[color=00aeef][center][h2]Gideon Fairbright[/h2][/center][/color]

How could he have missed this?

The cult of their old foe has slunk its way back into the shadows after their god was sealed away, but it wasn’t like it was completely defeated. Some members managed to escape after the final battle and even before that their reach had been wide and deep enough that they had never rooted out all of it. It would have been foolish to think they were all gone, and he hadn’t. Gideon had always anticipated that they would attempt a return someday and had used his position as the adventurers guildmaster to try and pre-empt just that; to keep a finger on the pulse of the nation, to be the first one to hear word of odd goings on and mysterious figures, to be able to send parties of adventurers to chase back the shadows when they emerged.

And yet, he hadn’t seen this coming.

A member of the cult had not only attacked him, but had done so in his very office, within his own guildhall; it was an embarrassment and he felt ashamed for letting his guard down so much. Who knows how much else he had missed? How much he hadn’t seen. How much ground had they made while he was looking in all the wrong places?

Rising from his chair, Gideon strode out of his office and onto the landing overlooking the guildhall. The sound of his booted feet was loud in his ears and the wooden board creaked under the weight of his armoured form; ever since the attack, he had taken to wearing his old gear wherever he went and his sword was no longer hanging on the wall like some useless decoration, but was now firmly attached to his hip. He descended the stairs and crossed the main floor of the hall towards the administrative offices, those present turning to watch as he passed as an awkward hush fell over the room.

It was impossible to keep quiet what had happened. The explosion that rocked the walls of his office was one thing, but even before that the intruder had not been quiet with his final words; people over overheard and as adventurers they knew what those words meant. The evil was returning, the legendary foe was not truly defeated, and they were looking to him for… reassurance? Guidance?

So far he had left them wanting.

As he entered the offices at the back of the first floor, the clerks and administrators who kept the place running did not stop and stare as others had. They were far too busy for that and wholly unimpressed by his status as a hero to be star struck besides; they were not adventurers, they were civilians and though he was technically their boss they would not interrupt their work just because he had entered a room.

[color=00aeef]“Have those letters I requested been sent out?”[/color]

They had been. Those with definite addresses and destinations had been carried out via courier as soon as they were written, sealed with the guilds emblem and sent with as much haste as possible. Those whose destinations were unknown or whose destinations were too treacherous for regular mail had been handed to adventuring parties heading that direction to deliver instead; they were bound to be slow, but they were also more likely to succeed, despite the delay.

[color=00aeef]“Good. What of the investigation of the intruder? And the reports I requested?”[/color]

A stack of parchments were pushed into his hands. Sadly, not as tall as he would have hoped; the investigation of the cultist’s belongings, what was left of them, hadn’t yielded much and further analysis with magic was taking its time. Meanwhile, the guilds records on anything related to cults, cultists or just people wearing robes was disappointingly sparse; in part because he had already aggressively pursued any such leads that he could have since taking up this position. Anything he hadn’t already exhausted was bound to be vague and unhelpful.

[color=00aeef]“Alright. Have you heard anything from…?”[/color]

No. None of his old companions had reached out to him yet. There had been no responses to his letters just yet. No words on whether or not they had been attacked as well, or if any of them were even still alive. Nothing.

Nothing at all.

[color=00aeef]“Very well. About your business.”[/color]

Gideon made the walk back out of the offices, back across the main hall and up the stairs, then back into his own office before closing the door behind him. He sat back at his deck, spread the stack of parchments out before him and got to work.

Oh, how Gideon missed the days where his problems were the kind he could swing a sword at.