Anastacia absentmindedly flipped through the stack of papers she had been told to study carefully over the journey to the location of the quest the guild had half-forced on her. Filled to the brim with detailed information about several nations, most of which she hadn’t even heard of before, the documents were a tiresome read even for someone interested in learning about the world outside Mournvalley and Valor.

“Have you read through them yet?” Asked the guild official seated opposite to her in the carriage they had both spent the last three days in.

The necromancer nodded and handed the papers over to the official, whom she had named Strawberry because that’s what she figured the reddish crystalline horn on his forehead tasted like.

“Very well then. Since we still have some time, why don’t we test whether you actually paid any attention while reading or not?” Strawberry asked and reordered the papers to a neater pile, in an alphabetical order of course. He then picked a random sheet from the stack and glanced at it before turning to Anastacia. “Tell me about our host and client, the realm of Vassund.”

Anastacia smirked. “The largest nation of the north, generally well-meaning towards others, frequent client of Valor, not big on gods…” She lazily listed the main points of the notes. “You know, a bit after I arrived at Valor, I did this quest for an older guy called Mikhail. He was some sort advisor or whatever to the king and gave me a royal blessing from Vassund, along with a set of rings.”

The guild official sighed and adjusted his glasses. “Well, that was simplified to a point of uselessness, but true. What about nations? Let us start with... Mon Quasai?” He continued with the pop quiz.

“Farmers and traders with little to no army besides mercenaries. They provide most of the countries in the area with food when the crops fail, for a price of course. Responsible with most of the food coming into Valor. They basically control the markets in this corner of the world.” The necromancer answered and pressed her cheek against the cold glass window of the carriage. The scenery outside was bleached white by a thick cover of fluffy snow that, despite its freezing coldness, started to look inviting compared to the equally frigid company of the guild official.

“Okay…” Strawberry nodded and seemed satisfied with the answer. “How about Astra?”

“Bunch of mages and enchanters, kind of assholes towards non-mages, massive nerds that are actually ruled by a school. Nothing much to know about them since they don’t really tell anyone what they’re up to.” The necromancer said and yawned out of sheer boredom.

“Correct… Though that’s mostly because they think people outside of Astra do not have sufficient understanding of the arcane to be able to contribute to the discussion. It’s actually relatively easy to get them to open up to a fellow mage. Possibly the most noteworthy thing about them is their ability to supply enchantments to their allies, which makes them a rather desirable ally. On their own they aren’t as much of a concern, as they prefer manipulation of other nations through trade and politics, much like Mon Quasai.” Strawberry added before moving on. “How about Toumarill?”

“Mmmmonks?” Anastacia blurted out and lifted her feet on the bench, much to the guild official’s dismay.

“Care to elaborate?” Strawberry asked.

“Alchemy monks.” The necromancer stated as briefly as she could.

Clearly starting to lose faith in the questioning, the guild official picked up the stack of papers and flipped through it until he found the pages he was looking for. “Toumarill is a collection of tribes that all worship a single god called Touma. They’re ruled by the temple serving this deity, and ultimately the tomar, or the high priest, who acts as a direct link between the temple and the deity. Most of their society is built around the temple and because of that, they are extremely theistic. This didn’t use to be a problem when dealing with them, but in the recent years, they have started to act more aggressively, which is apparently all according to the will of Touma. They have also started to increase their influence over the market, starting with rarer herbs, medicines and tonics.” He explained and blankly stared at the necromancer, who was trying to kill time by balancing a stack of coins on her forehead. “Since you’re so obviously done answering these questions, I will just move on to The Holy Empire of Ou. Much like Toumarill, Ou is a theocracy led by a church, but unlike the usually peaceful Toumarillians, the people of Ou are extremely militant about their faith and suffer no disrespect to their gods. They worship a pantheon of five deities in total, one of whom is believed to be Touma under a different name. It’s also believed that the current religious leader of Toumarill was secretly brought to power by the empire, and it is entirely possible that the recent aggression of the monks is in fact orchestrated by The Holy Empire of Ou. The empire alone is a force to be reckoned with and has by far the most powerful military among the nations we have covered thus far, barring Vassund of course, who is quite simply unrivaled.”

“Wild, turns out being twats on a nationwide-scale isn’t a Mournvalley exclusive.” Anastacia commented.

“Indeed.” Strawberry nodded. “And then there’s Vul, which is more or less the definition of a military nation. Their entire culture is based around metalworking and war, which makes them the main competition for the Empire of Ou. A few decades ago, Vul still dwarfed Ou, but has since been outmaneuvered in the field of diplomacy, allowing Ou to outgrow them with the aid of their allies while Vul always relied on its own strength.” He continued in the usual monotone fashion of the guild officials.

Anastacia yawned again. “And what does all of this have to do with me again? I appreciate the info, but what do I need it for?”

Strawberry smiled in wily manner. “Because Vassund is holding a diplomatic meeting with representatives from these nations, and you have been hired to act as an unaffiliated moderator and peacekeeper that watches over the discussion, making sure it doesn’t get too heated.” He explained while almost grinning.

The necromancer couldn’t help but to laugh. “Do you have any idea how absolutely awful idea this is? You could have literally thrown a rock in a random direction at the offices and hit an adventurer more suited for this stuff than me.”

“Which is among many of the reasons we chose you, and the reason why I am here. The guild has a vested interest in helping you develop as an adventurer, and currently your greatest shortcoming is your horrid temper and attitude, both of which can be helped with guidance and introducing you to situations you are not comfortable with. To be perfectly honest, you requiring our aid right as we needed someone for this quest was a complete coincidence and we could not be happier about it.” The guild official explained with a hint of wariness in his voice, almost like he was expecting a tantrum.

“Right… So do you secretly want these countries to have a war? Because that’s probably what’s going to happen based on my experiences.” Anastacia snickered.

The guild official shook his head. “You will be present at the meeting, but you are not a part of it. You will not share your opinions or ideas. Your only purpose there is to make sure no one gets out of line or attempts anything unsavory, am I being clear enough?” He said with a somewhat stern tone.

“Unsavory? Like assassins or something?” Asked Anastacia, finally getting slightly interested in the quest at hand.

Strawberry shrugged. “There is, however, one more matter to discuss. The matter of the sixth guest.” He said ominously and handed Anastacia a single sheet of paper with barely a few lines written on it.

The necromancer took a glance at the title, crumbled up the paper and tossed it at the guild official before kicking open the carriage’s door and jumping into the snow. “Fuck you, fuck your dumb quest, fuck your dumb horn and fuck this! I’m out!” She yelled as she trudged through the snow back towards where she figured Valor was.

The carriage came to a halt and the guild official peeked out of it to see Anastacia slowly make her way in the knee-high snowbank. “So you no longer require our aid in the matter of the pearls? I should probably remind you that no other organization has the technology required for deciphering them.” He said and closed the carriage door.

After a good while of screaming at the wintery forest, the necromancer returned to the carriage, kicked the snow off her boots at Strawberry and sat back down with her arms crossed and the meanest looking frown she was able to pull off on her face.

“So… Now that the cat is out of the bag, yes, Mournvalley will have a representative there. It does change a few things; for example, you should keep your abilities as a necromancer hidden, as it would compromise your neutral image.” Admitted Strawberry, only receiving an angry scowl as a response. “Mournvalley entering the world of diplomacy has been a divisive issue and that will undoubtedly be one of the matters discussed during the next couple of days. As of right now, both Vul and Mon Quasai have accepted trade deals and allied themselves with Mournvalley in what is called the Concord of Wheat, Fire and Bone. On the other side, Ou, Toumarill and Astra formed a Covenant of the Righteous Light, which is strongly against allowing necromancers outside of Mournvalley’s borders, among many other things. Both of these alliances need Vassund on their side to have any sort of actual leverage over the other side, but Vassund would prefer these states to stay out of any kind of strong alliances they can’t control.”

Anastacia took a deep breath to calm down. “You do realize that whoever Mournvalley sends over, is probably there to kill everyone else?” She scoffed even at the idea of anyone from her home-country would bother with diplomacy.

“Well then we are in luck, since you are here. You were hired to keep everyone in there in check, that includes whoever the sixth guest may be.” Strawberry smiled.

“I swear to fuck, if there isn’t a single assassin or anything else worth my time, I’ll quit.” Anastacia muttered under her breath.

While the guild official continued flooding Anastacia’s ears with information she really didn’t care about and barely even understood, the carriage started to pass a few farmhouses here and there, suggesting that their journey was at its end. Soon enough, a massive timber lodge appeared in the horizon, surrounded by a seemingly endless field of pure white snow.

Build from lumber almost as thick as Anastacia was tall, the lodge was almost obnoxious in size and most definitely a sight to behold. Though entirely made from wood, it rivaled even the guild offices in height and towered over the smaller huts and stables around it.

The guard driving the carriage steered them through the gate that led into the lodge’s yard, but oddly, there was no one to greet them or inquire about their business in the area. Though the yard was entirely abandoned, Anastacia could tell that there were people inside the building itself, and apparently this was because the only way the negotiations were going to happen in the first place, was if none of the attending parties, including the hosts, brought no unneeded personnel, such as guards to the meeting. Vassund would provide food and housekeeping services, but security rested entirely on the narrow shoulders of Anastacia alone – and a sole guild guard that had been brought along to drive the carriage, and according to his own words, ‘protect’ the guild official Strawberry from physical labor of having to carry the luggage.

Anastacia hopped out of the carriage and took a look at the endless snowfield around them. “Well, this makes things simpler, I can tell if someone is trying to sneak in. Not that it matters because someone is going to try and kill everyone as soon as they arrive.” She commented on the surroundings.

“Mournvalley needs these talks to be a success just as much as everyone else, possibly even more so. My personal, highly educated guess would be that they are the last ones to try and sabotage the negotiations.” Strawberry pointed out and started leading the necromancer towards the lodge.

Just as they stepped on the stairs leading to the massive wooden door, it slowly creaked open. Behind it was a tall and sturdily built dark elf, whose long silvery hair was tied on a single thick braid that was decorated with dozens of metal beads that had some sort of runes minted on them. Her clothes appeared to be some kind of a military uniform, though an extremely plain one at that, as it was made from a dull and undetailed grey wool. She stared down at the necromancer and guild official standing before her. “You the folk from Valor?” She asked with a gruff grimace on her face.

“Yes, vice commander Lumira, Anastacia here is the adventurer we have chosen for the contract and I am here to make sure our actions do not affect the-“ Strawberry started what was probably going to be a longwinded explanation, but was cut off by the dark elf simply walking away and leaving the door open.

“She seems nice.” Anastacia commented and stepped inside.

Right away the adventurer was stuck by the warmth inside the lodge, being cooped up in the carriage that did very little beyond giving shelter from the wind for a few days had almost made her forget how nice it was to be in a properly heated building.

After a small entryway, the inside of the lodge opened up into a massive hall. Directly opposite to the entrance, was an absolutely monstrous fireplace that contained a blaze that was nothing short of a pyre. The wall around it was lined with hunting trophies, such as pelts and antlers from the abnormally large animals that roamed the northern parts of the continent. In the middle of the room, under a grand chandelier crafted from a pair of huge antlers, was a U-shaped wooden table with ten chairs arranged around it.

At the moment, only the chair directly in the middle of the curve had an occupant, as the rest of the guests hadn’t arrived yet. Sitting in that chair was an old, burly man with a bushy white beard and the shiniest bald head Anastacia had ever seen. Vice commander Lumira was sitting on the table next to him, presumably reporting on the arrival of the adventurer. Based on their similar uniforms, Anastacia guessed this old man was the superior officer and likely the actual host of the meeting.

Noticing his first guests, the man slowly stood up with the aid of his cane and the vice commander and calmly walked over to meet them. “Good day to you, guild master! I am extremely glad you were able to make it here.” He merrily greeted Strawberry shook his hand before turning his attention to Anastacia. “And I presume you are the one I hired? My name is Nikolai Bronson, a commander of the grand army of Vassund, though these days I mostly just dabble in diplomacy – back isn’t what it used to be, you know? I believe you already met my vice commander, pay no mind to her attitude, poor girl was born incurably sour.” He said and laughed.

“Y… yeah.” Anastacia said and bowed politely. “My name is Anastacia.”

“Anastacia… I like that! I was expecting someone more… formidable, but I trust the guild and if they think you are the one for the job, I’ve no room to question it.” Nikolai admitted and nodded back at the necromancer. “Just be prepared to bare some teeth, since some people might not take you seriously. But how about I have Lumira show you to your room while the guild master and I go over the paperwork? There’s still some time before the guests arrive.” He suggested and gestured for the vice commander to come forth.

“I have a room?” Asked Anastacia.

Nikolai laughed heartily. “Well you are going to spend the next three days here, and I can’t bear the thought of anyone thinking Vassund is anything but a generous host to its visitors! Go take a look at your room, change into something less toasty and have Lumira show you the premises and staff while you’re at it. I’ll answer any questions you might have when you get back.” He suggested and returned to his seat, standing around was clearly taking a toll on him even if he appeared so cheery.

Strawberry had waited for the guild guard to show up with the luggage and took out a parcel from the large trunk of supplies he had taken along for some reason. “This is a guild issued formal dress for female officials. Though you are not standard issue-sized, it can be adjusted to fit you. They have been meticulously designed to give off an aura of dignity, authority and class. Please use it.” He said, though it almost sounded like a plea.

Anastacia wasn’t the one to reject free clothing, but she did plan on giving the clerk a non-standard issue-sized ass kicking if the dress looked stupid. Since the vice commander clearly wasn’t going to wait for her before disappearing into the staircase leading to the second floor of the lodge, she didn’t have time to thank the official before running off to catch up on Lumira.