Chapter 55 : Shadow Counselor

  The next day:

  "Yaaaaawn..." I let out a loud yawn, stretching my arms above me, before finally opening my still-heavy eyelids. I blink, realizing I'm in my room, back home. I lower my head to see if Elvaria is still lying on top of me, curious.

  And there she is — "HUUUH!?" I shout suddenly.

  "Aley… well done," she murmurs in my ear in a low, slightly mocking tone. I’d rather not dwell on what those words mean or on what may or may not have happened during the night. No need to get into whether we woke up in the middle of the night for… any particular reason.

  "AAALEY! ELVIE! I COULDN'T SLEEP!" roars Githin from the wall of his room, clearly at the end of his rope. Honestly, it's not my fault if some people don’t know how to relax...

  I glance over at Elvie, who, upon catching my gaze, gives me a slight smile. A smile far from innocent. Ah, crap.

  I finally get out of bed to put on my fabulous, splendid, and very elegant Victorian outfit, which I found in the dungeon of Aqualida – a true masterpiece, if I may say so. Once I’m ready, I head downstairs to the guild house’s living room for a little meeting.

  Alfira is still asleep, Githin is trying to make up for his lost sleep, and Elvaria is getting dressed in her room, putting her armor back on. But in the living room, only one person is already up: Valentin. As soon as he notices me, he turns to look at me.

  "Perfect timing, Aley. Come over here."

  "Great timing, great timing..." I murmur, briefly glancing away as I remember a certain murmur from Elvie, straight out of… NO, stop it. I fix my eyes on the window, where the fake sun in the dungeon is beginning to rise. By the way, it's funny to note that time here passes at the same rate as outside.

  "Aley?"

  "Oh, uh, yeah, sorry. I’m here."

  "Alright. So, to start with, I wanted to ask about why Githin – I mean, Oscar – hates the royalty. So, I went to investigate at the guild."

  "Couldn't you have just asked him?"

  "Yes, yes, but that wouldn't be much of an adventure."

  "Well, he hates royalty because they treated him like a weapon. But don’t worry, he doesn’t hold it against Alfira for that —"

  "STOP SPOILING EVERYTHING, ALEY!" Valentin suddenly shouts, exasperated. "I swear, every day, every night, every chance you get… instead of building suspense or creating a bit of tension, you spoil it all."

  "Oh, it’s not like it wasn’t obvious."

  "Doesn't matter..." Valentin continues, sighing. "So, as I was saying, I went to the guild to gather info, and…"

  "And?"

  "And the receptionist came over and asked if I was part of Novus Obris. I said yes, and she handed me a letter."

  "They gave you a letter? From who?"

  "No idea. The seal on it is completely unfamiliar."

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  "And what does the letter say?"

  "It’s an invitation for all of us, from someone who calls himself a… ‘Shadow Counselor’."

  "Why are all the names in this world so… cringe?"

  "Good question, Aley. But now’s not the time for it," Valentin retorts before continuing, "We’re formally invited to the ‘Village of the Eclipse’."

  "Mmmhh, that name rings a bell."

  "Exactly, Aley, I felt something when I heard that name too."

  "What else does the letter say?"

  "Absolutely nothing. Just that we’re supposed to go there. I have no idea what’s waiting for us." Valentin stares at the window, looking thoughtful.

  "Tell me, where’s this letter, anyway?"

  "A-Ah, um, well… this morning, you know, there was wind…"

  "Valentin."

  "A lot of wind."

  "Don't tell me that…"

  "It’s gone off to a better place, Aley. A better place..." he adds with a mock-dramatic tone, crocodile tears in his eyes.

  "By the way, last night, before going to sleep, I had a question," I say, bringing the conversation back to me.

  "Before ‘sleeping’? I’m not exactly sure you actually managed to sleep last night, Aley. I mean, given what was going on…" I then place a heavy hand on his shoulder, giving him a dark look. He swallows his words, losing his smug smile. Finally, some peace.

  "So, Valentin, I was wondering, should we split up to continue raiding the primal dungeons or not?"

  "That depends. Is it urgent to get to the Prism?"

  "I have no idea what the World’s Will is up to in that floating control room. So I can’t really answer."

  "Anyway, we’re adventurers. It’s not like we have a one-year countdown to save the world."

  "That’s true, might as well investigate this mystery first."

  And so, Valentin and I conclude our meeting on the guild’s future decisions… with just the two of us. Well, yeah, we make the decisions here, seeing as the guild leader is still getting dressed — well, getting ready — for our next adventure. Whew.

  Soon after, Elvaria joins us in the living room, followed closely by Alfira. The sun is now high in the sky, probably signaling it’s midday. A thought suddenly crosses my mind.

  "Alfira, are you okay?"

  "Huh? Strange way to start a conversation, Aley. But yeah, I’m fine, and you?"

  At my somewhat unexpected question, Elvaria throws me a sharp look, thick with a jealousy so intense I can almost touch it. It’s crazy how she can make me feel guilty with just a glance.

  "Do you know why Githin hasn’t come down yet?" I ask, deliberately ignoring Elvie’s dark look.

  "He told me it was because of… you two. Apparently, you argued? Are you alright?" she asks, looking worried, and here we go.

  But Elvaria cuts in before I have to answer, and I’m almost grateful.

  "W-What? Ah, um, he must have misunderstood… or dreamed it, there’s no problem," she stammers, trying to come up with an excuse without stammering too much. I could laugh at her effort to seem calm… but I value my life.

  Alright, no time to linger. Valentin and I need to explain our plans for Voltruite to them. And what starts as a serious meeting quickly turns into a rambling monologue… punctuated by Alfira’s annoying lip-smacking noises. Bop bop bop.

  "Alfira, knock it off, it’s unbearable…" mutters Valentin, visibly on the edge.

  "It’s true, it’s pretty annoying," I add, nodding.

  "Where’d you learn to make that sound?" adds Elvie, grimacing as she pinches her lips together.

  "I heard it while I was asleep—"

  "AAAAAH, SO YOU ALL GOT THE PLAN, RIGHT?!" I shout suddenly, cutting Alfira off mid-sentence. The last thing I want is for her to blurt out that she can hear us at night because of these ridiculously thin walls…

  Anyway. Clear objective: head to the Village of the Eclipse. To do that, we’ll go through the Adventurers’ Guild in Flahoa, a town in Voltruite. That’s where we linked the dungeon’s exit. After our fight against Llyrnoth, we rushed there… to fill our stomachs. Because hey, regaining your memories is exhausting!

  "So, are we leaving without Githin, then?" I ask, glancing up toward the stairs leading to the rooms, where he must still be snoring.

  "Aley, listen up, I know you’ll get what I’m saying," Valentin begins, adopting the tone of a wise old lesson. "When you wake up on a Monday morning to go to class at 8 a.m., do you enjoy that?"

  "No."

  "Exactly. For Githin — or rather, Oscar — who’s way too old for this nonsense, adventuring is like a job, something he drags around like a sack of potatoes. So… are you really planning on going up there to wake him?"

  "Put that way, it sounds like a really bad idea."

  "Glad you get it."

  "Thanks for the clarity, Valentin."

  With that, we shake hands, a smug smile on our faces, proud of our flawless logic. Alfira and Elvaria look at us with a mix of exasperation and pity; clearly, they find us ridiculous. They just can’t understand this sacred brotherhood.

  "I’m heading out first. We’ll meet up at the rendezvous point," I say, activating my magic.

  And there it is. In an instant, I find myself teleported to the middle of a street in Flahoa.