Life has changed so much... It was the same thought again and it passed through her mind at least ten times a day. When her entire world was destroyed and she was at the mercy of monsters, she was spared. In her exceedingly long life, Martha never expected to be surprised at such an old age and, yet, her life was full of surprises. She was a healer - a herbalist, to be precise, and well-versed in brewing various potions which contributed to her long life. She lived her entire life in a town so small that it didn't even have a name. She thought that she would die there as well when the violent civil war broke out across the Kingdom. A new warlord rose to power, greedy for control and wealth. He challenged the darkness that had taken a seat in the Capital - the Cridia City. Martha believed he was doomed to fall as all before him but she was wrong. Cridia had fallen and, with its fall, the unjust rules and evil that spread across their once peaceful lands was wiped clean. Her small city was defenceless against the monsters that followed in the wake of the clashing armies as they fed on the corpses of the fallen. But when it seemed their end had come, monstrous Storm Eagles fell on the monsters like death from above. They tore the monsters down with their massive talons and sharp beaks. They brought the fury of wind and storm.

Then, all of them flew away but one. It turned its gaze toward the town and her neighbors knew it truly was the end.

However... The end never came. Instead, the Eagle spoke. He conveyed a message from their new King and promised them safety. No one believed but no one dared to object to a Storm Eagle wearing a Royal Crest from where she now knew as Avalon on his silver cuirass. However, the woods were safer than ever before and people started noticing changes. The Slavers were gone and bandits were a rare sight on the roads. The Eagles of Avalon were often seen crossing the endless blue sky and their shriek no longer scared the people. The trading caravans finally reached their village after years of avoiding it and brought unthinkable tales and incredible goods they had never seen before. The Adventurers' parties that were, so far, a rarity became a common sight in her remote part of the Kingdom and many young folks left with them, enamoured with the tales of wealth and glory. Adventurers... She smiled fondly at her memories.

When she was a young woman the Adventurers were often seen near town. She often spotted them in the forest where she gathered her herbs but they rarely noticed her. Moving undetected was something she had practiced from her youngest days, otherwise, she would be killed by the monsters. Death was something that lurked around every corner and, often, was a lenient punishment for carelessness. Especially if wild goblins built a nest nearby. Being kidnapped by them was a fate far worse than death. Fortunately, she avoided that horrible fate but she knew, personally, a few unfortunate girls who met their ends in horrible goblin breeding caves. She shuddered, as always, when those particular memories resurfaced... It was far better to think about Adventurers. Especially her Joshua. A dashing Human warrior who fell in love with a meaningless herbalist from some backwater town...

A rare, happy story in those dark times before the world saw the light of Eriar and the return of the Gods... Martha and Joshua married soon after the dashing warrior made it clear he was serious. They lived happily in the same town where they met and raised children. Their children had children and, when it seemed that nothing could disturb her little paradise, the Slavers came. Martha and Joshua were old already but her husband and other men from the town stood up to the brutes who thought they were unpunishable. They drove them away for a time but, eventually, they came back in greater numbers. They killed Joshua and every man who helped him. They enslaved all the young women and children, killed the rest of the men, and left the elderly to their deaths. That day, Martha's heart broke into a million pieces. It was later that she discovered a few had managed to hide from the Slavers. Once those few returned, Martha saw a little face she believed was gone forever.

When the Slavers came, some people fled to the forest and hid, taking as many children as they could with them. Her neighbour grabbed her son and Martha's granddaughter just because the two were playing together. With the child’s return, Martha had a reason to live and she clung to little Cindy and decided to keep going for her. That was twenty years ago... The world was changed now. The Storm Eagle brought them news that slavery was abolished, all slaves were free, and all slavers were being hunted down and slain as animals. All who were believed lost could return to their families. Under the rules of Emperor Theon Avalon, wild goblins were exterminated and, apparently, only the Dungeon ones were still around but hidden in their home-Dungeon, rarely to be seen in the world. The world was a much safer place under the rule of a man Martha believed to be just another warmonger...

Not long after the fall of cursed Cridia, Cindy decided to go to Avalon to try to find if any of their family survived slavery. The Adventurers' Guild held records of freed slaves and even some information about deceased ones so it seemed the best way to find out about the fate of their family. The Eagles were carrying letters between the cities and towns of Arcadia and many people remaining in the town soon left, searching for or finding their long-lost families, leaving just a few souls in Town. Martha didn't want to leave her home and the grave of her beloved Joshua but she, also, didn't want to stay alone in a silent and desolate town. She didn't want to admit it, but the Royal Decree that ordered everyone to resettle in select cities was something that spared her the pain of a hard decision. Initially, she was afraid when a party of Adventurers arrived to help the remaining people move to the city. However, they were kind and their playful spirit made them extremely likeable despite their hardy appearances. With her granddaughter so far away, she was afraid of the large city and, even more, once she realised it was a Dungeon City.

But all her fears were for nought. Martha was welcomed by the Guardsmen who had assumed the escort role from the Adventurers. Soon, she was moved to a lovely apartment where she had everything. Oh, how she regretted that her husband and children couldn't see it. The nice priest of Hestia visited her each day as a part of his duties and he brought letters from Cindy or the groceries she needed. She couldn't understand why he was so kind but, apparently, it was part of his duties. He also informed her that the Emperor wanted to buy her house for a full gold piece. It was so much more money than she had ever seen in her entire life but she tried to, truthfully, inform the official that her home wasn't worth five silver pieces. He simply nodded and said that the Emperor knew. Thinking that such wealth would be a great gift for Cindy, she agreed. If only her family could be with her, then living in Arcadia would be a true blessing. The days passed and turned into weeks. Before she knew it, a few months had passed. One day, she received a letter from Cindy saying that she should join her in Avalon.

Martha sat in a huge lobby on a comfortable wooden chair while Priest Jones was making arrangements for her travel. She had heard about magi-trains that had slowly connected the major cities of Arcadia but she was sceptical about their usefulness. The train was several metres wide and, if Jones wasn't pulling a prank on her, it was almost two hundred metres long. It looked strange, at least, to her. The sleek and smooth elongated half-cylinder was resting on the ground with many doors open on its sides. Through a window that seemed to stretch the entire length of the train, Martha could see many people already sitting inside it on very comfortably looking seats. It had a pleasant blue and white paint scheme while some wagons had wonderful images on the sides. The front of the train was a strange-looking, sharp-shaped wagon that must be where they were going to attach war beasts to pull it...

"Martha? I got your ticket." Jones approached her and grabbed her luggage. It was a simple travel bag that contained everything she owned. It was full of her most precious memorabilia. "I will help you get in and find your seat. We must hurry because the train will depart in ten minutes!"

"Oh dear... I wanted to see the war beasts that will pull it." She complained with a soft smile but stood up and followed the Priest of Hestia.

The inside of the train was surprisingly pleasant. She almost expected it to be hot and smelly because no windows were open but it was just perfect with pleasantly smelling air. She followed the Priest between the rows of seats where she saw so many people of so many various races sitting patiently. Some of them were reading books, others were chatting, and others were eating sandwiches. Martha quickly found herself in a different compartment with just six seats and doors that divided that place from the rest of the train.

"Take a seat, Martha... This one." The Priest checked the seat number with the ticket and placed her luggage in the special compartment above her head. "I will find a conductor and inform them that you will need assistance when you reach Avalon. Safe trip, Martha! May Hestia's flame guard you and illuminate your way wherever you go!"

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He blessed her while he held his pendant which represented Hestia's Holy Flame. She felt the warmth spill over her body and she smiled.

"Thank you, John. I will miss our discussions." She hugged him and he handed her the ticket with a smile.

"It was a pleasure! I wish you luck in finding what you are looking for in Avalon." He smiled and left the compartment.

John barely closed the door when a tall woman approached him and they talked for a moment. Despite being so close, their voices were so muffled that she barely could hear anything. John pointed at her and the Elf smiled and let him pass so he could leave the train. In the meantime, she opened the door and entered.

"Good morning, Mrs. Martha. In a few moments, we begin the departure procedures and we will leave the Wolf Manor Central Station. For your safety, please stay in your seat until this green lamp turns on. Once we reach Avalon Central Station, I, or one of my colleagues, will come to help you leave the train. If you need any help or you wish to try some food or drink, just press this button and wait for a steward to arrive." The Elven woman said with a friendly smile.

"Thank you, my Dear." Martha smiled back and the woman left the compartment.

Her seat was right next to the window and she observed the people hurrying towards the train. Another conductor was announcing almost the same directions as the Elven woman before but she was disturbed by a sudden commotion just outside the glass doors of her compartment. The doors violently opened and an unmistakable party of Adventurers came in.

"Oh, good morning!" A Human woman wearing a blue and white robe quickly took a seat right next to her.

The rest of her party awkwardly smiled at Martha and politely took their seats after they stored their luggage. Two big men were packing some additional luggage when a low ping sounded in the compartment.

"Good morning..." Martha tried to smile, but suddenly, the light near the doors turned red, and the two standing Adventurers tried to sit as quickly as possible.

The entire magi-train seemed to lift off the ground and move forward. There was a noticeable tug when it started moving but it wasn't as unpleasant as Martha expected. However, the train was speeding up more and more, making Martha pale.

"It's impressive, isn't it?" The woman next to her said loudly and Martha quickly turned away from the window.

"I never expected that war beasts could run so fast..." Martha sheepishly admitted.

"Oh, no! The train isn't pulled by war beasts. Have you ever seen an airship, Mrs... Oh! Apologies! My name is Annette! Those four are Hank, Xavier, Tilda and Jakob!" The Human woman blushed while her friends waved their hands as she introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Annette. I'm Martha." She smiled with relief seeing how casual they were. "So the train works similar to an airship?"

"Indeed! However, it floats far closer to the ground." Xavier, a huge Human, grinned but got serious as he looked at his friend, who was sitting next to the doors. "Are you ok, Jakob?"

"Barely..." The huge Wolfkin murmured and covered his mouth.

"Is he sick?" Martha looked at the huge warrior.

"It's locomotion sickness." Annette quickly explained as she picked up a large bucket. "Poor guy can't hold down his meal once he sits in anything that moves. My healing magic won't work no matter what I do..."

"Oh, poor boy. If I only had peppermint, chamomile and lemon balm. Or, even, just one of those I, maybe, could help him..." Martha nodded with understanding. Locomotion sickness wasn't that rare. "You should have bought some medicine young man."

"There is one?!" They all looked at her in shock.

"Of course there is!" She laughed but her laughter died upon seeing their expressions. "Oh, I'm so sorry... I was a herbalist who specialised in brewing potions. I often brewed that one back in my days when the waterways were the only sure way to travel across the country."

"I’ve never heard of such a potion." Tilda, a Wolfkin mage judging by her robes, shook her head but stood up and took down her backpack. "But... I might just have some of the ingredients you mentioned..."

Martha observed with curiosity the women as it took much longer than it should take to find anything in such a small backpack. However, the Wolfkin smiled triumphantly and took out an impressive bouquet of peppermint. She then put out a few chamomile.

"I’ve never heard of lemon balm..." She gave Martha the ingredients and the old herbalist picked up just a few big leaves of mint and the good-looking chamomile flower.

"Oh, dear... Where is my head!" Martha looked around embarrassed. "How I'm going to boil the water..."

"You mean you can make a potion now?" Jakob was pale as he looked at her. However, he was dangerously turning more green than it was possible for even an Ork.

"We just need to boil peppermint separately and then let it sit for five minutes while we slowly boil the flower. Then, it's a simple mixing while very slowly cooking and infusing the brew with mana." She explained with a smile and then added with a burst of good-natured laughter. "It's more of a magic tea than a potion, honestly."

After exchanging uncertain gazes with each other, the party quickly began to violate the rules when Tilda started boiling small amounts of water using her staff and a metal canteen. They followed Martha's instructions without question and they were almost finished when two things happened at once: the doors to their compartment opened and Jakob finally lost his inner battle and barfed into his bucket.

"What's going on here?!" The Elven woman who welcomed Martha previously looked around at the embarrassed Adventurers.

"Please don't interrupt us, Dearie! We are in the most sensitive moment!" Martha raised her wrinkled hand. "Tilda, now you must infuse it with your mana. Slowly... Very good! Yes... A bit more... Annnnnd... That's it! Now it must cool down completely on its own."

"It's so... Simple!" Annette looked curiously at the light brown liquid that had a faint green hue to it.

"All right... Now, you can explain to me what you are doing." The Elf lady took out a small notebook and looked around with a serious gaze. "Using an open fire in the train is strictly forbidden!"

Tilda stopped blowing on the potion and then she shrugged and put her finger inside. "Drink it, Jakob!"

He took it with a shaking hand, and at first, nothing happened. But just after a few moments, he smiled in relief. "Gods... Oh, my Gods! It's a miracle!"

"It's working?!" Everyone ignored the Elven lady, however, she was looking curiously at Jakob.

"Yes. It's unbelievable!" Jakob laughed and looked at his full bucket with disgust. "Ummm, excuse me for a moment..."

He left the compartment and everyone finally looked at the woman who had closed her book. "Have you just created a potion that alleviates the locomotion sickness?"

"Oh, it's nothing special, my Dear." Martha lowered her gaze but Annette and Tilda immediately jumped.

"Of course it is! You could be incredibly rich, Mrs. Martha!"

"Well... The fine for using an open flame in the magi train is ten gold pieces. However... I could turn a blind eye for now if..." She heavily sighed. "Can you make more of it? Please?"

Martha was seriously scared upon hearing how severe the fine was and she looked with horror at the Adventurers, who started laughing. The next half hour they spent making the potion for the rest of the sick people on board while Jakob and Xavier guarded the compartment. Before Martha noticed, the train arrived in Avalon. Jakob carryied Martha's luggage to the platform as she was cheered by the passengers she helped.

"Grandma?" Cindy looked at her in shock.

"Cindy!" Martha's eyes suddenly become wet upon seeing her face.

She hugged her granddaughter before she noticed the face of a ghost.

"Hello, Mom..."