Chapter 24

Of course, I wasn’t going to listen to them when they said not to tell anyone. As soon as I left their chambers I rejoined my friends. They all looked at me expectantly, eager to hear what had transpired in the council meeting. I hesitated for a moment, not entirely sure how to convey the gravity of the situation. But one thing was sure; I wasn’t going to keep it to myself.

"The council is divided," I began. "Lady Gwyneth and Lord Gavin want us to focus on delving dungeons and gaining power to counter the orcs. But Lord Kelvin and Lady Douglas… they want war. They think we should attack the orc dungeon raiding parties and try to take out the orc with the dungeon sense power."

William frowned. "And what does Lord Marshal think?"

I sighed. "He's harder to read, but I think he's leaning toward war. I could sense it in the way he spoke."

Pascal crossed his arms, his expression serious. "This is a dangerous game they're playing. If we go to war with the orcs, we could lose everything we've worked so hard to build."

Tania shook her head. "We can't let that happen. We have to find a way to stop this before it gets out of hand."

"We should be focused on delving dungeons and gaining power like Lady Gwyneth and Lord Gavin suggested," Pascal said. "It's the best way to stay ahead of the orcs and keep our people safe."

William nodded in agreement. "It's true. War would only lead to more suffering and loss. We've seen it before."

I felt a sense of responsibility weighing on me. "I want to help. I know my power can make a difference, and I want to use it for the good of everyone. But how do we convince the council to change their minds?"

“Are you sure we should?” Pete asked. “I mean, these are orcs we’re talking about. Dylan, you’ve only seen an orc one time. Most of us have had a lot more dealings with them. They can’t be trusted, and they’re always dangerous. It might be that it’s simply time to wipe them out for the good of everyone.”

“Last time people tried that, it almost ended with Artensia in flames,” Tania reminded him.

“Yeah, I know. My family was…” Pete’s voice cut off. “Listen, I’m going to go to my room for a bit.”

“Pete, I’m sorry, I—“ Tania was saying.

Pete cut her off before she could finish. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it. It’s OK, Tania.” He flashed her a weak smile and walked off.

I glanced a querying look at William. Once Pete was out of hearing range, he explained. “Pete lost both his parents in a series of battles against the orcs, many years ago. He’s got an understandably sore temper toward them.”

“No shit? Man, no wonder he’s upset. Who wouldn’t be?” I said. Poor Pete. I brought my attention back to what we’d been discussing. “We’re not exactly top ranked Guardians. How do we get them to listen to us?”

Pascal looked thoughtful. "We need to show them that your power can give us the advantage we need. We need to prove that delving dungeons and strengthening our forces is the better option."

Tania smiled. "And we'll support you every step of the way, Dylan. Together, we can change the course of this conflict and protect our people."

Finally, as evening approached, we were summoned to Lady Gwyneth's office once again. We filed in, everyone from the team except Pete, who was still off on his own.

Gwyneth seemed frustrated to my eyes. She usually exuded an aura of boundless patience. It was part of what made her such a good teacher. But right now her face was pinched, her tone of voice sharper than usual. I got the feeling the meeting had gone the way I expected, and not the way Gwyneth preferred.

She stood before us, her expression serious but resolute. "The leadership council has convened, and we've reached a decision. We cannot allow the orcs to continue delving dungeons and amassing power unchecked. It is our duty as Guardians to protect the realm and ensure the safety of its people."

Pascal straightened his posture, a determined glint in his eye. "What would you have us do, Lady Gwyneth?"

"We will be organizing a special task force to monitor and, if necessary, confront the orcs in their dungeon delving activities. Pascal, your team will be a part of that force. You were specifically requested by Lord Kelvin. He said he’s heard good things about your people,” Gwyneth said.

Gwyneth paused, her gaze shifting to me. "Dylan, your power is an invaluable resource in these uncertain times. With Pascal's team assigned to the special task force, we need to utilize your abilities in the best way possible."

I felt a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. "What do you have in mind, Lady Gwyneth?"

Her eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief. “Well, the council wants to keep you off the task force, so you are safe from the orcs. Since you can’t be part of that mission, I can assign you how I’d prefer. I want you to form a new team, one dedicated to delving dungeons and gathering the resources we need to restore balance with the orcs without resorting to warfare. I believe we can make a difference, but we need to act quickly and decisively."

My heart raced. I was losing the chance to patrol with my friends, the team I’d been working with. That part sucked. But starting a new team with a mission to change the council’s minds sounded awesome. "I'm ready to do what you need, Lady Gwyneth. But who will be on my team?"

Gwyneth smiled. "I have a few people in mind. They're newer Guardians, low-ranked, but they have potential. I think they'll be a good fit for you, and more importantly, they won't be missed by the more warlike members of the council."

I nodded, eager to get started. "When can I meet them?"

"Soon," Gwyneth promised. "In the meantime, I want you to continue training and honing your abilities. The more adept you become at detecting and navigating dungeons, the better our chances of success."

Tania and William exchanged glances, their expressions reflecting their support for Gwyneth's plan. Pascal clapped a hand on my shoulder, his smile both proud and reassuring. "You're going to do great, Dylan. We'll be out there, keeping an eye on the orcs, while you and your new team show everyone there's a better way."

“Pascal, take your team for some downtime. Patrols will begin early tomorrow; we will have a roster posted by breakfast. Dylan, please stay a few minutes if you would,” Gwyneth added as we all turned to go. “There’s a few additional details I need to go over with you.”

I waited patiently while the others filed out, wondering what it was Gwyneth wanted to chat about without the others around. Pascal shot me a meaningful glance as I left, and I tilted my head with the slightest nod. Of course I was going to let them know what the scoop was, soon as I could.

Once it was just the two of us, Gwyneth motioned to a chair. “Please have a seat.”

I sat. “What’s so secret we couldn’t share it with the others?”

Gwyneth laughed. “Oh, I have no doubts you’ll share whatever I say in here with your friends.”

I must have looked abashed, since I’d literally been thinking that a few moments prior. The look on my face made her laugh again. “Don’t worry, Dylan. It’s all right. I expect you to be honest with your friends. It’s a good trait to have. But some of what I am going to tell you is information they already know, since they grew up here. But because you’re new, you’re missing context for much of what’s happening.”

“This is about the infighting at the council meeting, then?” I asked.

“Infighting? I suppose it might look that way to you, yes. It’s more complex than that, however,” she replied. “You know the primary guilds, up here on the hilltop: Guardians, Farmers, Crafters, Mages, Knowledge, and the now-defunct Adventurers. Together with the Ministry Guild, the leaders of each guild represent the ruling council of Artensia.”

“The Ministry Guild?” I asked. I’d missed that one, somehow. It didn’t have a guild hall where the others were, and I wracked my brain trying to recall if it was mentioned during the classes Gwyneth taught. From the look on her face, it had been, and I’d forgotten.

“The Ministry handles the day to day administration of the city services. They manage a variety of things, ranging from trash removal to city watch to healing clinics,” she reminded me.

That explained why I’d let it slip my mind; it wasn’t especially interesting to me. The last thing I wanted in my new life was to become a glorified cop or trash collector!

“But this leaves Artensia in a quandary, you see. Because although we should have seven guilds collectively making up the city council, with the Adventurers Guild closed, that leaves only six. And we are deadlocked on the matter of the orcs. Have been for some time,” she said. “The Mages, Knowledge, and Farmers guilds prefer a more diplomatic approach, but the Ministry, Crafters, and sadly the Guardians are all in favor of renewing war while we can still win.”

“But even there, the Guardians are split, right?” I asked. “It looked like you and Lord Gavin preferred peace.”

Gwyneth nodded. “That’s correct. We’re the most divided of the guilds, too. Which means Lord Marshal’s feeling on the subject is in essence deciding it for the entire city. Because Kelvin has managed to convince him that war is the only answer, and dungeons too dangerous to bother with, he’s given his vote for actions that will almost certainly lead to war.

“This is why I want you to prove Kelvin wrong. I need a proof of concept: we have to take a small group of low level Guardians like yourself and rank them up as quickly as possible. Once we’ve achieved that, it should be simple to show Marshal that there are other options we can pursue.”

I thought about the problem for a second. There was one perfectly good solution that it seemed nobody was interested in pursuing, and I wanted to know why. “Couldn’t we just open the Adventurers Guild back up again? Then there would be seven guilds again, and the deadlock would end.”

“And what’s to stop Kelvin or someone who follows him from inserting themselves as the guild leader there?” Gwyneth pointed out. “We might get the guild re-opened only to discover we’ve set things up so war is completely inevitable. No, that would only work if we knew for sure who would be placed in charge of the guild. Besides, it was closed for lack of interest. Kelvin isn’t wrong; we lost a lot of people delving the Prime Dungeon. It’s very dangerous.”

“Well, we probably won’t start there,” I said. I’d already faced the denizens of regular dungeons. I felt pretty confident I could lead a team to victory against them.

“That would be wise. The benefit you have, what’s changed with your arrival, is that dungeon sense sigil. Without it, the only reliable dungeon to explore is the Prime Dungeon, since it’s always there and always easy to find, right in the center of the Crater. But with your skill, you can quickly find other dungeons to explore, avoiding the need to enter the Prime Dungeon.”

We had a plan, and now I knew the background as to why Gwyneth was jumping through so many hoops. The course she outlined for me to follow was twisty, but it sounded like we had a good shot at succeeding.

“I’ll do my best, then,” I said. What else was there to say?

“Excellent. I’ll assemble a team for you tonight, and introduce you all in the morning.”