There were hardlyany adventurers in the guild hall when we arrived. Those who were there rushed around as if they didn't have a second to spare, and they didn't. The number of monster attacks versus the amount of parties was almost equal, with the monsters outnumbering those qualified to take them down.
Fawn greeted everyone we passed with a stiff nod. Her demeanor in the guild changed after some of her adventurers betrayed her. Instead of being carefree and confident, she was guarded and hostile--for good reason.
If anyone dared to hurt her, I would kill them and anyone else involved. It made my stomach churn thinking of how she had faced her adventurers alone while we were trapped in her cottage.
"Master Fawn!" Ash squealed her delight, rushing over to her and pulling her into a hug.
Fawn wound her arms around her adventurer and squeezed her tight before pulling away. The look in her eyes was motherly, and I knew she'd taken Ash in as a child and cared for her up until now. Their relationship wasn't one I expected, but it was endearing. She may have closed herself to romantic love before us, but clearly, not all forms of love.
"How are the numbers?" Fawn stepped back to give Ash some space.
Ash's relief reverted back to stress as she let out an exhausted sigh and ran her hands through her bronze hair, which was not in her normal braided pigtails but rather a disarray of locks. "Insane. I have no idea how you managed this before. We don't have enough parties to send to all the places in need, so I have to weigh the urgency of the need and plan accordingly."
"We weren't dealing with this before, Ash." Fawn's gaze softened considerably as she slipped behind the bar with Ash. "How many scrolls do you have in the queue?"
Ash waved her hand in the air, and eight scrolls appeared. "Eight in the queue. Choosing with urgency makes me feel terrible. Who am I to make these decisions? People willdiewith me making these decisions."
"Eight?" Fawn uttered the number, her breaths becoming shallow.
The muscles in my jaw tensed. I hated seeing her so upset. Jasper crossed his arms next to me, but we stayed silent. Aimon, Bastian, and Silas did the same.
This wasn't our place to take over and help. Fawn was the best at this. Watching her work for something with so much meaning was the most beautiful fucking thing in the world. I just wished we could help her more.
"We've never had such a build-up of scrolls before," she murmured absently, her eyes shifting to a glowing blue that meant she was using spirit vision. She ran her fingertip down the one written in pink ink. "This one is the most urgent. The desperation is intense."
"Thank you." Ash pulled the scroll before waving her hand and putting the rest away.
"Just so you know, people will die either way," Fawn stated bluntly, turning to face Ash. "But with our help, fewer people die. That's a fact. And maybe it's time to get another adventurer guild in the Allura Empire. Right now would be pointless because of the possible war, but after this is all over, we may want to look intoyoubecoming a master of your own guild instead of taking this one over. It would lessen the workload on the adventurers. We have many adventurers from all parts of the empire coming to work, but if we could establish another guild, the adventurers wouldn't be running so thin. The guild isn't big enough to hold all of the adventurers."
Ash's eyes widened, but she nodded. "I understand. Having another guild would be amazing right now. I just wish we had two guilds. Maybe then requests for help wouldn't be piling up."
"Just go with your gut. You're smart, and I know you'll make the right decision," Fawn told her before Ash accepted a summoning call, and Declan's face popped up.
Anger surged through me, and I gritted my teeth. I could feel the intensity and anger from the rest of my shield at his mere presence.
"Glidatons at the village are destroyed." He let out a ragged breath, and he looked like shit. Blond hair matted to his face with sweat and blood, and he had dark bags under his eyes. "Where to next?"
Ash gave him the information from the scroll Fawn had just signaled as a priority, and the call ended. She turned to Fawn with a worried expression. "Declan hasn't been himself. He and his party have been doing twice the missions as everyone else. Even more so than Shay's party--and she usually does just as much. He's becoming reckless."
"You need to have a talk to him about that then," Fawn said.
Ash pursed her lips. "I have. But I think it would make a difference if it were from you."
"When I have time, I will talk to him." Fawn tapped the bar and walked around toward us. "We're headed to the capital. If you need me, call."
"Spirits of Hexarium bless," she murmured, folding her hands in front of her as she watched Fawn leave.
We followed behind her out of the guild. The warm breeze cascaded over us as we stepped outside, and her hair fanned around her as her wind power swirled through.
"Let's get to the capital." Fawn didn't waste any time mounting the broom she snagged from the storage rune on the way out and taking to the sky.
We did the same, and Silas caught up to her first. "You've been a good master of the guild, Fawn."
"Not good enough." Her grip on the broom tightened. "I had pushed for my guild to be established, but I should've pushed to have more than just mine."
"And you will now." I caught up on the other side of her. "There wasn't a need for more than one guild until now."
"Still." She pursed her lips, and her brows furrowed. "I should've known there would come a time. I should've been prepared."
