Chapter 4 - Roan

Chapter 4 Roan

I’d been planning on avoiding the Mistfall Adventurers’ Guild, but I didn’t feel right skipping town while Nyssa was at the library all by herself. That noise, no matter what excuse she’d made, was not normal, and the best place to hear all the local gossip was at the guild.

So I’d check in, get the information I needed, and get out.

My hand hovered over the door handle, but I couldn’t bring myself to open it. The training grounds out back sounded especially lively today and the light from inside the guild glowed warm and bright. I knew when I opened that door, adventurers would greet me, sit me down for a meal, and ask about all the cool missions I’d been on since the last time I was here.

My shoulders tightened, already feeling claustrophobic. When I was young, walking into a guild with my parents had been the best feeling in the world, being welcomed like heroes returning home. But now? It just reminded me of things better left buried. They’d left me at one of those guilds, just tucked me in and never came back.

Apparently adventuring with a child in tow just wasn’t as fun.

I gritted my teeth and yanked the door open.

Laughter and general merriment greeted me, buzzing against my senses as if I was walking into a beehive. The guild I’d been abandoned at had let me stay, washing dishes and cleaning up after everyone, until I was old enough to take missions. After that I moved around a lot, only staying in one place when I found this guild.

It had been so warm and inviting, full of people I thought had really cared about me. So, I stayed for almost three years, the longest I’d ever let myself settle anywhere. It was a mistake though; one I had no intention of repeating. Getting close to people, caring about them, was just asking to get hurt.

A few adventurers stared longingly at the quest board in the back, as if they didn’t know what job to pick next or couldn’t handle any of the ones there. My decision was usually easy: grab the toughest mission on the board. No fuss, no muss. Until today. I needed information more than something to fight.

“Roan,” an older man’s voice I knew all too well called out. “Is that really you? It’s been way too long, my boy.”

“Hello, Master Carmine.” I turned to greet the guild master, noting how gray his hair had turned since the last time I’d seen him. How long had it been? Five years? Ten? “How have you been?”

“Good, very good,” he said, staring at me with papers in his hands like he’d stopped in the middle of doing something. His eyes looked a bit watery. “Do you have time for a meal?”

No, but I felt like a jerk saying it. This man had taken care of me for a few years, even if it was just so I’d train his daughter and make her a worthy successor. He still treated me like I was one of his own.

“Sure, food sounds great.” I sat down at a nearby table as he joined me. I squirmed in my seat, feeling like a teenager all over again under his watchful gaze. “I’m not staying for long, just looking for information about a situation on the mountain.”

That finally broke his stare. “Oh, of course, you’re always busy on a mission. But let’s eat first. I’ll have the cook make your favorite and it’ll be like old times.”

Old times. My chest ached remembering all the meals we’d shared, all the times he’d cleaned my wounds up after a battle, and all the kind words he’d said to me. He really was a good guild master, even remembering how much I liked a hearty hunter’s stew after all these years.

If only I hadn’t just been a means to an end to train his daughter. I’d heard she was a bloodthirsty, kickass adventurer now, so I guess she really hadn’t needed me anymore. But that wasn’t my problem anymore. She wasn’t my problem.

“So, how’s Jade been?” I felt myself asking even though I shouldn’t care. We were close in age, which was why the guild master had asked me to work with her in the first place, but it meant I’d gotten attached too. We’d felt more like siblings than coworkers and those family vibes had been my undoing. “She’s not here, right?”

Master Carmine smiled. “No, she’s on a mission. Did you forget what time of year it is?”

I frowned, trying to remember the missions in this area since a lot of them repeated on a cycle. Legend has it that all the monsters in the world were created by the gods as a way to test us, because nobody could be a hero without something to fight against. I wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but repeat missions did make me wonder.

When I was in the area a few years ago around this time, I joined a team of adventurers fighting...

“Is the Ant Queen migrating again already?” I asked.

“I knew you’d remember.” Master Carmine beamed as he motioned for the bartender to bring us drinks. “Jade’s going to be so upset when she realizes she was off slaying ants while you stopped by.”

I highly doubted that since we hadn’t ended on the best of terms. She flat out told me that she was better than me in every way, so why should a lowly adventurer like me keep training her?

She was skilled, but not invincible, and those ants were a menace if left unchecked. After they devoured all the gold they could find underground, they’d surface and start looking for it in new places and they didn’t care where it came from. The more gold they ate, the tougher their armor became, so merchants paid the guilds highly to deal with them before they caused too much damage.

The bartender handed me an amber beer, one of the guild’s specialties. It was rich and strong, just the thing to ease my anxiety about being back here. I drank deeply, enjoying the malty flavor.

“So, what have you been up to?” Master Carmine asked quietly. “I’ve missed you, you know. You left so abruptly and I never got to properly say goodbye. Did you go look for your parents? I heard they’re retired and running an inn now.”

Oh, I’d found my parents all right, just to make sure they were still alive, but they didn’t deserve a happy reunion. Not when they’d never come back for me. They were so skilled and could have easily found one kid no matter which guild I’d gone to. Even after I’d proved I wasn’t a burden anymore, that I could take on anything, they hadn’t checked in.

I drank deeper, holding my hand up for another hoping it would stop this ache in my chest. Time to shift the conversation to something less personal. All this reminiscing was starting to get to me.

“Well, I did just help a librarian carry some books up a very scary mountain.”

A beautiful librarian full of passion. She’d been so fiercely protective of those books that I almost thought she was going to slap me when I offered to buy them. If I’d known she was bringing them to another library, I’d have bought even more for her. Restocked the whole place just to see that smile of hers.

“Wait,” the guild master leaned closer, “are you talking about the Misty Mountain Library?”

I nodded, downing the rest of my drink before motioning for another. I didn’t usually drink like this, but it was an easy distraction until our food came. As a waiter handed me another, I realized the guild hall had grown quiet. Everyone was staring at me.

“What’s going on?” I asked, glancing from wary look to wary look.

It reminded me of the night I left. They’d all just stared at me, unwilling to tell Jade off for what she’d said. They hadn’t respected me enough to stand up for me then and they didn’t respect me enough to speak up now.

Master Carmine shook his head. “Ignore them. Tell me more about the librarian.”

“Well, she’s determined and beautiful,” I leaned back in my chair, remembering her hair shimmering in the sunlight. “I’ve never seen anyone as passionate about a library as her and—”

“Not that,” a woman’s voice snapped. “What’s she doing bringing books to that library?”

I turned to see Jade standing in the open doorway, glaring at me with her hands on her hips. She was leaner than I remembered, but well-toned, like she’d spent her time fighting and training until she was all muscle. Twin swords peaked over her shoulders and daggers lined her belt. Muck coated her clothing and brown braid too. Had she taken care of the ant queen already?

I’d never admit it out loud, but I was kind of proud that she could hold her own against monsters like that. It was nice seeing her hard work pay off, even if she was a total pain in my ass.

“Don’t tell me you’re helping monsters now.” Jade stomped over to me. “I know you like to do your own thing, but seriously Roan? Deal with that bleeding heart of yours already.”

“Calm down,” the guild master said, “he just got here, so he doesn’t know about the library yet.”

“Know what?” I asked as my frustration started welling up. The vibe in here had changed the moment I mentioned Nyssa and the library. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Jade laughed. “Shouldn’t you know already? You are the big bad S-rank adventurer. People speak your name like you’re some kind of hero, but here you are, clueless. I could tell you, if you asked nicely. I’d even be willing to show you around, help you understand what mess you just stepped into.”

I rolled my eyes. She’d been like that since we were kids, always trying to prove she was better than me. But I didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with her, so I turned to the guild master. “If something’s wrong with the library, I need to know. I left that librarian all alone.”

“You should check on her,” he said. “The library’s...a little haunted, if you believe the stories.”

“A little haunted?” I gripped the edge of the table, the wood digging into my palm. “Why haven’t you dealt with it yet?”

“It’s not that simple,” Jade snapped, plopping down on a chair next to us. She threw her feet on the table, just like she did when we were kids, before the guild master swatted them down. “There’s never anything out of the ordinary when we go there.”

“But you still think it’s haunted?”

“Well obviously,” she said. “Why else would the board be covered in missions about it? The townsfolk have seen things and I believe them.”

The board. I hadn’t actually looked at it. I stood and walked over, gaze sweeping from mission to mission about the strange noises on the mountain, the lights and figures at the library, and about the shadows that seemed to come to life and chase people away. The town was terrified.

And I’d just left Nyssa there, all alone. I clenched my hands. She must have known about the rumors, about the so-called haunting, and had sent me away on purpose when she saw what was inside. With how much she loved that library, she’d probably try to make friends with the spirits.

Dammit.

“I’ve gotta go,” I said, instinctively reaching for my sword.

Jade blocked my path. “Not so fast. What makes you think you can do something when none of us could? You’re not better than me, not anymore.”

“I never said I—”

“Just forget that library and leave town already,” Jade snapped. “It’s the only thing you’re good at. We’ll go check on the librarian for you and deal with anything that’s there.”

My jaw clenched. Nyssa might be in danger, so now was not the time for Jade to throw a tantrum. I glanced at Master Carmine for an assist, but he just avoided my gaze like he’d always done when we were younger. He preferred we deal with our issues ourselves.

The more comfortable I’d become in this guild, the worse her attitude had gotten, as if every kind word her father had for me was a step toward me taking over the guild instead of her. It wasn’t my fault I was more skilled than her. It was literally the reason her father had hired me, to train her.

And despite his current silence, I’d always trusted his judgment. The way he’d phrased the haunting, saying if I believed the stories, sounded like he thought something else might be at play here.

If that was true, then I had to figure out what. Jade–and the other adventurers at this guild–were the kind of slice first, ask questions later adventurers. If I left it to them, they’d just burn the place down eventually and call it a day.

“I’m not leaving until I settle this,” I said, trying to get to the quest board to take the missions, but Jade still stood in my way.

I didn’t have time for this. If Nyssa was in danger, I had to get there. Had to help her. Abandoning people in need was not something I did. Ever.

“Move. Or I’ll make you move,” I said coldly. She was not my sister. This was not my guild. I owed them nothing.

Jade stepped closer, filling my personal space. “You think you’re tough shit, but one day, everyone will see you for who you really are. A coward. Just run along and let the adults handle this.”

My blood pounded in my ears, but I refused to take the bait. She was a shadow of the girl I’d trained, just violence and anger now. I stepped around her and ripped all the library missions off the board, slamming them down on the counter next to the guild’s receptionist.

“I’m taking these missions,” I said.

“All of them?” she squeaked out, gaze darting to Jade and the guild master.

“All of them.”

Jade shook her head, laughing. “Okay, but don’t come crying back to us when you can’t find anything either. Or maybe, you will find something and the spirits will gobble you up.”

Nyssa. I had to get to Nyssa. I gripped my sword hilt firmly as I displayed my adventuring credentials so the missions could be assigned to me.

“You’re still a member of this guild,” Master Carmine said. “If you need help, ask. I’ll be ready.”

“I’m fine on my own. Always have been, always will be.”

The moment the receptionist was done, I was out the door, heading for the Misty Mountain Library, the pained look on the guild master’s face echoing in my mind.