The sun slowly peaked through the corners as the cry's of madness came to an end, Zephyr slowly sat up from his bed heavily disoriented, throat soar, feeling like he spent the night gargling expired hot sauce. "Lirien?" He hoarsely called out while attempting to look around. His eyes slowly fell on her curled up in a chair near the corner of the room sound asleep. "How on earth could she sleep through that?" He thought to himself before letting his head fall limp back down onto the pillow. "Perhaps a few more hours wouldn't hurt."
Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding..., Ding... Lirien awoke gently to the chiming of an old spruce grandfather clock that faded into a reassuring silence. She sighed glad that the terror of the night had finally ended. Standing up she gave a good long stretch and slipped out of the room as quietly as possible as to not wake Zephyr. "Time to raid the kitchen" She thought to herself. Looking side to side she realized that the house was big. Extremely big.
"Does he work here when he's not working for the guild or something?" She paused for a brief moment. "No, that's stupid, why would he make scrolls to get to work?"
It dawned on her. This was HIS house. She looked around at everything. The carpet, curtains, paintings, everything ornate and unfathomably expensive. "I really didn't expect him to have such expensive tastes." Wandering to the stair case she looked upon the high vaulted ceiling with what appeared to be pitch black glass.
"I get he likes the dark but I wish I could see something." as if on cue the glass faded from pitch black to opaque, illuminating the hall with the brilliant mid day light.
"I take it back. This is absolutely something he would make." She proceeded down the intricate stairs of the main hall to look for somebody. Anybody. "Hello?" She called her voice echoing against the marquina Black floor. "Anyone here?" She called again, met only with her own echo. "A house this big and no staff? No help? What kind of life does he live?" She thought, not understanding if he was posh rich or a recluse. Walking between the center of the two main staircases she found herself in the dining room. A thin layer of dust coated the table and a few spiders had made their homes in the rafters. It clearly hadn't been used in a fair while.
"That must be it!" She said busting through a small side door with speed, ready to find anything to eat at this point. "What......." Empty. The room was empty. Old cookware, stoves covered in dust and an odd barrel of wine here and there.
"DOES HE LIVE HERE OR NOT?" She yelled at her wits end.
"It is my house if that's what your wondering. But I spend most days and nights at the guild." He croaked causing Lirien to jump. "Should you be up and moving?" She said worry clear on her face. "I'll live. In a few days Ill be as good as new. The price for using forbidden magic isn't as steep as one would think these days." he said, his voice slowly regaining strength. "Come come. Lets get some lunch." He motioned for Lirien to follow, and the pair exited to the courtyard.
Zephyr walked up to the crystal and began, "How you us-" "Save your voice. I figured it out earlier." Lirien said.
Zephyr slightly taken aback in surprise at what she had said, spoke once more. "To the guild then."
In a flash the pair where at the guild. Startling a few of the onlookers who were not expecting the pair to pop into existence mere feet from them.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." Lirien moaned still slightly disoriented from the teleportation.
Zephyr ignored the comment entirely and entered the guildhall.
The smell of freshly baked bread, roasting meats, and simmering stews greeted them as they stepped inside, the comforting smell of the lunch rush kitchen filled the air. The hall was lively yet still solemn as the matters from the previous day could be heard in quite whispers around the hall. At the very least no one seemed to be paying the two of them any mind.
Behind the counter, Erisa was busy ladling hearty stew into wooden bowls. Her curly brown hair was tied back into a neat ponytail, and her warm smile brightened the room as she chatted with everyone who came up to the counter. "Zephyr!" she called out as she noticed him enter, her blue eyes sparkling. "Finally dragging yourself in for some real food, I see. You look like you've been through it!"
Zephyr gave her a small smile but said nothing. Lirien stepped forward, and chirped. "He could use some stew," she said, glancing at Zephyr. "And so could I. It's been... a long couple of days."
Erisa chuckled. "You don't have to tell me twice. Sit yourselves down, and I'll bring some over. On the house today" She motioned to a corner table by the window, where sunlight streamed in through the glass panes. "Oh, and don't forget the bread. It just came out of the oven," she added, nodding toward the loaves piled high on a nearby tray.
Zephyr raised an eyebrow at her. "Didn't realize you were this hungry," he said, his voice still hoarse but tinged with amusement.
"Didn't realize you actually ate after seeing the state of your kitchen," Lirien shot back jokingly.
The two sat in silence enjoying the sunlight's warmth on their skin after such a dreadful night.
It wasn’t long before Erisa approached with two steaming bowls of stew and a basket of bread. "Dig in," she said warmly, setting the food down in front of them, and a hot cup of tea in front of Zephyr. "I outdid myself on the roast I'd say, so let me know if you want seconds."
Lirien grabbed a hunk of bread, tearing into it with enthusiasm. "It feels like I haven't eaten in a week," she said between bites. Zephyr, quieter but equally appreciative, nodded his thanks toward Erisa.
After the meal the pair sat in silence, letting the murmur of the guild hall seep into their very bones, and unravel the stress of the past week. Their respite was cut short with Kaelin approaching the two setting a bag down in-front of both of them, and handing Lirien a new guild badge. "I think that should cover it." He said quickly and attempted to walk off before Zephyr caught him by the back of his jacket. "Let's go back to your office and see if everything is covered properly." Zephyr Coughed. Lirien quickly followed the two to the back.
The pair made themselves comfortable while Kaelin took his chair. "Zephyr, at least look at the payment before you complain. Even the girl, erh, Lirien should be more than happy with the payout."
"That's an awful lot of bronze and silver on that new badge I see." Zephyr said glaring at the new badge in Lirien's hand.
A wicked smile spread across Lirien's face. "That's right. You did also, THROW ME FROM THE SKYWAVE" Her voice going from calm to enraged in an instant.
Flinching at her tone he sighed. "Fine fine, here..." He sat three more bags in front of Lirien and another badge, this one with a gold background, a crystal heart, a Silver Spear, and a bronze dragon.
Zephyr's eyes widened and his tone shifted to mock surprise, "I'm impressed. You actually got the compensation right on your second try."
Kaelin shot Zephyr a dirty look and turned to Lirien. "Look, don't go showing off your badge to everyone. You joined less than a week ago and people might question why a newcomer advanced in rank so fast. We also don't want it getting out that a Calamity rank monster actually existed and was hostile. People would panic. Also don't want anyone to hear of how many Tempest rank members we lost. Their kin have been notified but we don't need the press poking around or harassing them. Kaelin shifted sitting back in his chair before continuing "With that badge you can take up to disaster rank jobs. However I'd recommend getting more direct combat experience before taking those." He said in a pseudo official voice." "Zephyr. Don't push the kid too hard." Zephyr chuckled. "Don't worry. Not much further I could push her than tossing her from the sky."
Kaelin hung his head slightly. "I'm never going to live this down." He thought to himself.
"Either way, we will be taking a break from the action for a while. I need to teach her the basics of magic and more about the world before we set out again." Zephyr said. "So your really taking an apprentice. I never thought I would see the day. Do make sure to actually clean that old mansion up then." Kaelin said this time poking at Zephyr. "Yeah yeah. Ill actually get some staff." Zephyr said dismissively. As the pair exited Kaelin stopped Zephyr. "A moment. I have another request."
Zephyr motioned to Lirien to continue while they spoke in private for a moment.
Walking from the guild Zephyr turned to Lirien and took the badge from her hand, affixing it to her dress where it could be plainly viewed. "Didn't he say to keep this a secret?" "It's just part of the revenge" Zephyr said in a in a sly tone. "Now, Take one of the bags you got today and head over to the Butlers association. Tell them my address and say that you need a full staff for a Large mansion." "Sure, Where is that again?" Lirien asked. "Just west of the guild" He said briefly before placing his hand on the crystal in front of the guild and teleporting off.
"Well, I guess Ill figure that out then." Lirien said to the space Zephyr was standing a moment before in a vapid annoyed tone.
"Guess I'll just head west then. " She said in a sigh.
After an hour or so of fighting the midday Eldermere traffic and a few detours along the side roads that twisted alongside the main road Lirien came to a building with quite a regal appearance. The buildings near it weren't run down or dishevelled by any means but this one stood out quite nicely. Not a spec of dirt anywhere, not a petal out of place on any flower, not a single smudge on the windows. As she entered the building the trend continued. Everything in an almost unnatural pristine state, everything so... unnaturally clean. She looked around for a moment and saw a few of the employees going about their regular duties, and not a one bothered to even look at her. Walking up to the counter she greeted a well dressed older man with graying hair who's nose was deep in a book. "Hello, I ne.." She was cut off by the man nearly as soon as she could speak. "We aren't hiring. Get lost." The man said not even looking up from his book. "I wasn-" Lirien began again. "I said get lost. We don't need someone as homely as you. Your sullying the floor." He said, once again not even bothering to look at her.
Now quite annoyed. "I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU" Lirien began once more just to get cut off again. "Girl. Do I need to get the guards involved" He said snapping his book shut.
Having none of the disrespect she was being shown. Lirien slammed down all four bags she received earlier and yelled. "I'm HERE TO BUY."
The room went silent, and all eyes were on her and a few of the maids began whispering amongst themselves. A second well dressed man with greying hair walked out from the back hearing the commotion. He adjusted his glasses and walked to the counter. "Young Lady, you shouldn't make jokes about buy...." He stopped mid sentence seeing the crest on her dress. Producing a pair of white gloves from his pocket, he gingerly opened up the bags she had slammed down a moment ago to see an inordinate sum of money. A smile shortly flashed on his face, to brief to notice. "Come with me please." The man said waving her back to the office, where Lirien gathered her bags and followed. "Have a seat." He guested to a rather comfy looking chair. "I deeply apologies about what my colleague said to you. You said you wanted to.... buy? "Ah, yeah. My mentor Zephyr said to come here and use a bag or two and to give you his address." She places the bags on the table opening each to show the contents.
The man couldn't believe how much she was willing to offer for his company, and a recommendation from THE Zephyr? Trying to keep a straight face he said firmly. Three bags for the company, The fourth if you want me to continual operations without interference." "Hmm... that's almost all of my money." Lirien thought to herself. "These guys must be pretty good if they cost that much just to clean for a while." After mulling around on it for a moment Lirien agreed without question. The man's face lit up "Excellent! I'll get the paperwork started Mistress Lirien."
After Several hour's, a few hundred papers, and a meeting with some pretty important looking people everything was settled.
"Mistress Lirien. We will be up at the estate post haste!" The old man said. "You never did tell me you name!" Lirien said to him. "Ah, My apologises. Reginald Whitaker at your service my lady." He said with a bow.
"Well Mr Reginald. I look forward to working with you." Lirien said with a slight curtsey, that she had picked up from some of the people she had met that day. Lirien exited the now empty building and Reginald walked up to the man at the front desk. "Brother" He started placing his hand on his shoulder. "Do you know how much money you almost cost us?" Lirien glad to finally have gotten that over-with walked back to the guild hall where she found Zephyr waiting at the crystal. "There you are! What on earth took you so long?" He said exasperated.
"Buying them took like four hours of paperwork. It also took all four bags! You said it would only take one!" Lirien said in an accusatory tone.
Zephyr felt a feeling of dread at first. Did she get scammed by those old codgers? Or worse someone else. Then it clicked. "Did... you hire them or buy them?" Zephyr asked, fairly certain that he had figured out what had happened. "Is there a difference?" Lirien asked genuinely. "Well.... Yes....." Zephyr said now feeling guilty he didn't go with her. "Well on the bright side if you ever want to stop being an adventurer you'll have stable income." It then dawned on Lirien what had happened. "Is that my company now?" "Yes. Yes it is." Zephyr said dryly.
Lirien's face went red. Zephyr put a hand on her head. "Well. Look at the bright side. You now get paid every month instead of paying for them every month."
The next few weeks went by in a blur. Zephyr's mansion quickly turned from a dusty mess to a proper estate. By the end of the month renovations and cleaning was done. The kitchen stocked, an old study turned into a proper classroom, and the rooms suited for human use once again. "I never asked. But why does the classroom have so many desks?" Lirien asked quisitively. "Did I not mention it?" Zephyr said. "Kaelin asked me to take in some more students since we lost so many members last month. Apparently he's been getting rather unique individuals in the guild all month." "Unique... Individuals?" Lirien asked, a bit scared of what his response would be. "You'll see soon enough." Zephyr said
Part 1 END