The streets were silent. A light breeze the only disturbance as Faye picked her way through the debris of a broken house and torn bramble wall that intersected the ruined walls. She had no idea if the house’s occupants had been safely barricaded in a stronghold before the destruction. Their whole lives were strewn across the street, broken crockery, scattered remnants of rugs or clothing, and the general clutter that indicated a place was lived in — all broken and ruined.

A sound behind her caused a thrill of nerves up her spine, but she forcefully controlled it and turned to watch as Ailith and Gavan emerged from the ruins of another house.

She waved to them.

Converging together in the remains of this family’s life, the adventurers looked around with weary faces.

“It’s done, then,” Faye said.

“Aye, the rest of them crumbled and are fleeing.”

Faye nodded. She swallowed. The next question was one that had been burning inside ever since the fight had ended but also one that she was uncertain she wanted to know the answer to.

“How is he?”

Gavan smiled. “Resting.”

Faye blinked back tears that prickled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure you knew who I meant… but I have to be sure. How’s our friend doing?”

Ailith smiled but did not laugh out loud as she normally would have. “He is resting, truly. This one would not be out here if he were able to help still.”

Faye let out the breath that she had been holding. The way that Arran had dropped to the floor after the Primalist had clawed him in the throat… she shuddered. It was an awful image that she was not sure she would be able to forget in a hurry.

Ailith nodded, then shrugged, “Eanraigh is already back up. Only took him four hours and some minor healing.”

“Same as most high-levelled people,” Gavan added.

“That was terrifying,” Faye said. “I don’t think I saw the final attack.”

The others agreed. The Guild Leader’s attack had been so overwhelming they had not sensed it, in any way, before it had already happened.

Faye looked around, this was one of the more affected areas of the siege, but it still seemed like the town was ruined.

“What happens now?” she asked.

“The damage is repaired as much as possible, most of the town can do that, but the Guild will have to increase patrols closer to home.”

“The Administrator said she was sending messages to all the other teams,” Faye said.

“Bringing them home,” Gavan said. “Consolidating power.”

They started walking. None of them really wanted to be standing still for long. They still felt like they should be doing something, anything, to help the town. Faye talked through the sensation with the others. Ailith assured her that Faye’s work was done for now, she had earned a small rest.

Gavan felt the same way as Faye. He knew there were still people to heal and work with to ensure their safety. Unfortunately for them, Gavan had been operating on fumes for too long. He needed to rest, or he would risk hurting himself.

She was not at all surprised that the mage was burnt out, he had been working nonstop in the healing area. In itself that was not too strange, as none of the adventurers had struck Faye as particularly lazy or work shy, but the ability Gavan had to put aside the thing that he was passionate about to help others was an admirable trait.

The jokes the mage made about his class were light-hearted, but Faye knew there was a kernel of truth buried in there. There was something she could do for him, though, she realised.

“Gavan,” she said, “we haven’t had much time to ourselves in what seems like forever. But I seem to remember something about learning other magic from you and the old man. Still interested in that?”

The mage’s eyes sparkled as he returned her grin. “Always.”

Ailith hummed. “That class of yours probably needs more magic.”

At this, it seemed like the floodgates opened.

“What class did you choose? No Swordfighter has the ability to ignite the air around their sword like that. If you did choose a spellcasting class, why are you still rushing into combat?” Gavan’s voice was eager, intense. “What other abilities do you have? When did you crest? What level are you now?”

Faye and Ailith laughed. The mage’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“Okay, let me take you through the events from when we got back to the town…” she said.

Later, Faye and the others arrived back at the Guild. Gavan was still excited about the implication of Faye’s class. More than that, he was overjoyed to learn that her system was now operating as it should.

Each time Faye thought about the system, the notifications tried to ping back into her vision, but she suppressed them once more. She needed time.

The hall was still a hive of activity. Before the Primalists had fled, that activity had been underpinned by a tension and fear that left everyone on edge. That tension had not left, but the fear had been released. People walked with heads held higher. Some conversations she overheard were littered with laughter. A few of the militia even broke into grins and waved at the adventurers as they walked past.

Greeting everyone they saw with nods; they walked through the hall unhurried. Ailith had already told them that part of their work, now, was to project an air of security and calm.

That calm was shattered when the doors to the hall opened, and the Guild Leader walked through them. Silence rippled outward in a wave from his position.

The moment the last conversation dropped off, Eanraigh walked forward and smiled around the room.

“Congratulations, everyone. You have done something wonderful these past few days. You have protected the town of Lóthaven with all the grit, tenacity, and heart you could muster. It was more than enough to beat back the tide of monsters and enemies that battered at the walls. Congratulations to each one of you that stepped up, faced your fears, and conquered them.”

The man was now standing in the centre of the hall, his voice more than loud enough to carry to every corner. He swivelled slowly as he talked.

“It has been hard. I know it. But I see here people who weathered the storm. People who come through the tough times stronger than they were going into them. You are standing here, testament to the strength of arms of this Guild, the defenders in the Guard, and in every person you call neighbour.”

A quiet susurrus of sound rustled through the crowd as friends nudged one another and grinned at the Guild Leader’s words.

Faye noticed with pleasure that the Guard were represented in the hall, too. A group were standing to the side in a tight formation, their leader had folded his arms and was watching the Guild Leader with interest.

“The task is not yet done. We have to rebuild. We have to recover the lost.”

The whispers abruptly ceased.

“Each person who fell will be honoured tonight, the last step on their path through life. Today, we have the unenviable task of determining exactly who fell. It is not a task I wish to give to anybody and my heart breaks for each loss you and this town have endured.”

Faye’s throat was thick as she listened to his words. She had to swallow hard to get around the knot of emotion lodged there.

If I had been better, stronger, or faster…

“Remember!” Eanraigh said into the hall, rising above the quiet sounds of sorrow emerging, “Not a single one of you has the ability to reverse time. Not a single one of you can change the past. What happened was not your fault. This town was attacked by an outside force.”

Something about his words, and the inflection he placed on the words, sent alarm bells through Faye’s mind. It was confused with her thoughts of guilt for a moment, so she could not place what it was exactly.

“I want you to also remember that our home was the site of many battles. Things outside of this hall will not be the same as they were before… but we will rebuild, recover, and thrive once more.”

His eyes swung across the entire audience. Faye had to acknowledge that though she had not heard him speak often, he clearly knew what he was doing when he did stand before a crowd.

But then, the words he had said penetrated the fog around her thoughts.

This town was attacked by an outside force.

Why would he need to reiterate it was an external enemy? Faye thought. I already told the Administrator about the internal security breach.

Faye felt a different kind of emotion clawing at her throat now, and her heart sped up in response.

What if the internal threat was someone we thought above reproach?

The Guild Leader had finished his reassuring look around the room. With a small jolt, Faye realised he was now looking straight at her.

The Administrator will have told him that I was the one that discovered there was an internal threat. If it was him, he’ll kill me before I could do anything.

Eanraigh, the strongest person Faye had ever laid eyes on, raised an open hand toward her as if inviting everyone to look at her. Which they did.

Sweat beaded on her forehead.

What if it was the Administrator? She could have told Eanraigh that I was the security breach.

“People of Lóthaven, I have one final thing to say,” the Guild Leader called out. “I know that most of you will have seen our newest recruit in the past few days. She has stirred up the waters quite ably in that brief time.”

What’s happening?

Faye’s hand tightened on the grip of her sword.

“Adventurer Faye, who had less reasons than anyone to raise a sword in defence of this town, stood up and fought.” Eanraigh gestured lightly for Faye to come forward. She did so, hesitantly. Alarm bells were still ringing in her mind. “Adventurer Faye stood against the enemy leader, struck at her despite the risk to the Adventurer’s life. She is truly welcome here, now, and forever more. In thanks for her work, I will give her a personal weapon. Thank you, Adventurer.”

At this, Eanraigh dipped his head in a long nod. Faye’s misfired nerves caused her to stumble to a halt. The people around the hall had not noticed her distress, though, because they all started cheering. Faye returned the Guild Leader’s nod with one of her own.

He smiled as he approached her. Speaking in an ordinary voice that did not carry to the whole room he held out a hand for her to take.

“Well done, Adventurer. I wanted to thank you and the Administrator reminded me that you have been using borrowed weapons.”

“Oh, uh, they’ve been fine, really…”

“Nonsense, girl, for a fighter your weapon is your life. Without one that you can truly call your own, you are vulnerable.”

Faye swallowed and nodded. “Uh…”

Eanraigh’s voice dipped lower, but his smile did not change.

“I also wanted to thank you for uncovering the problem we have in the town. We knew that our old acquaintances would try to exert what influence they have, but truthfully both the Administrator and I underestimated their resources and drive.”

Faye’s mind stuttered and changed gears. He was thanking her for uncovering the threat.

“Oh, uh,” she stumbled, blushing.

“I’m sorry if I alarmed you, Adventurer. I know that not everyone wants to be thrust in front of a crowd like that.”

Faye shook her head. “Oh, sorry, no I was just taken… by surprise. I don’t mind.”

Eanraigh nodded, decisively. “Good. Now, tell me what type of blade you require.”

Sword designs flashed through her mind’s eye as he asked. Truthfully, she was still a little on the back foot. It took her a moment to concentrate on what the man was saying.

“Sorry, uh, yes… a sword. What are my options?”

Eanraigh shrugged. “Whatever you wish for, I can do.”

“Do? You’re a weaponsmith?”

“Yes, it’s a hobby.”

The way he said it made it sound obvious but to Faye the idea that this man, who led the Guild here, had a hobby was strange.

“You… have a hobby?” she asked, carefully.

“Of course! What, do you think that we just go around killing monsters all day long?” he asked with a chuckle.

Faye frowned. “Well, yes? I thought that was your job?”

“I can see how you might think that everything that has happened since you arrived might have skewed your view of these things, however.” He held up a hand. “No, for the most part, even adventurers have time to cultivate hobbies, particularly when stationed here.” He frowned. “Though, some of that might get curtailed with the rebuild. That does not change the fact that you can ask me for whatever blade you hope for and I shall make it.”

Faye nodded, slowly. “Then, I know exactly what I need…”

Having told the Guild Leader, the apparent hobbyist smith, what blade she hoped for, Faye had retreated to a practice room in the deeper sections of the Guild.

She sat on a mat in the centre of the darkened room. Even though the bar across the door was only a meagre measure to ensure that no one barged in and disturbed the occupant, there was a sense of security that came from locking out others.

As she breathed in and out slowly, conforming to a rhythm that was slow and steady, Faye finally allowed the notifications to flood her mind. There were minor ones that told her about the monsters she had dispatched, most of them were the weak lesser briars, and she almost dismissed them completely when she noticed something different.

Congratulations! You have defeated a level six [Lesser Briar].

No experience awarded.

Only the oldest notifications for lesser briars gave her any experience. The latest were devoid of it. It seemed that the system only awarded experience for those monsters that were a challenge. She had been moving through the lesser briars like wading through tall grass, scything them down just as easily.

Mentally shrugging, she let those go.

There were three notifications that were more significant.

Congratulations! You have defeated a level 15 [Primalist Caller].

Congratulations! You have defeated a level 13 [Primalist Archer].

Congratulations! You have defeated a level 14 [Primalist Caller].

Experience awarded.

Those had been the Primalists that had attacked the square in with the waves of briars. The Callers were the monster’s controllers, replenishing the waves of creatures that were overwhelming the defenders with sheer numbers.

Two separate times, Faye had needed to make targeted assaults behind the wave of enemies to take out the Callers. The second had the archer hidden nearby, but [Mana Sense] had made it a simple matter to pick him out of his surroundings.

Faye took a break as she thought back to the people. Now that the battle was over, the thrill of adrenaline no longer rushing through her, she felt drained and disgusted.

These were people.

How quickly she had decided that they deserved to die. By her own hand. They were all relatively young. She was not sure why they had attacked, still, though they had been encouraged to was evident, but it reeked of manipulation and dirty, slimy deals in secret back rooms.

Pulling her thoughts away from that direction, Faye concentrated on her breathing again.

Minutes later, she had recentred herself as much as she was able and called on the next notification.

Congratulations! Your group has defeated a level 32 [Primalist Lifeweaver].

Experience shared.

Congratulations! By successfully taking part in combat with an enemy more than 20 levels higher than your own, you have been granted additional experience.

Part of Faye had been scared to see the level of the Primalist leader, who had apparently been a Lifeweaver. The power involved in the combat between her and Eanraigh suggested that they were somehow even. That placed him in the thirties as well.

There was so much that Faye needed to learn, still. To her, level 32 sounded quite close. From the way people around her reacted, however, it probably was not supposed to be. What was the maximum level? What stopped a level 50 from coming to Lóthaven and decimating everyone with a wave of their hand?

What stops a level 30 from doing the same to me?

Even the final notifications could not draw Faye’s mind back from the darkness it had sunk into.

Congratulations! You have earned enough experience to level up. You are now level 12.

Congratulations! You have developed a skill to the point it can be levelled.

[Spellcasting — Basic] has levelled to 3.

It was a good boost to her attributes and any more control over spellcasting was welcome. But it did not feel like enough. It was not the power she needed to be able to stand up one on one against people like the Primalist leader, or Eanraigh — if he had thought she was the internal threat.

Part of her knew that this was the bane at work. Dragging her down. Miring her thoughts in negativity. That part of her also knew that she was well on the way to getting that strong. She just had to keep going, keep improving.

Status, she thought.

~ Status ~

[Name:] Faye Weaver

[Class:] Spellsword

[Level:] 12

[Aspect:] n/a

[Boons:] Experience boost (x2), Sprite’s Touch

[Banes:] Spectre’s Gaze

[Stat Growth:] Tou+2, Str+1, Rea+2, Agi+1, Int+1, Wil+3

~ Attributes ~

[Toughness:] 27

[Strength:] 26

[Reaction:] 18

[Agility:] 19

[Logic:] 10

[Intuition:] 17

[Willpower:] 22

[Charisma:] 10

[Magic:] 1.5

~ Skill List ~

[Skill Points:] 1

[Mana Sense] [Tier 1 - 2/5]

[Spellcasting — Basic] [Tier 0 - 3/5]

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

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

[Survival — Basic] [Tier 0 - 4/10]

~ Spell List ~

[Fire Dart] [Tier 0 - 4/5]

[Scorching Lance] [Tier 1 - 1/5]

[Blades of Flame] [Tier 1 - 2/5]