But twenty days after the initial report of his disappearance, the Western Holy Church issued a report that, as far as its investigations could tell, Veldora the Storm Dragon both no longer existed and showed no sign of existing anytime soon.
Word spread first in the area around the Forest of Jura, a broad plain dotted with a large number of minor countries. Once Veldora's fate had been broadly reported, each one of them sprang to their feet, the proverbial hornet's nest stimulated to action. Every king and every minister of every nation held day after day of emergency meetings, gathering information and debating what to do next.
It was a trying time for the Baron of Veryard, minister of the small kingdom of Blumund, but not half as trying as it was for the man Veryard had called into his private chamber that day. This was Fuze, a man just as renowned for his sharp, unrelenting eyes as he was for his small stature. He was the guild master for this kingdom, a position affording him a hefty amount of authority even in such a tiny nation.
"I believe you know why I summoned you here," the baron began the moment Fuze walked through the archway. "You have heard about the storm dragon by now, have you not?"
Fuze nodded. "Of course, my baron," he said in his low, hoarse voice.
"Hmph," Veryard spat out in response. "I suppose I should expect nothing less of you, my good guild master. Now, may I ask about how the guild intends to respond?"
"We have no particular plans at this time, sir."
"…I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly? You have no intention to take action?"
"Yes, sir," Fuze replied with a voice devoid of emotion, silently asking the baron what he was so perturbed about. "I do not feel any action is necessary."
The baron, not a great fan of this response, chose to keep those feelings hidden.
"Rather a strange thing to say, is it not? Not necessary? The disappearance of Veldora the Storm Dragon may portend further monster activity in the space of days, even hours! And you are taking no measure at all against it?"
"It would strike me as rather strange to do so, sir, for taking such measures is the job of the state. I am responsible for the Free Guild, not for providing volunteer work when bidden."
This was the truth, as far as Fuze was concerned. The Free Guild was an independent, nongovernmental agency. Its members were afforded no special guarantees of security or comfort—unlike the assorted workers and craftsmen on the government ledger—but the basic rights that all citizens were entitled to. Their only official debt to the kingdom came in the form of taxes.
That was the system in Blumund, as it was in nearly all the nations that surrounded it. To put it another way, the Free Guild was a group that operated outside the framework of any nation—and one far more unified than a single government as well. It was a fact that some of their operations occurred without the knowledge or consent of these nations, whether the guild intended it to be seen that way or not.
"Is it not the responsibility of the state," the guild master meekly continued, "to protect the assets of its people? In the same way, it is the guild's responsibility to protect the lives of its members. We both have a lot on our plates, I suppose."
Fuze wasn't sure whether he had imagined the blue vein that had just popped up on Veryard's forehead or not.
He hadn't. The baron knew his position was being probed.
"Enough pretense, Guild Master! How many mercenaries can you provide us? How many adventurers with combat experience? What is the size of the defense force you can provide in service? I need numbers!"
The guild master gave a roll of his eyes and sighed.
"I do hope we are on the same page when I say this, sir, but I will remind you, we are not an army of volunteers. If we are talking about a mobilization based on the terms of our agreement, I can provide you the equivalent of one-tenth of our members. If you wish access to anything beyond that, well, that would all depend on our compensation."
The population of Blumund was almost exactly one million. The membership log of the local Free Guild totaled around seven thousand, family members not included. Thus, if the kingdom decided to invoke its agreement with the guild and muster 10 percent of its members—seven hundred in all—these fighters would officially join the command of the national army.
Such an order, of course, would apply only to guild members who belonged to Blumund and no other nation. All Free Guild members fell under the same banner, but their home nations were also clearly stated in the logs for this reason. What's more, while a nation had the right to define its own mobilization period under this agreement, it was also obliged to give the guild a one-fifth discount on taxes collected during the entire period. This allowed governments to rapidly summon a powerful force, and the guild to make sure its men would not be obligated to the state for too much of their time. For a group like the guild, which was required to pay salaries to all deployed members in advance, it was the obvious approach to take.
Besides, even if a government asked for every man the local Free Guild had, there would be no way to handle them. After all, only about half of any guild's membership had any fighting skill.
The Blumund nobles were fully aware of this. Normally, they wouldn't have their top minister attempt to bully the guild master into better terms…but the times demanded otherwise. The monsters were stirring, for one—but even beyond that, they had more pressing motivations.
"Very well. Enough of this. Are you trying to wring the truth out of me, Fuze?"
Fuze's eyebrows raised a little at the mention of his name. Veryard rarely, if ever, called him by it. He turned his eyes toward the baron for the first time.
"The area near Veldora's prison was meant to be absolutely impenetrable," he said. "Now that route may potentially be open to direct navigation—and that means we must consider the possibility of the Eastern Empire taking action."
"Ah, certainly so!" the baron replied. "Whether they were letting Veldora be or were simply afraid of the seal being broken, we have been detecting sudden new movements in the Empire after a long period of silence. Do you understand what that means? If they can navigate that forest, this kingdom will be swallowed up instantly. And we can forget about the Western Holy Church providing us any meaningful support! The countries around the Forest of Jura have no meaningful alliance with each other. We will all become Empire vassals in the blink of an eye!"
"No support from the Church…? I fear not, no. They never were terribly interested in wars between mere mortals in the first place. Annihilating the monsters is what their doctrine calls for."
"Quite so. If we could have them deploy even one of their paladins, the Empire wouldn't be so quick to move… Not needing to prepare for monster attacks would buy us some time, at least."
"I doubt anything could stir the Church to action," Fuze said. "The destruction of a nation or two does nothing to affect their own finances. They cannot help everyone, nor even their own flock."
He took a moment to gauge the baron's face. Veryard looked exhausted, as if he had aged rapidly in just the past few days. It was understandable.
The two of them were childhood friends. And even though Veryard was merely a baron, if the public knew of Fuze's close contact with a member of the nobility, it would create assorted difficulties for the both of them. They both had to pretend to use each other for their own personal gain, which was why they usually portrayed their relationship as surly and resentful.
It would take more than the power of a small kingdom to overcome this thorny obstacle they now faced. But perhaps, Fuze thought, his friend was being overly anxious. The Empire was on the move, it was true, but that didn't mean they should expect an attack before sunset.
"But how do we know the Empire will take action against us?" he offered. "I will gladly conduct my own personal inquiries into the matter. I'd advise you not to expect much, but I can at least gauge the situation in the Forest of Jura and around the Empire."
"…I would appreciate that."
Yes. There was no guarantee the Empire would act against them. If it was going to, it would undoubtedly be with a large force. It was never a nation to waste its time with small skirmishes. No, it would casually send over a force of a million or so and trample over every nation in the area, one by one. Assembling such an army would take time, at least three years or so. Which was not a generous amount, but it created some wiggle room to work with.
"I had best begin gathering information, then," Fuze said to close the conversation. "There is little time. I am off!"
"Thank you…"
The two of them nodded and went their separate ways. There was much to do.