Embla sat on the branch, keeping as quiet as she could. She made no sound. She was like a snake in the grass. Completely invisible to everyone and everything.

“So, you ready to do this?”

Embla looked to her right. Cal sat on the branch next to her, his eyes glowing as he used [Farcast] to scout out their prey. His eyes never left the targets.

“Yeah,” she said. “We need the money. A lot of our money went to house repairs and renovations. The rest went to food. I need money to pay off Durinn for my new swords.” Embla unsheathed her knife. It was a substitute at best. She missed her dual blades.

“Remember, no killing. Just knocking out. This mission is a capture quest,” Cal said.

“How are you going to do that?” Embla raised an eyebrow.

“Chokehold,” he said. With that, Cal dropped from his branch and landed nearly soundlessly on the floor. He looked up. They didn’t hear that? Then again, bandits aren’t really trained, he thought as he crept up to the brush. Embla walked up to him, sheathing her knife.

“Can I at least hit them on the head with the butt of my knife?” Embla asked.

“Whatever works for you. We have to do this quietly. No repeats of what happened in the Ancient Pines,” Cal said.

“I’m ready when you are,” Embla said. Her body became transparent.

Cal nodded and did the same. The two walked as quietly as they could up to the two. In a flash, the two guards were instantly incapacitated and dragged into the nearest bush. Cal stuck his head out the bush and held up his fingers in a position resembling a dog's shadow puppet. And in that instant, all hell broke loose.

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“I think you went too far with this one,” Embla said, pulling on the rope. The bandits she tied up were exhibiting minor signs of frostbite on their fingers. She felt a bit of pity at the thought that his fingers might have a chance of falling off.

“Yeah,” Yuki said sheepishly, looking down at the bandits. “Why don’t you go sweep the rest of the camp? Red and I will take care of things here.”

Embla nodded and handed her the rope. She walked deeper into the now ruined camp to look for any stragglers. It had been two weeks since she had read the letter. Two weeks since she officially joined Memento Mori. Embla smiled. “Cal! Pandora! You guys find anyone?” she said, jogging up to them.

“No, I think we got them all,” Cal said, checking inside a tent.

“Think they got any loot on them?” Pandora asked.

“You want to rob a bunch of robbers?” Embla asked, crossing her arms.

“We’re not robbing them. We’re just taking back what they rightfully stole and giving it back to the community,” Pandora said. She walked over to a pile of crates and opened it.

Embla sighed. The girl had a point. She walked into a tent. Embla began to rummage through one of the bandits’ belongings. Worthless. She threw a wooden cup over her shoulder. How many bullions can I get for this? Embla held up a silver knife.

“Find anything?” Cal walked into the tent.

“No, just a picture, a knife, and a few wooden cups,” she said, tossing the knife at one of the boxes in the tent.

“Come on, let’s go. Red got us a cart,” he said.

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Memento Mori stood in front of Annalise as she processed their quest. Annalise’s eyes flitted across the magical screen in front of her as her hands typed across the light board. “Hmmm, here it is. The reward is 8000 bullions.” She pressed a button on her desk. Annalise then handed the group (Red) about several dozen bills.

“Thanks, Annalise,” Red said, sifting through the bills.

“Anytime,” she said.

The others walked away from her reception desk and towards the posting board. “So which one do we do next?” Embla asked, looking through the quests.

“Hmmm, most of these are just food delivery or cleaning quests. And there’s a quest for finding someone’s lost cat,” Cal said, placing his hand on his chin.

“Ooh! What about this one?” Pandora reached out to grab a piece of paper. As her hand neared the posted quest, it was snatched from her. Her eyes widened as she turned around to see a group of people standing behind them.

“Well, looks like we got ourselves a new quest,” the man said. The man was tall and lanky. His face was moderately average for an elf. It was the greed in his eyes that ruined that ethereal beauty that elves had. His spiky white hair reeked of gel and he had a cocky, if not slightly flirtatious grin on his face.

His companions just stood there silently. The man next to him was a giant of a man. It looked like he had to struggle to even fit in through the doorway. His arms, legs, and torso were thick like that of a tree trunk. His eyes were a shade of green that resembled that of a pine tree. He wore a leather and iron breastplate above a skintight black undershirt and brown pants. On his feet were a pair of big leather boots.

The girl next to them was slightly taller than the white-haired elf. The look on her face was that of sheer arrogance. It practically dripped from the sides of her face like venom from the fang of a snake. Her eyes were red like Yuki and Embla’s, however, hers were a duller shade. Her face and skin were pale. She wore a white blazer with a black shirt underneath and a red tie. Her skirt was red with black leggings underneath and brown boots.

She looks like she's from Urdarbrunnr, Embla thought.

And finally, the woman that stood slightly in front of the group. Her appearance was that of someone from Alfheim. Her hair was a rich shade of black, reaching down to her mid-shoulder. Her eyes were a rich and vibrant mix between red and orange. The woman had a pair of fluffy fox-like ears atop her head and three black tails with grey tips. She wore a black sleeveless crop top. The woman had a white belt with a silver fox emblem on it over a pair of fitted black pants. Around her crop top was a white coat.

“We got that quest first,” Pandora said, glaring at him. “Give it back, William.”

The now-named William ignored Pandora’s words. “How about it, Kaguya?” he looked at the black-haired Fox-Kin.

Her eyes closed as she contemplated her response before grabbing the paper. “Hmmm, ruin exploration? It’s beneath our paygrade,” Kaguya said, tossing the paper back at Pandora. “Come. Let’s go. You wasted our time dealing with them.” Her eyes fell on Yuki and Embla noticed a tinge of fury and loathing in them.

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The group left, leaving Memento Mori standing there for a few seconds.

“What a bunch of jerks,” Embla said, crossing her arms. “Who were those guys anyway?”

“That,” Red began, “Was Celestial Force. They’re a four-star party. They were formed around the same time we were.”

“Wait, then how are they four stars and you guys are still zero stars?”

“Remember when we talked about quest hoarding?” Yuki asked.

“Oh.” Embla looked at their retreating backs.

“Their leader is, or rather was, the retainer of Alfheim’s Princess. One of the children of the Twelve Sages, Eschamali. Her full name is Kaguya Tsukuyomi,” Red said. “Her skill and general ferocity are what allowed Celestial Force to stake their claims and fight back against the higher-level parties.”

“But you guys are pretty strong. Why were you left behind?” Embla asked.

“Lack of funds. Magic and combat skill can only take you so far. If you lack the preparedness and resources, what’s the point of taking higher-level quests?” Yuki said, grabbing the paper from Pandora. “Ruin exploration? This is a graveyard outside of the west district. Looks like someone wants us to go graverobbing. Let’s hand this quest back to Annalise and head back home. There’s no point of being here since the quest board’s been stripped dry again.”

They all nodded reluctantly and followed after her. Embla walked up to Red’s side. “Is it just me or is there…?”

“It’s best not to ask me about that,” he said, looking at her apologetically.

“I haven’t even asked it yet,” she replied, pouting.

“You were going to ask if there was anything going on between Kaguya and Yuki.” Red gave her a knowing smile. “Cal and Pandora asked the same thing when we first saw them here.”

“Oh,” she said.

“But don’t worry. This isn’t something you should worry about,” Red said.

“Okay.” Embla nodded. “Hey, while we’re out, I’m going to go drop by the smithy to check on my commission.”

“Yeah, we’ll be waiting for you back at home,” Red said. Embla nodded and ran off, leaving the group within the Guild.

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Embla almost coughed as her sensitive nose took in the fumes of the smithy. The clanking of gears and the slamming of hammers could be heard as soon as she entered. The sweltering heat from the massive heat furnaces and molten metal burned her eyes and skin.

“Hey! Mr. Durinn? Are you home?” Embla called out as she entered the store. She ran her fingers along the stacks of knives and swords that lay unfinished on the table.

“Are you here for an order?”

Embla turned around upon hearing a voice. A hooded woman stood behind her. The hood hid most of her features but Embla could make out the white hair that hung from her cloak.

“Um, yeah I am,” she answered.

“Mr. Durinn’s in the back running some maintenance on my lance for me. It might be a while before he comes out,” the woman said. “What’s your name?”

Her voice sounds… oddly familiar, Embla thought. “Isn’t it common courtesy to introduce yourself first before asking for someone’s name?”

“Oh! I’m sorry. My name is Askr.” The woman smiled. She moved her hood aside just a smidge and Embla saw the woman’s eyes. They were golden. The purest shade of gold that Embla had ever laid eyes upon. It was like staring into a crucible filled with molten gold.

“Embla. My name is Embla,” she said, finally finding her voice after a few seconds.

“Looks like he’s coming out,” Askr said, pointing to the parting curtains.

A dwarf with a beard that covered the entire upper half of his torso came walking out of the back of the store. He removed his goggles as he wiped the soot that covered parts of his face.

“Ah, Miss Feuerdrache and-”

“Askr, Mr. Durinn.”

“Askr. Miss Askr, I still need a few more days for your weapon. As for you Miss Feuerdrache, I believe you’re here for your swords?” the blacksmith said.

“Right, I have money to pay for it,” Embla said.

“Now, now, before we get onto the payment. I need to tell you about the swords. I’m sure you know that the swords were beyond repair?” Durinn said.

“Yeah, I, uh, I don’t think I told you this but the blades melted from deflecting a Gusisnautar blast ehehe.” Embla scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

“Gusisnautar? You batted away a blast from a magical cannon with a pair of swords? No wonder they melted. Steel and Iron simply can’t withstand heat of that intensity, especially if it’s from a cannon that fires a mixture of mana and prana.” Durinn pulled out a notepad from his apron pocket and wrote something down. “Ah, right. Your swords. I got the design down based on a drawing you did and you told me that the choice of metals was up to me.”

“Yeah, I did,” Embla said.

“Well, I decided to use mythril,” Durinn said.

“M- Mythril!? I don’t have the money for that!” Embla panicked when she heard the name.

“Eh? Hey, wait. Calm down,” Durinn said.

“Mythril is the standard metal used for the Knights and their weapons! Ordinary people like me have to sell our kidneys to the black market to even get a pound of it!” Embla said.

“Calm down. I didn’t use mythril for the whole thing. I only used it to create an alloy to reinforce your blades and make them sturdier,” Durinn said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Askr giggled behind her hand, watching the whole thing occur.

“At least lead with that. I thought I had to cut my arm off,” she said.

“I’ll keep that in mind next time. Ah, yes, let me get your swords and I’ll tell you the price for it. Just wait here.” Durinn went back into his forge.

“You’re easily panicked,” Askr said, smiling at her.

“Yeah, when it comes to money. Living on the road makes you like that. You should see my party leader. She spends money like its water,” Embla said. Her mind drifted back to their renovations. I’m so glad Red is in the party. Otherwise, we would’ve wasted all our bullions on a light fixture…

“You remind me of my little sister,” Askr said.

“Little sister?” she asked.

“Mmm. She’s easily panicked too. It’s like she’s a little kitten out in the snow,” Askr said, laughing a little at the memory. “Ahhh, I should give her a scare when I see her again.”

Embla gave her a deadpan look. “You’re like my sister.”

“Hmm?”

“Whenever my sister got home while I was away or asleep, she’d hide somewhere or play dead with the tomato sauce on her head,” Embla said, growling at the memory. She had many near heart attacks because of Valentina.

“Your sister sounds like a very smart person,” Askr remarked.

“Are older sisters this evil?” she asked.

“Ah. Here we are.” Durinn’s voice got their attention, cutting their conversation short. The dwarven smith came in holding a pair of blades that Embla recognized instantly. Durinn held them out and Embla picked them up.

“Woah. They’re lighter than I remember,” she said, swinging the one in her hand.

“Mythril is a naturally light metal,” Durinn said.

“I see, I see. I’m gonna have to get used to this. Chromatic Slicers was heavier when it was just steel,” Embla said. “So how much?”

Durinn stroked his beard in contemplation. “How about… for now 400 bullions?”

“I guess that’s fair. Mythril is pretty expensive,” Embla said, pulling out her money pouch. She pulled out the money and handed it to Durinn. In return, the man handed her the other blade.

“Just so you know, this is marked down about sixty percent. I have limited stock with this and I mainly use it for alloys or… swords like yours which I deem are too incompetent for adventurers,” Durinn said.

Embla felt the words stab her heart. “Oi, my teacher worked hard to forge these swords. I’ve been using them for seven years.”

“Yes, yes, but now, the Chromatic Slicers Mark two are capable of withstanding even fire bursts so you can go swing your swords at them,” he said.

“Thanks, Mr. Durinn. I’m going to head out now. See you later, Askr! Mr. Durinn!” Embla said. She smiled and waved at them before leaving the store.

Durinn stood there, stroking his beard in amusement. “A curious child.”

“Yeah, she is. But I guess that’s my fault kind of,” she said.

“Come. I finished with Ragnarok Blossom.” Durinn beckoned for her to follow.

“Right,” Valentina said, following after him.