"You know some people. Why didn't you mention anything sooner?" Heron was annoyed by the fact.
"To be honest, you have little chance of getting accepted. And not just by them. You are basing your strategy for reaching Tiwaz on joining an adventuring party, then leaving them for personal goals. Do you really think anyone would be fine with that?" Marcus was blunt.
He is right. I wasn't really thinking this through. Heron was scratching his head, but indeed, there was no valid answer. He was being selfish.
"So, what were you going to say in the interview?" Marcus pressed on.
"I was going to be honest. I'd hoped there might be a chance for a mission that would position us in proximity to Tiwaz. I never considered just ditching my comrades. But I hadn't thought about how they would feel about my answer." Heron sighed. "Honesty is all I have to work with, so I'd hoped there would be some understanding if I came clean. I wouldn't have lied, you got to believe me, Marcus."
"Kid, I believe, and I do because if you were dishonest, you wouldn't have been so stupid to let everyone know of your plan before the interviews." Marcus started laughing.
"Stop laughing!" Heron cried.
"Sorry, but you are so inexperienced, it is really refreshing. I mean, I don't want to badmouth others, but you'll encounter worse people than you may even imagine. So, you've got to build up some character, my boy. And that may also include the ability to lie, or at least to shut up when necessary." Marcus smiled and raised a glass with mead.
"Now, the people I've mentioned are a hunting party. They operate within and outside the kingdom, hunting for different monsters. Usually, they are interested in rarities and then sell whatever they get from those monsters for profit."
"I don't care what they do, as long as I can get to meet them and discuss the possibility of achieving my plan, I am up for anything." Heron was adamant.
"Okay, if you say so. Then I'll take you to the guild tomorrow to talk to them." Marcus said.
"Oh, also, Heron, I spoke with Emilia. She'll be back tomorrow, but she isn't ready to talk just yet. She's a bit embarrassed about everything, so I'd appreciate it if you don't press for anything until she comes to you."
"Ok, sure."
.. / .-- .. - -. . ... ... . -.. / -- -.-- / . -. -..
Heron woke in the middle of the night. The whisper again. Is it from the blower again? At this rate, I will not get any sleep. I should ask Marcus to show me the way to the apothecary. I may need some sleeping medicine. But soon after, Heron went back to sleep as if nothing had happened.
He slept longer than usual and was feeling more rested. When he went down for breakfast, Emilia was at the counter, serving other customers.
Remain calm, don't make a scene. "Good morning, Emilia. May I have some breakfast?" He tried to ask it as naturally as he could, but it still sounded a little bit off.
"Yeah, sure," Emilia responded, tonally indifferent.
They tried to avoid looking at each other's eyes, averting their gaze as much as possible.
We really need to talk. Heron munched his porridge as he thought about how to go about it. But he made a promise. And speaking of the person he made a promise to, Marcus entered the tavern, sitting next to Heron.
"Ah, good, you are up. I've managed to set up the meeting. But I have not said anything, so it is up to you to convince them. We should get going once you're done with breakfast."
"Hey, Marcus. Can you tell me where the apothecary is?" Heron said as they walked towards the guild.
"Sure. Something wrong?"
"No, just having some trouble sleeping. For two nights now, I have been feeling like someone's saying something, and then I wake up and there is nothing there."
"Sounds troubling. Did you do something?"
"No, first time, I think it wasn't even a dream. I was using a blower, and just blanked out."
Marcus stopped in his tracks.
"Marcus?"
"Nah, it couldn't be," he pondered. And then he just smiled. "I think it is just a bit of acclimation and stress, but nothing a bit of Valerian tea can't fix. I think I have some back in the tavern, just remind me to make you some before you go to sleep."
The guild was unusually quiet when Heron and Marcus arrived. A soft chant drifted from within, low voices woven with grief.
Inside, several of the adventurers stood in silence. Candles flickered along the walls, and at the center of the hall rested a single pair of worn boots, a sword laid across them, and a white sash embroidered with the sigil of the Rohana Federation.
Marcus removed his hat and whispered, "Funeral rite. Someone must have died during a mission, so they are honoring his service. Since we don't know the man, just quietly follow me."
Heron followed him closer. The air carried the faint smell of oil and incense. A woman near the dais sang, her trembling voice echoing in the main hall.
Beneath the oak where first we met,
The roots remember, they never forget.
The grass bows low, the earth is deep,
And there my love shall softly sleep.
Helmond, shade him in golden leaves,
Sing to his rest in autumn's eaves.
When Vihor's snows in silence fall,
I'll light the lantern and heed his call.
Some bowed their heads; others clenched their weapons as if anchoring themselves against loss.
A tall woman in a hunter's coat stepped forward once the song ended. Her silver braid caught the candlelight. "We gather not to mourn," she said, her voice firm, "but to remember why we walk the path we chose."
Marcus touched Heron's shoulder and gestured toward a figure standing near the back of the gathered crowd. Even in the dim candlelight, the man was distinctive. He wore a red military uniform with detailed brass buttons, ginger hair tied back, and a stoic bearing.
"That's Richard," Marcus whispered. "He is our man. We can approach him after the rite concludes. Let us go to one of the visitation offices, and let them finish honoring the dead."