Ashes was currently taking a stroll in the inner castle district of Neverwinter. She was taking in the different scenery. To her this looked like a different city now but it still feels somehow familiar. When she died Neverwinter was the most modern city in the Continent. Now it was an entirely different league. She found Neverwinter to be closer to the current state of the Dream World.
She continued her way to the store where she used to buy her daily necessities and exchanged the witches' new currency for chaos drinks as this was the most familiar road to her.
She wanted to find Andrea but she doesn't know where she is at currently and it did not cross her mind to ask Tilly before she left. Now she was left wondering the crowded streets looking for a certain person. Looking inside the general goods store she saw a myriad of new products. She was reminded yet again of the progress of Neverwinter then she felt a slight tap on her left shoulder.
Turning around she saw Carter Lannis the Chief Knight with his wife May Lannis and their son.
"I really thought I was seeing things but it is really you Lady Ashes. I am confounded to see you again but it is good to know that you are in good health"
"It is great to see you too Chief Knight. It is a long story of how I came back here today so let us discuss it some other time. Instead may I ask as to who this young boy is?" Ashes inquired
"Ah, this is my son Liam. Introduce yourself son like your mother taught you"
"H-Hello I am Liam Lannis it is nice to meet you Lady" Liam mumbled
"He is still a bit shy" May said while lifting her child to commend him on his introduction
"That is nice to know. May I ask if you know the current whereabouts of the other witches? I would like to meet them as it has been a while" Ashes smiled
Carter was surprised to see Ashes smile as he was used to seeing her with a guarded expression specially near the princess.
"Well Lady Agatha and Lady Isabella will probably be in the Lab. Miss Lucia still works in the factory near the North Slope Mine. I believe currently Miss Molly and Miss Shavi are there with he-"
"Excellent" Ashes said unable to contain her excitement " Thank you for the information. I shall tell you more the next time we meet"
Carter looked at Ashes back while she was leaving still not able to believe that she was talking to the Ashes who was lost in battle. Carter turned to his side to see his wife still cuddling the young boy.
It didn't take long for Ashes to arrive at the factory as a truck stopped by her side while she was walking to ask her if she needed a ride. Ashes agreed as to not waste more time. On the way she couldn't help but be amazed at how the people of Neverwinter has completely changed. There was no more prejudice directed towards the witches there was only citizens working together to build a more prosperous city.
She thanked the driver of the truck for the ride and walked a short distance to the factory entrance. At the side of the entrance near the forest clearing she saw a male who looked to be a worker having lunch with a girl. Ashes recognized the girl as a witch of the Union, she recalled her name was Paper.
The duo saw her walking to the entrance of the factory but only Paper recognized who she was. She remained staring with her mouth hanging.
Ashes not wanting to disturb the two gave a nod of acknowledgement and proceeded to the inside of the factory while wondering why she keeps bumping into couples.
Ashes found Lucia outside the factory. She greeted her and calmed down her ceaseless questioning and asked the whereabouts of Shavi.
"Miss Shavi is inside. Come quick she will be so happy to see you!" Lucia said excitedly
When Lucia opened the door Shavi and Molly quickly swiped their table and hid the cards behind their backs some of it fell on the floor due to the suddenness.
"We- We aren't playing! We were just counting them!" Molly said hurriedly.
"Calm down It's the noon break any way you can have fun for now but be sure not to skip on your work later on" Lucia warned "besides look who's here!"
When Ashes entered the factory Shavi was dumbfounded she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She remembered the nights She, Andrea and Ashes were playing poker together till dawn or till two of them no longer had things to bet. She found herself tearing up while drawing near Ashes to check if she was actually real.
Ashes couldn't help but smile towards her friend.
"I'm back Shavi how have you been?" she asked. Shavi was still unable to process what has happened so Ashes gave a brief explanation of how she came to be and her current mission to find Andrea and surprise her.
"Andrea? I believe she is out hunting today because it's her week off as Her Majesty's bodyguard. She usually goes in the Misty Forest during her off days with Nana's father Mr. Pine to hunt for game. You should see them talking to each other about the prey's they catch" Shavi recalled her previous experience of hanging out with the two. How she couldn't keep up with their talk of firearms and the thrill of the hunt.
"They should probably be back around nightfall they have a mini truck they take to the Misty Forest and they stay there all day going deep in the forest and hunting. They usually come back with the truck filled with all kinds of birds and beasts"
Ashes shook her head she couldn't believe their usual hunting during their time running away from the church would be a hobby for Andrea and Mr. Pine. She wondered what they would do with the excess meat they got while hunting because it would be a waste to disregard them.
Ashes thought deeply about what to do next. She couldn't wait till Andrea arrived by nightfall. She looked at Molly shuffling the cards and an idea formed in her head. She turned to Lucia.
"May I borrow Molly later this afternoon?"
"Hmm? Of course, as long as we finish moving the finished products to the warehouse I believe Molly can leave early." Lucia explained
"Good" Ashes smiled "Let me help you with your work so we can leave early"
"Huh?" Molly wondered what this was all about but to her finishing work early was a good thing. As she also wanted to see what ashes has planned for Andrea
"Okay" she agreed.