Invitation

People were divided into two types: those who loved guests and those for whom it was a real nightmare. 

However, whatever type you were, you always had certain expectations. It was very rare to have a really unexpected and even stranger guest.

Well, a blue fox with green ghostly eyes was definitely not the kind of guest Halvor might have thought of.

The beast looked at Halvor for a while, then began to rub against his foot, as if trying to remove its collar.

Tap.

Halvor took the fox in his arms, examined it carefully, and raised an eyebrow.

"A Summoner's creature? But... I don't have a single Summoner friend..." Halvor muttered in confusion.

Then, he entered the house, took off the fox's collar, and headed for the table. The fox scratched behind its ear before scattering into pieces like a ghost, after all, its task was done - the package had been delivered.

"What was that...?" Evan asked, watching with interest as the blue particles slowly vanished into the void.

Halvor waved his hand, "Some Summoner decided to send us a message. They often use their creatures for this, it's quite convenient as you can see."

Klaus glanced at the scroll, "This is expensive parchment paper, moreover there is a seal here. It looks like a letter from someone important."

"Yeah." Halvor shrugged, unceremoniously breaking the seal and revealing the scroll. Halvor quickly went over the scroll with a glance, occasionally shaking his head from side to side. 

In the corner of the scroll was a sign, a blue cross with wide ends in a circle.

"Hmm...? Azure Cross?" Lana said slightly thoughtfully.

Everyone looked at her with questioning looks.

"Come on... You can't not know about this." Lana uttered.

Silence.

Lana took a deep breath.

"The Azure Cross, the Twilight Blades, and the Einrich Family are the three main powers in the nearest major city to the mountain range, Nightwell. Sure, there are many other families and organizations there, but those are the main ones." Lana explained.

"Hah, for sure, right now the positions are changing a bit. One of them must have taken advantage of the situation at the prison. Damn, we'll have to demand a percentage from them, after all, it was us who did most of the work." Klaus smirked slyly.

Lana, Reine, and Ruby were already aware of what Klaus and Evan had done in prison and what had happened to the Einrich Family. It was a lesson to them, particularly to Lana and Ruby, to take Klaus seriously.

"What about it?" Evan muttered, taking the stone in his hands. 

At the same moment, the rune shone brightly, and a figure of a man in strict clothing and a hard stare soared over the stone.

The figure looked up at Halvor.

"My name is Alf Lovaas, this is a pre-recorded message, so don't try to talk to me, I won't be able to answer anyway. This message was recorded this morning and should arrive by afternoon, at most this evening.

Khm. You must have done it earlier, but information has reached us that a lot of monsters have appeared in the mountain ridge because of the dark mage and demonologist that you successfully defeated. This is very important to us, Azure Cross, so we want to thank you personally.

Unfortunately, our man will not be able to reach you, but the coachman will meet you at dawn in two days in Firnorm, it is the closest point. Though you don't have to, I hope you will come, you can bring someone else with you if you wish."

Then, the figure disappeared, and the stone lost its rich color as well as the rune.

"What was written in the scroll?" Evan asked.

"Pretty much the same thing, an invitation but in writing, these guys are pretty official, you know." Halvor shrugged.

Klaus tapped the table slowly, "And... What are we going to do? The Azure Cross is a serious organization, it's worth a lot to establish a good relationship with them, this is a great opportunity."

Halvor sighed heavily, "I'll be honest. In any other situation, I would have said no. I mean, I like my quiet and measured life, blizzards, mountains, snow, and hunting, it's my thing! But... I'll go because without my presence they won't believe Evan dealt with the dark mage and not me."

Evan smiled, "Damn, that's quite noble, even somewhat self-sacrificing. Fine, let's take his offer. I take it we're going to have a big group, right?"

The girls nodded, Klaus didn't need to ask.

Halvor scratched the back of his head puzzled, "Surely Alf Lovaas will be caught off guard, but I think it will be fine..."

Thus, a day later, their group moved forward. Led by Halvor, they easily passed through the forest, approaching Firnorm. The only one left at home was the bear cub, but the food prepared by Hana and Ruby was more than enough to keep the cub from starving for a week or more.

The crunchy snow settled beneath Evan's feet as he climbed to the top of the hill overlooking Firnorm, a small village, but one that was popular with traders thanks to the hunters who lived there. 

Every day they hunted, obtaining valuable hides and materials from the beasts, such as fangs, claws, or hooves. There was always someone willing to pay for it.

Tap.

Halvor approached Evan, placing a palm on his shoulder.

"Not bad, right? These houses may be old, and the roofs may struggle to withstand the meters of snow heaped on them, but this place will live on as long as the fire burns in the hunters' souls."

"Well, I have to admit there's something to that, but I'm probably too young for that sort of thing." Evan uttered without thinking that in fact, he was more than 8 times older than Halvor, who was 55 years old.

"Hahaha, you're probably right, but I have to warn you that after 30, time feels different with everything. Every year seems shorter and shorter." Halvor laughed before jumping down the slope to the main road.

Lana, Ruby, Reine, Klaus, and Hana took turns following him. They were a little sad to leave the cozy home they had become accustomed to, but the new journey encouraged them.

Evan was the last one left pondering Halvor's words.

'Yeah, you're definitely right. The longer we live, the less we notice another year passing by... When I turned 300, I only remembered it when I was already 329, it's both an incredible and terrible feeling... it's like life itself wants you to get closer to your end sooner.'

Shaking his head and deciding not to remember the past but to concentrate on the task at hand, Evan jumped forward, raising clots of snow.