Melody of Mana

Pinea was now the obvious choice for helping me find a new maid. We got along, and forming a connection with her would be best. Her family was a big player and that would be good. I also happened to personally kind of like her, she was wild, and a bit pervy sometimes.

Setting up a meeting with her was my first goal the next morning. For that night though, I was glad to find that Emma had smartly gotten herself from my rooms quickly. It took me awhile to make sure everything I owned was still there and in it's proper place. They had at least not stolen anything nor moved any of it so far. All my things were in place, clothes in the closet, money in it's place (I did count that one just to make sure), spindle still at the bottom of its trunk. All done I collapsed into bed.

Luckily I had Atali Dance the next day, which both gave me a good chance and ended up putting Pinea in a great mood. We would sometimes practice a bit together, so it was easy to tell that this was by far her favorite subject, and one which she put her all into. I suspected that she'd bought her own dancing outfit already, even if we'd not been told we would need one just yet.

"Hey Pinea," I called her over after class. We were both a bit sweaty, even if it hadn't yet been a year we were constantly getting better and better, and now able to do at least basic dances.

"Oh, did you need something?" she asked, tilting her head a bit. Pinea was a bit weird, but she had the mannerisms one would associate with being high class down to an absolute T, though she normally fell into a pervy manner when speaking about dancing or anything even a bit 'risque'.

"Yes actually. I was hoping you might assist me in getting a new maid."

"A new maid? Whatever happened to your old one?"

"I relieved her of duty for invasion of my privacy," I flatly replied, still a bit sore on the subject.

"How horrid, of course that's unacceptable. I have some connections that could be leveraged to find you some candidates but..."

"But?"

"I would want something in return. A favor in the future, nothing major. I've got some ideas for projects, and while I can handle the ones I have now I'm not sure that I'll be able to do all the ones I work on in the future without help. If you agree to help me on one of my future projects, I'll help you find a maid."

That... sounded like a deal to be wary of. "What exactly would you need?" I narrowed my eyes as I looked her over.

"Goodness Alana, I won't ask anything terrible. You're one of the best in our classes with the different rune sequences, and you know more than I think you're letting on. I'll ask for some basic help with something like that. If I were to ask for something bad it would only serve to damage my own reputation."

I had to take a few moments to think this over. It really was a 'I'll help you now, but you'll owe me one in the future.' and I didn't think she'd go overboard. If she did I could refuse her, though I'd lose another maid for sure if I had to. As long as she didn't ask me for anything illegal or too dangerous I was fine with it.

"As long as you don't ask anything dangerous or illegal I'm fine with helping you on some personal project in the future."

"Oh, nothing like that. More like something like this."

She pulled a sheaf of paper out and let me look over it. It was a design for a small magic item that was supposed to light a room. This particular variation had a number of settings that would allow it to glow brighter or more dimly based on what the user needed. I could understand it easily enough in that it was close to what we were doing in class. I could also see that she'd already completed the sequences she'd need.

"Sure, if it's just a small item and it's harmless I will happily help you with something like that."

"Good! It'll be a few days before I can get some candidates together, how about I set up interviews on the next off day?"

"That should work fine. See you later Pinea."

She waved as she turned and walked off, we'd spent a good bit of time and both had more classes for the day.

Choosing a new maid was a fairly normal process. Unlike my last time I now knew what I was looking for. Rather than in someone's home we met in a nearby restaurant, who were only too pleased to let me rent a private room for the occasion. From the four candidates Pinea found I ended up picking one named Dora. She was seventeen and from one of the branch families attached to Pinea's.

"Is there anything I should know miss? Or anything you're rather particular about?"

"If you notice me doing something strange, and you have questions about it, just talk to me."

"Whatever else would I do miss?"

"Ideally nothing unless you already tried speaking with me on it."

"Of course. If you don't mind my asking, could I have your schedule? It'll let me make sure that everything is as it should be for you."

That was a simple enough request, and I supplied her with my normal daily and day-off schedules, which she looked over before nodding and assuring me that everything would be in order.

I was surprised the next day when she woke me up. My morning routine was far smoother with her than it ever had been with Emma. My clothes were hung by the fire to warm while my hair was done and I washed my face. I even found that she was an expert on helping me with the uniform, merely asking me to hold still while she put it on me.

Bishop Theodore had made his way across the country. He'd had to work hard and pull every favor he could to make sure that nobody knew where he was going, or who he was trying to meet. If the wrong people did learn, then things could get rather sticky for his charge, and for himself as well.

To that end he was traveling with only two others. They'd disguised themselves as merchants and were making their way East. There had been one incident with a small group of bandits, but the poor men hadn't expected to find a caster powerful enough to drop them all with a wave of his hand. Their bodies had been easy enough to dispose of, and their loss was no great one to any civilized person.

He approached the border between the two countries carefully, sticking to roads that were well known and making sure not to try and hide his presence. When he finally reached it he was stopped at a border station, where his credentials were checked. He used a false name, but for priests traveling from one country to another that was no big issue, and he made clear that the one he gave was false.

"And your business sir? If you don't mind my asking." The guard was polite. He stood straight in his jet black leather armor, a halberd held lightly in one hand.

"Oh, nothing much. Due to the wars we run a number of orphanages. There've been some issues I need to consult with my counterparts over. Once this war is over we want as many of the children returned home as is possible."

"A noble goal sir. I wish you the best." The guardsman handed back over his papers and let him pass. Everyone knew that the orders kept the peace and were neutral, as much as possible.

From that post it was easy to find the nearest place which hosted his order, and he'd moved there with all haste. It was a good trek, and took him to the nearest city, but if that was where he needed to go, then that was where he needed to go.

Rooke sat before his grandfather. He felt almost like a student he'd had called to his own office to discipline. The old man was in his seat behind his desk, flipping through a number of files. The information he'd compiled hadn't been much, but it had existed.

"You moved too quickly my boy, and with too much aggression."

"Perhaps, but my hand was forced when the asset came to us..."

"That's a poor excuse. You could have ascertained if your charge was involved with anything dangerous in much better ways. What of our asset anyways?"

"I found her a new assignment. It will keep her out of the way. Luckily Alana didn't see the need to have her or us punished for our overreach." Incidentally having her sent to serve as the mistress of a minor noble was both what she wanted in the end, and a wonderful way to get her out of the picture.

"If the girl had complaints it would have been no issue to foist all issues onto the maid. We were already prepared for that in case anything came up."

The old man spoke the truth. The maid, Emma, had been chosen in part because she was disposable. There was no real chance of her dying, but she could have been punished for any issues caused, rendering herself no longer fit as a servant.

"Regardless, Alana is now far more guarded."

"Against you, yes. You need to find a way to make amends with her as soon as possible. If you need advice come to me. We cannot let her slip from the prince's faction under any circumstances, is that understood?"

"Of course grandfather. On that note, I understand that she had Lord Fallon's niece assist her in replacing our asset."

"Did you orchestrate that?" The old man seemed a bit surprised, perhaps even impressed.

"Not at all. It seems they are simply friends. I understand that both are trying to form connections with each other on some level."

"That might be the best news I've seen regarding this. I'll contact Lord Fallon and see what we can do to make sure things go as well as possible. Young Alana plays her secrets close to her chest, and if your reports are to be believed she's got several that might actually be of any use."

"Indeed. Once we've brought her into the fold she'll be a force for the whole country. We just have to make her understand how important her work could be." Rooke looked out the window towards the sky with a glint of hope in his eyes. "I suspected when I first met her that she might be worth our investment, and she's not failed to live up to that expectation yet."

"Do you think you can get the sky-metal source from her? Or at least that exploding material?"

"Doubtful in the near future. Honestly I'm more interested in the sphere, and whatever she did to it."

"What? Why?"

"You'd of had to see it. It had... not an aura, but something almost like one. When I went to examine it it appeared to be nearly reality bending. It has a shape that was defined to it, it's holding that shape, and that shape is a sphere so perfect that anyone who senses mana seems to get the idea that it is nearly absolutely perfect."

"Hmm, that is unusual. I may have to see it for myself at some point. Any ideas on how she managed to do that?"

"That's the best thing. I've got no clue as to what she did, or how, or even why. She claimed it was just a lamp. Even more, I think it actually is, that she made some kind of mistake somewhere doing one of the weird things she does with her magic and made something special."

The old man stroked his beard for a moment before shrugging. "Well, I will need to see that then at some point. For now though, make your apologies and be sure not to pressure her unduly again."

"Yes grandfather, I will."