“Are you satisfied with your progress?” Siorraid asked from across the dinner table.

Ril looked up, remembering where he was. Siorraid had invited him to his home for dinner. It was small. The home, not the dinner. The dinner was hearty, though the lack of meat was disappointing.

“Yeah,” Ril replied, smiling happily.

Siorraid nodded sagely, “It is indeed a massive advancement you have achieved in this short amount of time. Your high intelligence is truly a treasure that you should take advantage of as much as you can. Very few could match your learning rate.”

“The real treasure was the friends I made along the way.” Ril smirked.

Siorraid chuckled slightly, “facetiousness aside, you bring up an important point. That of the White Lily’s true purpose.”

Ril straightened from his meal, instantly curious. “What do you mean?”

Siorraid nodded, “You have been with us for some time now. What do you think this organization is for?”

Ril shrugged, “It seems like a general purpose intelligence slash special operatives group that handles important challenges that face the kingdom.”

“Indeed, the White Lily works closely with the King to facilitate the smooth running of the kingdom, but at its inception it was so much more.”

Ril sat back, recognizing that Siorraid was going to delve into a story.

Siorraid nodded to himself, steepling his fingers in a thoughtful pose. “Many years ago, before Magnus became King, and before much of our lands had been torn from our clutches by the powder beasts, there were two friends. With the help of a Seer they managed to identify the power granted to them by the Chromagnum and abuse it to become incredibly powerful.

“This was before the creation of the ‘Divine Spheres’ and humanity was losing the war. Badly. These two friends helped marshal the people and taught them to fight the powder beasts. Together they converted the mad dash that was humanities retreat to an orderly withdrawal. Soon, they were joined by many others who mastered their powers and together they obliterated thousands of the turned monsters that infected the land.”

“Six others rose to prominence. They joined up with the two friends and formed a party. The Dominus Haberdashery.”

Ril gasped, recognizing the name of the legendary party from stories told by Old Man Joe.

Siorraid nodded grimly, “Yes, they became quite famous, but it wasn’t due to their strength alone. Their abilities were strong yes, but more importantly they synergized well with each other. They were friends before the calamity and abused that fact to form the first and best adventuring party humanity has ever known. They were supported by each other and the combined might of the burgeoning kingdom.”

“However, it was not to last. The group grew tired of the constant carnage. They were the strongest of humanity at the time and their presence was required on the front line. And so they continued fighting, herding the people westward and growing more and more jaded with each passing month.”

Ril frowned, Siorraid was telling the story differently than the story that Ril had heard. It was more personal, but as far as he knew The Shadow wasn’t part of the Dominus Haberdashery. Siorraid had become known after the Dominus Haberdashery had disbanded.

“Then that fateful day came,” Siorraid sighed, his eyes lost in the depths of an unpleasant memory. “The Dominus Haberdashery was sent to save a group of miners from a surge of powder beasts that had managed to burst through the cordon. All told it was supposed to be a simple operation. In and out. But things grew complicated.”

“The powder beasts were led by a Sentient. A human who had turned. Somehow the man had kept his mind, but had acquired a ravenous lust for human flesh. The Sentient rampaged through the miners, killing dozens while the Dominus Haberdashery did everything in their power to take it down. Nothing worked, the creature was tough, fast, and incredibly clever.”

“Traps failed to spring, and blows that would rend flesh and crush bone simply bounced off of the armored beast’s carapace. With each miner that the beast swallowed his wounds healed, and his stamina seemed endless. They were losing.

So to save the lives of the remaining miners, and their six companions, the two friends made a decision. While their companions reluctantly retreated, the two distracted the beast. The first friend engaged the beast in single combat, while the second conjured up his strength for a mighty spell to collapse the mountain on top of them.”

“The mountain fell, the tunnels blocked, the beast was trapped.”

“The remaining members of the Dominus Haberdashery retreated, calling up the army and within days they arrived at the sight of the collapsed mine. For weeks they dug at the collapsed tunnels, until finally they broke through. Prepared for a fight, they rushed into the tunnels with weapons drawn, but we were disappointed.”

“I was part of the expedition, and I remember it as if it happened yesterday. No beast charged at us, but neither did our two heroes emerge victorious. We stood at the entrance fearfully until we fanned out, carefully searching the tunnels for some evidence of their survival.

“Hours later, we stumbled upon a horrific sight.”

“In a large cavern with pools of muddy water spread around the floor sat Bahlinar eating what remained of the Sentient. At his side, Julia, the second member lay comatose, her wounds roughly bandaged with what remained of their clothing.”

Ril blinked, shocked at the revelation.

“Yes, Bahlinar was once a member of the Dominus Haberdashery. He was one of their founders actually. But at that moment he looked more monster than man. Blood dripped from his open maw as he ate and crunched and consumed the powder beast flesh. It wasn’t long before we realized that the monster was still alive, and as Bahlinar ate it, it regenerated its wounds. Somehow they managed to subjugate the creature and use it as an infinite source of meat.”

“That’s where Bahlinar got the Stomach.” Ril murmured, transfixed. “But wait, why haven’t I heard of him. The Undying was not part of the Dominus Haberdashery...I don’t think.”

Siorraid nodded, “Yes, he got the Stomach that day, and as you might think it drastically changed his fighting style. No longer was he the backline mage that he had trained to be. Now he could sit in the frontline and soak up the damage left and right. It was not long after that he managed to acquire the abilities of a Guardian.”

Ril opened his mouth to ask a question, but was forestalled by Siorraids raised hand.

“Don’t ask me how he got the ability, I doubt even he knows exactly. One day he just had it, but that is besides the point. The Stomach allowed Bahlinar to survive the Sentients attacks, but it came with a horrible price. Julia was not so lucky. Her wounds did not kill her immediately but neither did they heal. Somehow, the monster had infected her wounds, and several months after we extracted the two, she died.”

“The Dominus Haberdashery disbanded several months later, unable to function without their leader.”

The table descended into a contemplative silence. Siorraid reliving his memories, while Ril digested the information.

Several minutes later, Ril broke the silence. “You said it had something to do with the true purpose of the White Lily?”

Siorraid looked up, pulled out of his thoughts, “Ahh yes, indeed. There was one more thing that Bahlinar and Julia took out of that hellish experience.”

At this Siorraid turned his steely gaze onto Sin, a frown creasing his forehead. “After subjugating the Sentient, they learned that powder beasts could be friendly. They spoke at length with the Sentient, as its wounds regenerated, and learned plenty. The most important was that the Sentient had no desire to harm anyone who had ‘The Blood’ as it put it. In fact, it wished to work with them, whatever their purpose. It was only once the Divine Spheres were invented did we realize what exactly that creature was referring too.”

Siorraid gave Ril and Sin a pointed stare. “Once we learned this, Bahlinar and some of the rest of the Dominus Haberdashery created the White Lily, an organization with the singular goal of learning how to make peace with the powder beasts. They were tired of killing, and with the option available they went for it.”

“As you may expect this goal was not taken well by the general populace, so with the help of King Magnus, we transformed the White Lily into a front. A powerful intelligence organization that trains elites, but under the surface, we research and fight for a way to acquire the Blood of the Chromagnum.”

“Wow,” Ril said after a moment. “So that’s why you recruited a random dude off the street, and a failed librarian.”

Siorraid snorted, “indeed, and with your growing friendship with Sin, you are perhaps our biggest lead since our inception. You have been with us for several months and in that time you have managed to impress me in both your dedication and valor. So I would like to officially invite you as an inner member of the White Lily.”

“Oh,” Ril said, picking up his fork just as something to do. He had expected something like this when Siorraid had invited him for dinner, but after the story he was caught flat-footed. “That sounds cool...”

Siorraid smiled, amused, “Indeed, very...cool. As an inner member you will be tasked with searching out and finding methods of initiating peace with the powder beasts. Zed is already searching for methods of getting the Blood, but your unique relationship with Sin makes you an ideal candidate for that task. Is this something that you can do?”

Ril nodded, “I much prefer peace to war. Powder beasts are a lot scarier when they are trying to eat your face.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Siorraid said, then he reached to the side and pulled out a manila envelope and placed it on the table, pushing aside his plate in the process. “That being said, your first mission will have less...lofty goals.”

Ril perked up. This was the other thing he had been hoping for. Finally, a mission. He would be able to leave Sela and go explore.

Siorraid smiled, “It will be a party assist. You and Zed will join an adventuring party known as the Fellowship of the Bling on their mission in Menteridge.”

Ril snickered, trying and failing to keep a straight face. “Your kidding right?”

Siorraid gave him a dour expression, “While amusing, their name is fitting. Trust me when I say that I have never met another group willing to go as far for riches.”

Ril sobered up, getting serious once more.

“They are a group of four mercenaries that banded together around four years ago, and since then they have become dangerously good at what they do.”

Siorraid pulled out a manilla envelope and placed it in front of him. From its depths he pulled out several papers and a drawing of a well dressed blond man with chiselled features.

“This is the leader of the group. He is an Eliminator by the name of Gael Carter. He is around six feet tall and sports blond hair, blue eyes and a short blond beard. All reports indicate that he prefers to wear colorful velvet, either red or blue, oftentimes with gold trim. His prefered weapon is a small chromium wand tipped in a green gemstone that allows him to fire projectiles in a cone from the tip of the wand. The projectiles are dangerous. Historically, Gael has been known to use them to tunnel through solid stone. This is not an attack that you can block, and is ideal for taking down both you and your clone since Gael can control the spread of the projectiles.”

Ril nodded, noting down the information.

“If you were to fight him, I suggest a dual prong sneak attack or poison, but avoid extended combat with him. Extrasensory abilities have not been noted for Gael Carter. Otherwise, our intel indicates that he is an agreeable man, whose only really notable weakness is his poor management of the group's money.”

“Really?” Ril asked.

“Indeed, alternative options such as tempting him with enchanted goods and draining the group's money have been considered. If you find such a course of action necessary I recommend jewelry and the White Lily can provide you a small stipend to facilitate your plan, however I recommend you attempt to maintain peaceful relations with the Fellowship of the Bling. They are incredibly skilled and useful tools for any dangerous task.”

Ril nodded once more, pulling out a small notebook from his breast pocket. No matter how good his memory, it was always good to have a backup.

Siorraid paused briefly as he pulled out another drawing from the manila envelope. This time of a woman.

“Moving on, the second member of the Fellowship is another Eliminator by the name of Orion Ace. Less is known about her but she also has blue eyes and blond hair. She spends significant effort in her appearance, and tends to wear stylized leather armor that we think hides steel plates sewn underneath.”

“Regarding her abilities, she seems to be able to extend the range of her weapon in some way. She has been observed in combat swinging her dagger repeatedly at air and causing deep puncture wounds in her opponents. Her primary weapons are daggers, but she carries an enchanted pick on her back which we assume serves the same purpose as the daggers but for larger opponents.”

“In addition, she is somehow able to apply blunt force to her targets to either destabilize them or deal significant trauma. How she does this is unknown, since she can apply this effect without moving.”

“Despite her offensive potential, she has a tendency to draw fights out. She may be sadistic or it may be a nuance of her powers.”

“You might fare better against her due to your clone, but I never recommend you challenge an Eliminator.”

Siorraid pulled out another drawing from the manilla envelope and placed it next to the two others.

“The next member of their group is a Bruiser by the name of Liam Stone. He is an odd one. Not very smart, thick bones, smashed face. A typical bruiser. Six and a half feet tall, and fairly chubby. His nose has been broken multiple times in the past. His eyes are also blue, and his hair is blond, although he has been observed to have black roots which implies that he either dyes his hair or his power can change his hair color similar to yours.”

Siorraid gestured to Ril’s bald head briefly before continuing.

“As for weapons he only carries a small toy crossbow at his hip, but we don’t know what for. He may have an ability that requires a crossbow to use but mostly he punches and hugs things in combat.”

“Sorry, hugs?” Ril interjected.

“Indeed, his abilities make him incredibly durable and his preferred method of fighting is to grapple with his opponents until either Gael or Orion are able to deal with them.”

“How tough are we talking?” Ril asked.

“He has been observed to survive a point blank shot from Gael’s wand. He was injured after it, but it is unlikely you will be able to harm him significantly with only nine strength. If you must take him out, I recommend poison, suffocation, or drowning. It is unlikely that falling long distances will kill him although it hasn’t been tried. Perhaps you could take advantage of his intelligence in some way.”

Ril gulped, this group was filled with people he didn’t have much hope in fighting. “Could you take him out?”

Siorraid thought for a moment, “yes, but it wouldn’t be cheap.”

“Regardless, he is the Bruiser so his primary goal in fights is to keep Gael and Orion alive, and you since you will be joining their team.”

“If they are going to be my allies why are we planning on the best way to fight them?” Ril asked, mildly intimidated at having such powerful individuals as his enemies.

“It is always best to plan for the worst case,” Siorraid said, “also it is a concise way of describing to you their abilities and how you might go about fighting with them as well.”

“Alright,” Ril said, “What about the fourth one.”

Siorraid rubbed his jaw, an annoyed expression crossing his features. “Delilah Hunt. She is an Overseer and a powerful one at that, whose powers focus on empowering her allies. She is around your height, and has blue eyes and blond hair like the rest of the Fellowship. Although unlike them, she wears dresses almost exclusively.”

He pulled out a drawing of a beautiful woman wearing a ball gown from the manilla envelope. She seemed happy, but had a slight predatory gleam to her that RIl found off putting.

“Why the face?” Ril asked.

Siorraid chuckled, “well because I tried to recruit her in the past. She has little interest in working with us. I doubt you could buy her with any amount of gold ironically enough, and it all has to do with her power.”

Siorraid grimaced, “Her power is focused on her own beauty. As far as we understand, the more beautiful she believes herself to be the more powerful her abilities become at empowering her allies. In addition, allies that think her beautiful get a boost. This makes it so that she is most effective when everyone else in the party is in love with her. Needless to say, the other three members of the Fellowship are...ahem, interested in her.”

Siorraid gave Ril a concerned look, “To maximize the benefit you receive from her power, you should let yourself dote on her beauty, however you will need to keep a healthy distance at the same time so that you don’t grow too attached.”

Ril frowned. He knew he wasn’t great with girls. Especially pretty ones. Delilah might make the mission difficult.

“Other than that, there is not much to say. She avoids combat, and doesn’t carry any weapons. You would be able to fight her easily, as long as she is alone that is.”

Ril looked over his notes.

“Gael Carter, Orion Ace, Liam Stone, and Delilah Hunt.” Ril chewed his lip, then chuckled softly, “Wow, good thing they are on our side right? What will the mission entail?”

Siorraid nodded, “Indeed. You will travel with Zed and the Fellowship to Menteridge where you will descend into the city's catacombs and navigate to Hunt’s End. It’s a small research town located near the bottom of the catacombs. Once there you will speak to the head scientist who will give you a package. Once he does that you will return to Sela with it.”

Ril gave his mentor a sidelong glance, “a package? Any more information?”

“Not officially,” Siorraid smiled, “but it will likely be the result of their research. Expect a small object, likely biological or consumable in nature, that can fit in a standard backpack”

Ril snorted, “Alright, sure. What research are they doing there?”

Siorraid’s expression darkened, “The scientists living in Hunt’s End are part of a project known as Project Immortal. They were commissioned more than a decade ago to study the powder beasts in Menteridge and find some way to enhance humanity to fight them.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Ril asked, wondering why Siorraid looked unhappy at their mention.

“Their...methods are less than ethical.” Siorraid shook his head, “I suggest you leave Hunt’s End as soon as you retrieve the package.”

“Anyway,” Siorraid continued, “Theodore Glotz is the one who organized this quest which brings up a whole host of other issues for you to worry about.”

Ril raised his eyebrows. His opinion of the mission taking a nosedive immediately. Theodore Glotz was the noble who owned Elkshire, and Ril did not like the man very much. He was power hungry and willing to step on the poor for his own benefit. His son, Godric, was a perfect example of this.

“Indeed, He is known as being against the royal family. Be careful with the package that you are retrieving. If the package poses a direct threat to the King, the Princess, or the kingdom as a whole contact me through this journal and we will see what we can do to assist you in its destruction.”

Siorraid slid a small thin journal with about five pages bound inside of it across the table. Ril gave the book a glance before tucking it into his jacket.

“Why...” Ril started, frowning. “Why would Glotz allow White Lily operatives to assist in this quest if we might choose to sabotage it?”

“It is all technically legal. The research, using a known adventuring party as a method of retrieval of the results. It's just that Glotz is likely up to no good so we took advantage of the fact that the Fellowship of the Bling doesn’t have any Outriders to sneak Zed and you into their ranks.” Siorraid said. “I bring up the idea of sabotage only as a last resort. It would be far more favorable to ensure that the mission goes successfully and return with information about the results that Project Immortal achieved. That way we don’t have any legal issues to take care of.”

“Alright,” Ril said, closing his notebook, “When do we leave?”

“Three days, but before that I wanted to give you something.” Siorraid leaned down and pulled out a flat wooden box which he placed reverently on the table, moving his plate to the side in the process.

He deftly flipped the locks open and pushed the still closed box across the table.

Ril pulled the box to himself and carefully opened it.

Inside, on a bed of velvet lay a small bronze hand mirror with a single crack marring its surface. The handle was composed of many threads that merged to form the body of a woman who held up the frame of the mirror with her two splayed arms.

“Avir’s Mirror.” Siorraid said proudly, “It will help you on your mission.”

“What does it do?” Ril asked curiously. He picked up the gilded mirror, turning it over. It didn’t seem all that special, if a little old.

“This artifact allows you to reflect a portion of an elemental attack to a nearby willing ally.” Siorraid said slowly.

RIl shot his gaze up to his mentor, “Will it work on my clone?”

“It will indeed,” Siorraid said, crows feet appearing at the edges of his eyes.

A wide grin split Ril’s face, “Awesome! Wait, what do you mean by elemental attack and how far is nearby?”

“Elemental as in lightning, fire, cold, it won’t do much against a sword, but many powerful abilities rely on one of those three elements. Distance wise, I believe it is around a hundred meters, but with the caveat that the target needs to be visible. Partial coverage reduces the effectiveness of the transfer.”

“Cool,” Ril said, cradling his new toy with glee.

“Good luck on your mission, Ril. Be safe. It would be a shame if you do not return.”

“I will,” Ril nodded happily, excited for what's to come.