"Allies"

# Guild Archives, Capitol City of Kabaheim. Mercenary Guild Territory.

[Previous part](https://www.reddit.com/r/wizardposting/comments/1sty8d4/rubicon/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)

*Councilor Five strode through the doors of The Guild Archives. She gave a nod to The Librarian’s projection behind the main desk and headed for the elevator. Squeezing inside, she pressed the button labeled “59”. It was a long and silent ride down to the sublevel.*

*Eventually, the elevator stopped and opened its doors. Five stepped out into what could only be described as a war room, but everything was covered in about an inch of dust, showing just how long it had been since it had actually been used as this. Councilor Two sat in a chair by a fireplace, smoking his pipe. The actual Librarian stood by the central table, dusting it off.*

**“Lira, can’t you just wave a hand and instantly turn this room back to like it was new?”**

*Five asked. The Librarian looked up at her, and tossed the feather duster behind her.*

“I could’ve, then I would have nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs as we waited for you.”

*The Librarian snapped her fingers, and all the dust in the room flew upwards towards the ceiling and disappeared. Two sneezed.*

“Alright then!”

*The gnome shouted before teleporting to the table.*

“You better have a good plan, Canassa, otherwise I’m gonna start taking heads myself!”

**“You’ll get your pound of flesh Sedgewick. I’ll tell you again what I told you before. I agreed with Three’s proposal to buy us time. The more time we have to plan and prepare, the better.”**

*Two snorted.*

“Oh of course, because they totally haven’t been planning this themselves for a long time. While we’re figuring out a plan, they’re executing theirs!”

**“Of course they are. But any plan, no matter how rushed, is still better than no plan. And more importantly, allies. The 3 of us against the 3 of them makes it an even fight, but we would be foolish to think we will be fighting just the 3 of them. Councilor Three will most likely have her astral mage order she has been building at her beck and call, and Four will most likely have some mechanical monstrosities. I have spies working on both of those fronts as we speak.”**

*Two raised an eyebrow.*

“What about One? He should be isolated, we can strike at him first!”

*Five shook her head.*

**“No. One is what I’m most worried about. They are connected to the Umbra Operatives and the ECHOs. I fear they could bring those to bear in the fight.”**

*The Librarian looked up at Five. At some point she had procured a teapot and was pouring herself a cup.*

“There’s nothing that suggests that. Yes, there are the failsafes and protocols, but those would just take them all out of the fight entirely, so neither side could use them.”

**“Do you really think One and Three gave you all the info about them to store here? They both have citadels of their own to hide as many secrets as they have to.”**

*Five grimaced.*

**“I fully expect there to be some sort of backdoor they can exploit. It’s why I’m sending so many operatives out on tasks all over the world. It’s better they be away than here, being such big liabilities.”**

*Two threw up their hands.*

“Perfect! We’ve got nothing except [potentially](https://www.reddit.com/r/wizardposting/comments/1u0mmfa/swirling_thoughts/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) Miss Lixiss! Unless of course we bring this looming civil war out of the shadows. The vast majority of our army would flock to your banner without hesitation.”

**“And that would spell the end of The Mercenary Guild and the doom of this continent. We need our people to stay unified against the threat on The Iron Line. We cannot let even a crack form. No, if we are to gain help from our people, it will have to be in small groups that can be sworn to secrecy, like how Three has her mages, and Four has their engineers.”**

*Five procures 2 packets of papers and slides them across the table.*

**“And I have 2 potential groups. Enter group A, the Thunderhawks.”**

*The Thunderhawks were an ancient order of Cloud Skipper Harpies. Dating from all the way back from before the Unification War, they were the most elite fighters and soldiers. Mona Akalta had been their commander during her life, and they had acted as Five’s honor guard and personal legion during the Unification War.*

*The order still existed today, though they were now just considered an elite group of shock troops, well known for taking down any range of targets, dragons included, and fulfilling any mission objective no matter the difficulty.*

**“Like all the harpies, they swear loyalty to me, not The Guild. I personally know much of their leadership, and they will answer my call should I put it out.”**

*Two nodded and picked up the other packet.*

“And these? The… ‘Guardians of the End’? Fitting name I suppose.”

**“They are a bit of a… unique group. But all throughout their service to The Guild, they have never shown me any reason not to trust them.”**

*The Guardians of the End were a very strange group. 17 years ago, a large group of grey skinned battle nuns with red eyes approached The Guild. Identifying themselves as the ‘Guardians of the End’, they offered their services to The Guild to fight on The Iron Line. When asked why they were offering this, they told The Five that if The Iron Line fell, then the Kaba Tundra, it would spell the end of the entire continent, if not eventually the world. So, they would fight to make sure it did not happen till the last of them were dead.*

*Not ones to throw away good fortune, The Five accepted them, and The Guardians quickly proved their worth. They were ferocious in combat, utilizing melee weapons that ranged from flails to giant hammers, though a few had eventually adopted more standard Guild firearms. More curiously, though they never claimed it and frequently dodged the question, rumors abounded that they were vampires, due to their grey skin, red eyes, and the fact that they never seemed to age, and seemed to never tire in battle while bathed in the blood of demons (There were also whispers of dark rituals performed by The Guardians before fights and when one of them fell in battle, but no concrete evidence had ever been brought forward).*

“Interesting…”

*Two muttered as they put The Guardians’ file down.*

“But what makes you think they will help us?”

**“I believe they will take little convincing when I tell them how the other Councilors are threatening the stability of our nation. I honestly believe they have always been ready to fight even us, if we suddenly started threatening The Iron Line.**

*Two nods. If Five was confident in it, that was good enough for him. These 2 groups looked promising, though he really wanted more. But The Librarian cleared her throat before Two could voice his thoughts.*

“You’ve forgotten one thing here Councilor.”

*Five raised an eyebrow.*

**“What do you mean?”**

*The Librarian continued.*

“Surely you don’t mean to tell me that you’ve forgotten that per my contract, I cannot attack in anger against any threat outside my Archives, unless given approval beforehand. I cannot help you in a physical fight against the other councilors.”

*Five gave an uncharacteristic smile.*

**“Are you so sure?”**

*Five pulled out the last item she had brought with her. An aged paper rolled up and secured with a wax seal. Five snapped her fingers and melted the seal, then slid the paper across the table to The Librarian.*