Miss Heng entered the command tent with a steaming cup of tea in her hand. It was early morning, and the encampment was stirring awake. The large meeting table was empty in the center of the tent, and Miss Heng took a seat on one of the chairs. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. It was going to be another long day. The tent flap parted, and Irvin entered. The older man’s gait and health had improved over the past couple of weeks, but he still had bags under his eyes, and his skin was paler than usual from the long hours of work. The two nodded to each other as Irvin rested the large ledger he carried onto the table. With a sigh, he settled into his chair.

  “We have known each other a long time, Miss Heng,” Irvin stated.

  The Amber Guard Captain narrowed her eyes with skepticism. “That we have. What are you getting at?”

  Irvin shrugged. “Nothing, it’s just that I wouldn’t have believed in a thousand years that you and I would be the Head Officials of a Wandering Spire event.”

  “Yes, well, circumstances have put us here, and we rose to the occasion,” Miss Heng stated.

  “True, that we did.”

  “Your report?” Heng asked.

  “Sure, to business then. You want the good news first or the bad?” Irvin answered, rubbing his sore knees.

  Miss Heng settled back in her seat. “The good, if you please.”

  Irvin nodded. “The Spirit Walkers have been extremely successful.”

  Miss Heng arched an eyebrow, interested in the update of her former team. “How have they been performing?”

  “They are working tirelessly. They have rescued dozens of teams already, and they continue to find and secure Safe Zones,” Irvin replied.

  “How many so far?”

  “One for each of the floors that were powered down.”

  Miss Heng nodded with a proud grin. “Good, that should speed up the evacuation efforts.”

  “One would think, but now the bad news,” Irvin replied, opening the ledger. “With the Safe Zone portals, we actually have more teams entering the Spire than leaving it.”

  Miss Heng leaned forward, drumming her fingers on the hard wooden table. “The promise of wealth outweighs the risk. That’s to be expected. Have Kash assign the Amber Guard to ensure that the portals are used only for evacuation.”

  “And the monsters escaping through the main exit?” Irvin asked. “The Amber Guard have been working hard keeping the beasts contained.”

  Miss Heng steepled her fingers. “Perhaps that would motivate the companies to stay in the encampment? The wealth will come to them.”

  Irvin opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but paused. “That could work. But you will need to authorize some sort of bonus pay for the Amber Guard if they will not be able to farm the monsters exiting the Spire.”

  Miss Heng ran her fingers through her dark hair. “A catastrophe is unfolding before our eyes, and everyone can only think about wealth. Very well, then. I will authorize it. It’s not like the Guild Heads will deny me.”

  “We don’t have the reserves,” Irvin replied, scanning the ledger before him.

  Miss Heng shook her head. “We will need to be backed by the Diamond Bank.”

  “They will want access to the Safe Zone portals.”

  “Too bad for them.”

  “Then they will charge us exuberant interest,” Irvin pointed out.

  Miss Heng shrugged. “It’s that or a bloody riot.”

  Irvin narrowed his eyes and asked. “Can the Guild Heads come here and pressure the Bank to reconsider?”

  Miss Heng shook her head. Irvin, ever worried about the Guild’s finances. After this event, it will be difficult for the Guild to recover. “The latest updates from the Communication Scrolls report that they have their hands full with the Lich escaping. He has raised armies of undead across the Ironfist kingdom.”

  Irvin gasped. “By the Gods.”

  Miss Heng nodded. “With the Elites and higher-ranked adventurers tied up here, they might even have a harder situation than us.”

  Irvin snorted, “I doubt that.”

  Miss Heng rubbed her face. Her tea was forgotten and no longer hot in front of her. “How much time do we have?”

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  Irvin raised his bushy grey eyebrows. “Until the Spire ends?”

  Miss Heng nodded.

  “Another two weeks. A month at the most.”

  Miss Heng sighed heavily and slouched as if all her energy left her body in that breath. “Have the Amber Guard ensure the portals are only used for evacuation. Recall our Adventurer teams, especially the Spirit Walkers.”

  “What of the scavenger groups still inside?” Irvin asked.

  “At this point, everyone should know that they need to evacuate. If they wish to get trapped, then to hell with them,” Miss Heng growled.

  “That is literally the case. What about the teams that entered the sixth floor?” Irvin asked.

  “Has an exit portal been discovered?”

  “No,” Irvin replied.

  “How many teams have entered?”

  “All the Elites plus Berserker Orn and the Frostsworn.”

  Miss Heng sighed. “Six teams and the Proven?”

  Irvin nodded.

  “Fools,” Miss Heng hissed and added, “There is nothing to be done then. They knew the risk.”

  “Aye,” Irvin replied, wiping his face. He was rather fond of the Proven and secretly hoped that they were well.

  “What else do we have?” Miss Heng asked.

  “The vampires that hid among the encampment.”

  Miss Heng rested her face in her hands and slowly looked up.

  Irvin continued, “ There were, unfortunately, some reported deaths, but they appeared to have stopped.”

  The tent flap burst opened and a man entered with a flourish. He was followed by a multi-colored haired woman in a heavy jacket with a high collar.

  “Speak of the devil,” Miss Heng remarked.

  “It is done,” Swordslayer boomed.

  The two ranking Guild Officials looked to Rainbow, who verified the sword fighter’s claim with a nod. Miss Heng narrowed her eyes.

  “Are you certain?” She asked.

  Swordslayer crossed his lean, muscled arms and snorted to Rainbow. “I told you we should have brought their heads.”

  Irvin wrinkled his face. “Mind your manners!”

  “Why? You question us!” Swordslayer boomed.

  “You are very good at hunting Vampires,” Miss Heng observed.

  Swordslayer sat in a chair and rested his dirty boots on the table. “Yeah, well, it could be said that I have gotten to know them. What is next for us? The sixth floor?”

  “The bloody Spire is set to leave in just a few weeks!” Irvin exclaimed.

  “Bah, that is plenty of time,” Swordslayer said.

  Rainbow shook her head but remained standing. “What will you have us do?”

  Miss Heng rubbed the bridge of her nose. Thank the gods, she is a sensible one. It would be a major headache if Swordslayer was unleashed.

  “Many more vampires fled the sixth floor and are working with the Lich,” Miss Heng stated.

  “So?” Swordslayer asked and then narrowed his eyes. “You are considering that we go after them, are you?”

  “They are,” Rainbow stated.

  “We better get paid,” Swordslayer growled.

  Irvin exclaimed, “The Lich is somehow using the vampires to raise undead armies! You will be saving lives!”

  “If that is the case. Then we need to be paid more,” Rainbow declared.

  Swordslayer slapped the table, laughing loudly.

  “We can get the Diamond Bank to unfreeze your assets,” Miss Heng said.

  “I thought it was the Empire that froze our money?” Rainbow asked.

  Miss Heng nodded. “All that concerns you is that we can get it unfrozen.”

  “That was money we already earned,” Swordslayer growled.

  “And it was taken from you, we can get it returned,” Irvin snapped, pointing a finger. “How you two could only think about money when your talents could be used to save thousands of lives!”

  “Easy, old man. We will do the job as long as the pay is right,” Swordslayer replied.

  Irvin, flustered, responded, “That’s what I just said! You only think about money and not your duty as Adventurers!”

  “We gotta eat, don’t we?” Swordslayer shot back.

  Rainbow raised her hand and spoke before Irvin could retort. “I assume you have more to offer than unfreezing our assets.”

  Miss Heng nodded. “It is believed that the Lich gave his phylacteries to the vampires, and that is how they are able to spawn undead so rapidly.”

  Swordslayer let loose a low whistle. “That’s a bloody problem. A bloody expensive problem if you ask me.”

  “No one did,” Irvin growled.

  Swordslayer chuckled.

  “There is a bounty of twenty five thousand golden ducats per phylactery. You can turn them in at any Guild Office or Academy,” Miss Heng stated.

  Swordslayer stopped laughing and sat up in his seat. “How many of these phylacta thingies are there?”

  “The estimates are around twenty,” Miss Heng answered.

  “A potential half million ducats? That’s not bad. How many hunters are offered this bounty?” Rainbow asked.

  Miss Heng answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

  “None can do what we do. Consider this easy money,” Swordslayer boasted.

  Rainbow narrowed her eyes, thinking. “Our assets are unfrozen now? We would like the bank to remove the interest we owe them.”

  “Bloody hells! You think the Guild is made out of money?” Irvin cried.

  “Done,” Miss Heng said.

  Her answer caught the others in the tent off guard and they were speechless. Rainbow, and Swordslayer shared a look with each other.

  “Time is money, and you are wasting it,” Miss Heng observed.

  Swordslayer smirked, rising up from his chair, and Rainbow nodded at the ranking Guild Officials. The two departed without another word, powered by the incentive of money.

  Irvin slumped back into his chair with a sigh. “Good riddance.”

  “With proper motivation and direction, those two can be a powerful asset,” Miss Heng said.

  “Aye, but when we run out of that motivation? They will be nothing but pure trouble.”