Guild Pit Stop

After Drew entered the back room of the Night's Hold he found himself in unassuming storage and crafting spaces.

"Follow," Kull grunted, taking the lead for a moment.

'I guess he is the expert,' Drew thought and nodded.

The Half-Giant navigated through the cluttered back rooms and they quickly arrived at an area that resembled a forge.

A flame was burning gently in a large pit and various tools for armor and weapon making surrounded the area.

Kull ignored everything in the room other than the fire. He walked towards it without fear and before Drew could shout in warning, he had already walked directly into the pit of flame.

"Cold," He grunted while motioning to the swimming flames around him.

"I see... Illusions again," Drew muttered as he followed Kull into the flames, despite his mind's innate desire to not be anywhere near it.

"Correct," Kull said before walking forward, slowly descending downwards.

Drew followed attentively and made sure to not make a miss step if at all possible.

A staircase was hidden beneath the illusion, it trailed down for a long distance before opening up into an incredibly large Guild Hall.

The width of the hall had to be at least 100 feet and the length stretched out farther than the eye could see. Large arches presented themselves near the top of the 50-foot tall ceilings.

'This is a bit much,' Drew thought as he saw the overwhelming design.

The decoration of the hall was a mix of black, grey, and white, yet the design didn't seem to fit the Black String's aesthetics. It was just too... regal.

'Why are there so many people?!'

The hall had thousands of cloaked individuals walking from station to station. These stations seemed to resemble shops and training halls and they were the hub of activity.

A cooling sensation filled Drew's mind for a moment, as his senses focused and his thoughts became fluid.

'These people cannot all be true members of The Black Strings,'

'It is likely that the Guild employs outsiders to do menial labor. They also most likely hire their tutors from outside the guild as well,'

'There is also a good chance that a good sum of these people are merchants or people who are sanctioned to trade within the Guild Hall,' Drew concluded as he started to notice that not all people in the hall wore black armor as he did.

Kull did not stop for Drew to continue thinking, however, and moved forwards towards where Drew's goal was.

Kull was almost past the main entrance when he hit some sort of invisible wall head-on. The force of the impact caused the invisible wall to ripple, as it became just barely visible to Drew and others.

"Pass please," A dry and old voice echoed out from in front of them.

Kull's shoulder's clenched after hitting the wall, but he stiffly moved towards what looked to be a small desk in the center of the entrance.

As they moved closer to the desk, Drew finally got a good look at the individual who stopped them.

It was an old man whose eyes were red from lack of sleep. His hair was made of patches of white wild strands that were separated by small patches of skin. His skin looked wrinkled beyond what any normal human could suffer, but despite his decrepit appearance, he had a look of intelligence and power in his eyes that made Drew uneasy.

"Hmm," Kull grunted before snapping his fingers gently.

In an instance, a ring appeared on Kull's right hand that held the symbol of the guild upon it as well as a demonic-looking clawed hand.

He presented it in front of the old man and waited patiently.

'System... what's that guy's strength?' Drew asked curiously.

[Calculating...]

[Threat level evaluated]

[Masondriss Toldir is not human. Unknown race. This being is a powerful Mage and Curse Breaker. They have a direct Divination Magic Affinity, which is counted as a Unique/Legendary Affinity. This being has no detectable magical items on its body. Threat Level: Unknown]

'Useful information,' Drew sighed mentally as he stared at, yet again, some sort of legendary figure.

[...]

'I feel like powerful people constantly flock to me no matter what I do,'

'I seriously gotta stop getting involved with shit like this,'

"You are indeed a Hand of Rike," The man said after touching the ring gently.

"And you," He said before pointing a withered hand at Drew.

"Um... Does this work?" Drew asked as he passed him his new dagger, Void Tooth.

The old man's curled and wicked fingers snatched the blade from Drew's hand and twisted it in his palm with a wicked grin.

"This is a good knife... Void Tooth, Hmm..." The man muttered as he examined it.

"You do fit the dagger quite well," He said while eyeing Drew up.

"You got this... Anti-Magic aura about you,"

"Perfect for an owner of a Void Item," He said with a pleased smile.

Drew felt sweat creep down his spine as his hands got clammy.

'I guess this is what Divination magic is about...'

"Don't be worried, Child of Oleander,"

"I don't bite... often," The man said with a snarl-like grin.

"Oh... and you are, or was a Dark Hand. You may pass," The man said with a wink.

Masondriss passed the dagger back to Drew before motioning them forward. They began to walk further within the Guild Hall but Drew felt a tingling sensation in the back of his mind that made him stop in his tracks.

'Talk to the old geezer... Ask about a spell known as 'Dispel',' A familiar and dreadful voice echoed in the depths of his mind.

Drew's muscles twitched as his mind felt a sudden impulse and it wasn't long before he gave into it.

'That man... He is the first person who noticed anything about me. Perhaps he can help...' Drew made up a reason for his impulse.

He held a hand up to Kull, who was staring at him intently during his internal conflict. He turned around and walked back to Masondriss with a strong gut feeling burning within him.

"Sir," He said as he walked in front of the man once more.

"Yes?" Masondriss asked with a subtle smile on the edge of his lips.

"I had a question about something I ran into recently..."

"Have you heard of a spell called 'Dispel'?" Drew asked confidently.

The old man's body froze as soon as the word 'Dispel' left Drew's lips and his eyes glowed a gentle green.

"Dispel you say..."

"I know a thing or two about that spell," The man muttered.

His eyes widened once more as a sudden realization seemed to overcome him. He sat up straight from the crooked position he had been lounging in. His bones cracked and popped as he made the sudden movements but he didn't show a reaction to the pain that should have filled his old body.

"I see now,"

"You're the new one then..." He trailed off in thought.

"The new what?" Drew asked.

"Hmm,"

"You will find out sooner or later, I suppose I could spoil you a little," He said with a slight chuckle.

"I'll give you a hint,"

"You already died and this place is not your home," He said with a crooked smile.

Drew felt his heartbeat resound through his body as his head began to spin. It was hard to breathe with this unknown pressure that filled his mind.

But right before something worse could happen, the cold energy pulled him back to logical thought.

He took a deep breath as he raised his eyes back to the old man.

"That isn't really a hint, now is it?"

Kull seemed to remain unmoving as they spoke, not a single hint of emotion shone through his body.

"Ha Ha He!" He laughed loudly.

"Indeed! Indeed!"

"Don't you like the chase?!"

"The pursuit of answers?!" He madly shouted, though not a single person looked their way.

"Not really," Drew said calmly.

The old man laughed for a while longer before finally settling down a little.

"Fine, fine, fine," He muttered.

"It would be no fun if I answered your question... but I can offer a piece of advice for you being such a good sport,"

"Listen to the voice, trust it with your life. Only then will you ever have a chance of survival," He said in the most serious tone he had.

"And... don't lose those again," He said while pointing to the scythes hidden in Drew's jacket.

"They're more important than you think," He said with a chuckle before waving him away.

'Leave. Now,' The voice inside him whispered.

Drew felt an instinct fill him and didn't resist as he marched away from the strange creature that seemed to enjoy teasing him more than anything else.

Kull followed behind, but after a few moments seemed to snap out of some sort of reverie and coughed gently to get Drew's attention.

'My apologies for getting lost in thought,' A small scroll read.

'The enchanter is nearby, let me lead the way,'

After a quick nod from Drew, they headed forward.

It didn't take long to find the Guild Enchanter, though it was the furthest station from the entrance.

Compared to the other stations, the Enchanter station was barren.

'Must be because it requires a higher rank than recruit,' Drew thought as he approached a large blue semicircle that surrounded the station.

He approached the blue counter of the station and waited patiently as loud bursts of magic seemed to fill the inside of the workshop. He was tempted to call out or knock upon the counter but stopped after a sudden shriek coming from within.

"By The Beard of Bruno!" A woman's voice echoed out.

"I have not come across an enchantment I could not break!"

"And you will be no different!" she shouted as another round of magical explosions sounded out from within.

"Is this normal?" Drew asked Kull.

"Uh..." He trailed off sheepishly.