Karl changed to his Royal Rank suit as he waited for the chaos in the city to calm, and then turned to Thor.
“Well buddy, I think you’ve enjoyed enough massage and scale polish for a moment. Why don’t we get the little ones set up with someone who can take care of them and get them home?” He informed the Cerro.
The guards chuckled and helped the little ones down from Thor’s back, as he had already put his harness in storage in his space so they could reach the scales underneath.
The Elves gathered around the city guard while Thor prepared to follow Hawk’s directions to the Darklight Host Guild Hall.
It was a large building in the middle of the city, on the edge of the commercial district, and set up much like a hotel, from outside appearances.
It was a slow walk, as the little ones insisted on walking themselves and not being carried by guards. But the procession brought a smile to the face of everyone who passed by, as the Elves’ eagerness to actually see civilization again after months of captivity had the guards explaining everything that they saw.
“And here we are at the Darklight Host Guild Hall. This is your destination, and with some luck, you will find someone inside who can help you get reunited with your family.” The Guard Captain informed them.
That seemed unlikely to Karl, unless they had family at their destination. Because the ones they were travelling with had already been sold off in what sounded like another country.
Karl led the group into the grounds, and the Guards returned to their duties, while a young girl in a maid outfit greeted him at the door.
“Hello, sir. How can I help you today? Most of our officers are not in today, but we can arrange rooms for Alliance members.” She informed them.
“I have a group of rescued refugees with me, and they need to be sent to the village of Glatt, but I don’t have the time to take them myself.” Karl replied.
“Oh, transport arrangements. Alright, I will see if anyone is in. Maybe they will come back after the war declaration is over?”
Karl chuckled. “The war is over. It was solved with a duel. Do you have a portal mage stationed here?”
The maid nodded happily. “As long as they weren’t injured in the fighting, we do have a portal mage on our payroll. It might be costly, as the Elven village of Glatt is in a Second Advancement region, and very remote, but it is in our available destinations.”
The maid led them to a sitting room with a number of couches, where the children sprawled out to rest somewhere soft.
They didn’t have to wait long before a number of people came storming into the house, looking for answers.
“Beth, have you seen a visiting Guild Member?” One of the new arrivals demanded.
“No, sir. But there is a visitor. He came with a group of Elven children, and they are waiting in the sitting room for Nathan to come back. The children are on their way to the village of Glatt.” She replied.
That sounded like what they had heard from the guards, so the group rushed over to where Karl was waiting, and then stopped in confusion as they saw that his Status Screen information was all messed up.
“You’re not a Guild member? The Guard seemed to think that you were an official War Champion.” The leader of the group insisted.
Karl shrugged. “It’s a bit of a long story. I arrived here through an anomaly, and I honestly have no idea where here is. I was hoping that you had a proper map, but I ran into some bandits, and they had these children captive.
The bandits had intended to sell them as slaves, so I took them, and I would like to arrange to have them sent to their original destination of Glatt.”
“Wait, back up. Did you say that you’re not from here? As in, not from this continent?” The man asked.
“I’m not even certain that I am from this world. So, naturally, I would not be listed as a member of the local Darklight Host.” Karl agreed.
More people came into the house, talking excitedly as Karl finished his speech.
“Hey, did you hear that there is a War Champion in town? He defeated the Demon Guild Alliance Champion and his entire entourage alone.” A young woman yelled as she approached the door.
“No need to shout it. He’s sitting right here, waiting for Nathan to send some Elven kids home to Glatt.” A blonde girl at the back of the group replied.
An older man pushed through the group, and Karl saw a slightly dishevelled man in mage robes. Finally, an actual mage. He was beginning to think that this world had opted out of having any.
He pulled out a piece of paper and held it up, looking at the kids.
“Well I’ll be. It really is them. There is quite the bounty out for their safe return, you know?” He explained.
“Well, as long as it involves getting them safely home, I’m happy to have helped.” Karl replied with a smile as the kids sat silently, watching the new people.
“You will have to take them directly home to collect the reward, as it was not set by the Guild, we only received a copy.
However, there is a more pressing matter. Did you get the notification for the War Completion? We can’t tell who has control of the city right now, it’s still in limbo.”
Karl nodded. “I have it. I was waiting for them to resurrect at their Guild House, so they could leave in a group, and then I was going to verify it for the Darklight Host.”
The mage nodded. “That is kind of you. Many would have forced them to respawn at a random church or Guild site instead of letting them come back to their Guild House.
They’re all on their way out of town now, and the Guild House is basically empty, so you can complete the process with a clear conscience.”
[Confirm Control of Bunga for the Darklight Host Alliance?] Y/N
[Control Transferred.] The opposing Guild has 90 minutes to leave the city limits.
[Reward Granted.]
The group let out a collective sigh of relief.
“We were worried that it might have given the notice to someone who was revived and didn’t return with an active Class. They wouldn’t be able to activate it, and then it would time out after a full day, which leaves the whole city in chaos, as the System collects taxes, fees and duties, as well as paying city employee wages, if you didn’t already know that.
I heard that not every region does it that way, and some of them are centrally controlled, and not under the control of local Guilds.”
Karl nodded to indicate his limited but functional level of understanding. The fully active System could do wonderful things, and it was a bit of a shame that such a thing didn’t exist at home. If it did, so many problems could have been bypassed.
“Well, it’s under Guild control now, so things can go back to normal. But tell me, are you Nathan? Nothing bad happened to the Portal Mage, did it?”
The mage pointed behind him toward the other end of the house. “He’s here. But he’s a bit old, and he needed a break and a snack after so much running around today.”
