She waited for Tavin to take the books off the table before setting the map down for all of them to see. “So, Kiah had me working on some reports at the fort when I realized something. It’s almost hot enough for the phoenixes to start migrating north again.” She traced along the route that they would take; through the pass between the Tramos and Pagetri mountains and into the Deoyros Plains.
They clearly didn’t understand where she was going with this, but they knew better than to immediately say anything about it and let her continue on. “Back when I was a teen, I heard about how the phoenixes led to a special treasure. I traveled on my own to the Plains and I followed them all the way to the place they burned out, but I didn’t find anything. I think it’s worth giving another shot, since it's that time of year now. And since you’re all old enough, it’s also the perfect thing for us to do together.”
“So what’s the treasure?” Henry prompted. She had his interest, at least, and she knew the other two weren’t far behind.
“That’s the part I was never able to figure out. All I ever had to go off of was that it had to be something good.” Lydia rolled the map back up and put it in her satchel. “There’s a bunch of ancient stuff that the phoenixes could be hiding, even if we are in Seothia. I have a feeling it’s going to start a much bigger trip, though—maybe something that takes us around all of Seothia. It’s perfect for your first large-scale adventure!”
“How’d you remember all of this? I doubt Kiah had you doing anything related to phoenixes,” Tavin remarked. He never was as willing to drop everything else and go on a trip as most Stones, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t curious about what she said now; he’d willingly go with them and she was confident that he would end up enjoying himself too.
Lydia tried to think of an answer, but nothing came to mind. There was a moment’s falter with the realization that she didn’t even remember coming from the fort, though she chose to ignore it. “I just did. It’s definitely not the weirdest thing I’ve randomly remembered when doing something as boring as paperwork, at least.”
“Are Uncle Witless and Aunt Ellie coming, or is this just going to be the four of us?” Tim immediately thought of a much better question: “Do you think there’s gonna be a lot of cool artifacts with an adventure that big?”
“There will definitely be a bunch of stuff that you can mess around with later,” Lydia promised. She decided it worth adding, “As long as it doesn’t end up blowing anything up. Mom actually cares about that so she’ll probably take that stuff before you’re able to do anything with them.” She had to consider the other question a little more. “I think it’s better if it’s just the four of us. The great Stone rite of passage has waited this long. It’ll be more like the big trip Dad did with me if we keep Witless and Ellie out of it. Plus, they’ve probably got other stuff they’ve got to do.”
Lewis was, after all, a member of the Seothian army that always kept him occupied with something (she always assumed it more out of need, though, than really wanting him around); Elena had plenty of kids and had always preferred the quiet days at home than being out exploring. Now that their father was getting older, Lydia was practically the only one who was still constantly moving from one place to another.
Henry heard the opportunity for a story. “What was your big trip?”
She smirked. “We traced the steps of the Saint-King’s rebellion and found a couple enchanted objects that belonged to the Fleyw Bresh. I guess it doesn’t seem like much now, though, huh? But what matters is that we did it together and we bonded over the adventure. Even if this doesn’t turn out to be exactly what we want it to, we’ll still have that most important part of the journey.”
Knowing that all of them were nearly ready already, she gave out the preparation tasks. She glanced at Henry and Tavin, the most likely to remember everything they’d need. “Can you two work on getting everything ready? We’re going to aim to leave tomorrow morning and head up to the Plains.”
They both nodded and darted off. She looked at Tim and said, “If you can find Witless and Ellie, I’ll make sure Mom and Dad knows where we’re going.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
While Tim left to fulfill the mission he had given her, Lydia went to look outside. She knew Diana appreciated the outdoors when the weather was like this. Andrew was starting to get old enough that he didn’t have anything else to do but to follow her along and listen to whatever she had to say.
Lydia found them rather quickly, the two arguing over something she decided she didn’t want to know. She explained to them what she’d said to the boys and was given the same responses she always had.
“It’s about time!” Andrew patted her shoulder. “The twins are twenty-three now. For a while I thought you weren’t going to do it! I’m sure they’re excited—if they’re anything like you, they’ve been waiting for this from the moment they heard the stories.”
Diana, however, was not nearly as enthusiastic. “Don’t get the prince killed,” she sighed before turning back to what she was doing before.
“Come on, dear, it sounds like one of the more harmless things she’s done,” Andrew said gently. Somehow he was able to stay on both sides no matter what the argument might be; perhaps it simply came with experience, being something he’d needed to do for decades now. A thirst for adventure wasn’t the only thing that kept Lydia away from home.
“I’d say unless you’re capable of giving another not to risk the one you have,” Diana remarked. It really wasn’t as much care for her daughter and grandsons as it was the blood that one of them possessed. “As far as I’m concerned, you shouldn’t even have any of them. The fact you’ve somehow kept them alive this long is a miracle on its own.”
The thought brought a feeling that Lydia didn’t want to dwell on, fearing what might happen if she did. So without saying anything more to either of them, she left with the assumption that her job was done. When she walked back into the estate, it seemed Tim had just finished talking to Lewis and Elena. They all gave their nods of welcome.
“Which part of the Plains are you going to?” Lewis asked. “By the time you get there, they’ll still mostly be in the southern parts. But if you’re trying to follow them, it would probably be better to be a bit ahead of them.”
“Last time I started in the southern part and I had to rush to keep up with them,” Lydia responded with a bit of thought. “I think we’ll start in Teyeabasi territory. At least that would give us some time to rest with a lot less rushing.”
“Should you let Lord Abassi know?” By now, Elena was just making sure she had everything under control. They both knew the older’s tendencies to rush into things.
“I think we’re going to avoid him altogether. It’ll be easier to stay somewhere else than pull out political favors with someone none of us like to begin with.”
“Where would you stay instead?”
“Fahluma should be close enough that we’ll be able to tell when the phoenixes pass by. We’d probably end up going over there anyway to try to see if anyone else knows anything. I’ve been there before, too, and it’s probably better than any other nearby town.”
“It’s nice to hear you have this all thought out, then.”
Tim had something of his own to ask her. “Do you think we’ll need any other artifacts?”
“This doesn’t tie in with anything else I’ve done so far, so I doubt we’re going to need anything in particular.” Lydia didn’t leave him with that, though, and went on to add, “But you can take whatever you think we might need, as long as you’re willing to carry it.”
His eyes lit up and he ran off to where they kept most of them.
“I’m waiting for the day when he realizes Mom won’t notice if one of the dangerous ones went missing,” Elena sighed. “I didn’t think I could hate anything more than the idea of you getting them in the first place…”
“I’ll have you know I was very responsible with them,” Lydia defended, feigning offense.
“Except for Faidon’s Pendant,” Lewis pointed out thoughtfully, “you set a lot of things on fire with that. That’s probably part of the reason Mom doesn’t let him touch any of it.”
Without a bit of consideration, Lydia deadpanned, “What else is a bored teenager supposed to do? It’s Faidon’s fault for throwing that out in the world. All I did was grab it.”
“You’ve seen for yourself with the five of them how Qizar’s gods are real,” Elena remarked. “And you’ve seen how far they’re willing to go for some of their laws. You fought the Minotaur and now you’re chasing phoenixes. Do you think it’s smart to say stuff like that..?”
“That hasn’t stopped me so far, why would it magically change now?”
“All I’m saying is that you should make sure you’re careful…”
“We’ll all be fine, Ellie. I’ve done way more dangerous stuff on my own before. All this is for now is following phoenixes around the Plains; I doubt it’s going to get much more dangerous than a few burns.”