It took suspiciously less time than a bird flying between the two places for Zulana to get an answer to her request. Lydia decided it was better not to question it, though, since it got them where they needed to be.
Their ride brought them through the territory until it made its final stop at a manor; something a bit less extravagant than the Stone estate, yet all the same translating that family’s influence in the region. Lydia took the lead and knocked on the door, now allowing herself a moment to consider the situation.
Zulana still hadn’t told them much about who they were going to be meeting with. The most they ever got was “an associate who needs help fixing something.” She hadn’t even shared a name or what it was that needed fixing that, by the sounds of it, only Tim had the talent to do. At least in the eastern parts of Seothia, there wasn’t anything that could break that someone vaguely familiar with couldn’t fix unless it involved magic. If it did, then that was a whole other situation that Tim still wouldn’t be able to help with…
A child answered the door with a woman close behind them. “Hello.”
“Dabur, what did I tell you about showing yourself to strangers?” the woman hissed in a tone that only slightly possessed care in it. “You never know who’s a threat, remember that. They’ll devour you in a heartbeat if they were given a chance.”
The child nodded and stepped behind her.
“We’re the Stones,” Lydia explained. “I’m assuming Zulana told you that we were coming?”
The woman held the door open a little wider and gestured for them all to come in. “Yes, though I can’t say I was expecting you this early. I’m Mei and this is my child, Dabur.”
“Lydia, Tim, Henry, and Tavin,” Lydia said, motioning to the owner of the name while she said it. She was the first inside and continued to follow Mei into another room. “What did you need help with?”
“I’m afraid that’s something to stay between Tim and I,” Mei remarked. “There’s not a lot of room in there to fit the rest of you, you see. Without being able to see it or have any other information about it, you’re not going to be able to understand what it is.”
Lydia made no attempt to hide her suspicion.
“It’s completely safe, if that’s what you’re wondering. We wouldn’t entrust something dangerous to someone who has no idea what consequences it might hold.” Realizing that still didn’t do much, Mei sighed. “If you must know, we’re experimenting with alternative ways of transportation. The model we came up with worked for a time but what we came up with isn’t lasting long. With any luck, a fresh perspective may be able to help us think of something that might actually last.”
Tim seemed to have completely forgone carefulness at the thought. “You mean I could really help with something like that?” At her nod, he asked, “When can we get started?”
“As soon as your mother lets you out of her sight, I presume,” Mei answered casually.
Lydia barely needed to see Tim’s hopeful expression before saying, “Just don’t mess with anything weird.” She glanced at Mei and added, “As a fair warning, he’s known to set stuff on fire, so you may want to be prepared.”
Mei laughed and patted Dabur, who hadn’t left her side. “Don’t worry, this one is prone to something similar.” She knelt down to tell them something, then turned her attention and mumbled something to Tim before leading him out of the room.
Dabur wandered over to a chair and gave a curt nod offering for the three to do the same. “I’m supposed to entertain you. Please be entertained.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
A moment of silence followed while they tried to make sense of the near-emotionless kid in front of them.
“Do you mess with artifacts, too?” Henry eventually asked.
“I’m not very good at what Mother does,” Dabur responded. “But they tell me I’m good at what I’m supposed to do. That’s why I break some of the things they have.” They paused. “What’s an artifact?”
“Old objects,” Tavin said, “though in this case, those that also have magical properties.”
They shook their head. “I don’t touch those. Everyone says that they’re dangerous. I’ve seen a couple of them, though… I made them stop working.”
“What does Mei work on here?” Lydia figured she might as well try to see if they would answer her. Everything that they’d said so far only made her more sure that there was more going on here than what meets the eye.
Their answer both told the full truth yet left much unsaid. “She wants to improve Seothia. She thinks we can be better without magic, so that’s what she tries to do. If she can get them to believe we’re better… that’s what I’m for.”
“Are you sure I didn’t just agree to get my son caught up in something he really shouldn’t be?” Lydia questioned.
“Mother keeps her promises. Someone like him would never be allowed there anyway. Too close to the other factors.”
“You know that really doesn’t help, right?”
Dabur shrugged. “You don’t have to worry.” That was the only thing they said on the matter before changing the subject completely. “You’ve seen a lot, haven’t you?” There was the smallest amount of emotion in their voice: curiosity.
She nodded. “We travel all around Seothia, exploring ruins and uncovering age-old secrets.”
“Even Qizar?”
“Not as much since Imre doesn’t trust me, but yeah. I can tell you about a trip there, if you want.”
“No, I don’t want to hear a story. Do they like you there?”
“I guess? I’m usually not around them for long—I just stop at a town to get what I need and then I’m off to do whatever I came there for. Not a lot of people recognize me there. I mean, they tolerate me. It’s the same kind of treatment I’d say Zofie gives me and I’ve known her for years. I can’t really expect much else from them.”
“Was it pretty?”
“Definitely. There’s a lot of stuff there that you’re never going to be able to see in Seothia.”
“Maybe… maybe I want to hear a story. I’ve only been in the desert and forest. Mother doesn’t like me going out. She doesn’t tell me a lot about the outside, either. I don’t think she’ll mind if you tell me…”
Lydia felt obligated to ask, “Just to make sure, how likely is she to get mad if she does care?”
“She doesn’t get mad,” they assured her. “Or at least, there’s nothing she can do to you.”
Only vaguely comforted by the fact, she went on to ask more about what they wanted. Once she had a good idea of the story she was going to tell them, she spared nothing in telling it. When she finished one, they asked for another. Then she stopped in the middle of the story when she realized that the wait, at least for now, was over.
“You’ve only just started working on all of that a couple of years ago? There’s so much!” It was reassuring to hear Tim so happy.
“Well, we weren’t able to do anything with the plans until then. This is something we’ve been working on for a long time; we simply haven’t had the time or resources to test it all out until recently. Or, rather, test them out to their full extent.”
“Have you already tried talking to Imre about them? I bet he’d help fund them. They all have several practical uses to them, so there’s not a reason to just let the ideas go to waste.”
Mei was reentering the room where the rest of them were. “I wish the throne had someone like you with them. Unfortunately, however, we’ve already been denied any help from the king. He told us he didn’t have anything left to spare; we are, after all, a kingdom trying to kill shadows.”
“Oh…” Tim quickly perked up, though, to see his brothers. He looked back at Mei for a moment. “Can I tell them what we were working on?”
She nodded and the boys proceeded to gather to discuss it. While they were talking, she wandered over to Lydia. “I’m sure Zulana’s already praised him, if she guessed that he’d be smart enough to help. I have to admit, he knew a lot more about the whole thing than I thought he was going to. When did he learn it?”
Realizing she didn’t know the answer, Lydia simply shrugged. “They both have a lot of time to do their own thing.” She then decided to prompt, “Are you done?”
Mei shook her head. “I still want to work with him for a little while longer. By tomorrow, perhaps, I’ll be willing to let you get back to what you’re truly here for. I want to make sure he either has the joy of knowing what he suggested works or the knowledge that, the more failures, the more fulfilling the success.”