Chapter 329: Normal

Chapter 329: Normal

Tala hopped twice as she moved forward, mirroring aspects to allow the remnants of grit and grime to fall from her. She stretched luxuriantly as she walked back under the outer portcullis, Terry striding at her side.

That was nice, Terry. Its been too long since weve been able to cut loose side by side.

Terry tossed his head and chirped happily in agreement.

She almost paused within the gatehouse to be questioned, but the inner gates were open, the portcullis up, so she shrugged to herself and continued inside, where she found her unit waiting along with a few others.

She knew that people had gathered on the walls to watch, just as they had for Mistress Kaeti, but those had dissipated by this point. I wonder if I won or lost anyone a good deal of money?

-Probably not. The gambling places have been doing this a long time. They probably keep the odds really conservative for new Refined in the field.-

Yeah, that makes sense.

Master Clevnis had his arms crossed, and the others features were unreadable.

Hey, all. Tala waved, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. So what did you think?

Terry flickered around to look at each Archon from multiple angles before settling on Talas shoulder.

The Refined noted Terrys actions but didnt otherwise seem to react.

The two that Tala didnt know, however, seemed to treat the terror bird as a potential threat, eyeing him skeptically until he came to a stop.

Only then did the two Archons who were not a part of her unit step forward.

The shorter one spoke loudly, and it took Tala a moment to realize that it was simply his normal voice, rather than him raising his voice at her. Why are you putting holes in my wall?

Our. The taller one said, simply. His voice was level, almost muted in comparison but filled with certainty.

Short glanced back, then shook his head. Fine, our wall. Why are you putting holes in our wall?

Tala frowned. Who are you?

Im Adam, thats Navin.

Master Navin gave a small, simple wave but didnt say anything else.

Well, Master Adam, Master Navin, Im not sure what the issue is.

Have I not been clear? He glanced back at Master Navin. I thought I was being pretty clear.

Your wall. You dont want holes in it.

Exactly. So? What do you have to say for yourself?

I was thrown into a wall, I dont really understand how it is your wall, or how it is my fault. After a moment, she shrugged and continued. Im also unsure how that qualifies as multiple holes.

Tala took a moment to really assess the two. They both appeared to be Fused, moving toward Refined. If she had to guess, they were material Mages, from context, they likely worked with the walls.

Next time, I could let the cyclops come and hit the wall directly. That would have left a dent. Would that be your preference?

Master Adam grunted. You arent wrong, and no, we dont want that to happen, but couldnt you have handled it better?

She shrugged. Well, yes. Always.

Master Navin barked a laugh, placing a hand on Master Adams shoulder. Adam.

Master Adam glanced at his partner, then groaned and looked back to her. Fine. It was Mistress Tala, right?

Yes?

Well, do better next time, as for this time, I cant make you pay more than the standard rates for damage incurred during a defensive engagement, but I want something else from you.

Tala felt her eyes narrow. If he asks for a meal, or something like that, Im gonna hit him.

-Really? Just for asking?-

Yeah. Mistress Vangas right there; hell probably be fine after.

I want the dew of a lazy morning, harvested from the left whisker of a kitten.

She paused at that, blinking a few times. What?

Master Navin closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as he muttered to himself.

Master Clevnis stepped forward. I think Ive let this continue long enough. Whats going on?

Master Adam turned to the unit leader. I already told you. This Refined has damaged myhe glanced to Master Navinour wall, and I feel recompense is required.

Tala spoke before her unit leader could, Im not hunting down a kitten for dew. And even if I were willing, its an impossible thing to fulfill regardless, because the act of having the task, makes the morning anything but lazy.

Fine, Ill take the twinkle of a star off of a noon-time pool.

Tala gave him a flat look. I have no idea what is going on here, but I am not amused.

Master Navin cleared his throat. Hes being whimsical, and hes irritated. I think hes stuck between being frustrated with you and trying to be funny. Ill accept twenty gold to clear your debt to him and take him away without further issue.

Tala almost agreed, just to get this over with, but then she saw a glint of mischief in Master Navins eyes. Youre messing with me, too. What, is this some sort of initiation for new defenders? Are you two working together to get an extra bit of gold? I broke some stone. It shouldnt be hard to repair.

Master Adam raised a finger, his cheek twitching. Its not stone. The walls are made of an incredibly complex interlacing of various materials both natural and man-made.

Master Navin shook his head. Its stone, Adam.

Master Adam turned on his partner, and they fell to arguing as if it were a common topic for them. In fact, from what Tala heard, they seemed to be picking up the argument somewhere between vastly too complex for her to care and way too detailed for her to follow.

Master Clevnis shook his head, leading Tala away, Terry trailing just behind. Lets leave them to it.

Are they going to be okay? Tala glanced over her shoulder at the two Archons who were wandering off, still deep in their argument.

Oh, yes. They are specialists in maintaining city walls during a waning. They are eccentric, but they work really well together, and their work is beyond reproach. They do like to extort odd requests or gold from people who arent familiar with them, though. He frowned. Now that I think about it, those who agree to the odd requests seem to lose more in the end, when compared to those who just hand over some gold.

Here you go. And she began pulling piping hot dishes out of Kit and sliding them across the table where they came to rest along the length of the middle of the surface. Family style.

The other Refined hesitated for only a moment before taking chairs, leaning in with keen interest.

Please serve yourselves and pass the dish along.

Everyone complied, grabbing the nearest dish, and taking a serving before the offerings moved around the group.

Master Limmestare leaned forward and took in a deep whiff of the latest food before him. This seems to be hot from the oven. Does your storage have temporal-locking abilities? Those are quite rare. He hesitated. No, you talked about it being ready do you have artifacts such that they can make this on command?

Tala laughed. Nothing so complicated. I have a cook.

There was a collective pause.

Mistress Cerna cleared her throat before asking in a carefully neutral voice, Say again?

I have a cook.

In your soul-bound storage?

Tala glanced around, seeing everyones concern. No. My storage isnt soul-bound.

Everyone seemed to let out a collective exhalation of relief.

She is in my magic-bound storage, though. Is that a problem?

Food began moving again, and it was Master Clevnis who answered, Generally speaking, once you soul-bond a storage device, only things bound to you, or bound to no one, will be able to enter it.

Oh! So, when you thought I had a cook within my soul-bound storage Tala felt herself pale slightly at the implication.

Yes, we thought that you had, for some reason, soul-bound another person and clearly not a spouse, given our earlier discussions.

Ahh, I can understand the reaction, then. No, Mistress Petra is quite a wonderful woman who helps me with all sorts of tasks, here and there. As to the storage, Id happily show you all at some point. I think its quite nice.

They chatted for a few minutes as they continued with the meal before a thought occurred to Tala.

One moment, does placing unbound magic items within a soul-bound storage?

Master Girt nodded, swallowing a bit of buttered bread. More often than not, that binds the item to you, magically. There are ways to prevent it, but most of them are quite finicky at best.

Thats incredibly good to know.

He shrugged. Its something the Constructionists will go over with you in detail before you go through the bonding process with a storage item.

Thats fair, I suppose.

A comfortable silence fell over the table as the Refined served themselves and ate in equal measure.

Even as night solidly took hold of the city and surroundings, they didnt light any artificial light. They didnt need any with their Refined vision.

Tala had to refill the water pitchers a few times, but other than that, everything was well provided for from the initial unloading.

Somewhere around then, she had a realization, and the feeling almost brought tears to her eyes.

She felt normal in this group.

It wasnt that she was like them, or they were like her in every way, but they were from the same group. They had the same expectations, similar experiences, similar capacities. They were peers, even if she was the least among them for the moment.

It was something she hadnt really felt in a long time, even while at the Academy.

The sadness of the realization cracked, when she contemplated on the fact that the sadness was from past lack, and she wasnt lacking now.

At least theres potential.

Eventually, eating slowed enough that small talk picked up, and they passed the evening with mundane conversation, simply becoming comfortable around each other as a group.

When their shift ended near the middle of the night, the table and leftovers had long been put away. The table, chairs, and accessories had been placed back in Kit; the leftovers had been thrown for Terrys amusement, everyone joining in the game after it was understood.

The six came down from the wall, not passing their replacements, as the other unit would be setting up to pass their shift in whatever manner they saw fit.

Once gathered on the road that ran the inner circumference of Alefast, just inside the wall, the unit said their goodbyes, the old-hands welcoming Tala and Terry one last time before they parted ways.

Tala looked up to the sky as she walked, taking in the overt defensive magics woven through the air all around her, overhead even more so.

She was passing through a fortress, a bastion of humanity against the oncoming storm.

This is a waning, Tala, at least the barest edge of one.

An unnoticed smile slowly grew across her lips as she changed her focus and saw the stars, so high above the suddenly simple-seeming magics that protected them.

What is out there, Alat?

-Maybe nothing, but I find that unlikely.-

Yeah. There could be millions of humans among those stars.

-Millions? Tala, if there are humans out there, theyd be counted in the billions, trillions, or even more. Any group of humanity capable of traveling the stars would have to have the numbers to maintain that level of technological advancement.-

Unless there were only a lonely few, looking for others but always missing one another.

There was a long, long silence after that as Tala continued to walk toward the Gredial compound.

Her smile faded a bit, Im acting a bit like that, arent I? Wandering through existence, barely avoiding connections as I pass people by.

-You were, but I think youre changing.-

Is it for the better?

-That depends on what you want, I suppose. Do you like the changes?-

Her smile slowly grew once again before settling firmly in place. Yeah, I really think I do.