Paralogue 4

Stepping Up to the Plate

The death of Guildmaster Yaromir leads to much grief and sadness within the Guild. But amid the mourning, there is one question: who will succeed him?

The church bells of Iria Cathedral rang out through the Selenian capital. It was a sombre knell, letting all who heard it know that someone had left this world.

It was an autumnal day, and it had been raining heavily the night before. Wet leaves peppered the cobblestones of the city streets, and many puddles formed. Luckily, the rain held off for the funeral.

It was a major funeral, generating quite a turnout. There was barely enough room in the pews to fit everyone.

There was a good reason for this.

The bells tolled for Yaromir, Guildmaster of the Irian Guild.

It was an unexpected tragedy. He was getting on a bit, having celebrated his fifty-eighth hatchday not long ago, but no one expected him to pass away in his sleep one night.

Emotions were on display at the wake and at the funeral. Many tears were shed, and many handkerchiefs were handed out.

His family was there. Though the late Guildmaster had no children, he had some brothers, sisters, and a few nieces and nephews.

Many Guild members also showed up. The staff who he worked with turned up, as did his most renowned mercenaries. Among them were Kallias and Melchior of Team Marshwood, and Mitrofan and Rufina of Team Silver Axe.

The priest giving the funeral mass was Archbishop Innokent; a Togekiss and one of Selenia's leading clergymen. He spoke of Yaromir's life as a mercenary, and how he worked his way up the ranks in the Guild system, before his eventual nomination to be the next Guildmaster by his retiring predecessor. He spoke of how he helped foster a new generation of mercenaries that would continue to aid those in need, and how his death was a great loss for the Guild.

That, all Guild members, had to admit, was true. They had no guildmaster now. Who would be the one to succeed him?

Six pallbearers carried Yaromir's coffin to the carriage. Three of his nephews, along with three mercenaries - Mitrofan, Kallias and Melchior - brought it there. It was then transported off to a cemetery in the south of Iria, where it was buried.

Afterwards, the funeral reception was held at the Guild. Food was prepared, and a lot of chat ensued. Some of it was reunions among family members who hadn't seen each other for a long time, and some of it was general chatter about how others were doing. But mostly everyone spoke of Yaromir, the great man and Guildmaster whose loss left a hole in their hearts.

Among those who felt his loss greater than most were Teams Marshwood and Silver Axe.

"...I still can't believe it." Melchior was sullen. "He's really gone…"

"...He lived to fifty-eight," remarked Kallias. "He had a good life and accomplished a lot in that time. Many people live longer and achieve less than he did in his lifetime."

"...He could've lived for longer, though," murmured Mitrofan. "I noticed he had a cough in the days before he died. I asked about it, but he said it was nothing to worry about. …Should I have pushed him to see Oliga about it…?"

"I did see him, in fact," a nearby Indeedee wearing a nurse's cap intervened, having heard her name being mentioned. "He clearly wasn't well. I told him he needed to stop working and take time off to recover. But he refused. He said it was just a cough." She sighed in dismay. "That was our Guildmaster, though…Always keeping up the cheery attitude, even if he wasn't well."

"You shouldn't do it when you're literally dying, though," Rufina pointed out. "If I was on my way out, I'd make damn well sure to tell someone."

"Don't say things like that, Rufina," Mitrofan admonished. "Yaromir was a good man. Don't disparage him here. At least wait until his family have left the building."

"...Sorry." The Haxorus considered snarking back in her typical way, but realised it wasn't appropriate in this setting. "I'm just a little on edge today…"

"Oh…" Melchior realised what it might be. "Is it the Egg?"

"Yeah," Rufina answered. "It's so close to hatching, and I…want to be around when it happens."

"Understandable," Kallias replied. "The same for me, and I know Zen thinks that way too. …A pity she was ill today and couldn't make it to the funeral."

"How is Zenobia?" Oliga queried.

"Getting by. But she's getting close to the Egg's due time and she's getting quite worked up over it."

"If she ever needs advice, she can always ask me," the Indeedee said.

"Or me," Rufina volunteered. "I've been through it. And it is a whole new level of pain. Do you have any idea how hard it is to - "

"We're not discussing this here," Mitrofan demanded. "In private, please, Rufina!"

"Right, right," the Haxorus replied. "Sorry, Mitt…"

"...Moving on from that," Kallias said, in an effort to change the subject. "I was wondering about something." There was one thing that was on his, and everyone else's mind, and he voiced it.

"Now that Guildmaster Yaromir's gone…who'll take over from him?"

"...Good question," Melchior replied. "...From what I know, the Guildmaster would usually nominate a successor. That's what happened last time, apparently."

"But he didn't nominate one, did he?" Kallias pondered.

"I don't believe so," Mitrofan replied.

"...Well, this is helpful," Rufina commented. "What the hell are we meant to do? Put names in a hat?"

"Let's not do that," her husband rejected. "He might've secretly selected a nominee somewhere. Hmm…" He considered this. "...Does he have a will?"

"...Possibly," Kallias said. "But where would he have kept it?"

"Perhaps one of his relatives knows?" Melchior suggested, pointing to a group of five consisting of two Stantler, a Wyrdeer and two Sawsbuck on the other side of the room.

"I'll go and ask," Mitrofan volunteered. He walked across to them.

"Ah, hello," one of the Sawsbuck greeted. "You're Silver Armour Mitrofan, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's me," Mitrofan confirmed.

"Thanks so much for helping out at the funeral today," the Wyrdeer thanked. "Yaromir liked you a lot. He said you were among the best mercenaries he had."

"...I'm glad to hear it. …But I came to ask a question."

"And that is?" the other Sawsbuck wondered.

"...Did Yaromir have a will? You see…we're trying to figure out who'll replace him as Guildmaster," explained the Aggron. "But he never told us in person who it would be. We were thinking if he had a will, the answer might be in there."

"...A will…" The five deer considered this.

"Well, if he did, it wouldn't be with us," the Wyrdeer answered. "Yaromir was very attached to the Irian Guild. He didn't actually visit us a huge amount. He was always too busy with Guild work to come to family reunions. If he does have a will…then it's somewhere here, in the Guild."

"You think? …That might be it," Mitrofan murmured. "Thanks for the tip."

"No problem, Mitrofan. Happy to help."

With that, the Aggron went to rejoin his comrades, and divulged to them what he'd been told.

"So we've got to search this Guild for his will?" Rufina said.

"Yes. That's what I'm thinking."

"Well, hold on now," Melchior intervened. "You're not planning on tearing the place up for it, are you?"

"He doesn't mean that, Melchior," Kallias said. "If we're looking for a will, then all we need to do is ask a certain someone." He looked around the room. "...Hm. I don't see her anywhere."

"Well, let's go find her," Rufina said. "No use wondering. Let's seize the moment!"

"But where would she be? Where would Anna be right now?" Melchior wondered.

"Let's check the office," suggested Kallias. "Where else would a Guildmaster's assistant be but the Guildmaster's office?"

"Good idea," his partner replied. "Let's go."

The office was unlocked. Still, Kallias knocked on the door politely, just in case someone was in there. A few seconds passed before the door was opened by a middle-aged Jynx.

"Hello, Anna," greeted the Sceptile.

"...Hello, Kallias." The guildmaster's assistant sounded deflated. Understandable, given the day. She had shed more than a few tears when the news broke of Yaromir's death.

"Do you need help here?" he asked. "We'd be all too happy to help."

"...No, I'm fine," Anna replied. "Thanks for asking, though. I'm just going through the Guildmaster's files."

"...About that." Mitrofan saw fit to interject. "We were wondering, Anna…did the Guildmaster have a will?"

"A will?" The Jynx considered the Aggron's question. "...He never mentioned one. If he had a will, I would have known of it."

"...I see." Mitrofan couldn't hide his disappointment.

"I'm sorry I can't help," apologised the Ice/Psychic-type. She was about to say more, but then a thought came to her. "...Actually, hold on a minute. Don't leave yet. I've just thought of something."

"Oh?" Kallias' interest was piqued. "What is it?"

"Come in, and we'll discuss it in the office," Anna recommended. All four mercenaries filed their way into the office. The place had a number of files laid out on the floor, and a number of papers were strewn about on the desk.

"Sorry about this. I was just doing some organising." The Jynx looked wistfully over at the empty chair. "...It's still hard to believe. That he's…He's gone…"

"He always lit up this room," murmured Melchior. "He was a kind man. It felt like whenever he called you to his office, you never felt scared you'd done something wrong. He was a reassuring leader."

"Indeed…" Mitrofan recalled when his first team had broken up. Yaromir had kept him on without issue, and even suggested trying out a team with Rufina. And that's certainly shaped a lot of my life right now, he thought to himself, looking over at his wife. "It feels strange, seeing this room without him in it."

"Yeah…Even I miss him," Rufina added. "And you know me. I'm not one for giving condolences or sappy speeches or whatever. But this guild sure as hell won't be the same without him in it…"

"...In fact, that's why we're looking for his will," Mitrofan brought up again. "We were thinking. His family claimed he spent most of his time at the Guild, to the point that he barely visited them. The Guild meant a lot to him. If he was to pass anything down…it would be the Guild itself, no?"

"...You have a point. That does sound like the Guildmaster, alright," Anna said. "...What I was thinking was…something that the Guildmaster told me about a while back."

"And that was…?" Kallias pressed.

"...He said once to me that if anything ever happened to him…then he had a secret letter that would have to be opened only in that circumstance," the assistant recalled. "It only just occurred to me now. How did I forget about it…?"

"When was this?" Mitrofan wondered.

"A few months ago. He'd been on a mission against some outlaws where he told me he was in genuine danger," Anna informed. "He made it out alive, but it must have rattled him. So he put in place that contingency plan if anything happened to him."

"Well, something has happened to him," Rufina pointed out. "Come on. Where's this letter?"

"I'm trying to remember. It's been a while…and of course, so much has to be filed away that it would inevitably get lost," Anna considered. "...It has to be somewhere. It can't grow legs and walk away."

"Let's all look for it, then," Kallias proposed. "It's for the future of the Guild that we find this letter. We must find it."

And so Teams Marshwood and Silver Axe, along with Anna, searched the desk and the filing cabinets in the Guildmaster's office. Files were taken out, organised, searched through, while desk drawers were pulled out and also examined. Mutters of "It's not here," sounded out every once in a while. At one point, they'd pulled out an old mission Team Marshwood had done a few months ago, and the duo then reminisced about what happened on that particular mission. Rufina saw them, and smirked at her husband.

"The way they're talking, you'd think they were a couple," she remarked. "Hey, Mitt, you think when no one's looking, the two of them…?"

"No, I don't." The Aggron shook his head. "Besides, even if they were…it's nothing compared to our love."

"I love it when you say things like that," the Haxorus said. "All serious one minute, and suddenly you come out with stuff like that…" She leaned in to kiss him. "I love you so much…"

"And I you, Rufina." Mitrofan returned the gesture.

After that, they got back to searching. Eventually, though, they struck gold.

"Oh? What's this?"

Mitrofan happened to find a red envelope at the bottom of one of the filing cabinets. It turned out it wasn't in any of the files, but at the bottom of the cabinet itself. It was crumpled, but it still bore some writing on the back of it.

FOR EMERGENCY OPENING ONLY

WHEN THE GUILDMASTER HAS PASSED

"That's it!" Anna exclaimed. "That's the letter! …How did it get down there?"

"Never mind that!" Rufina said. "Come on, Mitt! Open it!"

"Very well." The Aggron used one of his sharp claws to cleanly unseal the envelope. He then took out the letter and began reading it.

If you're reading this, chances are that I've passed on. Well, hopefully. I hope this isn't some nefarious thief reading this. If so, know that the Guild will hunt you down and make you put it back.

The group had a small chuckle at that remark. Even when he had passed on, the old Guildmaster's humour still tickled them.

The main point of this letter is about electing a successor. Some like a vote, but that can be messy sometimes. So I will do what my predecessor Guildmaster Sevolod did and nominate one myself.

What I want in a Guildmaster is a diligent worker. Someone who's experienced enough to know the ins and outs of mercenary work. Someone who is a good leader, and who'll look out for the mercenaries in their charge. As well as that, someone who understands the spirit of the mercenary. It's down to the mercenary's creed: helping those in need, whoever they are, wherever they are, with whatever they need.

But most of all, I want someone who's young. Older ones may be wise, but sometimes they have a tendency to hog positions for themselves (no intended offence to our veterans, of course!), leaving the young ones as permanent subordinates. Of course, the young one must be experienced enough as a mercenary - a Platinum Rank mercenary at least. But also one who is organised, keeps a cool head, and ensures their team runs like clockwork.

And after looking over the mercenaries in my charge, I have come to a decision.

Mitrofan looked down at the next line, and nearly dropped the paper in shock.

I would like to entrust the Irian Guild to Mitrofan of Team Silver Axe.

- Yaromir

Guildmaster of the Irian Guild

Everyone reacted at once.

"What?!" cried Melchior.

"Mitrofan?!" Kallias exclaimed.

"Mitt!?" Rufina yelled.

"Me?!" Mitrofan shouted. He looked down at the sheet. Surely this must be a mistake…

But no matter how hard he looked or squinted, the text still read his name.

"...Mitrofan?" Anna wasn't quite as shocked as the other teams. "Hmm…that does make sense, now that I think about it…"

"Anna?" Kallias heard that. "What do you mean?"

"...The Guildmaster definitely took a shine to Mitrofan," the Jynx explained. "There was an air of something about him that the Guildmaster had a good feeling about. He kept saying he would be a great asset to the Guild one day, back when Mitrofan was starting out." She looked over at the Aggron. "...I can't say he was wrong."

"But…becoming Guildmaster?" Mitrofan was very flustered. "I…I have no knowledge of how to run a guild! And becoming Guildmaster of the Irian Guild of all places? This place with its storied history?"

"...I think it's a fine choice," Anna opined. "The Guildmaster doesn't make decisions lightly. He must've thought you capable if he was going to hand the Guild over to you. Besides…you are Platinum Rank. You are definitely a capable mercenary."

"Th-Thank you, Anna. But…surely I'm not worthy of inheriting this place…" Mitrofan downplayed.

"Yes, you are, Mitt!" Rufina argued, in an encouraging manner. "You're always the one leading and organising everything in our team. You're great at organising stuff and making sure everything's just right before missions. Hell, you even organise our items by seed, by berries, by orbs…You'd make a great Guildmaster, Mitt! Someone who's good at organising is bound to be a good leader."

"You…You think?"

"Sure I do! I mean…I couldn't be the Guildmaster," the Haxorus said, in a joking manner. "I'd suck ass at it. I can't organise for shit."

"...That is true." A wry smile found its way onto Mitrofan's face.

"Hey! You were meant to say no to that!"

"But I'm not. You yourself said you can't organise at all. So checkmate."

"...I hate when you're right," mourned Rufina. "But I love when you get all sassy like that. Give me some more of that, please!" She went over to the Aggron and playfully nudged him.

"You want more? Oh, I'll give you more, Rufina!"

"A-As nice as this is, you two," Melchior cut in. "We have business to get back to."

"...Right…" And like that, the feeling of uncertainty returned to Mitrofan.

"My take on this?" Kallias decided to begin. "I think you'd make a good Guildmaster, Mitt. Yaromir's certainly right about the young thing. I wouldn't want an ageing fossil as the Guildmaster who might well be out of touch with the younger folks of the Guild. After all, most new recruits are young. They'd be reassured if their leader wasn't much older than them."

"Yes." Melchior nodded. "Look at Tsar Kliment. He's fairly young to be tsar, but that isn't stopping him from ruling the nation. Age is never a part of it."

"There is one thing, though," Kallias brought up. "If you become Guildmaster…it will mean you will have to say goodbye to doing regular missions. All the administration guildmasters have to do does eat up a lot of time." He looked over at Anna. "Am I right?"

"That is true, yes," Anna acknowledged. "But I imagine Mitrofan can handle it."

"Giving up…the team?" Mitrofan looked over at Rufina. She won't take that well at all, will she?

But to his surprise…the Haxorus didn't look dismayed at all. She looked back at her husband supportively.

"In fairness, Mitt…I'm gonna have a screaming baby to look after," she said to him. "I'll hardly have time for missions myself. And I can't imagine you'd be super happy as an auxiliary, wishing I was there with you. You might as well take it. Either way, our team's not gonna be trailblazing through the ranks anytime soon."

"...But…you were the one who always wanted to reach Grandmaster Rank. I don't want to crush your dreams, Rufina," Mitrofan expressed.

"...Hey. Dreams are dreams, Mitt," Rufina replied. "We can't win 'em all. …Oh, but you know who can?" Her expression was renewed with encouragement.

"Who?"

"Them." The dragon pointed to Team Marshwood. "If anyone can reach Grandmaster Rank, it's them. They're Platinum Rank, and they're trailblazing through the ranks like we were. But they're not slowed down by shit like being a mom and becoming Guildmaster. They can reach Grandmaster Rank, with you leading them.

"Hear that, boys?" she called to Kallias and Melchior. "Since we have to wind things down, you two better get Grandmaster Rank for us! If you don't do that before you retire, Mitt'll put you back to Normal, and that'd be a crap way to end, wouldn't it?!"

"Ha! Quite a challenge," commented Kallias, laughing from Rufina's comment. "But I'm not one to back down from a challenge! We'll do it, won't we, Melchior?"

"That's…quite a mountain to climb," Melchior replied. "...But we'll give it a good try. For you two. For friends."

"...You heard them, Mitt. You can't say no now," Rufina said. "...Come on, Mitt. People look up to us already! They'd love you as Guildmaster!"

"If it's any reassurance, I'll help you. And so will Oliga and all the other Guild staff," Anna promised. "This is our guild as well. We want to see it flourish too."

Mitrofan looked around the room. Everyone looked at him expectantly.

They all have so much faith in me…he thought. …I can't let them down now.

"Very well. I accept. I will become Guildmaster."

"There you go! That was all you needed!" Rufina was delighted

"I look forward to carrying out missions in your name, Guildmaster Mitrofan," Melchior said.

"So do I," Kallias seconded. "And we'll get that Grandmaster Rank, don't you worry!"

"...I suppose I have nothing to worry about, when I'll have reliable mercenaries like you under my command." Mitrofan smiled at his comrades' support for him. "So when do I start?" he asked, turning to Anna.

"Not right away," the Jynx answered. "We still have the reception to deal with. We'll announce the news in the coming days, when this is all over."

"We'll keep the news under wraps until then," Kallias promised.

"Yes. Better to wait until this all blows over," Melchior agreed.

"...We should get back," Mitrofan said, looking at the door. "People might be wondering where we are."

"Let's go back, then." Rufina got up to leave the room. Everyone else began to file out.

Before leaving the room, however, Mitrofan looked back at the Guildmaster's desk. Though Yaromir himself wasn't there, he pictured the Wyrdeer looking back at him, as if giving his blessing to the Aggron.

I won't let you down, Guildmaster. I'll see to it your faith in me won't be in vain.

Notes

This paralogue takes place between the flashbacks in Chapter 18, specifically the one between Mitrofan's proposal to Rufina and the appearance of baby Stiliyan.

Since this takes place 18 years before the main story, there's no Helena or Nikita in the Guild yet, so I invented Anna, the Guildmaster's assistant, and Oliga, the Guild nurse. They're implied to both have retired between this paralogue and Special Episode 1.