The Magus Guild

Into the streets.

Busy-

Noisy-

And lots of people.

Vastly different from Dale.

And definitely even more different from his measly village of Teele.

The faint smell of nature was replaced by dirt- and maybe a bit of oil.

Not just people or horse-driven carts but also-

Machines.

Carts pulled by machines-

Very noisy and smokey machines- but machines regardless.

And-

Lizard men- along with Fishmen just walking alongside humans. Something Flint had only heard about in stories of his father-

But-

With a sigh-

He asked around and went for the Magus Guild.

He didn't want to enroll.

But he needed answers.

Lots of answers.

After all- in order to get vengeance, he first needed to know who he was going to face in the first place.

He had a guess- a very raw guess- but he wanted to be sure.

But the guild though-

'Woah-'

Almost like someone had punched all the air out of him for a second- he stood there- in the corner of the road- breathless-

The building-

The mighty building of the Magus guild.

Lots of flashy symbols danced just above the building- declaring it as the magical center of the town.

As for the building itself- four-story high- and definitely big-

Lots of archaic patterns- and definitely old… very old.

A lot of people were going in- but most of them had at least some form of a uniform.

***

Ring-

"Welcome!"

A lady came running over-

Well dressed- the attire of a mage-

A senior mage.

Black uniform with white stripes and a red tie- and a black scarf.

The students all had similar uniforms but with a tie representing their year and all had white scarfs.

'Well, this is different-'

Back at the guild hall- no one even paid attention to his coming let alone welcome him and come over-

And yet- this time- he had a proper guide-

"Can I help you with anything, sir?"

Judging by her appearance- she was probably older than Flint-

At least by a good ten years or more.

She hid it well behind her makeup though.

'So, there's money to be made…'

"I'd like to speak to the guildmaster- if that's okay-"

There were lots of ways to go about this.

But Flint wasn't here to mess around.

He got straight to the point.

"I'm sorry sir, but she has a busy schedule and- you'd have to make an appointment first. If you should come this way, I'd be sure to write your name down." She smiled.

'And of course, this is business.'

"Okay."

The Magus guild.

A place said to be holy to all the mages of the world.

Lots of books-

Lots of shelves-

And lots of magic.

Yet-

'So quiet…'

There were people here- students, teachers, and even ordinary people like Flint.

Or perhaps they just looked ordinary-

The base floor was mostly just a library of sorts with books and tables and chairs.

And though there were at least a thousand or so people in here, no one made noise, and even if they were talking amongst themselves- they did it at a low volume-

Definitely not like the Guild Hall and their rowdy adventurers…

And yet-

It felt-

Almost like a prison compared to the Guild Hall.

After all, unlike the rest of the city- this place only had humans.

Just humans.

The woman- took Flint to a corner- at a small desk; hidden behind large bookshelves, some privacy. "Name, sir? And the purpose of your visit. Also, we charge 1 gold for a consult, if that's okay; the next slot should open within a week."

She had a quill and paper ready.

'A whole week…' But he didn't have a choice.

He came here looking for help- not the other way around.

"Flint Maysheather. I'd like to ask her some questions."

He already knew he'd have to pay.

Of course, he had to-

He could tell just by the good behavior.

"Maysheather-" She paused, slightly puzzled. "Are you by any chance- the son of Ariel Maysheather?" Slightly serious-

"You knew mother?"

A faint smile; not the generic business one- but a rather simple one instead. "We were friends…" A hand on the table, supporting her chin. "I was wondering why your face looked so familiar. I saw you when you were four." A faint giggle. Almost like she was remembering good times- nostalgia. "So, how's she doing?"

"She's dead…" A slight hint of rage… and a perhaps a bit of grief- and some grinding… "She's dead."

He couldn't look her in the eyes and he couldn't really face it… even now.

Acknowledging that his parents were dead and would never come back-

Was hard.

"Dead! What- how?" Slamming her hands on the table- she abruptly stood up, screaming.

Grabbing the attention of everyone.

She did sit down a second later though- realizing where she was.

"That's what I want to know…" He mumbled- staring at her eyes. "I need to speak with the guildmaster and explain things. I'd really appreciate if you could arrange that-"

Slightly sweating- "She's dead…?" Yet- the woman- almost panted… not believing…. "That woman…?"

"Miss… Erveine…? You okay?" Flint noticed the nametag on her table and addressed her as such.

She stared at Flint… breathed some more- "Alright- come with me." Still pale- almost as though something had drained all her blood.

"Please lead the way-"

Flint though, remained calm.