Chapter 335: Catching up (2/2)
“Quite the talent our little painter has developed.” Ilea said, her gaze focused on the depicted mage, the girl smiling as she heard the praise. Still, she focused on her magic, wanting to add more details before her mana ran out.
“Scrying. It’s a powerful ability, rare and usually reserved for old wrinkled oracles.” Claire replied, standing next to the sitting woman.
Ilea grunted her affirmation, “Quite something you made out of the city.” she said, “Less people on the streets, nearly all the shops filled and bustling. The very opposite of what you expect from wartime. The war is still going on, isn’t it?”
She’s really been away completely, “It is. A stalemate for the last four months but it looks like Baralia is spreading itself too thin. The winter hasn’t been good on them.” Ilea huffed some air out of her nose, a smile tugging on her lips, its meaning lost on Claire.
“Sounds wonderful. How are you, Claire? How’s Ravenhall?” She turned her way now, looking up.
Why does it feel like I made a pact with a demon when I took that money? Back then it felt like robbing a noble girl of her father’s money. “I’m well, busy most of the time but well.” She made herself calm down a little. It’s Ilea. “What happened to you in the north?” She couldn’t help ask.
The healer smiled, “Trained mostly, killed a bunch of monsters. I’m at three hundred now, Claire.”
“I don’t know if I should be proud or scared.” She replied honestly, chuckling at the circumstance. “Are you going to share something or will you be the same as Verena, deeming the knowledge only for those worthy?”
“I’d appreciate proud.” Ilea replied, “Can Cless paint the future or past? And do you know if it’s true?” The woman asked, not replying to her question on knowledge.
“We tested it with some others she knows. It’s the present time, or close enough.” Claire said, summoning one of the paintings depicting Ilea, fighting a knight with two short swords. The armor looked terrifying and otherworldly, not too far from her previous gear but the ghostly feeling Cless had added made her question if it really was Ilea.
“The kingsguard. That’s me alright.” Ilea replied, “Oh speaking of king, there’s a necromancer in town near by level. He should be alright, just so you know he’s not a danger.”
“You don’t sound completely convinced.” Claire said and immediately started writing some notes, putting them into the steel tubes coming out of the wall behind her desk. Closing the lids, she activated the wind magic enchantments to send the messages to the relevant people in the guard, shadowguard and Hand.
“Is that a message delivery system? Neat.” Ilea said, patting Cless’ back when the girl had ran out of mana. “And yea, I’ll deal with him if he does anything too out there.” She laughed, “That’s a beautiful painting Cless. Kyrian would love it, I’m sure.”
The girl looked down, embarrassed at the praise. “Don’t overdo it, she knows how good she is. Cless you have school soon, ready in ten minutes?” The girl nodded, a bright smile on her face, mischievousness in her eyes. Children. Claire thought and smiled, turning away when she realized Ilea had been watching her.
“I’m glad you’re taking care of her, Claire.” Ilea said.
“I know you felt responsible but we found her together, you know? It’s nice to have someone around that doesn’t talk about laws and permits all the time.” She said and smiled.
Ilea seemed to accept the answer, hopefully not feeling bad about going on her own adventures. “I have a little more to share than just the three hundred evolution.” She said a minute later, Cless already ready to leave. “I’d rather inform everyone instead of talking to each of you separately.”
“Who is everyone?” Claire asked, straightening the dress Cless was wearing.
“I don’t know if they’re still around. Sulivhaan, Dagon, Elise and you.” Ilea replied.
“If it concerns them, I would suggest adding Trian to the list. He’s been dealing with the nobles coming to the city. While much of the gold and investments are with us, as in the Hand, new investors helped a great deal too.” Claire added, “Oh and you now own a large chunk of the city. The first months were crazy. New investors were scarce, even the merchants who instantly jumped on the idea didn’t go all in with their gold. I kept a sum back, if you want it but most of the gains I immediately reinvested. Your rules actually helped too, word spreading quickly that Lilith owned places paid well and had fair conditions. It snowballed and well, now you…,” Claire was just about to start when Ilea gestured her to stop.
“Thanks, we can talk about that stuff later, I have some questions and ideas too. For now, I’d like to get to the talk with the others, it could be detrimental in regards to the Hand’s future actions.” The healer said, surprising Claire.
“How so?” She asked, writing more notes before adjusting the pipes and putting them inside, the wind magic taking them to where they needed to go. Part of the system was that the writing was illegible until passing through the exit piece associated with the sending one. That part took her four months to develop after the initial idea was set up in a manner of days. Security wasn’t important at first but as soon as Baralia agents came into play and the city’s population grew again, it became a necessity.
“I have information on the Elves, Taleen, Feynor as well as the Dark Ones living in the north. Some of it directly or indirectly concerns humanity.” Ilea replied.
Claire had a blank stare as she looked at the woman who was braiding her hair into a single plait. “I’m ready!” Cless said, pulling on her armored skirt, Claire still in her fighting gear.
“Elves?” She blurted out after a couple seconds, “What did you find out?” She felt her heart rate accelerate. If they could learn about those creatures, their motives, weaknesses. Sulivhaan was obsessed with them, constantly allocating resources to scan through the western lands, trying to make sense of their movements and attacks. The past year was quiet, only a couple attempts to break into Dawntree reported.
“As I said, I’d like to not repeat myself five times. Do we meet here?” Ilea replied, making Claire feel a little frustrated.
Perhaps I’ve grown too accustomed to get what I want instantly since becoming the Head Administrator. Claire smiled a little, patting Cless’ head, “Alright. We meet in the library, I have to bring Cless to her class with William. The others are informed. I think everybody is in the city.”
“Good.” Ilea said and cracked her neck.
“Who is your necromancer friend?” Claire asked, the three of them walking towards Viscera. She didn’t assume that was part of the things she wanted to keep for the whole group. The sky was clear, the last weeks of Winter were upon them. What will Virilya do? She wondered.
Ilea was looking around like a tourist in a newly discovered marvel of a city, checking the different shops and restaurants that had sprung up, “There’s so much to see.” She said, “He’s the ancient king of a lost kingdom in the north. Excited to see the cities built in his absence.”
She says that as if it’s a normal thing. Claire decided to prioritize, trusting Ilea and her assessment of that king. If he was anywhere close to her in personality, she would look at damages and reparations of at least fifty gold. Not a problem. “You also own most of these. Restaurants and shops were first on the list. I was pretty liberal with your gold afterwards.”
“Wouldn’t want it any other way.” Ilea replied with a smirk, “Are there orphanages and schools as well?”
Claire glanced her way, “Some, yes. I do hope that question has nothing to do with the necromancer you brought.”