Chapter 48: The Guild Master
Celestial Peak’s headquarters was nothing like Nathan had expected.
Goldcrest had been marble and gold trim, a monument to wealth that happened to house high ranked Climbers.
Silver Drake’s headquarters, glimpsed in passing, was of glass and steel... corporate, efficient, cold.
But Celestial Peak occupied a converted observatory on the city’s eastern heights: an old stone building with a domed roof that had once tracked stars and now tracked Climbers. Gardens surrounded it, actual vegetation, with flowering vines, stone paths, and a small koi pond glittering in the morning sun.
Training yards stretched behind the main building, their wards humming faintly. It felt less like a guild headquarters and more like a sanctuary.
The party gathered at the front gate. Garrett adjusted his armor for the third time. Dillon pretended not to be nervous by leaning against the gatepost with a casualness. Elise stood perfectly still, her expression remained unreadable, though Nathan recognized the slight tension in her jaw that meant she was thinking hard.
Mirko and Kuro were in their small forms on Nathan’s shoulders, a familiar weight.
Professor Helena met them at the entrance. She wore a Celestial Peak uniform now, deep blue with silver trim, the guild’s mountain-and-star emblem on the shoulder, but her sharp eyes and composed demeanor were unchanged from the academy.
"Good, you’re on time." She nodded approvingly. "Valerie appreciates punctuality. A few things before you meet her." She began walking, and the party fell into step. "She’s unconventional. She’ll probably say something inappropriate. Don’t take it personally. She’s also one of the strongest Climbers in the capital, retired from active climbing but still sharper than anyone I’ve ever met. Show respect, but not formality. She hates formality."
"How do we show respect without formality?" Garrett asked.
"Don’t bow. Don’t call her ’Guild Master’ unless she tells you to. Don’t be intimidated. She can smell fear." Helena paused. "That last one might be literal. I’ve never been sure."
Dillon leaned toward Garrett. "Is this a guild or a retirement home?"
Helena didn’t break stride. "Ask her that. I dare you."
Dillon shut his mouth.
They entered the observatory. The interior was warm and cluttered. Tower maps on the walls alongside framed photographs of past Celestial Peak parties. Training schedules pinned to a corkboard in the main hall. Somewhere in the distance, laughter echoed from the training yards. It felt lived-in. Human.
Helena led them up a winding staircase to the top, beneath the old dome. The door at the top was open.
"Go on in," Helena said. "I’ll wait here. Try not to get thrown out the window."
Nathan pushed open the door.
---
Guild Master Valerie Mayfeather’s office was organized chaos.
Tower maps covered every wall, some marked with pins and string, others annotated in handwriting so messy it might have been a foreign language. Ancient artifacts crowded the shelves: a fragment of a wyvern’s tooth, a jar of silver sand from a Tower that no longer existed, a compass that pointed in three directions at once. Framed photographs showed parties of Climbers from decades past, their faces young and fierce. A massive telescope dominated the center of the room, brass fittings gleaming, pointed at the ceiling even though the dome was closed and it was mid-morning.
Behind a desk cluttered with tea mugs and mission dossiers sat Valerie Mayfeather.
Late fifties or early sixties, silver hair cropped short in a style that prioritized function over fashion. Her face was lined, smile creases around the eyes, deeper grooves around the mouth, and a thin scar from her left temple to her jaw. She wore a loose cardigan over a combat tunic that had clearly seen actual combat. Half grandmother. Half veteran warrior.
She was barefoot. Her feet were propped up on her desk. She drank tea from a chipped ceramic mug that read, in bold letters: TUFF GRANNY.
When the party entered, she set down the mug and studied them with sharp, bright eyes that missed absolutely nothing.
"Nathan Cross." Her voice was warm, rough, and utterly unpretentious.
"The Bunny King himself. And party." Her gaze swept across them. "Garrett Voss. Dillon Briggs. Elise Winterhart."
She nodded at Elise. "Your mother and I climbed together in our twenties. Patricia Winterhart. Insufferable woman. Talented, but insufferable. Expected everyone to follow her orders without question." She took a sip of tea. "I hope you’re less so."
Elise blinked. It was the first time Nathan had ever seen her visibly thrown. "I... try to be."
"Good enough, it’s hard for the apple to fall far from the tree, but trying is respectable."
Valerie turned her attention to the bunnies on Nathan’s shoulders. Her expression shifted, still warm, but with new interest. "And these are the famous summons. Mirko and Kuro. I saw the broadcast. Beautiful work. Both of you. The way you coordinated against that Berserker... I haven’t seen synergy like that in years."
Mirko’s ears perked up. ’She complimented us. I like her.’
’She is evaluating us,’ Kuro replied. ’The compliment is a tactic to establish rapport.’
’A successful tactic.’
Valerie gestured for them to sit. Mismatched chairs were scattered around the office: a velvet armchair with a suspicious stain, a wooden stool that looked salvaged from a Tower, a bench cushioned with what appeared to be an old sleeping bag. The party found seats. Valerie poured herself more tea and offered none.
"Helena says you chose us over Goldcrest," Valerie said, settling back into her chair. "Smart choice. That damn recruiter Aldric Vain is a snake. He tried to poach me thirty years ago when I was still climbing actively. Offered me triple what I was making, a personal trainer, exclusive Tower access." She grinned. "I told him I’d rather climb barefoot through a nest of Venomfang Basilisks. He didn’t appreciate the comparison."
Nathan almost smiled. "He wasn’t thrilled with me either."
"No, I imagine not. Goldcrest doesn’t like being told no. They’re used to getting what they want." Valerie’s eyes sharpened. "But You’re not an asset to be acquired or a resource to be managed. You’re a Climber. There’s a difference. Most guilds forget that. We don’t."
She set down her mug. "So. You’re Celestial Peak now. Which means you’re family. Which means I get to test you."
Nathan remembered Helena’s warning. "The sparring match?"
"Sparring match, assessment, ritual humiliation, call it whatever you want. I like to know what my new Climbers can do. Reports say you’re special. Broadcast showed you winning. But I want to feel it for myself." She stood, stretching with a series of audible pops. "Training yard. Twenty minutes. Don’t hold back."
