Back on the Central Continent, things are going very smoothly for the Darklight Host. The outreach program has been well accepted everywhere they have gone, and the reputation of the Guild is beyond compare.
Much of that has to do with the Guild Skill of [Benevolent Leader] that has let them all call for eight summons at the Epic level. That single ability has allowed them to turn the recently recovered dungeons of the Great Desert into a Mecca for travelers.
Ever since the Guild Master went to the Southern Continent to further his advancement, they have been hard at work building shelters at all of the dungeons that aren't currently claimed by any city. They have found eight of them so far, each with a pair of Guild Members stationed at them full time, providing adventuring service to those who come to visit, as well as keeping a small stock of supplies and food as well as water available, an essential service in the desert, especially to the merchant caravans who often don't have a spell caster capable of making water with them.
That is quickly changing though. Among the items that they recovered was an enchanting recipe for a [Bottle of Endless Refreshment], an Epic grade item that makes a constant stream of water when mana is applied. Now any transfer at all can provide for the group's water needs. They are being bought up by caravan guards as fast as they are made for an exceptional sum of money or crafting materials.
Materials are always the preferred tribute, as the Guild calls it. Since they don't have set prices, they ask for a suitable tribute to the Guild in exchange for the items they make.
In addition to the eight waystations in the desert that guard the dungeon entrances, they also have three hospitals now. One in Landis, and two more on the western side of the Continent. One is run out of a former warehouse next to the Manor in Long Fang Valley, and sells a wide variety of medicinal herbs as well as offering free treatment of injuries and illnesses, while the other is in the Nyanko territory, at the former capital, before they merged into Skyview as a Dukedom.
Some Skyview nobles are happier than others with the ascendancy of the Guild, and their wandering do-gooders. Some believe that it makes them look bad, having people from another Skyview noble on their land doing things for their citizens that they themselves were unwilling or unable to do. But the majority are happy to see it, because they are helping with anything they can, and it is increasing both the happiness of the locals and their own tax revenue.
Only King James has realized the truly insidious nature of Cyrenene's plan for Skyview. Now that his period of isolation after his coronation and coming of age is over, he has returned to his habit of visiting his Kingdom in disguise, and what he found is that more of the commoners are loyal to the Darklight Host than to the Kingdom. Nobody would openly admit it, but if the guard patrols are mentioned, someone will invariably mention that the Darklight Host has been training locals up at the nearest dungeon so they are strong enough to provide for the village's defense.
If you ask them about the rate of attacks, they will mention that the emissaries take requests to exterminate the Gnolls and goblins wherever they are found, so they don't make it inland as far anymore.
The Guild doesn't see a problem with it, the Gnolls and green-skinned Goblins are very good for experience gains, and often trigger quests. Why wouldn't they want to clear them out? Looking at the situation one piece at a time, things are looking up for Skyview with no real downside. But after the purge of his family, James can't help but wonder if being an outside party and friends with the Guild Master is enough to ensure the loyalty of the Darklight Host?
In terms of pure power, they are off the charts, sending trainees back and forth to the Eastern Continent on a daily basis, venturing out from Port Nefheim, where King James has heard that the next Demon Queen is building a power base under the flag of the Darklight Host. They have even built their own merchant ships, with the Pink Oak hulls becoming their signature look. The unwanted material grows all around Port Nefheim, so they have made at least three new ships out of it and sent crews to trade goods and hunt sea monsters over the last few weeks.
It is time to personally make sure that things aren't getting too out of hand, so King James organizes an outing with his Harem to go visit the Spa at the Long Fang Valley Manor.
[Come by anytime you like. We have rooms reserved for you and the girls anytime you show up.] was the reply he got from Cyrene when he asked.
She isn't a Guild officer, but the former beastkin turned Lamia is the easiest one to get ahold of, since she puts so much effort into dispatching all their wandering emissaries, using her visions to guide them to the places she thinks they need to be.
A spa day was an easy outing to convince everyone to agree to, and in the middle of the same afternoon, King James finds himself looking at the familiar Manor house, with a very different feeling than it used to have. The travel circle has traffic multiple times a minute, there is a small mountain of crafting materials out back, and there are Bear Kin and Werebears everywhere, all wearing the black and white of the Guild.
"Welcome, welcome your Majesty." Misha greets him, making her way over, very visibly pregnant, but still at least five months from her due date. The twins have made their presence known, and James is well aware of how annoyed she is about the weight gain.
"It's good to see you again. It looks like things are going well here." King James greets her with a polite hug.
"It is chaos, but in a good way. We recently received a large group of new Guild Members. Well, two groups of them to be exact, the bears and the graduating class of the healer's College in the Dwarven Mountains. So we now have fifty clerics to work through first and second advancement, as well as the nature-loving bears who are determined to fix every crop issue that they hear of." Misha laughs, pointing to where a dwarven woman with sun-reddened tan skin is arguing with a golden-furred bear kin about the direction that they should take on their next mission.
Everyone bows politely as he passes with the Royal Harem, but James suspects that most of the reverence is for Misha, and the twins growing inside her. They have always been that way though, even Cain never treated him as a monarch, but as an equal that deserved respect for the good work that he was doing.
The spa is as amazing as ever though, and James takes full advantage of his status as a Crusader to ask some questions and get honest answers.
"Do you think the Guild is actually planning to take over the Continent as the rumors say?" He asks Luanne, his elven consort after not getting much out of the Puppets.
"I don't think they are trying to be monarchs. See how they don't set up anything that requires military forces other than their own? It's like the disciples of the Nature God back in the Serrah Woods. I think they're slowly becoming a cult. A cult dedicated to the Ancients and the Laughing God." The elf whispers back, making Khali, the petite human Princess from Nyanko giggle.
"The cult of dungeon runs and hospitals? I can see how they would catch on." She jokes lightly, then turns serious.
There are only a few hundred of them in total, so I think the threat of political rule from the front is just hysteria. The real test will be once everyone else starts getting as close to them as we are. If you've got every King on the continent on your friend list, there isn't much you can't do. Maybe they really can stop all the unnecessary fighting and act as mediators on a large scale, as they do for the commoners."
That really doesn't make them sound less like a Cult to James though. Especially with the healing and the temple-like shelters that they keep building next to dungeons.
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