Chapter 27

Metropolitan

“Home sweet home!” exclaimed Tara.

Janus was amazed. They hadn’t left the tunnel system yet. Instead, the region they entered reminded him of a rail station. It was a wide open chamber with info desks near the center. The opposing wall was covered with various tunnel entrances.

“Where are we?” asked Janus.

“Oh, right. We’re below the Bear Station Delver’s guild. It’s a bit different from the guild in Crow Station.” Tara explained.

“I’ve seen the Delver’s Guild here from above. I just had no idea all these tunnels were down here.”

“Well, we don’t have the luxury of tunneling right into the cavern wall. Our Delver’s Guild is smack dab in the middle of the station, after all.”

“Yeah… That makes sense.”

Janus followed the other up a winding staircase and emerged in the guild above. It was much larger on the inside than the guild in Crow Station, but that made sense. Crow Station was much smaller than many of the others.

He had never been inside the Delver’s Guild in Bear Station, however. He used to eat his lunches outside and stare at the massive building, dreaming of being a delver. His college was only a few blocks away.

“Oh, right, ya’ don’t got anywhere to stay tonight, do ya’?” asked Rowan.

“No. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it.” Janus had been more focused on figuring out where his dad was.

“He can stay with me. I have extra space in my room.” Surprisingly, it was Hashilli that spoke.

“You’re sure?” asked Janus. “I’m sure with the money from the writ, I can find somewhere to stay.”

“It will be fine. The money from the writ will only last you so long.” Hashilli replied.

Janus suspected that there may be an ulterior motive for Hashilli’s kindness. He remembered the man’s reaction when he had mistakingly covered the group in a spray of water.

Hashilli removed his hat and gestured towards another set of stairs going even further up. “You said that you had things to take care of. I will show you my room so that you can continue with your business.”

“You stay in the guild?” Most delvers in Crow Station stayed in the Backwash, so the revelation was another surprise for Janus.

“Indeed. The guild provides lodging for members.”

Tara turned in the writ for the dungeon clear at a clerk in the center of the room. The others collected their reward for the writ as Janus watched.

“Here, I’ll give you a third of mine.” Tara said and handed Janus two silver eagles. She glared at Rowan until he did the same. Hashilli offered a third of his share without complaint.

Tara and Rowan bid Janus farewell and made plans to meet him the following day in the guild commons.

Hashilli was not interested in small talk as he led Janus to his room. The guild seemed almost larger from the inside than it did from the outside as Janus climbed flight after flight of stairs. Finally, Hashilli led him out of the stairwell and into a hallway. There were doors on either side, each with its own number. He followed Hashilli to number 314.

“This is my room. I should be here all night. You need only knock,” said Hashilli.

“I appreciate it. Thank you”

“It is no matter.”

With that, Hashilli stepped inside. Janus stood there, uncertain if he should follow or head back downstairs. Hashilli cut off his moment of indecision by closing the door in his face.

Downstairs it is.

His legs were a bit sore as he finally reached the ground floor of the guild. He knew the guild here was larger than Crow Station’s, but the size was still overwhelming. Bear Station was the “unofficial” headquarters of the guild. The official headquarters were seated in Eagle Station. From what Janus had read, the two wings of the guild were fiercely competitive.

The common area of the ground floor was covered in a neat array of tables and chairs. Many of those tables were already occupied by delvers and visitors to the guild. Along the walls were various rooms. Each room appeared to contain a small shop.

Curious, Janus approached the shops and stared at an arrangement of delving equipment. Armor, weapons, enchanted items, and dungeon drops were on offer. The selection was dazzling.

It wasn’t the first time Janus had been in such a shop, but the variety here was incredible. There must have been a dozen shops specializing in different wares. Janus wished he had the courage to come inside the guild when he had still been attending his classes.

I guess it doesn’t matter now.

Janus stopped gaping at the shops and made his way to a kiosk in the center of the guild floor. There were several bored looking clerks there, scribbling away in notebooks and stamping paperwork.

“Hello, please present your guild ID,” stated a clerk as Janus approached. Somehow, the man appeared even more disinterested than the others.

Oh, right. I never actually joined the guild officially… the clerks in Crow Station were a lot less strict about this stuff.

He had intended to ask the clerks about the situation in Crow Station, but decided that he might as well apply to the guild. Tara and Rowan might have questions if he wasn’t listed as a member.

“Uh, hi. I guess I’m here to apply to the guild,” said Janus.

The mans eyes lit up a little at the news. Janus was curious why a new member would excite the clerk when he had looked so bored a moment ago.

“Fill out this paperwork. You already meet the level requirements.”

Janus took the papers from the clerk and used the ink and quill already on the desk to fill it out. He had to list his class and skills along with his station ID number. There was a section that asked for his residence and Janus simply put “Room 314 Delver’s Guild.” He hoped that Hashilli didn’t mind. The last few pages were all legalese that mostly went over Janus’ head. He assumed the guild wanted to waive responsibility if he died while on a job.

Janus shuffled the papers around into their correct order and pushed them back towards the clerk. “How long will I have to wait?”

“Hopefully not long.” The clerk smiled. “If I had my way, you’d be approved by the end of tonight. Alas, bureaucracy.”

“Why do you seem so eager?”

The clerk looked embarrassed. “We get a sign-on bonus for high levels and in demand classes. You’re not the highest level, but most join at the minimum, which is 20. And, well, [Enhancer]s are always in demand.”

“Huh, well, the faster it gets approved, the better. I have some questions, though, if you could help me out.”

“Yes, of course.”

“I wanted to know about Crow Station and if there were any refugees?”

The clerk winced. “That was a tragedy. Other than the first batch of people, I don’t know if anyone else made it out. Unfortunately, the rail line was collapsed… The guild is organizing a rescue effort through the delver tunnels.”

“The rail line collapsed?” Janus could feel his heart pump in his chest.

“Yeah, well. It’s standard protocol. They collapsed the rail line to protect the other stations. Whatever happened in Crow Station, it was big. The governor here has turned up security like crazy.”

“What about the workers that were repairing the rail line between here and Crow Station?” Janus asked.

“Woah, slow down. The workers? I’m not sure if they were evacuated or not. I guess they may have collapsed the rail line further down… If anything, those workers would have been involved.”

“But you said that there were refugees?”

“Yeah, whoever made it to the rail station before the line was collapsed would have been evacuated either to here or to Cougar Station. I don’t know much, but the governor’s office has been rehousing the refugees. You would probably have more luck with them.” The clerk shrugged.

“Right, yeah. Thanks.”

If he stayed behind to collapse the rail line….

The thought only made Janus even more anxious. The best-case scenario would put his dad somewhere in Bear Station. Otherwise he could be in Cougar Station, or…. Janus didn’t want to entertain the thought.

He made his way towards the exit of the guild and stepped through a revolving door. The guild was near the center of Bear Station, along with dozens of offices. Bear Station Hall wasn’t far.

Thankfully, Janus and the others had arrived around midday. The station rune lights were all at their brightest. There was a crowd of people milling around, going every which direction.

I forgot how much I hate walking around here.

Janus had never been all that comfortable with the crowds, but he pushed down his discomfort and started heading towards Bear Station Hall. It was one of the larger buildings in the station and loomed over the offices nearby.

When he got to the entrance, a station officer at the door gestured towards him. “Woah, stop right there.”

Oh no.

“You look like you’ve been through a meat grinder, kid,” the officer said.

My robe! I forgot how horrible I looked. I should have stopped by Hashilli’s place for a shower… and maybe some fresh clothes.

Janus complied and stood off to the side. In response, the officer took out a strange runic device and waved it over Janus’ body. It let out an abortive buzzing sound when it passed over his pocket with the [Focus] and [Torchstones].

The officer stepped back. “Alright. Slowly reach into your pocket and present any enchanted objects.”

There was no reason to argue in Janus’ mind, so he did as the man instructed, presenting the items.

“Alright, that stuff is pretty harmless.” The officer waved the runic device over Janus’ body again. “What is your business at Bear Station Hall today?”

“Uh, I was told to come here to ask after the refugees from Crow Station,” said Janus.

“Could I see your ID?”

Janus shuffled around in his pack until he found his wallet. He still had his Crow Station ID inside.

“You’re one of the refugees? I took you for a delver. I thought they had already matched all the refugees up with whatever families made it here.”

“I, uh, I came from the tunnels.”

The officer winced. “That sounds pretty rough. Everything seems to check out, but I’m going to have to accompany you inside.”

The man motioned to another officer at the door.

Janus watched the exchange, his anxiety rising by the minute. “Uh sure, whatever works.”

“Pretend like I’m not even here. The secretary should hopefully get you sorted.”