[Quest completed: Cleared Zuverian Ruins]

{Skill points awarded: 5}

Scarlett squeezed out of a narrow slit ahead of her, exiting from inside the cave wall she had been in to the natural quarry where her party had originally started. It had turned dark now, with a quiet air hanging over the space and the nearby forest as the stars shone down on them from above. She looked around and brought out her enchanted glasses to see better. It seemed they were close to the top of the quarry.

They had just spent several hours clearing the Zuverian ruins until they ended up at the intended entrance to the place. A fact that had spared them the trouble of having to retread their path and swim back out. She was thankful for that much.

The other members of her group climbed out of the opening behind her, and soon, they were all gathered outside. Adalicia was the last to exit, and Scarlett studied her for a moment.

It didn’t seem like the wizard was quite as used to all this exploring and moving around as the rest of them. Traversing the dungeon—as well as the trek there—had taken its toll on her. It probably hadn’t helped that Adalicia had moved back and forth all the time, inspecting almost every part of the ruins and taking extensive notes for later perusal.

That wasn’t to say the rest of them had been idle. In addition to dealing with all the enemies and traps that were present, they’d been gathering as many things as they could. At the rate Scarlett’s party was gaining experience with this kind of thing, they could probably be considered professional tomb raiders by now.

Like in Abelard’s Doll Mansion, they had eventually reached the limit of the [Bag of Juham]’s and the [Pouch of Holding]’s storage capacity, but fortunately, that was only towards the end. The only things they didn’t bring with them were minor baubles that Adalicia said weren’t too valuable and the items that were too large or literally nailed down, like the Tabernacle.

Whatever was left would be left to the mage towers. In this case, that probably only meant Elystead Tower, though Scarlett would be selling some of her own loot to the other towers as well. But for now, they were done here. There wasn’t much else to see in this area, and it was late, so next, they would be returning to the city.

Later that night, Scarlett was sitting in a small private lounge inside the inn they were staying at in Faybarrow. Her hands held a thin pile of documents given to her by Evelyne. She’d delayed reading through them up till now. It wasn’t anything too important—just another report on current business dealings and other fief affairs Scarlett wasn’t too familiar with—but it was something to while away her time with, at least.

Recently, she had gotten into the habit of going to sleep a lot later than usual. She wasn’t entirely sure why. Perhaps it was related to how busy she’d been lately, or maybe she accidentally reversed her sleep-wake cycle at some point without noticing it. Stress could also be a reason, though she didn’t feel stressed. Simply…bogged down, at times.

The reason wasn’t too important. She honestly didn’t mind it too much. There was a relaxing quality to staying up late and working, even if you weren’t doing anything special. It just made her feel more productive, and that relaxed her somehow.

Although she really shouldn’t stay up too long tonight. They had two more days scheduled here in Faybarrow, both of which she was free to do whatever she wanted. She was planning on having them wake up early so that they could go out and try to find a couple more dungeons if possible. She wasn’t too familiar with this area, nor could she think of any items she needed from around here—most dungeons here didn’t go past the level 40 range—but it never hurt to collect extra loot and skill points when she could.

She suspected that Adalicia might want to stay here in Faybarrow and go over what she had found in the Zuverian ruins. The woman wasn’t technically part of Scarlett’s party like the others were, so there was no point in forcing her to join them on excursions that weren’t part of their agreement. They didn’t really need her help anyway.

Scarlett continued reading through the documents for a while longer, enjoying a cup of tea that she kept warm with her pyrokinesis. It had probably passed midnight by the time she heard the sound of footsteps on wood from the hall connecting to the lounge. Looking up, she spotted Rosa’s distinct brown curls peek around the corner into the room as the woman soon met her eyes.

“Miss Hale,” she said, studying the bard’s rundown appearance. Rosa was wearing a light grey shirt with a ruffled pair of pants that looked like they might have been thrown on with little thought. “I thought you would be in bed by now.”

The woman had used a lot of her magic today, mostly to provide the rest of them with energy as they trekked back from the ruins. It was only to be expected that she would be tired. The only reason Scarlett managed through it all was because of that very same magic and the stamina boost she got from the [Mark of the Staunch].

Rosa showed a weak smile as she stepped into the lounge. “I was. Didn’t go too well, though, so I thought I’d wander around a bit and clear my mind.”

“Truly? This is not the first mention I have heard of this. Marlon reported that you do the same in the mansion at times,” Scarlett said.

The bard’s smile turned into an awkward grin as she scratched the back of her head. “Didn’t think anyone had noticed that. It’s an old habit of mine. I get antsy easily when I stay in one place for too long.”

“Are you not satisfied with your current circumstances? With working for me?”

“Oh, I’m about as satisfied as I can get. You couldn’t force me to give this gig up even if you dragged me away screaming and fighting. Old habits just die hard and all that, you know?”

Scarlett observed the woman for a few seconds. She doubted that was all there was to it, but as usual, Rosa was very tightlipped with her troubles. And with the deal Scarlett had made with the being possessing the woman, it was risky for her to pry too deep.

“…Do you wish to take a seat?” She gestured at a round table that was next to her, which had three empty chairs beside it.

Scarlett could have sworn she spotted a look of relief pass over Rosa’s face, though it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“Don’t mind if I do,” the bard said as she casually walked over to sit down on the chair opposite her.

Scarlett eyed her for a second before returning her attention to the documents in her hands. Both of them were silent.

A scene like this wasn’t too uncommon between the two of them nowadays, with Rosa often visiting her office and lazing around as Scarlett worked. This time, though, it felt slightly more awkward than normal, and she found her gaze traveling back to the quiet bard repeatedly. Maybe it was because they weren’t in the mansion that she had a hard time concentrating like this. Shutting the woman’s antics out was otherwise a habit she had practically ingrained in her spirit.

Eventually, she placed her papers down on the table and turned to Rosa.

The woman looked up at her with a somewhat perplexed expression.

“…I had been meaning to ask,” Scarlett began. “The items that I gave you. Did you find them useful?”

Rosa blinked, clearly not having expected Scarlett to initiate a conversation. After a moment, she nodded. “Sure did. Feels strange strolling around with stuff that’s probably worth more than what I could have earned over a decade of tavern-hopping, though.”

Besides the [Prayer of Devotion (Epic)] that Scarlett had given Rosa a while back, the woman had also been given the [Death’s Shadow (Epic)] from Abelard’s Doll Mansion as well as an [Earring of the Split Mind (Epic)] that they had looted from one of the other dungeons near Autumnwell.

The first of the two gave immunity to a certain amount of dark damage—which Scarlett hoped could prove useful to Rosa in the future—and the other was a red jade earring that made it easier to concentrate on several things at the same time. Scarlett had considered keeping it, but with all the other items she had taken for herself lately, she eventually decided Rosa could make better use of it. Thanks to that, the bard could now maintain up to four different buffs and effects at the same time for short periods. That alone was incredibly helpful to the rest of the party.

“I understand your sentiment,” Scarlett said. “It was the same for me. But you will grow accustomed to it, eventually.”

Rosa gave her a dubious look. “Lady ‘I-wear-a-different-thousand-solar-dress-every-day’ feels uncomfortable parading her expensive jewellery? To think, even nobles share the woes of us common folk.”

Scarlett frowned. It wasn’t her fault she had so many dresses. What was she supposed to do? Jewellery, she could sell. But dresses? It wasn’t like there were any second-hand shops for aristocratic clothing in this world.

…Or maybe there were?

Well, whatever. They weren’t desperate for money anymore, so it wasn’t as if she was going to get rid of the dresses now. She might even buy new ones if she felt like it. Maybe.

Probably not.

Although, she should get one for the Tyndall Ball next month, shouldn’t she? That was the sort of thing where you’d be looked down upon if you wore something old and people learned of it, right? She would have to double-check with Evelyne.

And she also had to send another letter to Beldon Tyndall. He had replied to her request of getting an invitation to the ball, saying that arranging that could prove slightly difficult even for him. He would consider it though, since he ‘really wanted to meet her again’.

Knowing how that man worked, she’d interpreted that as him saying she would have to give him something he wanted if she needed an invitation. She had been considering what piece of information she should share that both wasn’t too important but still something that Mirage wanted. There were a couple of minor tidbits of quest-related info that might fit the bill, but she would look into it further when she got back to Freybrook.

“…Hey, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask,” Rosa suddenly spoke in a low tone.

Scarlett returned her attention to the woman, who looked uncharacteristically solemn, when another set of footsteps sounded out from the hallway outside.

Rosa paused, looking towards the lounge’s entrance.

“It appears as if you are not the only one with an interest in late-night walks,” Scarlett said.

They’d reserved this entire section of the inn for themselves, so the only ones that would be moving around here would be members of their group.

“Darnation.” Rosa pouted, any previous hint of seriousness gone. “And here I thought I was unique.”

Scarlett simply shook her head at the bard’s act. The moment after, Adalicia appeared in the room’s opening.

“I thought I heard voices,” the wizard said, observing the two of them. “So it was you. Baroness, Miss Hale. I hope the night greets you well?”

“As well as one might expect,” Scarlett replied, giving a nod in greeting.

Rosa leaned back in her chair. “Same, but opposite.”

Adalicia offered a small—and perhaps slightly befuddled—smile in return. She was dressed in long white dress-like robes that reached the floor and had her long hair hanging freely behind her. Standing there, with that gentle expression on her face, Scarlett felt that the woman exuded a very motherly nature. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Even if you were, I would not mind,” Scarlett said. “While Miss Hale can offer surprisingly profound snippets of wisdom at times, most of what leaves her mouth is best left ignored, lest you find yourself tearing out your own hair in exasperation.”

A theatrical gasp left Rosa as she raised a hand to her mouth. “To think you consider me wise. I have never felt so complimented in my life.”

Scarlett gestured to the bard. “Like so.”

Adalicia gave the both of them an amused look. “You two certainly have a unique relationship.”

“I believe ‘unique’ is one way of describing it, yes.”

“‘Astounding’ is another,” Rosa said. “As is ‘enviable’, ‘eye-popping’, and ‘passionate’.”

“Of which ‘astounding’ I believe is the only one which holds a sliver of truth to it,” Scarlett added.

Adalicia chuckled. “I rather do think I’m interrupting something.”

Scarlett let out a small sigh. “Forgive me. You are not. Was there something you wanted? As with Miss Hale, I would have expected you to be asleep at this time.”

“Oh, no. I don’t think I’m getting any sleep done tonight.” The wizard shook her head gently. “I’ve been poring over the notes I have from the ruins since we got back, trying to decipher and compare what we found with what I have on record. I want to at least determine what the purpose of these particular ruins was before I return to Elystead. If my suspicions are right, I won’t have much time to do it there.”

Scarlett arched a curious brow. “And why is that, if I might ask?”

Adalicia showed a slightly tired smile. “I won’t bother you with too many of the details, but we recently finally received word that the Dean will be returning after Ittar-knows how long of being unreachable. Knowing how these things have gone in the past, I will have my hands full with that for at least a few weeks.”

The woman’s tone was that of someone annoyed at an itinerant uncle for forgetting to show up at the last family gathering.

“I’m not sure if you are aware,” she continued, “but the Elystead Tower has also been working together with the Ustrum Assembly, the Shields Guild, and several of the knight orders to deal with what’s happening with the Tribe of Sin lately. Matters like those aren’t technically part of my responsibility as an official of the Tower, but it does help in making things more busy in general.”

“It is unfortunate that it is causing you more stress.”

“It is what it is.” Adalicia pointed to one of the empty chairs between Scarlett and Rosa. “I had been meaning to take a short break. May I take a seat?”

Scarlett glanced at Rosa. The bard had clearly been meaning to bring something up before Adalicia got here…

Rosa just smiled. “You won’t find me protesting.”

Eyeing her for a moment longer, Scarlett eventually signaled for Adalicia to sit. “Feel free.”

The woman walked over and sat down. “Today has been quite hectic, hasn’t it? It’s not often I have the opportunity to leave the tower and move about like this, but all of you seem rather comfortable with it. It’s at times like these I realize I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have pegged you past your twentieth summer,” Rosa said in a sugary voice.

Adalicia let out a small laugh. “There’s no need for flattery. I don’t have any grey hairs yet, but it’s been a few years since I was doing my apprenticeship. You two would do well to heed my warning and take care of yourselves now, while you still can. I used to think the obstinate old men at the tower exaggerated with their grumblings about their ‘elderly woes’, but you’ll be surprised at how early your body starts to complain after one too many nights spent leaning across a desk straining your eyes at dusty old texts.”

“Is that so?” An amused tone found its way into Rosa’s voice and she turned to look at Scarlett.

Scarlett met her look. “Is there something you wish to say, Miss Hale?”

“Nope, nope.” The woman turned away. “Just reminded me of someone I used to know. Old Baronetess Sharlet Dartford. You’d find her huddled inside her poky little office six days out of five, doing who-knows-what with what-knows-who until her pupils fell out. But you’re nothing like her. Nuh-uh.”

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t ‘huddled’ inside her office all the time. In fact, she actively avoided it when she could. Didn’t she? She hated paperwork and things like that just as much as other people. Probably more. The only reason she still did some of it was that she knew there was a lot she wasn’t doing.

“Yes, well, perhaps you should ask this ‘Baronetess Dartford’ if she would not be willing to employ your services instead,” she said. “I am sure that she will be enthusiastic about the opportunity to procure such a competent, not to mention soon-to-be-unwaged, personage for her services.”

Rosa fluttered her eyebrows at her. “Have I ever said how lucky I am to have such a charming, magnificent employer? With red hair that flows like a river of molten gold, framing a face that could launch a thousand ships and a gaze as piercing as the sun, I dare say your voice could command the very stars in the sky. If there ever was a vision of power and beauty, of a queen among mortals, then I am sure it must be my dear employer.”

Scarlett stared at her, holding back the long sigh that wanted to escape. “…That is quite enough adulation, thank you. You can ignore my previous words.”

“Are you sure?” The grin on the bard’s face was far too large. “I’ve got a whole notebook filled out with these, if you want to hear more. Of course, even serenades pale in comparison to reality.”

Scarlett opened her mouth, then paused, squinting at the woman. “Is that true?”

Rosa shrugged. “I was bored one afternoon.”

“…I am sure your reason for this was entirely due to pure admiration, and not some debased predilection for causing me discomfort, yes?”

The woman nodded. “Surely.”

Scarlett brought a hand to her forehead as she closed her eyes. “Were it not so late, I would have had half a mind to command you to fetch it only so that I could ensure its incineration right here and now.”

Rosa’s eyes widened. “You would burn the work I poured so much passion and effort into?”

“Without hesitation.”

The woman grinned once again. “As cold as ever.”

Scarlett didn’t bother replying to that, and the conversation entered into a brief lull as silence fell over the three of them. Feeling no inclination to speak up herself, Scarlett simply leaned back in her seat, letting her thoughts drift off to where they would go tomorrow. Adalicia and Rosa similarly seemed to occupy themselves with thoughts of their own. This time, it wasn’t an awkward silence, and they sat like that for a while.

Eventually, Adalicia turned to look at Rosa. “Miss Hale. There was something that caught my interest earlier today, and I had been intending to ask you about it. Feel free to not answer if it isn’t something you wish to share.”

Rosa looked back at the woman with a laid-back smile. “Shoot.”

“It was related to the style of magic that you practice. It is a variety of bardic charms, isn’t it? I have read of them before, but this is the first time I have ever encountered someone making use of them. I’ve heard it is a very difficult magic to grasp.”

Scarlett’s ears perked up. The matter of Rosa’s magic was something she was curious about as well. She hadn’t even heard the term bardic charms before, so this was news to her.

Rosa touched a hand to her chin. “I don’t know about it being difficult, but it can certainly be a bit tricky to get a hang of at first. If I’d brought my klert with me, I could have showed you right now, but it’s back in my room.”

“That is quite alright.” Adalicia held up a hand. “I know myself well enough to know it would be a poor idea to delve into another fascinating subject matter when I’m already in the middle of this one. Perhaps if we are given another chance in the future, I would appreciate it.”

“I’ve never said no to someone wanting to hear my music,” Rosa said. “Whenever you have the time, just say the word. Unless we’re in the middle of being eaten by a giant gator or something like that. There aren’t many music-aficionados among that kind of monster, I’ve learned. She can attest to that much.” The bard gestured to Scarlett, who let out a scoff.

“Do not remind me.”

That had been a relatively low-level dungeon near the Freybrook area, so things had turned out alright, but it had definitely been a lot messier than it had to. Scarlett was still half-convinced Rosa had done that for a laugh, but the woman rarely messed around too much during their excursions, so it could have been a genuine mistake. Whatever it was, it hadn’t stopped her from giving the bard a verbal thrashing at the time.

“No, I can imagine.” Adalicia let out a small laugh. “If I may ask, how did you first learn your magic?”

“Well, I’d like to say I just had the gift for it,” Rosa said. “Picked up an instrument one day and — wham!” She clapped her hands. “Suddenly you’ve got flowers flying around your head and people regrowing teeth to your right and left as they dance the Changle, with Ittar and his buds looking on from above.”

“But I suppose that wasn’t how it went?” Adalicia asked.

“No, unfortunately the gods must have been out the day I picked up my first instrument. Instead, I had to make do with an unimpressed raggle of cats and a tone-deaf old josser who thought I was his grandniece for the day. I think he might have actually been deaf as well.”

“Then did someone teach you?”

“Not all of it, no.” Rosa shook her head. “I met an old lady who taught me a trick or two at first, but that’s about it. The rest I had to figure out by myself.”

The wizard grew a thoughtful expression. “Do you know if this lady was a mage of some kind? Or from the Luicean Isles?”

“I know about as much about her as about that old josser I mentioned, and that was the last day I saw him.”

“So you weren’t her disciple, then?”

Rosa snorted. “I’m sure she was hoping that, at first. Changed her mind real quick, though.”

“Why is that?”

The bard went silent, as if she just realized she’d shared more than she had intended. Her eyes went to Scarlett for a moment before returning to Adalicia. “Can’t really say. People have the tendency to not stay in my life for long. She was just another example of that.”

Scarlett studied the woman as she spoke, and Adalicia knitted her brows.

“That sounds like a difficult way to live,” the wizard said.

Rosa simply shrugged her shoulders. “Like you said earlier, it is what it is. When you make your coin minstrelling away like me, it’s only natural that you travel around a lot, so it doesn’t matter much.”

“And that is the sole reason behind your travels?” Scarlett found herself asking.

Rosa paused, turning to her. Their eyes met. After a couple of seconds, she smiled. “What other reason would there be?”

“…Indeed. What reason would there be?”

They looked at each other for a while longer, and eventually Scarlett was the one to look away. There were a lot of things she wanted to ask Rosa, but she wasn’t sure when she could. Or should.

Soon enough, Rosa steered the discussion onto another subject, and the night continued as the three of them conversed in the inn’s lounge.