The Ruby Magician

"Is this who I think it is?" Cal asked, his voice loud. He raised his chin and grasped the mace settled on his belt. The weapon remained still in its place, but it was an obvious warning.

Wyn was surprised at his boldness. Cal was normally passive. But after hearing about the Faceless Four, he apparently had a protective outlook against them. Something that Wyn was thankful for.

"I don't believe we've met," Landon said, unmoving. "I'm the leader of the Faceless Four. And you are?"

"None of your concern," Cal replied. "We were just leaving and you're in our way."

Wyn looked at the man standing beside Landon. It was the one who wore the sphinx mask, slightly smaller than Landon and standing behind him. Wyn remembered his name was Octavius.

It least it wasn't the brute of a man. He was even larger than Cal, and Wyn was afraid there would be a fight if he was here instead with how Cal was acting.

"I was hoping to have a moment to talk," Octavius said, ignoring Cal. "It's about our recent discussion and I hope we can all be… civil."

The way he paused before saying 'civil' put Wyn on edge. They were getting more blunt with their intentions, which appeared to be anything but civil. How long would it take before they flat out attacked them for what they wanted?

Cal snickered, his grip tightening on his weapon. "If you want to talk, talk. Then be on your way."

The two masked men looked at each other and Octavius slightly nodded. Landon cleared his throat. "We wanted to emphasize the importance of working together to discover the true meaning of the stone tablet. It could be of benefit to the entire climbing community."

Wyn shook his head. "I've already told you I have no interest in helping you further."

"It's not just us you'd be helping," Octavius said. "It could benefit anyone who finds one of these tablets."

Wyn had to be careful with what he said. He didn't want to reveal that they held multiple stone tablets, and he didn't want to expose himself by trying to get Cal to stay quiet, either. A pang of fear coursed through him that Cal might let out that they had multiples of the item.

"If anyone finds one of them, then they should consult the city guild for guidance," Cal said. "Otherwise this is just a waste of time."

Octavius stepped forward and pointed a finger at Cal, who also stepped forward. Landon held his ally back while Wyn stepped between them, too.

"No sense in this getting out of hand," Wyn said, doing his best to keep his voice down. He noticed several people around were starting to stare. "But as I said before, I'm not interested in helping."

Landon snickered and shook his masked head. "Then this truly was a waste. Next time our meeting won't be so diplomatic." He nearly growled the words as he pulled Octavius away, the pair abruptly leaving the trading hall.

Wyn watched them leave alongside Cal, who never wavered with his attentiveness.

"Gods, they're dangerous," Cal said, his voice serious. "I could have sworn they were going to attack."

"I'm honestly surprised they didn't," Wyn said. "It seems as though next time they will."

As Wyn watched the pair leave, he considered why they even bothered approaching Wyn. He had already told them no and practically ran out of their meeting. They obviously still wanted answers, and so did Wyn, but why be so forceful about it? They had to know that approach would only have a negative outcome.

A chill ran through Wyn as a quick theory formed in his mind. The Faceless Four were getting bolder because they had likely found another stone tablet. Seeing how mysterious the objects were, the group likely wanted to learn about them using Wyn's lantern to see if it was worth finding more.

The thought not only gave Wyn pause. It terrified him. What lengths would they go to to get the lantern?

"We need to report them to the Tower Master," Cal eventually said, pulling Wyn out of his own thoughts.

Wyn was about to say he already tried that, but then looked around. There were plenty of people staring and whispering, having watched the entire encounter. A smirk crossed Wyn's face as a new realization hit him.

People were around, which meant there were witnesses. Any number of them could corroborate that the masked men blocked them from leaving and threatened them. That would be a far better point to bring up to Aureus.

"You're right," Wyn said, patting Cal on the shoulder. "And that's exactly where we should go after we do one more thing."

Turning back into the trading hall, he led Cal back to the guild attendant who helped them find their items. He was finishing up with another group of Climbers before walking over to Wyn with a confused look on his face.

"Did you not find what you were looking for?" The man asked.

Wyn shook his head. "No, we did, thank you. But there's something else I'm curious about. Is there an item book for unique items?"

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The man scrunched his face up, thinking. "Hmm. You mean like monster drops or potions?"

"Sort of. But more like the unique items? Not exactly equipment but still rare finds?"

The man slowly nodded his head. "There's a smaller ledger but I don't believe it has anything like what you're asking about. Occasionally we'll hear discussions between groups or guilds about rare sets or items off the books, but it's typically after a deal has already been made. They tend to keep that information as private as possible."

"I've heard of that," Cal said. "Guilds don't like the general Climbing populace to know what kinds of rare items they keep and tend to trade amongst themselves."

The man leaned on the countertop and shrugged. "Exactly."

That made sense to Wyn, but didn't help his situation. If other people found some of the stone tablets, it would likely be dangerous to share that knowledge, even if just asking about it outside of doing their own research. Being afraid to tell others could keep Climbers safe but also prevented them from figuring out what it did.

Wyn didn't share that same fear. Not that exact one, at least.

"Have you heard any rumors about some stone tablets being traded?" Wyn asked, not worrying about keeping it a secret with the guild official.

The man paused for a moment. "I don't believe so. But maybe if I do hear something I can notify you?"

"That would be great! My name is Ardwyn Thatcher. I'm a Ruby Tactician."

"The Ruby Tactician if I'm not mistaken," the man said with a smirk. "I've heard of you. I'll send you a letter if I hear of any rumors for those items."

Wyn gave his thanks and turned back to Cal. "It's not much, but if we can find out more about these stone tablets, we can stay a step ahead of the Faceless Four. Which means we either need to discover what they do or find more of them."

"We can ask around personally to see?" Cal asked, looking around the busy trading hall.

Wyn tilted his head side to side. "I'd rather not expose ourselves quite that much. Word will get around that we're interested and it could stir up something bad. We need to be more subtle."

"Then maybe wait for the guild attendant to hear anything while we go to the library and research it?"

Wyn laughed. "It's a great idea, but my efforts would be in vain there. I'm definitely not someone to pour over books. Daniel likely could, though. Which is another good strategy for us to try."

"Wyn!" A voice called, surprisingly carrying over the crowd.

Both Wyn and Cal flinched, Cal grabbing his mace again and Wyn ready to summon his weapon. As they turned to the voice and saw the three people approaching, Wyn relaxed while Cal kept his composure.

"It's okay, Cal," Wyn said, smiling. "These are friends."

"Hello again!" Devon called, grasping Wyn's arm in a friendly greeting.

"Devon!" Wyn said with enthusiasm. "Maven, William, hello! It's great to see you three!"

Maven and William also said hello before looking at Cal. Wyn caught his error right away noticing the awkward glances between the four of them. "Gods, how rude of me. Cal, this is Devon, William, and Maven. They are one of the first climbing friends I made outside of our team. And this is Cal, my team member."

Everyone exchanged quick greetings while Wyn studied the trio. It had been months since he saw them last. Briefly they crossed paths soon after Lucy left, and they were still climbing as a group with the other three members of their team he first met at the guild trials. They had joined the Defenders guild, one of the more popular guilds in the city for the sheer fact that there were so many members. At the time they had expanded to a dozen groups and three separate guild houses, which was unheard of.

"Have you come to top off your items?" Devon joked, smirking. "From what I remember you had a set you were working on."

"The Ashen Gallidium Set, that's right," Wyn said. "I haven't been able to find the other pieces, but instead chose to combine a few sets. I've actually just found the final piece to my third set."

The three Climber's faces all went from excited to pure shock.

"Three?" William asked. "As in, your third full set?"

"Well, not full set, but the third set I can use, at least. I know it's more of a mix and match than other Climbers use, but the combined benefits really are helpful!"

William shook his head. "Gods, Wyn, you always were wild. I guess it makes sense you'd have three damn sets of equipment!"

"What do you expect for someone in the third tier?" Devon asked. His face then turned serious. "I'm just glad to see you still active after hearing about the Twilight Blades. I'm sorry for what happened. We really admired all of you."

"Thanks," Wyn said. "But we'll be okay. We're actually in the process of starting our own guild."

Maven laughed. "Of course you are. Don't try to poach us, though! We just got promoted!"

"Promoted? How so?"

Devon's face turned back to excited. "We advanced into the second tier so we jumped half the guild in rank! Can you believe that?"

"I can," Wyn said, smiling broadly. "You three really wanted to climb well and I could tell you would improve. That's great news!"

"Congratulations," Cal said, speaking for the first time. "It's no easy feat to climb Alistair."

William put his arms around Devon and Maven. "Well, with people like us, it's far easier now!"

Wyn chuckled. "What are your classes, if you don't mind me asking?"

"That's the funny part," William said. "We got some strange options but all decided to go for them."

"I got Divine Magister," Maven said. "Still support and healing focused with some small changes, but I can communicate to the team telepathically!"

"I picked Pyromancer," William added. "It's still a strong fire mage class but is much more flexible. Though we're all still jealous of Devon, even the guild leaders!"

Devon shrugged. "I'm sorry if I'm just that great. I can't help it."

"Well, don't keep us waiting," Wyn said jokingly.

Devon smirked, then kept his voice low as he blocked his face using his hand from the rest of the trading hall. "I got Treasure Hunter!"

It was Wyn's turn to show genuine shock. "Treasure Hunter?"

"That's right! It's not quite as combat-focused as other classes but our team is already pretty good on that front anyway. What it does give, though, are bonuses to monster drops and even hidden treasures throughout the tower!"

Wyn glanced at Cal who looked equally as shocked. If Devon had a class like that, he wouldn't just be desired by the guild leaders. Anyone would want him for that ability to obtain more rewards.

Both good and bad.

"Devon," Wyn said, his voice serious. "You should keep that class and ability a secret."

Devon's face fell. "Oh, I know. It's a huge bonus to us but I'm sure there are people who would love to have me in their group."

"There are people who would kill to have you in their group," Wyn said.

Devon laughed. Wyn did not.

"Wait," Devon said. "You're being serious?"

"Please do not tell anyone else about that class. And if people come up to you asking about it or any special items in the tower please leave and report them. Maybe even ask the guild for some extra protection."

The three Climbers all looked confused but Wyn knew the seriousness of that ability. It really was a major boon for him, their group, and their guild, but if the wrong person found out about it they'd try to exploit him.

Or the wrong group. Like the Faceless Four.

"Wyn's right," Cal said. "We're being hounded by a guild to help with some unique items from the tower."

"Really?" Devon asked.

"Yes," Wyn said, suddenly realizing the opportunity. "I have an item that works similar to your ability but not quite at the same level. They realized what it is and have been threatening me, my group, and Arabelle."

Maven's eyes went wide and she held onto Devon's arm. Even William looked distraught.

"I'm sorry," Devon said. "That hasn't happened to me."

"And I hope it won't. But if you need something, or some outside support from your guild, please find me."

Devon brightened a bit and he nodded his thanks. "I'll be sure to do that."

"And you haven't happened to hear about a unique stone tablet from the tower, have you?" Cal asked.

Devon furrowed his eyebrows. "Not that I can remember. Is it special?"

"Very," Wyn said. "There seem to be multiple of them and they are found in secret rooms in Alistair. Have you found one of those?"

Devon's sly smile returned. "We have, actually! We found one on the sixth floor last month. The only one so far."

"You'll probably find more with your ability, and come find me if you find one of the stone tablets. I don't know exactly what they do yet but I'll pay you a premium for one if you find it."

All three Climbers perked up at Wyn's offer, their trepidation disappearing and their usual jovial attitudes showing once again.

"You'll be the first person to know if we find one!" Devon said, all traces of any surprise or fear gone.

"And if you hear anything about them, let me know, too. I'll pay for that information as well."

"This could be our golden egg," William said, slapping Devon on the shoulder. "Thanks, Wyn!"

Wyn smiled. "Trust me, it's me who should be thanking you."

The Climbers quickly parted after, and Wyn felt conflicted. He was happy to see his friends doing well but wanted them to be careful. They were still naïve to the ways of the world even if they were improving as Climbers.

It was a far nicer way to end their time in the trading hall after the Faceless Four members spoiled his success securing his and Cal's items. All in all, though, it was a fruitful experience.

And Wyn hoped that damned masked guild would back off. He and Cal left to go directly to the Tower Master once again, more confident that he would do something about them. Since they were more bold with their confrontation, it should bring more eyes to them being problems. Maybe they'd get lucky and they'd get suspended or disbanded.

It was time something changed. If Aureus wouldn't instigate it, Wyn had a feeling things were about to escalate.