“I’ve been hiding out in Simeal’s tent. Would that be fine or do we need more privacy?” D’Argen said with a hand motioning to the large tent entrance behind him.
“It will be fine.” Vain nodded and then shifted his stance into the mortal custom of a bow, one arm extended to the tent as if waiting for D’Argen to go first.
The runner felt like he had to force a smile at the action. He turned on his heel and walked off, leading the other man inside and all the way to the back where the cots were empty. He sat down on the same cot he had occupied earlier and said, “Go first.”
Vain cleared his throat then pulled a wooden tablet out from the wide sleeves of his robes. There was a quill already attached to it, spelled so that it would never run dry. As the God of History, Vain had perfect memory. It was a terrifying thought, remembering every single moment of the almost 10,000 years the gods had already spent in the mortal realm. Even more terrifying was that he remembered nothing at all of their time before that, in the gods’ own realm. At least, he was not alone on that second one. Not one of them remembered the gods’ realm and what made them fall to live among the mortals.
Even though Vain never forgot anything, the tablet and quill were similar to his glasses; only there to make the others more comfortable.
“Acela noticed you come in,” Vain started speaking, looking down at his tablet. “She sent me to inform you that you will have to stay for the full conference and you are on night duty.”
“What?!” D’Argen immediately straightened up. He had not stayed for the full conference for longer than he had not been to it at all. And he hated night duty. Everybody knew that. Guarding the orgies that Cana and Kiri hosted some nights was not his idea of a fun time.
“Yes, well, it has been a while since you have been back. Consider it your… punishment.”
“Punishment for not being here? That’s ridiculous!”
“Be that as it may, it is still your queen’s orders.”
D’Argen let out a frustrated growl and silently cursed his friends for not seeing this coming. He would drag them each to accompany him during night duty. That is if they did not participate in the activities themselves.
The chuckle that Vain let out had D’Argen facing the man once more.
“There is an alternative.”
D’Argen was sitting so close to the edge of the cot that only his mahee kept him from tumbling over with the bedding right behind him.
“An alternative? Don’t do this to me. What is it?”
“There is a matter which I would like to request your assistance with. Are you willing?”
“What matter?”
“There’s this merchant going around telling stories about how the demons are back. We have sent him an invitation to come to the conference so we can talk to him and get him to stop, but he either did not receive it or is ignoring it. I want you to find him.”
“What a coincidence! We heard something about a merchant going around telling stories about creatures with magic. That’s what I was going to ask you about. You think it’s the same one?”
“Could be,” Vain replied with a shrug, sounding unconcerned even though the news alone would have made most of the Never Born stop.
“If you already know about him, why didn’t you send someone else?”
“We are a little too busy to go running around after some mortal.”
“But I’m not?”
“It is what you do anyway.”
“And when I find him? Bring him here.”
“No need. Just get him to stop. Maybe find out where these stories came from.”
“All this for a mortal telling stories?”
“At present, Acela cannot turn her attention that way as she is occupied with strengthening the alliances with the kings to the west. These alliances could come into jeopardy if the kings of those nations were to find out that the demons are back.”
“But they’re not.”
“According to the rumours and stories, they are. If you are willing to find this merchant, get him to stop talking, and then go to these villages to calm the mortals that the demons are gone, Acela would much appreciate it.”
D’Argen knew this was a gift from Acela. It was not a punishment and the threat of night duty was one that she would never enforce on him. Instead of keeping him in one place, she was letting him go off for an unknown length of time again with an excuse this time.
“Ah, about that rumour though…” D’Argen started and trailed off. He knew that keeping secrets from the librarian was not a good idea, but there were some things that he felt the need to confirm first before making the others worry.
“What of it?”
“Okay, so, you see… one of the rumours is about… cheetahs, in the Oltrian plains. Apparently, they are consuming the scents of our mahee, left over from… when we were there… and using it for their own.”
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Vain raised an eyebrow and scratched a few lines on his tablet. “That is not possible.”
“You see, that’s what I thought as well, but… umm… the stories seemed… very precise and specific. I was wondering… has any similar news reached Evadia?”
“Another rumour. Nothing more. And one that would be best you squash before it reaches the queen’s ears.”
“Got it! Okay! Anything else?” D’Argen jumped off the edge of the cot, already bouncing on the balls of his feet with the want to run away from his crowded place.
“Yes,” Vain said and crushed his hopes. “Stop by the castle. Lemysire has new robes for you. A few sets that would be much sturdier and easier to clean on your travels.”
“What?”
“We cannot have you running around, representing the gods, and looking like a beggar while at it.”
D’Argen looked down at his dirty robes. They were horribly stained and ripped, even if he had taken the time to mend and wash them regularly. Lemysire was a minor god with no title given to her by the mortals but with incredible skill when it came to enchanting inanimate objects. Her favourite works were on clothes and she had a knack for designing so many different styles that no two Never Born ever wore the same thing. She was also the one that made D’Argen’s boots – a pair that lasted him two hundred years of running before they finally fell apart.
Multiple sets of robes from Lemysire without having to beg her for them was yet another gift. One, most likely, from Acela as well. D’Argen may not have returned home in a long time, but he knew he was missed and loved. The thought had him thinking to find the queen in the crowd and offer his thanks, but then he thought of the crowd.
“Oh! One last thing,” D’Argen exclaimed when he remembered. “Simeal mentioned something about a communication array and a modified—”
“Modified long-distance communication spell, yes,” Vain interrupted him and put away his tablet. “You prefer the gestures, right?”
D’Argen nodded quickly and then moved to stand right beside Vain, always finding it easier to remember the finger positions when standing side-by-side rather than trying not to mirror them.
Vain first taught him the modified spell that D’Argen already knew. It was one of the few that did not depend on a specific aspect and all of the gods could use it. A new finger position in there indicated that his speed had also been added to the spell. D’Argen tested out the full combination and then felt his mahee open up to make the spell work. He did not have a message to send off so his mahee closed off again and the spell faded away.
“It is still… directionless,” Vain explained after D’Argen tried a few more times. “And you are still faster than it, but now at least it returns if there is no response.”
“Awesome!” D’Argen was too excited about it. Too often was he called back and forth between different Never Born to deliver their messages to one another. “And the array? What’s that all about?”
“It is a communication web.” Vain once more started shaping the gestures with his hands. D’Argen recognized the same forms as the earlier communication spell but this time there were no movement-based symbols at all. “It is still not perfected, so it may be—”
D’Argen’s scream interrupted Vain’s explanation. D'Argen quickly closed off his mahee, dropping the magic of the spell as soon as he opened it. Only once the ringing in his ears had faded away did he open his eyes again. When he did, that ringing returned behind his eyeballs and when he closed his eyes again, it travelled down to his throat and then slipped into the entrance of his mahee, moving down to his chest and settling in there before fading completely.
“That is horrible,” D’Argen said, feeling like he had to gasp out the words.
“Yes, well… it still needs some work.”
“Some work?”
“It is really hard to create spells that can be used by all aspects. You try it.”
“No, no thank you. That is not my job and you know it.”
Vain responded with a shrug. After a moment, he cocked his head to the side and looked D’Argen over from top to bottom. “Do you want to know the phrases just in case?”
“No, it’s okay,” D’Argen replied. “I rarely have the breath to say them, even if I could remember them.”
“Your choice. I do…” Vain hesitated for a moment and then his scent finally came out. It was very faint, similar to vanilla but more reminiscent of old books rather than plants. There was something off about it, but D’Argen could not catch what because the scent disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared. Vain shook his head and smiled at D’Argen. “Never mind.”
“You sure?” D’Argen asked with a raised brow. “You don’t want me to run anything for you? Send a message? Maybe find a new species or something?”
“Well, if you do find a new species, I would like as much information on it as possible. As always.”
“As always.” D’Argen nodded and grinned. “So, umm… the communication array thingy? Is everyone in it?”
“Mostly. Some do not like it at all. It has... adverse reactions for a few. Yaling said it hurts her head if I remember correctly. Now, that was before Zetha modified it, but I sincerely doubt it would make much of a difference with her mahee. Why? You want to send out an announcement?”
D'Argen ignored the smirk on the other man's lips and instead said, “I was wondering if I could let the others know we’re ready to go.”
“Ah. Well, I know that Yaling is not in it and do not know if Abbot and Lilian have been told about it yet. Sorry, but I am of no help with that. And I must get going.”
“Right, right.” D’Argen waved him off. He was never good at having longer conversations with Vain and was glad the other knew how to end them tactfully instead of awkwardly like D’Argen would. “I’ll see you around.”
“Hopefully sooner than four centuries. It has been too long, D’Argen, we missed you.”
With a final raise of their chins, Vain left the tent.
D’Argen considered wandering out into the grounds to look for his companions, but just the thought of it made his skin itch. The fact that the sun had completely fallen also proved that it was soon time for the night market to open. He would prefer to be as far away from that as possible.
“Hey!” D’Argen called out when he saw Simeal passing by. “Sorry, but… if you see the others, can you let them know I’m back at the castle?”
“The others?”
“Lilian, Yaling, and Abbot. Only if they pass by, no need to look for them.”
“Ah… you are heading out again soon?”
“As soon as we get back together, yes.”
“Well… it was short, but it was good seeing you again D’Argen. I will let them know if I see them. Take care.”
“And you.”
Walking out of the conference grounds was easy only because the back of Simeal’s tent was against three of the pillars. She would probably yell at him for untying the ropes that held the flaps closed, but she did not see it. Right on the other side of the columns was one of the mortal camps. D’Argen slipped around their fires and tents, then around another camp further out, then two more even further. Once there were no mortals in his way, D’Argen opened his mahee and ran.
He knew the city of Evadia like the back of his hand. He had helped build most of the buildings in it. The main road, the one that connected the conference area right to the castle gates, was almost a completely straight line. On both sides of it were buildings which had roofs that no one used. From the first fence post that he stepped on to the last ceramic shingle, he ran the length of the main road in a few heartbeats and then jumped the last distance of empty space to reach the castle gates.
They were thrown open, as usual, and the only guards stationed near the doors were mortals in ceremonial regalia. D’Argen nodded to each of them as he passed and then opened his mahee again, running into the castle grounds and then to the building itself. It has been such a long time since he was in his own rooms and he could not wait to sleep in his own bed.