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D anai waited for Lilith at breakfast. A light brown scarf covered her short hair and pointed ears and she wore a thick beige dress.

She gave Lilith a quick wave as she entered the hall.

Lilith felt out of place not wearing her uniform.

She straightened her long black skirt and soft white blouse.

She had a grey travel cloak stored next to her pack.

“Morning. Today we will make for Tilton village and get settled at the inn. We should get our backstory figured out in case anyone asks questions.”

Lilith slowly ate her porridge with stewed apples. “We can’t say we’re related, given our physical differences. We could say we’re working for a merchant in search of new textiles or looking for inspiration into some sort of craft. Does Tilton have anything of note?”

Danai was nursing her tea and replied, “Hmm. I vaguely remember learning something about an herb grown in the area. We could say we’re apothecary understudies looking for the special herb?”

“I think that would be a solid backstory.” Lilith noted to take her Restorative Mana textbook with her. Maybe she could learn more about this Tilton herb .

“Grab some additional food for the road and meet me by the outer gates when you’re done here. How good are you at riding?” Danai munched on her last bite and then headed for the door.

“Riding?” Lilith’s spoon hovered over her bowl.

“Of course. We’re not walking there.”

“I can do the basics.” Lilith thought about the few times she’d ridden horseback. She wasn’t great, but she could go in a straight line.

They were not horses.

“We’re taking these beasts?” Lilith came up to the oversized dirty white mountain sheep with large curled horns and gave the muzzle a scratch. Its little white ears flicked with delight. Danai took Lilith’s pack and added it to the saddle.

“These beasts are more agile than the average horse and that's all that was available to us.” Danai hopped up into her saddle. “Let’s go.”

Lilith stroked the fluffy wool of her sheep and heaved herself into the saddle. They took off at a quick trot down the main road.

“We should get there in a couple hours. In terms of our mission, the nobles will arrive in two days and check in at the inn we’re staying at. We suspect their actual meeting will take place at a local’s house. We will need to survey the area and familiarize ourselves with the inn.”

“Do we know what these nobles look like?” Lilith asked.

“We have identified one of them as a tall, well- kept man with long dark brown hair and brown eyes. He goes by the name of Sir Inkwood Prichard. However, we can assume they’ll be using aliases.”

“So, keep an eye out for a dark brown haired and brown eyed man. That hardly narrows it down. Does he have any known abilities or distinct facial markers?”

“Our research told us that he only has water abilities. We don’t have any portraits of him to go on, unfortunately.”

“Right. I guess we will improvise as needed. Do we know how big this party will be?”

“We don’t. We have identified three other nobles in the surrounding area that may be working with him; however there may be others we don't know of.”

They rode in silence. The surrounding hills were lush green with ample forested areas. Wild flowers were scattered along the edges of the path they took. The sheeps' hooves splashed in the muddy puddles as they trotted steadily ahead.

“You know this would be an ideal area for an ambush. If we wanted to forgo collecting information by spying and rather collect information through… Other means.”

Danai shot her idea down. “Our mission is to gather information only, without torturing anyone. Not to mention we’d be outnumbered.”

It was just after lunch that they made it to the small village of Tilton.

Small stone cottages littered the narrow road that was flanked by overgrown hedges.

At the heart of the village was the inn.

Covered in a thick thatched roof, the inn was an old stone building.

It boasted overflowing orange flowers coming out of wooden window boxes.

A wooden sign of a large white tree dangled above the front door.

They took their sheep and tied them to a post under their outdoor stable area, handing a young stablehand coin to look after them.

After they walked inside the inn, they took off their packs and looked around.

“Welcome to the White Elm, are you dining or staying?” said a short grey moustached man with an apron, who stood behind the bar.

There were several people drinking and eating around large round wooden tables. It smelled like delicious smoked meats and ale.

“Hello. I sent a letter a few days ago. I was looking for a room with two beds for five days,” replied Danai, who sounded extra polite.

“Oh yes, I remember.” The moustached man looked nervous. I’m afraid you’ve come at a busy time. We do have a room for you; however, you would be on pallets.”

“That’s fine,” said Danai. The demeanor of the innkeeper changed. He smiled and flipped through his ledger. “Well then, I will show you to your room.”

He took a key and went around the corner to the narrow stairs.

“Here we go.” He unlocked the last door at the end.

It opened to another set of small stairs.

“We set you both up in this room. The bathroom is down the hall. First door on the left after the stairs. We serve breakfast, lunch and supper. There is a small restaurant down the road, but our Ms. Handbury cooks the finest food in the village. Is this your first time in Tilton?” he rambled.

The women looked at the room. It was clearly an attic space.

Covered furniture pieces were stacked in the corner.

An old looking wardrobe was placed in front of it, with two pallets covered in thick furs laid at the centre of the room.

Lilith thought that the beds looked warmer than the ones in the women's dorm.

“Yes, it is our first time in Tilton. We’ve heard there are some unique herbs and plants that grow in this area. We’re hoping to find some,” Danai replied.

“We have quite a few famous bits of foliage growing here. I recommend you stop by our local herbalist. Why do you have an interest in our plants?” the moustached man asked.

“We’re studying to become apothecaries,” Lilith replied with a sweet smile.

He beamed at her. “Oh how lovely. Well, I’ll leave you to settle in. We’re still serving lunch.” He handed Lilith the key and left.

Once they knew he was out of earshot, Danai piped up, “You know, this is better than what I expected.”

“The women's dorm has truly lowered our standards of comfort.” Lilith smiled at her. Danai chuckled and threw her pack on a pallet.

“Demetrius has given us some allowance.” She took out a small pouch from her robe. “Let’s grab a bite and look around town.”

Lunch was a delicious savoury pie with thick cut potatoes.

Lilith thought about the cover story she told Meira and Meridith.

This was definitely a step up from what they served at school.

They sat at the corner table, so they could take in the full scope of the inn.

Aside from the kitchens and washroom, there was a small room to the back left corner.

Lilith noted that it could be the possible meeting location.

They could hear the occasional peal of laughter amongst the cheerful banter.

This was a place where everyone knew everyone.

A few of the locals stopped by to mingle, the innkeeper cheerfully speaking with the people at the bar, and a robust server was carrying plates full of steaming pies.

Lilith and Danai made polite conversation with them, asking them some average questions one would expect an apothecary to ask, in order to bolster their alias.

One of the locals came rushing in holding a newspaper. “Did you hear?” he asked angrily, as he slammed the paper on the bar. The innkeeper leaned over and read the article.

“Lord. If something doesn’t happen soon, we’re done for,” the man said, drawing more attention to himself. This incited more of the locals to gather around him to get to the newspaper. Lilith joined the crowd. She reached the article and read:

Apostles of the Reckoning Declared Kingdom’s Primary Religion

By Beatrice Bane

The king and queen have officially denounced and banned all practices of religions - outside of the Apostles of the Reckoning - in the kingdom’s capital, Vanguard.

This move has stirred mixed feelings among the capital’s civilians, who are largely made of a diverse group of magical beings that follow their own beliefs.

A group of vocal supporters have asked for further restrictions, prohibiting any low ranking magical creatures from residing in the city .

Those that are found practicing a different religion will face the punishment of surrendering any property and assets to the crown.

The Apostles have handed out leaflets regarding the new rules and standards that will be in place for the city dwellers.

Will these new restrictions spread outside of the capital?

These Apostles were needlessly causing more issues for the kingdom. Lilith scowled and told Danai what she had just read.

“What do you expect from people who are desperate? People are scared of the Void and are looking for someone to give them some sort of direction.” Her voice dropped to barely audible.

“It is a shame that King Amadeus does not lead his people with more decisiveness. It is his inaction that has brought about the Apostles. They see an opportunity and they have taken his power. The kingdom needs someone like the prince to take charge and unify not only mankind, but every magical being that roams this realm.”

Lilith did not share a reply. She thought about Danai’s confidence in the prince. Would he really be the best option as king?