After a couple more days of training, a new week began. I hadn’t had a chance to talk with Reggie or Katherine since the funereal. The only time I had away from Wisebeak was when I went to bed, and by then I was far too tired to talk. Though, by the look of them, they were in a similar position.
We met up with Krimsun in our usual training room first thing in the morning. She was sitting comfortably in a chair at the end of the room, a cup of tea in her hand and a small wooden case at her side.
“Reggie, Mak, I hear your training was successful this past week?” Our captain asked as she sipped her tea.
“Yes, ma’am” I replied as Reggie simply nodded.
“Good, you’ll need it for the trials ahead,” she said and she put aside her cup and picked up the wooden case.
As she got up, I took a quick glance at Katherine. I had heard that she went through quite the verbal assault from Glenda for escaping the infirmary to go on our mission. Fortunately, the treatment she received at the Abbey seemed to have been effective and she recovered just enough to train with Krimsun. Though, you could’ve been fooled into thinking she was worse off now by the look of her. Her armour was dented, and her face was bruised and scraped. Yet she wore a confident smile and not the kind she feigned at times to put me at ease. She clearly gained a lot from her training.
Reggie; conversely, had not a scrape on him. Wisebeak mentioned that he was studying under one of the reconnaissance experts at the guild, refining his infiltration skills.
“The Guildmaster sends his regards, as does the Archbishop,” Krimsun said as she held up the case, “His Eminence personally recounted your bravery at the Abbey,”
She then opened the case to reveal four shiny new badges.
“Congratulations, you have been promoted from Wolfsnakes to Spider-Dragons,”
We silently accepted our new ranks, our eyes focused on the badge still left in the case.
Krimsun softly sighed as she removed it and place it on the wall of the room. “Let this badge be a reminder of the challenges this job comes with, and the need to constantly improve and grow stronger.”
We all nodded solemnly before Krimsun gave what I can only assume to be her version of a smile and quickly took a combative stance.
“Now then, my young proteges, show me what you have learned!”
This was how things were done here, as much as we missed our friend, as much as we’d like to spend our time in mourning; the way of the guild is to move forward. Gus wanted us to finish the story of our team and so we would.
We went through the most intense practice session of our lives for a solid five hours before getting a break for lunch. Krimsun looked as though she had barely broken a sweat!
“You’ve definitely improved much since Oakenveil, we will resume in one hour. Get lots of protein and carbs, you too Reggie,” she said sternly.
We made our way to the mess hall together for the first time in what felt like years. As per Krimsun’s advice, we loaded up on meat and vegetables. After a few minutes of eating silently, Reggie finally broke the silence.
“I’m sorry, Mak,”
I nearly choked on my food.
“I’ve been unfair to you, and by extension Katherine as well,” he said, turning his gaze to her.
“I-I appreciate the apology, what, um, brought this on?”
He looked down at his plate, “One of the last conversations I had with Gus. He was telling me to eat more and… well this just made me think about the look he always had whenever I, you know…”
“Insulted Mak for no reason at all?” Katherine said, straight-faced as she ate a piece of asparagus, which she nearly spat out immediately.
“Yes… that.”
“That sad look,” I said, “Went completely silent and looked completely defeated. He looked like that when we’d talk about our resentment about your insults too,”
“He was the best of us, just wanted us to grow up and act like a team,”
“He deserved better,” I said, looking at Katherine and Reggie. “And so do you two, my cowardice is just going to get the two of you killed someday. You’re better off if I go stay with Wisebeak to work on gadgets,”
“Like hell we are!” Katherine yelled, slamming her cup on the table and spitting a bit of her drink at me in the process.
Several other guildmembers looked over at the scene. I sunk into my seat as Katherine blushed a bit from embarrassment.
I really should have told them somewhere else.
“If that’s really how you feel,” Reggie said, playing with his food nonchalantly, “Then you’re not really a coward are you?”
Both Katherine and I gave him a blank stare.
He shrugged, popping a piece of what I hope was beef into his mouth. “Well, if you wanted to quit to save your own skin; that would be cowardly. But if you fear for us, that isn’t cowardice,”
“But it’s true, I can’t do anything but freeze when…”
“You were hardly frozen when we were tracking down an infamous thief!” he said as he reluctantly ate what vaguely resembled cabbage, “So you are either a coward, lying about your motivations and intentions; therefore, you have no right to quit after what Gus sacrificed. Or, you are not a coward and so your non-existent cowardice won’t put us in danger.”
He punctuated his conclusion with a smug smile and a triumphant drink from his glass.
“I… I just don’t think I could go on,” I turned towards Katherine, “If I lost you,”
“Then stick with us to make sure you don’t!” she demanded, slightly less loud than last time.
It wasn’t prepared for their responses; truthfully, I wasn’t prepared at all. Every time I thought about telling them over the week I felt sick.
“Besides,” Reggie whispered as he leaned closer, “There is something I need to discuss with you two later. Somewhere less… crowded,” he gestured to the nearly packed room.
I say nearly, because the wall that had been previously destroyed by a rampaging dragon, while now repaired, was still not a popular spot to sit by.
“After supper, by the docks,” Reggie said as he stood up, “I’m going to try and recover whatever energy I can before Krimsun resumes pummeling us,”
After Reggie had left, Katherine and I quickly finished up our meal and began walking back to the training area.
“I’m sorry Katherine,” I said, “But with everything that’s happened,”
She leaned down and pulled me into a hug, “I understand, I told you I wanted to go home too,” she let go and rested a hand on my shoulder.
“We knew this was going to be hard, but we didn’t really know, did we?” she sighed as she stood back up, “But I refuse to give up until we have a story worth telling,”
I nodded, “Gus deserves that, but I’m not sure how we’ll manage it with me on the team,”
Katherine gave me one of her classic smiles, “Reggie just apologized to you, anything can happen,”
Hard to argue with that logic.
As we entered the room, we found Krimsun chatting with a man who wore a dark cloak and featureless mask that covered his entire face. Krimsun looked at us and appeared as if she were about to say something, but then an alarm sounded.
“Let’s move,” Krimsun said as she rushed towards the door, “It has been decades since they’ve used this alarm, we are required to meet outside, immediately,”
“If that alarm didn’t sound when a dragon burst through a wall and killed several people…” I wondered out loud as we ran to the front of the hall.
“Ah, that would do it,”
ns 15.158.61.12da2
