System Change

“The dark wyvern I killed?” Derek asked before opening his arms up and leaning back, giving the alchemist a good look at the armor made out of the same wyvern. “It was more of an undead wyvern with darkness abilities,” he said. “But yes, I don’t think I’d forget the beast that my armor and glaive are made out of.”

“Well, I took some of the parts that would be of use in armor or weapon crafting—the stuff that Brandi didn’t seem to want—and I did some experimentation. There’s not a whole lot you can do potion-wise with materials from a beast with such elements—well, other than poisons.”

“I see,” Derek said. The wyverns that they have killed were big, and they had split a lot of the materials, still, after Tyron finished harvesting all the dragonkin that Derek had brought back, Derek had ended up with a ring packed almost full with wyvern parts, and another packed with the meat—on top of a bunch of rings that had the lesser dragonkin in them. So, he was perfectly fine if Roman used some of it—especially since he obviously had gotten it all from speaking with Malorie. If she thought it was okay, then Derek wouldn’t dare be mad.

“So, since poisons and toxins are only one step away from a high-leveled brew, and I had been able to create a new brew out of the other materials I received from you, I gave it a shot in the hopes I could make something that worked for someone like you,” Roman explained.

“And you succeeded then?” Derek asked.

“Now, that’s the thing,” Roman said. “I’m unsure if I succeeded. Seeing how potent the last brew was, I really don’t have a way to test this one without jeopardizing the life of whomever drinks it. I’m even hesitant to give it to you.”

“Hesitant, but totally willing,” Derek replied with a laugh.

“Well… yes,” Roman smiled and put his hands behind his head. “You are such a great potion tester, after all.”

“So you brought me here, once again, to be your guinea pig…” Derek smiled and shook his head. “In that case, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and pour me a mug of it,” He hit his fists on the counter before looking around. When he looked to his left, he frowned.

A dwarf with a giant warhammer strapped to his back was only a handful of seats away from him. This wouldn’t have been odd, but when he first saw the man, he was one of the customers at the far end of the table. It seemed like the dwarf had moved closer. As Derek was looking at the dwarf, the dwarf finally turned and looked at him.Apparently seeing that as an invitation, the dwarf hopped off his stool, landed on the ground with a stud—even cracking some of the ground below him, and moseyed over to Derek while carrying a large jug. Derek stared at the cracks in the floor and thought, Just how heavy is that hammer on his back? He didn’t say anything out loud as he watched the dwarf gingerly climb on top of the stool directly beside Derek.

The man looked around for a moment, then finally said, “Did I hear someone say wyvern brew?” A gleam fell over his eyes as he mentioned the brew. “Little man, you’ve been holding out on me!” He took the jug he’d been carrying and turned it up, finishing the contents in one go. “I can’t believe you have an even better brew and didn’t tell me about it.”

“That is because I am not sure if your body will be able to take it,” Roman replied dully to the man. He then saw Derek’s eyes moving back and forth from him and the dwarf, and said, “Derek, do you remember the dwarf I told you about who frequently buys the octopus brew? This is him. His name is…” He started, but was cut off by the dwarf.

“I’m Braxton,” the dwarf said to Derek and held out his hand. Derek reached out and shook his hand. In a lower tone where only Derek and Roman could hear, but still quite gruff, he said, “I’m the Guild Leader of the Vallum’s branch of the Assassin’s Guild.”

“G-guild Leader… Assassin’s Guild…” Roman muttered from the side, dropping the mug he’d brought out for Derek onto the floor. Luckily, all his stuff was rather durable, so there was no chance of the mug breaking from such a thing. “Y-you…”

“That’s me!” Braxton said as he let go of Derek’s hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Derek Hunt.”

“So, you’re the leader who was missing during my visit?” Derek asked.

“Yup! I try not to attend those meetings as often as possible,” the dwarf said. “They can become downright boring. But it looks like I missed a good one, eh?”

“That depends on your definition of good,” Derek said. He wasn’t quite sure what to think of the dwarf beside him yet. He at least didn’t seem hostile so far.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Oh, it definitely met my definition of good,” Braxton said as he shifted his eyes from Derek to Roman. He looked at the halfling, then at his mug, then back again a few times. Finally getting the hint, a shaking Roman exchanged the empty jug out with a full one. The dwarf took a long drink, then sat the jug back on the table and sighed, “So refreshing!”

Ignoring the antics of the odd dwarf, Derek continued, “And what is your definition of good?” he asked. He hadn’t let his guard down since the man mentioned who he was. Derek wasn’t scared at all, but it was possible that a fight between the dwarf and himself could cause casualties.

“Oh, a good threat, countered by an even better threat,” Braxton said. “That is a good meeting. But, Derek, I do have a question for you, if you don’t mind answering.”

“What’s that?”

“Why have you not killed Maven yet?” he asked, surprising Derek.

“You… want me to kill the man?” Derek asked. “You’re not here to warn me against it?”

“Warn you against it?” Braxton snorted. “Nyx began the search for Guild Leader candidates the moment you left the guild headquarters. I’m sure that Maven boy’s running around pissing his pants right now. But what you’re doing to him is just way too cruel.”

“Me? Cruel?” Derek asked. “Because I plan on killing him?”

“I knew it!” Braxton said. “You do plan on killing him. I knew you wouldn’t let what he said slide. I’d be the same way.” The Guild Leader laughed. “But no, you are not being cruel because you plan on killing him, and no, I do not necessarily want him to die. You are being cruel because you have not killed him yet. Imagine knowing you’re going to be killed by someone far stronger than you and there’s nothing you can do to stop it, but also not knowing when it will happen.”

“I see,” Derek said. “Well, sorry for being ‘cruel.’” He shook his head. “I won’t be cruel for much longer.”

“Great!” Braxton said and took a drink. “The man’s a bastard, but he deserved a good death.”

“We’ll see about that,” Derek said dryly. “I won’t be the one doing the killing.”

“Oh?” Braxton widened his eyes. “You won’t? Who will? Do tell.”

“Vanessa already asked for the honors,” Derek said. He didn’t mind telling the man, as he didn’t seem to want to try to stop it.

“Vanessa? That’s great!” Braxton said. “That’s another question I had since I met you here, if you care to answer.”

“What?” Derek asked.

“Do you think Vanessa would like to come back to become a Guild Leader if we can negotiate her contracts and release from her oaths with the Kingdom of Cydaria?” Braxton surprised Derek with an unexpected question. “Nyx doesn’t think she will, but the guild is still her home.”

“No, it’s not,” Derek said. “Her home is the Kingdom of Cydaria.”

“And there’s no chance? None at all?”

“None,” Derek said. “Maybe if you would have asked while she was at the guild with me, but now? No, not a chance. After yesterday, I believe that she is happily loyal to Cydaria, and there is no chance of that changing.”

“What happened yesterday? Was it the meeting at the guild?” Braxton asked, slightly confused.

“Nope, it wasn’t that,” Derek said. “But it’s not my place to tell you that. You’re an assassin…” Derek looked the dwarf up and down after he said that, and some doubts grew in his mind. “Are you actually an assassin?”

“How dare you ask that!” Braxton said in mock anger. “Do I not appear as the perfect assassin? I’ll have you know, I am not only an assassin, but I am the greatest assassin in the guild. I have never once failed a mission.”

“Really? Are you sure you’re not messing with me?”

“It is true,” Braxton leaned back, allowing his warhammer to reach and rest on the floor and stabilize him. “You must remember, I am from Vallum.”

“Okay? What does that mean?”

“It means that I would look much more out of the ordinary wearing a cloak and being all sneaky-like in a country full of dwarves,” the assassin explained. “There’s nothing that says you have to work with shadows and poisons to become an assassin. As long as you can kill without getting caught, then you can become an assassin.”

“I don’t see how someone who looks like you and uses… that…” he pointed at the massive hammer. “Is able to kill undetected.”

“Oh, I certainly get detected,” Braxton laughed and took another drink of the brew. “But if there is nobody alive to report me, how would I get caught? One swing of my hammer, and all the accusations go away… if you know what I mean.”

“Oh…” Derek muttered. He couldn’t help but wander about the man’s record. He seemed friendly, and Derek would even go as far as saying he’d be fun to be around. But what kind of acts had he committed to get to where he was? “So… I guess you’ve killed a lot of people,” Derek replied seriously.

“Less than the other Guild Leaders, actually,” Braxton replied. He then grinned at Derek and licked his teeth. “But the missions I take are much, much, more crucial. The targets are all those that the others don’t want to mess with.”

“Hmm…” Derek rubbed his chin.

“On that note, Maven wanted you to be my next target,” Braxton said.

“Oh, did he?”

“He did indeed,” Braxton said.

“And what did you say?” Derek asked. The conversation had gotten a lot heavier than before. Roman was so quiet that he was like a mouse. He’d been vigorously cleaning the mug he’d dropped, and Derek was sure it was going to be unusable once he was finished.

“What did I say?” Braxton narrowed his eyes, then reached up and put his hand on the hilt of his warhammer. Derek channeled void energy into his fists—causing them to emit a deep purple glow. Then Braxton laughed heartedly and took his hand off his weapon. “I told him that he was fucked. The little man here makes some of the best brew I’ve ever had—it’s even getting close to some of the Vallum King’s personal supply… don’t ask me how I know that. I told him that I wouldn’t dare do anything to risk getting cut off. It just wasn’t worth it.”

Derek released the void and let the energy flow back into his body. “I see.” He couldn’t help but chuckle. “That is very understandable. That new brew would pair well with just about any meal. It certainly would be a loss to someone of your… taste.”

“Mhm.” The dwarf nodded. “I even went as far as to put the little man under my protection, and after getting a taste, Mara joined me. This little brewmaster is one of the most protected men on the continent.”

“I… am?” Roman asked, finally sitting the mug down on the counter. It actually had a hole in the side where he’d been rubbing it.

“You are!” Braxton pounded his fists on the counter. “Now, how about we try some of that wyvern brew? I’m parched!”