Mistaken for a Returnee

The young security woman led Aldritch into a vacant room on the third floor. "Have a seat and wait, someone will be with you shortly." She said before leaving.

The room looked more like something he would've seen in a royal palace back home: the back wall was a line of floor to ceiling windows that offered a splendid view of the city. The huge table in the center of the room, and the twelve chairs surrounding it, all appeared to be of the highest quality. The walls were painted a faint lavender color to contrast the plush, royal purple carpet beneath his feet.

If the goal of this room was to flaunt the wealth of the guild, then it succeeded in doing so. However, even with Aldritch's love of money and gold. Not even he could see the purpose of decorating the room in this manner.

It was a room meant for meetings and conferences, yes? Then why did it look like a trumped-up noble threw up all over the place?

Admittedly, Aldritch didn't know much about the art of decoration. But surely there were easier colors to clean than purple?

He ignored the guard's request for him to sit and walked to the windows.

The streets were mostly deserted after the incident with the Ogre, but life was beginning to return. Aldritch could see a few brave souls venturing into the city to salvage whatever's left of their day.

Aldritch heard Sulika's muffled voice through the door and turned to face it. "It's okay. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything he isn't supposed to." She told someone.

"Thank you." The young guard sighed, her voice barely a whisper through the thick wooden door.

Sulika entered the room a moment later and sent a nervous smile the giant's way before shutting the door behind her- She barely had time to step away from the door before they both heard the quiet click of the door's lock rolling into place.

Aldritch raised an eyebrow at the locked door, but Sulika ignored it. "Do you know what's about to happen?" She asked while stepping deeper into the room.

"No." Aldritch said before turning back to the windows "It's my first time being in a situation like this." He said, laughing quietly at the novelty.

"Are you nervous?" She asked, moving to sit at the chair closest to the door. She was almost always nervous about meeting with the higher-ups. They held a lot of power and could easily make your life a living hell if they didn't like you.

Sulika didn't have the kind of life where she could afford to offend such people without serious cause… The raid on the warehouse notwithstanding, since if that didn't fall into the 'serious cause' category, she didn't know what did.

"No," He replied, not bothering to look away from the street outside the window.

"It's okay to be nervous, you know? You don't have to hide it. I promise I won't think you're any less of a man if you admit you're nervous." Sulika said while grinning mischievously. Nine times out of ten, that line worked on the men she knew.

She didn't understand why so many men held their masculinity in such high regard. But then again, she was raised entirely by women, so it wasn't like she knew much about men outside of her small group to begin with.

"I appreciate the sentiment," Aldritch turned to face her with a bemused look on his face.

Sulika wasn't sure how to feel about the look in his eyes. She felt as if he were looking at her like she was a child.

"I'm not nervous about meeting your boss or whoever it is we're waiting for." He said while looking around.

The room was about twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide, with a drop ceiling. Thirty-seven and a third wooden panels had been fitted into an equal number of braces, giving it the appearance of a single construct while still allowing access to the space above the ceiling.

Aldritch had seen a lot of drop ceilings during his travels through the human kingdoms of Mag Ársa. Though, in his experience, the difficulty and exorbitant costs of construction meant they were mainly used by people who either had something to hide or employed assassins to guard them.

Sulika, who was already used to the tricks the guild liked to employ, sighed out of irritation and excused herself from the room- the light reflecting off the huge table was beginning to give her a headache and she was not going to stand for that today.

Not with everything else going on.

She walked down two flights of stairs to her team's office and opened the door to find the place empty. She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was [12:21 P.M.] "They should've been here by now. Strange…" Sulika walked over to her locker and popped it open to grab two pairs of dark glasses, one for her and the other for Aldritch. "Here's hoping they fit his giant head…" She sighed. Once she'd gotten what she came for, she left the office and hurried back to the waiting room.

She arrived to find Aldritch still alone and sitting at the head of the table with his eyes closed.

"Hey, the mortal brought you something." Oakairo said, bringing Aldritch out of his meditative state. Aldritch opened his eyes and saw the dark glasses sitting on the table in front of him.

Meanwhile, Sulika had also sat down at the table. Though she'd chosen to sit a few places away, the dark glasses perched atop her nose hid the fact she was carefully watching him to see what he would do.

She'd offered those same glasses to both Zarud and Derrik, neither had chosen to use them.

They'd rather suffer the bright lights than accept the glasses, so she was curious if he would be the same- Before she could even finish the thought, Aldritch picked up the glasses and placed them on his face.

"Thank you for these. I will return them when we leave." He said, smiling at her.

The glasses weren't anything fancy. Just a simple wooden frame and two dark lenses that did nothing but mute sunlight. She'd paid two copper bits for both of them, and she told him as much.

"I'm not familiar with that term. Is that a denomination of the local currency?" he asked.

Sulika's mind went blank at the question, and it took her a second to remember he'd been trapped in a dungeon for the last two hundred years. So, it made sense he wouldn't recognize the currency they used today.

"Sorry, I forgot about your situation… again." She sighed. "I will not get into all of it right now, for obvious reasons. But I'll make sure to explain everything once this is all settled, alright?"

"Sure."

"Good. And don't worry about returning the glasses. The work you did this morning was worth a hundred of these cheap things. So, keep them if you want. As far as I'm concerned, you've earned them."

"I understand… Out of curiosity, how much would you say that ogre was worth?"

"Six gold pieces and fifty silver coins is the standard rate for ogres." She replied, having already checked the price in the event they encountered one in the dungeon.

"However, since it was outside of a dungeon, that technically tags the situation as a dungeon break- which comes with a mandated hazard pay of fifty copper coins just for showing up. Add in the danger of the demon in question and that bumps your hazard pay from fifty copper coins to a single iron coin."

"I see. And am I correct in assuming that's only if I sold the body to the guild? Presumably I'd get more selling the parts on the market myself, but that would require meeting with the buyers myself. More convenient if the guild handles everything for me, which is meant to make up for the lower rate."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Well, technically-" Sulika stopped herself when she heard the door lock slide out of place.

She and Aldritch turned to look at the person standing in the doorway: It was a tall human with lightly tanned skin, dark blonde hair, and shrewd blue eyes. He was wearing a tailor-made charcoal three-piece suit with expensive looking leather shoes that squeaked loudly with every step he took towards the seat Aldritch was sitting in.

From the moment he set foot inside the room to when he stopped beside Aldritch's chair, the man didn't look at either of them. His eyes were locked onto the clipboard he clutched in his right hand, or more specifically, his eyes were fixated on the papers attached to said clipboard.

Aldritch watched the man approach. Outwardly, he remained neutral; his facial expression never changed, and his body neither tensed or relaxed.

But on the inside, Aldritch was doing everything he could to stop his lips from betraying him. Aldritch knew he would be considered rude if he smiled right now, so he wouldn't… But he certainly wanted to.

The situation was a joke, they all knew it. From the colors of the walls and carpet you couldn't help but notice, the gigantic windows, the ceiling, the overly large table, and ending with how the man entered the room without bothering to look at the other occupants. It was all to display the power the guild held while simultaneously making the people waiting inside uncomfortable.

Even the position of the table and chairs was nothing but a chance to intimidate. The 'head' of the meeting, or 'king', sat in the largest chair in the room. Which was conveniently positioned opposite the door so they could stare at people while they entered.

After sitting in the chair for himself, Aldritch also noticed something else; They placed the chair at the exact spot where light stopped coming through the window, thanks to a nearby building blocking most of the sunlight that would reach it. Sure, the table was still bright, but it was only half as bright as anywhere else. And because it wasn't in direct sunlight, the table was also much cooler here than in any of the other chairs.

So, when the man stopped next to Aldritch without looking at him, it really took a lot of self-control not to grin at the man.

Dragons didn't tolerate people trying to intimidate them. It usually ended in a hail of fire and death. As the high priest of Oakairo, Aldritch rarely tolerated it either… But honestly, he thought this entire situation was too amusing to care.

Aldritch stood from the chair without a word and moved to the window. The man took his seat the second Aldritch's backside unstuck from the cheap leather and placed his clipboard down after another moment.

"Have a seat, Mr. Blackshield." The man said. If he were only judging by the sound of his voice, Aldritch thought the man sounded impressive- regal, even. But that opinion stopped there.

"I'm sure an educated man such as yourself knows how rude it is to start this meeting without a proper introduction. Try again." Aldritch replied without turning to look at the man.

"Aldritch, do your eyes deceive me or does the box that guy's carrying say 'Astarin's quality caramels and chocolates' on the side of it?"

"I think you're right."

"We should go."

"Of course."

"… Can you stop thinking about making money for ONE SECOND? That guy is literally carrying around an entire box of chocolate. A BOX… Do you think they'll sell us a box too? Aldritch, we must procure ourselves a box."

"Of course, my lord. That's a given. But I can't just keep borrowing money from Sulika. We must procure enough funds to purchase the chocolate before we can enjoy it. Relax, I'll have us a box within a few days."

"Do not presume to tell me what I do or do not know, Mr. Blackshield." The man replied. Anger seeped into his voice with every word spoken, and it was clear to Aldritch and Sulika that the giant had hit a nerve.

"I forgot he was here." Oakairo muttered, which got him a chuckle from Aldritch.

"Sir!" The man yelled and stood in a single fluid motion. He slammed both palms on the desk, the impact causing his clipboard to clatter to the carpet below. "You speak of being rude, yet you laugh at me? How much ruder can you get?"

Aldritch glanced over his shoulder at the man and smiled. Sulika instinctively knew the smile wasn't friendly. She was thankful for the thick leather seats, because it helped hide the cold sweat sliding down her back.

"My name is Aldritch of clan Blackshield. Might I know your name?" Aldritch said whilst watching the man through the dark glasses Sulika gave him.

"Yes yes, I know who you are, Mr. Blackshield. Obviously." The man sighed and sat back down. "My name is Edward Diniel. I have the honor of serving the guild as the Vice-Master of the Auris chapter. Now, I say again, please sit down, Mr. Blackshield." Edward said while pointing to the seat at the opposite end of the table.

"No, I won't," Aldritch replied while turning back to the window. "I weigh 726lbs as of this morning. The only chair in this room capable of supporting that kind of weight is the one you're sitting in. The rest will break the moment I sit down. Do you plan to vacate your seat, sir?"

"Certainly not." Edward scoffed.

"Then I, and my answer, shall both continue to stand. But by all means, please proceed with whatever you came here to do. I can hear you just as well standing here as I can anywhere else."

Edward glanced at Sulika, who was blank faced, before scooping up his clipboard and placing it on the table in front of him. "Very well," he said after a moment. "Then we'll proceed as planned."

He unclipped the papers from his clipboard and spread them across the table in front of him. Without making it obvious what she was doing, Sulika looked at each piece of paper the Vice-master sat down. Most of it was just bureaucratic nonsense to her, but she could immediately recognize the expense receipt.

"Six-hundred gold coins in fines?" Sulika felt like she was going to faint. That kind of money was life-changing, no matter your origin or choice of employment. "Sir, I-" Sulika tried to speak, but the Vice-Master shot her a look to silence her.

"Don't worry Ms. Wysarie. We'll get around to you in a moment. It was actually convenient that you decided to join Mr. Blackshield today. Saves me from having to move appointments around." He said and smirked when he saw Sulika flinch at his words.

"Hey." Aldritch said and placed his palms on the back of Edward's chair. "Why don't we keep the focus on me for the time being?" His sudden appearance caused Edward's entire body to reflexively twitch, as if he were about to be hit, but Aldritch never touched him.

Sulika glanced up at Aldritch's face and saw him grinning at her. "He's protecting me?"

"Very well. If that's what you want, fine. Let's focus on you, Mr. Blackshield-" Edward said angrily.

"My name is Aldritch."

"What?" Edward blurted, growing more incensed after being interrupted.

"My name is Aldritch, and my clan's name is Blackshield. When speaking to a dwarf, you do not use their clan's name to refer to them, because they do not own it- it is a name that is shared with hundreds, possibly thousands, of other dwarves." Aldritch explained before leaning around Edward's chair look him in the eye. "The only time a clan name should be invoked in place of a family or given name, is when two clans declare war on one another. Otherwise, it's a rude practice… Have you never been told such a simple thing?" Aldritch asked in a voice that sent a chill down Edward's spine.

Sulika was also surprised at Aldritch's words, but for an entirely different reason; She could scarcely believe the Vice-Master didn't know such a common fact about dwarven culture. Hell, Derrik often ranted about this very thing whenever he has to correct a client about his name. For them, they can explain it away as simply not knowing due to not interacting with dwarves. But the Vice-Master had dozens of dwarves working for him. So, how could he not know?

"I see," Edward said through gritted teeth, clearly irritated about the correction. "I will endeavor to remember that the next time. But for the moment, might I know your family name so I can correct our records?"

"I don't have a family name." Aldritch said, smiling. "You may refer to me as Aldritch, nothing more, nothing less. And no, I don't accept nicknames."

"What do you mean, you don't have a family name? All dwarves have family names!" Edward shouted.

"I was surrendered to the temple of our god a few hours after I was born and raised by the high priest and the servants there. My family didn't wish to claim me, so I cannot claim their name. It's that simple." Aldritch explained in a calm voice, which only seemed to further irritate the Vice-Master.

"You know it wasn't that simple."

"Yes, but they don't."

"You were abandoned?" Sulika asked, her voice strange even to her own ears.

She couldn't fathom a parent capable of such a thing. Her own family gave everything so she could live, and Faeyra's family were just as dedicated to their children. With birth rates so low among dwarves, elves, and many other long-lived species. The idea of abandoning a child was completely inconceivable to them.

"I can't say why my parents didn't raise me," Aldritch said after a moment. "But the fact remains that I cannot claim the family name. So, let's quickly move this along. Understand?" He spoke directly into Edward's ear to keep Sulika from overhearing the underlying threat in his words.

Edward coughed into his hand before nodding. He drew a large X through a piece of paper asking for 'family history' and set it aside.

"Thank you." Aldritch muttered and moved away from the chair. He glanced down at the pile of papers spread across the table and sighed. "One down, about thirty to go. Why can't these things comprise five pages, maybe six if they want to go the extra mile and get contact information?"

"It's in a devil's nature to want as much information about something as possible. The more information at their disposal, the easier it is to get what they want. And while this guy doesn't smell like a devil, he definitely has the stink of one soaked into his skin."

"I know. I smell it too."

"Are you going to kill him?"

Aldritch turned his body towards Sulika while he continued to listen to Edward drone on and on about filling out this form or that form… Sulika noticed the movement and glanced up at Aldritch, who smiled reassuringly at her.

"No, not today."