‘I Ruby Schap hereby agree to the terms and conditions of this guild,’ she said, speaking in no more than a whisper.
She marked the contract and then moved it over to her friend.
Every figure in the room turned their eyes toward Sawwse. Picking up the parchment, she read it over two or three times without taking a single word in, her excitement halting her hand. Embossed at the top of the parchment was the symbol that had flashed into her mind earlier: an hourglass and a shield. Below this were two words she didn’t recognise. She read them aloud,
‘“Actum Tempus.” What is that?’
‘It is the name of our adventurers’ guild,’ Convener answered. ‘It means ‘time for action’. A sentiment I hope you all agree is worthy of the title.’
‘Just mark the infernal contract,’ the stooping man said, impatiently.
Sawwse took her time poring over the sheet of parchment. Finding her name on the page, she looked up at Convener’s impenetrable mask, and wondered whether she could trust the person behind it. Her mind raced. ‘It’s true there’s no ill will that I can sense, but there’s not much of anything. If he can intrude upon our thoughts, what else could he be capable of? Maybe he’s listening to me right now. In which case: hairy spiders!’ Convener continued to stare, impassive. ‘Perhaps not.’
Running out of internal objections, Sawwse grinned broadly and added her mark to the contract. ‘This thumbprint might be worth a lot some day,’ she said aloud. ‘I Sawwse Bohge hereby agree to the terms and conditions of this guild.’
Rather than marking the contract, the parchment absorbed the wax into itself, leaving no trace of Sawwse’s thumbprint.
Sitting back in her seat, she felt a familiar thrill run through her. It started as a tingle in the tips of her fingers and toes, and rose up through her body to the nose. As it passed through her lungs, she inhaled deeply, filling her chest with air. Occasionally her body worked faster than her mind. Standing up, Sawwse had a chest full of music ready to release, when she was interrupted by the elf to her left, marking the contract.
Vadania Avindico did not notice Sawwse slowly deflating to her right. Instead, she took up the contract and moved it across the table along with the wax. Rangrim son of Randolin, the rosy-cheeked young dwarf, and Corinne Brightwood, the hooded woman, both signed it in turn. Finally, it came to rest once again with the tall man. He stared at Convener while he marked the contract, which showed his name only as Larn.
After collecting the completed parchment, Convener sat very still for a few moments. He placed his fingertips together in front of him.
‘Welcome, all of you, to Actum Tempus, our humble guild. The road ahead may be lined with dangers, but overcoming these obstacles may lead to great rewards, interesting stories and mutual honour. Perhaps dishonour too. Your adventures may call for you to cross borders into many different lands, provinces, kingdoms. It is not our duty to get involved with internal disputes in these lands. But where terror rises, this guild seeks to quell it. We will not change the world on our own, (not yet at least),’ he added in parentheses, ‘but together we can make a difference.’
Sawwse listened to Convener’s speech and wondered how many other gnomes had been in this position before her. The petite gnome with grand ambitions began to picture herself alongside Emmeline Flowerdew: prancing about on stage in duet, Sawwse with her lute, Flowerdew with her flute. She thought also of the Gnehsehgs, of which her friend Dannse Gan had been a part, and the fact that she was now finally following in their footsteps, exploring the world beyond the Blue Forest, meeting new people and having adventures.
‘Inevitably there will be a delay before this guild is trusted to begin its work. I have covered our board here for the foreseeable future and will alert you once we receive our first mission.’
Convener flashed his unreadable smile once again and then stood to leave.
‘Your lodgings are upstairs, and I hope they provide you with an adequate night’s sleep.’
With that, he left the room. Then there were seven. They each sat still, exchanging awkward glances and saying nothing. The pause extended for a while. Eventually Sawwse took out her lute and began to fingerpick, not a specific tune but a pleasant meandering of notes. The atmosphere in the room seemed to become a little less oppressive and awkward while she played.
‘You play well,’ Vadania said, looking down again at Sawwse with unintentionally fierce eyes. Ruby concurred, moving her head to the rhythm with her eyes closed.
Sawwse had to grin. She loved the idea of bringing music to people. Leaving her seat, she began to pace the cosy room, humming and singing nonsense lyrics: ‘The blue monk swam into the bell tower, the red monkey ate a beetle to fly higher.’ While Sawwse continued to play, Rangrim began to search the barrels at the back of the room. He tore off the lids and peered inside each one in turn.
‘There’s ale in this one,’ he shouted excitedly.
Rushing to the other end of the room, Rangrim searched the shelves and found some discarded bowls. He blew the dust off the top of them and then took a cloth out of his pocket, wiping them until they were cleanish. Dashing back past Sawwse he dipped one of the bowls into the barrel and raised it to his lips. Delighted, beer dripped through his beard.
‘It’s delicious,’ Rangrim said, handing out bowls of ale to the others at the table.
Seven bowls were raised in the air, and a variety of languages proclaimed seven toasts revealing seven wishes for the future: to adventure, to vengeance, to love, to money, to music, to honour, to redemption. The low gravel of Osrik and Rangrim’s Dwarvish was counterbalanced by the melodic chime of Sawwse’s Gnomish, the beautiful earthiness of Vadania’s Elvish mixing with three different dialects of the human tongue from Larn, Corinne and Ruby. Each language wrapped around the other, creating a beautifully diverse chord that rang out around the room.
After another long pause, the silence was broken, this time by Osrik. He began to recount stories from his mercenary past: ‘I remember once crossing the winter fells of Svaalind. Our provisions were running low, but our pursuit of the rogue Kagn Dramrs was almost complete...’ The others sat and listened, enraptured by his thrilling stories. Then, after a further lull, Sawwse played another tune, with accompanying clapping from the others.
It was in this way that the adventurers of Actum Tempus spent their first night together, sat in a dingy, poorly lit storage room swapping stories, drinking ale and enjoying Sawwse’s music.
--
Pale moonlight filtered through a grove of ash trees. A gentle stream ran silently into a pool. Peacefully, Vadania sat filling her bucket with water. She wore loose-fitting robes, the triangular symbol of Soldi painted red on her forehead. After soaking a piece of cloth and wringing it out, it felt cold, refreshing on her face.
She was fond of this spot. Even though it was the furthest pool from the temple, the water was so fresh and clear that she believed it was well worth the long walk. It was during her walk back to the temple that she became aware of a large, menacing shadow moving slowly overhead. It blocked out the light and filled the forest with dread. The shadow trembled through the trees as it passed overhead. She began to run and run and run, but the shadow burst forth, effortlessly outpacing her. The trees hampered her vision, but as it turned in the sky she saw huge scales glistening green and black in the moonlight. An ear-splitting roar rang out across the night sky.
Vadania awoke with a start, as usual, hot rage filling her lungs. Some Elves used dreams in a cathartic fashion, others trained their mind with simple exercises. For Vadania, it was important to keep cycling through that single night over and over again to keep her anger at no less than a simmer. She’d need it when the time came.
Sitting cross legged under the moonlight in the backyard of The Happy Hearth, she grabbed her twin short swords and began her morning training as her new guildmates slept soundly in their rooms above.
Chapter 10: A Hero’s S
word
The two weeks following the first guild meet were relatively quiet. There was little work coming in and any jobs that were posted were snapped up by Osrik, Vadania and Larn. Sawwse was scraping by with the money she made while busking. At first, she was just practicing her lute-playing ahead of her upcoming music lesson, and found it easier to concentrate standing outside The Happy Hearth, but passers-by insisted on throwing coins at her, much to the gnome’s delight. She was only slightly worried that she was no better off than when she’d joined Actum Tempus. After all, Convener had promised them more work, and besides, she’d gotten to spend more time with Ruby, who was really growing into her role as Sawwse’s confidante, sidekick and chief back-scratcher (whenever her transformations involved claws).
One evening, Convener called them all together. There was a job, but it required all of them to work together, despite Larn’s many protestations about being able to undertake the job on his own. An ancient tomb not far from Rhyddinas was currently being excavated by a team of archaeologists from the city’s university. According to Convener’s information, the tomb contained a source of great magical energy. It wasn’t clear what the source was, but the spike in energy was unusual enough to warrant investigation. In a stroke of luck, the archaeologist in charge of the excavation had advertised for help in clearing the lower levels of the tomb. The team were to assume the roles of these helpers in order to find the source of the energy. Sawwse and the others weren’t quite sure how Convener had received his information, as none of the others had yet seen him leave the Hearth.
The following morning, Elra had started her bright shift and Sawwse’s throat was too dry to ignore any longer. Wiping away the sleep in her eyes, Sawwse slowly got up and reoriented herself. She looked about the room for the others. Rangrim lay horizontally across a bed opposite her with his mouth wide open, every third intake of breath a loud rasping snore. The youthful dwarf stayed up late most nights, beers in hand, which tended to make him slower to get started in the mornings. The rest of the beds were empty. However, as Sawwse walked to the door she spotted Ruby curled up asleep on the floor in the corner of the room, clinging tightly to her travel bag.
Stepping out of the room, Sawwse walked down the long corridor. Wooden beams crossed in a triangular shape overhead. There were multiple staircases and branching pathways to the inn, more space than the outside might have suggested.
The little gnome followed the easternmost winding staircase and slowly made her way down to the unlit hearth. It was as quiet and devoid of atmosphere as it had been for the past two weeks. Sawwse spotted Osrik and Larn sitting in silence at separate tables near to the entrance. They both ate stale bread and drank bowls of the hot, dark brown liquid Sawwse had been informed was called ‘coffee’. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, but the gnome wasn’t one to begrudge other people their choices. She nodded to Osrik and then, with some effort, tore some bread from the loaf on his table. There was no acknowledgement from Larn, despite the fact that she flashed him a particularly toothy smile. Sawwse had hoped that her previous encounter with Osrik would have endeared him to her, but he seemed reluctant to open up to anyone. The old dwarf simply nodded, before pointing outside, past the bar.
‘Thanks for the bread,’ she said, with a mouth full of dry, powdery crumbs.
A passageway behind the bar took Sawwse out to the inn’s stone yard. There were a few sad plants being half-heartedly kept alive, but mostly the area was drained of colour. A dull sky matched the decor. Vadania moved through a set of sequences with two shiny short swords. Alongside her was Corinne wearing a blouse with small stars stitched into it, a hooded cardigan pulled over the top.
Sawwse strolled over to a tiny ledge and sat near the two of them, listening to their one-sided conversation. Corinne repeatedly strayed into Vadania’s path while talking, causing the elf to stop short with her swords. The robed woman kept asking about the various practices that forest rangers undertook, how well insured they were against damages, any procedures or protections that were in place, and Vadania kept answering in as laconic a style as possible, her concentration wavering. Eventually she put down her short swords and began running through her training with kicks and punches in place of stabs and slices.
Corinne bent down and picked up one of the swords. She ran her left hand across the blade.
‘Ah, I’d say this was Vayern metal if I didn’t know any better. Wed’areth’s finest. Do you know, it was quite difficult getting shipments of Vayern into the firm? There’s a lot of red tape involved. The term ‘bureaucracy’ is often used unfairly, but in this case I have to say I always dreaded seeing the order come through,’ she said, tutting.
Sawwse had spent less time with most of her fellow guild mates than she would have liked. Vadania, Osrik, and Larn were rarely inside, and Rangrim spent a lot of time drinking ale, and sleeping off hangovers. However, Corinne was reliable, and Sawwse had spent some time exploring Rhyddinas with her and Ruby.
From her position on the ledge, Sawwse found Vadania’s increasing frustration amusing. Deciding to rescue her, she shot them both a ‘Hullo.’
Corinne turned and took Sawwse’s outstretched hand.
‘Good day, Sawwse.’
Vadania continued with her training, but nodded.
‘When are we heading out?’ Sawwse asked, bright and chirpy.
‘Soon,’ Vadania said, gesturing to the south. ‘We are half a day’s walk to the tomb.’
‘Do the others know the plan?’
‘I work better alone,’ Vadania replied, exhaling impatiently. ‘A lack of experience in the field and a drunken fool are more dangerous than any beast.’
‘What she means to say is that we haven’t seen Ruby or Rangrim yet this morning, and well-’ Corinne began, sheepishly. She was about to continue when Vadania interrupted her.
‘We do not wish to work with Larn. He will work only for himself.’
Sawwse saw the intense glow in her eyes once again.
‘I just saw him sat inside with Osrik,’ she replied. ‘Well, near Osrik.’
‘An aged dwarf does not fill me with confidence either.’
‘That seems a bit ageist-’ Corinne said, looking at Sawwse apologetically. ‘It’s true though in a way, Larn doesn’t really seem much like a team player. He hasn’t made much of an effort with the rest of us.’
‘How’s that different to you, Vadania?’ Sawwse asked, feeling bold.
Vadania stopped her training and turned her fierce gaze on the gnome.
‘I work better alone. But if this building were burning, I would do all I could to ensure everyone got out safely. I am not convinced Larn would do the same.’
Sawwse trusted Larn about as far as she could throw him, but Convener had told them to work together. Surely divisions this early on would only serve to cause deeper conflicts further down the line.
‘I’ll vouch for him,’ Sawwse said, not quite sure where she was going with what she was saying. ‘How about I go and get the others, tell them we’re heading off shortly?’
Vadania glowered at Sawwse. She took her short swords back from Corinne and sheathed them. The elf was keen to get started.
‘We leave soon,’ she said.
Sawwse clocked their adventuring gear on the ground alongside them. Skipping back inside the inn, she passed Osrik in the doorway.
‘Vadania and Corinne are waiting for us outside.’
‘Very well. We should depart-’
‘Soon, yes. I’m just grabbing the others.’
She flashed a big smile and turned to go. Osrik watched the gnome leave the room, an irritated look passed over his face. He had travelled with inexperienced people in the past and knew how it could turn out. Shaking his head, he left the inn.
Sawwse made her way back to the dorm. As she approached the room, she got the sense that all was not right. Entering as quietly as she could, she saw the tall, dark figure of Larn looming over Ran
grim, arms outstretched.
‘Damnit,’ she thought.
Sawwse coughed and Larn span around, surprised.
‘I didn’t hear you come in,’ he said.
Sawwse waited for an explanation, but after a few moments Larn picked up his bag and began to exit the room.
‘Hold on. What were you doing just now?’ she asked.
Larn stopped next to the gnome at the door, towering over her.
‘I was waking him up,’ he answered, deadpan.
‘With a hug?’ she posed, cheekily.
There was no reaction from Larn, only that void-like gaze.
‘I woke Ruby first,’ he said, as he turned and stepped out of the room.
Sawwse turned on her heel and saw her friend sitting up, eating brown bread. Ruby waved good morning.
‘Not big on social niceties, that one. He did bring me up this bread though.’
Feeling slightly foolish for assuming something sinister, the gnome murmured in agreement and then crept up to the snoring dwarf. She leant over next to his ear and whispered, ‘Hops.’
Rangrim shot upright.
‘What?’
‘Time to go, sleepyhead. The others are waiting.’
The dwarf rolled off the bed and onto the floor. The move could not have been described as graceful, but there was certainly a practiced rhythm to it. Rangrim jumped to his feet with his bag in his hand.
‘I’m awake,’ he said, the dark grey bags under his eyes betraying another truth.
Outside, the team of seven assembled under a brightening sky and set off southwards. After a few awkward exchanges it became apparent that there were no natural leaders within the group. This left the most seasoned adventurers, Vadania and Osrik, in an unappealingly prominent role. The elf felt best suited to working alone, and Osrik was more content being led than leading. As a compromise, Vadania scouted ahead for most of their journey and Osrik did what he could to keep the group moving in the right direction.
In the Grip of Time Page 10