On the upper end of the Giantrock City commerce district was a street dedicated to administrative headquarters for the various companies and factions that operated out of the city. One such headquarters was located in a particularly large standalone building constructed of the finest mature redwood planks and framed by young redwood logs with the bark still attached. Above the door hung a sign that read "Grantworth Logging Co."

In a large office on the second floor, an elderly gnome sat behind a desk and held his chin as he read through the final page of the report, "hmmm, you truly couldn't save anyone?"

Victoria shook her head solemnly, "they were already dead by the time we arrived."

"And you're certain the spirits responsible have been dealt with?"

"All the ones I sensed," she replied, "but if you're planning on reopening your operation there, I'd suggest conducting a thorough sweep and safety assessment first."

The gnome gave her a skeptical look over the rim of his glasses, "and I suppose you lot will be wanting that job, as well?"

"Not at all. You'll need wide area specialists for a task like that, we're not qualified for that."

The gnome placed the stack of papers down and drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment before finally speaking again, "very well, I’ll consider the quest completed." He pulled open a drawer on his desk and retrieved a small wooden box, which he hefted onto the desk and shoved towards the party, " Keep the box."

Titus cracked open the box and nodded at the neatly stacked coins inside, then closed it and held it up in front of Iris. She pulled the bottomless bag from her waist, stretched it open and held it out beneath the box, which Titus promptly dropped into the void.

"If that's all--" the gnome began.

"One more thing," Eli said, sliding a piece of paper across the desk, "this quest was approved for a Grand Hunt bonus, we'll need you sign this so we can redeem it with the city."

The man seemed annoyed, but didn't complain. After briefly reading over the page, he signed his name at the bottom, handed it back to Eli, and waved them away. A few moments later they were stepping out of the Grantworth headquarters onto the wooden sidewalk of Giantrock City.

"Now we just have to visit the questing hall to collect our bonus," Eli said, "and then we're done for the day."

"Why don't you go ahead," Victoria said, "I have something to take care of."

"This was a group quest," Eli protested, "we're supposed to stick together until it's over."

"Technically, it is over now," Victoria said as she walked away.

Iris glanced up at the position of the sun in the sky, "yeah, I appreciate the tradition and everything, but I have somewhere to be too."

"And I have some things to pick up from the shop," Autumn added.

Eli looked hopefully at Titus, who clapped him on the shoulder and spoke as he walked past, "see you back at the tavern."

Eli was left standing alone on the sidewalk. He slumped his shoulders and sighed.

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Victoria looked up at the Slumbering Mare from the sidewalk. It was a massive three story inn with a shingled roof that twisted out into a slight curl at the corners. Balconies lined the exterior of the upper floors, and large double doors stood open to the lobby atop a wide flight of stairs. She made her way inside and approached a finely dressed elf woman behind the front counter.

"I'm here to see the Dreamweaver," she said.

The woman looked her skeptically, "name?"

"Victoria Loremere."

The woman grabbed a large book from a shelf behind the counter and flipped through it until she came across the page she was looking for. After a moment of tracing her finger down the page in search of Victoria's name, she slammed the book closed and returned it to its shelf.

"Top floor, suite seven."

Victoria stepped into the wooden lift at the back of the lobby. Though the walls were painted an off-white cream and trimmed with ornate molding, in practice it was little more than a wooden box with an accordion metal gate in place of one of the walls. Embedded in wood just to the side of the gate were four vertically aligned green crystals, the second crystal from the bottom was glowing with a faint twinkle. Given the stairs she had to climb to reach the lobby, she guessed there was a basement beneath the lobby represented by the bottom-most crystal, with each of the other crystals corresponding to the numbered floors. She reached out and tapped the top crystal, and the gate slid shut. A second later, the small room gently lurched upwards.

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The gate slid open shortly after the elevator reached the top floor, depositing her into a wide hallway that was finely carpeted and trimmed with ornate molding that matched that of the elevator. A few moments later she was knocking nervously on the door to the Dreamweaver's suite.

"Come in," the Dreamweaver's elegant voice called out.

Victoria hesitantly cracked open the door and stepped inside. To say the room was lavish would have been an understatement. It had even more expensive looking carpet than the hallway outside, a full set of comfortable looking lounge furniture, and no small number of paintings and tapestries hanging on the walls. An archway in the wall to the right was shrouded with a curtain, from which the Dreamweaver soon emerged. She was wearing a white flowing gown that starkly contrasted her skin tone and revealed more than would be considered modest. She carried a small glass in one hand, and motioned to a bar across the room with another.

"Help yourself to a drink," she offered.

"I'd rather not," Victoria said flatly.

"Oh," the Dreamweaver said with a slight pouting expression, "are you upset with me again?"

"I never stopped being upset, now I'm pissed off."

The titan took a seat in a cushioned armchair, motioning for Victoria to sit on the couch across from her, "how I have disappointed you this time?"

Victoria didn't move from where she stood, "did you know it was a Thread of Souls?"

The Dreamweaver swished a swig of her drink around for a moment before swallowing and answering, "I thought it might be, given that area’s history. I never got close enough myself to confirm it though."

Victoria clenched a fist to keep herself calm, "and you didn't tell me."

"Why would I? So you could trap yourself with indecision instead of seizing the power you'd been offered? So you could stagnant and waste your potential, instead of becoming what I know you can?"

"My potential is my business, not yours. I don't know where you got this idea that you have any say over me, but I don't want to be a part of your games, and I don't want to be necromancer."

The titan laughed, "relax, child. You won't become a necromancer. An adventurer's second thread doesn't redefine them, it simply steers their development in a particular direction. Think of it like a choice of paths, as a Hero you only had one path down which to walk, and the threshold of Champion is a fork in the road where each path is a different Thread of Power. I can say with confidence that, for a Hero who begins with a Thread of Dreams, the Thread of Souls does not lead down a path to necromancy."

Victoria relaxed her fist, "how can you be sure?"

"Because it was my second thread, as well."

That made Victoria's stomach twist, "you're trying to make me like you, then? Shouldn't I get a say in this? Or have you decided for yourself that I'll be your little pet project?"

The Dreamweaver's expression turned flat and her voice foreboding, "if I had decided that, my dear, you'd find yourself with a lot less free will and a much different attitude." She let her words linger for a moment before smiling and speaking again, once more with a soft and elegant tone, "have a seat, let's discuss the path down which your powers might take you."

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"I-I don't really see how I can help with all this," Milo said, nervously.

He was leaning against the railing of the balcony outside his shop in the Giantrock City Badger building, looking over at Iris who sat on the balcony railing with her feet dangling precariously over the edge.

“Autumn says we need all the help we can get, and you have all sorts of talents."

"I do?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course!" Iris said, "you know how to work on machines, you're a great writer, and you made your own telescope."

"Do you think writing will help with your heist?" He asked skeptically.

"Well, no, probably not. But I'm sure the other two might."

Milo looked away for a moment, "I don't know, I've never done anything like this before."

Iris twisted and hopped off the railing to stand beside Milo, "how many times have you told me you wish you could have adventures like I do?"

"I don't know, a lot probably," he mumbled.

"Exactly. This is a chance to have one of those adventures!"

"What if I get hurt? What if I can't even help and I just get in the way?"

"I won't let you get hurt," she insisted, "and if we don't end up needing your help, that's fine. What matters is that you're there in case we do."

A gentle breeze tasseled their hair as it offered a short reprieve from the summer heat.

Milo looked up at her with an uncertain gaze, "what's the point in doing this anyway? Robbing your landlord seems like a bad idea."

Iris laughed, "oh, it definitely is. We're doing it for Autumn, though. She has a chance to become the Shark Titan's chef aboard his ship, and this is the final piece."

Her stomach twisted at the lie, even as she tried to reason with herself that it was more like an adjustment of the truth. If everything went to plan, she would be on that ship too, and she'd have to tell Milo she was leaving. That was a conversation she hadn't figured out how to have yet, and she couldn't afford the distraction until after the job at hand was done. Part of her almost hoped they didn't succeed at their quest so she didn't have to have the conversation at all, but she knew that was naive. Sooner or later she would leave Giantrock City, that much was certain, the only question was if it would be in a few weeks or a while longer. She hoped that Milo knew that as much as she did, even if he wasn't aware of the possible timeframes.

After thinking about it for a moment, Milo nodded, "alright, I'm in. I don't know Autumn that well, but any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

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Cameron Cole sat alone at a bar in a tavern called The Redwood Keg. It was early evening, and he was only drinking water as he awaited the arrival of his drinking companion. When the stool beside him slid out from the bar, he was shocked to see a mop of bright red hair only a head higher than the stool itself. Autumn grunted as she hoisted herself up onto the stool and settled in beside him.

"You're not Eli," he said, annoyed.

"And I thank several gods for that every day," Autumn replied.

Cameron twisted to look around the tavern, "is he here?"

"Not yet, but the guy hates being late, so we don't have much time."

"Time for what?" he asked.

"I heard a rumor that you've got a spot on the Shark Titan's ship."

Cameron's eyes widened, "how did you--? I haven't even told Eli about that."

"I have my sources," Autumn said, laying on her best conspiratorial voice, "tell me, how would you like to secure Eli a spot on that boat, too?"