The Wandering Spire

"Night is coming. There will be plenty of shadows," Ziplocke whispered.

Jeze tapped her chin and said, "I don't think I will sneak away tonight."

"What?!?" Ziplocke screeched. He scurried up her shoulder to speak into her ear, "Did you not forget that Drake just blatantly tried to have you killed? And this was his second time!"

Jeze smiled and replied, "I think we have a better option."

Ziplocke crossed his arms and asked, "And what is that, Knucklehead?"

The teenager waved her arms around her. The two sat surrounded by the other adventurers. Ringing them was the Company of Legionnaires. Jeze's act of defiance earlier had sparked something. It reminded the Safe Zone Squad members that they were not soldiers who had to follow orders. They were adventurers, and there were grumblings among them, especially from Jonah and his team. They were not happy with being held back.

Ziplocke looked around and shrugged, "I don't see anything."

"All the adventurers here want to join their teams and fight when the Spire arrives!" Jeze exclaimed.

The Goblin slapped his forehead, and his small hand traveled down his face. "Your plan is to start a revolt?" He asked.

Jeze didn't think of it that way, but yes! The Goblin had it right. She said, "Just like what Rainbow suggested. I use my words. I can get this group riled up."

"Then what? You will fight an entire company of Legionnaires?" Ziplocke pointed out.

Jeze's face crinkled in thought. "I was thinking we just leave. You think Drake will attack all of us? I mean him attacking me was one thing, but the entire group?"

"You'd have to consider the worst case scenario. Now if you sneak out, that is the easiest way to do this," Ziplocke said.

"But, the friends I made here will worry about me. I can't just leave them," Jeze explained.

Ziplocke snapped, "Don't be a knucklehead! You don't owe them anything."

"What if I tell them I am leaving?" Jeze suggested

"So that they can alert Drake?"

Jeze shook her head. "They wouldn't do that to me."

"You don't know that! Don't you remember the first advice Rainbow gave you? Don't trust anyone," Ziplocke reminded her.

Jeze did remember that, but she also saw a side to Rainbow and Swordslayer that she didn't agree with. When she first met them, she was in awe of their wisdom and skill. But now that she had gained some experience, she started to see that they were not perfect. Her last meeting with them was nice, though. She conceded that to herself.

"I'm going to need allies," Jeze decided. She wanted to speak to the group to learn more about them and to see where that information took her.

Jeze approached Jonah and his team as they were about to settle for dinner. She chose them because they appeared to be the most likely ones to support her cause. Jonah was the squad's Healer, and he was a small man with a pale bald head and hazel eyes. Despite his size and appearance, Jeze knew he was strong and a highly skilled Rune caster. She judged this based upon watching him hike a full day in mail armor and a heavy pack without tiring and the quality of his Channeling tools. Jonah wore Rune-covered bracelets and a necklace and carried a Rune-covered walking stick.

"May I join you?" Jeze asked and held up a loaf of bread and cheese.

"Aye, have a seat," Jonah replied and he introduced his four teammates.

Jeze saw that this team was older, in their thirties, and looked like seasoned adventurers. The team was mostly hybrid Scout/Strikers, with Jonah being the Healer/Leader. The fact that they were Initiate rank reminded Jeze of the difficulty of advancing to Adventurer rank. It made what Rainbow and Swordslayer achieved that much more impressive to be at that rank at a young age. Jeze learned the reason for the team's frustration with being held back from the upcoming monster waves.

"We are all trappers and hunters, and the wave of monsters is a good time for us to collect exotic hides and fur," Jonah explained.

"Aye," his team members agreed. Each member wore tanned leather armor mixed with mail and they were armed with bows, spears, and long knives. They each had the look of a rugged woodsman with thick beards.

Except for Jonah, he looked like a monk from a monastery with his walking stick and bald head. How did he link up with them? Jeze wondered to herself.

"I want to test myself and fight alongside my team. We have been training for weeks. They are down below in the valley while I am forced to stay here," Jeze shared.

Jonah and his team shook their heads. "Does not seem right for them to reassign us like this."

Jeze glanced around and leaned in to speak in a low voice, "I'm thinking of leaving."

The others did not react, and Jeze was nervous that she had gotten herself into trouble.

Finally, Jonah asked, "Can we do that?"

"What can go wrong?" One of the teammates muttered in a deep voice through his beard.

There was a collective shrug from the group. Another team member pointed out, "Would they try to stop us?"

"Who? The soldiers? Look at them, they are practically pissing in their pants, and we are not even in the front lines," another hunter responded.

"We be lucky to get maybe a dozen monsters at this distance," Another added.

"Not worth our time," Jonah grumbled.

"Yeah, but we could lose our guild membership," another team member added.

"What if we all leave? They can't punish all of us," Jeze offered.

She was happy to see that they all appeared to agree with her.

One of them said, "I know Rainia and the Spirit Walkers would join us." The man nodded toward the young lady that gave Jeze the potion earlier.

"Yeah, that's right. It is a part of their spiritual journey, and they harvest the organs of the beasts for medicines and potions. Being stuck here hurts them too," another chimed in.

Jonah tapped his chin, "We lose a lot of profits from the skinning we get from the beast waves. But we still could recoup our losses from within the Spire. Especially if we are able to secure the Safe Zones."

"Aye, good point. Not worth it for us to lose our guild status and access to the Safe Zones," Another member stated.

Jeze felt her support slipping. She perked up and stated, "They can't remove us! We are the only ones that know how to activate the portals."

Jonah nodded and replied, "That is true."

The bearded team member scratched his thick, curly brown hair and said, "It seems risky. We make a good profit in the Safe Rooms."

"But, we are also losing out if we are here when the monster waves hit. All them lucky bastards down there will get all the prime skinnings," another stated, nodding toward the encampments far below.

Jeze saw Drake walk over to them. "Great," she muttered to herself.

"How is everyone doing?" The captain asked. A half a dozen Legionnaires trailed behind him.

"Like horseshit," Jonah spat.

Drake held up two hands and replied, "Now I know this is an inconvenience…"

"Damn, more than that! This is our livelihood," one of Jonah's teams cut the captain off.

Actually, this was not so bad. Jeze thought to herself.

"The look of frustration and hidden rage is the best!" Ziplocke snickered. Jeze had to agree. Drake's smile looked so fragile and about to explode at any moment. All it needed was a little push.

"Why are you holding us here?" The teenager demanded.

Drake replied to her with his weak grin, "For your protection. With Seb gone, we can't have the Safe Zone Squads get hurt before we can enter the Spire."

Jonah snorted, "For our protection? We are adventurers! Our lives are dangerous all the time."

"But this is different!" Drake snapped.

Jeze smiled to herself. This was working out perfectly. Jonah and his team tilted their heads. They did not like being spoken to like children. The other adventurer groups turned to pay attention, and Jeze saw her opportunity. She motioned for Rainia to join them.

"What is this about?" The Spirit Walker asked.

Jeze filled her in, and Rainia nodded.

"This is an important moment for my people, and being here is hurtful," Rainia said.

"I understand your concerns," Drake began.

Jeze saw another opportunity and interrupted, "I don't think you do."

There were nods of agreement. More of the adventurers joined the conversation. But so were the Legionnaires. Jeze worried that things could get violent. Drake glared at her.

"Seb is gone! Okay? And this has put all the Safe Zones in jeopardy. Frankly, we can't afford to lose any of you. Think about the lives that are saved when the portals are active," Drake explained.

"None of us became adventurers to be safe," Jonah retorted.

"We did it to be rich!" Another added.

"In the past Spires, we participated in the waves and were still able to operate the Safe Zone portals," Rainia said.

"But Seb is gone," Drake retorted.

"You have Val," Jeze said and pointed to the blonde lady, who visibly shrank from the attention.

"That's right!" Jonah exclaimed.

Jeze took a chance and announced, "I believe it is decided. We should go down and prepare for the beast waves now that we have time. Many of us can join our teams."

"No," Drake barked but saw the negative reactions from the adventurers arrayed before him. The captain put on his best smile and said, "Please consider the ramifications."

"Consider it considered," Jonah replied and hefted his pack.

His team and the others followed suit. In mere moments, the experienced adventurers were packed and ready to go. The Legionnaires blocked their way.

Jonah chuckled ominously, "Drake, you better have your lads move, or I promise you this. They will not like how this plays out."

The soldiers looked nervous. As they should be, Jeze reflected. They were standing before three dozen armed and seasoned adventurers. Most of the soldiers looked like they had not experienced their first fight. Each adventurer was experienced and bloodied from combat, including Jeze. Drake glared hard at them and for a moment, it looked like they would have to fight.

"Let them pass," Drake finally gave in.

Jeze and the adventurers marched on down to the valley below. She was excited that her idea worked! She used her words, and she beat Drake in his own game. Jeze had a smug smile on her face.

"Don't get too cocky. You are now becoming more dangerous to Drake's Empire, which means he will go to greater lengths to have you killed," Ziplocke cautioned.

"How so?" Jeze asked.

"Before he thought he could make you disappear. You have secret knowledge, you shared it to Seb. That was a problem, but now you have recognition. You are becoming known and as a result a greater threat," explained Ziplocke.

Jeze's smug smile faded away into a scowl of determination. "I will be ready," she growled.

"It won't be easy, especially with the Spire arriving. For about a week, waves of monsters will pour out. It will be pure chaos and plenty of opportunities for an assassin's blade to find its way into your back," Ziplocke said with a snicker.

"You seem to know a lot about this sort of stuff," Jeze replied.

"Do not forget that I am a Goblin, and I am typically bonded to the more unsavory type of individual."

"Why did you choose to bond with me?" Jeze asked.

Ziplocke tapped his chin and responded, "Truthfully? I thought I could trick you and escape. To have two years to myself on the material plane! That would have been fantastic. But your teachers, the Old Crones, they are crafty. They are definitely more than they seem."

Jeze considered what he said and fed him a small amount of paste. She always wondered why they opened up a Wizardry school in the middle of nowhere. Jeze and the others made it down the rocky mountain side and into the valley after nearly three hours of hiking. At the bottom the earth was churned from thousands of tracks.

"Now I just need to find the Frostsworn before the Spire appears," Jeze said.

Ziplocke snickered, "You are going to fail!"