,” he replied. “It’s yours.”

You have acquired: 1 x steel throwing axe.

Item: Steel Throwing Axe

Base attack: 5.

Parent Essence: dexterity. Parent skills: weapon-throwing. Requirements: perception.

With a final wave of farewell, I ducked out of the tent.

✵ ✵ ✵

Outside the tent, I found the second of Yannick’s axes and stowed it away as well. When I looked up, I found a line of men and women barring my way. Like Everett, they all wore green leather armor. 

Wardens.

At a wave from their guildmaster, who appeared behind me, the line parted, making way for me. Nodding to the players, I slipped through their ranks.

 I kept my guard up as I walked through the Crows’ encampment. Everywhere I looked, things were chaos. Tents were burning, screams cut the air, and shadowy forms ran to and fro through the many pools of brightness. It seemed that despite what Everett had said, matters with the Crows were not quite settled yet.

Yet no one attacked me, and I entered the relative quiet of the town unmolested. Relaxing my guard, I turned to the companions in my mind. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you properly, Night. You saved my life back there.”

I felt the black dragon shrug. “It is not only your own life that I saved, but mine too. Without you, I cannot exist anymore.”

“Nonetheless, I am grateful.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied.

“Adi, did Night gain any levels in the encounter?” I asked.

“She did. Your companion is now level seven.”

“Excellent,” I said. “Show us Night’s profile, please.” 

Spirit Profile: Night

Level: 7. Health: 70 / 70 HP. 

Stamina: 70 / 70 SP. Mana: 5 / 70 MP. 

Species: Black dragon. 

Class: Spirit guard. Maintenance cost: 70 MP.

Bonded companion: Dace Tolman.

Nodal Capability

Max Nodes: 7. Total Occupied: 7 / 7. 

Available Nodes: 0 / 7.

Occupied Nodes

Strength, tier 1 Essence: 7.

Constitution, tier 1 Essence: 7.

Channeling, tier 1 Essence: 7.

Chaos, tier 3 Essence: 12.

Spirit guard, tier 1 Class: 1.

Skills

Strength: scale armor: 1, tooth and claw: 1.

Constitution: recovery: 1.

Channeling: regeneration: 5.

Chaos: chaos resistance: 6, chaos magic: 11.

Active Abilities

Chaos: lesser petrifying gaze, lesser dragon’s breath.

Passive Abilities

Chaos: lesser fear aura.

“So what do you think, Night?” I asked. “Happy with your progress?”

“I suppose,” she said. “Although, I am barely as strong as a day-old hatchling. Mooneyes would have laughed to see me like this.” The black dragon sighed. “I have a long way to go before I reach the strength of my former self.”

I chuckled sympathetically. “Don’t worry, we’ll get there eventually.”

I felt her nod of agreement. “Where are we going now?” Night asked.

“Back to the tavern,” I said. “We have plans to make for the future—both of ours. And there is something I want to discuss with you, but only in the privacy of the tavern.”

“Oh?” she asked curiously. “What’s that?”

“Runes,” I said.