Chapter 4: Chapter 4 – Swords & shields

Scarlett looked out through the carriage's window at the wooden and stone buildings as they passed by outside. In the game Freybrook had been the fourth largest city in the Graenal Empire, where the majority of the story took place. The game world had been massive—at least for an RPG's standards—so there had been a lot of different towns and villages spread around the map. The vast open-world had been one of the game's main drawing points, and the large cities had been part of that. But the Freybrook in the game didn't really do it justice.

The city was vibrant with life. The sides of the cobbled road the carriage was driving on brimmed with people that were moving about with their lives. She had passed by stalls selling all kinds of fruits and wares, open storefronts with detailed signs, groups of children playing in alleyways, and many more sights that made it feel so different from the city in the game. Granted, this seemed to be in a more well-off part of the town, but it was an impressive sight nonetheless for her who was used to the cities of the modern world.

After about fifteen minutes of travel, the carriage eventually arrived at its destination as it stopped in front of a large stone building with an overhanging roof that looked to be made out of white birch. It was situated at the edge of a large public square that had a tall statue of a knight at its center and was surrounded by several similarly-sized stone buildings. This was a busy part of the city. She saw several other carriages and wagons moving around the square as well as many people that were on foot.

Scarlett heard the carriage driver murmur something to the horse outside. A moment later she heard him move to the carriage door and open it. He wordlessly folded out a short stair from under the vehicle and stepped aside for her. She stepped out of the carriage and took in the building in front of her. There was a large sign hanging above the door of the building. It depicted an upturned extended triangle with a wide blue shield inside it; the handle of a sword showed right above the shield. This was the Shields Guild's headquarters in Freybrook.

In the game the Shields Guild was an organization that worked to support the common people. They were a lot like a mercenary guild but they were both more liberal with the kind of requests they took on as well as pickier. They would take on everything, from working as a protective escort to finding a lost cat, as long as it fit within their principles. They also had limited support from the law and could perform some basic arrests and such. If one wanted to play a 'good' playthrough and get some easy quests becoming a Shielder was a decent way to start. The player always started out as a junior Shielder but they also had the oft-used alphabetical ranking system that one could advance through to get better quests.

And it just happened to be that they were the perfect fit for her current goals.

Scarlett walked up a set of stairs to the door, the carriage driver hurrying up the stairs to open it for her, and entered the building. Inside was a wide lobby. At one end stood a large board filled with pamphlets. That's where you'd find many of the quests in the game. Close to the board were a few sofas and tables where an old couple was currently sitting and having a conversation. On the other end of the lobby was a reception desk with a woman behind it. She had long dark hair and a flowing purple dress. A smile appeared on her face when Scarlett approached.

"Hello miss. What can we do for you?"

Scarlett felt a tinge of annoyance at the way she was addressed but quickly pressed the feeling down as she spoke. "I have come to employ your services."

"Of course, miss. May I ask your name?" The woman pulled out a piece of paper from beneath the desk.

"Scarlett Hartford."

The woman's eyes widened as she looked up. "Baroness Scarlett Hartford?"

Scarlett crossed her arms and looked around the lobby. "The very same." It seemed the driver hadn't entered the building with her. Perhaps his job was just to open the door for her and take care of the carriage.

"Let me lead you to our reception room, Baroness," the receptionist said and gestured for her to follow.

Scarlett didn't say anything as she followed the woman through a door to the side and up a flight of stairs. They then walked down a hallway before stopping in front of a door at the end of the hall.

"If you wait in here our manager will be with you shortly," the receptionist said as she opened the door to reveal a comfy-looking waiting room with a table at its center and several armchairs surrounding it. Scarlett entered the room and sat down in one of them as the receptionist closed the door behind her. She felt at the fabric of the chair. It was surprisingly comfortable. In fact, all pieces of furniture she'd used up to this point in this world had been more comfortable than she would have expected from a medieval-like setting. Much better than the old office chair she had in her condo. Even the carriage had been nice if you discounted the occasional bumping.

But perhaps that was just a consequence of being a part of this world's equivalent to the 1%.

She only had to wait for a few minutes before the door to the room opened again and a man with light brown hair and glasses walked in. He wore a light blue overshirt and carried a couple of books beneath his arm. She tried to remember if she had seen him in the game or not, but she wasn't sure.

"Greetings Baroness. I'm Jean Fisc, the head of the Shields Guild's Freybrook branch," the man greeted her and sat down in the seat opposite her. "I've been told you have a request for us?"

"Yes," Scarlett said, leaning back in the chair. "I need to hire an escort who is experienced in combat. Preferably someone skilled in pyromancy."

Jean nodded his head slowly. "We should be able to arrange that. But why pyromancy?"

"Because it is effective against undead," she answered. "A lumomancer would work as well, if necessary."

"Undead?" Jean knitted his brows. "What exactly is it that you're going to do?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I am visiting a location where there is a high likelihood for them to appear. That is all."

He seemed to hesitate.

"I cannot tell you where it is," Scarlett continued. "I am certain your agent will report it to you later nonetheless. Be assured that there is nothing improprietous with my request. I swear that upon my name. I simply need someone to protect me."

The branch head seemed to consider it for a moment. Then he put down his books on the table and pulled out a small ledger from a pocket. "Okay, if you say so." He opened the ledger. "Approximately how dangerous do you estimate this request to be? Are you familiar with the Shields Guild's terminology?"

"I am." Scarlett cocked her head slightly to the side. "It should preferably be a C-ranked senior Shielder."

Jean drew his mouth together. "C-ranked?"

She stared at him. "Is that not possible?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid there are no C-ranked senior Shielders at our branch right now. Perhaps if you wait a few days..."

"I would prefer not to."

He looked down at his ledger. "There is a B-ranked Shielder that is well experienced with pyromancy. I could bring the request to her." He looked up at Scarlett. "That might even be safer if we are dealing with undead. We don't like needlessly risking our members."

She frowned. "I am certain even a D-rank would be enough. I simply wanted to make things more effortless. A B-rank would not have any issue, but I do not want to pay more than necessary."

"The cost wouldn't change. It would still be classified as a C-ranked request."

"Is that so?" Scarlett said. "Very well. Then we will go with that."

He fidgeted with the ledger in his hands. "I'll speak with the Shielder in question then. Exactly when is it that you will need an escort?"

"Immediately."

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"Immediately?" the branch head sounded slightly surprised.

"Yes." Scarlett nodded her head. "Or as soon as possible. I am planning on being finished today."

He righted his glasses. "I'll speak with her immediately then. But we usually require part of the fee to be paid in advance along with the request."

"You can send a note of payment to the Hartford estate." She'd ensured this morning that that was a thing. "Anything else you require beforehand?"

Jean shook his head. "No, that's all. Although I do need to tell you that I can only offer the request to our Shielder. It's up to her if she accepts it or not. But knowing her, I don't believe that will be a problem."

"Good."

He stood up from his seat. "Then I'll go get your request processed. Feel free to stay here for now and we'll be back as soon as possible." With that, the Freybrook branch head exited the room and left Scarlett by herself.

 

 

Kat felt uncomfortable as she sat at the back of the bedecked carriage of the Hartford family. It was by far the most luxurious means of transportation she'd ever been in. Even the blasted windows had golden inlays. When she'd accepted this request she hadn't expected it to mean that she would actually be allowed inside the carriage of a noble. If anything, she thought she'd just sit at the front with the driver.

She glanced at the other side of the carriage where her employer sat. Baroness Scarlett Hartford was an intimidating woman in her own right. The baroness currently wore clothes suitable for traveling—though they still looked fittingly expensive for someone of her status—and stared out at the landscape as they moved outside Freybrook's limits. She hadn't spoken a word to Kat since ordering her to get inside the carriage back outside the Guild's branch office. Kat had considered asking where they were going but decided against it. Scarlett Hartford didn't seem the type to appreciate questions. The woman's presence had an almost oppressing nature to it. It was in how she kept herself.

Kat had heard rumors about the baroness. She'd honestly been hesitant to accept this request. Though she didn't have much experience with nobles herself, she knew that the Guild ran into trouble with them on occasion. The only reason she'd decided to agree to the request was because she heard it wasn't expected to take more than a day. It wasn't often she got jobs that were both short and gave decent pay. Although it wasn't a B-ranked request, one C-ranked request was better than five D-ranked at least. And while she didn't mind helping people out she was a bit tired of going out into the mountains to pick herbs for the local alchemists.

"Stop here." Scarlett's voice jolted Kat out of her thoughts as the carriage came to a halt.

"We're there already?" Kat asked despite herself, looking outside the window to where Scarlett was looking. There was nothing but trees. They hadn't been traveling for too long but the area around Freybrook was heavily forested.

"No." Scarlett said. "But we are close," She pointed towards the tip of an old stone tower that just barely peeked out above the treetops. "Our next destination is there."

The driver, a young man with a short brown cap on his head, soon opened the carriage door and Scarlett stepped outside with far more grace than Kat herself could muster before turning to the young man. "We will be gone for a while. Wait here until we return."

The driver nodded his head at his mistress's order. "Alright my Lady. Me an' the horses here'll be waiting for as long as you need."

The baroness barely gave the man another glance before heading off towards the woods with decisive steps. She stopped in front of a large bush, however, and turned towards Kat. "Perhaps you should go first."

"Sure." Kat simply shrugged her shoulders. She was surprised the woman was willing to do even this much. Taking the lead Kat led them through the forest towards the spot where she'd seen the tower, clearing a path through the underbrush as she moved. It took them about ten minutes before they reached a small overgrown clearing with the tower at its center. Scarlett raised her hand and Kat's eyes followed her outstretched finger to spot a dilapidated old doorway at the tower's base.

"We will have to climb inside," Scarlett said and moved past Kat towards the structure.

Kat followed close behind. "Is this what you were looking for?" she asked as she watched Scarlett take a step over a piece of fallen stone debris. It was crazy how they were out in the wilderness and the woman still moved as if she was at a ball without a care for her surroundings.

"No," Scarlett said and pushed the door open with a creak. They both walked in.

There wasn't much left of the tower's insides. There was rubble everywhere and when Kat looked up she could see all the way to the top of the tower as well as part of the blue sky. Built into the sides of the tower was a stairway that looked as if it had seen better days.

But that didn't seem to deter Scarlett as she began climbing the stairs without hesitation.

Kat raised an eyebrow at the sight but quickly followed up the stairs in case the other woman were to trip. "Then what are we doing here?"

"Reconnaissance," Scarlett said with her back to Kat. Kat shook her head and gave up on the matter as she kept climbing the half-wrecked stone stairs. The state of the stairs caused it to take a while but they eventually reached the top of the old tower where about half the ceiling was still left. Traces of stone railing and what might have once been placings for wooden pillars and a wooden covering could be seen here and there. Kat looked out across the land. She could see for miles. From Freybrook where it lay right next to the Innisling Sea, all the way to the Whitdown Mountains that stretched out on the horizon. She stood there for a moment taking it all when Scarlett suddenly spoke.

"There," the woman said, pointing towards a gathering of rock formations in a clearing some distance away from where they were now. "That is our destination."

Kat squinted her eyes. "What's so special there?"

"You will see," Scarlett said as she began descending the tower. Kat didn't have much choice but to follow once more. When they'd reached the bottom and exited the tower Scarlett gestured in the direction where the rock formations had been. Kat understood what she meant and started leading the way through the forest again. It took them at least another twenty minutes before they finally reached the clearing they'd seen from the tower. The rocks were at the top of a small hill. Scarlett quickly climbed it and walked up to the middle of the formation.

"What now?" Kat asked, examining the stones. They just looked like ordinary stones to her — albeit arranged in a strange way. It wasn't a complete circle, but reminiscent of one.

"Wait here," Scarlett commanded and walked over to one of the stones. She began walking around it, her hand touching its surface. Then without warning, she moved on to the next stone in the circle. Kat leaned back against the nearest rock as she observed the baroness' odd actions.

Eventually Scarlett reached the last stone in the ring. After interacting with it in the same way as the others she took several steps back and stopped in the middle of the formation.

Suddenly a shift shook the ground. Kat immediately got to her feet and moved closer to Scarlett, eyeing her surroundings. A loud sound rang out from ahead of them and a large stone in the middle of the formation started moving. Mounds of dirt and dust spread into the air as the large piece of rock slowly slid to the side, revealing a pair of dirty stone stairs going deeper into the ground. Further down was a single metal door with two statues next to it. Both statues wore armor and held up large swords in front of them. A closer look revealed that they had smooth heads with protruding brows and elongated pointy ears.

"No way..." Kat mouthed. "Are those Zuver?" She turned to stare at Scarlett. "Is this a Zuverian ruin!?"

Scarlett looked back at her, those cold amber eyes meeting hers. "That is correct. Astute observation."

Kat's eyes widened. What kind of request was this??

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