Duskbound

The two of them were in the carriage, riding back to Cravel and discussing the state of the guild, to which Aria would be giving her recommendation that Velik be raised to the rank of gold. Just because she'd evaluated him as ready to take on gold jobs didn't mean it would actually happen, however.

Unsurprisingly, Aria wasn't any more of a fan of the guild's political games than Velik was. She didn't like getting caught up in them and she didn't have anything good to say about the guild's leadership for allowing them to happen.

"In all fairness to Bertrim, he inherited a mess and wasn't given a choice. The politics aren't some local thing. Cravel is a major branch of the monster hunters guild, right behind Ashala and Vestul. If Bertrim didn't play along, they'd just remove him and put someone else behind his desk," she explained. "That doesn't mean he's bad at it or unwilling to play politics, just that I believe if he had his way, the guild would be run differently."

"Which is a meaningless distinction. He doesn't have his way, nor does he have the principles to stand up to the actions of those who would abuse their positions for their own gain," Velik pointed out. "So he's a worthless guild master."

"He's not worthless. He just… folds to pressure more often than some of us would like."

"Worthless," Velik said again with a snort.

"If you don't like it, this probably isn't the guild for you," Aria told him primly. "In fact, no guild is probably the guild for you. Politics are a part of civilization."

"Well, I'm not here because I want to be," Velik said.

"Then why are you here? If you don't care, why go kill the hydra? Why make me come along to watch? I could have stayed home."

"The guild has knowledge I want. This was the only way to get it. Once I have it…" Velik shrugged. He couldn't care less if he was in good standing once they'd served their purpose.@@novelbin@@

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Back when he'd first joined, he'd had some ideas about becoming a professional monster hunter. He already knew he was good at it, and if taking jobs to go kill monsters had been the extent of the guild, he would have happily stayed on. The team he'd been assigned to had been an unpleasant surprise. Their instructors were another one. The iron trials and politics had worn out what remained of Velik's patience.

If this evaluation turned against him, he'd just follow this lead with the flesh beast and use Jensen's expedition to get there. When he got back, Torwin could get him what information the guild had that was useful. Had he known how much of a pain in the ass the guild was going to be, he'd have left it to Torwin to handle that part in the first place.

"Don't say anything like that to anyone when we get back," Aria advised. "Assume they already know, but if not, best not to tell them. It'll just be one more thing they hold against you."

"You're not going to tell them?"

"Nah. Fuck Pevril."

Velik considered that statement for a moment. "Agreed."

Despite everything, Aria was starting to grow on him. She was still sort of aggravating, but her irreverence for the people running the guild was refreshing. The fact that she'd promised a passing grade, especially after he'd explained how he functioned better at night and that nobody had given him the knowledge about his specific target that he was supposed to receive, helped matters along.

She plopped a foot on his knee and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Velik smacked the offending limb away with a scowl. Hasn't grown on me that much.

* * *

"Barely three days," Aria said. "And most of it spent traveling. I don't think anyone expected us to get back that quickly. That'll be another mark in your favor."

"Great," Velik said, unenthused about the whole thing. In a perfect world, they'd do their deliberating somewhere far away from him, then someone would come give him his pin. He'd get access to the guild archives and then he'd never set foot in the guild again once he'd learned what he wanted to know.

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In reality, according to Aria, he'd be called on to present himself to answer questions so they could publicly come to some whatever consensus they'd already reached behind closed doors when they made their deals with each other. It would take hours and be utterly pointless, since the votes had already been bought and paid for long before the meeting ever started.

I don't want to do any of that. I wonder if I could get away with just… disappearing for a month or two. I guess I should find Jensen and ask him when we're going.

The [Vault Seeker] had promised to leave some contact information in Velik's mailbox with the guild, so he reluctantly followed Aria inside to claim that. They parted ways immediately, with her going to drop off her report and him going to the mail room. As promised, there was a card waiting for him with the address to an inn called the Crystal Monocle. It was, of course, located in Gold Town.

There were still a few hours of daylight left, so Velik headed across the city to let Jensen know he was back. He had no idea if he'd find the other man there, but he figured he could leave a message if nothing else. While getting passage across the border was convenient for Velik, participation in his expedition was mandatory for Jensen. He'd have to find Velik if he wanted things to progress.

The Crystal Monocle was stunningly decadent, at least to Velik's eyes. The wood was sanded smooth and polished, the glassware was so clear as to be almost invisible, and food was served on literal silver and gold platters. Whatever it was they were offering for lunch smelled incredible, but Velik didn't need to see the menu to know he wouldn't like the prices.

If he's having trouble getting funding, why is he staying at a place that's probably costing him twenty or thirty decarmas a day? Either I am completely misunderstanding the scale of this operation, or he's being stupidly wasteful. Probably both.

It seemed the hostess agreed with Velik's assessment that the Crystal Monocle was too rich a place for him to be in. Before he'd gotten even two steps past the threshold, she smoothly slid in front of him with a pleasant and very fake smile. "Welcome, sir."

"I'm not looking for a seat at a table or a room," Velik assured her. He pulled out the card Jensen had left in his guild mailbox. "I'm looking for the man who gave me this. Is he still taking rooms here?"

The hostess deftly snatched the card from between Velik's fingers and scanned it in an instant. "Indeed, sir. I'd be happy to send any message you'd like up to him."

The subtext was clear, even to someone as socially inept as Velik. They'd take a message to their guest, but he wouldn't be going up himself without a clear invitation. Maybe it's the swamp stink in my cloak. Despite the washer lady's best efforts, a faint mustiness still clung to the fabric. He hadn't really noticed it back in Eldmyrk, but as soon as he'd gotten a fair distance from the swamp, he'd realized he was taking a piece of it with him. It would probably be upwards of twenty thousand decarmas to get [Mending] added to the cloak on top of all its other enchants, assuming it was even possible, but he was starting to think it was money well spent.

"If he's here now, just ask him to step out and I'll meet him on the street. Otherwise just tell him that Velik is back in town. He knows how to find me."

"I'm afraid he's away at the moment, but I'll certainly make sure your words reach him," the hostess said. "Now, will there be anything else?"

Struggling not to roll his eyes, Velik shook his head. "Thanks," he said.

The hostess waited until he was out of the building before muttering, "Tightwad." Velik's hearing was too good not to pick it up, and he belatedly realized she'd been expecting some kind of a tip for running his message up to Jensen. He can pay her for it. Not my fault he picked the most expensive place in the whole city.

With no other demands on his attention for the moment, he decided it was a good time to catch a few hours of sleep. As strong as he'd gotten, three or four would be more than enough. He hadn't dozed in the carriage, unlike Aria, and he was going on four days without rest now. Admittedly, other than the hydra hunt, they hadn't exactly been strenuous days, but he was still happy to find an excuse to close his eyes for a while.

Velik made his way back to Melon and Peach, traded a nod with the door bouncer—he'd become familiar to all of them and they knew that he wasn't a normal customer, so they didn't hassle him when he walked by without paying—and marched upstairs to the room he'd taken at the far end of the hall.

"You're back," one of the girls said when she almost walked into him as she walked out of her room. "I thought you got sick of us."

"Had a job outside the city."

"You should just start working here," she told him. "Pay's good for a cute rent boy. Oh, don't give me that face. Fine, just take shifts as a bouncer."

"No," Velik said. His room was in a little block with the other bouncers who lived onsite, but he had no desire to work their job. If all went well, this would be his last week in Cravel anyway. As soon as Jensen was ready to go, assuming he'd gotten what he wanted from the guild archives, Velik didn't have any plans on coming back.

The girl shrugged. "Your loss. It's easy money."

She stepped past him, and with a shake of his head, Velik finished the trip to his own room. He hadn't laid down for even ten minutes when that particularly annoying squealer started up. I never thought I'd miss sleeping in a hole in the ground, but somehow, here I am.