“Does Roderic know this story?” Valir asked, and Marla was the one to answer.
“No. And I fear that might have been a mistake on our end. We never told him when he was little, fearing he might accidentally pass it on. And when he became older, it became clear he wouldn’t share our views. For him, the guilds, the law and the way things are supposed to be are indisputable. We tried to teach him what we learned from Voldrik subtly — too subtly. Don’t get me wrong. I love our son, but he doesn’t see things the way we do.”
“Okay, but why are you telling me — us — now?” Kraghtol asked with growing confusion, and Torven chuckled.
“Because it’s a valuable lesson, and I think you are in a position to understand. The guilds are not your friends. They are playing games according to rules they have set up themselves. Perhaps the structures they built over the course of the last 370 years allowed people to prosper, but only in the way the guilds deemed right. And every playing piece not willing to take its place has to be removed from the board.The system is not designed to make you succeed or to make you happy. If you do or are, it’s just a tolerated side-effect.”
Valir shook his head, but without conviction.
“That’s… difficult to believe. If the guild administration doesn’t mean to better the life of everyone, what is it there for, then?”
“Power.” Kraghtol took a moment to realize he had answered. “As long as the guilds get to decide, everything is fine. We even talked about that when they admitted me to the school.”
Torven nodded hesitantly.
“Yes. I often wondered if there were ulterior motives beyond that, but if there were, they remain hidden so well they might as well not exist at all.”
He took another drag of his pipe and focused on Kraghtol.
“Regardless, there’s one more lesson in my story. The guilds’ power is not absolute. But you gain little by openly opposing them. What Voldrik did was beat them at their own game. It’s difficult to do so, but not impossible. Consider this: Who wrote the expulsion letter?”
“Dean Quenning. What are you getting at?”
“Why her?”
Valir’s eyes grew wider at Torven’s reply, but Kraghtol was still confused.
“I suppose things like this are her job?”
“Perhaps, but she is not the highest authority of the guild here in Winterstone. And she is not the one you made your contract with, I suppose.”
“No, that’s Mr. Virex, the guild master.”
“So, why wasn’t he the one to throw you out?” Valir interjected, and Torven smiled a thin smile.
“I suppose he was not available? I mean, there’s no reason for him not to do it himself otherwise… except…”
Nowrealization set in, and Kraghtol continued slowly.
“…except if he would not have been able to. Because… we have a contract.”
Kraghtol tried hard to remember the wording of the contract.
“Which means if I’m not in ‘severe breach’ of the guild laws, he wouldn’t be able to expel me. And Mrs. Urdson already told me she didn’t know any laws forbidding a half-orc from joining the guild. But what about the potion? Isn’t that enough?”
Marla shook her head.
“It’s strictly forbidden to sell or create alchemical mixtures without guild approval. But owning or using one isn’t exactly against the law, just frowned upon. If anything, that could only count as a minor offense.”
“It makes sense if you think about it. If you were in severe breach of the law, the… orderkeeper would have prosecuted you further. But he didn’t.”
Kraghtol did not miss how Torven talked about his son and felt a pinch of pity for the older man.
“No, guild master Thalen Virex would not have been able to expel you. I believe he wouldn’t even be able to let it happen if he consciously knew, although I admit I never fully understood how the whole alchemical contract thing works on that level of detail —”
“It’s about perceived agency. If he believes he could have reasonably prevented it, it would have been against his contract. If they tell him later and there’s nothing he can do to make it right, the backlash will be milder.”
Marla had interjected.
