A peculiar prodding sensation appeared within the deep, dreamless sleep that Lucinda only realised she was desperate for more of as the persistent intrusion pulled her from it. Full wakefulness returned to her reluctantly; every part of her sore and sluggish. Opening her heavy lids at last, the source of her rude awakening came known to her, and with it a beaming smile.

“Marrow!” she exclaimed.

“Friend!” her companion replied. “Marrow help!”

Lucinda’s buoyant feelings faltered as the mental words brought her most recent memories from out of their hiding place, though her desire to hug the large bird of prey beside her only increased regardless. Fighting the weakness that appeared to be plaguing her body, the fact that she was in a strange bed only barely registered as she reached out to wrap her arms around her companion.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again,” Lucinda sent as she buried her face in the soft feathers of Marrow’s neck. She succumbed to tears at almost the same instant. “You really did help me out, Marrow. Thank you!”

“There’s one of those for me too, yeah?” a familiar voice called out.

Releasing her companion, Lucinda was surprised to see a smiling young Druidess sitting in a nearby chair. Realising she was in a one-room house of some sort, and that it was barely daytime, Lucinda also noticed something even more surprising than the unexpected presence of her friend.

“Varm! …You’re wearing a dress?”

A raised eyebrow appeared on her friend’s face as she glanced down at the simple, cream-coloured garment she wore. Meeting Lucinda’s eyes again, she shrugged and then smiled as she crossed the short distance between them. Sitting next to her on the bed’s edge, Varmia spread her arms invitingly. Lucinda did not hesitate in accepting the invitation.

“You had us worried,” Varmia said as she hugged Lucinda tightly. “Really worried.”

“…I thought I was dead,” Lucinda admitted. “What happened?”

Breaking the embrace, the young Druidess affixed Lucinda with a sad smile.

“I wish I could give you the long version. Let you sleep some more, and then break it to you gently…” Varmia sighed unhappily. “There’s a group of people waiting to speak to you. Gran managed to hold them off for a bit, but they’re not the waiting sort. …Brace yourself, yeah?”

Lucinda managed a nod through the considerable worry she was feeling.

“Malart’s… a graveyard. Other than you and maybe two dozen others, no one else survived.”

“No…” Lucinda breathed. Even having feared the worst, the words cut at her like a rusty knife.

Varmia’s arms surrounded her as more tears sprung forth to wet her cheeks. “Sorry, Luci…”

Barely a few moments into their second embrace, the sound of raised voices reached into the room from somewhere outside.

“And sorry again, but I’ll have to let them know you’re up before they barge in anyway. Just keep that cover on you, yeah? We didn’t think you’d want to sleep in your armour.”

With some difficulty, Lucinda forced her emotions back under control. After drying her eyes on a proffered cloth, she took a moment to straighten her simple shirt and then readjust the bed’s covering before nodding at Varmia.

“It’ll be okay,” the young Druidess encouraged as she moved towards the door. “You’re not in trouble, and you’ve got me, Marrow, and Gran with you.”

As Varmia departed, Lucinda turned her attention to the room itself while she waited. The place was sparsely decorated, and T-shaped in structure. A limited selection of furniture filled the room: the moderately sized bed she was in, a wash basin, a table and chairs, and a single cupboard. With the floor covered largely with rugs, and a fireplace at one end, it was a decidedly cosy location.

Her investigation ended as Varmia returned. The young Druidess offered her an encouraging smile before standing off near the fireplace, just as a small procession of others flooded the room.

At the front, a blonde-haired man dressed in a fine pair of dark blue trousers, a similarly fine, white shirt, and a dark, tailed overcoat; behind him, two older men in Cleric robes – one of whom she belatedly recognised; and at the rear, a woman of middling years, wearing a silver, plate-chestpiece and a bulky white skirt that didn’t quite touch the floor.

“Well met, Lucinda,” the finely dressed man greeted in a well-spoken voice. “Apologies for intruding upon your rest like this, but I hope you can understand with circumstances being what they are.”

“I understand.”

The group of four moved to stand at the foot of her bed, with the finely dressed man positioning himself ahead and between them. It was a somewhat intimidating sight, though the appearance of Yalia within the room – dressed in a set of mossy-green armour – and the smile and nod she sent her way helped ease Lucinda’s nerves.

“A quick run through of introductions before we get started: I am Gimyal, here on behalf of the King. To my right:” A hand gesture indicated the older of the two clerics – a heavily wrinkled man with a decidedly neutral expression. “Basarl’s very own High Cleric, Jolof. To my left, a highly respected Cleric of Groor, Raerol.”

Smiling faintly at the slightly plump man, Lucinda nodded a greeting. “We’ve met.”

“Have we?” the man replied. “I am all but certain your face is unfamiliar to me.”

A frown fell upon Lucinda’s brow as a faint tinge of heat found her cheeks. Another faint smile then replaced both as she realised her error. “Oh! Sorry… I was the skeleton-hunting black bear.”

The man’s own confusion lingered for a moment more before he burst into a hearty laugh. “At last, vindication! Very well met, Lucinda – or should that be Lucy? Either way, this chance re-meeting has earned me a long overdue five gold pieces. For that, I thank you.”

“…Resuming our not-so-quick set of introductions,” Gimyal said with a small hint of annoyance in his voice. “That brings us to…”

“Lady Oppipilly,” the sole woman of the group interrupted. Despite her stern expression, a hint of kindliness was still evident in her tone of voice. “Guild master of every adventurers’ guild on the continent.” Offering a single nod in Lucinda’s direction, she then turned to address the circle leader. “I see your claims about her lingering ill-health are true; however, she looks more than well enough for some small dialogue.”

Lucinda was caught off-guard by the harsh glare Yalia directed at the woman. “Waiting until at least midday would have made almost no difference to you, and potentially a great deal to her.”

“Well, we’re here now,” Gimyal said. “And there appears to be nothing else holding us back from diving straight into the thick of things. Lucinda, in your own words, I would like you to detail the events that led up to your collapse in Malart’s temple. Please do take your time. A thorough explanation will be vastly preferable to a hasty one.”

“I’ll try my best to remember everything. Umm… I guess it started a few days ago…”

Other than the rearrangement of the few chairs in the room for the imposing individuals’ benefit, no other interruptions halted Lucinda’s explanation of all that had transpired. That avoiding the topic of her class turned out to be impossible was less than ideal, and that reliving her experiences was unquestionably difficult only made things worse; yet, a determination to provide everything she could to assist in preventing another such disaster helped see her through.

“…there was this horrible screaming noise. It was…” Lucinda shuddered even at the vague recollection she had of the painful experience. “…like something from a nightmare. I don’t remember anything after that.”

More pensive looks and nods followed on from her declaration, up until Gimyal broke the silence.

“Thank you, Lucinda. Even with the extent of the tragedy that has befallen us, some of what you have said is far beyond what I had anticipated. Shall we start with the obvious? This talk of immortality… Raerol, perhaps you could shed some light on the subject?”

“Indeed, I can,” the Cleric responded. “While the exact nature of this ritual eludes me, immortality is certainly within the domain of the Necromantic arts. Though only for those with a great deal of experience under their belt.”

“Then we truly have four immortal Necromancers to contend with?”

“Technically three, as one of the group was undoubtedly a Hierophant, likely of Undsabar, God of the Living Dead. However, I do wonder if all four present received such a curse. Necromancers typically take selfishness to absurd extremes, making it quite likely some of the group were merely pawns, and possibly even sacrifices themselves.”

“A curious relationship between mother and daughter, no?” High Cleric Jolof said. “The reaction towards the daughter’s homosexuality might indicate the ritual was only for her benefit?”

“Far safer to assume the worst,” the guild master interjected. “Though I would hear Lucinda’s take on it.”

“Oh…” Lucinda stammered at the sudden inclusion. “Umm, I think Hlana really believed all four of them were going to be… changed? Ah, I guess that might not mean anything… But, maybe there was some love between her and her mother?”

“Well, until proven otherwise, I am content to agree with the worst case assumption,” Gimyal said. “What of the form this immortality might take?”

“I’m afraid that too eludes me,” Raerol said. “At this point, I can only speculate. From the blood used it is hard to dismiss the possibility of a vampire transformation; yet, there are far easier ways to go about such a change. From the unnatural screaming Lucinda mentioned, a banshee transformation could also be a possibility, though to my knowledge they are exclusively female.”

“Either way they’ll be corpse-like and probably monstrously adept at Death magic,” Lady Oppipilly supplied.

Raerol chuckled sharply. “Indeed. Until I can get a look at the ritual site, that may be the best we have to work with.”

“There’s something stopping you investigating the guild?” Lucinda asked.

“There is, in fact,” Gimyal replied. “The entirety of the town is still submerged in a…”

“An unholy cloud of foul darkness,” Jolof supplied. At a nod from the finely dressed man, he continued. “It’s potency is leagues beyond what can be cleansed by anything less than a great number of our order working in concert.”

“That, and that it hasn't faded on it’s own are both important clues,” Raerol said. “Unwelcome ones, I’m sure we can all agree.”

“Do we have any further questions?” Gimyal enquired of the group. “No? In that case, I suggest we leave Lucinda to her rest and resume our discussions elsewhere.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Varmia called out as the group began dismounting their seats. “That insane Necromancer girl is going to come after her again, yeah? What are you…”

“I must disagree,” High Cleric Jolof interrupted. “With how the mother seemed to disapprove of that… arrangement, I find it difficult to believe she would expend effort towards capturing Lucinda again.”

“You don’t…”

“Please, we understand your concern,” Gimyal interrupted. “Everything that can be done to bring these monstrous criminals to justice, will be. And with the information learned here, especially the daughter’s identity, I am confident in our chances of success.”

Recognising Varmia still had plenty to say on the matter, Lucinda opted to intervene. “It’s okay, Varm.”

The young Druidess held Lucinda’s gaze for several seconds before nodding slightly.

“Well then,” Gimyal said. “We had best be on our way. Thank you again, Lucinda. May you enjoy a swift recovery.”

The group filed out in silence, only to recommence conversing the second they were beyond the confines of the room. Lucinda remained lost in her own thoughts as the sounds of conversation slowly faded away.

Lucinda’s pondering was interrupted by both the sudden onset of a powerful yawn and the simultaneous appearance of the circle leader beside her bed.

“It is high time I informed you of how you ended up here,” Yalia said. “But first, how are you feeling, Dear?”

“…I’ve been better.” Lucinda replied. “But glad to be alive still!”

The slight elation the declaration brought about dwindled almost immediately as she recalled the unfortunate piece of news her recent explanation had divulged.

“I’m sorry about Emalin and Mulgra. They must still be…”

A firm hand landed upon Lucinda’s arm and squeezed her gently, halting her troubled thought before it could run its full course.

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about.”

“But I should have realised…”

“You could not have known,” Yalia interrupted. “And thinking along those lines does not help anyone. Why I could blame myself just as easily. The option for Fi or Cro to track them was open to me, but I did not take it. Had I done so perhaps we would have even been able to upset their plan before it reached its vile conclusion.”

“You even risked your life to try and stop them, Luci!” Varmia added as she claimed one of the recently vacated seats. “That’s really impressive.”

“That was stupid…” Lucinda whined.

“Not at all, Dear,” Yalia replied. “It was exceptionally brave. I am quite proud of you.”

Though not entirely convinced, the reassuring smile that lingered on the circle leader’s face made further complaint hard for Lucinda to commit to.

“Now, on to what happened while you were unconscious. Keep in mind this is third hand information, so it may not be entirely accurate. And that Jolot couldn’t have taken a moment to discuss it with you himself is not far from infuriating, but I shall try my best in his stead.”

“That’s okay. I’m sure they have a lot to do…”

Yalia’s resulting expression revealed she did not fully agree with the statement, but she made no further comment upon it.

“The High Cleric of Malart, a man known as Neir, saw to your condition. With the other Clerics bolstering the defences of the temple, the inside was one of the only safe locations once the ritual completed.”

A spike of guilt tore through Lucinda as she recalled the boy that had departed the temple to deliver word to the Malart garrison. Dismissing her own part in that outcome proved problematic.

“Attempts were then made to combat the unnatural magic. The details on that particular aspect were exceptionally vague; however, we know they failed. Some time after that, the High Cleric and his most powerful allies began evacuating the survivors. Their divine magic was apparently enough to temporarily clear paths to safety.”

“I’m having trouble believing how powerful it was,” Lucinda admitted. “Hlana said her mother was powerful, but I never imagined…”

“You are far from the only one who is shocked by that, Dear.”

“Yeah,” Varmia agreed.

“Then what happened?” Lucinda asked.

“We knew your rough location before setting out, naturally, but it was Marrow that led us to you once we closed in upon the town.”

Lucinda spared a thankful glance towards her companion; that the sleeping bird was unable to acknowledge it came as only a mild disappointment.

“Once located, we took you from the small group of evacuees that were gathered outside the town, and then brought you here to this empty cottage on the outskirts of Basarl, and the proper bed you now reside within.”

“Don’t worry about the others, Luci,” Varmia added. “It wasn’t just me and Gran that came to rescue you.”

“Exactly so,” her grandmother confirmed. “Well, that concludes how you got here. I suppose next I should explain the affliction you are still suffering from.”

“Ah, do you know what happened to High Cleric Neir? I’d like to thank him… Oh, and thank you!”

“You are, of course, welcome. I was informed that he is resting within the local temple; however, I cannot allow you to thank him until you are fully recovered also!”

“…Will that take long?”

“Exactly the topic I was trying to bring up,” Yalia announced with another reassuring smile. “The effect is usually referred to as Necrotic Corruption. It is not always life-threatening, as like most magic its strength varies depending on the caster. Recovery will take several days.”

“Mmm, okay.” Lucinda couldn’t help but pout slightly at the realisation.

“Hey, it won’t be all bad, Luci,” Varmia said. “As long as you don’t mind me keeping you company that is.”

In her weary state, Lucinda could not summon any response other than simple gratitude. “Thanks, Varm.”

“Excellent,” Yalia said as she rose from the bed. “With you in the somewhat capable hands of my granddaughter I would appear to be free to return to the circle.”

“I’m going to ignore that, Gran,” Varmia grumbled. “What about that Necromancer girl, though? Do you believe what they said?”

“I confess, I do. I cannot believe they would reveal themselves again, both so soon, and so close to Malart. In fact, if they haven’t fled several countries away I will be greatly surprised. Furthermore, although our impatient friends decided not to discuss their plans, I fully expect word to be spread beyond the borders of Chakog’mar and her immediate allies. I will be informing the other circles, naturally.”

“Guess that makes sense. It’s just so creepy what she wanted to do to Luci. Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it.”

“Which is why we must be thankful she did not get a chance to do so.”

A slight hint of concern darted through Lucinda’s mind at the words uttered by Yalia; yet, before she could even begin to ponder the cause, it had vanished without a trace.

“Now, I will have to love you and leave you,” Yalia announced. “Take care, both of you.”

“Ah… Do you think it might be possible to get my things back?” Lucinda asked. “I left them in the guild’s tavern.”

The older woman winced sharply. “Forgive me, Dear, that completely slipped my mind. I will leave word with Oppipilly, and make sure they are returned to you. Until then, I have given Varmia some coin which you are free to use for whatever you need, just as long as you let her do the buying while you continue resting.”

“Okay, thanks a lot Yalia. I owe you…”

“Ah! None of that now,” the circle leader interrupted. “You worry about getting better!”

“…Yes, Yalia. Thank you.”

“That’s better. Take care now.”

With a last wave, the circle leader departed from the cottage and closed the door behind her with a solid thump.

“Well, Luci,” Varmia began as she moved to sit on Lucinda’s bed once more. “What do you think? Food? Sleep? Chitchat? Staring blankly at the furniture?”

“Mmm, sorry, I think it’s going to have to be sleep…” Lucinda replied, while stifling another yawn.

“Hey, no problem. But in that case, how about someone to cuddle? Might help you sleep, yeah?”

Lucinda had been trying not to dwell on how the troubling experience she had been through might affect her moving forwards. Varmia’s assertion, however, did seem to hold true, and with all that had happened between them, accepting was pleasantly straightforward.

“Thanks, Varm… Some cuddling would be nice.”

The days passed slowly as Lucinda gradually recovered from her Necromantic affliction. With Marrow, Varmia, and occasionally the otter, Ingala, to keep her company; brief excursions outside for exercise, and short stints of meditation in a sufficiently grassy patch nearby, proved sufficient to keep boredom completely at bay. However, a desire to spend another moment of proper intimacy with her good friend did not take long to creep up on her; a desire that would have been fine, if not for it being vetoed until such time as she was fully healed. As such, the sight of a full red bar of health on the morning of the fifth day since the night of the ritual was exceedingly welcome.

Extracting herself from the comforting arms of the slumbering Druidess, Lucinda rose from her bed feeling undeniably healthy. Though having taken to sleeping without clothes – a situation that had not changed even after her gear had reappeared – that did not stop her from running through a few stretches to confirm her body was behaving as it should.

No more weakness… No more aches… At last, I can get back to doing things!

Glancing over at the partially exposed form of Varmia, one potential activity in particular leapt to the forefront of her mind.

Ah, if only she didn’t enjoy sleeping in so much…

Releasing a quiet sigh, Lucinda turned her attention to her absent animal companion. “Morning, Marrow! How’s your hunting going?”

“Friend! Find bone! Eat bone!”

“I never doubted you! Sorry I haven’t been able to feed you recently… I promise to fix that soon! I’m all healed up now, so no more excuses.”

“Friend! Play?”

Lucinda glanced back at her bed again as she considered the request.

“How about a bit later?”

“Friend!” her companion sent, in obvious agreement with the delay.

Sitting back down on the bed, a powerful urge to awaken the sleeping Druidess was not long in arriving. But with all Varmia had done for her since her unfortunate misadventure in Malart, interrupting the young woman’s sleep was not something she could not bring herself to do.

Climbing back to her feet, Lucinda reluctantly settled on some further exercise in the form of shapeshifting. She started off with her smaller forms, which allowed her the greatest flexibility in terms of movement options she could utilise without breaking anything within the room. At first, she conducted herself with some degree of stealth, but as the minutes passed by, her conviction to proceed in such a manner gradually whittled away to nothing.

When even a full traversal of the room as a black bear proved insufficient to wake the other occupant, the urge to awaken her directly returned in full force. Over a series of spell cast practices, Lucinda’s opinion on the matter teetered precariously, until at last she reached a new decision.

I’m sure she won’t mind… As long as I wake her up properly!

Returning to the foot of the bed, a few seconds more of hesitant uncertainty found Lucinda before she crawled underneath the covers.

As midday rolled around, Lucinda was in almost the exact same situation as she had been upon first awakening, with only two key differences: The wakeful state of the Druidess beside her, and the significant boost to her mood.

“We should go get food,” Varmia announced, not for the first time.

A short second of consideration was all Lucinda gave to the idea before she decided upon delivering more kisses to the exposed neck before her, instead. The act proved once again to be sufficient in diverting Varmia’s attention, and continued to do so as she began drifting ever lower.

“Food…” Varmia grumbled, one hand attempting to half-heartedly halt Lucinda’s efforts. “I think I’ve created a monster….”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have made me wait,” Lucinda replied hastily.

“Gran made me promise!” A loud growling noise erupted from Varmia’s stomach. “Arghh…. I’m dying here…”

“A death by delightful kisses? That doesn’t sound so bad…”

Another potent rumbling echoed through the room, though from an entirely different stomach.

“Ah!” Varmia exclaimed. “You see? It’s lunch time, yeah!?”

“… I guess I might be a bit hungry.”

With great reluctance, Lucinda rolled off of her Druidess friend and then rejoined her at the head of the bed. Meeting Varmia’s gaze, a bright smile spread across her lips.

“Varm… I know I’ve said it before, but… Thanks. For everything.”

“And I’ve said it before, but… You are so welcome, Luci.” Varmia shot to her feet and grabbed her dress from its resting place upon the table. “But no more anything until I’ve got us some food!”

A note of amusement appeared in Lucinda’s continuing smile as she watched Varmia scramble about.

“Maybe put on some clothes yourself too?”

“Such bossiness!” Lucinda said in her best imitation of Varmia’s voice.

“Clothes!” Varmia stated again with semi-believable sternness. “And you’re still not even close to sounding like me!”

“No more nightmares then?”

Lucinda finished her mouthful of the tasty stew Varmia had brought for them both before replying. “Nope, just one night of four still. I’m relieved, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forget what happened.”

“They’ll catch them. Or someone else will. Immortal doesn’t mean unkillable.”

“…What if it does?”

“It doesn’t. They’re not gods.”

A stretch of silence passed by, interrupted only by the sounds of wooden cutlery and eating. Lucinda’s drifting thoughts were eventually brought to a close as Varmia’s empty bowl clunked against the floor, before the woman herself slid down the bed to appear in her view.

“Just because you didn’t get dressed, doesn’t mean we’re staying longer, yeah? You can’t let what happened hold you back from adventuring.”

“I know, it’s okay.”

“And Gran’s coin is almost gone…”

“I know that too. I promise I’ll get dressed when I’ve finished eating!”

Lucinda managed a few further mouthfuls before Varmia spoke again.

“I’ve been meaning to ask: what does that ring do? You didn’t have it back at the circle, and I don’t even see a gem in it.”

Lucinda frowned as she failed to grasp the subject of Varmia’s question. “What does what do?”

“That ring. You know, the shiny metal thing on your finger?”

Further confused, Lucinda inspected the fingers of her left hand, then switched her bowl to it and inspected the other. She saw nothing that matched Varmia’s vague description.

“Umm, what?”

A disbelieving laugh met her baffled response. “Is that supposed to be a joke? It’s not a good one.”

“It’s not… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That ring!” Varmia grabbed Lucinda’s right hand and brought it up to her face. “This one. Right here,” she continued, pointing at the index finger of the hand she held.

“My finger?”

“Luci… Stop with the jokes already.”

“I’m not joking! There’s nothing there other than my hand.”

“Nothing there…? What…?” Varmia’s stammered words trailed off as a look of intense confusion lit up her face. “…You can’t see it?”

“See what?”

Gripping Lucinda’s hand more firmly, Varmia then placed the finger and thumb of her other hand on either side of Lucinda’s index finger. A strangely bewildering sight followed. To Lucinda’s eyes, Varmia appeared to be gripping her finger, except there was no matching sensation of touch or feeling of applied force.

Lucinda was still trying to puzzle out the bizarre discrepancy, when Varmia’s fingers pulled upwards sharply. Spikes of burning pain lanced through Lucinda’s skull almost as soon as the seemingly innocuous action completed, forcing her to cry out in distress.

“Luci!? You okay?”

It took Lucinda the better half of a minute of temple rubbing to feel up to properly responding.

“What… was that?” she asked.

“You had a ring on your finger. Can you see it now?” Varmia held up one hand, revealing an ordinary looking silver ring between her forefinger and thumb.

“…I was wearing that?”

Varmia breathed a hasty sigh. “Okay, maybe that’s a good sign. Do you feel different at all?”

Lucinda considered the question at length. She could detect nothing out of the ordinary with her body, and a sift through her recent memories proved equally unfruitful.

“I don’t think so.”

“I wish I knew if that was a good sign.” Varmia sighed again. “Okay, once I’ve delivered you safely to the guild, I’ll take it to Mum and see what she says. Expect a letter from me, or maybe a visit if things are really bad. Let’s hope they’re not.”

“Yeah, okay…” Lucinda replied hesitantly.

“No worrying now, Miss Adventurer!” The mock sternness in the Druidess’ voice brought a smile to Lucinda’s lips. “You are going to be just fine. Of course, if I do have to come rescue you again in the near future, I’ll have to start charging you…”

Adopting a teasing smile, Lucinda replied, “Do you accept kisses as payment?”

Varmia frowned in response, but the expression rapidly gave way to an amused grin.

“Not usually. But maybe I can make an exception for you.”

Moving forwards across the bed slowly, Lucinda brought herself face to face with the other woman. “Then, I’d like to make a down payment.”

“What happened to that promise of getting dressed?”

Lucinda pointed over one shoulder at her discarded bowl. “I haven’t finished it just yet. I will… soon.”

Varmia offered no resistance as Lucinda pushed her backwards onto the bed.

“I really have created a…”

A silencing kiss interrupted Varmia’s words.

Standing outside the small cottage some time later, the sound of the door being closed and locked arrived with a sense of sad finality. While Lucinda was still eager to get back to adventuring, her time spent with Varmia had been strangely fulfilling in ways she was not sure she fully understood.

She dwelt upon the feeling as Varmia returned the key to a nearby neighbour, and continued to do so sporadically on their way into town. By the time the temple came into view, no real answer had resulted from her pondering, while an acceptance of that seeming fact, had.

Once inside the temple, which was surprisingly similar to the one Lucinda had worked in back in Kloip, the absence of the man she hoped to thank came as an unhappy realisation. However, the option to settle with passing on a message appeared after some discussion with the local Clerics, and with no other choice in the matter, she took it.

“This is it then,” Varmia said as they stopped outside Basarl’s guild hall. “Be safe, Luci. And no more getting yourself nearly killed, yeah?”

“I’ll try my best…” Lucinda replied, matching her friend’s smile as she did. “Although forcing you to come rescue me again is pretty tempting.”

Varmia’s expression turned serious. “You could still come stay at the circle; get stronger in safety, then go exploring later.”

Lucinda surprised herself by actually considering the idea. “Thanks, Varm. I think I would enjoy that. But, I still want to explore now. There’s too many exciting things out there waiting for me. Animals to meet, places to see, even monsters to beat…”

A fresh smile replaced Varmia’s seriousness. “Figured as much. Just make sure you visit soon!”

“I will! Bye, Varm…”

“See ya, Luci.”

Turning away from her friend’s smiling gaze took some effort, and Lucinda still found herself looking back over her shoulder barely halfway towards reaching the door to the guild building. After another short wave through the random passers-by, she stepped beyond the threshold and approached the front desk.

“Hi,” Lucinda greeted a plain-looking, male clerk.

“Hello there. What can I do for you?”

“Ah… This is kind of hard to explain. I was… signed up in Malart just before the…”

“I get you,” the man interrupted. “As it happens we received word to expect someone of your description. Unfortunately, the gold you paid for membership there did not make it into the guild’s coffers.”

“Oh…” Lucinda’s heart sank.

“You’d have to pay it again… Except, I also received that payment along with the message.”

Lucinda’s mood shot back upwards. “You did?”

Smiling broadly, the man nodded. “Aye, the guild hall is open to you.”

“Ah, thank you!”

Offering a grateful nod to the clerk, Lucinda moved past him and the desk to the tavern area’s entrance. She felt some trepidation as she glanced inside, the thought of being accosted by dark-robed individuals was hard to dismiss, despite its absurdity. The tavern beyond was heavily populated, but a searching of faces revealed no one she knew.

After some deliberation, a decision to enter and grab a table was reached at last. If anything, the throng of people and clamour of voices was even less enticing than ever before; yet, Lucinda forced herself to go through with her decision all the same. Partly out of a desire to overcome the irrational fear that seemed to be haunting her still.

She brought out a book she had been reading during her rest within the cottage as she sat down at an empty table. The detailed information on animals within made it one of the rare few books she cared to read, and once her staff and gear were safely stowed, she did just that.

A large number of pages later, a voice cut through her focussed perusal.

“Mind if I join you, cutie?”

Startled from her reading by the unexpected question, and the unexpected proximity of the speaker, Lucinda would have been quite upset by the interruption – especially with the chosen wordage – if not for a set of three observations: that the voice’s tone was decidedly playful; that the owner was a woman; and most importantly of all, that she recognised it beyond a doubt.

Unable to keep a smile off of her face, Lucinda looked up from her book to find a dark-haired, brown-eyed woman standing over her with two steaming mugs in hand, and a similarly bright smile of her own.