“A glass of red wine, please,” Seira spoke softly and flashed the bartender a smile. The Sorceress spent her third day in Orchidia Town resting and occasionally exploring the streets and shops that were hidden within and as it was getting later and the sunlight slowly faded away, she allowed herself a drink inside a fairly populated, but friendly bar with calming atmosphere and guests from all around the world. Even though Seira was far from a social butterfly, the woman enjoyed company from time to time, especially when it was as free and without pressure as it was here. She had been busy strolling through the jobs—always looking out for potentially rare and unique items—and even though she hadn’t been very successful in that regard, Seira eventually purchased a few items for herself to take with her on her travels. She was now speaking to a group of travellers from Nanuq, a place northern from Orchidia. They were a friendly bunch, not too lively but equipped with a number of interesting facts regarding their hometown and Seira soon found herself immersed in conversation with them. They spoke, shared stories and enjoyed each other’s company until the doors to the bar swung open and a rather curious looking individual stormed inside.

He was a tall male, black hair wearing a strikingly detective-esque outfit with a puzzled expression, completely out of breath. He seemed distraught, exhausted, nervous but strangely enough hardly anyone paid him attention. One of the travellers Seira had spoken to earlier leaned over to the girl and educated her on the man’s identity. “That’s Dex Miller. Got into some sort of accident a decade ago, hasn’t been the same since. He lost a few screws, he’s hallucinating, thinks he’s in some kind of detective movie—but he’s harmless, a good guy and the people here tolerate him. He would never cause harm, but unfortunately most things coming out of his mouth are imaginations. No one knows what’s going on in his mind,” the man shook his head and turned away. He hadn’t expressed disgust or disapproval, but Seira could tell that Dex Miller’s reputation, his entire being even were frowned upon.  Considering his situation, however, and the circumstances that led him to be this way, he was more or less innocent and helpless and didn’t quite deserve being smiled and laughed at. Besides, there was something about him, his expression and the look on his eyes that caused Seira worry and stirred her curiosity so she got up from her chair and walked over to speak to him.

“You seem bothered by something,” the woman noticed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “May I help?” Dex Miller and Seira exchanged a few looks before he leaned down and started whispering for no real reason. “Are you… a wizard?” The girl nodded. His eyes widened, he opened the doors and quickly dragged her outside. “Good, good! Excellent! I need your help, we need to talk under four eyes! This can’t be overheard by the public, it will cause chaos and fear among the people! Let’s speak where no one can hear us.” They left the bar and Dex started rambling as soon as he could. “I’ve been on this case forever now, to think that even a Master Detective like me is struggling to expose the culprit.. it’s something big! Big and blue! A big and blue ball, by the river close by!” He gestured around wildly and although Seira realized that he was (obviously) lacking sanity, she heard fear in his voice—and it was convincing. “Excuse me? A big blue ball by the river?” She arched a brow. “Yes! I approached it, tried to explore it but as I did my emotions were altered by the ball’s.. aura! I felt sad, angry, as if everything I was doing was a lie, I simply cannot begin to understand h-” he gasped, sighed deeply and shook his head with a depressed look on his face. “You have to help me understand it, fight it if you can.”

Seira, who was genuinely curious now, agreed and once it was completely dark outside they travelled to Orchidia’s river. There was nothing at first, but after a few more minutes of walking Seira spotted what appeared to be a big blue ball floating close to the water, spinning around and looking absolutely gorgeous. She was awestruck and mesmerized. Dex, who had been rambling during their entire walk suddenly silenced and Seira quietly moved towards said ball, inclined to touch it, while the man followed her. Normally the woman would have never been so careless, but it was as if she had been put under a spell. Wordlessly she reached out to touch the shimmery object and as soon as they collided, Seira felt a strong, magical aura rupture through her mind, causing a ruckus that whirled up long forgotten memories. The silhouette of a woman appeared to her side, clear as daylight and every feature of her face was the same as she remembered. But she shouldn’t have been there.

“Mother?”

Before Seira could approach the woman she thought to be her late mother the blue ball emitted a great force and both her, and Dex Miller were sent back flying for several meters and crushed into the ground where they suffered from minor injuries. Seira was dizzy, but conscious, Dex Miller however had fainted and without knowing what exactly had happened she got back up on her feet and dragged the man back to town, where they would luckily run into Dacol who had spotted them from afar and rushed to help them. They were both brought to the local hospital were Seira’s minor wounds were treated and Dex Miller recieved an overall check. Dacol stayed with them as well. When Dex woke up he seemed to be just as confused about the whole incident as Seira herself, however she was no longer interested in conversation and left as soon as Dex rewarded her, leaving Dacol alone with the man to talk about what had happened.

[1016]
Quest.