Chapter Four Hundred and Forty-Four - Recall

"Did you ever hear the story of the tadpole that called snake?" Mathilde asked as I stumbled into her big office. It was the nicer one on the ground floor of the Guild, and its use as a more impressive showroom showed. The furniture was richer, and the room much larger, with expansive plush seats facing a huge desk that was completely clear except for a tidy pile of papers on Mathilde's left.

"Um," I said. "I haven't, no," I admitted. "Is it anything like the boy who cried wolf?"

"Is the story about someone young and foolish who calls for help, only for it to be unneeded, and so they erode the trust of their elders?" Mathilde asked.

"Yup, that sounds about right."

"Then yes, I suppose the stories are similar, if only in the lesson they try to teach. In any case, I don't drop everything for emergencies on a whim. At the moment, you're the tadpole calling snake, so to speak."

I supposed that made sense. "Alright. Booksie was kidnapped, Cholondee and the sylph and the gangs of Port Royal know, and soon Rhawrexdee will know too, and we're mostly hoping that he doesn't, ah, thunderbolt the entire city."

Mathilde blinked her big froggy eyes. "That does count as an emergency, yes," she said.

"Oh, good. I was hoping it would be enough," I said. "I wouldn't want to have a bad reputation."

"Has the city guard been informed? An evacuation might be in order."

"No, not yet. I think Cholondee plans on telling her brother in a, ah, calm way, maybe? So that he doesn't explode the city. I was hoping that the Exploration Guild could help us find Booksie. Chlondee's gangsters and the sylph embassy should be searching already."

Mathilde tapped her fingers on her desk in a quick rhythm. "So, maybe we won't need to evacuate."

"It would be nice if we could close down all the exits to the city," I said. "To make sure that the people that kidnapped Booksie don't get away with her."

"A valid idea," Mathilde said. "It'll cost just about every last political favour I have to convince the guard to close down the exits, even temporarily."

"I don't know if political favours will matter all that much if Rhawrexdee goes all dragon on the entire city," I pointed out.

"And if we happen to save the bride-to-be then the shared back-patting will more than recoup any losses," Mathilde said. "We'll have to lock down the port as well, check every ship that departed recently, and verify if anyone used the teleportation system at the Mages Guild. Very well, I'll start sending messages out. I imagine you wanted some assistance with the search as well?"

"That would be very nice," I said with a quick bob of the head. "I bet the guild has a lot of good searchers."

"We do. But our best isn't here." Mathilde eyed me in a way that had my spine straightening. "What are you going to do now?"

"Now? Um. return to my friends, I guess? Maybe to the Beaver to tell the others there."

"No," Mathilde said.

"No?"

"No. Instead, I want you fetching some assistance from outside of the city. The grenoil shepherding the latest batch of prospective members is one of my best trackers. With the speed in which things are developing, it might be worth it to cancel the training mission and get them back as soon as possible."

"That's the group that left with Awen and Calamity?" I asked.

She nodded. "Exactly them, yes. They left some... three hours ago? I imagine they're at their destination by now."

"I can catch up," I said confidently. After all, they were moving as a big group. I'd be free to run after them. I was pretty sure that I could sprint fast enough to catch a group that was probably either walking or travelling by cart.

Mathilde opened a drawer on her desk, then plucked a pen from a small holder. She wrote something quickly onto a fresh page, then pulled out a form that she filled with an expert flourish, as if she'd done it a million times.

"This is your guild quest," she said, handing me the form. I scanned it, and it basically said that I was charged with catching up to a grenoil called Sir jean-Pierre Tissue and relay his new orders: drop everything and immediately begin searching for Booksie. The team of new explorers were to be conscripted as his assistants. "And this is what you'll need to catch up," Mathilde added as she gave me another paper.

It was a writ from the guild, saying that Mathild herself would cover the costs of one teleportation on her own tab. The back of the paper was a letter to someone called Mage Procko. It outlined what I'd told Mathilde, but in a sort of semi-officious tone. Mathilde Mariejoy was scrawled at the bottom of the better in barely legible cursive.

"Teleportation?" I asked.

"The exploration team was sent down the mountain to a small outpost. Their actual mission for the day is to explore a well-known and relatively safe dungeon that's been acting up. The dungeon and outpost aren't too far. Three days by cart, maybe half a day's distance for anyone with the right traversal skills, but it was still too far for a day trip, and there's a teleportation system in place to the outpost already."

"Oh," I said. I nodded. So Awen and Calamity got teleported along with the rest of the new recruits. That was... actually, a really cool way for the guild to show off, which was probably also part of the deal. "Will the mage be able to bring me close?"

"Very," she said. "He can be trusted. We're old drinking buddies."

"I don't have all of my exploration gear," I said.

"Then consider it a test of how you handle yourself without," Mathilde said. "Time is pressing."

"Right!" I agreed. "Right-right! I'm off then. Thanks Mathilde!"

"That's Guild Master Mariejoy to you," she said as I darted out of the room. I was sure she'd get things moving while I wasn't here. My job was to get that tracker back. I was actually pretty happy to have it, because sitting around not doing anything while I worried over Booksie would have driven me spare.

The Mage's Guild building was just down Guild row.

The stone structure was covered in arcane symbols and the doorway was framed by two glowing orbs that glowed a soft blue light. I rushed towards the entrance, past mages of various ages and normal people going about their business.

I'd been here once before, but it was a long, long time ago, and I'd mostly forgotten how colossal and magical the guild's interior was. "Can I help you?" a young grenoil mage with silver spectacles that seemed a tad too large for his face inquired from behind a polished counter.

"I'm here to see Mage Procko," I replied, handing over the writ from Mathilde. "Guild Master Mariejoy sent me. It's kinda urgent"

The young mage's eyes widened slightly as he read the writ, then he gave a curt nod. "Follow me," he murmured, leading me through a maze of narrow corridors. The walls were lined with bookshelves, filled with ancient tomes and scrolls. Every so often, I'd catch a glimpse of a room where mages were deep in study or practice. This felt like the kind of place that Amaryllis would adore.

We stopped before a door covered in arcane symbols. "Mage Procko should be inside," the young mage said before knocking softly.

The door swung open all on its own, and I found a large room with desks and bookshelves along the edges, but nothing but a raised dais in the centre. It was a big stone step, and someone had carefully carved some markings onto its surface.

"Yes?" an older man asked. Another grenoil, this one looking quite a bit wrinklier than the young mage helping me, with robes that had probably been very stately once but which had clearly been on the receiving end of a few too many magical accidents.

"Hi!" I said. "My name's Broccoli Bunch, I'm from the Exploration Guild. I have this for you, from the Guild Master." I handed the same writ over.

Mage Procko took the writ, his eyes scanning over the contents briefly. "Ah, I see. An urgent matter zen," he remarked, his voice carrying a deep timbre, like a cello playing a low note.

"Very urgent, sir," I replied while shifting from one foot to the other. I wanted to shake him and maybe panic a little, but that would have been rude.

He looked me up and down, his gaze sharp and assessing. "You're not equipped as I'd expect an explorer to be. Especially for such a vital task."

I shrugged, feeling a bit self-conscious. "It's an emergency, I didn't have time to gear up. Mathilde said it would be a test of how I handle myself without all my gear."

He hummed thoughtfully. "Very well. I admire your courage. Ze teleportation circle on zis dais will take you directly to Rockstack. Zey only left a few hours ago.

I nodded, eager to get going. "Thank you, Mage Procko."

He waved a hand, dismissing my gratitude. "It's ze least I can do. Besides," he added with a sly grin, "Mathilde and I go way back. I owe her a few favours."

I stepped onto the dias, then blinked. "Wait, did you say Rockstack?"

But it was too late, because I was being gripped around the middle by a powerful surge of magic and flung through nothing at all.

***