NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: The Guild
My lovely Ann had buried herself deep beneath the sheets, but found herself very quickly shaken awake as my entire bulk impacted her. She frantically looked around the room while struggling like a headless chicken for a moment. Then she noticed me, and the mix of confusion and panic on her face turned into a smile.
She wrapped her hands around me, and I just stayed there, buried in the blankets with my feet dangling off the bedside for a few moments. “Morning sunshine,” I said, my voice muffled by the fabric. I felt her pat the back of my head.
“Morning,” she said, and I could almost hear her smile.
Slowly I pushed myself off the blankets, then acquired my target and let myself drop again. My face smooshed into her cheek, and we both went tumbling into the pillow. Laughter bubbled from Ann as she hugged me tighter.
“Love you too, dummy!” she said, running her fingers through my hair. I simply grinned stupidly, and enjoyed the moment for as long as it would last.
After a few minutes, I slowly raised myself from her arms and gave her a small peck on the lips. “I’m back in Eden, if you haven’t noticed,” I told her, and Ann chuckled again.
“I did, I did. Glad to have you here. How long were you on Ne-, sorry, how long were you over?” she asked.
“Just about three days. Met with my mom first, then my brother. It was nice. Also met with dad and Rey. Slept well, then came right back here,” I said. Ann nodded at me, somewhat proud.
“Good,” she said. “Genuinely. I’m glad you met all your family,” she smiled.
I just nodded at her, then squeezed her tightly again. After a moment I let go. “Yeah. It went okay. I’m… mostly glad I went through with it.” My smile was crooked. “Anyway, I got a mission to pay back my hospital bills. Wanna gather up everyone?”
“Sure, sure,” she said, tapping me on the back. “Just as soon as you get off me.” She grinned.
“Right, sorryyyyy,” I murmured, then shuffled off, and hopped outta the bed. Ann quickly got into regular clothes, and we headed down. After banging on all other doors, of course.
Ann and I settled in the lounge, Liam giving us a quick nod as we came down the stairs. “Morning,” Ann said. I felt a bit of air brush by my ears, and was reasonably sure he’d returned the greeting.
There was a small rumble from Ann’s stomach, which prompted me to smile. “You want some breakfast too, Liam?” The fact that he somehow managed to convey a nod through the wind without me even looking at him was honestly impressive.
I went over to the fridge. Eden had those; there were a couple crafting mages among the Edians, and the Reflectors' fancy skills had made such technology far more common. From it, I grabbed mostly veggies and some monster meat.
Animals weren’t generally consumed on Eden. It wasn't common on the other side, either, though for a much different reason.
With the smog in the air, animals didn’t really have a good time outside, so large scale farming had become a lot harder. Plants, however, were much more easily resilient to it all, especially after some fancy genetic tinkering. Therefore, it became the main source of food. Pretty much all meat had been replaced with plant-based alternatives.
On Eden, on the other hand, animals were mostly seen as useful. They drew carriages and had the status of much more companions and helpers, rather than quick meals. Therefore, most meat had to come from the monsters. Sure, some people could tame them, but the rate at which they bred and tried to eat anyone in the cities made them a liability.
Also, why waste anything when they already have to die? Some of the meat was also loaded with Qi, or Mana, sometimes even Divinity. Monsters were sometimes hunted for it, but given the fact that they also wished to consume us for the same reason, it was a back and forth.
However, monster meat was expensive, and could be used in alchemy, so we didn’t keep much of it stocked. Instead, I prepared quite a few vegetables, brewed some tea for everyone, while Ann sliced up some bread. We did have jam and some plant-based butter. No cows on Eden, nor any culture of drinking milk. In fact, most of the Edians found the idea weird as hell.
They did, however, have other things that much made up for it. A pulp from a mix of local plants, ulunberries, glorberries, and ijaberries, if I remembered correctly, made for an incredible spread, which I loved. In general, there was a huge variety of species on Eden, which was only mostly based on the fact that the planet still had breathable air, and partially on all the magic stuff.
I also took out some of those, and was just beginning to set the table, when Marie came down the stairs. We hugged, but didn’t speak. She usually needed a bit to be ready for socializing in the morning.
Matt and Emilia, on the other hand, practically bounded down the stairs, lured by the sweet scent of food. In fact, I could reasonably bet that one or both of them had missed my smacking their doors, and only just started heading down, given how frizzy Matt’s hair was.
The man in question grinned at me as he took two fingers to his forehead then quickly pulled them away in a greeting. “Good to have you back, Fio.”
I grinned at him, giving a short wave. “Good to be back, Matt. How’ve you been?”
“Swell, swell. Didn’t nearly die for a couple of days, nice change of pace,” he said with a teasing smile, as he plopped down onto the couch, bouncing Marie for a second. She stared at him with a glare that could kill, having almost spilled some tea on herself and he quickly settled down a bit.
“Well, about time we change that, then. Got a mission from the temple to make up for my debt. We’re moving out to castle Arhan, then a bit further into the frontier. Something needs some doing there, that’s all I know.” I gave a shrug at his loud groan.
“Do I get to refuse?” he muttered, and I already chuckled before Marie smacked him.
“”No!”” everyone in the guild echoed, forcing another groan from Matt as a few of us burst into laughter.
“Now go eat, so you grow big and strong,” I said, shoving some bread in his mouth. “You never know, maybe you’ll be stranded in a cave with nothing but rats ‘n fungus for a couple weeks next, eh?” I shot him my most evil grin, and his eyes widened in faux terror as he swallowed, then grinned right back.
“Alright, alright, I got it,” he said, smirking at me. “You know I always got your back, Fio.”
I nodded, and conversation lowered a bit as knives and spoons were put to use. The table found itself emptying quickly, with everyone laughing a bit at the occasional jab or joke. There was not a moment when the air seemed cold or thick between everyone. I enjoyed every second of it.
Eventually, Marie took her cup from her lips and put it out of her hands for the first time. Well, the first time she wasn’t doing so only for a refill or a bite of something else, at least.
“So, Fio. Your mission, right? Let’s hear it, then. What’re we doing?” she asked.
The fact that it wasn’t even a question if everyone was coming made me smile. “Well, Lurelia apparently wants us to the north of castle Arhan. Apparently, there’s a nearby nest. We need to clear it, I’m guessing?”
“You’re guessing?” Emilia probed.
“I need to ‘do what must be done’,” I elaborated, sticking my tongue out at her for a moment, getting a chuckle in return.
Marie nodded at me. “We should get the twins, then. Long journey without a healer would be a poor decision.”
Everyone nodded at that. If you had to go far, any scrape could turn into a serious issue. One we didn’t necessarily need to deal with. Qi and Mana made it easier, of course, but Divinity was simply on another level when it came to recovering. And “smiting down the vile”, but that was another matter entirely.
“On my way,” Liam said, the air brushing past our ears as he already sunk into the shadows. He was the youngest in the guild, and sometimes a bit eager to prove himself. Talented kid, too. Could’ve landed a spot somewhere bigger, but settled for something more “relatable” according to him.
I quickly shook my head to stop the train of thought, dragging myself back into the present and taking another bite from my slice of bread. Gods, the berry pulp was just too good.
“Ah, did everyone else heal nicely by the way?” I asked into the comfortable silence after some time. “I imagine you all didn't get off scot free either.”
Emilia snorted at me. “Shattered both my arms, and cracked a couple ribs. Not free at all, Fio. Me and Matt needed some gateway rest, Marie and Liam got away with a good chunk of healing. Ann and the twins were mostly fine,” she explained.
“I’m sorry it happened-” I started, but the taller woman interrupted me, putting her hand on my shoulder from across the table and looking me in the eyes.
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” she said, completely serious. Her tone was so sure I didn’t respond for a moment. Her hand squeezed my shoulder. “So would everyone. Matt won’t tell you, but he cried when you were gone.” He blushed, but didn’t deny it. “We grieved you Fio, having you back is the greatest reward I could’ve ever asked for.”
With that she patted my shoulder heavily, leaned back, and turned her serious expression into a wide grin. “So, go on and eat up. We got a journey to take in the name of our hero, Fio! Saved all our asses for sure.”
Not too long later, Liam brought in the twins. They finished whatever was left, and helped me do the dishes. Both of them expressed their happiness with the guild, and thanked me for saving them as well.
It was terribly embarrassing, and an equally fond memory. I smiled almost that entire morning. Ann and I packed together, taking a few minutes to simply cuddle. And not long after, we were off for castle Arhan.