“As for where it is,” said Henri, straightening his cotton shirt. “It’s a couple of leagues southwest of Distan, somewhere along the Winding Road between here and Melsian County. We can’t be too specific, because if you’re anything like Zech then you’ll probably try to go there one day and we don’t want to be responsible for that.”
“I paid you to be specific, though.”
“That’s…”
Vaun waved off his friends. “It’s a significant walk from the main road, pretty far off from any beaten trails. We don’t know exactly where it is since we’ve never been there, but apparently we’ll find it if we head east after spending about two hours on the Winding Road on horseback.”
“Is that so? Well, thank you for sharing such important information with me.”
“Hey, a friend of the tavern boy is a friend of ours.”
Even though the men were under the impression that they had taken advantage of Alistar by charging him for information that was well-known in certain circles, he felt that he had come out on top in their exchange. They might have viewed the dungeon’s location as simple knowledge that they had likely just learned after taking up the commission, but such information was only available to frontiersmen of a certain standard, which was an extremely limited pool of people. Secondly, with a future so uncertain as his, there was a strong chance that Alistar would have to turn to working as a frontiersman for a while in order to sustain himself after he left Distan, so it was useful to confirm that the methods of finding dungeons that he’d read about were actually true, as they had just been reiterated to him by the men of Team Tempest.
Alistar and his friends spent the rest of the afternoon at the Lawsons’ tavern with their new acquaintances, enjoying stories of the various exploits that had made them famous. Interestingly enough, Vaun, Kene and the other bald man were all brothers, Vanessa being the daughter of their deceased sister. Henri had grown up with her and had been reluctant to stay behind when the talented young arcanite had decided to follow her uncles on their adventures throughout the Holy Lucian Empire, which had eventually led them to the famous frontier that Caedmon ruled over. Not only was this area a hotbed for rare fauna and flora, but it was also near the historic site where the conclusion of the Inverted Wars had unfolded over five centuries ago, when the last of the Drunish armies were crushed in a final battle between them and the forces of man, their remnants fleeing into the Tall Mountains never to be seen again.
Although he’d only had a single glass of cider, Alistar felt a bit dizzy when he finally decided to tell the girls that it would probably be in their best interests for them to head home for supper, which the three were expected to share with the rest of the Silverkins. Hearing Anice and Lessa’s reluctant groans and seeing the way that Alistar’s shoulders dipped a bit as he made the suggestion, Vanessa surprised them by pulling out the three copper lucets from earlier and pinching each one with deliberate care before she slid them across the table with a light smile. He’d sensed small fluctuations of inner energy at the tips of her fingers and immediately noticed that her aura had been imprinted onto the smooth, worn metal.
“Are those for us?” asked Lessa, who added with sincerity, “You don’t need to. Really, we’re just happy to have spent the afternoon with you.”
Vanessa shook her head with an awkward look, then dragged one coin away from the other two and tapped it with an index finger. Then she pointed at Alistar. She then pointed at the other two, pointed at the door and made a talking motion with her hand as if it were a sock puppet, rolling her eyes as she did so.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“This one’s for me, and these two are for our cousins?”
As Vanessa nodded, Henri tuned in with displeasure. “Hey now, I thought we agreed to stop giving people energy imprints after we almost got robbed last time.” When the young woman gave him a level look, he threw his hands up in surrender.
“Thank you,” said Alistar, bowing deeply in respect. “I know it’s a bit late for introductions, but I’m Alistar Silverkin. This is Lessa Loraine Silvus and Anice Annabelle Silverkin. It was a pleasure meeting you all.” After saying this, he took out his remaining silver half-lucet and handed it to Vanessa, ensuring that the woman didn’t suffer a loss after parting with her copper lucets.
Vanessa nodded at him and mouthed the words ‘thank you.’
The girls echoed his sentiment, Anice adding with a smile, “Our names might be a bit different after our next Name Days, but don’t forget us.”
“How would they forget us because of that?” asked Lessa, who stifled a giggle. “Our first two names will always be the same.”
“I know that. Well, it was nice meeting you!”
Anice hurried to the door without looking back, blushing.
“You lot are alright for some blue-blooded runts,” said Vaun, who gave a wide, inebriated smile. “We’ll be setting out in the morning, so be sure to come buy us—ahem, be sure to tag along with Zech the next time he comes rushing over to stalk us.”
“Who’s stalking you?” scoffed the boy in question, turning his head. He stood up from the table and dusted some bread crumbs off of his cream-coloured tunic. “I’m going to walk my friends out of town. Don’t be too drunk when I get back. I still want you to teach me that footwork tonight.”
Vaun snorted. “Do I look like I’m in the mood to do footwork?”
“You promised!”
“That was before I got into my cups. How about tomorrow after breakfast?”
“So the inn keeper can tell me you guys already left?” Shaking his head, he led Lessa and Alistar toward the door, calling over his shoulder. “I’ll be back soon. Remember what I said!”
As Vaun began to grumble about Zech having already forgotten what he’d just said, Alistar and his friends walked out into a fine evening breeze, which was refreshing after the still, musty scent within the tavern. The entire town was bathed in warm, lazy sunlight, which lent the streets an air of leisure despite their congestion.
Zech saw them to Mayhaven’s western gate, questioning them along the way about Calum and Edmun’s behavior and how the three of them were faring with the brothers.
“So what’d you think of Team Tempest?” the boy eventually asked as they idled by the gates. “You think you could beat any of them?”
Alistar shook his head. Just as Vaun had been able to tell that he was an apprentice, he had been able to sense that the man was at least a top tier adept, likely a lower practitioner of the warrior stratum. The other three men had given him similar impressions, while Vanessa’s momentary imprinting of inner energies on the copper lucets had afforded Alistar a glimpse of an intimidating aura the likes of which he had only ever felt from his uncles.
“Not a chance. I get the feeling that they’re all formidable swordsmen, and on top of that Vanessa’s at least a mid-tier magus. Mr. Albeck said that there are only around a hundred magi in the kingdom and that only a fraction of them are arcanites.”
“What makes you think she’s an arcanite?” asked Anice, who was holding her slipper-like shoes in preference of walking barefoot.
“Arcanites are magi that focus on learning battle magics. Considering what Team Tempest does for a living, it wouldn’t make much sense if she wasn’t one.” The thought lit a fire in his stomach that burned strong enough for him to ignore the daunting prospect of dining with his relatives, making him look forward to retiring to his quarters early on. Although it wouldn’t be wise to attempt practical practice, tonight he would study the grimoire that he’d found in that dusty corner of the collegia’s library.
“It’s hard to imagine that woman fighting anything,” said Lessa, who seemed saddened by the notion. “A kind lady like her shouldn’t have to do that.”
Zech looked like he was in on an inside joke. “If only you guys knew who you were talking about. There’s a reason she’s famous, after all.”
“Maybe one day you can join their team as a shoe-shiner or something,” said Anice, her voice one of genuine encouragement.
Zech wore a deadpan look. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I’m going to hurry back, though, to make sure that they don’t slip away.” Pausing after a few steps, he added, “Oh, and everyone else is really worried about you guys, so I’ll be sure to let them know you’re doing fine.”