Silence stretched out for long moments, then Marie gave a nervous laugh at [Watch Commander] Amit’s statement.

  “What - Napoleon? He is harmless. Well, not harmless, but he is a good boy. Mon dieu - he saved my life, and protected the hunting group I came back with against wolves.”

  None of the guards shared her amusement.

  The [Watch Commander] shifted in place. He reminded her of one of the guides she’d had on the dig in Tunisia, only Yusuf had never been so serious.

  “We will come to the construct in due course, Miss Marie. Our first duty is to ensure you have not been contaminated - compromised - in some manner. Please sit still.”

  Marie’s hands clasped her knees as she perched on the edge of the wooden crate she was using as a seat. The dark-haired [Watch Commander] was staring at her intently, and it took a moment for her to realise his lips were moving. She felt a pressure around her head, then a tingling across her skin. Then it was as if there was some vast presence standing directly above her, watching. Waiting. It was unnerving enough to make her begin to crane her neck back but a sharply-raised hand from Commander Amit stopped her.

  He continued to sub-vocalise what she suspected were a host of Skills, and when he leaned back and breathed out, she began to relax herself, until he ordered [Watch Captain] Golgorin forward, and a woman with one eye missing stepped up and began to mutter her own Skills. Some of them she had no sense of, and perhaps there was no indication of them, but for a handful she saw their eyes focus more on Napoleon, and he squirmed in her arms.

  When both the [Watch Commander] and [Watch Captain] had finished, Marie went to get up, but a final order from Amit kept her in place a little longer.

  “Okay [Lieutenant] Bell, you’re up. And bring the exocierge.”

  A tortoiseshell tabaxi slunk into the room and knelt down just in front and to the side of her Captain. The others backed off a couple of steps, save for [Watch Commander] Amit whose hand now rested on the hilt of his sword. She took a deep breath, stared dead into Marie’s eyes and intoned in an emotionless voice, slowly and clearly.

  “[Show Me the Monster That Hides Inside].”

  Silence so tense it could have snapped hung in the air for the better part of a minute, until the young tabaxi woman shook her head and her eyes cleared.

  “Nothing.”

  A collective sigh of relief ran round the room, and [Watch Commander] Amit finally gave her the hint of a smile.

  “It seems as though there might not be any danger.”

  Unwilling to reveal how unnerving she’d found the whole event, Marie tried not to snap back.

  “I could have told you that. It has been weeks since I escaped it. I nearly didn’t make it out! Now can I go back to my business? It has been a long day.”

  It felt like a lifetime since she’d woken up in the allagi tavern. Had it not been for the miracle hangover cure of Madame Freya, she doubted she’d have been on her feet at all by now.

  Amit’s smile turned apologetic.

  “Just a few questions now that we’ve established no taint of the Exclusion Zone remains on you - as best we can anyway. If anything can get past all those Skills it’d be capable of leveling this town without much fuss so there’s little point worrying about it.”

  The calmness of the statement belied the potential horror it contained, but Marie was sure they were being hyperbolic now.

  “Fine.”

  She settled back down onto the box-chair as the [Watch Commander] lit a delightfully scented candle that lit the room properly; she hadn’t realised how dark it had been.

  Napoleon wriggled out of her grasp and settled into the shadow of her legs, squeezing between her feet and the crate.

  “First off, Miss, I need to ascertain how you got into the Exclusion Zone in the first place. I’d like a short account of your time there and then details of how you escaped. We’ll have to make a request of the adventurer’s guild to scout as close as people are allowed to make doubly sure nothing has followed you, but we’ll deal with that later. If we start with the recount, I’ll follow up with any more questions that arise.”

  Marie sat in silence for a moment.

  How did I get there? I can’t say I am from another world - can I? They would think me mad. Unless they have Skills to know if I am telling the truth… but what would they do then? Maybe a version of the truth. The things they can believe. Just in case…

  “Honestly [Watch Commander], I am not sure how I came to be in the city. I fell asleep one day after work and when I woke up, I found myself somewhere completely different - a place I’d never seen before.”

  Commander Amit frowned and took some paper from one of his men and began to jot down notes with a charcoal pencil by the light of the candle.

  “So you did not enter the city willingly? Interesting. Continue.”

  —

  It took the best part of twenty minutes to relate her experiences in the city. The main parts at least. Stopping occasionally to clarify a point. It was easier having given much of the information to the [Chief Librarian] before. She glossed over her unfamiliarity with Classes and Skills and levels and focused instead on the elements the commander wanted: her interactions with the entities there, how she’d come by Napoleon, and anything she’d brought with her. She hadn’t liked telling him about the chest, and he’d certainly seemed perturbed by its existence, but she’d felt the pull of a Skill and a compulsion to leave nothing important out.

  She didn’t like it, but she understood something of why he was asking.

  If one of those things might have followed her…

  Part way through they’d been interrupted as one of the [Librarians] that had been poking their heads in the doorway gave up all pretense of giving them privacy and had plonked himself in the corner and started making his own notes. Amit’s frown lines had deepened but he’d not kicked the man out.

  As she came to the end of her tale, and the days she had lain just outside the city without seeing any signs of pursuit, the [Watch Commander] seemed to relax. He studied the candle, then blew it out.

  “Well, the exocierge didn’t flare, so neither the hound nor you are possessed and there is no magic attached to your tale; there’s really nothing more I can do to ensure you’re not a threat.” He passed the candle back to one of his subordinates before turning back to Marie. “Damned things are bloody expensive, so if you could avoid being whisked off to another death-trap in the future I’d appreciate it. I’ll still have to talk to the guild about checking the intervening area but you’re free to go for now. I ask that you bring the items you obtained in the city to the garrison tomorrow morning to be checked though.”

  “Actually, Amit, might I offer our services there?” [Chief Librarian] Kypria had appeared in the doorway and was reviewing the notes the other [Librarian] had been making. “The Watch might be good with people but artifacts and historical items are our specialty. We’ve provided such services before, though not for many years now. No charge, if we’re free to examine them.”

  The [Watch Commander] hesitated a moment, before bowing to the woman’s superiority in the matter.

  “Very well, Ununcia, though I’ll send the day-shift captain over to witness.”

  “If you need the Adventurer’s Guild to investigate, I can put a request in, [Watch Commander]. I started working there when I arrived.”

  Amit regarded Marie, one eye narrowing.

  “Fine. I will send the details over with the [Watch Captain].”

  “Actually, that reminds me.” Lady Kypria’s owlish gaze turned towards Marie too. “There is a delegation we’re planning to send to the capital next week; I was going to approach the guild to request an escort.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Not next week;” Amit interjected, “it’s a full moon.”

  Lady Kypria frowned.

  “Right. Well then perhaps the week after. And any adventurers with travel skills would be particularly welcome. I’d appreciate it if you could put an open quest up for applicants.”

  Marie gave a weary smile.

  “Why don’t we go back to your office, [Chief Librarian], and finish off our discussion from earlier.”

  —

  When Marie finally walked out of the library and into a town turned golden by the setting sun, she left with a full membership, and unlimited free access to the information and services that the repository offered…within reason. Of course, she’d had to offer something in return, and she and Napoleon were both now subject to being questioned by the [Librarians], [Scholars] and [Researchers] that worked within (also within reason).

  She’d also agreed to bring the rest of her notes and artefacts to the library for study. She was of course welcome to join them in examining the relics, and they had first refusal on anything she was willing to part with at a price she asked…within reason.

  It’s sort of like a museum. They’d at least be on display…

  She looked down to the skeletal hound following at her heel.

  “I am not selling out, am I Napoleon? They are better equipped for it.”

  Others in the guild wouldn’t get the same perks, but they would gain access, with more benefits as they progressed through the ranks. Even the allagi in Bronze would be able to come in and check the reference books on the ground floor and make basic requests for information. If there had been any Platinum-ranked adventurers around, they’d have been granted the same benefits as her, but not even [Guildmaster] Thror had the trinity of levels, gear and experience to qualify for that. Beyond that, the [Librarians] would be better situated than many to appraise the quality and effects of any gear that the adventurers found.

  And in return? All the guild had to do was to notify them of any items of potential interest they might come across in ruins or dungeons, and allow them to peruse the various texts it had collected over the years. And they would gain access to Marie’s mind and treasure trove which could provide an unprecedented insight into a place none of them would ever see in person…

  The escort they required for their upcoming trip wasn’t even a part of the agreement; they had offered pay for it up front and in full!

  It was buoyed up by this success that Marie decided to visit a final stop as she returned to the guild. Not that it was out of her way.

  The [Innkeeper] of The Grinning Broccsus was a dwarven man in his later years. From his appearance, being the pub closest to the Adventurer’s Guild had done him well, and he considered her offer of a partnership deal politely before declining.

  “Ah lass, I already got all the adventurers coming in here to spend their gold. What more would I need?”

  She pushed a little, but without rare ingredients for his ales, or outlandish relics to adorn the walls, she couldn’t think of anything to offer. For a moment she considered the hangover cure she was getting from The Drowned Cat, but only for a second. That was a lure she wanted to keep in-house.

  Heading next door to the guild, she wasn’t overly down. The day had proved to be a great success on the whole.

  [Washerwoman], [Blacksmith], [Leatherworker], [Tanner], [Butcher], [Preserver], a couple of general [Shopkeepers] and now the [Librarians]. That wasn’t even counting how good she looked in her new outfit, despite the bags she felt forming under her eyes. No hangover cure could completely make up for a lack of good sleep.

  She nodded to Rudi who was currently manning the front desk, not that there was much to do at this time of day, and grabbed up the sheets she was using to log the people and businesses she’d arranged deals with.

  I need a way for them to be easily identifiable when people go around the town. A stamp of the Guild’s seal on their sign or door perhaps? Guild members will need to show their seals to take advantage of the offers. Is there a need to scale the rewards with the ranks? Three tiers - Bronze, Silver, Gold? No one of a higher rank has a reason to come here; three options would be simple enough.

  Making a few notes of things to investigate later, her [Rapid Transcription] allowed her to fill out the vendor forms in less than a minute, and she went to add them to the filing system she had created.

  Over by Rudi, who was dealing with the solitary guild member around, she pulled out the quest log book and went to add in the one for the library. To her surprise and delight, there were already a couple of other entries after the open ones she’d added earlier. She looked down at Napoleon and whispered.

  “It is taking off.”

  As she scanned the new ones, she felt something pulling at her, and realised it was her latest Skill - [Threat Assessment]. The hunting/gathering quests she’d listed herself and the two new ones - guard duty and an infestation eradication - were all marked down as Bronze-ranked, but as she considered them further, she felt one of the gathering ones giving her a worrying twinge.

  Hesitantly, she pulled out a quill and ink pot, scratched out ‘Bronze’, and added in ‘Silver’. Instantly, the faint queasiness she’d been feeling faded, and she breathed out.

  That will need to be investigated. What is the danger?

  That was something she could do - as a [Scout]. But it could wait for now though.

  Filling in the librarian’s escort quest, she got a similar feeling when she marked it as Bronze, and again when she changed it to Silver-ranked the unease disappeared.

  Rudi finished dealing with the guild member and came over to add the man’s name to one of the open hunting quests.

  “Rudi, do you know if the [Guildmaster] is in his office?”

  The younger man scratched at his nose as he glanced up at her. She noted he wasn’t getting too close to Napoleon, though the dog seemed to have no issue with him in return.

  “I - uh. Yes. He’s still here.”

  “Thanks. Are you on the night shift?”

  “Tonight and tomorrow. And the night after.”

  She took in his glum look as she gathered up her sheets detailing the deals she’d worked out and took a moment to steel herself. She’d made these negotiations, and she was employed by the guild, but really she wasn’t sure if she had the authority to go through with this. She was hoping that if she presented Thror with ready-to-go opportunities, he’d take them.

  “I need a good sleep tonight, but if you like I can cover the shift tomorrow, or the day after. Just let me know.”

  A faint look of relief came to his eyes, but Marie didn’t notice. She had a mission.

  Walking up to the second floor and the [Guildmaster]’s office was unnerving, but as she considered that an hour before she’d had the local guard telling her she might be executed, she reevaluated the feeling of mild dread that came from talking to the tabaxi.

  That still didn’t help as she stood at the door to his room and forced her hand to knock confidently, rather than with a slight tremor.

  Beside her, Napoleon didn’t seem to care in the slightest, and she drew some strength from that.

  Merde. He is only a man. Well, a tabaxi man. He has approved all this work, in theory…

  The fact that he was possibly the highest-levelled person she’d met in this entire place, and that his Skills seemed capable of shutting multiple people down with a word, and that he seemed strong enough to crush her as an afterthought, surely had nothing to do with her hesitancy.

  “Enter.”

  [Guildmaster] Thror closed a drawer to his desk as Marie and Napoleon walked in, and sat back in his chair.

  “Marie. Is this good news, or more bad news?”

  She flushed.

  “I hope you will find this positive, [Guildmaster].” She handed over a list of all the agreements for him to peruse. As he scanned it, she continued. “I appreciate you seeing the benefit to my proposals even though a few have… made their disagreement known.”

  He didn’t look up as he responded.

  “I approved a trial period; if they don’t like my rulings they can form their own guild, or bring their grievances to me directly, as you did. The fact that they didn’t suggests you are the one to listen to, Marie. If everyone who had an issue searched for a solution instead of giving up, we’d have a lot more Gold-ranked adventurers in the guild.”

  He reached the end of the document and nodded his approval.

  “This is good. I will give my consent to all of these on a provisional basis, provided the numbers on the ones you’re waiting to finalise make sense. If they can meet demand and the members use their services enough, I’ll agree to an official partnership.” He paused as he considered the list again. “And see if you can get one of the bakeries on The Spice Walk to sign up to it as well.”

  The tension in her shoulders vanished. She hadn’t realised how much she’d been stressing over his response. With his blessing, her day’s work, and her plans for the next week and beyond, were starting to move forward. Before she could thank him, the [Guildmaster] sat upright and put a finger to his temple, getting a far-off look in his eyes. He stayed that way for almost a minute, mane shaking as his head twitched occasionally, until he came out of the semi-trance he’d been in and scrunched his face up a few times and worked his jaw round, canines flashing, as if to loosen it.

  As he did so, a voice chimed in Marie’s head, only, it wasn’t a voice. It was more like words embedded themselves into her consciousness, as if she were reading a letter to herself. One that had a distinctly-Thror feel to them.

  ‘Attention adventurers of Wayfarrow. The Adventurer’s Guild is trialing a new initiative. Over the next week, discounts and offers will be made available to guild members in various shops and businesses around town. Should you take advantage of them, you will find gearing up, restocking, and preparing for missions cheaper and easier. Other initiatives and upgrades may become available over time. Also, there is now a tax on all loot found on missions in Wayfarrow area. For more information, speak to [Secretary] Marie at the guild, or leave questions and feedback with the other members of staff.’

  Marie blinked as the information entered her brain. It wasn’t unpleasant or painful, it was simply unexpected.

  “Oh! I did not know it was possible to do something like that.”

  “[Guild: Mass Announcement]. It will only reach the members in the town - or just outside, but it’s a useful Skill. Most [Guildmasters] get something like it. Quicker than paying couriers to deliver letters, and cheaper than a {Message} or {Scry} when you’re not a [Mage].”

  How do I get a Skill like that? Maybe the [Librarians] would know…

  She gave a start as she realised the [Guildmaster] was staring at her.

  “Was there anything else, Marie?”

  “No Sir. I will see to organising the next stages.”

  She exited the office before he could change his mind about anything, and half-stumbled down the stairs as a wave of tiredness hit her. Napoleon danced around her feet in concern and she surveyed an almost-empty guild. Rudi was manning the desk still. He would be till Wilhelmina took over in the morning.

  “If anyone needs me,” she announced to her colleague, “I’ll be in my office, working.”

  The young man nodded to her as she shuffled to the room, and the desk inside. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but as she sat down she began to mumble to Napoleon.

  “I will do some work, Boney. I’ll… write up some more plans. But I just need a short nap first…”

  Eyelids made of lead drew her head down to the wooden surface, and one hand managed to drag a softer book in front of her face before it settled down. The other reached down to pat Napoleon as he jumped up into her lap.

  “Wake me up in an hour, Boney…”

  [Secretary Level 12!]

  [Skill - Enforce Contract gained!]

  [Skill - Guild: Efficient Reciprocity gained!]

  Hi all! Welcome to my book, Miscast Heroes.

  I'm uploading a few chapters to start with and then will upload one a day after.

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  Hope you enjoy it - please leave comments below!