Chapter 10-309: Stages of Development (2/2)
That meant I was getting ever more adept Vassals, meaning they were more successful, too...
But that wasn’t all I was doing, either. Azaia had watched me spinning threads of Necromancy and Divination, although doing it with ki meant she couldn’t decipher exactly what I was doing.
“I finished up reliving Elrii’s life,” I replied softly, and her eyes widened, Legion glancing over at me, too. “The first six months were... demeaning. Your mother’s attitude when Elrii was tested for no magic, the things she said, the way she washed her hands of Elrii...
“Elrii was an infant and so understood nothing, of course, but I could. The magic gave me her memories in reverse order, and I’ve been replaying them properly during this trip, at about a year an hour.”
“Is that why you look so angry?” Azaia asked, having a good idea of Elrii’s childhood.
“No. It’s because I noticed things that she, as a child, did not understand or simply convinced herself she had not seen.
“We shall be stopping by Tours afterwards.”
Azaia nodded, having the distinct feeling that something was up. I really wanted to kill Cultivators and wipe them from the land, but some things... well, they just had to get done when you became aware of them.
This was one of them.
I sat back while the ocean and an occasional cargo ship flew by. The sea floor thousands of meters below scrolled past, the occasional wrecks of ships and the outposts of undersea races forming aberrations in the natural flow and movement of the mantles and endless currents.
It was an obligation I had to discharge. It appeared that saving that little boy was not the end of things by a long shot...
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It was slower going overland than across the ocean, of course, but that just meant we could cross Lived-Lines.
I had given Azaia an Oathring a long time ago, so she was Sustained, which meant we didn’t have to stop for food at all. Actually, we made excellent time by simply moving along railways most of the time, Sleipner having no problem at all balancing on one of the tracks as we moved along. I was fully capable of sensing via Commune a train from miles ahead, and we could easily pull off long enough to avoid it. Veil-shifting past crossroads was an automatic for Sleipner if required.
Someone would probably have been very surprised to hear that you could go 300 kph overland through France after pulling into Bordeaux, but that was about what we averaged... and amusingly enough, crossed some Lived-Lines on the way, too. Still, normal automobiles and trains weren’t enough to do this, so basically it was crossing paths where Azaia or Elrii had walked as pedestrians, and we didn’t need to go too far out of our way to reach them.
If I wanted true completion, that was something I could get on my own time from atop the Old Steed, after all.
Nice was just down the coast from Monaco. In this world, the latter was still a playground for the wealthy and the famous, and also a point of contact with the tritons who held the Mediterranean against outsiders, commanding the Gibraltar Straits against all manner of incursions with the help of the navies of countries very eager to see the area kept safe from the incessant coastal raids plaguing cities and towns on the Atlantic.
Nice played off that reputation as a haven for artists, and so had a thriving tourism and entertainment industry. The arena where Sinead Morninglight would be performing was all sold out, naturally enough, and people were streaming to the area hours before the concert was to begin, giving the parking lot and surrounding buildings and streets quite a festive air.
Azaia had not told her we were coming, and indeed hadn’t told the family anything about her working with me, merely explaining that she was doing a Double Helix Reversion with the help of the Church of Sylune, and would be quite busy for some time.
That said, there was absolutely no way she would not be recognized by the crew when we came walking back up to the performer’s entryway.
“Henri!” Azaia called out to slender foreman as we walked up, and his eyes nearly popped out when he recognized her.
“Mademoiselle Morningwind!” he exclaimed, throwing up his hands and smiling broadly. The older fellow promptly kissed both her cheeks with the air of a delighted uncle, and held her shoulders to look at her. “It has been too long since you have graced us with your presence! Are you staying for the show, or have you come just to see your sister?”
“I am planning to see the show as well, Uncle Henri. May my friends and I pass?” she asked with a smile.
“Of course, of course! This must be a surprise, I am sure!” He winked at her and gave me a perfunctory glance, eyes sliding right over me and disregarding me as being of much importance as he picked up on subtle social clues that assured him I was nobody of note. Legion, of course, had the whole Amazon bodyguard I-am-an-invisible-stiff-don’t-talk-to-me-I’m-working vibe going on and was at Azaia’s flank, looking around and ignoring Uncle Henri in turn.
Having seen many such things in the past, the foreman simply waved us in with a broad smile, then shouted at the crew who were enjoying the show of two halvyri and an Amazon walking past to get back to work.
Backstage was not that far, and if people were running around busily, Azaia seemed to know which way to go, ran across people she knew and who knew her, exchanged casual greetings with the flair of someone who had socialized with the wealthy and famous all her life, and made her way towards the main room for the star.
Master Fred poked my thoughts on our private link, and I turned my attention thataway.
Shit.