? “Enter,” Orren’s voice came in reply to his knock. He sounded serious. Grim half-wondered if he was going to be treated to another of his Guildmaster’s faux intimidation routines. If that were the case, he could have done it in the mess hall. “Oh, you got here faster than expected. I thought you’d want to take your time in the bath.”
? He had, in fact. But even Grim couldn’t lollygag while he knew that the Guildmaster was expecting him. “It’s alright. I can always take another, if I feel the need.”
? Orren chuckled darkly. “With how hard Fendel’s running you, I’m sure you’d love to hide away in there an entire day. I tried when he trained me.”
? Now that came as a surprise. Grim tried to imagine the sour-faced, obstinate trainer yelling at Orren the same way he’d Grim. Strangely, it wasn’t that difficult. But in the world Grim knew, older delvers were superior to those younger than them. How was Fendel stuck as a trainer if Orren was so much younger? Was his level not higher?
? “Sit down, please. I hate speaking to someone standing when I’m seated.”
? Grim nodded and moved toward one of the seats placed before the desk. Orren continued speaking. “Speaking of Fendel, he says your training is going well.”
? Grim froze halfway in the act of sitting and looked up at Orren, his eyes narrowed. “Huh?”
? “It’s true,” Orren laughed again, waving him down. “He’s always hard on his students, but he’s honest with me. Says that you’re nowhere near the skill level he’d consider satisfactory, but that you are improving rapidly. You’re not missing nearly every target now, right?”
? “That’s… true. But I still can’t shoot out all the targets before they zap me. The last one or two always get me.”
? “Well, that just comes with practice. I speak from experience when I say that, by the way. Fendel’s early lessons were always brutal. But after a few months, I started to really appreciate them. Took me nearly the first year to admit it to him, though. Trust me, if he says you’re improving, you’re improving.”
? “Right,” Grim said slowly, not sure if he believed it, but not willing to disagree with his Guildmaster. Orren’s grin showed that he had spotted the doubt.
? “Agree to disagree, right? Well, we’ll see how you’re feeling in a few month’s time. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about tonight. You’ve gotten your first outside request.”
? “How?” He asked, leaning forward. “I haven’t even been to the east side of the city since I got here.”
? “Well, they weren’t asking for you specifically,” Orren corrected, raising a hand to forestall further questions. “Specifically, the Blackthorn Academy has put out a request to anyone with a bloodline to take part in a lecture.”
? “Ah,” he said, not sure how to reply straight away. Then, a complication arose. “I don’t exactly know what my bloodline does, though. Why not ask Miranda?”
? “We have, and she has accepted. But interactions between guilds are great opportunities for advancement. It puts you and the guild in a better light if you join in the lecture. Speaking in my official role as your Guildmaster, you can’t really afford to pass this opportunity up.”
? Grim slumped back into his chair with a sigh. Politics. He nearly snorted in disgust at the very idea of it, but restrained himself. He’d left Beastwick precisely because of this sort of social maneuvering. *No. You left because you couldn’t play the game.* But it’d just be the same here. He’d start at the bottom, with delvers who had decades more experience holding him down. Advancement would be based on connection and power, both of which he lacked.
? As if he could hear Grim’s thoughts, Orren shook his head. “This ain’t Beastwick, Grim. Everyone gets a fair shot here. Yes, it’s hard. Any social climbing is going to be. But if you want to advance, this is necessary.”
? “I could just delve dungeons,” Grim replied quickly, offering half a shrug. “I don’t think I’d have to talk to anyone to do that.”
? “Wrong. The Judicial Guild controls access to all the nearby dungeons. You have to acquire a slot through them. Sure, you could go out into the wilds, but without a dedicated party or platoon, you’d just die. You need to curry favor to gain delving privileges. Nobles don’t hold any sway in that regard, so it will be a bit easier. But you’ll still have to work for it.”
? “Okay,” Grim said, accepting that point. “But the fact that I can’t use my bloodline is still a thing. I haven’t the slightest idea.”
? “Well, it’s a good thing that all skills can be taught,” Orren said dryly. “It’s even better that we have a highly skilled Bloodline owner in our guild who has agreed to hold your hand until you learn how to tap into your powers and what they do.”
? “Miranda?”
? “Who else?”
? Grim bit his lip thoughtfully, mulling that over. He despised the idea of currying favor and climbing the social ladder, but he couldn’t ignore the chance to add a new skill–or several–to his repertoire. And the cost of one didn’t seem too bad… Glancing up at Orren, he asked, “Just to be clear. I do have the right to refuse, don’t I?”
? “Of course. What do you think we are, slavers?”
? He hummed thoughtfully a moment longer, weighing it in his mind. Orren, for his part, let him think it through without interruption. The more he considered, the more tempting it became. But still, the great political game was not something he wanted a part of… He could duck the chance… No. He had one goal in mind. Get stronger. Anything that served that, no matter how tedious, was something he would do.
? “Good,” Orren said with a smile, before he could give his answer. “Miranda will meet up with you as soon as she gets back from confirming your attendance. You’ll have two weeks to train. Blackthorn Academy’s oldest crop of students just hit level three, which means they have six months to get stronger. This will be one of many supplemental lessons for them. Do us proud, Grim, and I’ll make sure you’re adequately rewarded.”
? That was as good a dismissal as any, Grim thought, getting up from the chair. At least it hadn’t been anything too bad, as he’d feared. He couldn’t tell his Guildmaster that he hadn’t left the bath early out of an eagerness to meet, but anxiety. He’d skipped most of his meal for the same reason. Despite two weeks of hard work and a comfortable life otherwise, he still remembered what authority did to a nobody like him. He knew it all too well.
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? Maybe he’d take another bath. Just to make sure he was relaxed.
?—
? He ran into someone just outside the clerk’s office. Well, to be more specific, the door swung open and hit him, nearly knocking him to the ground. A hurried apology sounded from inside. “Sorry!”
? A familiar freckled face peered around the door, a bundle of rolled papers in her arms. It was Maven, with golden circular spectacles perched rather precariously on her thin, straight nose. They magnified her eyes to almost twice their usual size, giving her a bizarre appearance that wouldn’t have been amiss on a monster. Wisely, he chose not to share that thought.
? “Ah, sorry, I always forget to take these off,” she said. Hefting the papers into one arm, she whipped off the spectacles and tucked them into the neck of her green robes. “Sorry about that, Grim. Nearly knocked you over, didn’t I? I hardly ever pay attention when I open this door. You wouldn’t be the first I’ve knocked over by doing that.”
? “All good,” Grim said as smoothly as he could. “I caught myself just in time. That’s a lot of paper there. What’s it for?”
? “Hm? Oh, this is nothing special. Just a bunch of paperwork for some collaboration we’re doing with the Delver’s Guild. They want to hire two of our level fourteens for an expedition. I’d use a storage device if I could to make my life easier, but I’m still only level four, so that’s out of the question.”
? So she was stronger than him, Grim thought, unable to stop a slight frown from touching his face. There went the hope of being older, more experienced. As soon as that thought entered his mind, he shook his head. Why the hell did he care about that? Maven must have noticed his reaction, though, because she laughed. “Disappointed that a weak little clerk girl is a higher level than you?”
? “No, of course not!” Grim said hurriedly. Damn, he couldn’t keep his voice level for the life of him. “Just… surprised, is all. I know you’re in the office a lot. I didn’t think you’d had the time to level up that much.”
? “It always happens for children of nobles,” she drawled, shifting her papers to a more even footing. “My mother insisted that I make it to level four before I join any guild, so I was delving at double speed with a few bodyguards. I didn’t hate it, but managing records is what I’m good at, so this is where I am for now.”
? “I see. Do you… need any help with those?”
? A small smile touched her face as she looked down at the papers. “What a gentleman, offering to save me from this great burden.”
? “That’s not what I-”
? “It’s alright,” she said, waving away his barely formed apology. “I’ve got it more than handled. But could you wait here, if you don’t mind? I’ve been meaning to get you to myself for a while now, and this is as good a chance as any. Oh, have you had dinner? Go eat first, if not.”
? “I… I, umm, I’ve had dinner.”
? “Oh, good. Well, wait inside the office for me, please. I’ll be back in five minutes, ten tops!”
? He opened his mouth to reply, but she was already hurrying down the hallway, narrowly avoiding another person stepping out through a door. A quick apology, and she was off again, leaving the man shaking his head with a chuckle. Grim caught something about ‘same old Maven’. He decided he might as well just wait for the girl. He had nothing better to do, and she did seem to want to talk to him. With a little more energy than he’d had before, he slipped into the clerk’s office and waited for her return.
? Almost six minutes later–or the best he could track without a water clock in sight–Maven appeared inside the office again, her chest heaving. It looked as if ink had been splashed across the front of her uniform and covered most of one hand, but before he could comment, she’d muttered something, and bark grew over the stain on clothes and skin, then withered away into nothing, taking the ink with it.
? Seizing him by the wrist, Maven dragged him to the back of the office, where a desk sat with an even larger stack of papers than she’d been carrying before. She waved an irritated hand at it, and it all vanished before a bundle of cloth appeared in its place. She snatched the fabric up and held it out to him. “Here. This is your official uniform.”
? Grim hesitated before taking it, then spread it out, realizing it was a cloak. Well, a hood and a half cape. The heraldry of the guild, a four-pointed star, was stamped on the back, just under where the hood ended. He was sure he’d seen that type of elongated star somewhere before, but couldn’t place it.
? “It’s called a compass rose,” Maven told him. “Put it on. I want to make sure it fits right.”
? He did, and it did. It was pleasantly warm around his shoulders and neck, without being stifling. The hood, when he pulled it up, covered his head fully in shade, but wasn’t baggy. “Seems perfect. Is that all the uniform? I thought there’d be… more.”
? “Well, there are these two things,” she said, pressing a bracelet and something on a leather thong into his hands. “The amulet lets mages back here know where you are at all times in case you need a rescue. The bracelet has an enchantment on it that will always let you know which way is north.”
? Grim twisted the metal bracelet left and right, noting with interest that the compass rose embedded on its face always turned so that the top of the star pointed to what he assumed was north. “Okay, that is amazing. But what about… tunic, and breeches? Doesn’t the uniform cover the whole body?”
? Maven waved the comment off. “Those don’t matter. You just have to be agile and hard to notice out there, and they trust you to know what clothes give you the best advantages there. The bracelet and amulet have been treated so that they never reflect light, by the way, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
? She stood, hands on her hips, looking him up and down. At her request, he turned slowly on the spot, letting her inspect him with the mantle on properly. “Yes. You look like a real Cartographer now.”
? “Only look like it for now,” he replied. “Still have to learn how to actually make and chart a map.”
? “Don’t worry, that stuff’s easy. Well, you can learn it. The record for the slowest learner is Orren, and he only took four months to learn how to do it, or so I’ve been told. I’m sure you can pick it up much faster than that idiot.”
? He couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Well, thanks for this, Maven.”
? ?He was halfway out of the office when a thought struck him, and he turned around to look back at her. “Hey, Maven?”
? “Hm?”
? “Err, I have… a day off in a few days,” he said, not sure why he’d started this, or even what he hoped to achieve. “I was planning on exploring the eastern side of the city, and maybe finding some… some good food. Would you like to, uhh, join me?”
? She turned slowly and gave him a look quite different from any others he’d seen in her face before. It wasn’t quite cold, but it was a hard look. Calculating. Judging. “Just for some food?”
? He offered half a shrug, already hoping she declined, just so he could be spared the mortification. “Or, you know, anything else that might be interesting.”
? “No, I mean-” she began, but hesitated in her speech, her cheeks tinging slightly pink. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a moment. “Stupid boys. Do you expect anything else out of me besides a meal? You don’t think I’m like Veyra or Miranda, ready to flirt and fuck anyone who catches my passing interest, do you?”
? Panic flashed in his mind, and he hurriedly held up his hands in a gesture of innocence. “No! Not at all! I just thought… Well, you’re probably the coolest person I met since-”
? A snort of laughter interrupted his clumsy attempt at an explanation. “Okay, I get you. Sure, Grim. I could use a day off.”
? Then she waved him through the office door with her fingers. “Don’t disappoint!”
In the mood for something cozy, spicy, and otherworldly? Join Dr. Ryst Nova in the Andromeda Galaxy, 700 years from now. Ryst survives an attempt on her life, but now she's hearing voices she can't explain and dreaming of a man she's never met. When she goes looking for him, what does she uncover, and could she set in motion a string of events that will break reality itself? Find out in .
What to Expect:
- Female & male leads.
- LGBT leads & cast.
- Neurodifferent and nonverbal characters.
- Slow burn romance that turns NSFW spicy.
- Telepathy, Tantra, & psychic phenomenon.
- Seven book series. For the stand-alone Comedy Space Operas, start in .
- For the WLW Psychological Thriller Romances, go to .