Chapter 280: Mastermind

The small conference room didn’t empty immediately after the report on the branches and the nobles concluded.

The lamp at the center of the table continued to glow steadily, casting a warm light over the polished wood and scattered documents that detailed growth, profit, influence, and rising power. Outside the closed door, the Guild Hall buzzed with life even at this late hour.

The celebration had slowed but not ceased; voices floated up through the floors, boots echoed against stone tiles, and occasional bursts of laughter rang out before fading away.

Sage sat at the head of the table, fingers loosely interlocked and posture relaxed yet deliberate. To his left was Boren, serious and contemplative, while Lyana organized her papers into neat stacks with her usual composed expression.

Although their talk of branches, nobles, and Stonehelm had ended, an unspoken tension lingered in the air.

Breaking the silence first, Sage said evenly, “Continue monitoring the nobles. No commitments. No promises. We do not bend just because they offer gold.”

He turned his gaze to Boren. “Keep communication polite but distant.”

Boren nodded once in acknowledgment. “Understood.”

“And Stonehelm?” Lyana asked calmly.

“We accept their backing,” Sage replied firmly, “but we will not become their shadow. If they want partnership, it must be on equal ground.”

Lyana inclined her head slightly in agreement. “I will prepare responses accordingly.”

Sage stood slowly as his chair scraped softly against the floor. “That will be all for tonight.”

Boren rose as well to collect his ledgers while Lyana gathered her documents with quiet efficiency, neither asked questions nor lingered unnecessarily; both understood that Sage still had matters to address.

As they reached the door, Boren paused briefly and glanced back at Sage with concern etched on his face. “Rest at some point,” he muttered half-seriously.

Sage offered him a faint smile in response. “After the region does.”

Boren snorted quietly before stepping out into the hallway, followed closely by Lyana who closed the door behind them with a soft click.

The room fell silent once more.

For a few seconds longer, Sage stood alone with his eyes lowered slightly as if replaying their conversation in his mind, the Guild was stable; branches were growing; nobles were circling; Stonehelm was watching, all significant factors indeed but none represented true danger.

Another knock came at the door: two light taps, measured.

Without hesitation, Sage called out, “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal Pax stepping inside quietly before closing it behind him and standing before Sage’s table without bowing deeply, he simply inclined his head once in respect.

Dressed plainly in dark clothing with a relaxed yet alert posture and sharp awareness gleaming in his eyes that never seemed to fade.

“Guildmaster,” Pax said calmly.

Sage gestured to the chair across from him. “Sit.”

Pax complied, and they both settled into an unspoken agreement, no need for formalities or small talk.

“You followed Aldric,” Sage stated, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

“Yes,” Pax replied.

The lamp flickered as Pax placed a thin stack of notes on the table but didn’t push them forward just yet. He preferred to speak first.

“After the mission was commissioned,” he began evenly, “we kept a close watch on Aldric Goldfeather. At first, the mission seemed unusual but not alarming, a dangerous beast, a high reward, and a noble father desperate to save his son. It all felt believable.”

He paused briefly before continuing. “But after the attack on the Guild, the timing became too precise to ignore.”

Sage’s gaze sharpened.

“The Crimson Abyssal Lion mission drew Lady Valeria and several of our strongest members away from the Guild,” Pax explained. “That distance created vulnerability. While they were occupied, the attackers moved in.”

“They came to slaughter,” Sage observed quietly.

“Yes,” Pax confirmed. “Their intent was clear: not to suppress or intimidate but to erase us completely. They targeted living bodies first without attempting to seize records or control key supply rooms.”

Sage’s jaw tightened slightly, though his voice remained steady. “Continue.”

“When Aldric returned for the heart and blood essence,” Pax continued, “we were ready for him. We didn’t confront him; we followed instead.”

“To Riverdale?” Sage asked.

“No,” Pax replied firmly. “He did not go home.”

The weight of that statement hung in the air between them.

“He took a detour through Greyvale’s inner northern quarter,” Pax elaborated. “He avoided main streets and open plazas and entered the Holy Church compound.”

The room felt smaller as Sage absorbed this information.

“Public hall?” he inquired.

“No,” Pax answered. “He used a side entrance and was escorted inside not as a worshipper but as a visitor.”

“And he stayed?” Sage pressed.

“For some time,” Pax acknowledged. “Long enough for private discussions.”

Sage walked slowly around the table and leaned against its edge with folded arms. “And when he emerged?”

“He looked unsettled, neither relieved nor confident, more like he was afraid.”

Silence enveloped them once again.

“We kept watch afterward,” Pax said finally. “He returned to Riverdale, and later, when Vice Guildmaster Boren confronted him, Aldric admitted he had been manipulated by someone who promised to cure his son if he followed their instructions. He claimed ignorance about his contact’s true identity, they wore no insignia but confirmed that their meeting occurred inside the Church.”

Sage narrowed his eyes slightly at this revelation.

“So it all leads back to here.” Sage asked.

“Yes,” Pax replied, “and it doesn’t stop with Aldric.”

He leaned forward and slid one of the notes across the table. “We analyzed what was left behind by the attackers. Their movements were disciplined, structured, and organized into coordinated kill groups. They weren’t mercenaries or bandits; they didn’t retreat at the first sign of resistance. Instead, they pressed inward, aiming for maximum casualties.”

Sage’s expression darkened.

“Their formation patterns resembled those trained by the Church militant,” Pax continued calmly. “The way they advanced, communicated, and even fell back when overwhelmed, it aligns more with religious strike doctrine than with freelance combat.”

“And funding?” Sage inquired.

“Indirect,” Pax replied. “But we traced support lines through Church-affiliated charity networks. Supplies moved through these channels in the weeks leading up to the attack, things like weapons, lodging, and healing salves. Nothing bore a cardinal’s seal, but there’s too much alignment to overlook.”

Sage straightened slowly.

“So it wasn’t the nobles?”

“No,” Pax confirmed. “The nobles seek influence; they operate within politics and wealth. This was different, this was about eradication.”

Sage took a few steps away from the table before turning back. “No cardinal exposed,” he said quietly.

“None,” Pax answered firmly. “Orders came through intermediaries, faces hidden and identities obscured. It could be a rogue faction within the Holy Church or something deliberately structured to remain concealed.”

“And motive?” Sage asked.

Pax met his gaze directly. “The Guild is expanding faster than anticipated, shifting regional influence significantly. Pilgrimage routes run through Evergreen now; trade routes are stabilizing under Guild protection; mana activity around the district has surged sharply. Some factions might see that as a threat.”

Sage’s expression remained unchanged, but a deeper weight settled behind his eyes.

“The Holy Church isn’t small,” Pax continued. “If even one high-ranking figure perceives the Guild as disrupting balance or authority, they may act quietly at first.”

Sage returned to the head of the table and rested both hands against it, leaning slightly forward. “So there’s someone in the Holy Church who has set their sights on the Guild,” he said softly.

Pax didn’t hesitate in his response: “They are watching.”

The lamp flickered again, casting shadows that stretched across the walls. Outside, distant voices echoed through the Guild Hall, unaware that beyond their walls, beyond nobles and merchants and simple rivalries, an institution older and larger than this region had turned its attention toward them.

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