“When can we run the Tier Two dungeon?” Gideon asked, as Falcon joined them in the Mission Hall.

  She grimaced.

  “Normally, Guildies can request one dungeon a month, but we can do it sooner if we meet the requirements.”

  “Dare I ask?” Gideon asked.

  The ranger gestured to Forge and gave him a pained smile.

  “We need someone with their Dungeoneering Skill at Tier Two.”

  With a sigh, Forge reached up and scratched Cinder’s chin.

  “That would have been nice to know yesterday, before I spent nearly all of my points.”

  “Meh,” Gideon said.

  “Most Guildies don’t run a Tier Two dungeon for months, if not years, after their first run. They usually spend this time getting organized and working jobs.”

  Cinder took that moment to leap from Forge’s shoulder.

  They turned to see the dragon with his cat illusion, soar across the room and snatch a gold coin out of the air.

  The adventurer that had flipped the coin shouted in alarm before silently watching the cat rebound off a nearby wall and fly back to Forge’s shoulder.

  Forge summoned a coin to his hand and tossed it to the guildy.

  “I’m terribly sorry about that. My…cat…forgets that not everyone who tosses a coin in the air is inviting him to play.”

  The man laughed and walked over.

  “No harm done. And I get to tell my team that they missed out on seeing a flying cat. So, a double win.”

  He thrust his hand out.

  “Blue Glaive, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Forge shook the man’s hand and gave him a friendly smile.

  “I’m Forge, and this is most of my team.”

  Blue Glaive grinned back and then stopped, cocking his head to the side.

  “Wait. Are you the mirror-face paladin-guy?”

  Gideon laughed and gave Forge a friendly smack on the back.

  “Look at that. You’re already famous.”

  Forge grimaced and nodded.

  “I’m almost afraid to know what you heard about me.”

  Glaive laughed.

  “Nothing bad. Just that you had a weird spell and got to see the guildmaster. But it’s the fact that you’re a paladin of Honos that’s crazy.”

  The man beamed at him, then seemed to remember himself and laughed.

  “Sorry. It’s just that almost every one of the famous battles had a paladin leading the charge, and you just don’t see one every day.”

  Forge laughed.

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  The man looked at Cinder, who sat perched on Forge’s shoulder, and grinned.

  “I’ll have to see if I can get an animal companion myself at some point.”

  With a wave, he moved back to the rank two job board, took down a notice, and with a final wave, left the Job Hall.

  “That was weird,” Forge said.

  Gideon snickered.

  “You’re famous. Just the fact that you’re a paladin is going to have people watching you.”

  “Rude!” Cinder sent.

  Falcon stepped forward and scratched the dragon on his head.

  “Who was rude, him or us?”

  “Both.”

  Falcon picked up the dragon and held him in her arms.

  “The Guild frowns on fraternization between guildies until they reach rank three. That’s why we didn’t introduce ourselves.”

  “Why?”

  She gave the dragon a sad smile.

  “Because rank one and two guildies are generally still getting their basic skills, classes, and gear figured out. So, when they go into combat, whether in a dungeon or on a job, there’s a good chance of them dying.”

  She hugged the dragon.

  “Our job is dangerous, but we never really get used to loss. So, this is to protect us until we become powerful enough that it’s less common for us or our peers to fall.”

  “Sad.”

  “And pessimistic,” Forge said.

  He scratched the belly of the dragon as he lounged back in Falcon’s arms.

  “I’d rather have known a hero for the short time they were here.”

  A guildy walked up to the group and gave a friendly wave.

  “Hi. I just wanted to ask if I could pet the cat.”

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  Gideon stepped forward and gave the adventurer a friendly pat on the shoulder and leaned close.

  “I wouldn’t. The cat’s still getting used to his new foci and may be a little…explodey.”

  Cinder’s illusionary form glowed blue, and the woman stepped back with a grin.

  “Ha! Thanks for the advice.”

  The woman smiled at Cinder as she made her way past them to one of the many rank one job boards.

  Gideon watched the woman go, then turned back to Cinder.

  “Do you think you could make yourself look a little less inviting?”

  “Yes!”

  The illusion morphed, and a new black vest appeared on the cat, with the words: ‘Don’t Touch!’ written in glowing blue letters.

  “Good enough,” Gideon said.

  “I have a question,” Forge said, gesturing to the board.

  “Why are skills, classes, and dungeons all called tiers, but here they’re called ranks?”

  “It just differentiates things that are System created from things that are created by people,” Gideon answered.

  Forge nodded in thought.

  “Makes sense, I guess.”

  The group all stopped talking and turned to the doorway expectantly.

  A moment later, Lioness walked through the door with a wide grin.

  She held up the soft glowing party stone that she now wore on a necklace around her neck.

  “Okay, if I’d known how useful this thing was going to be, I would have insisted we bought one before our first dungeon run.”

  Gideon laughed.

  “They start at 1000 gold, and since they’re System integrated, they command a premium. And before you ask, no, there’s no recipe to create them.”

  “So, you can only get them through a dungeon drop?” Falcon asked, stepping in close to inspect the glowing orange crystal.

  “Back up,” laughed Lioness, as she pushed the shorter ranger back.

  Turning to stare at the rank one board, the cleric gestured at the many written notices.

  “Did you find us a job?”

  In response, Gideon handed her a job notice.

  Lioness read over it and handed it back.

  “Babysitting a noble? Really?”

  Gideon crossed his arms and stared at the cleric.

  “First, it’s not just a noble, it’s one of the Quality. Second, this individual owns a piece of property that would be perfect for our needs. And third, I called in a favor for us to get this, as it’s technically a Rank Two job.”

  Lioness matched his posture and crossed her own arms.

  “Then I suppose I should just shut up and quit complaining then.”

  “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Gideon replied.

  The pair glared at each other before breaking into laughter.

  Forge raised a hand.

  “Okay, can one of you explain to me what the Quality is?”

  “They’re just titled nobles who’ve carved a section of the city out for themselves,” Falcon said.

  Forge turned to Gideon, and the man shrugged.

  “She’s right. There’s a lot of rich nobles that are part of the Crafters Guild. They pay for their title and get all the benefits of being a noble. The Quality, however, were all bestowed titles by the Kingdom, and get to live in a specific part of the High District.”

  “So, one of the big estates that you can see in the distance from the Shopping District?”

  Gideon nodded.

  “Don’t they have their own guards?” Forge asked.

  The swordsman grinned.

  “Let me explain how this works. Guards that work for nobles are generally either retired Kingdom Army or guildies. Once a guildy gets powerful enough, they’ll get hired on as a private guard captain for an obscene salary, and they handle the hiring of the rank-and-file guards.”

  Forge frowned at the explanation.

  “Wouldn’t even a rank two adventurer be too low level for that sort of thing?”

  Gideon shook his head.

  “The nobles found that if they plant the seeds early, they get a better long-term investment. So, they’ll hire a guildy, or even a team of guildies early on, and back them. Then, when they reach the higher ranks, they already have their loyalty.”

  Lioness harrumphed.

  “But that’s not what this is. This gig is to provide protection for a few days. Not a long-term job.”

  Falcon nodded in understanding.

  “It’s an audition. You go in, prove you can do the job, and then maybe get hired.”

  The ranger’s eyes fixed on the cleric.

  “It also weeds out those with personality issues.”

  To her credit, Lioness had the good grace to appear contrite.

  “I swear I’ll be on my best behavior. Besides, it’s not me you should be worried about.”

  Lioness stepped over and took Forge in a side hug and grinned at the others.

  “We have a holy knight of righteousness. How do you think he’s going to react to the sort of things that nobles get up to?”

  Gideon sighed dramatically.

  “Do you think I’d recommend we do this for just any noble? I made sure this one is on the up-and-up.”

  “If he’s such a great employer, why’s he auditioning new guildies?” Lioness asked.

  Forge attempted to escape the Amazonian cleric’s grasp, but she held him firm.

  Gideon and Falcon both grinned at his plight, and he looked up at the tall, broadly smiling cleric.

  “I wish I’d increased my strength before. This is fantastic.”

  Clearing his throat, Gideon continued.

  “In answer to your previous question, it seems the noble fired the original team.”

  He held up a hand, forestalling further questions.

  “And no. I don’t know why. Perhaps we can ask him.”

  “And the noble’s name?” Falcon asked.

  “Sturtevant.” Gideon replied.

  ***

  Jackal sat patiently as he listened to Zap’s recount of the previous night’s activities.

  He closed his eyes.

  “And you’re sure no one died?”

  The troll shook his head.

  “No. I was careful.”

  “Did you run into any guildies?”

  Zap again shook his head, and the guildmaster sighed.

  “Which means they either weren’t there, or saw it was you, and refused to do anything.”

  Jackal touched a rune on his desk, and a few moments later, a gnome walked in.

  “Blip, I need you to find out who from the Guild worked for the Sturtevant. Also, get me everything you have on Count Drascol.”

  The gnome nodded.

  “I’ll pull the info on Drascol, but I can already tell you about the team.”

  Zap frowned, not turning around, and tried to sink down in his chair.

  “Let me guess. They came in this morning to inform us they were fired?” Jackal asked.

  The gnome nodded.

  “Just so.”

  Zap stood.

  “I’ll take care of them.”

  Jackal stared at him.

  “And by take care you mean…?”

  “I mean, I’ll give them some money and maybe some gear, then work on finding them a new job,” Zap growled in his booming voice, turning to head out the door.

  Blip hurriedly moved himself out of his path and looked at the guildmaster questioningly.

  “Blip, make sure nothing about this gets out!”

  He stood and called to the giant making his way out of the room.

  “Zap, take care of this. Use whatever resources you need, but get it done before it becomes a problem.”

  Zap stopped, held up a fist, then continued out the door.

  Jackal returned his attention to the gnome, who turned from the retreating form of Zap to face him.

  “Where’s our paladin’s team now?”

  Blip summoned a glowing gold orb to his hand and stared at it.

  “They’re leaving the job hall now.”

  “All of them?”

  The gnome nodded with a grin.

  “Yes. They bound a rank-one party stone, so the dragon’s focus is allowing me to track all of them.”

  Jackal leaned back in his chair and let out a long-suffering sigh.

  “I hate this. We’re breaking the rules of the Guild by spying on them.”

  Blip remained silent but moved to sit in a chair.

  “Blip, do you want to be guildmaster?” he asked.

  “Not on your life.”

  “How about Sapphire or Zap? Do you think they’d take the position?”

  The gnome laughed.

  “Sapphire’s not ready, and Zap is…Zap.”

  “Maybe we could get someone from one of the southern guildhalls,” Jackal said.

  “The city’s not ready for a…unfamiliar guildmaster. Besides, they’d never agree to wear an illusion crystal.”

  “So, I should…?”

  “Stop whining and get back to work,” Blip said with a grin.

  Sighing one last time, Jackal straightened up in his chair and pointed at his diminutive assistant.

  “Fine. But eventually the people of the southern lands will make their play for full integration, and I’d prefer it if they didn’t destroy any towns to make their point.”

  The gnome’s expression turned serious.

  “Do you think they’ll go that far? Destroy an entire town?”

  Jackal shrugged.

  “Destroy it or save it from itself. You can never tell with the Kram lot.”

  “And what will we do?” Blip asked.

  “Probably help them,” Jackal said.

  The gnome nodded his head in thought.

  “Blip!” Jackal shouted.

  Startled out of his musings, the gnome jumped down from the chair.

  “Yeah boss?”

  “Get me the Drascol file!”

  Then, as an afterthought, Jackal called out to the retreating gnome.

  “Also, find out what job they took!”

  The gnome hurried out the door, and Jackal watched him go.

  Standing, he turned to gaze out through the large window that faced out into the city.

  He touched a rune along the window’s edge and dialed in the image until the city’s capital came into focus.

  It was time to get political.