“Make way!” A man shouted in the streets of Novalgus. “Move to the side!”

 

The man, along with a few dozen others, led a convoy through the streets. Each of them were adorned in white and gold plate armor and carried warhammers. They walked alongside a few carriages that were equally decorated with white and gold colors. The interior was made of fine silk walls and leather seats, with a very peculiar group of individuals seated on them. 

 

The caravans held the sight of a rather noble looking group. The people within were not dressed in armor like the guards outside. They were dressed in a fancier set of clothes. Among them was a gentleman who appeared to be dressed in an officer’s uniform, however, this one did not resemble the same kind that the guild’s officers wore.

 

The convoy led their way through the streets, following along until it reached a huge golden gate that stood in front of a large structure. Hundreds of people stood outside the gates, waiting for it to open.

 

One of the guards approached the caravan at the front and slowly opened the door to it. “Lunthel, the High Chancellor of the Radiant Order!”

 

The man, dressed in an officer’s suit, stepped down from the carriage. He was much older than the guard that presented him. Lunthel had a short head of white hair and a well trimmed but full beard. He slowly began approaching the large gate as it opened before him.

 

The other caravan passengers began slowly exiting the carriages. The guards introduced them one by one as they departed. 

 

Off to the side, were Zayd and Milly, carefully watching the scene take place.

 

“So this is the Church of the Radiant Order?” Zayd asked.

 

“Sure looks that way,” Milly answered. “It’s enormous!”

 

“That’s an understatement,” Zayd replied. “I’ve never seen this place up close before. I’ve always heard stories about it but…never have I actually come by to see it.”

 

“The Acolytes don’t have to travel far for their class changes from what I hear,” Milly noted. “They’re able to just walk right to the other side of town.”

 

“Must be nice,” Zayd murmured. “Wish I had it that easy.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Milly replied. “I had to travel to the southern forest to get my class change started.”

 

“Well I didn’t have to travel that far but I still had to sleep with goblins all around me!” Zayd mentioned. “Not only that but I had hill giants to deal with too!” 

 

“I had to shoot an arrow across the forest,” Milly said.

 

“Wh-what?” Zayd raised his brow and tilted his head in confusion.

 

“That’s all you two had to deal with?” Ivory approached them from behind. 

 

“Ivory!” Zayd and Milly both shouted in unison as they turned around.

 

“I had to deal with toxic slugs, bog wolves, animated trees, and a crazy old lady that wanted to consume my soul,” Ivory detailed. “And here you two are complaining about having to do a bit of walking?”

 

“We had to do more than just walking, ya know!” Zayd grinned. “I got to take on hoards of goblins, a duo of hill giants, and even a wyvern!”

 

“You fought a wyvern?” Ivory sternly looked back at him, her eyes eventually falling to his ax. “Zayd, where did you get that?”

 

“Oh this thing?” Zayd held up his new ax. “This I got from Khanjii!”

 

Ivory and Milly’s eyes lit up. They both turned to Zayd and then pulled out their own newly obtained weapons.

 

“I got this from Khanjii, too…” Milly held out her bow.

 

Ivory showed them her rapier. “This as well.”

 

“Wait, so all of us got new weapons from Khanjii?” Zayd asked. 

 

“First he gives us our offhand equipment, now he’s giving us all weapons,” Ivory observed. “This is quite a peculiar situation but one that is most welcome.”

 

“Yeah I have to admit…without this bow, I never would’ve passed my class change trial,” Milly admitted. “Which is something I wanted to speak with you two about.”

 

“No way, me too!” Zayd added. “There’s no way I would’ve beaten back all those goblins without the hill giants and I wouldn’t have convinced them to fight with me if it weren’t for this ax.”

 

“While I hate to admit it, I needed mine to succeed too,” Ivory mentioned. “It seems that all of us fell just a bit short in terms of being ready for this class change. Yet, here we all are. Each of us, more powerful than we were when we left.”

 

“Ivory, does your tome have descriptions on our relics?” Milly asked. “I would love to know what mine says.”

 

“Yeah!” Zayd chimed in. “Do mine too!”

 

Ivory opened her tome and let it hover in the air in front of her. “Very well then, let me see them.”

 

The Occultist began to scour the pages of the book until she came across a depiction of Milly’s bow. Ivory began to read the words on the pages until she came across a very brief description of the relic.

 

“It says that shots fired by this bow will always land their mark…interesting,” Ivory read aloud. 

 

“That sure explains a lot,” Milly noted. 

 

“There’s more,” Ivory mentioned. “It gives a more detailed history, explaining why it was made this way. It reads: Fan the Crafter was never a skilled marksman but her love for archery never stopped her from pursuing it. From her time spent in Syraav’s Garden, Fan had met two friends that she cherished dearly. She would spend her days playing with them and practicing their archery until the sun set upon the forest. However, such luxuries could not last long as one of her friends would eventually grow old and their life eventually faded. With a heavy heart, Fan and her dear friend created a place of burial deep within the forest to honor the place that their friend loved to visit the most. This bow was crafted by Fan as a reminder of the memories she holds so dear to her.”

 

Tears instantly began to form in Milly’s eyes. Her mind had taken her back to the place where Khanjii had visited with her. She was reminded how his love for his dear friend was such a powerful feeling. Milly turned away as the tears began to fall.

 

“Milly are you alright?” Ivory asked. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing!” Milly snapped. “I’m sorry I just need a minute…”

 

“Are you sure, Milly?” Zayd questioned. 

 

“Yes, I’m fine,” Milly assured them while wiping the tears from her eyes. “Please continue.”

 

“That’s all that’s left for this relic,” Ivory said.

 

“Do mine next!” Zayd held out his ax towards her. “What’s mine say?!”

 

Ivory began flipping through the pages yet again. She eventually found one matching the same appearance as the ax that Zayd held in his hand. Ivory skimmed through the words until she found the description.

 

“Interesting…” Ivory squinted her eyes and raised a hand to her chin.

 

“What is it?!” Zayd questioned with intrigue. “Tell me!”

 

“It says that this ax contains the very power of the winds within it that can be unleashed with each strike,” Ivory continued to read until her eyes lit up with surprise. “Oh wow…”

 

“Ivory quit doing that!” Zayd insisted. “C’mon! Hurry up and tell me!”

 

Ivory grinned back at him. “It says here: Fan recalled the days when she would soar through the skies of Isigya atop the back of a sky serpent, named Khalifer. Together they made a home within the caverns of Ziraun, high atop the canyon and far from the reach of humans. The beautiful divine beast was said to be the most gorgeous sight in the sky and its scales were said to contain the very power of the winds. When Khalifer was called back to guard the skies by the Aspect of Light, Fan had to leave her dear friend so that they may return to their duties. Upon their departure, Khalifer gifted Fan one of his own scales that she used to craft an ax as a reminder of the moments they spent together.”

 

Ivory and Milly looked up to see Zayd standing there with his mouth agape. Though he lacked the emotional response that Milly had given, Zayd still appeared to be shocked by the description.

 

“Sky serpent…,” Zayd whispered to himself. 

 

“What’s wrong, Zayd?” Milly asked.

 

“Do you three remember when we first left Novalgus?” Zayd questioned. “Back when we first set out on our journey to Bullhill Town. It was right after we departed from town. We all saw it in the sky.”

 

“The sky serpent,” Ivory said. “I remember.”

 

“Do you think it is the same one mentioned?” Zayd stared back at his ax. 

 

“I don’t know for sure but it’s possible,” Ivory answered. “No matter how we look at it, all three of us have stumbled upon powerful relics. This is the second time Khanjii has gifted us with priceless treasures.”

 

“Milly, is everything alright?” Zayd looked over to see her still tearing up. “What’s wrong?”

 

“It’s just I’ve been meaning to talk to you both about something ever since I finished my class change,” Milly explained. “I thought a lot about my role in the party while I was working on my trial. I came to the realization that I’m not really much of a help to you two.”

 

“What?!” Zayd snapped. “Milly, what are you talking about?”

 

“No, I mean it…,” Milly insisted. “I realized that there’s not much I really do for the party. I mean sure I shoot a bow from far away but how often did that actually help us back there on our quest with the gnolls?”

 

“Milly…,” Ivory attempted to chime in.

 

“And when we were attacked by that party on our way to Bullhill Town!” Milly added. “Or the fight with Krok or even the Paltry Demon! Look back at all of our fights and you won’t find a single situation where I came in handy…”

 

“What are you trying to say here?” Zayd asked.

 

“What I’m saying is that you two would be far better off without me…,” Milly answered. “You two are so much more powerful than I am and with someone other than me, you two could achieve so much more! I know you two weren’t expecting this, but this is me giving you two the chance to replace me right here and now. Your party can have a worthy addition to it that would help you two wherever you go. I promise you two I won’t harbor any ill-feelings towards you. I’ve thought long and hard about this and it’s honestly the best course of action.”

 

Zayd and Ivory looked back at each other in complete and utter shock. After a brief pause, the two of them burst into laughter. Milly looked back at them, with an equally confused expression. While it was common to see Zayd like this, it was a rare sight to see Ivory so full of laughter.

 

“Wh-what’s so funny?” Milly asked.

 

Ivory began to wipe tears from her eyes. However, they were not tears of sorrow but instead tears of joy caused from her seemingly unstoppable laughter. 

 

Zayd was hunched over with his hands on his knees while he struggled to breathe from his own endless chuckling. 

 

“Why are you two laughing?!” Milly snapped.

 

“Because you silly goof,” Zayd replied. “You’re not going anywhere.”

 

“What?” Milly asked.

 

“Do you really think that this party would last even a day without you around?” Ivory looked back at her. “Honestly, picture me and Zayd traveling together and ask yourself how long it would take before we killed each other?”

 

“Yeah, seriously, Milly,” Zayd added. “Without you around, we would’ve fallen apart a long time ago. You help keep us all together.”

 

“Wait…what?” Milly stood there, with the confused expression still on her face. 

 

“And as far as combat goes,” Ivory began to illustrate, “do you really think we would’ve survived those ambushes without your Detect ability? You may have missed a few too many shots, Milly, but you are far from useless.”

 

“But-”

 

“And your Long Shot was great at taking out those make-shift towers that the gnolls set up back in the forest,” Zayd added. 

 

“You see, Milly,” Ivory detailed. “You are just as valuable of an asset to this party as either of us are. You should recognize that and give yourself more credit.”

 

Milly’s chin began to quiver and her eyes teared up more, however, this time a smile was upon her face. She reached forward and took hold of both her companions and embraced them with a warm hug. 

 

“Thank you…,” Milly whispered. 

 

“Ok, you can stop now.” Ivory glared at a stone wall and shook her head.

 

“Yeah!” Zayd cheered. “Group hug!”

 

Milly stepped back, releasing her grip on them and wiped the tears from her eyes. 

 

Zayd smiled back at her. “It’s good to have us all back as a party again.”

 

“It really is,” Milly agreed.

 

“So, what do you all want to do next?” Ivory questioned.

 

“It’s that time again, isn’t it?” Zayd looked at both of them. “Time to take on a new quest!”

 

Ivory and Milly shook their heads in agreement, both of them with a smile on their face. 

 

“Do we still have time to reach the guild hall before it closes?” Milly asked.

 

“Good question,” Zayd replied. “I have no idea…”

 

Ivory looked up at the sky to see the sun beginning to lower over the horizon. A blend of pink and orange filled the sky to create a beautiful scene. 

 

“If we hurry, we should make it in time,” Ivory insisted.

 

“Alright, let’s go!” Zayd cheerfully declared.

 

The adventurers set off towards the guild hall, making their way through the fine city of Novalgus. They were reunited once again and each of them were hopeful for what the future had in store.