Icarus Awakens

After saying their goodbyes to Farthest Run while leaving open the possibility of future dealings, business or otherwise, Daniel and the rest made their way to the ladder closest to Lograve. “We need a name,” Tak commented.

“We do.”

“Do all of the teams have names here?” Khiat asked Evalyn. The dusker had, for the most part, been intimidated by the scene. To her, it was a collection of the greatest people in her region. There’d even been some Heroes in the crowd! It was almost enough to make all the pain she’d endured while getting here worth it. “And we’re meeting the Commander! Just like that?” The team gave the starstruck dusker a nod, before being faced with a pressing obstacle.

“Huh. How are we getting up there?” Daniel put a hand on the ladder stretching three tall stories up to the roof. “I mean, most of us can take this, but,” He nodded towards Khiat.

“Oh, I can climb that.”

“You can?” She flexed her arms back and forth while the rest of the team exchanged meaningful looks. “Is it uh, a new power?”

“No. I’ll just- well, watch.” Khiat looked up and down the wall, sizing it up, before windmilling her arms. After two turns, her legs collapsed and sprang back upward, arms extending past their normal limits to catch the edge of the roof at the top of the jump. Once latched on, it was easy enough for her to clamber up with her greater strength.

“Hmm. Good jump!” Tak flashed a thumbs up before launching into the air himself with a power.

“Show offs.” Evalyn shook her head, taking to the ladder first.

“Hunter and I are Jumping!” Daniel called, loud enough for those already in place to get clear. Khare, for their part, didn’t need the ladder as they just clung to the side of the building.

As expected, the wide nature of the Hunter’s Guild provided an expansive, flat roof. Not to say it was empty. Immediately standing out to Daniel were the ballista, placed far back enough from the edges to be invisible from the street. There were a half dozen, but nothing like Roost’s Peak once had. Between those and the small structures made of hard brick with arrow slits along the side, it was clear the top of the Hunter’s Guild had been built with siege in mind.

In contrast, the section with sprawled rugs, furniture, and burning fires was something taken from a Western movie set in the Middle East. The spices in the air made Daniel’s recently refreshed stomach take an interest in food again. Whatever was being served up here was a step above what the rest of the guild was getting.

And for good reason. Standing out from the small assemblage was an older avianoid with a silver sheen. Tlara’s father, somehow. One of the people who’d been vying for him until another went too far in the attempt. Lograve, standing by the older man, caught Daniel’s gaze and simply nodded before returning to a conversation too far to hear. Actually. Hunter, can you hear what Lograve’s talking about?

No. It’s silent around them.

Like, dead silent? They’re alone on a roof, why would-

“My friends!” Gadriel greeted, also breaking off from the rooftop party. “My apologies for not returning earlier. It was my haste that embroiled me in the politics you see before you. Sir Lograve did not wish for me to wander while seeking you out.”

“It’s fine.” Evalyn was just a little tense but was slowly getting over whatever it was that compelled Heroes and Bards to be constantly at each other’s throats. Only with Gadriel, though. “They are paying us, right?”

“Yes. I have of course implored them to make an equal share of the greater skink bounty.”

“How kind of you, considering we all almost died after you brought it to us.”

“So, Gadriel,” Daniel cut in. “What’re your plans after today?”

Gadriel inclined his head towards him. “My aim is to continue assisting this region. For now. Their guild is woefully pressed to assist with maintaining order in this city and are in desperate need of additional hands to cull monsters.”

“Do you need a break?” Tak asked. “You have been hunting far harder than us. It is good you are strong, but maybe too eager as well?”

“That’s a good point. Shouldn’t you at least consolidate all of your advancement?”

Gadriel smiled confidently. “Sir Tak, Lady Evalyn, I thank you for your concerns but I am at little risk of overtaxing myself. A Heroes’ duty never ends.”

“It does feel that way sometimes,” a new voice sighed.

“Commander.” Gadriel saluted, but no one else did. Actually, Khare tried, but without formed legs they couldn’t perfectly mimic the gesture and they weren’t entirely serious about it.

“Please, spare the formalities. I have a few fires to put out tonight and, considering that I’m now partially responsible for the guard, some of them are real. First things first. You three.” She looked to Daniel, Khiat, and Khare. “I apologize for the treatment you received in this city. The guild does protect its own, though not always to the best of our ability. You have my word that it will not happen again.”

The Commander paused again to let the point sink in, and also to enjoy the breeze on her red-brown feathers. “Alright. Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time for your bounty. Before we get into details, I need to say this first. I can’t give you all of it now.”

“After what you just said, what happened, you’re stiffing us?” Evalyn asked incredulously.

Rasalia kept her cool. “No. Our resources are being stretched by, well, everything. Everyone in the guild is on active duty, but without generating any revenue from the city budget by eliminating threats. But when I ask the featherheads to just adjust the budget to account for these unprecedented circumstances, they just say they need a full Council to handle these things because of a statute put in place fifty years ago!” She turned away from the group, leaning on one of the banisters ringing the edge of the roof. “Not that that’s your problem. But you took down a level 4 and have over a month’s worth of kills to claim all at once. It’s to the point where it makes future solvency an issue.”

“How much money is it?” Khiat asked. “We don’t need all of it at once. I-” She cut herself off before her sheer impulse to do whatever the Ironrush Ravager of Aughal wanted made her throw away her team’s entire bounty.

Said Champion didn’t shrink from the question. “You get a bonus for the skink since it was more dangerous than we believed. Or, rather, it was left alone for so long that it became more dangerous. Doesn’t matter. If we’re just talking about your kills, each member of your team gets one vermillion and sixty gold. And a little over four for Gadriel since he put in more work.”

Daniel’s eyes bulged. That’s way too much! How does that make sense? Level 4 coin pays for my heliorite and for taking down mostly level 2 monsters? I mean, we killed a lot, but what the hell? He wasn’t complaining, but that tricky part of his mind that sometimes lit up whenever money was mentioned was highlighting the inconsistency.

“The skink kill rounds to a lapis with all the extra stuff rolled in. Total, mind you,” she added with a wince, noting the shock spreading to the rest of the group. Daniel’s head was close to exploding. “As Gadriel opted for an even split, that would be an additional 15 vermillion each. You can see my concerns?”

“Y, yes.” Evalyn nodded humbly. “How will this work, then?”

“I’m giving each of you four vermillion and sixty gold. Or in smaller denominations if you want to give me another headache. Oh, and you get a reminder to stop punching above your weight.” She gave Gadriel a look. “If you find something that high level again let me know about it. After the past few days, I’m itching to kill something. Anyways. I had to meet with you all personally to attest that you agreed to accept letters of credit for the rest. When this city gets its act together I can pay the rest, or another region not presently tearing itself to pieces can. Any objections?”

Evalyn fulfilled her role, collecting a headshake from each team member including Hunter before answering. “I think that is very generous. Thank you.”

“Likewise I assent,” Gadriel, technically a solo hunter, added.

“Good. Thank the gods that’s out of the way at least. One last thing, you’re all in the guild.” She waved a talon in the general direction of Evalyn and company. “No time for fanfare but the doors will work for you now. The ones you have a reason opening, at least. Gadriel, can you show them to the job board?”

“Of course, Commander.”

The Champion nodded in thanks. “I should get back to it then. Last bit of advice? Take a break, but not for too long. As much as my coffers are hurting, we still need people out there putting monsters down.”

There was a relative silence left in her wake as the seven were promised a relative fortune. No, an actual fortune, even if the majority was reserved for better days. Tak was the first to speak. “Hmm. That is a lot. Aughal pays better.”

“You always heard complaints from veterans in Eido about that. Gadriel, what are you doing tonight?”

Coming from Evalyn, the question threw the Hero. “I have no plans beyond what the Commander has asked of me.”

She smiled at him, enjoying the effect that caused. “Good! Let’s pick up Farthest Run on the way to get our bounty, assuming they aren’t lightweights.”

“Uh, what are we doing?” Daniel asked, Gadriel’s wariness spreading to the rest of the group.

“We’re going to settle on a team name. But first, we’re going to have fun.”

…

It was a familiar scene to times on earth when Daniel had been dragged along to some intensely social event when what he’d rather do was have a good meal out and get back before most bars closed. That hadn’t been a frequent occurrence, though it felt similar enough to the way Evalyn had taken charge not only of their group but Farthest Run as well. There was a momentum to her that had nothing to do with powers or classes which might have swept up more if not for the lingering discontent surrounding the four-person team. For all of what people said about her class, Evalyn wasn’t a shallow person and wouldn’t abandon their new acquaintances who’d done nothing to cause her offense.

Not even the tense nature of Aughal’s streets could reach the traveling group. It was like the crowds parted just for them. The air of imminent disaster was still about, but for this night it would not touch the hunters celebrating good fortune.

“Ah. It’s nice to be out and not on duty. Being a guard sucks,” Qess commented. “I mean, you don’t have to go for days on a hunt and they don’t make us wear those uniforms, but still.”

“Keeping order’s important,” the other Ranger reminded. Though Gordon and Qess were of the same level and station, he was more serious. “They call us hunters, but what we really do is keep people safe. Whether that’s hunting or chasing down thieves.”

“Yeah, but we’re better at hunting. And we advance from that!”

“Guys, please, you’re bringing down the mood and this lovely captain was gracious enough to invite us after someone almost set the guild after us!” Taloran winked at Evalyn and over the next few seconds, something seemed to happen between them. If anyone had fine enough of a seventh sense they might have caught the flux of mana too weak to produce an obvious pulse. Whatever the outcome was it left Taloran somewhat dejected, his sapphire eyes losing their sparkle to become base blue. His gaze swept the rest of the people he was walking with before his interest died out completely.

“So, where are we going?” Marky asked, pushing an unresisting Taloran away with his staff. “If I understand right, you’re not exactly local. We could suggest a few places.”

Evalyn nodded to him. “We’re going back to the Painted Dusk first to see if Thomas is there. He has some news, but it’s not for me to say what exactly.”

“Whose he?”

“Qess, don’t pry.”

“Stop grousing at me, Gordon! It’s a simple question.”

Evalyn didn’t seem to mind and answered once the two stopped arguing. “It’s fine. He’s a Cleric of the Hand. Doesn’t hunt with us, but he’s a friend.”

Qess’ eyes lit up. “Oooh, that makes sense. You’ve got a healer in your pocket! Between that and an Artificer you’re half a guild on your own. No wonder you don’t need potions.”

“I was thinking about that,” Daniel said. “We didn’t have a lot in the Thormundz and never used any during the evacuation until that last fight. Now that we’ve got money it might be a good idea to get some.”

“You can’t make any, can you? I’ve heard that about Artificers, but I’ve never had a chance to talk to one before.” Gordon’s voice was even, slightly respectful, but the way he said it made Daniel feel like a minor celebrity. It was that kind of night.

“No. I tried seeing if I could learn the formulae for the few we did have back then but it didn’t work. I’m guessing that’s restricted to Alchemists.”

“And Arcanists with the right powers, but the best potions are made by specialists.”

Evalyn briefly split off at this point, having reached the inn. She’d had a look of what might be called amused determination since leaving the guild, though it flickered for just a moment as she went to look for Thomas. Marky continued the conversation in the meantime. “Do you do well with harvesting? With two Rangers our team can strip everything we kill to the point that carrying everything gets hard. Even with me taking a beast of burden form. But it helps to get on the good side of the Alchemists if you trade materials directly with them.”

“I have Monster Scavenger.” Tak nodded. “It helps. Lets me know where to cut, what is valuable.”

“That is a decent all-rounder for your level, but I think Gordon and Qess would put you to shame. Not just by powers either, it’s one of our specializations.” Marky shrugged, trying to make it clear he wasn’t bragging, just stating facts.

“What’d you get from the greater skink, if you don’t mind us asking?”

“Just the leather, but Tak did a great job!” Daniel answered Gordon. “Gadriel had ruined almost all of it-”

“Through my pursuit of the monster’s death.” Gadriel cut in.

“Sure, but Tak managed to find all of the usable sections left and he was pretty wounded too at the time.”

“But no organs? Extracts?” Tak shook his head and Gordon sighed. “It’s probably because it was a higher level than you. If we had been there, we might have pulled another lapis out of it from the scavenging alone. Not that we would have tried taking it down. We work like that sometimes, chasing a stronger team to mind their kills and splitting the coin.” Khiat, mostly observing the conversation at this point, choked a little at that. If the wealth they’d earned tonight had surprised Daniel, it had floored the dusker.

“Yeah, that’s our game. One of ‘em.” Qess added. “We can go the farthest and get there the fastest. If some rare monster our level is sighted we can track it and either truss it up or skin it down, depending on who would pay more.”

“The Beastmasters and Alchemists tend to love and hate you guys.” Taloran was sulking now, just a bit.

“Aren’t you part of the team?”

The Bard opened his mouth to answer, but Marky put an arm around his neck and hung there, cutting him off. “We’re both training under these two masters of the hunt, haha! Him because he’s so horny he puts off even the other Bards, and me because, well, you know.”

He glanced at Hunter who understood, though in a different way. “Not welcome?”

“Yeah. It’s their loss,” Qess said firmly. “Gordon and I can do well enough by ourselves, but taking on extra means we can punch up a little more. Honestly, your team’s a little too big for this region. You’ll advance slower hunting at your level.”

Evalyn returned from the inn at this point, holding a large bottle in each hand. “He’s still out, and I’m not keeping everyone waiting. There’ll be more nights anyway.” The Bard flipped a bottle towards Gordon who, with the dexterity of a level 3, caught it easily.

“Taverns around here don’t normally sell these whole.”

“I made a good offer. To being alive!” She took a drink, Gordon mirroring her after a second before she passed the bottle to Taloran in a friendly way. Only in a friendly way. The resulting pass around drained both bottles, the last of one being tipped into Hunter’s mouth by Tak.

Gah. Bad.

Yeah. Daniel had taken a swig, but only because of his friends. He’d also had to put out the thought that the bottle had been touched by three other people before him out of his mind. For someone who had fought dragons it should have been easier, but he wasn’t familiar with alcohol in general. You know, you don’t have to use telepathy now. I like this Druid lie. Even if there’s something to the class other hunters don’t like.

Marky, meanwhile, chuckled. “Ah, the beast’s tongue. Everything’s different in a form, isn’t it? But I suppose you’re more used to it than most.”

“Yes,” Hunter replied simply.

“And you’re going to keep it for this…” the Druid trailed off. “I admit, I’m not opposed to a late night of drinking despite having duty in the morning, but don’t most do that inside the tavern?”

“Oh, we’re not drinking.” Evalyn kicked one of the empty bottles into the street and was not touched at all by the glares that the act garnered. “Not just drinking. Tonight is special, everyone. It’s the first real night we’ve had in civilization since the Thormundz, and we have something to celebrate!”

Who is she? Daniel thought. He’d seen Evalyn at her highs and lows but nothing like… no, that was wrong. He had seen her like this before, but only when they’d just met and she was trying to distance herself from the loss of her family. This was a more honest excitement, and he liked it on her.

“I propose this. Each of us makes a wish tonight, something small and grand, and we get it done!” Taloran’s head picked up, just a little, but too soon. “Gordon, you and your team can tag along for as little or as much as you’d like. I fully intend not to sleep until the sun is up.”

The impromptu game, if you could call it that, went unopposed. Even Gadriel had to yield to the Bard’s enthusiasm, though he made no promises on the lengths to which he’d follow them. For Daniel, it seemed like the only possible future. If someone like Evalyn had existed back on Earth, well he’d already mused on how much of the world she could get away with conquering by looks alone. There was something unnatural to the plan in a way magic couldn’t touch that if for a moment, made him forget both his troubles and those of the city at large. For good or ill, being wealthy and in good company could make you ignorant of such things.

For a night, they reveled. Farthest Run, whose veteran members had seen larger paydays, siphoned off some of the enthusiasm and forgot the toll of the day prior. Even if it wasn’t for them, and chance alone had dictated who first met the yet unnamed team when they entered the guild, and they didn’t know these people, they followed nonetheless. What was the worst that could happen?

Gadriel had volunteered to go first by merit of everyone else not having an idea, and Evalyn saving herself for last. With the time closing to midnight, the only rules agreed to were that anyone’s wish couldn’t last longer than an hour, and there had to be at most a low chance of arrest. Not that the Hero would get them into any kind of trouble.

“Were I not under your auspice, Lady Evalyn, I would be readying myself for the next hunt. Making purchases, though it would be just as likely I would retire early before-”

Evalyn poked him in the chest and kept the finger there. Gadriel being Gadriel he’d kept his armor on, so her finger bent rather than his clothes. “Not tonight, Hero. Tonight you’re just a man. What does that man want?”

In the background, Marky silenced Taloran with another impromptu arm hold before the Bard could blurt out something inappropriate. It was beginning to be clear why other teams took issue with him. But for Gadriel? He nodded slightly and Evalyn withdrew her finger. “It is difficult, I admit. Were I to wish for one thing it would be to see my team of old, but it is not yet time for me to step beyond the veil.” He looked melancholy for a moment before he looked to Qess of all people. “In my previous visit, I had heard of a songbird performing in this city. Duty as it was I was bereft the time to investigate further, but, if the assumption does not offend, do you know of such a person?”

Qess blinked. “Uh, yeah. I mean there are a few, less this late. You can’t live here and not know about them. Some of the better inns like to keep them on as regular talent. Not the really good ones, performers I mean, they have their own setup. Like the one from Threst.” She clearly wanted to ask why the Hero had made this request, but not every rule on the wishes had been spoken or verbally agreed to. A new one, forged out of respect for privacy, settled into place. “It’s not like I can take you there without directions, but if we start near the Wing Spire…”

…

Songbirds were exactly what you expected them to be. Or not, if you thought it was a euphemism. Some of the revelers had by the way Gadriel spoken his request like it was criminal. The truth was found in the western part of Aughal under the pale shadow of the Wing Spire.

Daniel’s latent appreciation for engineering had mostly given way to his newfound ability to make jetpacks out of rocks, though he could still easily tell how this inn differed from the Painted Dusk. For one, as the lack of ‘dusk’ in the name suggested, it was not built for duskers. There was a small part of the common room that cut into the second floor to make room for the tall species, otherwise, it was a more ‘normal’ height.

What differentiated it as a building built for bird people was that it didn’t have a roof. It was like the bar had been built without one as a first floor, and then the housing above was constructed in the fashion of older motels from Daniel’s world. Standing in the common room, you could look up and see the sky but where support beams and the rooms along the outer edges above blocked the view. From the upper floors, one could lean on banisters and enjoy unimpeded access to the sky.

There were two other remarkable things about this tavern, not counting that the majority of patrons were avianoids even at this late hour. That should have been obvious. No, the first was that the building was made of the old brick of the city. This close to the Spire it should have been refurbished if the pattern Daniel had seen so far held true. There was something there, he knew, but that wasn’t why they’d come.

They were here for the singer. You’d hear her on the streets outside, but something was keeping most of the sound contained. Enchantment on the building perhaps. Though the sound traveled freely through the open ceiling, getting into the building was harder. Ten bronze harder since they’d come late for the show, though that was the level 2 denomination and thus laughably cheap for the hunters.

Daniel sat in the back by one of the tables meant for the duskers with Khiat, Hunter, and Tak. There’d been limited space and the crowd ahead could accommodate neither the ringcat nor the larger woman. The rest of the group had gone ahead to what seats they could find, Farthest Run joining at Evalyn’s expense because they were guests to this. Daniel felt a little left out but that was ok. They weren’t here for him, and the singer was amazing.

Looking at the people today, you could almost forget that in this world anything that wasn’t a human had once been a monster. Though something had happened in the past to change that, echoes remained. Avianoids were descendants of some bird-like species, but plain birds weren’t monsters. There had to have been something else to distinguish that former species from the animals and Daniel had heard the clues all this time.

Some birds sang. This one entranced. The stage she stood on was in the center of the tavern and would be under moonlight if the moon had felt like cooperating. Instead, she sang alone, without accompaniment, in a dress of blue and silver over dusk-gray feathers. Nothing moved during the song, no doors opened and no drinks were served as a voice Daniel could not put words to flowed through the tavern.

All of the avianoid race were pleasant to speak to, even Tlara if you only counted the sound of her voice. But take someone who trained that natural gift, and pair it with what Daniel was suspecting to be the Bard class, and you got a songbird. To the Artificer, it was just one more thing to ease the pain of exile from his home. For Gadriel, it was a beautiful, painful reminder of his past.

Evalyn was sitting next to him. You could make jokes about Bards, Heroes, and taverns, and people did, but that wasn’t what tonight was for. She was happy for Gadriel at first, for finally taking a step away from duty and doing something to enjoy himself. Then, after the second piece which, to her taste, used too much high octave, she saw the tears.

Gadriel saw memory in the song. A sky below to match the one above. Songbirds, not one but a chorus. Ships that could sail the sky, a people who had not just taken the land back from the Crest but thrived in it. A man, human, whose promise had brought him higher than most his race could hope among the people of the wing. One whose beauty eclipsed even her voice, though he tried to banish her from his mind.

“Thank you,” Gadriel spoke softly to Evalyn when the music died and other conversations sprung up in the same hushed tones.

“I didn’t know you felt this way about,” Evalyn waved a hand, staring at Gadriel. Seeing him for the first time, instead of his class.

“An odd thing for one such as myself to be taken with, I admit. But it is so. I’d much like to remain here tonight. The rest of you, please, be on. Do not imperil your dreams for mine.”

“Are you going to be ok?” Evalyn asked softly.

“Yes. And, thank you. Again. I don’t know if I would have found myself here were it not for you.”