Chapter Five

  The professional mask on the woman manning the desk icture of obediend pleasantness. Her response included a slight hesitation before leaving to check with the guild master. Too perfect, and the eyes gave her away. That quick dart between Harmony and Adric. Social skills could do a lot for someone, but they didn't lock your eyes in pce. As Harmony's mother would tell her, "Anyone activate a skill, it took an artist to make it e across early."

  The return rompt so this wasn't about deying her again, “It looks like he has some time avaible. I’ll take you to him.”

  "Good," Harmony responded, even if she was suspicious.

  Harmony and Prince Adric followed, and in a clearly timed move, the staff member looked bad froze. Her finger raised up pointing at the prince. “It ’t e with you.”

  “I’m a member of the guild. I have a right to apany a fellow member to aing with their permission, appendix three, third paragraph.” Adriapped babsp;

  “Your name was stri from the records when you were firmed dead, requiring proof of life for reinstatement to them. Additionally, the at paying for your monthly membership has ceased supplying funds, enough that you’re in arrears and your membership has been suspended. Non-members are banned from proceeding further, you’ll have to wait. Also, pets are not allowed further into the building without a leash.”

  Who put blood in her drink? Going in without an escort wasn’t acceptable, nor was going alone. Adric roud to be her pet, as demeaning a tone as the woman made that bit to be, she’d clearly only used it to try to add insult to injury. But it was good enough for Harmony.

  [Manipute Dead] sharpened ahened her thumbnail to make a wicked razor. Clothing was mostly dead fibers, and she could lean on [Dust] as worn cloth often ended up in those piles. The prince had e in a loose blue silk shirt and tight leather pants. The treated leather would resist her skills more than the shirt, so she walked up and took off Adric’s sleeves, not like the man would pin about showing off his muscur arms. [Mend] let her treat the edges so it wouldn’t be ragged.

  Material in hand, she worked to turn the blue silk into a long ft ribbon. ed one end around the prince’s neck, sealing it with [Mend], and stepped back with the other end in her hand. “He’s leashed noy?”

  No skill could mask the venom in the woman's gre, and she'd blown her's earlier. Trapped by her reading of the rules, a relut grunt of acceptance was returned and the woman started moving again.

  Adric pree the workaround. Harmony had to jerk the leash a few times to get the man to move.

  Behind the booths, the bowels of the guild worked away. A mass of bureaucracy, desks filled with paperwork. Bins filled with rewards pulled from the dungeon being sorted, from ghost ces to ic cores. Teams of crafters worked at a table filled with practice ons and dummies.

  The pair were led past it all to the back to a simple door. Unhappily their guide opehe door and Harmony with her pet stepped through.

  Hemlock’s office arse. Forest green walls. A desk of dark wood with two matg chairs. One fag the desk and the one behind it that held the guild master. A hand-tall crystal pyramid sat on the desk as the only obje the room. The minimalist nature was desigo draw all attention to the man at the desk. His pin white clothing is the lo htness in the room.

  "Lady White. I was expeg the o hunt you down. And you've accepted the membership. I'm honored."

  Harmony fought her ination to curtsy at how well he ahe room. Ingrained professional training rearing its head that was thankfully not a pulsion. How he'd treated her when they first met hadn't been fotten even if he had been bao Old Bones's depths on her whim. That had been his fault too.

  "iator, I wouldn’t be so x as to not che on the results of your bor. "

  "Challenger, I've iated the best trial avaible for you, a unique opportunity to grow you, the guild, and Hazeldown. A title petition. "

  "A what?"

  "Sometimes I fet that this kingdom is so backwater. Titles are special aowledgments bestowed by powers. They are generally desirable. Dozens of people drown each year trying to get water-touched by swimming the Aquamarine Expahout skills every year. That one gives limited water breathing. What I iated will have every person wish they hadn’t leveled up after evolution."

  Harmony wao know how this deal would affect her pns. "What exactly did you iate?"

  "You are to opees and pete in the first annual Asdant Games. Your participation is mandatory. Twenty-five petitors, all level twenty-five, newly evolved, vying for five titles. The petitors be supported by four bonded, within five levels of them. ’t have tamers without their pets.”

  Harmony saw his eyes briefly flicker to the colred Adric. Perhaps the man had some ped to him. Most important in the information was that she was still useful to open this petition. That should buy some time, and she’d o evolve first, as if that wasn’t top of her priority list. Everything else was useless, games, titles, and petition. She o get herself under trol and then deal with whatever the sequenaking Adric her undead pet was. Nothing Hemlock had to say was important outside of that.

  “Invites will be premium, Haz’el Ri chose some odd ones out of amusement, but most will be fought after in all the kingdoms.”

  [High Kick] urged her to boot the man. Invites didn’t matter. She reighat in, but another moook over. “When- is- it?” She asked in a tone so cold she could taste the frost on her lips.

  “The peak of summer. forty days.”

  “Then I will be ba forty days, evolved and ready to open the games.” With all the synergized [Style and Grace] and [Poise and Bearing] she could, Harmony turned around and moved to leave, barely holding herself together, hoping she projected the strength she’d o do this.

  "We expeothing less, Challenger." Hemlock's words chased her out of the room.