"Hey, Leo just sent me a text!" Hera turned to Blue.
"Really? What's going on with him?" Blue asked.
"Apparently, he spent the last three months on a special training session where he couldn't contact anyone. He's doing well and asked if he could come here in a week or two. He has some stuff to tell us about and wants to see us. He also said that he's really glad we are back," Hera explained while preparing some tea.
They were already back in Boothudurn. Returning from the Wailing Valley wasn't much of an issue. The guild managed to make a small road through the Forest of Dreams where no one would be attacked. Knowing that the inhabitants of the room were sleeping spirits, they used stones and bricks infused with sleep mana and added some lanterns that constantly gave off the same type of magic, and that made the creatures stop their hostility. The penguins caused some trouble, but nothing like before, and in the White Desert, it was a cold hike.
Shane and Mylo stayed back in the Forest of Dreams after warning everyone in the Wailing Valley about the snake. They wanted to see if they could find a way to create a safe passage to the other side so people could go investigate the ruins.
Back home, Hera, Bonnie, and Helena let Ninleyn know that they were back and had completed their test. Shane had already sent a message to him informing him that both Hera and Bonnie passed with flying colors. Knowing that Shane had gotten the court legacy made him even more impressed with the two new addition to the Order of the Lost Court. He should arrive either sometime this afternoon or early next morning. To his annoyance, there was an issue with the bus he took to cross a room on the way, and the driver couldn't give an accurate estimate of how long it would take to fix it or to get another bus there. Ninleyn told them that they would have a longer conversation, and if they had a place where they wouldn't be disturbed, it would help a lot.
This at least gave them a chance to finish the renovation of their house. Hera asked king Rutigan if she could expand her house to have a dining room beside the kitchen. Her idea was to make it herself and then just pull some furniture from the other areas to set everything up. Still, the moment she talked with the king, he quickly called an army of architects to not just make the dining room but also change the house to have the newest techniques that the dwarves had learned from the humans.
Hera felt a bit bothered by that, she didn't want to cause trouble, but at the same time, the dwarves seemed so happy to help and so excited to work on her house that she couldn't refuse. All that renovation took a bit longer than anyone imagined. The architects kept bickering and discussing the best way to make the rooms or to reinforce the structure.
Silah spent most of her days since they returned with her family. They missed her a lot, and there was a lot of crying from both her mother and herself. Despite everything, the blacksmith missed them a lot. For her first trip outside, she spent close to a month away, which ended up being a bit much for the family. This didn't mean that she and Hera weren't spending time together. It was just smaller amounts of time. Another issue Silah had was the amount of work on the guard's forge. She had left the work for her brother, but he was nowhere near as quick as her. Her father was helping out to fix everything, which gave them more chances to spend time together.
Blue and Alex were taking a small break, but they went back to hunting in the dungeons when the renovation started. Despite not liking the idea, Blue convinced Alex to try a run at the Weeding Disaster to try to get another tarot card. When Hera told them what the card could do, everyone was excited about it, but they were very expensive, even if they tried to buy one from someone else.
The construction was finally over late in the afternoon, leaving Hera, Bonnie, and Helena to clean up. In the middle of that Ninleyn sent a message letting them know that he should arrive by 8:43 P.M. If they were up for it, he could start the meeting. If not, he could come by in the morning.
Hera was ok with waiting since it was already late, and this discussion apparently would take a long time. Bonnie, on the other hand, wanted to know about her own clue soon. After they left Shane behind, the researcher didn't stop talking about the legacy and how much it would match her spells. Even more so if she could figure out a way to enchant the spells themselves. Helena was good either way, she had a clue about a legacy, but it's been so long since she got it that she had completely forgotten what it actually was. In fact, she wasn't that keen on finding a legacy. What interested her more was her own research and creating spells that anyone could use and not getting a skill that could improve them.
In the end, Bonnie's insistence made them agree to call Ninleyn over tonight with the condition that they had dinner while discussing whatever the leader of the order wanted to talk about. Wanting to get ahead of it, Helena prepared a small snack and sent a text to Alex and Blue letting them know of their plans, just in case they didn't return in time for her to tell them personally.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Time went by quickly, and exactly at 8:43 P.M. Ninleyn arrived at the door.
"Hello again," the old elf said with a smile.
"Hi, Ninleyn, welcome back," Helena gave way for him to enter.
"I see you changed some things in this place. It looks… nice," Ninleyn looked around.
There was so much arguing among the dwarves that the only way they found to finish the job was for each one to take care of a separate room. As a result, the house ended up having an odd mismatched architecture. The living room had a minimalistic style with only the couch, and a low coffee table in the middle with a small TV stand if they ever wanted to get one. However, since electricity would still take some time to become available through the entire city, the group was using it just for keeping some books and trinkets. The kitchen was more rustic, with rock textured walls and a central countertop made out of granite and a newer stove that used mana stones to heat up the food that Blue bought for everyone. The dining room was more modern, with a sleek table and chairs and a set of currently open black metal double doors that slid to the side. However, the ceiling of that room was a bit different. It had some incline to it making it triangle-shaped, and that reflected in the inside structure.
"It's relatively new. We are still getting used to it," Helena replied while guiding the order leader to the meeting room, "Coffee?"
"Tea, please. It's rather late for coffee," Ninleyn smiled.
"Only if you are an old man," Helena chuckled.
Hera was already in the dining room, finishing to set up some plates and snacks for them to eat, "Hi Ninleyn. How was the trip?"
"Oh, don't even get me started. Why is it so hard for people to give accurate time estimates? I know that most won't be as punctual as me but giving us a 12-hour window for the next bus is just unacceptable," Ninleyn huffed and sat down on one of the chairs across from Hera.
"Oh, tell me about it. That's why I liked the subway back in Brilansis. Even if it was running late, it would be just a couple of minutes. Well, unless something really bad had happened," Hera replied and offered some of the pastries she got from the city.
"Oh, thank you. I always loved those chocolate biscuits," Ninleyn said with a smile.
"Can you eat chocolate? Don't you legacy complains if you do?" as Hera spoke, Ninleyn frowned at the mention of his legacy and looked towards the living room, worried that someone else could hear her comment. Noticing that reaction, Hera added, "Don't worry. For now, the other people who live here are not around. It's just us, members of the order."
"Oh, I see. That's good then. But no, I don't have to follow a vegan diet, only a vegetarian one. Well, to a point, they complain a bit if I eat too much dairy or eggs, but they won't do the same thing that happens when I eat meat, at least," Ninleyn sighed.
"You don't like that?"
"Look, being vegetarian is not a choice that I made myself. Don't get me wrong, I can still enjoy a lot of good food, but I miss meat. That's why I subject myself to a few hours of torture every now and then."
"Is that type of restriction common among legacies? Or is it just for the court ones?"
"I'm not sure. I believe that it is not uncommon for legacies to pose some restrictions to the user. After all, life is about balance, and the system is always fair. I will be avoiding giving any specific information since it's not my place to tell. Still, I am aware of legacies that hinder your ability to sleep, make you more susceptible to being dehydrated, and another that makes it really hard for you to get tanned."
"So there are even some weird effects like that? Interesting," Hera kept thinking about Blue's Stormcloud and Shane's Enchanting Court, wondering if they would also have their own restrictions in the future.
"Did you start without me?" Helena walked inside the dining room with a few cups, "Here's your tea and some coffee for us. There is more in the pot if we get tired. I know I'm still jet-lagged from the whole test thing," Helena placed the cups in front of them and sat beside Hera.
"We were just chatting. I'm happy to see that Hera is just as curious as you mentioned," Ninleyn chuckled.
"Of course. I have no reason to lie about that," Helena giggled.
"You know I'm still here, right?" Hera rolled her eyes. The three laughed and kept making small talk for a few minutes until Bonnie came rushing down the stairs.
"I'm so sorry I'm late. I lost track of time while taking a bath."
"Don't worry. I only told you the time I would arrive. We didn't have a set time to start our conversation about the order. They were just telling me about the creatures you found in the Wailing Valley. I must say, that Jeweled Hunter? The spider with gemstone eyes seems quite interesting," Ninleyn nodded.
"Really? I thought you would be more interested in the snake. It seems more like your cup of tea," Helena replied.
"Well, according to Shane's assessment, I don't think I could survive an encounter with that being. I asked her about it when she told me, and the snake seemed to have more mana than I do which is quite a feat, I must say. Elves live for a very long time, and our mana pool can get quite large," Ninleyn gave a playful smile.
"How much mana do you have?" Hera asked.
"Well, that is quite a rude question," Ninleyn turned to the explorer.
"Sorry, I just got surprised."
"Worry not. However, I won't answer since that information is a bit too personal. Also, now that we are all here. Can you start our discussions?" Ninleyn asked the group.
With a nod, they closed the door and got ready to learn the secrets of the Order of the Lost Court.