Riftside 2 - Chapter 46

The Adventurer’s Guild Hall was oddly quiet. Maybe it was simply that we were there early, or it could be related to how few monsters we saw Riftside, or even to Harold’s purse string being tightened by the central guild and people just didn’t want to go out for pennies. Maybe it was even just me and the weight of four hundred and twenty-one gold pressing on my shoulders.

Still, I forced a smile and gently nudged Eryn with my hand. 

“Ready?” I murmured, eyeing the three officials waiting by Harold’s office door.

She nudged me back. 

“I’ve fought monsters and survived a breakthrough. I can handle a few paper-pushers.”

I chuckled, and Vos adjusted his monocle, staring at me as if asking ‘what is so funny’, but he didn’t utter the words. 

Harold appeared in the doorway, looking more tired than usual, but still managing a professional smile. 

“Eryn? This way, please.” He gave her a wave before nodding to the officials. “If you’ll join me.”

Eryn smiled and I gave her a thumbs-up, watching as she disappeared into the office with Harold and the officials. The door closed with a soft but final click, sealing her off.

“Pretty bird becoming adventurer,” Knut said. “Expected. You? Not so much.” 

He clapped me on the shoulder and laughed. Before I could respond, he headed over to the quest board.

Nabeeh and I joined him.

“Few quests,” Knut said. He tapped a grubby slip pinned haphazardly to the board. “Patrol duty. Big perimeter sweep. One mind gem. Worthless.”

Nabeeh twirled a lock of dark hair around her finger, lips pursed in mock thought. 

“Seems the Guild’s coffers are as tight as Master Vos’s monocle chain. Too much gold flowing uphill to central command. If they keep it up like this, no one will want to go out and actually do anything.”

I scanned the board, but it was useless. Mostly green slips for basic patrols, and a couple of faded yellows offering pitiful rewards for gathering runs that were closer to manual labor than monster hunting. 

“Pathetic scraps,” I said. “We need a real hunt.”

“Mountain of carcasses,” Knut said, nodding. “To forge a river of gold.”

“By the rift, yes,” I said. 

Nabeeh arched an eyebrow. 

“So, a miracle? Might be we have to just head on out into the unexplored areas and see what we can find. With your nose for…trouble,” she tapped the side of her nose and winked, “It might be worth it, even if it takes two days or more.”

A familiar, steady voice cut through the gloom. 

“Waiting on Eryn?”

I turned to see Commander Edwin making his way over.

“Morning, Commander,” I said. “Yeah, she’s in with the officials. Orientation.”

Edwin glanced at the closed door, his expression tightening almost imperceptibly, then back at us. 

“Harold’s walking on eggshells with those three breathing down his neck. For one, I’m not sure he’ll get to keep the posting. And second, central command’s got him counting copper and rationing arrows.” He jerked his chin at the quest board. “Hard to defend the world when they won’t pay for scouts to see what’s coming.”

“Sounds familiar,” Nabeeh said, voice dry as desert sand. “Azbara’s nobles loved to count coins while others bled.”

Edwin grunted in agreement. “Heard your family grew, Knut. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Knut said, and that was that. He didn’t elaborate or offered anything else.

“And I heard about what Serona did. The nerve of those rift rotten nobles,” he shook his head. “Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

I started to speak, and he held up a hand.

“On this side of the law, of course,” he continued. “I am Dawnwatchs commander first and foremost, and I cannot let my personal emotions cloud my judgement.” Then he smiled. “That’s for when I’m off duty.” 

“Well, you got four hundred gold I could borrow?” I asked. “You know I’m good for it given a bit of time.”

He laughed. 

“If I did, I’d lend it to you. Here.” He took out his purse, counted out twelve gold and handed it to me. “It’s not much, but it’s what I got in gold. If Mind Gems can save the smithy, you come see me, yeah?”

“Thank you very much, sir,” I said, pocketing the gold. “And we’re good on Mind Gems for the moment. I will make sure to repay you first.” Then I nodded at the quest board. “Won’t last long though, if this is all that’s out there. They certainly chose an interesting time to screw with us.”

Edwin nodded and we lapsed into an uneasy silence, each of us staring at the quest board, before moving to the sitting area.

I tried not to think about the clock ticking down on the debt, the days bleeding away, or what would happen to Pa and Ma, to the forge, if we failed.

When the door finally opened and Eryn stepped out, I felt ready to head Riftside and run straight out the gate and not stop until I found a pack of monsters. 

But there she stood, looking relieved and proud. 

Harold followed, looking a shade less stressed. 

The three officials filed out behind him. Vos’s gaze swept over me and he gave a small nod. I forced a smile back, one which didn’t reach my eyes. 

Harold cleared his throat. 

“Allow me to formally welcome Dawnwatch’s newest adventurer, Eryn Whitcroft.”

Everyone clapped, until Sverr leaned out of his little window and shushed us, tapping the sign saying ‘Quiet! Genius at Work!’.

Then he whispered at Eryn, “Congratulations,” and disappeared back to his gems.

The three officials settled in with Madeleine and her paperwork, while Eryn and Harold joined us.

“Good. Strong now,” Knut said, clapping Eryn gently on the shoulder. 

“Finally! Welcome to the club, pretty bird. About time you started pulling your weight,” Nabeeh said with a grin.

Eryn rolled her eyes, but she was beaming. 

“Thank you, Nabeeh. I’ll try not to show you up too badly.”

Edwin smiled too, real pride in his voice. 

“Congratulations, Eryn. I knew you had it in you. Doctor Ridley will be pleased to have another healer.”

“Erh, yes,” Eryn said, and I knew she was thinking about how to pay Katherine back when she couldn’t actually heal. Not in the way the doctor would be asking for. “Thank you, commander.”

I caught Eryn’s eye and grinned, a wave of relief washing over me. 

“You did it, babe. Welcome to the ranks.”

“Fancy name,” Harold said. “Storm Warden. Wonder what abilities you will bring to the guild in the future.”

“How about, to celebrate, you give us an especially good quest?” Eryn asked, jokingly batting her eyelashes at Harold.

“Oh, I wished I could,” he said, and glanced behind him at the officials. He shrugged and lowered his voice. “My hand isn’t just tied behind my back, but they’ve got theirs in my pockets, taking away the gems and gold that should go to all of you .”

“Guess that means we need to take some risks,” I said. “Any advice, Edwin? Harold? Or do we just head in blind until something tries to kill us and we beat it first?”

“Is your situation that desperate?” Harold asked.

“Yes,” I said, my voice steady despite the knot in my stomach. “We need gold, fast. The situation with the smithy is bad. You’ve heard of what those silvery snakes are trying, yeah?”

Harold nodded. 

“I have. Unfortunately there is nothing I can—”

“Come now, Harold,” Edwin said, interrupting him. Then he lowered his voice. “Aren’t there any high-value targets you’ve been sitting on? Anything that might bring a decent reward? Anything off-book?”

Harold shook his head, running his hand over his face. 

“It’s all on the board, Edwin, and that’s squeezing the budget as far as I can.”

“Last monster attack was big,” Knut said. “No gems?”

“A lot,” Harold said. “And plenty of materials. But also tremendous damage to the fortifications that need to be repaired, so the crown took the majority for that and the families of the guards who died. In time we’ll get the carcasses exported or forged into items and sold, and we’ll get past this credit crunch, but right now? It’s tight.”

“You know this won’t work,” Edwin said. “We sit here rationing arrows and patching walls while potential disasters fester Riftside. Central command wants us to hunker down and play defense. But the Juggernaut proved how vulnerable Sentinel Station is to a real siege threat. We should send adventurers to identify and neutralize major threats before they emerge. Take the fight to them.” He shook his head in frustration. “Instead, we wait. Like with old threats… remember the Crystal Giant?”

“The what now?” I said, exchanging a glance with Eryn.

“It killed an entire party and then just vanished. A Red-rated terror back then, and it’s probably worse now, just sitting out there somewhere, waiting. That’s the kind of target we should be funded to find and eliminate, secure its resources, and slay it before the Hive Mind figures out how to use it against us!”

“What’s the story here?” I asked.

Harold sighed, rubbing his temples. 

“Happened a few months before your family arrived, Ash. A party of adventurers, all solid level twenties, disappeared. One of two scavengers who’d gone out with them came back and talked of how a massive crystal creature wiped them all out. Pink and terrifying she called it. We sent scouts, multiple times, but they never found a trace of the party or the monster. They were all just gone.”

A silence settled over our group as Eryn and I shared a knowing glance. 

“Actually, I might know something about that,” I said.

“Oh?” Harold said. “You’ve stumbled upon five dead adventurers and never thought to mention it?”

“No,” I said. “Not the adventurers. The giant.”

“You’ve seen it?” Edwin asked, his voice turning to a hiss. “Where?”

“Eryn and I have done some hunting in the Echoing Chasm…” I glanced at Vos who was still talking with Madeleine. “…as scavengers. We fought our way deep inside and eventually we came to a vast chamber, and at the bottom, far below, was a giant. It sat on a throne and it looked like it was made of crystal. The giant that is. There were about a hundred or so Crystalkin as well. We turned around and hightailed it.”

Harold’s eyes narrowed. 

“Deep in the Echoing Chasm? If it truly is that monster, I wonder why it’s been hiding all this time.”

“Who cares!” Edwin said, and his face lit up in a way that took a decade off him, showing us the adventurer he had been before taking on the heavy mantle of a station commander. He’d just felt the thrill of the hunt again, I could see it clear as day. “The resources from a creature like that. It might just be what’s needed to put us on the right path. What if slaying it would stop the formation of Crystalkin? It might even secure the Chasm for good and help us save the smithy. All in one fell swoop.” 

“What was the reward for slaying it?” I asked. “And is it still available?”

Harold hesitated, glancing between Edwin and me. 

“The bounty was substantial. Huge. But…” He sighed. “Even if you killed it, and with that thing being Red-rated and left to grow for all this time, it’s far too dangerous for a single party of four, I wouldn’t be able to pay you for quite some time either.”

“What!?” Knut roared. “Guild not honoring quest contracts!?”

“Hush!” Harold said, patting the air. “That’s not what I said! It’s a fifty mind gem bounty. You think I have that kind of capital lying about?” He glanced around. “The quest would be paid, but I’d have to make a special request for funds from the Guild. They’d pay. They always do. But I can’t guarantee it would make it in time to solve your…troubles.”

“Fifty mind gems?” I said, looking at my team members one by one. Knut smiled, Nabeeh nodded, and Eryn just shrugged. “You’d be surprised at what we could accomplish when properly motivated. How much of it could you pay us in time?”

“Don’t be stupid, Ash,” Harold said. “It’d be your death and I don’t want that on my shoulders. They’re too damn heavy these days already!”

Edwin clapped a hand on my shoulder. 

“What if we treat it like a mini-raid and I bring my team along? We’d settle for half the bounty each, if you give Ash his share in gold. That would make it worth my party’s time and risk. The bells know we could use a proper hunt to shake off the remnants of that siege.” 

“You won’t be eligible for the reward, Edwin. You know that,” Harold said. 

“We would if Ash led the raid. He’s the one who knows where the monster is. Would be a good chance to see how the Hammerlord handles coordinating a larger force under pressure.”

My mouth went dry. Leading Edwin’s party of veterans? Against a Red-rated giant with my party of…rejects? 

Part of me wanted to run, to find some safer, smaller monster to hunt. The other part, the larger part, the one Roq lived in, the part that had faced down the Woodweaver, Arclight, the Titanfang, and the Juggernaut, roared its acceptance. 

Harold looked from Edwin to my grinning face. 

“That’s one crazy gamble, Edwin. I’m not sure the potential reward is worth it for us.”

Edwin shrugged. “They’ve earned our trust.”

A quiet cough interrupted us and Corwin Rone, the quiet Guild official joined us, ledger clasped to his chest. 

“Excuse me, Guildmaster, Commander,” he said. “I couldn’t help but overhear. This Crystal Giant sounds like a significant asset, or rather, a major threat. The central office might be interested in such a high-value target being neutralized.”

“Really?” Edwin said, sounding way too skeptical.

“Why of course,” Tone said, adjusting his spectacles. “I have read reports of this cave and its crystalline growths. If the local budget is strained, Harold, I might be authorized to… finance the gold reward Commander Edwin requires for this joint expedition. Consider it an investment by central command in securing a valuable resource node.”

Harold and Edwin both looked surprised.

Corwin continued, his tone never rising above a mild, analytical drone. 

“My conditions are simple. Half the giant’s carcass, payable directly to the Guild central treasury, five of each regular monster type, and, of course, a detailed operational report from you, Commander, focusing specifically on the performance, tactics, and coordination of Adventurer Aldrich’s party during the engagement.”

Edwin shot me another quick look. Scrutiny. The price of funding our little expedition. But also, it was the only real chance we had to save the smithy and send house Domitius packing.

I took a breath, meeting Corwin’s bland gaze. 

“We can agree to that. On one condition. I get the first selection of all carcasses, and Thomas Tharen dissects the giant. Any gems found within will belong solely to my and Edwin’s party, following standard kill rights.”

Corwin frowned. 

“I am not sure you are in the best position to negotiate, Adventurer Aldrich. If it is gems you seek, then—”

Edwin cut him off. 

“You know it’s fair, Corwin. Standard Guild practice across every Rift. The party landing the kill gets the gems, unless they sell the carcass wholesale. You want the materials, fine. Any gems belong to the raid party.”

Corwin hesitated before giving a curt nod. 

“Very well. The materials value, excluding gems, will be split fifty-fifty. The gems are yours, Aldrich, should you succeed in extracting any. I will provide the two-hundred and fifty gold for the bounty. Harold, upon success, you are to make it a priority to set up a mining operation in the cave. I will arrange a transfer from central funds to do so.”

“Write quest paper,” Knut said to Harold. “Write good, yes? And give to me. I secure it.”

I grinned as Edwin clapped me on the shoulder again. 

“Alright, Hammerlord. It’s a plan. Give me two hours to rustle up my team and we’ll meet you Riftside.”

“Big monster, big fight, big reward, but…” Knut said, shooting me a grin. “I bring big shield, you have big hammer, and Edwin has big spatial storage!”

“That’s not the only big thing about him,” Nabeeh purred, eyeing him. She gasped, totally in shock at what she just said, but we all pretended not to have heard anything. 

“We’ll be there,” I said. “Make sure to bring your best game, Commander. The hunt is on.”