Coye Vol 2 Ch 14

By the time he made it back to the Guild, it was a little over nine in the morning, and Coye’s good mood was fully restored. He found no one there to greet him in the entrance hall, Tammy or otherwise, but on his way to the stairs, he came across a couple of adventurers staring at the quest board.

One was a fancy-looking male knight decked out in ornate armor, and the other was a female mage wearing tattered rags and a big hat. Coye recognized them because they lived in the same Guild as him, and he knew that their names were Orlandis and Milse.

They were a two-person team who did most quests together yet bickered and argued about every little thing to the point where it looked like they couldn’t stand each other’s presence. Even now, they were fighting about whether to escort a wealthy merchant’s caravan or to go dungeon-delving for some prissy nobleman.

They paid Coye no mind, so he did the same and passed them by.

It was just another day, and it gave him a strange comfort to know his fellow Guildmates were on the same grind as he was about to subject himself to, even if he couldn’t call them friends.

Once back in his dorm room, Coye stashed away his new folder in the chest at the foot of his bed, where it sat atop a bunch of different adventuring gadgets he’d bought from Dorothy’s various sales pitches.

‘What do all of those even do, anyway?’ Shayla asked, taking in all the strange contraptions with skeptical eyes. There seemed to be at least ten of the things, all of different shapes and sizes.

“Lots of things,” he shrugged, taking out his eighteen trading cards and tucking them into a pocket inside the folder, intending to sort them out later. “I usually just leave them here unless I know I’ll need one for a specific quest since they don’t all fit on my belt...”

“Sounds like you need a bigger belt,” Shayla quipped.

He shook his head. “What I need is an Auto-Loader. The only problem is that those are super expensive...”

“Never heard of that. Some kind of magic storage thingy?”

“Yeah, a special type that only the Guild sells...”

“I can summon my clothes and crap from a little pocket dimension thingy, but it’s not that big. Otherwise, I’d offer to help you out.”

“It’s no big deal,” Coye brushed it off. “I might just save up and get an Auto-Loader someday if I end up with more gear down the road.”

“Makes sense. I know how much you like to over-prepare for everything. Not to mention I bet that bitchy boss of yours would just looove for you to order one, too...”

“She probably would,” Coye laughed softly and shut the chest after getting out his adventuring gear and equipping himself head to toe.

After opening the door to return to the quest board below, Coye stopped as he noticed Dorothy further down the hall. She was with two disinterested housekeepers, and by the looks of it, they were in the midst of an unpleasant discussion.

‘Well, well, well. Speak of the devil, and she shall appear...’ Shayla growled to herself.

Coye thought that the bags under Dorothy’s eyes seemed darker than usual, and a sheen of sweat on her brow made her bangs stick to her forehead. She wasn’t looking too good.

“I don’t care if you’re afraid of him, or if he creeps you out, or whatever,” she huffed at the maids. “One of you needs to tidy up Auguris’s room, and I am not taking no for an answer...!”

One of the maids, a timid, younger girl with fluffy blue hair, turned to her co-worker and held onto her sleeve. “L-Last time we tried, someone tripped and knocked over some of his chemicals. There was a big explosion, and everything...”

Dorothy shut her eyes and rubbed them, fighting back a persistent twitch that drove her mad. “Yes, yes. That was indeed a thing that happened before. I was there. My entire third floor was on fire that day, including my bedroom. Do you think I need to be reminded of that?”

The other maid, a twin-tailed brunette with a bratty look on her face, laughed at Dorothy’s stress. “I dunno. You’ve always got a lot going on, so maybe it slipped your mind?”

Dorothy gave this girl a glare, struggling to contain herself. “I don’t need this sass right now. I really don’t. What I need is for one of you to just get in there and be more careful this time. Cover up all of his jars, wash his used lab equipment, just... anything you can think of to stop the whole floor from smelling like his research, do it. Please. Do you know how rare it is for Auguris to leave his damned room and go on a quest? Do you?! We won’t have another chance for weeks! If you’re worried about him raising hell about someone messing with his stuff when he returns, then I’ll take all of the blame, I promise... so, please...!”

Coye felt his heart grow heavy while watching Dorothy lose layer after layer of her self-restraint. He wished he could go out and help somehow, but it’s not like the maids would listen to him, nor was it his place. Besides, Auguris was threatening enough that he even felt somewhat sympathetic toward their fear of him.

There was a prolonged silence from both of Dorothy’s employees, making it clear that they wouldn’t budge.

“Is it too much for me to ask you to do your jobs?” Dorothy breathed in through her nose, fighting back against a total breakdown. “I just want to sleep in a room that doesn’t have sulfur radiating out from across the hall!”

The younger of the maids lowered her head, looking like she was about to cry. “I’m sorry...” she whimpered.

“Fine, go. Go and find something else to clean or something. I don’t care anymore. I’ll do it myself.” The Guild Mistress dismissed them both with her hand, seeing off her employees as she gave up.

Once they descended the stairs, Dorothy hobbled over to the nearest wall and slammed her back against it with a thud. A moment later, she was squatting, holding her temples in her palms.

‘Fucking yikes, what a wreck...’ Shayla gulped at the scene, unable to keep from feeling just a little sympathetic for Dorothy despite her distaste for the woman. ‘Who the fuck is this Auguris guy, anyway?’

Coye’s fist clenched as he whispered, “Cransmere’s strongest adventurer, one of our only Gold-ranks.”

‘Sounds like kind of an asshole,’

Coye had never really talked to him, but he nodded his head since anyone who caused Dorothy this much stress was all but an enemy in his book. He was irritated seeing her like this, but even if he wanted to, it’s not like Coye would go and pick a fight with his senior adventurer when all it would earn him is a well-kicked ass.

He was on the verge of shutting the door to allow Dorothy the time to recover when she looked up and noticed the half-elf poking out and looking at her from afar. All at once, she jolted upright, fixed her posture, made a poor attempt at unruffling her outfit, and wiped away a few stress tears.

“Coye?” She called out from across the hall. “Is that you?”

He frowned, hanging his head as he stepped into full view. “Yeah, sorry...”

There was a mix of emotions on the young woman’s face, but she walked toward him and tried to calm down. “I’m so sorry you had to see that. I-I hate having to take such a harsh tone with my employees, but it’s not like it even helps, so what’s the point?” She laughed awkwardly.

‘Ugh, I don’t know how to handle depressing people like this...’ Shayla mumbled, feeling somewhat conflicted herself.

Coye was about to try and comfort her, but he got pre-empted as Dorothy changed topics. “Anyway, when did you get back? I was actually a little worried about you, ahaha...”

“W-What? Why?”

“Well, you told me you weren’t feeling good, and you didn’t make it back home last night... it’s my job to worry about you adventurers, you know?” Dorothy scratched her messy hair with an awkward smile.

Coye smiled, feeling happy to see Dorothy was so concerned about him. That said, he wasn’t pleased to find out he’d been another source of stress for the poor woman.

Gods know she has enough on her plate.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you or anything... if I’m ever gone overnight again, just assume I’m staying with a friend.”

Dorothy tilted her head, almost sure that he didn’t have many friends. The entire time that she’d known him, Coye didn’t interact with others too often and spent most of his free time either training or, on rare occasions, listening to the bards in the dining room at night- at least when the Baddest Bitches weren’t around.

She masked her confusion with a joke, saying, “So does this mean you’re planning on staying out more often, then? Mm. It almost sounds like you had a date that went really well, haha...”

“N-No, it wasn’t a date or anything like that, not really, I mean... um...” Coye stammered, his face redder as his eyes avoided Dorothy’s scrutiny.

It was then that Dorothy discovered that Coye possessed the worst poker face in all the Realm.

‘Smooth, real smooth...’ Shayla laughed, glad to know she hardly had to lift a finger to make sure Coye messed things up with his favorite Guild Mistress.

“Oh. Is... is that so?” Dorothy twiddled her thumbs, now feeling much more awkward.

‘Just tell her the truth. She’ll find out eventually if you and Byng get along, anyway.’

“Ok, I... I guess it was kind of like a date.” Coye made a frumpy face while looking at his feet. Indirectly telling his crush that he stayed at another woman’s place gave him a sinking feeling that ate away at his gut.

Dorothy stared at him for a moment, struggling to process this new information and distract herself from the sad realization that Coye had a better love life than she did- which is to say he had one at all.

“Ah, that’s... ahem, well, g-good for you! Are you feeling any better now that you’d had a little- um... relaxation...?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I’m about to head down to the quest board, try and get something a little meatier done today... nothing too crazy, gotta ease back into it, but I’ll be sure and pick up something actually Silver-rank.”

At last, something to celebrate from the bottom of her heart.

Dorothy clutched her chest as a heavy sigh left her lungs, relieved beyond measure to hear that one of her Guild’s hardest workers was back in business after his short funk.

“I’m so glad to hear that,” she said, smiling deep.

Shayla’s eyebrow twitched. ‘Don’t let her fool you. She’s just happy that her meal ticket is back on the grind!

Coye ignored his partner’s biased warning and asked, “Thanks. Are there any quests you’d recommend right now, or not?”

After thinking about it for a few moments, Dorothy sighed, slumped her shoulders, and hung her head. “I’m a little embarrassed, but no... my brain is a little fried right now, and nothing comes to mind. I’m sorry...!”

“You must not be doing too good,” Coye mumbled, not meaning to say it aloud and then blushing when he realized he did.

“It’s nothing I’m not already used to,” Dorothy cradled her forehead, weakly smiling. “I’m just not looking forward to Auguris yelling at me when he gets back... I don’t even blame those girls for not wanting to do it, not really...”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” He asked.

“No, but I appreciate the offer more than you know...” she laughed. “Please, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine- I always am! Honest! It’s more important that you get back to work- ah, for your own sake, I mean... not because I need you to... I... I’m just going in circles here, aren’t I...?”

Knowing that Dorothy wasn’t doing too well, he tried to develop something brilliant to say like Shayla always did whenever he needed guidance. He knew the pixie wouldn’t help, not with Dorothy, so it was up to him.

All Coye could come up with was, “Circles are fine sometimes.”

He felt like an idiot as Shayla snorted at him.

Dorothy seemed to take his words to heart, though, and she smiled softly. “I guess you’re right. Circles are better than going nowhere, huh?”

Coye answered with an embarrassed nod.

“Ok,” the Guild Mistress sucked in some air, shut her weary eyes, and clenched her fists. “Let’s do this, Coye! You and me! You do your best, and I’ll try and do the same!”

His innocent heart pounded as Dorothy talked about the two of them together like that, which only reignited the feelings he felt for her. Coye liked seeing her do her best, and if he could help motivate her even the tiniest bit, he would do so.

“That sounds great...” he blushed as a certain Pixie rolled her eyes.

“Glad to hear it! There’s so much I have to do today, but... what kind of boss would I be if I let a little stress get to me while you adventurers are out there risking your lives?” She adjusted her glasses before answering herself. “A bad one, that’s what! You ready to get going, Coye?”

“Sure, let’s do it,” Coye said, unsure if he could feel any more motivated than he was right at that moment. “Good luck today, Miss Whittle.”

“And to you too, my dear adventurer,” Dorothy gave him a smile that shined like a beacon of light upon her exhausted face, and the two of them descended the stairs.

They parted ways as Coye headed to the quest board, and Dorothy disappeared into her office and locked the door behind her.

Now alone in her sanctum, the fragile motivation and cheer she showed only moments ago crumbled into dust. Her mask was a heavy one, and it weighed her down as she dragged herself at a slug’s pace to her desk, where she pulled out her comfy leather chair and sank into it like a pit of quicksand.

“Maybe I can just start sleeping in here...” Dorothy mumbled, her eyes struggling to stay open. “At least it doesn’t smell like chemicals and magic rocks, right?”

She waited for someone to laugh, settling for silence.

“Fuck,” Dorothy exhaled and slumped over her desk, scattering paperwork as her sleeves brushed against the numerous documents resting on the surface. “Five minutes. Five minutes alone, and I’ll get up and do my best... just like I promised him I would.”

Dorothy breathed in deep, trying to settle her nerves again like when she was with Coye, but it didn’t work, and all she felt was a personal emptiness that begged to be filled.

Now was as good a time as any to catch up on her reading, so Dorothy reached for the nearest book and cracked it open to her red bookmark. As riveting as A Guide to Ancient Karnallian Bestiaries Vol VII was, the Guild Mistress was disheartened to find that it did nothing to help her mood after skimming a page or two.

Reading hadn’t been helping for a while.

She knew that her focus was shot and that it wouldn’t do much, but in the vain hopes of earning a brief distraction from her job, Dorothy had hoped this time would be different.

Frustrated, she closed the tome and lazily tossed it back onto her desk. The action scattered even more paperwork and knocked down a few odds and ends, but she couldn’t summon the power to care. The only thing she felt was disappointment that now she had to pick that stuff up, too, since the maids didn’t seem like they’d be doing their jobs any time soon.

Dorothy bit her lower lip and rested her forehead against the cold wooden desk, her hat falling off as she stopped herself from sobbing.

In her vulnerable state of mind, she thought back to simpler times when she served as this Guild’s Assistant Guild Mistress. Things were so much different back then. Sure, she still struggled to get people to respect her, but at least when they didn’t listen, Dorothy could threaten to involve Mr. Eckerson if they wouldn’t comply.

Beckett Eckerson was a much better Guild Master than Dorothy could’ve ever hoped to be, she thought, even now after he’d been incarcerated for his crimes.

As far as Dorothy was concerned, his shady dealings didn’t change that people respected that man, and his leadership kept this place profitable. As for her, she struggled to remain just over the bottom line.

“Stop, stop, stop,” Dorothy sat up and shook her head. “You said you wouldn’t compare yourself to him anymore. It makes you feel worse, which is not what you need right now...” she told herself, looking around her surroundings.

“This is your office, Dorothy Whittle. This is your desk and your chair, and most importantly, this is your Guild.” Dorothy closed her eyes like she was reciting a prayer repeating these sentences to herself several times, hoping that this would be the time they finally stuck.

She wasn’t surprised that her chanting didn’t work, but this ritual at least calmed her down enough to think more rationally.

“Ok, if I can’t calm down enough to go and do my damn job, then I’ve got to resort to drastic measures...” a darkened resolve appeared on her face.

Dorothy needed a release, a hit of adrenaline and dopamine. Something more substantial and more potent than coffee, booze, sexual stimulation, or any other vice she could think of.

In the event of days where she just couldn’t handle things anymore, for days she wanted to give up and cry behind a locked door, Dorothy kept an emergency stash at the ready.

Today was one such day, so she opened up a drawer on the right-hand side of her desk and pulled out a few books to access the false bottom she had installed in secret.

Inside was something she could never be caught with. Seeing as how no one took her seriously, to begin with, Dorothy only imagined what would happen if the Guild- her Guild- discovered that she was an addict who spent what little personal income she made on childish escapism.

“One now,” Dorothy muttered to herself, reaching into her stash. “And one later tonight after I’ve made it through the day. Same as always.” Such was her ritual whenever she caved and relapsed to her addiction, and it helped her like no other.

With no one the wiser, Dorothy indulged behind the locked door of her office and was at total peace.