Of Payment for Services Rendered

A/N: Hello everyone! I hope that you all are well. I sincerely apologize for how long it took me to get publishing again, but life has not been kind as of late.

John sighed, steeling himself against his anxious tendencies as he followed the group into Lord Brighton’s office.

Long windows allowed the afternoon light to spill in generously, bathing the room in warm colors. Orange radiance cast the Lord-Protector in shadow as it washed over him from behind. John hadn’t realized just how long he’d been ****, but the morning had long since worn away to midday and afternoon.

The elder Brighton himself looked up from his desk, his eyes briefly scanning each of the group as they filed in. As his gaze met The Gamer’s, John noted how, despite his stony visage, much more weariness was showing through than when he’d first met him, as if a hundred years’ worth of stress had befallen him in a matter of hours.

’All things considered, maybe that’s accurate…’ he thought before pausing in the doorway for a moment. Something had caught his eye.

A small silver dish lay on a corner of the Lord-Protector’s desk, the sun’s light reflecting and refracting within it, bouncing off both the gleaming metal and a small gemstone that sat within it. A shudder ran down The Gamer’s spine. He’d never seen it, but he knew exactly what it was. A simple red gem, in the shape of a droplet - a drop of blood, he realized - his [Blood Transmutation] gem.

’Well, that answers that… Wonder if they’ll let me have it back?’ he wondered, trying not to eye the item too obviously. ’It’s a pretty nice backup plan if I run out of mana, but, man…’

Memories of the agony he’d subjected himself to boiled up, sending goosebumps down his arms. He winced, unable to block out those feelings.

While John tackled his phantom pains, Moira moved in, confidently striding across the room and around her father’s desk. She took a spot at his side, offering him a slight smile as she sat down to his left. The two were notably closer than they had been the previous day, with the father leaning almost imperceptibly over to her.

Cornelius was close behind the Warden, moving to stand respectfully behind the elder Brighton’s right flank.

Ela went in next, calmly walking to one of the chairs seated in front of the Lord-Protector’s imposing desk. She groaned slightly as she eased herself down, twisting in the relatively plush chair. John frowned as he followed, wondering if her combat suit was hiding unhealed injuries. He pulled a chair over next to hers, sitting down and setting the bag of his equipment down before leaning over.

“You OK?” he asked, concern etched on his features, his own discomfort forgotten.

She turned to him, offering a calming smile. “I am… alright. My wounds are healed, but there is still some scarring left from the flames. Those are quite sensitive.”

John mulled that over, uncertain how to respond.

“The medical report said that the phoenix’s flames burned quite deep.” Lord Brighton’s gruff and imposing voice interjected, echoing across the room. The aging warrior rested his hands on the desk in front of him, lacing his fingers together as he leaned forward to continue. “Should you require any further care, the Order will take care of it. You have my guarantee.”

With an almost weary exhale, the Lord-Protector turned his attention to The Gamer. “It is good to see that you are awake as well, Mr. Newman. Your condition was quite dire when you arrived. How are you faring?”

“Uh, I’m alright. Still… processing everything that’s happened,” John said, scratching the back of his neck. “I don’t really remember what happened at the end there. So far my powers have done a pretty good job of pulling me back together, but I guess not this time…”

’I’ve got a decent guess what might have messed with it…’ he thought, quickly glancing at the silver tray that held his wayward skill gem.

Cornelius pulled John’s attention back, elaborating, “On top of your external injuries, you were suffering from some severe internal damage. It seems as though you’d overloaded yourself with mana, to the point that your body was struggling to contain it.”

“...That sounds really bad.” John blanched.

“Internal mana burns are some of the nastiest wounds I studied,” Ela interjected. “I would have expected them to keep you down for a few weeks, at least.”

“Fortunately, despite the weakness of his life energy at first, he responded remarkably well to our healing magic,” Cornelius explained, turning to look at the blonde knight next to John. “Once we’d dealt with the most severe of the wounds, his own powers seemed to take over again. When we departed the infirmary just a few minutes ago, there was no trace of his injuries at all. It’s as if nothing happened.”
“I have that to be thankful for then.” The Gamer furrowed his brow, mulling over what he’d heard. “If I had to take a guess, either something I did or one of the injuries I had slowed down or stopped my powers from fixing my body right away. Then whatever healing you gave me must have reactivated it at some point.”

“I am just glad that you are OK,” Moira said, relieved. “You made… quite a noble stand, at the end there.”

“Wouldn’t have made it that far without both of you.” The Gamer turned to look at Ela, gesturing between both the women he’d fought alongside. “We, uh, made a pretty good team.”

The Bookworm Knight sat up in her chair, reaching over to put a hand on John’s shoulder.

The pair’s eyes met and they exchanged silent words.

“Yes, we did,” Ela said.

Together, they looked over at Moira, who blinked for a moment before she realized that she was being included in their shared camaraderie. The Warden’s cheeks flushed the faintest hue of pink as John met her emerald eyes. The redhead’s cute little expression brought out a wide, genuine smile from him.

’We really did make it back… all that, and we’re OK…’ His eyes watered again as some inner part of him that was still tense finally relaxed. Ela squeezed his shoulder as he wiped his eyes on his sleeves.

Lord Brighton hid a warm expression, giving the trio a moment’s pause before he began the conversation again.

“Ahem.” The graying man cleared his throat, seizing the attention of the room. He centered his gaze upon John and Ela, who sat across from him. “I understand that you all are tired, so I will try to make this quick.”

He pulled a folder over from the edge of his desk, opening it up and quickly checking the papers within. “By all accounts you both displayed great courage today.

“The Order owes you both a great deal.” Lord Brighton leaned forward, allowing his voice to swell. "You especially, John Newman, as someone who was mundane just a few days ago, deserve recognition. Of course, we will compensate you both for your work today.”

John allowed himself to feel pride for a moment as he took in the praise from the lord of the Order. In truth, he’d always thought himself a coward, but the imposing paladin’s voice was all-but-absolute. Emotions churned within him as he debated if he could allow himself to believe that he’d truly earned those words.

Either oblivious to or mercifully ignoring The Gamer’s uncomfortable squirming, the Lord-Protector turned his focus to the Bookworm Knight. “Additionally, your vehicle was totaled between the shootout and the crash. Unfortunately, mundane cars are quite fragile.

"The Order will gladly replace it, with standard upgrades, of course," he continued, flipping through a set of papers on his desk and quickly marking something. "I have also added official commendations to your file. Should you choose to return to service, I am prepared to offer a promotion immediately, but regardless of your decision, I have increased your pension to reflect your work today."

“Thank you, sir,” Ela responded with a muted smile. “Any knight would have made their stand with the Warden.”

The Lord-Protector smiled at that. “I am glad that you have such faith in them.”

By this point, John had managed to sit himself back up, beating down his anxiousness. He turned to look at his blonde friend as she exchanged some small pleasantries with Lord Brighton. She was beaming as the Lord-Protector commended her valor a final time.

’The Order means a lot to her. I’m glad they recognize how much she was willing to give for them,’ he thought, happy for his friend. ’She deserves this.’

"As for you, John Newman." Lord Brighton turned to The Gamer, again shuffling some things around on his desk. "There is more to discuss."

The nerdy alchemist blinked his thoughts away. “Oh, um… right.”

“You signed our Writ of Protection yesterday, which entitles you to similar compensation for your work,” the graying redhead began, locking eyes with the younger man. “However, your actions today go beyond what we would ever have called upon you for.”

The Lord-Protector exhaled heavily. “Unlike Knight Grzmot, though, I do not know exactly what would be appropriate to offer you. We could simply increase your monetary compensation, but perhaps you would rather us provide some amount of training or other information, since you are new to the Abyss.”

By the time the man had finished speaking, John’s mind was already racing. His first natural tendency was to try and optimize - to try and get the most value he could - but he mentally recoiled from that. They may have been fantastical to him, but these were real people offering real generosity.

“Um…” He scrambled back through his mind, trying to think of useful things that might be reasonable to ask for. A few different ideas bounced around, but a pair stood out. “Well, training sounds pretty useful after today, but I'm not even sure what all would be helpful for me. I did have a couple things besides that that maybe you could help me with.

"First, is there a way to 'clean' this money or something for use in the regular world? My parents have been working themselves to the bone to send me to Ashcroft and I'd love to pay them back, but I can't exactly come home with thousands of dollars and no explanation." He chuckled softly. "I'm sure no bank would be thrilled by that either."

Lord Brighton's expression softened ever so slightly. "That is a very respectable request - and a trivially simple one.

"The Abyss Auction can perform safe transfers between Abyssal savings or pocket dimensions and mundane banking. I take it that you have not been set up with them?"

"No..?" John said, vaguely remembering the name.

"That would be my fault, sir," Ela interjected. "I mentioned the Auction to him yesterday, but I did not know how to help him connect. My own account was created by the Order when I was a child."

"Of course." The elder Brighton nodded to the blonde before turning back to The Gamer. "I can have Reginald set you up before you depart. Money you receive from us will have a proper legal trace to a real company.

"Though, if you would like, I can do better," he continued, writing a note. "The Order maintains a scholarship foundation in the mundane world as part of a set of charitable organizations. I can grant you a full scholarship for the remainder of your time at Ashcroft. Your parents would never have to worry about paying for your schooling again."

"That would be incredible," John muttered, eyes widening. "Can you really just do that?"

The Gamer's awe and naivety managed to draw a smile from the older man momentarily before his stoic visage returned. "I can. In time, you will learn how different the mundane and Abyssal economies are."

"Then yes, please. That would take a huge weight off my mind."

The man nodded. "Consider it done. Now, you had a second question?"

John shook his head and focused. "Yes. Right. I need to pull something out of my inventory. One moment."

Wordlessly, The Gamer flew through his UI, navigating to his inventory in search of his most recently acquired subject of interest. He withdrew a glowing orb of brilliant light, a nearly perfect sphere of roiling oranges and yellows. The phoenix's egg rested comfortably in his hands, its warmth pleasant against his goosebump-covered hands.

Its light seemed to beat back the afternoon sun, captivating the room.

Moira's eyes widened and she stared, transfixed, at the ball he held. Ela gasped. Cornelius drew his magic spectacles from his pocket, leaning forward ever so slightly. Lord Brighton's eyes reflected the radiant colors of the egg as he gazed into it.

"Is that a phoenix egg?" the Warden asked, shifting her chair over to get a better look.

"Yup. Popped up into my inventory at some point while I was out."

"How?" Ela wondered. "I thought it fully disappeared at the end of the fight."

"Not entirely. It left a single feather in my palm when it burst into flame," John explained, holding the egg up. "I barely managed to store it away before I passed out. When I woke up, I had this. It’s, uh, really warm."

As John spoke, Cornelius wandered over closer to him, carefully inspecting the orb with his sage's glasses. "A most fortuitous omen."

"Huh?" The Gamer wondered.

It was the Lord-Protector who answered, "Phoenixes are rare mythical creatures, even in the Abyss. Several cultures consider it a sign of good fortune or holy blessing to witness one’s rebirth."

'Huh, guess this is my lucky little egg,' John thought. "I guess that’s why my powers reacted to it. The voice I hear sometimes was telling me that I should be happy it survived. She told me to keep it safe until it hatches."

"The voice in your powers…" Moira muttered, just loud enough for John to hear. She looked over to her father, just in time to meet a glance from him. The older man’s expression grew curious, a strange expression showing for just a moment - not long enough for John to make it out.

"Can the Order help me with this?” The Gamer asked. “I have no idea what to do with it, besides just stashing it away in my inventory."

"Mmm… I doubt that we employ anyone with experience… Cornelius?" the Order's Lord called, turning to the kindly sage. "Do we have any information on the care and rearing of phoenixes?"

"I am unsure, milord," he replied, pulling his glasses off carefully. "If I remember, the Order has paid host to some in centuries past. Perhaps my predecessors have left records behind. It will take some time to search the archives."

The Lord-Protector nodded, looking back to The Gamer. “We will do what we can, though it may take some time.”

“I appreciate it,” John said, smiling before stashing away the precious egg. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’m not sure I was expecting you to say yes to both of those.”

Lord Brighton straightened in his chair, his expression growing ever-slightly more serious. “I am inclined to believe that your powers have emphasized the importance of the egg, and so the Order will take it seriously.”

Ooooh, finally!

“What does that mean?” The Gamer asked, thoroughly confused. “My powers?”

It was Moira who answered his question, “It’s the reason why I was looking for you both this morning.

“We know who gave you your powers…” The Warden paused, looking to her father for a nod before she continued, “The Lady herself, the same almighty goddess who long ago created the Blessing that I have, gave you your abilities.”

John sat in stunned silence for a second, unsure if he’d heard that correctly.

Hi!