Forming the Company (Alpha World Book 2)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Erin’s head spun around, her eyes wide, to stare at him, “Ya promise?”

  “If you ask Wilbur first and he declines, then yes. That is the deal. If he does say yes, you will need to be extra cautious. I don’t want to tell your father about your final death.”

  Erin frowned slightly but nodded, “Fine. I will ask him tonight.”

  Alburet nodded to her then let the door close behind him. He went to the meeting room, pausing as he took in the additions to the room. The table now sat on a large red and black rug. Before each chair sat a mug that was upside down as if waiting for use. In the middle of the table sat a pot for tea, also upside down, with the lid beside it. The three walls that didn’t have the door now contained wood carvings of the guild emblem.

  “This room looks better,” Alburet said announcing himself to the women.

  Kim looked over with a smile. “Thank you. I thought it could use a little touch up. The other spare room has been converted into a small kitchen, making it easier for the guild members to grab a bite or a spot of tea. I’ve set up with the local provisioners to have regular deliveries made here. It will make it much easier for Erin to be living here, as well.”

  “She arranged it all with the coin ya gave her originally, asthore,” Stacia put in. “Minus the provisions, but she was tellin’ me tha’ it will be fine once we have more guild members out huntin’.”

  “I’m sure it will,” Alburet replied as he took a seat and pulled out the letters he’d gotten from Erin. “I’ll go ahead and reply to these, then we’ll be good to go.”

  “Oh good, Erin gave them to you,” Kim said. “She is learning fast. She’s been like a sponge, taking in everything I tell her. Some of the nobles have given her attitude over her accent, but she’s learned how to deal with them properly.”

  “As long as she doesn’t burn the place down,” Alburet chuckled.

  “She could nay do tha’ due to…” Stacia cut off, remembering that Kim was in the room.

  “She asked to go hunting,” Alburet added as he scanned the first letter. “I told her she should ask Wilbur first. If he refuses, then in a few days we’ll take her out to see the goblins.”

  Stacia chewed her lip for a moment, “Da’ will nay be happy, but she is her own woman now. Why did ya tell her to ask Wilbur first?”

  “I know that I would want to take the woman I cared for out hunting. Wilbur should have the chance, as well.” Alburet let a smile cross his face as he finished, recalling their first time out.

  “Aye, an ya did at tha’,” Stacia replied with her own smile.

  “When you’re done with the letters, just drop them off with me,” Kim told them as she headed out the door. “The crowds should be slow over the next couple of days.”

  “Will do, and good to know,” Alburet said as he finished reading the first letter and started his reply. He sighed. “I don’t want to have to write a letter to every noble who wants attention.”

  Kim laughed, “Which is why you have me and Erin to be gatekeepers. Those letters are from people with enough clout to make it a very good idea to reply to them. Most of them want to have tea. I’m sure it all revolves around you being granted a royal charter and the obvious approval of the crown.”

  “I’m sure it does,” Alburet half commented as he focused on replying to the first letter.

  Stacia followed Kim out so as not to distract him, so he could finish quicker. Alburet answered each letter almost identically, agreeing to appear at the noble’s manor at a particular day and time. He set the first appointment several days away, and assigned two meetings per day, one just before midday and the second just after sunset. He used another piece of paper to make a list, with each noble’s name and the date and time for his visit, wincing at the thought of spending six days dealing with them. Stretching, he noticed almost two hours had passed. Shaking his head he got to his feet and headed to the front.

  “Here you go, Kim,” Alburet said as he put the dozen letters on the desk. “Here is the schedule I set up for my visits to each of them as well. If any more come in, do me a favor. Send a reply saying I will be delighted and then follow the pattern of this list, please.” He put the signet ring on top of the schedule, “So you can seal the letters as well.”

  “That ring is yours, Alburet,” Kim told him, holding it out to him. “I have one for the desk. It is bound to the desk and can only be used by someone of rank in the guild. I would ask you set a rank of receptionist in the hierarchy somewhere. This way things like the account book and the signet ring can only be used by those of us with that specific rank.”

  “Will do,” Alburet said, pulling up his guild interface. He added receptionist in right under officer, assigning Erin and Kim to the rank. “There you go.”

  Kim picked up the ring from the desk and the account book, fiddling with her own interface then handed them to Alburet. “If you will lock these to the receptionist rank, please.”

  It took him a few minutes of fiddling with the interface before he found the right spot. He locked both the rings and account book to himself, Stacia and the receptionists only. “I might add Gerald to that list in a few days. I’ll talk with him about it when he gets back from the other world.”

  “It is going to be odd watching all of you come and go as often as you do,” Kim opined.

  “Heh, not this guild. This guild is going to be unique. The first two-souled guild where the members are here for a month without leaving via the bridge back to the other world.” Alburet replied to her with a broad smile, “If things go well, that is.”

  “That will be interesting, indeed,” Kim nodded.

  Stacia took Alburet’s arm, “Be we ready to go?”

  “Yes,” Alburet replied before turning back to Kim. “We’ll be out hunting for a bit. Get in touch via the Guildstone if need be. Oh,” he pulled out his Mindstone, “trade info with me. This way you can get in touch with just me if another member of the guild ever gives you issues.”

  Kim and Erin both traded information with him by tapping Mindstones. “Have fun hunting,” Kim said while Erin pouted slightly as the duo left.

  They arrived at the portal guild a few moments later. Walking up the stairs they met Rolland coming down. “Afternoon,” Alburet greeted Rolland.

  “Going out for some hunting? Are the others going to be joining you?” Rolland asked as they paused on the stairs.

  “No, they won’t be back for another day or two. The bridge between our worlds is going to be closed tomorrow. They’ll be back the day after that.”

  “I’ve been a little curious how that works for you two-souled. We should have dinner some night so you can explain it to me. Maybe it will help me further understand the intricacies of the portals.”

  Chuckling, Alburet shook his head, “I doubt it, but sure, we can set it up later.”

  “Have a good hunt,” Rolland told them as he continued down the stairs.

  “So, what do you want to hunt today, Kitten, orcs or gnolls?”

  “Can we handle the gnolls, asthore?”

  “The single ones, sure. We might even be able to handle the camps if we do it smartly.”

  “The gnolls, then. They be more of a challenge which means ya level faster,” Stacia decided.

  “Gnolls it is then, Kitten.” They went to the correct room and took the portal to the gnoll area.

  They headed for the woods, pausing at the edge of them while Alburet summoned Tiny and Bob, then copied Stacia. “Morning, guys. We are solo hunting gnolls today.”

  “No babes?” Bob mock cried, looking around for Fluff, Karen or Marysue.

  “Master,” Tiny rumbled, “is it true you are going to infuse your blood with Infernal essence?”

  Bob stopped hamming it up, his eyes locking onto Alburet, obviously interested in his answer. Alburet took a moment before he replied, “That is not for another six days. I have until then to decide.” Bob seemed to droop slightly as if in disappointment. Tiny just nodded. Alburet
continued a second later, “Though at the moment I’m leaning towards yes.”

  Tiny’s normally placid face stretched into a smile, while Bob let out a cheer and broke into a jig. Alburet looked at them a little oddly until Bob explained. “I asked around after I heard about the quest. It hasn’t been done in ages it seems, but that is the only way that Demon Lords are made. Demon Lords were mortals who gave up their past race to transform into a Demon Lord at the hand of the Dark Lord. Being a minion to one who is on that path gives us a little more reputation in the Infernal Lands. Added to that is the fact that you also took a half-blood succubus and bound her to you, which has made your name commonplace in gossip in our lands.”

  Stacia giggled slightly, “Ya seem to be makin’ waves everywhere, master.”

  “It isn’t set in stone yet,” Alburet replied. “I might not take the quest line up. We shall see when it comes time for the quest.”

  Bob frowned but nodded, “You’re afraid of how the others will treat you if you change.”

  Tiny growled slightly, “I will not let them…”

  Alburet cut him off, “Ease up, Tiny. I’m not really worried about how people will view me. I’m more concerned how it will affect those I care about.”

  “It be ya choice, master. Nay matter what ya chose I will be happy as long as ya be with me,” Stacia told him before she hugged him from either side.

  “We’ll support you too,” Bob added, “but I’m not hugging you.”

  Tiny just rumbled wordlessly and clashed his weapon into his shield, “I will be your bulwark.”

  “Thanks guys, Stacia. However, this is delaying us from doing what we are here to do, which is hunt. Stacia has a new ability to make an enemy our ally for a time. So first we’ll kill a single gnoll before heading to one of the camps. Once we get there Stacia will sway the casters into being our friends while we kill the melee. Any questions?”

  There were none, so they started down the path. Bob was frowning fiercely. Alburet was pretty sure he knew why, “Bob, you get an upgrade next level. Also, I’m slating my next ability to get you a new ability, so stop sulking.”

  Bob did a double take before he nodded, “Okay. It is just so hard to do anything right now. I was really hoping you would get me the ability to cast area damage.”

  “At your current level could you cast that more than a few times? Before tapping out of mana?”

  “No,” Bob reluctantly admitted.

  “Now you see why?”

  “Yes,” Bob sighed. “I just feel a little like dead weight right now.”

  “Who was it that saved me twice shortly after being my first minion? Who taunted me into learning how to fight better on my first day on this world?”

  Bob chuckled, “I did.”

  “That’s right, so you above all don’t get to pout about being underpowered. Besides, your ability to free us during the Gnoll Shaman was really helpful.”

  Bob seemed to puff back up, “Okay, okay. I get it, no need to slobber all over me.”

  “Iffin ya say so,” Stacia put in with a wink at Alburet.

  “No, no, not you, Stacia! You can slobber on me,” Bob quickly replied, looking over at one of Stacia’s bodies with hopeful eyes.

  “Nope,” Alburet laughed, “she only gets to slobber on me.”

  Sighing deeply Bob lamented, “Story of my life.”

  “Patrol,” Tiny rumbled.

  They killed the single gnoll without any real trouble, it just took longer than normal due to less damage going in. After looting, they made their way to the first camp. “Okay, remember the plan,” Alburet told them before he and Bob cast Fire Blasts on the tents, causing the gnolls to come rushing out of them.

  Stacia began to sing a heartwarming song in a language Alburet didn’t know. As he followed Tiny towards the two melee gnolls, he glanced back to watch as the two gnoll casters swayed in time to Stacia’s singing. Tiny roared and slammed one gnoll with his shield while slashing at the other one. Knowing he had to wait a moment, Alburet glanced back at the casters. Fifteen seconds after Stacia started to sing both caster’s eyes were glazed over and they began to cast spells. Alburet was unsure what was going to happen. The gnolls they were fighting were suddenly tangled in vegetation and small boils appeared on one, then the other.

  “I have them,” Stacia said as she came over to join them on the two melee gnolls. “It takes a good chunk of me mana, master. Also, it has a long cooldown time. With these both having DoTs on them, dazin’ them will nay work well.” She pulled her daggers, “So may I join in?”

  “Feel free,” Alburet said, making room for her as Bob had already been casting his Fire Blasts. Stacia started to attack while Alburet waited a few more seconds to make sure aggro was firmly established before he joined in with his axe. It still had durability left, so he didn’t want to stop using it until it broke. Alburet made sure to apply Demonic Vitality on Tiny before he joined into the scrum. After the first one died, Alburet had to recast Demonic Vitality on Tiny as he had taken a beating from the two melee. Both gnolls that had been turned by Stacia were throwing bolts of black energy at the melee that was left until it died.

  Once it went down Alburet had Stacia get the two gnolls to sit down. “Can you daze them when they’re like this?” Alburet asked.

  Stacia shook her head, “Nay, any more than I could daze Gerald, when he be in our party.”

  “Hmm, okay. So until the spell wears off they are under control, I wonder what they’ll recall when they come out from under the influence. Tiny, get ready to grab the Spiritualist first. Stacia, try to daze the other one when the timer runs out. We’ll focus down the one Tiny is on before we engage the other one. Hopefully it can be dazed, otherwise this might get painful.” Alburet got nods from the others and they gathered around the two gnolls as the time ticked away.

  As soon as the ability wore off both gnolls let out mournful sounds. Alburet blasted the back of the Spiritualist, burning the plant life off it before Tiny grabbed it, pinning its arms. Meanwhile Stacia began her wordless song and the second gnoll fell silent as the daze took effect. “Got him, master,” Stacia told him as the others all began to bash the first target.

  They made quick work of the two casters with the strategy they used. They had just finished when vines suddenly sprang up from the ground and locked them in place. Stacia began to sing again, stopping the Gnoll Wanderer from getting another spell off. Once they were free of the vines they cut the wanderer down quickly as well, then headed off towards the next camp.

  “So now we know how the ability works. Sucks you can’t cancel it ahead of time,” Alburet fussed before he shrugged. “Oh well, those are the breaks I guess.”

  They settled into a routine until the sun began to set. As the sun dipped below the horizon Alburet called a halt after they killed off another encampment. “Okay, we are done for the day. Tiny and Bob, so you know, I will be gone all day tomorrow so no hunting. The following day we might or might not go hunting. That will depend on what happens with the guild.”

  “As you command master,” Tiny gave a salute before he vanished in a puff of smoke.

  Bob looked up at Alburet, “Do you think I could get a hug from Stacia? I mean, I was useful and didn’t cause issue today so…”

  Stacia grabbed him and squished him into her chest before her double tag teamed him. A joyful muffled squeal could be heard from the imp. A second later he vanished in a puff of smoke, followed quickly Stacia’s double vanishing.

  “Have fun did you?” Alburet asked with a raised brow.

  “He just wants affection, master. He does nay grab or nip at anythin’ and it makes him happy. Do ya wish me to stop?” Stacia asked.

  “Actually, it doesn’t bother me. Reminds me of a happy little dog that just wants to be petted,” Alburet chuckled. “Just don’t spoil him with it or he will only want more.”

  “As ya say, master,” Stacia replied, shifting back to her human form. “Are we goin’ home for t
he night?”

  “To the city, at least. I want to check in with Kim and Erin, then I was thinking we could go eat at the pasta place again. After all that we could sell off this junk, then head home.” Alburet pulled out his Homestone and waited for Stacia to do the same.

  Stacia paused, “Can I sell the junk tomorrow instead?” She looked into his eyes as she asked, obviously wanting to spend more time with him before he had to go.

  “Yes, Kitten, I’ll leave it for you to take care of. In fact, we can eat at the house as well, but we do need to check in with the guild.”

  A bright smile was his answer, “As master wishes.”

  They both used their Homestones, appearing before the archway to their home and guild hall. Stacia excused herself to go start dinner. Alburet gave her backside a firm swat giving her a wicked smile when she looked back. “I’ll try not to be long, Kitten.”