"Our mission is to apprehend the shapeshifter, dead or alive, in order to understand the scope of their ability and find out who their accomplices are." Phloria said. "The key is to not alert our suspects or our target will just become a face in the crowd."
"Manohar, you are a Royal Forgemaster and have been here for a while. What have you discovered so far?" Orion asked.
"I examined everyone in the Metra and the Beilin households, yet I found no trace of slave items, spells, or suspicious life forces." Manohar said, leaving them flabbergasted.
A single noble household was comprised of hundreds of people, yet he had managed to meet them all without even being recognized since the news of the god of healing harassing people would have made the headlines.
"The access logs to the city mainframe were of no use. I couldn't reveal their existence and then ask those who used the codes where they were at all given times without making the investigation public."
"So, you've got nothing." Jirni racked her brain trying to find a way to lure the shapeshifter in the open.
"No, I've got a lot on my plate." Manohar sneered at their lack of faith. "During my stay in Ruham, I increased the security and kept an eye on the armory logs.
"With the dimensional sealing arrays surrounding the City Hall, no one can use dimensional amulets and anyone carrying weapons in public will hardly go unnoticed.
"Our culprit has taken another set of artifacts and we just have to wait for the moment they bring the weapons back to catch them."
"Excellent news." Orion nodded. "Yet we only have one shot at this. If we fail the shapeshifter will run away and catching them will be impossible. Also, in the meantime, we have to understand how long this has been going on and the role of all those involved.
"The moment our trap goes off, the accomplices of the shapeshifter will either run away or be killed to tie up the loose ends, leaving us no way to understand what happened and if it might be happening in other cities as well."
The group spent the rest of the morning planning their next move and the afternoon getting familiar with the Ruham.
Orion and Phloria had been called as Manohar's bodyguards under the pretense that someone had attempted on his life. They followed him everywhere, having the opportunity to study the City Hall and to be introduced to the officials who worked there without arousing suspicions.
Jirni and Quylla, instead, had to keep their presence hidden.
The arrival of an Archon right after that of an Archmage would have been impossible to explain. Jirni had several aliases and disguises but she preferred to lay low and study the bigger picture from her hotel room.
"How is Friya doing? I haven't heard from her ever since I left the house and yesterday you've have been vague about her whereabouts." She asked while passing all the logs to Kamila while she checked the personal files of Ruham's upper echelons.
Kamila's years as a data analyst made her a valuable asset when working on numbers and even though it wasn't the same as meeting them in person, Jirni could still learn a few things about the city nobles by running deep background checks on them.
"Well, she'll be here for dinner. We planned this together, you know?" Quylla said.
"That's not what I asked you and you know it."
"She went to the Desert with Lith." Quylla swallowed a lump of saliva in embarrassment.
"Alone? Right after he broke up with Kamila?" Jirni's words made her poor assistant on the other side of the amulet freeze up for a second. "Is there something going on between them?"
"No way." Quylla couldn't tell her mother about Solus or about Salaark teaching Forgemastery to Lith without compromising his position with the Kingdom even further. "She went there just to spend some time away from you and Dad."
"With all the places in the world why the Desert?" The excuse was as lame as it sounded.
"Because she wanted to visit the homeland of a guy she likes." Quylla said the first thing that came to her mind.
Jirni could tell from Quylla's tense expression and body language that it was either a lie or that she was still hiding something important from her.
"Really? A guy from the Desert? What's his name?"
"Nalrond."
"Nalrond who?"
"Just Nalrond." Quylla suddenly realized she knew nothing about the Rezar but his name.
"A commoner from the Desert? Seriously? Is he at least a good mage?" The good news was that now Jirni understood why Friya had gone to the Desert and why Quylla had lied about it.
A noblewoman dating a commoner was romantic only in theatrical plays. In real life, it would have brought the Ernas household great embarrassment.
'I bet that this Nalrond is there with her, showing Friya his "house" just like Quylla did with Morok.' Jirni just wanted her daughters to be happy but at that point, she had almost resigned to Friya being a more considerate version of Tulion.
"Very good. He's a Light Master." Quylla bit her tongue at the idea of revealing such a secret, but there wasn't anything else that she could tell her mother about Nalrond to impress her.
Telling her mother that he was good with children and worked as a nanny for Selia would have forced Friya to lick the spoon with which Quylla had stirred that pot of bullshit.
"Finally, some good news. Tell me more about him."
***
The first family dinner in months was incredibly awkward. Not only because Orion refused to look at Jirni or even to talk with her, but also because Manohar was there.
After what had almost happened to Orion during the morning, everyone stared at Manohar's nimble hands as if they were venomous snakes, keeping their plates as far away from him as possible.
"It's good to see you again, Mom." Friya said with a dazzling smile that only made Jirni grow more suspicious.
Friya was usually the grumpiest of the three and that unusual behavior together with her tanned skin had to mean something.
She was a gorgeous 22 years old woman, 1.67 meters (5'6") tall, with long silky black hair that framed her delicate visage, emphasizing her light chestnut eyes and her fair skin.
Her soft curves and ample bosom were so voluptuous that not even the loose adventurer's clothes she wore could hide them more than a passing cloud could eclipse the sun.
She was also the only dimensional mage of her generation, which along with her beauty and noble family made her one of the most coveted maidens of the Kingdom. In theory, she was supposed to be the easiest to marry, but after several bad experiences, she had become wary of both men and women.
If Jirni, or anyone else for that matters, were to discover that after being Awakened she had turned out to possess the six elemental streaks in her hair that she was now hiding with Body Sculpting, it would have given her a stroke.
Bearing the blessing of all the six gods of magic made Friya a worthy Queen candidate and proved a raw talent on par with Sylpha if not even legendary figures like Lochra Silverwing.
"There will be no second attempt." Raaz shook his head. "They would have never dared to make a move against me if not for our prolonged absence."
"And my rocky relationship with the Crown." Lith added the part that his father had left out not to make him feel responsible. "I'm not a kid, Dad. You don't have to sugarcoat the truth for me."
"Correct." Raaz nodded. "You may not be a kid, but you'll always be my son. I know how heavy the burden you carry is despite all of your efforts to make it look as if it's nothing. You can't blame me for trying to help you however I can."
"Thanks, Dad." Lith said.
Raaz heard those precious words so rarely that they moved him, making him wish he could do more. Yet he kept walking, pretending that nothing had happened.
"Now that the sowing of my fields has started and with you being a hero again, making another move would be suicidal. Also, you have my word that if they do, I'll not stand in your way. Being good is one thing, being stupid is another."
After that, they didn't say another word until they reached Zekell's house.
They spent lunch talking with the blacksmith and telling him about all the marvels of the Desert while he brought Senton and Raaz up to speed about the most recent events.
"I'm not going to lie, Lutia's growth is good for business, but it's also a pain in the ass." Zekell said after sending out the children to play. "The newcomers blame Lith's enemies for everything that goes wrong with their business and consider him a threat to their safety."
"This is ridiculous!" Raaz lost his composure, forcing Lith to calm him down. "Lutia has one of the lowest crime rates in the County thanks to the Queen's corps. It's only thanks to Lith that no noble dares to bully us and that none of our caravans get attacked even outside the city.
"Criminals are too afraid of retaliation from Lith or the army. On top of that, the Warp Gate in our barn allows the Kingdom to dispatch troops at a moment's notice. Our village- I mean, our city has never been safer!"
"You are right, but the other merchants see the Warp Gate as another unfair advantage. They claim that the least that Lith could do to compensate Lutia for living under the constant threat of an attack is to share the Gate with everyone so that they can make up for their losses ." Zekell said.
"What a bunch of ungrateful bastards!" Raaz snarled. "Son, I say it's time we go back to the Desert, this place is starting to sicken me. Don't forget about the promise to the children, though. Go fetch our ride, we'll wait here."
Raaz threw at Lith a meaningful glance to which he responded with a nod.
"I thought you brought the DoLorean with you." Zekell scratched his head in confusion. "Besides, Abominus and Onyx will never fit. Isn't it better to just Warp?"
"Not that kind of ride." Raaz said with a smug grin on his face. "You and your wife are invited."
The blacksmith had no idea what was happening, but after living for so long in Lutia he had stopped asking too many questions. After one surprise too many Zekell had grown numb to them.
Or so he thought until the Voidfeather Dragon landed on luminous platforms that appeared a few meters above his workshop.
His breath had the strength of a gust of wind and smelled of sulfur while his red scales glistened under the sun like giant rubies. The creature glared upon the city with his seven eyes, spreading a subtle aura of terror that made it impossible to talk.
"Get on. I don't have all day." Lith, or better, his life-like hologram said from the Dragon's back while sitting on a saddle and holding reins both made with Light Mastery.
"What a magnificent beast." Like all the old inhabitants of Lutia, Zekell was unaffected by the aura of terror.
He instinctively raised his hand to reach the creature and Lith gently lowered his snout to allow the blacksmith to caress it.
"Is it tame?" He asked.
"No, but it owes me a couple of favors." The hologram said loud enough for everyone to hear.
An escalator made of light appeared from the saddle and extended to the feet of the Verhen's. The kids didn't waste a second, running to the top of the ladder without fear.
Zekell looked his wife in the eyes for a second before asking:
"Is it safe?"
"What do you think?" Lith's hologram replied while pointing at the kids sitting on the head of the beast, each one of them glued to a different horn.
A barrier of light enveloped them and the seats they were strapped to.
"Zekell Dragonrider is a heck of a name for a smithy." The blacksmith managed to find to courage to use the escalator only because he was the only one still on the ground and because it would do wonders for the business.
"Can I sell scale replicas of you in my shop?" He asked.
"Which one?" The Dragon replied.
"All of them. Dragon themed jewels for the ladies, weapons for the men, and toys for the kids!" The last part had Aran's and Leria's approval.
"Fine, but I want my share." Lith said with a sigh.
"Sure. I-"
"Grandpa, we want to fly, not sit!" The kids yelled in unison.
After everyone was safely strapped to their respective seat, Lith took off with a roar that made Lutia tremble. At first, Zekell and his wife thought they would die of fright but after nothing bad happened for a few seconds, fear gave way to the exhilarating joy of flight.
The barriers of light let in just enough wind to ruffle their hair and the Dragon moved as lithe and majestic as a hawk. The city of Lutia became smaller as Lith rose higher in the sky until they could see even Raaz's house and the Trawn woods from above.
They flew through the entire Lustria County and Lith made sure to pay Baronet Hogum a visit. He circled several times above his mansion, releasing a powerful aura of fear with each roar until he could almost smell the piss from above.
'Once Hogum investigates the phenomenon, he'll learn who the Dragon belongs to and will get his message. You touch my stuff, and I touch yours.' Lith thought.
***
Heavenly Plume Village.
Solus's cookies were the best she had ever cooked, which wasn't actually much but to her, they tasted like victory.
'Maybe starting my cooking lessons with sweets wasn't such a good idea.' She thought while patting her stomach. 'I need to diet and exercise if I want to lose weight.'
"You need a more delicate touch with the dough, dear." Elina said, dipping a cookie in milk to make it soft enough for human consumption. "If you compress it too much, instead of crunchy cookies you get cookie-shaped rocks."
"Sorry, I'll do better next time." Solus wolfed them down, instead.
'After everything I went through, I deserve a break. The diet can wait for tomorrow..' She thought.
