Get some air.

With your mind spiraling from more mystery, you decide to go for a walk around the little village you and your allies have put together. It's peaceful here, especially knowing you couldn't be more safe. No guards are going to bother you. No monsters are going to attack you. In fact, you have both monsters and guards not far from you now, and they're quite the opposite! Even with the temperature dropping, it feels cozy behind the protection of those tall stone walls.

After awhile, perhaps around noon by where the sun sits in the sky, you notice something on the road ahead. It looks like a piece of paper. The people here are actually quite good at not littering, so you walk up curiously to notice it isn't just garbage. It's a letter. You reach down to pick it up, though you're shocked by the near-deafening sound of a horn and a flashing light that causes you to fall backwards onto your ass. Sparkles fire up from the letter on the ground like a fountain of water as a short musical jingle fills the air around it, but between that is a cacophony of laughter as well.

A quick three honks signal the end of the effect. Then, a paper from inside the envelope fires out and slaps you in the chest.

Now more cautious, you slowly lift the paper up to glance at it.

Instead of letters, light pours out into an illusory image. It appears like a wizard's tower, though unlike the one Barkis has this one is far more ornate, and strangely enough, upside down. You even try turning the page around to see if that's the issue, though when you do, it speaks.

"You had it right right way, dummy!" comes a high-pitched voice. After another honk, it continues. "You've been formally invited to a gathering of the Circle of the Unicorn tomorrow, located on floor seven of the Underhorn, mighty and mystical meeting place of the Circle, and if you don't know where that is, tough luck! Just kidding. A map can be found on the back. At least, for the one Kyle Warren is holding! The rest of you already know, but I'm not making two of these messages. If you wanna come, then come. If you don't, then keep edging. Haha! Peace out."

"What--Ah!" You reel back as the page bursts into a poof of sparkles followed by a sad horn, causing you to drop it back to the ground. After a moment, however, you look back to see the page is untouched. All that's on the piece of paper is a map, just as it said. "The fuck was that?"

You see Laira nearby hustling down the road. She's wearing nothing but a long white t-shirt. It's very clear by the points that poke up from behind the thin fabric--a chest too large to conceal. One can only wonder if she has anything on below. Her bare feet slap against the cobblestone path, and she stops nearby, panting. "I heard something weird and you sounded distressed. Are you okay?" she asks.

"I'm fine." With a groan, you pick the paper up and stand. "Are you fine? It's the afternoon."

She laughs nervously. "Yeah... I was up all night, so I was sneaking in a quick nap."

"Don't overexert yourself, Laira. What were you doing to keep yourself up so late?"

"Well, I was making plans for how I could upgrade everyone's weapons and stuff. Up in these mountains, there should be so many precious metals. We could be literally on top of a gold mine. Imagine if we find sources for ores to make alloys even stronger than basic steel!"

"Hey, you all good?" Thomas' voice calls from around the corner. He hustles over as well. Though he stops quickly as his eyes lock onto the distractingly-clad bombshell that is Laira the smithy. "Oh, uh... Wh-What's up, you two?" he asks in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

"I think I was just invited to speak with the Circle already," you reply.

"The Circle of the Unicorn? Damn. You really are important now."

"Hopefully enough of them show up. I guess if any do, it's still something."

"What're you planning?"

"Well, they probably would love to know about all the weird fucking things I have going on. In trade, I'd like to know as much as I can back. About traversing worlds. About Elok Daven. About the whole situation with Thadius."

"Ah. Funny you say that one," Tom responds. "I heard Dix is actually one little ingredient away from curing the queen."

"You don't say."

"I think she was gonna ask some of the others if they could find it."

"I reckon we'll find it faster together, especially now that I'm all rested up. Thanks. I'll go pay her a visit." Then you look him over. "Say, uh... Should we talk about the whole situation with Dajy's harem--"

"Nope!" he replies quickly. His eyes trail away as colour comes to his cheeks.

"Right then. Gotcha. Well, you have a good day. I'll let you know if I need you." Then you turn to Laira. "And you too. I'd recommend some pants. It's chilly out here."

She looks down at herself before tugging the shirt down self-consciously. "R-Right, sorry!"