Melody of Mana

On our way out of the exhibition we met Glen. The short knight apprentice was attending as well it seemed and greeted us with a smile. It of course took me a moment to recognize him in what might be considered normal clothes, as opposed to the armor I'd seen him in last time.

"Oi there, long time no see," he said as he came over.

"Certainly has been. How have things been on your end?"

"Busy, what with the war and all training has gone into overdrive."

I nodded in understanding. "What about Ethbert?"

"Still a bit scarred, but they're fixing that."

"Sad, but where are my manners? Glen, this is Dras, Clarissa, and Kala. Everyone, Glen was on my team in that botched training exercise. He's the only one who could stand after everything went south."

From there we had some light, pleasant conversation. Most of it was a bit on the mundane side, but there were hints here and there that things weren't going as well with the war as would be hoped. The barest cracks in the facade that the kingdom was trying to keep up.

I really wondered how bad things were for us to know here in the capital. From my years spent talking to Dras I got the feeling that almost nothing affected life here. Even the years of starvation that had happened out in the greater part of our country had had little impact on this city. That concerned me to some level, as I knew that even if things were bad, really bad, we might not know until it all fell apart.

I worried about that on my way home, at least until it occurred to me that I had a good way to find out. I knew people who met travelers, and who spent time among the lower city residents. All I'd need to do would be to go to them and ask.

And so it was that on the afternoon of my next 'day off' that I headed out into the city. This was not something done without a bit of preparation, seeing that the academy was now also under heavy security, but I had an ace in the hole, so to speak. Kala had every reason to go and visit her Order's temple here in the city, and nobody would gainsay a priestess of Lover's going out with a companion in tow.

This of course implied that I was going to get a Lover's Mark, which I already had of course. Or that I had some other 'personal issue' that most of the guards, who were largely men, did not feel the need to ask about. For this reason they quickly let us pass out, giving us all the needed information on coming back. Getting back into the school would apparently be a bit of a chore.

"So, care to tell me what this little outing is about?" Kala leaned in as she took my arm. "You've been awfully tight-lipped about it."

"I'm a bit concerned that we might be watched in the school, and they decidedly don't want us talking about some things. It mostly comes down to the fact that I think the war is going much worse than we're being led to believe. I'm planning on asking Lucien and the others if they've heard anything. I'd like to know if the city is likely to be besieged soon. It will give me time to think about what I want to do."

"Think about what you want to do?" She seemed a bit concerned on that one.

"Well... the school has its evacuation plan and all, but honestly I'm not sure if that will be the best option if things are really bad. A large group of noble teenagers is likely to attract a lot of attention, so it might be best to go and hide among the commoners."

In the week between now and our little trip on the exhibition I'd been delving into some of the aspects of the core guide that I'd not yet made it to. These were mostly involving light and sound, as well as the trick for hiding your runes. The last of which was honestly easier than I thought it would be. I still had a ways to go before I was ready for my next creation, but I had good feelings about it. By autumn, or winter at the latest I'd be ready.

"You might be right. I think the priests will be going to the temple district if things start to get hairy. Listen... Alana I know you don't like The Shield, and going to stay with them is probably an idea that sounds... bad. That said, the school won't try to stop you since you're one of their wards, and regardless of what happens I don't think anyone will attack their temple... so."

"I know, I know, seeking shelter with them is probably the safest option. I've already put them on my list of places to hide." That seemed to relax her quite a bit and we walked the rest of the way in companionable silence.

Lucien was in fact at The Starlit Sky when we got there. The bar itself was more... somber than usual for this time of the day and he smiled when he saw me, motioning me to the back. Kala gracefully allowed us to talk while ordering herself a cider.

"Long time no see girly," he began as we entered the back room.

"You either, how's things?"

"Oh, you know, same as always. People come, they drink, the works. Jackson's getting married."

"Wait what!?"

"Yeah, he and Lude. They were making eyes at each other for some time, and just up and announced it when he came back to town."

"Is he here? How come nobody told me?"

"No, he's not here, and you weren't told because... well, we're keeping where he is and what he's doing quiet." That stopped me in my tracks. "Relax, it's nothing bad. They reinstituted the draft, or did you notice? He's hiding out and avoiding being pulled into the army. The fact that he's a caster helps, more help is the fact that the little bastard has never stayed anywhere long enough to end up with people knowing where he resides."

In truth I had not noticed. I supposed that perhaps there had been fewer young men on the streets maybe, but that wasn't something I paid too much attention to.

"Actually, that's kinda why I came. The academy is basically a walled enclave, so our news is what they want it to be. How bad is it really out there?"

Lucien sat down. "Bad, real bad. The people up at the top are trying to keep it tamped down as much as they can, but... Rumors are that several cities have fallen, and a lot of villages. Those that were already having problems with rebels are almost now all gone. Things are keeping mostly to the eastern part of the country, but we're losing." He laughed for a minute. "When war was declared I wrote you a letter you know, but I never could bring myself to send it. I think it's still sitting on my desk."

"Do you think the city is likely to fall?" He looked bad, and my question certainly didn't help.

"Perhaps, but not soon, and we'll have plenty of time to panic if it does. They'll have to take most of the central section of the country to take the capital, and news of one of the central duchies falling won't be something suppressible. If things look like that might happen... I'm sure that the academy has its plan, but I've got one as well in case of an emergency. You'll be welcome to join if you need to."

I nodded. After that things petered along for awhile, but Lucien had said his piece, and I'd had mine. It was good to know that there was something if I needed it.

Bishop Theodore had had a long, very long, very tiring journey. First he had to make it well into a country that was currently at war, then he had to find and establish contact with his peers there. That done he began the arduous process of trying to contact the leadership of that country, and get a meeting. He wanted to be quiet about exactly why he wanted to speak with one of their generals, if for no other reason than it was dangerous to let any news about his irksome ward out, but eventually he had to say that it concerned the man's daughter.

That had led to him being quickly given a meeting. Sadly not with the man he sought, but with his family members that were available. He was on his way to that meeting now, and hating every moment of it.

These people took their operational security to a terrifying level. He'd been blindfolded, put in a cart and driven around for hours, taken through tunnels, and streets, and buildings. Now he stood in a plain stone hallway, being led to a door. They'd finally removed his blindfold, and he supposed that this was his actual destination.

Even this hallway was odd. He didn't recognize the architecture, and the stones were something odd too. It was a plain grey rock he recognized, the large slabs being cut perfectly into cubes. This stone though was generally only found in the far north of the continent, so what was it doing in one of the former empire's strongholds? It was weird, but that was not why he was here.

When he finally came in he was greeted by three figures. One of which was clearly a magic user of some kind, while the others seemed not to be. The youngest was a boy in perhaps his early twenties. He had two swords and an aura like silver flames, one strong enough to give even the well trained bishop pause. Beside him was a woman, his mother likely. She seemed to be aging, but well, and had the air of a matron, well dressed and composed. The final individual was a man of prodigious size, with arms like small oaks and mostly grey hair, he smelled of fire and hard work, but lacked any aura to speak of.

"Good afternoon." The woman said. "I'm told you have information?" Her tone indicated that she hung somewhere between the grief of resignation and the small sliver of hope one would have for an unproven fate.

"I do ma'am. We currently have a girl named Alana as one of The Shield's wards. I've come to see if she can be safely returned to her family."

At my words the woman who could only be Alana's mother broke down in tears. She leaned on the older man for support, and if I was not mistaken I thought I saw even a small tear form in one of his eyes. The lad on the other hand seemed mostly to just lose the tension in his whole body.

"Shh, Amara, I told you to have hope didn't I?" The older man patted her on the back, letting her calm so she could continue. "You're sure it's her?" he asked me, his eyes serious.

"Her identity was confirmed by both a priest and a bard who I understand trained her as a child."

"Well bishop, you've certainly brought us the best possible news. When can you bring her here? Or do we need to send someone to pick her up?" The lady, Amara looked at me with a bright smile as she wiped her face.

"Ah... that's why I'm here. It's a difficult situation you see, as she's currently in the city of Lithere." That got me shocked looks.

"What in the world is she doing in the Kingdom's capital!?" The old man asked, clearly shocked.

"Well Mr..."

"Barro."

"Right, it's a rather long story you see..."

I proceeded to tell them what I knew. The only real issue came when I mentioned who her kidnappers, those that had seen to it that she'd been separated from her family, were. When Alana's brother learned that it was their former lord's daughter the room seemed to freeze, his hands clenched hard enough to split the knuckles of his gloves open. After he'd calmed I continued, telling them how she'd escaped, ended up in the orphanage at Istlan, and then left there to go to the capital.

"Why in the world would she go there?" Amara asked, a sentiment echoed by everyone involved.

"Honestly that was never entirely clear to me. She knew of a friend of one of her former teachers that lived there it seems, and thought she'd be better off with him, for some reason."

John rose from his seat. "I'll see what options we have. It'll take time to get word to dad and Mystien though."

"Do it, and only tell those who must know. If they find out she's there..." his mother said, looking at him with hard eyes.

The young man nodded and left, and soon enough my escort came to return me to our local facilities. I pitied the little lord of Hazelwood a bit, but honestly he'd abused his power to the point where something like this was bound to happen eventually. I only hoped that his people would be spared from his poor decision's consequences.