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Ardid crept around the corner of the hallway, peeking over to make sure no one was coming. After he confirmed his safe travel, he quickly and quietly sprinted down the hall to the next corner. This continued until he reached the center of the Guild Hall, the library. He watched the two doors of the enormous room tentatively. He had the feeling that he would come face to face with something if he dared to pass.
However, his waiting bore no fruit. He had been standing there for at least three minutes -- clearly enough time for him to have already passed. So, in order to save his time, he decided that he should make his move now.
He put one foot around the corner and began to step out. Just as he did, however, the door swung open, and Claude walked out. He was tossing a journal up and down in his hand. It spun through the air and landed with the spine in his palm each time.
Ardid retracted his foot with lightning speed, praying to Aias that he didn't make noise while doing so. Luckily, when he peaked out from behind the wall again, he saw Claude walking in the opposite direction, still tossing the journal. He waited until Claude was out of sight, and then, with a sigh, he stepped out into the hallway. He made sure to take a branch of the hallway that he was certain would not allow him to meet up with Claude again.
He continued down the hallways and eventually reached the public entrance to the Guild Hall, which was a large lobby of sorts. Several people were heading in and out of the hall, dealing with business or applying to the guild. Some people were led deeper into the Guild Hall by apprentices so that they could deal with guild banking or with the library.
There had been a time when he had seen this sight several times a day, but now, it was foreign to him. He hadn't been a part of the guild for several years now, and a sight such as a busy lobby was more rare than he had thought.
Turning away from the sight, he made his way out onto the front steps of the building. Here, one could look down on much of Port Rap, since the Guild Hall was built at the highest point of the city. The rest of the city simply sunk down as it reached closer to the bay.
He took in the fresh air eagerly and sighed as it passed through his lungs. He had been cooped up in that dorm for far too long. Getting past the guards had been easy enough, but avoiding everyone else in the building was quite difficult. It was such a large facility that there were practically people around every corner.
The entire building was full of passages that would lead to an enormous array of rooms. From the lobby, there were only two hallways to progress from, both of which wrapped around the Grand Council Hall. Those two hallways collided with each other at the entrance of the large room, and then the hallways split off into two more passages which led to the library, dorms, and even the Financial Division.
Ardid's dorm was not like the majority of the dorms in the building. His dorm, along with the officer's and Claude's, was in a more secure area on the upper floors of the Guild Hall. While the Financial Division and the Archiving Division both had areas that reached up to roughly three floors, each of the officers and the Guildmaster had been supplied with an array of towers that reached up to six floors high or higher.
Ardid looked over the bustling port town before him. He pulled a pipe from his cloak and lit a match that he had in his tunic pocket. He smoked away the pipe for a good while, but something had caught his attention. He had been sitting on the steps of the lobby when several armed men came rushing out. They looked as ordinary as any other people, but their arms were clearly not normal. One had a crossbow on his back.
As they passed him by, Ardid chewed his pipe silently, analyzing the crossbow meticulously. "No doubt about it," he said to himself, standing and turning back to the building. "They're probably going to need some help."
Ardid stretched his arms and dumped the contents of his pipe. He took a couple steps up to the lobby and reentered just as an apprentice was frantically asking for help. "Please! You must contact Young Master Claude! He was the last one to have seen Sylvestor!"
The words rang in Ardid's head as he remembered Claude stepping out of the library before him. "Boy," he said, slapping the apprentice's shoulder, "let me know what happened."
Claude stepped past the guards and entered Ardid's room without knocking. At the sound of Claude's grumbles, the guards peeked in behind him. Their jaws dropped as they took sight of only Arvur.
"Pray tell, where is your brother?" Claude asked, masking the anger in his voice, but not his face.
Arvur turned the page of the book that he was reading and answered without looking up, "He went out for some air. I'm sure he'll be back eventually."
Claude turned away and slammed the door behind him. He stomped down the hall and mumbled as he went. When he reached Victor's dorm, he turned the knob and barged in, only to find that Victor was not there. Normally, Victor would either be here, or out on the back courtyard, where he trained his troops.
Claude turned away from the bland room, littered with weaponry and armors of all kind. He closed the door and sighed gently, continuing on towards the back of the Guild Hall. Eventually, he reached the courtyard and stepped out onto it. The ground was covered in white stone slabs and green grass. Several troops were about, swinging their swords and jabbing their spears. Some were shooting their bows, while others were waving other weaponry at targets while they rode their horses.
However, Victor was not there. Claude stepped up to the man in charge, who was a high ranking member of the militia. "Where is Victor?"
The man turned and stuttered at the sight of Claude, "A-Ah! Yes, of course. Victor said that he had been called out on official business."
"Oh?" Claude's eyes narrowed as he continued to question him. "And where did he say he was going?"
"He said that you had ordered him to visit the camp outside of Port Rap, just inside the forest -- the Rustkeep Camp."
Claude turned away and scratched his chin. He had never given such orders. Not to mention, the Rustkeep Camp was far south of Port Rap. A messenger bird would have made for a faster communication, if that were the case. Something was clearly happening in the Council of Virtuous Parley.
Claude stepped back inside and wandered about the hallways. Eventually, he found himself listening to the conversations around him as people rushed by. He heard frantic whispers as they passed by about missing people, and he was so surprised by it that he ran straight into someone.
Ardid brushed his cloak off gently and looked up at Claude, expecting an apology. Of course, he didn't get one.
"Why aren't you in your dorm, you piece of--"
"Now, now, Claude, don't you think that's a little harsh? I'm sure Arvur told you, I was just out getting some air."
Claude crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "I think you've had quite enough air. Go back to your dorm, I'm incredibly busy right now."
"I'm sure you are. After all, several of your officers have gone missing. Let's see, I've confirmed that Lorelis, Henrik, and Sylvestor have gone missing--"
Claude cut him off with a shout, "They're all gone!? Where the hell are they!? Did you do something to my officers, Ardid? Answer me honestly, or I'll pierce your heart right now." His hands had somehow already planted themselves on the obsidian rapier at his side. His posture had taken the stance of a fighter.
Ardid waved his hands about in front of him, "By Aias, boy, who do you think I am? I wouldn't have anything to gain from hurting your dear officers. Besides, Henrik is my friend, too! I'm just as worried as you are, so calm down. After all, I don't believe that it's over quite yet."
Claude straightened and looked him up and down. "Ardid, what do you know about what's going on right now?"
The former Guildmaster crossed his arms, just as Claude had done a thousand times now. He scratched his chin anxiously and offered an explanation. "Claude, my boy, I believe that our enemy has just launched their first attack on the Council of Virtuous Parley."
Claude crossed his arms as well, matching his old teacher. With a frown, he asked, "And what makes you think that, Old Man?"
"Didn't I tell you before? You've brought yourself into a ring of assassinations. You're most likely a target."
 Ty-Harukii · Thu Jul 27, 2017 @ 12:36am · 0 Comments |
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