I stare into the black swirls in the white marble floors of the communications tower lobby. The sounds of the receptionist, scribbling on a scroll, hide my thoughts from the others. I should have talked to Renald, but I was just so angry. I haven't seen him for weeks, and he suddenly appears out of nowhere. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch him in his stupid face. I wanted to do anything else, but all I could do was walk away.
After he left, an ache crept its way into my heart. It was followed by more anger, but this time I was angry with myself. After all this time, he had finally come back, and what did I do? I pushed him away. I don't know how to face him. Not after what he stabbed Ironvine. Not after Hawk called him a vampire.
"You alright, Whisper?" Ironvine's warm touch on my shoulder pulls me into the present. "You've been staring off… more than usual. Is this about what happened at the gate?"
"Gods Ironvine, let the girl think." Liaz chimes in on my behalf.
"Seems like we've all been doing a lot of that lately." Ironvine leans back on the wooden bench we're sitting on.
"Thanks, both of you. I'm alright." I sigh, my ears drooping. "I'm just worried about Renald."
"I think all of us are." Liaz's head hangs low. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get some information from your Guildmaster."
"I'm not sure if Vesper will be able to help with this." Ironvine picks some clumped dirt from his fur. "Her specialties lie in her well-maintained connections, like Goldenclaw, for example. She has some experience with arcane magic, but vampirism is witchcraft."
"You'd be surprised…" I mumble. "...Vesper knows more about Renald than any of us."
A bell dings, and the doors behind the receptionist's desk fly open. They slam into the walls with such force that her glossy, golden skin flashes in surprise. An overly large Chim-Chi halfbreed marches out from the back rooms.
"This is a disgrace!" He growls loudly, making sure to glare at us on his way out of the communications tower.
"Pay him no mind." A second receptionist says cheerily, gracefully entering the room from the doors behind the desk. "Some patrons get a little... upset when they hear bad news."
She's an Elf, that much is obvious. Her pearly white skin matches her perfect teeth and black hair. Her green eyes reveal a certain level of wisdom that comes only with hundreds of years of experience. The receptionist sitting at the desk motions for her coworker to move closer and whispers. Before I can pull away my gaze, the Elf notices me staring and flashes the most genuine smile I've ever seen.
"You must be Whisperclaw." The receptionist says, walking over to us. "I'm Gisella. Prince Glimmer notified me that you would be arriving today. I must say, you are earlier than we expected."
"Good, so you were expecting us then." Liaz rises first from the bench. "I'm Liaz, and this is Ironvine. I believe you already recognized Whisperclaw."
Ironvine rises as introductions are made. I'm the last to stand, behind their massive figures that shield me from Gisella's ever-watchful gaze. Gisella silences Liaz with a finger and motions at me.
"It's rude to interrupt a conversation between two adult women, Liaz, although it is a pleasure to meet you." She winks at me. "If you would follow me, dear, I can get you and these two brutes into a booth."
"Did she just call us brutes?" Liaz asks Ironvine. Ironvine answers with a chuckle.
It only takes us a few moments to slip through the double doors behind the receptionist desk and into one of the many rooms. In Keyonia, I never had access to projection booths or transponder crystals. The only long-range communication we had was messenger hawks. You had to be nobility to afford one, though. My squad had access to one, but we only used it in emergencies. Maybe that's why I feel excited. It'll be my first time stepping into a Projection Booth.
The inside of the room is painted in the darkest black I've ever seen. In the center is a large basin-like structure with a crystal dome top. Around the edge of the room is a couch the shape of a semicircle. The cushions are newly made, as is everything in the communications tower. It was destroyed during the coup, but Glimmer made repairing it a priority.
"Here is your Booth." Gisella gives us a final look over as we take our seats on the couch. "Normally, there is a fee of ten gold coins when you want to make a call, but you guys don't have to worry about that. There's also another fee every thirty minutes, but like I said, you don't have to worry. When you're ready, speak the name of the person you wish to contact. I'll be leaving you now. Let me know if you have a problem."
She gives us another warm smile, this one feeling a little forced but warm nonetheless, and leaves. The door to the projection booth closes behind us, and the room goes completely dark. Nobody speaks for a few moments.
"So we just say Vesper?"
As the word Vesper leaves Ironvine's lips, the basin in the center of the room becomes illuminated in a bright white light. The light spreads from the basin and, in seconds, fills the entire room. When my vision clears, we are still sitting on the couch, but it looks as if we are sitting directly across from Vesper, who is sitting at her desk in her private study. Her hair is as fiery as I remember, and her silver eyes are just as dull and lifeless. New stress marks line her chocolate skin.
"I was wondering when you were going to call." She says, without lifting her eyes from the letter in her hands. "You've been on the news twice now, twice. I hired you to make us all rich and famous, not cause me to die an early death due to stress. Do you know the strings I had to pull down out here to keep the king from getting involved with the stunt you pulled in Amacedia?"
"Wow. Not at all how I was expecting this conversation to start."
Vesper finally looks at us when she hears Liaz speak. Her face goes from tired to confused to blinding fury in the span of a second.
"So you guys are picking up strays along the way now?" Vesper sighs deeply. "By the Gods, so help me. Where are Renald and Glimmer? I expected that all of my guild members would at least have the courtesy to show their faces when making a report after being missing for over a month."
"That's why we're calling." Ironvine stammers, nervously fidgeting with his white coat. "Things got… complicated to say the least."
"I already know about Carvallen's death, Ironvine, and I know that the rest of you know about Blackthorn and my ethereal enchantment scroll." Vesper dramatically rolls her eyes. "I also know that you let that bastard get away, even though I told Whisperclaw to kill him before he had a chance to steal from me again. The man has a bounty of 700 emerald coins for numerous crimes, including murder, extortion, and sabotage. Dead or alive. It would have paid for all the commotion you four have been stirring up."
"Uhhh, Vesper?-"
"-I know about what happened in Denzen already, too." Vesper cuts me off, continuing with her rant. "I know that Hawk Wind, Glimmer's father and former head of the House of Wind, is dead. Did you think I didn't know what was going on? Glimmer's coronation is today, yes?"
"Vesper, I think you should listen to-"
"That was quite a surprise to hear." She cuts me off a second time, but the edge in her voice is starting to fade. "My contacts can lose track of details sometimes, but I assume that he killed Vanhiel, since nobody in the city challenged his right to the throne. Even still, I'm surprised nobody brought up his brother. He's older and takes after his father as far as I'm aware."
"Wait, go back. You said Glimmer has a brother?" I'm shocked. "I never heard anything about this."
"I want to go back to the fact that you ordered Whisperclaw to kill Blackthorn." Ironvine huffs. "I thought we agreed when I signed on, Vesper. No killing anything other than monsters. I will not be an accessory to murder."
"It's a little late for that." Liaz chuckles.
Ironvine's fur turns bright red. His mouth moves like he is going to snap at Liaz, but he doesn't. Instead, he stops talking altogether. I give Liaz a stern look, to which he shrugs.
"Good. That settles that." Vesper partially clasps her fingers together in a pyramid. "Now, what were you so eager to tell me, Whisperclaw, my failure of an assassin?"
"How long has Renald been a vampire?" The question blurts out as soon as it pops into my brain. "What? Hey, I didn't want to ask that! What is this?"
"It's her eyes," Liaz answers me. "They're enchanted. I can tell. When you spend enough time around magic items, you get a feel for this sort of thing."
"Yeah, Liaz is right." Ironvine mutters under his breath. "I noticed just a second ago, too. If she looks at you, her eyes force you to say what you're thinking."
"My eyes compel the people I look at to speak their mind, yes, but people can resist if they want to hide something badly enough," Vesper notes in a snarky tone. "Now, to answer your question. It's... complicated. Why don't you ask Renald yourself? You can ask Glimmer what he plans on doing about his brother while you're at it. It'll save me from having to explain things I shouldn't have to. Have you not been bonding at all? You're a team, Gods dammit. Did you at least get my scroll back? If not, what am I paying you for?"
"We haven't exactly been on speaking terms with Renald lately." Ironvine clenches his jaw. "He tried to kill me towards the end of our fight with Vanhiel. He says he doesn't remember any of it, but I can't forget the look he had in his eyes."
"He was going to kill Whisper, too, if it wasn't for Glimmer's pops stepping in and saving them both." Liaz shakes his head. "It just doesn't feel right, y'know. That wasn't like him. It was almost as if he was under a spell of some kind."
"Hmm." Vesper places her hand to her chin, contemplating. "I figure I owe you guys this much of an explanation. I'm only telling you this to ease your minds, so don't go blabbing about Renald's business."
"Who would we blab to?" Liaz laughs. He stops when I punch him in the shoulder.
"Renald's mother is a vampire." Vesper places her hands back on the table as if bracing herself. "His father, well… we don't know much about him except the fact that he was a high-ranking devil. I did some digging when I hired Renald, and it turns out that his father is the same devil who turned his mother into a vampire. He did it to her whole family in some twisted pact. I suggest you research the matter yourselves. You can find some information at any library with a Histagon. Just search for any articles mentioning the Black family."
"Thanks for the information, Vesper, but what does this have to do with Renald stabbing me?" Ironvine asks.
"Gods, do I have to spell it out for you?" The edge is returning to Vesper's tone. "Renald was likely under the influence of something or in some kind of trance. Just as Liaz suggested earlier. Renald is a new breed of vampire, something demonologists have never even seen before. He was born half as a half devil, one-fourth human, and one-fourth vampire. It's highly unlikely that his vampire side would cause a sudden shift in his personality. Maybe over time, say... hundreds of years, but not in the span of a few seconds."
"Oh…" Ironvine's head droops.
"If that was the extent of your questions, I have an update for your current objectives." Vesper straightens up a stack of papers on her desk. "We accepted a new contract from the Guild Association. So, on top of killing Blackthorn and retrieving my scroll, you will be entering the Flame Magnolia when you reach Helios on the second floor. It's a three-versus-three martial arts tournament. The winning team will receive a single petal from the Flame Magnolia tree. Our client desperately wants this petal and was willing to offer a hefty sum of fifty emerald coins up front. We'll receive the other fifty upon submitting the petal to the Guild Association."
"One hundred emerald coins? All that for a petal?" Liaz snorts. "They must be one pompous client."
"Not just any petal, you fool." Vesper's eyes narrow at Liaz. "The Flame Magnolia is a mystical tree that has been around for centuries. Within its roots, it produces an extremely rare sap. This sap seeps into the leaves of the tree, giving them anti-magic properties. Only one falls every fifty years."
"That sounds like an ingredient in red leaf powder." Ironvine scratches his chin. "Now that I think about it, I remember Gazer mentioning how they were incredibly rare, too. That was a few years back, though."
"The old lady knows her stuff." A smile peeks through Vesper's hardened facial expression. "Red Leaf Powder is made from grinding down the dried leaves of the Flame Magnolia into a powder. It can then be used in the creation of a variety of different anti-magic based potions and weapons."
"Excuse me for asking…" Liaz raises his hand like a child in a classroom. "... but who's Gazer?"
"I was wondering the same thing." I look at Ironvine, my brow furrowed. "Someone you grew up with? Sounds like you guys were pretty close."
"Oh, right! Hahahaha!" Ironvine laughs abnormally loudly, his fur shifting to a deep shade of gray. "I guess I've never had to talk about her before now! Hahaha!"
Vesper clears her throat, and all of us straighten back up.
"We have one more thing to discuss before I get back to handling more important matters." She says. "How long does the halfbreed plan on travelling with you? If you don't know, I need to register him as one of our adventurers so we don't get fined by the GA."
"Who? Me?" Liaz looks between me and Ironvine, confused. "I mean- I'm fine with it. I used to be with the Monster Hunters a few years back. That won't be a problem, will it?"
"No, I'll just have to file a transfer report." Vesper looks at Liaz seriously for the first time in the conversation. "Liaz, or whatever your name is, welcome to the Black Raven Guild. I hope you'll take care of those 4 brats. They're all I've got."
"I'll do my best, Ma'am!" Liaz bows respectfully.
"You better. Tell Renald that I'll be sending a special package for him when you guys get to Helios. He'll know what I'm talking about." Vesper looks over the three of us one more time. "Well, I think that's it for right now. I'll be keeping an eye on things from this side, so please, for the love of all things the Gods deem holy, no more screw ups or detours."
"Yes, Ma'am!" We all say in unison as the office around us fades back into darkness and the call ends.