Now that the birds were waking, quacking and chirping their songs in concert with the pattering rain Fritz knew that people would also be getting up and getting prepared for the day's toil.
It was something of an odd feeling to join the stream of early morning labourers as they walked or carried things to their places of employment. Though he wasn't truly joining them, most gave him a wide berth as he strode under the cover of the awnings. He was wondering why for some moments until a man in tough labourer's clothes bowed his head and mumbled, "Good mornin’, Lord," as Fritz strode past.
It was apparent then that even though he had a puffy, bruised cheek and was carrying the strange package that was Quicksilver he must've looked quite like a noble in his new, well-tailored clothes. Instead of scowling at the deference he decided to be gracious and let the common folk regard him well. It was a damn sight better than the frowns, glares and outright disgust he used to receive when traversing the Upper Ring adorned in the rags he could barely call clothing.
Embracing his new appearance and the respect people gave him, he was able to make his way unhindered and unassailed by the storm guard even when carrying the long suspicious bundle containing Quicksilver.
It took another hour of walking toward the looming, grey Rain Spire, a towering shadow against the cloudy sky, before he was in the Climber section. The normal stores and well-kept houses were replaced by the many Climbing equipment, Alchemist, Treasure, Armour and weapon merchants that lined the thoroughfare.
He watched as the city woke in truth and the stores began to open for business. He saw the Climber teams waiting outside bustling into and out of businesses, buying their needed gear to start Climbing as early as possible, though not without a little bit of good-natured, hurried haggling.
Fritz didn't linger, passing by the teams and stores. He passed by the ever-busy Ceph outpost as the disparate, desperate or foreign Climbers congregated by its tall stone signpost and in its rough, raucous common room. He gave the sign, a tall, grey obelisk really, a brief glance and read the words carved upon it even though he already knew what it said. "Climbers, Explorers and Protectors for Hire."
Another fifteen minutes of navigating the crowds he found himself before the open, waist-height iron gate and stone walls of his former orphanage. He thought he could see a little rust forming in the crevices of the small gate, he hoped it wasn't some omen and brushed it off as the obvious work of a slacker, something he was accused of many times himself. On the left side of the gate's stone frame was a polished brass placard that stated: Guild Hall for the Fallen's Fledglings in blocky silver inlaid letters.
He strode through the gate and to the heavy doors of the orphanage as if he had every right to be there then knocked upon the heavy dark wooden door of the main building. It opened quickly and with a soft creak and standing before him was a guard. He was not one of the storm or scale guard, missing their distinctive armours but one that was contracted by the Guides Guild to watch out for any trouble or makers of said trouble. Fritz recognised the old man as the guard that had been around at his time in the orphanage with the same unkempt half-plate armour and disregard for decorum as he had always displayed. It was reassuring in a way to see that not everything changes.
Frank, looked Fritz up and down with a frown, then recognition entered his brown eyes and he scowled. His grim expression further deepening the lines on his well-worn face.
"Fritz, I thought you were dead," Frank said without heat. "Survived exile then?"
"That all you have to say? I took your advice after all," Fritz said letting some resentment slip into his tone.
"Never said anything about leaving a mess, or a witness," Frank grumbled.
"Are you saying I should've killed them?" Fritz nearly hissed.
"I said nothing of the sort," Frank said belying his statement by nodding his head.
Fritz scoffed, what kind of man tells a kid to 'take matters into his own hands' and then scolds him for not killing?
"Still, you've done well for yourself if the fancy coat is anything to go by," Frank said interrupting Fritz's thoughts. "Take it you want to see Eli and Thea?"
"That's right," Fritz agreed.
"Might have to warn them first. Don't want them to think you're here to haunt them," Frank suggested.
"They know I'm alive," Fritz said offhandedly.
"Oh, been sneaking in to see them then," Franks said mildly as if he suspected as much all along. "I just thought they had a pet rat they were hiding. Wouldn't be the first orphans to do so, though I did think naming it Francis was a little macabre."
Fritz narrowed his eyes at the man and saw his thin lips tremble at the corner as if suppressing a smile.
"You knew," Fritz stated.
"I know nothing," Frank replied.
"Apart from, apparently, the word macabre," Fritz said.
"Some of us read, Fritz, wouldn't hurt you none either," Frank advised.
"Well instead of reading maybe you should be doing your job? Maybe actually protecting the kids?" Fritz said finally getting a reaction in the form of a furious glare.
I looked like Frank wanted to hit him and Fritz glared back. Daring him to do so. He could see the man's roiling anger like a heat haze but noticed that very little was directed at him, but rather aimed inward at Frank himself. Still, they continued to glare at each other until Frank glanced away.
"I'll go get Jess. She can take you to your siblings," Frank said in a clipped tone, marching off to a side room and then speaking to someone within while closing the door behind him.
Fritz was somewhat surprised he could still hear the spoken words clearly through the barrier, but it made sense, his Perception was one of his highest Attributes.
"Fritz wants to see his siblings," Frank said his voice growling out from past the door.
"Fritz?" A distinctly feminine voice asked distractedly as a quill scratched on paper.
"Francis," Franks clarified.
"Francis who?" the woman's voice rang out with something like hope and dread, the sounds of the quill stopped dead.
"'Dead' Francis," Frank stated glumly.
"A ghost?" the woman asked with a slight tremble.
"Alive and well-to-do," Frank said.
There was the squeal of a chair being scraped across the floor, and the pattering of light shoes. The door cracked open, revealing half a pretty face and a deep brown, almost black eye as it peeked out between the door and the frame.
Fritz gave the woman a wink from where he stood in the entrance hall and the door snapped closed with a squeaky curse.
"Oh gods," He heard her say. "Go stall him. I need to make sure I look presentable, I have to get this ink off my hands."
"You look fine. The ink stains just make you look...studious," Frank reassured her with tones approaching fondness. "Anyways he's here to see Eli and Thea, not you."
"Go. Stall. Him. I'll be along in a minute," She said sternly.
"As you say," Frank said sighing.
The door opened and Frank walked out and marched back up to Fritz, who leant on the stone wall staring off into space while he listened.
"Jess'll be out in a minute," Frank stated. "She's got to finish up a ledger."
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"Doing the ledgers now is she?" Fritz asked offhandedly. "A step up from being a childminder."
"Yup, she also teaches some of the mathematics and history classes now," Frank supplied.
"Huh, time flies," Fritz said.
"You have no idea," Frank replied.
Falling into stubborn silence they waited for about three minutes until the door opened and a woman in a simple, long white dress with a deep blue apron over the top came walking up to them. She had her auburn hair done up in a long braid that ran down to the small of her back and her dark eyes took him in with an appraising look.
She looked similar to when he had known her before when she had introduced and got him used to the orphanage all those years ago. But she was changed. Gone were her spectacles, though he suspected she had merely taken them off for the moment as she had those distinct indents on her slightly freckled, pretty nose. More apparent to Fritz's attentions were the remarkable changes to her build. She had been thin, bony, and short before and although she had retained her small stature she was now no longer so thin and bony.
No, she had very much grown, especially around her hips and bust, her boniness smoothed over with ample curves.
Frank coughed and Fritz was shaken out of his surprise.
As Jess approached Fritz kept his eyes locked to her face and smiled.
"Ms Jessica, it's wonderful to meet you again," He said with a polite, if a little flirtatious, bow. "I must say that you've only grown more beautiful since the last time we met."
Frank scoffed as Jess beamed and returned the bow with a shallow, quick curtsy.
"Thank you, Francis. I see you've grown as well, you used to be as short as me and now look at you!" She exclaimed, stepping closer and staring up into his face. Then she gasped as she saw his cut and bruised cheek.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Oh, just a small tussle with a Spire monster," Fritz boasted. "A terrible Hound in fact. I felled it in the end though, don't you worry."
Frank scoffed even louder and interrupted Fritz before he could plunge into a longer rendition of his heroic tale.
"Do you want to see your siblings or do you want to stand around boasting and flirting with Jess," He grumbled.
"I can't do both?" Fritz smirked.
"We're not flirting," Jess denied with a deadly glare, then she smiled and slapped Fritz lightly on the arm and ordered, "Come on. Let's get going, they'll be ecstatic to see you. Though I will have to warn them first. They probably thought the worst. And you coming back to life might be a… shock."
"They already know," Fritz said following behind Jess as she strode through the entrance hall and down a hallway to the left.
"Oh, I see," Jess said with a small huff and glance so pointed it could be a needle. "And why am I just finding out now? Did I not warrant even a letter?"
"I uh, was told not to bother anyone. They said to just run and hide before the drizzlers or the noble's men came," Fritz admitted.
"I suppose that's a reasonable excuse," Jess said visibly deflating. "But a goodbye would've saved me a lot of tears you know."
Fritz was tempted to feel guilty but couldn't, he was only doing what was best for himself back then. It was the only path out for someone without power.
"Wasn't a lot of paper in the desperate district I'm afraid," Fritz replied. "It likely wasn't safe either, and maybe still isn't, but I can handle myself a lot better now."
"I suppose you could if you really climbed a Spire," Jess said doubtfully, her eyes lingering on his bruised cheek. "It's been years, would they really still be looking for you?"
Fritz shrugged, saying, "Maybe not, but it wasn't worth the risk in my mind."
They fell into silence as they walked, then Fritz broke it with a question, "How about you? I hear you're teaching now."
"I am, that and doing the kitchen's ledgers," Jess said with a note of pride.
"I'm glad to hear it, do you have a Path?" He inquired.
"No," Jess replied.
"Ah, a Leveler then?" Fritz assumed.
"I haven't got around to Climbing," Jess said defensively, shuffling her shoulders awkwardly.
"No gold triad? Are they paying you that little?" Fritz asked incredulously.
"No, I have some savings. I just want to do it right and get a Guide too," Jess explained.
"Why?" Fritz asked baffled.
"Spires are dangerous, even the minor ones. I just want to be safe," Jess said.
"What's a little risk? Just makes the Climb more fun," Fritz said with an irreverent smile.
Jess turned her deadly glare on him, "My parents and your father were lost in Spires. You should understand the consequences of 'a little risk'."
"It was a joke," He said through a suddenly stiff jaw.
"Don't joke about it, not to me. A small slip up could mean you die, and leave everyone else behind," She said her words coming out harsh and bitter.
Fritz felt his stomach clench and his hand tightened its grip on his wrapped blade. He wanted to yell that he knew that more than she did, having been through a Spire himself. But he realised quickly that Jess was right about this, that his anger was more at the terrible situation he had survived rather than her.
He let out a sigh and smiled sadly at her, "You're right, the Spires are deadly, true as the rain."
"True as the rain," She repeated in a near whisper.
Again silence set in but Fritz wouldn't let it take hold, and he spoke, "Well, I'm no guide and likely won't be, but if you need some more hands on your first climb me and my friend, Bert, would gladly help. We're pretty tough and we've done it before. It would save you some precious triads you could spend on armour or potions."
Fritz knew he couldn't tell her outright that he already had some of the Guide Abilities so he restricted himself to this far less exciting offer.
Jess looked sceptical, but also a little grateful and shook her head, "I'm not planning to climb any time soon, but thank you."
"Well, hopefully, I'll be around more often, tell me if you need some help," Fritz said as they rounded a corner and Jess led him into a sitting room with two couches and a small table.
The room was lit by the small mana lamps affixed to the walls and a large window set into the stone.
"Just wait here, I'll go get Eli and Thea, they should still be in classes but I'm sure they won't mind the small break," Jess said bustling out of the room without another word.
Fritz lay his bundled sword on the table then sat and waited, idly feeling at the dark, silky fabric of his coat, looking out the window into a well-kept garden and listening for familiar footsteps.
It wasn't long at all when he heard people walking and talking down the outside hall, the achingly familiar voices of his siblings reaching his ears.
"Where is he?" The excited, high voice of his sister asked.
"He's just in one of the interview rooms," Jess replied with obvious warmth.
"Why is he here? And why does it have to be during combat practise?" Grumbled the lower, still cracking tones of his brother.
Fritz couldn't help but smirk, as annoying a little brother was a big brothers imperative.
"Hush, Eli. Can't you just be happy he's not dead? I know you were worried when he missed his visit," Thea said.
"Was not," Eli protested. "And don't tell him that."
The group reached the door and Fritz stood as it swung open.
They walked in, as proper as any young lady and lord and Fritz got a good look at them, a look not clouded in shadow as was the rule for the dormitories after dark. They were both still in the uniforms the orphanage provided, tan pants and coats over white linen shirts and skirts in both cases.
Eli had his mother's dark brown eyes and had inherited his grandfather's dirty blonde hair, pulled into a short tail.
Thea however, favoured his and her father, having both his grey-green eyes and dark hair. She had woven her straight sheet of black into a long braid similar to the one Jess wore and he had to admit she had been changing, growing up too. The top of her head would now reach the tip of his chin, it made sense, she would be around fifteen by now, definitely on her fifth toll only a couple more years until she could Climb.
Though Thea’s height was a small shock he was more surprised by Eli's growth. Even though he was but sixteen he was now tall and considerably more stocky than Fritz, with an athletic solidness that he could only be envious of. Probably eating much better than I had been, He reasoned resentfully. That and the combat lessons he’s been subjected to.
However, Fritz gloated inwardly to see he was still at least an inch taller than his younger brother.
They stood there taking each other in a serious silence surrounding them. Fritz bowed politely and they reciprocated, Eli's response was short and insolent while Thea beamed impolitely and curtsied deeply, then she charged.
Fritz splayed his arms wide and braced himself for his sister's assault.
"Francis!" She yelled as she slammed into him wrapping her arms around his chest and he pulled her into a tight, warm embrace while she laughed and cried into his shoulder.
"Amathea!" Fritz said back, matching her excitement.
"Elliot get over here," Fritz said smiling wide and waving him over with his free arm as he held Thea with his other, "Give your big brother a hug."
“I’m fine where I am,” Eli said stiltedly. Jess glared at him and he met her gaze darkly until he seemingly changed his mind when her brows furrowed sharply.
"Fine," Eli said as he begrudgingly trudged over the stone floor and joined the hug from Fritz's other side. He squeezed harder than was strictly necessary but Fritz didn't care at all. He just returned the pressure with his own, now enhanced, Strength.
"Ow, ow, ow," Eli complained while squeezing even tighter in revenge.
Fritz basked in the embrace of his family. Finally, something right, something good. He let them go reluctantly, knowing he had to do so lest he break into a full teary mess.
"Glad this coat is supremely waterproof or you two would've drenched and drowned me," Fritz said smiling.
Eli rolled his eyes while Thea blew her nose into a delicate handkerchief, even Jess seemed a little teary, looking away and dabbing at the corners of her eyes surreptitiously with the long sleeve of her dress.
"What's that?" Eli asked pointing at Fritz's bundled-up blade.
"Spire spoils," Fritz said enigmatically. "But before we get into that, biscuits!" He said pulling the tin of shortbread out from under his vest, opening it and placing it on the small table.
Fritz sat on one of the couches and indicated that his siblings should sit with him. Thea sat right next to Fritz, maybe to stay close to him but more likely to be able to reach the shortbread easier. While Elliot chose to sit across from him only reluctantly taking a biscuit once Fritz rattled the tin in front of him. Thea needed no such encouragement, eating as delicately but also as rapidly as she could politely get away with.
"These are marvellous, where did you get them?" Thea asked between biscuits.
"From a friend. Jess come and sit, have one before they're all gone," Fritz said as he gracefully slid the brass tin out of his sister's insatiable reach for a moment.
Jess made to refuse but Fritz gave her his most charming smile, one she was seemingly unable to refuse as her cheeks coloured slightly and she sat by his other side, taking one of the remaining shortbread.
Once she had taken one, he returned the tin to the centre so his sister could tactfully ravage its contents.
"You were saying something about spire spoils? Is that why you feel stronger than you look?" Eli asked, his eagerness apparent under his uncaring facade.
"What do you mean by 'stronger than I look'? Big brothers are always stronger than their younger siblings, you should know that," Fritz said with an adequately insufferable smirk. "As for spoils, behold Quicksilver! My gallant, loyal blade!" He proclaimed as he unwrapped his sword.
Eli looked over its jagged black edges and asked, "About the right size for a rapier, can I hold it?"
"Not directly, it doesn't have a hilt yet and it's very sharp. I would know," Fritz warned showing off his still-healing palm."But if you don't grab it by the edge you could try."
Eli picked Quicksilver up tentatively by the flat of the blade, his whole attention on the tooth-like, razor edge and Jess pointed out the obvious, "It's not silver."
"Yes, I've been hearing that a lot," Fritz said offhandedly.
"You really did go into a Spire then?" Thea asked once the tin was empty and she could risk talking without crumbs spraying out her mouth.
"I did, The Mer Spire," Fritz said.
"Wow," Thea said smiling with excitement. "What was it like?"
Dusksong swirled, shifted and chimed in his centre as Fritz intoned.
"It's torture on body and torment in mind,
the truest of trials that one dreads to find,
A hard test of mettle, A sure test of skill,
it refines and reforges, and tempers the will."
Thea and Jess were enraptured from the very first verse while Eli looked at him somewhat sceptically but his bearing became begrudgingly believing as Fritz's resonant voice rolled over him.
Fritz recounted his tale.