After Avan had gazed lost in thought at the coming starry sky, Yue nudged him with his elbow to bring his attention back to the here and now. The commander of the city guard waited slightly impatiently, tapping his left foot on the ground and crossing his arms. For a brief moment, Avan almost had to smile, because the man's bald head seemed to him like a shining crescent moon.

"Just a moment, please, sir. Through all the rushing, you may not have noticed, but my companion was injured in the fight in the back alley. I'd like to take care of it for a moment." He briefly addressed the man and turned to Yue to kneel before her without much ifs and buts.

Before the leader of the guard could reply, Avan beat him to it. "Yes, I am... a healer, as you can certainly see from my identification. It should only take a few seconds." He finished the sentence and looked questioningly at Yue.

"Go ahead. And thank you..." She gave him her consent and blushed slightly as Avan placed his right hand on the outside of her right thigh.

With brief concentration and a lot of practice from his own injuries in the dungeon over the past few weeks, he let mana flow through his blood vessels to nourish [Akkalon's Touch] with healing mana. Iridescent and pulsating blue magic lit up from the palm of his hand, and bluish veins could be seen emanating from the area touched by his hand. Unlike the dual invocations of both celestial spheres as earlier in the fight, the healing was a cold and soothing breeze that tingled through and over his arm. After only a few seconds, the spectacle was over and he stood up again.

With a smile, he nodded to her as the strict guard turned impatiently. "That could have waited, you know. There are more important things to do that can't stand any more postponement!" he grumbled and marched on across the forecourt.

The few inhabitants that Avan could spot here were all dressed up, as if they belonged to a higher caste of merchants, craftsmen, or even the lower nobility. For an upper nobility it was then probably not quite pompous enough. He also noticed that Yue was staring straight ahead at the commander's back with great disinterest, apparently already used to the surroundings or having an aversion to the local residents. He looked at her questioningly, but got no reaction, except a typical back and forth swinging of her fox tail.

Before he knew it, the trio were already marching through a large entrance door, which seemed to be open even after sunset, past groups of different races who were eyeing them and whispering to each other. The entrance gate was at least twice as high as the brawler he had fought in the alley, and wide enough for a wagon to pass comfortably through. Of course, it was a bit of a spectacle for the presumed adventurer groups when the commander of the city guard came marching through the large entrance hall with Avan and Yue in tow. The entrance hall itself was large enough to fit in the marketplace from noon. Tables, benches, and seating areas lined the left and right sides of the room, while in the center and farther back was a row of counters and desks. At the sides of the room, various doors led to neighboring rooms, and at the left and right ends of the entrance hall were staircases that led upward in a baroque style to a gallery and the second floor.

Before the strange trio could arrive at the first counter, someone called out to them from the left half of the hall. The person in question was just coming down the stairs, waving to Avan and Yue. With a second glance, he realized that it was the [Bladeswalker] and leader of the adventurer group they had met in the dungeon. With a frown, the guard captain turned to Eve and waited with his arms crossed until she stood in front of them.

"Heyyy Avan, Yue! You finally made it! Thank the gods that nothing happened to you. But we could have thought of that before.... Well! Anyway, too late and you seem to be alive and well, apart from a few bruises. And hello Commander Larin. Guildmaster Stormcloud and his assistant are already waiting for us upstairs in his office and you have been expected. If you would all please follow me?" She first addressed Yue and Avan, then casually continued with the head of the city guard. She winked at Yue, turned and waved over her shoulder for them to follow her.

The trio of guard captain, fox girl and a young man with silver-gold shining hair followed the warrior without comment. Or almost without comment, if one did not count the angry grumbling of the bald man.

They climbed the stairs, which were covered with a kind of carpet, to the second floor and finally escaped the stares and whispers of the other guild members in the entrance hall. With a relieved sigh, Avan looked at the ornate staircase railing, which contained all sorts of different monsters and battles as masterful and detailed carvings. Even Yue seemed to look around unnoticed, trying hard not to show her nervousness. Which, of course, was not entirely successful, with her ears twitching frantically back and forth and her fox tail trailing her like a faithless companion. Avan had to chuckle briefly and caught a pouty look from Yue.

When they reached the second floor, both of them were briefly speechless. Expensive carpets littered the corridors, while runes and silver-plated scrollwork decorated the walls, the doors, and the banisters that allowed a view of the entrance hall in all its glory. The second floor towered a good twenty meters above the entrance hall and the view of the various areas of the guild below was unparalleled. The runes and supposed enchantments glowed in blue, yellow and reddish hues and gave the impression of having a life of their own. Which was perhaps not entirely wrong, if one included alarm systems and defense mechanisms. The ceiling was littered with self-luminous crystals, in stark contrast to the gigantic chandelier that hung from the ceiling in the center of the entrance hall with its ten-meter diameter, which Avan had not really noticed from below with all the attention they had garnered. All in all, a feast for the eyes and a testimony to the power and social standing of the adventurers' guild.

Without noticing it, Avan almost stumbled into Yue, who had abruptly stopped in front of the commander's massive back, who himself was standing with Eve in front of a beautifully decorated silver door on which she was knocking.

After a not unfriendly "Come in!" from a grandfatherly-sounding voice, the warrior gently pushed open the door and, followed by the others, entered the office of Cyntha's guildmaster.

Avan was the last to enter the office and immediately spotted an older but spry-looking man in his mid-sixties.

Yep. Of course, dumbledore. Who else? White long beard, pointed wizard hat, and a gray robe with gold trim. He quietly chuckled to himself without moving his mouth.

Next to the wise-looking man, who was just getting up from his seat behind the desk, sat a younger lady, who was very engrossed in scribbling something in a notebook at an adjacent table.

"Welcome! Welcome! I am extremely glad that nothing worse has happened to you!" Spoke the guildmaster, now standing, with welcoming and outstretched arms. "And be sure, if I get my hands on the client, he will be more than a little sorry!" He added grimly to his short welcome speech.

"So, sit down, sit down! Elisa, my dear. Could you have some tea brought to our guests? I think they've more than earned it after all the fuss today." He addressed the woman, who was still engrossed in her booklet, writing line after line.

"Ehem!" The guild master coughed into his hand. Suddenly, as if she had only just become aware of the guests in the room, the young woman startled and looked around the room. With a glance at the Dumbledore of this world, she bowed briefly to the guests and reached behind her to grab a pair of glasses from the table and put them on. "Excuse me very much! Tea, yes, of course! I'll order it right away, grandfather!" She spoke to no one in particular and rushed out of the room.

With a somewhat awkward silence, the guildmaster cleared his throat and gestured again to his guests to sit down. "Ehm, yes. That was my granddaughter, Elisa. Forgive her for she is always lost in her thoughts. When she has thrown herself passionately into a subject, she is mentally caught up in another world! She is also my assistant and helps me with the daily tasks with which they try to overwhelm me every day." He explained curtly, with a gentle glance towards the door, and sat down again behind his desk.

"Then I'll introduce myself. My name is Helio Stormcloud and I am the Guildmaster of the local Adventurer's Guild branch here in Cyntha. Eve here has already described everything to me and the situation after I received the confirmation from you, especially from Miss Yue, is then as follows. "He explained with a quick gesture to Eve, who was lounging in her chair on the far left, then pointing to Avan and finally to Yue. "We will, especially now that the city guard is involved, and hopefully with Commander Larin's approval, report the quest as complete. This will send a magical impulse to the client, who signed the contract with his magical signature. As soon as he shows up at our counter to pick up his reclaimed niece, we will apprehend and interrogate him. That is the theory. Would that be in your interest, Commander Larin?" He explained to all present and concluded with a glance, hands folded on the desk in front of him, at the leader of the city guard.

Larin stared at the guild master and then nodded, visibly more pleased with the situation that had simply landed on his desk. "That does indeed sound acceptable, Helio. I will distribute guards at important positions around the forecourt and mingle a few of my more experienced guards in civilian clothes with the people in the entrance hall. I'm sure this lookout would recognize me immediately, and the trap would be busted." He replied in slow, deliberate sentences. "Besides, I'm glad to hear that the adventurer's guild was able to grasp the problem so quickly and has already made plans to seize it." He finished his sentence with a stern look at the guildmaster.

The man simply waved him off and sat back as his granddaughter Elisa came through the door with a servant and a tea trolley in tow.

While the tea was being poured, Elisa introduced herself properly and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment as she explained the situation earlier and how engrossed she had been in a magical treatise on the practical theory of applied rune techniques from an elvish ruin.

Shortly after, Commander Larin nodded briefly to those present and took his leave to prepare the guards and plans for the next morning. They had agreed that Yue in particular could use a good night's rest before preparing the trap.

Eve also excused herself shortly after finishing her tea in record time and left the room in search of her own group.

While Yue seemed drawn to the grandfatherly figure who listened patiently, Avan became entangled in conversation with Elisa after telling her about his plans to learn runes and enchantments. It quickly became clear, however, that while Elisa was familiar with high theory, she could offer no practical help with enchanting itself. The reading of the runes, however, she could help Avan. "If you really find new runes that even Balgur the dwarven runesmith doesn't know, then I beg you to show them to me! Would you do that for me?!" She begged him after he told her about his conversation with the burly dwarf. She gave him a look almost like a puppy and looked at him desperately, completely lost in her element, while she jerkily moved closer and closer to him.

With her face less than thirty centimeters from his own, he leaned back a bit, amused, and fended off the enthusiastic rune researcher with raised hands and a laugh. "It's okay, ahahaha! I promise you. But only the runes that I pay the blacksmith as payment for his teaching! More runes could be negotiated." He explained to her and laughed even louder at her dismayed expression, because he would dare to withhold runes from her. Only a look at her indignant face and her slightly contracted eyebrows made him laugh further.

"Ahhh, I can't take it anymore." He laughed and gratefully relieved himself of some of the burdens he had been silently carrying around. Yue's security and the weeks of self-imposed loneliness had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit all this time. It was good to be able to laugh with other people besides Yue. He really needed to be among people again.

Wiping away a small tear at the edge of his left eye, Avan calmed down a bit and only then noticed the looks of the three others present in the room. Yue smiled merrily, while the guildmaster smiled knowingly at him, and Elisa, though still looking at him indignantly, had a glint in her eyes.

Some time later, and after some yawning on Yue's part, Helio offered them each a room here in the guild, which Avan and Yue accepted with thanks.

Elisa showed them the rooms, which, according to a brief whisper from Yue, were NOT normally found on the second floor. As soon as Elisa opened the first door to Yue's room, Avan immediately realized what she meant.

The room was not a small quarter, but bordered on a suite, which he knew in his home world only from movies and series. He only caught a glimpse of the anteroom, and that was enough for him as the guild master's granddaughter wished Yue a good night and pulled him along by the arm without waiting. Yue grinned after him and then closed the door with a tired look.

The next room was also decorated with a silver door and led into a room with a four-poster bed, ornately embroidered carpets on the floor, and two-meter-high windows that offered a view over a large part of the city. Avan was too speechless to realize that Elisa was standing next to him, savoring his reaction with a friendly smile.

When he noticed her standing next to him, she spoke. "I was pleased to make your acquaintance, Avan. Especially the way you saved Yue." She told him with a smile and continued. "And I was also surprised and pleased by your keen interest in runes. Since I came to Cyntha with my grandfather some years ago, I've been relatively alone with my studies and have only had the pleasure of talking to Balgur about them from time to time. When he was not grumbling and busy with something else.” She giggled. “Therefore, thank you. It was very refreshing. Please don't hesitate to contact me again if you want to philosophize further about runes and enchantments. And don't forget to show me the runes, which will earn you a basic lesson with Balgur!" she told him, wagging her index finger in his face in mock indignation toward the end, while her other hand adjusted her glasses to the tip of her nose in a practiced gesture.

They said goodbye and Avan bowed slightly to her as she stood outside in the hallway once again. "It was a pleasure to meet you, too, Elisa. Thank you for the stimulating conversation! You are a wonderful conversationalist and researcher; it seems to me. I'll be happy to get back to you anytime, if that would be all right." He flattered her and watched with amusement as she scratched the side of her head in embarrassment and looked to the side. "Um, yeah. I'd love to. Of course. Have a good night!" She huffed to him and then hurried off rather briskly.

With a smile on his face, Avan closed the door. Without much ado, he got rid of his clothes and inspected the bathroom next door.

Ohhh, awesome! A sink, a toilet with flush and even a bathtub with running hot water! I am in heaven! OH MY GOD. He squeaked almost gleefully when he saw this luxury in front of him.

Without waiting much, he poured himself a tub full of water, and used the toilet with a newfound sense of happiness as the steaming warm water flowed in.

After more than an hour of soaking, Avan re-entered the bedroom and rummaged around in his backpack, which he had unceremoniously dropped in front of the bed. He fished out a pair of reasonably fresh underpants, put them on, and plopped into the super soft bed without further ado. While he was still enjoying the feeling of lying in a real soft bed, he already fell asleep and was lost in the land of dreams.