Deepwoods Saga Books
"I was stopped by a messenger from Blackstone," Sylvie said simply and held out a folded sheet of paper that had been sealed with black wax, the crest of the main guild of the city impressed into it. "Seems urgent." Siobhan broke the seal with a quick twist of her fingers before unfolding the paper. Deepwoods had strong ties to Blackstone, the master guild of Goldschmidt, and often took on minor jobs for them. To be given a message like this wasn't unusual. To get it this late in the day, however, spoke of impending trouble. She scanned through the letter quickly and unease coiled into a cold lump in her stomach. "Listen up," she called to the table, not taking her eyes from the letter. A hush instantly descended. "This came directly from Guildmaster Darrens. His daughter Lirah has gone missing." "Missing?!" several people repeated in shock. "She apparently was going to Sateren to negotiate something for her father but she never got there. He's verified that she went through Island Pass so she at least got to Wynngaard, but it's now three days past when she was meant to arrive and there's no sign of her." She raised her head and looked around the table, stating what everyone had already guessed. "He's asked us to go after her."
"Well, let's have it. Where do you think we should go?" "Saoleord." Siobhan and Conli both froze. Saoleord? The city that no one ever visited and only natives could find? "Why?" Conli asked slowly, blue eyes studying Fei's face. Fei seemed to take a breath before admitting quietly, "Because I think we'll need help very soon." "Fei, I'm lost. Why would you want to go home?" "I have seen this pattern before. The last time that one country was pushed into an economical depression by another country, it led to war." Siobhan's blood froze. "War?" "Can a war even be possible?" Conli objected. "A skirmish I can see, one guild or one city attacking another is very possible. But to have a war, an actual war as you mean it, you'd have to get several main guilds to cooperate enough to fight in a united front. We can barely get them to agree on trade agreements." Fei shook his head, mouth set in a grim line. "Orin is desperate. They will band together to pillage and loot, if nothing else. I tell you, the history that I learned showed this exact set of events happening over and over again. We are primed for war but we are not ready for it. If Orin pulls together an army and marches against us, they can destroy us city by city without anyone being able to stop them."
"Siobhian-jia. Something is amiss?" "I don't know. That's the problem. Ryu Jin Ho-zhi. I need you to think like a strategist for a moment. If someone were to tell you about the situation in Fallen Ward, all the facts that we heard yesterday, what would you do?" Ryu Jin Ho's dark eyes focused on her face in a penetrating way. "Is this question purely academic?" "No. Rune is missing and we don't know where he went. I suspect it has something to do with what he learned this morning, which was all about the condition of Fallen Ward." "So what you are truly asking me is, if I were Rune, and I learned all of that, what would I do?" "Yes. You're both students of Hyun Woo. Knowing strategy as you do, knowing Rune's skills, what do you predict he will do?" Ryu Jin Ho didn't even think about it for a full second before he answered her. "Assassinate the Guildmaster of Fallen Ward."
As Rune grows curious about his new fellow guildmates, he decides he needs to hear their stories in full. So he asks.Set in the midst of "Blackstone" as the group travels to Saoleord, learn with Rune how Deepwoods came to be.In true Wynnguardian, this is the story of Deepwoods.
“Siobhan, I need to go home.” Blinking up at Tran’s dark face, Siobhan pondered that statement, not quite understanding what he meant. As far as she knew, he was home. She was sitting in the newly finished guildhall that very moment. Pete was even napping on her foot, how much home could they be? And then the meaning clicked, “Jioni?” Note: This is an epilogue short story and should not be read before the Deepwoods Series.