Chapter 11:

Moving Forward

The Tomb of The Sands of Time


“You reached the third floor, right?”

“Did you kill the monster?”

“Wow, you guys are a real inspiration!”

“Someday, I want to be an adventurer like you!”

“I want to be your exclusive potion maker!”

“No, let me be your potion maker!”

“I want to join your party!”

“Let me carry your bags!”

Silence.

By the time Yurasha had made it to the second floor of the Adventurer’s Guild in the western governmental district, the silence was welcome. They had been shown to a meeting room on the second floor where advisors typically met with clients to create job requests. There was a table in the center of the room and two long couches on either side of it. The table had a tray of ceramic mugs and a pot of hot coffee on it.

Hal was the first to sit down. He removed his heavy cloak and scarf and hung them on a coat rack in the corner of the room by the door. Then, he set down his glaive and shield by one end of the couch that was furthest from the door. Finally, he sat down and melted into the couch. His head was fully tilted back and he simply stared at the ceiling.

Asyr and Isha were the next to sit. Isha removed her buckler and mace, while Asyr removed her pack, setting all three by the other end of the couch. Asyr took the end of the couch, while Isha sat next to her. The two had been holding hands since the moment they walked out of The Tomb. When it came time to sit down, they finally let go, but as the group waited, Asyr rested her head on Isha’s shoulder.

“I’m sure that wouldn’t hurt as much if Sparky took off the shoulder pads.”

Dorak finally spoke. His eyes had some light back in them, but he was moving slowly. He went to sit down, taking his staff off his back and dropping it on the long table. He propped his feet on the table and stretched his arms out behind Hal and Isha, who he was sitting between.

Asyr was about to speak when Dorak flicked her in the back of her head. “Oww! What was that for!?”

“That’s payback for killing me.”

Asyr went silent. She sat up and looked at Dorak, concerned.

“Don’t give me that look. I’m fine, now. It’s fine.”

The room could tell that Dorak wasn’t fine. However, he continued speaking before anyone could mention the obvious. “I must be a pretty scary opponent if you had to bring out all of those golden spells. I’m sure if I didn’t get stopped by that weird Halt spell, I would’ve won.”

Isha flicked Dorak in the forehead. “That was a power word. That’s the magic of the divine planes. Even I can’t call upon power words.”

“It’s not something I want to do. Demonic magic needs me to spill my blood, but celestial magic needs me to activate my blood. When I activate my blood, it fights against the demon blood in me, so it feels like my entire body is burning from the inside out.”

“Yeowch. Doesn’t sound fun. It’s probably not as bad as being burned by eight tiny suns, but I’m not gonna argue.”

“You know I’m sorry, right? I thought you were someone else.”

“I told you it’s fine. It’s water under the bridge. Don’t count yesterday’s coins. Don’t cry over spilled milk. I can say it again. Obviously, don’t kill me again, but the past is passed.”

Asyr wanted to say something, but she decided to just lay her head back down. Dorak smacked Hal on the shoulder and whispered, “When did this happen? I obviously died, so I missed some things.”

Hal flicked Dorak in the forehead and said, “Don’t pry into other people’s business. If you want to know, you need to ask them.”

“Why is everyone flicking me? I’m fragile, here. I can play the ‘recently dead’ card if I need to.”

Before Dorak had a chance to broach the subject, the door opened and a beautiful woman walked into the room, carrying a number of papers in a file folder. She was tall and her luxurious white feathers extended into yellow tips on her wings that were folded behind her. She wore the classic dark blue robe and cream-colored tunic of the advisors at the Adventurer’s Guild. The skin on her arms and lower legs was dark, which matched her short, hooked beak. Her feathers went into a crest on her head which swooped up into the same yellow tips. As she sat down on the couch across from the party, she started by addressing Dorak. “It’s been a while, Mr. Risei. I’m certain that you have learned your lesson by now, so I believe we can simply get on to business without any unprofessionalism this time.”

The party turned to stare blankly at Dorak. Hal and Asyr were shocked and confused, while Isha could tell where this was going, so she was already annoyed.

“I understand, Val. I-”

“That’s Ms. Manille to you, Mr. Risei.”

“Yes, Ms. Manille. I understand completely.”

“The rest of you can call me Valeria or Ms. Manille, I don’t mind either way. Starting from today, I’ll be your advisor at this branch. If you ever need the Guild’s services, I would be happy to help you with that.”

“Before we get into what happened at The Tomb,” interrupted Hal, “I just need to ask: Ms. Manille, what happened between you and Dorak?”

“I completely understand your confusion. I used to be a receptionist at the Dao Shu branch of the Guild. A certain person found me attractive, so he tried flirting with me. I politely declined and he pushed too far, so he was banned from the Guild for five years.”

“That was so long ago! I’m better now!” pleaded Dorak, helplessly.

“I understand that, Mr. Risei. I hope to see that in practice. It’s all about being professional. If you see me when I’m not working, I would be happy to hear a full apology. When I’m working, however, I expect you to approach me with the respect and professionalism that I deserve.”

Dorak was already dug too far into the hole that he would never be able to escape. Isha started repeatedly flicking Dorak in the forehead again. “You simply have no idea how to read the room, do you, Dorak? I feel the need to apologize for his behavior, Ms. Manille. I intend to ensure that he never behaves like that again. If it would be better for you, could we have a different advisor?”

“Ms. Isha Arashi, was it? I thank you for your sympathy and understanding, but it won’t be necessary. I kept an ear out when Mr. Risei returned from his ban. He seems to have genuinely changed. I understand that I’m quite an attractive woman, so I gratefully accept compliments. It’s simply about the fact that I’m working. I hope that the four of you and I can become close, but when I’m working, I expect professionalism. That professionalism is what got me promoted to advisor at the main branch.”

“Oh, yeah! We’re quite a ways away from Dao Shu. Why did you come all the way out here, Val- Ms. Manille?”

Valeria’s eye twitched slightly as she tried to keep her customer service smile plastered on. “This is the main branch of the entire Guild. I hope to keep advancing into management and even administration someday. However, I don’t wish to keep you here too long with my personal goals and dreams. If we could get to business, then let’s begin.”

Yurasha reflexively sat up straighter as Valeria Manille tapped the folder on the table. She set four sheets of paper to her right-hand side and the folder to her left, leaving just three stacked sheets of paper in front of her. She grabbed the pot of coffee and a ceramic mug, poured herself a cup, took a sip, and set it out in front of her, away from the papers.

“Sorry for the delay. Your arrival was quite unexpected. The Guild in this town has a few parties that it keeps an eye on for their achievements and skills. You only formed this party two days ago and filed the paperwork yesterday, so our information is slow. We normally would have expected one of our other parties to have made the next big advancement on The Tomb, so we would have been more prepared. Because of this, we have some information that we need to get from you and then we have some information to give to you.”

Valeria began handing the four sheets of paper to the party, handing each a fountain pen to fill it out with. “This is your personal information for our guild records. All of this information is strictly confidential and cannot be seen by anyone but yourself, the administration, and myself. The papers are enchanted, the ink is enchanted, and our record rooms are enchanted.”

The sheets asked for each person’s basic identification information, such as age, race, continent of origin, gender, skin/scale color, hair/feather/fur color, eye color, notable features, tattoos, height, and weight. Then, near the bottom of the sheet, it asked for three identity verification questions. “Mr. Risei, if you could simply update your forms, then when everyone is finished, please pass those back to me. These help us to ensure that no one’s identity is being stolen.”

“While you are finishing that, I will begin to explain why the Guild has brought you here today. First, I want to congratulate all of you on your accomplishment. As the third party to ever reach the third floor, you join an exclusive group of highly accomplished adventurers. With that, you will have greater authorization with the Guild, but also greater responsibility.”

Opening the folder, she began to read, explaining, “As an adventuring party with great accomplishments, the Glory’s Coast Adventurer’s Guild grants Yurasha permission to receive a stipend of one standard gold per member per week while staying within one-half day’s journey of Glory’s Coast for the duration. Additionally, Yurasha will receive higher priority for requests and be offered special rush requests.”

Asyr was thrilled to hear about the stipend. She had had some trouble with money in the past, but even by simply being around the city, she would get paid by the Guild? It seemed to be too good to be true, but the face on Valeria told her that it was simply true.

“In compensation for said permissions, the Glory’s Coast Adventurer’s Guild demands that Yurasha submit to mandatory service in the event of attack by monsters, raiders, invasion, or riots. Additionally, Yurasha must complete one rush request per month while not on a prior job. Failure to follow the above demands will result in potential removal from the above permissions. In the event of a fatal incident, Yurasha will receive compensation from the Glory’s Coast Adventurer’s Guild and be exempted from all demands for one year.”

As Valeria finished reading from the folder, she set it down and collected the papers from the party. “Basically, what this means is that you and the Guild will be more closely connected. We don’t want to get in the way of your accomplishments, so whenever you leave Glory’s Coast on a job, you don’t need to worry about the demands.”

Valeria grabbed one of the pens and the three sheets of paper in front of her. “The last bit of paperwork that I need to do is in regards to The Tomb. The Guild is willing to pay for any information that you would be willing to sell.”

Hal looked at the party, but no one objected, so he began to explain what they knew.

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“I see. We have information on both of the first and second floors, including the Ice Hawk and the Obsidian Pillar, so we can confirm your information. The information about the third floor is new, so we can’t confirm anything just yet. The ‘Siren’s Specter’, as you described it, is quite plausible given what we know. For right now, we the Guild are willing to pay 30 standard gold for your information about this monster.”

Valeria pulled out a pouch that jingled with coins inside it. She began counting out 30 pieces and set it to her side. “Now, the guild is willing to sell information to you. We can give you information on the other two parties that have reached the third floor for 5 gold each. Additionally, we can give you information about The Tomb’s history for 5 gold.”

Hal and Dorak looked like they didn’t want any of the information, while Asyr and Isha wanted something. Isha decided to speak for the group. “I want to know the names of the other two parties. I believe that small information is only worth 1 gold total.”

Valeria narrowed her eyes and smiled her best customer service smile. “Why, that sounds about right.” She slowly dropped one gold coin back into her pouch and explained, “The other two parties are called the League of Silver and Lost Watch. I would be willing to tell you the members of those parties for one gold each.”

Hal was about to ask something, realization crossing his face, but Isha stopped him, putting a hand on Asyr’s. “The only other thing we want to know is any information about the archmage at the bottom of The Tomb.”

Valeria dropped two gold into the pouch. “We only have a title: The Forgotten. He was the ninth archmage. No one remembers his name, what he did, or what he looked like. It’s almost like he’s been removed from history.”

Asyr was shaking a little bit, but Isha tightened her hand on Asyr’s and said, “That’s all we need. Do you need anything else from us?”

Valeria pushed the remaining 27 gold across the table, folded her hands in her lap, and asked, “What’s the plan for Yurasha? Do you plan on going back to The Tomb tomorrow?”

Hal was the one who answered. “I think we’re going to do a few requests before we go back to The Tomb. We need to work on our teamwork. We’ve got one job ready for us if Asyr and Isha are fine with it.”

Valeria pulled out a sheet of paper from the folder that Dorak recognized. “This is Job #231. It was requested by a merchant named Yulen Ashdrop. He is requesting protection to take him and his cargo from Glory’s Coast to Aerie’s Landing by the first of Brightdusk. It is currently the sixth of Highbright, so you have 24 days to complete the job.”

Asyr jumped slightly, startled by something that was mentioned. Isha turned to look at her, but Asyr reassured her that she was fine before saying, “I want to do that job, but I also want to stop over in Whitewood so I can see my parents.”

“If we stop in Whitewood, that means we need to go through Izek’s Pass. We could make that whole journey in four days if we rushed, but if we take our time, it would take about a week,” explained Hal.

“If you leave for the job on the 23rd, you would have plenty of time, but that leaves you with about two weeks until then. Do you want to take on a shorter job before that?” asked Valeria.

“What do you have?” asked Dorak.

“I’m glad you asked. There was a shipment of cargo that went missing between here and Izek’s Pass. We confirmed that the merchant was attacked by bandits just outside of the city. There should be a bandit encampment somewhere within a short distance from here. This would be a rush job, so you would need to leave tomorrow, but it does pay 10 gold, plus half of the value of any cargo you recover, and 15 gold if you destroy the encampment. The deadline would be three days from tomorrow if you decided to take the job.”

Hal looked at Dorak. Dorak looked at Isha. Isha looked at Asyr. Asyr looked at the rest and sighed before saying, “Can we rest for tonight?”

Valeria nodded and stood. “I’ve kept you for some time now. I’ll let you go. You have that money, so I suggest getting a nice dinner and a good sleep. I’ll be here tomorrow if you decide to take the job.” With that, she opened the door and saw off the party as they headed back to The Sea’s Embrace.

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In a secluded part of The Sea’s Embrace, there was a corner booth. On one side of the booth, Dorak was passed out, holding an empty bottle of Saltspray. Hal sat on a chair, opposite from the corner. He was finishing a plate of seasoned rice with skewers of spiced meat. Isha and Asyr took the other side of the booth. Asyr had finished a large meat pie and was feeding berries to Ulyx. Meanwhile, Isha was eating a dumpling soup and drinking from a small cup that contained a drink called the Waters of Azuma. It was much more subtle than Saltspray, but it was nostalgic for Isha, being used in services at the temples in Azuma.

Isha had removed her armor, as had Hal. Asyr didn’t have armor to remove and neither did Dorak, but given Dorak’s temperament, it wouldn’t have been likely that he would have taken it off before drinking. As Ulyx finished eating, Asyr set him back in his birdcage and rested her head against Isha’s shoulder. “Dorak was right. It is more comfortable when you don’t have the armor on.”

Hal was smiling as he watched the two. A thought crossed his mind, then he asked, “What’s your birthday, Asyr?”

Asyr smiled a confused smile. “What’s this about? It’s the 12th of Frostdusk.”

Hal sighed a sigh of relief. “I was thinking about how this must be what it’s like to have a younger sister. I was worried for a moment that you might be older than me.”

Asyr sat there in silence before Hal continued, “I see you being happy and I get happy. I have six older siblings, so I get spoiled when I’m their brother, but I also run the family, so I get all of the responsibility when I’m the head of the house. I can’t exactly spoil any of them too much, or else I would get yelled at by Everett. But now, I can spoil you and find happiness in your happiness. You are happy, right?”

Asyr looked at Isha who was finishing her soup and said, “I don’t know if I’m happy, but I have nothing to complain about, so that makes me happy.”

“Do you love Isha?”

Isha nearly choked on her soup.

“I don’t know yet. I care about her so much that I never want to leave her side. I want to spend every day with her, even if we aren’t doing anything. I think that being next to her makes me happy. But, I don’t know if that’s love or friendship. I’ve never been in love.”

As Asyr looked back at Hal, he had a goofy grin on his face. “What’s that face for?”

“Love isn’t exactly in the cards for me. That said, I think you’ll figure it out. What about you, Isha?”

Isha’s normally blue face was a deep indigo as she couldn’t meet Asyr’s gaze. “I care about you, Asyr, but I don’t quite understand love. I’ve been trained in the church to listen to people, hear their problems, and understand their life. Because of that, I learned to care about people very easily. I want to believe that I care about you more than someone else, but I just don’t know what that’s like.”

Dorak snorted and stood up, still drunk. “I love you, Val! I’m a better person now! Let’s go get drinks!” With that final declaration, Dorak flopped back into his chair and passed out again.

Hal couldn’t hold back his laughter as he said, “As long as you aren’t like this guy over here, you should be fine.”

“In all seriousness, I do know what love is like. There’s someone that I love, but I can’t be with that person. I want to, but I’m supposed to wait until I turn 25 and officially take over my father’s position. But, when that happens, I’m supposed to get married to someone important. I don’t know who it is, but it isn’t love.”

Asyr looked at Hal curiously and asked, “You’re 23, right? When’s your birthday?”

“I don’t want to tell you, it’s embarrassing.”

“Asyr just told you hers,” added Isha, “Mine is the second of Bloomdawn. Now tell us yours.”

Hal blushed as he shyly admitted, “It’s the last day of this month.”

“What?! Why didn’t you say something sooner? Do you want to visit your family for your birthday?” asked Asyr.

“My family lives on Aerie’s Peak, so if we get to Aerie’s Landing by the 29th, I can celebrate my 24th birthday with my family on the 30th.”

“Well, let’s go do this rush job tomorrow, then when we finish, we take care of this escort job. We’ll go to Whitewood so Asyr can see her parents, then we make it to Aerie’s Landing with plenty of time for you to spend with your family.”

“I’d also like to meet your family. If they’re anything like you, I’m sure that they’re good people.”

“They are. I live with my mom, my six older siblings, my adoptive grandmother and grandfather, Everett the butler, and the rest of the staff.”

“Wait a minute,” interrupted Asyr. “What do you mean, butler?”

“My father was incredibly rich and powerful, even before he became an adventurer. When I killed him, because he was weird and paranoid, he had a clause in his will that made me the next head of the family. I’m going to be the next duke of Aerie’s Peak when I turn 25.”

“I think I’ve heard some things about the Duchy of Aerie’s Peak. Don’t they make incredibly rare spices there?” asked Isha.

“Ginseng, ginger, pepper, saffron, and sumac. Those are the top five that we produce. We sell those to nearly everywhere and it makes a great deal of money. The previous King of Kohrentrahden gave my father an honorary title, but he took it so seriously that his duchy became one of the most powerful places in the Hidden Lands. Now, I’m expected to marry for the family’s sake. It’s fine if it has to happen, but I’m going to make my name known before that happens. Well, it’s been quite a day, so I’m going to go to sleep before we get to business tomorrow. You two make sure that you sleep at least a little.”

With that snarky suggestion, Hal went off to his room, carrying Dorak with him. Isha didn’t quite understand the insinuation, but Asyr did and was covering her face in embarrassment.

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Hal had just finished laying Dorak down in his room and now he was sitting on his own bed. His head was in his hands as he was rubbing his temples, trying to deal with the headache that had been plaguing him since he got back to the tavern. From the moment he set his gear down, a certain voice had been speaking in his mind. Hal had been trying to ignore it, mostly successfully, but there was one thing that had been said that completely changed the dynamic.

“My family lives on Aerie’s Peak…”

After Hal had said that, the hissing voice of Extoltrius had changed from simply spitting threats at Hal to instead making threats at his family.

“I’ve found my firssst meal for when I return to Erdenesss.”

“I live with my mom, my six older siblings, my adoptive grandmother and grandfather, Everett the butler, and the rest of the staff.”

“That makesss ten, plusss the ssstaff. I will be fed for quite sssome time.”

“I’m going to be the next duke of Aerie’s Peak when I turn 25.”

“It’sss pitiful to believe that you will live that long.”

“I’m expected to marry for the family’s sake.”

“That would make eleven. My belly growsss fuller by the minute.”

“You two make sure that you sleep at least a little.”

“I can eat thossse two together ssso that they won’t be ssseparated, even in death.”

Hal had had enough. He wanted nothing more than to clear his mind, but nothing he did would silence Extoltrius. Hal grabbed his glaive and shield and began sneaking out of the tavern. Isha and Asyr weren’t in the dining area of the tavern, so Hal simply left through the front door. The sun hadn’t set quite yet, but the streets were starting to empty as workers found taverns, adventurers found drinks, and merchants found one final sale. Hal walked through the streets toward the northern Harbor District. He could see people laughing and drinking. “Quite plump. It sssuitsss my tassstesss.” There was a family with a child who were walking towards the residential district. “Two mealsss and a sssmall morsssel.” There was an old man that walked the streets, returning from a hard day’s work. “Not my preference, but itsss brittle bonesss will ssserve to help me clean my teeth.”

Eventually, Hal reached the northernmost point of the continent. There were docks with ships all around him. The sun was just beginning to set, but the dock workers were still hard at work, loading and unloading cargo. There was a plaque at the very tip of the continent. It read: “To those who seek adventure, you are in the right place. To those who seek comfort, turn to the seas. These Hidden Lands aren’t meant for you.”

Hal had come to visit this plaque two days ago when he first arrived in Glory’s Coast. He knew that he was seeking adventure, but he refused to let some snake destroy everything he cared about in the process. He held his glaive tightly, ran forward, and launched the glaive off of the cliff, into the Black Ocean. The horizon, as the Black Ocean always was, was stormy, but Hal trusted that the waters would hold on to the glaive. Then, he held his shield and tossed it like a disc. It landed in the waters with a heavy splash.

For a moment, Hal expected Extoltrius to come back with the same hissing laughter, but his mind was clear. There were only the sounds of workers and the sounds of waves.

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Asyr and Isha were in a room on the first floor. The second floor of The Sea’s Embrace was filled with single-person rooms, but the first floor had larger rooms. The room where Asyr and Isha were currently staying had two beds, a full-sized table, and a wooden wardrobe.

While the reason why Asyr had come to be staying in a room with Isha was originally for safety’s sake, given her attempt at suicide inside The Tomb, the mood was vastly different now. Isha was wearing her nightclothes, a looser silken robe of a similar style to her normal clothing. Asyr was wearing baggy linen pants and a linen button-up shirt. While Isha sat on her bed, Asyr was laying down on hers, trying to avoid eye contact with Isha.

“You know that I will never let you die while I’m around, right?”

That question snapped Asyr out of her panicked daze.

“I know that. I’m sorry for what I tried to do.”

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to yourself. I will do anything to save you. I told you, I’m your healer. I will heal you, no matter how hurt you are. I will be beside you when you need healing. I will listen to your pain when you need to be healed. I will do anything to keep you happy, healthy, and alive. If your soul were claimed by death, I would travel to any plane to bring you back. If your body were broken beyond repair, I would pray and beg and plead to any force that would hear me to save you. If your mind were shattered and your memories scattered like dust in the wind, I would gather every piece to put them back together. I have never felt such devotion, not even to my goddess, blasphemy, though it may be.”

Asyr sat up on her bed to face Isha, embarrassed by the extreme words that Isha was saying. “I know how much you care about me. I care about you, too. I can’t heal like you can, though, so what can I do for you?”

“You said it earlier. Stay by my side, even when we aren’t doing anything. Being next to you makes me happy, too.”

Asyr walked over to Isha’s bed and sat beside her. “I’ll stay beside you.”

“I’m not very good with love or friendship, even, but I care about you, I want to be beside you, and I want to make you happy. In my heart, that’s all that matters.”

“That’s more than I could ever ask for.”

“Then, I will do just that.”

“You know, Isha. When I was young, if I got hurt, my mom would kiss the spot that got hurt to make the pain go away.”

“Where do you feel pain?”

Asyr thought about answering, but felt her face get incredibly hot. She quickly scrambled back to her bed, saying, “Actually, I think I’m fine.” She hurried under the covers, trying to hide her bright red face. There were the sounds of steps, getting closer and closer before Isha pulled the covers down to see Asyr’s face and gently touched her lips to Asyr’s forehead.

“I told you that I will heal you, no matter what.”

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