It had been about a month since we had moved into the mansion. During that time, we had fallen into a kind of routine. In the morning we would all train in the basement. Ann and I practiced our magic while Lin practiced Archery. Lux would then instruct all of us with the spear and sword. After lunch Ann and I would study magic while Lux and Lin fished or went out on hunting expeditions to the jungle. Shadow usually accompanied Lin or just lazed around the mansion grounds.

Ann and I had chosen and learned our next spells. I decided on a mana sensing spell which would allow me to locate potential threats. Ann focused on a concealment spell. For practice I tried to sense her while she tried to hide her presence both from visual as well as magical means. It worked surprisingly well, and we both progressed rapidly.

We were in the middle of learning yet another spell after the last ones. This time we were each learning the spell of the other. I really liked Ann’s lightning spell and she wanted to learn the mana sensing spell after seeing it in action. It was progressing rapidly with each of us helping the other figure things out. Soon it would be time to pick a new spell.

Ann and I would run out of spell books pretty soon or at least the ones I considered powerful spells. A lot of the books contained spells that were fairly mundane, utility like spells. Spells to clean your clothes or to mend them, spells to boil or cool water, spells to help plants grow, and so on. Useful for sure, but not really what we were looking for.

Our money was holding out which was good because none of us had jobs. There weren’t any adventurer type jobs in Lake City to speak of. Eventually we would need to start making some money or auction off the rest of our treasure. I could also tell Lin was starting to go stir crazy living in the city and longed for more excitement. The jungle close to Lake City wasn’t very impressive as far as dangerous beasts went.

Then one day while going through the books I found what I was looking for. It was an old journal from someone who had visited the elusive capital city, detailing their time there. The handwriting was hard to decipher but it had lots of good information in it. Ann helped me with it and soon we had the gist of what the capital held.

As I suspected, it did indeed have a summoning tower of its own. There was also mention of a temple of time which may be similar to the temple like structure with the rune covered obelisk we had discovered in West Port. Ann was more interested in the mentions of a grand library. If there was an intact summoning tower there it was possible more people from Earth had been summoned and trapped in the city. The chances any of them had survived was slim.

I was under no illusions that I could have escaped West Port on my own. It was hard enough just exploring a small portion of the city much less making it through the jungle. I now had a strong desire to make it to the ancient capital city, if for no other reason than to disable the summoning tower. I knew it wouldn’t take much to convince the rest of my new family.

Lin was longing for some excitement and Ann couldn’t stop daydreaming about the grand library. Lux would go wherever his daughters went. A new expedition would take a lot of planning and preparation. Hiring a few trusted members of the Silver Comets would be a good idea. Having more people would make things a lot safer. I was also not going on another long trip without a magical storage bag of my own. For that we would have to go to East Harbor.

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I decided to broach the subject while we were on a little bit of a vacation away from our usual routine at the mansion. We decided to take a day trip to finally check out the lighthouse which was around an hour’s walk away from the city. It was a beautiful sunny day and I had packed some food for a picnic later on. I was looking forward to seeing the view from the cliffs and checking out the old lighthouse.

I learned that there was a lighthouse keeper but they didn’t actually live at the lighthouse. The only thing they had to do was come to the lighthouse every couple days to refill the mana crystal that powered the magic light at the top of the lighthouse. The lighthouse marked a dangerous stretch of water near the cliffs. Ship traffic between West Harbor and East Harbor traveled around the point on a regular basis.

We strolled leisurely along the dirt path leading to the lighthouse. Shadow ran ahead of us, excited to be out of the mansion. The girls took turns holding my hand or linking arms, both smiling happily. I was smiling as well, who wouldn’t with two beauties by their side. Instead of the usual adventuring type gear Lin liked to wear or scholarly mage robes Ann liked to lounge in, the girls were wearing matching light blue spring dresses. It was a rare treat to see them in such clothing.

Soon we reached our destination. It wasn’t as impressive looking as the summoning tower and not too different from pictures of lighthouses I had seen on Earth. It was made of reddish brick, three stories high. The lighthouse was of secondary interest as the girls raced to the cliff’s edge. I followed after them and the sight was truly incredible.

There was no railing, so I didn’t want to get too close to the edge but looking first down at the turbulent waves crashing against the bottom of the cliffs and then to the ocean stretching out into the distance was breathtaking. The girls were silent as well, just taking in the view. They had been here before, but it had been a while. I was a little worried about Shadow getting too close to the edge but she stayed well back.

Lin dragged me over to show me a set of rickety stairs that used to lead down to the water below. There wasn’t much left of them, certainly not enough to actually use to get down. After that we wandered around the base of the lighthouse and along the edge of the cliff before finding a nice level spot to eat. I spread out a blanket and then unpacked our picnic lunch. Shadow snuggled up in Lin’s lap, seemingly wanting Lin to feed her.

After the meal, it was time to discuss our future plans. I went over what Ann and I had found with Ann commenting every now and then. “So, I know we haven’t been here all that long but I want to start preparing for an expedition to the ancient capital if everyone agrees.” I said, looking around nervously as everyone remained quiet for what seemed like a really long time. Ann was the first to speak up. “I’m in, I want those books.” She replied, clenching her fists in determination.

“Another expedition does sound fun. Why not.” Lin replied, smiling wolfishly with a dangerous glint in her eye. “Then it is decided. However, there is much to do and prepare for. We know what to expect this time so must plan accordingly.” Lux replied. “Of course. I was thinking of getting your buddy or some of his men on board for some extra protection.” I said, looking over at Lux who seemed lost in thought. “That would be wise.” Lux replied. “I also want us to try and get more magical bags so we won’t have to leave anything behind this time.” I continued.

A lengthy discussion was had and we returned to the mansion with plenty on our mind. Our first order of business was to hire a housekeeper to look after the place while we were gone. Then we would begin preparing to go to East Harbor. While passing through Ashen, we would pay a visit to the Silver Comets. Once in East Harbor we would head to the auction house and sell the rest of our treasure while hopefully buying more magical bags or anything else that might help us on our expedition. Lux would pass word to see if the same ship would be available to take us back to the fishing village. We had a lot to do but there wasn’t any particular hurry so it was best to take our time and do things right, leaving nothing to chance. We would also need to be careful not to tip off our mysterious enemy about our plans.