She looked up at the gate.

It’s even bigger than Oldforge, and it’s got magic in it, too!

The guards waved them through the gargantuan gate. It had the same murder holes as the ones back in that fortification they had passed through on the road.

She turned the wagon to the west. The adventurer’s guild was a few miles away, and it would take them hours to get though the crowds. The sheer number of people was staggering.

I thought Oldforge was huge, but this makes it look like a sleepy farm village.

Elaine had joined her on the front of the wagon and was sitting next to her, leaving her between Thokri and the necromancer.

“I really want to get over to the necromancer’s guild after we get everything taken care of, but I don’t know if I can handle all of those strange men today,” Elaine said.

“I’ll go with you,” Anna replied. Elaine hugged her.

“Thanks,” she said.

The roads were wide and well laid out, so despite the crowds, they were able to travel at a good pace.

“Will the horses get fat during the winter?” Anna asked.

“No. The lads at the stables will make sure to exercise them,” Thokri replied.

“That’s good,” Anna said.

They turned down a large street.

“The adventurer’s guild should be just ahead,” Elaine said.

A huge building with flags flying over the top came into view.

“We have a flag?” Anna asked.

“Aye,” Thokri replied.

The flag was red with a gold emblem emblazoned on the center of it. The emblem was the same as their guild badge, crossed swords with a bag of coins spilling out behind it. She always liked the badge, and the flag made her smile.

She pulled around the side of the fortress-like structure to where Thokri said the stables were. They were so huge she was able to pull the whole wagon into them. They got off the wagon after a few men came over to take care of the horses. Thokri talked to the stable men, and Voekeer went to talk to the stable master. They needed a place to store the wagon for the winter, and the guild here had a warehouse. The rest of the party unloaded their packs and waited for the men to finish.

“Why do we make them do everything?” Anna asked.

“Because they’re men, and that’s what they do,” Elaine replied.

“Oh,” Anna said.

“It makes them feel better. They don’t get to do much when we are out on contracts,” Barika said.

The other women nodded knowingly. Anna shrugged, not really understanding what they were talking about. Both men came back in a few minutes.

“Got the lads taken care of for the winter,” Thokri said.

“The guild will store our wagon and supplies for the winter, and they will take care of selling the monster parts and the eggs for us,” Voekeer said.

“Good, so all we need to do is get the things we don’t want sold out of the sacks then?” Elaine asked.

“Yes,” Voekeer replied.

Elaine climbed into the back of the wagon and started to rummage around in the sacks. She pulled out all kinds of squishy things and stuffed them into another bag.

Anna took Lord Emerald’s cage, and once Elaine finished, they went inside the guild. The capital guild hall felt more like a military fort than an adventurer’s guild.

They walked over to the huge counter where dozens of young women in uniforms were helping adventurers. They waited in line for a few minutes before a busty woman with bright yellow hair and blue eyes greeted them.

“We need rooms for the winter,” Voekeer said.

“I’ll just need to see your guild badges,” the attendant responded.

They all took out their badges, and the woman wrote down the numbers on the back. They paid her a few silver coins, and she handed them keys.

“Can we turn our contracts in here?” Anna asked.

“You could, but I’d recommend saving them for your home guild. Less paperwork for all of us if you do that,” she replied.

“Okay,” Anna said.

“Know where we can find a bath?” Elaine asked.

“We have one in the guild. It’s nice, but we don’t have a separate one for men and women, so if you’re shy, you’ll have to go out in town,” the attendant replied.

“Not a problem for us,” Elaine said.

They left and went to their rooms. The long-term ones were on the third floor. Anna unlocked the door and went into a large well-furnished room.

“Nice,” she said.

She put Lord Emerald down and then started to unpack her things. Once she finished, she set her dingy pack to the side, frowning at it.

I need to clean all of my things.

She took out her cleaning ring and held it out over the pack. The dirt started to evaporate, leaving clean but dry leather behind. Once she finished cleaning it, she took out a tin of tallow mixed with beeswax and a few other oils and started to rub it into the leather.

There was a knock on her door.

“It’s open,” Anna said. Elaine poked her head in.

“We are about to head to the bath if you’re still coming,” she said.

Anna put her pack down and wiped her hand off.

“You know I’m always up for a bath,” she replied.

“Yep, and there’ll be men in this one, you little pervert,” Elaine said.

“I am not. I just like to look,” Anna replied. Elaine made a rude noise, and Anna rolled her eyes. She reached for her belt.

“Don’t. We can make the men pay for it if none of us bring coins. They do have pockets after all,” Elaine said.

“So does Lyreen,” Anna replied.

“Even better,” Elaine said.

She took a clean dress and walked out into the hallway. The rest of her friends were there.

They went downstairs and got directions from a man wearing a similar uniform as the attendants to the baths. They walked into a steam filled room. The adventurer’s guild was mostly men, and thus the bath was currently filled with men.

A male attendant looked at them oddly when they walked into the room. Anna pulled her dress off without a moment of hesitation and stuffed it onto a shelf along with her clean dress. Her friends paused, but after she turned and looked at them, they all started to undress.

They were out of their clothes quickly enough, and every one of them had seen the others naked so many times they didn’t even pause to look, except for Lyreen and Voekeer, but they were always ogling each other.

Anna was the first to the wash area, and she dumped a bucket of steaming water over her head and started to scrub away before the others.

She watched as brown water flowed away from her into the nearby drain.

“How do you manage to get so filthy?” Lyreen asked.

“I’m always driving the wagon,” Anna replied.

“Don’t you wipe down before you sleep though?” Lyreen asked.

“No,” Anna replied.

“You really should. You won’t have to scrub so hard at the baths if you try and keep clean between them,” Lyreen said.

“I never thought of that,” Anna replied.

“Need help with your hair?” Elaine asked.

“Always,” Anna replied. Elaine scrubbed Anna’s hair and rinsed it a few times before the water ran clean.

“Want me to wash yours?” Anna asked.

“Please,” Elaine replied. Anna started to scrub Elaine’s long hair. It had grown down to the middle of her back and was just as thick and curly as Anna’s. Anna looked at Elaine’s toned back and shoulders as she washed.

She’s got a lot stronger in the last year.

Elaine had been on the skinny side when they first met, but now she was clearly a woman used to hard work.

She’s got a nice butt too. I don’t know why Lyreen keeps calling it fat. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t really have one. I mean, neither does Voekeer, so elves must think having one at all means it’s fat. Yeah, that must be it.

Anna had realized over the last year that Elaine was actually on the pretty side compared to other human women. She had felt a little bad for thinking Elaine was plain, but she had never said anything about it, so there was no harm. She only had to rinse Elaine’s hair once.

She must wash more often like Lyreen said I should do.

Rose and Barika were already finished but waited for the others. Rose kept her hair short, letting it grow out a few inches, and Barika shaved hers everyday just like she had since Anna had met her. Thokri had long thick hair, and if you counted his beard, he had more than everyone else combined.

She knew that dwarves took great pride in their hair and beards, and he was no exception, brushing his multiple times a day. This meant that his hair was usually cleaner than anyone else’s, and he finished washing quickly as well.

Once everyone was clean, they walked to the large bath. The men already in the bath had been staring at the party, or the women in the party, the whole time. Anna grinned at them and looked down into the water as if trying to see their manhoods. The men seemed to squirm at the thought and quickly looked away from her gaze. Anna laughed at their discomfort and walked into the water, sitting down on one of the submerged benches. The rest of the party joined her on the bench, leaning against the back wall of the bath and sinking some to let the hot water reach their necks.

They soaked in the water for a while before getting back out and drying off.

“I can’t believe no one talked to us,” Elaine said.

“All the blood rushed from their brains when they saw tits,” Thokri replied.

“If they can’t talk because they have a hard on, then they aren’t worth talking to anyway,” Barika said.

“And what would you know about that?” Elaine asked. Barika laughed.

“Just because I’ve never been with a man doesn’t mean I don’t know what makes a good one,” she replied.

“Wait, you’ve never been with a man?” Elaine asked.

“No, child,” Barika replied.

“Not once?” Elaine asked.

“Not once,” Barika replied.

“So, you’re a virgin?” Elaine asked.

“No, I’ve been with more women than you have men,” Barika replied.

“That doesn’t count!” Elaine said.

“Sure it does, lass, and she’s got more experience than the lot of you put together,” Thokri replied.

“I don’t have any, so I don’t count at all,” Anna said.

“You’re better at crude banter than most women with years of experience, child,” Barika replied.

“Does that matter?” Anna asked.

“It does, child,” Barika replied.

“Oh, okay,” Anna said.

They got dressed and then went back to Anna’s room so she could clean their clothing. She made quick work of it with her ring, and the others went back to their rooms. Elaine stayed behind, and they chatted while Anna finished her pack.

“Ready to go to the necromancer’s guild?” Elaine asked.

“Let me clean my belt. I don’t want to get grime all over my dress,” Anna replied. Elaine nodded and started poking food at Lord Emerald. The rabbit was pleased by this.

Anna finished cleaning her belt quickly and put it on, not worried about the grease stains she’d inevitably get around her waist.

Just part of being an adventurer, I guess.

She hung her ironwood club on her belt.

“How do I look?” she asked, twirling around.

“Disgustingly cute, now come on. Let’s go talk to the creepy old men,” Elaine replied. Anna chuckled and they left the guild.

She had no idea where they were going, but Elaine seemed to know the city fairly well.

She did spend five years here.

Elaine had gone to school from the time she was fifteen till she was twenty before running away. It had been six years since she last lived in the city, but big ones like this don’t change that much in such a short time.

Elaine brought her to an open space. There was a sparkling arch in the center of the space. They walked over to it, and Elaine handed a man standing next to it a few coppers.

“Mage’s square,” she said.

The man nodded and tapped symbols on the side of the arch. It started to sparkle, and suddenly the space inside of the arch swirled with magic before setting out. Elaine took her hand and pulled her into the arch. She blinked a few times when they walked to the other side.

“Where are we?” Anna asked.

“The mage’s square. We are on the other side of the city. I’m surprised you noticed we teleported,” Elaine replied.

“It was really sparkly in there,” Anna said.

“I’m so sorry! I forgot about your mage sight!” Elaine said.

“It’s fine. You know I can’t get hurt,” Anna replied.

“Still, I should have said something,” Elaine said. Anna shrugged. Elaine took her hand and started to lead her away.

“This part of the city is where all the mages live. See that tower over there?” Elaine asked, pointing at a giant white tower.

“Yeah,” Anna replied.

“That’s the royal academy,” Elaine said.

“So, how far did we teleport?” Anna asked.

“About thirty miles,” Elaine replied.

“And we’re still in the city?” Anna asked.

“Yep. The capital is huge,” Elaine replied.

“You never told me about the transport arches before,” Anna said.

“They’re called gates, and the capital is the only city in the kingdom that has them,” Elaine replied.

“Why?” Anna asked.

“It’s lost magic. The capital was built during the old empire, and they had gates in all their cities. There’s even a huge gate in the center of the city that is supposed to be able to connect to other cities, but no one can get it to work,” Elaine replied.

“Oh,” Anna said.

Anna looked around at the people in this part of the city. Every one of them had something magical on them causing them to sparkle.

Robes, wands, daggers, a few swords, and even one crown. There really are magical things all over the place.

An old man with a big white beard walked over to them and grabbed her by the arm. She slapped his hand away.

“Hands off!” she said.

“What are you?” the old man asked.

“A woman, and I don’t know if anyone has ever told you this, but you’re not supposed to go around grabbing women you don’t know!” Anna replied.

Several men in full plate walked over. They sparkled with magic like everyone else in this part of the city.

“Is there a problem here?” one of them asked, his voice strangely clear despite his helm covering his face.

“No, sir! Just a misunderstanding. That’s all,” the old man replied and scurried off.

“Weirdo,” Anna said.

“Even this part of the city has undesirables. Stay safe, miss,” the knight replied.

“I will,” Anna said. The knights walked away, and Elaine tugged her hand.

“What’s with you and weird men?” she asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Anna replied.

“That hurt,” Elaine said. She was smirking, so Anna didn’t think it really bothered her.

“Maybe you should take Barika up on that offer,” Anna said.

“Nope,” Elaine replied but didn’t say anything else.

They reached the necromancer’s guild soon after. She could tell it was the necromancer’s guild because it was dripping with death mana, and well, there were skeletons in strange poses attached to the sides of the building.

Creepy.

Elaine pushed the door open and went inside. She was hit by a powerful sweet smell that had just the hint of death mixed in. The inside was different than the adventurer’s guild. There were no tables, just a few chairs with a small number of men sitting in them reading quietly.

A man sat at a large desk at the far side of the room. They walked over to him.

I think I’m the most colorful thing that’s ever been inside this place.

The room was black. The carpet was black. The only thing that wasn’t black were the bones that made up the furniture and other decorations.

I have to drag Lyreen here! Anna grinned cruelly thinking of the elf’s reaction.

The man looked up at them when they got to the desk. He was a thin, pale, greasy person who looked like he was ill with some incurable disease.

Too much death mana.

She could see it covering him and wondered how he’d gotten so much on him.

“How can I help you, ladies?” he asked.

“I would like to know if I can use your library. I’m willing to pay,” Elaine replied.

“Our library is free to all that seek knowledge. If you head down that hallway, it is at the last door on the right,” the man said.

“Thank you,” Elaine replied with a smile.

“My pleasure, miss,” the man replied.

They walked away from the desk and down the hallway.

“He seemed nice,” Anna said.

“That’s why he’s at the front desk,” Elaine replied.

Elaine opened the door to the library. It was a large room with bookshelves lining the walls. There were small tables and push chairs scattered around the room.

Do they have people buried here or something?

The place was soaked with death mana, more so than even the few graveyards she’d been to. The men in the room all looked up at them. They seemed to accept Elaine’s presence after looking at her tattoos and black dress but were confused by Anna’s colorful nature.

The two of them walked into the room, and an old man with long white hair walked over. He was rubbing his hand nervously.

“How can I help you two?” he asked.

“Could you tell me where the index is?” Elaine asked.

“It’s right over there,” the man replied, pointing at a small shelf that contained a few thick books.

Elaine walked over with Anna following behind. She started to look through the books, so Anna looked around the room. The men were still staring at her, so she smiled at them and waved. They all looked away quickly.

Weird.

She watched them while Elaine looked through the indexes. They would look up at her nervously, and every time they saw her looking back, they’d look away.

She got bored and looked over Elaine’s shoulder to see what she was reading.

How the stages of decomposition alter the quality of undead, a field guide. Well, that sounds wonderful. Let’s see what else they have. Funeral rites and how they affect the undead; The feeding habits of vampires; Zombies as a workforce, a study; The nature of death; Kringo’s guide to flaying; Ghouls for the simple minded; How to live with spirits; Loving the dead; How to…. And I’m done.

She looked away from the index and around the room at the necromancers suspiciously. They had lost interest in the two of them and were reading their books intently. Elaine put the index down and went over to one of the shelves where she picked up a creepy looking book.

Did it just twitch when she touched it?

She walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. Anna sat next to her and looked up at ceiling.

No spiders! Why are there no spiders? What kind of weird place has no spider!?

She looked around the room again and started to fidget after a while. Elaine was engrossed in her book and wasn’t paying any attention to her. She sighed loudly. A few men looked over at her, but Elaine didn’t even twitch. She started to fiddle her hair while she waited.

Hours later, Elaine closed the book.

“Well, that’s enough reading for one day,” Anna bounced up out of the chair and snatched her friend by the arm, yanking the mage out of her seat.

“Let’s goooo!” she said.

She pulled Elaine right out of the library, down the hall. Once they reached the main room, Elaine slipped out of Anna’s grip. She walked over to the front desk.

“I take it you found the library informative?” he asked.

“I did,” Elaine replied. The man looked her over.

“Would you happen to be a licensed necromancer, miss?” the man asked.

“I am,” Elaine replied. She took her license from her belt pouch and handed it to the man. The man looked it over. He stood up and bowed slightly.

“My lady,” he said, handing the paper back to Elaine.

Elaine nodded at the man. She looked uncomfortable being called my lady though. He looked up at her.

“Would you be willing to join our guild? We have ritual rooms that can be rented for a low cost as well as access to… Harder to come by ingredients,” he asked.

Ingredients? Oh, he means dead people. At least, that’s what I think he means. Maybe they have other stuff, but no. It’s probably dead people or parts of dead people. I bet they have a whole room filled with stuff in jars! Elaine said she needs to get more jars. She’s going to have a creepy room like that, so I know these weirdos do!

“I’m afraid I can’t. I’m already a member of the adventurer’s guild,” Elaine replied. The man nodded.

“That’s no issue. Quite a few of our members are in other guilds. Though, it’s usually the mage’s guild. I don’t believe we have any adventurers among our ranks. Anyway, we don’t have any requirements other than the guild dues which are reasonable for all the benefits we provide,” the man said. Elaine rubbed her chin.

“I’d like to tour your hall before I make any decisions if that’s alright?” she asked.

“Of course, my lady,” the man replied. Elaine nearly winced.

He walked out from behind the desk and motioned for them to follow him. They walked into the back of the guild. The smell of death grew stronger. The man pushed open a door.

“This is one of the ritual chambers. They are cleaned after each member’s use, so you can be assured that nothing will taint any spells you cast here,” the man said.

The room was spotless with a bare wood floor that was polished to a shine. There were a few shelves with various jars that were labeled with things like sliver powder or coffin nails.

Must be for spells.

The room was filled with death mana, but it wasn’t oozing around like it usually did. It reminded her of a still pond with ripples forming in its surface when they walked around the room.

Elaine inspected the shelves then walked over to an altar that had a carved skull on it. The skull sparkled with normal mana instead of the death mana that filled the room.

“How much does it cost to rent a place like this?” Elaine asked.

“Five copper a night, plus whatever ingredients you happen to use,” the man replied.

Elaine seemed pleased by this.

Must be a good price.

They left the room, and the man led them farther into the building. He pushed open another door.

Yum.

The smell of food wafted out. It reminded her of a good tavern. They walked into the room to find a few small tables with plush chairs next to them. Men in black were eating delicious looking food while sipping what was most likely wine from crystal clear glasses.

“Food isn’t allowed in the rest of the guild hall for sanitary reasons, so we ask all our members to take their meals here. We have several chefs on the staff, and they can prepare just about anything one could possibly want. We also keep a full stock of wines as well as other spirits and fine ales if that’s your preference,” the man said.

They looked at each other. Elaine snapped her head back to the man after a moment.

“Are guests allowed?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” the man replied.

“You know the others would never come here, right?” Anna asked.

“So, it will just be our little secret,” Elaine replied. They both giggled.

“We also have rooms that you can rent if you happen to be working late and need a place to sleep. Some of them have two beds as well,” the man said as they walked out of the food room.

They went to the very end of the hallway and down a set of stairs. The man paused at a large door that was at the bottom of the steps.

“This is the room where we process and store the ingredients. I’m afraid it can be rather off putting to most people,” he said.

Why is he looking at me? Oh, he thinks I’m a normal person.

“I spent three days in a goblin nest killing the little fucks with a club. I think I’ll be fine,” Anna replied. The man nodded.

“That does sound messy,” he said.

“Yeah, they had to wash me with horse brushes afterwards. Burned my dress too,” Anna replied. He chuckled.

“You’re an adventurer as well I take it?” he asked.

“Aye,” Anna replied. He laughed.

“Well, no need to sugar coat it then. We have a fresh batch of corpses right from the hangman’s noose. Why don’t we see what luck has brought us today,” he said.

Damn, he was just pretending to be all dark and spooky like that?

He opened the door, and she could smell blood and other body fluid along with a hint of rot and alchemical elixirs that were used to preserve things.

I can’t believe Elaine had me drink one! Yuck!

There were shelves lining the walls with jars on them. Each one had a label with a date: what it was and the gender and age of the person it had come from.

Is that a barrel of skin?!

She wandered over and looked in the barrel. A misshapen face looked back at her. She blinked a few times and then looked over at Elaine who just shrugged.

There were stacks of bones all neatly organized by type along with a row of skulls. She found a few large barrels that were sealed. They were marked blood.

Who would need that much blood?

“Ernest should be getting ready to process the bodies. Come on. We can watch,” the man said.

They walked into another room. It stank of mostly blood, but also of shit and piss. A man was standing near a large wooden table. A bench next to the table was filled with tools that looked like a crude version of Elaine’s kit.

A naked man lay on the table. His chest had been cut open, and the man had his hands in his chest cavity. They walked over to watch the man work. He pulled out the man’s heart and placed it in a tray then reached into the opening once more.

“New folks?” Ernest asked.

“The Lady Elaine is. Miss...” the man paused to look at her.

“Anna,” Anna replied.

“Miss Anna is her adventuring companion,” the man said.

“Well, you’re both a damned sight prettier than the usual bastards that join up,” Ernest said. He took a few more organs out. “I’d say you join up even if it’s just for the parts. Only place you can get them legally as far as I know. Unless you go out and kill some outlaws,” Ernest said.

Anna looked over at Elaine. She’s going to join. I know that look.

They watched Ernest work. The man was fast. He had the body broken down into disarticulated bones, meat, and other things in less than twenty minutes. A young man started to clear the bench and clean the table off while Ernest looked through the pile of cloth wrapped bodies.

“I’ll join,” Elaine said.

“Wonderful! Let’s go fill out the forms. I’ll treat you both to dinner once we finish,” the man said. They left the ingredients room and headed back to the front desk.