Wind danced near the high ceilings of the Arch Tower, taking the form of autumn leaves before tumbling to the ground.

“Would you stop that?” Fire snapped. The nearest lanterns flickered at her.

Wind giggled. “I’d be jealous too if I were stuck in a box.”

Lara marveled at the grand stairways and golden filigree decorating the inside of the enormous building. She’d never seen anything like it. It made the Venicia School of Etiquette seem like a tiny residential inn. This place was a castle.

“Hmph. These girls have fine taste. Fine taste indeed,” Earth said. The paintings on the tiles shifted beneath Lara’s feet, swirling like ripples of water as Earth stretched out among them.

“Oh? Back already from your heroic deeds?” Wind chided. “That didn’t take long.”

“Of course. I am efficient,” Earth replied.

Wind took her fairy-like form and perched on Lara’s shoulder. “Just not efficient enough to save Lara.”

“Lara?” a voice called from up ahead.

“How many times must I tell you?” Earth demanded, sounding exasperated. “No single mortal should rely on us all of the time. She needs to think harder about calling on us—”

“Lara!” Ravyn snapped.

Lara shook her head and blinked. Master Tristan, Destiny, and Ravyn stood on an obsidian platform flecked with red and gold patterns at its base. Four shimmering chains hooked into each corner of the solid square.

“Are you coming, Sister?” Destiny called, waving her onto the platform.

“What is this?” Lara asked as she skipped forward and toed the polished square.

“An elevator, I believe,” Master Tristan replied. He gestured to a lever jutting from the tiles on his left. “It makes it so we don’t have to use the stairs.”

Lara gasped. “Is it safe?”

“Mou ii. Yes! It’s safe! Get on!” Ravyn snapped.

“Nothing made by mortal hands can be called ‘safe,’” Earth grumbled.

“Weren’t you just saying how this building is in fine taste?” asked Wind.

“Fine taste, yes. Safe? Absolutely not,” Earth countered.

“If Tristan and Ravyn both say it’s safe, then it’s safe.” Destiny gently took Lara’s wrist and tugged. “It’ll be fun!”

Lara tiptoed onto the ‘elevator,’ and Ravyn pulled the lever. The chains creaked as they cycled, and the ground beneath them began to vibrate. Lara squeaked and snatched Destiny’s hand. Wind cheered as she took the shape of one of the chains and mirrored its movements during their ascent.

“I’m sorry, but why are we here again?” Lara asked once she was a little more sure that they wouldn’t fall to their deaths.

Ravyn’s jaw dropped, and she wore an incredulous glare.

Master Tristan held up a hand before she could speak. “We must meet with Melody.”

“Ah, yes. Of course.” Lara nodded. “And Melody is…?”

“The person in charge of Cailu’s money,” he continued patiently. Master Tristan was always so patient with her. “We need to find out how his funds are dispersed.”

“Not to the brats of Shulan, that’s for sure,” Fire cackled.

“Hm.” Lara hummed in thought. She touched her index finger to her chin. “You don’t think Melody is like Celestia, do you?”

“What do you mean?” Destiny asked.

“She put all of Tristan’s money into Venicia, right? So… could Melody be doing the same sort of thing?” Lara wondered.

Ravyn’s eyes widened, and she flashed a sharp smile. “And here I was, just wondering how you tie your little apron in the morning.”

“I love that girl.” Fire crooned. “Why won’t she speak with me?”

Because she doesn’t believe you exist.

Tristan nodded. “It’s a good thought, Lara, and something I’ve considered. But from what Ravyn’s told us, almost every city on San Island is having the same issues.”

“So it isn’t like Ichi Island, either, then,” Destiny mused. “The differences between the First Shell and the Third Shell were enormous.”

“Correct. There’s something we’re missing, and I intend to find out,” Tristan replied.

Wind twirled around Tristan’s head, resuming her fairy form. “He is lovely, isn’t he, Lara?”

Lara blushed as the elevator clicked to a stop. She’d honestly forgotten that they were moving.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Should be this way,” Ravyn said, stepping off the platform and choosing a direction.

Lara briefly wondered if it was difficult carrying around such a large tail. Ravyn had the thickest tail of any catgirl she’d ever met.

“Let’s go.” Destiny took Lara’s hand, and they followed Master Tristan and Ravyn.

The top floor split into multiple corridors with guards posted at the corners. Each hallway had doors on either side every ten steps or so. Bronze plaques with names and titles carefully engraved across their centers adorned the entrances. More lanterns lit their path, shining red and gold lights on the thick carpets.

Wind sat cross-legged on Lara’s head just between her ears, and for a few blessed moments, the Elements were silent.

“What do all of these people do here, exactly?” Destiny asked, sweeping a hand over a set of doorways.

“San Island is the largest and oldest island in Nyarlea. Second only to Nyarlothep,” Ravyn explained. “The Arch Tower is used for a lot of things. Trade, [Alchemy], training [Mage]s and their later Classes, storage, whatever the higher-ups are feeling that day, really.”

“I’ve read that this is where important trade agreements and working contracts for all of the islands are struck,” Tristan added. “It’s one of the longest-standing buildings in the world.”

“It is. It’s also drenched in Enchantments, like everything else on this damn island. Protective, inhibitive, or otherwise. It’s impossible to get a clear read on them.” Ravyn sniffed.

“At last, something these ridiculous mortals can protect from the Defiled,” Earth rumbled.

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

“Maybe they’d be able to protect things better if you helped them!” Wind screeched. It was right in Lara’s ear and very loud.

“A-ah, could you not be up there while you fight, please?” Lara asked quietly.

Ravyn shot her a look of disbelief over her shoulder.

“They need to train harder! Become stronger!” Fire announced, his voice echoing against the slim corridor. “Earth’s right!”

“Wrong. Again. As usual,” said Wind.

“Here we are,” Ravyn announced, stopping in front of a door at the very end of the hallway. It had the same shape and construction, except multiple decorative ropes framed its edges, tied off with golden bells.

Tristan stepped forward and took a deep breath, staring at the plaque.

Melody. Arch Tower Treasurer. Lara read on the plaque.

“Goodness me, boy, just knock!” Wind danced in Tristan’s hair, though it was imperceptible to all except Lara.

At last, he knocked, and they waited.

The door opened, and they were greeted by a young woman in a red silk dress with two slits that stopped high on her thighs. Light floral embroidery was stitched from the edges of her high collar all the way to the bottom hem. Her yellow hair was pulled back into a loose, messy braid that curled around one shoulder.

Golden eyes peered over the group, then rested on Tristan. “Yes? May I help you?”

“Oh! Right to the point! I like her!” Wind announced.

“You like everyone,” Fire snapped from a nearby lantern.

“Melody, I presume?” Tristan asked, retrieving the scroll from his [Cat Pack].

“Just as it says on my door. That’s correct,” Melody teased with a smile. Her voice was much softer and kinder than the guards at the base of the Arch Tower. She didn’t carry the same straight-backed aggression, either.

“I’m Tristan, Shi Island’s man. Cailu sent me.” Tristan returned her smile and presented her with the parchment. “This is my Party; Destiny, Lara, and Ravyn.”

“I see.” Melody accepted the scroll and took a step back. “Please, come in.”

Still holding Destiny’s hand, Lara stepped into Melody’s office. Bookshelves lined the lower walls, filled from shelf to shelf with leather tomes. A stack of four more books sat on the large desk at the room’s center alongside a freshly laid out parchment and quill. An incense burner rested on a small table nearby, smoke rising from the half-burned stick.

Nyapple and ginger. Healing scents.

Melody unrolled the scroll and skimmed it. “He’s left you with quite a task.”

“He has,” Tristan replied. “I was hoping you could assist me.”

“That will be difficult.” Melody handed the parchment back to Tristan before walking closer to the bookshelves. “I have detailed the distribution of every Bell in Cailu’s possession for over a decade. San is the most prosperous island in Nyarlea, and what you seek to cure is simply a side effect of our success.”

Lara puzzled over her words. Melody’s tone and smile seemed so nice. But something about her scratched Lara the wrong way. Ravyn’s low growl confirmed her feeling.

“Can’t you be successful without people suffering?” Destiny asked.

“Possibly. But what of the cost?” Melody asked. “A new law from an unknown face may incite riots.”

“I won’t make any orders or changes without Cailu’s consent, Melody,” Tristan said. “All I ask right now is to look through your books.”

“Of course. No trouble at all, sir,” Melody said with a bow. “I hope you’ll forgive my tone. I care very much about San Island. It would be a shame to see my homeland plummet into financial ruin after all of our hard work.”

Lara wrinkled her nose. Something was off. More than Melody’s strange words. She blinked, looking up to the ceiling, then to her left and right. There were curtained windows that revealed a perfect view of the sprawling Shulan—curtains that a certain Element should have relished in dancing inside.

“Wind?” whispered Lara.

There was no response.

“Your suggestions would be very welcome. While Destiny, Lara, and I are from Shi Island, Ravyn lived here for quite a long time,” Tristan said.

Melody favored Ravyn with a long look. “I thought I recalled your name. You’re Emberlynn’s daughter, are you not?”

“Kuso. Yeah. That’s me,” Ravyn mumbled. Ball stirred at her shoulder. “Is there anyone on this goddess-damned island that my mother doesn’t know?”

“Mm. I believe it’s more important for many of us to know her.” Melody laughed. “She speaks of you highly.”

“That makes one of us.” Ravyn rolled her eyes.

Lara turned toward the flickering end of the incense stick. She leaned forward and hissed, “Fire?”

Still nothing. Lara swallowed the first wave of panic. She’d never not heard the Elements before. Not since she could remember. There were times when one or two wouldn’t respond, but never all of them.

Destiny squeezed her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I can’t…” The words were trapped in Lara’s throat. It was as if the very air she breathed was suddenly cut off. They were just speaking with her. How could this possibly…

“Lara?” Tristan called.

“Excuse me,” Lara squeaked, then ran for the door.

Wind? Earth?! Fire! Where are you?!

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