Scarlett gaped at the scene before her. A gust of wind swirled across the courtyard as Fynn jumped out of the broken window, touching down next to the person who’d flown out it.

“What is the meaning of this?” she cried out, rising from her seat as she looked towards the person lying on the ground. A large patch of flowers had been flattened by the broken glass and the person’s fall, but the surrounding flowers stopped her from seeing much of their figure.

Fynn looked at her, but his head almost immediately snapped back to the person beside him as they moved. Fynn lashed out, but the person had somehow already made it halfway to their feet and stumbled away from the attack, squashing even more of the colorful flowers under their feet as they stepped back. They wore a dark hood, and two knives flashed into their hands from out of nowhere.

Scarlett breathed in at the sight. So this was an intruder? Had the Cabal made their move?

Fynn let out a low growl as he jumped after the figure, the winds running over the flowerbeds along with him. The hooded figure dodged the incoming blow, side-stepping under it and shuffling onto the stone path leading around the courtyard.

Scarlett lifted her hands—sensing Rosa raising her klert beside her—and readied herself to use her magic. Fynn dove in once more, the young man acting fiercer than Scarlett had ever seen him before. As he swiped out towards the intruder once more, an indistinct green light formed into claw-like shapes around his left hand. Scarlett stilled at the sight, the hooded intruder only barely managing to step out of the claws’ range.

Since when could Fynn use [Claws of the Tempest]?! She thought it would take him far longer to learn that.

Scarlett had to push any further thoughts over Fynn’s surprising development to the side, as the intruder tried to dodge yet another swipe from Fynn. It forced them into the path of the young man’s other hand, which also sported claws now.

The intruder suddenly turned into a hazy streak of red. Fynn’s claws tore through the light red fog left behind as the person reappeared a few meters away, close to the mouth of the courtyard.

Scarlett’s eyes widened. She recognized that ability.

Like a predator locking onto its prey, Fynn was already about to jump after the person.

“Halt! Fynn, stop at once!” Scarlett yelled.

She conjured a thick wall of water in front of him. Fynn smashed right through it, his upper body becoming soaked as he awkwardly tried to arrest his sprint. When he stopped, he threw a quick glance at the hooded figure in front of him before turning to Scarlett with a confused expression.

Scarlett focused on the intruder, who’d looked like they were about to turn tail and make a run for it up until now.

At a closer look, it was clear this person wasn’t part of the Hallowed Cabal. While they wore a hood that covered much of their face, their outfit was a simple mix of thick, dark fabric and leather armor, with an assortment of small knives hanging off their side. From their build, and the outlines of a beard seen beneath the hood, she could tell it was a man.

She lowered her hands, gesturing for Rosa to do the same.

The hooded man seemed to take this as a sign. He, too, lowered his knives and placed them on his belt.

“Gaven Ridley, I presume?” Scarlett asked, just loud enough that it would reach the man.

“Huh. So you were expecting me,” a rough voice sounded out. “I was starting to think I’d been conned. This sure is a one-of-a-kind welcome.”

Scarlett held back a sigh. She looked toward the broken window and the ruined flowerbed. “This is not how we ordinarily greet our guests.”

“He’s a guest?” Fynn asked, visibly bewildered as he frowned at Gaven. “But I sensed him sneaking around inside. He didn’t smell like any of the others. He smelled bad.”

“...You sensed me, eh?”

Scarlett cringed inwardly at how her previous talks about being secretive about certain things clearly hadn’t produced much result with Fynn.

“So you saw fit to destroy part of my residence?” She locked her gaze on the white-haired young man. He froze, his eyes shifting to the window in question, and what remained of it in the ruined flowerbed.

“I...I didn’t…”

“Never mind.” Scarlett probably didn’t succeed in hiding the irritation in her voice.

The doors to the mansion slammed open, and she turned to see some of the servants come running out and down the stairs. For now, she ignored it and returned her attention to the intruder. To Gaven Ridley. One of the companions in ‘Chronicle of Realms’.

“And you,” she said, her voice ice cold. “You believe it acceptable to creep into my home? Without my explicit permission? Did the thought of contacting me prior to your visit not even occur to you?”

Evidently, Mirage had done their job when it came to finding Gaven, but apparently they overlooked giving him clear instructions on how to meet with her. She certainly hadn’t anticipated him trying to sneak into her mansion like this.

In fact, what she had been expecting was for Mirage to contact her again after they’d found him, informing her of when the meeting was to take place. But clearly, that was too much to hope for.

Was it just her being stupid when she expected others to act like reasonable people and communicate with each other?

Gaven simply shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t exactly planning for the boy over there to find me.”

“You should wish yourself fortunate that he did.”

If she’d found herself surprised by a hooded stranger in her home, there was no telling what would’ve happened. While she wasn’t entirely certain she could take down Gaven—he had one of the highest evasion stats in the game, among other things—it sure as hell wouldn’t have been pretty, for either of them.

“I take it you are indeed here to meet with me, then?” she asked.

“Me?” Gaven crossed his arms. “You’re the one who called.”

Scarlett just shook her head at the whole situation. A moment later, two of the mansion’s servants came running toward her. It was Marlon, the woman in charge of the female servants, and a brown-haired young man named Gilbert.

“My Lady!” Marlon held up the hems of her dress so that it didn’t come in the way of her feet. “Is everything all right?!”

The woman’s head turned—in something halfway between a frown and an expression of worry—to Fynn and the wrecked window, as well as Gaven where he was. While the man’s hood covered much of his face, which looked pretty suspicious in this situation, the belt he’d worn with weapons on it had now disappeared under his clothing.

Scarlett looked around the courtyard as a few more of the servants exited the mansion, including Garside.

“I am unharmed,” she told Marlon, and pointed to the side where broken glass lay scattered. “Have someone clean that up. Ensure there is no glass inside as well.”

Marlon threw one last look at both Gaven and Fynn, but soon bowed her head. “Of course my Lady,” she said, walking off.

Scarlett turned to look at Garside as he approached, with a couple other servants trailing behind him. “Garside. Contact a glazier to repair that window. And inform the staff that, while an unfortunate accident occurred, the matter has been resolved and that there is no need for worry.”

The man furrowed his brows as he appeared to take in the situation, eyes stopping on both Fynn and Gaven. After a moment, he lowered his head. “As you wish, my Lady.”

Scarlett turned her eyes to the courtyard’s opening, where the archway that connected the two wings of the mansion enclosed the courtyard. Looking past that, and past the garden that was between the building itself and the stone wall that encompassed the entire estate, it didn’t seem like the hired guards had noticed what was going on.

“In addition,” she added, turning back to Garside. “Inform the guards that, henceforth, they will patrol the grounds regularly and report any suspicious matters directly to me. I also want you to look into employing more men to increase the shifts.”

The good thing about having Fynn around was that he was great at detecting suspicious interlopers. But they weren’t at the mansion twenty-four seven, so it might be wise to hire more guards. No matter how weak they were.

“I will do so forthwith,” Garside responded with a firm tone. “But, if it’s not too bold of me, may I inquire into what has happened here?”

The small gathering of servants that stood before her now, including Rosa, gave her curious looks.

“A misunderstanding occurred between one of my retainers and a guest. None of you need bother yourselves with it further than that.” She shot a look at Fynn. “That includes you as well.”

He gave her an embarrassed look.

Scarlett turned back to the servants, gesturing with her hand. “Now, you may all leave. Those that have work to do should return to it immediately.”

The servants got to moving, and even Fynn started walking back towards the mansion with hesitant steps. Scarlett would have to talk with him later, but for now, she looked to Rosa, who had stayed uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire proceedings. “We will have to suspend our conversation here, it appears. I apologize for the disturbance.”

The bard returned a smile. “No, it’s fine. Looks like you’ve got a lot on your plate.”

Scarlett turned to Garside, who was also yet to leave. “I will be in the parlor next to my office. Inform Molly and all others that I do not want to be disturbed for the coming hour, and that they should refrain from entering the east wing other than to address the broken window. This includes Fynn and the other individuals temporarily under my employ.”

This probably looked pretty suspicious, but it was better than anyone overhearing things. Fynn’s hearing, especially, was an issue.

“Your words are our commands, my Lady,” Garside said. “But...is it safe?”

She looked at the grey-haired man for a moment, then gave a slow nod. “It is.”

“I see. Then I will ensure that your orders are followed to the letter.” The butler bowed and started moving back towards the mansion, passing by two servants that had already begun picking up some of the glass scattered about the courtyard.

Scarlett turned to Gaven, who hadn’t moved an inch during the last minute. “Then, shall we have a talk?”

“Gaven Ridley,” Scarlett said the name once more. She sat on a red leather couch in the smaller guest parlor, located close to her office in the east wing. The man in question sat opposite her, now with his hood down.

Unlike the large reception hall in the mansion, this guest parlor was relatively simple, with a large table placed in its center, surrounded by several expensive-looking armchairs and couches. There were a couple of bookcases lining the walls, and a wall looking out over the eastern part of the Hartford compound, but the rest of the walls only held some modest paintings.

Gaven Ridley himself was quite similar to what Scarlett remembered from the game. Other than his attire—which looked much like what one might expect from a rogue-like character in a setting such as this—he had a head of thick, flowing, dark-brown hair that parted to the sides and reached to his neck. In addition, he had an unexpectedly well-kept beard and light-brown eyes that had been looking at her with an amused gaze for some time now.

A fact that only slightly annoyed her.

“I will not delve further into the fatuity of attempting to sneak into my home without my prior knowledge. I presume you were contacted by someone about my desire to meet with you? But they did not tell you how and when?” she asked.

“Yeah. Some shady individuals came and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” Gaven shrugged. “I assumed anytime would be fine. But your kind don’t often take well to working with mine, so I make it a habit to not let unrelated people notice me. Most of the time, I don’t get caught.”

“You did this time,” Scarlett pointed out. “Perhaps that will teach you to be more heedful in the future.”

She almost wished she could give Mirage a bad review on Google or something like that. For poor customer service. This made her somewhat worried that her other request to them would be handled even worse. But, considering how that request was relatively simple, she hoped that wouldn’t be an issue.

Gaven smirked. “Heh, maybe I will. I’ll have to wait and see.” He leaned back on his couch, folding one leg over the other. “So, what’s a lofty baroness like you want with someone like me?”

Scarlett tapped her finger against the armrest next to her, not bothering to hold back her stare as she studied the man. While Gaven had been a companion in the game, his personality didn’t mesh the best with Scarlett’s. Not to mention the fact that he was technically a criminal.

But he was also necessary for her plans.

“It is simple.” She locked eyes with him. “ I want to hire your services.”

“I kinda figured as much.”

“Then I can only assume you are interested in the prospect.”

“Depends.” He smiled. “What do I get out of it? And what do you want me to do?”

“You will be compensated handsomely for your labor,” she said. “Both money and enchanted equipment are on the table. The work itself will vary, although I can assure you I will only assign tasks you are capable of.”

“Like?”

“Locating certain items of interest, as well as certain individuals.”

“Hmm.” He turned his head as he studied the paintings in the room. “Would any of these items of interest happen to already have an owner?”

Scarlett gave him a long look, then a slow nod. “Some of them, yes.”

A roguish smile grew on his face. “Then I’m listening.”

[Quest completed: Hire companion’s services — Gaven Ridley]{Skill points awarded: 3}

Scarlett briefly glanced at the small window of text that appeared in front of her, before returning her attention to the man opposite her.

“To start with, when you contact me in the future, you are to do so through the guards at the front of my estate. I will ensure that they know what to do so that you are escorted straight to me. In addition, I advise that you wear more inconspicuous attire for such visits from now on.”

Gaven gave a short nod. “If you say so, boss.”

Scarlett frowned slightly at the easygoing tone, but decided to let it go for now. “Now, for the first task I would have you perform. I believe you should be familiar with the city of Bridgespell?”

Gaven raised both brows at her words. “I am, yeah. But I have to wonder why a baroness like you would know something like that about little old me.”

“There is much that I know. If you were to stop and demand an explanation every time a matter surprises you, our conversation would not move very fast.”

He blinked, then a smile grew back on his face once again. From nowhere, he pulled out a thin knife with a hole at the bottom and started spinning it around his finger.

Scarlett felt her eye twitch at the sight.

“So, what is it you want me to do in Bridgesp—agh!” He pulled his hand back as his knife dropped onto the couch beside him, red hot as it seared the leather on the furniture.

“While I do not expect you to maintain the same standards of decorum as my regular attendants, I would advise you to be conscious of your position.” Scarlett’s voice was cold as she conjured a mass of water around the knife to cool it down. A small cloud of smoke trailed up in the air, a faint burnt scent spreading inside the room.

With her vision enhanced by her [Charms of Apperception], Scarlett had already noted that Gaven didn’t have any defenses up at the moment. It’d been hard to hold herself back from teaching him a little lesson with her pyrokinesis at that point. It was only recently that she’d learned that it wasn’t only limited to creating fire, but that it could also be used to heat up certain objects.

What a perfect—and satisfying—opportunity to test the ability out in action.

She definitely wouldn’t do something like this to her other employees, though. She was very particular about her abuses of power.

Gaven looked at her with a mildly surprised face as he held his left hand in his right. There was no anger there, though.

“Right, I get it, my Lady,” he said, giving an exaggerated bow with his head.

Scarlett decided to let it go with that.

“As I was saying,” she continued. “Having grown up in parts of the city, you should be familiar with the different districts there. In particular, the Lower Ward.”

Now he gave her a wary look, and she returned a small smile. She was purposefully trying to overplay how much she knew in order to get him to trust her even more later down the line, but she was fully expecting him to be suspicious this early on.

“I have also heard that your name is one that is currently on the lips of several of the local syndicates, meaning there will be some difficulty for you to move readily through the city.”

Gaven frowned. “If the first job’s in Bridgespell, it’s not an issue. Those people wouldn’t be able to find me even if they knew where I was.”

Scarlett shook her head. “The first job is not in Bridgespell itself. That would be for a later undertaking. No, the first thing I want of you is to prove your worth.”

“My worth?”

“Yes. I will provide you with the location of a certain abandoned ruin near Kilsfell. I expect you to find it, explore it, and return with an item held deep within this ruin.”

“That’s...certainly a unique way of proving one’s worth.” Gaven opened and closed his hand. “But what about payment?”

“For a simple matter such as this, your payment will be any items of value found during your delve. Excluding the item I need.”

Gaven knitted his forehead. “How do I know it’s worth it?”

“I believe someone as capable as you should be able to determine that yourself when you are there.”

He crossed his arms as he seemed to consider it.

“Although I doubt it will come to pass,” Scarlett added. “If you are not satisfied with the payment after having finished the task, I will compensate you further upon completion.”

Now Gaven grinned. “Then I’m your man.”

“I expected as much,” Scarlett said. “In addition, there are preparations that you will have to complete along with this task. I will arrange for transport through the Kilnstones so that you can travel between Freybrook and Bridgespell, but you will have to arrange disguises and anything else that may be necessary for you to be able to openly visit the city without encountering complications.”

He caressed the beard on his chin as he grew a contemplative expression. “And what exactly is this for?”

“You will learn that after you have completed your first tasks.”

He grew quiet for a second. “How much time would I have?”

Scarlett leaned her head to the side as she considered it for a second. “I believe two weeks is a reasonable period of time. After that, I expect you to have returned to me with both matters concluded.”

He let out a laugh. “Then we shouldn’t have any issue at all.” He leaned forward and held out his hand over the table with a smirk. “I believe we have a deal, don’t you?”

Scarlett eyed the dirty hand for a moment. “It appears we do,” she replied, not putting forth her own. Gaven didn’t seem to mind as he pulled back onto the couch.

“What about an advance?” He rubbed his thumb and index finger together. “Preparing these things will cost some.”

“You will be provided two thousand solars.”

“Two thousand, eh?” he muttered. “I’ll probably make do then.”

“I would hope so,” Scarlett said. “Any further questions?”

Gaven shook his head.

“Good. Then let us discuss the details.”