“It looks like you’re doing pretty well here, old man. I never would have thought you would be the one to retire before me.” Sly commented and surveyed Ealdred’s office with keen intrigue. “Of course, once things between you and Arabella–Lumos rest her soul–grew more serious and you proposed to her, I knew it would only be a matter of time.”
Ealdred chuckled. He poured them two clear glasses of amber liquid. “You were never one to stay tied down in one place, and I was coming to my peak. Then, when Bella was pregnant, I knew it was time to settle down. The timing was right, and I was getting too old to spring around as a Locksmith.”
Sly snorted, taking her drink from him, and found a seat on the love chair. “Old, right.” She let out a bellowed laugh. “May I remind you again that I can still feel your essence of power, even now. Old has nothing to do with it. Besides, I prefer well-seasoned.”
He took his seat, smiled, and drank. It had been too long since he had spoken with his friend like this. It reminded him of the days they’d travel throughout the Lysandrian Kingdom, fighting side by side and then spending the night at a Tavern or under the stars.
“But you’re right, my love is adventure. If settling down is in the future, Lumos will let me know, but for now, I’ll take my comfort and time exploring relationships.”
“Aye. So, on to business…” Ealdred said, placing his glass down and folding his hands together. “What do you make of all this?”
Sly downed the last of her drink and placed it on the desk. “From what you and the kids told me about the stronger-than-normal Rifts and the strange weather anomalies they cause, some areas had been hit with a power outage. Mayor Duskmire wanted me to note what’s causing this, so when I received your Voxlink message, I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence and had to see what was happening.”
Ealdred hummed. “Aye, Lyra and Eamon will happily show you where it occurred. I wish there were more I could do, Sly, truly.”
Sly chuckled. “Same ole’ Ealdred. You do plenty, stop. Don’t ever sell yourself short. You’ve passed down greatness in your students, not just for Lyra, and Eamon returned for a reason.”
“You always know what to say, Sly. Thank you.”
“You can thank me with another shot, and I suppose we should let the kids back in here.”
Ealdred chuckled. “I can see Lyra now. Let’s hope she’s not too annoyed.”
•†•
“How long are they going to be?” Lyra said, slumping on the wooden floor. “They wanted us for five minutes, then kicked us out!”
Eamon leaned against the wall, nodding in agreement. “We told them what the locals said about the strange Rift.”
“And,” Lyra enunciated. “How we’ve been closing Rifts that have been a thousand times harder to close than normal. Can you believe these Rifts have been popping up around Lyransdrian? Even Sly agrees it isn’t normal, but what’s causing it?”
Eamon shook his head. “No clue, but it seems like both Master and Sly are concerned.”
“Do you think the Empire is behind this?” She asked, leaning forward with her arms wrapped around her legs, pulling them to her chest.
Eamon rubbed his chin, thinking. “Hmm, that’s hard to say. I don’t know; they don’t tell lower-rank soldiers much, but something about those Rifts that cause weather and electrical disturbances seems mystical.”
Lyra’s brows rose. “What, like the elemental Essentia we use from the Wellsprings?”
He shrugged. “Yes and no. Maybe. It seems old but not as pure as the Wellsprings.”
Lyra couldn't grasp what kind of power that could be. “So ancient power but not as good… do you think it could have something to do with the dark ages during the Primal Chaos era? That was five hundred eighty-five years ago, though; why would the Electro Rifts return now?”
“Maybe someone brought it back?”
Lyra frowned. “Yeah, but you’d have to be really powerful, like an S-Rank Locksmith or a High Elder, a Primal Coven witch or a Custodian, and be as old as Saint Lumos herself to do that.”
“And those are the questions to ask,” a voice answered her.
Lyra and Eamon looked at the doorway to see Sly and Ealdred out of the study. Lyra jumped up, and Eamon leaned off the wall.
Sly was impressed by their young minds thinking the way they did. “You both are thinking like Locksmiths, good. I will need some young minds who know what they’re doing.”
They looked at her, confused.
“What for?” Lyra asked.
Ealdred replied afterward. “Sly is going to stay in town for a few days. Since it seems the Rifts started here, she wants to investigate.”
“And who better to help me than Ealdred’s two C-Rank Locksmiths,” Sly exclaimed. Her hands on her hips. “That’s very impressive but not surprising, given who your master is.”
Lyra’s jaw dropped in surprise. “What! So, we get to tag along and see you in action?” She squeezed her fists, bouncing on her heels.
Sly smirked, hand in one pocket. “If you’re lucky.”
Lyra squealed. “This is the best day ever!”
Ealdred chuckled. “Yes, well, fun aside, finish your tasks for the day while Sly checks in at the tavern, and you two can meet up with her.”
“I can’t wait to work with two students of Master Ealdred’s Ashen Vanguard guild. I’ll be waiting for you.”
•†•
After finishing their daily tasks, they headed for the business district to the Tavern and Inn. To say that Lyra wasn’t nervous was an understatement, as she stared in the direction of the hospital for some time.
Eamon noticed the pinched and furrowed look on her worried face.
“Do you need a moment? Or if you want, I can handle it here.”
Lyra snapped out of her thoughts, shaking her head. “No, I’m okay, thanks. Let’s meet up with Sly.”
They entered the tavern and first saw Sly flirting with the Inn Keep Clarice as she giggled at something Sly had said. From the corner of her eye, Sly spotted them. “Ah, my companions made it. Now the investigation can begin.”
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Lyra raised her brow. “Really? You’re flirting, Sly?”
Sly grins. “Of course. I can spare a moment to appreciate the beautiful woman Saint Lumos has placed on Aurum.”
Clarice smiled, blushing. “You’re such a sweet talker. I bet you say this to all the women in Aurum.”
Sly leaned forward on the table so they were a few inches apart. “Only if it's true because women are wonderful, amazing, beautiful creatures that should be cared for like the gems they are.”
“Oh, Sly…” Clarice swooned and bit her lip at her comment.
Lyra and Eamon could see her gripping tightly onto the counter so she wouldn’t tumble over.
Eamon leaned into Lyra, whispering, “Does that work often?”
Lyra shrugged. “Looks like it, judging by how red she is.”
“But, alas,” Sly suddenly said. “Locksmith duties call. I pray Lumos shall have us meet again.”
With a fateful kiss to her hand, Lyra and Eamon followed Sly out of the tavern.
“You’re a real lady’s lady, huh?” Lyra said with a grin.
Sly chuckled. “Women, men, whoever catches my attention, and I’m attracted to them, and they are to me. A great smile, eyes, and personality don’t matter. My soul can sense the beauty on the inside and outside.”
“Wow, that’s profoundly deep,” Eamon said.
“You think so? I also write poetry in my spare time. Perhaps I’ll read one to you kids. Now, where did this Rift first appear?”
“I’ll show you,” Lyra said.
Lyra took the lead and led them to the forest path where the old abandoned warehouse was located. They arrived shortly afterward.
Sly stepped forward with her hands in her pockets, surveying the area, while Lyra and Eamon hung behind, waiting for her following instructions.
“Tell me what happened when you tried closing the Rift,” she asked as she stood in the doorway and rubbed the door’s frame. She wanted to make sure that she thoroughly checked every nook and cranny. Her aura changed from playful to serious as her calculated eyes scanned the area for threats.
“Well, it was a lot tougher to close, like, a strong current was pushing back.”
Eamon nodded. “The Veilspawn’s power level seemed to spike sporadically. They were craftier and had blue electricity coursing through their bodies.”
Sly hummed. She walked around the side of the building, carefully observing the dilapidated vine forage wall.
Lyra stared at what she was doing and wondered if something seemed off to her. “Does that… seem strange to you?”
Sly nodded. “Veilspawns have been reported to Saint Lumos’ HQ prior, and the reports match what you said about the spawns having gotten far stronger and more aggressive. Not to mention the strange weather patterns and outages.”
Lyra and Eamon glanced at each other.
“So….what’s causing it, you think?” Eamon asked.
Sly turned to them and smirked. “Now that’s the million Denari question, isn’t it?” she started to walk toward them. “Let’s check out that second–”
She stopped. Eyes narrowed. Something was amiss, noticing a different kind of tension in the air.
Eamon was the second to pick up on it: “What’s wrong?”
Lyra frowned, looking around. “What happened? Do you sense something?”
Sly pressed a finger to her lips. “We’re being watched.”
Eamon and Lyra grew still. Instinctively, they stood back to back as they surveyed the surrounding forest. Sly’s whip cracked out with lightning speed and snapped into the forest–birds jumped out and flew into the sky.
Nothing happened.
Eamon had his arm out protectively in front of Lyra, whose eyes were wide open, surprised by Sly’s near-invisible movements.
All grew silent. They couldn’t even hear any critters or animals.
After a moment, Lyra said, “Maybe it was an animal you scared away?”
Sly continued to scan the forest with narrowed eyes, but after another moment, she relaxed her posture, if only to appear that she had given up on catching the intruder off guard.
“Let’s go.”
They both nodded. A slight movement caught Sly’s attention, and she grinned, a twinkle in her eye.
“Got you.”
With another quick snap of her whip, it struck the area Sly had directed it in. The thundering crack made Eamon and Lyra turn around. Sly’s whip had captured someone in its coil.
“Who are you?” Sly demanded. Her eyes gleamed dangerously red as she exerted her Essentia.
The pressure made Eamon and Lyra grit their teeth as the power threatened to push them to the ground.
The person she captured, however, had an enormous chagrin on his face, unaffected by the sheer force of power she produced.
“My, My, to think I wouldn’t get caught, but you aren’t A-Rank Locksmith the Rosevera Whip for nothing, are you?”
Sly ground her teeth, tightening her hold around the whip’s handle. She summoned thick roots from the ground to tighten around the strange person. “Tell me why you were following me, and maybe I won’t squeeze you till your eyes bleed.”
The young man with pale white skin and windswept chestnut hair with white streaks at the roots looked down at the roots circling his legs. His emerald green eyes twinkled in amusement. “Am I about to experience firsthand the Rosevera Whips Essentia? Ooh, how exciting!” he exclaimed, not taking the situation seriously. It was all merely a game to him.
Lyra frowned. “Hey, guy, who the heck are you? We asked you a question, and my gut assumes you’re bad news.
He grinned. His eyes widened, making Lyra shudder. He didn’t have a threatening power level, but something chaotically unpredictable unsettled her.
“And your gut would be right. I’d expect nothing less from the granddaughter of the famed S-Rank Ealdred Ashbourne.”
Lyra bristled. “How did you…?”
Sly stood before them, blocking his view, with her arm out. “Leave these kids out of it. Eamon, take Lyra and go get Ealdred.”
Eamon nodded, but Lyra rejected the idea and said, “Wait, we can help you!”
“Ooh, Ealdred Ashbourne is coming? The Sentinel Riftbreaker? Now, that is an honor, but…” With a snap of his fingers, black fire burned away Sly’s whip. He was left standing in mid-air with an amused grin, seeing everyone staring in shock at the ease of his power.
“Who…are you?” Sly's voice was more strained than before. She couldn’t believe his simple fleeting power; she didn’t even feel him exert a slither of it.
The young man bowed. He was wearing a brightly colored suit jacket and breeches. A colorful light green scarf wrapped around his neck.
“I suppose I’ve alluded long enough. I am Sovran #0 Finnian. The Trickster, Finn, or simply The Trickster will do. I’ve been assigned to look into you from the Children of Deimos, Sly.”
Everyone, including Sly, was taken aback by his comment.
“The Children of Deimos?”
“They supposedly had disappeared or disbanded years ago, didn’t they?” Eamon asked.
Sovran #0 Finnian checked his nails. A gleam in his eyes unnerved Eamon as if The Trickster knew his very soul.
“Nope!”
He looked up from his fingers and glared at them. The dark tone in the Sovran’s voice made him sound less friendly and more chaotic as his power surged outward. Eamon staggered, and Lyra had to plant her sword on the ground so she wouldn’t be blown back. Sly crossed her arms just as his aura pushed her back an inch.
“A message from our Master: ‘Be advised of the path you take, for once you’ve crossed it, there’s no going back.’”
Sly snapped out of her stilled movement and let out a war cry, with fast reflexes invisible to the naked eye, as she dashed across the field. She struck out her whip and struck it forward, but Finn disappeared as the whip hit the ground, creating an earth-shattering blast as a plume of dust and smoke blanketed the area.
A chilling laughter radiated throughout the area as the three looked around for the Sovran.
“I'm afraid I overstayed my welcome…see you later.” Finn’s voice echoed in the distance. “You’ll see the true might of the Children of Deimos, and we won’t be ignored this time.”
The voice was silent, leaving the three alone. Both Eamon and Lyra slowly recovered their energy.
“S-Sly?”
Sly’s fist tightened. She was fuming. “The Trickster…The Children of Deimos…They’re back.”