[Quest completed: Cleared The Decayed Catacombs]{Skill points awarded: 3}

“Well done, everyone,” Scarlett said as they climbed up a set of mossy stone stairs, exiting into a dilapidated, ruined temple. What had once been its main gallery and the aisles running alongside it were barricaded by broken-off fragments of the ceiling and the altar at the end of the hall could only barely be recognized as one. Behind what had presumedly been a statue of whatever deity was worshiped here, the light of the midday sun made its way in. “This will be the last excursion of this trip. Soon, we will return to Freybrook.”

“Already? And here I thought we were on a roll,” Rosa said. The bard went over to sit down on a piece of rubble next to what might have once been part of a wooden bleacher. “Sure you don’t have any more strange places you want to show us?”

“We do not have the time,” Scarlett answered, observing the woman strum her instrument for a moment. “Passage through the Kilnstone has already been arranged for the evening.”

She shifted her attention to a large opening in the wall near them, through which the sprawling hills outside were visible. This temple was about an hour away from where there had once been a minor village settlement. Both had apparently been abandoned a few generations back when there had been rampant monster issues in the region. The catacombs beneath the temple had turned into a dwelling space for the undead after a while, but it was nothing their group couldn’t handle. It had also been an easy find, with the map Scarlett bought in Darkshore.

All in all, they had stayed in this region for four days now. This was the third dungeon they’d cleared in that time if you discounted the Zuverian crypt where they picked up the seal piece. The gains from these dungeons were a lot better than the ones in the Freybrook area, so it was worth the time spent traveling around Darkshore’s countryside.

[Name: Scarlett Hartford][Skills:[Greater Mana Control][Greater Pyromancy][Greater Pyrokinesis][Hydromancy][Greater Hydrokinesis]][Traits:[Dignified August][Supercilious][Cavalier][Callous][Overbearing][Conceited][Third-rate Mana Veins]][Mana: 4635/4635][Points: 27]

She had gotten a good amount of skill points these last few days. Now, she had enough to upgrade either her pyrokinesis or hydrokinesis. She was leaning heavily towards the former, considering her current priorities.

She glanced down at her left hand, where there was a thin silver bracelet around the wrist.

[Prayer of Salvation (Epic)]{The prayers of old linger in this bracelet, bolstering its wearer}

In addition to the skill points, they had of course collected a decent number of artifacts as well. This item in particular was one that improved your magical defense in the game. Since she relied on the skill [Sidhe’s Flowing Garbs]—which she got from [Lifeblood’s Eternal Circuit]—the strength of her defense had a set limit. She couldn’t level it up because the effect came from an item, and while it did take mana to maintain, increasing her total mana also didn’t help. But as far as she was aware, items like this bypassed those restrictions.

The dungeon they’d cleared yesterday also had a rusty old dagger called [Fireguard Knife (Rare)] that she was thinking of keeping. It slightly empowered pyromancy spells, which could be useful for her if it worked with her pyrokinesis. She was planning on trying it out after returning to Freybrook. If it did work, she would have it brought to a blacksmith to be restored to a better state.

Those were the only two items found that had any worth to her, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything for the others.

Fynn was wearing a new necklace made of deep black bone, known as the [Dark Wolf Pendant (Rare)], which boosted strength. It had been found in the first dungeon they cleared, a den belonging to a pack of wolves who lived in the nearby hills.

Rosa had gotten a bracelet that matched Scarlett’s. [Prayer of Devotion (Epic)] was its name, and it strengthened healing spells. It had been found along with the [Prayer of Salvation], the two bracelets coming as a set. A fact that Scarlett was quickly starting to lament. They had found them just half an hour ago, but it had already prompted several jokes from the bard that Scarlett could have done without.

As for Allyssa and Shin, Scarlett hadn’t outright given them anything. Like she had previously with Shin, however, she had let Allyssa borrow an old metal crossbow called the [Willow Bolter (Rare)] that was found the day before. The young Shielder had noted that it was slightly larger than the normal hand crossbow she was used to, but she was giving it a try, anyway. It had an interesting effect where each bolt would build up a sense of vertigo in the victim, which was especially useful for someone relying on a lot of alchemy like Allyssa.

There was more than this, of course. Both other artifacts and a bunch of useful materials and resources. But nothing that was a good fit for anyone in their group, so the rest would just be sold off.

Scarlett spent a short while longer resting with the others in the temple before finally getting ready to leave. For now, all their business in the Darkshore area was finished.

The carriage traveled along the gravel path leading up to the Freybrook mansion’s front, stopping before the archway that led into the courtyard. Marlon and another servant greeted Scarlett and the others as they exited.

“Welcome back, my Lady. I hope your trip has gone well.”

“It has,” Scarlett said. She looked to the side, where there stood two parked carriages. She gestured at the vehicles. “Are there guests?”

“Madame Evelyne and Madame Livvi are currently staying in the guest parlor, my Lady.”

“I see…” She eyed the carriages. She knew Evelyne was supposed to have returned by now, but she wasn’t expecting the woman to visit the mansion this soon. Especially not with Livvi in tow. Had they just coincidentally visited at the same time?

“I suppose I should greet them.” She walked past the two servants. “Have someone catalogue the items that we have brought back from the excursions, then bring the bag to my office.”

Behind her, Shin handed the [Bag of Juham] over to the servant next to Marlon.

Scarlett passed under the archway that connected the mansion’s two wings and into the courtyard, taking in its current state. Most of the damage caused by the Hallowed Cabal’s assault had been cleaned up by now, though it had taken surprisingly long to have the ruined and scorched stonework removed. Most of the flower beds had been pulled up—even the ones that made it through unharmed—leaving just bare dirt lining the edges and much of the space at the center of the courtyard. The broken fountain had also been completely removed. It was much like a clean slate, ready to be rebuilt once more.

The real restorations would have to wait, though. They probably couldn’t postpone them forever—she supposed nobles had an image to maintain, in the end—but she at least wanted to have a better idea of how much it’d cost before they started anything. Also, it would be best if they were as financially stable as possible when they got to it. She was still considering if it was worth restoring the fountain, for example. It had been nice, sure, but it wasn’t exactly the simplest feat of engineering. Well, at least not the ones back in her world. Didn’t those rely on gravity, before electricity became a thing? Maybe they had a better method here, considering magic was a thing.

As she crossed the courtyard and entered the mansion foyer, she turned back to the others who had followed her. “This will be all for today. Feel free to do with the remaining time as you wish. We will most likely leave on a brief trip tomorrow as well, although not all of you are required to join.”

“Are we going back to Freymeadow?” Shin asked.

“Yes, we are.”

The young man shrugged his shoulder. “Then I don’t see why we all wouldn’t join this time as well.”

“That will be up to you,” Scarlett said. “Simply be aware that I will be entering by myself or with Miss Hale.”

“…Alright.”

“Then I will see all of you later.” She turned around and made for the stairs that led to the second floor, where she then started making her way towards the guest parlor. There, she stopped before its dark wooden door for a moment, taking a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself before opening the door.

The evening sun entered the room through the large windows facing north, reflecting off the marble floor and highlighting the two women sitting opposite each other at the room’s center. Both Livvi and Evelyne turned to look at her.

The familiar feeling of veiled disgust reared its head inside Scarlett. It had been over a month since she and Evelyne had last met and the intensity of the emotion almost caught her off-guard despite expecting it. Still, she was relatively certain she managed to maintain a somewhat neutral expression as she walked over to them.

“Scarlett?” Evelyne said, looking down at the travel attire she was wearing. “I wasn’t expecting you to return today. You never said where you went, so I thought it would take a while.”

“I was in Darkshore,” Scarlett answered. She sat down in an armchair that faced both of the women, glancing at Livvi. “Although I could say the same of you, Evelyne. I was not expecting either of you to be here.”

Livvi showed a small smile as she cradled a cup of tea in her hands. “Evelyne mentioned that she would be returning from the capital today, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet up. It’s been a while since we last spoke.”

“And you said I could stay here,” Evelyne said, wearing a slightly peeved expression.

Scarlett raised a brow. “My words now were not meant as a disparagement. I was merely surprised that the both of you would be here at the same time.” Perhaps she’d sounded a bit more annoyed than she had thought.

Evelyne’s expression softened.

“I trust you two had an enjoyable discussion?” Scarlett asked.

“…Yes. There’s been a lot to talk about.” Evelyne looked over at Livvi. “We were reminiscing a bit, just before you entered.”

“That’s true,” Livvi said. “We were talking about that time our fathers held that small competition for the local nobles on the grounds of this estate. I still remember that day fondly.” The bespectacled women looked out the windows overseeing the back of the estate. “Do you recall when my brother challenged your father for a chance to sit next to you at the celebrations, Scarlett? I think that was the first time I ever saw him so forlorn.”

“…I do not recall that, no.”

Evelyne glanced at Scarlett. “I remember that day, but mostly just the duel our fathers had at the end. It was the first time I really felt like I wanted to be a mage over a knight.”

Livvi let out a soft laugh. “Don’t let my father hear you say that. He’d be heartbroken if he learned his showing that day discouraged a budding new knight in their ambitions.”

“I don’t think it was his fault.” Evelyne shook her head. “It was just the first time I’d seen father in actual combat.”

“Yes, he was a very impressive man.” Livvi threw a small look Scarlett’s way, though Scarlett wasn’t sure of the meaning behind it. The woman shifted her attention down to the teacup in her hands, staying quiet for a few seconds as she brought it up to take a sip. “I have a surprising number of wonderful memories from this place. It broke my heart to see what had happened, both to the courtyard and the grounds at the back.”

Evelyne’s face turned ugly at that. The younger woman looked at Scarlett. “I was informed of the courtyard through letter, but the training grounds came as a surprise to me as well.”

Scarlett stilled.

Oh.

She had completely forgotten to mention that to the woman, hadn’t she? She’d been so focused on the Fynn issue at the time.

Evelyne regarded her. “I wish you had at least told me about Garside’s condition.”

“Garside?” A worried expression appeared on Livvi’s face. “What happened to him? Is he alright?”

Scarlett looked between the two. It had been Garside’s own wish that she didn’t tell Evelyne about it, but she couldn’t very well say that now. It would just sound like an excuse.

“He is alright, yes. There is no need to fret,” she said. “He was injured during the assault on the mansion, but we had a capable healer present that treated him soon after. Since then, he has been convalescing inside his quarters. There do not appear to be any major complications with his recovery.”

“Really?” Livvi released a breath. “I’m glad. He always used to keep an eye on us when we were younger, but I feel like it’s been so long since I last saw him.”

“You may visit him, if you wish. I do not believe he will take offense.” Scarlett turned to Evelyne. “That goes for you as well, if you have not yet seen him.”

“I did when I first heard the details earlier today, but he was sleeping at the time. I was planning on checking in later.”

“Very well.” Scarlett gave a curt nod, then rose from her seat. “I will leave you to continue your discussion for now. As you can see, I am not currently in the most presentable of states.”

She gestured to her attire. They’d stayed at a relatively large inn in Darkshore these past nights, so it wasn’t as if she had spent days out in the wilderness. But she hadn’t cleaned herself since before they cleared the last dungeon, so it would be nice to take a proper bath. She’d just wanted to check what brought these two here first, but thankfully, it didn’t appear to be anything important.

“Wait,” Evelyne said, “before you leave.”

Scarlett looked down at her. “Yes?”

“It’s about the Delmons…” The younger woman paused for a moment, then shook her head. “Actually, never mind. It can wait till later.”

“…If you say so. Then I will take my leave.” Scarlett sent one last look towards Livvi. “Until next time.”

“It looks like I’ll be staying here in Freybrook for a while longer, so I might pay more visits if that is alright.”

“I am certain something can be arranged,” Scarlett answered coolly, turning around to exit the room.