Mendax wiped his hands clean again. There was still dark red crusted underneath his fingernails. A letter lay before him, with a dim lantern beside it.
It read:
Flos,
Everything is going accordingly. I'm well on my way to my most recent lead. Gold veins don't move too quickly.
There was a possible leak to point others to it, but that nuisance has been cleared up.
I would still like some clarification on our mutual goal. I know I am to find it, but what about after?
Is this gold too precious to keep? Or am I to take it back to show you? Just a portion or all of it?
As always, may the Great Lord of Nix continue to prosper alongside our great city.
After the first letter had dried, Mendax whispered a few words to it. Mendax, unlike certain children, did know how to properly whisper.
The letter snapped up, folding itself into an abstract version of a small songbird, and flew outside the open window into the night.
Seeing that off, Mendax cricked his neck and began another letter, which he wrote with his left hand.
To the Head of House Zizan,
I am closing in on your daughter's location.
She ran into some trouble. A man attacked her. For money.
All witnesses say she's whole and hearty. Not a scratch.
I should enter Triviis come the morning. Will update soon.
He signed it Mendax with a semblance of a flourish.
He studied it. The handwriting of this one was shaky. As expected.
This letter went into his pocket, to be handed off to a regular messenger.
———————————————————
That's all?
Aureum was still confused.
The people cheered the sorceress as she disappeared before their very eyes. Now the crowd quickly dispersed. Nothing tragic had happened.
"How did she do that?" Vitreum asked, full of excited awe.
"Her pearl is of light mana. She didn't exactly do anything, just turned the light away from her."
Vitreum frowned.
"But I don't see a shadow?"
That's the terrifying part.
"Yeah, most of the time messing with light leaves some sort of shadow or shimmer. The fact she does it so perfectly shows her level of skill."
"And everyone says light spells are useless. Shows what they know."
"Making a light isn't as impressive as moving boulders or setting a field ablaze. And they take about the same effort. There's a reason people say that."
"Just because they say it doesn't mean they're right!"
Aureum held her hands together firmly. They still trembled.
"Just take her as an example that even if you have a dull and tiny knife, if you sharpen it enough, you can have the sharpest blade in the world."
Vitreum looked askance at her.
"You ever seen a knife get sharpened?"
"I never said to sharpen it the wrong way."
Aureum looked down at the girl stiffly. For her, she was on the edge of losing her composure and clinging to it with all her might.
An expression flickered in Vitreum's eyes. It wasn't the surprise of shock, or anything close to fear. It vanished as the girl turned to look at the ground before Aureum could place it.
"Let's get the candy, and then… you'll go back to where you're staying."
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"Just a suggestion my lady. It's late, and it'll be boring soon. Why not go to bed?"
"As long as it's not an order…"
It seemed Aureum's luck that Vitreum was tired.
The stall owner had shut everything closed, but handed Aureum a large bag when she approached. She gave him the ten quinques.
The warmth sunk into her hands as the sweet smell wafted up. It made her feel sick.
She didn't have the energy to split it up.
She plopped it entirely in Vitreum's hands.
"Look, I'm going to tell you not to eat it all at once. And I'm going to tell your guards to take it from you if you start shoveling it in, you mongrel."
Vitreum opened her mouth to speak, entitled indignity written across her face, but Aureum patted her head and shoved it downwards.
"If you all ignore all that, and they're stuck to deal with a sick brat instead of just a spoiled one, and you're feeling awful in your stomach, then consider that my lesson to you."
The guards nodded, and that was enough.
Aureum left before anything more could be said. Or she tried too.
"DON'T FORGET MY KITTEN!"
Aureum didn't turn back.
Halfway through a leap already, Aureum landed on one building before jumping again. And another one for good measure.
When she felt securely out of sight she spun around, her head darting left to right, making certain no one was nearby. Having confirmed it, she sunk to the ground.
A void inside her ached.
That level of mana resting on her shoulders, combined with being hidden from public view.
It was her own personal hell.
So what if Aureum had been in the crowd. That illusionist could have killed her in cold blood in the middle of the street during market day and no one would have known. Let alone seen.
Certainly, Caducus cared for appearances. But when Aureum was chained alone she would wonder.
Isn't it simpler for him to just let me die, forgotten here?
How long will it be before he comes to that conclusion?
And when she faced him in his study, it was hard to forget, just how easy a body could be cleaned up.
Aureum gagged.
Enough of that! Just enough! Stop thinking about it!
She looked up at the stars, focused on her breathing. The upheaval from her stomach passed. The pressure crushing down on her too. Everything passes.
That's why Aureum had taken the opportunity to go to every banquet and stupid social gathering given to her. So it would be harder for her to be quietly forgotten.
Of course, under such circumstances many people would curl up and hide, playing whatever role Caducus wanted. That may have been the point.
That would have been the wise move.
But Aureum made no claim for wisdom.
After lying on the roof alone for hours, she returned to the inn. It's not because she wanted to sleep. Sleep was a lost cause for her tonight.
Instead, she may as well do her best to find out where this Red Hen was. Figure out what the brother was doing.
And after that?
Aureum had a few options before washing her hands clean of this mess.
She had gained a few things from her fifteen years as the pariah of the house of Nix, after all.
———————————————————
In a brightly lit inn, filled with many rooms but having little to do with sleeping, Aureum sat on the first floor, her burgundy hood up. The drink and snack in front of her was for show. The important fact was that she was next to an open window.
"I hate it, the way they light this place up."
"But it's so dim."
"That's the point, they need to get lanterns that actually work, not just look pretty."
That's not it.
Aureum wafted the wind that carried those words away. And she sent the breeze onto its way through the crack in the next window.
The sound of snoring came back.
Short of demanding this "Benedic's" room number from the hostess at the counter, this was the best she could do.
The Red Hen had been easy to find. A few questions and directions sent her easily on her way to this building. It both shouted for attention and blended into the background. The other buildings nearby were just as gaudy or worse.
As long as it was the right Red Hen, I should be on the right track.
It was difficult to know for sure.
Benedic wouldn't sleep here, right?
Even the assumption that he would return to check on his younger sister was shaky at best. She'd heard countless things, but they were anywhere from the unmentionable to the sound of a mouse skittering about.
It had been a long night with no sign of ending soon.
Aureum rubbed her face as she sent the breeze to its next target.
"It's difficult to transport the goods to Fluentem, Benedic."
"I got them here, what's wrong with getting them further?!"
The breeze came back with the name. Aureum sat up, but tried to inconspicuously sink back down as she sent the breeze back.
She'd gotten lucky. Unbelievably lucky.
It only took five hours of her life sitting here.
"Then choosing a courier, can't we pick somebody of our own?"
"We need somebody who they won't look twice at, at the gate. Somebody from a dignified bloodline. Or who at least resides in Fluentem."
"Why can't I?"
The breeze returned and was sent.
"It shouldn't be so difficult to get old artifacts researched by some dusty old scholars! Why did that fool mention the Sorcerer King?!"
"At least if they are from that era, sir, they'll sell well."
"Heh."
The breeze came back with the news.
Oh, so that's what all the conspiratorial murmurings are about.
The Sorcerer King was the originator of sorcery in Aeternitus, according to legend. However, due to his tyranny, he was also the single most hated figure in Aeternitus' history.
Not that it was very long, seeing as the King destroyed much of the history that came before him. About eight centuries worth is a sneeze in the grand scheme of things. This was one of countless reasons he was so hated.
In return, and out of hate for his ways, all records and artifacts of the Sorcerer King were destroyed by the people of Aeternitus when his reign was brutally ended. To the point where even his name was lost.
Having something from the original sorcerer would of course be coveted by the younger generations. Being told something is evil and having faced down the thing that murdered family and friends are two different worlds. However, ascended sorcerers are immortal.
The grandchildren of those who decided on such complete destruction not only existed, but were some of the most major forces in the land whether it came to economic, political, or simply brute force.
It would be best to sell them in secret before the grandparents of the land found out.
If what they had was truly a relic from that time.
Aureum doubted it. At least they chose the right place to check. Fluentem had the best scholars of this age.
Aureum sent the breeze back, but too late. It returned with the sound of footsteps and the door closing.
She turned to look at the staircase. Two men came down. One looked decently close to being Vitreum's brother. Especially if she used the older Vitreum's face for reference. The epitome of a young noble of a major bloodline.
The other dressed plainly with greasy long hair and a pinched face pricked by two hungry eyes.
The two men stormed out of the Red Hen.
Why choose such a hidden location just to leave like thunder?
The greatest things could be hidden in the silliest of ways.
She shook her head.
Is that enough? Yeah, I think going any further than this is above what I owe.
Technically she owed her life, so perhaps not.
But where the two men were going would be worse than here.
Aureum had enough understanding of things to get Vitreum's situation to be noticed. Wasn't that enough?
Aureum stood up. The entire time she rationalized it in her head.
Besides, I don't even know how common an occurrence her being left to her own devices is. This might be the only time her brother abandoned her for shady business.
Not if Vitreum could point her to the building where it happened.
Mostly, Aureum was tired.
She followed the men outside the building and watched them take a turn. She didn't take another step to follow them. A thousand thoughts ran in her head.
Vitreum's just a brat. It could be her nature, nothing to do with how her family treats or ignores her.
What ultimately decided her was that it was not her affair, and there was little help she could do if she got killed.
Let's stick to the original plan.
The Lapiz's were an old bloodline. Perhaps one of the oldest. Surprisingly, their original ascended sorcerer and patriarch, Maledic Lapiz, was still kicking around.
Most didn't know that, but Aureum did. One of the few things she gained from her past was a working knowledge of the powers that be. At least, what the followers of Caducus would idly prattle on about at parties.
Even better than most, she knew how to get a letter to the fossil.
That's right. Her entire plan consisted of tattling. Anonymously.
It's not like she had the ability to deal with these problems.
A group of young sorcerers up to no good? She was outmanned and outarmed.
Neither did she have any political power. Not that her own actions helped.
Was it the fact that she had tried to lie to Vitreum about her identity? Or the fact that she had insulted the girl before leaving that made approaching her again difficult?
One alone was reason enough for the girl's guards to eat her.
She chuckled sadly. Years go by but some things stay the same.
Drastic action might make things worse.
Maybe nothing was wrong, this might just be how other people lived.
She was still going to rat out Benedic, of course.
Maledic was one of the grandfathers of the land. He would certainly be interested in Benedic's actions. By tying Vitreum's case to it, the brat had a better chance of being seen in a sympathetic light thus getting the discipline and attention she needed.
Technically, her first plan had been to chat with the brother directly, but that seemed stupid at this point.
It felt bad to end this with a letter. But even a letter can change an entire life's trajectory.
Aureum's shoulders sagged.
I know where her family lives! I'll check up on her later! Later!
Now what else did she need to do?
Was it a kitten? Did that brat really want me to get her a kitten?
Aureum sank to the ground, one hand against the wall.
After all this, am I really going to spend the rest of the night looking for a kitten?!
She closed her eyes tightly as she internally screamed.