Chapter 1721 - Flames And Embers (Part 1)
"Also, I'm a living being and I don't want a bunch of Royal Forgemasters putting their hands on me, tinkering with my mother's legacy in order to replicate it." Solus said.
Locrias opened his mouth to reply, but he could see their point. The Royal Court would always be a vipers' nest and the thought of what the wrong people might do with a tower sent shivers down his spine.
Lith and Locrias appeared on the site where Lark's corpse had been arranged like a scarecrow. To forever delete that image, his heirs had built a statue of him, depicting Lark while he painted.
Jadon had given instructions to the sculptor so that the statue wore Lark's old monocle, replacing the silk string with a metal wire to make sure that he wouldn't lose it ever again.
Seeing the serene expression of the statue reminded Lith of his old friend, stinging at his heart.
'I swear that I'll find whoever killed you and I'll make them pay. Locrias?' His arrival had scared the gardeners and alerted the guards, but the moment they recognized Lith they returned to their daily routine.
The Demon was hidden in the shadow under Lith's Archmage robe so no one saw him.
'He is not here.' Locrias shared with Lith his sight, allowing him to see that Hilya, Lark's former kitchen head, was among the lingering souls.
Then they moved to Distar, where Brinja was overjoyed seeing him. She asked Lith to give a full check-up to both her and the baby.
"Did anything strange happen here? Many vaults of the Kingdom have been robbed and with its two academies, the Distar Marquisate is among the most well-armed regions.
"I would be surprised if whoever is behind the Doppelgangers didn't send a few of them after you." Lith gladly took a cup of tea with her yet discovering that Mirim's soul had moved on as well left a bittersweet feeling in his mouth.
"I would be surprised if they did, instead." Brinja shrugged. "Thanks to the White Griffon's healers the impostors have a hard time around these parts. Manohar has already found a simple way to recognize a Doppelganger."
She pricked her finger with a needle until a drop of blood came out.
"No one gets in and out without doing this, not even the delivery guys. Doppelgangers have no organs hence they have no blood either. As for my noble guests, they come from my personal Gate and there is no way to fool the magical imprint.
"My mother had the tokens she gave to trusted people like you enchanted so that in case of death of their owner, they self-destruct. On top of that, the network of Warp Gates allows the authorities to investigate the moment something strange happens.
"There is no way to create here the unrest necessary to pull tricks without the Royal Constables noticing. My people are pissed off because of the food rationing, but thanks to our own cultivated fields and the mild climate, my Marquisate is self-sufficient.
"Even if the famine gets worse, it can't threaten our livelihood."
Lith sent Locrias to investigate the house while they conversed, just to be safe. The Captain had no problem moving unnoticed despite the great number of servants because he used them to move around, passing from one shadow to another.
'The security is excellent and the arrays have been changed since my last visit. Whatever knowledge the copycat had of house Distar is now useless.' Locrias reported Lith, proud of how the Kingdom took care of its own.
With nothing left to do, Lith went back to the mana geyser before picking up the kids. The tower would be too far away to sustain Solus completely, but it would still lessen the burden on her body thanks to the flow of world energy fueling the power core.
"Nice to mee you, Auntie." Leran introduced himself politely as his parents had taught him.
"Who is this old lady, uncle Lith?" Lilia asked, looking at Solus with suspicion. As many kids did, she considered decrepit anyone but her parents and those she liked.
"She's my dear friend, Solus. Solus, these are Leran and Lilia." Lith grinned from ear to ear seeing Solus annoyed from being called old.
'I know these little runts for years, yet for them, this is the first time we meet. Be patient and make friends with them.' She thought to herself.
"Nice to meet you too, Leran." She shook his hand. "I'm not old, Lilia. I'm barely 28 years old, just like your aunt Kamila."
"Aunt Kami is pretty and she looks young." Lilia ignored Solus's extended hand and grabbed Lith's. "If she doesn't marry uncle Lith, I already called dibs so don't get your hopes up.
"I'll grow up as tall as Dad and as pretty as Mom, you have fewer chances than a rabbit in a wolf den."
"Well said, sweetheart." Selia hugged her daughter, laughing her ass off at Solus's expense. "Even though this kind lady is not as young and pretty as Mom, she is a good friend of your parents, so be nice to her."
"I will." Lilia answered with the determination of a soldier faced with a monumental task, making Selia laugh harder.
"I'm proud of you, baby girl." She ruffled Lilia's hair before hugging Solus. "Don't mind, her. You look great and I'm happy to finally meet you in the flesh."
"Thanks, Selia. I can't wait to spend some time together."
"Me too. I always welcome an extra pair of hands." Selia pointed at the little Fenrir in her Skoll form who had clawed her way up to the roof.
She proudly wagged her tail while looking down at the small people below.
Lith brought the kids to his old secret clearing in the Trawn woods, allowing them to play to their heart content away from prying eyes while also practicing their magic
The Philo river that flowed across the clearing created a natural boundary between the opposing teams and greatly enhanced chore magic's efficacy. Mud was much easier to manipulate than earth and also less dangerous while the river provided plenty of water to manipulate.
Darkness and fire were too dangerous to be used even in a game while air magic was allowed only to push the opponent. Wind blades and bolts of lightning were forbidden as well.
The first part of the game that Aran and Leria had learned in the Desert consisted in building a small number of fortresses. They served both as cover from spells and to hide the rune that the opponent had to find during the second part of the game.
Since there were not enough kids to play the "game" properly, Lith involved the magical beasts of the woods as foot soldiers. Ry would act based on Aran's and Leria's orders while Shyfs worked for Lilia and Leran.
The first team to find and conquer the enemy fortress holding the rune would be the winner. It represented the enemy's food stock, their secret military plans, or any resource without which the strength of their army would be crippled.
The kids had no idea of the real purpose of the exercise but they took it seriously nonetheless.