"Re-branding"

Lavender continued to hang from the rafters at the Bee’s Knees. Her hands and bare feet had a death grip on them as the people below kept celebrating her arrival.

Hazel poked at Lavender with the end of her staff with a groan. “Lavender, come on down. It’s just a party.”

Lavender shook her head. Nope. Nope, she’s staying up here forever. But when she looked back to the ceiling, she saw Dora sitting up there with her. The cat woman’s soft hands were already working her fingers free.

She furiously shook her head but that only seemed to spur Dora on. Dora’s fingers danced around her own, pulling them free without effort. In seconds, Lavender was hanging from the rafters by only her feet. Then, she was face first on the tavern floor.

“Ooooow….” Lavender groaned and started putting on her boots. “Was that necessary?”

Dora landed perfectly on her feet next to her. “Was fun.” The black cat tail brushed against Lavender’s cheek while she moved to get a drink.

Lavender liked to think she had a good bead on the people in her party. Hazel was a strait-laced voice of reason, Robert was more or less her apprentice, Balerifon her captor turned…

Okay, she wasn’t sure what Balerifon was up to.

But Dora was an enigma. One moment she’d be up close to Lavender, but the next she’d call her an idiot and keep her distance. Was this what all cats were like?

----

Dora’s ear twitched when the bartender offered her free drinks. “For you and the new missus,” he told her.

It wasn’t like the Adventurers’ Guild to offer free anything. Not even advice. But it also wasn’t like the Adventurers’ Guild had people winning tournaments like her family’s. That was enough to make her forget to chew out the bartender.

She picked up two small glasses sitting next to the rest of the rejects Lavender hung around and made her way to the back of the tavern where Lavender had remained. Several male adventurers were hovering near her and trying to chat her up as Lavender’s head tried to sink further and further below her shoulders and into her chest.

“Boys!” Dora called out. “She’s had a long enough day. Let her relax.”

“Come on!” One of the younger men teased. Dora remembered this one for the number of euphemisms he made about his spear and ‘thrusting’. She had a bet going on how long he’d last in the Guild before getting his teeth knocked in. If it was any time in the next week, she had a healthy bit of gold coming in.

Dora shooed them away anyway and cleared some space for Lavender. The woman had turned to stare at one of the boards that weren’t walled off being the receptionist desk for the Adventurers’ Guild. This one focused on bounties. These weren’t offered directly through the Guild, hence why they were posted near the entrance. They were a matter of personal taste. A lot of Guild members preferred hunting monsters. The payouts were usually higher and the monster parts they carved off of their targets could be used to craft better gear.

Hunting people was more a mixed bag. The pay could be great but the quests with good pay usually had black borders for a reason. But they were an easy payday if you’d trained in all the ways to introduce people to the consequences of their actions.

She passed one of those small glasses to Lavender. “First time at a party?”

Lavender nodded with a meek little squeak and took the glass.

Dora dipped one of her claws into her glass and smiled. “I remember when you first came in here. Grabbing my boot like your life depended on it. You seem like a small party kind of girl. Enjoy a beer with some close friends and vibe with their company.”

Lavender blinked. “Kind of like this?” She gestured to herself and Dora.

“No. Something more intimate,” said Dora. “Like a quiet dinner or something.”

“Oh, you mean something like a date.”

Dora nearly bit her tongue at the suggestion. “Idiot.” She started raising the glass to her mouth and withdrew her claw when a particular bounty caught her eye.

Then she saw her claw was coated in a shiny red.

Oh shit.

----

Lavender felt a hand claw the glass out of her hand and send it smashing to the floor.

What was Dora’s deal? She turned to ask her, only to notice she was gone. In her place was a piece of paper rolling about in the air.

Lavender grabbed the paper on reflex and saw two familiar figures drawn on it.

----

WANTED ALIVE!

By request of the Lord-Prince of Westeron –

The Scion of House Wea’Vor, Hazel and The Lost Princess of House Wea’Vor, Lavender

A payment of FORGIVENESS OF ANY OUTSTANDING EDUCATIONAL DEBTS (pending completion of a two-year period of service to the Lord-Prince, or one year’s tuition if no such debt exists) shall be paid upon confirmed receipt of either woman.

----

Lavender tugged at the collar of her tunic. Alright. Forget the party. They needed to clear out right the heck now.

The excitement of the party had immediately quieted. Lavender could see Robert and Hazel lying on the ground, having fallen off their seats at the bar. Balerifon looked at his glass, then to Lavender, then made an effort of trying to fake his falling unconscious.

He always had a higher opinion of his acting than his skill warranted.

Everyone was staring at Lavender. Some were quite inebriated, and others – well, others appeared to have been able to hold their liquor well. If they’d even been drinking at all.

A single clap caught Lavender’s attention. The elfish receptionist with the flowing blonde hair had stepped out from behind her desk, wand already drawn in her hand. “You’re outnumbered,” said Mina. “Surrender and save yourself the trouble.”

Lavender was shocked. “We’re members of the Guild! What about loyalty to your members?”

“That and a few gold pieces will buy you bread from the baker,” Mina chided. “You’re underestimating how much debt some of us went into when we went to school. Some of our elder members still have their quest rewards garnished.”

Another person stood up and Lavender’s heart dropped. A familiar gnome from her first quest pushed his half-moon glasses up his nose and sighed. Enfield too?!

“It’s not any easier for us. Come along quietly.”

“Speak for yourself,” said one of the guild members who’d been trying to talk up Lavender earlier. “For that payday I’d sell out anybody.”

Lavender’s fist flew before the man could say anything else. An air projection spell shot out from her hand, a copy of said hand punching him hard enough in the jaw to send him spinning to the ground.

“I don’t believe this,” shouted Lavender. “You’re all more obsessed with money than you are with trying to do the right thing! This isn’t a proper Guild! You’re all a bunch of jumped-up mercenaries!”

Mina didn’t deny it. “Funny story. We actually were the Mercenaries’ Guild until a few years ago. Had a brand that we’d sear into signs for our locations. Then the brand broke and we had to have a new one forged. The blacksmith got drunk and put the word ‘Adventurer’ instead of ‘Mercenary’. So, we’ve ‘re-branded’.”

“Alright.” Lavender put up her fists. “I’m going to kick the butt of every last one of you.”

Enfield nodded. “I don’t doubt you’d try. Between your display at the Princess Knight Brawl and what I saw from our time together, I think you could cause enough mayhem to escape.” He pulled out his lute with a sigh. “I was hoping you’d cooperate. But that isn’t necessary.”

When Enfield began to play, Lavender felt her limbs stiffen. Purple crystals grew along her arms and legs, dragging them around with each pluck of the string. “What is this?!”

“My specialty.” Enfield called out over his music. Robert, Hazel, and Balerifon’s limp bodies all stood up with the music and shuffled towards the door. “People keep focusing on projection being about who can fire the largest fireball. But they forget that projection can also impose your will upon others.”

Lavender found herself being moved towards several Guild members holding a heavy jacket and metal restraints.

“And I’m very good at imposing my will,” teased Enfield as Lavender was thrown into the jacket. “My condolences for having to live the rest of your dwindling days in a cell. But a job’s a job.”