Chapter 152: Homes

Chapter 152: Homes

The carriage pulled up a gentle slope, the well greased wheels and stable suspension making the journey comfortable, if slow. Leif found it strange knowing where his occasional buds of insight on the construction of wagons and carts were originating from, and it was stranger still that those small snippets of his memories and former knowledge had been among the first, and most detailed to have slipped from one life to the next.

The attendant drove the carriage, with Leif and the two children being the only occupants of the vehicle. Roy was as happy and excited as ever, the boy's quick recovery over the past few days had reignited his childlike fascination with the world around him. He badgered his sister with endless questions, though Lucia was largely as ignorant as he was. So then he directed his curiosity to Leif, who also was largely clueless. What was the large building with the domed roof that they had passed? He didn’t know. Why were the tall trees planted along the paved road alternating species? He didn’t know, though he guessed it was for variety. The green of one canopy, followed by the purple of the next was an effect he quite enjoyed.

If her brother was a blend of jubilant and awed, Lucia was the opposite. Leif had been keeping tabs on the girl's mental state since before they had arrived at the arena, and while she was competent at suppressing her emotions, worry, fear, and not a small amount of anger occasionally flared up. It wasn’t targeted towards him, more projected outwards at the world of luxury and near decadence they were travelling through.

And then there was the way she reacted whenever Hera was mentioned. It had been hard to sense during their time at the arena due to the chaotic mix of aura’s, intents and the emotions that came along with them from the hundreds of spectators, but Leif was all but certain there was something up. Lucia, while cagey about her reasoning for visiting the Academy, had alluded several times that she was looking for someone. It was not a stretch to guess who that someone might be.

Either it was a happy coincidence, or an unfortunate one that he had discovered the siblings on the ship ride across the sea. He tapped his ivory fingers on the carriage's window, feeling the wooden structure ripple as he lightly pushed his will through it. He had his suspicions as to the history of Lucia and her brother, but it was likely ideal to wait and tackle the issue with another adult. Another human adult, someone who was more informed and in a better position to do something about it.

They pulled up to what looked like a small tenant apartment not unlike many of those they had already passed. Though this one was surrounded by a tall iron fence, and an odd glass dome connected to the building from the side. A well tended and vibrant garden lined the path leading up to the front door. Roy all but leapt out the carriage the moment they had pulled to a stop, the boy spinning around in fascination as he ran up to the gate and wrapped his small fingers around the narrow bars.

Leif stepped out next, then turned and held the door open for Lucia. The girl looked from the building, then down to him. She swallowed, a rapid fire series of emotions and micro expressions passing over her increasingly tired looking face.

“Is it something I should know about?” He asked, his words finally making her realise she needed to move.

“No.” She said quickly, exiting and hurriedly walking over to where Roy was trying to eat a golden leaf.

“We have arrived.” The official said, tethering the horses to a small post. “This is the residence of the ninth Blade, Hera Kossia.”

“Is this a student dorm? It looks like the ones we’ve been passing.” Leif said.

“No. Though it was once a similar structure. The internals of the building are quite different, and the greenhouse is an unusual addition that, if I am recalling my history of the place correctly, was only restored when the Blade moved into the establishment.”

“Greenhouse? You mean the big glass dome?”

“The very same.” He said, ringing a small brass bell hanging from the gate.

“I see.” The scion crossed his arms and waited. Thirty seconds later the double front doors to the residence opened, and a familiar old woman shuffled outside.

Melissa was as Leif remembered, Hera’s ageing attendant was dressed in her usual smock and apron, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. She waved in greeting, though likely the only one of them she recognised was the official who had rung the bell.

“Welcome, welcome! To what do we owe the pleasure?” She asked, smiling sweetly down at the two children and giving a polite nod to Leif as she unlatched and pulled open the gate. “I’m afraid Hera hasn’t gotten back from that meeting they sprung on her after the fight at that awful arena. I assume she is the reason for your arrival?”

“Indeed ma’am.” The official said with a bow. “These three have been invited by the Blade personally, I simply guided them here.”

“I see.” Melissa said. “And who are these... guests? We don’t usually get small children here on the islands, so this is a surprise.”

“Leif Vin.” Leif said, bowing slightly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”

The old lady paused, looked at the official, then back to him. ‘Oh. Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise? I dare say I was definitely not expecting you to be the one under that mask!”

“It’s been a while, Melissa. How are you doing after the... events that transpired.”

“Oh, that dreadful thing. I’ve followed Hera into all sorts of terrible places and situations, but that was one of the worst. Just awful, a total disaster. I’ve been fine, though I dare say I’m several years older than I should be. Oh hello, aren’t you adorable?”

“I’m eight.” Roy said confidently as Melissa bent to get a better look at him.

“So old! And so tall! Though you clearly need more meat on those bones of yours!” The old woman said.

“This is Roy and Lucia. They’re... acquaintances I met on my journey here.”

“How tantalisingly vague of you.” Melissa snorted. “Well, I just have to hear about this. Come on in.”

===

Melissa played host, getting tea and a tray of baked goods and placing them on the table in the comfortable lounge. She placed empty cups onto the polished wood, but allowed them to pour their own drinks, giving Leif a meaningful look.

He connected to her telepathically, giving the old woman a mental recap of his journey to the Academy, and how he had met Lucia and Roy. She gave the two children a pitying look, then shook her head and smiled. Roy was offering Lucia ‘half’ of a cookie, with his half being about twice the size of hers.

“They’ve been through a lot.” He sent. “There’s something more going on too, but I hadn’t wanted to force the issue.”

The old lady glanced at the clearly agitated Lucia from her position by the door and nodded subtly. She returned a few minutes later with a stack of blankets. The young girl shot the elderly woman a suspicious side eye, but wrapped one around her shoulders anyway. Melissa launched into a story about how some of the alchemy students accidently filled the lab they were working in and the rest of the building with bubbles that clung to every surface.

Roy giggled as he listened, captivated as he sat next to his sister, almost completely covered head to toe in numerous blankets. Lucia smiled, but it looked strained, she fidgeted, her arms wrapped protectively around her knees. Leif asked about the different facilities on Lutum, and what they could expect from the quadriad tournament. Melissa seemed less than interested in the fighting and contests that would be taking place over the next few weeks, but her detailed recollection of what to expect on the mostly forested island was fascinating.

Apparently there was an evolved beast reserve on the part of the island where nobody lived. The creatures were used to train up some of the weaker students from the different campuses.

Both Leif and Melissa tilted their heads up as a presence appeared on the rooftop of the building. The older woman smiled and excused herself, heading upstairs with surprisingly adroit steps.

“So.” Leif said. “We have a few minutes. Are you going to tell me why you’re here?”

“You brought us here.” Lucia said, not meeting his amber gaze.

“Why are you here?” he repeated. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He sighed. “You came to the Academy to find Hera. Well, you’ve found her. I have my own business here, my own reasons for being on the archipelago. But we’re here together, so I would like to know.”

“What if you’re wrong?” She asked stubbornly.

“I’m not. It is a fascinating coincidence that we just so happen to be looking for the same person. Perhaps due to the quadriad allowing for visitors this meeting was more or less inevitable. But I am not wrong.”

“Impossible.” Leif hummed, leaning back. “After everything, it seems like a strange thing to consider. Is anything actually impossible?”

Hera raised her cup as if in a salute. “Seeing how far we’ve both come down our paths, I doubt it.”

“You say that like you’re only just beginning.” Leif commented.

“I am. Anyone who thinks level one hundred is the human limit is deluding themselves. I’ve earned myself several decades of extra time by hitting the milestone so young. Once I’ve settled my foundation, I’m going to push for way more. Two hundred isn’t beyond my reach.”

“Seems ambitious. I’m just going to focus on my next big milestone. One step at a time.”

“Probably wise. Are you going to keep a low profile going forward?”

“If I can.”

Hera nodded thoughtfully. “It’s for the best considering your situation.” She turned her head slightly, her eyes shining.

Leif had noticed it too, the small presence that had crept closer to the door. Hera smiled and mimed zipping her lips shut. The scion nodded appreciatively. “So, the quadriad? I saw your fight, very impressive.”

“It’s just the Academy showing off to the outsiders. And entertaining the students, hopefully inspiring them to greatness and all that. Apparently we.” She tapped her uniform. “Used to use the tournament to determine who among the ten blades should be in charge. But over the past century or so the institution moved towards seniority as the deciding factor.”

“Feels unfair for someone like you. Assuming you compare favourably to the other Blades in terms of combat ability.”

“Eh, it’s so so. I can probably handle about half of them without much issue, but it's all matchup and location dependent. If the fight took place in a wide open field with several kilometres for us to play around in, I’m likely in the top three, probably higher. If the fight took place in the crucible dungeon, someone like Daniela or Helos would have the advantage.”

“So straight up battles in the arena aren’t a good way to judge actual strength.”

“Right. If I fought Kastro in the sea I’d find myself drowned in seconds. But he couldn’t touch me in the arena, not physically anyway.”

“You seemed to handle the mental attacks well.”

“I could keep my distance. I can still feel the headache though, damn thing will probably last another day or two. Made the meeting they sprung on us a pain to sit through. But those meetings are always a pain, so not much of a difference.”

“Do you need healing?”

“Sweet of you, but no. Dealing with the after effects is probably the best way to increase my resistance to mental attacks in the future.”

“I feel like most sensible people would take a break from advancement and recover.”

“Most people don’t have what it takes to reach level one hundred.” Hera said, using her cup to cover her smirk. Leif nodded, conceding her point. “What are your plans for your time at the Academy... assuming you can share?”

The presence listening in at the door had snuck closer, but his answer wouldn’t break his cover. “Well, I want you to help me make contact with Flavia. Ease our eventual reunion, make our in person meeting and hopefully the rest of the whole ordeal less troublesome.”

“Consider it done. I owe you after all that’s happened.”

“I’d like to broaden my knowledge base. I was hoping to sit in on some classes or lectures, but I understand if that’s not possible.”

“It should be. Though only for the more basic courses. I can give you access to the main library on Pelus if self study is more your thing.”

“That would be wonderful. There are some... historical records I want to look at.”

Hera raised an eyebrow, but conscious of their eavesdropper she waited for him to expand on that statement.

“There’s a species of monster I’m particularly interested in seeing if there are any records of. For my research.”

“Ah, yes. I looked for myself upon my return to the archipelago, but didn’t find anything. Though my search was far from thorough.”

“Interesting. I’ll still take a look for myself.”

“Sure. You want to reconnect with the students from the Pherin expedition? I know Marcus was keeping tabs on you. Sieg is competing in the quadriad.”

Leif sensed the flicker of emotions from behind the door. “Maybe don’t mention the expedition. I think the kids are-” He telepathically sent Hera, but Lucia flung the door open and had stormed into the room before he was finished.

“Hello there, girl.” Hera said, smiling as her eyes darted to him in worry. “I don’t usually have guests-”

“You!” Lucia yelled, pointing accusingly at Leif. “You were part of the Pherin expedition? Did you know? Did you know the whole time?”

“I only knew what you told me. Which was very little.” He said, raising a hand to placate the girl’s rising anger.

“How could you! How can you sit there so casually after what you’ve done!”

Hera blinked at the explosion currently going off in her living room. “I am not following.”

Lucia wheeled on the older, and much, much stronger woman. “Why did you fail?! After everything they did, everything they spent and risked to make it happen! Why? Why did you let them die?”

“Kid, I don’t know who you are-”

“Pheris.” Lucia screamed, tears running down her face, her fists clenched into tight balls at her side. “My family risked everything to try and take back our homeland! Everything would have been fine if you hadn’t failed! They- they wouldn’t have-”

The girl was gasping for breath, her words barely coherent by the end. Leif stood, making his way to her side in three quick steps. Lucia was shaking with impotent rage, loss and confusion. He flared [Amber Aegis] around her, for the first time taking full use of the calming effects the skill bestowed.

“I think... I think we need the full story.” Leif said, placing a hand on her shoulder. He glanced at Hera, seeing the distraught look on the usually confident Blade’s face. “We can’t help you without understanding your story.”

Lucia screamed again, and punched his side. A golden mote of light drifted into her hand, healing the damage. The pain seemed to shock the girl out of her manic state, and Leif sensed as every suppressed fear, regret and sense of loss from the past year bubbled up and out of her. Lucia broke down, and wept into his side. She cried for her home, she cried for her family, for her brother, and finally, for herself.