Ithlinne's Treasure! Seagull Tower!

Late at night.

The wind blew from the sea toward the land. Clumps of clouds drifted past the moon, hanging over the island at the edge of the mainland.

Shadows blanketed the entire island, making the sound of waves crashing against the reefs all the clearer.

Vesemir withdrew her gaze from the night outside the window.

The flickering candle dripped white wax tears onto the verdigris candlestick, while the faint fragrance of incense stirred one's thoughts.

She tiredly rubbed the space between her brows.

"Tired?"

Tissaia de Vries's voice came from behind another candlestick.

"I'm not young anymore, Tissaia." Vesemir did not look up. With a wave of her hand, a scroll of parchment floated from the table and settled automatically into the wooden frame at its edge. "Neither of us is the little girl we were a hundred years ago, able to stay up from dusk until dawn chasing some hazy legend."

"That's still pretty good." Tissaia de Vries chuckled. "Even the Vigo girl can't stay up as late as these two old fossils."

Vesemir raised her eyes and looked across the table.

Fringilla Vigo was sprawled over a heap of parchment, sleeping soundly to the accompaniment of the waves, even letting out faint snores.

"She's still a child, and she's handling the most tedious proofreading work. We can't expect too much." With a tap of Vesemir's index finger, Fringilla Vigo's head floated gently upward, allowing the parchment beneath it to fly free before the girl could drool all over it.

"That doesn't sound like something Bloody Red Fox would say." Tissaia de Vries's quill moved slightly as she filed another batch of parchment into a wooden frame, teasing her.

Vesemir brushed the loose dark-red strands from her forehead behind her ear and rolled her eyes alluringly. "Fringilla Vigo