Page 71 of Legends and Librarians
“No, thank you,” I said, chuckling. “I can’t wait to read your book. I’m sure it will be great. And say hi to your Gran.”
She frowned. “Speaking of Gran, she wanted me to remind you to fix the mountain path.”
Now it was my turn to sigh. “Will do. It’s on my list for tomorrow.”
Not that I had any ideahowto fix it, but my to-do list would never get done if I let things like that bother me. We needed easier transportation so that’s what I’d get. Hopefully Oren had found something by now since he’d left in a hurry like he’d hadsome great idea.
With Willow gone, there was only one thing left to do: share the news with the other story spirits. The Misty Mountain Library had found a writer!
Chapter 25
Roan
I felt a little useless when it came to poster-making, but there was still something I could do for the library: settle things with the adventurers’ guild once and for all. Nyssa might be an optimist, but I knew that no matter how hard we worked to repair the library and change the town’s mind, if the adventurers’ guild saw the library as a threat, we’d keep running into issues.
So why was I once again standing in front of the Mistfall Adventurers’ Guild unable to open the door?
My hand hovered over the handle, willing myself to just walk inside and talk to them. It wasn’t that big of a deal. What they thought of me didn’t mean anything anymore. This was a job, nothing more.
Except, the closer I got to Nyssa and the story spirits, the more it reminded me of how warm and comforting this guild used to be. How this was the first place to truly welcome me in after my parents had abandoned me, not just as a dishwasher or an errand runner, but as an adventurer in my own right.
This was where I’d gotten my start, where I’d grown into my skills. This was the first place I thought I’d been wanted at after everything had fallen apart. Which was why it hurt so much coming back here, knowing that Jade and her father had justwanted me for my skills. I mean, sure, that’s why I was hired, but at some point it had gone past that for me. I thought I’d become part of their family, but they still just thought of me as Jade’s trainer.
Maybe I’d been so desperate for people to care about me that I’d just imagined the family vibe. Either way, it was in the past and I was ready to move on. To find a new adventure.
I pulled the door open, stepping into the cacophony of noises that a guild hall always had. People laughing, shouting, drinking, or just playing cards. Guilds were always full of people and oddly, it felt kind of comforting today. It reminded me of the chaos the story spirits created every day.
The noise dulled as I walked in and one adventurer came up to greet me. “It’s been a while, Roan.”
My eyes widened. I didn’t think anyone besides the guild master and Jade would remember me after all these years.
“It really has,” I said, wishing I could remember who he was. “I’m, uh, looking for the guild master.”
“Upstairs,” the adventurer said, patting my shoulder as I passed him by. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too,” I mumbled.
A few other familiar-looking adventurers nodded at me, smiling and clapping me on the shoulder just like the first one had. I honestly hadn’t expected anyone to remember a kid from so many years ago. Had I been close to these adventurers? I’d been so focused on training Jade that the rest of my time here felt a bit fuzzy, like all childhood memories did after a while.
But they clearly remembered me and that meant something. Maybe there was more I was missing, more that I didn’t realize when I was here.
I knocked on the guild master’s door. “Hello? It’s Roan.”
The familiar sound of a chair creaking was followed by the door opening moments later. The guild master stood in front ofme, frowning.
“I’m surprised you’re back,” he said, motioning for me to come inside. “I figured Jade had pissed you off again. Last time that happened, it took you almost a decade to step foot in here again.”
His eyes softened as he eased himself back into his chair, his body creaking with age. He’d seemed like an undefeatable hero when I was younger, but now he felt like an elderly man about to retire. So much had changed while I was gone.
“Sorry about leaving like that,” I said, taking the seat across from him. “I didn’t mean to just disappear.”
He raised a bushy eyebrow. “Didn’t you? I thought that was the whole point, to cut ties with us.”
I winced. “Well, yes, but still. I could have let you know I was doing okay or something.”
“It’s fine, you had your own path to take.” The guild master nodded, smiling warmly. “I kept up with your exploits just fine and now you’ve returned as a famous adventurer. Your parents would be proud. It was their loss not staying around to see the man you’d become.”
“Why do you keep bringing them up?” I clenched the handles of the chair. “You did that when I was young too, like talking about them would somehow lessen the pain. I don’t want to talk about them.”
