by Dante King
The fishman with the big spear had a gorgeous sister, so I decided not to hurt his feelings.
We spent the journey back to the guild island discussing the fight and the techniques we’d used to defeat the starsquids. Cadrin proved just as pompous as I’d expected. His over-exaggerated sense of his own achievements and skill level grated on my nerves. Labu was quieter, except when he thought something he’d done might impress Cadrin. It was pretty obvious that Kumi’s brother wanted the same thing that Kegohr already possessed. Being accepted as a Wild.
“So, are you going to let me into your guild house now?” I asked as we stepped onto the docks. “Or do I need to kill all the starsquids on the Diamond Coast first?”
“You’ll do, I suppose,” Cadrin said. “Though you might need to smarten up; those robes look like ragged hand-me-downs.”
“Not hand-me-downs,” I said. “Venerated antiques. And are you really gonna talk to me when you’ve got ink and guts plastered all over your Paris Hilton boots?”
Cadrin glared at me. “What are you talking about?”
I let it go. Some things were just too good to explain.
We walked along the docks and up to the gates.
“So, you think I’m worthy to train with your guild?” I asked.
“You have the skills,” Labu said.
“You obviously learn fast,” Cadrin admitted. “Though I’m not sure I would allow it.”
“Good thing you’re too junior for anyone to listen to, then,” I replied.
Cadrin scowled, but he still let me into the guild house and pointed me toward the guest quarters before he stormed off. Labu nodded a silent goodbye and then, he too was gone.
I walked across a torchlit courtyard toward the guest quarters, a two-story building of marble and slate. It was less impressive than the magical ice that made up much of the rest of the guild, but at least it was warm. My fingers tapped their usual rhythm on the hilt of the Sundered Heart, and Nydarth’s customary purr didn’t rise to my thoughts.
“Something about this guild house feels peculiar,” Nydarth whispered in the back of my mind. “Be wary.”
I pushed open the door of the guest house and found Kegohr and Vesma on large cushions in a well-lit room. Kegohr was clutching his stomach, and Vesma looked up at me with sleepy eyes.
“We have eaten so well,” she said. “So much seafood.”
“Almost too much,” Kegohr admitted. “But not quite.” He groaned as he reached for another shrimp from a bowl and tossed it into the back of his mouth.
I settled down in a corner of the room and opened my pouch. The talk of food had made me realize how hungry I was, but other priorities came first. One by one, I pressed the starsquid cores against my chest and absorbed their Vigor. I closed my eyes, meditated, and opened a channel for the power of the new technique.
Slowly, carefully, I directed the water through me. My skin cooled, and I heard a sharp crackle. I opened my eyes and saw plates of Frozen Armor encircling my forearms. I pushed the Vigor further, and the ice appeared on my upper arms, then my body, and, finally, down my legs. It wasn’t pretty. Just a slight sheen of thin ice. I didn’t feel my body temperature drop at all, either.
“Wow, wow, wow,” Kegohr said. “You’ve been busy.”
I let the armor melt away into mist and shrugged. “Just gaining techniques while the sun shines. What have you two learned, apart from how good the food is?”
Someone pulled open the door and stopped them from answering. We looked up to see a young woman in a Resplendent Tears tabard push the door open and look imperiously in at us.
“Which one of you is Ethan Murphy?” she asked.
“That’s me,” I replied.
“I’m sent by Guildmaster Horix. You are to attend his office immediately.”
Chapter Six
I made sure to scoop up Xilarion’s letter before following Horix’s messenger out of the guest quarters. I expected to be led to one of the upper floors in the main complex since lines of sight and an elevated position were usually the hallmark of a tactical thinker. Instead, the messenger escorted me to a narrow passageway and down a spiraling staircase.
Walls of ice gave way to marble as we descended beneath the guild house. The light of a dying day was quickly replaced with an eerie glow cast by wall-mounted orbs of pale stone.
The staircase widened into a waiting room with stone benches flanking a thick door of ancient wood. The messenger knocked, swung the door open, and stood back to let me through.
A wave of claustrophobia hit me as I stepped into Horix’s office. Xilarion’s office had been small, tidy, and simple. This one was an echoing chamber that could have held a small crowd. The only wall of marble sat at my back, and the others were huge sheets of transparent ice.
More light-orbs illuminated the depths outside the crystalline barriers. An octopus clung to the outside as its tentacles curled and uncurled. Suckers latched onto the icy surface while the sea creature sporadically shot out a limb and caught a passing fish. A shark flashed past with razor teeth bared as it chased a school of nimble prey. These creatures weren’t the cored monsters that I’d spent my afternoon hunting, but they were still intimidating, carnivorous beasts that ruled the deep.
While more grand and imposing than Xilarion’s office, Horix’s did share some similarities. A katana hung on the wall as a lone decoration amid otherwise minimalist decor. Cushions lay on the floor while books and scrolls filled hefty shelves to either side of the door. A single, low desk sat in the center of the room, dwarfed by the space around it.
Horix stood on the far side of the desk and faced the ocean with his hands clasped behind his back. The Guildmaster was a tall man, and his pristine white robes with blue trim added to the appearance of height. Snow-white hair fell freely over his shoulders.
He turned to face me, showing the pointed ears and pale skin of an elf. His gaze found me, and I met his eyes without so much as a flinch. Bone-white irises examined mine with a clinical interest.
I comforted myself with the thought that I’d had dentists scarier than this guy.
“Disciple Ethan Murphy lo Pashat,” he said in a cold, clear tone. “Please, take a seat.”
I inclined my head and took a place at the other side of his desk. My muscles still ached from the fight earlier, and I was happy for any opportunity to rest them.
I looked again at my surroundings as I relaxed into a cushion. It was clear why Horix had made this room his office. It wasn’t just to provide him with entertainment looking out through the ice. This was a place designed to impress visitors and intimidate students. It was a tool to earn respect, and I could appreciate that.
I half-expected Horix to remain on his feet and use his height to further intimidate me. Instead, he sat on the floor behind the desk with his back ramrod straight and his hands folded in his lap. The Guildmaster watched me for a moment, and the intent behind those cold, pale eyes was completely hidden to me.
“Thank you for coming to my guild,” he said finally. “It is always a pleasure to hear from Guildmaster Xilarion.”
“He sends his greetings,” I said. “Xilarion mentioned that you were old friends.”
“Indeed.” Horix nodded. “We fought together for Emperor Talekon during his campaign against the Tainted Armies.
“We fought against an alliance of tainted guilds,” Horix said in answer to my puzzled look. “They believed that, by coming together, their magical atrocities would be given more strength and that their combined arms would prevent the Emperor from stopping them. They had not counted on the determination of the Emperor or the skill of General Xilarion. We destroyed their armies, razed their fortresses, and scattered those who remained.”
“You were brothers born in battle,” I said. I now had far more confidence that Horix would heed whatever words Xilarion had penned inside the scroll. I pulled the message from my belt and put it on the desk.
Horix smiled at the seal and met my gaze. “It takes a certai
n kind of fresh disciple to cross the mountains into our province. I take it from the lack of injury that you passed through unharmed?”
“I have friends who accompanied me.”
“I see. They are the young woman, Vesma, and the Wild, Kegohr?”
I nodded as Horix tore the seal with a long fingernail and unfurled the scroll. The elf snorted as he combed over the letter. After only a few seconds, he placed it down on his desk. His eyes swept back up to me with laser-like precision, and my gut twisted.
“I take it you were not so impertinent as to read this letter?” he whispered.
“I wouldn’t give me so much credit, Guildmaster. I’m a glorified messenger pigeon.”
The less the elf knew about me, the better. I had no intention of playing his little mind games. All I wanted was a bellyful of food and a warm bed. But I’d seen types like Horix before. They were puppet-masters.
“How fare Xilarion and the Radiant Dragon Guild?” he asked.
I barely hesitated with my answer. “Master Xilarion didn’t tell you?”
“I’d like to hear it from you, Disciple.”
“The guild was recently attacked. Clan Wysaro made a play to increase their power at our expense. There was a battle on the grounds of the guild, and a lot of people were killed or injured.”
He leaned forward and steepled his fingers. “So. you have come for aid. I would be happy to send Augmenters to the Radiant Dragon Guild. They could put down this rebellious clan with little effort.”
Was this a power play? One like Jiven Wysaro and his guise of ‘helping’ the Radiant Dragon Guild?
“Thank you for the offer,” I replied, “but it’s not necessary. We beat the Wysaros, in large part thanks to Master Xilarion, and they’ve retreated to their fortress. We have the situation under control.”
“I am glad to hear it.” Horix straightened and folded his hands in his lap. “I know what it is to face a troublesome clan.”
“You’ve been having similar problems?”
I knew of the conflict between this guild and the Qihin Clan, but it seemed Xilarion’s letter hadn’t mentioned it, or Horix was keeping its contents close to his chest.
And I’d be damned if I didn’t find out what was going on between them. After all, Xilarion wanted me to help resolve the conflict. I thought it would only require delivering this letter, but it seemed the task wouldn’t prove so easy to accomplish.
“The Qihin Clan,” Horix answered. “They have not been so bold as to make a concerted attack, but they are not controlling their members. Untamed warriors and Wild Augmenters cause trouble across the province while King Beqai sits idle.”
“What sort of trouble?” I asked.
“Assaults. Thefts. Destruction. The sort of unchecked violence one would expect from a tribe of aquatic savages with no sense of discipline.”
I considered what I’d seen since we emerged from the mountains. The Wild warriors attacking Kumi seemed like evidence of what the Guildmaster was saying. They had both acted like wild savages and tried to kidnap a woman while she bathed. I had seen firsthand the criminal violence that brought an extra layer of steel to Horix’s voice.
But they hadn’t been Qihin Clan members.
I considered Kumi herself and her brother Labu. I had seen them in action, talked with them, and fought alongside them. They hadn’t seemed like criminals. In fact, they’d been every bit as disciplined and effective as Cadrin, a guild member in apparently good standing. If I added in Kumi’s claim about the guild members taking her people’s crops, I got a mixed picture.
“I’ve met some of the Qihin,” I said cautiously. “Admittedly, only a few, but they don’t seem out of control.”
“I would advise wariness,” Horix said as he narrowed his eyes. “The savage can put on an air of civility if they want to pass without trouble. They can even seduce strangers with their friendliness and other wiles. But when you have been here for a while, when you see their constant, self-destructive cycles as I do, you will understand. And in the meantime, I hope that you will trust to my judgement and my desire to keep my old friend’s messenger safe.”
“I’ll do my best.”.
There was always a chance that Horix was right. I couldn’t deny that I was attracted to Kumi. I’d been caught in a mess more times than I could count because of a beautiful woman. But I wasn’t convinced Horix had the whole picture. Still, he was my host, an anchor point on the Diamond Coast, and an old friend of a man I seriously respected. I could play along until I had firm evidence one way or the other.
“Of course, the problem goes beyond the Diamond Coast.” Horix rose to his feet and paced steadily back and forth. He took on the assertive tone of a professor lecturing a troubled class. A shark swam close to an octopus on the other side of the ice, only to be batted away with a firm slap of muscled tentacles. “The threat of the Wilds arises in every corner of the Seven Realms. Those whose power is unearned, untrained, tainted by the influence of strange spirits and monstrous tendencies. Most lack the discipline to control their own power, so they succumb to primitive instincts and the lure of uncivilized behavior. The power is a danger to its own wielders.
“But more than this, the power threatens society. Imagine if we handed our armies to individuals at random across the Empire. Think of what they would do with such strength: crime, self-indulgence, petty feuds. Wild Augmenting is a power as great as such armies, and it is outside our control. Without order, it is a threat to all of civilization.”
“Isn’t it the place of the guilds to help Wilds control their power?” I asked.
Horix dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. “Wilds are a threat to good order and discipline within a guild, just as they are anywhere else. Recruiting them would be like putting a rotten apple in the same barrel as the good ones. The infection spreads, and soon all your apples are spoiled.”
I thought of Kegohr and his place within the Radiant Dragon Guild. He was a Wild. The half-ogre had gained his power over fire in a Vigorous Zone when he was young, and he’d fostered it for many years without the direction and support of a guild. Sure, Kegohr had his moments of indiscipline, just like anyone else, but he was a better student than many others. He studied hard, listened to our instructors, and helped others to refine their techniques. I couldn’t think of a better example of how the guild system should work.
It was possible that Horix just needed to see examples like that in action. If all he had ever seen of Wilds was the troublesome kind, then examples like Kegohr and Kumi might help to bring him around. It was one angle to explain this outright hostility toward the Wilds that permeated every level of the Resplendent Tears Guild. But Horix spoke too damn well for someone who was merely misguided. The elf and Xilarion were old friends, with the emphasis on the ‘old.’ It was likely they hadn’t met since after these Tainted Wars.
Maybe Horix was just an asshole who hated anyone who wasn’t like him?
My task here was completed. I’d given the letter to Horix. Now, I needed to see King Beqai to learn more about the situation.
So, why hadn’t the elf dismissed me yet?
“Did Xilarion leave you with any other instructions?” he asked.
“None,” I lied. I didn’t want to tell him I planned on meeting King Beqai. “I thought I’d take the time to train with your guild, but it appears that we’re not welcome.”
“Your caution is commendable,” Horix said, though with his coldly calculated demeanor, I couldn’t tell how much he meant it. “But brazen assumption is a mistake, disciple. You’d do well to remember that. A handful of posturing Wilds should not discourage you from the pursuit of knowledge.”
He walked to the ice wall and stared up at the octopus. The creature turned its head and looked down at the guildmaster. Some understanding passed between them, because the creature detached itself from the wall and pulsed through the water until it vanished into the darkness of the deep. I kept my mouth firmly shut. I still had no
idea what this elf’s game was, but my gut told me not to trust him.
“I hear that you are an Augmenter of rare power,” Horix said as his eyes drank in the darkness of the ocean before him. “That you are not only an elementalist, but that you can combine elements to access unusual powers.”
“Something like that,” I said.
“And water is part of your repertoire.”
“I recently acquired it on my travels here.”
“The Guild of Resplendent Tears offers the finest training in water Augmenting,” he said. “I would be honored if you would take part of your training in the guild while you are here.”
I kept my tone civil. “It would be a privilege to train here, as long as my fellow members of the Radiant Dragon, Vesma and Kegohr, can train with me.”
Horix turned, an eyebrow raised. “An unusual request, given that they are not water Augmenters. And that one of them is, in fact, a Wild. Someone with a unique talent such as yours would do well to steer clear of such creatures.”
I wanted to hit him with the table. Kegohr was my friend, not a fucking monster.
“If they go, so do I,” I told him bluntly. “Loyalty is something I take very seriously. To friends, guilds, masters.”
Horix gave me a sideways look and a raised eyebrow. “Then, you will find no lack of such things here. I’ll make sure to see that you—and your companions—are well-housed. However, I’m not in the habit of being spoken to in such a tone. But, for the sake of your training, I accept your terms. ”
A shoal of fish swam past outside the office, scales shimmering in the light from the orbs. Suddenly, a larger fish appeared among them and snapped around with jaws full of pointed teeth. The shoal scattered, and its unified formation became a spatter of pale points that were soon lost in the darkness.
“Remember as you study here that you are not just learning magical techniques,” Horix said. “You are learning the ways of water. Our chosen element is pure, clear, and moves with relentless force and fluidity. It does not tolerate impurities, poisons, or obstacles. To know the nature of water is to know the nature of victory.”
