Chapter 3: Chapter 2 (The First Request)

It had taken nearly two weeks, but the wait had been worth it. After completing one local bounty per day and amassing a decent amount of savings in his bank vault, Robert had finally been given a job that interested him. Sure, exterminating a dangerous beast or capturing a notorious minor criminal in or around Milagre was fun enough, and at least he hadn’t had to suffer through guarding a caravan on its way to or from the capital city. But now, he had something truly exciting to look forward to.

The message had come during his mid-day meal, surprising him out of the food-driven stupor he was stuck in from Mandra’s cooking. The extra money he’d been making on his bounties mainly went to buying and eating her food, and more importantly, drinking her coffee. He wasn’t as much of a coffee drinker as some of his classmates had been, but he did enjoy the beverage. But drinking the brew that Mandra made was threatening to tip him over from casual enjoyer to fanatic.

The magical messaging stone he kept in a pocket of his robe had turned very warm, alerting him to an incoming message. He set his coffee mug down and pulled it out. The stone was bright white, and as soon as it was freed, he could hear a voice entering his mind as the stone transferred the message to him. “Adept Robert Samson, your presence is requested at headquarters for a specific job assignment.”

The stone’s light faded, and it cooled to lukewarm, but before the message had ended, Robert’s interest and excitement had already been piqued. He was specifically being requested for a job, instead of just picking any bounty that he found interesting and was available for his rank? This sort of thing only happened with bounties when a member’s skills were specifically useful. That meant that this job had something to do with the intricacies of old magic. That was, after all, the specialty that he’d listed when applying to the guild.

He drained the last of his coffee and set it down along with a silver coin, then got to his feet, heading for the door. Mandra, who never failed to miss anything in her taproom, called after him, “Have a lovely afternoon, dear. Come by for dinner and you can get some lamb shanks.”

“Thanks, Mandra,” he replied, half-turning to give her a small wave. “That sounds delicious.”

The late summer air in Milagre was warm and humid as he stepped out of The Heron. There was the lightest of breezes from the river blowing into the city, and it played across his face in a refreshing way. Shame he had to walk deeper into the city, which would put that same breeze at his back. He pushed the thought away. Hands deep in his robe’s pockets, he made his casual way up the gradual slope toward the Noble District, where the Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters was located.

He was surprised to find the main room of the headquarters busy when he entered. Quite a few people were clumped together in small groups around the edge of the room, leaving the walkway clear, but the air of restless energy wasn’t easy to ignore. Robert gave several of them, who looked on the edge of unkept, a sideways glance, but didn’t let them distract him from his path. He approached the desk where the elven man was working again.

“Ah, you got here quickly!” The elven man said, glancing up as he sensed Robert’s approach. “Sierra only just sent you that notice.”

“I was nearby,” Robert replied with a shrug. “Can’t deny that I’m excited about my first request.”

“I imagined so,” the clerk said with a knowing grin. “Well, let’s not bandy about. The request is coming from the Mage’s College specifically, from Archmage Moran.”

“The Archmage of Travel?” Robert asked, his interest rising. It wasn’t common for Archmage Lenis Moran to take part in projects outside of the college grounds. He filed this tidbit of his involvement for future reference, not sure if it was useful, but remembering nonetheless. “What’s the job?”

“I don’t know,” the elf admitted. “I’m just in charge of sending notices and summoning members. Just go through that door over there on the left wall, and ask for Captain Serrano. He’ll fill you in more fully.”

Robert nodded his understanding, and with a quiet word of thanks, made his way across the busy room to the indicated door. As he walked away from the desk, he noticed more of the waiting people watching him, frowning in deep thought. Were they weighing him up in their minds? He didn’t want to waste the time considering what the implication of their study meant. He wanted to learn about this job, and hopefully, get started on it right away.

The door led to another waiting area, this one much smaller. Still, there was a desk blocking access to another three doors on the other end of the space, this time with a stout Dragon-kin in forest-green robes sitting behind it. He was much more serious than his counterpart in the lobby, and when Robert entered, he looked up with an air of mild annoyance, as if he’d been interrupted in something very important.

“Yes?” He asked abruptly, staring at the newcomer over a pair of spectacles that sat at the very edge of his nose.

“Err, I’m here to see Captain Serrano,” Robert offered. “The man out there told me to go through this door?”

The Dragon-Kin’s shoulders rose as he took in a deep breath, but he didn’t seem to release it in a sigh. Instead, he got to his feet, and walked toward the middle of the three doors, only throwing over his shoulder, “Wait there, and do not touch anything.”

That man was in a remarkably bad mood for how early in the day it was, Robert thought, but he said nothing. He did as he was invited, or rather was ordered to do, and waited patiently, his hands clasped respectfully in front of him. The space was well-decorated with what looked like maps of the continents of the world, and, nearest to the Captain’s door, an unfurled scroll of commendation from Queen Elena. There were a few plants in the area, which would have struck him as impressive, but he recognized the enchantment in the base of their pots that kept them alive, not needing actual interaction.

The Dragon-Kin opened the middle door a crack and said something in a low voice he couldn’t hear to the person inside. An even deeper voice replied, and the Dragon-Kin nodded briskly, then turned away, letting the door close. “Very well. Captain Serrano is not busy and will speak to you now. You will leave any weapons here with me, and collect them when you leave.”

Robert unclipped the sword from his belt and placed it gently on the desk. It was a fair request, after all, as he was a virtual stranger in their eyes. He also placed his carving knife and belt dagger alongside the sword, just to be safe, and began to make his way around the desk. But the Dragon-Kin took a step to the side to block his path, and he stopped short. “Yes?”

“You are a Marked One,” the Dragon-Kin said, with more than a little suspicion evident in his voice.

“I am,” Robert said, having a feeling that he knew where this was going. “What of it?”

“Your marks could be concealing weapons. I wouldn’t put it past one of you to hide a dagger on your forearm or something similar.”

Robert suppressed a sigh of exasperation, but it was a close-run thing. This sort of attitude was very rare in recent years, and virtually unheard of within the College. But there were some, particularly those of prestigious families, that distrusted Marked Ones on sight. Apparently, the fact that they could stow items on their bodies with their markings meant that they absolutely had to be carrying a hidden weapon at all times. Since the power could only come from interaction with the fae, it was seen as a duplicitous, suspicious ability.

Still, there was no point arguing with the man, as that would only cause more complications to delay him. He held his arms out to either side in a gesture of innocence. “I do not have any weapon markings. All my markings are on my face, head, and arms. I use them as runes, nothing more.”

“You have a lot of markings,” The Dragon-Kin pointed out. “Why?”

“You have the ability to breathe fire,” Robert retorted, unable to stop himself. “Should I be concerned with you torching my weapons?”

And of course, the man’s eyes flashed red, and the scale-like pattern of the skin around his eyes became a little more prominent. But the anger faded almost as quickly as it had appeared, and he lifted one arm, pulling back the sleeve to reveal a golden bracelet. The face of the metal was engraved, spelling out an enchantment that, unless he was mistaken, was a truth spell. Sure enough, once he’d activated the item, a wave of energy passed over Robert, and he felt the compulsion to answer honestly.

“Are you concealing any other weapons on your person?” He asked. “By marking or otherwise?”

“I am not,” Robert said. He didn’t bother fighting the spell. “All the weapons I have with me today are stacked on the desk.”

The Dragon-Kin frowned thoughtfully. It clearly wasn’t the answer he’d expected. “What is the exact purpose of your markings?”

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Again, Robert felt the compulsion to answer his questions honestly and thoroughly. But he had neither obligation nor interest in divulging that information, so he used one of the markings on his left arm to cast a Dispel spell, and felt the bracelet’s effect fade away. The item wouldn’t be useful for about an hour, he thought with satisfaction. “That is not information that you are entitled to know, and so I will not be telling you.”

The Dragon-Kin’s face reddened in anger, but before he could speak, the door to the Captain’s office opened, and a man in his middle forties leaned out, looking to see why Robert was being delayed. Speaking past his assistant, he said, “Ah, Master Samson. A pleasure to meet you.”

Robert stepped around the Dragon-Kin and extended his hand, shaking the Captain’s. “The pleasure is mine, Captain Serrano. I apologize for any delay, I came as quickly as I could.”

“No delay,” the older man said, waving one hand dismissively. “Not at all. You got here more quickly than expected, in fact. “Taron, bring us tea, please. This will not be a long meeting, so just the beverage.”

Taron the Dragon-Kin’s attitude changed in an instant, his anger vaporizing as if it had never been there. He offered his master a respectful salute. “Certainly sir. I will hasten to retrieve it at once.”

Captain Serrano gestured Robert inside his office, guiding him with one friendly hand on the shoulder. “As I’m sure you’ve guessed, we called you in on this specific job because of your specialty with older magicks.”

“That was my first thought,” Robert agreed. “Has there been a new tome found from the old wars?”

“Many of them, I am sure,” the Captain said. “We’ve actually managed to uncover an entire undercroft.”

That made Robert’s eyes widen, and he even took in a gasp of air, shaky. “That’s amazing! Where was it found?”

“It was discovered less than half a mile from the old summoning stones,” Captain Serrano said. “I don’t understand the significance of it personally, but Archmage Moran says you will.”

Robert nodded. “It proves that the nomad mages of the Old War attempted to make settlements before they found Gitna and purified it. It’s surviving evidence of those oldest days of magic, but not touched by divinity.”

Serrano looked confused but also impressed. “Mind like a steel trap, you must have.”

He could only grin slightly, offering what he thought was a humble shrug. “The teachers at the College spouted enough history at me that some of it was bound to stick. But if I may ask, why not have one of the acolytes of Arcana examine the site? I’m more than happy to do it, but they’d perform the task much better.”

“The word is,” Serrano said, consulting a stack of parchment on the center of his desk with a quick glance, “That they did exactly that. Four Acolytes were sent in after the structure was declared safe, but apparently, a trap was missed. The Acolytes are trapped within the undercroft, and several arcane creatures are prowling around now, both guarding the undercroft and holding them prisoner.”

“Ah,” Robert replied delicately. Now the pieces had come together. “So I’m to be the rescue force.”

“Precisely! Serrano confirmed. “Quick on the draw. I like that. But after rescuing, you’re also being asked to go through and search for any traps that might still exist and disable them.”

“Okay,” Robert said, nodding as he thought it through. “I can do that. I did take all the courses offered by Archmage Bragg on countermagicks.”

“Sounds like you’re ready to go, then.”

Captain Serrano handed him one of the scrolls that lay on his desk. “That will grant you access to the site, and stop anyone from getting in your way. As I’m sure you can imagine, this is a very important job, and we’d like it resolved quickly.”

“Then I suppose it’s good I came as quickly as possible,” Robert said. The thought of fighting magical defenses from the old mages was exciting for him, but he also felt nervous and a little shaky.

“Quite so. At present moment, the Acolytes don’t seem to be in any danger, but they are confined. The faster we get them out, the better.”

They rose together and shook hands again. “May the Mother watch over you, Master Samson.”

“And you as well, Captain Serrano,” he replied smoothly. “I’ll rush right over.”

He made his way out to the exterior room and quickly snatched up his weapons, returning them to his belt. As soon as he’d clipped his sword back in place, Taron appeared through one of the other side doors, carrying a tray laden with teapot and cups. He glared at Robert for a moment, but hastily modified his features as he realized that Captain Serrano was also exiting the office. “Is the meeting over already, Captain?”

“Yes,” Serrano said. “I’ll still take the tea, but you can return to your duties now, Taron.”

“Yes, sir,” the Dragon-Kin said, though he kept his eyes locked on Robert as he adjusted the angle of his sword’s scabbard. Captain Serrano seemed to notice the awkward moment,  as his next words were in a very stern tone.

“Don’t tell me you gave Master Samson trouble,” he said sharply. “I swear, boy, you have no respect. You realize he’s a graduate of the College, don’t you? Only a fool would risk angering an alumnus of their very own school.”

Shaking his head as he turned away, he gave Robert a perfunctory salute before closing the door behind him. In spite of the tension of the moment, a slight smirk formed on Robert’s face. So Taron was studying at the college, was he? Well, that meant that he had an avenue to register an official complaint about the treatment he’d received. He fully expected to forget about it later, of course, but he still made a mental note to report him to the Dean’s office if he got the chance.

“Bye, then,” he said briefly, hurrying toward the door back to the main room before waiting for a reply. He threw it open and stepped through, mildly surprised to find the entry area still full of people standing in small groups. Their eyes switched to him once again as he appeared, and he took careful note of the animosity. It wasn’t present in all the faces, but about half of them clearly disliked him. Was it, like the attitude shown by Taron, simply because he was a Marked One? Or was it caused by something he didn’t yet know?

He pushed the thought from his mind and angled his path directly for the exit. There wasn’t time to consider it, he reminded himself. He had to get to the summoning stones. It would be faster to teleport, he knew, and there was an established College circle at the settlement halfway between Milagre and Sheran, which would cut down his travel time to only half an hour. So instead of turning towards the northern gate, he made his way to the College, running through what spells would likely prove the most useful for setting the Acolytes free. He needed to perform perfectly on this job so that he could get more requests in the future.

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