Night Guild 1, page 31
In that moment, as they stood looking out over the moonlit water under the gaze of the bright crescent moon, none of them doubted that they would end up getting their revenge after all.
As one, they turned away from the dark water and vanished into the shadows, making their way back to their home at the Night Guild.
Chapter 26
Guildmaster Tarquin listened to their whole story the next day. When they were done, he thought for a moment and then asked them to leave him for a little while so that he could think things over.
“Give me an hour,” he said, “then return to me here.”
They left him with the dragon eggs and the closed paper packet sitting on the table in front of him, his eyes resting on the gleaming silver lines of the black egg.
When they returned to his tower chamber an hour later, they found him sitting where they had left him, his hands on his knees as he leaned back in his deep chair. Two tea cups stood on the table, both empty, as if Tarquin had not been alone during the past hour. There was a smell in the room that had not been there before, pleasant, like lavender and spices.
Sunlight streamed in through the windows, gleaming on the smooth, polished surfaces of the red egg and the green egg. The black and silver egg that had been activated in the course of the fight in the bank vault did not gleam like the others. Instead, it absorbed the light. The silver glowed with an internal luminescence. Ronan looked at it, remembering again the strange, curled creature they’d seen outlined within the egg.
A lizard, he thought. It was undeniably a lizard. Somehow, we activated the egg of the dragon. It still has the potential to hatch.
Next to the eggs—which Tarquin had lined up in a row side by side on the table in front of him with the black and silver in the middle—there lay a set of papers. These papers were the contents of the packet that the Skins had taken from the vault; there was no mistaking the leather binding carefully folded next to the pile.
Ronan looked with interest at the little stack of papers. These were the papers his father had died for. Had his father, Serverus, known what was in the packet? Had he been somehow involved in this dark plot that had been uncovered by the assassins? Why had he been killed and not just had his papers stolen? And who, in the end, had been responsible for his death? The Silent Brotherhood assassins? That seemed most likely, considering that the packet had shown up in the vault alongside the eggs, but it was just possible that someone else had abstracted the papers and that the packet had then been taken from that person by the Silent Brotherhood.
Ronan could not discount the fact that the man who had killed his father had been wearing black, not gray. Also, there had been a different feel to him. The Silent Brotherhood assassins gave Ronan a creeping sensation up his spine, as if they were using some kind of eerie magic. The assassin he’d fought in his home the night his father died had not given Ronan that feeling. And then there was the undeniable fact that there was someone else looking for the eggs. Ruben the fisherman had tried to sell his egg to someone who was not a brotherhood assassin, after all, and the very fact that the members of the brotherhood were storing the eggs in the Bank of Gold suggested that they wanted to keep them secure. Why go to all that effort if there was not some other organization also looking for them?
He was jolted from his reverie by the words of Guildmaster Tarquin, who abruptly took a deep breath, stood, and began to speak.
“You’ve done well,” the guildmaster said with a smile. He looked at the three young guild members who stood before him, then he paced to the window and gazed out with a contemplative expression on his lined face.
“There is no doubt that this is an unusual situation. Usually, you three would be taking on your first missions as young members of the Night Guild. We would find you work that was tailored to your own specific skills—challenging work, but not too dangerous. You would advance steadily, but not too quickly, through the ranks of the guild, and perhaps in around five years, you would have achieved a level where we could give you a bit more autonomy in what jobs you picked.”
He turned to face them. “Now, we find ourselves in an unprecedented position, one that I have never found myself in before. I consult my Book of the Fates, and it tells me that without any doubt, you three have something unique to do. You have been brought to me for a purpose, and it is no mere chance that all three of you find your paths overlapping in this way. I have consulted with Lera, my closest colleague on the Night Guild high council, and she agrees with me that it would be irresponsible for us to ignore the clear tides of fate that are showing themselves here.”
“So, what does that mean for us?” Ronan asked after a moment in which the guildmaster had paused and become thoughtful again.
Guildmaster Tarquin gave himself a shake and looked at Ronan.
“Quite simply,” he said, “it means that you and your two companions here will be assigned the mission of tracking down and solving this mystery of the dragon eggs and the Silent Brotherhood. As I said, this is not the usual path of progression that assassins of your level would take, but Lera and I have agreed that it makes the most sense for us to accept the tides of fate and put you three onto this mission. I do not doubt that it will challenge your abilities. You will need to work together, and to develop solutions to problems which will be different from those which any other assassins of your age and level would have to come up against. But there is no avoiding the tides of fate. Guildmaster though I may be, I am not the master of destiny, and I feel in my bones that there is more to all of this than meets the eye. How does that sit with you? Do you agree with this plan? Will you devote yourselves to solving this mystery?”
Ronan glanced to his left. Eric stood there, his back straight, his shoulders and hands relaxed, his pale hair gleaming in the light from the window. The pale man nodded once, gave the ghost of a smile, but said nothing.
On his right, Diana breathed a heavy sigh. “I agree with this plan, Guildmaster. Even if it were not for the advice from the Book of the Fates, I believe as you do that I have been brought into contact with Ronan and Eric for just this reason. I confess that there is nothing I want more right now than to uncover the secrets of this mystery and find out what is really going on with the Silent Brotherhood and their quest for the dragon eggs. After all, it seems that my father and brother died for this. When I joined the guild, as you know, I did so in pursuit of simple personal revenge. I gave that desire up, as did my two companions here, I think. But Guildsman Janus told us once that the fates have a way of granting desired revenge to those whose cause is just. In my heart, I would be glad to avenge my father and brother, but even more now I desire to know what the cause of all these terrible events might turn out to be. I desire to take this job, and to find out what is going on with the Silent Brotherhood on behalf of the Night Guild.”
“I will do this also,” Ronan said firmly. “Like Diana, I joined the guild seeking revenge, and later gave up that desire, as I knew that it was not in line with the guild philosophy to use my training to seek private revenge. However, I believe now that the Night God desires for us to bring revenge to the Silent Brotherhood for his own sake, as well as for ours. Like you, Guildmaster, I also believe that there is more to this than meets the eye. I do not know what the Silent Brotherhood are up to, but I want to know what it has to do with us at the guild, and what it has to do with the dragon eggs. I want to know who the other people are who are seeking the dragon eggs, and I want to know why the Silent Brotherhood are so desperate to collect the eggs and seemingly to stop anyone else from interacting with them. I will do it. I will take this mission and probe the mystery to the bottom.”
Guildmaster Tarquin was smiling at them all. He nodded his head slowly, then spoke. “I did not doubt that you three would all agree to take this job on. It will be difficult and dangerous, but if you keep faith in each other, in your guild training, and in the Night God, I do not doubt that you will have the best chance possible of achieving your destiny, whatever that may turn out to be in the end.”
Ronan looked at the table. “Guildmaster, may I ask what was in that packet? I see there are papers on your desk. Do they contain some important information pertaining to the dragon eggs?”
The Guildmaster nodded solemnly. “Yes, Ronan. And I am aware from your story that these papers are the very ones that your father was killed for. There is not much within this pack of papers that I can read, unfortunately. There are six sheets of paper here. Five of them are very old. One of the old papers appears to be a map of a large and complex building, but the map and the other four older papers are written in a script that I do not recognize. However, the sixth paper here is a newer document, a single piece of paper which appears to be a partial translation of one of the older documents. It is not very comprehensive, just half a page of notes, but the writer seems to be concluding that the dragon eggs may be brought to life by being touched with blood spilt in the heat of battle. That fits with your story. This black and silver egg was activated when it was touched by the blood of your enemy. However, from the notes that accompany the partial translation, it seems clear that the writer was aware of several more stages that were required before a dragon egg could be brought to hatch. So, there is more to it than just spilling blood. I am no master of languages, but I will do my best to work on the translation and I’ll see if I can find anything in the library that may pertain to this document. If I get anywhere with that, I will let you know at once, of course. However, it seems clear that this packet of papers relates to the procedure for causing the dragon eggs to hatch. If so, and if our theory that the Silent Brotherhood wishes to stop the eggs from hatching, then it makes sense to me that they would go to great lengths to get hold of this pack of papers and hide it from the eyes of anyone else.”
“Yes,” Ronan said, “that certainly makes sense to me also. Of course they would wish to conceal any information on how to hatch the eggs. I wish I knew why the document was with my father. Was he a member of the Silent Brotherhood in some way? Surely not.”
“We cannot rule anything out,” Guildmaster Tarquin said gently. “However, I believe that it is more likely that your father was simply one of the mirrors who were paid to help move goods on behalf of the Silent Brotherhood, without asking questions or even knowing who exactly they were working for. That said, I believe that it is important for you to answer that question about what your father’s role was. If he was only one of the mirrors, then there was no need for the assassin to kill him. There is no doubt that raises new questions that we will need to answer if we are to untangle this mystery. If the Guild of Glass and Pepper Traders is in some way involved in this plot, we need to find out. How deep have the Silent Brotherhood gone to infiltrate the guilds of the Twelve Isles? How far does their influence go? If this does turn out to be a conspiracy that has infiltrated the Twelve Isles, it is our responsibility to root the agents of that conspiracy out, especially if the Silent Brotherhood are aiming to subvert the authority of the High Guild Council in some way.”
“You think that likely?” Diana asked, sounding shocked.
“Not likely,” Tarquin said, shaking his head with a frown, “but not impossible either. There is corruption on the High Guild Council, and many people can be swayed to turn a blind eye to nefarious doings if they are paid well enough. If there is one thing I know about the Silent Brothers, it’s that they do not lack for financial resources. Your first mission, I believe, is to learn just how deep the influence of the Silent Brotherhood runs here in the Twelve Isles. Go back into the city and track down the remainder of the cell of Silent Brotherhood assassins and find out any information you can about them. I want to know more about what’s going on here before we turn our attention further afield. Once we know who they are and how deeply entrenched in our city they are, then we can make a judgment on what best to do next. I admit that my heart tells me this quest will lead you away from the Twelve Isles. I do not want to pre-empt fate, but my oracle book suggests a long journey, and it seems likely that this mission may lead you back to Diana’s homeland. I suggest that as you begin your information gathering, you also put focus into learning the language of Ghennet.”
“We will do that, Guildmaster,” Ronan assured him. “What will you do with the black dragon egg?”
Tarquin chuckled, shrugged, and gave the egg a rueful smile. “I will keep it here. In the absence of any more detailed knowledge about how to treat dragon eggs, I will revert to treating it like any other egg which I desire to hatch. I will keep it warm, and I will not let it out of my sight. Go on then, you three. If there is nothing more that you wish to ask of me, then I am happy for you to do as you see fit to complete your mission. Bring me regular reports and go to Guildsman Janus if you need anything urgently. I will tell him of our conversation here today and make him available to you if you need support, as much as his other duties allow. I do not know how this will turn out, of course, but I am convinced that you have been brought here to fulfill some great destiny. Good luck with your task and remember to keep your connection to the Night God always in your hearts.”
The three Skins bowed to the guildmaster and turned to leave him.
As they stepped out of the room, Ronan glanced back. The old, thin figure of Guildmaster Tarquin cast a long, crisp black shadow across the room. In front of him, the two inactivated dragon eggs gleamed in the light of the sun, casting long shadows of their own across the dark wood of the guildmaster’s desk. The activated egg in the middle soaked up the light, and Ronan thought for a moment that he caught a glimpse of movement from within it again.
He smiled, shook his head, and followed his companions out of the guildmaster’s office.
Whatever happened, their discovery of the dragon eggs seemed likely to change the course of history. But for now, Ronan would concentrate his efforts on the city of his home, the city that had raised him and trained him. If the Silent Brotherhood had indeed infiltrated the Twelve Isles and its ancient and sacred guild culture, he and his friends would root the corruption out, following it as far as they had to.
And if necessary, he would take the fight over the sea to the temple of the Silent Brotherhood itself, in the land of Ghennet. There, he would take his revenge on those who had killed the families of himself and his friends and stop their evil influence from spreading further.
He might even hatch three dragon eggs along the way.
End of Book 1
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DB King’s stories feature competent main characters, magic and skill progression, and nothing too dark. While he doesn’t shy away from violence, he mostly avoids cursing and doesn’t have any adult scenes. Most of his stories aren't strictly Gamelit/LitRPG, but a lot of his magic and progression systems often feel like something you might find in a video game.
DB King, Night Guild 1
