Two individuals walked down a dimly lit alleyway. One was tall and broad, a mountain of a man adorned in wires and steel, both of his eyes glistening with glass and tiny electrical lights. His strides were long and surprisingly light-footed, as opposed to the quick but short steps of his companion. A smaller, more feminine figure walked beside him, and the magitech she was equipped with was even more noticeable than his. Her right arm, twisted into long and metal claws as sharp as knives, hung low enough to almost scratch the ground, and she held a long metal staff in her other hand which glowed softly in the dim light. This light was not enough to frame either of their facial features but cast an eerie shadow of the two figures behind them. It was enough to frighten a small wild cat which hissed loudly at them.

Only a short distance away the Edonian Spring Festival was in full swing and it looked to be the largest one in years. Mages, alchemists, engineers, and psychics had travelled from all across the nation and beyond to visit the town of Lenora on this day, and even from a distance the two figures could hear cheers of joy and excitement from the festival. The man paused and sniffed, the smell of freshly baked bread and cakes starting to fill the air as they moved closer and closer to the festival.

“This is an interesting place to set up a recruitment drive, Mona,” said the taller figure, teasing the woman beside him playfully. His voice was gruff and deep, and he carried a very soft accent to his speech that was uncommon in Edonia. His stomach rumbled loudly at the woman tutted. “Not that I’m complaining. The food here smells delicious.”

“You would be surprised at the kind of people who visit these events,” the shorter figure replied, her own voice tinged with the same accent of her companion. Her mechanical fingers clicked softly with every step, sounding almost insect-like in nature. “Some of the most prestigious technicians and sorcerers visit these events and we need as much skill as we can muster. It is a gold mine and since the Universalis might have eyes anywhere I don’t want to recruit through the guilds too much or they might know our party composition; they might even try to install a spy into our midst.”

“I know, I know,” the man replied. “It just seems like an unreliable way to find new recruits. Why not talk the Melior Society instead? They’re always looking for an excuse to try out their prototypes and some of the brightest minds in Ozalia are part of their organisation..”

The woman’s face turned into a scowl and she looked visibly angry. She turned her body to her companion and raised one scythe-like claw and held it in front of his face, almost as if she were threatening him. “You know I do not trust those cancerous degenerates, and for all we know they have all already been inducted into the Universarium Order. They can rot in the Ether for all I care, and the sooner they do it the better.”

Chuckling softly to himself, knowing that his suggestion would have elicited such a response from his smaller companion, the man walked onwards keeping a short distance away from the woman until eventually they spilled out into the main street. It was bustling with life, as was most of the city. Shacks filled with fairground games and stalls selling clothes and magical items lined the roads. Tents and carts sold both local and exotic food to the masses, and people of all shapes and sizes could be seen shopping at them to their heart’s content. Dancers, musicians, and entertainers of every kind darted gracefully from street to street, eager to put on a memorable performance for the people who had travelled so far to see them. If he were not here on business then the man would have loved the chance to take part in the festivities, but he knew his companion might remove one or two of his fingers if he dared slack off.

“Now we just need to keep our eyes open. You know who you are looking for, right?” asked the woman.

The man nodded. “See you at the fountain in an hour,” he said, and with that they both turned around and headed in opposite directions down the street. It was mere moments before they were completely out of sight, endless medieval buildings and huge crowds of people standing between them.

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“I am so, so, soooooo late!” called a woman as she darted down the streets of Lenora, weaving in and out of the various travellers and entertainers that wandered the streets. As much as she would have loved to sit back, relax, and enjoy the chaos that surrounded her, she was consciously aware of just how late she was and refused to waste another second dilly-dallying. Her movements might have been graceful and precise as she ducked and dodged through the crowds if it were not for the long trail of woven baskets that followed behind her, kept up by the sheer force of her magical powers. Her small frame, tiny in fact, made carrying all of this a difficult task, but it was not something she was unused to. The tiny butterfly wings that sprouted from her back kept her afloat and nimble, allowing her to focus all of her efforts on navigating the swamp of people.

The tiny woman stood at only a few inches tall and a tiny glistening trail of dust followed her every movement. Her skin was pale and her cheeks were rosy, with tiny pointed ears and delicately braided hair. She was a pixie, not an uncommon sight in Edonia, but she was sure that she was the only one here in Lenora for the festival. The baskets she carried were filled with baked goods, mostly cakes but also breads and pastries, which she planned on selling at the festival. They were all freshly baked by her, of course, and her flour-covered apron and slightly pudgy figure made this clear. One of her baskets was filled with runestones, however; decorative pebble-sized stones which would explode when fuelled with a magical spark, spewing all sorts of magical effects in a large radius.

Something to sell to the more magically minded, of course.

The pixie woman almost crashed into the stall she had set up a few hours earlier, her stash of baked delights slipping from her grip and tumbling to the floor. Thankfully remaining in their baskets, not too battered by the affair, and once she had shaken herself out of her daze the pixie waggled her fingers much like an orchestra conductor, and with every movement the baskets moved into their appropriate places. The treats were sorted and placed onto trays, heated slightly to make them all the more appetising.

Anna Stasia stood on the counter of the stall looking rather proud of herself, and almost immediately she was flooded with customers who took note of the fresh food on sale. Both strangers and regulars alike, Anna happily sold her merchandise to all, and within the hour she had sold out completely, her hair left a mess and her satchels full of silver coins. She grinned, falling backwards onto a pillow designed for humans that she could fit on perfectly, and decided that she deserved a well-earned rest for a job well done. She was mighty proud of herself, selling more of her stock than ever before at a Lenora festival, and far richer because of it.

The woman woke from her nap only a few moments later to the sound of a gruff voice and a huge shadow cast over her. If Anna were not so used to being around humans then she might have thought the sky had fallen and the world had been plunged into darkness. Instead a human man stood over her, but he was one of the largest humans that she had ever seen, both in height and width. Anna was sure the man’s muscles were larger than most human heads, and his thick fingers were almost as wide as she was.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear that. Can I help you, stranger?” she asked, fluttering up straight and fixing her dress quickly as she looked up to the man. “We’re all out of… well, everything, unless you’re here to buy the stall. I’ll let you take it for seven silver pieces.”

Anna spoke with a giggle or a pause after almost every word, her voicing giving off a soft, high-pitched echo which was common among pixies. She seemed to be hyperactive, fidgeting and struggling to contain herself, but it was no different from any other pixies. While her speech was strange her smile was wide and inviting, and the pixie woman looked entirely harmless even compared to the rest of her people. As Anna looked up to the man, wires, muscle and all, she could not not help but feel slightly intimidated even if she did not show it, but she imagined even the biggest and bravest of humans might feel the same and so commended herself for incredible bravery in the face of danger.

“That’s a shame,” said the man. “I’ve heard good things about this place from almost everyone I’ve passed. They all love your food.”

Puffing out her chest in pride, Anna rested both of her hands on her hips and raised her chin. Any sense of intimidation faded almost immediately when she found out this man was simply an admirer, and fluttering her wings gently she flew upwards until she could make eye contact with the man. “Well, they are my speciality. My cooking is known throughout the kingdom as the best cuisine a pixie has ever offered!”

The human opened his mouth to speak but Anna beat him to it.

“If you reeaaaally want something to eat then I can always whip something up quickly. Give me half an hour to bake you something especially tasty. It’ll be worth the wait, I promise!” she said, fluttering her wings and hovering gently in the air.

“Oh, it’s no trouble. I wouldn’t want to waste your time,” the man said.

“Nonsense!” Anna said, waggling her finger again. “I don’t even have to leave the stall to bake more,” she added, giggling again. Her fingers glistened with magical energy and far off in her bakery her instruments spurred to life, the oven heating and ingredients mixing.

“They call me Crossbones,” the man said, introducing himself and holding out a hand to shake.

Anna eyed him curiously, wondering what on Earth he had done to earn that kind of nickname, but his appearance reeked of the Ozian University, and everyone there had some interesting or just plain odd nickname, so it did not seem so strange by comparison. “Anna. Anna Stasia,” the pixie replied, gripping the man’s index finger with both hands and shaking it lightly.

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“That was a very impressive display,” a woman said, leaning against the stone wall of a building. She had watched the brief scuffle between two fighters, the brazen young man and the talented hextress, and had mixed feelings on the affair.

On the one hand, the young woman was incredibly talented and seemed to know her limits quite well. She was modest and well trained, two traits that Monarch could appreciate. This lightened the magitechnicians spirits, but also sparked an idea. Having a hextress on her investigation team would be incredibly useful, and Monarch intended on speaking with her in a short moment to see if she was willing to join her on her quest. On the other hand, the man whom the hextress had crippled entirely was Alfen van Dragoon, a well-known creation sorcerer whom Monarch had already unofficially recruited to her cause. She knew that he was a rash individual, far too preoccupied trying to prove himself or show off to keep his eyes open, but her very brief meeting before had not suggested his nature was all that disruptive.

Watching this fight had proven otherwise.

For a moment she contemplated pretending she did not recognise him and that she had never invited him here, the cowards way of telling him to go home and do not come back, but there were people whom she trusted more than her own sense of judgement, and if they believed Alfen was going to be a valuable asset to the team then who was she to criticise them. She doubted he was dim enough to believe more than a few white lies as well.

“Monarch,” the woman said, holding out a hand to Rita. She nodded gently to Alfen afterwards, her eyebrow slightly raised. “Alfen. It is a pleasure to see you again, I think.”