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Synopsis
After solving the problem in the seas, claiming a few pirate ships’ worth of trouble, and learning just enough about the world to confirm it is even more complicated than expected, Ludger finally returns home. For once, he has a simple goal. Rest. No ancient secrets. No Imperial schemes. No pirates mistaking distance for safety. Just a quiet, well-deserved vacation in Lionfang, where the walls are standing, the baths are warm, and nobody with a functioning brain should be trying to cause problems. Unfortunately, common sense remains rare. Soon after his return, several guilds begin contesting the Lionsguard’s claim over the frost labyrinth. Their argument is simple: the Lionsguard is not producing enough froststeel, and such a valuable resource should not be left in the hands of one imcompetent guild. Ludger finds the argument very interesting. Mostly because none of them were there when the labyrinth was secured, none of them bled for the frontier, and none of them seemed eager to complain until the profits became obvious. Still, politics has rules. Guilds have traditions. And if these people want to settle ownership the old-fashioned way, Ludger is willing to be polite. So he challenges them. A formal fighting competition. Guild against guild. Winner keeps the labyrinth. The other guilds accept, convinced that numbers, reputation, and experience will grind down the Lionsguard’s young vice guildmaster and expose the frontier guild as unworthy of such a prize. They are half right. Ludger does intend to expose someone. But when the competition begins, the challengers quickly discover that he has no intention of sending the Lionsguard to fight for what is already theirs. If the other guilds want the labyrinth, they can prove they deserve it by taking it from him first. What was supposed to be a guild-versus-guild tournament becomes something far more humiliating. One boy against several guilds. And Ludger is not planning to leave them with excuses.