From one pub to another. I left Broghton at seventh bell and arrived at the Final Form at eighth bell, time zones being what they are. I did not bother keeping my arrival discreet, by now people know what I'm about. And what I'm about is splashy entrances.

  One moment they're all sitting at their tables discussing distribution of loot and slaying of miscreants, and then a circle of light appears out of nowhere, six feet around and blasting an eye-searing glare- and then a second later it's gone, and I'm standing there taking a steel blindfold off my eyes.

  I've stopped using goggles, putting them on and taking them off over my hair is just more trouble than it's worth, because I'm usually only in the light for a second or two. So I just crafted a goggle-shaped piece of steel that fits to my face, and I hold it in place with one hand while the other curves void for me. Once I'm on the other side of the portal, I dispel the blindfold, and start walking straight for the meeting room in the back.

  Unlike the Gift of Gold, the Final Form will take my money, and they do like to rent rooms out.

  Sir Chaun Maspers of the Royal Cavalry Guard was there, without his insignia. "Disreputable place," he noted. "There's more highbrow adventurer's taverns, you know."

  "This was the one I know how to find," I pointed out. "These adventurer taverns don't advertise."

  He raised an eyebrow. "Then how did you know to find this one?"

  I put my hands on my hips and gave him a look. He laughed in response. "Ah. Of course. Visions. It's funny, once I get three or four questions in, it always comes to those."

  "Most of your questions are 'how' and 'why'," I said. "And so, yeah, after you get three or four questions deep, that's usually the answer. The visions do kind of rule my life, you know. Most of what I do is motivated by the things I know, especially the things nobody else knows."

  "So what exactly am I doing here?" he asked. "I'm no mana warrior."

  I leaned against the doorframe, crossed my arms. "Yet, you have dozens of mana warriors under your charge. Why is that?"

  "Hard work, dedication, keeping my nose clean, and competent results," he said shrugging like that's no big deal.

  "And you know that your lieutenants and warriors would fall apart without you, right? It wasn't them that caught me, back at Meadowtam." He started to say something modest and self-effacing, but I cut him off. "You've got skills. You're perceptive, intuitive, and crafty. You can organize missions and lead groups. And I'm guessing you're pretty damn good with that sword, even if you can't channel mana. Look, I did not get captured because your warriors were strong. I have answers to that. I got caught because you outmaneuvered me. And I will always respect that, and I'll always remember you as the man that beat me. There isn't another one."

  "Not even your brother?" he asked.

  I winced. "You've been investigating."

  "I have."

  "Just because I haven't figured out how to undo whatever he did to the records department to take those rankings, does not mean he's beaten me. I'm still working on that." I sighed. I lifted my feet and swung them gently side to side, rocking. "Also, I think having a member of the Royal Guard in the party would help alleviate questions. Most adventurers operate with barely any official sanction, and it tends to cause friction. I think having you with us would stop us having to prove ourselves to any officials."

  "You expect me to use my badge to get us out of trouble?"

  "I expect you to use your moral compass to prevent us getting into trouble," I corrected. "I don't think you're the kind of person who loses perspective of right and wrong when things get woolly."

  He paused, and folded his hands on the table. "First of all, that is likely the most meaningful compliment I've gotten, ever. And like that, I'm sold. I'm in."

  "Oh good. Now I need you to help me sell the others."

  "How many others?"

  "Seven besides you and I. Six of them will be here today."

  "Why not the seventh?"

  I considered my answer carefully. "Nothing he is going to say today is going to be productive contributions. He would only disrupt things. So he'll be introduced to the group on day of departure."

  The guardsman stared at me carefully. I hate when people do that. It always means they're about to read me way too well. He drummed his fingers on the table. "You think I would refuse to bring him if I know about him in advance. You'd rather get forgiveness than permission."

  Busted. "Yes," I said. "And I hope you won't hold that against me."

  He frowned just a little. "Well that puts a lot of-"

  "Yoooooo!" Thumper cheered, trotting up from the taproom. Her energy immediately shot through the atmosphere of the place. "A real adventurer's tavern! How'd you even find this place?"

  "Mystical visions," I told her. "Like I told you on day one."

  Maspers looked amused. "You really do tell absolutely everyone about those, don't you?"

  I swept aside to make room for Thumper to walk into the room. She picked a seat at the table, and pulled the chair around backwards to sit with her chin resting on the chair's back. "Pretty much," I said to him. "Consider: is it more trouble to have mystical visions and tell everyone about them, or to have mystical visions and try to think of consistent plausible reasons to know the things you know?"

  Sir Maspers quirked a grin. "That depends. In this hypothetical situation, am I really bad at lying?"

  "It's not that bad!"

  Thumper made a sympathetic grimace. "Lady Natalie, I'm sorry, but you make the guiltiest little face whenever you're not being wholeheartedly honest. And the shifty eyes, too. And you fidget. I really don't think you are aware you're doing it, but it's not subtle."

  "Maybe it is that bad," I conceded. "And, no ranks while we're on party business. Except Sir Maspers here, I think him being a knight is more a part of his identity than my being a noble."

  "Is it weird that I agree?" Licard said, looming in behind me. "Am I early?" He had come up unobtrusively, so as not to interrupt conversation, but without being startlingly stealthy. That's a difficult line to walk, most big men are either loud as hell or they keep accidentally jumpscaring people.

  "Only a few minutes," I said, gesturing him in. "You've met Sir Maspers and Thumper both."

  "Right, from the time your teacher went berserk and tried to kill you," Thumper said, nodding.

  Sir Maspers gave me a look. I'm not sure, but I felt like it was kind of a "Braux did not go berserk she found proof that you're a necromancer and maybe a lich". But I was not going to address that because I am not ready for everyone to know about that yet.

  Or ever.

  Definitely ever.

  Licard pushed his chair back from the table until the back hit the wall, and then sat down in it, hunched forward with his elbows on his knees. "All right. I understand the knight-investigator being here. And the need for a healer. But why your g- fencing partner?"

  I'm certain he did that on purpose. That was not an accidental slip.

  "Because she's really good," I said. "She can hold her own against mana warriors, just with talent and skill."

  She looked surprised. "No I can't."

  "I promise you," I said to her. She's the final boss of the Clash questline. I've failed it enough times to know what her stats are.

  "Damn," she said, looking impressed now. She stared down at the tabletop, absorbing this exchange.

  "If you don't mind, I'd like to see that, just to sate my own curiosity," said a new figure looming from the shadows. "Unenhanced warriors that can hold their own are rare, and it is a joy to watch them work. Not right this moment, obviously, no need to press that issue, but when we can. Good day, Natalie. And good day, Healer Licard."

  Tiviti stepped past me into the room. She ducked through the door, and the other two nodded to her. Sir Maspers did not react to her outlandish appearance - elongated limbs, elongated face, glowing pink eyes with cat-slit pupils. Rather than the armor I had seen her in for monster-slaying, or the more formal dress at school, she dressed for comfort today, fluffy wool dress and a scarf that reached her waist even after wrapping twice.

  "Tiviti Wirrel, this is Sir Chaun Maspers, or Captain, of the Royal Cavalry Guard. A man of versatile skills, proven integrity, and impressive accomplishment. Sir Maspers, my friend Tiviti, a duende hunter from Elyrga House."

  Tiviti unwound her scarf and sat down across from Healer Licard, creating an interesting bookend effect. His breadth and density to her wispy height. She rolled her scarf into her lap, plush fluffy varicolored yarns forming a spiral. "A pleasure, Captain. I have heard many things about the Guard, some commendable and others despicable. I wonder which we will need."

  "She lightens up some when she's killed something," I assured him.

  Thumper was staring at the new arrival. When she spoke, her voice was a little envious. "I've see you around the common room. If I had your reach I'd be unstoppable."

  Tiviti's smile was cold. "I have my reach. It's everything you say."

  Licard chuckled. "Ah. Posturing and braggadocio. I remember this part."

  "Same the world over," said a figure wearing a lightweight facemask and a cloak with the hood pulled forward. "Hi, Natalie. Don't worry, I won't fling testosterone and pretentious bravado around the place."

  I chuckled. "We appreciate it. Allow me to introduce the others. Sir Chaun Maspers of the Royal Cavalry Guard, a man of valor and discernment, and an experienced leader. The healer from our school, Licard. I'd be surprised if you do not already know of him. Captain of our fencing team and an all-around joy to be around, Thumper Kuritan. Duende hunter from the wild borders, and my proofreader in literature class, TIviti Wirrel. Everyone, this is Quarl-"

  "Quarl's fine," he interrupted, and he fought himself not to throw a look towards the captain. Okay. Roger that. From under his cloak he brought up a steel crossbow in resting position, unstrung. "I believe my role here is oversight and ranged support."

  Crossbows look smaller when you're not up close. Sitting at the same room, it is a commanding presence. The stock was oak and the rest looked like tempered steel, well-taken-care-of but with a dark oil filming it so it would not reflect. And, it would take me two arms to carry the thing if I'm not assisting with magic, as long as a rifle and built strongly. There was a complicated assembly near the trigger guards that looked like a winch or a fishing reel that would swing into place and lock, probably to pull the string back after a shot.

  I don't know a lot about crossbows but it looks like a good one. I glanced through the doorway, out at the main room. The tapman there was facing something I couldn't see, talking to someone out of my field of view.

  "Holy shit," Licard said, arching an eyebrow at the heavy weapon. "Are you any good?"

  Quarl glanced over at me. "Did I promise no pretentious bravado?"

  "You did."

  Quarl looked back at Licard. "I'm not bad." He moved to sit near the healer, who appeared to know more about ranged armament than I did. I mostly blow stuff up or throw Million Knives Telekinetic Attack, I don't learn the ins and outs of weapons. They struck up a rapid quiet conversation that sounded more technical than I was ready for.

  "Sorry we're late!" Kimothy said. "I got turned around, and she wasn't sure about the address, but between us we found the place!" He bustled in, wearing casual street clothes. Larianne was with him, dressed for a funeral.

  "That rounds us out," I said, pressing the door shut. "These are Kimothy Ubohm, sorcerer, and Larianne Ebonder. From left: That is Quarl, who will be assisting overwatch and ranged strikes. Beside him Licard, healer from our school. Yes he looks like he's a front-line tank, but he will not serve in that capacity. Sir Chaun Maspers of the Royal Cavalry Guard, a distinguished and honorable man of many valuable talents. Tiviti Wirrel, mana warrior and huntress of monsters in their own domain. And Thumper Kuritan, a swordswoman who does more with plain steel than most of the mages and myrmidons out in the taproom."

  We went around the room sharing nods and eye contact, small murmurs of greeting and salutation. "Kimothy is a sorcerer from my class and was practicing scrivening before that. And, to the best of my knowledge has never even considered a path as an adventurer."

  "Safe to say," he chuckled. "I'll hear you out, though." He moved to sit next to Thumper, slouching into a chair.

  "And this is Larianne, a countess from Ebonder House, and she has the ability to put mana through magical weapons. Obviously she's in charge of public relations and team morale."

  The dark-shrouded girl turned to me with a half-smile quirking her lips. "When did you get funny?"

  "I'm sure someone will tell me when it happens," I said, waving her to a seat. She moved next to Quarl, and she stared at his masked face for a moment before sitting down. Cool. All our edgelords all lined up. I moved to the nearest end of the table, opposite Sir Maspers. "I'm really hoping you all hit it off, because I'm proposing that we all travel together to make a brief but profitable foray into regions of Hearstcliff not currently under the control of the kingdom. The wilds, the dangerous places."

  Tiviti chuckled darkly. "I spend half my time across the borders in the real wild lands. I don't think there will be much that I'm not qualified for."

  "I appreciate that confidence," I said. "The destination is the Jungle of Uchislowi, in Wanfarrun."

  Larianne snapped up like I'd just announced something interesting for the first time since I had known her. "I'm in," she said with heat, eyes shining. The first time I've seen her drop the cold dispassion.

  Licard snorted. "Oh, this old chestnut!"

  Quarl looked from the excited goth to the sardonic healer. "I feel left out. Oochysomething? What is that?" Most of the others seemed to share that sentiment. But Tiviti looked like she was surprised in a different way, like she was reevaluating what she knows about me. Kimothy and Thumper looked baffled.

  Sir Maspers looked at me directly, unflinching, as he leaned back in his seat, his hands steepled together in front of him. "The Forest of Phantasms. It's one of those spaces on the map that does not get filled in. Roads go around it, and nobody goes near it. It's a place nobody comes back from, save every few years someone does manage, and always with the most bizarre stories to tell."

  Larianne picked up, her cheeks bright now. "One of the densest concentrations of monster activity above ground within the kingdom's borders. Rumored to hold barbarians, hidden dungeons, rare magics, and lost history. Almost no real information is available, and most of it is in conflict. Ebonder family archives claim that our family came from there originally, before wars and migrations forced us south to Tumnassed."

  Kimothy and Thumper's eyes were round and wondering, maybe a little spooked. Tiviti looked a good bit more interested. Maspers looked almost smug, and Licard was worried.

  "The fact that so few survive even brief forays into the jungle means that there are no guides and no experts that can help expeditions," I added. "Which in turn only makes it more dangerous. In fact, there is no mortal source of information on this place, its inhabitants, the routes, the dangers, or the riches that lay concealed in it."

  "You said 'mortal'," Sir Maspers pointed out.

  There was a tap at the door behind me. I stood, opened it, and let in a waitress who took our orders. The whole time, I could see our party thinking things over. Kimothy was quickly talking himself out of this endeavor, he looked scared now. Thumper was uncertain, but .. hopeful? Licard almost seemed bored like he had heard this briefing before, and wasn't impressed with it the first time.

  The specials of the day was a mushroom and onion soup, a garden salad with hard-boiled eggs mixed in, pan-seared game bird with pasta, or a big ol' slab of cow served rare-almost-raw with no garnishes and no sides. She seemed truly surprised that all eight of us ordered the soup, salad or pasta dishes. From her expression, she was used to a table of eight ordering eight slabs of raw meat.

  Ugh. Adventurers.

  "I did say mortal," I said, after she left, and I tried to find my place and my momentum. "My sources are not mortal. I am probably the only living expert on the interior of the jungle, except for the barbarians that live there. And I'm not quite certain that they count."

  Tiviti frowned. "I've been up close with barbarians out on the frontier. They're really quite close to being human, compared to most other wildlands creatures."

  "Oh, I'm not impugning that," I chuckled. "They just don't know much about their own environment, sadly."

  "But you do," Larianne prompted, now eager. "Such as -?"

  Another knock. I stood to open the door. The interruptions were getting annoying, they kept stopping me right at a cool dramatic pause before I reveal shocking information.

  And in bustled a glowing woman with flowers in her hair, uptilted eyes like Tiviti's, and a thick clipboard full of notes. She had a coat with a pocket protector, and a satchel that clinked with glass bottles. "Harigold party?" she snapped.

  "That's us," I said. "We're missing one. I can bring him to your headquarters on my own in the next couple of days."

  She rolled her eyes impatiently. "Always something. Nobody ever gets their paperwork right on the first try. This is my own fault for deciding to herd cats for a living." She set down the clipboard, and started taking out documents.

  Forms filled out. Name, home town, affiliations, skills, accomplishments, titles, signatures, thumbprints, next of kin, emergency contact, allergies, banes, curses, distinguishing marks, etc.

  "I'm renewing, my information should be in the system," Licard said almost shyly.

  "What?" Tiviti said, eyebrows high.

  "Later," he deferred.

  By the time the paperwork was resolved, the food was coming in, and the waitress took our drink orders. The Guild rep was sanding her documents dry and squaring them on her clipboard when Thumper finally blurted out the question that had been bursting to leave her this whole time. "How are you glowing?!" she said, eyes pleading. She knew the question was rude, you can't just ask someone why they're glowing, but she clearly had to know.

  The Guild woman sighed, and tried on a smile for the enthusiastic teenager. "Well, when something has you pinned down to the ground and you're stabbing it in the neck, it's hard to keep blood out of your mouth. Some monsters have more interesting blood than others. Now I glow."

  She left just a couple minutes after that, to add our forms to the Guild's records, and to make us official. And with that, entitled to keep all that we found in uncontrolled lands or caves.

  The door closed behind her, and we sat down to our meal. I had the soup. I took a long sip. It was good. I set my spoon down, it clinked on the porcelain. I folded my hands. "As much silver as you can carry," I said to start.