more often. That was before Wolf put his foot down and said we weren’t allowed to go out alone anymore.”
“Too many fights broke out because of you, that’s why,” Siobhan drawled.
“It’s hard being this beautiful,” Sylvie lamented, a hand raised to her forehead like a wilting damsel in distress.
Laughing, Tran continued the story. “I didn’t know what was going on, but it was four men against her. She was holding her own, but it still made me mad to watch it. So I stepped in and helped a little.”
“That means he broke two noses, three arms, and a few ribs,” Sylvie translated for Markl, who was listening with wide eyes.
“When the dust settled, I offered to escort her back to her home.” Tran’s smile went crooked. “I’m not sure if she trusted me at first, but she went with it.”
“What I didn’t know was that Wolf had gotten worried about me,” Sylvie picked up the thread of the story smoothly. “And he was coming my direction, looking for me. When he saw me with an unknown man, his first reaction was to think I’d gotten into trouble somehow. So he let a punch fly.”
Tran rubbed at his chin in memory. “Nearly broke my jaw.”
“They had quite the fight in the middle of the street before I was able to get them to stop and explain the situation.” Sylvie shook her head at the memory. “Then I felt bad, because Tran had gotten into two fights on my account, so I brought him back to the Hall to clean him up and give him a place to stay for the night.”
“I was thankful for that, as I didn’t know the city at all. Then Shi-maee,” he put a hand on Siobhan’s shoulder in demonstration, “got the story, liked what she heard, and offered me a place in the guild.”
Markl’s eyebrows rose. “And Wolf?”
“Raised the roof, he yelled so loud.” There was an evil smile on Tran’s face. “But she wouldn’t hear it. Shi-maee likes people that can fight toe-to-toe with Wolf, which aren’t many, and men that she can trust to protect her own. So to her mind, I was a perfect fit."
“Ahhh, I see.” Markl ruminated on this for a moment before offering, “Is your initial meeting the reason why you two are always fighting?”
Beirly snorted. “Nothing like that. It’s just having two roosters in the same hen yard is all.”
Tran let out a squawk of protest, which set Siobhan and Denney to laughing.
Markl smiled too, enjoying the banter, but he wouldn’t be deterred from the subject. “Siobhan, is that how you pick your people? By how capable they are at fighting?”
“Great winds, no! Think about it, did I ask you that question?”
He paused, opened his mouth, then closed it again thoughtfully.
“See? Now, I think it’s important that we’re all able to protect ourselves at least, and we all can in one way or another. But the reason why I have Wolf, Tran, and Fei…well, Rune too now…as enforcers is because some of us are not as good at fighting as others. Some of us need more help in that area and they take up the slack.”
Markl’s head cocked slightly in question. “Then what are you looking for, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Hmm, a few things. A good working attitude for the most part. The skills and talents needed to make a guild work. You’ll notice, most of us have wildly different abilities from the others, but it’s all those talents combined that give us strength.” She hadn’t really thought about it or tried to frame it into words before and discovered that she had to really struggle to find the right way to explain. “But it’s more than just that. It’s…selflessness, I guess. Kindness.”
Fei nodded in support of this. “The value of a man resides in what he gives, not in what he is capable of receiving.”
She gave him a frustrated look. “How is it that I can struggle to say something and every single time, you say it better than I can?”
Being a wise man, he didn’t try to respond, just shrugged and looked innocent.
“Kindness…huh.” Rune stirred from his perch on the railing and looked at every person with new eyes. “That’s why?”
Everyone turned to look at him, wondering what he meant by that.
“What do you think, Rune?” Markl asked him gently. “Seeing this guild work together, despite how different they are, what do you think of them?”
“Didn’t know what ta think.” Rune caught Siobhan’s eyes, his