Michael thought Stefan's breath reeked of booze.
Vince offered him the small glass. "A drink?"
Stefan grabbed the bottle instead.
"As you guys already know," he placed the glass back at his desk. "We've moved from eighth place, in the ranking of guilds, up to seventh. It's a small step but an easy call for a celebration! I believe none of this would have been possible if it weren't for your party. Truly, I am in your debt."
Ellis yawned. "Yeah, we know."
"I mean it." he said. "My goal to increase the influence of this guild has stayed the same ever since. Your party impresses me quest after quest, I admire your consistency more than anyone else. I wonder how I could ever thank you all."
"By increasing our reward."
"You know I can't do that."
"Give us more assigned quests." Mave insisted. "Stop reaching out towards us when other parties are failing."
Vince stroked his hair. "Yes…I suppose you're right."
"And reach out only to us. Don't bother including anybody else if they're not up for the quest."
"If you're asking me to give you a quest alone, you know that's impossible. But if you're asking me to keep the participation minimal, then fine, I can make it happen."
Ellis looked back at Vince. "You know I basically asked the same thing as her, right?"
Stefan steadily drank at the expensive bottle. "And could someone remind me why I'm here? I don't mind heading back down—"
"I must reveal something important." Vince pressed his hands together. "Let's say, I haven't been completely honest with you. You probably have realized that your quest to Almore has been nothing but poorly staged."
Ellis flung his hands in the air.
"We shall make a fair trade," he continued. "I reveal one truth, you reveal one truth. Does everyone understand?"
Ellis noticed Vince's change in expression. "What do you want?"
"Your quest to Almore has been nothing but a test," he said. "It's true that Falden declared war on us long ago. An attack on Almore was already imminent, I was given an overseer over this situation and hoped to resolve it. Then began, I sent out parties of adventurers to defend against the dark forces of Falden."
"So?"
"It was a joke, don't you see? Are you laughing?"
Michael thought his grin was creepy. It was like the air around them had suddenly felt heavier.
Vince cackled to himself. "Grimy adventurers versus Falden soldiers? What a terrible, horrible, but hilarious joke!"
Ellis exchanged looks as if he was seeing the same thing as them.
Vince deliberately pointed to himself. "They gave me the honor to defend Almore! Me! Could you really believe that?!"
"What are you trying to say?"
"It was just a test," he calmed down. "This quest was never meant to be accomplished. All they wanted was to see if adventurers could hold an attack from Falden. And guess what, you all managed to do that very well!"
"So…you're saying—"
"Your party is the reason why we moved in ranking. Your party was the reason why we weren't shot down again."
"They would really do something like that?"
"It was a test," he said again, sitting down behind his desk. "Everybody was meant to be slaughtered at Almore. Almore isn't a town, it's an experiment to find out if adventurers could stand against Falden. We were just the bare minimum."
"That's why it was so underdeveloped when we came…"
Vince nodded. "You were all meant to die. There was no possible way none of you could survive against an attack from Falden."
"But, you sent us to Almore. You didn't even bother reading my letters?"
"I thought you were dead."
Mave surged forward. "You piece of—"
Ellis sprung from his seat and stopped her. "You sent us there thinking that we would just solve everything?"
Vince nodded again with a grin. "And you did, didn't you? There's nothing else I could possibly ask for!"
Mave moved Ellis away and slammed her hands on his desk. Her face in a rage because he still considered them expendables.
Vince didn't even blink despite how she almost broke through the wood.
"What do you even take us for?!" she raised her voice. "We're nothing like those hooligans you see downstairs!"
"Yes, and you proved yourselves well."
"You just love throwing us in other people's quest, huh? You expect us to clean up everybody's mess?"
"And you did exactly that. Could you understand why I'm so fascinated with your party?"
She pointed a finger to him. "And I want you to understand we're more than any other pathetic party you have. Don't meddle us with any of their quests anymore."
"Alright."
"Give me your word."
"Mave, you have my word."
Mave turned to them. "We're done here."
They watched her leave the room, pushing the adventurer aside. Vince signaled for him to close the door to shut out the noise downstairs.
"What a woman," Vince propped his feet on his desk. "I'd have to feel sorry for you boys to deal with that all the time."
"Tell me about it." Stefan wiped his mouth, setting the bottle aside. "Are we done here then? Can I leave?"
"Actually, no, Stefan. That brings me to another question."
Stefan turned half of his attention to him.
"You guys have yet to reveal your truth."
"Oh, we're still playing your game?"
"There's been great word around that Stefan Jaegen had been the deterrent against the Falden soldiers. Something happened in that battle, I presume? Is there anything that you guys aren't sharing with me?"
Ellis looked at Stefan. Michael didn't even know how to answer. He wasn't there in the battle of Almore because Mave had firmly told him to sit back and wait until it was over. Ellis definitely witnessed the battle first-hand. Though Michael was admittedly curious to know what happened as well.
Stefan shrugged his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Vince studied his weird posture. "Are you refusing to tell me?"
"No?"
"You won't tell me. Why?"
"Because…I wasn't there?"
Ellis's eyes stared with disbelief.
"Stefan, I know your past." Vince grimly frowned. "Don't make me mention every part of your climatic life. You guys were never meant to win, I know that, it was rather foolish of me to even send your party to Almore."
Ellis turned back to Vince. "So, you really thought we died—"
Vince gestured to him to be quiet. "Stefan, I'm not asking for much. Anybody that I talk to outside that was in the battle always speaks of your name and they all admit the victory was tied to you. You're a great fighter, we can all agree, but why do you do this to yourself?"
Stefan stared at the empty bottle.
"Is it for her, Stefan? For her memory—"
Ellis loudly cleared his throat. "We should be going. It's been a great talk but I think we're running out of time."
Michael watched Ellis rush to the door, urging both of them to leave the room. It was like he was trying to get them out before the place was about to explode. As Michael studied Stefan's face, it was that same look from before. The moment Cerra Harper came into the conversation.
But someone blocked their only way out. This man had coarse hair, a scratchy beard, and hygiene that was even comparable to a slave. Though he was a few inches taller than Stefan and had the physique of a long retired adventurer. Michael thought he could have been in his late thirties which was remarkable for someone in the adventuring profession. But the only thing remarkable about this greasy man was his unusually shining jewelry on his fingers and wrist.
"Yosef!" Vince sarcastically welcomed him. "Great to see you again! What brings you back so early?"
Yosef looked to be in a condition Michael thought wasn't even possible. His shirt was stained with sweat and mysterious liquids. Ellis had winced the moment the man walked past him.
Ellis waved at Michael, still urging him to leave before anything else could get uncomfortable. But Michael didn't feel right leaving Stefan alone.
"Stefan." Yosef said with his voice groggy, moving past him. "I thought you were dead."
Stefan turned his attention to the unkept man. It was like that had cracked his silence.
Yosef searched behind the desk for the expensive liquor. He grumbled some curses to himself to find their secret stash was empty. He looked around and finally assessed the room like they weren't standing there before.
"What's with all the commotion?" he angrily asked Vince. "Why'd you have to invite everyone?"
"We've been promoted in ranks."
He scoffed. "Don't make me laugh."
"It's true. Stefan and his party completed the quest at Almore."
Yosef glanced back at Stefan. "Really?"
Stefan had a distant look on his face.
"Why the hell are you still here, Stefan? Are you that starved for attention so you need to show up in everybody's business?"
"You should be grateful."
"Say that again?"
"This guild would've gone to hell if it wasn't for me." Stefan faced him. "All those quests you've assigned were completed because of me. If I was never here, this place wouldn't even be standing by now."
Yosef walked over to him. "Who do you think you are?"
"I came back to this guild on its last legs. I've done your quests and this is how you still treat me? Who would ever thought, Yosef, the vice captain of the great Adventuring guild would fall to such an image."
He drove his finger into Stefan's chest. "You still think you know this guild better than me, huh? You think you can swing your sword and just call it a day? How about you try swinging away all the shit you've caused for us, how about that?"
"I saved this guild."
"You destroyed it." he growled with seething anger. "I knew from the very beginning you were nothing but trouble. She should have never taken you in."
"Stop this," Ellis gritted. "We didn't come here to—"
Yosef pointed hard at Ellis. "You shut your damn mouth, you dwarf, nobody's talking to you!"
Stefan grabbed his wrist. "Don't call him that."
"Look at you," Yosef widely scoffed. "Defending your little friends like a hero? You come back, get yourself a party, do some quests and suddenly everything's okay? We're supposed to forget about what happened?"
"What about you?" Stefan snapped back. "You've done nothing but pleasure yourself with the money from this guild, I could hardly even recall who you used to be."
"You want to lecture me about the past?" he snatched his hand away. "You, of all people, have the audacity to tell me what could have been?"
Stefan's eyes sharpened.
"She would have been alive! Tell me, how does a party of seven adventurers and Cerra Harper all die within a quest and only a boy returns?"
"You…don't know—"
"I know!" he exclaimed. "I know that Cerra wouldn't die for somebody so pathetic like you—"
Stefan grabbed his collar and slammed him against the shelves, raining down books and sheets of paper.
There was a moment of silence that struck the room. Michael thought Stefan had slammed him so hard, the people downstairs must have felt it too.
Yosef tried to free himself. He was larger and taller than Stefan yet he was being held up inches from the ground like it was nothing.
The only thing he could do was stare right back into the eyes of a past that everyone refused to forget.