Snow fell in gentle sheets around them that night. Arek marveled at it from within the relative warmth of his own tent. It had been years since he’d seen so much snow. He was tempted to dive into it, but the powerful chill it promised was enough to keep him firmly planted in his sleeping quarters.

It didn’t let up all night, and their tents were half buried when he got up the following morning. It took nearly an hour to dig everything out. Belmont was the only one who didn’t get snowed in, and that was only because the man had added heating runes to the base of his tent.

They continued onward, but their progress was significantly slowed. Initially, Arek couldn’t complain. The plains were like something out of a painting. Trees devoid of leaves bore icicles that twinkled in the sunlight.

Snow, unblemished by anything other than the trail of the Happy Sunflower’s footsteps, stretched on as far as Arek could see. It was completely and utterly pristine. And cold. The more they trudged, the more the orc realized that snow was wet.

His pants and boots quickly grew soaked. He had to use his acceleration magic every half an hour just to keep the party from freezing their lower halves off, and his magical reserves weren’t meant for that amount of usage with any magic that wasn’t for combat.

Despite the temperature, Arek’s forehead was covered in a thin sheen of sweat by midday.

“Are you okay?” Malissa asked. “You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” Arek said with a grimace. “Only a day or two left until we make it to Seaside. I’ll make it, but I wouldn’t count on having dry pants for much longer.”

“I could get rid of the snow,” Ming offered.

“Would that involve blowing everything in our path up?” Belmont asked.

“Probably.”

“Let’s hold off on that,” Malissa suggested. A snowflake fell on her nose and she scrunched it. “For now, at least. If any more snow falls, I might lose my patience.”

Luckily for all of them, the weather didn’t grow any worse. The next two days of travel, while far from comfortable, were passable. Arek saved his magic, only casting it once every hour or two and before they went to bed.

By midday of the second day, a massive sheet of ice came into view. Before it was a massive city made of white stone, its spires rising high into the sky and disappearing behind the clouds.

“Wow,” Malissa breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

“I wonder what kind of food they have,” Arek said. “Hopefully something warm and spicy. I could use some heat.”

“Only one way to find out,” Ming said, picking up the pace. “Let’s go. New recipes await!”

They reached Seaside a few hours later. The massive gate leading into the city was flanked by nearly a dozen guards. Each carried a jagged halberd made of white metal and stood at attention along a drawbridge wide enough for an army to all cross at once.

A small booth sat in front of the drawbridge with several guards sitting within it. One of them stepped out and approached the party when they grew close enough.

“Welcome to Seaside,” the man said, his voice slightly muffled by the helm covering his face. Arek felt the man’s gaze pause on him. The orc gave his most charming grin, but something told him that it hadn’t been particularly effective. “Are you an adventuring party?”

“Yup,” Ming said happily. “And please stop glaring at our chef.”

“The monster is your chef?”

“The best one you’ll ever see,” Ming said. “And you’re still glaring.”

The man’s visor still blocked his face, so how Ming could tell that for sure was a mystery. After glancing back at the other guards, the man shrugged. “There aren’t any rules against entry, but make sure it doesn’t damage anything. If it does, you’ll be on the line for repairs.”

“I swear this has happened before,” Malissa muttered. “What is it with people thinking you’re going to go around smashing everything in sight? If a monster can stand this calmly next to a party, they can clearly control themselves.”

“Well, it’s possible that something could scare them,” Belmont mused. “A large crowd or sudden noise might make someone act irrationally, no matter how well behaved they normally are.”

“Belmont!” Malissa snapped. “Whose side are you on?”

“Right, sorry,” Belmont said. “Arek would never attack someone without reason.”

“Right,” the guard said, drawing the word out. “Good to know. Do you plan to stay in Seaside long?”

“No clue,” Malissa replied. “We’re mostly just trying to get some rest, so maybe.”

“And try good food!” Ming added. “Mostly so Arek can steal all of your recipes.”

“I do not steal,” Arek said, affronted. “I exchange.”

The guard’s grip on his halberd slipped and he nearly dropped it. He took a step back, his eyes going wide through the cracks in the visor.

“It can talk?” Arek asked dryly, predicting the guard’s words.

“It can talk?” the guard mimicked, then clapped a hand over his mouth with a clang. “It’s psychic?”

“Yes to all of the above,” Arek said.

The guard stared at them in awe. “Wait a minute. I’ve heard of you. You’re the Happy Sunflowers, aren’t you? The group that participated in the fight against the monster horde on Red Mount?”

“Why do you ask?” Belmont asked, casually adjusting his stance so his hand was closer to the bright pink staff at his side.

“I don’t know how I didn’t place it,” the guard said. He pulled his visor back and strode up to Ming with admiration in his eyes. “You must be Miss Ming then, right? My brother, Hugh, sent a letter back about you.”

“I don’t think I know a Hugh,” Ming said, rubbing her chin. “Sorry.”

“You beat him in an eating competition on the Floating Cities and he looked your adventuring group up afterward. It’s hard to miss him, he’s massive.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Oh!” Ming exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “He ate a lot.”

“That’s him,” the guard said with a chuckle. “What a small world. I’m very sorry about making assumptions, Mister Arek. I didn’t realize you were psychic as well, though. Hugh didn’t even mention it!”

“Uh, it’s fine,” Arek said, rubbing the back of his head. “Most orcs would probably rip you apart on sight, so I can’t exactly blame you.”

“Hold on,” the guard said, patting his pockets and letting out a quiet curse. He jogged back over to the guard house and reemerged a minute later with a piece of paper and a quill dipped in ink. “Could you sign this for my brother?”

“Sure,” Ming replied, taking the quill and signing the paper in his hands. She drew a little flower next to her name before handing it back.

“Thank you!” the guard said. “You’re welcome to head into the city. Please enjoy your stay.”

He ambled back to the guard house, whistling cheerfully. The Happy Sunflowers exchanged a glance, then headed toward the city. None of the guards on the drawbridge bothered them, and they took their first steps into Seaside.

The inside of the city was made from the same beautiful material that the walls had been, but with more flair. Houses made of white stone and lined with beautiful blue trimming lined the streets in orderly rows.

A gentle slope in the city made it so that Arek could see all the way down to the ocean at the other end. It stretched on as far as he could see, twinkling like a massive blue gem.

“Wow,” Malissa breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

Arek couldn’t agree more. The four of them stood near the entrance for several minutes, just absorbing the view. Belmont finally pulled them out of the way when other people passing by started staring at them.

“Come on,” Belmont said. “We can admire the view later. We should settle in somewhere and then try to see if we can get in contact with Magus.”

“When we settle in, we should figure out what food this place has,” Ming suggested. “So Arek can exchange for it.”

“I am quite eager to see what cuisine they have here,” Arek admitted. “That plan sounds good to me.”

“To an inn, then,” Malissa said, starting down Seaside’s main street. The Happy Sunflowers followed behind her, drinking in all the city’s sights as they headed deeper into it.

They wandered down the streets until they reached a tall, four story building. Brilliant white marble columns and a granite nameplate identified it as the local adventurer’s guild branch.

The group stepped through the huge doors, which towered over even Arek, and made their way toward the receptionists at a desk at the back of the room.

A bespectacled man working the desk glanced up in their direction as they approached. His gaze lingered on Arek, but he didn’t so much as miss a beat.

“Hello,” Ming said cheerfully. Her head didn’t quite reach the top of the counter, so she pulled herself up to poke her nose over it. “I’m trying to find my teacher.”

“The school is at the east of Seaside,” the man said, his quill scratching across the paper.

“I’m a fully fledged mage!” Ming protested. “My teacher is Magus. We can reach him from here, right?”

The receptionist finally put his quill down. He pulled the glasses down to squint at them. “Magus? The B rank mage?”

“That’s correct,” Malissa said. “We don’t want to take too much of your time up, so we’ll be out of your hair as soon as we can speak with him. You can request that he teleport over or something, right?”

“You think we ask B rank mages to teleport around whenever any random group comes looking for them?” the receptionist asked with a snort. “What are you, the circus?”

Ming hopped back down and grabbed the bundle of staves from her bag, rooting around it for a few minutes before pulling out a plain wooden one that looked strikingly familiar to Arek.

“Wait, isn’t that…” Belmont started.

A faint blue glow lit up at the end of the staff. Ming poked it over the desk in the direction of the receptionist.

“This is pure magic,” she said. “And I’m not very good at controlling it yet. That means this might go boom. If you know anything about Magus, you would know that he’s a pure magic user, so his apprentice would be too. Right?”

The receptionist narrowed his eyes. “That could just be a light. You can’t prove–”

Ming flicked the staff down, tapping the paper he was working on. It vaporized with a puff, turning into a few trails of cyan smoke that curled into the air around them. The receptionist leapt to his feet.

“I’m under attack! Help! Someone help!”

The door behind the counter swung open and a man that looked identical strode out, annoyance creasing his features. He snapped his fingers and the receptionist folded in on himself like a piece of origami, vanishing within moments.

“I’m sorry about that,” the man said. “My name is Valen, and I’m the leader of the adventurer’s guild in Seaside.”

“Did you just kill yourself?” Belmont asked, eyeing him warily.

“No,” Valen said with a bassy laugh. “That was a simulacrum. I’ve been trying my hand at adding a few more to my employees, but I’ve been struggling with keeping their personalities straightened out. The more you’ve got at once, the harder it is to keep them from losing it a bit. I really am sorry.”

“No harm done,” Malissa said. “We were just hoping to speak with one of our party’s mentors.”

“Yes, I heard,” Valen said. “Magus, yes? I can send a request and see if he’s available. Magus has been very busy as of late. He’s gotten caught up in some serious business.”

“Like what?” Arek asked.

Valen’s eyebrows crept up, but he didn’t address Arek’s abnormalities. “It looks like there may be a pretty large guild war brewing. A fair number of guilds have been getting drawn into conflict as of late, but I’m not at liberty to say any more. With all due respect, I do not believe any of you are B rank mages, and this information is confidential.”

He gestured for them to follow and headed back through the door that he’d come through. They followed Valen through the adventurer’s guild’s pristine halls, turning down several doors and catching glimpses of other people – all of whom looked identical to Valen – until they reached a small bronze door.

Valen pushed it open and led them into a circular room with a large rune covered platform in the center. It was made of tarnished bronze and had a large fence running around it. The only other thing in the room was a small pedestal with several buttons on its top.

“Can’t you just mentally contact him or something?” Malissa asked.

“Of course not,” Valen replied, offering no further explanation. His fingers danced across the pedestal and a low hum ran through the room.

The runes on the platform started to light with faint white energy. Valen pressed several more buttons in rapid succession. The humming grew louder with every passing second and the light increased in intensity until the Happy Sunflowers had to cover their eyes.

Then, with a brilliant flash and a pop, it was over. The hum cut and the light returned to normal. A string of curses filled the room. Arek moved his hand away from his eyes just in time to see Magus, clad in a fluffy pink bath robe and matching pointy hat, storm down from the platform.

“Blasted simulacrums,” Magus snarled, flicking Valen in the head as he passed. Valen folded in on himself, cackling until he was gone.

“He was a simulacrum too?” Malissa asked, thoroughly baffled.

“This is the Seaside adventurer’s guild,” Magus said. “Everyone is. No matter, I had been meaning to speak with you all as soon as you had gotten somewhere safe. This might not be the ideal timing, but I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“Likewise,” Belmont said. “We’ve got a lot of information to share, and a lot of it is worrisome.”

“As do I,” Magus admitted, adjusting his pointy hat. “But I think that would be best done over a meal. It’s been some time since I’ve last eaten, and Seaside has no shortage of passable diners that will suit our needs.”

He swept out of the room and the Happy Sunflowers followed, the confusion only growing on their faces.

“Am I having a fever dream?” Arek wondered. “I have no idea what’s going on. Since the moment we saw this place, everything has been weird.”

“Maybe Magus will explain,” Malissa said, but as they both watched his fuzzy pink hat bob up and down with every step, Arek was pretty sure none of them believed that for a second.

Magus swept down the streets of Seaside, his pink robes fluttering majestically behind him despite a stark lack of wind. People took one glance at him and quickly made way for the party.

They headed toward the seafront, turning down a busy street lined with dozens of shops. Magus led them up to a multistory building with a large crowd at its front. Tendrils of magic curled off his body, gently pushing in his way to the side.

Annoyed murmurs rose up from the crowd, but they silenced as soon as people realized who the magic belonged to. The Happy Sunflowers scrambled to keep up with Magus before the crowd sealed back up.

A slightly rotund man in a sleek suit stood at the front of the building, behind a wooden pillar with a thick book perched atop it. Behind him were dozens of tables full of dining patrons. He pushed a pair of round spectacles back on his nose as Magus approached.

“Do you have a reservation?”

Magus put a stack of gold on the counter. The portly man blinked and cleared his throat, snapping the book shut with a nod.

“Ah yes. I recognize you. Put the reservation in three weeks ago, I think. Follow me.”