Chapter 33: Emerald City

After several hours turning into days of walking, they finally arrived in Emerald City.

“Phew, we finally made it, welcome to Emerald City,” Silva announced, exhausted.

“Yes, great, now can we please take a break?” Lisa asked, exhausted. “My feet hurt.”

“Yeah, we will head to the Guild Office to relax,” Rufus answers, taking a sip of water.

“So, why is it called Emerald City?” Simon asked curiously.

“Well, you see, in the center of the city on top of the pillar, there is a rare green emerald in the center of it. It was gifted to the city by the goddess Emerauld as a thank you for worshiping her and building the temple for her. It is a sight to see when the sun hits it at the right time of day because it turns the entire city green. It is beautiful, but it also makes it harder to see everything in the city. Sadly, I only got to see it once on a job I had to do for a guild who wanted me to steal it. I will admit this gem is very hard to steal since it is heavily guarded by magic and man power,” Silva explains thinking back to that day.

“Why do I have a feeling you were involved in trying to steal it?” Raquel slyly asked.

“I was not planning on stealing the gem. I was only hired to take out the guards to get the reward money. I am glad they didn’t press charges or this will be another city I will be banned from since I am banned from a few others,” Silva explained.

“Yeah, you are just making yourself look worse,” Raquel said, stopping Silva.

“Yeah ... .You're right,” Silva said, laughing it off.

“Now that I think about it, I think I was on that job too. Maybe I was drunk, so I do not remember much of it,” Rufus said thinking about the day.

“I think I remember seeing you sniping at us with your fire arrows, slightly drunk since you kept on missing,” Silva pointed out.

Everyone laughed at that comment.

“Hey, that wasn’t that funny,” Rufus said, blushing a bit.

“Ok, I think I had enough of a history lesson for the day. We should get our tasks done at the Guild Office before it gets late,” Raquel said, getting a bit annoyed.

“Yes, let’s go, so we could put in our request to enter the tournament,” Silva says.

“Yes, we should check to see if Scout and Julius checked in,” Lisa admits.

“Yeah,” they said together.

“Hum…It is strange they haven’t reported back yet,” Silva thought about it.

“I wonder what is the hold up on that?” Lisa asked.

Silva and the others tour around the city looking for the Guild Office. This city seems different from others they have visited. It seems everyone wore different shades of green and no other color which was very weird. While the visitors wore all sorts of colors.

After walking through the city, they arrive in front of the Guild Office. As they entered the offices, Silva recognized the voice and walked closer to find out who it was.

“I will take care of the request right away,” the guild officer said.

“Yes, thank you very much. Have a nice day,” the woman said as she began to walk out.

Without looking, the woman bumped into Silva by accident. “Oh…I am sorry, I was not looking,” the woman said, apologizing.

“No, it's fine,” Silva said, regaining her posture. She looks up to see her old friend. “What is that you Dina? Oh, I mean, Deputy Guild King?”

“Wait, a minute, is that you Silva,” Deputy Guild King Dina asks.

“Yes, it is me. It is good to see you again,” Silva said, greeting her like an old friend.

“My, it sure has been a long time since the last time I saw you. Last I heard you had to leave the Guild League due to family conflicts,” Deputy Guild King Dina explains.

“That is a long story. Anyways, hey guys, let me introduce you. This is Deputy Guild King Dina, she is an old friend of mine,” Silva excitedly introduced her.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Terrance greeted her.

“It is nice to see you, Deputy Guild King,” Lisa greeted her.

“It is nice to see you too Lisa,” Deputy Guild King Dina said.

“Tell us, Deputy King, why are you out here?” Rufus asked.

“The Guild King asked me to take care of a few assignments around this area and since he is busy taking care of business in the capital, he asked me to supervise the tournament being held here tomorrow,” Deputy Guild King Dina said kindly.

“Yes, we came here to enter the tournament too,” Silva answers.

“I will look forward to seeing your skills in the tournament. I hope I can see great things from you. I must be going now, I have a few more things to take care of before tomorrow, so enjoy your stay here,” Deputy Guild King Dina said, as she was walking away.

“Silva, quick question, why are you so friendly with the Deputy King?” Lisa asked.

“Well, during my earlier guild years, I did a lot of shady jobs for different guilds and most of the jobs I could have been thrown in jail, but thanks to Dina she smoothed things over with the Guild King and got me off the hook. We have known each other as guildmates, but Dina took the political route and rose to the Deputy Guild King. She was also the one who helped me with the adoption of my daughters,” Silva explains, as she hugs her girls.

“Yeah, we are mommy’s girls,” Grace said, hugging Silva excitedly.

“Yes, my little lovelies,” Silva said, giving her daughters a big hug.

“Silva, why are you always mixed up in shady situations?” Raquel asked curiously.

“I am not sure, but it happens,” Silva vaguely answers, hugging her girls.

Silva and the others soon made their way to the desk to speak to the guild office worker. “Hello and welcome to Emerald City Guild Office, I am Lauren, how may I serve you?”

Silva, being the leader of the team, took the lead this time around. “Yes, my team and I would like to enter the tournament, if it is not too late,” Silva asks.

“Of course,” Lauren said.

Silva and others wait for the guild officer to give them instructions. He pulls out the registration form on screen ready to begin the process.

“Ok, I would need your guild IDs and your team name,” Lauren asked.

“Of course,” Silva said, handing hers to the officer.

The others did the same by handing the officer their IDs.

“Ok if that is taken care of, what should be our team name?” Silva asked her friends.

The group came together to come up with a name and they had all good ideas, but it seems none was passing Silva’s approval.

Then she came up with, “We will go with Team All-Around.”

“Very well, is that the name you wish to enter with?” Lauren asked.

“I believe so,” Silva said, turning to her friends.

“Very well, your team is registered for the tournament. Here is the rule book and badges you need to enter the tournament. Usually mixed teams of guild members are usually not allowed, but this year we have made an exception. Here are also the directions to the Fire Stars Hotel where all the competitors will be staying for the duration of the tournament, so please enjoy your stay and good luck at the tournament,” Lauren explained.

“Yes, of course thank you,” Silva said gathering the paper work.

“Is there anything else you need help with?” Lauren asked.

“Yes, I would like to issue a search and rescue warrant for Scout Valentine and Julius Hamilton from the Fire Rose Guild. They are part of my travelling party and I have not heard from them for two months now,” Silva reports.

“I will get right on that. I will make sure all the guilds stay on the look out.”

“Is there anything else?”

“Yes, I would like to put in a second request. I want all the guilds to gather and report information directly to me. I am making this as a triple S mission,” Silva explains.

“I will put in this request for you, but I will just need your authorization code,” Lauren said as she was typing on her computer.

“Yes…here you go,” Silva said, handing her a gold card.

“Silva, where did you get that kind of authority?” Lisa asked.

“Let’s just say I am pretty well connected,” Silva vaguely explained.

“Right….,” everyone slyly said.

“Your requests have been put in and the guilds have been alerted,” Lauren mentions.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Silva said.

“Yes, have a good evening,” Lauren said, as she was taking care of another group.

Silva and her friends leave the guild office and make their way to the hotel. Rufus, taking charge of the map, guides them through the city. Sadly, it seems less than five minutes, they were already lost in the city. Lisa was already pissed off with him since he made her ruin her new pair of shoes. The only bright side of this mess up is touring around the city and seeing the different shops and culture around the city. Silva notices Greer and Grace feeling hungry, so they quickly stop at a café to get some food. The food was delicious and whatever they had left over they took it with them to their hotel.

Now it was Terrance’s turn to guide them to the hotel and luckily this time they did not get lost.

As they are getting closer to the hotel, they begin to see large crowds of guild members coming far and wide on the planet to compete in this tournament.

“Wow, I've never seen so many guilds in one place before,” Lisa said, impressed.

“Hey, there are people from the Ice Rose Guild, Icy Wind Guild, Steamy Lake Guild, as well as the reigning champions the Tiger Lily Guild,” Rufus said, identifying the guilds.

“Wow, Rufus, you sure are knowledgeable,” Lisa said, impressed.

“It is my job. I might be part of a different guild, but I have to know everything and everyone from the guilds especially for my mercenary work,” Rufus explained.

“Seriously, am I the only one that is not in the shady business front?” Lisa rhetorically asked.

“Yes, I believe so,” Silva answers.

“Whatever, let’s get some sleep. I am exhausted,” Lisa said, yawning a bit.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Silva said.

After chatting a bit more, they finally entered the hotel and headed over to the check-in desk to get their rooms. They passed the lobby with many eyes on them and mostly there were for Silva. It kind of freaked her out and she just wanted to get out of the lobby to spend time with her girls.

“Seriously, what has Silva not done to get this much attention?” Lisa asked.

“You have to ask,” Rufus teases.

Silva ignored their conversation and went to speak to the receptionist.

“Hello and welcome to Five Stars Hotel, my name is Elisa, what can I do for you?”

“Yes, we are last minute entrants for the tournament and we will like your biggest room you have here,” Silva orders.

“I am sorry, but those rooms are for V.I.P. guests only,” Elisa said.

“Elisa, I think you can do something,” Silva said, showing her ID.

Elisa takes one look at Silva’s ID and gets to work right away. Elisa searched very hard for a room and it turns out she did find one.

“Oh, it seems we have our penthouse left available. I will send someone to get it ready for you. Please wait here and I will have someone to escort you there at once.”

Silva turns to her and says, “Thank you so much for your help.”

“Silva, don’t tell me you used your private ID, so we can get the best room in the hotel,” Lisa whispered.

“Yeah, so what of it?” Silva mockingly asked.

Lisa rolls her eyes.

“Yes, well, if we are going to compete for the next three days, we might as well stay here in style,” Silva explains. “Be thankful to me and my many connections.”

“Yes, thank you Silva,” Lisa said, rolling her eyes again.

Lisa joined the others in a different conversation while Silva went to sit with her girls to wait for their room keys. She loved this moment being with her girls for so long and it was nice. She loves her girls and she felt guilty every time she left them at the guild.

At some point, she realized Terrance sat beside her and only sat, with no talking.

Seeing the girls fall asleep, made her fall asleep as well. She did not realize she fell asleep on Terrance’s chest.

“Oh, I never thought Silva would look happy for a change,” Lisa laughed.

“Yes, they do look like a happy family,” Rufus compliments.

Everyone started laughing until Elisa came over to get them.

“Excuse me, Miss Silva, your room is ready, please follow me,” Elisa said kindly.

Silva slowly wakes up and sees Elisa standing before her. She even shoved Terrance away, freaking her out a bit.

“Oh yes, thank you,” Silva said.

“Seth. Rufus. Please carry my girls up to the room.”

“Got it,” the boys agreed, as they gently lifted up the girls and started to carry them.

The gang soon followed Elisa to the V.I.P. elevator leading to their room. Lisa as always is impressed by the view. “Wow, you can see the whole city from up here,” Lisa excitedly said.

“Yes, the city is beautiful when viewing it in such great heights,” Elisa agrees.

“I even heard the city turns green when the sun hits the emerald in the center of the city, is this true,” Lisa asked with wonder in her eyes.

“It is true. Our beloved city does glow green and if I am right it should be starting soon. You can get a perfect view from the balcony,” Elisa explains as the elevator comes to a stop.

Once the doors open, Elisa escorts them to their room. In front of the door, she uses the key card to open the door. She steps to the side to let everyone in to view the room. It seems they have never been to a luxury room before. Lisa kept running around the penthouse trying to find the right room for her. Silva escorts the boys to one of the empty rooms to put the girls to bed and enjoy the rest of the day. She kissed her girl’s foreheads and went back to join the others.

“This room is amazing, Elisa. Thank you so much,” Lisa said.

“It is my pleasure.”

“Yes, Elisa, thank you for everything. I already sent you a handsome fund to your account for helping us,” Silva said.

“It is my pleasure. Have a good evening,” Elisa said, handing Silva the keys and walking out leaving them alone.

“Yes, I think I will take a nap, I am exhausted,” Lisa said heading off to bed.

“And miss the city turning green, wow shocker,” Silva teased.

“Alright, I will take a nap on the coach,” Lisa said heading to the coach then.

“Right, I think I will read the rule book for the tournament,” Terrance said kindly.

An hour later, everyone was beginning to relax in their own beds after so much traveling. Silva wanted to relax with her daughters , but it seems they were sound asleep, so she did not want to wake them up. She decides to head back to the living room where she sees Terrance reading something, so she joins him on the coach.

“So…what are you reading?” Silva asked as she took a seat on the coach close to him.

“Oh, hi Silva. I was reading the rule book about the tournament. There sure are a lot of rules. They even added new ones, like we can only use defensive magic and we are not allowed to use magically enhanced weapons. It seems we are only allowed to use swords and other non-magical methods of fighting,” Terrance explained.

“I will let you know about the rest once I am done reading.”

“Hum…this is the first time I ever heard of a tournament not allowing magic. I wonder what this change is all about,” Silva said thinking about it.

“Maybe, we will just have to see it to believe it,” Terrance explained.

“Yes…hey guys hurry up the city is about to turn green!” Silva shouted, staring out the window.

Everyone heard her call and started running out to the balcony to witness the color changing event.

“Wow this is amazing, I never thought a whole city could turn green just by the glow of the sun to a gem,” Lisa said, impressed.

“Yes, it truly is amazing,” Silva said, staring at the city.

“Yes, it sure is, anyways we better get some sleep before tomorrow,” Raquel said heading off to sleep.

“Yes, well, see you later,” Silva said, heading off to bed.

“Right, let’s hope we win this tournament,” Lisa said heading off to bed.

“Yeah, you and me both,” Terrance plainly said, continuing reading the book.

“Yes, let’s do our best to win the tournament,” Rufus said, drinking his wine.

“Yeah, let’s win,” Seth said excitedly.

The gang went to sleep with one thing in mind: winning this tournament. Let’s see what happens, who will win or who will lose, either way there will be a ton of action in the tournament, so stay tuned and keep on reading.