The main hall roared with the usual afternoon crowd, yet none of that noise reached the Guildmaster's office.
Allen sat behind his desk with a single cup of cold tea, an ignored stack of reports, and one parchment holding his whole attention.
The office held a map of the territory, a locked cabinet of Ranker files, and a window that never quite shut out the hall.
The parchment was the assessment for the unranked Gate, and the space where a Shard rating should sit remained stubbornly blank.
"You sent for me at this hour," Garret said, stepping in with his broad shoulders filling the doorway before he pulled it shut.
Garret ran the boring half of the branch, all the schedules, payrolls, and complaint hearings, with a permanent scowl installed.
"Sit," Allen said, gesturing toward the chair in front of the desk.
"So the rumor is true," Garret said, his distaste sharpening every word, "you handed an unranked Gate to that rookie and sent only his party."
