Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 73 How Much Do You Think

After a moment of being lost in thought Isaac remembered why they were there. “I’m here to borrow the monster encyclopedia.” Isaac said and turned to look at the twins. “Edward said it was here in the library but I don’t know where that is.”

Alecia looked at Alexis. “The Guild Master didn’t give him access to the library did he?”

Alexis shook her head. “No.” She looked at Isaac. “Let me go get it for you. Only the Guild Master and management personnel are allowed to actually go into the library.” She explained.

“Alright.” Isaac replied.

Alexis hopped off her stool and called back over her shoulder as she headed towards the stairs. “The monster encyclopedia right? Any specific volume?”

Isaac called after her: “Whatever one has the monsters around here!” She nodded and soon disappeared around the corner.

“He called you ‘fallen sister’. What did he mean?” Alecia asked Lenna casually. “I thought that was what the other elves called drow but that would just be ridiculous.”

Lenna didn’t answer right away and Isaac wasn’t having any luck coming up with something that made sense. They were silent for a little too long for Alecia’s liking and she started to laugh worriedly. Isaac locked eyes with her and mouthed. “It’s a secret.” Lenna nodded along.

“Okay, uh, um, that’s nice, I guess.” She spoke quietly but not in a whisper. A thought came to her mind and she dropped her voice down to be barely audible. “The duke knows right? That’s why you have the vest?”

Lenna nodded. “Yes.”

Alecia nodded a few times to herself. “Does the Guild Master know?” She asked and her eyes went to Lenna’s. She now saw the silver eyes that occasionally reflected light back out from the darkness inside her helmet in a new light.

“Yes.” Lenna answered again.

“Okay. S-Sorry. I know it’s not really my business.” Alice told them. It was clear that there were a lot of emotions rolling around inside the girl. “Is, is that why you didn’t want to get Identified?”

Lenna nodded and answered again with the same answer she had given the last two times. “Yes.”

Around that time Alexis returned with a stack of five books. The bottom one was over an inch thick but the top was only a quarter of that. Each one had a coin painted on the spine. The largest book had a copper coin and the smallest a platinum one. “Here they are. I just need you to sign that you took them for me…” She said as she set the books on the desk. Her voice trailed off when she noticed that her sister was looking a bit off. “Did something happen?”

“I’m sure she’ll fill you in later.” Isaac told her casually. “Behind closed doors.” He added in a whisper as he leaned against the desk while waiting for the paper he needed to sign. His writing was getting quicker and sloppier. When he first needed to write on something his writing was slow but precise, especially when it came to his name. It had progressively turned into squiggly lines in the rough shape of his name.

Alexis handed him the paper she had set in between two of the books so it wouldn’t catch air and fly away on her return trip. “O-Okay.”

Isaac took the paper and the fountain pen from the desk and signed next to the list of books he was taking. “Thanks Alexis.” Isaac told her and handed her back the paper. “Also, sorry. I am going to mix you two up at some point so I’m apologizing now.”

Alexis giggled and even Alecia chuckled a little. “It’s fine. The Guild Master used to do it all the time. He gave up after a few weeks and just went back to calling us both Alice.”

Isaac chuckled and shook his head. “I might end up doing the same. Ya know, you could each at least not dress exactly the same. That would probably help.”

Alexis beamed. “That is why we do.” She said proudly. Which got a laugh from Isaac.

“Well we’ll leave you two to your work. Thanks again. See ya tomorrow.” He said and turned to leave with the books in his hands.

“Until next time.” Lenna said and followed after him.

“See you!” Alexis called out.

Her sister, Alecia, bid her farewell much quieter but still loud enough that the pair could hear. “Bye.”

Isaac and Lenna walked back to their room and finished out their day. The next few hours were relaxing and quiet much to Lenna’s delight. Even Isaac didn’t seem to mind the near total silence as he read through the volumes on different native and sometimes invasive creatures in the Innerworld. Even drow guards, infantrymen, magecore, and elite troop information was present.

Lenna had glanced at some of the notes on her kin and former comrades. “How accurate is it?” Isaac had asked.

“Close enough. There are variations from city to city. Different clans tend to add their own touch.” She replied.

“So are these more like baselines then?” He questioned.

Lenna nodded. “Mostly. The guard information is only about Contantis. That is to be expected. The two cities have a long history.”

Isaac turned his head to see her face. “A bloody one?”

“Yes.” She replied somberly.

—

The following day found the pair rested and walking into the Guild Hall. One of the twins was sitting behind the desk as always. Isaac walked up and she looked up. “Good morning.” She told them. Her eyes settled on Lenna for a bit longer than they had Isaac which was opposite to usual.

Lenna was more quiet and tended to blend into the ambiance. At least she tried to. This meant that Isaac and his affinity for conversation usually held people’s attention and kept it off of her. Even when there wasn’t a conversation going, people’s eyes tended to gravitate towards the shining silver eyes and smirk and away from the knight that trailed behind him.

“Yeah I have no idea.” Isaac said by way of greeting.

Alice giggled. “It’s going to stay that way.” She replied with a smile.

“Wo Lu back yet?” Isaac asked.

Alice shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t expect him back for at least another day or two. Maybe more if he finds something interesting.”

Isaac thought back to when he had asked about pay and remembered him being offered the normal pay for an electrum level bounty. “What level is he anyway? It’s dangerous to be alone out there. We’d know.” Isaac said and gestured between him and Lenna with a somber look on his face.

Alice glanced at Lenna again before answering Isaac. “Level nine. He’ll be fine. He’s fast, quiet, and hard to kill. He’s also smart enough to know when to run.” She assured him. “He’s been around a while.”

Isaac nodded. “Alright. I’ll take your word for it.” Isaac told her. “Any news about us getting paid?”

Alice perked up. “Yes. I have it in the back, hold on.” She told him and hurried into a back room. She returned with a satchel and sat back down on her stool. “It’s all in platinum coins. I hope you have a bank account. This might be a little too much to hide under your bed.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “Is that one of those bags you can stuff half a house into?”

Alice giggled. “You can’t put half a house in it but yes. They have a weight limit of five hundred pounds.”

“How much coin is that if you needed one of those to carry it?” Isaac asked, his shock and anticipation growing. Lenna had leaned in a little as well. This marked their first big pay out from being adventurers. It was also their pay from completing their first real bounty.

“After guild tax, ten thousand three hundred forty seven gold, two silver, and nine copper.” She replied with a smile. “The biggest one in over a year. Congratulations. The wagon wasn’t worth very much considering but the two completed bounties, the ritual grade gold dust, and the quartz crystals put you up over ten thousand. The rest is from selling the armor and wagon.”

Isaac fell silent. He couldn’t even wrap his head around that much gold. They had saved up a thousand over the course of almost two weeks from hunting spiders. They had hunted so many that the price for spider parts had dropped by a few coppers each. “So, there’s a thousand platinum coins in there?” He asked skeptically.

“Uhuh.” She replied.

“How much is the bag?” He asked.

She chuckled. “This one isn’t for sale. There is a magic shop a few buildings down that sells potions and a few lower end magic items like this one. They usually run around six hundred gold I think.” She explained.

Isaac frowned as he stared at the bag. “How much do you think all that coin weighs?”