“So, Mal, is it? Good Evening and nice to meet you.” I returned her incredibly enthusiastic greeting, an amused smile on my face.

“Malachite, but, as I said, you can call me Mal.” she replied, before her eyes focused back on the flask in her hand, if only for a moment.

“Talk about Business, you said. What business do you have with me? Or is it business with the group you expected to join your group on the purification-quest?” I prodded, making the important distinction.

“Both.” she let out a sigh, placing down the flask on a work-table. “Let’s start with the more important part, the business with you, personally.” she said, only to be interrupted by Sigmir.

“Love, care to tell me what’s going on? Who is this and why does she act like this?” there was a bit of tension in her voice, with a bit of annoyance mixed in, likely due to the rather rude behaviour.

“She is a Traveller. I suspected that there would be some in that other group, and obviously, she has heard of me.” I told her, not taking my eyes off Mal. There was a bit of a flicker on her face when Sigmir spoke, but other than that, she ignored her.

“That’s exactly what the business is about, that I’ve heard of you. And that my group has no desire to get dragged into your…” she paused, looking for a good expression to describe the mess that seemed to always occur when I was mentioned on the forum, “drama.” she settled on a mild descriptor, to my amusement.

“No interest in Infamy, I take it?” I asked, quite amused at this point.

“No, not at all. We just want to be here, do our thing and meet up with friends, after. I’ve got work to do and while Jakyl is currently on break, he’s got his own job to worry about.” she explained, annoyance obvious in her voice.

“So, if you would promise to be..” her eyes went over to Sigmir and the others, clearly choosing her words to be suitable for natives, “discreet in your actions and keep them amongst those present, it would be very appreciated. In fact, I would insist on it, or my group will not join in that quest, as annoying as that would be for us.” she explained, her voice not quite demanding but it was obvious that she felt strongly about the matter. For a moment, I simply studied her demeanour and mannerisms, trying to get a read on her. Without a lot to go on, I decided to simply take her at her word and considered her request.

“I believe I can agree to that, assuming you agree to the same.” I replied, confidentiality being something quite valuable. I could have denied it but that would have caused problems between their group, the Guild and us, something I didn’t want to deal with. At the end of the day, her request was fairly sensible and understandable, getting lumped in with me would likely bring an end to their comfortable existence under the radar.

“Certainly.” she agreed, relief visible on her face.

“However, that leaves something else that needs to be discussed, namely whether or not we even join you on that Quest. For that, I would need some details on your group, nothing overly sensitive, an overview will suffice for an informed decision.” I added, getting another nod in return. Out of curiosity, I decided to test how sensitive and capable she was, internally invoking Darkness-Magic to conceal the activation of yet another skill, namely Observe. Using it that way took a bit of Astral Power, but for the current me, it was a minor expenditure.

Hill Dwarf, level 63

Little in the way of information, but I had never even attempted to develop that particular ability further and my class didn’t add anything either, so it was to be expected. Given the lack of reaction on Mal’s part, I was quite certain that she hadn’t noticed.

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“Yes, I can do that.” she nodded, before looking at the flask still in her hand. “Would you mind waiting for a few minutes, while I clean up?”

“Not really, but in that case, I’ll have to ask you to meet us at the inn, once you are done. We came straight from the Guild and have yet to have dinner.” I replied, getting a nod in return.

“I can do that.” she promised, showing us out.

On the street, there was little I could tell the others about my connection with Mal that they didn’t already know, they were aware that Travellers came from another world and that there were some in that world that knew about me, with a subset of them not liking me. Acceptance came easily and soon, we were at the inn and food was on the way. Luckily, we had managed to arrive before the inn-keeper had absconded to his private domain and there was freshly made food. Simple fare, porridge made from grain and goat-cheese, alongside some carrots and onions. Filling and tasty, but far from fancy.

By the time we got served, Mal turned up, too, ordering some beer and sitting at our table.

“Now, my group. I guess I’ll start with myself.” she began, after a short exchange of pleasantries and introductions to our group.

“Malachite, a Hill Dwarf and currently level 63. I’m an Alchemist, so I mostly do my job outside of battle, using a light crossbow to support and deliver some fun surprises to enemies during a fight. Got a few class-features to really boost my product’s effect if I personally administer them and learned quite a few interesting recipes for all kinds of mischief and mayhem. So, if you are looking for anything from distilled essence of flatulence for a prank to bandages that quickly stem bleeding, prevent sepsis and promote fast healing, I’m your gal.” she explained, making me instantly curious. There was so much I wanted to ask, but for now, I held my tongue.

“Then there’s Jakyl, the other Traveller. He, and two of our other companions, came over from Daiea early on. He’s an Orph, think tall and slender, almost elf-like, with coal-black skin and violet eyes. He’s a Bard, in battle, he uses a light blade and armour but the real thing is his ability to support and increase the power of those fighting with him. Makes them faster, lets them hit harder and even weakens the enemies around him.” There were nods all around, and I thought Rai looked quite intrigued at the prospect.

On the other hand, I had only very limited information on Bards, but what I knew made me wary, their abilities were based on influencing the minds of others and while that influence might be benevolent for their allies, I had no illusions about the danger they represented. Mind Magic was no laughing matter, even if I had managed to push mine into the likely least dangerous path, that of insanity and direct damage. It was saying something that I considered the ability to drive others mad, or snuff out their mind with but a thought as the least dangerous option in offensive Mind Magic, but then, Mind Magic was the way I would look at, if I wanted to permanently enslave others and bind them into my service. There was a whole lot of potential for bad juju there, and I was quite glad that it was commonly regarded as dangerous. The only problem was, Bards got a pass because a lot of people saw them as oversexed but mostly harmless jokes. I shouldn’t be surprised that a class of people based around manipulating others’ perception would be good at public relations.

While I was slightly lost in thought, Malachite had given introduction to two more of their members, two Natives who had made the crossing alongside Jakyl. Once again, I was reminded that Daiea was home to multiple sub-species of Daimons, with the two companions apparently from one called Enya and both of them were fighters, using spear and shield while fighting in formation, together with a splash of magic, to increase the damage they could dish out. The description reminded me of a mix between Sigmir and Phraan, the elf we had met not that long ago.

“Finally, there is Gilo, a halfling who decided that she wanted to join me, when I left Galam, the city I stepped into, when arriving in this world. She’s mostly responsible for making sure we don’t run into too many deadends, for tracking foes, laying traps and all that. We make an excellent team, especially since I figured out some fun surprises for her traps and she learned to infuse them on her own.” there was a decidedly nasty smirk on her face when she mentioned the traps and I simply nodded in acceptance, my mind already looking at their party-composition analytically. It wasn’t a bad combination, maybe a little light on pure, classical magic, but then, you couldn’t have everything.

“I see. Now, if you don’t mind, I would love to ask you a couple of questions about your alchemy.” I grinned, by now mostly finished with my food. There was something new to be learned, and I certainly wouldn't hold back on the questions.