Glenn

Whistling happily to himself at the end of another satisfying day protecting Wolfpine, Glenn hurried home after completing his afternoon shift at the gates. He had a whole day off tomorrow, and he and Erika were set to play another Strat-Go game past noon. It had been so long since he’d had a worthy opponent. Becka had played the game only to humor him, and Zack had absolutely refused.

The sun hadn’t quite set just yet, and its fiery descent lit the town in bright, clean red. Glenn had always enjoyed sunset as much as he enjoyed sunrise. Wolfpine, and Grassea, really were quite beautiful, and as nice as it might have been to travel, there were far worse places to be stuck. He had his parents, his friends, his fellow Town Guards, and a whole town behind him now.

Better yet, he had a literal blessing from the Gods. They’d chosen him to serve as a Protector of All, and as sad as he’d been as Becka left for Evolan, the past few months had once again showed him just how wise the Gods could be. He would continue to show Them They’d made the right choice in choosing him to protect the people and town he loved.

And when Becka returned in three short years, he’d be waiting for her.

Glenn stopped outside his home, out of habit, and peeked in the window before entering. If his mother or father had an Adventurer inside, he didn’t want to interrupt them. This time, surprisingly, there actually was an Adventurer inside—and worse, one Glenn recognized.

Leopold Argentshade? What was that troublemaker doing at his house? And why were both his mother and his father talking with Leopold so intently?

Glenn debated only a moment before reaching for the door. Leo couldn’t harm his parents, of course—the Law of Consent protected everyone in Wolfpine—but still, the man should know a Town Guard was watching him. Leo had walked back into town this morning without a word or glance, which assured Glenn he hadn’t caught up with Zack, but still. He’d tried.

The moment Glenn entered his parent’s home, all three people inside turned to look at him. His father looked concerned. His mother looked resigned. And as for Leopold himself, he looked ... actually apologetic?

Had the man come here to apologize for something? Did he feel guilty about following Zack out of the town gates today? Or did he intend to press his foolish case about his missing coin pouch directly a Town Guard?

“Close the door,” Tania said grimly. “And lock it, Glenn.”

Glenn hesitated a moment as his brain caught up, then moved to obey. His mother never asked him to lock their door, at least not until well after supper. There was always the chance an Adventurer could come by who needed Enchanting or the services of the town Scribe.

Face calm, Leopold walked forward and extended his hand. “I’m sorry we must meet under these circumstances, but after talking with both your parents today, I feel you’re the best choice to help me with what has become an exceedingly delicate matter. First, let me re-introduce myself. Leopold Argentshade, Junior Blazer. I’d prefer if you call me Leo in conversation, but I won’t insist.”

Glenn took a moment to mentally adjust before he spoke. Leo was actually a Junior Blazer? That was the same rank Becka held right now!

Leo lowered his hand, and Glenn only then realized he’d failed to shake it. Too late now. He hoped the man... the Blazer ... wouldn’t be too offended. What was a Blazer doing pretending to be a troublesome Skirmisher?

“First,” Leo said, “I need to apologize for my deception and any trouble I caused you or your fellow Town Guards. Only Joanne Dewcrest knew why I was truly here in Wolfpine, and she was charged by Mayor Coleman to keep it to herself. And now, Glenn, I need your help.”

“My help,” Glenn repeatedly softly. “With what, exactly?”

“Your parents just informed me you’ve long been friends with Zack Silverstone. Is that correct?”

“I am,” Glenn agreed, as his mind whirred with fresh worries. “Is Zack in some sort of trouble?”

Glenn knew Zack had been hoping to join the Shadowers Guild. He suspected the guild might already have approached him. Yet he’d prayed that Zack would be sensible enough not to break any laws significant enough to draw the notice of the Blazers, or, if he did, not be caught doing it.

His hopes, it seemed, had been in vain.

“He is in significant trouble,” Leo said grimly. “Unfortunately, I now have proof Zack is knowingly or unknowingly aiding two fugitives who are staying right here in Wolfpine. Their names are Anna Bronzelight and Alan Starshine, though you may know them under different names.”

Glenn looked past Leo at his mother for confirmation, and she nodded. She believed Leo’s story about being a Junior Blazer, and one look at his father assured him Hal believed Leo as well. Leo wasn’t lying. He really was here at the behest of the Blazer’s Guild.

And Anna and Alan Ironstar—as they had introduced themselves while lying to his face—really were fugitives from justice. Gods, what had Zack gotten himself into now?

“I know them both,” Glenn said quietly. “I’ve met them, and they did use the names Anna and Alan. May I ask what they did, and how exactly Zack is involved in all of it?”

“Of course,” Leo said graciously. “First, to the fugitives. Understand I’ve only been given so much information myself, so I can only tell you what I’ve been told.”

Glenn nodded his understanding.

“My current understanding is that Anna Bronzelight is the sister of a powerful Politician from our neighboring province of Aquarine, specifically from the town of Frostford. It’s comparable in size to our own Lakebrooke, though set atop a mountain instead of on the sea.”

Glenn appreciated Leo adding the extra details. The books in Wolfpine had only the most basic of details on other provinces, and Glenn had only read them a few times years ago. He’d assumed he wouldn’t travel to another province for decades, if that.

“Four months ago,” Leo continued, “Anna Bronzelight and her cousin, Alan Starshine, absconded from her home province with over one-hundred moons stolen from Frostford’s treasury. I believe they hoped to slip away and start a new life here in Landers, funded by their ill-gotten gains.”

Glenn whistled softly. One-hundred moons? That was a score that would make even the most jaded Shadower drool with envy, and its loss would hurt even a town as large as Frostford. The town coffers were drawn from taxes upon Townsfolk and paid for everything in town, from the salaries of the Town Guards to purchases of food or other necessities from neighboring towns to city services.

Stealing from an individual was bad enough. Stealing from a whole town was downright reprehensible, yet as Glenn though back over the time he’d spent in the tavern with Anna and Alan, neither had struck him as the sort of person to do something like that.

Anna, in particular, had struck him as both kind and generous, particularly because Randi Callowdust absolutely adored her. Randi, Glenn had long found, was a good judge of character, and his mother had once told him that the truest way to discern someone’s true nature was to observe how they interacted with those who served them.

Still ... even Randi could sometimes get it wrong.

“So those two were who you were following this morning,” Glenn said evenly. “Not Zack.”

Leo nodded. “I suspected that was you on the gates. I couldn’t be certain, but I have done what I can to get to know even armored Town Guards by sight. Sadly, I wasn’t as stealthy as I hoped. Anna, Alan, and Zack noticed me, then split in hopes of assessing my motives.”

Leo went on to describe how he’d tracked Zack into the woods, and once he got to the part about the Rakshasha, Glenn felt a chill. “Is it still out there?” He suppressed the urge to go running to the Town Guard barracks for his [Guardian Mace].

“I’ve already passed a warning onto to Joanne,” Leo said calmly, “and she and your Captain Cliffbreeze are petitioning Mayor Coleman to create a Quest to hunt it down. There should also already be a notice in the town square warning Adventurers to steer clear of the Deepscorn Woods.”

Glenn forced himself to relax. It sounded like Logain, Joanne, Leo, and even Mayor Coleman were all already doing everything they could to protect Grassea’s young Adventurers from a Level 15 Demon that could rip them apart as easily as blinking. There wasn’t much else he could do, unless Mayor Coleman gave him a Quest to go hunt the demon down. Which he would happily do.

Instead, Glenn chose to focus on what he could do right now. “So why is my friendship with Zack important to you? More importantly, what led you to me at all?”

“I initially came here simply to speak to your father,” Leo said, with a nod to Hal. “My mentor in the Blazers tasked me with locating Anna and Alan. My orders were to notify her in Lakebrooke, once I found them, and your father just dispatched phantom correspondence to do just that.”

“At which point I learned Leo was a Blazer,” Hal said, as he stepped forward. “And also, that Zack had these fugitives staying at his house. That’s when I knew you two needed to meet, Glenn. I don’t want Beth caught up in this business any more than she has been, and we all worry about Zack.”

Glenn understood his father’s worries all too well. “You’re worried Zack will try to defend his friends when Leo arrests them. He’ll break the law and challenge the Blazers to help them escape, which will get him arrested right beside him. And you want me to talk him out of it, don’t you?”

“Zack knows you,” Leo said calmly. “We also don’t know how much Anna has actually told him about what she did. Zack may not know that she and her brother stole from the coffers of Frostford, and we can’t know his true reasons for aiding them. The biggest problem is that I doubt Zack will tell me, a Blazer who lied to him, anything. But he may speak with you.”

“I doubt it,” Glenn said quietly, though inwardly, he wondered if Zack would tell him anything.

On the surface, what Leo now asked of Glenn seemed lawfully cut and dry. Anna and Alan had stolen from Frostford and fled to Landers. Zack had given them shelter. If Zack knew that Anna and Alan were fugitives—which knowing Zack, he must—he was willingly aiding fugitives from the law.

As a Town Guard, Glenn’s duty to help Leo arrest all three of them was clear.

Yet despite the law being so obvious, approaching and then betraying his best friend still felt wrong. This was the first time since the Gods made him a guard that Glenn had been asked to choose between his duty as a Town Guard and his duty as Zack’s friend. He’d known this day would come some day, given Zack’s choice to join the Shadowers Guild ... but he’d hoped it wouldn’t be for years.

Yet as with his foolish hope to leave Wolfpine with Becka over three months ago, his hope that Zack’s new life wouldn’t put in conflict with Glenn’s had been foolish as well.