Chapter 104: Out of the Nest

Chapter 104: Out of the Nest

Chapter 104 - Out of the Nest

Youll have to send me to the ancestors if ou want my turnips! Old Ven threateningly wielded his hoe in one hand and an oil lamp in the other.

Its just me. Clouds hid the moons tonight, letting only some fickle light through. Kai stepped within the range of the lamp. He didnt expect the grumpy farmer to still be in his field at this hour.

Old Ven squinted at him, recognition flashing in his eyes. I didnt think Id see ou before a month, lad. Whatchu doing here? Did your master finally get tired of ou?

My mum complained I wasn't home long enough, Kai said. Better to avoid any details if he wanted to play dumb, even though Ven would sooner cut his tongue than talk with any Republic official.

Do as your ma tells ou, lad. The geezer frowned at him. Spirits' mercy! You really got kicked out, didn't ou?

Kai grimaced. He only wished for his bed, instead, he had to deal with the scowling farmer. Old Ven shunned tactfulness as merchants did with honesty. But his disregard for social clues didnt mean he wasnt sharp.

Something like that. He replied vaguely, marching through his field. If he stopped right now, he wouldnt be getting up again.

Youll be fine, lad. Your teachers the one whos losing out.

The words hit him so unexpectedly that his foot missed a step. Kai stumbled forward, coming close to planting his face beside the turnips.

Thanks, Ven. It wasnt exactly how things went, but it was nice to feel appreciated.

Dont make uor ma worry, he waved him off. And give my cabbages some luck too while youre at it. Theyre on the left. Yes, over there.

Will do, and take care of yourself, gramps. What would I do without your happy mug greeting me?

Old Ven grunted something about insolent youngsters and went back to his patrol.

Kai easily found the patch of cabbages. He scraped together what Nature mana he had. It wasnt much but he made the most out of it with his skill.

The lights of Sylspring shone in the distance, giving him the strength to push the last stretch. He had put away his enchanted crystal to avoid unwanted attention. Traversing the farmland with little to no light caused him to almost fall into an irrigation canal twice.

Despite filling his ring to full capacity, his backpack was far heavier than usual. His last strands of mana fueled Empower enough to keep him standing.

I didnt think I had this many books.

Experiments, botanic knowledge and random scribbles filled more than two dozen books. Without Dora to answer his questions and point him in the right direction, any passing sentences he wrote down could prove invaluable.

Kai had been stunned by the number of notes he had taken over the years. He had been planning to organize them in a neater format, but always kept postponing the task.

Now I wont have any more excuses to procrastinate. There will be plenty of free time.

The enforcer at the gate asked for his ID. Kai had to endure a reprimanding about kids who shouldnt stay out this late, but was eventually let through. The man probably thought he was a local. Who else would be out at this hour?

Guess I am a local from now on

It was a hundred times better than getting stranded in Greenside again, though it still left him with mixed emotions.

Im too tired to think about this now. I want my fluffy pillow.

The town lights improved considerably inside the walls. Following the main street through the gate, Kai grinded forward. His back was killing him, his legs felt like wet noodles. Empower was the only thing that kept him standing.

Almost home.

Despite being close to midnight, sparse groups of people walked the streets, only increasing as he moved toward the touristy parts. The clipped accent of the mainland overshadowed the flowing speech of the locals.

Howre you doing, kid? Youre running late today.

Am I so tired I started hallucinating?

Alas, the spirits werent so merciful.

Captain Zeriths towering figure appeared before him with a jovial smile. Not a hint of sleepiness on his face, but with his race grade that was to be expected.

Kai gathered all his motes of patience. I was about to go home.

Do you need a hand? He hinted at his backpack. You look like youll start snoring at any moment.

Im quite alright. My house is nearby. Kai was fairly certain the captain had a way to tell if someone was lying, so he always had to jump through hoops when talking with him.

He'd also rather not have him anywhere near his spatial bag. Zerith knew he possessed oneor that Kais master didand it wasnt an overly precious object for someone at his level. The problem was if he peeked inside and guessed he was moving permanently to Sylspring.

Im fine. Just got back sooner than I thought.

Its been four days, did you leave as soon as you got there? Moui stepped close enough to recognize his frown in the glimmer of light from the windowand the ax he was trying to hide behind his back.

The journey takes just one day.

Even so, he said with a note of astonishment. That would give you just two days. Did something happen?

He sighed, feeling the worry in Mouis voice. It did, but can we talk in the morning? Im tired and I want to sleep.

Kai could feel the hunters gaze scanning each inch of his body.

Okay. Moui finally said, making way for him.

Uncle?

Yes?

Can you help me bring my bag up the stairs? I dont want to wake the others. His limbs were too heavy to be stealthy, and Alana wouldnt let him get off so easily if she woke up. He really wanted to hug his pillow and travel to the kingdom of dreams.

The weight of his backpack lifted off his shoulders. A second later he also got lifted for the second time that day. He was too tired to protest, so he just leaned against Moui. He fell asleep before he could get to his bed.

***

The next morning, Kai was surprised not to find his mother observing him an inch from his face.

Moui must have convinced her to wait outside the door.

Kai suppressed a grimace when he tried to stand up. His body protested the treatment of the previous day. Crawling to the edge of his bed, he reached for his bag.

He drank one of his emergency tonics and lay on the covers, waiting for the potions to take effect. As soon as he opened his door, his family would be all over him and hed have to go through a lengthy explanation. Being barely able to move would not look reassuring.

Using Attuned Meditation, he began to manually refill his reserves. Outside the estate, a whole night wasnt enough to top his mana.

Spirits, Im going to miss that. I could build a gathering array, but that might attract attention

His thoughts were captured by the memories of the previous night.

Where is that damn mark!

He wasnt sure what he should be looking for, but from what he read the mark would probably leave some kind of mana imprint. Mana Sense methodically scanned him from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, unsuccessfully.

With the glowing motes flowing through his body, it wasnt impossible he missed it. It was also possible that his skills werent good enough to identify it even if he looked straight at it.

I got tagged with a magic GPS tracker, where are the privacy laws?

Kai took a deep breath. If Zerith was telling the truth, he had little to worry about. But damn, the idea of being watched was frustrating. Like an itch he couldnt quite scratch. His first impulse was to ask Elijah or Dora for help. Then he remembered a small problem - they were gone.

Is it possible they never noticed?

Zerith had marked him years ago. While the man was certainly strong, Kai didnt think he was more capable than Elijah, let alone Virya. Nothing escaped her notice.

Then why did nobody tell me or get rid of the mark?

His brain formulated and discarded a dozen possibilities. There was only one that made sense: they didnt want Zerith to know they could do it. If they got rid of the mark, the captain would notice.

The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced. They couldn't really stop the governor from keeping tabs on himespecially if they were planning to leave. The less impressive they looked, the fewer questions he was going to get asked.

Even if Kai could find the mark and a way to get rid of it, doing that would reveal the extent of his skills and invite more attention.

Spirits help me, the best thing I can do is to just do nothing and hope they lose interest. If Zerith didnt lie they already dont care much.

There was no chance in hell he would stop looking for the mark, but it didn't matter if it took since he wouldnt be able to do anything about it.

Feeling betterat least physically. Kai pushed down his irritation and opened the door. He had yet to reach the stairs when his mom was upon him with a shining smile.

Ive missed you, sweetie.

Its only been four days. Kai tried to get away from the hug after a few seconds.

Alana reluctantly complied, taking a good look at him. Im so happy that youre back. How long are you staying?