The Achievement Junkie

"Leisure Guild… And a summoned hero… Are you Jack J., perhaps?"

"Is it that obvious?" Jack chuckled, scratching his head.

"Only because I know that your Daruun's champion," replied Lyrun. "Without that crucial piece of information, it would take some digging to learn the truth. And even then, it would only be theory."

"But would the gods make a move against me on a theory?" asked Jack.

"No, we're not allowed to do that. We've been given our orders and those orders would need to change for us to personally take action. However, that doesn't mean holy and chaotic factions wouldn't send their champions to deal with you," answered Lyrun.

"Well, for the time being, I'm not too worried about that," Jack stated. "I've already met the holy champion and I'm not too worried about him."

"You've met him already?" Lyrun's tone shifted abruptly. The casual conversation felt more hard-pressed as the Nature God loudly questioned Jack, "Tell me, what's his name? And what's his profession?"

Jack squinted but replied, "You're asking about Lorwynn, right? The founder of the Adventurers Association?"

Lyrun opened his mouth to say more but he found himself lacking the words. His thoughts were still too rampant for the god to form the questions he wanted answers to.

"He hasn't reported that, has he?" Jack asked, finding the answer written all over Lyrun's face. "I guess Lorwynn wasn't lying after all."

"How long has he known?"

"He knew since my first visit to Federal City. As an official member of the association and having stopped the syndicate's plot in Reinolt, I met him and the rest of the council. It was then that I discovered he was a champion but I only learned that he was the holy champion after he visited me personally at an inn," explained Jack.

"This isn't good…" Worry started to seep from Lyrun's face. "Why did he have to meet you so soon?! This could ruin everything!"

"Lyrun, what are you talking about?" Sensing that something major was going on behind the scenes, Jack wanted to learn all he could.

"Jack… Well, you are Daruun's champion… Maybe…"

"What are you up to Lyrun, and how could my meeting Lorwynn ruin it?"

Hesitant, Lyrun tried to calm his nerves and look Jack in the eyes. "For now, you don't need to know anything. But should something go wrong, I may ask for your assistance."

"And why should I offer you my help if you can't help me?" Jack reasoned, not backing down.

"That… You have a good point… Is there anything I can help with?" Lyrun asked.

"Well, I was trying to renew the Leisure Guild's trading pact with Korten, as well as pay handsomely to become Korten's exclusive trading partner…" Jack thought out loud. "But then Gwendon had to turn me down without considering it."

"You want exclusive trading rights? That's it? You're not after our treasures or our collection of ancient item recipes?" Baffled, Lyrun tried to learn more about Jack's motives.

"If I want those things, then I'll trade for them. What I want are exclusive trading rights between the guild and Korten for a minimum of five years," repeated Jack. "And if what you ask of me later is too much for that, then at least ten years. How does that sound?"

"That's… doable. But when I ask for your assistance, you'll have to come immediately."

Smiling with his hand extended, Jack replied, "So long as I'm not busy protecting the guild or an ally of the guild, then I'll come personally. If not me, then someone else will come in my stead. So, will it be five or ten years?"

"Ten," Lyrun immediately answered. "Then we've reached an accord."

Both the man and the god shook firmly as they came to terms. Jack was elated to get what he wanted for the guild and Lyrun was glad to have a new ally for his own machinations.

"By the way, I'm also here to take Eedaj to Trodar. He'll be the first of the Neutral Gods to relocate to the Leisure Guild," Jack added. "When you became a god, did you leave a way out of the holy faction?"

Lyrun sighed. "Yes, but that's the least of my worries right now. Maybe later I'll discuss that with you, but I've got other matters to look into as you've already made contact with my disciple."

"Oh… So that's why you can't give Eliza your blessing. Then, if I get the chance, I'll tell Lorwynn you said, 'Hi' when I see him next."

"Thank you, Jack. I must be off now. Good luck in Trodar, and tell my brother he can always ask for help should he need it."

Lyrun bowed his head lightly as the green barrier retracted in the blink of an eye. By the time it was gone, Lyrun had already vanished without a trace.

"Come on, let's hurry up and meet Eedaj. We've only got tomorrow to get back to the Leisure Guild, so we may have to fly through the night," Jack refocused the party and stepped through the illusory barrier around the Prehistoric Forest. "Come on, let's stick together."

The rest of the party followed along, still feeling some pride for Jack's ability to speak so confidently with immortal beings.

*****

"How much longer, Tralon?"

"Calm yourself, Argyle," replied the aging mage. "The circle will be completed very shortly."

Argyle sighed, "But that's what you said two hours ago…"

"No, I said it would be completed shortly. This time I specifically said 'very shortly' to emphasize the little time left," chuckled Tralon.

"You know, after learning that you were that boys sidekick all those years ago, I finally understand your wicked sense of humor," Argyle mentioned, not disrespecting nor complimenting the mage.

"I'm being serious, though. In less than five minutes, the circle will be operational," added Tralon, smiling back to his old friend.

"Argyle!"

Surprised to hear Baral's voice from outside the concealed courtyard, Argyle shouted, "What's wrong Baral?"

Baral asked, "May I come in? Something strange is taking place outside."

"Very well, but only you."

The massive lock within the door clicked and Baral opened it just enough to enter the room before shutting the door and relocking it. Then, the manager hurried to Argyle with a bow. "Argyle, you may want to check what's going on outside. A furious, unnatural wind is carrying what looks like endless storm clouds toward Federal City."

"Storm clouds?" Argyle itched the scruff on his face. "Tralon, have you heard of such a thing?"

"Hmm… That's hard to say. It could be a number of things. I'd have to see it for myself to know for sure," stated Tralon. "But I'm busy here, so it might be best if you go, Argyle."

"Then I'll hurry back and describe everything to you. Show me, Baral." The auction house owner took the lead, despite his asking Baral for guidance.

The two men sealed the door behind them, hurrying to get a better view of the storm that was racing toward Kartonia's greatest megacity. It took nearly five minutes just to exit the auction house but they were soon outside, where Baral was baffled further.

"They've already gotten so close?"

"Baral, how far away were the clouds ten minutes ago?" asked Argyle.

Replying, Baral recovered, "They were about thirty minutes of travel away."

That was when Argyle understood his manager's confusion. If it wasn't Baral telling him that, he wouldn't have believed such a thing. The pitch-black storm clouds were already over a third of the city yet they truly were endless.

Taking every detail into his memory, Argyle hurried to decipher the exact characteristics of the storm before he and Baral rushed back to Tralon.

"You're back already?" Tralon asked, still hunched over to write the last few characters of the teleportation circle.

"Tralon, the pitch-black storm should already be covering the entire city by now and the most peculiar thing is the black lightning that's coursing through the clouds but doesn't reign down on the city," explained Argyle.

As the final character was magically etched into the newly made platform, Tralon's finger stiffened. "Black… lightning?"