Gradually, the three of them distanced themselves from the crowd. Red could hear the commotion at the plaza even from a few streets away, though, and it was a hot topic for gossip among the townsfolk. The youth himself couldn't help but think back on the priest's words too.

The man was eloquent and provocative, capable of catching anyone's attention, and that of Red was no exception. However, he didn't believe the speech at face value. The boy had limited human interaction throughout his life, but what he had learned in the underground made him naturally skeptical of those who seemed to only carry "good intentions."

The information from the speech itself, though, was valuable for his understanding of the world. There was still a lot more to reflect on about what he had learned. Eiwin, however, was readily able to guess the kind of questions on the boy's mind.

"We'll talk about it later." She promised him. "Cultivators shouldn't have to worry about political conflicts, but it's unfortunately not a privilege we have at the moment."

Red understood her point. With monsters and cultivation to worry about, how could any proper Spiritual Practitioner have the time to bother with politics? However, the situation on the surface was proving to be more complex by the minute.

The group resumed traveling through the town streets. Allen, whose mood had been dampened by the event at the plaza, was slowly recovering his cheeriness and began to bother Eiwin about food once more. The group didn't remain on the pavement for too long, though, as the woman brought them to a stop in front of a large building.

"We're here." She announced.

Red examined the store. Like most buildings in the town, this place was an amalgamation of stone and wood, but it seemed the owner made up for it in decorations. Lots of large fabric rolls and elegant pieces of clothing were displayed on the storefront, and some fancily dressed folks examined them while talking with store employees. Its beauty stood out in the middle of a functional but ugly town.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Red frowned.

"I know what you're thinking." Eiwin laughed. "But there's more to this place than meets the eyes. Let's go in."

Under the inquiring gazes of other customers, the clearly out of place group entered the store. The interior was even more richly decorated than the outside, and Red was greeted by a veritable rainbow of clothing and fabrics. An intoxicating smell of perfume hit his nose, and the boy felt compelled to run away as soon as he took a few more steps.

"It's okay Red." Allen patted his back. "These people don't take showers, so they try to disguise their smell with perfumes. You'll get used to it."

The boy's comments earned him a lot of unfriendly gazes from other customers. Red nodded along and tried his best to breathe as little as possible. It seemed, however, that their entrance had caught one of the employee's attention. A well-dressed man approached them, wearing a frown on his face.

"May I help you, madam?" He asked, still using a polite tone, but the youth could discern displeasure in his expression.

"Yes, I'm looking for Master Frida." Eiwin replied.

"Hm." The employee's frown deepened. "And may I ask who is requesting to speak with her?"

"Tell her it's Eiwin."

A thoughtful expression came over the man's face as if he was searching his memory to determine whether the name carried any weight. A few seconds later and recognition seemed to dawn on him.

"From the Water Dragon Guild?" He asked tentatively.

The woman just nodded with a helpless smile. A murmur passed over the other customers in the store, and their unfriendly gazes slowly disappeared. Instead, what replaced it was a mix of fear and curiosity, the latter being particularly directed towards Red, whom they could not recognize.

"I'll inform her at once." The clerk nodded and disappeared to the back of the store.

The youth could hear murmurs from other customers in the store as they stole sideways glances at the group. Allen puffed his chest and stared back in defiance, while Eiwin mostly ignored them. It seemed the group was used to being the center of attention, but Red didn't feel comfortable with that development.

Half a minute later, the same clerk returned to them.

"Please, follow me." He ushered the group. "Master Frida will meet you."

"Thank you." Eiwin nodded.

They followed the man through a door leading to another room, then downstairs and into a basement. This place looked completely different from the store proper, and there were fabric and pieces of clothing strewn about everywhere. It looked like a storage area, and in the center of this sea of merchandise, a middle-aged woman was waiting for them. She wore a long and finely designed red dress, sporting a very long ponytail and elegant features.

"My dear Eiwin, how pleasant it is to see you again!" The woman walked forward, embracing Eiwin in a hug.

"Master Frida..." The younger woman looked uncomfortable at first, but she eventually reciprocated the hug. "It is good to see you too."

"You promised to visit more often, but this is the first time you've come in more than a month!" Frida complained as she stepped back.

"I've been occupied with guild matters." Eiwin gave her an embarrassed smile.

"Isn't that what you always say?" The older woman rolled her eyes. "And who else did you bring along? Is that little Allen?"

"Just Allen, ma'am!" The boy grumbled.

"Right, I forgot!" She smiled. "And who else did you bring here?"

The woman approached Red, crouching down to stare at him eye-to-eye.

"What is your name, dear?" Frida asked.

"Red." The youth responded.

"Red?" She frowned. "Just Red?"

He nodded.

"You have beautiful auburn hair, Red. Not something we see in these parts." She extended her hand towards the boy's head.

Red took an abrupt step back and out of her reach.

"Ah, I'm sorry." She smiled apologetically before arching back up. "I assume the new clothes are for him?"

"Yes." Eiwin nodded. "He's the newest member of the guild."

"A new member?" Frida looked surprised. "After all this time, Hector stopped being stubborn?"

"It took a bit of convincing, but I can tell you the story another time." The younger woman shook her head. "As you can see, he got into training without having the proper uniform. That's why I'm here."

"And how did he get those burn marks?" She asked, examining the boy up and down.

"He's..." Eiwin hesitated. "He's Goulth's new disciple."

Frida froze. The atmosphere around them changed, and Red saw the woman go through dozens of different expressions in a matter of seconds. A few moments later, though, she sighed, and her dignified composure returned. Yet, the look she gave the boy had changed.

"You're the big oaf's disciple?" She asked, her tone a bit more icy.

Red frowned. He didn't answer.

"You don't need to worry." Frida shook her head. "My gripe is with him, not you. Although, you should be mindful about what you end up learning from that man. If you're not careful, you might end up being too obsessed with your projects to notice what is happening around you."

The youth didn't know what she meant by that, but he decided to nod and assuage her concerns.

"Good." She nodded, a pleasant smile returning to her face. "Then you're here for the uniform, Eiwin?"

"Right." Eiwin looked relieved that the interaction didn't turn for the worse. "The same fabric too."

Frida's expression looked troubled as she heard the request.

"Is there a problem?" The younger woman asked.

"Demand for spiritweaver thread has increased recently after the news of the incoming monster attack." She explained. "We have a limited supply in our storage."

"Is it enough to make the uniform?" Eiwin frowned.

"Yes, but it's going to be more expensive." Frida shook her head.

"How much?"

"We have other clients who have placed their requests in too. Some of them have offered almost twice the normal price." The older woman smiled helplessly.

Eiwin's expression fell.

"But you're our friend, right?" Allen interjected. "Can't you just give us one for free"

"Allen!" Eiwin rebuked him.

However, the kid continued to stare at her defiantly.

"I've already explained what my relationship with your Guild was going to be in the past, little Allen." Frida remained calm. "I've given all of you special treatment for more than a decade, but at the end of the day, this is still supposed to be mutually beneficial. Giving up on large profits during a time of crisis could eventually lead to my ruin."

"We have no need for charity, Master Frida." Eiwin spoke up. "Since this is a time of crisis, is there anything else we could provide you other than money?"

"Certainly." The middle-aged woman smiled as if she was waiting to hear these exact words.

Frida walked away and grabbed a piece of paper from the nearby desk.

"A shipment I ordered from the East is more than a week late. More than a thousand gold coins in merchandise missing." She explained. "At first, I thought they might have given up on making the delivery, but after talking to the merchants at the capital, I discovered this was not the case. According to them, the shipment had been sent on its way according to schedule. However, they were in a hurry to accomplish their delivery before the horde hit and decided to take an alternative route."

She handed the letter over to Eiwin, who started to read its contents.

"They went through the hill trail?" The younger woman frowned.

"That's right." Frida complained. "They were so worried about the monsters that they didn't bother scouting their way and lost my entire shipment to some bandits!"

"Weren't they under escort?"

"Ten warriors strong." Frida nodded. "But I don't need to tell you how treacherous these forests are for someone unfamiliar with them. An experienced group of bandits could have taken ten times as many soldiers under the right circumstances."

"And I assume you want us to recover this shipment?" Eiwin sighed.

"The merchants promised me a refund, but I can't wait for that." The older woman continued. "I wouldn't ask this of you if I had any other choice, but there's something very important that was supposed to arrive with that shipment, and you're the only ones I could trust to recover it."

"I understand, but searching for the right bandit group in such a big forest is like looking for a needle in a haystack." Eiwin shook her head. "It's going to take a lot of time, and even if we do find them, there's no guarantee your merchandise will be with them anymore."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." Frida insisted. "Besides, I assume your guild must be in search of work, correct? On top of the uniform for the little one, I can offer you 400 gold coins."

"You put me in a difficult spot, Master Frida." The younger woman looked troubled. "Master Domeron said that I should never close any contracts by myself."

"I'm not trying to take advantage of you, dear Eiwin. Domeron will know this deal is fair, and if he has any objections, then I'm willing to renegotiate it with him."

Eiwin hesitated and looked to be deep in thought.

"Fine." She finally nodded. "But on the condition that you start making Red's uniform right now."

"That goes without saying, dear." Frida smiled in joy. "Then shall we take the little one's measurements?"

"Finally!" Allen, who looked bored by the discussion, finally piped up.

Red had been quietly listening to the negotiation and absorbing as much information as he could. When the older woman approached him, though, he stepped back again.

"It's fine, Red." Eiwin spoke. "She just wants to take your measurements to make your uniform."

The youth stopped retreating at her words, and let Frida get close to him.

"Extend your arms, please." She requested, and Red complied.

The woman got to work with the help of a measuring tape.

"So what kind of clothes do you-"

"His outfit has to look cool!" Allen interjected. "Like the ones wandering swordsmen wear! Kind of like this!" He pointed at his own robes.

"Right." Frida smiled. "What about your color? Which one do you prefe-"

"Blue! The colors of the sect! Kind of like min-"

"Allen!" Eiwin yelled.

...

A few minutes later, the group left the store. Frida said the robe would be ready in a week, and Red wondered why it would take so long. In fact, he wondered why they needed to go through all this trouble just for a uniform.

"It's not just a uniform." Eiwin explained. "It has something special about it-"

"Hey, isn't that Narcha?" Allen interrupted her.

"What?!"

The woman looked over in the direction the boy was pointing. A tall woman seemed to be in a stand-off with a merchant and a group of 12 armed men in front of a stall. She carried a large saber on her back and had a hand resting on its handle.

"Yeah, that's definitely her." Allen nodded. "Wonder what she's doin-"

Eiwin shot forward in her direction, leaving both boys to stare at each other in confusion.