The three ascended the stairs to the second floor. Nirra and Ellie noticed that unlike in the Redfied Guild, the Aeris one had three floors. The second floor seemed to be a documentation floor. A hallway that was lined with different rooms, possibly for storing different documents. They also noticed guildmaids going around and passing delivering stacks of documents to some of the rooms. They did not stare at them for too long before going up the steps again to find themselves on the third floor. The twins were slightly nervous that the guildmaster of this branch would be strict since they saw the stressed faces of the guildmaids below the floor they were on.
Regardless, they reached the third and final floor, and the only thing they saw were two beautifully ornate wooden carved doors that had very interesting designs to them. Ameria took the lead and knocked on the door. Before she could say anything further, a very commanding but soft voice came out from inside the room.
"Please come inside," the voice said.
The group did not wait any longer, and Ameria slowly pushed the door open to reveal a very elegant and neatly designed room with beautiful ornate wooden furniture. A book shelf can be seen immediately to their right, each detailing different novels. The floor had an elegant blue carpet with gold trims, and to their left was another book shelf. This one, though, had books about magic and knowledge regarding the different types of monsters found around the city of Aeris.
Large square windows can be seen at the end of the room to let in the sunlight, and curtains of red and gold can be seen on the side. In the middle is an elegantly crafted desk that has two sets of chairs on either side facing the middle. Two couches can also be seen to the left and right, facing each other, in front of the desk.
"I am glad you were able to come, Ms. Nirra Agustine." They heard the same voice from earlier and recognized the sound of it.
They looked upon a tall, old-looking man who wore a very professional-looking black suit and tie, complete with a monocle and a cane. He was sitting on a chair facing the bookshelf that had many novels and was reading one before they came inside the guild.
He closed the book he was reading, placed a bookmark to remember which page he was on, and stood up. He then placed the book back into its slot on the bookshelf that was to their right. Afterwards, he walked to the center of the room, near the desk.
"Pardon me for not introducing myself," He said.
"I am Guildmaster Viceroy of the Aeris branch of the guild." He greeted her with all the elegance you would expect from a man of his status. He then motioned for them to sit on one of the couches that were near the desk.
"I do believe you already know our names?" Ameria said as she took her seat along with Nirra. Ellie, though, just remained standing with her arms crossed.
"Indeed, I was already informed by the guildmaster, Victor, of your actions in the forest that night." He said, "I do applaud you for disposing of the demon that was summoned." He continued before taking his seat on the chair behind the desk that faced them.
"Thank you for the recognition," Nirra said with a small smile.
"There is no need for a thank you, Ms. Agustine. Now, onto business. The reason why I called you three here is because of the recent activities inside the city," Viceroy said, his facial expression turning serious.
"I am sure that you three are aware that a single person could not possibly be able to summon a demon on his own," he said with an eyebrow raised.
"We are," Ameria briefly said. Viceroy nodded and returned to his serious demeanor.
"Recently, our mages kept complaining about headaches inside the city; we previously assumed that it was just a condition they have due to the excessive noise inside the city." He said, "But, recently, it started to get worse; mages are suddenly all getting headaches simultaneously. We decided it was no mere condition; it had to be related to something else entirely." He continued as Ameria and Nirra listened closely.
"We decided to contact The Church of the Holy One, and they responded by deploying a holy priest into the city." He said, "When the priest cast a city-wide appraisal spell, he noticed that there were unusual amounts of dark elemental energy somewhere inside the city. He said that he could only detect it but not pinpoint where it was coming from." He finished.
"So you want us to go and look for the source and destroy it?" They turned to see Ellie with her eyebrow raised.
"No, we have already dispatched a few B and A rank adventurers for the task. This is only a warning since you three felt its presence when the demon was summoned. I would advise caution as you explore the city, Ms. Nirra; the demons want something from you, and the church was already informed and is figuring out why the demons would want to take you to the underworld."
Understood, Guildmaster," Nirra said with determination in her voice.
"Very good. Now I would like to request an audience with Ms. Faberos for a while regarding this matter," He said.
Nirra and Ellie nodded and proceeded to exit the room. They soon stood outside the door and laid in wait for Ameria to come out. After the twins closed the door behind them, the guildmaster narrowed his gaze on Ameria.
"Ms. Faberos, I was informed that you yourself would become her protector; is this true?" Viceroy's voice suddenly became ice cold.
"Yes, I am aware of the events that happened previously. It will not happen again; you have my word," Amelia said in a low, determined voice.
"Please take your position this time; we don't want another mishap like last time," he said, his expression relaxing.
"Of course, Guildmaster," Amelia said with a shadow that loomed over her eyes.
"Good, if you do not have any more questions, you are dismissed," He said, standing up again and walking towards the bookshelf to continue reading.
Ameria also stood up and left; her saddened demeanor relaxed as she saw the twins waiting for her outside. Unbeknownst to them, however, outside the window, on a nearby roof of a building, sat a hooded figure that saw the entire exchange. The figure immediately retreated into the alleys below and was out of sight later on.
The three ascended the stairs to the second floor. Nirra and Ellie noticed that unlike in the Redfied Guild, the Aeris one had three floors. The second floor seemed to be a documentation floor. A hallway that was lined with different rooms, possibly for storing different documents. They also noticed guildmaids going around and passing delivering stacks of documents to some of the rooms. They did not stare at them for too long before going up the steps again to find themselves on the third floor. The twins were slightly nervous that the guildmaster of this branch would be strict since they saw the stressed faces of the guildmaids below the floor they were on.
Regardless, they reached the third and final floor, and the only thing they saw were two beautifully ornate wooden carved doors that had very interesting designs to them. Ameria took the lead and knocked on the door. Before she could say anything further, a very commanding but soft voice came out from inside the room.
"Please come inside," the voice said.
The group did not wait any longer, and Ameria slowly pushed the door open to reveal a very elegant and neatly designed room with beautiful ornate wooden furniture. A book shelf can be seen immediately to their right, each detailing different novels. The floor had an elegant blue carpet with gold trims, and to their left was another book shelf. This one, though, had books about magic and knowledge regarding the different types of monsters found around the city of Aeris.
Large square windows can be seen at the end of the room to let in the sunlight, and curtains of red and gold can be seen on the side. In the middle is an elegantly crafted desk that has two sets of chairs on either side facing the middle. Two couches can also be seen to the left and right, facing each other, in front of the desk.
"I am glad you were able to come, Ms. Nirra Agustine." They heard the same voice from earlier and recognized the sound of it.
They looked upon a tall, old-looking man who wore a very professional-looking black suit and tie, complete with a monocle and a cane. He was sitting on a chair facing the bookshelf that had many novels and was reading one before they came inside the guild.
He closed the book he was reading, placed a bookmark to remember which page he was on, and stood up. He then placed the book back into its slot on the bookshelf that was to their right. Afterwards, he walked to the center of the room, near the desk.
"Pardon me for not introducing myself," He said.
"I am Guildmaster Viceroy of the Aeris branch of the guild." He greeted her with all the elegance you would expect from a man of his status. He then motioned for them to sit on one of the couches that were near the desk.
"I do believe you already know our names?" Ameria said as she took her seat along with Nirra. Ellie, though, just remained standing with her arms crossed.
"Indeed, I was already informed by the guildmaster, Victor, of your actions in the forest that night." He said, "I do applaud you for disposing of the demon that was summoned." He continued before taking his seat on the chair behind the desk that faced them.
"Thank you for the recognition," Nirra said with a small smile.
"There is no need for a thank you, Ms. Agustine. Now, onto business. The reason why I called you three here is because of the recent activities inside the city," Viceroy said, his facial expression turning serious.
"I am sure that you three are aware that a single person could not possibly be able to summon a demon on his own," he said with an eyebrow raised.
"We are," Ameria briefly said. Viceroy nodded and returned to his serious demeanor.
"Recently, our mages kept complaining about headaches inside the city; we previously assumed that it was just a condition they have due to the excessive noise inside the city." He said, "But, recently, it started to get worse; mages are suddenly all getting headaches simultaneously. We decided it was no mere condition; it had to be related to something else entirely." He continued as Ameria and Nirra listened closely.
"We decided to contact The Church of the Holy One, and they responded by deploying a holy priest into the city." He said, "When the priest cast a city-wide appraisal spell, he noticed that there were unusual amounts of dark elemental energy somewhere inside the city. He said that he could only detect it but not pinpoint where it was coming from." He finished.
"So you want us to go and look for the source and destroy it?" They turned to see Ellie with her eyebrow raised.
"No, we have already dispatched a few B and A rank adventurers for the task. This is only a warning since you three felt its presence when the demon was summoned. I would advise caution as you explore the city, Ms. Nirra; the demons want something from you, and the church was already informed and is figuring out why the demons would want to take you to the underworld."
Understood, Guildmaster," Nirra said with determination in her voice.
"Very good. Now I would like to request an audience with Ms. Faberos for a while regarding this matter," He said.
Nirra and Ellie nodded and proceeded to exit the room. They soon stood outside the door and laid in wait for Ameria to come out. After the twins closed the door behind them, the guildmaster narrowed his gaze on Ameria.
"Ms. Faberos, I was informed that you yourself would become her protector; is this true?" Viceroy's voice suddenly became ice cold.
"Yes, I am aware of the events that happened previously. It will not happen again; you have my word," Amelia said in a low, determined voice.
"Please take your position this time; we don't want another mishap like last time," he said, his expression relaxing.
"Of course, Guildmaster," Amelia said with a shadow that loomed over her eyes.
"Good, if you do not have any more questions, you are dismissed," He said, standing up again and walking towards the bookshelf to continue reading.
Ameria also stood up and left; her saddened demeanor relaxed as she saw the twins waiting for her outside. Unbeknownst to them, however, outside the window, on a nearby roof of a building, sat a hooded figure that saw the entire exchange. The figure immediately retreated into the alleys below and was out of sight later on.
