Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

"Excuse me, would you happen to be the new Adamantine, Julia?" a sweating man asked, bowing to Julia obsequiously.

She had just left the inn to scout the docks. The city was divided into four quadrants, named based on their positions: the North, South, East, and West Quarters. The Adventurer's Guild was located in the West Quarter, which was where they were staying—the Vice Master having authorized them for an extended stay in the inn wing. To get to the South, she would need to find a ferry or boat and book passage.

Her current objective was just to observe the docks in the West Quarter. She thought she would hang around for a while, watching the goings-on. Once she had a good idea of how things worked, and what would be required to obtain passage to and from the South Quarter, she would return and discuss the next course of action with the group.

However, nearly the instant she set foot outside the inn, this young man had run up to her—literally. She almost dropped into a battle stance as he sprinted at her, but caught herself just in time. She wasn't wearing her armor at the moment, not wanting to draw attention, so she was on edge and feeling vulnerable.

The young man couldn't be more than sixteen. He was of average build, wearing "fancy" clothing. Though, it was the kind of "fancy" that spoke of an attempt to impress rather than being high quality. He had bright green eyes and auburn hair cut in the most unfortunate bowl shape she'd ever seen.

"Yeah, need something?" Julia replied tersely, still with her hackles raised instinctively.

"Uh—me? No—that is—I have a message for you! I'm a messenger, see?" he stuttered, withdrawing a letter from his breast pocket and handing it to Julia, likely caught off guard by her curt manner.

"My Lord Margreth has invited you to tea this afternoon. She apologizes for the short notice and promises to explain when you arrive. She says she has 'an offer that would benefit us both'," he said, making a gesture with his hands to indicate quotations.

Julia wondered why this 'Margreth' had bothered penning a letter if her messenger was just going to summarize it, but she realized that not everyone would know how to read. Perhaps such a service was just being polite and covering bases.

She opened the letter and skimmed it to find it said almost verbatim what the messenger had paraphrased, just more verbose and flowery.

"You said 'My Lord Margreth', right? What exactly does that mean? She's a Lord or whatever?" she asked the messenger.

His eyes went wide, and he opened and closed his mouth several times before he managed to speak.

"A Lord, yes. She's—a Lord is someone on the Council of Lords, the governing body of Vazreth. The only position higher than a Lord in this city is the Council's chair—the Overlord," he said incredulously, as if he was skeptical that Julia didn't actually know. What—did he think she was trying to waste his time or something?

"I see. So, this 'invitation' is more like a perfumed command, yes?" she asked, waving the letter around.

"I—uh, I wouldn't know, ma'am. I'm just the messenger…" he said, shifting uncomfortably.

Julia sighed—he was right. No point trying to squeeze the kid for information. He probably didn't know any more than whatever he was told.

"You'll lead the way, then?" she asked, motioning him on with her hand.

"Yes, of course! Follow me, if you please!" he said energetically before setting off at a brisk walk, likely pleased that she was finished going off-script.

Traveling quickly through the city, the two arrived at a gated property with two burly guards standing sentinel. Julia could see a large, circular courtyard through the gate with a fountain similar to the one at the Adventurer's Guild plaza, though smaller to better match the courtyard dimensions.

The messenger presented his own papers to one of the guards before motioning Julia to hand over her letter. The guard skimmed it before asking for Julia's Adventurer ID—good thing she'd gotten that taken care of. His eyebrows raised briefly as he examined it, but he quickly regained his impassiveness and motioned the two in as the other guard opened the gate.

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The building they approached was surprisingly modest. It was a two-story building with rough-cut stones making up the bottom level and hewn timber the upper—a perfect example of the 'style-creep' Julia had observed when she first entered the city. The building was perhaps fifteen to twenty strides long, small for an administrative building.

"This is Miss Margreth's East Quarter home. I will not be going in, but one of the staff will take care of you when you enter. Thank you for your time!" the kid said, quickly skipping away before Julia could ask anything else or otherwise make his life more difficult.

This was her home? So, Julia was 'having tea' with one of the rulers of the city at her private residence on short notice and for an unexplained reason…great.

She knocked twice on the door and it swung open, revealing a prim-and-proper woman in a long black skirt and matching shirt. She had a white, frilly apron on, and her hair was tied up in a bun so tight, Julia thought it must be cutting off circulation in her head.

She had trimmed brows and blush placed just-so to give her cheeks a rosy hue. Her lipsticked lips were drawn into a painted-on smile.

"Greetings, you must be Miss Julia. Please, enter," she said (commanded?), stepping aside and motioning Julia in.

She stepped over the threshold but was immediately barred further entry by the same maid body-blocking her.

"Please remove your shoes before entering further," she said, pointing to a small rack by the door.

Everything the maid said and did was polite on the surface, but Julia was beginning to pick up an atmosphere of dislike. She couldn't explain why—perhaps it was the way the words were delivered, even if they were ostensibly polite.

She removed her boots, setting them on top of the rack, but as she stepped forward, she was once again blocked by the maid, who pointed to the opposite wall, where a rack of fuzzy slippers sat.

"Please wear slippers inside," she said.

She definitely didn't like Julia. Why was a question she didn't have the answer to, but the message was pretty clear. Maybe she assumed all adventurers were hulking brutes who would…damage the floor with their stomping feet or something?

With the slippers on—which were surprisingly comfortable—the maid led the way into the house.

The front door opened into a long hallway with a couple doors on each side and a staircase at the end, and it was to these stairs that she was led. As she reached the top, she was surprised to find that the upper level was functionally the same as the lower, just in reverse—even having a door at the end to a balcony, mirroring the position of the front door downstairs.

Julia couldn't help thinking that the house was…unimaginative? She wasn't exactly an architect, but if she were to think of a color to describe it so far, it would be gray.

The maid knocked on a door near the end of the hall.

"Enter," came a deep, stern voice from the other side.

She opened the door and motioned Julia in, not entering herself and closing it behind Julia.

She found herself in a wide room with rich, tasseled rugs, comfortable-looking furniture situated around an unlit fireplace, and a large desk in front of a tall window that was open, the afternoon breeze rustling the curtains that framed it. A woman sat there, surrounded by stacks of parchment.

She was stern-looking, with frown lines and crow's feet, indicating she was either middle-aged with low Constitution or incredibly old. Her platinum-blonde hair was streaked with gray and tied up into a bun that rivaled the maid's for how much circulation it was restricting.

She wore a neat two-piece doublet of neutral colors, covered by a velvet robe with lines of purple running its length. Julia thought the owner matched the house—the color she would assign the outfit would also be gray.

The woman looked up from her writing as Julia entered and smiled with practiced-politeness.

"Ah, Miss Julia. Thank you so much for accepting my invitation on such short notice," she said, rising from the desk and motioning to the seating area by the fireplace.

"Sure, though you have me at quite a disadvantage, Miss Margreth," Julia replied as politely as she knew how.

They sat on couches positioned opposite to each other, with a low table of clear glass—that was expensive—between them.

"Yes, my apologies again. News of a new Adamantine reached my ears only hours ago. Adventurers tend to be a mobile bunch, so I sought to meet you before you inevitably set out on a months-long job or some such," she chuckled. "Edith, would you bring tea for us?"

Julia heard a soft affirmative from the other side of the closed door, the maid having been standing out there since Julia entered, apparently.

"Why exactly did you want to meet me so much?" she asked.

"I was hoping to convince you to join us," Margreth said seriously, staring Julia straight in the eyes.