Faye woke a few hours later disoriented. A hand was shaking her.

“Miss Faye, please wake up.”

“Huh, wha? Yeah?”

“The Administrator’s asking for you,” the voice said. A moment later a warm cup was thrust into her hand. “Here, breakfast broth. It’ll wake you and give you energy.”

Faye nodded and blearily brought the cup to her lips. The broth smelled divine and even the scent brought her mind closer to the surface of wakefulness.

She tried to ask a question, but it came out as a strangled croak.

She coughed, then took a sip of the broth. Swallowing the not-too-hot mixture, she tried again.

“Thanks, what time is it?”

The light in the room was artificial, a single low-light lantern, and there were no external windows.

“Two hours until noon. You’ve been down for about four hours. Sorry, would have let you sleep longer if we could.”

Faye shook her head. “No, that’s alright. I want to help.”

She stood and started tipping the cup in ever bigger pours into her mouth. The breakfast broth was meaty and contained what she would call barley back home. The herbs and flavours involved were complex and, surprised, she found herself wanting to lick the cup clean.

“That was fantastic,” she said. “My compliments to the chef!”

The lantern burned brighter as the Guild attendant twisted a knob at the bottom. She turned around and it was a woman a decade older than Faye. She smiled.

“Thank you, it’s a family recipe.”

“You made this?” Faye exclaimed. “You’re amazing. If you can be convinced to give me the recipe, I’d love you forever.”

The attendant shook her head a little, smiling. “My great grandmother would reach through the veil and burn me to a crisp if I even considered it.”

Faye nodded, sagely. “I understand.”

She grinned again, placing the cup down on the bedside cabinet. The broth really had done a fantastic job at waking her. She had fallen asleep on top of the bed covers, dirty clothes and all, and she felt bad for that, but the attendant waved her through the door.

“Administrator needs you, get going!”

“Thanks again!” Faye called as she hurried down the hallway.

This section of the Guild was typically adventurers-only, but she saw more than a few civilians through open doors. The Guild was more open with its space in times of need. She nodded. Good.

The main lobby was once again, or still she supposed, filled to the brim with people.

Avoiding the rushing figures as they darted from place to place, Faye made her way carefully over to the boards of information that the Administrator was standing before, once again conducting the Guild like an orchestra.

The Administrator noticed Faye’s approach and gestured her forward.

“Adventurer Faye, sorry to have you woken so early. How are you feeling?”

“Much better, especially after the broth. Whatever you pay her is not enough.”

The Administrator smiled. “I’ll take that under advisement.”

“You needed me, though?” Faye asked.

“Indeed.”

The Administrator did not look okay. But a moment after the thought filtered through Faye’s mind, the look of utter despair had passed. She looked straight at Faye and grimly smiled.

“The situation is evolving. Eanraigh, the Guild Leader, has not yet returned from dealing with the monstrosity. We have the northern gate under our control. From what we’ve gleaned, the southern and western gates are under enemy control.”

“Ah, about the western gate,” Faye said, “there were large numbers of lesser briars there, but someone entered the town and drew them away. Most of them. That was early this morning. Primalist attention was not on the gate, however.”

The Administrator nodded. “Excellent, thank you. The barriers have us hemmed in the north-eastern quarter of the town. I understand that you brought your team in over the wall. We are contemplating sending a team to the eastern gate using the same method.”

Faye nodded. “It worked well, but it was darker and I daresay they weren’t expecting us to just run past them. It will be harder in daytime.”

An assistant stepped forward. “Administrator, if I may? Adventurer, we are missing our clear communication lines with the Guard. Whilst some of their members are here, helping, there are many more on the eastern side of the town. Trouble is that we cannot get to them.”

“What happens when you try?” Faye asked.

“Runners do not return. Or, if they do, they are so badly hurt that they cannot work.”

Faye turned to the Administrator. “What about Arran and the others? They could break through.”

“The adventurers are all working on other jobs, right now. The only one still here is Gavan, though he’s exhausted his mana healing. I’m wondering if we might discuss the tactical options available to you now?”

Faye took a deep breath. “Sure,” she said. As she opened her mouth to say more, a gravelly voice shouted from the other side of the room.

“Wait! Wait for us!”

Faye turned to see Maggie and Taveon coming closer. Each one looked how Faye felt. Taveon was practically growling as he came forward, pulling on the arm of his robe as he came.

“Just luck that we decided to come join the party, eh?” he muttered. “Go on then, we’re here now.”

Faye grinned and bowed her head. “I’m sorry, I should have made sure you were here. Okay, now that we’re ready? Class name, Spellsword. Hybrid class, focused on merging spellwork with swordwork, it’s in the name. Stat distribution leans towards physical, but the highest single boost is in Willpower, per level. I’ll give you the details later, Administrator.”

The Administrator nodded.

“The main class skill that I possess,” she said, drawing her sword, “is using my blade as a focus.” Here, she enveloped the sword in mana and let it ignite.

She saw a few of the assistants grin, and some of them gasped.

“My spell [Blades of Flame] allows me to add a ranged attack to my sword swings. Medium cost, moderate damage, short range. I won’t demonstrate inside. The mana cost of igniting the blade is low, or incredibly low as I don’t really notice it anymore. I think it adds damage.”

She looked around at the Guild members and shrugged. “That’s about it. Oh, except that my [Swordfighter’s Sense] evolved into [Mana Sense].”

More of the attendants gasped. Taveon was grinning like a mad man, and the Administrator simply smiled.

“I must say, this level of openness is refreshing,” the Administrator said. “I will ensure that we pay you for your contribution to the Guild records. For now, I think it is safe to say that you are well on the way to becoming an interesting battlefield terror.”

“Hybrid attackers are rare,” Taveon spoke up. “Most people prefer the straightforward ability to deal out magic attacks or physical ones. When they do blend, it’s more likely we would see some kind of magical archer. I haven’t heard of this specific class.”

“I dare say the Guild may have heard of the class,” the Administrator said, “but as for its knowledge of it… I doubt it is significant. Faye, did you receive a skill relating to magic?”

Faye nodded. “Ah, yes. Basic spellcasting.”

The Administrator nodded. “Interesting, and you will have kept your Swordfighter passives, too? I wonder if they are still class skills?”

Faye queried the system.

Skills.

~ Skill List ~

[Skill Points:] 0

[Mana Sense] [Tier 1 - 1/5]

[Spellcasting — Basic] [Tier 0 - 1/5]

[Swordfighting — Intermediate] [Tier 0 - 4/5]

[Swordfighter's Sense] [Tier 0 - 5/5] [Locked]

[Survival — Basic] [Tier 0 - 4/10]

Swordfighting, intermediate.

~ Skill Info ~

[Swordfighting — Intermediate]

[Passive], [Class]

~ Description ~

A passive ability that grants Intermediate swordfighting ability.

She blinked as the information came to the forefront of her mind again.

“System doesn’t say much about the skill, but the [Class] indicator is still there.”

“Then it is a class skill,” Taveon said. “That’s two powerful passives. Let’s assume that Spellcasting can evolve into its higher tiers as well. Benefits of being a mage and the toughness and power of being a sword user, too. I can see the draw.”

Faye raised her hand and spoke into the surprised silence that followed. “Sorry, dumb question: why do I suddenly have no skill points?”

The Administrator nodded. “It’s natural after a class change to accept changes to skills, which will have used up the skill points. A skill point is used to evolve, or change, a skill. This is most likely what happened. The system should have warned you.”

Faye nodded. “It probably did. But honestly, there has been a lot happening." She clapped her hands, it was time to get things moving. "Alright, as interesting as this is, don’t we still have a town to rescue, or something?”

Maggie coughed and put the sleeve of her tunic across her mouth.

“Yes,” the Administrator said, with a glance at Maggie, “indeed. Faye, we need to get into the Guard’s barracks and understand their status, as well as determine the status of the eastern gate. If we can secure our flanks, we can be confident that an attack into the territory they hold in the south will not become surrounded. Can I ask you to lead a team of militia and some Guild members across to the barracks, leaving the Guild members there to assist with planning, to continue and either secure or liberate the eastern gate?”

Faye nodded, slowly. “I think that sounds doable. Escort mission paired with capture the flag.”

The Administrator ignored her response, which Faye grinned at.

That’s fair, I’m only pulling her leg anyway. Just because they’re respecting me now doesn’t mean I’ve straight forgotten what they used to react like.

Letting the Administrator and her assistants do what they did best, Faye requested to be taken to the nearest quartermaster. She needed new gear.

Faye waited in the queue for the Quartermaster’s bench. It would normally have been an armoury, but with the number of people the Guild were outfitting in this emergency, the quartermaster had moved many of their common items to the lobby and had set up a portable bar as the worktop.

The quartermaster himself was a large man, his ample belly covered by a brown leather jerkin that extended down to his knees.

The militia squad in front of her were six strong, and the quartermaster was doing his hardest to make sure that they knew the equipment was on loan.

She wasn’t sure the young men and women in the group particularly cared about that, though.

After they moved on, she approached the bench.

“What are you needing, then?” the Quartermaster asked.

“I have been using this blade,” Faye said, pulling the short sword from its scabbard and laying it flat against the bench.

“That’s Guild issue, miss,” the Quartermaster said after barely a single look at the sword. “I don’t recall having issued it to you.”

Faye shook her head. “No, that’s because I borrowed it—”

“Are you saying you stole from the Guild armoury?”

Faye scowled. “No, I borrowed it from a friend who was issued the blade. She doesn’t swing a blade as well as I do.”

The Quartermaster glowered. “And who was this mysterious friend of yours?”

“It was me, Cáloch, you oaf,” Maggie said as she stepped beside Faye. She speared the Quartermaster with a glare. “Are you seriously suggesting that after the Administrator has asked the Adventurer to trek across the enemy’s barriers with Guild men and women, to deliver them safely into the hands of the Guards, that you’d deny her every help the Guild can give?”

The Quartermaster, Cáloch, grumbled, swiping a meaty hand up and down his shaved head.

“Ahh, Maggie, don’t be like that…”

“I can be however I want to be, Quartermaster. Don’t think I’ve forgotten last year—”

“Now, now, Maggie, there’s no need to go speaking of that is there? What is it that our Adventurer needs? I will see to it straight away, personally.”

Maggie sniffed. “Bring her the swords, let her choose the best.”

The large man bowed at the waist, turned, and darted away into the piles of crates and equipment around the area of the lobby he had commandeered.

“Uhh,” Faye ventured. “Mags?”

Maggie turned an innocent look to Faye.

“What the hell was that?”

Maggie’s innocent look turned downright pixie-like. “The old buffoon was swindling the Guild. I caught him out and threatened to tell… he then vowed to go on the straight and narrow.”

Faye gave her a look. Maggie snorted out a laugh. “Oh, no, he’s still doing it. But at a much lower level than before, and at least this way we know who is doing the swindling.”

“The Administrator knows about it?” Faye asked, incredulously.

“Of course she does. She was the one who put me on the trail in the first place.”

Faye shook her head. “Seems daft, to me.”

“It’s worse when you don’t know what’s going on, believe me,” Maggie said, darkly. “Someone was siphoning off medical supplies when a particularly nasty illness hit the town.”

Faye grimaced. She had no doubt that in a town of this size, losing anyone to a bad illness was devastating.

“How does that work with the higher attributes?” she asked.

“Oh, it can get bad. Really bad.”

That was all Faye could get Maggie to say on the subject, not that she wanted to press her friend too much on it.

Cáloch came back over a few minutes later, a large leather bundle in his arms.

“Right, then,” he said, gruffly. Everything he did was gruff, the way he breathed, the way he moved, and the way he laid out the leather wrap — as it unrolled, it revealed a new sword with each turn of the bundle.

Faye grinned. There were plenty of choices.

The Quartermaster did squash her hopes a little, however, when he had finally unrolled the couple of metres worth of leather wrap.

“I must warn ye, that some of these blades are not in perfect condition.”

“Cáloch!” Maggie exclaimed, “What happened to ‘bring the adventurer the best we have’?”

“Aye!” the Quartermaster replied, in the same tone as Maggie, “I heard you, and I brought the bloody swords. But we don’t issue non-standard blades often, and you well know that. These are all the swords we’ve got.” Here, Cáloch turned to Faye. “Figured that if you weren’t interested in keeping hold of the shorter blade, you’d want something longer.”

“Yes, please. I miss the reach.”

“In that case, I have some of those fancy duelling blades that are all the fashion in the cities. Some of them are… well, let’s ignore those ones—” He pulled two of the thin rapiers out of the leather wrap and placed them to the side. “Right, so I’ve got one nice rapier.”

Faye took the proffered handle and admired the way the basket hilt wrapped around her hand. It was an elegant blade, not as thin as a foil or épée from modern fencing, but nowhere near the heft of her own blades.

She knew how to wield one, and she felt the quality in the weapon as she held it, but it was not her style.

“Let’s call that plan C,” she said, laying it on the bench to her right. “It’s not my preferred style. Something that I can use two hands on is ideal.”

The Quartermaster nodded, his hands instantly moving to another blade. This one was straight, double-edged and the hilt was long enough for both hands. The cross guard was small, much smaller than Faye was used to. It almost resembled a Chinese jian, but without any of the embellishments on the handle at all.

“Rather plain,” the Quartermaster said, “but it will serve well.”

Faye went to pick it up, but before she did, she saw a handle that reminded her of something she had seen…

“What’s that one?” she asked, pointing.

“This one?” Cáloch said, grimacing. “Sorry, Adventurer, this is one of the broken ones.”

He took hold of the handle and pulled it out of its place in the leather wrap. The blade started at three fingers wide, tapering as it rose, but a foot into the blade, there was a jagged fault that had turned the sword into something more resembling a dagger.

Faye’s breath caught.

“Is that… the blade that was broken?” she whispered.

Maggie and Cáloch gave her a funny look, which she returned.

“It was broken, yes,” Cáloch said, “as I indicated not half a minute ago.”

Grinning, Faye waved it away. She picked up the jian-like blade. Its hilt and pommel seemed more Scandinavian or ancient Briton, to her eye. The balance was good, and the handle was long enough to take both hands, but it was not required to wield the blade.

She paused for a moment and thought about it.

“I think I might be stronger than I used to be…” she murmured.

Maggie nodded. “Yes, that’s what happens when we level.”

Faye smiled. “I had never really noticed a stark difference. But this sword would be too heavy for one hand without the system, wouldn’t it?”

The Quartermaster nodded. “Aye, mage types can’t wield a blade like this easily.”

Faye grinned. “Alright, perfect. Got a scabbard for it? It won’t fit in this one.”