Guild Of Zeroes

Chapter 2

The Guild's army of mundane workers had transformed the courtyard around the Tower into something magical. The Tower was old, so old that the records of who had built it and why were lost to the waves of time. Scholars dated it further back than even the Imperial ruins that dotted the countryside. It was worn, decrepit and if the histories were to be believed, it was a fragment of a much larger fortress. 

Tonight the Guild had breathed new life into those old stones. 

At the center of the courtyard there was a moss covered wall of waist high stone that encircled a patch of, well, absolutely nothing. The accepted best guess was that it had been a private garden for some lord or lady of ages long past. If that was the case, it must have been a hell of a garden. The ring was mostly soft grass now, save for a few patches of flowers that sprang up year after year, and one lonely evergreen at the center. It was a quiet space, set far away from the stables and training yard. It was a space for reflection, for contemplation, for study. Most days. Tonight, it was the opposite.

The Guild had set enchanted lamps at even intervals along the wall and they glowed with all the colours of summer: forest green, sunset gold, and clear-sky blue. Small tables had been set up around the garden, casks of mead and wine were spaced along the inside of the wall, and a trio of musicians played under the bows of the old spruce. The entire population of the Tower was crowding into the garden, staking out tables and filling their bowls with whatever was simmering around the firepit. It was nearly too much, the roar of conversation and laughter mixed with the pipes and drums from the band. The wildflower’s perfume entwined with the rich aroma of smoke and sizzling meats. The garden was alive, and the party pulsed with a steady beat of light and joy. 

Smiling, I threw myself into the pandemonium. 

Quin followed a pace behind me, and, as always, they had to take Mouse by the arm and drag him through the gates. Together, we were a well oiled party machine and we each set about our usual tasks without a word. I donned a mask of bright eyes and brighter smiles, making small talk as I worked my way to the wine barrels to collect drinks. Quin bulled their way through the throng of people standing between us and a warm meal. Mouse disappeared into the crowd, sliding between dancers and revelers, gliding like oil on water and staked down a table for the three of us. With our respective missions a success we rallied to Mouse’s position and set down our spoils. 

“I think that’s a new record,” I said over the rim of my earthen mug. Quintain passed me a trencher piled high with steaming goodness slathered in some kind of sauce and sat down across from me. 

The two of us turned to Mouse, and watched him inspect his meal. He poked the food with a spoon and raised an eyebrow at the meat sitting on top of a bed of vegetables. “What is this?” he asked. 

“Damn,” Quin whispered, sliding me a copper coin. 

Mouse scowled at us and set the spoon down. “Okay,” he said softly. “First, you two are both a horse’s ass. Second, if you did something to my food I will lay the curse of the seven bastards on you.” 

I held up my hands in surrender. “Whoa, whoa. We didn’t do anything to your food, Mouse. We had a gentle-person’s wager going.” 

Mouse picked up a tiny potato and threw it at me. “I don’t believe you.” 

Leaning forward across the table, I put all my effort into imitating his tone. “Okay. First, all three of us are a horse’s ass. You don’t get a free pass on that one. Second, I haven’t done anything to your food since we were teenagers.” 

He picked up the spoon and started examining his meal more carefully. “You just don’t get over taking a big bite of mud and pine needles.” 

Quin made a sound that was somewhere between growl and a groan and tilted their head back, looking to the sky. “Tiny Gods grant me a tiny measure of tiny mercy and save me from this conversation.” They gave the two of us a stern look, shutting down our verbal duel before more food could be thrown. “We made a bet on what would bother you first, the meat or curly little green vegetables underneath it.”