Wyn set the magical tablet down on the large, circular table in the guild’s war room. John and Marcy set the other two down near it.

  “Well, damn,” Cedric said. He moved one tablet to the side of the one they just obtained in the secret room. The bottom left of the stone was jagged and crooked, like someone chiseled a piece away. But the top right part of the other tablet was similarly jagged and crooked, too.

  When he set them beside each other, the two broken sides seemingly fit together. Not a perfect match, but it was definitely obvious the two were connected at one point at their corners.

  Wyn immediately grabbed his lantern and shook it, causing a green glow to form. He preferred the green color as it was a nice contrast to magical runes, and had learned over time that other colors didn’t make them appear as easily, such as blue or red.

  Tasha gasped. The runes on both tablets formed the side of an image, and two of the curved layers met together on the tablets forming a continued quarter of a circle. The smaller runes between the lines appeared to be a continuation, too.

  “Safe to say they’re connected,” Marcy said. “Wyn, does it say anything else?”

  Wyn shook his head. “The runes are basically the same. Just words or small two- or three-word phrases, nothing more. Not like full sentences or explanations.”

  Tasha tilted her head to the side, nearly leaning all the way parallel to the floor. She pointed to the tablets that were now highlighted under Wyn’s light. “Does that look like part of a class mark to you?”

  Everyone else followed Tasha’s movements and tilted to the side. Wyn wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at, so instead he rotated the tablets on the table. Sure enough, Tasha was right. They connected and formed what looked to be part of a class mark. It had the familiar portions of circles and runes between them, as well as what looked to be part of a symbol on the edges. If there was another tablet that fit with the pair, it would likely show a greater portion of the missing symbol.

  “I wonder what it means?” John asked. “That’s still not much to go on.”

  “But it’s something,” Cedric said. “An unknown class? Or a secret one?”

  “Or an ability from a class that's incredibly powerful,” Marcy said.

  Wyn acknowledged that the possibilities truly were endless. There was no way of knowing at the moment and with the limited information they had. But the fact that they had some connection was huge, and likely important. Cedric said that there was no item like these at all, and if they were something new then they wanted to be the ones to discover it.

  Cedric picked up the third tablet that didn’t fit along with the others. It also had similar curves on it that resembled parts of circles of a class mark, but the orientation was wrong. “If we believe these pieces form a complete symbol, then this piece goes somewhere else in the larger picture.” He placed it below and to the right of the two tablets, moving it inch by inch until it appeared to possibly find a spot.

  “It also means there are more of them out there,” John said. “We have three, but it’s pretty barren.”

  “Probably nine pieces,” Marcy said. “It’s a common puzzle makeup. If we assume the two that join are the second on the top row and the first on the middle row, then it could be nine.”

  “At minimum,” Cedric said, finally letting the odd tablet rest on the table. “This one looks like it possibly would go in the third spot on the bottom row. And that’s if the symbol is the complete picture and not part of something larger.”

  John groaned. “Gods you’re making my head hurt! Even having nine pieces is a lot, and you’re talking about more? With a bigger symbol than this?”

  “We just don’t know,” Wyn said. “Not yet, at least. If we keep finding the pieces then we can start putting some more theories to it. But for now, we just need to keep them safe and keep doing what we’re doing.”

  “Considering it took months to get these three that’s all we can do,” Marcy said. “But yea, point taken.”

  John sat down and sighed, staring at the tablets. “I wonder what kind of power they have? I bet it’s something incredible. It just has to be. Can you imagine?”

  “We already have incredible power,” Wyn said. “How many other tier three Climbers do you know compared to the number of Climbers we see daily? And for that matter, how many tier four Climbers do you know? We already have power. I don’t necessarily want more of it.”

  “Power is a slippery slope,” Marcy said. “You can change the world with enough of it, for good or bad. And we all know people who weren’t good and wanted power.”

  John nodded and smiled. “I know that. I just love magic items.”

  The others laughed, playfully smacking John on the arm or making fun of him.

  Wyn looked at each of them and was grateful to have them as his teammates. His friends. Not everyone was so cavalier about the magic so prevalent in Alestead, and he was relieved that they weren’t the type who sought power above all else.

  He knew some who were like that. The Faceless Four came to his mind immediately.

  Ever since he first met them during a guild meeting, they had consistently been showing up to him, their group, or their guild. Not aggressively, but mysteriously. First it was just requesting a meeting. Then it was showing up at the base of Alestead when no one else was around. Then it was outside the Silver Step.

  How they knew where to find him sent a chill down Wyn’s spine.

  It was only a matter of time before they would be more aggressive with their efforts to talk to Wyn. He knew they had questions about his lantern and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. When Gregory and Caryn threatened them after showing up at the guild house, they backed off for a while before showing up to Wyn and his team privately. They weren’t stupid, and they were clearly strong. Which was a deadly combination.

  The realization that the guild’s protection was about to be lost when they disbanded wasn’t lost on him, either. Starting up another guild would hopefully help, but only time would tell.

  A loud crash outside the room made everyone go silent. They looked at each other before settling on Marcy. She paused, focused, and then sighed.

  “It’s them again.”

  They all knew what that meant. Gregory and Caryn were fighting.

  Muffled yelling and another crash made them all move. John, Cedric, and Marcy each took a tablet to store while Wyn and Tasha made for the door. Opening it, they walked out past the hallway into the dining hall and were surprised at what they found.

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  Both Gregory and Caryn were on the ground in an area where some tables and chairs had been moved away from the hearth. Faye, Brett, and Nigel were standing near each other, looking down on the two men. Nigel and Brett had looks of concern, while Faye looked as angry as Wyn had ever seen her.

  The three of them looked at Wyn and Tasha with varied expressions as Gregory and Caryn scrambled to their feet.

  Tasha leaned towards Wyn, her voice low. “I think we should stay out of this.”

  Gregory pointed a finger at Caryn and opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped. He slowly turned his head towards Tasha and Wyn. Caryn followed him and they both stared.

  Wyn gave a flat smile. “We didn’t mean to interrupt. Ignore us.”

  Caryn scoffed. “Ignore you? The one who’s fucking leaving us?” His words slurred and he swayed while he stood. His eyes looked bloodshot.

  “Caryn,” Faye said. “Enough.”

  “No, Faye, not enough! These damn Climbers came in and completely wrecked everything we built! And now they’re leaving to start up their own damn guild!”

  “We didn’t do shit,” John said, suddenly standing beside Tasha. “It was Lucy and the Assembly that did that, not us.”

  “She was still part of your team, you damn idiot.”

  “And who put her on our team?” Marcy said, pushing her way past Wyn and Tasha to stand just in front of them. “If you can recall, we didn’t want her on our team. That was your own decision.”

  Caryn balled his fists and moved forward but Gregory held him back. “Enough, Caryn. Go sober up.”

  Caryn pushed Gregory’s hands off of him. “You can’t fucking tell me what to do! Get off me!” He tried to push Gregory but the Knight sidestepped and Caryn stumbled forward. He caught himself before he fell to the ground, clutching the side of a table for support.

  “Gods,” Faye said. She walked over and helped Caryn up. “Go wash up. We can talk later.”

  Caryn huffed and stormed off without another word. Before he completely left the dining hall, he kicked a chair that completely splintered and broke apart.

  Wyn shook his head. Magically enhanced people were not good to have arguments with. Especially when drunk.

  “What in the hells is going on?” Cedric asked.

  Gregory sighed and dusted off his clothes. “I’m sure you can make an assumption.”

  “These two are just having another… disagreement,” Faye said.

  “Is that what you’d call it?” Nigel asked, speaking for the first time. “Looks like Caryn was just being an ass again.”

  “He’s just upset,” Gregory said. “Can you blame him?”

  Nigel didn’t answer.

  Wyn didn’t want to interject or put himself in this situation. The others needed to sort this out amongst themselves. He didn’t blame them for how they reacted, but he wasn’t about to join them, either. They likely needed time and counsel to cope with the loss of their guild.

  But Wyn just wasn’t that person for them. He and his team were the newest group to join, and even then had only been in the guild for a month before Lucy gave the news about the Assembly’s involvement. That was the beginning of the end, too. Caryn was a little too loose with his words and being drunk certainly didn’t help him be tactful in what to say, even if it was out of line.

  It didn’t help that Faye told them about Wyn and his friend’s plan to start a new guild. Which was likely the entire reason for the argument, the more Wyn thought about it.

  “We should probably be going,” Wyn said, wanting to leave with as little difficulty as possible.

  “Maybe so,” Gregory said. “And Wyn?”

  Wyn stopped.

  “Please don’t take it personally,” Gregory continued. “Caryn is eccentric, but he’s not normally this bad. He’s just upset about the guild falling apart.”

  “I know that,” Wyn said. “Honestly, we all are. This was something we wanted for a while. Hells, it was John’s dream and he practically begged me to join.”

  Gregory chuckled. “I’m glad you did. I saw a lot of potential in all of you. In the guild. When Faye told us you were planning to start your own, well…”

  “It felt like a betrayal,” Nigel finished.

  “It’s not,” John said.

  Nigel sighed. “I know. It just felt like it. We’re falling apart and you’re already planning on how to replace us.”

  “We’re not planning that,” Wyn said. “Honestly, we loved your guild dynamic. So much so that we wanted to do it again. If we want longevity as a team, being in a guild together is the best way to do it. And now that my sister is climbing and in the second tier, I want her as close to me as possible. It only makes sense for us to be in one together.”

  Gregory furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s why you wanted to start a guild?”

  Wyn looked at him in confusion. “Yes? When we left to sell the farm, we met with a business partner that’s going to work with our two groups. Arabelle has been setting it up after our deal with Benedict and his shop to ensure our future, and has really grown into the merchant lifestyle. We both want to climb together and being in a guild is the easiest way since we’re not on the same team. No offense, but trying to take over this guild instead would be like trying to save a drowning ship. We'd all rather restart on our own.”

  Gregory slowly nodded. “That’s… understandable. And a very noble gesture. I’m sorry… I’m sorry for accusing you.”

  Wyn shrugged. “I don’t blame you for being upset just like I don’t blame Caryn. I really am sorry about the guild. I hope things work out for all of you.”

  Wyn and his group left to return to their wing. Faye, Nigel, and Gregory cleaned up the dining room, putting tables and chairs back in place.

  Faye stopped, holding a chair, then started laughing. “Why are we doing this? We’re getting kicked out of the house in a few days. Who cares?”

  Gregory looked at her and Nigel, then started laughing. Faye and Nigel quickly joined him, and soon they were sitting in chairs or leaning against the table from laughter.

  Gregory wiped tears from his eyes and took one more look around the room. “Maybe it’s for the best we leave. Our name is marred, now.”

  “We can’t control the things people say,” Nigel said.

  “Even though most of it is true,” Faye said. “I don’t even know when the Assembly got their dirty claws in us.”

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Gregory said. “Even our team has fallen apart.”

  Faye looked between the two Knights. She then stood and patted both of them on the shoulder. “We should discuss joining Wyn’s guild at some point. We thrived together, but maybe we should let someone else run things for a while.”

  *****

  The scorpion twitched once before going still, then disappeared in black smoke back to Alistair. The fifth monster behind it stepped up to take its place, and Arabelle was ready to kill it.

  Adam, the group’s Soldier, was working with Brianna, a Pugilist, to focus on one of the bosses. Adam was their heavy armor and hammer specialist whose skills increased when fighting beside an ally, and Brianna wore gauntlets and had unique hand-to-hand skills that made her a true damage dealer. Together they made a good combination to hold down and hurt a single opponent, and the scorpion the size of a bull was their current focus.

  The others in the team focused on the second monster, and had it nearly killed. Penny, a Viking, used her glaive and self-buffing Battlecry skills to both hold and damage the enemy. Lydia, their Hydromancer, blasted the monster with one water spell after another, and was both keeping the monster distracted and restrained while whittling away at its life.

  Oren, the team’s leader and Divine Soul, stood in the middle of everyone giving them orders and directions while coated in sweat and breathing heavily. He was able to heal, defend, and buff the group, utilizing spells and area of effect buffs boosted by his unique Divinity ability that provided a small beneficial effect based on his own choosing. It acted like a curse for him, though, as he suffered while they were improved. His preferred one was to boost mana recovery and use, which allowed everyone to have decreased mana cost of skills and spells and heightened recovery at his detriment of a constant loss of mana and stamina.

  It was a powerful boost at the cost of temporary suffering, though it did leave him particularly vulnerable at times.

  “Arabelle, hold the last one!” Oren said.

  Handling the minions at the end of the fourth floor was Arabelle’s task, and she was performing it well. She pulled her whip back and readied herself for another attack, slowly repositioning herself to attack the last smaller scorpion.

  The monster pulled back its stinger and Arabelle raised her physical shield with her left arm. She timed a Shield spell that broke from the monster’s strike but diminished it enough that she easily blocked the hit with the small round shield. Rearing back her weapon, she whipped out at the monster.

  Since upgrading to Ruby Mageblade, her Arcane Strike morphed into Arcane Shatter. It gave her the ability to cast spells through her weapon, with a unique additional ability - the more intense the initial impact, the greater the effect.

  She mentally cast Firebolt through her whip, and the moment the end cracked against the scorpion the spell went into effect. Fire boomed over the monster like a raging inferno, exploding its front half into fire as its body erupted in flames. She pulled the whip back and watched as it died.

  Brianna groaned in pain as she rolled on the ground, and Oren quickly readied a healing spell.

  “Arabelle!” Oren called as he healed the Pugilist.

  Arabelle stepped to the boss and cast Frostblast through her whip, and when the familiar crack hit the side of the boss its left pincer and most of its body was frozen in a chunky block with a thunderous clap. It stumbled to the side and fell from the increased weight, chittering in anger. Adam quickly struck the beast over and over, growling in anger as he smashed it into smoke.

  “It’s dead,” Arabelle said. “You can stop, now.”

  Adam looked back at Arabelle, fury in his eyes. He calmed once he saw Brianna up and walking around. She rotated her shoulder a few times and waved to him, acting as though nothing happened.

  “That was reckless,” Oren said, when the group was gathering the loot. “You should have pulled back when the monster turned.”

  Brianna waved him off. “Yea, I know. I’m sorry. I was hoping to kill it quickly but that damn stinger was faster than I expected.”

  “At least you’re alright,” Adam said. “Next time just let me take the hits, okay?”

  “Or me,” Penny said, tapping her chest with a fist. “I can take them very well.”

  The group continued their conversations while gathering what rewards they found before leaving. To Arabelle’s delight, they earned two more gemstones of good quality, which was a great addition to the four they already found since she returned. She didn’t mind giving up one of the green rarity items in exchange in order to satisfy her new business partner.

  After they returned to Alistair’s base and received the floor rewards, they discussed their plans for the remainder of the week. Arabelle barely heard them as she thought of her own plan to see Daniel, Benedict, and Wyn. She needed to make sure her affairs were in order before the start of the next season.

  It was going to be a busy week.

  Walking back under the light of the street lamps, she readjusted the pack on her shoulder. The shield strapped to the outside made it pull back, but her new rewards and coins were what really made it heavy. She decided that first thing in the morning she wanted to go to the trade district and get a magical pack to hold her gear. It was far too overdue.

  The city was quiet in the evening as hardly anyone was out, but Arabelle noticed two figures standing in the small patch of darkness between two street lamps. It wasn’t uncommon, but strange. She crossed the road to avoid them.

  Glancing back, they were gone.

  She nearly ran into two large, cloaked figures standing in the light ahead of her, and her pack clanged from her abrupt stop. One of them was an absolute giant of a person, if they could even be called a person. They were so wide they looked almost like a monster. The other was more average, though had a hand on their hip like a woman would when scolding someone.

  A sudden panic rose within her. She turned halfway away from the pair and reached for the dagger at her back. She desperately hoped she was being paranoid.

  “Hello,” the smaller person said. Their voice was muffled but still relatively clear. The light at their backs cloaked their faces, but Arabelle sensed they were covered by some sort of mask. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  Arabelle didn’t answer, instead grabbing the hilt of her dagger.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” the woman said, her voice more serious. “My brother doesn’t take kindly to acts of aggression. And we just want to talk.”

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