Pavish led them to the refinery, where he spoke to one of the supervisors, explained the situation, and then gathered up forty workers and a bunch of wagons with men to pull them. Kryos, thankfully, was able to dodge any wagon pulling duty.
Leona had a thoughtful look on her face, and when Kryos nudged her, she waved him away. “We’ll talk later,” she said in Shalassar. Then, she looked at Pavish, and said in the Common Tongue, “Do you need both of us to guide people to the cave?”
Pavish stared at her, and his voice was stern as he replied, “Yes. I am not risking either of you getting out of my sight until that ore is with the rightful owners.”
Kryos frowned. “But the refinery isn’t owned by the town, is it? It’s owned by the mining company.”
Pavish shook his head. “Not quite. The setup is unique. Refinery workers are townspeople, same as mine workers. Technically I think they’re all part of the same union. Only the supervisors and overseers are part of the company. The building is owned by the town, the equipment by the company. I’m not sure how it all works—just know that the refinery is the town’s beating heart, and silver is its blood.”
That made Kryos feel a little more comfortable, but he was still chafing at being punished for his out-of-the-box thinking.
Heading to their hidden cave took a little over an hour with the lumbering wagons, and the wagons themselves couldn’t go up to the crevasse, so Kryos and Leona had to guide the workers up. The refinery crew began moving the silver ore in large sacks, and carrying it out, with Pavish standing at the cave entrance alongside Leona and Kryos.
Kryos could almost feel the loss, as if he was giving coins away, like how it felt when Leona had asked him for money and he had tried to open his hand to give her the gold coins. It was an instinctual discomfort, and he turned his back to the cave entrance and walked a short distance down the crevasse to gain some distance.
That didn’t help matters in the slightest. The pain roiled in his gut as if he was being stabbed, or cut, like when the Tremorleeches had stuck their tendrils to him and were carving into his flesh. He was seething, and had to walk farther down the crevasse. Punching the stone wall barely helped.
Once the wagons were loaded, Pavish escorted the duo back to the Irontrail Guild Hall. “Okay you two. Eat up. I’m going to go and get one of the surveyors and union folk so you can show them where this alternate entrance is.”
Kryos headed into the Guild Hall proper. It was completely empty, as it seemed everyone was out still doing the various Quests throughout the mines and tunnels. He went to the back, and was pleased to see there was no chef in the kitchen. Just a stew pot that was set on top of coals and some stale bread. He filled himself a bowl, ripped off a large chunk of bread, and ate right there at the center island.
Leona joined him, and she had a look of annoyance on her face.
“What are you thinking?” Kryos asked.
“Things are getting complicated,” she mumbled. “For now, we just do as we’re told, and try to not play any sides. Alright?”
“Understood,” Kryos replied.
Leona then looked up at him. “Oh, and, when we’re alone,” she swapped to Shalassar, “we talk in my mother tongue. It’ll reduce the chances someone who overhears us knows what we’re up to, since almost no non-elves know it.”
Kryos gave her a thumbs up and finished his stew and bread. After shoving his bowl into the sudsy water of a tub, he went to the central room to sit down. Leona went upstairs, and Kryos leaned back and shut his eyes.
He played back the encounter with his kin in his mind, trying to think back on what he had done during the fight. As far as he could recall, he’d made the right moves. Taking the charge head-on was a bit foolish, but it was better than Leona getting hit. As he played back the feelings of first encountering his kin, he knew that the initial confrontation, that moment when they locked eyes, and it acknowledged him . . . that was the first time in his life Kryos had been recognized by another dragon.
In the Drakemount, every wyrmling—except the ones who were smarter, like the psionic ones who could mentally converse—were out to eat him. They were creatures of pure instinct and that instinct was ‘eat’ even if they didn’t have to in that place. Only other wyrmlings really fended them off. Kryos was an easy meal . . . back then.
In such a short time, he had already gained enough power to obtain some measure of respect from others of his species. That carried a deep meaning to Kryos. It showed him that he was finally worthy in the eyes of his Species. Well, half of his Species.
He sighed and set his head down on the table, shutting his eyes for a few minutes.
Ah, right, the SAVE system items I was pushing aside until I had a moment to myself.
[Your Hoard has reached the EHV (effective hoard value) to qualify for a level up!]
[You have gained 2 levels! Level 16, Level 17!]
[Choose 2 Stat Points to Allocate!]
Just put one into Essence and one into Vitality.
[Confirmed!]
“Wake up!”
Kryos snapped upright as Pavish came into the Guild Hall. Leona had, at some point, slipped into the chair opposite the half-dragon, and had been rolling a silver coin across her knuckles, which she now deftly pocketed.
Pavish waved for both to follow him, and both Kryos and Leona got up, went outside, and he recognized both Dorna and Merrik. Pavish said, “These two will be going with you two to this new entrance. Keep them safe.”
Leona cracked a small grin. “Escort Quest, by chance?”
Pavish shook his head and stepped past her, entering the Guild Hall.
“Guess not,” Kryos said. He looked back to Dorna. “Good to see you.” He then looked at Merrik. “You too. Ready?”
“Ready as ever,” Dorna replied.
“I cannot wait!” Merrik said. “An easier path down, and even more of a vein? This will bring so much profit!”
The entire trip to the entrance took forty minutes, and descending alongside the underground river took another thirty. It dumped out into the chasm with a sharp turn to the left, though the water kept flowing down a tiny crevice further ahead—but no one could fit through the crack.
Kryos led the way, and glanced up, his acute vision able to see the winged creatures far overhead. “Keep quiet if you can,” he muttered. “Just in case.”
“Didn’t you fight a dragon down here?” Merrik asked at a usual, casual volume level. “That’s what my boss told me you said.”
“We did,” Leona replied. “Here, I’ll show you where.” She had a sense of pride filling her voice as she led the duo over toward the side-cave entrance.
Kryos’ treasure sense was still going off as he looked at the massive ‘wave’ of a silver vein on the chasm wall. It was pulsating in his chest like a second heart beat, the heat resonating through him. He wanted it so badly, to claim all of it, but he knew that if he tried to get at any of it, the town would turn against him.
No, he thought as he turned away from it and faced the opposite chasm wall, walking over to the flat, grey surface as he put a hand on it. The Quest Conclave and making my own Adventuring Guild with Leona is going to be a quicker way to gain wealth. I don’t want to get caught up in this faction politicking in a frontier town and spend all my time in mines and caverns.
He could hear some conversation between the three, as Leona described the fight, and the two asked questions while she provided the answers with a lot of embellishment—completely ignoring the injuries the two suffered. Dad would like her, he thought, she likes to add the flair for the dramatic to make herself look good. Well, and me, I suppose. It’s smart, building our reputation in that way.
Kryos saw them coming back, and heard Dorna say, “Even though we have an easier way down, we’ll need to be cautious about widening the path. We should make our own tunnel alongside the watery passage, so we don’t risk any slips and falls.”
Merrik countered, saying, “There’s no need when we already have a perfectly viable passage. Just widen the existing tunnel, and we can deal with the occasional slip here or there.”
Leona walked over to Kryos as the mining people stopped in front of the vein and began gesticulating, arguing about extraction times, number of crews to be sent in and out, speed versus caution, and more that Kryos didn’t give a single care to listen to. He looked at Leona, instead, and let out a sigh.
She looked up at him, and in her language, said, “This isn’t a place for quiet operators. We won’t be able to sneak in and get anything.”
Kryos nodded. He glanced at the grey cavern wall. “I couldn’t see what went beyond this from above,” he said softly. “I wonder what’s up there?”
“More open cavern, probably,” Leona replied.
Kryos backed up and craned his head. “It can’t be more than fifty feet. And there’s plenty of foot and handholds. Give me a minute.” He moved over to the wall and ascended rapidly, his hand and foot claws easily able to find purchase. Cresting the top, he saw a large, flat space that extended off into the distance. Little dips filled with water, stalactites, and stone pillars spanned the area between him and the vast darkness. But, somewhere, in those depths, his treasure sense was flickering.
It felt . . . odd. There was something off about it: as if he had bitten into a triskaliin fruit and found it sour rather than sweet, like the treasure sense was . . . picking up something that had expired. “Leona,” he said, looking back. “There’s something back there.”
“Worth our time?” she asked.
Kryos shrugged. “I can look if you want.”
“I’ll keep them distracted,” she replied. “Carefully.”
Kryos hauled himself up and began walking along the flat expanse. He realized very quickly why he saw more blackness, as he quickly came upon another, deeper pit that vanished into darkness. And, as he peered over the edge, holding onto a stalactite, he saw what had drawn his senses . . . yet also made him feel weird.
There were more silver veins: not nearly as pure as the one behind him Leona was now keeping Dorna and Merrik engaged with, but they were there. And he could see something off with them. They were flaking, or peeling, as if they had been badly burned, the skin had healed, and now the old flesh that had scabbed over was falling off.
It made him nauseous, and he moved back to the chasm he had come from, clambered down the wall, and rejoined Leona and the now fiercely heated argument between Merrik and Dorna.
“We are not going to be bringing a hundred men down here per shift!” Dorna shouted.
“Quiet down,” Leona said, holding her hands up between the two.
Merrik, almost as loud, shouted back, “If we don’t capitalize on this, then we’ll lose our chance to shore up production numbers that flagged due to last week’s collapse!”
Kryos glanced up, saw the winged creatures stirring, and firmly put a hand—claw retracted—on each of their shoulders. “Quiet,” he said, voice low. Then, he pointed up. “Talk outside, not in here.”
Both people looked up, then at Kryos, and Merrik speed-walked for the water-tunnel entrance. Leona followed him, then Dorna, and Kryos brought up the rear.
Once they reached the entrance, Dorna turned around. “Thanks for the tour. That’s all. I’ll let Trork know you did what you needed to.”
“As will I,” Merrik said courteously.
The two split off towards Suncrest, resuming their arguing, while Leona and Kryos headed towards Irontrail.
“What did you find?” she asked, once more in her tongue.
Kryos replied in kind, “Another, deeper chasm, with far riskier-to-get-to veins that aren’t nearly as rich.” A chill ran down his spine. “I think . . . there was something wrong with those silver veins.”
Leona nodded. “No matter what happens, fast or slow, that vein will be mined. Sure, escort or guard Quests, monster clearing—that’ll make us some money. But it’ll be mine a vein, find a new one, rinse and repeat.” She flicked her gaze to him. “And you said the silver felt wrong, plus it's riskier to get to. Higher risk means less jobs.”
Kryos put both hands behind his head and extended his elbows, opening up his chest as he sucked in a deep breath of the cool, now-descending-evening air. “There’s a lot going on between the miner’s union and the Highpeak company. Both sides see our value, the mayor wants us neutral, and it seems like Pavish does, too.” He frowned. “I hate that Irontrail gets ten percent of everything.”
Leona mimicked his stance. “Let’s face the facts: if we stay here, we do Quests. In either case, those Quests will eventually dry up, or become more competitive. If we don’t do more Quests for one faction than the other, then we won’t be favored for those more competitive ones.” She looked up at him. “And you’ve already got folks that hate your guts because of what you are—the problem will only get worse if we have to pick a side.”
You’re not wrong there, Kryos thought as he recalled the split reactions he’d been receiving. If we stay here, we’re going to constantly be reacting and on the back foot . . .
“So,” he replied as he looked up at the sky on their walk back. “I don’t want to be involved in any type of politics. I just want to make money and build my hoard. If we stay here, we’ll have to get to that point, eventually.”
Leona looked at him with a glint in her eye and a half-smile on her lips. “Mobile Guild Hall?”
Kryos grinned back at her. “Just what I was thinking. We seize our future.”
The two got back to the Guild Hall. Pavish seemed to have been waiting for them, as he stood up from his chair when they entered. “The job’s done?”
“Yes,” Leona replied. “Union rep and company man both said they’d report back we did what we were told.”
“Good,” Pavish said.
“Question,” Kryos said as he crossed his arms. “That black mark you talked about—we aren’t getting it, right? Since we did everything you told us?”
“Barely avoided it,” Pavish replied curtly as he matched Kryos’ stance. “And I mean barely. What you did? Stealing from Suncrest’s mine? That was brash.” He glanced at Leona. “Given your Class . . . maybe I should’ve anticipated something like this, someday.”
Unlike before, Leona didn’t deflate at Pavish’s seeming disappointment. Her confidence seemed buoyed up. “That just means you’ll be keeping a close eye on us, correct?”
Pavish nodded. “You bet your ass. I can’t risk Irontrail’s reputation on you two mucking things up.”
That cements it for me, Kryos thought. I’m not going to be some prisoner, only allowed to take certain Quests, or do things while watched. I’m a free man, and I’m going to make my own Guild, keep all the rewards—well, minus Leona and the Quest Conclave’s cut for the Board—and we’ll do it ourselves. He looked at Tavan’s empty locker.
Pavish followed his eyes, and must’ve thought Kryos was thinking something else, as the older Anchor said, “I think he would be disappointed in you, yes.”
Kryos shook his head as if playing along. “Are there going to be less Quests, now that the alternate route has been discovered?”
“Probably more,” Pavish replied. “Mostly guard duty, I imagine. But lots, if the company gets round-the-clock work like they want.” He looked over at the Board, and as Kryos glanced over, he saw phantasmal Quest slips appear. “And it looks like someone is hard at work populating them.”
Leona looked at the board, then looked at Kryos, and then headed for the stairs—pointedly ignoring the Board. Kryos followed her, glancing back at Pavish who gave him a stern look of consternation.
Once they got to Leona’s room, she closed the door behind him, and they swapped languages. “Okay, planning time. How much do you think the scales, bones, and all of that can sell for?”
“Quite a bit,” Kryos replied. “I don’t feel as much treasure sense towards them, but it’s because it’s not raw value right now, I think. I know my mom said that dragonscales make good armor and shields, bones can make for good plate armor, claws and teeth are good for blades.”
She reached under her bed and came back up with a small notebook. Flipping it open, she grabbed a gravity-fed pen, a small ink bottle, and then poured some ink into the reservoir before she began scribbling. “Let’s flesh out your idea from before. Mobile base of operations. We can trade the dragon parts instead of parting with your coin.”
“Sounds good,” Kryos replied. “I already inquired a bit with Bert the smith about turning the bottom of a cart or wagon into a flat, hollow vault.”
Leona began sketching a design. “Mhmm. We can keep the inside hollow, with a door on the front where you’d be pulling the yoke—actually, scratch that, a hand brake and harness you could wear. Less material.” She paused. “Why not just go full bore and make the whole thing metal?”
Kryos frowned. “I don’t know how much that will weigh, or what the roads will be like between here and . . . wherever we decide to go.”
Leona let out a little gasp of delight and began tracing with more vigor. “We can go for something, say, ten feet long by five feet wide. Enough that you and I could sleep inside and store most of our equipment. Wooden top and sides—yeah, that’s fine, just with a metal frame so it’s harder to break. A small Quest Board on the outside—”
“Won’t someone steal it?” Kryos asked. “If we were camping on the road?”
She shook her head. “No. Only the Guildmaster can move it once affixed to a surface. I suppose a person could move the surface itself, but that would mean they’d be removing it from the metal frame structure, which would be really hard to do.”
Kryos nodded. “Fair point. It has to be facing the outside for people to put Quests on it.”
“And don’t forget, local Quests will just show up if we’re in the area,” she replied.
Kryos looked at her design and the two were up for another thirty minutes designing, but every few minutes he made sure to insist that, “It needs to be adaptable, and the hoard has to be secure.”
“That’s the most important part,” she replied. “It’s where we both will keep our money, don’t forget.”
The two were up until late evening, took a break to get food, sleep, and then bright and early the next morning, Kryos hauled the bags of dragon parts with Leona helping by carrying the much lighter, smaller bag of dragon teeth into Suncrest. Pavish was, annoyingly enough, following them.
“I don’t know what you’re up to,” the older Anchor said when Kryos questioned him about it. “You were speaking in that weird language last night, so until I’m sure you’re not doing something that will ruin my Guild’s reputation, I’m not going to leave you alone.”
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The duo headed to Bert’s smithy, and Kryos set down the multiple bags he had been hauling in front of the counter. The older elven man looked at him quizzically. “What do you have there?”
“Would you be interested in earth dragon parts?” Kryos asked as he pulled a scale the size of his fist out.
The man’s eyes went wide. “Where’d you get that?”
Leona pulled a tooth out of her bag. “We killed one.”
Bert Junior came over, along with his wife, and what must have been his two teenage sons. “What do we have, pops?”
“Kryos here brought dragon parts,” Bert Senior said. “What are you looking to do with them?”
Kryos grinned. “You know that idea I had talked about? Well, we want to make it a reality.”
Leona set her bag down and pulled out her notebook, set it on the counter, and turned it around. Then, she put her hand over it. “Oh, first off, can you put some scales on Kryos’ shield and bigger sections of plate armor?”
Bert Senior nodded sagely. “I have not worked with that material in many, many years. It would be a privilege to do it.” He looked at Kryos. “I’ll do that for free. Just take off the armor and leave the shield.”
Kryos began to remove the pieces while Leona slid the book over and explained their concept. A twelve-foot-long, eight-foot-wide wagon—which was on the longer and wider side but not unexpected. The bottom was to be completely made of steel, with a hollow center that could be accessed via a lockable hatch—their vault. Then, a metal frame would go along the sides and top, which could then allow for wood panels to be used to comprise the rest of the vehicle.
Both Berts were looking over the concept art as Leona explained it, and they looked at each other. The Junior shook his head. “The weight alone is going to be extraordinary. Easily a ton. You’ll need several beasts to pull it.”
“Or one Kryos,” Leona quipped.
Junior looked up at Kryos. “No offense, but not even someone like you could pull something that hefty made of steel.” He looked at the older Bert. “It’ll cost a fortune, but we could make Wootz steel for it. That’ll halve the weight.”
The older Bert nodded. “Aye, we could. Easily half the weight.” He looked at Kryos. “What’s the intent behind this?”
Kryos glanced back at Pavish, who was standing under the eaves of an adjoining building, listening in. He then turned back to Bert and made sure he was speaking loudly enough for Pavish to hear him. “We are making a mobile Adventurer’s Guild. We’ll be mounting a Quest Board to the outside, and then Leona and I are going to be traveling across Vorunor.”
Bert Senior cracked a grin at that. “Wanderlust and youth, that’s a pairing I’m quite familiar with.” He scratched his beard.
The woman smith, who had remained silent up until that point, said, “Husband, I think that we should consider versatility in travel, as well. If this is going to be a mobile Guild Hall for two” —she glanced up at Kryos and Leona— “perhaps three, if you find a Mender, yes?”
“Correct,” Leona said.
“Then you will want to be able to handle all types of terrain. May I write in your book?” The woman grabbed a charcoal pencil and began adding some notes onto the design.
Bert Junior smiled at her, waved his sons back to the forge, and then said. “My wife, Maybel, has a talent for creative designs. This is right in her niche.”
Leona turned around, prompting Kryos to as well. Pavish had approached, and he had a look of curiosity on his face. “So,” the older Anchor said, “you two are leaving town?”
“That’s the plan,” Leona replied. “Kryos and I are going to be leaving.”
Pavish nodded, then looked at Kryos. “Well, you’re still Irontrail, so your rooms are yours. You can always come back and take Quests. But, since you’re not up to any sneaky business, I’ll take my leave.” The man then turned on his heel and departed.
Kryos looked at Leona. “He had some good advice,” Kryos commented.
Leona shrugged. “Soon enough, we’ll be gone.”
Maybel tapped the page, getting both Kryos and Leona’s attention. “Here’s the concept.” She explained as both leaned over. “We go long, like you said, but we do this design, like the longboats of the coastal traders—that way you can use the shallow draft, a droppable rudder, and droppable pontoons to navigate rivers and along coastlines. That will help you with traveling.” She then tapped a few connecting points. “Then, we can have the wheels actually be on a ratcheting, slide-down system, so you don’t need to put axles in and out—just lock them into place from the inside.”
“Ah,” Leona muttered. “So all Kryos has to do is lift the cart—”
“No,” Maybel replied. “We can install a winch. A few foot-pumps, you lift the wagon. Then, drop the wheels, screw them into place on the inside, then remove the winch. When you’re making camp, put the winch in, unscrew the wheels to let them ratchet along the slides and up the sides of the wagon, and then lower the wagon again. Less manual labor.”
Kryos was excited, but at the same time, he was dreading the question he had to ask. “What will this all cost?”
“Probably a fortune,” Maybel replied.
Kryos looked at the sacks surrounding him, then looked at Bert Senior. “I’m not familiar with prices of dragon parts, but you’ve worked with them before, and you’re an honest man. I trust you’ll give me an honest valuation.”
Bert Senior dipped his head. “You’ve been a good customer, and I think helping the two of you youngins make your dream of traveling the world come true is a worthy endeavor. We’ll appraise the dragon parts at market value and won’t scam you, I promise you that. Let’s get to pricing.”
Kryos had to set his armor and shield aside—along with some of the scales—for his personal reinforcement. It was a worthy investment, even if it meant the wagon might make him dip into his personal wealth. His own safety was paramount, since if he died, well, there would be no point in the whole mobile Guild Hall idea.
After determining the value of all of the bones, teeth, scales, and claws, plus calculating in labor, supplies, and every other associated cost, the total amount that Kryos and Leona would need to actual spend out of their personal coin only came to ten silver. “You both had quite a haul,” Bert Junior commented. “And what size was this thing?”
“Lesser drake,” Kryos replied. “Tier 3 equivalent.”
“Fascinating,” Bert Senior replied. “Well, you have the difference determined. Want to pay now? Or later?”
Kryos opened up his Trader’s Pouch and pulled out a gold coin. He gripped it tightly and then held it out. His stomach was churning, the bitter heat cascading in his gut as he hated giving away his wealth. But, he had no choice. This was a necessary expense. An investment in a brighter future. Growth required sacrifice. He let go, and the gold coin clattered on the countertop.
Bert Junior grabbed it. “The whole project will probably take us four days if we’re all working on it.” He glanced at Bert Senior. “Pops, you’re going to do the armor and shield first, right?”
“Aye. Four and a half days. I want to knock this out today.”
Bert Junior nodded. “Well, give us five days to be safe.”
Kryos nodded and turned to face Leona. “In the meantime,” he said as he let out a deep breath, then drew up to his full height. “We need to prepare.”
She nodded. “Travel supplies—food that can keep, a barrel or two of water, water capture device for the roof of the wagon in case we need to capture rainfall—I’ve got an idea for a canvas-bag based one I saw in a book, once—plus just general gear.” She looked at his Trader’s Pouch which was still-open. “Honestly, Kryos, if you can afford to part with it . . . another eighty silver would let us get everything we need to get all we need.”
Kryos was about to protest, but she put a finger to his lips.
“That doesn’t include the Quest Board . . . that alone is going to be five-hundred silver.”
Kryos felt a black pit in his stomach. That would be almost all of his hoard. He’d be nearly back to zero. The thought of losing that much of his hoard filled him with a vitriolic hatred and disgust, and he was about to grab Leona’s arm and shove her to the side—but he saw the look in her eyes.
Determination and resolve. And, behind that, something softer.
The finger on her lips shifted to cupping his cheek. “Come on, big guy. You’re not in this alone. Tell you what. I’ll liquidate some gems I have for the supplies. I’ll cover the eighty silver part. You fork out the five-hundred for the Quest Board—that makes you the Guildmaster. Seems fair enough, right? You get to own the Guild. You set the rules, make the name, own the Board—all of it.”
“I . . . that does sound good,” Kryos admitted. Being the owner, in control, that seemed like a good deal. It meant that he would be the one who owned the vault. In his mind, that denoted even truer ownership of the mobile base of operations as his true hoard. He took in a shuddering breath. “Okay. I’ll get the Quest Board. Where do we get it?”
“We’ll head back to Irontrail, and you just put your tattoo up to the Board, and tell the Quest Conclave what you want to do, then shove the money into it. Tell them the dimensions you want, and there you go.”
Kryos turned back to the smithy, and saw Maybel and Bert Junior looking at the two of them. “What?” he asked.
Maybel looked at Bert Junior, and the two shared a little laugh. “They have no idea,” Bert said.
“Well, he doesn’t,” Maybel replied. She then looked at Kryos. “What do you need?”
“What’s the side of the wagon’s length and height?”
Maybel frowned. “You don’t want a Quest Board that big. Go with something four-by-four. You can put it on the front, since you’ll be entering and exiting from the back. Keep the sides clear for future additions.”
Kryos nodded. “Well, that answers that.” He looked back at Leona. “Shopping, then?”
The two got back to Irontrail, and while Leona went upstairs to drop off all of the supplies, Kryos went over to the Quest Board. He held up his left forearm and pushed it against the object, and felt a soothing heat. “Okay, Quest Conclave . . . people. I want to buy a Quest Board to make my own Guild.”
A voice whispered in his ear. “Name?”
“My name?”
“No, the name of the Guild we are registering.”
“Ah.” Kryos and Leona had discussed it at length, and they had come up with a name that fit their new setup, and paid homage to where they got their start. “Dragontrail.”
“Confirmed. Please place five-hundred silver pieces, or the trade equivalent, onto the Quest Board. A readout will appear showing you the monetary value you have put in.”
Kryos pulled his forearm away and saw that there was a number in front of him, a big 0. He grabbed his Trader’s Pouch, and through gritted teeth, began grabbing handfuls of coins. As he pulled them out, he tried to push them forward, and found his hands hesitating, claws unwilling to give way.
Leona seemingly appeared out of nowhere. “It’s okay,” she whispered, putting her hand onto his left. “It’s an investment in your future—our future. This is the stepping stone to greater riches. You know it, I know it.” She rubbed the outside of his hand, and Kryos, slowly, shoved coins into the board.
The silver seemed to be sucked into the Board, and the number flicked up from 0.
Despite the roiling in his gut, despite the heat that seemed to sear his insides, causing major discomfort and even some pain, the sweat beading his brow and the quivering in his chest, as if he had been fighting for five-minutes straight, Kryos managed the feat—all five-hundred silver, pushed into the Board.
Once more, the voice spoke in his ear. “What size of Quest Board do you wish?”
“Four foot by four foot,” Kryos replied.
“Who are you talking to?” Leona asked.
“Understood. It will appear next to you. You are now being marked as the Guildmaster, Kryos Teleris. Dragontrail is yours. Any Quest posted to any Quest Board within a particular radius will be duplicated and manifest on your Board, and if you pass out of the range, it will vanish. We have read your thoughts and know of your ‘mobile Guild Hall’ idea—this is the first time we have ever heard of such an idea: being run by a half-dragon, no less. . . and we are curious to see how the concept plays out under your auspices. Best of luck, Guildmaster.”
Kryos felt a searing heat on his left wrist, and as he glanced down, he saw, next to Irontrail, another word appeared. Dragontrail. But, the word Dragontrail wasn’t a dull tattoo—it was vibrant, glittering in pearlescent hues and constantly glittering.
Then, with a pop followed by a thunk, a large, pale white Quest Board appeared, clattering to the floor. Kryos reached down and grabbed it. As soon as his hand touched it, he knew how to put it up and affix it to a wall, or remove it. “Leona,” he said as the knowledge filled his mind. “Put your hand up and sign on. But, when you do, ask to be the Treasurer.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t we have to have a ledger like Pavish?”
Kryos shook his head. “That’s just something he did for Irontrail. The basic setup just requires a Guildmaster’s consent and the Board. Go ahead, put your arm up to it, say your name, ask to join, and be the Treasurer.”
Leona did as she was asked. “I’m Leona Bitterbrine, and I want to join Dragontrail, and be the Treasurer.”
Kryos heard that same voice in his mind from earlier. “You have a new applicant: Leona Bitterbrine. Current affiliations: Irontrail. Class: Thief (17) [II]. Do you wish to accept her to the Guild?”
“Yes,” Kryos replied.
Leona hissed and pulled her arm away.
“She has applied to the role of Treasurer. This will allow her to always know the contents of the Guild vault, and be able to monitor what comes in and goes out, as well as have a ‘sense’ as to when something is accessing the vault. Do you wish to assign this role?”
“Yes,” Kryos said with a grin. Then, he mentally added, she is my extra insurance policy. She’s going to be like a security system for my hoard.
Leona hissed again. “Son of a bitch!” she said as she rubbed her wrist, then looked at the tattoo. “Why is it glowing silver?”
Kryos quickly explained what a Treasurer could do, and Leona’s eyes went wide. “Stars above . . .” she moved over and hugged Kryos. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I didn’t know that was a thing!”
Kryos used his unoccupied left arm to return the hug. “Hey, it’s an extra layer of protection for my hoard. This is all selfish greed, here.”
She pulled away and snickered, then punched his stomach—which hardly registered to him. “Right.” She sighed. “So. We’ve got a few days. What do you want to do?”
Kryos looked at the empty Guild Hall. Then, he looked at his Quest Board, which suddenly filled with a Quest. “I can go get my armor and weapon, and we can do a few Quests in the meantime. Killing some monsters should be pretty easy. Some silver for killing things, or just guarding people? Boring work, but easy work.”
She nodded. “Sure. Go put that Board upstairs. We should work for Irontrail while we’re under their roof. Once we leave Suncrest, then, Dragontrail all the way.”
“You weren’t joking,” a voice said from behind them.
Kryos and Leona turned, and spotted Pavish, standing at the entrance to the storage room. “We weren’t,” Leona said. “This is happening.”
Pavish walked over, and his face was some mix of impressed and annoyed. “A mobile Guild Hall. Never heard of one before.”
“Apparently,” Kryos added, “neither has the Quest Conclave.”
Pavish raised his eyebrows at that. “Really? That is surprising.”
Leona shrugged. “Most Guilds plant themselves somewhere. Why move when you can monopolize?”
Pavish nodded sagely. “I suppose that is true. It’s why I founded Irontrail, after all. No competition, and if someone tried to set one up, I paid them a hefty amount to join me instead.” He cracked a very small smile. “I appreciate the homage, by the way.”
Kryos returned the smile. “Despite our . . . couple of hiccups, you’ve done right by me. You took me in when you didn’t have to. Your advice after losing our Mender in the Rift was invaluable. It’s only fitting that we remember where we started.” He sighed and lost the smile. “I’m . . . I would say I am sorry for my actions in the mine, but I’m not. I wanted that silver, and I still don’t agree with it being taken from us, but I see why you forced our hand.”
“Well, thank you for not trying to fight me on it.” Pavish held out his hand. “You’re always welcome back here, but you two are probably wise to get out sooner rather than later, given the way things are heading.”
Kryos shook his hand, and felt the strength in the old bones, truly denoting the massive level difference between them. Pavish let his hand go, and then looked at Leona.
Leona held her hand out, and Pavish shook it as well. “I hope you never get caught again. Try to only steal from folks who can afford the loss. And, don’t steal from a whole town next time.”
“Like we agreed on when I first got here,” Leona replied. “I won’t steal from a whole city again.”
The next few days saw Kryos and Leona completing several boring Quests where they were mostly standing around, protecting miners or company personnel—it made them some silver while passing the time. Through those activities, Kryos knew that they had made the right call.
News of the enormous silver vein had spread down the large waterfall elevator and the switchback trading road that led up to Suncrest, and seemed to have gone all the way down to Shhiv’s Spear way down on the coast. It had started up a new mining rush, and people were coming to claim their fortunes or find work—new miners were pouring in to work for the company, increasing friction on the existing union workers.
There were a few tunnel collapses, which caused friction between the company who insisted on rapid clearance and resuming of activities, whereas the mining union wanted investigations to determine what caused the collapse, and then fixing of the underlying issue once discovered. Tools started to crush oddly soft sections of silver ore.
A few of the workers who were new to Suncrest, part of the rush for work, came down with coughing fits, and Kryos couldn’t help but notice that there was a bit of a pale green hue to the upper part of the chasm, where the flying monsters were now circling and screeching at their disturbed roosts.
Then, there was the sick feeling he had to his stomach. The more the mining went on, the more he had a queasy feeling. The treasure sense was strong, and pointed him in the direction of that deeper chasm, but it also left that sour feeling. He almost felt like vomiting a few times, and he had to stop eating breakfast before their Quest duties, and then once he got home, devour two meals’ worth of food.
Leona was standing next to him, on their last Quest the day before they were due to pick up their commissioned project. He let out a sigh, and she looked at him. “What are you thinking?” she asked as they were stuck on boring guard duty.
“I’m thinking how lucky I am,” Kryos said. “I showed up, randomly teleported here, saved some miners, joined a guild . . . met a great ally. And now? I have my own Guild.”
Leona beamed at the compliment. “I have to admit, I never expected a half-dragon wearing hospital clothes to be the catalyst for change in my life, but life is strange like that.” She let out a light laugh which was only heard by Kryos, as the tink of picks on stone prevented anyone else from hearing. “Our reputations are—mostly—intact, and we’re leaving with gear and coin.”
Kryos nodded. “But,” he said, as he looked back toward the direction of the Guild Hall. “We can’t ever forget what it cost us . . . or what we learned from that loss.”
She glanced in that direction, and her voice took on a somber tone as well. “Yeah . . . Tavan.”
Kryos nodded. “I carry on his memory, now and forever.”
“In the scars I bear,” Leona softly said, echoing her words at the memorial.
Kryos did the same, concluding, “In the name of the people I protect.”
“Leaving, eh?” Gary asked.
Kryos nodded as he finished off his tea. “Yes. I want to travel. With the whole union and company thing? I don’t want to be caught up in it.”
“I understand,” Gary replied, letting out a deep breath. “If I wasn’t a miner by trade, I’d ask to go with you. But, I’m so deep into my Class, doing something else would be a massive step back.”
Yessa held his hand on top of the table. She then looked at Kryos. “Did you ever figure out your feelings for that girl?”
Kryos nodded and grinned. “I think she feels something similar for me, but right now we’re business partners.”
“But you’ll be traveling together,” Gary said with a grin. “In a wagon, sleeping in the same enclosed space night after night.” He chuckled. “Sooner or later, things will come to a head.”
Kryos shrugged. “What’ll happen will happen.”
Yessa let out a little sigh at that. “See, Gary? I told you, not all men are all about getting with a girl the moment they fall for her.” She then looked back at Kryos. “If things go well between the two of you, treat her right, eh? That’s what every lady deserves.”
Kryos dipped his head. “My mom and dad raised me to treat people properly. I saw how a healthy relationship should look. Maybe I’ll have that, some day.”
Gary raised his cup of tea. “Perhaps sooner than you think, if you’re lucky.”
“It’s amazing!” Leona said as she finished climbing down from the top of the wagon. She moved around the side and tested the foot-powered, winch-ratchet system, getting the whole wagon to move up, and then with Maybel’s assistance, moved the wheels down their sliding slots from the sides of the wagon and onto the ground. “This is going to be so easy to use for setting up camp.”
“And,” Maybel added as they moved to the other side, “we added a foldable brazier that’s strapped to the back. That’ll be your reusable firepit.”
Kryos went inside and Gary Junior handed him the last of the supplies, which the half-dragon tied down to the inside of the vehicle. Then, once Gary Junior dipped his head out, Kryos closed the door, turned to the vault door on the bottom, and opened it with the key that was now on a sturdy chain around his neck. There were only two such keys—his and Leona’s.
Opening it, he found the vault completely empty, but large. Far larger than his bag. He dumped all of the contents of his bag into the space, hearing the satisfying clattering and clinking of coins, and the clang of the khopesh, and then the slight thud of the book. Then, he closed up the vault door, and slid the key home to lock it, before then sliding the thin, wooden panel into place.
The whole entire metal part of the wagon—bottom, sides, reinforcements—it had all been covered with a thin sheet of teak wood. The exterior panels for the walls and ceiling were also teak, but thicker panels, and Kryos had attached the Quest Board with a thought and instruction to the magical object to the front. Under the front was a set of loops for a series of chains, and attached to that, a sturdy harness that Kryos could loop around his shoulders and torso so that he could pull the whole contraption, negating the need for a beast of burden.
He got out of the vehicle and stood back, looking at the mobile Guild Hall. To his delight, one of Maybel’s sons was a bit of a painter, and had even made a logo on the sides of the wagon. It was a black dragon claw, with white tips, just like Kryos’, curling around a silver coin, with a pair of daggers crossed behind it.
“It’s amazing,” Kryos said.
The whole smithing family was outside, admiring their work. Several townspeople were staring as well. Kryos assumed it was because they had never seen a wagon like this—it was fully customized, with odd wheels that didn’t have the usual spokes and axles.
“The whole project was pretty exciting,” Bert Senior said.
Bert Junior nodded. “The boys were thrilled to try out some new techniques. And now they’ve got dragonscales to make some armor with.” The two boys, twins, by the looks of it, seemed thrilled, and looked up at their dad with expectant, pleading faces. “Ok, you two can go and work with them.” The two boys immediately dashed to the forge.
Leona looked at the harness setup at the front of the wagon. “Ready to head out?” she asked, nudging Kryos.
Kryos headed to the front of the wagon, slotted his mace into the holder next to the harness, and put his shield on the hook put there for that purpose, then slid the harness around his shoulders. “Thanks, Bert and family. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”
“Safe travels, you two!” Bert senior shouted.
Kryos took a few steps until he felt the tension against his shoulders, and then kept moving. To his surprise, it didn’t take too much effort to get the conveyance moving. Once he got some momentum going, all he had to do was make sure he steered—which was easy enough, because there was a woman behind him who had a device for braking and maneuvering. He wasn’t actually the one steering.
Kryos was the power, she was the control. It reflected their teamwork in the Rifts pretty well. She was the brains of the operation, he was the brawn.
They moved through the town, and Kryos heard the mutterings even louder now—not just people who were afraid, or happy at his saving of miners. Everyone was just confused. The duo headed to the edge of Suncrest, where the massive elevator fueled by the waterfall’s cascading heights led down to the river below.
Leona presented the voucher they were given previously, and that earned their wagon passage down without needing to take the switchback path that went down the mountainside and would have put the brakes to the test. Kryos was quite happy that they didn’t have to test his ability to possibly hold the cart back on a steep descent.
As Kryos pulled the wagon onto the elevator, and Leona pulled the break to hold it in place, he could see the vast, wide valley and the huge river running off into the distance far below him. Getting out of the harness, he hung it up, went over to the wagon, climbed atop it, and sat next to Leona. “So, where to next?”
She put an arm around his waist, and he almost instinctively put one around her shoulder. “Wherever we want,” she replied.