The city of Berbeign was a chaotic orchestra of sounds blacksmiths hammering, merchants shouting, and magic lamps flickering in the haze of afternoon.
Milly weaved through the crowd like a tourist who had no idea what she was doing.
Her hood hid her horns and wings, but her behavior did the opposite of blending in.
She stopped at a stall selling skewered meat.
"How much for the stick thing?"
The old vendor squinted. "...You mean grilled wyvern tail?"
"Wyvern?" Milly blinked. "Wait so I'm technically eating a relative?"
The vendor frowned. "A what?"
"Never mind!" she said quickly and tossed a gold coin onto the counter one of Luma's stolen ones. The vendor's eyes bulged at the pure Forgotten mint coin.
"Lady, this is worth!"
But Milly had already skipped away, happily munching on her "relative."
A few streets later, she spotted a small crowd gathered around a street performer some magician making sparks dance between his fingers. Milly tilted her head, curious, then copied the trick in her palm without thinking.
A crimson spark flashed out of her hand, creating a small explosion that singed the pavement.
The crowd gasped.
The performer dropped his wand.
Milly blinked at her own hand. "Oops… uh was that too much?"
Guards turned their heads instantly. Milly froze, shoved the rest of the wyvern stick in her mouth, and bolted down the alleyway.
She found herself laughing breathlessly as she leaned against a wall. "Maybe I'm… too good at sightseeing."
Meanwhile, far away in the Forgotten Fortress, the others weren't laughing.
Basei sat at the central table, dark circles under his eyes, watching the flickering holographic display that Simni projected. Her eyes glowed faint blue as streams of data scrolled past.
"There. Signal found." Simni pointed at the map. "She's in the west Berbeign City."
Luma crossed her arms. "Figures. She took my money and ran off for a vacation."
Fogotto chuckled lazily from the side. "I mean, can you blame her? Fortress life's boring. All meetings, no mead."
Basei gave him a cold look. "This isn't a joke."
Fogotto raised his hands. "Fine, fine. No jokes."
Simni's head rotated toward him a full 180 degrees. "Actually, I'd appreciate fewer jokes while I'm scanning quantum fields."
Fogotto muttered, "That's not creepy at all…"
Basei sighed, rubbing his temple. "We'll retrieve her quietly. If word gets out that a high-ranking Forgotten vanished into human territory, every guild in the west will come sniffing."
Simni nodded. "Already dispatching a drone unit. Should I alert Milly?"
"No," Basei replied. "She left for a reason. Let's see where she's headed before we intervene."
Back in Berbeign, Milly sat at a fountain, eating another snack she'd bought with a single absurdly valuable coin.
She looked at her reflection in the water the faint red gleam in her black hair, the uncertain smile.
"I wonder… if I'll ever find out who I really was," she whispered.
Far above her, a tiny blue light blinked once.
Simni's drone camera.
And in the fortress, Basei leaned forward, staring at the feed his tone soft.
"...We found you, Milly."