”That’s… something.” Anastacia uttered, struggling to find the words she needed.

  “Mmhm…” Gilbert agreed as the grand coach bearing guild insignia came to a halt in front of them.

  Drawn by six massive creatures closely resembling long-haired oxen, but somehow even sturdier and clearly more acclimated to the wintery weather, the guild supplied vehicle was a sight to behold. Anything it’s strictly utilitarian looks cost in terms of style were more than made up by its sheer size. Two warmly-clothed guild guards sat atop a raised bench in front of the coach, controlling the hulking animals tasked with pulling the entire thing and defying the cold with cloaks, scarves, blankets and no doubt some magical means. What seemed to be enough supplies for a brief military campaign were strapped on the coach’s roof, most of which were nothing out of the ordinary in anything but the amount. A dim but warm light shone through the five windows that were just high enough for the necromancer to not see anything besides the ceiling inside.

  Gilbert grabbed onto the matted fur of one of the animals and ruffled it with the touch of someone very familiar with these specific beasts. To someone who knew him well, some amount of glee sparked on the gruff adventurer’s face as the animal leaned slightly against him and let out a pleased grunt.

  “It has a chimney.” Anastacia stated the obvious in confusion and pointed at the metal pipe poking out of the side of the cabin, from which a healthy column of smoke and vapor rose.

  “Aye, there’s a small stove inside. Nothing grand, but enough to keep the insides and our seats warm.” One of the guards explained and traced the path the chimney took with his finger. Apparently, it ran below the bench they were seated on before coming out of the side. “Have you got anything you want us to toss onto the roof? This thing may look big, but it has its limits. Better not make it too cramped inside.”

  Though their bags were heavy and stretched to their limits, both of the adventurers had managed to pack everything they needed into a single rucksack for each of them, one carried by Gilbert and the other by King. They also had some smaller bits and pieces on their person, or in Anastacia’s case, mostly on the simulacra, as well as a couple of wrapped parcels full of food forced on them by Rosie and Yulia – despite being told numerous times that Solaria and the guild would handle any rations they would need for the quest. Anastacia did also have some concerns about whether the mage considered coffee essential enough to bring some along, so she had sourced a large bag of freshly roasted beans, which now amounted to a considerable portion of her luggage. Gilbert had forced her to give up on bringing an equal weight of sugar as well, but she figured that some could be bought along the way somewhere.

  “Can they ride inside as well?” The necromancer asked and pointed at the two simulacra carrying everything she had brought.

  The guards leaned over to take a better look at the ancient machines of stone and metal and estimated their substantial heft. “Aye, reckon that would be fine for as long as the road is in good shape. We might need them to hop off if the going gets rough or we get stuck too often. There will be some changes for the trip back as well, but we can sort that out once we see what’s what. Go ahead and hop on though, these guys won’t be breaking any speed records out there, so we’d better get going.”

  “Thanks!” Anastacia responded cheerily and grabbed on to the door handle she could only barely reach. Immediately upon popping open the door into the cabin, a familiar and very welcome scent washed over her. She rushed up the few steps and dove into the comparable warmth inside.

  The plain design of the coach didn’t change one bit when it came to the cabin, it had two long benches along the sides for its entire length with a bunch of equipment stored under them, some purple curtains to block the windows, and the aforementioned stove, just large enough to boil something on. More importantly, there was a kettle on top of, from which Solaria had just poured hot water into some kind of a ceramic funnel that now drained a constant thin stream of beautifully reddish-brown liquid into a glass pitcher. The immense amount of focus the mage was pouring into the process was apparent, as he did not even notice the necromancer or the cold air rushing in through the open door. Every second, he tapped his finger on the table his setup was balanced on, with perfect cadence as if counting towards something. Upon noticing that coffee had indeed been brought along, Anastacia let out some kind of a primal grunt and pointed at the mage in excitement. It wasn’t until King stepped on the small ladder below the door and caused the whole coach to tilt noticeably that Solaria noticed them, though his finger kept tapping without a slightest interruption.

  With his free hand, the mage picked up a piece of chalk on the bench beside him and quickly wrote a greeting on his tablet.

  While Leggy and Gilbert climbed on and began to set down what they had brought with King, Anastacia sat down on the other side of the small table Solaria’s operation was stacked on. “Good morning! What are you doing?” She inquired and inspected the table more thoroughly. On top of the fairly shabby wooden table, clearly designed to be tossed under the benches when not in use, was a dark cloth with a dimly glowing sigil or a rune drawn onto it with chalk. Similarly, every separate piece of the apparatus had a smaller version of it drawn somewhere on it. “Are you… enchanting coffee?”

  The mage shook his head, considered writing down an answer but decided to instead demonstrate the purpose of the runes more directly by tipping the table to the side, far more than it should have taken to slide everything off the table. Interestingly, not one piece of it moved in the slightest, nor did the thin stream dipping from the funnel obey gravity and spill on the floor. The whole time he kept tapping the table with his finger, suggesting it had something to do with the spell cast on it.

  “Ohh… neat!” Anastacia nodded figuring that the whole thing was to prevent a bumpy ride from ruining the coffee.

  Gilbert and Solaria exchanged brief nods as the party settled into their seats, the simulacra besides the necromancer and Gilbert on the other side to hopefully balance the load a bit. Once the water had properly drained from the grounds, the mage took off the funnel and put it aside to bring fort a set of cups with the rune already drawn on them. He waited for a moment as the coach suddenly nudged forwards and began moving towards the north gate, and then picked up the pitcher and gestured towards the necromancer with it, clearly inquiring if she wanted some. After receiving a nod from her as well as Gilbert, he paused to look at the two machines beside Anastacia before shrugging and repeating the gesture to them. King declined for obvious reasons, but Leggy responded with a nod. Not questioning why a simulacrum would want coffee, Solaria poured some in four cups and sealed the pitcher with a tight lid, finally freeing him from the need to keep tapping. Once everyone who desired one was holding a hilariously dainty cup, which were the polar opposite of the wooden ones Rosie kept around because they had some hope of surviving the hands of her clientele, the mage let out a sigh and took a sip. What he thought of the drink wasn’t immediately obvious, but the fact that he had an opinion was apparent on his face.

  Gilbert downed most of his in one sip and once again nodded with a slight smile when he noticed the mage was trying to find out how he liked the taste. Anastacia pondered if it would be appropriate to ask for sugar and swirled the coffee in her cup while hesitating. It wasn’t that she didn’t like coffee black, but she simply liked it more with at least a hint of sweetness.

  “Can I get some sugar, please?” She finally fessed up.

  Solaria quickly picked up his chalk and wrote a lengthy message on the tablet. “You may have some, but I do urge you to try it without first. I selected a blend of beans mostly from the old families of Glass Marches with a hint of character from elsewhere. It’s one of the more approachable ones I know of, since I didn’t know your preferences. The man who roasts them is truly a magician I count as my peer as well, though he has never touched anything arcane in his life.”

  Anastacia did not know who the old families were, nor where Glass Marches were and her knowledge on roasting coffee was limited to the fact that it happened at some point, so she didn’t dare to question the suggestion from someone who was clearly on a wholly another level. She took a wary sip and was surprised by the very mellow taste the drink had even without sugar. Unlike the admittedly bitter coffee served in the inn, the taste reminded her of fruits and berries. She couldn’t help but to stare into the cup to make sure it was actually coffee and not some manner of strange juice.

  No further words or messages were exchanged as the three finished their drinks and Leggy simply held on to her cup, seemingly content over it. It wasn’t until they were well clear of the city walls when Solaria took out two stacks of papers from his bag and handed them to the adventurers. On top of both stacks, were a pair of identical letters addressing Gilbert and Anastacia.

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  Anastacia marveled at the intricate and elegant lettering for a moment before reading the entire thing out lout for the benefit of the two functionally illiterate simulacra. “Allow me to begin by sincerely thanking you, any and all, who have chosen to accompany me on this quest. Though I have chosen to go about this through the guild’s official channels, its meaning to me is far greater than a simple payday – and so, I have arranged for any compensation I might receive for my part in this to be divided amongst you, though I do not feel it to be nearly enough.

  I have prepared this letter to hasten our introductions and to explain some matters. As mentioned before, I am the guild archmagus of temporal and spatial magic, Solaria Azil-Idim – and would prefer if you called me Solaria. My official position on this quest is to work as a guild liaison to direct the guild’s resources where they help the most, but as you will soon find out, my motives lie elsewhere. In our prior meeting, I covered some basic requests I have regarding communication, that is, make sure that I am able to see you and use clear pronunciation, within your capabilities. As you may have reasoned, this is because I am unable to hear. Do not consider this a weakness or think it limits my efficacy – it is simply something you should be aware of as we work together. I am capable of some vocalization and will alert you should something benefit from your attention, but have never learned spoken language at a level that is useful. Should you have further questions, ask them freely, without the fear of offending me.

  Over the course of our journey, I would like to gain an understanding of your capabilities and talents for the sake of effective cooperation, and will share mine when the matter is brought up.

  Attached to this letter you will find the basic profiles the guild has provided for the missing adventurers, as well as everything we know of the matter at hand, the original quest notice and some basic information on the area we are headed for.

  Here and now,

  Solaria Azil-Idim”

  Quickly rereading the letter just for herself, Anastacia frowned. “Temporal and spatial magic? What’s that?”

  “The art of affecting time and space through arcane methods.” Solaria quickly scribbled on his tablet, somehow pleased with the question.

  “So you can teleport and stop time?” The necromancer inquired excitedly. “Can you teach me to do that? I’m a mage too, you know.”

  “Perhaps, but I would appreciate if you began by studying the materials provided regarding the quest first.” The mage scribbled out his answer.

  “Oh, right…” Anastacia muttered disappointedly and started flipping through the pages provided to her, something Gilbert was already well in the middle of.

  Apparently, the place they were heading for was a relatively small village by the name of Koshmar, on the Tyllian side of the Tyllian-Palantine border, which was not without its tensions. It was unlikely to be much of a factor, but any guild-affiliated personnel were encouraged to be careful about interfering with the local politics. Getting entangled with the local powers was listed as one of the possible reasons for the missing adventurers’ failure to return in time. Though the mantra of ‘You are an Adventurer, not a hero’ was repeated rigorously in Valor, adventurers had more than a slight inclination towards defending any place they visited from squabbles among the local rulers. So, one of the theories the guild had was that the adventurers had arrived to Koshmar, completed their quest as requested, saw something concerning on the Palantine side of the border and remained put to discourage anyone from trying to take over the village. The village itself was a remnant of a remnant of a remnant of a remnant of a mining outpost from the kingdoms past – and even from before that. There had been some level of a settlement there for as long as anyone was able to tell, but what had once been there to make mining the area worthwhile was now long gone, and the last few families that refused to leave made their living by searching through the rubble of carved cliffs and beds of rivers for gold and other, rarer finds.

  The quest, originally accepted by a party of four, was regarding a group of unaffiliated mages that had made some nearby ruins their base of operations. While initially they didn’t really bother anyone, and some trading happened between the villagers and the mages, some time after their arrival a plague of nightmares began to affect the people of Koshmar. At first it was just a few people on a couple of nights every week, but it had rapidly spread to everyone in the area. Every night, every single person in the village began to report seeing horrifying dreams that rarely made sense to them, but left them disturbed and afraid to fall asleep after a couple of weeks. The mages had shut themselves away from the world when the people went looking for answers, and nothing seemed to ease the plight. In the following couple of months, before the word got to the local lord, who contacted the guild over the matter, fatalities had begun to occur due to the lack of sleep, hallucinations and other effects of the unceasing nightmares.

  “Any ideas?” Anastacia inquired from Gilbert before moving on to the profiles of the missing adventurers.

  “There’s a number of creatures that can cause nightmares like this, some of them possibly dangerous enough to cause trouble to the folks who went in – especially if the mages are in on it as well. We need to pay attention to any dreams we might have from now on. If we can figure out even a rough range for it, it’ll narrow things down.” Gilbert reasoned and placed his papers down, having already known the rough gist of things and the missing adventurers personally beforehand. “If it was just the mages, these four would have been able to deal with it.”

  “Still no vampires, huh…” The necromancer grumbled and continued reading.

  The first of the four adventurers, a serpentfolk mage by the name of Palloma Mist-Scale, was the apprentice of Solaria according to a note written on to her profile. A noteworthy temporal mage as well as a gifted counter mage. None of the sparse information regarding her that the guild was willing to give out seemed particularly relevant otherwise, but she was apparently somewhat highborn. Her being in the party made sense of why Solaria was so keen to hurry things along though.

  The second adventurer, an enchanter knight named Arturo was a bit more interesting to read about. According to what the guild knew, he was something that habited either a body or a form of a human, but most definitely was not one. His profile didn’t make any guesses towards what that something was, but his service record was spotless, and at least the guild didn’t admit to thinking he was a threat to anyone.

  The third adventurer caused Anastacia to pause for a moment. A mousefolk druid named Thimble, someone who she herself knew personally and who had helped Gilbert and her after a rather rude prank played on them. Though not her closest friends, he was someone Anastacia would always greet on the chance meetings they had in the Inn. A sense of concern, no doubt familiar to Solaria and Gilbert, washed over her as she skimmed past the otherwise unremarkable profile. Though it was a part of the occupation and unavoidable, it was never a pleasant feeling.

  The last profile, however, put the rush they were in into a whole new light. “Lunaria Azil-Idim.” She read out loud and lifted her gaze to look at the darkened expression of the mage sitting opposite to her. “A brother?” She suggested.

  Solaria nodded and scribbled on his tablet. “Little brother.”

  “That sucks, I hope it’s nothing too serious.” Anastacia uttered, not really sure what to say and defaulting to an entirely unhelpful response.

  “He’s no pushover, I’m sure he’s fine.” Gilbert added in something a bit more helpful while the necromancer finished reading.

  Lunaria was apparently a spellsword specializing in dealing with enemies utilizing arcane means, so it was hard to imagine some rogue group of unorganized mages beating him. Having her most impactful relationships be less than a year old left the necromancer with little ways of understanding what it must have been like to know a close family member like that was in danger – or worse yet, dead. Of course, she had gone through something similar when she thought Eminence had killed King, but could it possibly be at all comparable to a sibling? As far as she knew, she didn’t even have siblings and she very much considered that a good thing, doubly so now – though she was present when her parents were killed by King, and that was more of a fond memory than anything, so she figured it was just impossible for her to properly relate to the situation.

  “Once again, I can’t thank you all enough for being willing to come along with so little time to prepare.” Solaria wrote down and placed the tablet on the bench beside him, retiring from the conversation and turning away to stare out of the window at the endless field of snow around them.

  “No problem, I just hope it isn’t the sect again.” Anastacia said before realizing she wasn’t being heard.

  Having been forced awake well before his time, Gilbert leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to hopefully rest a bit more. The bench was far too narrow for someone so big, but he was very experienced in sleeping in places far worse than that, so it didn’t take long for gentle and deep snoring to start. Apparently, the ride was going to take almost a full week in one direction, assuming the weather remained at all favorable, during which they were going to be mostly stuck in the coach. The moment she was left alone with her thoughts, Anastacia could already feel the seed of boredom start to set in. She had taken along a couple of books, but aside from that she didn’t really have a plan for killing time. However, that wasn’t the biggest of her problems with the situation where privacy was more than a bit compromised. Grasping at one of the pouches on her belt, she felt the few simulacrum cores she had taken along in the hopes of being able to speak with Fah-Raja and Val-Varjo during the trip, but so far she had kept it a secret from everyone and wasn’t sure how she felt about letting Gilbert or Solaria witness it.

  Trying to find something to distract herself with, she noticed that Leggy was still holding the full cup of now cold coffee, occasionally swirling it and bringing it up to her faceplate as if emulating drinking. “Did you have a plan for that or should I just drink it?” The necromancer asked after following the situation for a while.

  The simulacrum stared at the cup for a bit, clearly without a plan for its disposal, but ultimately declined the offer and kept it.