“You’re— Alia the Unranked Adventurer!” Brynn exclaid.
I frowned and glanced back at the rest of the room. Most of the patrons to the inn were still passed out. Which was good because I was trying to keep a low profile, and no one overheard the [Innkeeper]. I just shook my head.
“Please don’t call by that Title. Just call Alia, Brynn.”
“R-right.” She took a step back as she stared at for a long mont.
I watched as she looked up and down like I wasn’t actually real. As if I was a fignt of her imagination. Once she was certain that I was actually standing right in front of her, she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.
“You… you shouldn’t be here, Alia,” Brynn said in a low voice. She looked past , before gritting her teeth. “Things have changed since you’ve been gone. Our city has been taken over by the [Hero King]’s forces, and—”
“I know all that,” I cut her off. I gestured vaguely towards the outside of the inn. “I kind of noticed all that when I was on my way here.”
The [Innkeeper] blinked. Then she shook her head. “That’s why you should go— leave Windrip. Things will be… rather ssy over the next few days.”
I raised a brow. What did that an? I exchanged a glance with Jax, looking if he knew what Brynn was talking about. But he was hardly even paying attention to the conversation. His gaze was sliding off the walls of the room as he wore an incredibly bored look on his face.
I sighed as I turned back to face the [Innkeeper]. “ssy how? What’s been going on since I’ve left? Is the Astrad Kingdom going to be retaking the city or sothing??”
“I… no— not much has happened after the [Hero King] attacked.” Brynn pursed her lips. “Many of the Kingdom of Kal’s soldiers garrisoned here are at least C-ranked. I’ve heard there are even a few A-ranks amongst them. And with Windrip’s proximity to Briar Glenn, the Astrad Kingdom can’t send a large army here to liberate us without losing a lot of their forces along the way.”
That was expected. I was told when I first arrived in Windrip that the city was less of a strategic importance for warfare, and more of a necessity because of the threat of monster attacks. It started out as a fortress at first, but eventually grew into a city, especially when Briar Glenn’s most dangerous threats were culled out.
So retaking Windrip was hardly on the list of things to do for the Astrad Kingdom.
“I know that the Kingdom of Kal has mostly… left us alone, but I wish King Jalen Astral does sothing about them soon.” Brynn sighed as she lowered her head.
“I see.” I nodded slowly at the [Innkeeper]. “Well, I’m not here to get involved in the war, anyways. I’m just here to find Evan.”
And that made her pause. “Evan? You an Guildmaster Evan? The head of Windrip’s Adventurer’s Guild?”
“Uh, yeah?” I tapped a finger on my chin. “He went missing— or he was taken by the Kingdom of Kal as a prisoner or whatever.”
“That… did happen.” Brynn hesitated. “But how did you know…? No— why do you even care that he’s gone?”
“He’s a close acquaintance of mine.” I shrugged, before narrowing my eyes at her. “Why? Do you know sothing about what happened to him?”
The [Innkeeper] shifted back, clearly wearing an apprehensive look on her face. “I…”
“I’m just here to help,” I said as I dug into my pockets. I produced a handful of gold coins, before nodding at her with a small smile. “Tell everything you know, please.”
Still, Brynn didn’t imdiately accept the coins. She stared at the glinting tal, before looking back up at . She chewed her lower lip as I waited. And finally Jax scoffed, speaking up for the first ti since we entered the inn.
“Your persuasion skills are lacking, Alia. Actions speak louder than words. You cannot talk these fools into listening to you, you have to show them why they should listen.” The Forsaken Archer reached for a shortsword at his side.
“What…?” Brynn blinked as she saw what he was doing. She backed up with wide eyes as he smirked, drawing the blade. “What are you doing?”
He took a nacing step forward. “I could extract the information out of this [Innkeeper] in a second—”
And I glared at Jax. “Please stop.”
“Fine,” he harrumphed and crossed his arms. “But just know that I believe that your thods are slow and wasteful.”
I rolled my eyes as Brynn sighed in relief. She steadied herself against her bar, shaking her head.
“Who is this man, Alia?” she asked, looking at in horror.
“He’s just an idiot.” I waved a hand off. “Ignore him.”
“I…” The [Innkeeper] glanced between and the hooded elf. She pursed her lips, before sighing exasperatedly. “You can’t tell a single soul about what I’m going to tell you, alright? I’ll get into a lot of trouble if you do.”
“Don’t worry.” I spoke reassuringly. “You have my word.”
She slowly slid the gold coins into her pockets and took in a deep breath. “Did you… did you happen to see those three folks who were leaving my inn as you entered?”
“The ones who nearly bumped into ? Yeah— what about them?” I raised a brow.
“They were sent by the Adventurer’s Guild to free Guildmaster Evan,” Brynn said in a low voice. “I’ve been housing them for the last few weeks as they made their plans.”
I frowned, glancing back towards the doorway. “They were adventurers?”
“No— not adventurers.” The [Innkeeper] shook her head. “rcenaries.”
That made pause. I crossed my arms in thought. “Wait, why send rcenaries? Why can’t the Adventurer’s Guild send… adventurers?”
“Because—” she started.
And Jax spoke for her. “The Adventurer’s Guild doesn’t want anyone to know that they’re involved.”
I blinked. I turned to the Forsaken Archer, before glancing back at Brynn. “Is that true?”
“It… is.” She exhaled heavily. “It’s a very complex situation, and I didn’t even want to be a part of it. But I had no other choice. I was forced into it by Giles.”
“And Giles is…?” I asked.
“He’s in charge of the rcenaries hired by the Adventurer’s Guild,” Brynn explained. “Giles and his n were sent here to discreetly free Guildmaster Evan. And no one can know about any of this— not even that our city’s guildmaster has been captured by the Kingdom of Kal. That’s why the Adventurer’s Guild has been keeping a tight lid on this whole ordeal.”
I eyed the [Innkeeper] curiously. “But why all the secrecy? Why doesn’t the Adventurer’s Guild want anyone to know about what happened to Evan?”
“Because they do not want to be forced to take action against the Kingdom of Kal.” She shook her head.
“Typical,” Jax snorted. “What a bunch of spineless cowards.”
“It’s not cowardice—” Brynn gestured vaguely at our surroundings. “This war is already bad enough for Laxo. If the Adventurer’s Guild is forced to partake in it too…”
Her gaze darkened, and I watched as she closed her eyes. I could now see why she looked so sickly and thin compared to when I last saw her. I took a step forward as I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Well, don’t worry about it. I’ll help free Evan, so that won’t happen.” I drew back as I pointed a thumb back towards the doorway. “And if you really want, I can bring you back to Wolfwater with when that is all over.”
Brynn blinked a few tis as she raised her head. She stared at for a mont, before smiling. “I appreciate the offer, Alia. I truly do…”
She raised her head as she stared at the ceiling with a soft gaze. Her eyes fluttered open and close, before she looked back down at the palm of her hand.
“But Windrip is my ho— it’s my community. I grew up here in this city. I cannot just leave my friends and family behind…”
“I understand. That’s completely fair.” I took a step back as she shook her head.
Brynn steeled herself before pointing past . “Anyway, if you follow Giles, he’ll lead you to Guildmaster Evan. They’re going to break him free today.”
“Today?” I looked back at Jax. “As in right now?”
The [Innkeeper] nodded. “That’s right. You should hurry because—”
And I heard the blast echo in the far distance. Like it was miles away at the very least. The ground shook for a mont— a brief tremor that jolted one of the unconscious custors awake. I glanced back as the Forsaken Archer furrowed his brows. He turned to , and I swept past him as Brynn looked on.
“Alright,” I said as I reached for my sword. Jax trailed after , unslinging his bow. “Let’s get going.”
With that, we headed out to save Guildmaster Evan.
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