Despite her protests, it was decided that Xamiliere would stay in Valor when the rest of her party left off to find the severed hand for Anastacia’s project. But before departing, the adventurers would have to hone their plan a bit, as fresh limbs didn’t exactly grow on trees.

Maximillian summarized their options: “There are two ways we can go about this: either we find a body, or we find someone who will not miss a hand too much. Both are a bit on the gray area when it comes to ethics, but personally I do not fancy digging up a corpse in the slightest.”

Dammar rubbed his beard. “So we find us some bandits then?”

“Indeed, though it is not wise for us to try and fight them in the forest. I might have a slight edge there, but we will not have Xamiliere with us, and they live there and know the terrain well.” The elf nodded.

“A fair point, my friend. Though I doubt that they’d come out of there to attack two people who are obviously adventurers.” The dwarf reasoned.

By this point it was clear to Anastacia that the whole conversation was just a play, like they were trying to justify their plan somehow. Both Dammar and Maximillian obviously knew what their plan would be, but for whatever reason they were skirting around it instead of stating it plainly.

“What are they doing?” The necromancer whispered to the third member of the party.

“This is pretty much what happens every time they’re allowed to make a plan. Dammar thinks it’s hilarious and I think Max just likes to do it.” The spriggan explained in a hushed tone. “It’s been going on for over thirty years now.”

This didn’t answer Anastacia’s question at all and only brought up more of them. “What happens?”

Xamiliere didn’t say anything, instead she just smiled and floated off to get a new drink.

“What happens?!” The necromancer kept asking.

The pair had completed their plan and ran off to gather whatever they needed for it. Dammar left the inn, but Maximillian ran upstairs to his room. Both were obviously excited about whatever they were going to do.

After about thirty minutes, Maximillian came back downstairs wearing a new outfit: pure white robes that looked more like a dress than anything, slightly transparent white veil and copious amounts of silver jewelry. He had cleaned up his appearance even more than usual as well: the shoulder length black hair had been combed straight and pale face cleaned to a point where his skin was almost like doll’s. Any signs of the relaxed lifestyle of the adventurers had been smoothened out from his demeanor and replaced with the elegance and nobility. All in all, he was a stunning sight and could have passed as someone’s bride any day.

Xamiliere floated back to Anastacia and reintroduced her partymate. “She’s called Maxine, she helps us out whenever we need a damsel for a distraction or stuff like that.” She explained while trying to hold back her laughter.

Maximillian gave the spriggan a light push and sent her slowly through the room towards the kitchen. “I would rather you not make light of the traditional clothing of my family.” He said and sat down with the necromancer to wait for the last member of their party.

“You look very pretty today, Max.” Anastacia grinned.

The elf smiled like he actually didn’t mind the compliment. “Though what she said is true, bandits and other outlaws tend not to attack people who look like they could defend themselves, and not everyone has your unassuming looks. It has been made very clear to me that this outfit makes me look like an easy and valuable target for a robbery in the eyes of a common outlaw. Both that and the element of surprise we gain by using this plan are both a very good reason to utilize it for quests like this.

“He just wants to wear the pretty dress!” The spriggan yelled while still slowly drifting away in the air.

“Anyway… Dammar is at the offices, picking a quest that involves getting rid of bandits somewhere nearby, so we probably will end up killing them. I hope you do not mind it too much that we’re going against your wishes about that, but perhaps you could see that now their deaths will at least be of some use to someone?” He continued, ignoring the remark by Xamiliere.

Anastacia took a closer look at the elf’s face and squinted. “Is the eye liner traditional too? But yeah, if they have a quest on them, they’re probably not good people anyway and had it coming. Remember: I need the right arm. Also, if possible, look for a small one that would fit Yulia.”

It took Dammar almost an hour to get back with their quest details and the remaining items they needed. He had managed to find one that was less than a day away, so they should return by the next evening if everything goes according to the plan. It would still take at least two days for Anastacia and the blacksmith to work out how to build the rest of the prosthetic, so even if they had some delays, it wouldn’t be a problem. Among the various things he had procured were a large crate big enough to fit a smallish person inside and a cart it could be easily transported in.

Upon seeing Maximillian in his elven clothes, the dwarf burst into laughter and had to lean on the cart until he got a hold of himself again. Despite it being far from the first time, the joke never wore out for Dammar and he was still holding in laughter as the two departed for their quest.

Pulling the cart was not a problem for the hardy dwarf, and they made it to the edge of a more densely wooded area where the bandits were known to operate, well before the sky started to darken. Going any further would increase the risk of getting spotted by lookouts or even getting ambushed during the night, which would completely remove any advantages the pair held over the bandits. So they decided to make their camp and continue traveling in the morning. There was a suitable rock formation nearby that would protect them from the slight breeze blowing from the north and from being seen by anyone. They weren’t the first ones to discover the place either, as there were the remains of a campfire on the ground.

“At least a couple of weeks old, should not be anything to worry about.” Maximillian reported after taking a closer look at them. “Should we make one? It is unlikely that a lookout would actually venture out this far from the forest.”

“Aye, might as well. We don’t have Xammy here to keep an eye on the wildlife, so it’ll at least deter some of the more curious animals.” The party leader decided and pulled the cart to a spot where it couldn’t be seen from the road. “Sure is quiet without her…”

“Quite so. We can only hope the Miss Emilia regains her powers soon and is able to help Xamiliere.” The elf agreed.

During the travel, they had realized that the spriggan was responsible for almost all of the group’s chit chat, and the two of them really couldn’t come up with much to talk about. They were great friends and had been adventuring together for decades, but perhaps they had really run out of things to talk about. In the inn, there would often be someone else they could spark up a conversation with, even if Xamiliere was on some kind of escapade without them, but out on the road they were alone.

“Maybe we should ask the necromancer lass to help us when she’s done with her project? She’s pretty chatty and probably less likely to end up in jail every time we visit a city. Though only for a regular quest like this, I don’t want to get too involved with the whole Mournvalley business…” Dammar suggested and touched the spot Cerise had stabbed him a couple of weeks ago.

Maximillian chuckled. “They do have many of the same qualities, don’t they? Though I must say, I am slightly curious to see her full potential in combat. According to Xamiliere, the other necromancers who fought the undead dragon were nothing compared to her, and they were supposed to be the elite. Since the city my family hails from is near the kingdom of necromancers, I have seen some more common ones perform their craft, but neither Anastacia or the inquisitors are anything like them. Before meeting her, I thought necromancy wasn’t all that worthwhile in combat since it looked like it took a lot of time to cast, but perhaps it just comes down to specialization?” He theorized.

“She did pull off some pretty incredible stuff during the fight with the other two necromancers too. We’re lucky that she’s trying to help people instead of… the usual things they do.” Dammar pointed out and started gathering tinder for the campfire.

“It makes me worry about what else Mournvalley has hidden from us. The red inquisition has always been around, working towards unknown goals, but this really makes me feel like we have only seen a fraction of what necromancers are capable of. We may be taking it too lightly thanks to Anastacia’s gentle soul, but from day one she has surpassed what I thought they could do and continues to do so every day. What if more necromancers like her were to appear?” The elf worried while cleaning out the remains of the old campfire.

Both adventurers had gone through the motions of making a camp so many times that they knew exactly what the other one was going to do and what they needed to do, so with great efficiency they prepared a fire and a meal without exchanging so much as a word. At first they didn’t even notice it, but as they ate, the silence grew more and more awkward until one of them just had to say something.

“Do we have everything we need for tomorrow?” Maximillian started a very artificial sounding conversation.

“Aye, checked and double checked.” Dammar confirmed and nodded towards the crate.

And so ended the conversation between the two friends. Nothing was said until it was time to lie down and Maximillian asked whether he should put out the campfire or let it die on its own. The night felt like it would be a warm one, but they still needed to keep the animals away from the camp, so Maximillian threw a few more logs into it and sat down against one of the rocks surrounding them.

Suddenly Dammar burst into laughter again. “Do you know what I just realized? We’re like an old married couple that no longer has their kid living with them! So used to this that there’s nothing to say besides how we wish Xammy was here, because then we’d at least have someone making some waves or something.”

Maximillian joined in on the laughter. “How have we not noticed before… That is exactly what we are.”