402 Elven Elders Meet the Leisure Guild (1/2)
As Gwendon entered the room, he noticed a row of people sitting on the opposite end of the table.
Those people all stood up out of respect for the elves. Jack stood at the center of those men. On one side was Tralon with the new leaders of the Leisure Guild: Vixus, Kims, Kaldor, and Zariff who attended as Kaldor's assistant. On the other side of Jack was an empty seat followed by Argyle and Hurmot, the leaders of the two subordinate guilds under the Leisure Guild.
Seeing that line up startled Gwendon and the elven elders. They had heard rumors of the ancient, legendary hero that had returned and quickly deduced that hero to have been Jack, the man that visited them not even a week ago. That was the main reason they found some interest in meeting with Jack.
But to see the powerful lineup already under Jack's control, their hearts tensed up for a second. They knew immediately that in terms of strength, the guild alone could easily rival a nation, like it could during ancient times.
”Jack, thank you for allowing us to meet so suddenly,” Gwendon bowed his head.
Jack nodded back to him. ”It wasn't any trouble at all. Let's all sit and talk, be it about possible deals we can make or just sharing information. There's no need to feel pressured while you're here.”
Gwendon chuckled, not sure if he should believe that with such a line up before him.
One elder spoke up, asking, ”First and foremost, I believe we would all like to verify that you are indeed the ancient hero of recent rumors, the Legend of Trodar. Is that true? And if so, how can you prove it?”
”I can vouch for him.”
That new voice entered the room as the door opened and closed. Eedaj then casually walked and sat himself in the empty seat beside Jack. He continued, ”Do you need me to verify my identity as well? Or have you already figured it out?”
Gwendon's jaw opened to speak but no words came out. It was easy to understand who that grey-skinned elf was. With the knowledge he and the elders had mixed with the stories of what took place a few days ago, Gwendon and the elders instantly felt a new level of invisible pressure fall on top of their conversation.
Standing up with a full bow, Gwendon took a deep breath before stating, ”Eedaj, your excellence, I know I was not part of the generation that ignored your people, but please allow me to apologize for the contempt that we had for them.”
”If that were true, why did you say my people and not our people?” replied Eedaj, causing the elven chief to bite his tongue. ”I don't hold a grudge against you or the current generation of elves, so don't worry about that. That grudge is for someone else.”
”That's enough of that, and no need to speak so highly of me. I'm not as pretentious as Lyrun.”
While the elders were taken aback and unsure how to respond to that, Gwendon sighed and smiled. The light in his eyes was a bit brighter as if he was relieved to hear that.
”Anyway, is there anything, in particular, you'd like to discuss? Or do you have any more questions? We'll do our best to answer them,” Jack asked, resuming control of the meeting.
”Yes.” Returning to his seat, Gwendon looked to Jack. ”Before discussing this deal of exclusivity that you were seeking, we have a few questions about yourself, the guild, and the intentions of the guild.”
”Fair enough. Ask away.”
Another elder spoke up, ”Jack, if our information serves correct, you're not as strong as you once were. Why is that?”
”Simple. I had to start over from scratch,” stated Jack, startling everyone, including those on his side of the table aside from Eedaj. ”To surpass my former limits, I needed to start over. And since I received divine assistance to do so, the potential and abilities I currently possess heavily outweigh my former skills, apart from temporarily having a lower level. But my level is still rising and will soon surpass my former level. Does that explain enough?”