Balthazaar was still numb, his usually wonderful mind unable to process the events of the day. As the slowly moved through Lowhaven on their way to rendezvous with his colleagues they passed a stall selling sweet treats; he smiled and made to approach knowing instantly which that Celine would love only to stop and realise she was no longer there. Once again, grief threatened to overtake him and once again he reminded himself of his duty to Cassandra; clearly still in a state of shock and clearly still in no mood to speak to him. The continued on through the busy streets, Lowhaven was an eclectic mix of stone and wood buildings, paved roads and little scattered stalls and shops; once a delight to their family simply to marvel as they walked through, it now passed them by until they approached a split in the street. Balthazaar was once again reminded of duty, one he would need to discharge now, or he would never again find the courage; he turned the opposite direction to the one Cassandra had taken finally causing her to acknowledge him.
“Father? Where are you going? Rodri and the others are over at the Pink Orchard.”
“I need to report to the Adventurers Guild… I need to turn in the quest… Get it over with”
Some of Cassandra’s old fire returned.
“You don’t need to anything Father! Let that man… imposter… whatever the fuck he… she! ARGH!”
She broke to sobbing then. The proud young woman was gone once more; she spared no thought top the curious gnces coming her way from those on the street, some looked on with pity others just curiosity, but nobody stopped. Balthazaar stepped toward his daughter, wanting nothing more than to draw her into a hug, to share their grief together but he knew she was not ready for that, not with him. His arm raised toward her on its own before he allowed it to fall awkwardly by his side.
“Celine was my daughter as are you. She was my responsibility, and I will see this was st duty to her through. You go on ahead and I will catch up.”
He turned to walk away but she called him back.
“Wait, Father! Don’t… don’t make me face the others on my own… I can’t…”
He fell back into step alongside her and braved an arm around her shoulders which she allowed though her posture stiffened a little. The anger may help her in the short term, he reasoned. The two walked as if on a funeral march. Down the road to the Adventurers Guild.
The building rose up before them, dwarfing everything else in the street; comprised of huge stone sbs it had the distinct shape of a fortress replete with turrets and towers, the only nod to subtly was the series of very short stone steps that led up to big, ominous oaken doors currently sitting open. In a major city, the Guild Halls were symbols of power and prestige, and the Adventurers Guild sat chief amongst them; if only by virtue that the Mage’s Guild sat miles away from the city; a community all of its own. Nobody wanted to live near the experiments and explosions of magic users after all. They paused together each taking a deep breath before continuing on; with each step Balthazaar’s mind churned and a new series of thoughts began to crystalise; all of then centred on revenge. Fury had repced grief as he walked, Caliban was powerful, not just in magical ability but with his influence within the guild; shown starkly with his ability to recruit the likes of Martin. Yet it would be a hard thing to prove; if he had had River with him, a respected Adventurer he might have been able to build a case but as it stood it was his word against theirs. He would not let it rest though; he would find out just why they wanted his research, and he would use that to make them suffer
Njal was leaning sullenly in a corner. He had raced ahead to the city, a petty drive to get here before River drove him on. Lowhaven had no shortage of work to pick from, and he had just accepted a quest to protect a local farmstead from an expected orc tribe attack. Really this was a group for a team of adventurers, but Njal had assured the guild clerk that he had others ready to help him. This was of course a lie, but Njal would enjoy the greater contract and the chance to show that upstart River how a real adventurer worked. Still, he was annoyed, the kid had beaten him and only the chance to truly humiliate the kid in kind would make up for it. Almost finished with his brooding, Njal made to leave when he noticed the pranced-up mage and the sour faced one of his daughters the boy had been protecting walk in, no doubt to pay off the contract. However, even an unempathetic creature like Njal could see that there was a sad droop to the man’s shoulder. Whilst he could not make out the conversation over the din of the guild, he did see that the guild master’s amulet fshed red to indicate the failure of a contract. That was interesting, the job looked simply enough and Njal made a note to himself to find out more, he did note the other daughter was missing; had they run off together? He prayed a quest would arrive to hunt them down if that was the case, maybe he could get an additional reward out of the girl when he found them; even if there wasn’t, this could be an opportunity to make River suffer and maybe bag a ride on that fancy little piece of arse. He smiled evilly to himself and made his way to the door.
