I get summoned to Aelbrecht

When I get back to amelia, I get into a conversation with her about the duel. She asks me why I didn’t use my runes. But I have to tell her those are engraved on my pauldron and I am not wearing it right now. But yeah, if I had them, I could have cast a [Migraine] on Alice at the beginning and the duel would have been over quickly.

I can’t converse with her for a long time however, as one of the guildhall’s servants walks up to me and tells me Aelbrecht would like to see me in his study.

I head over to Aelbrecht’s and find him at his desk, looking over one set of papers and making notes at some other documents.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” I ask my guild master.

“Feel free to take a chair to sit down and wait a moment.” He answers, and keeps writing.

I assume I caught him in the middle of some guild administration. Or maybe it was one of his personal projects. If I were him, I too would prefer to finish that and then move on. I fortunately have to wait only a little bit until he is done. When he is, I lays down his pen and looks at me.

“Darx.” The lich says. “I originally wanted to talk to you yesterday. After you returned from the castle. I understand something important came up that prevented this.”

So, I tell Aelbrecht all about Fabe. Our past in Merton, how he treated Emma, her eloping with Oliver, and eventually also the arson of the Pleasant Owl.

“I’m not happy that Fabe ended up dead.” I say. “But he was also not going to stop. If nothing was done, maybe next time he would have killed Oliver. Kidnapped Emma? Or their daughter. Something just had to be done.”

“I fully agree with you.” The guild master says. “Fabe sounds like he is the kind of person who believes the rules do not apply to him. Those kinds of individuals can be quite dangerous. And it was kind of you to attempt arresting him.”

“My biggest issue with the whole thing is that most of it happened while I was out to Merton.” I explain. “I mean, Fabe’s mom was among the people that didn’t show up. If it were me, I’d be worried sick and try to find her. Either to save her or confirm she was dead. That way I wouldn’t have to wreck myself over wondering where she was taken to, or what is being done to her. Fabe instead seemed to not give a damn about his own mother. Even worse, he tried to **** some of the only Merton survivors that are left.”

Aelbrecht leans forward and clasps his hands together while leaning on his desk. “How did you feel when witnessing your village again?” He asks

I tell him that I felt quite disturbed. When I left, the buildings were in pristine condition, and upon returning, some of them were broken beyond repair. The weirdest thing was that no bodies were left. Like everyone had just disappeared. It could be that large monsters came around and ate them whole, but what if instead someone hypnotized them and made them walk away.

“Doubtful.” Aelbrecht says. “I have already spoken to Alice about this. She explained that there were a lot of large monsters and Jax and Ilene, together with Enzo’s maids, put up a good fight.”

So then. All the people who disappeared are really gone forever. Oliver’s parents, and Emma’s too. Even Amelia’s and so many others. I should consider myself one of the few lucky ones for still having my mother.

“Right then.” I say, unable to hide the sorrow in my voice. “I guess my friends and I are going to be the last parts of Merton that are left.”

“You should make sure to maintain your relationship with those people.” Aelbrecht says. “A group of survivors like this tend to develop a strong bond.”

“I guess.” I reply. “It won’t be that easy though. I mean, before we had The Pleasant Owl where we could gather. But with that inn gone, we don’t really have a spot to meet up any more.”

I thought Aelbrecht would have something meaningful to say. Some advice or suggestion. But he strangely remains silent. I guess even someone like him doesn’t have an answer to every problem. Also, with him just sitting there motionlessly in utter silence is making me a little nervous. I feel it would be different if he was still alive. I guess that regardless how kind and wise he is, there shall always be this barrier between a lich like him and the living like myself.

“Well, it’s not like it was a total loss.” I say, trying to break the tension. “We managed to save some rare books from Enzo’s library and return them to him. I even got to read one of them on the way back. The Princess of Calamity. Have you heard of that book?”

“I have.” Aelbrecht says. “I’m afraid it is not a rare book. It is a rather popular one amongst the nobility. I also don’t like the writer. He was famous for adding his personal opinions to the historical texts he wrote down.”

I am a little surprised to hear that. I really thought I had found an interesting look into the life of the last Zrephian princess.

“So, you’re saying the book is a lie?” I ask.

“The book contains many facts.” Aelbrecht says as he stands up. “It is just that some gaps were filled by personal opinions and they are hard to distinguish from each other.”

He walks along the bookshelf covered walls of his study. He then stops and pulls a book from his personal collection and hands it to me. The Dragon and the Bard.

“This too is a history book.” Aelbrecht tells me. “It describes an event that happened around Zrephia’s final days. I also perceive the writer to be highly accurate in his description of the events. Do promise to take great care of this book, as it is incredibly rare.”

Oh wow. A rare book on Zrephian history. I can’t believe I never made the assumption Aelbrecht would have some of these. Of course he would have. He must’ve had centuries to hunt down the best books on everything topic.

“Thank you, sir. I will read it immediately.” I say, and make my way towards the door.

“Darx.” Aelbrecht interrupts me. “Would you mind finding Shalia first and ask her to come to my study? I would like to have a chat with her too.”

“Very well, guild master.” I nod, and depart Aelbrecht’s study.

While searching for Shalia, I come across Amelia again. She told me that she last saw Shalia in the arena, amongst the audience witnessing my duel with Alice, but she hadn’t seen her since. We go and search there to find her still in the arena, watching Ryul practice, and inform her that Aelbrecht would like to speak to her. Once we’ve informed her, I tell Amelia about the book Aelbrecht has given me and we both agree to head to our room and ream it together.