Velvet watched Ethra’s back as he went down the stairs, passing next to her.

If he’s already healed, Alrai and Agorn probably are too. She thought, turning her head around and continuing. She wasn’t worried about Ethra and Agorn, but Alrai and Ethra’s family were another problem.

Like her, Alrai was the petty type, so expecting him to not try to pull any sketchy thing was delusional. He probably was waiting for the chance already.

It probably wouldn't be while she was on the First Tower, but after that? Who knew when he would show up. Velvet would have to add his name again to the list of ‘Mages to watch out for’.

A list that only increased.

Clicking her tongue, she walked to the door supposed to take her to the Ernons pocket dimension, opening it and entering.

A clear, cloudless gray sky was the first thing welcoming her. The second was the extremely humid floor, basically mud, that started to swallow her boots, and from where red flowers bloomed.

Red and gorgeous flowers, resembling spider lilies, except that these ones grew on mud.

Velvet walked with some effort, stepping onto a path made of white stones. A mage was waiting there, their identity covered up by a long gray cloak that reached the floor, dirtied by dust and water at the bottom.

Not commenting on it, Velvet lifted the wrapped lump slightly. “Tristan sent me to deliver this to Ernon Maschei.”

The mage nodded, extending their hands to grab the package, to which Velvet obliged. “Yes, I know.” Once it was in their hands, the mage unwrapped it, satisfying Velvet's long lasting curiosity.

It was a mechanical baby! Actually, no. In fact… she didn’t know what it was, honestly. It looked like a glass bubble covered with protrusions, with more glass bubbles inside, all of it filled with a clear, transparent liquid. It had a lid, probably to put something inside.

The mage let the cloth fall down on the mud, and pushed their… his hood back.

Ernon Maschei, or at least, Velvet supposed that was him, was a man in his thirties, with short reddish brown hair and an immense scar crossing from the right side of his forehead to the lower side of his left ear.

His eyes were clear blue, with a penetrating gaze, intensified by the scar. He had some kind of mature, attractive and dangerous air.

Not that Velvet was into it, she still preferred Igern or Lothrigern’s more deadlycate appearance. She was simply being objective.

Ernon moved the artifact in his hands, turning it over and moving the lid.

“Pick a flower.” He said after several seconds.

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Velvet did as told, taking one of the red flowers growing in the mud, with care as to not dirty herself. Once she had it, she gave it to Ernon, who instantly put it inside the glass artifact.

The water moved, the flower getting separated from the stem, the dirt and the dust, before the now singled out flower entered one of the inner glass bubbles, staying there.

“Another.”

Velvet did as told again, and, once again, Ernon put the flower in the container, watched it separate, and ordered her to pick another.

So she did so. Again.

Not like Ernon was doing it on purpose, Velvet realized, looking at the flowers. They withered extremely fast, and the artifact only dissected one at once, but stopped their withering.

It is some kind of preservation artifact… Velvet thought, still picking flowers, one by one. Now, whatever he is trying to check should be the rate at which the flowers now wither, and the capacity… I hope he doesn't make me fill the artifact fully.

Because I am BUSY.

…

As Tristan said, it took her around half an hour to deliver the first package. Velvet would’ve loved it if the place wasn’t so damp, gloomy and humid, but it was what it was.

And what it was was muddy.

She had spent some time cleaning her boots before going back to the First Tower, lest Murrs got her ass for dirtying the pristine floors.

Shoes were not something Velvet owned a lot of, since they were harder to fix than clothes, but lasted longer as long as she took care of them.

And she took amazing care of them! Some mud wouldn’t change that!

Boots cleaned, delivery number one delivered, she went to Tristan’s house, to pick delivery number two.

Unlike mages who owned fully developed pocket dimensions, that’s to say, mages within a powerful family, with an extensive list of members working and making money to maintain it, some mages lived on a public, shared pocket dimension.

Which was like a small town, and, unlike the fully independent pocket dimensions, this one needed provisions to be brought from outside.

Not that all houses were inside pocket dimensions. Like Velvet’s, some of them were on the Mergifari.

Some of those were the Centinel Towers surrounding the barrier that separated the Unnamed Forest from the Mergifari, while some others were in the inner, ‘safe’ part of the forest.

Those were the cheapest options, and Velvet had seen some real amazing houses for rent, but, in case something happened to the barrier, the mages living there would be the security measures.

Or, at least, the distraction for what it could come from inside.

Not that something had to happen to the barrier, anyway.

Back to the public pocket dimension, it was a bit cramped, compared to the other places on the Mergifari. Even more than the Market.

Houses were stacked on top of each other, not like buildings, even when there were also some of those, but like boxes, with hanging bridges connecting the ones on top.

According to Murrs, there were three public towns on the Mergifari, but one was empty for now.

The two active ones were Garos and Laros, with Laros being the one Velvet was currently in.

Tristan's house was at the middle left, at the third floor of a red building. It had several security measures implemented, but Velvet had permission to enter… at least until the entrance, where the two remaining artifacts waited.

Tristan had closed the doors to the next room, so Velvet was unable to even peep a tiny little bit. And the woman had taken seriously the “You will ONLY find the artifacts” line.

“At least she didn’t take the walls with her… or the floor.” Sighing, Velvet took the second artifact, this one being smaller, and box shaped.

This one was for Elebra Galibi.

…

After finishing that delivery, which also took her a good half an hour, as the mage checked every nook and function of the artifact (not that Velvet was complaining, since at least, the Galibi pocket dimension was not muddy, just sandy), Velvet went back to Tristan’s house.

Only the last delivery remained, and, once that one was done, the incursion on the Traversa family would start.

Alchor. Tristan hadn’t given her a name, just told her that the mage wanted their identity hidden, same as the artifact that they needed.

Oh well, Velvet respected that, picking the last artifact, and leaving again to speak to Murrs.

She was used to doing this type of back and forth job, and Casrei had more terrain to walk, with cliffs and mountains, so going from pocket dimension to tower to pocket dimension wasn’t that annoying in comparison.

Now, incursions, on the other hand… Velvet had some knowledge of sneaking in places to play pranks, but that probably didn’t compare. Like, at all.

Well, there was a first time for everything.

Once Murrs gave her the okay, she went towards the ‘last’ pocket dimension of the day.

Alchor’s. The mage family that held the key to sneak on the Traversa’s home.