Waking up, I was in a strange mood. For once, I remembered my dreams, at least parts of them. And what I remembered was weird, there was no other word for it.

In one dream, I, in my normal, human body, had stood next to Sigmir, two butterfly-blades like the one I was training with in the gym in my hands, ready to do battle against a group of glowing figures. Those looked like they were made from a mix of fire and light, almost like the guardian I had fought in the Snowbold-Cave, shortly after coming to Mundus. Somehow, that dream felt the least weird, even if it was weird by comparison.

In another dream, Sigmir and I were on a date. Only that it was a date in a mall near my apartment, on Earth. And that I was in the Firn-Elf form of Morgana, wearing a slightly more elaborate version of the clothes given to me by the dwarves while Sigmir was wearing what amounted to the biker-version of her usual leather-armour. That dream was a little more weird, mostly due to the feeling of normality and acceptance I experienced on the date. The people around us, all looking like random humans, weren’t batting an eye at the two blue-skinned women having a pleasant date, right in their middle.

Then there was one, in which the apartment-building mine was in, was entirely made up from Ice and within my apartment, there was my Throne. It was obviously mine, made from the same gleaming Ice I used when creating the Throne I used for some spells and carved with the same runes I used in those spells. Finally, it was obvious that it was mine as I was sitting on it, but in normal, human body, wearing clothes similar to the ones made by the dwarves, only completely black, dark enough to lose the appearance of depth. On the wall, next to the windows, was a female figure, bound in chains of Ice. The shape of the figure, the physique and form, looked very much like Dura Firebrigner but it looked like it was made from burning light. Looking past the figure, out of the window I was able to see a dark world, covered in snow and ice.

And finally, the last dream of which I remembered more than fragmented impressions, might just be the weirdest one. In a way, it was similar to the one with the apartment-building made from ice, but at the same time it was entirely different. In it, I was flying. Or should it be, we were flying? We were flying above a ruined world, part of me thought it was Mundus, due to the fact that there were monsters in the ruins below, shambling abominations of bone and flesh, giving me the impression of things that should not be. The impression they gave me reminded me of Nethersprites but their appearance was more akin to undead. But the ruins looked very much like a modern city, with broken cars and the crumbled remains of high-rise buildings.

There was a part of me that wondered about my subconscious mind that had conjured up those dreams, if there was something it wanted to tell me, deep down. Maybe that I was going native, an idea that made me smile, as I cuddled up closer to Sigmir. But even as I smiled, there was a small knot of worry in my stomach caused by the simple fact that the beta would end at some point, separating Sigmir from me.

“Good morning, love.” Sigmir said, pulling me just a little closer and I could easily feel the content feelings over our bond. Closing my eyes, I let those feelings envelop me, basking in them, my previous worries slowly fading into the background. There was no certainty in the future and I could only wait and try to look for a solution. Trying to distance myself from Sigmir before the end of the beta seemed to be one option but as soon as I considered it, I decided against it. I was not willing to give up the happiness I had found with her, simply to spare myself possible, even if very likely, later pain. That wasn’t a solution. But maybe a path would open up in the future. Hopefully.

“Good morning.” I replied, before raising my head a little nuzzling her cheek and taking a look out of the window.

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“Do you want to go explore this place a little? Just look around, see something other than the wilderness?” I asked, even if there was a part of me that wanted to remain in bed, snuggling.

“Let’s have breakfast first.” Sigmir suggested, even as her arm wrapped around me a little tighter.

For the next five minutes, neither of us was moving out of the comfortable embrace we shared but then, a grumbling sound from her stomach made me start moving with a silly grin on my face. After getting dressed in our usual attire, we took advantage of the local facilities to wash up and went into the dining-room to look for some breakfast.

One of the women who ran the guest-house was there, cleaning up in the kitchen but stopped as soon as we stepped up. She supplied us with a simple but quite good breakfast of bread, some smoked meat and assorted fruits, alongside fresh spring-water. Or what they called fresh, remembering how they dumped their waste-water into the river going through their settlement, I decided not to chance things and, once we had settled down on one of the benches, channelled some Ice- and Death-Magic, making the water nice and cool in addition to kill off everything that might be lurking within. Hopefully that, along with our quite high vitality and endurance, would be more than enough to keep us from getting sick.

Otherwise, breakfast was a quiet affair with me telling Sigmir what I had seen the evening before, the environment of the valley. Partially to make sure we would be able to get away if the centaurs returned for round two, partially to get an idea where we should go. Sadly, as far as I had been able to tell from above, the town was relatively utilitarian, without anything standing out from the air. Maybe exploring a little on foot would allow us to see something worth visiting, something other than the reward we were here to collect. Thinking of that reward reminded me that I had forgotten to ask Dura Firebringer when we would receive it, after all we were here now.

Before we could finish breakfast, Sakgu, the scout we had met first, entered the room and made a beeline over to our table.

“Good Morning, Morgana, Sigmir.” she greeted us, looking a little agitated.

“Good Morning, Sakgu. What brings you here this morning?” I returned her greeting and asked, skipping any potential pleasantries. She looked like she was here for a purpose and I had no interest in beating around the bush.

“I was asked to deliver a message and, hopefully, act as a guide. Shaman Firebringer asked for the pleasure of your company. She wants to introduce those who helped her to her Teacher, Elder Brightsun.” she blurted out, her words almost blending into a single one.

“Curious..” I muttered, before looking over to the woman at the counter, asking if our companions had already eaten. When the woman shook her head in the negative, I asked her to prepare two more portions of breakfast, before focusing back on Sakgu.

“Sakgu, we will be along after breakfast.” I explained, before standing to get Adra and Rai. Part of me was glad that we had a good reason to delay, it was the middle of our meal after all. That part was petty, revelling in making the Shaman and her Teacher wait for us, even if I knew it wasn’t the most diplomatic thing to do.

I had a feeling that Sakgu would have preferred if we stopped whatever we were doing in order to follow her, wherever she was to lead us. But at the same time, I had no interest in hopping, just because someone said so, especially if that someone was Dura Firebringer. Still there was nothing she could do about it, so she nodded and settled down across the table from Sigmir. As I made my way towards the stairs, I decided that while making them wait for a little was sending the right kind of message, anything more would stretch the boundaries of propriety.

Luckily, Adra and Rai were already up and just getting out of their room when I came up the stairs. I told them about our appointment, suggesting that they ate their breakfast as quickly as they could without looking hurried. Again, the idea to jump when Dura Firebrigner told me to jump didn’t sit right with me.

All in all, some twenty minutes after Sakgu had walked into our guest-house, we were finished with our breakfast and followed her out of the door, heading up-hill, towards some of the larger buildings, deeper in the valley.