Mistaken for a Returnee

Moments after Sulika and Aldritch separated.

Sulika froze in place the moment she passed through those double doors.

It was just so… normal?

Weren't things supposed to be different this morning?

She'd devoted years of her adult life to the guild. And yeah, she hadn't been around as long as some other hunters before her, but she was still a veteran hunter who'd risen to the rank of Captain by her own merits.

Her getting fired surely warranted at least some reaction from the guild at large… Didn't it?

Sulika solidified her determination as much as she could and approached the front desk with a professional smile on her face. A part of her wondered if they'd immediately turn her away, but that fear proved unfounded the moment the receptionist looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Abby." Sulika said, greeting the twenty-something year old receptionist by name.

Abby was a pale-skinned beauty with prematurely graying hair and the bluest eyes Sulika had ever seen.

All receptionists were asked to wear the same uniform, which consisted of a white jacket with the guild seal sewn into the right breast, a blue button-up shirt, and black pants. Shoes were left up to the individual's discretion, though it had to look professional.

"Hello, Sulika. Looking… beautiful as always." Abby said, eyeing Sulika's clothes for longer than necessary. "Long night?" The curious gleam shining within her baby blue eyes said, "I really wanna ask why you look like you're on the walk of shame, but I'm too professional to do so."

Sulika looked down at herself and winced. The morning was so, so… Well, confusing. She'd just thrown on the same clothes she'd worn yesterday.

Sure, Aldritch had 'purified' them, which removed the smells. But it was clear to anyone with eyes she hadn't really showered, and her clothes had that 'slept in' look. "Yeah, you can say that." She said, laughing nervously.

"Hmm…" Abby replied and gave Sulika a knowing smile before moving on to business. "So, how can I help you, captain?"

"Is the Guild Master in? I need to speak with him." She said, thankful for the opportunity to switch topics.

She wanted to deny anything had happened but also knew it wouldn't do any good under the circumstances. If she denied it while looking like she did, Abby would just assume she was denying it for the sake of denying it, or worse, she'd ask for details about what actually happened.

Better to just get on with her day and let Abby think whatever she wanted. Wasn't like she'd be able to meet her again after today anyway…

"He is, but I gotta warn ya; he isn't in a good mood. But if you're still wanting to see him, I can probably get you in, in about thirty. That work?"

"Yeah, that's fine… So, uh, he's really mad?" She couldn't help but wonder if her team was the reason for his anger.

Abby looked around to make sure no one was listening, then motioned for Sulika to lean closer. "You didn't hear this from me, okay?" She asked, and Sulika nodded. "The Guild Master is pissed. Apparently, he had an important meeting with the vice-master this morning and the VM never showed."

Sulika blinked out of shock. "Really?". The VM was an ass, but it was well known that he was a dedicated ass. The main reason the GM could spend so much time away from the guild was because he knew the VM would be here to pick up the slack. "Has anyone contacted Edward?"

"The GM tried, we've tried, even the security goons have tried. He hasn't replied to anyone's message spells. Personally, I think the GM is about ready to send out a search party." Abby laughed- she stopped almost immediately and looked around to see if anyone heard her. "Are you working today?" Abby asked while pulling a small scroll from the top drawer of her desk.

Sulika recognized the scroll as a Messenger spell scroll. Messenger scrolls were often white but sometimes appeared yellow due to the method used to make them. They had a black hardwood bar that served as the main support of the scroll, which the paper then wrapped around and was sealed by a generous helping of wax.

The guild made the Messenger scrolls in-house to act as emergency communication devices, and Sulika could see the guild emblem carved into one end of the hardwood bar that peeked out a bit from the left side of the paper.

These scrolls functioned in a similar manner to the magic Snowball used, but it was a one-time use item- and you didn't have to worry about it getting an attitude if you forgot to feed it.

Sulika shot a pointed look at the transparent monitor sitting on the desk beside Abby before answering the question. "Nope. I'm not working today."

Abby let out a frustrated sigh and funneled a bit of mana into the scroll while it sat on the desk- The wax seal snapped, and the scroll unwrapped itself as if it had come alive.

Abby used a nearby pen to write a quick message to the GM in the center of the scroll. Once she was done, she funneled a bit more mana into the rod, and the paper responded by coiling itself around the hardwood rod.

With that done, Abby grabbed the guild seal sitting next to her, opened a small wooden box which appeared to be full of black slime, and dunked the seal into it. She pulled the seal out a second later, and stamped the Messenger scroll, sealing it with the black slime.

"There." Abby said and lifted the scroll. She funneled a bit of mana into the scroll itself, not the hardwood rod, and the effect was immediate; Lines of bright blue appeared at the bottom of the paper and rapidly spread to cover the scroll from top to bottom.

An electric charge arced from Abby's fingers to the scroll- the paper shifted hues from white to black as if it'd been scorched by lighting, then it crumbled to dust in Abby's hand, leaving a black residue on her fingers and ashes on her desk.

With a huff, Abby pulled a trash bin from beneath the desk and swept the debris away. "Anything else I can do for you?" She asked while pulling a white jar from yet another drawer of her desk. Sulika grimaced when Abby opened the jar and revealed it to be full of a white, fatty oil. She then proceeded to scoop a finger's worth into her opposite hand and started scrubbing off the black residue.

Sulika recognized the oil, even had a jar of her own in her office locker. The oil was called 'Catagar's (Re)solution' and was favored by artificers and enchanters for its ability to 'eat' corrosive materials and inorganic mixtures while leaving organic materials untouched. So, of course, Catagar began selling it as a hand cleansing cream. It worked… But it also smelled a bit like ammonia, so Sulika preferred not to use it.

"No," Sulika swallowed the urge to gag. "Thanks, Abby."

"Anytime." Abby replied and stood from her chair. "Now I get to go find an artificer and ask why our computer systems are still down. Sounds fun, right?" Abby asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"I was wondering." Sulika admitted. "When did that happen?"

Abby shrugged. "No one knows. Been down since sometime in the middle of the night. Do you know Iroxi; the bronze dragonkin? She was promoted to front end manager about two weeks ago?"

Sulika shrugged. She didn't know everyone who worked at the front of the guild… Come to think of it, she didn't really know many people who worked at the back end of the guild either.

"Well, anyways, she got here around five and they were already dead. Artificers have been working on it since seven, but it didn't look like they were any closer to fixing it an hour ago than they were then. Lucky us, that means we get to do everything the old-fashioned way."

"That's rough. Anything I can do?" Sulika asked, and it was just lip-service. If there was anything she could do to help out, even if it didn't benefit her, she'd do it.

The front end of the guild was how the quests got from the citizen's mouths to the hunter's ears. Without them there to assist the civilians, situations would go unreported. And in some cases, that could result in the deaths of who knew how many people.

"Nah, I'll be right back. Realistically, there's nothing I can do either. I'm only going to ask because my boyfriend is one of the Artificer's working on the system and we were supposed to have lunch together. Doesn't look like that's going to happen, though." Abby sighed.

Sulika watched her walk away before turning and walking over to the waiting section. The waiting area was a large, roped off space within the lobby that could somewhat comfortably seat thirty-seven people.

There were four such areas present within the lobby, and she headed for the closest one. She joined the three people already waiting there and dropped into one of the uncomfortable leather chairs.

She had only been sitting about a minute before a panic-stricken Abby sprinted back into the lobby. The two-inch heels of her sandals rhythmically clacking against the floor as she ran to Sulika's side.

She slid to a stop beside Sulika's chair- only then realizing what kind of state she must have been in.

Her styled hair was disheveled, her breathing was labored and loud enough to be heard from several feet away, and her jacket was lopsided and hanging off one arm.

Abby took a second to compose herself while holding up a finger in the universal sign for 'one moment'...

With her breathing calmed down, Abby straightened her jacket and said, "The Guild Master requests your presence in the training hall… right now." Abby whispered the last bit into Sulika's ear and gave her an apologetic look.

Sulika grimaced. She recalled what Aldritch said right before he left - "Call me if he gives you a hard time." He'd said… Well, she was tempted to call him right now, but she held off. She was a big girl, and she could do this on her own… Probably.

With a worried heart, and what felt like a thirty-pound weight inside both of her shoes, Sulika headed towards a staircase near the very center of the building.

Along the way, she passed a dozen or so civilian workers heading towards the lobby, three of which were even wearing copper pins that marked them as members of the crafter's league.

Sulika assumed they were the artificers Abby mentioned, and a part of her wondered which of them was the boyfriend.

She walked for another minute before arriving at the door she was looking for.

Twisting the wooden knob and pulling the door open, Sulika looked at the main staircase for the first time in weeks.

The staircase wasn't impressive in the slightest, she'd even go as far as calling it boring- lacking even the red carpet and painting that made the other stairwells more comfortable to move through.

She stepped into the stairwell and pulled the door behind her, but didn't start climbing yet.

After all, the training room wasn't upstairs, it was down in the basement. She hesitated for another moment, then took a step towards the handrail on the right-hand side and lightly placed her hand on the end.

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It took a bit of feeling around before her finger brushed against a button on the backside of the rail.

"Here it comes..." She shuddered as a Ward of Silence passed over her.

She hated being magically silenced; the feeling of having not only her voice, but also the sound of her breathing stolen from her was something she doubted she'd ever get used to.

The ward rose from the floor in front of her. As mana flowed throughout the stairwell, it caused the air to ripple like the surface of a calm lake after a pebble falls in.

Sulika watched with a sense of growing irritation as the stairs gradually shifted towards transparency until it vanished from sight altogether, revealing a fifty-foot-long sloping tunnel that carved through the bedrock beneath the building.

Glancing at the landing between the ground and first floors, Sulika saw two men waiting for access to the ground floor; an old, gray-haired dwarf and a youngish looking human were leaning on a small, wooden fence that wasn't there when she last looked.

Sulika genuinely hated how long it took to enter the basement, which was why she normally went out of her way to use any of the other four staircases spread throughout the building. She'd rather just avoid situations like this altogether.

Sulika mouthed an apology to the two men before hurrying down the slope. As she passed through the spot where the staircase used to be, she felt a small amount of resistance from the ice-cold remnant of what used to be.

The first time she'd been brought to the basement was back when she was on Eli's team. And originally, Sulika was impressed by the magic required to make the stairs disappear so thoroughly... except the stairs weren't actually gone, just displaced.

The vanishing act was a partial banishment from this realm, placing the stairs somewhere between this world and the world of the dead.

She didn't know how they pulled such a thing off, and with her tenuous grasp of spatial magic, she doubted she ever would.

But she was fine with that. She didn't need to know how it worked, to know it was annoying as hell to use.

Halfway down the slope was a palm sized button set into the wall. Sulika pressed it as she passed, knowing it would reverse the process and let the two men go about their day.

Sulika stopped for a second to watch the stairs return to normal.

Even she would admit the magic was interesting to watch from this side; the walls lit from within by a pale blue light and sparkled against the spot where the stairs used to be.

The light allowed the underside of the stairs to be viewed by the naked eye, albeit with a one hundred percent more 'ghostly' appearance.

After a few seconds the light receded, taking away the banishing effect with it as the tunnel plunged into darkness.

The pale blue runes carved into the walls gave off just enough light to keep Sulika from tripping over herself as she headed for the end of the tunnel.

Arriving at the bottom of the slop, Sulika pulled open the door and entered an expansive, open area that spread beneath the guild, the market square, and a few of the houses on the outskirts of the market.

Countless overhead lights illuminated the entire area and cast a yellow tint over it all.

Sulika disliked the yellow tint but tolerated it because it also allowed her to see the fifty-six heavily reinforced pillars supporting the space above ground and the dozens of civilian workers going about their business down here.

Looking around to get her bearings; Sulika saw countless boxes, barrels, and cargo containers being sorted and moved by the civilian workers.

Off to one side of the storage area were five doors in a line, each with a small wooden sign mounted above.

Behind those doors were the five artisans assigned to the guild, though Sulika had never actually gone through any of those doors.

The artisans sent their apprentices up to the guild offices at the end of each day to collect orders or drop off equipment... Now that she thought about it, would she be allowed in even if she asked?

There was a chance the artisans lived behind those doors, and Sulika certainly wouldn't appreciate someone showing up at her house whenever they felt like it.

Even so, she really wanted to enter the second door from the right. Her sword was behind that door, and she didn't know if she'd be around long enough to get it back from the apprentice.

Even if it pissed off the artisan, she would need to remember to grab it on the way out of the basement or risk leaving it with the guild forever.

She turned away from the five doors and headed for a tunnel a short distance away that led to the rest of the guild's 'extra' amenities- A reinforced training room, an armory, and probably the most important room in the whole complex- The bunker.

They- meaning the founders of Auris and original settlers of Azuris island- had originally constructed all of this to be a shelter for the citizens of Auris.

It was to be used in the event the city ever came under attack by demons or otherwise. The idea was to give the citizens a safe place to hide and wait while they dealt with the invaders- or until reinforcements arrived to save them.

But over time, as the city's defenses were developed and the need for such bunkers became less and less, the local government repurposed most of it into what it is today.

Now this section of it stands as the resource and equipment hub of the hunter's guild, while a few of the other powerhouse groups occupied the rest of it.

Sulika had never had a reason to interact with most of them, save for the crafter's league, and she hoped it stayed that way.

After a few more minutes of walking through the tunnel, Sulika arrived at the door leading to the training room.

Supposedly, the nearly indestructible black door had been carved from the heart of a very dense stone. Eli had tried to convince her the stone had come from the sky, but since it was Eli who'd said it… Well, Sulika wouldn't bet on the authenticity of that statement.

Knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, Sulika grabbed the polished bronze handle, took a breath to steady her nerves, and slid the door open.

"You wanted to see me-" Sulika's lungs seized, and she quickly dropped to the ground.

A hulking half-orc woman flew over Sulika's head, her body twisting like a leaf in the wind. The woman's wooden club was knocked from her hand as she passed through the open door to slam into the stone wall of the tunnel.

Sulika watched the woman land in a heap; her body heavily bruised across her face and neck, and the awkward angle of her right arm said it was probably broken in at least one place.

"Captain Wysarie, nice of you to join us." A rough male voice reached Sulika's ears, causing her body to tense.

Sulika turned her head to regard the owner of the voice; The Guild Master watched her through a single blue eye. Having lost his left eye over a decade ago, the Kandis man covered his left eye socket with a black bandana that was positioned to cover the left side of his head.

Sulika could vividly recall the first time she'd laid eyes on the dogman; Standing at a mere four-feet tall with a lean body, pitch black fur, a big blue eye, and even bigger ears that stood straight up from the crown of his head.

The Guild Master made for a peculiar sight.

Today, the GM was wearing his usual battle attire, which comprised a baggy red robe, loose black pants, black slippers, and a pair of leather gauntlets that covered everything from the tip of his fingers to just below his elbows. Both gauntlets had thin iron plates sewn to protect the back of his fists, and thick leather reinforcements to protect his fingers.

While climbing to her feet, Sulika glanced around the training room.

The entrance was a large, open space with spongy material covering the floor. If you headed left from the entrance and passed through a wide archway, you would find yourself standing in the melee room.

Heavy wooden and stone weights lay scattered across the floor, momentarily forgotten by the ones using them. Six leather wrapped stone pillars stood in two rows of three near the back of the melee room, while a cordoned off sparring ring sat against the far-right wall.

If you were to head right from the entrance, you'd pass through another archway and find yourself in the target range; They designed the three lanes to support up to four targets at varying distances.

Sulika counted twenty-two people in the sponge room.

She recognized everyone as a member of either a closing team or a member of the security team… After taking a closer look at the people present, Sulika believed the only closing team that wasn't present for… Whatever this was, was her team- she even spotted Eli standing off to the side, gazing at her through narrowed eyes.

"Hello, Guild Master." Sulika said, clearly anxious about what was happening and why a half-orc had just been thrown at her.

"Captain, do you know why I called you here?" The GM asked, not bothering to respond to the greeting.

It was clear the small Kandis was upset over something, and Sulika couldn't quite shake the feeling that she was at least partially responsible for the GM's foul mood.

Sulika swallowed the urge to say, "How the fuck should I know?" and just shook her head. The GM watched her through narrowed eyes for a few seconds… Then sighed.

He motioned for Sulika to follow and led her to the semi-circle of hunters at the back of the room.

She did as he asked, but there was no way in hell she was standing within ten feet of Eli. She moved to the opposite end of the group without another glance in his direction, not even caring about the glare he was giving her.

"Is there a problem, Captain Valdove?" The GM asked, his voice pulling Eli's eyes away from Sulika out of fear he'd face the same fate as the half-orc.

"No, sir. No problems here." Eli replied. His face could barely suppress a frown, showing how upset he was about being called out.

"Perfect. Exactly what I like to hear; I just love hearing about how studiously my captains mind their own fucking business and do their jobs. It's great, isn't it?" The GM asked while staring directly at Eli.

Eli's face shifted through a couple of emotions before landing on a begrudging acceptance. "Yes, sir," Eli said, this time sounding as if he were about to pout.

"Perfect- Hey, get a move on, CerLon! We're waiting for you." The GM said in an annoyed voice, glancing over his left shoulder at the half-orc woman who was climbing to her feet.

Sulika fought back the urge to smile at the GM's words and settled for speaking to the woman standing to her left. "What happened there?" Sulika asked, motioning to the half-orc.

Sulika recognized the Dwarf as being from the second closing team, but was drawing a blank on the name… Maewyn, maybe?

"Nothing serious. The half-orc is a newcomer to the guild, and she was raised in a tribe." The dwarf smiled as she muttered 'tribe', as if that was all the explanation Sulika needed… Which, to be fair, was enough to understand the gist of it.

Full-blooded Orcs were terribly large, impossibly strong, and healed from injuries much faster than other races.

However, unlike trolls or ogres, who shared similar biological advantages. Orcish culture revolved around the strength of their bodies, the honor of their tribes, and the worship of their ancestors.

Centuries of living within this culture instilled within them a strong sense of pride.

Most Orcs see themselves as the greatest warrior race to have ever lived- and after seeing the GM in person, Sulika could imagine someone raised in such an environment might take offense to being bossed around by someone literally half your size.

Unfortunately, most Orcs didn't have access to the system. They had also never met someone like the GM. If they had, they might've needed to change some of their opinions about what true strength really was.

Sulika watched the half-orc limp back into line with the other hunters. She was clearly in pain, but she didn't seem angry. Rather, she looked almost pleased with herself. Sulika wondered if the GM needed to get a medic in here to check her for brain damage?

Crack! Sulika flinched at the sound of a bone breaking. Slowly, so as to not be obvious about it, she turned her eyes towards the half-orc woman… Who'd snapped her arm back into its proper position and was flexing the bicep- presumably to make sure her arm still worked.

After a few seconds of this, she smiled again and allowed her arm to fall to her side.

"Bloody orcs." The dwarvish woman standing beside Sulika shuddered at what they'd both witnessed.

Sulika couldn't help but nod in agreement. Orcs, even half-orcs, were a scary bunch.

"Captain Wysarie?" The GM said, drawing Sulika's attention to him instead of the Half-Orc. "I received some troubling news this morning, and I was hoping you could explain it to me- since no one else seems to be able to." He said, his voice revealing the strong sense of irritation he was feeling.

"Here it comes." She didn't trust her voice to speak, so she swallowed her nerves and simply nodded.

She knew what was coming, and she could guess why he was doing it here, in front of the other closing teams.

It wasn't common for a captain to be dismissed from duty; most either quit or died in the line of duty. So, this was likely a good opportunity for the GM to show the others what would happen when you disobeyed orders-

"Not a single member of your team, other than yourself, of course, has shown up to work in the last two days. Why is that?" The GM asked, his voice and face were equally serious…

And not at all what Sulika imagined he was about to ask.

"Captain Wysarie, I know the act of closing dungeons can be taxing on both the body and the mind, but disappearing for days on end without notice is unacceptable. I hope you know that?"

"Yes, sir. I do." Sulika replied, growing more confident of herself now that it was clear the GM hadn't spoken with the VM yet. "I might save their jobs after all…"

"I'd like to hear the reason for their absence later, and for your sake, I hope you have a good explanation, Captain. Otherwise, this isn't a good look for a newly promoted captain like yourself. Get your team under control. If it happens again, we'll have to discuss disciplinary action. Understood?"

It took everything Sulika had to hold back a laugh.

The VM was dead set on firing her, so unless Edward had a major change of heart in the last twenty-four hours. The GM could take his 'disciplinary action' threat and shove it where the sun doesn't shine…

But Sulika wasn't stupid.

She knew interrupting him now would do nothing to help her teammates keep their jobs- if they wanted to. So, she forced down the laugh and told him what he wanted to hear. "Understood, sir. Won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't…" He said and offered her a gentle smile. The GM glanced around at the hunters present. He offered the same smile to everyone and looked for all the world like a kind old man-

"Now, which of you sorry sacks of shit would like to explain to me how an Ogre got into our fair city?" He asked, never once losing the gentle smile that set Sulika's nerves on edge.