The Wandering Spire

Jeze woke the next morning spitting out dirt from laying on the floor. It was cold, but that didn't bother her as she was used to sleeping outside. Plus, her new fancy cloak kept her warm enough.

"Good morning, princess," Ziplocke greeted from the shadows in a corner.

Jeze wiped her tangled bangs from out of her face and rose to her feet. "I have to report to Seb," she mumbled.

Jeze moved through the tarp and entered the front portion of the tent where she saw the armor she enchanted on display. Hannah was having breakfast that consisted of tea, bacon, and bread. The smell caused Jeze's stomach to rumble.

"Thank you for letting me stay here," Jeze said with a bow.

"Don't mention it. Are you able to do more enchanting things? I feel I can sell this puppy pretty quickly," Hannah responded and motioned toward the armor on display.

"Yes, but first, I have to report to the Guild Safety Zone Squad," Jeze replied.

Hannah's eyes narrowed, and she asked, "That's with them, portals?"

Jeze nodded as she shouldered her heavy pack.

"You think you can help me set up in a Safe Zone? I could earn good coin there from the folks that will need new armor or repairs," Hannah said as she rose from her seat.

"What will you pay?" Ziplocke asked and rubbed his tiny hands together.

Jeze rolled her eyes and responded, "I will see what I can do."

"Thank you, Luv!" Hannah exclaimed.

Jeze ran off through the gathering morning crowd. The sun rose and was slowly pushing away the dawn shadows as Jeze made her way through the central chamber toward the lifts. She paused at the smell of food that came from the Hall of Heroes, where other early-rising adventurers were gathering. The lines for food were still short, and Jeze decided to grab a bite to eat before meeting with Seb. The teenager was disappointed to discover that only the first meal was free. Luckily, they were affordable, and the coins she had taken from the bandits were sufficient. She sat at a table with a plate filled with eggs, sausage, and bread. Ziplocke had scampered off, and occasionally, Jeze would catch a glimpse of a moving shadow that assured her that he remained near.

"So, the demon summoner was set free?" A familiar voice to Jeze's right said.

The teenager glanced up and saw Dunar, the dark haired Frostsworn she met yesterday, and scowled. The young man had a warm smile as he was setting plates filled with steaming food on a nearby long table. He is always bringing food or drink for the others, Jeze reflected as the last time they met he was bringing tankards of ale.

"I jest. Would you care to join us?" Dunar invited her.

Jeze glanced around, uncertain. She feared that she would be shunned from how things went down the other day. Was he teasing her? She wondered.

"We run with the Dire Wolves, but we do not bite," Dunar added, his warm smile still present.

Raynor had talked about the giant wolves. "Are they as big as they say?" She asked.

"Oh yes, they are very big and fierce. To be a Proven, one must be brave and not show fear because they will tear you limb from limb. Also, one must be able to run through the heavy snow alongside the pack," Dunar explained.

Jeze narrowed her eyes, and finally, she scooted over to his table. "Where is everyone else?" She asked.

"Slowly waking up," Dunar replied.

"Why did you get food for them?"

"Because they are my team, and a well-fed team is a happy team. A happy team performs well. We have a big day of training today," Dunar answered, and he took a measured bite of eggs.

"Training?" Jeze asked. There was more to the Guild compound that she had not visited yet, and she wondered where people could go to train.

"Yes, training. This thing, you may have heard of it, called the Wandering Spire. It is set to appear in just two months. We must prepare for it," Dunar teased.

Jeze scowled. "I know about that, but where do you train?"

"In the courtyard. You should join us," Dunar replied.

"I'm busy," Jeze stated.

Dunar leaned toward her and said, "We still could use a Scout."

"I already have a team."

"Oh? Where are they now?" Dunar made a show of looking around.

"You think you are funny? Where is your team, huh?" Jeze snapped back.

Dunar shrugged his broad shoulders and replied, "Still sleeping. But you have met them. We have traveled far to prove ourselves against the Spire, and unfortunately, we lack a Scout."

Jeze waved around the room and observed, "You have two months to find one."

Dunar smiled with a twinkle in his eye. He rested a thick arm on the table and said, "Like I was saying. We traveled far and fortunately for us we found a Scout that fights in the ways of our people. I believe that is a sign from the Gods."

"Do you believe the Gods talk to you?" Jeze asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I do, and I also believe it is best not to ignore them."

"You are crazy," Jeze laughed.

"Come train with us today. You will see that we are very skilled," Dunar said.

The Frostsworn, even Raynor, spoke in measured tones. As if they weighed each of their words, Jeze respected that.

"The Demoness blesses our company this fine morning!" A loud voice boomed.

Jeze turned and saw Dunar's team had approached. The speaker was Helga, the muscular young lady with blonde braided hair that fell to the sides of her shoulders.

"Good morning!" Rolfe, the other giant Frostsworn, greeted.

He and Helga towered over Jeze as she sat. They would have still been taller than me even if I stood on top of the bench, Jeze thought to herself.

"Dunar got us food! To our great leader!" Rolfe cheered, and he settled his heavy frame onto the bench to eat his breakfast.

"Thank you, Dunar," Mikal, the thin Frostsworn, quietly said.

He had a mop of dark hair and simply nodded to Jeze with his serious eyes. Where the others appeared boastful and friendly, Mikal was quiet and brooding.

"Where is your pet?" Helga asked as she chewed her breakfast.

"By the Frozen All Father, that foul beast was hideous," Mikal muttered.

"Hey!" Ziplocke cried from the shadows beneath the table.

"Oh, ho! The creature gave me a fright!" Helga exclaimed.

With a speed that belied her large frame, the Frostsworn maiden snatched the squirming Ziplocke out from under the table.

"Hey, put me down!" The Demon shrieked.

“Helga!” Dunar barked.

The large woman looked sheepishly over toward Jeze. "I'm sorry, but may I hold your pet?"

Jeze was enjoying the look of misery on Ziplocke's face. "He is not my…actually. Yes, you can hold him, and he especially enjoys hugs," the teenager replied.

"Oh goodie! I love giving hugs!" Helga exclaimed and she crushed Ziplocke to her large bosom.

"Ow! She is so strong! Put me down, you troll!!!" The Goblin squealed.

"Helga, that is enough," Dunar ordered.

"Okay. Off you go, little one." The large woman released the Demon.

"I will place hexes upon you!" Ziplocke promised as he scampered in between Jeze's legs.

"So cute! Even when he is angry!" Helga beamed. She turned to Jeze and asked, "Please summon one for me."

"That is a long and arduous process. It is not a guarantee that the Goblin will want to bond with you. It is also not certain if we Summon a Goblin. It could be an Imp or something much worse…" Jeze started to explain before realizing that she had lost her audience. The Frostsworn, except for Dunar, returned to eating.

"Will she be joining us today?" Rolfe asked. He was on his second plate.

Dunar glanced at Jeze with an arched eyebrow.

"I can't, I have to work on the Safe Portal Squad," Jeze replied.

Helga's eyes went wide, and she smacked Mikal on the shoulder with a beefy hand that nearly sent the smaller man over the table. "You see that, Micky? She made it to the Runic Research Division. Are you jealous?" The warrior woman teased.

"I thought she was a Scout," Mikal grumbled as he wiped food off his chest.

"A Scout and a Rune caster," Dunar added.

"Perhaps the Guild would be impressed with me if I chose to sell my soul to the Abyssal Plane," Mikal muttered.

"I did no such thing!" Jeze cried.

"Perhaps," Mikal said with a scowl.

"Ignore him. He is jealous," Dunar said.

"What are your roles?" Jeze asked the group.

Helga was the first and thumped her chest to announce, "Striker!"

Rolfe rose and bowed. "Protector!"

Mikal rolled his eyes and raised a hand, "Rune caster and Healer."

Jeze looked to Dunar. The other three Frostsworn bowed to the dark-haired man. Helga and Rolfe snickered.

Dunar rubbed his face and replied, "Okay, you can all stop that." He turned to Jeze and, with a nod, added, "I have the privilege of being the Leader."

"What does the Safe Zone Squad do?" Rolfe asked.

The Frostsworn looked to Jeze. Ziplocke was back on Jeze's shoulders, and he glared at Helga.

"Right now, they have me working on repairing the Portals. I think we also make sure the area is cleared of monsters," Jeze answered.

"Portals to where?" Rolfe asked.

Mikal scowled and replied, "To allow adventurers to enter and leave the Spire."

"We can do that?" Rolfe asked, amazed.

"Where have you been? That has been a thing now for the last three occurrences," Mikal snorted.

"Ya, we can do the Safe Zone portal assignments," Helga added.

"I didn't say I would join your team," Jeze reminded them.

"What? There is no glory in guarding Safe Zones. I thought we agreed to defeat the Spire and bring honor to our names," Rolfe said and shook the table when he pounded a heavy fist to it. It spilled Mikal's drink on him and the thin man sighed and cleaned himself a second time this morning.

"We never agreed to scale the top. These assignments would be a great way for us to demonstrate our skill to the Guild and to Carl Jorgenson," Dunar said.

"I did not agree to joining your team!" Jeze yelled.

She was getting tired of people ignoring her, and the emotions built up within her. Ever since Jeze arrived at the Guild Compound, no one took her seriously and just pushed her along without hearing what she needed or thought. Swordslayer and Rainbow had abandoned her. She was assigned to the Safe Zone Squad. Irvin pushed her to the Frostsworn. Enough was enough! Jeze heaved in fury before the Frostsworn.

"She has the rage of a Berserker," Helga observed quietly. The large woman was more subdued than usual.

Jeze stormed off before tears formed in her eyes. She exited the Hall of Heroes into the main chamber and walked her way to the lifts.

“Jeze!” Dunar called out.

“What?” Jeze demanded.

The Frostsworn team leader caught up to her. "I'm sorry."

The words deflated Jeze's anger like a punctured waterskin.

"If you do not have a team. We would be honored for you to join us," Dunar said, his dark eyes soft.

"Why?" Jeze asked. More to herself than to the young man. Swordslayer and Rainbow leaving her had spawned lingering self doubt.

"We have seen you fight. You were selected by the Runic Research Division, and the Gods have willed it," the tall Frostsworn said with a grin.

"You are crazy. I have to go," Jeze replied.

"If you are free, join us in the compound. We will be training all day," Dunar added and departed.

"You are not special. They suck, especially that blonde troll, and nobody wants to join them," Ziplocke hissed into her ear.

Jeze bopped the Goblin on the head. "Hush you or I'll give you over to Helga."

Ziplocke shivered and remained quiet as Jeze took the lift up.

"You are late," Seb admonished and handed her a task list.

Jeze read the paper and said, "I'm not a teacher."

Seb glanced at her over his wire framed glasses. "All you need to do is demonstrate what you did yesterday. Based upon recent reports, the location where you found the tome was destroyed. You are now one of our leading experts."

Reports? Destroyed? This sent a chill down Jeze's spine.

"What are you talking about?" She growled.

Seb paused and sighed. "Please excuse me. I'm not good with people. I heard what happened at the Pyramid, and you have my condolences for the loss of your friend. By all accounts, he was a great asset to the Guild as well. If it were not for the coming Spire, he would be properly mourned."

He was talking about Raynor! Jeze realized and fought back the tears that threatened to form in her eyes.

"Who wrote the report?" Jeze asked.

"Adventurer Drake, the Field Tester that graded you," Seb answered.

Jeze's heart sank.

"Initiate Jeze," a voice called out.

The teenager turned slowly. To her the world was spinning. How could she be so stupid? She saw Drake enter the compound! Of course he would know where she was! Jeze's name was written in the magically connected ledgers, and she believed all she needed was a stupid cloak to be safe? Jeze cursed herself. The speaker was Miss Heng, and standing next to her was Drake. Half of the dark skinned agent's face was covered in wrinkled burn scars. He smiled warmly at her.

"I am glad to see you were able to make it here," Drake said in a voice that was full of warmth.

It was all a lie! A deep growl rumbled in Jeze's throat, and her hands itched to grab her weapons.

"Please come with us," Miss Heng ordered.

"No. Not with him!" Jeze snapped.

Drake's head tilted to the side with mock understanding. "She still mourns the loss of her mentor and blames me," he explained to Heng.

"You attacked us!" Jeze screamed.

"Initiate Jeze! That is enough!" Miss Heng snapped.

Jeze was trembling with fury. The world was turning red.

"The Pyramid was her first dungeon. I thought she would be ready for it, and she performed well, as I stated in my field report. Her running away when the traps went off is understandable due to her lack of experience," Drake explained to Miss Heng.

The Amber Guard nodded, and she said to Jeze, "Leaving a fellow Guild Member while they are in danger, especially your field leader, is reason enough to have your membership revoked."

Drake chuckled softly and said, "Now, let us not be too hasty, Miss Heng. She is new, and it is understandable."

"Shut your mouth, you liar!" Jeze screamed.

"Initiate Jeze!" Miss Heng barked.

"He attacked us! All because we discovered that the Emperor is not Immortal!" Jeze cried.

Her statement caused a hushed silence to cover the room. Drake smirked, and Miss Heng nearly boiled in fury.

"That is a treasonous statement," Miss Heng said quietly.

Seb cleared his throat and interjected, "Only in the Golden Empire. We are technically not in the Empire. We are in the Guild."

"The politics of the nations hold no sway here," another voice added.

Everyone turned to look and saw that it was Irvin who had spoken. He was followed by Lady Kalina. The sight of the stocky guild official brought a calming warmth to Jeze's rapidly beating heart. She also felt bad for the way she had treated him earlier. For Irvin to come and bring Lady Kalina meant he truly cared about her. The older guild official came over to Jeze.

"I figured you had some bad feelings with Guild Tester Drake. I came as soon as I heard he was looking for you," Irvin whispered into Jeze's ear.

Seb clapped his hands and loudly proclaimed, "Okay! There are too many different officials here in my work area! I don't care what is going on. I need this young lady to show my Safe Squad Rune Casters how to work the portals."

"We need a trial. Initiate Jeze has broken several…" Miss Heng started to speak.

Seb cut the Amber Guard off and said, "Let me remind everyone that the Spire is set to arrive, and the Portals are how we save lives. I ask you all to leave so that we can return to our important work."

"No! She has demonstrated gross neglect in the field by abandoning her team. In addition, she has made a vile accusation to a Guild Tester in high standing," Miss Heng barked.

"So we keep her away from field assignments. She can still help train our Save Zone Squad," Seb responded.

"Those are lies! I did no such things!" Jeze roared. Irvin gently gripped her shoulder.

Drake stepped forward and held up his hands. "I have a solution. Have Jeze assigned to me, and I can complete her training and monitor her progress."

Miss Heng nodded, "That is acceptable."

"I already have a team," Jeze growled. Her body trembled with rage.

"What team?" Lady Kalina asked.

This was the first time the warrior from the Ironfist kingdom had spoken, and there was tension between her and the other two officials. Even though the Guild stated that it was free from politics, it was deeply entrenched with it. Jeze recognized that a standoff was happening, and on its surface, it was over the Guild bylaws. However, underneath, there was a political fight between the Golden Empire and the Ironfist Kingdom. Irvin was clever to bring in Lady Kalina.

"The Frostsworn," Jeze answered.

Lady Kalina sighed, "We have many Frostsworn Guild Members. We need a name."

"Carl Jorgensen," Irvin said.

"Is that true?" Lady Kalina asked Jeze, and the teenager nodded.

"There we have it. She is assigned to a respected team," Lady Kalina stated.

"But she is a citizen of the Empire," Drake observed.

"It makes sense for her to be assigned to a representative of her nation," Miss Heng added.

"Nationalities have no bearing on team assignments within the Guild," Kalina said.

Drake's eyes narrowed at the tattooed Ironfist warrior. For a brief moment, his facade slipped, and his true intentions were revealed, but then he smiled warmly.

"As long as she is with a respected team. I am fine," Drake said.

"What about her accusations? Did you attack her and Raynor?" Lady Kalina demanded.

Miss Heng snapped, "She has no evidence and the burden of proof falls on her. Adventurer Drake is a respected member of the Guild with a proven track record, and with plenty of witnesses to corroborate his report. She is just an Initiate."

Drake's face softened, and Jeze wanted to punch it. He said, "Adventuring is hard, and she is probably ashamed of her fear. She fled the Pyramid when the trap exploded. One that she failed to disarm as the Scout. In her mind, the only way she could live with her failure is to assign the blame to me."

“You lie!” Jeze roared.

"That is enough!" Miss Heng barked.

"She demonstrated prowess and bravery when she accepted my challenge in the courtyard. I believe what she says has merit," Lady Kalina proclaimed.

"It appears that it is you who are putting your kingdom's needs over the Guild," Drake said through narrow eyes.

Seb loudly cleared his throat, which was impressive due to his small stature, it managed to capture everyone's attention.

"I have heard enough. I propose that Jeze, being one of our few experts on the portals, work with the Safe Zone Squad and remain with the Frostsworn team. We end this discussion here and return to our work to prepare for the upcoming Spire. Which, I may add, is set to appear in a few weeks time," Seb stated.

"Agreed," Irvin boomed.

Miss Heng and Drake's eyes narrowed, but they nodded.

"This is not finished. We will continue this discussion at a later and more suitable time," Miss Heng promised.

With that, Drake, Miss Heng, and Lady Kalina departed in separate directions.

"I'm glad you agreed to team up with the Frostsworn. You will grow well with them," Irvin said.

Jeze nodded and hoped that Dunar didn't find another Scout. She hurried from the chamber but was stopped by Seb.

"You need to train the others," the small man reminded her.

Jeze pulled out her tome and handed it to Seb. "It really comes down to these dozen Runes," she said, pointing to them.

"Excellent, show them those," the small man responded.

Jeze was introduced to one of Seb's assistants, a young woman with short blonde hair and green eyes.

"This is Val, my assistant in charge of repairing the Portal Runes. She will show you to the others," Seb said.

"Nice to meet you," Val said with a smile that appeared forced on the young lady's delicate face.

For some reason, that annoyed Jeze, and even Ziplocke scowled at her. Jeze ignored Val and hurried after Seb. She tapped the man on the shoulder.

"The Wandering Spire is set to appear, and I am very busy!" Seb snapped.

"Can I inform my team that we will be taking Safe Zone assignments?" Jeze asked.

Seb sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes, but be quick about it."

Jeze rushed out of the chamber to find Dunar and the others. She ran so fast that Ziplocke nearly fell off her shoulders.

"No matter what, you seem to be forced into situations against your will," Ziplocke pointed out.

Jeze disagreed. "I have decided I want to team up with the Frostsworn."

"Oh, and what about Rainbow and Swordslayer?" The Goblin inquired.

"They demonstrated that they only serve themselves. I have seen Dunar work to serve his team. Irvin was right. This is the better choice for me," Jeze responded.

"Hmm, that is good," Ziplocke said.

"Even though we will be with Helga?" Jeze asked.

The Goblin moaned.