186 - Unfortunate Quest

Winter was steadily approaching in the Gray Basin. The sun’s delayed rise gave Alexandra enough time to regret letting Torak give her the tour of the future headquarters of her guild. She could have said no. She could have asked anyone else.

It would have been rude after the effort Torak put into getting her the old school building, sure. But she could have done it.

Sitting at the dinner table as her friends got ready, she flipped through her journal, looking for a distraction in today’s daily quest.

Quest Journal

Daily Reset: 06:00 | Streak: 167 Days | 10% All Stats, 10% Skill experience

Next Milestone: 250 Days

Daily Quests:

• Talk with someone you don’t like (0/1)

She sighed. Well, at least it’s an easy one.

It took two more hours for the sun to rise. Alexandra led Willow, Kam, and Nara to the main square, and from there to the old school, which stood but a minute away.

The old school was three stories tall, and its ornate facade stood in contrast to the utilitarian buildings typical of Balrum.

Carved directly into the rock of the cliffside, its arched entryway was framed by large columns covered in stone etchings. Tall, narrow windows pierced the stone face.

As Alexandra and her friends approached the iron double doors, a figure detached himself from the shadows of the colonnade.

Torak crossed his arms, a familiar, self-satisfied grin on his lips. He was leaning against a pillar, looking entirely too pleased despite the freezing morning air.

“Right on time, Alexandra,” Torak called out, his eyes darting to Alexandra’s friends. “I believe it is our first meeting. I’m Torak, humble councillor of this beautiful town.”

“Hey, Torak,” Alexandra greeted. “Is Cem not here?”

“It’s just me. He’s needed elsewhere. But you haven’t introduced your friends.”

“Yes, Alex, how rude,” Willow said, taking over and extending a hand toward Torak. “Nice to meet you. I’m Willow, and those are Kam and Nara.”

Torak smiled. “The pleasure is mine.” He turned to Alexandra. “Shall we go in?”

She shook her head. “We’re still waiting for some people. My employees, if you will.”

“Right, it goes without saying you’ll have space to accommodate many people with such a building. I didn’t have the chance to attend my classes in the old school, but it is truly a grandiose building.”

Alexandra looked up at the facade. Compared to the shops and inns at ground level, there was not even close. Where the others were little more than holes in the mountain, sometimes with an extension built outside, the old school was a work of art. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was a temple.

Before she could answer, Kyle and her squad approached.

“Apologies for the delay,” the captain said, offering no explanation as to why they were late. To be fair, they were not truly late. Alexandra had told them to meet her at sunrise, and it was sunrise.

Zeynep arrived a minute later. Torak was the first to spot her.

“Cousin, why are you here?” he asked with a frown on his face.

Zeynep patted his shoulder. “I decided to join the guild. You should think about it, Totor. It’s a great opportunity.”

“Totor?” Alexandra asked.

Torak looked down, his cheeks reddening. “Just a nickname.”

Zeynep laughed. “Right, right. Make sure you call him by his full title: his excellency Torak Bel, honored councillor of Balrum.”

“Torak will do,” he muttered.

Alexandra coughed. “Well, everyone’s here. Shall we go inside?”

“Yes, Councillor Totor, please lead the way,” Willow said.

Torak shot Willow a look, but he pushed off the pillar and turned toward the massive iron doors. With a groan that echoed against the cliffside, he pulled them open, revealing a dark interior.

This chapter was taken from the author's NovelPhoenix posting without approval; readers at the original publication support the creator.

The first floor opened into a vast foyer. Thick particles of dust flew in the ray of sunlight that hadn’t graced this place for a long time. Thick stone pillars supported a vaulted ceiling far above, from which unlit iron lamps hung.

“Impressive, isn't it?” Torak said as his boots clicked against the stone floor. “When it was still a school, this room was used as a hall where ceremonies were held, but also as a dining room for the students.”

Alexandra and the others followed him in. She took it upon herself to light up the place with her skills. The room was wide and deep, going far into the depths of the mountain.

“Isn’t it a bit too grand?” Willow asked. “I know you have ambitions, but we really don’t need this much space.”

“We don’t,” Alexandra said. “But it's not just about space.”

“Indeed,” Torak said with a smile, happy to agree with her. “The old school holds a special place in the hearts of Balrum. People are bound to get curious about your guild. Even more so after your unfortunate beer stunt.”

“It’s only unfortunate because you stopped me,” Alexandra said, locking eyes with the councillor.

Torak coughed. “I’m truly sorry, but my duty as a councillor comes before…” he trailed off. “Anyway, I was thinking you could use the main hall to sell food and drinks to your clients. Giving away alcohol is against the law, but there’s nothing forbidding low prices.”

Alexandra looked at him, her eyes narrowing.

This is… a good idea.

“You might step on some toes,” Zeynep said. “The inns won’t like to see their clientele flock here.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Alexandra said. “I like this place. How about we move on to the next room?”

Torak grinned, clearly pleased with himself, and led them toward a winding stone staircase spiraling up the side of the cavernous wall. “Right this way.”

The second floor was a grid of hallways flanked by light metallic doors. Torak pushed one open to reveal a spacious room. Rows of old, wooden desks sat covered in a thick layer of dust.

“Classrooms,” Torak announced, sweeping a hand out. “A few have windows. Most don’t.”

Alexandra ran a hand along the edge of the nearest desk. Perfect. It gave them all the office space they could possibly need. Too much, even. She’d need to rack her brain to find a use for all this space.

They kept climbing until they reached the third and final floor. When Torak heaved open the heavy double doors at the top, a cold draft rushed out to meet them.

Alexandra stepped inside. The top floor was a single, massive room. It was completely unobstructed, a wide expanse of clay floor. Enough light streamed in from the narrow windows to allow Alexandra to turn off her skill.

“That’s where the students used to exercise,” Torak explained. “It’s warm enough in winter, and cool enough in summer.”

“That’s nice,” Alicia said. “Who wants to spar?”

“Not now,” Kyle answered. “Behave.”Even down in the basement, which Torak showed them last, revealing a vast network of cold and dry chambers perfect for storage, Alexandra couldn't

wipe the smile off her face. The place was massive. It was entirely too big for a fledgling guild, and it was going to take a stupid amount of work to restore to a functioning state.

She loved it.

As Torak stepped away to converse with Zeynep near the exit stairs, Kyle sidled up beside Alexandra. The captain leaned down to murmur in Alex's ear.

“It’s a masterpiece, no argument there,” Kyle said, her voice dry. “Just keep in mind that a building this size comes with significant upkeep. Between lighting magic and general maintenance, your operational costs are going to skyrocket.” Kyle shot a brief, sideways glance toward the councillor. “It’s easily going to double your rent.”

Alexandra looked from her captain back to the towering ceiling of the foyer. Kyle wasn't wrong. She could barely afford the rent as it was. Adding maintenance fees on top of it would cut her safety margin to one or two months, depending on how much it would cost to turn the abandoned school into a functional guild hall.

But she believed the gamble was worth the risk.

Just a few months ago, she was living a frugal life in her rundown apartment on Earth. Savings did nothing for her. Then she arrived in Laika completely destitute. Since then, she’d climbed enough to almost afford such a grandiose place.

She was done playing it safe. If it ruined her, she’d start over from the bottom. It could hardly be worse than what she went through in Baleria.

As long as her streak was alive, it didn’t matter.

She pulled out her journal, fully expecting her daily to be done.

It wasn’t.

She frowned. I guess this didn’t count as a conversation.

Alexandra looked at Torak, who was still talking with his cousin. Both were keeping their voices low enough that Alexandra couldn’t hear them. She was glad Zeynep was here. Torak was a lot more subdued with her around.

I need to get him to talk more. Maybe talk more myself.

A few words later, Zeynep broke off from Torak and strolled toward her.

“He wanted to invite you to dinner. I told him off.”

Alexandra grimaced, her stomach turning at the thought of spending an entire evening listening to Torak’s posturing.

She felt the weight of her journal in her hand. Her 167-day streak was too valuable to tank over petty pride.

It’s just an unpleasant time to suffer through. No big deal, she thought, trying to convince herself.

“Actually,” Alexandra said slowly, “I’ll do it.”

Zeynep blinked. Willow popped out behind her, grinning ear to ear. “Oh, that’s so sweet. Pay up, Kam. I won the bet.”

Beside Willow, Kam stared daggers at Alexandra as he held Nara’s hand. “Hypocrite.”

Alexandra threw up her hands. “I can’t believe you two bet on this!”

Kam looked at her without flinching.

“It’s not what it looks like. I have a quest!”

Willow laughed, giving her a shove. “Have fun on your quest with Councillor Totor.”

“I won't.”