The Final Wine Party

After bidding Sister Devlin farewell, Shade prepared to take Mia home. On the way down from the mountain, his luck proved poor enough for him to encounter another evil spirit. But Sikar Mountain was not shrouded in fog that evening, so this time it really was just bad luck:

"Silver Moon Slash!"

A crescent of light stretched between his clasped palms, slicing the evil spirit—seemingly possessed of spatial power and able to drift about freely—in two.

"The evil spirits on Sikar Mountain really aren't that strong. Compared to the Fishmen of Coldwater Port, who can rapidly revive in water, they're truly much easier to deal with."

At least, that was the case for now.

After returning to Saint Derain Square, he first had dinner with Dorothy at a restaurant on Silver Cross Avenue. After dinner, Dorothy switched places with Leisha. Leisha checked Shade's studies and his progress copying out the story. Seeing that he had made swift progress and could already grasp both the oldest known version of "Sleeping Princess" and the modern standard version, Leisha took Shade to the south of the city to watch an opera adapted from that famous fairy tale, just as she had once done when teaching him "Tree's Kiss."

Tobesk had been quite peaceful lately, and nothing unexpected involving Ring Arcanists or Relics occurred during their outing that evening. After the opera ended, Leisha switched back with Dorothy. Since Dorothy still had to prepare for her advancement ritual the following evening, she did not return to Shade's home. After bidding him farewell, she went back to Quill Street.

After returning home, Shade set his alarm and went to bed early. It had been a remarkably peaceful day.

Before the first ray of Sunday sunlight rose over the horizon, the abrupt clang of a metal