by Pirateaba
“Wow. Look at that unmarked request. Whoever’s posted it is offering twenty gold coins for a delivery.”
Garia peered at it.
“It’s the same one I saw a week ago. Why hasn’t anyone taken it yet? I’d have thought you would have jumped at the opportunity, Fals.”
He shook his head.
“Are you kidding? I still want to live. Didn’t you see the location? The High Passes. That’s a death trap for anyone.”
“Even for you?”
He mock-glared at Garia.
“Even for me. For any Runner who takes it. I hope no one’s stupid enough to head out there, but with that reward—I think we might lose a few.”
“Then who will do it?”
“Dunno. Maybe a Courier will do it if the reward keeps rising. But even a decently leveled [Runner] isn’t nearly fast enough to avoid the monsters around there. Maybe the one who posted it will give up after a month or two.”
He shrugged.
“But frankly, even if they doubled the reward no sane Runner would risk a delivery like that. Profit’s important, but our lives are worth way more.”
Garia remembered something one of the adventurers had said. She frowned.
“Fals? I know you’re one of our best Runners, but why aren’t there any older Runners than you? You’re only twenty two—”
“Twenty three. I’m getting old, Garia. Please don’t rub it in.”
She blushed and tried not to stammer.
“—Twenty three, then. But why aren’t there any other Runners? I know a lot of us die or get hurt, but surely there should be some more, right?”
Fals considered her question. He sighed, and raked his hand through his blonde locks.
“We don’t have many experienced Runners because no one who does this job lives very long. We’re the only people crazy enough to deliver. Most folks change classes after they earn enough.”
“I heard people say Runners only care about money.”
Fals eyed her sternly.
“What kind of people have you been talking to, Garia?”
He didn’t wait for her response.
“Never mind. Okay, sure, a lot of Runners are interested in the bottom line. But isn’t that normal? Adventurers, shopkeepers, merchants…even nobles care about money. Why shouldn’t we charge what we do and prioritize the best deliveries? We work a tough job! And we risk our lives every day, running from monsters, dealing with bad weather, natural disasters…it’s enough to make most folk quit within their first week.”
He thumped at his chest.
“But we—we’re Runners. We don’t quit! Everyone who makes it past a year is a real Runner, Garia. We’re the people who keep the northern cities—no, the entire world connected. Without us, nothing would get done on time. So if people call us money-grubbers, well, let them. We’ve got our own honor and we deserve every coin we get, am I right?”
His words lit a spark in Garia’s heart, and within the other Runners within earshot. She nodded enthusiastically as other Runners called out to Fals.
“That’s our lead Runner!”
“No wonder you’re the best in the cities!”
Persua appeared out of nowhere and purred at Fals. Garia jumped as the skinny girl smiled and fussed over him with her gaggle of Street Runners, edging Garia away.
“No wonder they call you Fleetfoot Fals!”
He grinned and shook her head.
“That’s an old nickname, guys. And anyways, Ryoka’s faster. I wonder if she’s got some sort of skill?”
Persua’s face soured. Garia scratched at her head.
“Now that you mention it…she’s never mentioned what level she is. She must be high-level, though.”
“Well, she may be quick, but she’s not running now, is she? Besides, she’s so unpleasant. Who’d want a Runner who never smiles like her?”
Garia winced as Persua glared at her from behind Fals. For his part, Fals made a face and took a deliberate step next to Garia, preventing her from being shunted further away.
“Right. About that. I know Ryoka broke a few rules recently, but she is a good runner. And we need all the Runners we can get.”
He smiled at Persua, and the younger girl sighed and turned red as he met her eyes.
“So…Persua. I don’t want you or your friends to bother Ryoka again, okay?”
She sulked and pouted, but then gave Fals a sickly smile. He returned it with a slight wince that she didn’t appear to notice.
“Anything for you, Fals. Not that we did anything to Ryoka in the first place or anything. She just happened to have an…accident.”
“Well, let’s not have any more of those, are we clear? We’re all on the same team, right?”
The other Runners nodded and voiced their agreement. Fals went around the room shaking hands and slapping Runners on the back. He eventually managed to get Persua to clear off by hinting that she and her cronies smelled sweaty, and finally he and Garia were left alone again. He sighed, but smiled at Garia.
“See what I mean, though? We can’t be divided. Us Runners have to work together.”
Garia glared at Fals. She whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
“You know she was behind it. Everyone does.”
He looked uncomfortable. Fals kicked at the ground with his expensive leather shoes and sighed. He combed his hair with one hand as he addressed Garia.
“Ryoka broke a rule. They shouldn’t have gone that far, but I did warn her. We’ve got to work together, Garia. Even if one of us is faster, it’s better to share the wealth rather than compete. You’re new, but you understood that. Ryoka didn’t and now—well, now we’ve got trouble with Lady Magnolia and we’re down a City Runner.”
This didn’t sit well with Garia. She grimaced and stared hard at Fals. But when he met her gaze with a rueful smile and shrug she colored and looked away.
“I still don’t like it. Persua’s crazy. Ryoka won’t be able to run for at least a year! Even with potions to help her heal! Have you seen her leg?”
Fals hesitated.
“I heard it was just a bad break that the [Healers] can’t fix right away. Is it worse than that?”
Garia looked miserable as she shook her head.
“I don’t know. I’m no expert, and she’s got it wrapped in layers of bandages. They look magical though and—and I met a mage who said that the only way she’d get it healed was to pay hundreds of gold coins to a [Cleric].”
He hissed through his teeth.
“That’s—no! I can’t believe it! They told me they wouldn’t—”
Garia interrupted Fals.
“You knew? You knew and—I can’t believe you, Fals!”
Garia’s voice rose incredulously. She advanced on Fals, making fists with her hands. He raised his hands defensively as he backed away towards the counter.
“I had no choice! Look, you know what Persua and her friends are like. I told them not to do anything drastic, but even if I’d stopped them, some other runners would have organized something. You know the rules, Garia. Remember Perial, when he broke them?”
Garia remembered Perial. She didn’t remember what he’d done wrong, but she remembered that a bunch of Runners had dropped rusty nails in his path and forced him to run through them.
Fals closed his eyes tightly and then opened them. He looked tired.
“Okay. That changes things. Look, Garia. I’ll—I’ll talk to the Guildmaster after I see it in person. Persua’s gone too far, even if Ryoka broke the rules.”
“That still won’t fix her leg.”
“No, but it’s all I can do. Okay? And I don’t know that any injury would really cost a hundred gold coins for a spell, Garia. I’ll see Ryoka myself, but even if her bones are broken beyond a healing potion’s ability to repair, how bad could it really be?”
“It’s bad.”
“We’ll see. I know a few good [Healers] and even a [Cleric] that owes me a favor. If Ryoka’s really hurt that bad I’l
l call in a few favors and get the Guild to help out. She’ll be on her feet by the end of the month, I promise. But can we see what the commotion is?”
Garia nodded. She felt a lot more upbeat with Fal’s promise. He always kept his word. She followed him to the counter as the Runners parted for him. Fals addressed a harried-looking receptionist at the counter.
“What’s going on? Is there more trouble with Magnolia?”
“Trouble? Oh, there’s been trouble alright.”
The receptionist laughed somewhat hysterically.
“Lady Magnolia was here just half an hour ago. She came in person to complain to the Guildmaster, but he was out! She wanted to know where Ryoka was, and when she heard she was injured she was not happy. She even suggested that she might stop ordering through our Guild altogether!”
Garia and Fals stared in horror at the receptionist. Lady Magnolia was one of the Guild’s biggest patrons. Besides that, she was important. Even on the other end of the continent there were people who would know her name.
“Did she want anything else?”
“She wanted to know where Ryoka was right now. Fortunately, we at least knew her address so she was somewhat satisfied, but what will we do? If she stops ordering—”
Garia interrupted urgently.
“Wait, she wanted to know where Ryoka was?”
The receptionist blinked at her. Normally Garia would have been brushed off in an instant, but Fals was with her.
“Yes, she wanted to know.”
“And you told her?”
The receptionist grew defensive at Garia’s accusatory tone.
“What? It’s in the guild’s best interest to keep her happy. If she wants to know where one of our Runners is, we’ll tell her.”
“But she wanted Ryoka! And if she knows where she is, she’ll go and meet her!”
Fals groaned and pulled at his hair. He looked around frantically, but Magnolia was already long gone.
“Have you even met Ryoka? Remember what happened when she met the Guildmaster? She doesn’t respect anyone! If Magnolia shows up, she’ll probably throw her out of her room! Or—or—”
“Punch her.”
Fals turned to Garia.
“No. She wouldn’t do that. No one’s crazy enough to punch—she wouldn’t.”
Garia looked nervous.
“She punched a Minotaur when he tried to invite himself into her room this morning.”
The receptionist and Fals both paled.
“We’ve got to stop her. Or stop Ryoka.”
“Follow me!”
Garia turned and raced out of the Guild, Fals hot on her heels. She wasn’t one for prayers, but Garia still prayed that Ryoka would be civil, or at least acceptable before they got there. She didn’t have much hope, though.
She knew Ryoka.
—-
Lady Magnolia sat in the small, cramped bedroom of The Rat’s Tail, a moderately prosperous inn in the city of Celum. She clearly did not belong there. For one thing, her expensive, patterned, latticed, light pink dress with floral embroidery probably cost more than the inn itself.
But she sat on the rickety chair the innkeeper had personally delivered to Ryoka’s room, looking perfectly content while she chatted with its inhabitant. Behind her, Resse the head maid stood in one corner of the room, glaring daggers at the poverty, the dirt under the windowsill, and Ryoka herself.
“My dear, I really was shocked to hear of your accident. Won’t you tell me what happened?”
“I got bored and played tag with a cart.”
“You are always full of unique answers, aren’t you Ryoka? I can’t imagine how you can tell jokes in the face of such an injury.”
Not that Lady Magnolia had actually seen her injury, Ryoka reflected. She was lying on her bed, her sheets wrapped around her leg. Magnolia had walked in on her while she was resting and Ryoka hadn’t yet unwrapped her protective cushion from her bad leg.
As she shifted, Lady Magnolia raised a quick hand.
“No need to trouble yourself, Ryoka. I imagine you must be in quite a bit of pain, even if you’ve been using healing potions. No, I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Offer me a deal, you mean.”
Lady Magnolia blinked for a second, but in a flash she wore her same genuine smile again.
“You are quick. Well, yes, to put it inelegantly I would like to offer you a deal. When I heard of your injury you may be sure I was astounded and not a little outraged—especially since I was given to understand that the event in question occurred only a few feet away from my mansion after you left.”
“Took you a while to learn about it?”
Once again, the smile on Magnolia’s face flickered for the briefest instant before it was back in full force. Only someone watching for it would have noticed, and Ryoka had been watching.
“The Runner’s Guild has been…less than cooperative regarding your condition, as well as providing me with an explanation of how you were injured. I am still making discreet inquiries of my own, but I will have answers, believe me. But that is not why I’m here. I wish—”
“You want to offer me a deal to heal my leg, right?”
Ryoka shifted her weight in the bed discretely as Lady Magnolia blinked and recovered again. She ignored the maid glaring at her and reminded herself not to be so impatient. It would be funny if things didn’t hurt so much. But astute noblewoman and political wrangler that Lady Magnolia might be, she wasn’t nearly as unpredictable as she might like. Too bad nothing seemed to faze her either way.
“Well then, let me skip straight to the details, Ryoka. I understand that since you are still injured, healing potions aren’t working. As it so happens I have—let us call her a friend of mine—who is able to cast [Restoration] and other spells of the 4th Tier.”
Ryoka’s face didn’t change as she tried to understand what that meant. Clearly, it was impressive, but what was that about magic? Then she remembered.
Tier Magic. It stood in stark contrast to the undisciplined magics, whatever that meant. But from what Ryoka had read in her extremely brief introduction to magic, Tiered Magic organized magic in…tiers.
That was to say that a spell capable of being cast by a mage below Level 16 was generally called 1st Tier Magic or 0 Tier Magic, while a spell up to about Level 24 was 2nd Tier Magic, up to Level 32 generally was the bar for 3rd Tier magic, and so on.
That presumably meant that Magnolia’s friend was at least Level 40, but the book had said lower-level mages could cast higher Tier magic with enough practice and time. It also meant this mysterious friend was probably extremely powerful.
Ryoka’s eyes narrowed. Magnolia smiled brightly at her.
“I guess I should be impressed? But if your friend is so powerful, why can’t I visit her myself?”
“Well, she’s very busy as you might expect for someone with access to that kind of magic. And I will admit—normally receiving an audience with her, let alone persuading her to cast that kind of exhausting magic would be quite the feat.”
“But you can do it.”
“Let us just say that she owes me a few favors.”
Ryoka rolled her eyes.
“And you want something in return. Get to the point.”
Behind Lady Magnolia, Ressa snapped at Ryoka.
“Be respectful! You are addressing a Lady of the Six Houses and—”
“Ressa, please.”
Ryoka bared her teeth as Magnolia settled her maid back down. She stared into Ressa’s eyes as the stern-looking maid attempted to vaporize her with her own stare.
“Can your maid fight?”
Lady Magnolia blinked in bemusement.
“Ressa is quite skilled in a number of areas, Ryoka my dear. Among them is a talent for handling untoward guests, I must admit.”
“And dealing with filth that approaches my lady.”
Lady Magnolia tsked in disapproval, but Ryoka just shifted her weight on the bed.
�
�Bring it.”
The look in Ressa’s eyes suggested that if Lady Magnolia stepped out of the room—or even turned her head for a minute, quite a lot of violence would be brought. But once again, Magnolia waved a hand at her.
“I wouldn’t try anything dear Ressa. I do believe it might backfire on you, and besides, I don’t think that Ryoka Griffin would learn or even be humbled by a beating however soundly administered.”
The look in Ressa’s eye suggested she would be willing to try. But she subsided and Ryoka turned her attention back to Magnolia.
“So if I don’t accept your ‘generous offer’ you’ll be…what? Offended?”
Lady Magnolia laughed again.
“My dear, I’m only offended by those who have nothing to offer me. No, I imagine it would take some doing for you to cause me any real offense. If you refuse I would merely be—”
“Annoyed?”
“Disappointed. Very greatly so. After all, it is in my best interest and yours for you to be running again. For you it is your livelihood, and for me—well, I suspect you would be far more amicable when you’re not grumpy and irritable with pain.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Can you just tell me what you want in return already?”
Lady Magnolia sighed.
“Ryoka, I have to ask. I have a number of skills, one of which is [Charming Demeanor], yet it seems to have no effect on you. I’ve dealt with stubborn generals and obnoxious Dragons and had more of an effect. Would you care to explain your extraordinary resilience?”
Ryoka shrugged.
“I’ve met people more charming than you. I didn’t like them either. What do you want?”
Lady Magnolia pursed her lips in gentle vexation.
“Well. I’m prepared to pay whatever my friend desires and have her over here in a blink of an eye, even if I must pay for teleportation. But I do want something Ryoka. Nothing too arduous—merely answers to a number of burning questions I find myself saddled with.”
“Answers. How many?”
“How many? Ryoka my dear, I would hope for what I offer I would be allowed to ask as many questions as I dare. Not to put a fine point on it, but a spell to heal your leg is costly. Aren’t a few answers worth the price of asking?”
Ryoka shook her head.
“Not to me.”