Serenity pushed away a moment’s regret at not knowing how he was going to follow the Path Quest he’d just selected; that didn’t matter. He’d figure it out eventually. It wasn’t like there was a timer on it.

Even better, the Voice didn’t think it would block Serenity’s efforts to protect Earth. That meant that either he could work towards it on Earth or, more likely, he could travel between Earth and wherever he was working on it. The third possibility was that he simply wouldn’t start it until after Earth was safe, but really, would Earth ever be safe? Maybe it would be safe from the current threat, but there was always something.

A knock came from the door just as Serenity was wondering if he could squeeze out a little more alone time and he headed to answer it.

One of the handful of Knives who lived at the Guildhouse stood there. He bowed slightly before he spoke. “Lord Hand, there is someone here that says he is here to meet you. I took him to the Yellow Room. Shall I guide you there?”

There was someone here to meet him? That had to be Raz. Serenity felt a smile cross his face; however tired he was of dealing with the deference of the Knives, Raz wouldn’t be like that. Seeing a friend would be good. “Yes, please.”

The grandeur of Order’s Guild’s Guildhouse had mostly faded over the week they’d spent there while they waited for Raz to arrive, but now that it was getting close to time to leave, it made an impression on Serenity again. Order’s Guild wasn’t just some small organization with a few powerful members; Order’s Guild was rich.

It wasn’t the sort of richness that was built on one or even a few Higher-Tier people, either. This was the sort of rich that was built on centuries of tradition at a minimum, passed down through multiple Guildmasters. It wasn’t simply richness in money, either, though that was present.

Sure, the building’s furnishings had definitely been replaced, probably more than once. It was likely the walls had been too at some point. That didn’t change the fact that the building radiated solidity and presence. It was the sort of building that would probably develop at least partial awareness eventually if it hadn’t already.

At the same time, the furnishings themselves spoke of an organization fallen on hard times. The rich tapestries lining the walls were old; many were damaged. The furniture was sturdy and functional rather than fancy. Much of it was mismatched, with a few more delicate pieces that were clearly older mixed in with the well-made but simple more recent furniture.

In many cases, it was as simple as a chair having a pillow on top instead of a built-in cushioned seat. One was cheaper to make than the other, and it was the cheaper option that was picked each time even if it still looked good. That, along with the wear everywhere, told Serenity that the decline wasn’t recent.

They did still try to keep up appearances, however, and the Yellow Room was one of the public rooms. That meant it was in better shape than the less public areas. It had wallpaper that was just a little too yellow to be called golden and was furnished with a set of chairs around a small table, all ornately carved in a dark wood. The chairs had no cushions at all; instead, they had a seat carved into them that was supposed to be comfortable. Serenity would have preferred if it were simply flat, but he didn’t get that choice.

He had to admit that the dark, polished wood did look good in the yellow-hued room, even if he didn’t really like the chairs.

When Serenity arrived, Raz was sitting in one of those chairs, clearly dreadfully uncomfortable. He fidgeted continuously; it was immediately clear that the chairs were not made for anyone with a tail. “Raz?”

Raz immediately jumped to his feet and swung around to face Serenity. “Serenity! It’s so good to see you! When do we leave? Can we head out today or do we have to wait until tomorrow? I’ve never been to Takinat; it’s supposed to be huge, but you said it’s been attacked the same way my home was?”

Serenity blinked slowly. Talking to Raz when he was wound up was almost as bad as talking to Echo on hot cocoa. He’d only had that joyous experience a few times, and he’d like to keep the number low. “Probably tomorrow. We were waiting on you, but it’s too late to leave tonight. We have a room waiting for you; I’ll lead you there. It’s next to Kerr’s room. We don’t have a common room here; when we need to meet, it’s in my room. It’s larger than anyone else’s.” Serenity had been given “a room befitting a Hand,” which apparently meant that it was really a suite; even the bedroom itself was larger than the Knives’ rooms that everyone else had.

Come to think of it, there was another sign that the Guild here was in trouble. It took some time, but they actually had enough empty rooms to fit in Legion. The Guild Hall was huge and clearly designed to have more people than it did now.

Raz was full of energy as he followed Serenity down the hallway. Most of his questions were innocuous and easily answered, but when he asked who would be coming with them, Serenity had to stop and think. “You know Rissa, Ita, and Kerr, of course. I’ll have to introduce you to Legion. One warning before that: don’t call him or her they. Legion really, really hates anything that implies she’s plural.”

Serenity had made that mistake once. Once was enough; Legion shouted at him in multiple voices about it. She was really sensitive about the subject of having once been more than one person.

Serenity shook himself and returned to the question. “I don’t know if Blaze will be coming with us or not. He’s been going back and forth about it; I think he wants to, but he also wants to go back to Aeon and help Ekari.”

Raz nodded. “Jine and Lak should be on Aeon soon; they didn’t want to wait so they got me to escort them most of the way. Sillon sent a team to meet them. Lak’s really cute, too; she was really looking forward to seeing her uncle and giving him a project she made. I think it’s a drawing but I can’t be sure, she said it was a secret and she wasn’t allowed to show it to anybody before she gave it to him.”

Serenity already knew Taz had escorted Sillon’s wife and niece to the portal leading to Aeon; it was part of the reason Raz had arrived so long after the rest of them. He’d had farther to travel.

“Which room is Blaze’s? I’ll talk to him.” Raz bounced a little. “We’re going to need all the healers we can get on Asihanya if this is as bad as Grandma Tillon said it would be. I want to catch up with her; she hasn’t responded to anything! I’m sure she’s still fighting and probably just wants to protect me so that’s why she hasn’t responded. I’m sure she can help! She was always really good at knowing everything that was going on.”

No, on second thought, an excited Raz was worse than Echo on hot cocoa. Serenity tried not to make it obvious just how exhausting this was. “He’s a couple doors down from you. I’ll show you which one.”

Serenity felt a little guilty about passing Raz off to Blaze, but he did legitimately need to go talk to Guildmaster Tirmanak and let him know when they’d be leaving. It didn’t necessarily have to be right now, but right now was definitely convenient.

Guildmaster Tirmanak’s personal study was, if anything, in even worse shape than the rest of the building. It clearly hadn’t been updated in decades; the ordinary wear and tear was obvious. The fact that it was filled to overflowing with books and ledgers of one sort or another probably helped it stay intact, but there was actually a worn spot on the Guildmaster’s desk where he slid around whatever he was working on; it looked polished, but the stain that deepened the color of the wood was mostly missing.

“Tirmanak?” Serenity still hadn’t gotten used to calling him Guildmaster; at the same time, he was the only person in Order’s Guild who didn’t use a title when he spoke to Serenity. Serenity would have preferred if everyone else would skip the title as well. “Raz is here, we’ll be heading out in the morning.”

Tirmanak nodded. “Before you go, we have a few things to settle, starting with Margrethe and Helen. Should they travel with you or leave for Earth?”

Serenity shook his head. “I’m still working on the issue of getting them accepted as advisors; I think Helen will be accepted first since she’s returning to her country of citizenship. It’s going to take time, I told you that.”

Tirmanak sighed and shook his head. “I still don’t understand why you let them push you around, but it’s not my business. I’ll tell them to pack to go with you, then.”

“Please don’t.” Serenity shook his head firmly. “I’ll let you know when they can go to Earth and what city to head to; having them with me won’t help.”

“Then how many Knives do you want? I can only spare so many, but we do need to support you.” Tirmanak clearly didn’t want to take no for an answer.

Serenity was going to say no anyway. The only person he was taking to Asihanya that he didn’t know well was Legion; everyone else had trained together. Most had fought together. With Legion’s help, a few Knives wouldn’t be of that much use anyway. “None. I have Legion, remember?”

The Guildmaster chuckled. “You’re making this really difficult. Well, at least you can’t turn down the rest of what I’m going to give you. I won’t let you.”

Serenity stared at the Guildmaster. He had no idea what he was talking about, which meant the Guildmaster had deliberately not told him until it was too late for him to argue. That was enough to make Serenity want to object, but he couldn’t really do anything until he knew what it was.

Tirmanak grinned. “First, uniforms and insignia. I don’t expect you to wear them, but there may be times when you need to be recognized as a Hand. This way, you can be. I’d have given these to you when you arrived, but it took time to get them properly adjusted. Either you’re a couple inches taller than you were on Zon or I mis-measured you; I’m not sure which.”

Serenity wasn’t sure, either. He hadn’t noticed anything, but a small height change could have been the outward result of his Greater Demon Form. If that was all that changed, he’d be happy.

“The real reason I waited is these.” Tirmanak handed Serenity a small pouch that felt like it was filled with marbles. “Normally, I’d make sure you have enough Etherium, too, but I’m confident you’d just turn me down. This is about double what I’d normally give, but I know you’ll use them appropriately. They’re single-use messaging items; you can give them a specific person to deliver their message to, If you don’t specify, they’ll head towards the nearest Guild member that you don’t deliberately exclude. They’re called emergency beads, but they’re also used in battles sometimes.”

Serenity knew what Tirmanak was talking about. He also knew how much they cost; each “bead” required a Tier Five or higher monster core and was single-use. Even at higher Tiers, they weren’t cheap; the monster core requirements went up as planetary Tiers and distances increased.

“You really don’t have to. I have ways to keep in contact with my people. Legion can manage it, if nothing else.” Serenity tried to hand the pouch back to Tirmanak.

Tirmanak pushed them into Serenity’s hands. “If you need them, use them. If you don’t, we can talk about it when you get back here. There are Guild members on Asihanya; you might find it helpful to have a way to find them.”