After they departed the tower, they went to the headquarter for the Nightwatchers.
At the entrance to the headquarters, Cassandra called out to the man stationed at the front desk. "James, I've got a new member for my squad," she announced cheerfully.
James, a tall, lanky man with tired eyes, looked up from his paperwork. "A new member?" His eyes scanned the Traveller before meeting Cassandra's. "How did…" He trailed off, quickly shutting his mouth under Cassandra's withering glare. "Alright, I'll process it straight away."
"Make it quick," Cassandra replied, crossing her arms.
The process was shockingly simple. James asked for the Traveller's name, which he entered into the registry, and then quickly cast the Light of Alignment spell, verifying the Traveller's status. After confirming his chaotic good alignment, James handed him a uniform and a badge—nothing else. No questions about his background, no inquiries into his magic. It was all done in less than a minute.
"That's it?" the Traveller asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd been expecting something more… formal.
"Yep, all set." James leaned back in his chair, clearly unconcerned. "Good luck."
"Since I brought you in, you're part of my squad now," Cassandra said, leading him down a hallway to a cozy conference room. "This is our squad's common room, and there are dorms on either side of the hall. You're free to stay here if you don't have a place of your own."
The Traveller glanced around, taking in the warm, almost homely atmosphere. "This is... lovely."
Cassandra smiled. "I'll introduce you to the team. You've already met John. He's the muscle and main fighter of the squad. He's a Marked Paladin of Holy Light—silent and strong like a rock, thanks to a bunch of oaths he's taken to mitigate his price."
She knocked on one of the dorm doors. "Sally, this is Lucian, the newest member of our squad."
The door opened to reveal a strikingly beautiful girl with golden hair and blue eyes, though her gaze seemed distant, unfocused. There was a strange ethereal quality to her presence, as though she was only half-aware of the world around her.
"Sally's our intel gatherer," Cassandra explained. "She's a Touched with the magic of Sight. Her visions help us track things down, but her vision in the real world isn't the best because of it."
Sally tried to nod in Lucian's direction but ended up tilting her head in the wrong way, almost comically. The Traveller stifled a smile as they exchanged basic greetings.
Cassandra continued, "Then there's me, the captain of this little squad. I'm a well-rounded support — a Touched who dabbles in Candy magic, healing, and some Holy Light magic as well." She grinned. "And now that you're part of the team, what is your magic and how well controlled is your price.?"
The Traveller hesitated for a moment before answering. "I'm a Touched with Ghoul magic and some… smithing skills. I can craft magical items and I'm pretty good in close combat. My senses, especially smell, are heightened thanks to the Ghoul magic. And I have my price completely under control."
Cassandra's eyes lit up. "That's fantastic! Someone who can track, fight, and craft magic items! And your price is under control." She clapped her hands together. "Some else that can make money—err, I mean, items."
The Traveller narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Wait… what did you say my salary was again?"
Cassandra gave a nervous laugh. "Ah… about a gold per month?"
"Is that the normal wage for a Cursed?" the Traveller asked, genuinely unsure. The Ezekiel family had paid him a gold a week, but he suspected that might have been a special case.
"Well… not exactly," Cassandra admitted, scratching the back of her neck. "You see, we're not a formal Nightwatcher squad. We don't have the official training from a young age, and we haven't learned the specific magics needed to qualify for formal squads. We're more like independent contractors."
The Traveller felt a growing sense of unease. "Independent contractors? How does that work?"
"We get paid commissions for every Fell we catch," Cassandra explained. "But… we haven't caught many lately. In fact, the Fell you helped with was the first in about three weeks. That only earned us 50 gold. And after covering the costs of monthly rituals of charity for everyone and equipment upkeep, well… we're barely scraping by. I've been making magical Candy to sell to supplement the squad." She gave him a sheepish grin. "John, Sally, and I haven't been paid in a while."
The Traveller has a bad feeling about this, "I assume that is not normal."
"Well, not exactly," Cassandra with an awkward smile.
"So why do they work for you?"
"John's my bodyguard and Sally is the Maiden of Purity that I managed save."
The traveller thinks he understands. He sighed, already sensing he'd walked into a mess. "And your parents are…?"
Cassandra's expression shifted slightly. "My father is the Governor of Rivendale."
"The most powerful person in the city?"
"Yes. But there's also the Head Priest of the Goddess, who's also a Transformed."
"And your father doesn't approve of you becoming a Nightwatcher." the Traveller asked, watching Cassandra's face tighten.
"It's not that. Joining the Nightwatcher is a normal arrangement for someone like me. It's just that we had some disagreements. Let's leave it at that." Cassandra clearly didn't want to go into details.
The Traveller rubbed his temples, at least the situation isn't the worst case scenario and it might be of certain benefits. Working for child of the most person in the city was bound to have some perks. After some deliberation, "Well, I'm happy to be part of the team. And if we really don't have enough money, you can delay my pay for a few months until things improve."
Cassandra's face brightened immediately. "Really? That's great!"
"So what do we do now?"
"Well, get settled in and take a rest you've probably been through a lot. We'll wait for any commissions to come in and go investigate. For the time, we are free to do whatever we would like."
The Traveller thought for a moment, "Do we have a library or some books that can teach me some basic knowledge about the Cursed? I never received any formal magical education."
"Ahmm... I know, come with me" Cassandra said leading the Traveller to a room, "This is my candy workshop,"
The Traveller looked around Cassandra's candy workshop with a mixture of fascination and amusement. The room was an eclectic mix of magical ingredients, strange apparatuses, and vibrant, whimsical touches that only someone with candy magic could create. On a table near the center, a tiny village built from sweets stood proudly, inhabited by the candy people Cassandra had rescued.
"Berrycream!" Cassandra called out, her voice bright.
From behind a cabinet, a candy person emerged, the little thing jumped down from the cabinet the height of cliff to it, and ran to cassandra "Yes, my lady?" Berrycream asked in a sweet, high-pitched voice.
Cassandra smiled warmly. "Do you know where my old books are? The one on the basics of magic? Can you bring that? We've got a few new residents," she added, gesturing to the bag she'd opened, allowing the rescued candy people from the witch's cottage to spill out and take in their new home.
Berrycream nodded eagerly and disappeared into the back. Meanwhile, the Traveller examined the workshop more closely. Glass jars filled with powders, syrups, and enchanted ingredients lined the walls, labeled with both normal and magical names—everything from rose essence to enchanted sugar shards. Various magical tools sat atop the counters strange glass beakers and flask of every shape. She seemed a lot more professional than the candy witch and or at least a bit more richer... some point in the past.
"It's like a place out of a storybook," the Traveller remarked, eyes twinkling.
"Pretty cool, right?" Cassandra replied, grinning. "But wait until you see the candy village!" She gestured proudly to the miniature town, where the candy people from the witch's cottage were already beginning to settle in, exploring the tiny homes and streets made of chocolate and sweets. "It's their home now," she said fondly. "They'll be safe here."
Just then, a group of candy people came marching forward, carrying a gigantic book—gigantic, at least, for them. The book was old and cover in dust.
"This is my old introductory book to magic," Cassandra explained as the candy people placed it on a nearby table. She scrunched her nose and stuck out her tongue playfully. "I'll be honest—it's a bit cryptic and dreary. I didn't enjoy it much when I was learning from it. But it's good for the basics!"
The Traveller chuckled at her expression. "Thanks for the warning."
Cassandra flipped open the book to the first chapter. The pages were filled with intricate diagrams of magic circles, explanations of basic magical principles, and various runes scrawled across the page in tight, spidery handwriting.
"Alright, before we dive into that boring stuff," Cassandra said, waving her hand over the book dismissively, "I'll give you a brief lesson myself. Much more fun that way."