Early Morning - Late Summer : Valtivar, Siratha (The Capital)

- Liv Sigmond ~

"Uwahh..." Sitting up on the unfamiliar bed as I woke up, I felt groggy and exhausted. -Oh, right... They finally gave up on trying to question me...- *Pouf* Falling back onto the bed, I looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling and thought back to everything that had happened over the last month.

It was a chain of events that could only be described as hell, and it all began when Verdandi assumed I was under some sort of oath magic and brought me to the capital for it to be nullified.

The trip to the capital itself was quite smooth, we made it there in about 5 days at a steady pace, but once I got there, things started really going downhill.

When we first arrived, we immediately met with a well-known professor from the Academy who was very adept in oath magic.

He was quite a nice man that was extremely gentle when trying to nullify the spell I was under, but at the end of it all, it ended in failure, and I cried my eyes out in front of him the instant he asked me a question related to 'him'.

But just when I thought I would die from embarrassment, I was sent to a different, even more famous mage just to repeat the process.

Things happened like that for about 3 weeks before they finally escalated to the point that we met with one of the strongest mages in Siratha, and finally got some decent advice.

His exact words were: 'Whoever put you under this oath magic was disgustingly strong, but they also knew what they were doing. The fact that you have undergone so much testing and felt like a single wrong thought would kill you without actually dying is proof of that. It doesn't seem to be regular oath magic, and it also seems to give lots of warning before it triggers, so my best advice is to either stop messing with it or somehow get one of the Great Apostles to try to crack it.'

I can still remember the wonderful feeling of relief that washed over me after hearing those words since it meant the awful experiments and interrogations were over, but Verdandi didn't react the same way as me. To her, those words made her face pale and hands tremble.

I was quick to try and make sense of the odd reaction once I noticed it, but before I could draw any decent conclusions, she dashed out of the room without saying a single word.

-And that was the last I saw of her...- I still wasn't entirely sure what happened even after the fact, but I wasn't complaining. "Haah..." -But now what...-

I was now left alone in the capital with no official obligations. -Maybe I should pay Grandmother a visit.-

Finally settling on a decent plan for the day, I got out of bed with a stretch and put on some moderately casual clothing and jewelry to continue hiding my scales, even though people were bound to notice them.

Oddly enough though, none of the dozen mages I met with over the past few weeks said anything about it even when they clearly noticed it. -I wonder if they just assumed I was a dragon or something...-

Finally finishing getting ready, I made my way out of the inn and across town towards the bustling Main Market District.

As I got there, the chatter of people and creaking of wooden carts filled the air with an oddly nostalgic noise. "Haah..." -To think it has already been nearly 15 years... Maybe I should get her some flowers.-

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Quickly heading to a nearby stall and grabbing a beautiful bouquet of flowers, I made my way towards a less busy street not too far away.

Finally making it onto the right road, I followed the directions from my memories and finally found it.

'The Dragontooth Tavern'

The name alone brought a warm feeling to my chest, so when I pushed open the door, I had nothing but happy thoughts. *creak* But those thoughts came to a screeching halt as I finally looked inside.

The main area of the tavern was full of flipped tables and broken chairs, with the only visible person being an old elven woman asleep at the bar.

*Rustle* The flowers in my hand instantly fell to the floor as I darted to the woman. "Grandmother!"

Coming to her side, I quickly noticed an unusual bruise and a broken forearm that looked like someone had tried to grab her. In a panic, I checked for other injuries, but thankfully, there was nothing severe or life-threatening.

But just because she was seemingly alright, didn't mean I was okay with whatever happened.

Filled with rage and worry, I gently picked her up and took her to the old bedroom in the back of the bar.

As I walked in, I noticed the room was the same as the last time I visited, with everything of value still visible. -So she wasn't attacked by thieves?-

*pouf* Gently setting her on the bed, I double-checked that her vitals were alright before turning back to the main area and doing some cleanup.

Before I knew it, several hours passed, and the tavern was as clean as could be with everything that was still fixable, once again in working order.

I mainly had done all the work to kill time and let Grandmother wake up, but the more time passed, the more anxiety I felt that she might not wake up even though her vitals were fine. -No matter what, I'm going to make the bastards who did this experience a fate worse than death...-

But as I was dwelling in my furious, anger-filled thoughts, I heard some rustling from the back room. -Is she up?!-

Immediately sprinting into the back room, I threw open the door and saw Grandmother staring at me with wide eyes.

Without even thinking that she might not recognize me, I darted to the side of the bed and threw my arms around her. "Thank goodness you're okay..." Although I tried to hold it back, I felt tears start to well up in my eyes.

"L..Liv?" Her voice shook as she spoke.

Finally hearing her voice, a flood of memories flowed through my mind. "Yes, it's me, Grandmother!" Pulling away slightly, I looked her in the eyes with a warm smile.

Almost immediately, she pulled my back into her chest. "To think you'd grow into such a beautiful woman since I last saw you. The last time I saw you, you were still a child!"

Hearing her joyful voice, I felt my mountain of anger melt away just slightly. "Well, of course!"

Trying to enjoy the moment as much as I could, I stayed in that position for quite a while and idly talked to her, but eventually, my need to understand what I saw when I first arrived came through.

"So, what happened?" Pulling myself away from her, I looked into her eyes with a worried look.

"What do you mean?" She didn't quite follow the shift in mood.

"When I first got here, the tavern was mostly destroyed and you were unconscious with some injuries."

Almost immediately, an unreadable look came to her face.

"Just tell me who it is, and I'll take care of everything. I'm easily strong enough to handle-"

"Hahaha, to think my beautiful granddaughter is finally strong enough to worry about me!" The dark atmosphere around me immediately dispersed as I heard her laugh and noticed her overflowing confidence.

"But then why-"

"Well, there was a new group of city rank hunters that came by and refused to pay after ordering quite a bit. When I told them they had no choice but to pay, one of them grabbed my arm here and cracked it." She pointed to the part of her forearm that was purple. "That was as far as they got though. Once Ivar noticed what was happening, he stepped in and took care of them."

Finally hearing that the perpetrators had been dealt with by Uncle Ivar, my anger started to subside. -But I should really check and make sure he did it all the way...-

As I glanced away, still dwelling on the grudge, Grandmother reached over and gently touched my ear.

-Hm?- Turning back to her, I quickly noticed her concerned look. "What is it, Grandmother?"

But her voice showed hesitancy. "What.. are those scales?"