"You think the Guildmaster would grant such valuable material?" Milo asked suspiciously.
"From my understanding she's been wondering what to do with it for a while now. Isn't that right, Illitran?" lina asked.
"Yes. To my knowledge, it hasn't been sold or given to anyone yet," Illitran confird.
"Great, then let's go to the Guild right now," lina said firmly.
"Miss lina, are you sure you can handle such a long walk?" Illitran asked.
She thought about it for a mont. Her body was recovering steadily, but perhaps it would be wiser to take it easy for this day.
"Sienna, could you take there?" lina asked her familiar, who had been napping in her breast pocket.
She let out a sleepy yawn and scittered to the ground, so distance away from them. Then she changed into her large form.
"Wow!" Milo exclaid and jumped back.
lina realized that he hadn't seen her large form before. It wasn't surprising that he would be startled.
"It's okay. It's still the sa Sienna, just a bit bigger," she said reassuringly, while patting the wyrm snout.
Milo looked at her curiously, but didn't step closer. "I'll take your word for it."
Sienna whined at Milo, making the biggest piteous wyrm eyes she could manage. He stared at her for a while, then a realization struck him.
"You're just trying to get my shimrtart, aren't you?" He accused.
Sienna looked eagerly at the box in his hands in response.
"No, Sienna! I already gave you feyfruit this morning," lina chastised.
"Little glutton. Sorry, but this tart is mine. I haven't had any in months!" Milo protested, seemingly not scared of Sienna anymore.
The wyrm lowered her head pleadingly, looking defeated. Milo stared at her for a while, then let out a loud sigh. "Alright, fine! I'll give you a slice. But only one!"
Sienna perked up instantly, her tail wagging like a dog's, creating a small gust with its force.
"I don't know what I was scared of," he chuckled.
"Wyrms truly are remarkable creatures," Illitran noted, looking fondly at Sienna.
Sienna lay down on the ground, allowing lina to climb on her back, and they set out for the Guild. Just like the first ti, people were looking nervously at Sienna's large form, especially the tourists. Children, however, sward to the wyrm like flies on honey, shouting and screaming in delight despite their parents' protests.
"I'm surprised Sunglowers are so accepting of her. Small version, I understand—she's very cute. But this large Sienna appears quite ferocious," Milo noted as they passed by Erina's inn.
The innkeeper waved at them excitedly from afar, and the bakery's regular custors also greeted lina and Sienna with a smile.
"Sunglow is very accepting of the unusual and has been that way for generations now. They've accepted elves and drow, so a friendly monster isn't that huge of a leap," Illitran explained.
"It is a bit of a leap…" Milo noted.
"It is not so for an elf. Wyrms live among us much like cats and dogs live among humans," Illitran explained.
"Really? That does sound kind of cool. Although I wouldn't like one as a pet, lest it burn down my new workshop…" he chuckled.
"Ember wyrms aren't the only type around. There are river wyrms, glacier wyrms, rock wyrms, earth wyrms, storm wyrms. The list goes on," Illitran explained.
"Wow, that's quite the variety."
They continued chatting about various species of wyrms as they made their way to the Guild, followed by curious glances of passersby. Once they reached their destination, Sienna changed back to her small form and hid in lina's pocket again.
"I'll go check if the Guildmaster is available. Wait in the lobby in the anwhile," Illitran said, heading to the Guildmaster's office.
The wait didn't take long, less than ten minutes later, Illitran was back. "The Guildmaster will see you now. It appears she has been wanting to talk to you, lina, but was waiting for you to recover."
lina restrained a frown. She imagined that there were many things the Guildmaster wanted to talk about. But there was no escaping it. She'd likely have to explain everything that happened. The Guildmaster would likely also demand to know the reason why Monster Lord attacked her on two separate occasions. Would it be better if she just told her the whole truth?
Much to her surprise, the Guildmaster wasn't alone in her office. Elowen was there as well.
"Good day, lina, and… Who might be this young man?" Arianne cocked her head curiously.
"This is Milo. He's a carpenter who recently moved into Sunglow. He's the one who made the bakery sign that shines," lina explained.
"A carpenter, you say," the Guildmaster said, assessing Milo with a calculating glint in her eyes. "Why have you brought him here?"
"I was hoping that you'd entrust glittershale bark to him," lina said.
"Why?"
"I'm about to start renovating the bakery, and need refrigerators; however, I cannot afford such expensive magitech. As such, I was hoping to compromise and create a special cabinet that could keep the inside cold if supplented with ice or magic from ti to ti. Illitran told that it could be done, using Glittershale bark," lina explained.
"Interesting. That does sound useful," Arianne nodded, then turned to Milo. "Could you make sothing like that?"
"Yes, ma'am! I'm confident that if I were given the right materials I could even recreate a magitech refrigerator. Alas, the materials are too expensive for a beginner carpenter like to purchase," Milo said, nodding his head.
"Confident? I like it. Very well. But I won't give you all the materials. I'll give lina's share. Her wyrm is responsible for the success of the expedition, so I don't mind giving her a share of the loot. However, I want to see the results," Arianne said firmly.
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"Of course! I'll prepare blueprints once the cabinet is done," Milo said.
"Excellent. Illitran, show Milo the warehouse and give the manager this. He'll know what to do," The Guildmaster said, and quickly scribbled sothing on a small piece of paper.
"Very well. What about Miss lina?" Illitran asked, implying his guard duty.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it. You're free for the day," she said.
Milo looked a bit confused at first, but once Illitran motioned towards the door, giddiness appeared in his eyes. It looked like he was excited to work on the cabinet. lina hoped he wouldn't focus all of his attention on it. She needed those display cases more…
"Now, lina, let's talk about what happened before," The Guildmaster said, once Milo and Illitran were gone. "I tried to pry the truth from this elf, but refused to elaborate without your express permission. And let's not even talk about your boyfriend."
Arianne rubbed her temples as if she had been dealing with a headache.
"You could have told her," lina glanced at Elowen.
"I don't believe it is my right to say," Elowen said stubbornly.
"See! Sinclair is the sa. I won't say a word unless lina tells to do so," Arianne said, lowering her voice to mimic Alistair. It would be funny if she didn't look so irritated by it. "Seriously, what did you do to wrap all these n around your finger? Even Master Gilbert refused to elaborate, although I don't think he actually knows what happened in the Monster Realm."
"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble, Guildmaster. It was not my intention. I don't mind explaining everything to you; however, by doing so, I'll be dragging you into a problem that is much larger than just monsters swarming out of the Monster Realm," lina said firmly.
"Bigger than drow assassins being sent into Sunglow to kill you?"
"It is but a drop in the bucket, Guildmaster," lina said, and Elowen nodded in agreent.
Arianne looked at them both, then exhaled in exasperation. "I feel like I don't want to know, but at the sa ti I'm not foolish enough to ignore the bigger picture. Go ahead and explain everything."
lina nodded, and began her explanation. She admitted to having lived through a whole different tiline and her being an [Archmage]. Arianne seed to disbelieve her completely at first, but after muttering "this actually makes sense", she asked her to continue.
lina then told her what happened last ti. How the apocalypse started due to her actions, how she and Alistair searched for the ti ritual. She didn't ntion him dying for her sake—it seed too personal to share. But she did explain how she rewound ti, and how she wanted to prevent the sa tragedy from happening again.
Unfortunately, there were many obstacles, as lina wasn't the only one who rembered the past. She was the only one to rember it fully, but those with the skill that tied them to the past were rembering the events at a steady rate.
"So who are these people that rember, excluding you?" Arianne asked.
"Alistair—"
"Of course… That explains a lot," Arianne sighed, making lina chuckle awkwardly. "Go on."
"Elowen, and the Monster Lord," lina finished.
"Oh, so that's why you insisted on remaining quiet," Arianne nodded at the elf in understanding. "Who else?"
"I'm not sure. These are the only individuals I've confird," lina said.
"Alright. Then why are they exactly the ones you nad the ones to rember?"
"I don't know…" She admitted. lina didn't really like to think about this topic, but why exactly did these people rember the past?
"I believe that all the people with the mories were deeply connected with lina sohow," Elowen offered this theory.
"Very well. Then who else could have this skill theoretically? Anyone from the Church?"
lina and Elowen both gasped. Both of them likely thought of the sa individual. Sobody lina loathed above everyone else, but at the sa ti, she couldn't deny how deeply interwoven their lives had been.
"Archbishop Heiliger…" lina muttered.
"Heiliger. Is that the bishop that ca to Sunglow last ti? The one who was bodyblocked from entering your bakery?" Arianne asked.
"The very sa…" lina said, paling in horror. "If she does have the skill, then it hasn't given her many mories of the last ti she was here. She didn't recognize at all."
"But it would only be a matter of before she rembers," Elowen concluded.
lina's legs shook, and she staggered back. Elowen hurriedly grabbed her hand and steadied her into a chair. "Are you alright?"
"Yes… But Heiliger would be the worst person to rember. She has always been deeply calculating. I'm sure she would figure out a way to accomplish her goals faster if she knew what happened last ti."
"But this is the end of the world we're talking about. Surely, she would realize that it's not an optimal outco for humanity," Guildmaster pondered.
"No, I'm sure she'll find a way around it. And ultimately, her goal is to wipe out all monsters—no matter the cost," lina said.
There was a mont of heavy silence until Arianne sighed again. "This is way above my pay grade… Alright, let's not panic before ti. We don't even know if she has this mory skill. Frankly, even if she does, there's not much we could do against her now. We'd need more powerful allies," Guildmaster said, giving lina a significant look.
"Yes, I'm in the process of doing that," lina said firmly.
"Oh? When's the wedding? I do hope you'll invite too," Arianne's deanor suddenly changed completely, mischievous smile on her lips.
"Excuse ?" lina asked in confusion.
"Wedding with Sinclair! Duke Sinclair is the strongest ally you could get in a situation like this," she explained.
lina blushed bright red. "N-no! There is no wedding. Alistair and I have barely begun our relationship. We'd need more ti to move on to… marriage."
"Aww, pity. I love weddings. It's been a while since there's been one in Sunglow."
lina chuckled awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
"In either case, it appears our case is rather difficult. No allies and all the enemies. What exactly happened in Sunglow last ti? Specifically when the expedition from Church finally arrived," Arianne asked.
"I don't know. I didn't co to Sunglow last ti," lina admitted.
Elowen suddenly gasped, looking at lina in shock. "You… You don't know?"
"You do?" lina asked.
"No, I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't know. My mories are still a bit scrambled, so I apologize for my question. I only rembered it recently."
"Rember what exactly?" The Guildmaster narrowed her eyes. "What happened to Sunglow?"
"There… There was no Sunglow left," Elowen said, making lina and Guildmaster gasp in shock.
"What do you an? How could there be no Sunglow?" Guildmaster smashed her fist against the table, making the pencils jump up and scatter in every direction.
"My knowledge of what happened is very limited. It is an account I received from Leliana after I t her. The realms were already separated at that point, but she said that her hotown had been wiped out long before then," Elowen explained. "I didn't realize it initially, but Leliana's hotown is—"
"Sunglow," lina finished in horror.
"Long before? How long exactly?" Arianne demanded.
"I'm afraid I don't know that. My mories are still very fragnted," Elowen said.
"Then you must get them back as soon as possible! We must find out what exactly happened in Sunglow and stop it from happening again," The Guildmaster demanded.
"Alistair told that his mories got triggered when he was around , perhaps it could work the sa way for Elowen," lina suggested.
"Then do it! Hang out with him all day long if you must be. In fact, I might as well assign Elowen as your guard," Arianne said.
"No, not . If these mories pertain to Leliana, then he should be hanging out with her," lina explained.
"Oh, yes, that makes sense," The Guildmaster said, then pointed at the door. "What are you waiting for? Go find Leliana."
"But I—" Elowen tried to object.
"No buts! The whole town's future hangs in the balance. If she holds the key to your mories, then spend as much ti with her as possible. That is not optional," Arianne said firmly, not leaving any room for objections.
"Yes, Guildmaster," Elowen bowed and left.
"And you!" Guildmaster said, turning to lina. She nearly flinched at the intensity of her gaze.
"Yes?!"
"Start worming your way into Duke's good graces. I was joking about the wedding before, but it doesn't seem like such a ridiculous idea now. Wait for Sinclair in the lobby. He should be back from his patrol within the hour," Arianne said and dismissed lina.
She bowed politely and left, a storm of emotions swirling within her. She just wanted to get Glittershale for Milo, but ended up with this massive burden on her shoulder. When Alistair finally returned for his patrol, she felt so tired that she just buried herself in his chest, finding solace in his steady heartbeat.
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