Alvero offers a modest smile, then reaches for the silver ring on his left hand. He twists it once. A soft pulse of light radiates from the band.
Oooh! Looks like it's also a storage ring!
In a shimmer of magic, he draws forth a large crystal sphere, nearly the size of a watermelon! It hovers momentarily in his palm before he sets it gently on the table between us.
The surface of the globe is smooth and flawless, humming faintly. The moment I see it, my heart skips.
Why does this feel like… Deja vu?
Wait a minute!
This thing looks just like the mana assessment orb from the Adventurer's Guild!
I stiffen instinctively.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Eris glancing at me. Her lips curl into a smirk, and she raises one delicate brow. I narrow my eyes at her, immediately suspicious.
What?
What is she thinking?
She looks at me… then at the orb… then back at me again, her smile deepening with quiet mischief, like she's trying to secretly reminding me something…
…
GASP!
