Melody of Mana

"Glad you're back," Dras said as we met for lunch.

"Yeah, me too,"

"Selene?" He looked up from his food questioningly.

"She's... rough, still refusing to travel much, and terrified. For now she's taken up a position at the fortress, probably not the best thing, but we'll have to wait and see if she can be brought out of it." I had mixed opinions on how she was acting.

"You don't approve of it?" He asked.

"If she lets the fear take her, she may never recover. That said, I can't really blame her for being afraid. Crap, I'm afraid sometimes, and I didn't get anything nearly as bad as she did."

Two weeks after her rescue and there was still no sign of our enemies anywhere. I was nervous, and keeping guards nearby, but I still had things that needed doing and locking myself up until the people who took us were caught just wasn't an option. That said I was avoiding my family home, Mystien's lab, and anything even resembling a schedule when not firmly within friendly territory. Even my current project was being done under a false name.

"Not what I expected, but I guess you're probably right. Any chance you'll be coming back soon?" He prodded.

"Weeks at least Dras, got something else I'm working on, and no, I can't tell you about it," I said, shaking my head.

"Wasn't going to ask. Shame though, we really need the help. After Linden we got three more gate pairs set up and there are calls for dozens more. Emperor wants one in all the major cities for public use, and the military wants a bunch too. Their new eastern campaign looks like it's going to take a bit."

"Can't say that the rush will be better for me, but at least I won't have managers and the like breathing down my neck the whole time," I laughed at his troubles, not that having a monarch wanting results as soon as physically possible was much better, but at least he was busy elsewhere.

He laughed right back. "I'm the one doing most of the breathing down necks nowadays."

"Careful there Dras, or you'll end up in an office position forever."

"Would that really be so bad?" He asked, grinning.

"I think I'd go insane personally..." Regardless of how much I complained about being sent all over the place, the idea of sitting in a workshop like that forever sent a shiver down my spine.

I thought back on things. I'd seen terrors, and horrors, and things that were well outside my ability to deal with. I'd been sent or drug across continents and kingdoms. It had never been boring though, even when I'd been working in the labs that had quickly turned into preparation for the expedition, and I could go enjoy the night-life.

The project I was on now though was something else. I was the one in charge, and I could go where I wanted and do mostly what I wanted so long as I got results. I'd picked the place, and the team, and everything else about it, and that was fun too. It was research, but not the boring lab stuff, and I felt like I might really enjoy it this time.

We shared a few more jabs before lunch ended. Neither of us had much time, he had to get back to work, and I was only back in Lithere for the afternoon. On my way out I was met by my bodyguard, who joined me in the carriage as we took off.

"Anything?" I asked Ulanion.

"Not that I saw. We don't know he has people in Lithere, but if he didn't I'd be amazed. Of course, nobody knew we were coming except Mystien, and if he's betrayed this empire we should consider returning back to Atal."

I snorted at that one. "Luckily I feel that to be quite unlikely."

I looked over at the many activation controls for the defenses on this carriage, just beside my seat. "I don't like playing bait, but if they are watching Dras they're not going to let me just get away. Here, or when we leave the city they'll strike."

The whole way back to the fortress I was on edge, afraid that we were being watched, but as we made it to the area around it some of that began to fall away. The empire was still enraged about all that had happened, and really wanted a fight, but it looked like today we wouldn't be getting it.

On the other hand there was much to do before I got to my next assignment. The main thing was an absolute mess, and something I'd not really messed with in either of my lives. Time seemed to slow as the maid assigned took care of it, hands going through practiced movements. By the end I was thoroughly exhausted, but it would help for this work.

When I met Ulanion back at the gate, he just stared.

"How do I look?" I asked.

It was plain to see that he was trying to find a way not to step in the pit trap I just set up for him. "It's... certainly different," he finally responded.

The black hair that spilled over my shoulders was indeed that. "Don't worry, I don't much like it either, and it's easy enough to be rid of. At least it should help with keeping me unrecognized, so long as someone keeps their helmet on." I looked at him pointedly.

"How exactly did I get assigned to this again?" He asked, putting on the conical helm that matched his armor. He looked like any other soldier in the empire's armies, not a knight, but one of the more common types.

"I trust you, and I need a guard. You've already seen enough of this stuff that there's no worry about having to bring you into secrets, and the less people who know the better, so you're the perfect choice," I said, defending my decision.

"Those are all good reasons, but what's the real one."

"I don't want to be lonely, and most of my former team is either buried under work or unable to join," I said.

"Fine then, I've had worse assignments." Grumble as he might I could see the hint of a smile.

"You remember the cover story?" I asked.

"Why of course miss Jenna. We're only going to check on the area's food production and do some basic checks for issues, how could I possibly forget?" He dripped sarcasm, and I couldn't really blame him, the story was bland as plain rice, but it would do for our needs.

"Thank you Sean, glad to see we're on the same page."

We chatted as we made our way to the gate. We left while the kitchens were serving dinner and almost everyone was gone, and that was by design. Our mission here would be depending on security through obscurity, and the less people who knew anything the better. I'd filed all the paperwork myself and other than father and the emperor almost nobody knew where we were going. Everyone else involved in the whole thing was picked for a reason, that they didn't know us.

Both Ulanion and myself pushed down our auras hard as we came near, passing my brother, who'd been stationed here for tonight. He was the senior officer on guard duty, while everyone else was a brand new transfer. I nodded and got a light wave before heading to the soldier directing people. He looked nervous and gave a rather worried smile as we came over to him.

"Ah, good morning miss... do you have your paperwork?" I held out the little file and he quickly read over it. "I see, I see, gate 28, to... Silversprings? Never heard of that place... Um... right this way."

He led us over to the portal and ran through the standard startup procedure. I really wanted to tell him how to do it the whole time, because he was slow as maple syrup in winter, but we eventually got there. We waved as we passed through the gate and to the waystation on the other side.

The woman who greeted us on the other side looked a bit grumpy. Not too long ago these gates had been rarely used and only for military purposes, but now they were being used for something so minor as piss-ant officials? Waste of the network, at least that's how a lot of people were seeing it.

Regardless, the handful of small bags that we needed had made it through, and there were horses ready for us in the morning when we rose. I'd have loved to use a carriage, as my practice with side-saddle was almost non-existent, but that would have been too expensive for who we were supposed to be, and there weren't many of those around here anyway.

"That's a big city," Ulanion observed as we set out. While it was still a couple of hours away the ground here was flat, with the waystation being on the only hill around, I suspected that hill was also man-made.

"It was a big city, now it's less than a thousand people. At least if tax records are to be believed." He raised an eyebrow, and not without reason, the place we were going was easy to pick out from the brownish grass all around it. "A couple hundred years ago Silversprings was a big city, I'll let you guess their main export."

"Silver?"

"Right you are. You can't see it from here but there are several small spring-fed lakes around the city, and it used to be one of the best mining towns around. Then the silver dried up. The farmland is, as you can see, poor, and while there's a bit near the lakes, beyond those and the fish there's not much here. Most of the people left, seeking better land elsewhere," I explained.

It was the perfect place for our testing. Banditry was not an issue, as there wasn't enough money or population for bandits to survive long. There was water for the tests we needed to use it for, a low number of people so hiding those tests would be easy, and if something did go horribly, horribly wrong nothing of great value would be damaged.

The ride to the city was pleasant enough. This was close to the southern border of the empire and it was noticeably warmer than what I'd been dealing with, but still mild. It was also just... calm, the whole place was just calm. There was the issue of the blisters I was developing, but while those were quite unpleasant they would be easily solved once we finished our ride.

The walls grew and grew, and so did the signs of decay. While it looked impressive from far off, you could see that they were barely being maintained. There was just too much area for the number of people they had, and large city walls like these were no small chore to keep up. Someone was trying, that much was clear, but they needed help if they were to actually keep them in proper order. There were a couple of gate guards, who greeted us as we approached.

"Hail travelers, don't suppose you're one miss Jenna then?" One of the guards asked, looking over our clothes. I was dressed in what had become a sort of standard issue black dress, often used by the female administrators of the empire, while Ulanion's armor matched well to that the two guards here wore.

"Indeed I am, not many travelers then?" I asked.

"Afraid not ma'am, you're the first stranger we've had in a good bit, and the mayor's more than a bit nervous about your coming."

"Is that so?" I asked. "Are there any issues the city needs aid with?" I had a bad feeling.

"Well... maybe it's best if you speak to him," the man replied, looking a bit concerned.

Beside me Ulanion sighed.