We move quickly and silently towards the Arcane Symposium. Walking through the streets of Allementhiea, I can’t help but wonder, “Esty, what happened here? The city is almost empty.”

“Hmm...” Estellda appears to be caught off guard by the question, “I’ve never really thought of that since it’s always been like this for me. Most of us, erm, adventurers gather at Velika and now Highwatch. Allementhiea is more of just a stop along the main quest line.”

That reply raised more questions than answers. Raising my hands to my face, massaging my temples. One question at a time Red. Taking a deep breath, “I understand gathering at Velika, it is after all the capital of the humans, founders of the Valkyon Federation. But the current Allementhiea is unlike the bustling city I remember. Scholars, academics and arch mages would walk the streets having heated discussions about magic, their latest findings or the newest spells they developed. There’s hardly anyone but guards here now.”

“I don’t know Red... Allementhiea just never played much of a part in my journey through Arborea.” Estellda replied softly, the usual smile didn’t return.

“I guess you can’t know everything. Also what do you mean by main quest line? Are you on some kinda mission? You never mentioned that before.”

“Well I suppose you can say that, haven’t really thought much of quests since I reached, how should I put this in NPC speak...” Estellda fell silent for a moment, “since I completed my training missions? Oh we’re here.” Evasive as always. I can’t help feeling like there are things she’s hiding from me or at the very least, only telling me things selectively.

We step out of the connecting spire into the Arcane Symposium. One can see a clear divide of 3 areas here, the Mysterium on the right, accessible by yet another of Allementhiea's iconic connecting spires. The library sits in the middle, clearly the centre piece of the Arcane Symposium, even now much of the activity is focused there. A lone guard stands before an elevator shaft on the left, seemingly lax security considering what lies at the bottom of it. Malachai’s lab, where the high elves do much of their ‘research’. You can be assured that the elite guards are just hiding in wait somewhere out of sight, ready to dish out their specific form of justice.

The sight of the golden elevator door still fills me with dread. I spent hours in there, sometimes days firing shot after shot with the prototype cannons. We approach, as inconspicuously as possible, confident, like we belong and are heading exactly where we were supposed to.

The guard glances up as we approach, scanning our faces but otherwise he did not react. About 10 paces away from him, he raised his right hand, “That’s enough, this is a restricted area. What business do you have here?”

Estellda takes another step forward, omg what are you doing? The guard’s body tenses noticeably, his knuckles going pale as he grips his spear tighter, ready. “hello.” Estellda waves, smiling then bows, “remember me?”

The guard leans forward, squinting as he takes a closer look at Estellda. “Oh it’s you.” he replies, his expression deadpan but at least he’s no longer tense. “the hero of the Federation.”

The what?! I turn to look at Estellda, she’s already looking at me, a smug look on her face. Oh she planned this, that stupid grin, taunting me. She turns back to the guard, “I need to check out Malachai’s lab, I er... dropped something when I was here last time.”

The guard eyes us intently, clearly suspicious, “I’m afraid that’s not possible. My orders are strict and simple. No entry for anyone unauthorized. Hero or not.”

“Oh come on! You let me in the last time!” Estellda whines, her voice audibly a pitch higher as she stomps her feet in frustration, pouting as she presses her full bosom together. She’s trying to flirt her way in. She nudges me with her elbow, a wayward glance.

'Do it too!' her voice urges me in my head.

No. Just no. I glare at her, 'You disgust me.'

'Thank you :)' she project her thoughts shamelessly into my head.

The guard is not impressed, “I let Commander Fraya in, you just tagged along. I recommend you leave before I call for the legion. I wouldn’t want to be the one responsible for scarring the hero of the Federation.”

Estellda sticks her tongue out at the guard before turning away, pulling me along. “All high elf males are gay confirmed!”

“I heard that! ” The guard shouted at us.

“You were supposed to!” Estellda hollers back.

“That it? We’re just walking away?” I ask, disappointed and depressed.

“Of course not! But there’s no way we’re getting in as we are today. I’ll think of something. You should check out the library for now, see if you can find any clues or at the very least, catch up on the events that transpired from when you first fell asleep.” She leads me towards the center of the Arcane Symposium.

I suppose that’s all we can do for now. We don’t really have a real plan after all. “So you’re the hero of Valkyon? And apparently you know Commander Fraya?” I ask, baffled and disturbed by the thought.

“We all are and we all do"