AN: This chapter turned out a little longer than expected, but I'm pleased with it nonetheless. I'm also pleased that I've managed to maintain my schedule. Hopefully with Christmas coming up, I'll still be writing and posting~ Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter and do let me know if you like it~

Chapter 5:

The Crescentia was a hell of a lot bigger than Drayce had anticipated. There were more rooms on the first floor he didn't know about and there appeared to be at least fifteen, yes fifteen bedrooms on the second floor.

So, yes, this place could easily bed thirty people at once. A hell of a lot more if you had to. Hell, if sleeping on the floor was an option, the seating room alone could easily sleep thirty people in futons.

This place was massive.

Why was it so big? Ah, who cares!

"This is like a prelude to the labyrinth," Blayke complained as he followed Drayce around as he continued his inspection of the first floor. "What could possibly be on the third floor? Wait, does this place have a basement and an attic, too?"

Such good questions!

"This is so awesome," Drayce said almost giddily. "Can you imagine the treasures that are possibly hidden in here? I bet Dad and Grandpa found a shit-tonne of stuff themselves. Oh man, I really need to catalogue this place or something."

"After you finish the first mission," Blayke grumpily chimed in.

"Yes yes, no need to remind me every five seconds, Blakie."

"Stop calling me Blakie."

"Stop being such a fusspot."

Blayke glared at him as he huffed, though made no attempt to rebuke him. Instead he turned his attention to their next room to inspect and grasped the handle tightly. He twisted it and paused. His brow furrowed as he twisted the handle again before his uttered a noise of frustration.

"It's locked," he said.

Drayce shrugged as he reached into an inside pocket of his coat. "No problem. I'll just pick the lock."

"Do you really carry your lock-picking kit with you everywhere?" Blayke asked with a tone that was a mixture of incredulous and exasperation.

"Naturally," Drayce replied as he pulled out a wallet size leather kit and with a flick of his wrist, opened it and pulled out a thin pin. "What's the point of coming across a locked chest if you can't open it?"

Blayke simply snorted in response and chose to say nothing more. Instead he leaned against the wall next to the door and folded his arms, waiting to watch Drayce go to work. Drayce didn't find that at all unusual. Despite his grumpiness, he did find the thought of treasure hunting interesting.

Drayce will get him as obsessed with the idea one day.

Crouching down, Drayce balanced the lock picking kit on his knee as he inspected the lock before him. He could see clear through to the other side, indicating that there wasn't anything jamming it nor was there a key in the other side. Now all he needed to do was to figure how to best move the tumblers to open the door.

Should only take a few seconds.

With a bit of twisting and pulling, poking and prodding, Drayce finally heard that satisfying 'click' of the tumblers falling into place and the door creaking.

"See? Piece of cake," Drayce said in triumph as he quickly put away his lock-picking tools and placed them into the pocket of his jacket. With them hidden safely where they belong, he pushed himself to his feet and pushed the door open further to allow for him and Blayke to enter the room.

The room was dark as there appeared to be thick curtains covering the windows. There was also a light musty smell, probably due from being locked up and unused for so long.

And as Drayce looked around the room, he soon realised what it was used for. The bed in the corner, the strange mechanical equipment, the shelves of bottles. Despite it being locked up for a few years at least, there was still a distinct disinfectant smell in the air.

It was a clinic.

Yeah, an actual clinic.

He couldn't help but wonder why such an important room was locked up.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this," Drayce said as walked over to a cabinet and looked through the glass where rows of marked medica bottles could be seen. "Though having a clinic like room at the guildhouse would make sense."

"Only if you know how to use it," Blayke added. "I wonder how old these bottles are, though. And if they're safe to use."

"Yeah, good point," Drayce said as he reasoned with himself not to touch anything.

Yeah, not wanting to physically lay his hands on something was difficult for someone like him, but honestly, he really didn't want to mess around with any of this medical stuff. He may not know much about the medicine and disinfectant chemicals, but better safe than sorry.

"I wonder if I could get Fiorello to check this place out later," Drayce mused. "If these are dangerous to our health, a professional like him would be better equipped to deal with it, right?"

"Why don't you ask him to join the guild?" Blayke unexpectedly asked him.

"Nah," Drayce replied as he moved away from the cabinet and carefully made his way out of the room so not to disturb anything. "He has a sore spot in regards to explorers. Understandable from what I've learned. I mean, if he wants to join, that's his choice, but I'm not going to force him."

Blayke followed him out and closed the door behind him. "Ok, so the first floor has a seating area, a dining room, a kitchen, a clinic, and two other seemingly empty, miscellaneous rooms. And the second floor appears to be the sleeping quarters with three bathrooms. What is left that would be on the third floor?"

Drayce held his chin in thought. "Knowing Grandpa, there's possibly a library, drawing room, treasure room, weapon storage room, and a something akin to a games room for just hanging out. Oh, and probably a bar because he did like the occasional drink."

Blayke stared at him for a moment before he made an exasperated expression and ran his hand over his face. "This is ridiculous," he said. "This guildhouse is massive. It has all the facilities that our entire village back home did! What are we going to do with all this space?"

Now, Blayke was exaggerating a little. The guildhouse wasn't as big as their village. Maybe half the size? From what he had seen so far at least.

Drayce shrugged carelessly. "To be fair, the third floor and possible attic is probably filled with useless trinkets and doodads."

That, for some reason, didn't thrill Blayke all that much. "Brilliant," he muttered under his breath.

"Don't worry too much about it," Drayce said as he slapped Blayke on the back in an effort to knock him out of his grumpy mood. "Once we start bringing in guildmates, we'll be happy to have all this space. At least we won't get in each other's way."

"We could lose guildmates in here! Disappear to be never seen again!"

Drayce laughed. "Come on, it's not that bad. Better than being lost to the labyrinth, yeah?"

Now, what should he do next?

As interested as he was to explore the third floor and all the mysterious rooms, he wanted to check in on Fiorello to see if their unnamed patient had awakened at all. He was pretty sure he had improved somewhat, enough not to cause any alarm, but hopefully he would awaken soon.

"Hey, I'm just going to check in on Fiorello and the kid," Drayce said as he made his way over to the stairs. "If you find anything else interesting, let me know."

"Yeah, yeah," Blayke responded idly as he shooed him away.

With a nod of acknowledge, Drayce turned on his heel and headed upstairs. As he climbed the stairs, he found his thoughts unwittingly drifting to that chance encounter in the street that led him to Fiorello's door.

Zohar, the necromancer, had been a peculiar man, but nice and harmless all the same. He wondered if he lived with Fiorello and if they were friends or merely acquaintances. Fiorello obviously wasn't a part of a guild, so could he assume the same of Zohar? If not, why not?

He definitely piqued his curiosity.

As he reached the top step Drayce pulled himself out of his thoughts and quickly made his way to the closest room, the one with the door slightly ajar. He knocked on it once lightly before he pushed it open and stepped into the room.

Fiorello was sat in a chair at the foot of the bed, seemingly reading to pass the time while the white wolf that was the loyal companion to the unnamed Therian sat by his bed, his head resting on the bed near the young man's arm. The wolf barely acknowledged Drayce's presence while Fiorello lifted his head to look at him.

"Hey, just checking up on the patient," Drayce said as he moved further into the room to pause near the bed.

He took a moment to study the young patient and noted with relief that he didn't appear as red or sweaty as previous. Whatever medicine Fiorello had concocted for him seemed to have worked wonders. His breathing even seemed easier.

Good.

"He should actually be waking up soon," Fiorello said as he closed his book. "He responded quickly to the medicine. However the dehydration and malnutrition can't be as cured as easily."

Drayce had figured as much.

"Um, hey?" Drayce said as he turned his full attention to Fiorello. "Do you mind if I ask you a question about Zohar? He seems protective of you."

Fiorello rolled his eyes as he set his book aside. Although that action is usually accompanied by an expression of exasperation, he had a look of fondness on his face. "He feels that he owes me."

Drayce blinked. "Owe?"

"A situation similar to this, honestly," Fiorello replied as he leaned back into his chair. "I found him on the outskirts of town, sick injured and barely alive. I managed to talk a guard into dragging him to my place. He had…quite a few injuries. Honestly, I wasn't sure he would make it. To say he was in bad shape would be an understatement."

Drayce didn't know how to respond to that. The knot of sympathy and surprising worry in his stomach made it difficult to think of anything worthwhile in response. All those scars he saw…were they the result of his near death? They were so…bad. Deep. He…

"He had a strong will," Fiorello continued as a wry smile appeared on his lips. "He was alone so and no one came for him, so I was kinda stuck with him."

…No one came for him? That was…unfair. So unfair.

"I…I see," Drayce muttered. "To be honest, I don't know what to say. I had no idea. But…he's all right now, right?"

Fiorello gave him a peculiar look. "As all right as a necromancer can be."

Before Drayce could ask him what he meant by that a soft groan of disorientation and discomfort was heard from the direction of the bed. Immediately Drayce snapped his attention in their patient's direction, noting that the wolf, too, had sat up straight, full attention to the one lying on the bed.

Drayce made his way closer to the bed, but not too close so that he would appear intimidating or menacing in anyway. He waited patiently, but quietly as the purple and blue haired Therian slowly pulled himself out of his post sleep haze.

He rolled his head to the side and furrowed his brow. "Nashoba," he croaked out as he lifted his hand toward the softly whimpering wolf. "Where-?"

His eyes then suddenly widened upon realising that he was in a room and bed he obviously didn't recognised. Despite it being bad for his health, he sat up straight and with wide, panicking eyes looked around the room.

"Hey, stop moving," Fiorello said in a scolding tone. "You're going to make yourself faint again."

The kid abruptly stopped moving, only snapping his head in Fiorello's direction. His mouth dropped open in surprise and he seemed unable to form any words. Drayce immediately took pity on him and was about to explain to him what had happened and that he was safe, but was cut off by Fiorello.

"When was the last time you ate or drank?" Fiorello asked him in a manner that was honestly close to that of a parent figure; scolding with subtle concern. "How about the last time you slept comfortably? How you could let yourself get this sick is beyond me."

The kid snapped his mouth shut and seemed to shrink back into the pillows of the bed, his ears folding back meekly. Fiorello, however, wasn't finished.

"You're lucky that this guy was the one to find you," Fiorello said as he smacked Drayce's leg with the back of his hand, never taking his gaze off of the young rover. "You owe him one hell of a thanks, kiddo. Anyone else would have dumped you at the inn and to that scatterbrained inn-keeper, no offense to her family. If they bothered with you at all."

Ok, the kid looked really meek. The poor thing. Really, Drayce felt sorry for him. He also made the mental note not to piss off the dedicated botanist. At all.

"Honestly, you need a minder," Fiorello finished with a huff as he folded his arms across his chest. "Kids these days."

The kid flushed deeply, and it wasn't from the fever. "S-sorry…"

Drayce gave him a hopefully reassuring smile. "Really, it's fine. You haven't been a bother. My guildhouse has plenty of room. What's your name? My name is Drayce and the dedicated healer here is Fiorello."

"I, ah, m-my name is Faelen," he replied as he pinched the hem of the bedsheet between his finger and thumb in a fidgeting manner as he indicated to the white wolf with his other hand. "And this is Nashoba."

"Well, Faelen," Drayce said as he moved closer and sat himself down onto a chair that was close to the bed. "Despite the circumstances, it's nice to meet you. Your wolf companion hasn't left your side for even a second."

Faelen nodded his head as he reached out with a hand and idly ran his fingers through white wolf's fur. "Nashoba is normally very protective of me," he said as he turned his gaze to Drayce to look at him curiously. "I'm…a little surprised that he let you get close."

Drayce gave him a light shrug. "Nashoba must have known that I meant no harm. Which was lucky for me because, honestly, even if he didn't like, I couldn't have left you there."

With one hand still stroking Nashoba's coat, Faelen lifted his other hand to touch his forehead and he furrowed his brow in thought. "I fainted?"

"Right in front of me," Drayce replied.

"I don't remember," Faelen muttered, to which earned him a scoff from Fiorello.

"You never do, do you?"

"I'm really sorry," Faelen said as he dropped his hand from his forehead and turned to look at Drayce, his cheeks flushed and his lips twisted into a cute but apologetic pout. "I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble. I'm even taking up room. I'm sorry."

Drayce held up his hand, somewhat concerned by how apologetic the young rover truly seemed to be. He wasn't just apologizing for causing trouble (which, honestly, he wasn't) but because he saw himself as a burden. Drayce wasn't entirely sure if his assumption was right, but it felt right to him.

"Easy now," he said. "As I said, it's fine. My guildhouse has plenty of room. I mean, plenty of room."

From what he had seen so far and with still so much left to explore of his own guildhouse, to say he had plenty of room was really an understatement.

"But you don't know me," Faelen murmured with an innocently confused expression.

Drayce had to bite back a sigh. He wasn't going to go into that again. "Where I come from, helping others is completely normal. I may be new to Iorys, but I'm not going to stop being reasonable."

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeesh. Was helping others without reward or gain really that much of a confusion and troubling concept to understand?

Faelen seemed to perk up a little for some reason. "You're new here, too?" he asked with a slight sense of excitement in his voice. "So are we. We've been here a few days, but…"

Faelen then suddenly looked downcast and he dropped his gaze to his hand on his lap. Immediately, Drayce felt a sense of concern bubble in his chest.

"Did something happen?" he asked as he furrowed his brow.

"No one wanted to take us into their guilds," Faelen replied with a defeated sigh as his ears drooped slightly. "They wouldn't say why, just no. They wouldn't even give us a chance."

Drayce really couldn't understand why.

"How old are you, kiddo?" Fiorello suddenly asked.

"I'm fifteen," Faelen answered.

Fiorello hummed as he held his chin in thought. "Hm, young, but I've seen younger. Maybe these guilds you approached were simply assholes? There's honestly a few of them around."

Surprisingly, Drayce felt a surge of protectiveness. The reason why they didn't take Faelen into their guilds there and then was probably because he wasn't what they were looking for at that very moment. Or their previous rover teammate hadn't panned out the way they wanted, so wanted another more 'useful' class or something.

Of course he could wrong, but that was just the gut feeling he got. And his dad always told him to trust his gut.

"Faelen," Drayce said as he gained the young rover's attention. "I want you to join my guild."

Faelen's ears perked up straight and he all but whirled around to face Drayce. His mouth dropped open ever so slightly as he stared at him, speechless. After a second or so he managed to gather himself and an expression of genuine relief mixed with cautiousness appeared on his face.

"Really?" he asked.

"You need to enter the labyrinth, right?" Drayce returned. "Whatever the reason, you don't have to tell me if you don't want, but you do need to enter otherwise you wouldn't have been neglecting your health by trying to enter another guild."

Faelen looked unjustifiably guilty. "Well, yeah…"

"So do I," Drayce continued. "I only moved here yesterday and I haven't had the chance to register with the guildmaster yet, but I will. I need to enter the labyrinth for special reasons, too."

Drayce paused for a moment as he thought back to the reasons why he needed to enter. Surely the two before him could be trusted with that information. Especially if he wanted one of them to enter his guild as his guildmate. He honestly wanted Fiorello to become a member to because he would feel more at ease having a talented and dedicated healer on his side.

He could also see that both Fiorello and Faelen looked intrigued. So it should be ok. Blayke might bitch at him later, but he was just protective.

"I come from a long line of treasure hunters," Drayce said as he waved a hand idly at their surroundings. "This place is known as the Crescentia, a guildhouse that has belonged in my family for generations. My grandfather gave me the deed a little while ago before launching himself into another adventure."

Drayce paused for a moment to think about his wild and eccentric but still loving grandfather. He hoped that he was out having the adventure of his life. And was staying out of trouble.

Nah, knowing him, he was getting into all sorts of mischief. Well, that was fine, as long as he came to visit and to tell him everything that he had seen and experienced.

Drayce shook his head slightly to focus himself. "This place isn't the reason why I'm here, though. I was summoned here by Prince Ramus himself for a special purpose."

Faelen uttered a soft gasp of surprise while Fiorello made a slight hum of intrigue. "Prince Ramus, you say? Well, you must be here for an important purpose indeed."

"He wishes for me to find information or the locations on the Lost Treasures of the Legendary War," Drayce answered with a grin. "Of course, I will need to successfully complete the first mission that the Council Hall issues to all new explorers, hence the reason why I need some trusted guildmates to help me. Soooo, how about it?"

"I'll help!" Faelen eagerly answered.

Drayce's smile grew a little bigger and he leaned forward to ruffle Faelen's hair between his ears, earning himself a tiny embarrassed squeak from him. Yet he didn't pull away and he didn't seem to detest the display in anyway.

"Glad to hear it," Drayce said. "Welcome to Guild Angelward then, Faelen. We just need a couple more members before we can enter the labyrinth, so take this time to get rid of your fever, ok?"

A precious smile appeared on Faelen's lips and he looked both happy and intensely relieved. Honestly, seeing that expression made Drayce glad that he had agreed to join his guild and he hadn't been taking in by someone else. Those guilds that turned him down didn't deserve him.

"Well, I've made up my mind," Fiorello suddenly stated, seemingly making up his mind about an important decision. "Guild Angelward, was it? Well, that's a worthy guild for me, too."

Drayce removed his hand from Faelen's hair to look at the botanist with an expression of surprise on his face. "You want to join?"

Fiorello folded his arms across his chest and gave Drayce a truly cheeky smile. "After all this talk about treasure and royal missions, you won't be able to get rid of me."

Honestly, that was a relief! He just needed to find one more willing explorer to join and he would have a recommended party of five. But…

"What about Zohar?"

"Hmm," Fiorello made a sound that was similar to that of a chuckle. "He tends to do his own thing. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to know I agreed to join a guild, even though the hypocrite refuses to join one himself."

That…was a little disappointing. Would he really be ok with Fiorello joining? Maybe Drayce could talk him into joining as well, so that he…wouldn't be alone. No one should be alone like that.

"Well, I'm glad you chose to join," Drayce smiled brightly. "Now I can confidently tell you about the clinic we have here without feeling like I'm trying to bribe you into joining."

Fiorello arched an eyebrow at him. "You have a private clinic? How big is this place?"

"Not a clue! But I'm going to have fun finding out!"