Jaeger rolled his eyes at her and stood to leave, but Lisette stopped him.

  “On a serious note, be careful, Jaeger. Your report on the Emissary is concerning, and it feels like a tipping point. The major courts don't usually act so openly. I've received many disturbing reports indicating that we might be facing a potential magic upheaval.” She took out a notepad and read from it. “Jin reported that he had to deal with Nether-spawned warriors who attacked a small hamlet. Fortunately, his abilities are well-suited for handling Nether beings. However, this means that the Nether Warlords, the most powerful beings in the Nether Court, are still on the move. Many other adventurers have reported an increase in negatively aligned monsters, specifically creatures from the realms of shadow, umber, and chaos. Something is in motion, and, as an Outworlder, you have a high chance of being pulled into it, so be careful. Be especially careful around chaos practitioners.”

  That caught his attention.

  “Then I'll do my best to avoid any monster contracts. What's this about chaos practitioners?”

  “Hopefully, that will be enough.” She puts the notepad away and waves her hand, summoning up three symbols; knowledge unfolded in Jaeger’s mind, these symbols represented shadow, umber and chaos. “Chaos and the other alignments are beginning to influence the world. Based on the reports I’ve received; this upheaval is most likely the result of these alignments gaining power. While this won’t be a radical shift like the introduction of Luminesce—which were, ironically, very dark days—it will be enough of a change. With shadows dancing in the darkest night, the Umber armies will most likely try to invade our world, and chaos will reign.”

  “Chaos will reign?”

  “Yes, most alignments are predictable and controllable. Shadow wants to mimic, devour, or remain unseen. Umber, which is attuned to dark earth, wants to dominate. However, chaos is unpredictable and incredibly powerful; it wants everything, anything, and nothing.

  “During upheavals, practitioners have a chance to become their alignment's tool. Chaos magic users tend to lose themselves easily, an inherent danger of chaos, and no one knows what will happen. Past chaos upheavals have included the removal of a word from existence, the death of every nine-legged Arachnoir, the recreation of the extinct Monstro whale, and a month-long campaign that unleashed a horde of peppermint beetles at a royal wedding. Simply put, chaos will reign.”

  He nodded as he considered her words. He’d have to keep an eye on Kaeleth; half of their interactions had begun with her trying to kill him. She had also remained silent about what her job would entail.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  “Good. Is there anything else you need to cover?”

  “No.”

  “Would you like to join me for a meal? You haven't been gone long, but we could still catch up. Maybe you could tell me about this personal favor you're going to do.”

  He thought about it. Now that he had given his report, he had finished his most pressing business. He was waiting to hear from Kaeleth. Eating a meal with Lisette would be better than sitting around waiting, so he agreed.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Let's grab something to eat from the dining hall.” She stood up and led him out of the room, rambling the whole time. “Now that you’re officially ranked as an adventurer, it's important that you're seen more often.”

  “Why?”

  “Most adventurers come here to make friends, get advice, and find trainers. I even met the dwarf who taught me stone shaping here! For the occasional solo adventurer, it's also a good opportunity to find a team. Not that I expect you to do that. For you, though, this is a good way to build up contacts and find off-the-board jobs. It's also a good way to become known among your fellow adventurers. As our sole bounty hunter, it's best if you're known by sight among the other adventurers. Some of them take contracts as bodyguards.”

  As they moved through the guild reception hall toward the dining room, he thought that if this was indeed becoming his bureau, he should consider her words. He decided to spend more time in the guild hall; being accepted would be useful.

  Soon enough, they were seated and eating in the dining hall. The food was just as good as the last time he ate there. As he ate, he looked around the hall at the melting pot of adventurers, who were looking at him in turn.

  A nearby conversation drew his attention because he was the subject.

  “Who’s that with Lisette?”

  “You haven’t heard? He’s the bounty hunter. Word is Lisette had to pull some strings to get him to join. She's his exclusive liaison to the guild.”

  “No, you've got it all wrong. He’s the bounty hunter, sure, but Lisette didn’t pull strings to get him; she did it to keep him. I heard he was a hard case, an ex-Judicator. He was doing time in Krieg's prison.”

  “No way! Really? I didn’t even know Judicators could stop.”

  “That’s why he was in Krieg’s; he went rogue. How else do you think he got the bounty hunter class?”

  “Stop lying to Charlie. Clearly, the guy with Lisette is one of the Lawmaker Hermits. The guild mistress made him join as a favor.”

  “Oh, yeah? How do you know that? Did you hear about it too?”

  “No, I saw the guild mistress on the roof the other day, keeping watch over the bounty hunter and Lisette. What other reason would she have to do that if he weren't a personal guest? Why would Lisette be with him? Everyone knows she only works with elite parties, not individuals.”

  “Oh.”

  Jaeger turned his attention away from the group, a smirk on his face. Lisette raised an eyebrow.

  “What’s with the look?”

  “I'm just listening to the rumors about where I came from.”

  Lisette laughed when he mentioned the idea of him being a Lawmaker Hermit.

  “Ha! I hadn't heard that one yet. As if Hecate would trust one of those dusty, ascetic old men. One of my favorites is the idea that I summoned you.”

  Jaeger reflected on the group that had summoned him.

  “That one is surprisingly close.” He muttered.

  “Unless you're a decade younger than you look, everyone knows that summoned heroes are teenagers. Plus, we stopped doing that decades ago, because it turns out that when you randomly summon and abduct, it's a gamble. Sometimes they’re happy and do the job; other times, they end up planning long, elaborate revenge plots that result in an empire being gutted and its aristocracy being soul-locked into a personal hell.”

  That was a lot to learn. It also made him realize that his situation had a precedent. He’d have to look up what soul-locking was.

  “We don't do that anymore, at least not the random summoning. Now, summoned heroes are either lost souls or volunteers.” She sighed.

  “This is certainly an interesting world.”

  “Incredibly so.” She glanced around, then leaned forward and tapped the table twice. A barrier of magic covered them both before fading. “You never mentioned how you were brought here, but your reaction to the idea of being a summoned hero was strange.”

  He cut his eyes at her.

  “I wondered briefly if the portal I came through might have been a summoned hero situation, but it was just a passing thought.”

  She arched an eyebrow.

  “Emilia told me about the Black Lagoon Company's marking.” She held her hand up, forestalling him. “Not to mention, I had my own suspicions. I didn't include it in the official report. The BLC has its hooks everywhere; there's no need to draw undue attention. I have one question.”

  “Ask it.”

  “Did they summon you?”