Tales of the Pearly Kingdom (Pearly Tales Vol. 2)

74. The Guildmaster Returns

They slid to a stop underneath a low bridge and waited for a moment as the guards ran over them. "Looks like we lost them." Cal smiled with the four children under his arms and Vera gasping for air.

Vera looked at him. She was shocked that he was treating her so nice. But the adrenaline coursing through her blood took her mind off that. Together they laughed. After the fight, and after running from the guards they could only enjoy life the way those who had survived trouble could.

"Well, Alley Cat. Can I grant you a wish for saving me?" Cal asked the teenaged girl with grimy orange hair.

"I don't know if you can help sir..." She paused implying that he should give his name.

"Captain, just call me captain for now."

"Captain it is then. I'm Vera, Tabi'ca, these are my friends, Grit, Ulan, Olca, and Frence. Well, Captain, like I was saying, I don't know if you can help. You see, we heard the Guildmaster for the Verdant Oathkeepers just came back today. We wanted to become adventurers and they wouldn't..." Vera paused and looked at the water shallow water she was laying in.

"Wouldn't what?" Cal tilted his head curiously.

"Wouldn't turn us away because we are half-breeds. But we also heard we need to prove our might to the Guildmaster in battle or something." She shamefully admitted that she was a Half-breed.

"Why would anyone turn you away for being half-breeds?" Cal frowned letting the children go as they conversed under the bridge until a safe amount of time passed.

"You really are a stranger here." Vera observed. "That explains why you are being nice to us after hearing we are half elementals." She sighed. "You see, Captain. Elementals are blessed beings given to us by the mighty Brother Calloway. They are strong, wise, beautiful, and glorious. They are the very soul of the city. But the half-breeds like us are tainted. We have no place next to our parents until we are as strong or stronger than they are. But we are cursed since we never live long enough to get that strong. We are considered unlucky and few want anything to do with us."

Cal was shocked. This was a new perspective that he hadn't heard before. "What about your parents? The Elemental's aren't dead, doesn't that mean they've forsaken you?"

Vera glared at him and then quelled her temper. "I wouldn't expect an outsider to understand. Our mothers and fathers have a holy calling, but it doesn't mean that they don't love us. We elementals are different. You see, this city is our home, outside its walls are monsters that would eat us for a snack. Our family keeps us safe by maintaining the walls, growing the plants we eat freely, keeping the water clean that we drink, and they show us their love by give us the opportunity to breath air everyday, for as few days as we half-breeds have."

Cal saw the sincere love she felt for the city and it warmed his heart. Alley Cat didn't feel forsaken. She blamed neither her parents or him for her unfortunate life. He still had a chance to fix things. It wasn't too late. He pulled himself out from under the low bridge and held his hand out for her to grab.

"Then there is only one thing left for me to do." Cal said helping her out from under the bridge as the kids crawled on their own.

"What do you mean, Captain?" Vera asked after taking his hand.

Cal smiled. "I'm going to help you prove your worth to the Guildmaster, so that you can become a member of the Verdant Oathkeepers."