Chapter 155: Clustervayne
One Month Later...
At this time, the late evening had settled over Grayfort City, and a green-skinned figure was darting through a lonely street that night.
The goblin’s pointed ears twitched with every sound as he ran, and his breathing was ragged. He turned his head at each short break in his sprint, checking behind him with wide, panicked eyes.
Then he heard it. The sound of growls, growing closer.
A blur of white fur shot past one of the side streets. Following right behind came another blur, this one brown with darker ears.
The goblin’s heart hammered in his chest as he pushed himself harder. Eventually, he came to a sharp turn and skidded to a halt.
Standing directly in his path was another werewolf. White hair fell around a more feminine face, and her amber eyes glowed in the darkness as she bared her fangs.
The goblin’s eyes went wide as he let out a yelp and frantically turned away, toward another corner by his side.
He risked a glance backward while running, and unfortunately the glowing eyes of the wolves were still there, closing in from multiple angles.
And because he had turned his head to look behind him, he didn’t see the new figure standing directly in his path until it was too late.
THUMP.
The goblin-person slammed into something solid and stumbled backward with force, his arms windmilling as he tried to catch his balance.
His eyes traveled upward and met a pair of glowing red eyes staring down at him.
And the figure whispered in a cold, commanding voice, "Stop."
But the goblin’s momentum had already carried him too far backward. The stumbling motion continued, and he fell hard onto his rear with a grunt of pain.
However, due to the command, he stayed in the sitting posture on the ground as his entire body fidgeted with panic.
Wilson Heydrich walked forward slowly, staring down at the goblin-person with a condescending look on his face. His red vampire eyes gleaming in the darkness.
At that moment, the werewolves who had been chasing from behind finally caught up and came to a halt a few paces away.
Percival, in partially transformed state shifted back to his human shape, and there was frustration written all over his face.
"There he goes again, ruining the fun!" Percival said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
Hayley, also shifting back from her partial form, shook her head and simply turned without saying anything.
Aliyah didn’t say anything either, but she chuckled at what Percival’s statement.
Wilson had cut short whatever sport the werewolves were having by intentionally chasing the goblin down until they cornered him properly.
"What?" Wilson said, glancing at Percival. "Were we really going to risk letting him go even when he’s holding the permit?"
Percival shook his head and turned away with Aliyah following beside him. "You must be really fun at parties," he muttered.
Wilson shook his head and stared back down at the goblin, who had been compelled to stop moving.
"First," Wilson said, extending his hand downward, "hand it over."
The goblin reached into his coat pocket with shaking fingers and pulled out a folded paper, then placed it into Wilson’s waiting palm.
Wilson took it and said after, "Follow me quietly."
The vampire then turned and moved to join the others from behind. The goblin person stood up slowly and walked behind him without a word.
From a high point on the rooftop of a nearby building, Ethan watched the scene below.
His hands were in the pockets of his long black coat that the wind kept tugging at.
His expression was calm and unreadable as he observed his guild members successfully corner their target. Then he disappeared in a burst of black smoke.
-
A few moments later...
The werewolves and Wilson filed into the main guild room one after the other, with the goblin following quietly behind them.
The room was warm from the fireplace on the far wall. Bookshelves lined the space, and brown leather couches were arranged around a few tables. The atmosphere was refined, almost like an exclusive gentleman’s club.
And Ethan was seated on one of the couches in the open space, waiting.
Hayley walked up to him and sat on the armrest beside him, letting one leg cross over the other as she leaned in just slightly.
Her hand came to rest on the back of the couch near his shoulder, and she looked down at him with a teasing smile and said in a low voice, "Hey, Guild Master."
Ethan smiled and shook his head at her antics.
Percival laughed as he stepped into the room. "I’ll be honest, one month in and it’s still kinda weird."
Ethan chuckled. "So where’s our permit?"
Percival sighed and threw himself onto one of the other couches. "Bro, seriously, why do we gotta keep Wilson? He takes the fun out of stuff."
Wilson had walked in at that exact moment with the goblin trailing behind him. "Shut up, Percival."
Percival quickly turned toward him, raising his fist. "You wanna go right now?"
Aliyah walked in and grabbed Percival’s arm, pulling him back just a bit before things escalated. "Easy."
Wilson sighed and walked over to Ethan, then handed him the folded paper he had retrieved from the goblin. "This is it."
Ethan took the paper and unfolded it. It was an official document from the Dimensional Security Bureau. The header bore the DSB seal, and below it read:
BREACH ZONE CLEARANCE PERMIT
Issued to: Clustervayne Guild
Zone Classification: A-Rank
Location: Harrington Avenue, Street 9
Clearance Authorization: Granted
The rest of the document contained standard legal language and signatures from DSB officials.
Ethan stared at it for a moment, then looked up.
A while earlier, a mailman had been riding up toward the guild building to deliver this exact permit. But right before he arrived, this goblin-person had cornered him in one of the side streets and taken the letter by force.
Unfortunately for the goblin, Hayley had been stationed at a corner by one windows at the upper floor, keeping watch.
She had noticed the weird movement outside immediately and quickly called the others to attention, especially since this had been the third time their permit had been diverted like this.
As for Wilson joining the guild, that had happened two weeks ago.
Unlike the others who had been personally invited, Wilson had approached Ethan on his own when it became public information that a new guild was forming under the leadership of a Stark.
Percival hadn’t been happy about it one bit. And when Ethan had asked Wilson why he wanted to join Clustervayne instead of joining his sister, Maya’s guild, Wilson’s reply had been direct:
"Sooner or later, the current family heads will step down and pass their authority to the next generation. When that time comes, I intend to stand in a position where no one can question my claim. The strength I build now, and the alliances I secure, will ensure that. After all... even family can become opposition if you’re not prepared."
There was something in the way he’d said it. An implication that one day, he would challenge his sister for the position of family head. Or at least be strong enough that no one could contest his claim.
After considering those words, Ethan had given him probationary entry into the guild. Although, it helped that no one else was exactly lining up to join at the time.
However, Ethan had made sure to tell the Heydrich vampire this before finalizing anything: "Fair warning, Wilson. If your motive is ever to try something funny like before, I will put you down. For good."
Wilson had nodded, accepting the terms.
At the start of the new month, Ethan had managed to get Ophelia Tudor to work something out with Parliament that scrapped the law banning company owners from being guild masters.
But that didn’t solve the recruitment problem.
No one was particularly keen on joining a guild run by someone who had just left the academy and had only recently become an adult.
Which was exactly why the total number of Clustervayne members were just the ones currently in this room.
—-
A/N: There was a one-month Timeskip applied. Everything will conincide really soon. Just hold on a tiny bit