Slices of Life — windows into the warband’s daily existence. No heroics. Just home.
Hiyorieese found the reference while doing research.
Not on Shiyaorieese — on her rogue quest progression, which Hiyorieese had been quietly tracking for Shadowlily purposes. She read the route carefully. She noted the gear choices, the cave approach, the moment the spectacles appeared in the field notes.
She set down her stylus.
“Charming,” she said.
She read the passage again. Then she wrote one name at the top of a fresh page.
Moryeese.
“A perfect gift for Shiya,” she said, to the empty room.
She laughed, once — quiet, private, the kind she did not share — and went back to her work.
The Living Mud Mask lived in Zaralek Cavern. Moryeese located it in nineteen seconds, cross-referenced three kill reports, and noted the spawn window.
The hunt took thirty-seven minutes. Clean engagement. The Charming Spectacles dropped first attempt. She logged this as above projected yield.
She also logged: “One (1) mud-based entity present at acquisition site. Small. Ambulatory. Appears bonded to spectacles. Included in delivery. See footnote 4.”
She did not ask Hiyorieese if this was intended. She had worked adjacent to Shadowlily long enough to know the answer.
The parcel arrived at Shiyaorieese’s quarters the next morning.
No sender. No note. Just a box, neatly addressed.
She opened it.
Mud.
She tilted her head — slowly, the way she tilted her head when a situation required reassessment — and reached in. The mud moved.
It slid off her palm, assembled itself into something upright, and regarded her through two small round lenses that were very, very red.
She stared at it for a long moment.
“Red is Cool,” she said. “Rediscool.”
Decided. Final. No further consultation required.
The spectacles caught the light. She leaned closer. Text on the inside arm, thin-carved: Zeldis.
She looked at the mud creature.
The mud creature looked at her.
“Who’s this guy?”
Rediscool offered no clarification. She put the glasses back on him anyway.
Hiyorieese reviewed footnote 4 of Moryeese’s invoice at 6:53am.
“Auxiliary mud entity: included at no additional charge.”
She set the invoice down.
She smiled the way she smiled when something went exactly as tended.
It was going to be fine.