Hearth and Mantle - A Silver Circle Short Story
Last updated: 6 hours, 53 minutes ago
Word Count: 5,324
Estimated reading time: 15-30 minute
Chapter 1
The street to the guild hall is in shambles, the post war reconstruction efforts have not made it here yet, the workers are still focused on places of “higher importance”. The people living here are cleaning up what they can on their own, but the neighborhood's morale is low. The people are hungry, dirty, and tired. Many have lost people and still have not had time to grieve.
Idris is a large and strong man who has done his share of adventuring but has now “retired” to being the guild leader of The Silver Circle. Idris has been very productive and supportive towards our neighborhood and the surrounding area, assigning guild members various tasks and not charging for our services. He could make a fortune from our services, but he would make us look like profiteers. He assigned the guild warriors to clearing unsafe rubble and debris, and the priests to healing and uplifting morale. All other guild members are to help however they can.
I am returning to the guild from walking around the neighborhood and offering healing to anyone that needs it. However, most people have been treated and are on the mend. It’s been weeks since the battle ended, and the new King Edward Vance took the throne.
Outside the guild hall, Idris is still receiving and passing a few requests from the city folk to guild members, even though it is past dinner time. "Caspian, I just got a roof collapsed two streets over, can you go help them with that?", he pointed in the direction of where the house is.
"You got it, boss," Caspian lumbered away in the direction that Idris had pointed at. Caspian is one of our largest, strongest, and most heavily armed warriors, and we often use him as a front-line warrior for any of our more dangerous work. He is also one of the friendliest guild members, and he is always willing to help and teach others.
Just the other day he explained to me why he always needed to have different weapons on him at all times. “Sometimes I use my claymore for when I need the most damage to the greatest number of people, like in a war battle. I am fond of my falchion for tight spaces, being a smaller blade, I can usually still swing full force and not have to worry about hitting walls. Oh! And I love the versatility of my longsword; I can use it in one hand with another weapon or a shield in the other hand or I can use it with both hands for maximum hurt!” He went on for a while like this.
I walk up to Idris; he looks as tired as I feel. “Hey Idris, do you need anything from me?” I am genuinely offering my help, but I am also hoping for food and bed.
“Get some rest Kaede, we are wrapping up for the night. If I get anything, I’ll get someone else to handle it,” Idris pats me on the shoulder while also lightly pushing me towards the guild hall’s front door. I must look as tired as I feel, but Idris is also good at reading people. It’s something that Idris and I are working on for myself, but people can be so damn hard to read.
—
Inside the Guild Hall, I can see that the hearth is lit and my friend, Tova, is sitting near it. Idris always keeps the fire going, even when it is too hot. He does this as a communal and social thing, and it works. There are almost always people sitting near the fire and socializing. That fire really feels like the heart of the guild at times.
There are not too many people in the main hall right now; most are out helping or in and asleep. I go up to the counter, get some dinner, and take it to the table that I saw Tova sitting at. She is one of my best friends, but she is a warlock and that can sometimes get awkward. Warlocks and Priests are pretty much as opposite as two people can get. Tova and I have been through so much together that we are now able to put our differences aside and just be friends.
“I just saw Caspian get assigned to a collapsed roof,” I informed her so that she didn’t worry about him. She is completely enamored by the man, and he is to her as well, but neither of them has done anything about it yet. I’m hoping to help them out with that because they would be amazing together.
“And why would I care about that?” She asks to try to play it off, but she smiles and I’m sure that she is glad to know.
We eat the rest of the meal in friendly silence, both of us too tired to really come up with anything to say.
Chapter 2
I woke up the next morning, still tired and burnt out from the war's recovery efforts. I go to the central room and grab breakfast. Faelan is already here. He and I are both training under Idris to take over the guild, but Faelan takes too many jobs away from the guild, Chikoreem, and society. He will never advance in the guild if he doesn't spend more time with it.
“Up early today,” I said to Faelan.
He looks up from his breakfast, “Yeah, I got a job coming up and must start putting tracks between here and I. You ready?” I finished my food and nodded.
We get up and walk out of the main hall and into the office area. Idris's office is the far back one. I knock on his door and enter, not waiting for a response as he never gives one. The office is cold and dark and as near as I can tell, empty of Idris, or any other life.
“Idris, we're here for the daily. Faelan, can you light a torch or something,” I get no response from Faelan or Idris, but Faelan gets some light going in the office. Idris is not here.
“It’s not like him to not be here in the morning,” Faelan says as he looks around. He walks over to the desk and stops, “Kaede, come look at this.”
I walked over to the desk. On top of everything else is Idris's black and gold guild badge. Why is this here and not him? This can't be right. I move closer and see a hastily written note under the badge. I grab it and read it aloud;
I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. It is just too much
Idris
Faelan looks at me. I can see the shock in his eyes, the same shock that I feel. Moments of silence pass, thoughts race through my mind about what is going to happen to the guild without its leader. Is it going to fall apart? Then Faelan breaks the silence, “Kaede, I can lead but I can't do it alone. I can do all the logistics, but I don’t have the people skills. I need you. We can do this together.”
I look at Faelan. He is scared. “You're probably right, between the two of us, we could probably hold this place together till we find a proper replacement. Or Idris comes back, maybe he just needs a few days to clear his head and he'll come back.” I doubt Idris is coming back, but maybe.
“I don't think he is coming back. What do we tell the rest of the guild?” Faelan asks as he picks up and looks at the guild leader's badge.
“The truth, as nicely as possible,” I answered him, trying to come up with the nicest truth. “Idris could no longer bear the pressure of the aftermath of the war and has left you and I in charge of the guild.” No one will question that; he has already been training us to take over. I don’t like to think about all the questions they could have about him leaving, because I probably won’t have the answers.
“Who wears the badge?” Faelan asks, still holding it.
“I think if we are going to share this and tell them that it is temporary, then neither of us should wear it.” Faelan thinks about this, nods his agreement, and places the badge back on the desk. “Let's go and get this over with,” I led him out of the office and into the main guild hall.
Chapter 3
We came back to the main guild hall, which has filled up quite a bit since we were there for breakfast. It’s common for everyone to come here to have breakfast and to have Idris address the guild with any daily information that needs to be passed on, I’m not surprised to see most of the guild already here. I stand with Faelan by the hearth, Idris's spot. I don’t like standing here, it feels too formal and not my style, but now it is not time for changing such minor things.
“Good morning everyone,” I address the room, and it quietens. “Idris will not be joining us today. He has resigned from the guild.” The room goes silent, and I have their complete attention now. “The Silver Circle will continue on though; Faelan and I will take over until we can find a suitable replacement.”
“Why did he resign? Where did he go?” Caspian asks.
I took a breath, I didn’t want to say it, “I don’t know for sure, but it seems like the pressure of the war and its aftermath got to him. I think he broke from the pressure, hardship, and emotional hardships.” Idris didn’t share my opinion of having complete transparency with the guild, but I have always felt that a leader should be as transparent as possible.
Flint, a Dwarven warrior, stands up from where he was sitting, “Well lass, I wish you the best of luck, but I was only here because of Idris.” And he walks out the door. Shit, shit, shit, that could avalanche on us.
Milo and Gideon also stand up to go; I need to do something. Faelan speaks next, “Wait brothers, hear us out first.” They pause.
Having Faelan speak up and use the word brothers triggered a thought. “With Idris leaving, we have taken a great loss today. But we are still the same family as we were yesterday. Faelan and I have been trained, and we know Idris’s goals for the guild. Those goals still align with all our values. We will still go forth and help those in need, whether those are in the guild or not. We will still lead with honesty and transparency. And we will still support each and every one of you. You are all my brothers and sisters.”
After a moment, Milo and Gideon bow to Faelan and I. The rest of the guild stands and bows as well. Now to keep them together, “Thank you all. Today I want everyone who is staying in town to do so in groups. I don’t want anyone to work alone today. And those that are leaving town,” I glanced at Faelan, “Please be careful out there.”
Faelan and I give out a few more specific details of what needs to be done, but overall, most everyone knows what needs to be done.
Chapter 4
It’s not long after the meeting that Faelan walks up to me. I am standing in front of the guild hall, where Idris used to stand, receiving and giving out tasks. “It looks good on you,” Faelan says to me. I look down at myself; I have no idea what he is talking about. “The guild, guild leadership looks good on you.”
I smile at him, I feel inadequate, and I am thankful that he is here with me in this. But then I remember what he said this morning, “You’re leaving aren’t you?” He nods. “Be careful out there and come back soon. We need you here.” He walks away toward the city’s exit.
I am sad that he is gone, I am scared to do this on my own, and I’m a little angry that he left on the very same day that we had to take over the guild. But I don’t have time to sit in those feelings; one of our newest officers' walks up to me. “Hey Audrey.”
She looks at me, I notice just a flash of anger and it’s gone, “Please call me Rey.”
Ah, crap. I knew that. I must be more careful in the future. “I’m so sorry, Rey. What can I do for you?” Rey and I haven't worked together much yet. Idris recently made her an officer and before that she tended to stay to herself. Her promotion didn’t make sense to me, she wasn’t much of a people person, and she didn’t seem to be helpful prior to the promotion.
Rey seems uncomfortable or nervous, like talking to me is difficult, “Idris assigned me to lunch prep with Milo before he left, but I have found errors in the inventory of the kitchen goods.”
“Errors aren’t unheard of in a guild of this size. Too many people sharing the workload and not knowing how to do things properly,” I say to her trying to figure out where she is going with this.
“I have a background in accounting and would like to go over the rest of the guild ledgers,” she explained. “I would like to see if I can find the kitchen discrepancies.”
This request surprises me. She seems too young to be both a mage and an accountant, and nobody ever wants to work on the ledgers. “I would be delighted if you did that. I do need a full report of all the guild’s inventory, costs, income, activities, and so on. I need to know how the guild is currently sitting.” A thought flashes in my mind as I talk to Rey; Faelan should be doing this checking. “Do you know where Idris’s office is? Oh! I mean mine and Faelan’s office.”
“I do. I'll get that to you as soon as I can,” she says to me and leaves without saying anything else to me.
“Thanks, Rey,” I called after her.
—
Moments later a man comes up to me, holding some coins in his hand. “Please take this. I have a farm just down the road and some bandits have taken it as their own,” he pleads. This is likely the last bit of gold he has, “Please take this gold and get rid of them.”
“Yes, we will save your farm,” I gently pushed his hands and gold back to him. “But keep your gold. Times are hard right now.” I look around and see Caspian nearby moving some crates of supplies into the guild hall. “Caspian, go get Tova and follow this man to his home. He has a bandit problem.”
Caspian nods at me and goes into the guild hall. A moment later he comes back with Tova and they come over to me and the man. “Thank you my dear,” the man says to me, and they all walk away towards the man's farm.
I look over at Soren, who is standing by the guild’s front door. “Soren, can you finish having those crates packed away for Caspian? And then go to my office and see if Rey needs any help?”
“Aye, lass!” He bows to me; that’s weird for me. Soren gets two of his employees from the Commercial Guild to put the crates away, and then he walks into the guild.
The day goes on like this. Delegating tasks. Sending others to do the work that I would have been doing yesterday. It feels like there is so much trouble in Chikoreem, so much pain and sorrow. I think I am getting a taste of what Idris was going through, but he had been doing it for so much longer.
—
As the day wore on, work requests dwindled and guild members returned, including Caspian and Tova. “Those bandits are gone. There were only two, and they were probably hungrier than that farmer,” Caspian explained. “I felt bad for driving them out.”
As they walked away, Tova looked back at me and mouthed the words, “Thank you.” I shrugged at her, feigning ignorance. I smiled once they were out of sight.
As others came back and reported back to me, I took notes in a journal of who had done what. I figured I should keep track of each person's contribution and efforts. I thank each person and tell them to go in and get dinner, and that they have earned it.
Chapter 5
I woke up in my room and was still tired. It has been nonstop for days now. I got ready for another day and walked out to the main hall. I grabbed my coffee from Milo, walked over to the fire and built it back up for the day that was ahead of us.
I sat back with my coffee watching the flames that I just rekindled, and I realized that I may have accidentally picked up one of Idris’s habits. I’m not upset by that though; the fire really is the heart of the guild.
While I am thinking about that, Rey sits in the chair next to me. “I finished that inventory report that you asked for.” She hands me a stack of papers.
Before I look at them, I ask her, “Did you find those kitchen discrepancies?”
She looks at me, slightly surprised, “You remembered? The best I could narrow it down; it looks like Idris was skimming a bit from every area. I can’t prove it and I don’t want to believe it, but numbers don’t lie. It’s all there in the report for you.”
“Whoa.” I say it aloud. I can’t believe that at all. Idris had always been honest and upfront with everything. Then again, he is gone, so maybe there is some truth in it. “OK. Show me please.”
For the next little while, Rey goes over all the ledgers with me. The guild is in bad shape right now; Rey points out the suspected skimming, and how the guild reserves are pretty much empty. The guild is not bringing in enough gold to cover all of the expenses, and it's been this way for a while. I’ll have to talk to Faelan about this; he was closest to Idris and the guild’s accounting.
As we sit there, trying to wrap up, Soren approaches, “Mornin', lass. Forgive the interruption. I know I'm barging into the middle of things, but I've need of ye for a moment.”
I looked at Rey to see if she minded, she shrugged, “That's quite all right Soren, Rey and I are just about done. What can I do for you?”
“I was just speakin' with Milo. Says he's in need of a few supplies. A couple pots need replacing, some tableware that’s seen better days, and a bit more food for the pantry,” Soren listed off a shopping list.
With the ledger fresh in my mind, I want to say no to all of this, but that was unrealistic. “Tell him he can get the bare minimum groceries, but we can’t afford new kitchenware right now. Also, Soren, we need some big income. Can you think of some options and get back to me later about it?”
“Aye, lass,” Soren says as he walks towards the kitchen to give Milo my unwelcome news.
I shake my head at the situation, “Sorry about the interruption, Rey. Thank you for doing all of this work. I want you to do the same thing as Soren; brainstorm some money saving and generating ideas for me.”
Rey looked at me, “I already have on the last few pages. The biggest thing is that we should be charging for our services. Right now, we are giving away so much for free.”
“Anything related to the restoration effort will remain free,” I said sternly. “I know we should be charging for all of that, but I’m not going to have our guild turn into a bunch of profiteers. We need another way to make money.”
Rey shakes her head, “It’s your call. It is just one possibility. Look through the rest with Soren later.” With that, she got up and walked away. I feel like I offended her, but I am still learning who she is and what she is like; it will take time.
—
The day carried on. I resumed my post at the guild entrance. Townsfolk and guild members came and went, as did their problems.
At one point, Soren relieved me and took over so I could have a break. Milo made enough lunches for us all and any of the townsfolk that were nearby and hungry.
Gideon came to me towards the end of the day as I was winding down by the fire. “I just wanted to say that you’ve been doing a good job since Idris left.” The people that were within hearing distance voiced their agreement. Some even raised their mugs to me.
“Thank you, Gideon. Thank you all. All of you have also been doing great,” I say to him and the rest. I lean back in the chair and bask in the warmth of the fire and the compliment. I think to myself, Maybe I can do this.
Chapter 6
A few more days have passed, I was sitting at my desk eating my lunch, going over more reports from Soren and Rey, when someone knocked at my door. I look up, and it’s Faelan. “Hi Faelan, when did you get in?” I stood up and motioned for him to sit with me.
“Been back a couple of hours now,” he sat in the chair across the desk from me. “Just been talking with people about how things have been since Idris left.”
“Oh yeah? Hear anything juicy?” I laughed, nothing juicy has been happening around here.
He smiled at me. “I heard Idris was skimming us?” Except that. I had tried to keep that news low key but everyone knows. “I’m sorry. I had no idea about that. Maybe I am not as good with numbers as I thought I was.”
“Don’t blame yourself, I bet he was training you to not see the discrepancies," I reassured him. “Rey found it. She’s an absolute whiz with numbers. She’s got a few suggestions here that should help us recover, financially.”
He looked down, in thought, then back at me, “You don’t need me do you? The way I hear it, you have been doing so good that most people couldn’t imagine anyone else in your role.”
This caught me by surprise, I didn’t expect him to land on this realization so quickly after being back, “I’m sorry, Faelan. I’m not going to lie to you, I have been thinking about that as well. You are hardly here, and Rey is really good with the ledgers.”
“I felt bad leaving the guild the same day that all of that went down,” Faelan says. “I knew you’d be able to handle it though, and I’m glad that you did. I’m going to step down instead of giving you and the guild false expectations.”
I stared at him. I’m not sure what to say. I had been wanting him back, to help me, but I had been running the guild alone for almost two weeks now. We didn’t actually need him as much as I thought we did when this all started.
“Ok, Faelan, I hate to agree with you on this,” but I did agree with him. “I’ll take full control. But that doesn’t get you off the hook. You’re still an officer here and we still need you around here.”
He smiled at that, stood, and shook my hand. “Thanks, Kaede.”
I pulled him in for a hug. “I’m glad you’re back. If you haven’t already, can you go see Rey. She wants to talk to you about the ledgers. After that, could you gather up the officers? I want to talk to you all about Rey and making her the official guild accountant.”
He nods and leaves me in the office to myself. I’ll have to make the announcement at tomorrow’s morning meeting. It should be fine, I don’t think anyone will mind this change.
—
Later that day, the officers all crowded into my office. Faelan, and Soren sat in the chairs in front of my desk. Rey stood back towards the door, trying to take up as little space as possible and go unnoticed.
“Thanks for coming in guys,” I started the meeting. “I just wanted to let you all know Faelan is stepping down from co-leading the guild and I will be taking full control.”
Neither Rey nor Soren look surprised. “About time ye did, lass,” Soren says to me and Rey nods in agreement. I am surprised and not surprised at how easily they take that news. I thought that there might be a little more surprise or conversation about it.
But I carry on, “I would also like to promote Rey to be the guild's official account. As long as you all approve. Her work past couple weeks has been critical to the guild and I would like her to carry on in that role,” that did get the surprise of Soren and Rey.
“I agree,” Faelan was first to speak but he knew that this was coming.
I was a bit worried about what Soren would say, with his financial and entrepreneurial background, I thought that he would be inclined for a position like that. Then he spoke, “I've been workin' with Rey, and I agree. She's taught me a few tricks that'll serve my own enterprises. And, if all goes well, I'll funnel the profits into the guild's coffers.”
I am relieved that Soren agreed, more relieved than I thought I would be. I looked at Rey, “What do you think Rey?”
Rey looks at me and smiles. “I would love that.”
I felt happy and relieved that everyone was finding their place in the wake of Idris leaving. “Great! I’ll announce both changes at tomorrow morning’s meeting.”
Chapter 7
The guild members gather around me in the guild hall for the daily meeting. I stand in the center of the room now; I made that change within the first week. I hated standing in Idris’s spot; I see myself as one of the guild members, and not as standing apart from them.
I tell them about the position changes, and everyone cheers me on for taking over the guild. I feel exhilarated that they are so happy about the news, and I feel bad for Faelan. He is also smiling and cheering, so I try to put it out of my head. No one says anything negative about Faelan and Rey’s position changes.
Caspian steps up, “We have all been waiting for this announcement. We know that the finances are tight right now, but we got you a present. Soren, Rey, and just about everyone else worked hard on this.”
Caspian pulls me toward the door, and Tova opens it with a grand theatrical flourish. People from all over Chikoreem start coming through the door. They were all carrying sacks and crates, seemingly full.
“We spread the word throughout town,” Soren explains, “and the folk have gathered what they could, to give thanks to all ye and the guild have done for Chikoreem. They’ve brought food, supplies, and things that we have been sorely low on.”
As each of the people walked by me they all said various thanks to me:
“Thank you for all you do for us.”
“Thanks for fixing my roof.”
“You saved my farm, and my livelihood. I can’t repay you enough.”
It went on for what seemed like forever. I started to cry, I couldn’t help it, I was overcome with so many emotions. I was so surprised that anyone had done anything like this for me. It felt so validating for all the work we had been doing over the past few months since the war. I felt proud of our guild for putting in such hard work in a way that these people felt the need to repay us in our time of need.
As the last of the people said thanks and placed their goods in our hall, Rey approached me. “I have already taken inventory beforehand, but I will double check now that it is here. Here are updated reports, you’ll find things look much better now.” She handed me a new set of documents that looked similar to the ones that I had left on my desk. They must have had this lined up for a while, and I had known nothing about it.
I look around at all the guild members. Everyone was here today; I didn’t notice that at the beginning of the meeting. “You were all in on this?” They nodded. “Thank you so much. This means the world to me, as do you all.”
People started moving away, mostly to work on clearing the rather large pile of goods out of our main hall. Caspian helped Milo move the food and other kitchen stuff to the kitchen. Rey starts checking off everything, making sure the intake is correct. Tova and Spinx start carrying goods back to the storeroom.
Soren stands by me and smiles at me, “Ye’ve done well, lass. I got another surprise for ye. I got us a proper adventurin’ quest from the Mages’ Guild. We’ll get some actual gold fer this one.” He hands me a piece of paper which I assume is the request.
“Thank you, Soren,” I said to him. Trying to hold back another wave of happy tears. I bent down and hugged him. “This has probably saved our guild. Now we can start thinking about growing again and securing more paying jobs.”
Chapter 8
A few months have passed since Chikoreem thanked our guild and saved us. I was sitting at the fire in the guild hall thinking about that day; it put a big smile on my face.
“Well, don’t you look happy,” Tova sits across the fire from me in the other chair.
“I was just thinking about the guild,” I said to her.
She smiles at me, “It’s a good place. Anything in particular?”
“The first few weeks after Idris left. I was so scared and unsure.” I tell her, remembering those initial feelings. “But it all worked out and we banded together.”
“You never let on, and you were amazing.” Tova smiles at me, takes a sip of her drink, and adds, “You still are amazing.”
“Thanks. It’s really starting to feel real now,” I say, thinking about how I am the guild leader. Not just because Idris dropped this on us, but also because I have been putting in the work to make it so. The guild is prospering, people come to me for guidance, and people are growing and becoming more than what they were when I took over. “The guild is everything to me.”
Tova nods in agreement, “We all know that. You show it every day.”
I had been fidgeting with a piece of very light, gold, and black metal. It was the badge of the guild leader that Idris had left us when he abandoned the guild. I looked at it now and made my decision. I pinned it to the front of my robes where I finally knew that it belonged.
Tova looked at the badge from across the fire, then at me and smiled. “Good night, Kaede.” I sat alone at the fire for a little while longer that night.
Source and Thoughts
This short story is based on my upcoming fantasy novel that I am working on. This short story is set four years before Book One and tells how Kaede inherits the guild that she manages in book one. It also introduces a handful of important characters and ideas from the novel.
This story came from my trying to plot and plan the timeline of the world, then into a storyline, and then I couldn't stop. I hope it is enjoyable. Please feel free to send me criticisms and compliments. :)
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