“You know, I thought an Adventuring Guild in a magical world would be more like a bulletin board system where people just grab whatever job they wanted to try and then get paid when they return with the monster’s head or something,” Phoenix began describing as she and her two newest companions sat in a small conference room simir to the one she and Uriel had first filled out forms in after they met. A folder with a small stack of papers sat in the middle of their table as Dazien handled initial perusal and distribution between them.

  “Why do I get sent to the world with all the forms and paperwork involved?” she compined, signing yet another piece of bleached white paper and wondering where they even got the materials for this glossy type.

  Dazien chuckled and said, “They say it’s to maintain the organization’s records of accomplishments to better negotiate deals with the cities they are stationed in, but really, it’s to help keep stupid kids like us from trying to bite off more than we can chew.”

  “Wait, an organization that actually cares about its employees?” she asked in mock surprise, “Where I’m from, those were few and far between.”

  “Nobody likes having to deal with grieving families ciming negligence or foul py on their part,” the warrior said solemnly, then looked at her curiously and pointed out, “And I thought you were too sick to get a job before?”

  “Yeah, but people loved sharing their horror stories online,” she said with a shrug, and added, “I read about a company who was so brutal about increasing productivity that the employees couldn’t even go to the toilet if they wanted to meet their quotas.”

  The would-be king looked thoughtful for a moment before crifying, “‘Online’ was that pce everyone could see at the same time through their own personal Knowledge Tablet, right?”

  Phoenix nodded as she signed another form. Then, she snapped her head up to stare at the gemite, “Wait, what’s a Knowledge Tablet?”

  “You’ve seen them before,” Dazien said as he handed a form over to Uriel and added to the silent man, “This one needs you to put down your temporary position and sign next to it, then give it to Phoenix to add hers under yours.”

  The cinderen nodded, and Dazien turned back to her to continue his previous expnation, “Aln Trayvious had one to read the AOA information about all of us and take notes when we took our trials.”

  She recalled the runeforged man with intricate braids weaved into a crosshatch pattern close to his scalp and vaguely remembered the glowing stone tablet he had carried around for much of their excursion, “What exactly does it do?”

  “Just that. It stores written information in a convenient fashion that can be navigated through runes on the edge and touching motions. They are insanely cost prohibitive though,” he added, trying to tone down the excitement visibly growing on her face, “I’m sure the one Mister Trayvious had was loaned by the AOA and likely only one of a handful in the city. I only know of noble Houses and a couple of high-end merchants having them.”

  Phoenix frowned in disappointment, “Why are they so expensive? Is it hard to make or something?”

  “Very,” he emphasized, “Aside from the skill requirement, which usually needs some kind of crafting-specific passive ability, the materials are also hard to acquire as that particur stone has only been found in a small region far from here.”

  “Can’t they just use a different type of stone?” she asked in confusion, taking the proffered form that Uriel had finished with, “The artifice I know seems pretty flexible on material requirements.”

  Dazien sighed as if this much talking and expining things was taxing even his normal limits of conversation, which in her limited experience was quite high as the man seemed to know and talk with everyone they came across, “You said you learned artifice crafting from a Knowledge Tome, right?”

  When she nodded, he continued, “That was likely composed of the simplest recipes and examples while giving you the more important foundational understanding of how to create a magic item. This is great for someone who isn’t a dedicated Crafter Caster, which you would need to be in order to create something as sophisticated as a Knowledge Tablet or be a century or two old with a lifetime of experience.

  “The more general artifice magic is meant for Mundanes to make simpler everyday items like glowstones or self-cleaning rugs. Maybe even get a bit braver with it and make a fancy friendship bracelet that vibrates when the other person touches theirs to let them know they want to meet up or something.”

  “Why do you need to be brave to make something like that?” she asked, instantly thinking of making some herself as the pieces to the recipe floated around her mind.

  He paused and looked at her seriously, “Because if you get crafting things wrong, they have a tendency to explode. Especially the further into the process you get.”

  Phoenix met his gaze, recognizing the warning. Then, after a moment of thinking about it, she shrugged and said, “Meh, I can heal myself,” and signed her name on the form in front of her.

  Uriel chuckled, and Dazien shot him a look before trying to redirect the conversation, “Let’s just finish getting these forms done and go see what missions are avaible for us in the city. We can also check if they have our assignment for the blood moon after getting these forms into their system.”

  “System? Like a computer network?” she asked in even more confusion.

  “More like a system of administrative functionaries that try to organize everyone as efficiently as possible,” he said and asked, “‘Computer’ is the name of those boxes that can see the ‘Online’ pce, right?”

  “Right,” she confirmed quickly, waving off the question to ask her own, “So they just have people pnning everything and mapping assignments out on, like, paper or wall boards?”

  He paused, then added, “Well, they do have a Bel.”

  “A bell? How does ringing a bell help at all?”

  “Not that kind of bell,” Dazien replied with a shake of his head and spelled out the word for her, “B.E.L. She’s one of the golems made for the city of Tulimeir by the founder of House Teras. They have insanely good memory and organizational skills and even some crafting abilities simir to a Caster.

  “You’ve actually met one of them already,” the gemite added, “The merchant I took you to before was a Bel that simply deals with acquisitions, mostly helping businesses determine efficient supply trades with one another.”

  “I thought she was a cinderen,” Phoenix said in confusion, trying to picture the woman she had only met briefly to offload her loot.

  “I would assume that was the goal when the Lady Teras of the time designed them, hoping they wouldn’t be off-putting to the people they assist,” Dazien postuted with a shrug, then tapped the form in front of her and said, “Let’s focus on signing these so we can get out of here.”

  “What is this one even for?” she asked, holding up the one she had already finished signing that listed all of their roles.

  “It’s to decre our temporary party to accept missions with the concept being that we’re looking to add additional members or trying out a new team composition and will be following it up ter with an official party decration form,” he replied automatically, then stopped suddenly and stared up at her with wide eyes before asking incredulously, “Wait, you signed that without even reading what it was?”

  Phoenix slowly looked between him and the form with matching wide eyes. She couldn’t understand what his behavior was about, so she asked, “Is it required for us to get missions or payment?”

  “Yes, but–”

  “Then it doesn’t matter if I read it, only that I signed it,” she pointed out, “Otherwise, none of these other forms matter, right?”

  Dazien clenched his teeth as he replied, “Yes, but–”

  “Plus, you read them. Which means there’s probably nothing malicious or anything, right? Unless you’re suggesting that I can’t trust your intent with something as simple as a non-magical contract?” She paused and gave the form another wary gnce before crifying, “This isn’t magical, right?”

  Dazien groaned and dropped his head into his hands as though hit with a sudden migraine, and Uriel chuckled in quiet amusement.

  Phoenix walked alongside Uriel as they followed Dazien through the southern International District of Tulimeir and into one of the taller skyscrapers near the south tip of the walls. The cinderen gave a shake of his head as a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth, and Phoenix questioned in a whisper to him, “Where is he taking us?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Dazien replied over his shoulder and walked to the double doors. As they passed over the runes engraved on the floor, Phoenix could hear the hiss of steam that she had become increasingly familiar with. The sound was a ubiquitous presence in the city, and the doors opened automatically to let them pass.

  “We’re pretty far south,” she noted with a bit of worry as the warrior led them to a gss lift much like the one at the AOA building that seemed to be the standard form of vertical travel here, “I have to get up early for my portal duties. I don’t really want to be out too te, so can we get the food to go?”

  “We won’t be that te,” the gemite assured, touching the rune for the destination floor, and more steam hissed quietly, “I still have some rides left on my Quickpass. You can take the Greenline home.”

  “Greenline?” she asked in confusion as the lift carried them upwards.

  Dazien raised a brow at her and asked, “Has nobody told you about the Quicksteam? Have you just been walking all over the city?”

  “Um, yes? They told me I’m not allowed to just portal around the city unless it’s to specific designated areas.”

  He rubbed at his temples and muttered, “Some mentor,” before expining to her, “The Quicksteam is a mass transport system to get around the city quickly. It has different colored routes that people will refer to as ‘lines,’ Greenline, Silverline, Redline, etcetera,” he paused and seemed to change his mind as he said, “You know what? Why don’t we just show you ter when we take you home? We can get you your own pass and everything.”

  Phoenix smiled and nodded, “I would like that, thanks.” She had never been able to ride in a subway or on a train, and this sounded very simir to that concept.

  “To be clear, though, when they said only portal to designated areas, that should include your private dwelling. So you can just portal home tonight if it gets te. Portals are so rare that I forget that’s an option for you. The city rules, however, just don’t want portalists popping into the street and messing up traffic or into a business and scaring the patrons.”

  “Ah, that’s a relief. While it’s been nice to walk around and see all the new things, sometimes I just want to get home and sleep,” she replied with a chuckle.

  “For now, it’s time for Daze’s favorite restaurant,” Uriel said as he tilted his head towards the gss door, and the lift slowed as it prepared to stop.

  Phoenix was distracted then by the sight of a cozy rooftop restaurant that overlooked the city below and could even see the tundra beyond the walls nearby. Tables of various sizes but mostly on the smaller end were spread around with dark satin-like cloth covering them, and candles in a variety of colors provided a dim light that was supplemented by the stars shining above as the night was beginning. Visku was already shining, and its constant blue light added to the magical atmosphere of the area.

  “Ah, Mister Smithson! It is good to see you again. It’s been some time since your st visit. I assume your trials went smoothly?” the host asked as he stood at a small podium near the lift when their group walked off the metal ptform. He was a human man with a lighter tan complexion, which Paul and most of the other humans she had seen so far, and warm brown hair swept back neatly.

  “Of course, Mister Pratamo,” Dazien answered smoothly, seeming to turn up his charm factor. She had started to recognize that he had a habit of doing it when talking with others who didn’t include her and Uriel.

  “In fact, we just finished our temporary team signup and got our assignments earlier today, which we’ve come to celebrate, and this,” the amethyst warrior said as he gestured towards her, “Is my newest party member, Phoenix Fraser. Phoenix, I’d like you to meet Hugo Pratamo. He’s the owner of this fine establishment, Beldonna.”

  “A pleasure to meet any friend of Mister Smithson,” the host said with a slight bow, hand over his heart, as she had seen others do in greeting. Then he asked, “Are you new to the city?”

  She nodded as she mimicked the small bow in return and gnced towards Dazien, who must have seen the slight panic in her eyes as he answered for her, “She only arrived a couple of months ago, but she impressed me so much during the trials that I just had to get her to join my party as its Supporter.”

  The owner raised his brow in surprise as he said, “High praise indeed,” then turned to smile at her and say, “Well, let me show you to a table. I’m sure Mister Smithson and Mister Karislian can guide you in your menu selections, but we just received a fresh batch of Silverfin Sashin this morning, which I highly recommend.”

  He led them to a table near the eastern edge of the building, and Phoenix felt her anxiety rise as the gazes of the people already eating and chatting gnced in her direction. When they all sat, Dazien took it upon himself to expin all of the different food options to her as she had trouble recognizing any of them.

  “Silverfin Sashin is a rich, fatty type of fish from the warmer waters to the southeast,” the gemite expined after having ordered some manarin wine, “I’ve never tried it before, but I’ve heard salivating stories about it.”

  “Huh,” she responded absently, trying hard to ignore any stares from the other patrons by gncing over the slick paper, “What’s a Sansprab?”

  “A type of aval common to the Epa Toivo Desert region,” Uriel replied promptly, “They have three legs on opposite sides of their rounded body with a hard shell covered in wispy fur.”

  “So they’re furry crabs?” she asked, trying to smooth down her curls that she thought might be behaving a bit more wild than normal and causing more attention towards her.

  “What they are is delicious,” responded Dazien with a grin, “I might have that myself, though the Sashin is a rarer opportunity.”

  He paused, watching her carefully as she tried fixing her green dress to be a bit more presentable, having not expected the fancier setting where people would be observing her. When he didn’t continue and a frown formed on his smooth features, she asked, “What? Does it really seem that bad?”

  He quirked a brow and inquired, “What do you think seems bad?”

  “My outfit… and hair… and well, everything,” she expined, gesturing to herself as though it was obvious.

  Uriel joined Dazien with a deepening frown, and the Defender replied, “Phoenix, you look perfect,” then he flushed slightly and added, “Perfectly acceptable for the setting.” He gnced around at the other guests and pointed out, “Besides, nobody is looking.”

  “They keep gncing at me,” she said softly, ashamed to have to point it out to the men who had treated her like she wasn’t any different from them, “Everywhere I go in this city, people stare. I’m different. I don’t look like them and stand out for it.”

  Dazien’s smile softened as he asked, “Is that such a bad thing? Standing out, I mean.”

  When she looked up to meet his amethyst eyes, he gestured with a hand towards his own dark purple locks with his matching crystalline nails on dispy as well. She swallowed, remembering that he was like her in how different they were from others. However, he had never seemed bothered by any of the attention, and people didn’t seem to be staring at him all the time like she felt they were doing to her.

  “I don’t want to sound dismissive,” the gemite continued gently, “But perhaps they’re not as concerned with your presence as you believe them to be,” then nodded towards the rest of the room, “Just look for yourself.”

  She actually chanced looking around and found that he was correct; nobody was looking near their table at all. They were ughing and talking, eating delicious food, and drinking intoxicating liquids in a variety of pyful colors. Nobody cared about the small group of outsiders at the edge of the roof that they likely assumed were enjoying their own dinner.

  Phoenix gave a soft smile and felt herself rex as she whispered, “Thanks, Daze.”

  Her temporary party leader smiled brightly and gestured back to the menu, “You don’t ever need to thank me for stating the truth. Let’s just focus on what to eat and get–”

  His words cut off as they all felt a wave of mana ripple through the air, and everyone turned to look towards the southeast, where the sensation had seemed to come from. There were audible gasps and people standing up to better gaze in the distance where the other moon was rising.

  Phoenix found herself standing as well to watch Krafti slowly show its deep crimson light, washing the nd in the color of spilled blood that even Visku’s blue couldn’t seem to override or even tint into a purple. Everything was turning red, and even she could recognize what was happening as she said in barely more than a whisper, “A red moon rises, blood will be spilled this night…”

  “While you’re not wrong,” Dazien replied with his own breathless awe at the signal in the sky marking the start of the blood moon, “Let us hope none of it belongs to the people we’re meant to protect.”