“And that’s about it for the social cultural kremla.” Vamria face twisted. “That’s always the worst part. All those abuses and I’m not allowed to do anything lasting.” She raised her hands. “I know, I know. I’m here for a reason. I didn’t forget. I’m following the rules strictly and reflecting on my actions. What else do I need to tell you? Nothing really. No one native on this world is a threat to you, auntie and great, great, great, great, great, great, great grand uncle. There are and will be other outworld invaders, but, well, others are working on that, I assume, at least outside the valley. As for in? You’ve already read it in my report.”

  Her grand auntie nodded.

  “Cal’s discouraging the more colonialist types. The nightmare eldritch things aren’t discourageable, so we might have to deal with that at some point.”

  “But not too much that we ruin these people’s leveling opportunities,” her grandfather said.

  Arellian fidgeted.

  Butter and bits of spices on her fingers and no napkins in sight.

  She couldn’t very well wipe them on her expensive enchanted dress.

  Bits of popcorn, the hard shell stuff, were in her teeth.

  And her tongue could’ve used a glass of water.

  She wanted to get up or ask for one, but the adults were talking serious business, which she was a part of, which meant she had to listen and be serious.

  Thus, she listened for close to an hour of sticky fingered, congealed butter-tongued agony and pokey popcorn shell agony.

  Later, after the tour and properly hydrated, Arellian sat in a plush couch-chair.

  The mansion base had a theater and she watched some animated program from another world with Vamria over drinks and snacks.

  “You sure you don’t want to change? I can pause this.”

  “Why would I want to change?”

  Vamria shrugged.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I love your dress. Very witch-y! And dark! But, it looks uncomfortable. I could be wrong though. I can tell it’s got a lot of enchantments, so, enchanted for comfort?”

  “Um… yes… please don’t tell anyone.”

  “I’ve always thought we should prioritize our physical comfort over everything else when it comes to clothes. Some of the stuff they make us wear on my home world is pure demonry.”

  “You grew up on Reserra?”

  “Yuppers! My mom’s the secret keeper of a super secret hidden land.” Vamria rolled her black eyes.

  “And, um, do your, uh, people… have different colored hair.” She got the question that had been on the tip of her tongue for the last two hours out finally.

  Vamria laughed. “I knew you were dying to ask that! And yeah. My people have all sorts of different colors when it comes to hair, skin and eyes. That is to say, we can choose. It just takes a while to change. That’s why I’m white right now. Easier and quicker to go to a new color from plain white. It’s so basic.”

  “Oh, how long did it take to go from blue-ish to white?”

  “I didn’t go blue. Used a chameleon mask.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Me and grandfather are going to use that to turn blue.”

  “You might not need to if you just keep your helmets on when around people. Although, that opens you up to accidental discovery and kremla like that.”

  “What about your hair? Is it hard to do two colors split like that?”

  Vamria’s laugh was like a tinkling of chimes.

  “It’s actually all violet. The red’s a magic dye. And before you ask, I just like violet.” Vamria grinned like a feral beast, but Arellian didn’t feel threatened.

  Many of the friendlier creatures and witches in her grandmother’s slice of the Fae Realm tended to feral-like smiles.

  “Go ahead! Ask that other question that’s been poking the inside of your cheek.”

  Arellian didn’t hesitate.

  Witch’s teachings had made her braver than most her age.

  Not to mention having superpowers.

  “Why are you here? It sounded like you got in trouble for something…”

  “Hmmm… tell me, why are you here?”

  “Summer service.” She nodded primly. “Grandmother and mother agreed that with my newly awakened powers that I should go out into the world, well, another one, and learn to put them to use in a way that helps others. They outvoted Father.” She pouted. “Grandfather didn’t agree, but he doesn’t know I know.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. Nothing much gets past our ancient elder monsters.” Vamria winked.

  Arellian gasped, scandalized.

  Vamria laughed. “I’m here doing service too, but for less noble reasons. You’re young so you probably don’t have full access to the family files. To make a long story short… war crimes. Specifically, murder. 23 counts.”

  Arellian’s mouth worked like a fish out of water.

  “The late, unlamented slaver theo-oligarcracy of A’cerom A’dutine on the world of F’satetis. An especially terrible slaver society. Granted, all slaver societies are objectively terrible and should be cleansed with fire, but this one was even worse. I don’t recommend looking up the full histories until you’re a lot older. No need to add to your nightmares earlier than you have to. It was such an evil place that the Sword of Freedom actually left her stasis realm to lead the war.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Really! I’ve never met her. I mean, grandfather tells stories about her— what’s she like?”

  “Hmmm… scary intense, but willing to teach sword work. I got really good after, like, a dozen sessions across the two years it took to destroy the slavers. Anyways, towards the end, I was in a city and it was the worst. Like the entire society was kremla, well, this city and the people that controlled it were like kremla wrapped in more kremla that was then dipped in liquefied kremla then smoked with even more kremla. And I’m talking about the kind of kremla that comes out of the sick. You know?”

  “I… I think so?”

  No, she did not.

  “Yeah, like that. So, I killed them. The city masters. They had surrendered, but I can see.” Vamria tapped her temple, then her chest. “Minds and hearts. None of them could lie to me even with their Skills and magic that could make them seem like they bathed in lavender water when they swam in kremla in truth. Anyways, again, that’s against the rules. And I do regret it because in my instant of rage I made victims of their victims twice over. The freed enslaved deserved to deal out their justice. That was their right that I stole. So, I’m here. Alone… well, mostly. I have to do good things for other people without the comforts of home or Earth. Away from the people I care about except for brief moments like this when I get a break before going to my next assignment.”

  Arellian wished she was a witch so that she could’ve used the strong emotions to weave magic that could help Vamria gain the peace she so clearly desired, even if only for a brief time.

  “Aww… don’t look so sad, Arelle. I deserve it and it’s not so bad. I can still help people and I didn’t go crazy to where I have to be locked up or worse.” Vamria shivered. “The double-edge sword of our birthright. I think you’d be able to understand some of that.”

  “Um… when do you have to leave? I mean, for your next Quest?”

  “Tomorrow morning. Auntie’s going to fly me across the Tempest Ocean to the Enlightened Lands. As a whole they might have an inflated sense of self worth, but who doesn’t? And more importantly, aside from slavers and their ilk, who shouldn’t? I am actually looking forward to it. They’re more advanced than this land. Renaissance? I think that’s the analogous time period from your home world. Except, they have running water— running hot water basically everywhere. Plus, flushing toilets.” Vamria shook her head. “I’m sorry, Arelle, you’re going to have to do you business in outhouses or holes in the ground.”

  They both shuddered.

  “Oh and make sure you take a lot of feminine products when you leave. Trust me, you don’t want to use the local stuff. You know, I’m a little mad that they just built this place right when I’m leaving.” Vamria tapped her chin. “I also left a map for you of the waterfalls in the valley and surrounding mountains. Lots of waterfalls. You and your grandfather will have to kill the monsters first, but those will be your best bets for showering. Unless you come back here everyday, of course.”

  “Um, I don’t think we’re going to be doing that. My grandfather said we were going to ‘rough it’ and treat this like a backpacking trip.”

  “Can you fly yet?”

  “I can jump far.”

  “Yeah, Auntie probably won’t want you guys coming back too often. Got to keep the mystery, right? The Witch of the Woods. Bakunawa and Minokawa.” Vamria got up and sauntered over to the fridge for new drinks.

  A red, fizzy beer for herself and a red, fizzy juice for Arelle.

  “This is good! It’s like the best thing ever each time, but different…”

  “I marked the brewer for you guys. Riverdel on the Delac River. Brewmaster Level 37. Oddly enough, one of the highest level people in the valley. She’s good people. Strongest fighter in her village too. Her drinks won’t affect your grandfather, but I suggest you look into what she brews for boosts.”

  Arelle committed the information to memory.

  “Any other noteworthy people I should make connections with?”

  Witches were all about the web of connections.

  Networking, her grandfather called it.

  “There isn’t really much in this valley. It was a backwater before the spires and that’s only gotten worse. Let me think… there’s the Red Knight, technically blood knight Level 32. Filthy, I mean that in the literal sense. He’s covered in blood, dried, fresh and everything in between.”

  “Dirty gear is bad. It’ll rust. Unless—”

  “You got it. The class makes him need all the blood and bits on his gear. Gray steel to red steel. He’s a wandering murderhobo. Monsters mostly, but he’ll kill anyone that gets in his way even slightly. Oddly enough he doesn’t get close to the ones that could do with a little murdering. But, you probably won’t be dealing directly with those noble-types if you’re only here for the summer. Also, you’re what, twelve?” Vamria tapped her chin and took a long pull from her bottle. “Yeah, they wouldn’t let you get anywhere near that,” she mused.

  “Near what!”

  “Yeah, no. Not going to be the one to introduce you to that. Moving on! The mountains. East and west are basic mountains. Monsters, animals, such and such. No thinking life. It’s different to the north.”

  “Oh! I know this one. I read about them.”

  “Yeah, don’t worry about them. They’ve got a small outpost way up and inside the tallest peaks. Maybe a dozen people occasionally keeping an eye on the poor, unfortunate small folk savages. I haven’t seen them in person, but I’ve read reports like you and they’ve got their whole society and spires issues on the other side, down to the plains all the way to the Creskar Ocean.” Vamria sighed. “They sound like an interesting people.”

  “They don’t need us.”

  “Which is good. Do you know when we’re making first contact?”

  Arellian shook her head.

  “I’d love to be a part of that. It’s why I joined the spires worlds exploration corps in the first place.” Vamria smiled wistfully. “To meet new peoples and see new worlds. An infinite number. No matter how long I live and travel I can never see it all!”

  “I’m excited, but also scared… a little.”

  “Hey, that’s normal. If you aren’t scared than you’re a little off, which is fine too, I’m not saying otherwise. So, what else? Devil bears.”

  “Devil bears?”

  “They have horns, but that’s not what you want to watch out for… well, it is, but not in the way you think. They’ll gore you, but what you really need to be ready for is when they shoot their horns at you. You ever go spearfishing?”

  “Yeah! Both in the real world and the Fae Realm!”

  Vamria’s black eyes brightened.

  They appeared to be turning blue.

  “You’ll have to tell me about that later!” Vamria grinned. “Right, they’ll spear you with their horns and reel you in. It’s gross, the bloody tendon thing that connects horn to head. Anyways, you can check the Monsterpedia. All my scouting info should be on there. Just use the filters to pick this valley. Oh! Yeah, there’s one other guy. You probably won’t run into him. He’s more of a winter-spring visitor to the valley. Jasanor. Uses nanomachine weapons and armor he got from a hand coming out of a lake.” Vamria’s face twisted. “Karldarions like to interfere on other worlds by giving nanomachine gear out to random passersby.”

  “Yes! I mean, I know them. I mean, from class. Do you think it’s suspicious that they don’t put any controls on the people they hand out stuff too?”

  “It’s suspicious as kremla bits in my salad. Doesn’t help that they ignore all attempts to start diplomacy stuff. Unless that’s changed. I haven’t been as connected since my exile.”

  “I don’t think it’s changed, but you should ask grand auntie.”

  Vamria shrugged. “I don’t need to know.”

  “This man?”

  “Yeah, he roams the land killing monsters and evil people. Him and the Red Knight have a thing. There’s history there. A lot of it. You could say that they have…” Vamria leaned in conspiratorially, “bad blood.” Her laugh was rather witch-y, if not quite a proper cackle.

  Arellian’s bracelet vibrated suddenly.

  “Ah! That would be bed time.” Vamria looked at her own bracelet. “Yup. Well, I’m leaving early, so I probably won’t see you. It was good to meet you again for the first time, Auntie Arelle!” Vamria stuck her tongue out. “I hope it won’t be the last.”

  “Um, likewise.” She tried to remember how her grandmother would say it. “Um… may your travels be safe and bountiful. May you return to home and hearth. Until tomorrow.”

  “Yeah! That!” Vamria clasped her forearm with a grip strong enough to crack wood. “Be safe, have fun and don’t grow up too fast. Girls should be girls for as long as they want and what they want shouldn’t be what others around them want.”