Kaelith was in the middle of training with Lantern when the summons came — a courier from the guild asking for her presence. She smiled. It was about to begin, and she was ready.
She and Nikolai had done all they could for now. After a few days of hunting in the nearby forest, Nikolai had managed to gather enough essence to not only repair Lurk, but also restore Kaelith’s body back to peak condition.
It had been so many years since she felt as good as she did now — like her master had simply taken all the years of pain and worry and healed them away.
Often, when she thought of her strange young master, she would find herself smiling. He was just too damn cute. She knew that he found her attractive, but she also knew he wouldn’t act on such feelings because of their contract.
That was another point in his favor, as far as she was concerned. He was kind — but she would have to work some of the naivety out of him over time. He was young. Actually, compared to her, he was very young. She was more than thirty years his senior, so the depth of their experience was very different — and so was their approach to things like being intimate with someone they found attractive.
She pushed thoughts of Nikolai from her mind and stood to accept the summons. Lantern hung in the air right behind her, looking for all intents and purposes like a comically goofy revenant or ghost.
The courier was pale as he handed over the letter, seemingly unable to take his eyes off those purple glowing sockets.
Kaelith’s face was hidden by a mask, so he couldn’t see her smile. Instead, she said, “Don’t mind Lantern. He’s as meek as a puppy.”
The young courier swallowed. “Right… Of course… A puppy…”
Kaelith suppressed a giggle. She had an image to uphold, after all — Kaelith the necromancer, the dangerous dark mage. She had cultivated it for years, and she only really revealed her true self around Nikolai. Even then, he didn’t know much about her past.
She often wondered why she had been so open with him back in the library. It was unlike her. But seeing him go up against Lurk… there had been something there. From the moment she saw him, she had felt like she could just be herself around him. She couldn’t quite explain it — she didn’t understand it herself.
Since then, his abilities had just kept growing, and she kept being surprised by him. The way he kept obtaining new skills. The sudden appearance of Sevrin. Her life had been stagnant for so long, and Nikolai — her dear master — had come into it like a whirlwind, turning everything on its head.
He had quite literally given her back her life. He had become a pillar she could lean against for support, and she would make damn sure he was going to win that trial in ten years. He would become a fae prince, and anyone standing in the way of that would be eliminated.
Speaking of elimination, it was time to go see the guildmaster.
The blocky, austere building the guild called home was as ugly and uninviting as ever.
Kaelith despised the place. She had spent a few years in the area by now and was hoping Nikolai would tire of it soon. She couldn’t wait to be away from the city.
Inside the door she was greeted with silent stares, wary stances, hands on sword hilts, and a whole hell of a lot of suspicion. Once again, she was used to the reception. It was what she had aimed for all those years — and her reward in a sense.
She wanted nothing to do with the weaklings of this guild. Most of them would never amount to much and seemed content to live out their lives in obscurity.
Kaelith was of a different breed. She had ambitions, and only knew of a couple of teams in this guild branch that were like-minded.
One of those teams met her before she could reach the reception desk, Calim giving her a professional smile.
“Kaelith… What is this all about?” Calim asked.
She tilted her head in feigned confusion. “Hmm? The guild called me here, so why are you asking me?”
Calim frowned. “Seems a little strange, does it not? It’s rare that you’re asked for specifically.”
Kaelith shrugged. “Not really for me to say. Now, are you going to let me pass?”
Calim stepped out of the way, and so did his team behind him. “Something is going on, Kaelith. We want to know what…”
Kaelith didn’t answer. She walked straight past him, her eyes settling on the receptionist. What was her name again? Millie?
Kaelith stopped in front of the pretty woman, who looked up nervously.
“Kaelith, thank you for responding so quickly. We have a personal request for you,” Millie said, unable to meet Kaelith’s purple eyes. Was she afraid of her? Why? She had never done anything to any staff of the guild, had she?
Kaelith nodded. “And what is the request?”
Millie smiled uncertainly. “We’re not quite sure, sorry. There is a letter for you, with instructions for you to read it first. The reward, though…”
Kaelith tilted her head slightly — a gesture she had found very effective. It was somewhat birdlike, or perhaps almost mechanical, and it seemed to unnerve people for some reason. “What about the reward?”
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Millie slid a slip of paper toward her. “It’s very generous…”
Kaelith knew what the paper would say: 300 gold crowns — more than ten times the normal reward for a B-rank job. She knew, because she and Nikolai had just recently collected that money for this very purpose. It had taken a chunk out of what they had earned, but they were kind of hiring themselves for a job, so it didn’t really matter.
She smiled behind her mask, then crumpled the paper in her hand before putting it in her pouch.
“I see. You’re not wrong… Millie, was it?” Kaelith said.
The woman’s eyes widened slightly. “Yes, that is me. The—uh—we would very much like to know what the job entails, if you don’t mind.”
Kaelith shrugged and broke the seal on the letter. She skimmed it, then theatrically hesitated.
Damn, she was enjoying this acting thing.
“You wish me to read it aloud?” Kaelith asked casually.
Millie hesitated, then gestured toward a door behind her. “Actually… perhaps we should take this to a meeting room.”
Kaelith followed her and wasn’t surprised when Calim entered first, then the guildmaster, and even Davon.
She looked around the room, then leaned her cheek into her hand.
“I was not aware that personal requests caused such a stir…” she said in a faintly mocking tone.
The guildmaster sat down across from her, a frown creasing his face. “The reward alone merits our interest, Kaelith, and I, as guildmaster, need to know what kind of job you are about to take on.”
Kaelith gestured toward the others. “So why are they here?”
The guildmaster sighed. “Just read out the damn letter, Kaelith.”
She once again suppressed a giggle, glad they couldn’t see her smile. This was all well within expectations — in fact, this was exactly the outcome they had hoped for. So she shrugged and began.
To the Esteemed Representatives of the Guild,
Corruption has been allowed to fester, not only in the shadowed alleyways, but in the hearts of institutions too long unchallenged. Where rot takes root, it grows quietly—until silence becomes complicity, and decay is mistaken for order.
The city has reached such a threshold.
We have been approached with a contract, requesting intervention where conventional tools have dulled. Nocturne has accepted this task, and will act accordingly. The bargain has been struck..
We of Nocturn however believe in shared opportunity—and in the wisdom of allowing light to take credit for what hides in the night.
To this end, a formal bounty is placed:
Root out the rot. Follow the trail of the poison that has bled through your streets, your halls, your homes. Expose the liars in noble cloth, the traitors behind kind smiles, and the hands that hold gold still warm from the misery of others.
Make them pay..
This is not a mission of coin, but of meaning. Payment will be rendered, yes—but those who answer this call should understand: this is not work for glory-hounds or bounty-chasers. This is a reckoning.
We have chosen Kaelith the necromancer to spearhead this hunt on behalf of the guild. Her reputation and infamy speak for themselves.
Nocturne will operate where others cannot—out of sight, out of reach. We are not asking for your permission. We are offering you a place around the fire before the pyre is lit.
Act with conviction, and history will remember your role.
Act not, and the truth will burn through you just the same.
—Nocturne
Kaelith calmly placed the letter on the table and slid it across to the guildmaster. He stared at it for a long time, and no one else spoke.
“What is this…?” he finally said, his tone slightly hoarse.
Kaelith pulled out a map that had been included with the letter, unfolded it, and placed it in the center of the table. She pretended to study it while everyone else leaned in to look.
Calim breathed out a curse. “It’s a purge… They want to pay us to— Who the hell are these people!?”
The guildmaster didn’t answer. He was studying the map, and Kaelith caught something in his eyes. It was deep-rooted anger — but not directed at Nocturne. The way he stared at the marked locations — every brothel Sevrin had investigated over the last week — made it clear exactly where that anger was directed.
It was unexpected, but it seemed getting the guildmaster on board might not be as difficult as they had thought.
Calim traced a finger over the map. “There are a dozen locations marked out… a few of them in the richer parts of town too. What is this?”
“Brothels,” the guildmaster growled. “From what the letter described, I think it might be connected to that incident a while back. A number of the forced laborers escaped, and the stories they told… We knew it was bad, but no one was willing to act. The information was suppressed by the government to not cause a stir, but now…”
His eyes gleamed. “Kaelith, can I assume you are willing to take on the job?”
Kaelith met his gaze. “I despise slavery. Do you really need to ask?”
The guildmaster knew some of her background, but everyone knew that half-demons had once been nothing but slaves for hundreds of years. It was ironic that she was now bonded to someone as she was, but that was different — that had been her choice, not something forced upon her. That kind of relationship wasn’t unusual in her culture neither.
The guildmaster nodded. “Alright. We have to be careful if we are to do this…”
“We?” Kaelith asked.
“Of course we!” he snapped. “I am not letting you do this alone. This is going to be dangerous. We have long known that the upper echelons of the city have ties to unsavory business. If we kick this hornet’s nest, there will be backlash. That is why we will hit as many of these locations as we can, all at once. We must be fast — and brutally efficient.”
Calim frowned, and Davon didn’t look pleased either. “Guildmaster, is this really something the guild should get involved in?” Calim asked. “Isn’t this a job for the guard?”
The guildmaster scoffed. “The guard is controlled by the nobles. I’m sure there are plenty of good people among them, but they’re paid to look the other way. No — this will be our job. We need to secure these locations and collect witnesses, evidence — irrevocable proof of corruption. Every rescued worker, man, woman, or child will be brought to the hospitarium. They will likely need healing, and they will have protection there. That old dwarf will not allow anyone to invade that sanctuary.”
That brought a few smiles. Everyone was at least acquainted with Lazgrim.
The guildmaster looked around at the gathered adventurers, his expression determined — resolved. ‘’I have waited years for the excuse to act, and you all know of some of the horrible shit going on in this city. Just make sure that we find that evidence!’’
Everyone nodded, although not very enthusiastically.
“Three days from now, we will have a meeting with your respective teams, and some external support I am planning to ask for help as well. Kaelith, you will be the official leader as per the request, but I hope you will allow me — and the guild — to organize things.”
Kaelith met his eyes, waited a beat, then nodded.
“I can agree to that.”
