There was a knock at the door.

Amity sighed. “Oh my god, leave us alone!”

She opened the door, greeted by a man in a suit. He looked oddly familiar, but Amity couldn’t place it. Maybe he was there at the castle, when they fought the princess?

“Hello, Amity. I’m Cornet.”

She stepped back, shocked.

“Relax. I’m not here to hurt you.”

“Huh..?”

He let himself in, closing the door.

“I believe we’ve met, everyone. I am Cornet, and I have a proposal for you.”

Amity, intrigued, asked “And what would this proposal be?”

“Well,” Cornet continued, “It would be a little job. I have suitable compensation for your work.” He pulled a small rock out of his jacket pocket. It was black, with small streaks of color near a tip.

“That rock…”

“Yes, this would be the prize for your efforts. To claim it, I need you to assist me in… eliminating someone.”

He unfolded a small sheet of paper, handing it to Amity.

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

“Her name is Winter Frostburn. Really, I’m not sure who would pick that name, but she sure lives up to it. Backstabbing, conniving, and cold. Manipulative, too. She’s lured many a traveler into helping her out of the confinement cell she is trapped within, and killing them in cold blood.”

Amity stared at the picture. She didn’t recognize her immediately, but she felt like she’d seen this person before, vaguely.

Cornet continued speaking; “I will give you this medium in exchange for your work ridding this world of her. Flip your paper over.”

Amity obliged. On the opposite side, was a map of the islands, with a highlighted mark near the bottom island, the small outstretched bit underneath the part connecting the smaller islands that make it up. She realized this was an opportunity to take Copper back from the cells, too, and so accepted.

“I accept your offer.”

Amity turned around, asking her friends “Are you all okay with this?”

They all murmured agreement, and she turned back around.

“We accept the offer.”

Cornet’s cold, outstretched hand was met by Amity’s warm one as they partnered up, even if just for one job.

“I will be on my way. Farewell, Amity.”

Cornet stepped out of the door, leaving it open. When Amity stepped out, seeing if she could spot him, she saw a vacant hallway. The floors perfectly clean on one side, a solid mass of sand on the other.

“Huh, weird…”

She stepped back inside, to consult with her friends.

“So, we have to go to the same facility Copper is trapped in, to kill this Winter person, in exchange for a supposedly powerful magic medium.”

Amity took a breath in.“How on earth are we actually going to do this?! She’s killed probably a baker’s dozen of people just by luring them to her, if we go near her we’re probably cooked!”

Himiko sighed. “We, don’t have time to sit here and think. We can walk and talk, but we need to get going. We have an ocean to cross and another few miles of walking, we can think of something on the way.”

Raleigh responded, “I agree, let’s get going.”

Amity opened the door, and they all stepped out of the room.