The sound of his friends' excitedly discussing, what must have been their promotion, made it back to Fellaroth before he had even reached the door back to the guild hall. Fellaroth saw the looks of true delight on the faces of his party members as he entered, pausing only to allow Andria to lift the hinged counter for him to pass. The excited discussion continued as Fellaroth approached. Now that he was within earshot, he was able to make out what was being said, and it was not a discussion about their party's promotion but rather one about a potential job.
"This is the kind of job that comes around once in a lifetime! If we take this job and do it right, we stand to make a real name for ourselves, Hidden Fury could become a household name, and our next promotion will be just around the corner!" Calvin's excitement was unmistakable as he and the others saw Fellaroth approaching.
"Fell, this is all thanks to you, we now have the opportunity of a lifetime and it's all because you chose to join our party!" called Jackson with a broad smile.
"Alright, alright you two, give Fell some breathing room, he probably doesn't even know what's happening." Said Riegert, playing the voice of reason as usual.
"I take it the party has gained a rank?"
"That's right, and the rise in rank brings some new perks with it! Not only are we now able to earn more for each job we take, but we are also now eligible to take more difficult jobs, which are obviously worth more coin!"
"That's fantastic news, well worth celebrating!"
"That it is Fell, but that's not what has us so excited. We've just been told about a new job that came in only a couple of hours ago, a pretty lucrative job at that. Oh, and did I mention that it was a request made by The Queen herself!" said Riegert starting to sound more like Calvin and Jackson with every passing second.
"Alright, I can see why that would have you so excited. What does this job entail?"
"It's a simple investigation of The Cruwshant Mountains. Apparently, there have been reports of strange things happening out there of late, and now people have started disappearing. The Queen wants someone to look into it and report back."
"And how much is the request worth?"
"Four gold pieces!" interrupted Jackson, trying to contain his excitement.
"That's more than we've ever made!" added Calvin.
"Is it normal for a D-rank job to pay so well?"
"Well no, but this is a request being made directly by The Queen, so it only makes sense that she would pay more than the usual rate."
"Does it really Calvin? I mean wouldn't completing a request by The Queen already stand as a substantial reward for any adventurer? I mean it allows that party to get their name known to The Queen herself. And besides, isn't The Prince an adventurer? If I'm not mistaken, he's quite a capable one at that. Wouldn't it make more sense for The Queen to simply ask her own son to look into this matter?"
"You're overthinking this Fell. The Queen wouldn't ask her son to take on a request like this, because investigations of this kind are always handled by lower ranking parties. We go in and find out what's happening. If it's something that we can handle, then we handle it. If it's too much for us, then we report back to The Guild so they can have an appropriately ranked party assigned to the job." Answered Riegert.
"Then is this a job that we are thinking about taking on?"
"I would like to, but there are some issues that come along with it, namely the distance. Even if we had horses or a wagon it would take us several weeks to reach the Cruwshant Mountains. I highly doubt that The Queen is going to want to wait that long."
"Give me just one moment." Said Fellaroth before turning and walking back to the reception desk.
"What do you think he's doing?" asked Calvin.
"Do you think he's asking if The Queen would be prepared to wait for us to travel to Cruwshant?" Jackson's dry joke did little to put the group at ease as they watched Fellaroth speak with Andria. The receptionist's expression turned from confusion to interest, then back to confusion and finally reached understanding as she pointed North and nodded in agreement. "Whatever he's saying must be very interesting, I've never seen Andria so captivated before."
"And you don't think it could be his good looks that have her so captivated?" Calvin spoke without ever looking away from the strange scene that was unfolding at the reception desk, captivating even the other receptionists as it happened.
"No chance, Fell's not her type, none of us are!" answered Riegert, just as captivated as the rest.
"What do you mean?" asked Calvin, looking away from Fellaroth and Andria for the first time as he turned to Riegert.
"Do I have to spell it out for you? She prefers women!" answered Riegert now also looking away from the reception area.
"He's coming back, and he looks very pleased with himself too!" announced Jackson, returning the focus to Fellaroth.
"And? What was that all about?" Fellaroth smiled knowingly at Riegert's question. He had made sure to speak quietly with Andria to ensure that he wasn't overheard. The topic of their discussion was one that needed to remain known to very few, even Andria hadn't really understood what the true value of the information she had shared was, to her it seemed to be little more than arbitrary information. She hadn't really understood the need for the hushed voices but chose to honour Fellaroth's wishes all the same.
"It's not something that I would like to discuss out in the open. Are we planning on spending the night here?"
"We are. We booked some rooms while you were off with The Guild Master. You and Calvin will be sharing a room, while Jackson and I will share a room. I hope that won't be an issue?"
"Not at all. I think we should retire to our room. If you don't mind!" the group stood and stared at Fellaroth for a moment, not sure what to make of his request. They turned and scanned the empty guild hall which played host to only the receptionists and no one else. They then looked at each other and after a moment of silent deliberation, agreed to retire to Fellaroth's room, if for no other reason than to learn why Fellaroth was suddenly so secretive.
Not long later they found themselves standing in a room on the second floor of the guild, eagerly waiting to hear what Fellaroth was so keen to keep from other people's ears. "So, what's this all about Fell, what did you speak with…" started Riegert after he closed the room door behind him, but before he could say any more, Fellaroth had shushed him, then pointed to his ear followed by the walls. Riegert, Calvin, and Jackson stood in the centre of the room, which had little more than two beds that were separated by a side table, and a small table that had two chairs to either side of it.
With everyone having entered the room, Fellaroth clicked his fingers causing a haze to drop from the ceiling and cover the walls like a mystic curtain that he had conjured from thin air. "Now we can speak. I apologise for my antics, but this is a closely guarded secret that very few people have ever known about. In fact, as far as I know, I am the only person alive who is in possession of this knowledge."
"Why do I suddenly feel like we would be better off not knowing this information?"
"That, Jackson, is probably because you have never trusted mages, and even though you trust Fell implicitly, you have held a lingering doubt about him ever since we found out that he was a magic user."
"Wow, Calvin, thanks for the full psychiatric evaluation. I now know that I have real trust issues that I need to work through!" Jackson's voice dripped with sarcasm even though he knew that on some level Calvin's words, all jokes aside, had held some truth in them.
"Enough you two. Is this information that you are guarding so closely going to assist our party?"
"It is Riegert, this information will most certainly give us an advantage with this job in particular."
"This is clearly information that you have chosen to keep to yourself for some time, especially considering that you seemed quite certain of the fact that you were the only person alive with said information. Are you sure that you want to share such a secret with us? How can you be sure that we wouldn't turn around and share the information with others?"
"Before I share this information with you, I would have each of you sign a blood covenant, swearing to never reveal any information pertaining to this secret with another being, living or otherwise, without my express consent."
"That magic is taboo Fell! Does this secret mean so much to you that you would use magic that is frowned upon by almost every kingdom in this world?"
"That magic, as you call it, is only taboo because the rulers of this world don't like that we mages have secrets that could potentially ruin nations, secrets that they will never get access to."
"What do you mean Fell, what is a 'Blood Covenant?' I've never heard of this magic before."
"That's because you don't like magic, so you tend not to listen when people speak about it."
"That's not true Calvin. I don't listen when people talk about magic because I can't use it, so it doesn't really appeal to me."
"A blood covenant, Jackson, is a form of magic that ensures that secrets are kept."
"And how does it do that, Fell?"
"If a blood covenant is ever broken, or if the intention to break it is held, then the signed party will forfeit their life."
"And I take it that 'forfeit their life' is not going to make for a very nice death? Not that there is such a thing as a nice death."
"No, I have seen someone break a covenant, once. It's not a pleasant sight, and I can assure you that it most certainly is not a pleasant way to die either."
"But I still don't understand why you want this secret protected so badly. Is this some sort of powerful weapon or evil magic that you know of? Why is it so important for this information to be kept secret?"
"All I will say is that it is a kind of magic that the world just isn't ready for yet… then again it might never be ready."
"You're making less, and less sense Fell. Who are you to decide if the world is ready to discover this magic or not?"
"If you choose to sign the blood covenant, I will explain what I can, and then you will understand everything." Riegert and the others stood in silent contemplation for a long while, leaving Fellaroth to wait patiently for them to come to a decision. As each of them thought it over, they found themselves more concerned by the use of 'forbidden magic' than about the secret that they were going to have to keep, potentially for the rest of their lives. Jackson, in particular, found the idea of this magic to be disturbing, however, the issue that concerned him far more than the magic itself was the fact that Fellaroth, a trusted member of their own party, would so casually suggest the use of this form of magic. The three of them stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what each of the others was thinking. The silence in the room started to feel like a weapon being wielded with such malice that fear started to creep into their hearts, a fear of being judged by their party members, by their friends. After the silence had dragged on for an uncomfortably long time, Jackson finally spoke up.
"Very well Fell. We agreed that you would become a member of this party, and though we did it rather quickly, it is still a decision that I stand by. As a member of this party, you are given the full trust and confidence of all other members. I mean we've been into battle together and we trusted you with our lives. In my mind, this situation is no different. If we could trust you with our lives then, we can trust you with our lives now. I will sign this 'blood covenant' Fell!"
"Jackson is right, if we can trust you with our lives in battle then this should be no different. I will also sign that covenant!" Riegert's words were enough to sway Calvin, who at this point was the only member who was still having trouble making up his mind.
"You know what. The others are right, this is no different than battle, and if they both trust you, then I will too."
"Very well. I will now perform the spell. Could each of you stand around, facing me!" As Fellaroth spoke, Riegert and the others followed his instructions to the letter, never deviating even for a second. They started by forming an incomplete circle around Fellaroth, with each of them standing facing him. "Now I need each of you to raise your right hand to chest level, with your palms facing me." With their palms facing Fellaroth, magic circles appeared mere inches from their hands, glowing with an ominous purple light. "Do each of you swear, on pain of death, that under no circumstances will you ever reveal to another being, living or otherwise, the information that you are about to receive?" as each member of the party agreed to the terms of the spell, a magical dagger immerged from the circle and sliced the tips of their middle fingers, causing blood to trickle down their fingers to the palm of their hands. As the blood reached the palm of their hands it pooled into small orbs, which then floated into the magic circles, turning them from purple to a deep crimson, before they vanished from view. "It's done!" said Fellaroth when the circles had completely faded from view and the room's lighting had returned to normal.