A new morning shone brilliantly upon the underground city of Eil'Drawwt. The brilliant and tender warmth of the crystalline sun graced those who rested far from the sky. The people of the city knew not that their way of life, the very light that guides them, was in any danger whatsoever. A blissful ignorance coursed through each of them, burying the ideals of the wicked as untold history, lost and forgotten. Though there would always be those who knew what threatened Vy'Es Dela'Ramar, and there would always be those who understood the sacrifices made to ensure the future remained bright and peaceful.
Far in the catacombs of Eil'Drawwt, Nessa strolled through them with a worn down journal in one hand, and in the other she carried a handful of cyan flowers. Conflicted emotions flowed through her as she approached, for the first time, the site of Ilz's grave. The simple headstone against the wall of the catacomb spelled out his full name before her.
Nessa took a deep breath, reaching out and placing the journal and flowers down at the tiny offering table below the headstone. Sadness over his loss still hurt Nessa deeply, but she was at least happy in knowing she was able to fulfill his last wishes and ultimately avenge him in the process.
"None of us could have done anything without your help, Ilz," Nessa bid her farewells aloud within the empty catacombs. "I pray you're able to rest easy knowing you're a true hero to everyone." Her gaze shifted to the ceiling as she concluded her final goodbye to her friend. A moment of silence washed over the catacombs for a few minutes. Once Nessa decided it was time to leave, she adjusted her satchel and turned to make her way back to the guild.
Though as Nessa began to leave, an abrupt and unnatural wind passed through the halls of the catacombs. Instinctively, Nessa scanned her surroundings, but she was met with no change in the scene around her. She tried to brush off the strange occurrence, but something within her palm caught her attention. Nessa brought the peculiar new object up to her vision to see a translucent shining scale found its way into her grasp.
After a few moments of pondering, Nessa realized it was none other than the wing scales of an aeriie, no doubt from Revilis. She looked around again to see if he would be willing to show himself, but eventually gave up and just slipped the scale delicately into her satchel as to finally return to the Hidden Star guild.
The day was carried out like any other. Gatherings of adventurers crowded around the entrances of the guild, moving in a slow traffic through the suspended stone bridges of the city. As Nessa slipped through the crowds and entered the guild, she came across a peculiar scene in one of the grand main halls. A myriad of guild workers were hauled off in binds by guards while Director Veridan and Wright followed closely behind before eventually slowing down and separating from the group.
"I don't know how else to express my gratitude to you, Sir Wright." Veridan bowed his head in respect. "I should have noticed the corruption within our ranks, let alone the infiltration within the board of directors."
Despite the rest of the guild being fairly busy, the hall they resided in was otherwise quiet besides Nessa's presence.
"It was no issue, really," Wright responded, "Once their charismatic leader was gone, they let themselves fairly open to getting found out once everything began to break down. Though I hope in the future you'll pay more attention to these things."
"Of course. As Head Director, I'll use the resources at my disposal to ensure something like this never happens again." Veridan hinted at the Comet System before turning back to return to his duties. Wright considered bringing up his concern with the Comet System to him again, but after noticing Nessa off to the side, he focused his attention on her instead.
"Oh, it's you." Wright smiled. "How's that injury? You recovering well?"
Nessa's hand hovered over her abdomen, feeling the texture of the scar beneath her uniform.
"It's feeling better than yesterday, that much is for sure." Nessa laughed off the mild pain she felt from recalling that experience. "What was that all about with the director?"
Wright shifted his gaze out to the guards and their prisoners. "While you were out against Ignus, I was able to find his followers within the guild. I hope you don't mind, but I did brief Veridan about what you did."
"Oh! Well, uh, what did he say about it?" Nessa nervously inquired, knowing full well her track record with the director wasn't the best.
"He was surprised, but happy with the results," Wright said with a chuckle, "Unfortunately, because the artifact was destroyed, the guild is staying quiet about the details. As far as the public knows, the artifact is in hiding and that aeriie was brought to swift justice. Sorry you couldn't exactly get the fame and fortune of this victory."
"That doesn't matter to me at all," Nessa replied with a smile, "There will be plenty more opportunities to show the guild my worth. In the meantime, I'm just happy that everything worked out for the better."
"Quite the hero, aren't you." Wright couldn't help but catch Nessa's infectious smile as he playfully mocked her. "While I have you here by the way, feel free to stop by when you're willing to learn more blood magic. Gods above know you need the practice." He continued to tease as he waved a goodbye and left in the opposite direction Nessa was heading.
Nessa chuckled and rolled her eyes at Wright's attitude, but nonetheless felt accomplished that Wright was once again willing to teach her magic. With her spirits lifted, Nessa continued back to strolling through the halls, passing by the infirmary sections on her way.
The infirmary that Nessa passed was nearly emptied of most of its patients. Many who were left injured from Revilis's break in were fully recovered, leaving only a handful of adventurers still requiring assistance to their wounds.
"Hey! Would you stop doing that!?" Rex yelped in pain as Eve dabbed a damp cloth against his wounds. Rex sat dressed in bandages nearly all over his body while Eve and Kross sat on opposite ends of his bed.
"S-Sorry!" Eve recoiled and apologized. "The healers did say this to apply this to avoid an infection though." She explained which caused Rex to groan in annoyance.
"This probably could've been avoided had you let us help," Kross added, moreso focused on reading the book in front of him than his teammate's condition.
"Like hell I would've let that happen. That bastard was dangerous, even for me. Besides, I owed it to Nessa, but you two weren't at fault at all." Rex leaned back as he refuted Kross's proposal, "I care about the both of you, and I don't plan on dragging you into— Ack! Eve, Quit it!" Rex hissed in response to Eve trying to tend to his wounds again.
"I thought it wouldn't hurt as much if you weren't paying attention." Eve couldn't help but giggle from her friend's exaggerated reactions.
On the other side of the infirmary, Fausm was left alone to recover from the injuries he suffered from the dark magic. Despite the constant bickering he gathered from the others across the infirmary, he at least enjoyed the time of rest in gratitude knowing that they all ended up safe in the end. Though Fausm intended to spend his recovery in relative solitude, he ended up hearing footsteps approaching and noticed someone seating themselves next to his bed.
"You look like you took a pretty bad beating, didn't ya, Fausm?" Mariah smiled at her old friend.
"Mariah?" Fausm beamed from the pleasant surprise. "What brought you here to the guild?"
"I got word from Saul that you could use a speedy recovery. That, and I wanted to hear 'Wow, Mariah, you were right. Those kids did need someone to look after them," Mariah teased, which prompted Fausm to laugh heartily in response.
"Came all this way for that? You're really never gonna change, eh Mariah?" Fausm shook his head, still getting over his previous bout of laughter.
"Why should I? You sure never did," Mariah snapped back with a brief wink. The two of them continued to catch up with each other, leaving the infirmary to be filled with an air of merriment from the reunion of the pair of old friends.
Finally, Nessa closed in on her room within the guild. Though just outside the door, her brother Mair stood waiting for her. He threw a quick wave to his sister before meeting her halfway.
"Hey sis," Mair called to her, his usual cheery demeanor returning once more. "So, uh, I got some good and bad news."
"Something tells me they're both bad news," Nessa teased with a smile on her face. "Well, what is it?"
Mair couldn't help but laugh in response, but he attempted to put on a serious expression and tone before speaking. "Well, uh, bad news first. Remember when the director was asking if anything remained of that artifact? Well I didn't notice until now, but I found this lodged into a bit of my armor." He made sure no one else was around before revealing a golden shard that was left from the Solferre Halberd.
Nessa shook her head and sighed in response. "Keep it safe. We'll figure out who to hand it off to soon. In the meantime, what's the good news?"
Mair put the shard away and in the same motion brought forth a familiar piece of parchment with a smile on his face. "I just so happened to find a quick quest you and I can do! Come on, I know Fausm is still recovering but it's really easy and fast. We can go, right?" He pleaded like a begging child, a strategy that usually worked when the two of them were children.
As Mair awaited an answer, a smile instinctively formed on Nessa's face. She had already made her decision.