“Next!” Jules yelled. A Demon walked in through the door, his face nearly split in half by a scar, taking the Demon’s eye, nose and mouth.

He walked with a limp; his right knee looked to be shattered and his right arm had been torn apart with only a small nub holding onto the crutch that held him upwards.

Jules was running the healing clinic within the Stone Raiders’ Guild Hall.

“Please take a seat,” she said, waving to the examination table. She pressed her hand against the Demon. He hung his head as if he’d given up.

The damage was pretty bad and it would take some time, but with what she’d been able to do for Kol and the other mangled patients that had come to see her, she rubbed her hands together.

“Okay, the head’s going to take some time. The arm will be something you need to come back here regularly to get checked on progress as we’ll have to grow it from something else. Good thing for you that here, with the Stone Raiders, we’ve created the skill to clone people’s anatomy. I also see that your wing is a bit messed up. If you want, we can start today. We can get everything but your limbs sorted out right now,” Jules said.

The Demon looked up to her as if fearing to believe her.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Make yourself comfortable and we’ll get started in a few minutes. I need a few supplies.”

Jules started pulling things out of cupboards and putting them onto a rolling table. She pulled out more items from her bag of holding.

“Why, are you doing this for me?” the Demon asked, speaking slowly so that he didn’t mess up the words with his messed up jaw and torn lips.

“Back on Earth, I took an oath to help anyone when I can, no matter what, so that’s what I’m doing. Lie back please.” Jules wheeled the table over.

“Thank you,” the Demon said, tears in his eyes. While the Demons seemed to have gotten over most of the conditioning that made them think, that unless they were a fighter they were useless, to the ones in the DCA, they didn‘t know anything else. Having their bodies torn apart and made useless terrified them. As they had criticized one another for weakness to get stronger, they were now the weak ones. Jules wasn’t just healing their bodies, she was giving them back the life that they had devoted themselves to.

“When you wake up, this is just going to be a bad memory,” Jules smiled to the Demon, tears falling from his face. Jules cast a sleep spell on him. His eyes closed and Jules rolled up her sleeves. It was her seventh patient today. While others fought and warred to gain their levels, she toiled away with the wounded and broken.

Whether it was farm hands from Verlun or those that had been injured in Devil’s Crater or in Cliff-Hill, all had wounds that they wouldn’t normally be able to heal. For some, it was because it was too expensive. For others, the wounds were too severe for POE medics to deal with it.

It was a small thing, but to them, it was huge. When Jules had suggested it, Josh had given her access to the treasury and all the support he could muster.

“We might be visitors to this world, but the POEs, I can’t help but feel protective of. Help the worst and those that are allied with us first, but heal whoever you want and get the supplies you need. A bit of goodwill here can mean a lot in the future,” Josh said.

As I look around, I keep thinking that we’re not becoming just the most powerful guild on Emerilia, but an Empire.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind and pulled out a scalpel. First she needed to remove the dead flesh, then she could work on regrowing healthy tissues.

***

Oson’Mal finished repeating Dave’s idea to the Mage’s Guild Archmage Alamos.

Alamos tapped his chin in thought.

“Well, I think College’s Archmage Jelanos will go with the plan. After all, it is rather ingenious. I know that there are a number of people that want to learn this fabled magical coding. It seems that Dave has made something here that could completely revolutionize magical circuits and make them available to everyone to learn and make, though I do not know how he is going to have so many people produce mirror of communications. They can take months to make by master craftsmen.”

“Well, he can make one in about ten minutes, if he wants to, so a normal person might need a week if he’s teaching them,” Mal said.

Alamos raised his eyebrow in interest, but didn’t say anything.

“Very well, I will take this to Jelanos and we should have an agreement made within a few weeks. Now, onto the matter of the Stone Raiders becoming an affiliate of the Mage’s guild and college. We accept this and we can make you a valued retailer. This means that we will decrease the costs of buying goods from us and we hope that you will reciprocate. It also means that any of your people are welcome to stay at one of the guild’s inns. They can also teach, learn and take on Mage’s guild and college contracts. Does this sound amenable to you?”

“I can’t make those decisions, but I can pass it on and put you into contact with Josh,” Mal said.

“Please do,” Alamos said.

Mal shared Josh’s contact information as well as sending him a message of what Alamos had proposed.

“Well, I must get back to my studies, thank you for hearing me out,” Mal said, rising.

“My door is always open Mal, and the Stone Raiders are a force I would prefer to have on the Mages side,” Alamos said coming around the desk and guiding Mal out.

A prompt jumped up into his vision.

Your Guild has joined the Stone Raiders Guild

The Stone Raiders are now affiliated with the Mages Guild.

You gain:

Discounts for Mage's guild members in Stone Raiders affiliated shops and locations (discounts can increase based on guildmember’s level, contribution to Stone Raiders and stats)

Affiliation will be dissolved:

If the two guilds go to war with one another.

There is a break or breach in contract and people from one guild treat the other’s with hostility (refer to affiliate guild relationships)

“Something the matter?” Mal asked.

“No, just Josh accepted my proposal, didn’t think he would act this fast,” Alamos laughed.

***

Josh sent his own Guild affiliation screen out of his vision with a flick of his hand, finding another waiting for him.

You have earned a new class: Guild Master

You have taken on one of the hardest roles in all of Emerilia. You have led your Guild through thick and thin and they have placed their faith in your leadership. Don’t fuck up.

Status:

Level 1

Effects:

When fighting with a group of your guild over 5 people, you all gain a 1% boost in stats.

50 people, 2% boost

100 people, 3% boost

200 people, 4% boost

400 people, 5% boost

600 people, 6% boost

Josh whistled to himself, looking to the next pop-up.

Quest: Guild Master 2

Have 1,000 guild members

Rewards: Unlock Level 3 Quest

Gain +2% base to guild members’ stats when defending

Josh checked the wiki, his eyes opening in alarm.

It would be a base 2 to the five people, increasing by two for every larger group. Damn it doesn’t sound impressive, but with people’s stats that is a hell of a bonus!

“That could be useful if this Lord Esamael decides to act. Wasn’t long ago that we were fighting in Devil’s Crater. When you get to the top there really are snakes all around looking to take your position,” Josh sighed to himself.

Since Lucy had been able to foist most of her responsibilities to others, she had been focusing on gathering information. The image, her information was creating, was a scary one. Esamael’s people were powerful and he had large forces backing him.

Josh wouldn’t care what he did as long as he left the guild alone, but it was readily becoming clear that he didn’t care for the Stone Raiders and wanted to destroy them.

Josh’s hand curled into a fist as he remembered Selhi Capital.

We won’t be stepped on again. He sat like that for a few minutes before Florence entered her office that he temporarily was using during his stay in Verlun.

“I hope my seat is comfortable, I heard we’re affiliated with the Mage’s guild now,” she said.

“That we are, Florence. I have something I want you to look into for me,” Josh said, leaning forward with a cold look in his eyes.

“What is it?” Florence asked, her eyes thinning as her excited atmosphere from moments ago disappeared.

“While we can’t attack Selhi Capital for what they did to us, I want you and Lucy to come up with a plan to make them and the world know what happens to someone that screws with the Stone Raiders,” Josh said.

Florence nodded.

“It won’t be easy, but I can think of a few ways we can do it. Lucy and I should have something planned out within a week,” Florence said.

Josh’s eyebrow raised.

“This is my guild and they treated us like shit because they thought of us as nothing more than a bunch of first guild amateurs. I lost a lot of gold there, I’ve often thought of a few ways to repay their kindness,” Florence’s smile didn’t hold any kindness.

A predatory smile crossed Josh’s face.

***

Lady Merguine didn’t pause in her steps, the royal guard letting her into the King’s office without hesitation.

King Sigaird sat at the large desk that took up the majority of the room. He barely glanced up from his interface before going back to work. As soon as the doors closed behind Merguine, runes glowed, showing that protections were working.

Most wouldn’t notice them, but Merguine had a keen eye for the smallest details.

“From your report, it doesn’t sound good,” the King said, looking to Merguine as she took a seat.

“No it doesn’t,” she said, a picture of regal beauty. “It seems that all of the towns between us and Verlun are controlled by Esamael’s forces. From what we can tell, he has control of a number of guard units as well as roving bandit bands. There have been zero survivors from the bandit raids for more than a year. I think at that time, he started taking over. It also seems that the cities that are around Per’Ush’s harbor, are also with Esamael. Geldir, Frentia, and Asamal are on our side. We’ve confirmed this through truth seekers,” Merguine said, referring to the men and women who practised mind magic to reveal the truth of people’s words, Merguine’s hunter-spies.

“What about Verlun?” Sigaird asked.

Merguine straightened out her dress, wondering the best way to proceed.

“Different elements within Verlun are allied with either Lord Esamael or the Stone Raiders,” Merguine said.

“They’re just a guild, what can they offer them?” King Sigaird said, looking skeptical.

“Protection and a way to make a living,”

“They are my subjects, under my protection,” Sigaird said, slamming his fist against the desk.

“Where were you when they were being stepped on by Esamael, when they were being taxed so that they could barely feed their families even if they had a good harvest? Who hasn’t had a real presence in the area for years?” Merguine said, her tone cutting. “Your brother might have been the King, but you were second prince. You went off adventuring, not caring for the people until your brother died and you were forced to return.”

Sigaird made to reply but the fire in Merguine’s eyes and the shifting air in the room made him pause.

“Through this, Verlun and the fields from Geldir down to Asamal are now worked by fierce Stone Raiders’ supporters. They have provided jobs, education, training, a place in their guild, a new influx of gold, protection to those that support them as well as medical that most nobles are barely able to afford. People that have lived in Gudalo for generations are uprooting their lives, moving to Cliff-Hill and Devil’s Crater. The Stone Raiders give them options and don’t try to control them unless they become part of their guild. Stop thinking of the Stone Raiders as a Guild. Think of them as a fucking Empire, one that has the backing of the Dwarves, Aleph, Demons, Beast Kin, a number of Elves and Kingdoms. They are also now affiliated with the Adventurer’s, Trader’s and Mage’s Guilds. You are not working from a position of strength. In fact, you are the weakest of the three players in this fight. I have it on good account that the Stone Raiders are not to be underestimated,” Merguine said, stabbing her finger into the armrest of her chair.

King Sigaird, a bit shocked with the vehemence of her words and her tone, recovered after a few minutes.

“So, what do you suggest?” He asked finally.

“I think it’s time that you stopped treating Gudalo like a Kingdom. You’ve been trying to keep it going all this time, but your brother screwed it up and it’s coming apart. Talk to the races to the south. It’s about time we had peace; bringing them to the table will allow us to make real progress. Lord Esamael wants to tear everything down? Well, if we build ourselves up enough, his support is going to start to wane and fall to the wayside.”

“How long do you think until he moves? What do you think?” Sigaird asked, leaning forward, finally hearing an option that could keep Gudalo out of a war.

“With winter coming...” Merguine paused, looking to Sigaird.

“He won’t do anything until spring. Fighting in the winter is a pain in the ass. Make sure we have reinforcements moving from the southern borders at the time. We can’t go to the Stone Raiders as that makes us look weak. They’re a guild after all and they have no loyalty to us. Anything we say to them, we can assume that Esamael will hear. Uniting all of Gudalo, now that is a monumental task. However, if we do it, then Gudalo will finally be stable. Might not be a kingdom anymore, but I’d be fine with that. All this responsibility weighs on a person,” Sigaird said, showing his weariness as he let out a tired sigh.

“Well, it looks like we have a plan and a few months in which to do it. I suggest we get started,” Merguine said, standing.

“When this is all over, will you still go adventuring with me?” Sigaird asked in a quiet voice.

Merguine smiled, leaning on the desk.

“Of course I would, you big idiot.”

Sigaird leaned over the table himself, kissing her.

“Now, let’s get your stupid country sorted out,” she admonished pulling back.

“Alright,” Sigaird said, rolling his shoulders.

“The wind brings good word,” Merguine said.

Sigaird raised an eyebrow in interest.

“Well, good to know we have some people in our corner,” Sigaird said.

“Hurry up and make Gudalo one nation,” Merguine said, turning and walking out of the room.

The door opened for her, letting her out into the castle.

In minutes, she was out of the castle through a hidden entrance and moving quickly for a temple. She was admitted through a side door.

She stepped into a courtyard where a young lady was sitting in a chair, white hair spilling over its back, her foot bouncing erratically.

“Air,” an elderly Elf said from his seat along the side of the courtyard.

“What is it now, Venfik?” She said in a perpetually bored tone.

Merguine cleared her throat.

“Wooh, something fun!” Air said, jumping from her seat and gliding to Merguine.

“So, did you pass the message to Sigaird? The man is as stubborn as he is cute,” Air winked and giggled at Merguine’s expression.

“Don’t worry, he’s all yours,” Air said, walking around Merguine, her feet never touching the ground.

“I told him,” Merguine said. Faster than she could think, Air was right in front of her with her hands bunched together under her chin as if she was some child hearing a bard’s stories.

“Well?” She squealed.

“He is for the idea of unifying the rest of Gudalo,” Merguine said.

“Wooh! Who’s the best? I am, that’s who!” Air said, jumping ten feet into the air with her hand raised in a victory pose before coming back down.

“Good, the leaders to the south are also for it. Should take a few months, but when Esamael attacks, the country will come together as one. Nothing like a little fight to bring people together,” Air said.

“Are you sure he will attack?” Merguine asked.

Air’s eyes held Merguine’s as if judging her worthy of the information she held or not.

“You are my Champion and I have trust in you, but I know my Champions and some information should not be shared. If you find out on your own, then do with it as you will. However, I can only guide you so much,” as fast as she had been serious, she went back to dancing around the courtyard, making Merguine wonder if it had even really happened.

“Okay, Venfik, so who’s next on the list?” Air asked, Venfik stood from his chair with a more elegant air.

“Markolm,” he said with a tired voice.

Air pouted her shoulders slumped and arms down low. “The Elves are always so boring with how proper they want everything, though!”

“They are also where the Angels will most likely be released. The Alliance needs the Elves to fight what is to come. Either that, or the various entities in Ashal?” Venfik asked.

“Fine! Markolm it is. See you later, Merguine!” Air shot up into the air in a white blur.

“Look after yourself Champion,” Venfik said, giving her a bow before following his lady through the Air.

Merguine watched the two’s display of wind control in slight shock before shaking her head.

“Sigaird and I just had to become Champions of Lady Air.”