Orrin groaned at his friend and looked around for something to throw at him. Madi noticed his gaze and stepped closer, calming him with a hand on his arm.

“I’ll speak to my father and try to find a way out of it for you.” Madi smiled. She smiled at Daniel and Orrin more these days but Orrin noticed the sadness and anxiety on her face too.

He sighed. “No. If Daniel is going to make an ass of himself, we should be there to reign him in a bit, I guess.”

Madi patted his arm and turned to leave.

“Is Sir Bennett back?” Orrin let the words slip out. It had been two weeks since Brandt had left on sabbatical. Madi had sulked for an entire day in her room before her father demanded she join them on the outings to level sponsored by the houses of Dey and other powerful families. Her savagery against the monsters they’d encountered had given even Daniel pause.

“… not yet,” Madi whispered. Her eyes looked around the room furtively before she nodded to both of them and excused herself.

“Come on, O,” Daniel admonished as soon as she was out of sight. “You know how much she’s hurting. Why rub salt in her wounds?”

Orrin frowned. “Brandt left to clear his head. If Madi needs to do the same—”

Daniel took two quick steps and bopped Orrin on the side of the head. “Madi grieved for Jude, just like we all did. She’s hurt because Brandt hasn’t come back. They have some weird not-quite-boyfriend-girlfriend thing going on. Or did you not notice that?”

Orrin’s mouth dropped to the floor. Of course, that made so much sense. Madi even called him my Brandt a few times. How thick do I have to be?

“You really didn’t know, did you?” Daniel crouched a bit to stare into Orrin’s eyes. “You’re hopeless, man.”

“Hey, at least I didn’t hit on her like you.”

Daniel’s eyebrow went up. “When did I hit on her?”

Orrin raised his fingers one by one. “You always compliment her on what she’s wearing. You pull back and let her win against you in our practice duels. You –”

“You saved her life in the dungeon. Does that mean you’re interested in her?” Daniel interrupted him. “I can compliment anyone I like. It doesn’t mean I’m flirting with them. And I let everybody win on occasion. How would you feel if I beat you every single time?”

Orrin’s mouth opened and shut again. “You don’t let me win.”

Daniel laughed and pushed Orrin’s shoulder. “Sure, buddy. Okay.” He turned and started back up the stairs. “I’m going to get a nap in before dinner. All that smiling and waving hurt my face and shoulder.”

“Your face is killing me too.” Orrin threw one last jab at his friend. Daniel just raised his middle finger as he climbed the stairs and rounded the corner.

Orrin glanced around. With everybody else gone, the front entrance hall to the Catanzano keep was quiet. Despite it being nearly time for dinner, no staff was present. Normally, maids or guards would be roaming this central point. After the last few weeks, Orrin realized Silas had his house operating on a skeleton crew.

He sighed and made his way up the stairs. Tony had sent him a few more books on Vampires and blood magic. It wasn’t a fun read but Tony thought the more he knew about [Blood Mana] and the other skills used by Vampires, the quicker he would be able to get [Analyze] to give more details on his otherwise dangerous skills.

The problem was the books were boring, with a capital ‘B’. Most of the tomes that had been delivered weren’t even directly about Vampires, but other monster races in general. It was a hunt through what boiled down to encyclopedias.

“I miss the internet,” Orrin muttered.

Three hours later, a guard knocked on the door of the library to tell Orrin the others were waiting. Orrin hadn’t changed and didn’t really need to after his earlier shower, but when he saw Daniel and Madi dressed in their nicer clothes, he began to feel self-conscious.

“Should I go change?” Orrin asked. Madi shook her head.

“You should fix your hair though,” Daniel answered. “It looks like you were trying to pull it out.”

In fact, Orrin almost had. He’d run his hands through his hair in frustration as each book he’d gotten through had been useless. Each contained only small snippets of information on Vampires and no actual useful knowledge on [Blood Mana]. He’d worn out his eyes and felt a small headache forming. A quick healing spell took care of that.

Madi stepped forward and tousled his hair. “I think it suits him. The messed up look makes him look a little wild.”

Daniel quirked an eyebrow. “Wild?”

Madi put her hand on her hip as she appraised Orrin. “Unpredictable. Pritus knows me through my father. She’ll know everything she can learn about you, Daniel. Orrin will be able to rock the boat. Everybody in town has seen you but nobody knows much about you. The few rumors about you that I’ve been able to get the guards to repeat are that you have mysterious magic and an endless mana supply. That’s it. I’m not even sure exactly where your village was but it must have been really remote.” She brushed some wrinkles out of his clothes and continued. “Pritus knows my father. She’ll think you’re in his pocket or the [Hero] chose you specifically. So, you’re either an obstacle to getting closer to Daniel or her best chance at getting an ally in the [Hero]’s party.”

“Great,” Orrin muttered. “Now I really don’t want to go. Should I do anything in particular?”

Madi’s smile reached her eyes as she took his arm in hers. “Be yourself. That’ll confuse her more than anything else.”

Daniel laughed as they walked out the door to the waiting carriage. Orrin could only grumble as they made their way to the Guild. The few-minute-long trip was filled with Madi’s suggestions to Daniel on etiquette and the best way to not get swept up in Guild drama.

“The Guildmaster is a bit of an enigma,” Madi explained. “She is obviously a high-level adventurer, but she’s been able to hold her own in the political arena as well.”

“So, just keep your mouth shut and let Madi do the talking,” Orrin summarized for his friend. “She’s the smarter one when it comes to this political shit.”

Daniel stuck out his tongue. Madi sighed.

“That might not be possible. From everything I’ve heard, she’s clever. Everything she does or says will be a test. She loves to learn and has a knack for drawing out information from others. My father warned me that we should get in and out as quickly as possible.”

“What about dinner?” Daniel asked. “I didn’t have anything because I thought we were eating with her.”

Madi shook her head and ignored him.

Stepping out of the carriage, Orrin realized how long it had been since they’d been to the Guild. Everything was always taken care of for the [Hero] and his party. The dungeon run had taken care of their need for the monthly quest requirement and Silas had been creating quest requests for them based on whatever backdoor deals he made. Orrin had the suspicion that all the free monster kills they had received were benefiting the lord of Dey more than they knew.

Nobody waited outside the Guild for them. Madi shrugged and walked in first. Orrin followed close behind.

The receptionist glanced up and ignored the two of them but did a double take when Daniel followed through a moment later. With a sputter, he fell back off his stool and rushed around the side of the small alcove desk to greet the [Hero], ignoring Madi and Orrin completely.

“It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” the lackey pumped Daniel’s hand and spoke so fast his words almost slurred together. “My name is Jasper. It’s an honor to meet you. Ms. Pritus is waiting for you. I’ll be more than happy to show you the way to her receiving room. Please follow me.”

Daniel tried to speak but every time he opened his mouth, Jasper snuck another sentence in.

Orrin could only smirk as Daniel was essentially dragged down the hall. He followed with Madi, who also had a hand over her mouth.

Jasper led them through hallways Orrin and Daniel had never been to. The entire Guild had small plaques on most corners directing people where to go, and they’d never needed to go to “administration” before. Jasper stopped before a non-descript door in the middle of a hallway of doors and knocked twice. He opened the door and ushered Daniel inside. Orrin and Madi slipped in behind them.

“Guildmaster, the [Hero] Daniel has arrived,” he announced.

Guildmaster Jennifer Pritus was not what Orrin expected. The room spread out in the space-altering way rooms in the Guild’s hall did, looking much bigger than it did on the outside. A table set for four was sitting in the middle of the room, just a few steps away from Daniel, with Pritus already sitting. A desk sat tucked away in the corner but the rest of the room was filled with other tables or stands with an assortment of beakers, floating dead things in jars, and books. Books piled up underneath the cushioned armchairs by the small fireplace, books covering her desk, and a book in her hand that she put down with a finger holding her spot as she took in the group.

Jennifer Pritus was young. Not as young as Daniel and Orrin, but not too much older. Maybe her mid-to-late 20’s. She was also beautiful. Dark hair and eyebrows framed her face. She looked over and judged each member of the [Hero]’s party. Orrin could easily imagine her on the cover of a magazine back home or in a TV show. His heart beat as he stood a little taller.

“Welcome, honored guests. Thank you for accepting my invitation.” Pritus stood and placed a bookmark down before closing the cover of the book she was reading and placing it to the side. “It is promising to our future relationship that you would make the time for me. I appreciate it more than you know.”

The Guildmaster bowed her head toward Daniel.

“And the [Hero] thanks you for the courtesy,” Madi said and stepped forward. Pritus’ brown eyes followed her like a cat. “Daniel and his party are looking forward to a dinner with the great Guildmaster of Dey. The [Hero] has been keeping so busy lately, a quiet and filling meal is just what he needed.”

Orrin immediately felt out of his depth. As the two ladies exchanged pleasantries, he realized more was being said that the surface words alone.

“Of course, we are all in his debt for unveiling such a heinous traitor in our midst. How is your father taking the loss of a fellow lord? A shame he could not be here.” Pritus smiled. Orrin could watch her smile for days.

“My father is working hard to undo all the harm done by Wendeln’s betrayal and rooting out all those who conspired with him… or knew of his plans. Of course, he is not a part of the [Hero]’s party like I am. I will always be in the [Hero]’s debt and am so glad that Daniel has decided to entrust that position to me. We really do make a good team.” Madi’s response was quick.

“Yes, the [Hero]’s party. Young Catanzano and Orville is it? What of the other? A knight of your father’s? Is he not here? I heard he ran away after the entire fiasco. You’re sure he wasn’t in on it?” Pritus’ smile took on a wicked grin.

Orrin opened his mouth to correct her mispronouncing his name but as the Guildmaster continued, he saw a look of pain and anger spasm across Madi’s face.

So instead, what came out of his mouth was: “Sir Bennett is taking time off after losing a close friend. A friend lost to that traitor and his goons. Brandt actually fought Lord Wendeln and his retainers. Funny though, I don’t remember seeing any other Guild members helping. Did Lord Catanzano tell you what was going on and you decided not to help, or did he not trust you enough to involve you in the entire fiasco, as you called it.”

Orrin’s anger cooled as he finished his rant. He watched Pritus wince for once, before clearing her face. He’d struck a point for his side.

“Oh, but Orville, are you not a member of the Guild? So, in a way, I think the Guild can take some credit for ending the life of a corrupt leader.” She bowed her head and smiled up at him with her eyes. “For that matter, I believe even the [Hero] is on our rolls. I’m told you joined together. What a joyous occasion for us all.”

Orrin couldn’t be sure, but he would swear Madi was grinding her teeth.

“Since we are all brothers and sisters of the Guild, why don’t we sit down and eat? I have a proposition for you. One that I’m sure you will accept.”