I squirreled out of bed at the sound of knocking and rushed to the door. The Adventurer’s Guild Master was waiting there when it opened. “Good nap?” he asked.

I scratched the bird’s nest on my head, “Best in a while.” I couldn’t help but smile. I pushed past him and into the now empty lobby and took a seat.

“I guess you’re really excited,” he laughed. “I didn’t want to tell you earlier, but this entire plan rests on you. I thought it would be too much pressure, but now I’m thinking that’s not the case.”

“I’m ready, just tell me what I need to do.”

“From what we’ve found out so far, there’s a good chance the secretary that hid the dragon egg is now dead. Which means Dominik expected this on some level. Even he does not know the exact location of the dragon egg. It’s likely that the secretary set up some method to deliver the message after everything cooled down.”

“How can you be sure the dragon’s egg is in the Tyrant headquarters?” I asked.

“To be honest, we can’t. It’s extremely unlikely the secretary would be able to work in such secrecy anywhere else though, which is where you come in. I need you to find the egg for us. Do you remember what it felt like, the soul signature?”

“To be honest… no. I never felt it originally and only felt the dragon. After that I was too distracted, and then you put a seal over the cave entrance. I can’t recall what it felt like at all.”

“Well, we have no other leads. It’s likely hidden away in a special room that stops even my detection.” The weight on me that had earlier been lifted started to return. This was more than I was expecting. The Adventurer’s Guild Master had set the stage for me, and whether Dominik would go down or not was completely up to my ability.

“What time do we leave tomorrow?” I asked. There was no use fretting over it. I wouldn’t know if I could find the egg until I tried.

“I’ll send for you in the morning.” He said.

No longer relaxed, I spent a restless night, and come morning I was already wide awake. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon and a dark hue still covered the streets when I was sent for.

“The Adventurer’s Guild Master is already waiting at the Tyrant guild,” the messenger said. I simply nodded my head and followed behind him as we walked the streets. They were cold and desolate. Signboards covered up by wood and barricaded windows dotted each side of the street.

So many people had fled to Eastrath and very few had decided to return. It was hard to imagine Arturii could become anymore of a ghost town than it already was. How did that make me feel? I honestly couldn’t say for sure.

A part of my mind was solely thinking about Dominik, the Tyrant guild, and the dragon egg. My revenge, at least partially, was within my grasp. It was up to me to reach out and take it for myself. My desire for revenge was something I had previously accepted might never come, and yet within a year I had reached the point where it might be realized.

My resolve hardened, and for the first time I truly realized that I was not afraid of what was to come. In the end, Yetera was not my home. Many of my memories from this world were fond, but I only had a handful of people holding me here still. Dying in battle… might not be so bad.

“We’re here.” My guide’s voice broke my train of thought and I looked ahead of me. The guild headquarters was unlike anything I’d seen before in Arturii. It wasn’t simply a building, but a compound. The entire area was walled off. An archway waited ahead of us.

The archway in front of us was at least fifteen feet high. TYRANT was spelled out atop the doorway in beautiful, golden letters. Imposing, majestic, arrogant: those were the feelings it gave off. The door opened with a slow swing and allowed us entry.

“He should be just inside waiting for you,” my guide said while watching me step through. It seemed he had no intention of entering with me. The first footstep wasn’t easy to put down, as I felt like I was walking into a lion’s den. TYRANT members wouldn’t treat me kindly if given the chance.

Guards waited on either side of the gate like statues. They said and did nothing as I passed by them and traversed the cobblestone paving. Fifty or so feet ahead was a building just as majestic as the gate.

The Adventurer’s Guild Master walked out when I was a few steps from the front entrance. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“As I ever will be.” My voice was nervous, but I didn’t care to hide it. I was nervous as hell. This moment determined more than just my own revenge. At stake was the future of Yetera itself.

“I have the building plans so we’ll be following those and checking methodically. Guards will be following us of course. It’s likely Dominik will pop in as well.” He leaned in closer to me and whispered into my ear, “Also, if you find the egg. Say nothing at all.”

This took me by surprise, his request. My eyes spoke the words for me.

He answered my curiosity. “If we announce we found the egg… we might not make it out in one piece.” I could only nod in understanding.

The egg was a death sentence for Dominik and anyone who had conspired with him to steal it. They were powerful people, and escaping from their lair unharmed would prove difficult. It was best to say nothing and return with the proper force.

“Let’s go,” he said while opening the double door. A wide and grandiose hall appeared in front of me.

“This… isn’t this more like a palace?” I couldn’t help but blurt out. I’d seen three other guild halls, and none of them looked anything like this. They were more…practical. There was literally a lion fountain dead center of the hall, roaring majestically as water spurted up and out of its mouth.

The chandelier above was the biggest and most eye-catching item I’d seen in Arturii so far. Dazzling gems of every color dangled from a golden base. Chains as thick as my arm attached to the ceiling holding it steadily in place.

The tile was polished like glass and covered in intricate designs and patterns. If someone had told me the floor was sanitary enough to eat off, I would have believed them. The walls were covered in paintings of dapper-dressed men and women.

The entire atmosphere was brought together by the color of the walls and trim. The walls were all a dark red and the baseboards were bright gold. The contrast caught the eyes and kept them there. You would think the entire scene chaotic, but the harmony was perfect.

“Remember what we came for, focus.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master could see the awe in my eyes and gave me a nudge before heading to the counter off to the side and announced, “my assistant is here and I’m ready to search now.”

The attendant was someone I recognized. His eyes grew wide and for a moment he lost his composure, “Excuse me,” he coughed. “Everyone else has been confined to their room. You have the building to yourself so take your time. I need to report to the guild leader so I won’t see you out.” Once he had moved to open the way into the guild rooms, he scampered through a backdoor like his life depended on it.

“I don’t think they were expecting my assistant to be you.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master laughed. He looked at his layout map and started walking through as if he owned the place. I could only follow behind him. “If you feel anything out of the ordinary tell me.”

We found ourselves moving through the dorms first. The floor was still that beautiful tile but the intricate design disappeared. The red walls and green trim disappeared into plain white walls. Doors dotted each side of the hall endlessly.

There wasn’t a single person moving about, but I could feel them in their rooms. It was surprising, the sheer amount of people. Valkyrie had a ton of dorm space, but every other room was empty. Tyrant didn’t seem to have a single empty room. It was obvious why they were so dominant; they were powerful just by sheer numbers alone.

Despite all the rooms we passed, I never felt anything out of the ordinary. No unusual soul signatures, just more and more people. The place looked spotless as well, freshly cleaned for us to search.

From the dorms we moved to the living area and lounge. Empty as well, and not the slightest sign of the dragon egg. We moved through the basement, upper floors, and everywhere available to us: there was nothing.

Dominik came and met us about an hour into our search, a smile beaming across his face, “Is everything going well? Can I help with anything?” He spoke as if her were trying to be the best host possible.

By now we had searched every area outlined in the building plans. “We need access to your hidden storage facility. It should be connected to the basement,” the Adventurer’s Guild Master said.

“I should have known we couldn’t fool you,” Dominik smiled. The look of surprise and doubt on his face was clearly fake. His tone made it obvious he had expected this already, and yet when he looked at me there was the smallest bit of real unease on his face. “Come with me, I’ll take you personally.”

Needless to say, the size of the hidden storage facility was bigger than I could have imagined. It was a basement that must have been an area the size of the entire building, and it was mostly open. There were dozens upon dozens of supporting pillars to support the rooms above.

Compared to the grandiose construction of the main guild building, everything down here looked quite unremarkable. Several old and dusty candelabra, each hanging from a single rope, created uneven lighting. The shadows created by the endless crates and containers were numerous. It would be a nightmare to find anything down here.

Fortunately, I wasn’t relying on my sight to find what we were looking for. Even so, it would take a large amount of time for me to cover everything just by the sheer size of the place. “There will be guards outside to escort you out when you’re finished.” Dominik said. “Obviously, don’t take anything that doesn’t belong to you.” His friendly tone had disappeared completely.

“Let’s move through the middle and then search through the perimeter afterwards.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master said. We started to walk slowly through the interchanging light and darkness, occasionally reaching out to lift a tarp and look at the goods beneath.

Some of it was food supplies, other crates contained ore, and then some of it were things I’d never seen and didn’t care enough to ask about. No matter how far we walked, and how many crates we passed, I never got any sense of a soul.

The Adventurer’s Guild Master didn’t ask, as the frustration was clear across my face. I wanted to find the dragon egg as much as anyone, and wanted Dominik to pay more than anyone. Frustrated, I started to rip off tarps and open crate tops. I wasn’t certain that my senses would ever alert me of the dragon egg.

We started to make our way around the perimeter, but it was always more of the same. Boxes of unremarkable goods and no dragon egg in sight. It was only when we reached the opposite wall that I felt something.

The Adventurer’s Guild Master clearly felt nothing at all, and didn’t even glance in the direction of the soul signature. I looked carefully at the wall but saw nothing out of the ordinary, and yet there was something there.

A signature like I’d never felt before. Small but overwhelming; a power bundled so tightly waiting to explode. “There’s something here,” I said. The Adventurer’s Guild Master stopped in his tracks and looked back at me. “Behind this wall about ten feet. There’s something there.”

He looked at the wall and walked up to it, tracing it with his hands. He was silent as he searched every crevice. “I didn’t notice it before, but now that I’ve tried to probe with my senses, there is something blocking me. Whatever the chamber is constructed with is meant to negate any prying.”

“How do we get to it?” I asked.

“We don’t. We come back later with enough manpower to rival even the Tyrant guild and force it open. If we try now things may not go nicely. How sure are you it’s the dragon egg?”

In all honesty, I couldn’t be sure at all. I did have a prickling feeling that this was what we were looking for. “Seventy percent,” I made up a number.

“That’s good enough to warrant our next actions. Tell no one and say nothing as we leave.” I nodded in understanding. My body was burning up with an excitement that was hard to hide.

“Any luck?” Dominik was outside waiting for our departure. He could probably see the red on my face, an excitement that I hoped looked more like anger. “It seems not. That’s really unfortunate.”

I wanted badly to spoil his gloating, but kept my emotions in check. I didn’t even look him in the eye and neither did the Adventurer’s Guild Master. We walked side-by-side out of the compound and into the streets of Arturii. Our excitement could only be held back so much, and before two streets were passed, we started to run.

An emergency meeting was called in secret: only with the guilds that hadn’t initially sided with the Tyrant guild. The guilds that only renounced them because of the Adventurer’s Guild Master’s pressure were not trustworthy enough to form part of an alliance. They would spill the beans, and the Tyrant guild would be ready.

“We believe we’ve found the dragon egg,” the Adventurer’s Guild Master spoke. We were in the adventurer’s guild headquarters. The room had been surrounded by a barrier to block out sound. At least fifteen of us were present.

“You’ve found it?”

“Where is it?” Several people couldn’t contain themselves and blurted out at once. “Do you have it with you?”

“There’s a hidden chamber behind a wall in the Tyrant guilds basement. We believe it is there.”

“Wait, so you found it but didn’t confirm?” Corbin from the POWER guild spoke up first.

“I couldn’t feel anything,” the Adventurer’s Guild Master suddenly said pointing to me, “He found it. The chamber is protected by a special magic or material that blocks perception.”

Everyone present was unenthusiastic in response to this announcement, “You know what this means, right? We have to brute force our way into the Tyrant guild, and you want to do it simply on his word?” This was from someone I didn’t recognize at all.

“I trust Joseph,” it was Rhea who spoke up for me.

“Me as well,” Vichi pitched in immediately.

“POWER supports him as well.” Corbin and his vice guild-leader also voiced a positive opinion of me. Their sudden support eased the anxiety on some faces but several remained uncertain.

“I can assure everyone there is something that is alive behind the wall. To me, it’s a ninety-percent chance it’s the dragon egg.” I embellished my percent a bit more. Matters needed to move forward, even if on a lie.

After these words everyone looked at the Adventurer’s Guild Master for further instructions. “I won’t be taking a vote. Regardless of whom among you are with me, tonight I will be going into the Tyrant guild. You’re either with me or you’re not.” He looked around the room at those he knew as acquaintances and friends.

His eyes were not threatening nor pleading. They exuded confidence that drew everyone in. I could see uneasiness disappear at the determination of the Adventurer’s Guild Master and one after the other, the people present agreed to help in any way they could.

“We need to find out how to access the room. I can destroy the wall and brute force our way in, but we don’t know what consequences that may have,” the Adventurer’s Guild Master said.

“How can we if even Dominik doesn’t know about it?” asked someone I didn’t know.

The Adventurer’s Guild Master replied, “His assistant knew, and whoever built the secret chamber also knew.”

“Has the Tyrant guild come for permission on expansion or building recently? Maybe they looked to hire someone?” Rhea asked.

The question caused a man’s face to light up: a higher-up from the Adventurers’ Guild. “Actually yes!” he said loudly. “Two months ago a little shit from the Tyrant guild delivered a notice of construction. They were renovating and needed approval as well as a recommendation.”

“And?”asked Corbin.

“I only remember because of how shit the little turd’s attitude was. He waved around Dominik’s seal and acted like he owned the place. I never felt so disrespected in my life!”

“Enough!” The Adventurer’s Guild Master suddenly interrupted. “Who took the job for him? Spit it out!”

The man telling the story shivered, “It was a member of the Dynasty guild! I think it was the second or third brother of the guild leader… R… R something.”

“Renald?” someone unfamiliar to me suggested.

“Yes! Renald took the job!”

“Find him immediately.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master said.

When he said ‘immediately’, he wasn’t joking. We had waited merely fifteen minutes before Renald was standing before us. At first the Dynasty member was confused, but that confusion morphed into fear when he saw the expressions on the faces of those looking at him. Many were not pleasant at all.

“Two months ago you did work for the Tyrant guild, correct?” The Adventurer’s Guild Master asked.

“Right, I did work for them,” Renald said shakily.

“What did they have you do?”

“They just wanted their living area renovated as well as add some more space in the lower levels.” His brow was already sweating.

“Listen carefully. I understand you were told your construction was private. You were probably even threatened.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master said. “I don’t care about any of that. You will speak now about what you built, or I will forcefully read your mind. Things can go very badly if that’s the case.”

Renald’s face turned even more red before his words flooded out. “Okay! I was told to not say anything and even threatened! You have to protect me if I tell you!”

Dynasty was not a big guild, and Renald wasn’t particularly strong either. He was my level but definitely low quality. Probably he had reached his level with the help of potions and a large amount of babying.

“Don’t worry about protection. What did you build?” Rhea butted in. Her voice was calming and definitely worked better than the Adventurer’s Guild Master’s death stare.

“They needed a safe room constructed. The materials they gave me to work with were rare and expensive, and the price was too good to pass up!” he confessed.

“The materials were for blocking detection, right?” Rhea nodded for him.

“Right, they have the ability to nullify any perception. They said it was a room in which to keep valuable treasures so they had me design it so even opening it is extremely difficult.”

“How difficult?” The Adventurer’s Guild Master asked. “Can you open it?”

“I…can open it,” Renald confessed. “I can tell you how to as well.”

“No, that’s okay. You’ll be coming with us,” the Adventurer’s Guild Master said. Renald’s face turned white but he didn’t dare open his mouth. The demonstration of the Adventurer’s Guild Master’s power and ability at the recent gathering was probably fresh in his mind.

Rhea approached and placed an arm on Renald’s shoulder, “Don’t worry. You’ll be protected.” I felt like I was watching good cop, bad cop in action.

Renald nodded his head slowly before working up the courage to speak, “Can… can I ask what’s so important you need to get into their safe? What are we recovering?”

“A dragon egg.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master said. “I have some things I need to attend to. We will meet tonight before it’s too dark. Tell only those you absolutely trust.”

The atmosphere was tense as everyone watched him leave, but no one voiced a word of complaint after saying they would help.

Those several hours of waiting felt like an eternity. I sat in my room patiently until Rhea came and got me.

The sun was down when she did, and it was clear a few people had been added to our entourage. Twenty of us took to the streets and headed toward the Tyrant guild. Twenty Adventurers of sufficient power to handle the Tyrant leaders at last. Dominik wasn’t the only one who could hire assassins.

We managed to enter the Tyrant guild compound without the slightest resistance. The guards that lay on either side of the gate showed no signs of life, but a hoarse voice assured me, “They’re just knocked out. Not dead.”

The front doorway opened and a garbed figure walked out and saluted the Adventurer’s Guild Master before disappearing into the shadows. No one sat inside waiting for us. No alarms rang. No one even attempted to halt our unwanted intrusion. “We go fast, before the alarm is sounded. Focus on acquiring the egg over anything else,” the Adventurer’s Guild Master ordered.

We moved in one cohesive unit straight towards the basement. Our only encounters were young Tyrant members who looked on wide-eyed before running like mad. Time was short, and the force we came with was good enough to fight the Tyrant guild head on. We had to act swiftly enough that there was no time for Dominik to request help from anyone else.

The doorway to the basement was burst open with a gust of wind and we disappeared inside. “We have a few minutes at best. Work your fastest!” And on those words Renald sprinted like a spooked horse.

I watched in confusion as he moved to a corner of the room and placed his hand on the wall. Words escaped his mouth as he cast a spell. The stone under his hand lit up before a symbol appeared and then swiftly disappeared.

He rushed to another corner and repeated the process. He did that four times, once for each corner, and then we all followed him to the far wall. Everyone’s eyes were on him when we reached the spot I had previously found.

I watched him place his hand against a stone that looked no different from any other and begin chanting again. The symbol lit, and the wall shook. The entire room began to rumble, and it was at that moment we could hear Dominik behind us.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” His voice was the epitome of fury and he wasn’t alone. There were at least ten people with him. A force to be reckoned with, but not one that was strong enough to stop us. His people came forward just as the chamber came into full view.

It was perfect timing in fact, Dominik had come just in time for him to see what lay inside the chamber. Only ten feet away was the dragon egg, still fully intact. The words Dominik had prepared couldn’t escape his mouth in that moment. There was only shock and dread written on his face.

Everyone with him looked as if they had eaten shit, and their fighting spirit vanished instantly. It was clear as day who was in the wrong. “We—we didn’t know,” someone blurted out immediately.

The others held up their hands without offering the slightest resistance. Dominik was restrained immediately and in full force. There was no room for doubt at all. Anyone choosing to fight would only be found to be an accomplice.

Dozens of Tyrant members waited in the hallway outside as Dominik was pushed back against his will. Their fighting spirit was boiling and it seemed they would start launching spells and attacks without the slightest warning.

It was only when that bumpy turquoise egg—an egg as big as a man’s torso—was brought clear into view that they calmed down. Some had taken the announcement as false, and others didn’t believe dragon’s egg existed at all. They had truly believed this was all some plot against the Tyrant guild to topple them—to take their power and influence.

The Adventurer’s Guild Master had little to say and focused his entire attention on the dragon egg. He disappeared with it and didn’t tell anyone where he was going. No one questioned or tried to stop him. The dragon egg was the number one priority.

Dominik as well as six other council members were hauled out. Only one of them came on his own will and the other five needed to be restrained. To be honest, I was still in shock at how effortless this entire situation was.

We had entered the Tyrant guild expecting a fight but had ended up spending only about fifteen minutes and achieving what was the best possible result. Somehow though, the excitement I had faded away and instead was replaced by a pit in my stomach. I didn’t say a word the entire way back.