After saying my goodbyes to Sannah and her daughter I’m carried outside by John where I see Ray sitting in the back of a cart covered in a bnket, “Thoma! Are you okay!?”
Sher Aka then somewhat forcibly puts her back under the bnket, “Sit back down Ray, you still haven't recovered.”
John pces me down in a makeshift bed next to hers and Ray gives me a hug, tears streaming down her face, “I was so worried! They didn’t let me see you!”
“That’s because both of you idiots needed the rest, I can’t have you moving around undoing all the healing.”
“Still! I missed you so much, oki.”
“I missed you too, ane!”
We rub our cheeks together and nuzzle up in the cart bed, to which John just rolls his eyes. We then start our journey back to Rostock. It seems that during the time I was out, the leaves on the trees had become beautifully orange and small wind spirits py with them as they spread the autumn winds. Two days of travel pass without problem and we arrive back in Rostock. The fruit merchant was even kind enough to drive us in front of the Guild. Sher Aka then picks me up while John picks up Ray and we enter the guild.
Kra the dwarven secretary is the first to notice us, “By the Gods what happened to you lot!?”
Ray coldly answers, “We were set up. Can you please call the guildmaster?”
“Of course! Wait here, no sit down first. Can you sit?”
“Yeah.”
“Good, I’ll go get her!”
Shortly after the guildmaster jogs down the stairs and gives me a hug, “Are you alright Thoma Ahad? I was so worried.”
“Not yet, but I’m getting better.”
“Come on, let me get you to the infirmary.”
She picks me up and looks at John and Sher Aka who look quite perplexed, “Are you their new party members?”
“Yes…”
“Good come with me then. Miss Sher Aka you pick up Miss Ray.”
“O-Of course!”
Then in the infirmary Ray and I are put to bed and Uli asks, “So, what happened? From what I know you got in trouble with some racist, registered two new party members and then didn’t show up for your escort quest to Rostock and disappeared for almost two weeks.”
“What!? We did show up! And they set us up to die!”
“Set you up to die? What happened?”
Ray then recounts what happened and shows Uli the paperwork.
“I will have to confirm all this in my function as guildmaster but as a person I believe you. This paperwork here, it’s forged. It’s a well made forgery and I don’t bme you for not noticing but whoever did this did not get approval from the Guild. I’m assuming the bomb you were talking about was filled with female Forest Ork xxx to attract the Orcs there. How were you able to escape?”
“We didn’t, we killed them all.”
“What? How?”
“Sher Aka and I with John’s help managed to kill about ten, Thoma then used his dark crown and took out the rest.”
“What!? Thoma Ahad, can you manifest the Dark Crown already!?”
“Yeah, I did it the first time in Rostock with the help of a song the Woodelves sang when I danced. In the fight with the Orcs I got overwhelmed though, I had to finish the ritual in John’s Dark Bomb spell and it felt like I was drowning in the darkness but I barely managed to do it despite it and passed out after.”
Sher Aka adds, “He was completely covered in darkness, bleeding out of all his xxx when I saw him colpse out of the Dark Bomb. He was bleeding all over his body, Ray had internal bleeding and a broken rib. Thanks to John’s healing we managed to stabilize them enough to carry them to Sat. Thoma Ahad was unconscious for four days and woke up not even able to speak. Thanks to the help of a local doctor we managed to help both of them recover.”
Uli seems a bit shocked hearing all of this then turns to me, “Thoma Ahad, never ever try to force a Spirit King ritual again. The symptoms you xxx were those right before death. Had you kept it up for a few more seconds you would have died.”
“Okay…I’m sorry Uli.”
“Don’t apologize, you had to do it in that situation and I am immensely proud of you that you managed to manifest the Dark Crown this quickly. Spiritblood truly must run thick in your veins. I also ought to send a thank you letter to those Woodelves you spoke of if they managed to help you achieve your first successful ritual.”
“I…I’d rather you not.”
“Why?”
Sher Aka and Ray then expin what happened to a surprisingly calm looking Uli.
“I see…Perhaps I should give the capital a visit,” She then looks at Ralya and John, “Do you have a pce to stay yet?”
“No, we have not, guildmaster.”
“Alright, come with me. You’re staying as my guests. I’m going to see if we have any healers in the guild right now, afterwards I’ll send my servants to get you to my mansion. Thoma Ahad, you can stay with me until I’m done with work, I’ll carry you there so you won’t have to enter the carriage.”
“Alright, thanks Uli.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Uli then leaves together with John and Sher Aka and a bit ter a light element healer comes into our room and heals Ray, causing her to fully recover. Once Uli’s servants arrive Ray, Sher Aka and John get sent to her mansion.
Uli then picks me up, “Let’s go to my office Thoma Ahad, I have a bed prepared for you.”
She carries me up the stairs to the bewilderment of the other adventurers. They all seem like they want to ask but are too afraid to do so. In her office she ys me down in what looks like a hastily prepared but comfortable bed.
“I’ll be right back. There is just one small thing I need to do and then I’ll spend the rest of the time here with you.”
“Alright.”
“Are you hungry? I’ll get you something from the Veterans Lounge. Is there anything you have an appetite for?”
“Uhm…I have mostly been eating liquid foods and meat these st few days so maybe some vegetables and solid foods would be nice.”
“Alright, I’ll get them for you. I’ll be right back.”
—-----------------------------------------
Leaving her office the guildmaster walks down to the veterans lounge, “Listen up everybody, I have an urgent B-Ranked intel gathering quest. The Guild will offer two Big Gold Coins as a reward, who is interested?”
—------------------------------------------
Uli comes back into the office with a pte of vegetable sagna, a smoothie and a pitcher of water.
“Here you go, is there anything else you need? Do you feel in any way uncomfortable?”
“No, I feel good thank you auntie.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Hey auntie, can I ask you a question?”
“You can ask me as many as you want.”
“Why don’t you get your leg healed? You have a lot of money and you know a lot of adventurers that can heal, I’m sure you could get that leg regrown somehow.”
“Ah…Yes I could but I also can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Well…Do you have time for a short story?”
“Sure!”
“It was back when I was still an adventurer… On our st quest before we split up. We were tasked with busting an illegal xxx. We managed to finally catch the criminals behind it and were looking through the xxx goods. They had anything from sves to ancient pottery hidden in those catacombs. We freed and healed the sves and then eventually came to the most prized item of the auction, the egg of the Dragon King. When I saw it, I was filled with rage and without thinking I smashed it. Ser Adin tried to stop me by cutting off my leg before I could break it but she failed. I was able to smash the egg and lost my leg in the process. I had murdered an unborn child. We split up after that and as xxx I swore to not have my leg restored. I then moved to the most remote region I could and used my abilities to become the guildmaster.”
“...”
“Why did you do it?”
“I…Four hundred years ago the previous Dragon King destroyed an entire elven nation and a huge part of my home country. Because of it my family died and many Elves still suffer to this day. When I saw the egg of the current Dragon King I felt like taking revenge.”
“I see…Do you regret it?”
“To be honest, no I don’t. I know what I did was wrong, I know that I should be punished for it but I can’t make myself feel like I was wrong.”
“Were you scared that something bad might happen again if you let it live?”
“Yes. To be honest, no matter how strong I get, I still tremble when I think of the war and no matter how weak the dragon, it will fill me with rage when I see it.”
“...”
“I don’t think you are a bad person auntie but if you keep thinking like that you will become one.”
“I know…”
“What…What would you do if it turns out I’m a dragon?Will you kill me auntie?”
“No…I’d rather kill myself than harm you.”
“I don’t want that either. Auntie, can you promise me something?”
“It depends on the promise…”
“If I turn out to be a dragon, I want you to promise me that we still stay close. I don’t want to lose you over what I am.”
“...”
“Alright, I promise.”
