Anastacia, Emilia and Gilbert had arrived back to the city of adventurers right as the sun peeked above the eastern horizon. Shops had already started to open their doors, but the streets remained empty for the most part, at least for a while yet, until it was time for breakfast. The adventurer’s exchanged a few words with a couple of guards they passed on their way to the inn and told them to keep an eye out just in case they had been followed through the night after all.

Emilia was still feeling drained by getting briefly possessed by Sylvia and reasoned that it was because she hadn’t been wearing the medallion that allowed for easier connection between the two, like it had done in Crescent. With her cursed friends back in their regular sizes and shapes, she figured that there were no new troubles in the horizon, and she could just sleep the day away to get properly rested for once. So after a quick snack, the priestess disappeared into the baths and wasn’t seen or heard from again until much later in the evening.

Gilbert was even quicker to disappear, he simply grabbed a shirt and some equipment from his room and left, saying that he needed to look into the whole emblem issue – though in reality, he wanted to be out of the inn before Yulia woke up. Though the lamb had suggested that he should return once his curse had worn off, the old adventurer simply didn’t see Yulia in that light and chose to avoid the awkward encounter altogether. He may have braved places and opponents that would have sent most men back home as a frightened, trembling mess but dealing with women he couldn’t just pay at the end of the night was nothing short of a nightmare for him.

This left Anastacia as the only adventurer in the tavern, only companied by the night waitress she happened to have business with anyway. Since she wasn’t feeling that tired, the necromancer decided that it was as good of a time as any to try and get more friendly with Holly. She grabbed a chair and sat down next to the counter the owl girl manned.

“Hey, uh… There’s something I need from you, so I was thinking I could drop by your house today…” Anastacia said awkwardly. She wasn’t exactly sure how to go about asking back something she had given and trying to talk with Holly was always awkward to begin with.

The white feathers on Holly’s head stood up and her disturbingly large eyes seemed to open even wider. “Have you come for one of Holly’s gawobbles?!” She asked, looking like the necromancer had just asked for the impossible.

“What? No! At least I don’t think so. I have no idea what a gawobble is.” Anastacia said and backed off a bit. “I just need one of the pearls I gave you earlier, the ones I got in mail. Are those gawobbles?”

Holly hooted a few times, which sounded like laughing by someone who didn’t quite know what laughing actually was and only tried to imitate the noise. “’Are baubles gawobbles?’ she asks. Of course not! Foolish child of death. Perhaps she is a foplicke, if baubles are gawobbles?!” She hooted and leaned closer to Anastacia. “You’re not a foplicke, are you?”

“I… I don’t know. What if I am? Is that bad?!” Anastacia asked, genuinely concerned that she could have been a foplicke – whatever that even was.

The owlfolk sighed and smiled smugly. “Far too small, couldn’t even be a rofoitel, much less a foplicke.” She chortled.

“I honestly have no idea if you’re insulting me or not.” The necromancer frowned and scratched her head. “But how about the pearl? Mind if I come over and pick one up when your shift ends?”

“A Trade! A favor for a bauble.” Holly suggested and nodded happily. “Spend a day with Holly and receive the least pretty bauble.”

“Sure. I kind of wanted to do that anyway. Did you have anything planned or do we just wing it?” Anastacia asked. She was relieved by the simplicity of Holly’s request and didn’t mind finding out what the owl girl did with her time.

“Wings? I have two.” Holly said and lifted up her arms, revealing the longer pure white feathers sprouting from her forearms. “No wings on a necromancer though, bad for planning.”

Not used to being outweirded by such a margin, Anastacia just smiled and figured that she would eventually find out their plan for the day.

Though she was already late, likely because Emilia had returned, Rosie lazily sauntered down the staircase with no haste in her steps in the slightest and yawned, showing her impressive arrangement of sharp teeth. After cracking her knuckles and neck, the tigress leaned against the wall behind the counter. It took her a while to collect enough energy to say anything so instead she just nodded to Holly and Anastacia and closed her eyes for a bit.

Ashamed of her long lasting naivety about the innkeeper’s relationship with Emilia, now that she had finally figured it out with the aid of the curse, Anastacia couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Rosie and instead stared at the scratched surface of the counter in front of her.

“Ah, shit. You know, don’t you?” Rosie broke the awkward silence by asking and slightly opened one of her eyes to see that the necromancer nodded. “Well, it took you long enough. Anyway, I’m making some coffee.” She mumbled and disappeared into the kitchen.

Anastacia sighed and glanced at the night waitress. “Did you know?” She asked.

“Yes.” Holly answered as her gaze glazed over. “I have seen things.”

It didn’t take long for Rosie to come out with a pot of fresh coffee and a plateful of sausages, which Holly snatched with the awe-inspiring swiftness of a bird of prey and stuffed them into her pocket for later snacking.

“How’d the whole curse thing go? I heard you punched a kid or something.” Rosie asked and poured some coffee for everyone.

“Among other messed up things… I’d rather not talk about it.” Anastacia avoided the subject and took a sip of coffee, which tasted nothing short of incredible after not having any for the last couple of days – that is, if one doesn’t count the beans she tried to eat. “Holly and I were just about to go do something, once her shift is over.”

“Huh… I should probably whip up some grub you can take with you then. I need to get started with the kitchen anyway since Yulia asked for a day off – which she won’t need because Gil has probably buggered off to some nearby town by now.” The innkeeper said and emptied her cup in one swig.

Anastacia kept adding sugar into her coffee, scoop after scoop until the small bowl reserved for her was almost empty. “Yeah, he left as soon as we got back. How’d you know?” She asked and took a sip of the disgustingly sweet slurry she had created.

Hearing the necromancer munch on the undissolved bits of sugar made the innkeeper’s skin crawl and she had to wait until Anastacia was done to answer. “You think this is the first time it has happened? Every now and then there’s some perky new adventurer lass that latches on to him for a bit and he always does this. Give it a week or so and he’ll be back to pretend like it never happened.” She explained and moved the rest of the sugar away from Anastacia.

“Gilbert is nice.” Holly nodded. “Has no secrets, hides none and knows the best books.”

“That’s just because he’s old and boring, so he has nothing to hide.” Rosie laughed and got up. “Anyway, like I said, I need to get breakfast going. You to just wait here and I’ll give you something in a bit.”

While Rosie toiled away in the kitchen, Anastacia quickly grabbed her cloak, scarf and gloves from her room and returned downstairs to discuss Holly’s plan for the day. She didn’t get much out of the owl girl, but apparently, they were supposed to buy something from a nearby shop and head to Holly’s house. Anastacia was slightly relieved that Holly lived in a house in the first place but couldn’t help but to worry that this ‘house’ was a large barrel in an alley or something. Though the night waitress always appeared neat and her clothes were clean, so she probably either lived with someone or despite her oddities, was more capable than the necromancer, who still needed help with her laundry on occasion.

Eventually the innkeeper returned with two parcels and a bottle of blackcurrant juice, which she handed to the pair, along with Holly’s pay for the night. When other adventurers started to trickle into the tavern, Anastacia and Holly decided that it was time to go and said their farewells to Rosie.

Anastacia gazed at the clear sky above them and shielded her eyes from the sun. “Well, at least it won’t be too cold.” She said and took a couple of deep breaths of fresh air.

“Need to go.” Holly said, sounding a bit nervous all of a sudden. She grabbed Anastacia’s hand and started dragging her towards one of the streets that was lined with various types of shops.

Anastacia knew the street well, as it was where she bought most of her clothes and other odds and ends. She even visited a certain shop there almost monthly just to annoy the uppity elven cloak maker she had bought her first cloak from after arriving to Valor.

Holly kept dragging the necromancer past shop after shop, until they arrived at a part of the street Anastacia had only walked past a couple of times. The stores there were much of the same, though maybe slightly more mage-oriented, offering more goods for those schools of magic that required them, such as the staffs used by ice mages. Among these shops was a perfectly regular-looking general store that didn’t appear to be selling anything particularly special, yet it was the one Holly as interested in. The owlfolk pressed her forehead against the glass and stared at the travel kettles and bowls that were on display.

“Oh, is this the place you wanted to visit?” Anastacia asked and opened the door for Holly, who slipped past her without a word.

The inside of the shop was very much what one would think a general store was like. On one wall there were bookshelves filled with an unorganized collection of popular books and guides that were useful for most adventurers who didn’t have Gilbert at hand. Next to them was an assortment of tools such as knives, hammers, coils of rope and thread, axes meant for felling trees instead of creatures and pouches containing flint. The wall opposite to them was full of coats, hats and boots; most of them slightly used but still in decent condition and worth a few gold.

Easily the oddest thing in the shop was its owner, who was lazily browsing through a book behind the counter when Anastacia stepped in, but immediately perked up when he heard the door. His ashen grey skin appeared almost slimy and was heavily contrasted by his four completely black eyes and the equally black fin growing on his head that continued down his neck and back. The eyes were roughly regular in size and shape, and the extra pair of them was simply arranged above the slightly larger ones located in the same place they were on most people. “Ah! Miss Holly! On time as usual.” He greeted the owl girl, who seemed to completely ignore the gesture. “Have you brought a friend with you? Good morning to you as well, miss…”

“Anastacia. Good morning.” The necromancer answered politely and nodded.

“Anastacia, huh? Where have I heard that before…” The shopkeeper wondered and stared at Anastacia while his eyes blinked out of synch with each other. “Ah! The necromancer slash mage! Is there something specific you’re looking for, or can I interest you in some fireproof gloves or detailed guide on hedgehog anatomy?”

Anastacia shook her head. “No thanks. I’m just here because Holly needed something, we were on our way to her place.” She explained and nodded at Holly, who was staring at the bookcases and tilting her head to read the titles.

“Miss Holly is going to buy a single jar and a crystal lantern, just like every other week. She’ll look at the books for a while, then move on to the empty jars and vials, pick one of them and then ask me for a lantern.” The shopkeeper laughed.

“Why?” Anastacia asked and walked over to the counter so she and the shopkeeper could speak without Holly hearing them.

“You’re her friend, aren’t you, so shouldn’t you know? I’ve tried selling her something besides those two things, but she says she doesn’t need anything. As far as I know, she owns over a hundred of them by now.” The shopkeeper explained and took out a crystal lantern from under the counter. “If you ever figure out, I’d love to know, maybe there’s some alternative solution I can offer her.”

Just like the shopkeeper said, Holly lost interest in the books and moved on to a shelf in the corner of the shop. On it was a random selection of vials from jam jars to small poison bottles, that hopefully had been properly cleaned. After inspecting a few of them in more detail, Holly chose one of the larger ones available that was just large enough to get a fist stuck in it. Making sure the sealing mechanism for the lid worked, she approached the counter and placed the jar on it.

“Lamp.” She stated and blankly stared at the shopkeeper.

“I already have one for you, bit of an older one but that hasn’t mattered before, has it?” The strange looking shopkeeper said and smiled. “That and the jar costs- well, the same as always.”

Holly nodded and placed the sausages from her pocket on the counter while looking for the loose coins she kept in every pocket she had. Slowly counting them all one by one, the owl girl stacked coins on the counter in neat piles of ten, though ignoring their differing values.

Anastacia was starting to feel bad for holly and took out her purse. “I have plenty of money here so, what if I just-“ She was about to suggest but was interrupted by Holly letting out a screech like of which the necromancer had never heard before.

“Holly has money! I will pay!” The owlfolk demanded, puffed up the feathers on her head and lifted up her arms, refusing to put them down before Anastacia backed off and put her purse away.

“Been there, I tried offering her a discount, but she just wouldn’t take it.” The shopkeeper whispered to Anastacia as they continued to watch Holly persistently count her money.

Even in an used condition, crystal lanterns were on the expensive side of things for citizens of Valor that didn’t take part in quests, so Anastacia calculated that buying one every seven days likely took almost all the gold Holly earned in that time, which made the weekly purchase even stranger. There was no reason someone would need a new one that often anyway, since the lifespans of the crystals in them were measured in years rather than days.

Having finally emptied her pockets, Holly moved the coins closer to the shopkeeper and grabbed both of the items she had bought and the sausages before storming out of the store, while clearly making sure to stomp as loudly as she could on every step to show that she was angry.

“There she goes.” The shopkeeper laughed and waved after Holly with his webbed hand. “Well, it was good to see that she has friends. Have fun, you two.”

Anastacia nodded and ran after her friend.

Holly was waiting for Anastacia only a few meters away but looked extremely grumpy. “Works hard to earn money, to not steal. Responsible, like a good child!” She said angrily and grabbed Anastacia’s hand again.

“Yeah, sorry for butting in, you had it under control.” Anastacia apologized. “You’re very proud of your work, aren’t you?”

The owlfolk nodded. “It’s fun, a lot of nice people too, like Anna. A magnificent hunter.”

“Thanks, I guess. Suppose I am pretty good at what is technically hunting.” Anastacia shrugged.

They kept talking about Holly’s job at the inn as they walked along the streets of Valor, taking a turn here and there. Eventually Anastacia realized that she had no idea where they were anymore, but Holly seemed to know, so she didn’t let it bother her. Almost half an hour after leaving the shop, they finally stopped by an alley that was between a warehouse and some kind of a guard outpost.

Something about the alley immediately seemed off to the necromancer, almost like it was darker than it should have been on a such a sunny day. Though she wasn’t sure and couldn’t pinpoint a reason she thought so, but it was definitely strange.

Holly walking into the darkness that dwelled in the alley didn’t help the situation either, as her pure white feathers seemed to be completely unaffected by the shade, and it almost looked like the owl was glowing very slightly. Anastacia took a single step into the shadow and when nothing odd happened, she figured that she was just being paranoid and followed Holly. At the back of the alley, there was a simple wooden door that was somewhat anticlimactic after the mysterious feeling of dread given off by the alley itself.

The owl girl stopped by the door and opened up her new lantern. Even the light given off by the crystal was somehow dim. Though looking directly at it was still blinding, but something in the air appeared to suffocate the light as soon as it exited the lantern and it didn’t even carry far enough to create shadows onto the walls from the slits in the lantern.

Suddenly Holly tore the crystal from its housing and dropped it into the glass jar she had bought. “Anna must close the door quickly.” She instructed the necromancer and unlocked the door. “Cannot let it escape.”

“What?” Was all Anastacia managed to utter before Holly opened the door and flooded the entire alley with blinding light.

Holly dragged the blinded necromancer inside after her, and almost by accident, Anastacia’s hand happened to land on the door handle so she could close it like she was told to. Cursing while her eyes got used to the light, Anastacia kneeled on the floor and took a glimpse of what was happening from between her fingers. The owlfolk swiftly opened the jar and used it to catch something from the air. Anastacia wasn’t quite able to see what it was, but it felt like an insect.

“Good work, good work.” Holly praised her friend and patted Anastacia’s back.

“What just happened?” The squinting necromancer asked and tried to look around.

The source of the blinding light was a neatly piled wall of over a hundred glowing crystals in glass jars that cover up almost an entire wall while drowning the room with their retina-scorching light. Facing away from the jars helped a bit and Anastacia was able to look around the room. Despite the obvious vision-ruining flaw, the room actually seemed relatively comfortable. In one corner of a room was a pile of bedding that looked more like a nest with some books tossed around it. Next to the nest was a small table and on it a large piece of paper that didn’t appear to have anything written on it, while the rest of the room was filled with something that could only be called trash even by the most well-meaning person in the world. Countless crumbled up papers and discarded lanterns had been scattered across the room.

“Caught a spy.” Holly said proudly and showed the jar she was holding to Anastacia. In it was a moth that bounced off the walls of its glass prison in panic. Though a bit on the larger side, it appeared to be a perfectly normal insect in every way, including being susceptible to necromancy, which generally worked as a decent detector for magical or divine nonsense.

“A spy? There are moths spying on you?” Anastacia asked and rubbed her eyes. “Who are they spying for?”

Holly walked over to the wall of jars she had and carefully placed the new one on top of one of the stacks. Anastacia took a better look and noticed that along with the crystals, inside every single one of the jars was a dead moth.

“Can’t remember.” The owlfolk shrugged, dragged Anastacia into the nest in the corner of the room and sat down next to her.

Probably build as some sort of extra room for the outpost next to it, the room leeched heat from the rest of the building and was surprisingly pleasant to be in, even without a cloak. The nest was soft as well, though there were plenty of fluffy white feathers scattered in it.

Anastacia popped open the bottle of juice they had gotten from Rosie and took a sip. “Well, it’s not as bad as I feared.” She commented on the owl girl’s dwelling and handed over the bottle.