Hey, Luna? What the hell was that?

There was a brief pause while I waited for Luna to talk back to me. It seemed like Cindy understood that I was having a mental conversation based on my expression, so she remained quiet.

It’s probably nothing. I was simply surprised. Just… the name Stephanie has some significance to me. There are thousands of Stephanie’s in the world, and the odds of this being the one I’m thinking about are rather slim. It would be nothing to worry about regardless.

I nodded my head and looked back up at Cindy.

Curious, she asked, “Is it something I should worry about?”

I shook my head. “No, probably not. Luna seemed to have some familiarity with someone named Stephanie, and she was surprised.”

Cindy looked pensive after I told her and thought for a bit.

“Well… yes. It’s probably nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Yeah, that seemed genuine. Not. I made a disappointed face and looked at her with questioning eyes. Her only response was to smile back. She was obviously thinking of something but had no desire to tell me. Perhaps trying to break the awkwardness, she quickly tried to change the subject.

“By the way, Ellie McLaurin is doing well, but her background seems rather dubious to me. I was able to get some information out of her, but not much. Anyway, it turns out that…”

I didn’t mind the change of subject so much, but this made no sense. I held up both hands and cut her off. “Wait, wait. Who the heck is Ellie McLaurin? What are you talking about?”

Cindy raised one carefully styled eyebrow in confusion. “…Did you not know the name of the girl squatting in your house?”

Ah. So, the little girl’s name was Ellie. If I recall, the time limit for letting her stay in my house was a full week, which meant a new armor set was quickly approaching. I guess a full week would be the day after tomorrow, though I wanted to be back in the dungeon tomorrow night so I would probably miss it. Maybe it was just the warrior part of me showing its head again, but the art of combat was… alluring. I wanted to get back into the thick of things ASAP.

Angrily, I responded, “Maybe I missed her name when we first met, but I was more than a little bit flustered during our meeting. My instincts were driving me up a wall, and the idea of pandering to some kid forced on me by Zald didn’t seem great!”

That… was probably a bit too aggressive. Letting out a sigh, I calmed down a bit, continuing after a deep breath. “Regardless, thanks for checking on her. I’m sure you were busy here, and it only served to give you more work. So, back to what you were saying. Is she doing okay? What’s her situation?”

“It’s alright Victoria. While I don’t have nearly as powerful instincts as you do, I still have them so I can understand you somewhat. Ellie is doing well, though she seems on edge constantly. I believe my being there frequently has helped her to calm down, at least a little bit.

” From what I could glean based on our brief conversations, she seems to be the daughter of a state senator living in the capital. When the waves started, they went to the government buildings, but her father died somehow, leaving her and her brother alone. They both got classes at an obelisk in the capital building, but something happened, and she was forced to flee, leaving her brother behind. She was completely silent on the where and why, and I have no idea what her connection to Zald might be.”

McLaurin did sound like a familiar name to me, though I couldn’t pin it down. I might have read it on a political sign in someone’s yard in the past, but I had nothing concrete. Unfortunately, her backstory left a lot to be desired. The person or people after her could theoretically be anyone. Her brother, other senators, more bandits or gangsters looking to ransom someone, all possible culprits. The list was long, and until she opened up, or the other shoe dropped, there was nothing I could do.

At the same time, was it worth it getting into a fight with politicians? I did not doubt that their power had lessened with the loss of all communication lines outside of the city, but Austin Texas was still the capital of the State. It had lots of autonomy, and unless every senator and the governor himself died during the waves, there was no way that they would fail to exert their power. I know Austin did have a military installation as well, so the federal government likely had some sway here too. Martial law had been declared right before everything went dark, but I had no idea how the mental manipulation effected the soldiers stationed here, or the members of the governing body.

I breathed out another long sigh. This subject was above me, and I knew that I couldn’t even hope to navigate the turbid waters of politics. Being a fighter could only take you so far, it seemed.

“That could be very dangerous,” I said in a grave voice. “There’s no telling what could happen with Ellie, or who she’s involved with.”

Cindy put on a serious expression and nodded. “We need to be very careful who we tell about her. This is a situation that could get blown way out of proportion, and it’s important we place ourselves in a position to avoid as much blowback as possible. Already, some vestiges of the Texas government are starting to pull themselves back together. From what we have gleaned, the governor is dead, as well as more than half of the law-making body. Steph is currently trying to have talks with those remaining, making sure we can keep the guild up and running. It’s not like there’s a licensing agency for hunting monsters, and the amount of sway that less than half of a state senate could have is relatively low, at least for now. Her reports have been… concerning, though.”

I slightly nodded again. That made sense. Remembering her previous comments about Steph, I asked, “You said before you would need my help with something. What strange reports are you talking about?”

Standing up, Cindy walked back to her desk and used a key taken out of her pocket to open the top right drawer. Grabbing a piece of paper, she held it out to me. “Here, Victoria. Read the report yourself.”

I took it out of her hand and started at the top. The report was written on a piece of notebook paper, and had clear concise script. It seemed very like Steph.

Event Day 17

Report #28

The capital building was surrounded by groups of men and women wearing full-body police issue protective gear. No skin is shown, and they stand completely still for hours on end, without the slightest of movements. I was greeted by a man who called himself Mr. Dale and taken for a tour of the premises after showing him my credentials. Upon questioning, my guide explained that they have received ‘special military training’, but his answer seems dubious and poorly thought out. Each of the members radiates a strange magic signature I liken to the scent of blood.

This is my second day of interacting with the politicians in the capitol building, and the first time they have allowed me into the capital building proper. The officials I have met do not like the idea of the guild but have raised no reasons as to why beyond the empowerment of civilians with unknows abilities. They have also refused to deploy their considerable forces around the city to cull monsters, keeping all of them for personal defense.

The building itself is full of extremely advanced magic circles, far more elaborate than anything I have seen to date. Different parts of the building are completely blocked off, and no one is allowed in. All of the windows have been blacked out, and no sunlight enters any part of the central complex.

In summation: I will continue the observation. I believe that something is going on here beyond simple preparation for attack, and caution is necessary for all further dealings. Do not trust anyone with connections to the politicians.

I looked up. “What, exactly, do you plan to do about this? This seems like far more than just a slight problem that you need help with. It seems incredibly shady, pun intended.”

Cindy seemed to agree, and I handed the report back to her.

“For now, we can only wait. If we make a move on the government to try and pry into their business, things could become very difficult. It’s clear something is going on, but until they actually do something were stuck. Our best bet is to prepare for an inevitable attack by monsters or the evil gods and try and grow in strength as an organization. Our best defense is to become so important to the survival of the people of Austin that any government can’t afford to replace us.”

That seemed like a good idea. The remnants of the Texas government seemed to be up to something weird. Their dislike of the guild was particularly strange considering the location. Texas was well known for being a state where guns abounded, and the government heavily favored businesses. Considering this, it was strange that the members of the government would resist such an beneficial organization. Hopefully Steph could investigate a bit more.

“Cindy, did you find any information on more police or the military stationed in the city?”

“No. Some adventurers reported that they were stationed here at the army base Camp Mabry, but when they returned to the camp from leave, they couldn’t find anyone. They found no sign of a fight, so they believed that the stationed soldiers retreated from the city and moved somewhere else, but there was no information on where that might be. For now, it looks like we’re on our own. Regardless, the Guild is doing well, and we now have more than 200 official members. There is no sign of the growth stopping here, and we have started sending out teams to cull monsters in the south Austin area, with a particular focus on the Frenzy Wolves.”

“That’s good. When I get back from this dungeon I would like to try and clear out that ruin in the junkyard. I should be strong enough to.”

Cindy smiled again. “I’ll be right there when you do. I need to start working on my levels again.”

After that, I bid Cindy farewell. Before I left, she gave me a simple badge made from steel forged by Donny. It bared the symbol of two crossed swords, which I presumed was the logo of the guild and would serve as my identification. I held the badge in my hands and ran my fingers over the embossed logo. It was strange, but it felt nice to be a part of something that was growing like this. Something new. I could see myself doing this for years into the future, and I felt a desire to protect what my friends had built. The first thing I needed to do though was to get strong enough to back that desire up.

The rest of my afternoon was free, so I decided to spend my time relaxing. I walked into the tavern part of the guild and used my hefty supply of copper and silver coins to order enough alchahol to get me properly sloshed. It had been a long time since I’d had anything to drink, and it was nice to let loose.

---------------------------- -

I woke up the next morning naked in my bed, hugging a barstool. I had no idea how it got to where it was, but it was covered in claw marks that I probably gave it last night. My sheets and mattress were a lost cause as well and were covered in gashes and holes. I quickly sat up and looked around my room, but the movement made a terrible pain shoot through me, and the start of a serious hangover picked up.

I tried to think back to what happened the night before. I remember some singing and dancing, and I remember flirting with the bartender. There was something about a fistfight and maybe some gambling, and then there was nothing. Hopefully, I didn’t wreak too much havoc.

Slowly I stood up, untangling myself from the scrapped remains of my sheets and mattress. I hobbled into the bathroom where I promptly threw up in the toilet. I washed my mouth out and drank some water, all the while casting Aqua Heal on myself. After the second cast I started to clear up, and I was feeling a bit better.

I quickly got dressed and went ahead and equipped my armored boots and gauntlets. I had been wearing them so long that they were no longer uncomfortable and cumbersome, and I felt a bit naked without the protection they provided, even if I was in my own home. I also went ahead and packed my bag again, preparing for my departure later that day.

Looking out the window, I could see Donny hammering away in his forge, probably working on the sword recipe that I left for him. I moved into the kitchen, having a wonderful cup of coffee, and eating some toast with butter and honey. I brought it into the living room, where I ate on the couch. I decided to turn on the TV to see what was happening.

The local news channel was currently the only one operating, but that was more than enough for me. I recognized the normal news anchors that I’d always seen, a man and a woman, though I didn’t remember their names. The man sported an impressive set of antlers and was some kind of deer or elk beast person, while the woman appeared to become some type of magic race, either an elf or a type of fae. Both seemed in rather high spirits, which was a good sign.

They must have managed to get a radio up and running and connected it to their partner stations across the country because they had some impressive information. Based on their meteorologists, the climate of the whole southern united states had changed completely, some places having unnaturally hot weather, while others would be unnaturally cold, and this was completely disregarding the actual seasons. While it was now spring, many places were experiencing weather that they would usually see in the late summer or fall, and some places were still getting heavy snow.

The expansion of the world nocked most of the weather satellite out of orbit and sent them either careening into space, or crashing down to earth, so there was no way to get an accurate image of what the country now looked like. Supposedly a few reporters tried to fly somewhere in a helicopter and were immediately attacked by multiple higher altitude flying monsters, so sending drones into the sky to take pictures was unlikely to work.

In other news, no one knew how the power came back on. The power plants were all far outside of the town, and according to some electricians, it’s as if the grid is functioning perfectly but only around Austin. The power is even more stable than it was before the first wave. Their best guess was that someone successfully integrated the power grid with either magic or some either type of new technology.

It was nice just watching some TV after a while. I waited until the stories started repeating, and then headed outside to see what everyone was up to.