"Felin... Why was there an Archmage Tier monster there?" Amy asked calmly, as soon as she got back inside her home.

Their walk back had been silent, a quiet unease settling between the two, only broken when they reached the door to the cabin. Laying the nest down on the table, Amy went to where she stored meat to begin to chop it into strips.

"Well, there are several reasons, of course, but it's likely the thing was hounded on its way here," Felin said, "Until it was simply too injured to carry on and, well, died. It maybe wasn't even a Plague monster in life and perhaps only degraded into one upon its demise."

"I get that but... really?" Amy frowned, starting to slice the venison. "An Archmage Tier monster was just hanging around, near enough to notice it?"

"Many isolated regions of the continent are home to apex monsters or mana beasts, so it might just be that this monster was the forest's own. When the shield broke and caused that disturbance in the Ocean, it might've not been able to handle the competition when the surge of other beasts arrived."

"I guess," She commented, plating the small slices and laying them by the nest. "Would you mind feeding them while I'm writing the message, and when I go out too?"

"The things I do for my Apprentice," He smirked, shaking his head in fake annoyance. "Fine! I suppose I can, if I must."

"Thank you, Felin."

"No problem at all, my dear Apprentice."

Washing her hands at the sink, Amy headed over to her bedside table and unlocked its secret compartment to reveal the Wizard books, her FPG, and, most importantly, her journal. Retrieving the bracelet and the leather-bound journal from the desk, popping the hidden compartment back in, she dug out a pen from one of her drawers before sitting down. She opened it to precisely the right page, somewhat loose in the journal itself and the paper of it not fitting the rest of the book. With a careful hand, Amy wrote her message.

To Journeyman Jones,

I wish to request Mage assistance to the village of Triesen that I am the ward of.

There is a magical plague running amok that I do not feel confident in dealing with on my own without it getting out of control. In searching for the source of this plague, I uncovered signs of an active mana beast in the surrounding forest area. It is highly dangerous and attacked me viciously as soon as I got near it. I barely escaped with my life.

In my opinion, two teams would be for the best for this; one for the plague, and one for the beast. However I know that it is not my place to request and manage such things.

I hope my formal plea for aid will be seen to and, hopefully, fulfilled.

Kind Regards,

Apprentice Amy Wachlund

Ward of Triesen

The message fully written, it only took a simple infusion of mana into the page for the black penned letters to begin to glow. In a flash of blue light, the message disappeared from the page, on its way to its pair, back with her superior. Normally this would be enough, but this is anything but a usual situation. I need to file an emergency request too, which means visiting the Mayor. Again. For the second time today.

"Still good to stay here?" Amy asked, looking up to see Felin looking bored, staring at the well-fed chicks.

"I suppose I am."

"Alright then, I'll see you later," She said, getting up towards the door, pulling the FPG over her wrist.

"Try not to get too mad at him!" Felin shouted as Amy went through the door.

"I know, I know."

Head up high, Amy continued onwards. To the village hall.

* * *

Surprisingly, there were a couple of people hanging around the reception by the time Amy got there, Ella looking half-asleep at her desk. I suppose she did say he'd be in meetings all day, Amy added to herself.

Ella perked right up though when she spotted the Witch walking through the doors. This time she didn't even try to chase when she saw Amy walk up the stairs to the Mayor's office without even trying to check with her if he was occupied. She got some odd looks from the villagers who were there waiting, one which was completely hostile. Likely someone who's got a grudge on me. Never met them in my life though.

Spotting Leo through the windows to his office, she noticed him looking especially dour, head in his hands, looking blankly at whatever document he had in front of him. He didn't even notice Amy walking past.

The Mayor's own office sounded quiet, which was expected for it being this close to dusk. So, when she pushed her way in - politely this time - it was no surprise that he was alone, scowling at some half-filled out paperwork. At the Witch's unannounced entrance, he almost jumped up from his chair, looking up at her in shock and paling. He recovered quickly however.

"Ah! Miss Wachlund, Um-" He began, putting on a fake smile, "You'll be pleased to know that there was simply an error with the guard paperwork and-"

"Where's the orb, Henry?"

"Th-the what?" Henry stuttered, off-guard.

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"The orb you were given, when the village first took me on as a ward. It's the item you use to contact my superior in case of emergencies."

"Ah- that." Henry realised, growing fearful as the reality of her question set in.

"Yes, that. I need it. Now," Amy commanded impassively.

"Miss Wachlund, per-perhaps you could reconsider what you're asking for?" Henry sat up, panic setting in. "This is very-"

"Stop the excuses Peters; just hand me the orb," Amy said, stepping forward.

"Amy, please reconsid-" He tried to rebuke, taking a step back in turn.

"I know everything, Mayor Peters. I know why you're so reluctant to give me the orb. And I now know why I never got my transfer requests granted," Amy glared, keeping her tone even.

"A-Amy-" Henry sputtered, the corners of his shaky smile twitching.

"Give me the damn orb!" She finally shouted, slamming her fist onto the desk. "Now!"

"Alright, alright!" Henry gave in, standing up in a hurry and walking out the doors towards his and Leo's office. Amy kept her distance and followed, not letting her eyes leave him the entire time. Just in case he tries something. You never know after all.

While she stared through the windows, looking at him file through various cabinets much to Leo's growing confusion as Henry refused to answer his questions, she spotted out of the corner of her eye a couple of the villagers watching the scene unfold, curious. The same hostile man was among them. It took what felt like ages before Henry finally returned, holding a small orb a little under the size of her hand, presenting it to her.

"Ah-, as requested!" Henry nodded repeatedly, uneasy. Leo looked on in what could only be dawning horror through the door.

"Thank you, Mayor Peters," Amy replied detachedly, focused on the orb in front of her.

"Now, could we-" He began to say, only to be interrupted by a small blink of white light originating from the orb. Amy had channelled mana into it and activated it. "Amy?"

"Yes, Mayor Peters?" She smiled back at him innocently. The orb continued to blink.

"Perhaps, you- you could reconsider doing this in the hallway?" He stammered, glancing back and forth between the open reception area and the Witch. Soon, all the waiting villagers, including Ella, were poking their heads around, trying to get a better look at what was happening.

"And why ever would I do that?"

"You- you know, the-"

"They'll be finding out soon, Henry, if all goes well. Why does it matter then that they see this all unfold?" Amy grinned, unsure if she liked the sadistic side of her that revelled in his distress. And I am enjoying this. There's no denying that.

"Amy-!" Henry almost pleaded, when suddenly the blinking stopped and transformed into a bright wave of light, flowing outwards. It spun into a small screen, oriented towards Amy, the way she was positioned making the view of it clearly visible to any bystanders waiting in the reception area. Outlined on the screen was a face she had seen only a handful of times, all three years ago. The man in the screen was clearly middle-aged - by mundane standards anyways - with what seemed to be faint laugh-lines beginning to show, and a few grey hairs dotting his hair. The way the hairs seemed to frame his face though made the greying seem purposefully groomed that way. Probably prefers it like that.

"Is this- Ah yes... Mageling... Wachlund, I presume?" Journeyman Jones said, cocking his head. The view of the room he was in was somewhat visible behind him; a half-library half-office space, cosy and personal. Maybe he's not at work?

"You would be correct, Journeyman Jones."

"Ah, good to see that I still do remember you," He gave a smile, one that didn't seem to reach his eyes. "However, if I may ask, why are you contacting me through this device?"

"Earlier today, I sent you a message through our shared connected-letter paper about some... concerning events happening in the village I preside over as ward. I believe, though, that the emergency at hand is too severe to leave it to chance when you would read the letter. No offence, sir."

"No offence taken." He nodded, looking to the side and seeming to look through some papers.

"I decided then to take the initiative and contact you through this, so that you are made aware of the emergency as quickly as possible."

"And what is this... emergency at hand, Mageling Wachlund?" He asked, his distracted eyes momentarily darting back to meet hers.

"I have discovered what appeared to be, at first, a magical plague brewing in the village. It spread fast and seems to be on course to grow out of control, even with my intervention, as I can only do so much against something like it. Fortunately, we have yet to see any casualties from it. I doubt it will stay that way, however."

"Indeed, from what- Ah yes! I seem to have found it, let me... Hmmm..." Journeyman Jones read, his eyes seeming unnaturally quick as they sped across a barely visible letter on the screen.

"When I went to investigate possible sources of this plague - following up a river near the village - I ended up discovering a wild mana beast. It attacked me when I went near it so I didn't get a chance to look any further or deeper into it. Estimating by the severity of the Plague mana it is spewing out, I predict that the river will be fully and permanently corrupted by Plague in only a week."

"I see, I see..." He commented, appearing to finish the letter as he looked back up at her. "Well, thank you Mageling Wachlund for bringing this to my attention. Of course I will need to discuss this with my fellow supervisors on what actions to take on this, but I believe it will roughly follow what you advised in your letter. And due to the emergency at hand, I believe that we will give you a response within the hour, which you should expect via connected letter."

"Understood, Journeyman Jones."

"And... Miss Wachlund, you finished the letter as 'Apprentice Amy Wachlund'; is this correct?" He asked, eyes narrowing.

"Yes sir."

"Am I to believe you are now an Apprentice Tier Mage then?"

"Ummm," Amy considered, surprised. Wait... I need to be careful about this. I can't mention that I know about Mage Tiers as I wasn't taught about it. Is it forbidden knowledge then? I may be overthinking it but maybe he's fishing about if I know about them or not. If it is 'bad' for me to know about it. Seeing if I've been 'compromised' or something? Let's just play this safe for now with what I learnt at School. "Yes sir, I achieved Spell Tier 3 not long ago."

"Congratulations are in order then, Apprentice Wachlund!" He smiled, seeming genuine this time. "Make sure to register that the next time you are in the city then."

"I will make sure, sir."

"I shall see you, hopefully, soon then, Miss Wachlund. Good day," Journeyman Jones said, his grin dropping, becoming serious once again.

"Good day," Amy responded, the screen shutting off with a click and a blink as soon as she did. Sliding the orb into her jacket pocket, she looked to her side.

Henry was there frozen still, his gaze unfocused and distant, shaken. Leo himself was stuck between deciding to be confused or scared, wondering why the Mayor was reacting so strangely to it all, even if it was bad.

The villagers in the reception area though, oddly enough, were completely silent. Some of them didn't believe or could even comprehend what they had witnessed, while the others sat back, eyes wide and afraid. Ella herself had retreated to her desk, more scared of the Witch than ever.

"Have a good rest of your day, Mayor Henry Peters," Amy waved, strolling happily down the stairs and walking unimpeded out the doors, no one daring to interrupt her. She left the village hall, for once, with a smile on her face and feeling more optimistic than ever at what the future would hold.

Behind her, pandemonium erupted.

* * *

"You've got a response," Felin said, the first thing as she came back home. He had slid the journal towards her sometime during her absence, still looking after the now drowsy chicks, less put-out.

Stepping forward, she read the letter back on the page.

To Apprentice Wachlund,

We have reached a consensus.

Two crisis teams will be deployed. A healer team will be dispatched for help with the magical plague, and an enforcement squad for the mana beast.

Expect their arrival in a few days.

Good luck,

Journeyman Jones

Supervisor of the Ward Programme

As she finished reading the last sentence of the letter, Amy could no longer help herself, even if it made her feel guilty. Breaking the silence of the night came a bright and loud cheer of unfiltered joy, startling a few flocks of birds settling in the treetops nearby.

Unfortunately, that meant disturbing the hawk chicks too.