The tavern William suggested for their meeting is a fairly fancy one, though not as fancy as the one Adrienne used to work at. It is one of the few pces in town to offer its guests private cubicles to drink, and it is located next to Turraine, Elderspire’s main source of water, which makes for a nice view from said cubicles.

  Sincir has visited once before with the girls, as the tavern is a semi-famous spot in town, so he knows the address fairly well, and guides Adrienne there without any problems.

  “Like I told you yesterday, this is somewhat of a work meeting, but I figure it won’t st very long, and we’ll have the rest of the evening for ourselves...”

  “It’s fine, I just couldn’t bear to stay at home by myself after what happened... I’m happy we had something pnned.”

  Night has yet to fall, but sundown already paints Elderspire in its colors by the time they approach The Riverbank Tavern, joining its short line for entry.

  William was supposed to handle their reservation, so Sincir hopes the mage is already inside... Staring at the many carriages and coachmen around, he is reminded of his first visit, and how Ena kept gawking at the rich people until Eleanor snapped at her...

  The Riverbank is not a rick people only spot, per say, but it is frequented but the upper css much more often than not, due its steep prices, and they attracted their fair share of gazes by visiting as a group of two young women and a boy.

  Sincir still smiles when reminded of how Eleanor’s ice cold gaze had the pce’s doorman stuttering...

  ...Speaking of which.

  “Names?”

  Once their turn arrives, the doorman looks down at him and grimaces slightly, though his expression softens considerably once he spots Adrienne.

  “Sincir,” Sincir informs, “We should have someone waiting for us inside.”

  The man makes a show of checking his list, then nods. “Mr. William can be found by the riverside, third area from the back... Have a nice stay, Mr. Sincir. Ma’am.”

  Sincir nods as the man bows and makes way for them to head inside.

  “Have you ever been here?” he asks Adrienne over his shoulder as they follow the doorman’s instructions to find their table.

  Having been inspecting the pce, she meets his gaze and sighs. “No... My boss considered this pce a rival tavern, so he forbade us from visiting.”

  Sincir snorts. “How petty. He should have sent you to spy on the competition instead, and improved his own pce accordingly... Then he’d have had nothing to fear.”

  “Is that what you’d have done?”

  “If I owned a tavern? Sure.”

  “Then you’d make for a better tavern owner then my boss.”

  Sincir chuckles. “Maybe...”

  Finding their reserved space is not hard, and Sincir spots William at a first gnce, though the mage is wearing much fancier clothes than the ones he wore during their first meeting at the guild... Next to him, sits an uncomfortable middle-aged woman who Sincir wouldn’t call the prettiest, her posture screaming warrior-type even as she sips from her mug and rolls her eyes over something William whispered into her ear.

  She has a nice figure, in spit of the combat scars Sincir spots on the small amount of naked skin her outfit reveals.

  Once William sees them approaching, the young mage immediately rises from his seat, beaming as he does so. “Mr. Sincir! I’m gd you were able to come... I heard from your friends you were indisposed this morning?”

  He must’ve talked with Eleanor or Ena at the guild...

  Returning the man’s smile, albeit more conservatively, Sincir accepts his extended hand. “It seems I caught a bit of a cold yesterday, but I’m better now. This is Adrienne,” he says once their handshake is done, waving in her direction as he does, “And Adrienne, this is William, a new acquaintance from the guild... I guess we both thought to bring a date for tonight, huh?”

  William’s cheeks immediately grow a shade darker, and he hurriedly clears his throat. “Miss Adrienne, the pleasure is mine... However, I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Mr. Sincir; Yesenia is a friend, nothing more.”

  Yesenia raises her mug at them as a form of greeting, and Sincir nods at her. “I see; My apologies then. Do you mind if we take our seats?”

  “N-no, of course not. Please.”

  Sincir gestures for Adrienne to go in first, so she’ll take the seat with the view - which she does after a nod toward both William and Yesenia - while he sits facing William’s pce and sighs tiredly.

  Damn it, he should’ve hired a carriage to bring them here... Saving money is becoming a bit of a bad habit at this point.

  “Do you have a preference for your drink?” Sincir asks Adrienne, “I’ll pay for you tonight, so don’t worry about the price.”

  Adrienne shifts her eyes from the view (admittedly gorgeous, with Turraine being bathed in sundown’s light at the moment) to meet his gaze. “I can share the bill.”

  “Did you manage to find a new job?”

  “...Of course not. It has been a day.”

  “Then I’m paying.”

  Adrienne sighs, turning away from him once more. “...Wine,” she murmurs after a moment, causing Sincir to smile.

  “Has Miss Adrienne lost her job?” William says worriedly as he takes his own seat and signals one of the barmaids to approach them.

  “There was a small incident at the the tavern she used to work at,” Sincir expins, “Adrienne was a damn heroine for what she did, but unfortunately, her boss didn’t see it that way... I’m sorry for skipping on the details, but the wound is still fresh, you see.”

  William’s eyes widen slightly. “O-of course. Don’t worry, I shall not mention the topic again.”

  “Whatever it is, I’m sorry it happened,” Yesenia murmurs sympathetically.

  Once the barmaid approaches them, Sincir orders wine for him and Adrienne, but he saves ordering their dinner for ter, since it is still early, and they’re about to talk busyness.

  The enclosed space surrounding their table offers retive privacy, though the usual noises of a tavern are still present, making for a pleasant atmosphere.

  “I love this pce,” William says with a satisfied sigh after a sip from his mug of bear, “I can’t help but visit whenever I’m out of an expedition... I’m convinced they could charge double their prices, and still fill the house every night.”

  “It’s a nice pce,” Sincir agrees, “Though you shouldn’t give the owner any ideas, if you enjoy coming here so much.”

  William ughs. “Right you are... So, is there a pce where Mr. Sincir would like to start from? I know I was the one who invited you, but...”

  Sincir waves his hand dismissively. “You wanted to know about me, right? Ask away.”

  William nods. “The reason I invited Yesenia is that she was present during some of Insect Burrows’ old expeditions - real ones, aimed at killing its queen - and since Mr. Sincir seemed to be interested in the nest, I thought you might wish to ask her questions regarding it... Don’t worry, I can attest to her trustworthiness, having had my life saved multiple times by her quick thinking and reflexes during these past few years of work as an adventurer.”

  “I swear they don’t teach a single useful thing at that pce,” Yesenia murmurs as she uses her mug to hide her visibly heated cheeks.

  “He is a graduate from Dexia,” Sincir expins, to which Adrienne throws William an impressed look, causing him to also blush.

  “It isn’t all that impressive, really... Yesenia is right in that the school taught me little about how to actually survive as a mage on the field. And besides, I don’t wish to steal Mr. Sincir’s spot as the star of the night...” William clears his throat. “I’ll be direct, Mr. Sincir. How old are you, truly?”

  Sincir sips from his wine, then chuckles. “I’m older than I look... My exact age is not important. What about you?”

  William seems somewhat taken aback by his question, though he only hesitates briefly before answering, “I’m twenty nine this year... People often tell me I look younger than that, but it is the truth. I’m sorry for pushing, but... What does Mr. Sincir mean when you say you’re older than your appearance?”

  Sincir throws Adrienne a look. “How do you like the wine?”

  “...It’s good enough,” she murmurs after a moment of facing his gaze, “Do you like it?”

  Sincir snorts. “Nope. Everything on this side tastes like piss... As for your question, William, I meant that my body is thirteen, but my mind is not.”

  William blinks. “That... You certainly don’t act like you’re thirteen... Isn’t the guild’s minimum age of entry fifteen?”

  “I think you’re missing the point slightly, William,” Yesenia murmurs, her gaze now sharp as she stares toward Sincir.

  Meanwhile, Adrienne looks at her gss of wine questioningly. “Like piss? Really?”

  “I’ll get you to try elven wine at some point... You’ll understand what I mean then. And Yesenia is right about you missing the point, Will. Do you mind I call you Will?”

  Again, William blinks. “...No? My mother calls me Will...”

  “...Oh. Never mind then, William it is.”

  Adrienne chuckles, and even Yesenia rolls her eyes.

  “Mr. Sincir...” William groans.

  Seeing the young man’s obvious frustration, Sincirsmiles at him apologetically. “Sorry, sorry, I felt the dies would become uncomfortable if our talk was overly serious, so I wanted to light things up a little... But I promise I haven’t lied about anything yet. Why don’t we do it like this; You give me your best guess about the nature of my identity, and I’ll tell you if you get it right.”

  After a moment of staring at him, William sighs, defeated-looking. “I see you’re not going to make this easy for me... But I’m still grateful you agreed to entertain my curiosity at all, Mr. Sincir, so I shall py by your rules.”

  “In this case, after a wrong guess, you have to drink,” Sincir proposes, causing William to groan again.

  “Fine... Youth potion.”

  Sincir raises an eyebrow. “Do those even exist?”

  William downs his cup, immediately signaling the barmaid to bring their table more drinks with a determinate look on his face...

  A couple of hours ter, and few dozen wrong guesses, William hiccups, pointing an angry finger at him as he attempts, and fails, to stop himself from swaying in his seat. “This i-is b-bullshit! Y-you’re obviously c-cheating!”

  Having ugh hard enough to cause his stomach to hurt a couple of times already during these past yours, Sincir shakes his head with disappointment. “I commend your determination, my friend, by I think we should stop here for tonight...”

  “W-wait! I g-got it this time! Y-you... A f-foul creation... From a w-witch’s experiment!”

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “Now, that’s just insulting... It’s worse than when you called me a doppelganger.”

  William tries to get a hold of his cup, but Yesenia grabs his arm before he can do so. Her cheeks are slightly blushed, having ughed nearly as much as Sincir did, and drunk a decent amount (though nowhere near what William did), but there is a small amount of caution remaining in her eyes, making it clear she is still on guard against him, at least to some extent.

  “Sincir is right, William... We should stop here for today. And besides, we still haven’t answered any of his questions,” she says, causing William to grimace.

  “R-right... My staff. Everyone was l-looking at me weird for bringing it in here...”

  Having said as much, William grabs the weapon from where it lied, resting against his seat, and pces it over the table in between the two of them, slightly more harshly than necessary.

  “T-there... Look as much as you w-want, I -d-doubt it’ll have anything...” William hiccups, then continues. “H-have anything Mr. Sincir hasn’t seen before.”

  Carefully grabbing the staff, Sincir runs finger through the simple runes drawn across it; Indeed, William is right about him having seen them before, and Sincir recognizes the earth runes on the staff at a first gnce, but they’re not what he is after.

  “This crystal... Could you expin to me were you found it?” Sincir asks, meaning the brown stone embedded into the staffs handle and which seems to serve as its power source in pce of the more complicated runes the staff would otherwise require to function.

  “A-amazing, isn’t i-it? I got it from an earth elemental at Garden of Fire... I m-myself am a rune enthusiastic, but their limitations are obvious once one begins to delve d-deeper into studying their u-uses... N-not to mention uncovering new runes is e-even harder than new m-magical characters...”

  “If you ever encounter a creature named Sonog, don’t repeat what you’ve just told me,” Sincir warns, never taking his eyes from the crystal in front of him as he does so.

  This... Indeed, if you remove the need for the runes to power themselves with mana, adding an external power source, it’d simplify in much the complexity of creating magical artifacts...

  Mana stones used to be a myth, at least as much as Varzath was able to learn in his two thousand years in Hell, but it seems someone out there finally managed to get the magical stuff in a physical form...

  Except, the moment Sincir touches the stone, he freezes.

  “...William.”

  Having been about to say something, William stops in virtue of his sudden serious tone, seeming to sober up somewhat. “Yes? Is there a problem, Mr. Sincir?”

  “This crystal... What is it powered by?”

  William clears his throat. “It is not mana... We know that much. However, the exact source of its power is not known. In fact, much about these nests is still a mystery to us... If Estrein or the elves would ever share something, maybe we’d have figured it all out over these past hundred years, but... Not even the Council shares much with the guild...”

  Sincir swallows. His heart-beat thunders against his ears, and it takes him a moment to parse what William has told him.

  So, they don’t know... Or, at least, the guild doesn’t.

  Finally managing to control his wavering emotions, Sincir sighs. Then, realizing both Adrienne and Yesenia have been watching him attentively, he smiles at them.

  “William, why don’t you grab some water and take a walk outside, for some fresh air? As you are now, I can’t exactly ask you the questions I want to...”

  William blushes. “I-is it that bad...?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m the one who forced you to drink, so I’m to bme for it... I’ll ask Yesenia some questions while you recover, so take your time.”

  William nods. “I a-apologize for a-any inconveniences I might h-have caused...”

  Sincir smiles at him. “Don’t walk too far away... I heard the streets are dangerous at night, these days.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind...” William murmurs as he rises from his seat and stumbles away from their table, heading for the door.

  Sincir is still watching him go when Yesenia asks her question.

  “...You know what it is, don’t you?”

  He smiles. “You’re a shrewd one... I knew you had realized it. Ah, and it was such a fun night too...”

  Once their gazes meet, Yesenia swallows. “...Are you going to kill me?”

  Sincir grins at her. “You have the wrong idea about me, love. I don’t bite... Not unless the other side shows their teeth first. Really, I’m a good guy...”

  Adrienne snorts. “He isn’t going to kill you, Yesenia. He sent William away so he could answer our questions, after he realized we noticed his reaction to the crystal.”

  Sincir frowns at her. “You’re no fun, Enne...”

  She sticks her tongue at him, causing Sincir to blink. Then, noticing her blushed cheeks, he realizes the number of wine gsses she has downed while he wasn’t paying attention must not have been small, either.

  “...Anyway, to answer your question, Yesenia, yes, I do know what this crystal powers itself with, though I do know how it came to be, or why.”

  Yesenia frowns. “This is... I’m not sure I’m...”

  “The right person for this conversation? I know. In fact, I was hoping you could help me with a different matter entirely, and the crystal just happened to become a part of it after I... Forget it. If I were to ask you some questions, would you be willing to answer me?”

  “I... I’ll have to report this.”

  Sincir chuckles. “To our guild master?”

  She nods, causing him to sigh.

  “I suppose, in view of recent events, I’ll need to have a talk with them sooner or ter... It’s fine, you can report what you saw tonight. I already thought you were going to do it, anyway.”

  “Are you not afraid of being found out?” Adrienne asks.

  Meeting her dark eyes, Sincir smiles. “There is no gain without risk... You should know as much yourself, from what happened st night. And besides, I think they’ll be interested in the information I have to share.”

  “...If you say so.”

  “Yesenia?”

  “...I’ll answer your questions.”

  Sincir nods. “First, I wish to understand how these crystals came to be.”

  Yesenia shakes her head. “Other than knowing they grow inside nest creatures, I don’t know.”

  “Have you ever seen a nest’s queen before?”

  Again, Yesenia shakes her head. “The expeditions I was a part of were failures, as you may have imagined. But I heard they aren’t what you’d expect... As long as you’re able to pass their guardian and reach their chamber, killing them is supposedly easy.”

  Tapping his finger against the table, Sincir hums. “So, they are production oriented, not combat... Makes sense. Do they communicate? Even primitive sounds will do.”

  Yesenia blinks. “No... Not as far as I’m aware. I’ve never heard of anyone saying a queen produces sounds before, but it could be the case they simply didn’t think it important enough to report.”

  Well, they could also be using nonverbal forms of communication to order their minions about. At this point, Sincir is almost convinced these nests are someone’s project, rather than a natural phenomenon, or a new, invasive species from Elysium... However, he cannot discard the other possibilities completely without some sort of proof.

  And these crystals... He cannot even fathom what sort of magic caused their creation, but he hopes it wasn’t as bad as their existence indicates.

  “...Is this all you know about nests?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Yesenia says, “I’m an experienced adventurer, but...”

  Sincir nods. “I understand. William mentioned you were a part of Insect Burrows expeditions?”

  “Yes... Not exactly memories I like to revisit. As you probably know, nests tend to take the form of an already existing ecosystem, but in a distorted way... Entering Insect Burrows is like walking into a giant insect’s nest, and it is the most horrifying shit I’ve ever experienced in this career.”

  “How does it work with the monsters? Do they swarm you the moment you walk in?”

  “It varies from nest to nest. With elementals, they tend to leave you alone as long as you keep your distance, and they don’t seem to have any sense of companionship... Same with the reptiles from Mud Holes. But the insect types are different... They come in waves, almost never ending, and they work together... Not all of them, but simir looking ones, at least. Facing them is a nightmare come to life...”

  Seeing the haunted look in Yesenia’s eyes, Sincir decides not to push her further than this on the monsters.

  “Can you think of any way a group might be able to walk in and out without attracting the attention of the insects?”

  Yesenia blinks. “Many of them seem to hate light... But a torch will only fend them off for so long. Maybe a lone, well prepared adventurer could go a couple of levels deep and come back... But a group? As far as I’m aware, there is no way they wouldn’t be swarmed almost as soon as they step through the entrance, no matter how many torches they’re carrying.”

  Interesting. These cultists must know something the adventures do not, or possess some sort of artefact to fend off the creatures... Sincir supposes he’ll have to wait for Collin’s efforts to bear fruit.

  “How far do you figure the nest has expanded during these past two decades?”

  Yesenia sighs. “We estimate twenty floors or so of insect infested caves. Our st expedition managed to reach the eleventh before we were forced to retreat because one of the bastards managed to shoot acid over our food supplies... But we were already at our wits end by that point, so honestly, I’m gd it happened that way, and not with us being wiped out.”

  Sincir nods. “Can you tell me how long it took for you to reach that deep?”

  “About two weeks or so? It is hard to tell the time down there, for obvious reasons.”

  Two weeks... If the cultists are indeed hiding within the nest, they must be at least somewhat close to the surface, or the trip would take far too long each time they come up for a kidnapping... Though he supposes teleport is also an option, if they have a strong demon mage on their side.

  “Someone told me Insect Burrows has been a sughter house tely. Do you know something about that?” Sincir asks.

  Yesenia hesitates. “I heard strange of rumors, but I had quit going there by that point, and frankly, I spent these past few years doing my best to forget the pce exists, so I avoided the rumors on purpose.”

  Damn it.

  Sincir sighs. “Fine; One st question, then. Did you ever happened to encounter anyone down there?”

  “Anyone...? Someone lost, you mean? I’ve heard of expeditions coming across lone survivors every now and then within a nest, but it has never happened to one of the ones I was a part of... And also, never within Insect Burrows. I struggle to believe anyone would survive down there for more than a day, if that.”

  Averting his eyes from Yesenia in order to inspect the still lively tavern around them through the opening in their reserved space, Sincir tries to think of anything else he might be able to extract from her about the nest... In the end, he decides this is about all he can hope to gather tonight.

  It’d have been nice if Yesenia was up to date on what is going on with the nest these days, but Sincir can more or less surmise what those rumors are about, if the cultists are actively trying to keep the Explorers Guild from pocking in there... And besides, his talk with the guild master should shed more light over the situation than anything Yesenia could tell him.

  “...Is this all?” she asks once he has remained silent for a while.

  Meeting her gaze, Sincir smiles. “Thank you, Yesenia. I hope you don’t think ill of me for what happened tonight... This information will prove important for the guild as well, but I need some time to prepare things on my end, so I’d be grateful if you could wait a couple of days on your report... I’ll take responsibility for it, and I promise the wait will be worth on your end of things.”

  Yesenia grimaces. “Tell me one thing first, then. What is your true objective within Elderspire?”

  “I don’t wish the city harm, if that’s what you’re concerned about, but I confess I do not pn to stay forever... After destroying one or two of these nests, I’ll probably leave for good.”

  She blinks. “You... Do you pn on destroying the nests?”

  Sincir smiles at her. “Of course. My reasons are rather selfish, but I wouldn’t have joined the guild otherwise. I know you have little reason to trust me yet; However, I still ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt on this.”

  Yesenia stares at him in the eyes for a long moment, then sighs. “I hope I won’t come to regret this... You have three days. After that, you can expect a summon from our guild master.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  With this, Yesenia rises, grabbing William’s staff as she does so. “I’ll tell William you two will continue your talk some other time. No offence, but you smell like trouble, so I hope it never happens, but the final call is still his... Have a good night, whatever manner of creature you may be.”

  Sincir watches her go until she is away from his sight, then sighs. “Do you think they’ll end up together? I was about to have them kiss for the next bet, but now I’ll never have the chance...”

  Realizing Adrienne is looking at him weird, he cocks his head, smiling at her.

  “...What?”