7:13 am, local time, only three days after Uthica left a letter beneath a certain old temple. (January 11, 1329)

The scent of Frostblossom tea filled the tent as Uthica looked over her latest designs, hoping to find inspiration buried within. But no matter how she shifted them, there was no solution. No way to deal with a weapon that can ignore Copper-rank defenses.

She let out a sigh as she received her tea from her lieutenant. An eager young warrior who shared her soul-sister’s name. Lexica was smiling as Uthica took her tea. Uthica kept her nod professional as she stepped to the entrance of her tent. Taking a slow sip, she looked over the small camp that had sprung up over the last few days.

Thankfully, the Aetherium was stable and there were no emergencies, cause she hadn’t been planning to stake a camp in the depths of the western continent.

There hadn’t been any warning before Smoulder stopped wanting to travel, suddenly claiming a hill, and refusing to move far beyond it. It had forced the expedition to a halt, but they’d adapted. Uthica had refused to abandon her friend. And no one was surprised she’d stopped when they’d seen what laid beneath the hill. Even now, she found it amusing that the closest thing she had to a real pet was her soul-sister’s bonded. As she took another sip, she spotted her father below, making his way across the field from the hill where Smoulder still sat.

As she savored the flavor of her tea, Uthica frowned. She missed the teas her father normally brought with them, but those had been destroyed by a rampaging herd of thubbles. The herbivores wouldn’t have been much of a threat to them, but her father had been sorting his teas and left them in camp while they were scouting the river further west. He had more of course, but they wouldn’t do much good a continent away. It was annoying that the System wouldn’t allow teleportation across oceans.

“Daughter,” Pern said, nodding his head in her direction as he drew close. Even now, it spurred shared pride when Uthica noted the others in their camp offering him deference. She suspected she’d never stop feeling that satisfaction.

“Father, how was your visit with the statues? Have they told you their secret purpose yet?” Uthica asked, smirking at him while nodding at the hill.

“There are more of them. Again,” he said, shaking his head. “At this rate, the hill’s going to be replaced by little stone statues.”

“Any word from your architects? Have they found a site for your Academy?” Uthica asked, turning away from the hill and the subject as she took a sip of her tea.

“They have. There are a few candidates, but I’m leaning towards the isle of Stubborn Ash. It has the stability and meets the Mana-requirements, but more importantly, it’s isolated and beautiful,” Pern replied, halting next to her and glancing at her cup.

“There’s more inside. Are you certain you want to put your Academy on an island with an active volcano?” Uthica asked, her eyes looking east as though she could spot the distant isle.

“Bah, you know it’ll be as stable as anywhere else on Akilo with proper enchantments. Is this the Frostblossom?” Pern asked as he poured himself a cup.

“Hmm.” Uthica confirmed with a nod.

“Ah. Much better than the sea swallow.”

“Hmm. It should be. Took a week to dry it properly,” Uthica replied as her eyes moved back towards the west. And her current problem. It was almost a blessing that she only had one.

“Quest: The Way Above. Find Nexus point 704, located within the shadow of Wyrda’s rift. Rewards: Ten Copper-Rank Integration Points. Unlocks Quest, The Silver Ascendant.“

Unless she was mistaken, this would allow her to break through into the Silver tier.

A bump against her ankle made Uthica look down. Smoulder was sprinting down the hill, a familiar package hanging from her mouth.

“Is that…” Uthica started, squinting as her vision focused on the bag. It was. “That’s the last of the Frostblossom.”

“What?” Pern said, looking up from his own cup of the tea before seeing where Smoulder was charging off towards the hill. “Vaus take her, she knows how hard that was to dry properly.”

“It seems she wants us to investigate the hill again,” Uthica said, chuckling as she took another sip of her tea while her father chased after the mana-hare.

She handed the cup to the nearby lieutenant before turning to follow herself. It was time to see what new mischief Smoulder was up to.