That was when they met the strange [Singer] for the first time. There were three people that Sasi and Culin didn’t recognize; well, Sasi vaguely remembered the [Blacksmith], Idelt, from when father had asked him to come to town to demonstrate his talents.

The other two were interesting. One was a young woman with a large…cello? Sasi was interested at once.

“Look! She has to be the songmistress for the village! What’s she doing here? Maybe she’s coming for the banquet?”

Culin looked blankly at the young woman nervously talking to her companion.

“I don’t like the village music. It’s boring.”

He grumbled. Sasi had to admit—she’d heard the somber working-tunes from visiting the villages all her life, and the cello wasn’t that interesting.

“At least we’ll have more music. But who is that? A [Trader]?”

That was her first conclusion. Because the strange young woman was dressed too colorfully to be of Noelictus. And Sasi herself had never seen such vibrancy of color except among the most expensive of cloths.

“It’s pretty.”

Cara O’Sullivan stood out in the town’s street like a flower among a sea of Ashwheat and chalk. Dyes besides black were hard to come by and expensive, so color was as much a sign of wealth as a magical artifact. Sasi stared enviously at the bright pattern on the young woman’s shirt, the blue of her pants.

“…lodging? If it’s a problem, Idelt, I can work or—”

“No, Miss Cara. Not at all. If you’re willing to perform, that would do us proud enough.”

“I need your help, Cara. I—I don’t know if I could play in front of a [Princess] myself!”

Violetta added. Cara ran her fingers through her hair and nodded.

“Well, we’ve got time to practice. We’ll do that, Violetta. Damn, I need to conserve my battery…”

“Your artifact? Can’t you get it recharged by a [Mage]?”

“Hah! Wait. Uh…”

Sasi and Culin looked at each other. An artifact? They crept closer as the stranger, Cara, spoke with Violetta and Idelt. They hadn’t seen many, and were disappointed when the young woman showed the other two a little, glossy flat thing, not some glowing ring or their father’s enchanted sword.

“It’s…out of power. Not magic. But—maybe it can be fixed?”

She needed…well, she needed an outlet, her charging cable which she’d left in her apartment, oh, the infrastructure to create electricity and proper output. No big deal.

…Her iPhone was going to die. Cara experienced a surge of panic in her chest. She had only a few songs left; she was afraid to even check the battery. It had been around 5% when she’d last turned it on, after the night with the zombies, and it had to be—