It had gone dark when Vulcan broke the news to Jess. She immediately wanted to jump back on the hover bikes and drive all the way back to Rodden to help out Jason. He convinced her that even if they rode out now, they wouldn't make it until the next day. He also reminded her that he was with a small army of his sentries. If things got really bad, then he would deploy the sentries to help. After further explanation and convincing that Jason would be fine, she finally let it go. But after that, the ride back into Krestfall was quiet. It seemed she was angry at him for placing someone she cared about in danger.
Taking the same route and even entering the town through the west mine entrance didn't raise any suspicion from the guards. Although they gave them a hard time for taking so long and it already becoming dark, they allowed them since they had fought against the ant colony that would overrun their town. Afterwards they didn't try to find a nice inn to stay; the guild had plenty of rooms for a decent cost and would allow them to work easier while in town.
The next morning, a knocking disturbed them while Jess was waking up to get ready for the day. It was a message from the guild master to come to his office in 30 minutes for further talks. "Hey, I didn't mention this yesterday after what you told me about Jason, but did you notice what the leader of Endless Sun did during the end of the fight?" asked Jess.
"What, you mean when he began to glow brighter than he already has been?" inquired Vulcan, making a small joke.
She nodded, "Yeah, do you have any idea what he did?" She asked back, letting his joke fly over her head.
"No idea. What did he do?" Vulcan shrugged his shoulders.
"Remember when I told you certain noble and royal bloodlines are stronger because not only do they have the talent and resources for it?" She paused for him to nod. "They also have certain rare affinities that they pass along to their offspring, like for example the earth affinity is very common as well as fire, water, and wind. But some are only found when they are born to a strong lineage. What he showed us last night was an affinity called the Sunlight affinity. Do you know what powerful family is famous for that affinity? THE HARRIEN KINGDOM ROYAL FAMILY!" Jess explained and emphasizing that last part.
"So Lucius is some high-born? I guess that would explain why he was representing the lord of Krestfall when we first got introduced. I thought maybe they worked for the lord of this town like how Roriksten tried employing us," said Vulcan as he thought about what this all meant.
They both came to the conclusion that maybe Lucius was trying to hide his royal bloodline. He didn't come off as a snobby rich kid from what they could tell, and he even seemed to be a nice guy. It did leave more questions than answers.
Once Jess was ready, they left their rooms and headed upstairs towards the Guild Master's office. A secretary let them know that they have been waiting for their arrival. Inside the office was a large study in the far back of the room. On the right wall were a collection of diverse weapons in glass boxes, while on the left wall were heads of a myriad of beasts. Vulcan noticed the head of a royal ant guard now proudly mounted on a new spot on the wall.
Sitting down by the guild master's desk was Endless Sun, only this time they were wearing more casual clothing than their battle attire. Another person was there as well, a beautiful woman with violet hair wearing a white blouse and wide-leg trousers. A man in butler attire was standing behind her, as well as a strong knight who Vulcan could tell was of low silver stage. But the woman was far stronger than the knight, so it was understandable why she had only this knight to protect her.
Esteban was behind his desk, smiling. "It would have been fine to take your armor off for one day, Vulcan. Ant colonies don't spawn every day, you know?" The guild master joked around on why Vulcan came in like he was ready for another fight while everyone was mostly in casual attire.
"I was planning on doing more quests today. It seems I missed the part in your message explaining the dressing attire. Didn't know you cared about fashion that much after you wear the same brown tunic with black trousers every day," retorted Vulcan, making the guild master laugh out loud. Everyone seemed to enjoy his joke except for Alicia and the people who accompanied the well-dressed lady.
"I can't believe Belmont thought you were an agent of Nyphili. Those cold bastards could never crack a joke to save their lives," said Esteban, finishing up his laughter. "Anyways, I would like to introduce you to someone who has been wanting to meet you for a while now. This is Marchioness Valeria, Lord of Krestfall," introducing the violet-haired woman sitting quietly to his left.
Vulcan's team immediately bowed deeply before the noble lady. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Marchioness Valeria, of House Krestfall," said Vulcan in a respectful tone. Everyone, including Endless Sun, was shocked at Dark Sentry's etiquette. Valeria began to giggle at this display. "Raise your heads, adventurers. I'm pleased with your show of respect and for the dangers you placed yourselves in to save not only my people but this very town as well," kindly said Valeria.
"Your words are very kind, my lady. We would have done it regardless of any situation," explained Vulcan.
"Nonsense, the only people who would have done such actions would be Lucius here. Esteban as well if it would bring him a fight with a strong opponent," said Valeria as she looked at the two men. Lucius blushed at the comment while Esteban grinned.
"Marchioness Valeria has come here to express not only her gratitude to your team, Vulcan, but also to ask for another favor from you," explained Esteban.
"It is true. I know your team has already done more than enough for my town, but I need someone who is capable and trustworthy. Esteban has vouched for you, as well as Lucius. Would you accept my plea for help?" asked Valeria as she waited for his response.Vulcan accepted without question.
"Thank you. It relieves me to know that you accepted. With the ant colony taking a toll on our town fighters, I have only Lucius's team to depend on, but I would wish to have his team here in case of another emergency. There have been a large amount of those recently, I'm afraid, and this mission is no different. Before the ant colony raid occurred, a team of adventurers came across another dangerous creature that threatens the very sanctity of my town. Mountain Wyverns. They have set up a nest in a mountain range not far away from town. They have begun harassing caravans as well as attacking the airships coming in every now and then for resource collection. Only a few grown adults were spotted, but once they start to reproduce, they will become a threat to the town itself. I need a strong team to find their nest and eradicate them before they become a threat like the ant colony," explained Valeria, her expression becoming more serious as the importance of the situation became apparent.
"Consider it done, Marchioness Valeria," said Vulcan. "We will not fail you."
Valeria nodded at this, happy to have dependable people to entrust this job to. Vulcan explained that he would like to get started on the mission but not before Esteban gave his team the reward for the ant colony raid. A total of 25 platinum coins were inside a bag, amounting to 2,500 gold coins. Vulcan handed the coins to Jess to hold.
The guild master wasn't done yet. "Hand over your old guild badges, will you?" he asked Dark Sentry.
"Why's that?" Vulcan passed all their badges.
"Because you've been promoted to a silver-ranked team in the guild. Here are your new badges," explained Esteban as he slid the new shiny silver badges for Vulcan to take.
With that taken care of, Dark Sentry bid farewell as they left the room to the front receptionist desk where they would get more details of the Wyvern nest location.