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Tafel stared at the text floating in her vision. It contained part of the information Ashley and Jasmine had transferred to the demon. As for the rest of the information, well, there wasn’t enough space in Tafel’s vision to view it all at once.
A loud snore drew Tafel’s attention, causing her to turn her head to the side. Vur lay sleeping with a snot bubble coming out of his nose, the glossy liquid that acted more like a solid expanding and contracting with every breath he took and exhaled.
“You look overwhelmed,” Kim Hajun said. “If you share with me the information you got, I’ll gladly plan out an itinerary for you.”
Tafel glanced to the side at Kim Hajun. For some reason, the well-dressed man was still in the residence even though Jasmine and Ashley had left to get the rest of the major guilds’ recorded knowledge. “No, that’s alright,” the demon said and shook her head. Her root bracelet flashed amber, and Tafel’s eyes lit up. “Yes, allow entry.”
A few seconds later, a dim red light appeared in the distance. Tafel pursed her lips. “We should set the entry closer to the gathering area,” she said and stretched her arm out. She waved and took in a deep breath before saying in a loud voice, “Over here.”
A woman made of red flames wearing crystalline white armor floated into view. Gaegukja Yeol looked all around, her neck arching back to observe the sky. Then, she looked at the ground, squinting her eyes as if she were looking past the layers of foliage and dirt. After a bit, the fire spirit race member raised her head and smiled at Tafel. “I heard a lot of strange rumors on my way here,” Gaegukja Yeol said. “I’m glad to see they aren’t true.”
“Strange rumors?” Tafel asked. “What kind of strange rumors?”
Gaegukja Yeol glanced at Vur’s sleeping body. “Well, they say a dragon matching Vur’s description beat up the lords and captured them, so I was a little worried,” she said. “I thought your group might be torturing the lords to extort them.”
“Hey, now,” Tafel said and placed her hands on her hips. “Just what exactly do you think is going on in our group? We wouldn’t torture people to extort them; there’s no need to resort to violence.”
“So, you haven’t captured the lords?” Gaegukja Yeol asked. She nodded. It would make sense for the lords to lay low for a bit after being defeated—just because they weren’t making an appearance didn’t mean they were imprisoned.
“We invited them to our residence, and we had an exchange of information,” Tafel said and rolled her eyes. “We didn’t bring them here against their will. Speaking of which, do you want to view the new information we obtained? While you’re at it, do you want to create an itinerary for us that includes visiting all the hidden pieces and gourmet food spots on each floor?”
“If you do, I can help,” Kim Hajun said. Tafel and Gaegukja Yeol turned to look at him, and his cheeks flushed pink. “I think it’d be beneficial for both parties involved.”
“You haven’t joined the clan yet,” Gaegukja Yeol said and crossed her arms over her chest. “I know because I personally review every application.” She turned her head to the side, and her brow furrowed. Her arm rose as she gestured towards the woman standing next to Vur, watching him sleep. “Who’s that?”
“That’s Mary,” Tafel said. “She used to be the leader of the Virtuous Hand, but she’s a part of the Extreme Heat Clan now. Oh, she’s the friend we were looking for who invited us into the tower in the first place.” The demon scratched her head. “I guess that means you can stop looking for her now; I forgot to tell you.”
Gaegukja Yeol exhaled out a small breath of orange flames that vanished as quickly as they appeared. “Alright,” she said. “And I’m one step ahead of you on making an itinerary. It’s what I went to get for you guys, but I did get side-tracked by some other things and some more things, but it’s here now.” She tapped her root bracelet against Tafel’s. “I’ll trade you the information.”
Tafel nodded, not minding the flames coming off of Gaegukja Yeol’s body. Amber pulses of light traveled from root bracelet to root bracelet. A furrow appeared on Gaegukja Yeol’s brow. “It shouldn’t be taking this long,” she said and tilted her head downwards to get a better look at her root bracelet. She glanced at Tafel. “What kind of information did you get from the lords?”
“Everything they knew about the tower,” Tafel said. “Well, it’s only the Wind Lord’s and Light Lord’s information right now. They’re going to the other lords to get their knowledge for us too as we speak.”
“Everything they know?” Gaegukja Yeol asked, her eyes widening. “You said you exchanged information with them. What did you give up in return for them to give you so much?”
Tafel turned her head to the side, avoiding the fire spirit race member’s gaze. “We told them our names and other stuff like our last names.”
Gaegukja Yeol blinked, her expression impossible to read. “So, you introduced yourselves, and they gave you all their knowledge.” Her gaze shifted towards a patch of ground where there was an excessive amount of dried blood splattered all about. Then, she looked at Tafel. “There was absolutely no extortion, coercion, or blackmail involved.”
Tafel frowned. “That’s not fair,” she said. “It’s hard to tell when people are being kind and helping us out or if they’re terrified of Vur and listening to all our demands out of fear. Any time Vur asks someone to do something, the threat is already implied.”
Gaegukja Yeol sighed before shaking her head. Regardless, as long as Vur’s group remained a part of the Extreme Heat Clan, even if the elemental guild alliance had a problem with them, they’d be too intimidated by Vur to try anything.