19. The Roosevelt Guild

Harvey and Erra stood before a large brown building– the Roosevelt Guild, Winterglaides' largest guild responsible for managing all the adventurers in the city. Erra cast a quick glance at Harvey, who proceeded to enter.

The events of last night with Zachary and his men had been explained to her by Harvey. While acting covertly as ghosts might have been more advantageous, it was impossible for non-adventurers to accompany on quests, even discreetly. Discovery of such involvement could lead to imprisonment for the adventurers involved.

Stepping through the doors, the resonating sounds of clanging metal and the lively chatter of party members engulfed them. Unlike the previous day when they entered the bar, the world continued its bustling activity. Harvey approached the receptionist, scanning the surroundings for Zachary, who was supposed to be present. "Hello, my name is Rya. How can I help you?"

"I'm waiting for someone, but I also want to register as an adventurer, both for me and my partner," Harvey explained, and Erra approached the receptionist's desk.

"Understood. We'll need to measure your mana levels and experience, then we'll assign you a rank. There's a test to become an adventurer, but if you're above a certain rank, it's possible to bypass that," Rya explained, presenting a contract, pushing it toward Harvey.

Harvey picked up a pen from the table, examining the contract for their enrollment in the Roosevelt Guild. He wrote down both his and Erra's names, passing the document back to Rya just as he heard a familiar voice calling out.

"Boss!"

Harvey turned to see Zachary and his men, none of them meeting his gaze directly. "You're late," Harvey remarked.

"About that, there was a little holdup with the guildmaster regarding quest rights, but not to worry. I've resolved everything," Zachary explained, scratching his head. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Filling out guild application forms," Harvey replied, gesturing towards the receptionist.

"Wait, wait!" Zachary hurried towards Rya. "They are min- part of my party, they are a part of my party for my next quest. Link them to my party, please."

"Understood," Rya began the linking process.

As Zachary conversed with Harvey, discussing minor details about the upcoming quest, the guild doors swung open, introducing an overwhelming presence.

Five individuals entered, their aura alone causing unease among everyone present. All eyes averted as they ascended the stairs, making their way to the guild master's room. Harvey observed them passing.

"Who are they?" Harvey inquired as they went by.

"Scorpion Talon. They're one of the strongest parties in the country, and possibly the world. If we fail to kill the Grey Stalker, any one of them could easily do it. That's how strong they are," Zachary explained.

"And who are you?"A voice questioned, and when Harvey turned, a member of Scorpion Talon stood beside him.

"Didn't you go upst-" Zachary was cut off by the Scorpion Talon member.

"Who are you, why are you hiding your face?" Hiakam spoke, staring at Harvey's mask.

"Hiakam, he's a foreigner there-" Zachary attempted to speak again, but this time he was punched in the gut so forcefully that he keeled over, coughing up blood.

"Don't speak when not spoken to again," Hiakam declared, swinging his fist and shaking off his knuckles. He now turned his gaze towards Harvey. "Remove the mask."

"No," Harvey refused, standing his ground despite Hiakam's imposing presence.

"I won't ask again. Yours might look different from those of the Hunting Dogs, but it shrouds your name. That's cause for suspicion," Hiakam asserted. "Now, I won't ask again. Remove your mask."

Erra attempted to get in front of Harvey, but he outstretched his hand, pushing her back. Unlike the last time at the bar, it wasn't about proving a point. This time, Harvey knew that if Erra got in front, facing Hiakam, he might harm her. "I respectfully decline your offer."

"What can I say, I played nice," Hiakam shrugged his shoulders.

"You sure did." As he replied, a fist was thrown towards Harvey. Quickly grabbing the fist, he redirected it away from his face.

Hiakam smiled as he withdrew his hand, throwing another punch. Just before it landed on Harvey, a voice called out. "Hiakam." A lady on the stairs interrupted, her face visibly annoyed. "The meeting has started already, you buffoon."

"I'm in the middle of something, Halo," Hiakam responded, struggling with Harvey, who had caught his second punch.

"I don't care, get up here now. The guild master wants to see you."

Hiakam smiled as he withdrew his hand, straightening his collar as he walked up the stairs. "You might've gotten lucky this time, but trust me, we'll meet again. You won't be so lucky then." Hiakam closed the door to the meeting room, and chatter immediately resumed in the guild.

"Wow, you held your own against Hiakam," Zachary said, standing up.

"Are you okay?" Harvey asked, staring at the door Hiakam had entered.

"Me?" Zachary laughed. "He's stronger than us, so he can kind of get away with these kinds of things, but no need to worry, I'm fine."

"Hm," Harvey thought while still staring at the door. Hiakam had mentioned the Hunting Dogs, were the Scorpion Talon aware of the faction, If they knew the way their masks looked, does that mean they had killed one of them as he had?

"Are you okay?" Erra asked, drawing Harvey's attention.

"I'm fine." He quickly answered, turning toward Rya who gestured for him.

After undergoing a few more procedures at the guild, including measuring their mana levels and becoming certified members, they were handed two tags. Erra received a silver tag, while Harvey was given a diamond tag. They were instructed to wear them around their necks.

It was part of the tiering system all guilds used, which went something like this:

Copper

Aluminum

Platinum

Silver

Gold

Diamond

Special ranks

Alexandrite

Orichalcum

Painite

The tags were recognizable throughout the city and granted adventurers access to places most regular people couldn't enter. To elevate their rank, adventurers had to take and complete higher-ranked missions. "Silver?" Erra glanced at her tag, then at Harvey's. "No fair."

Harvey smiled before they walked toward Zachary and his teammates, all heading toward Verdant, the second town in the city, where the Grey Stalker had been spotted last.

"Hi, I'm Worick," The second member of Zachary's party introduced, wielding gauntlets as one of the main attackers for the squad.

"I'm Kylian," The third member showcased his staff, indicating he was a mage.

"I'm Darwin," The final member, a healer, introduced himself, his potions and grimoire evident on his person.

"And I'm, although you already know, Zachary. The leader of this merry band of men," Zachary spoke, the katana on his waist shaking as he did. "Welcome to Chaos Bird."

"I'm Erra," Erra introduced, her expression betraying her confusion as she glanced back at Harvey, silently questioning his choice of companions.

"I'm... Jun, just Jun," Harvey introduced, aware that his name might ring a bell to them.

Erra glanced at him, wondering why he had lied but she didn't question it and slightly after their introductions, their journey to Verdant commenced.

Walking through the snow was dreadful, but at least with Zachary and his team bickering, it felt somewhat bearable. While Harvey felt like he was losing brain cells listening to their conversations, the presence of other people made him feel better. Nonetheless, he remained on edge, the memories of the last two teams he had joined lingering.

Kylian cast a frostbite healing spell on them as they continued their journey toward Verdant. It helped keep them warm, and although Harvey had already been running a fire spell on both himself and Erra, this felt much better.

"We're here," Zachary confirmed.

Harvey took a big step out of the snow, gazing at the city of Verdant. It felt like an entirely different place, not in the way Winterglaides felt different from Falusha but in a completely anachronistic sense.

The largest building in the town was a mechanical clocktower, already offsetting the entire fantasy vibe the game had laid out for most of the cities. As Harvey glanced at his side, observing the wooden-clad buildings, he noticed a striking resemblance between them and the houses of England.

Horses were tied to the sides of buildings, much like cars would hang out on the sidewalks of people's homes. "It's neat, right?" Zachary commented, and Harvey nodded.

They began walking into the city. While Verdant looked completely different from Frosthaven, it was still in Winterglaides, which meant half the buildings were covered in snow, and all the stone sculptures were encased in ice.

"Hi, I'd like to see Drake, please," Zachary asked a local, and she quickly ran in, returning with the blacksmith who had crafted Harvey's blades.

"Drake," Harvey uttered, and the man's eyes filled with fear as he slightly shivered.

"Do you two know each other?" Zachary wondered.

"Yes, he crafted my daggers," Harvey replied. "And he did a lot more for me, isn't that right, Drake?"

"Yes... I believe we've had quite the history," Drake answered, adjusting his collar nervously.

"You left Falusha in a hurry. I wanted to see you about my weapons, but your shop had been sold. Any reason why?" Harvey inquired.

"I just needed a change of scenery, that's all," Drake explained, taking subtle deep breaths.

Zachary and his team exchanged looks as Harvey and Drake conversed, sensing underlying tension in their words. "Drake, I'd like to talk about the Grey Stalker and then about the other matter we discussed," Zachary interjected.

"Sure, Drake, would you offer us a seat?" Harvey added, prompting Drake to open the door and welcome them into his home.

They settled on two couches in Drake's living room, with a furnace on the left keeping the room warm. Drake served tea to everyone except Harvey, who declined.

"Let's get down to business, Zachary," Drake said, taking a seat in front of the couches. Despite not looking directly at Harvey, he could sense the intensity of his gaze.

"We've been approved as the extermination group for the Grey Stalker, so we'd like all the information you have on its whereabouts, as well as the beast in the Fledplains," Zachary asked, leading Drake to take a sip from his cup.

"The Grey Stalker is in the ice forest of Rashid. It's a mythical place where the trees are completely made of ice, and anything broken grows back when water touches the root," Drake sighed.

"How sure are you that it's still there?" Harvey chimed in, asking the question instead of Zachary.

"It should still be there. Grey Stalkers are solitary creatures. They linger in places for months, years unless bothered. I'd suggest you take care of it there. Bringing it into the city would be catastrophic."

"Hmm."

"Anything wrong?" Drake pondered, still gazing at Zachary.

"No, just wondering when you became such an expert on beasts." Harvey wondered.

"Had to find a new hobby after Falusha. Returning to blacksmithing was—unacceptable," Drake spoke, staring into his cup.

"What about the other creature? The large monster in the Fledplains?" Zachary inquired.

Drake dropped his cup on the table in front of them, taking a deep breath before answering. "That wasn't a monster, Zachary."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a demon. Its mana presence. It's nothing like I've ever seen before. The two other residents of the village who saw it took their own lives the other day. That's how scary it was," Drake explained, glancing at his shaking hand.

"It can't be that strong. I bet the Scorpion Talon would make easy work of it," Darwin muttered.

"Then they'd make bank off a monster we could've slain," Worick added.

"Zachary, I might not be your friend, but I'll tell you this one thing," Drake leaned in on his chair, glancing directly into his eyes. "Don't go after that monster."

They all rose from their seats in Drake's home, making their way to the exit as they began planning for the Grey Stalker hunt. Worick and Kylian headed to a potion store to stock up on items they might need, while Erra stood at the door waiting for Harvey.

"X is dead. You aren't being pursued anymore. You can return to your normal life," Harvey advised as he walked out of Drake's home.

"I didn't have a choice, I would've been killed otherwise. It was either you or—"

"I don't care. However, I hope you were telling us the truth about the Grey Stalker. If we encounter the other beast in the Rashid Ice forest, I'll survive, and after that, I'll kill you," Harvey pulled down his mask, ensuring Drake saw the expression he wore.

"My life can be ended anytime by the faction. I lived on the edge of death, Harvey. If X told the other Hunting Dog members about my existence, it's only a matter of time until they come after me," Drake said, walking toward Harvey, staring at him. "What makes you think I'm scared of your threats."

Harvey smiled before putting his mask back on, walking down the stairs of the building. "They aren't threats, Drake."

Drake remained standing until Harvey left, immediately after the door was shut he slumped down the wall, clutching his chest as his heart raced faster than an Olympic athlete. "Fuck!"

"You're back," Erra approached Harvey, and he cast a glance at her.

"Yeah, just had a conversation is all," Harvey looked around, noticing the others coming towards them.

"Everyone ready?" Zachary inquired, and they all nodded. "Alright, let's hunt a Grey Stalker!"

.

.

.

Rya approached the mana-measuring device, it is a magical crest adorned with a rune that stored and measured mana floating atop it, noting the mana signatures she had recorded that day. "Hmm, that's odd. It says Painite, I'm pretty sure it said Diamond earlier." She double-checked her notes to confirm her memory.

"Yep, it definitely said Diamond. Hajun, right? He was the last one I measured." She poured mana into the rune, checking for any inconsistencies, and just as she suspected, the rune had broken. The rune itself had a mana limit, and when that limit was surpassed, it was considered broken.

"I need to inform the guildmaster to get us a new one," She said to herself as she exited the room.

However, it wasn't a mistake.

The last individual to use the machine, indicating Painite, was Harvey.