Elydes

Chapter 199 - Politics

While Kai had never seen him in a dark-blue uniform, he would recognize that unreasonably large figure anywhere. As the barge rowed closer to shore, he became certain.

Feeling the attention on him, Lou turned to the approaching boat and met his eyes. Distance hid his surprise right till he dropped the crate he was carrying. He hurried to pick it up and scurried away amidst the yells of some senior officers.

He could have at least waved.

Two streams of people carried supplies to opposite ends of the camp. Nothing too unusual by itself, but the people in the larger group wore black or gray uniforms, while the smaller stream had different shades of blue like Lou.

There was also a third group that didn’t follow that logic. Some wore common clothes, others had colorful robes with no matching style. They kept away from the bustle and looked more interested in checking the cargo.

“I didn’t miss what you did.” Makyn came to stand beside him, more somber than usual.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” His perplexed look was the picture of innocence. “You two did a splendid job on your own.”

His eyes hardened. “This is not a game, Kai. People are dying. You’re here to help figure out what’s going on. Not to play games.”

Kai craned his neck up to look at him face-to-face. “I don’t recall ever refusing to help or holding back what I know. And if you want to nitpick, I didn’t exactly have a choice in coming, did I?”

“We need your father’s research, but we can do without you.”

“Really?” His eyebrow rose with false amusement. “Then I’ve changed my mind. Send me back with the barges and you can keep my backpack.”

“You’ve signed a contract.”

That’s convenient.

“If that’s the problem, I’ll pay you back triple for breaching the agreement as by law.” Kai raised his chin in challenge. It wasn’t the smartest choice to tempt a soldier who just had his patience stretched thin, but he wasn’t going to get bossed around.

Makyn clenched his jaw, his gaze could freeze the stars. He towered over him, his mana presence swelling to press down on him.

Oh, please. You might crush me in physical stats but stay in your lane.

His own essence flared, cutting through the aura like an enchanted knife filleting a fish. Pushing mana outside the body left you vulnerable, especially if it was adrift. The man stiffened when he lost connection with a chunk of his aura.

“If you don’t have any other brilliant arguments, keep your lectures to yourself.” Kai turned back to the workers on shore. Their barge had connected to the pier and was being secured with ropes. “How am I supposed to help when you put me in a room with a pompous fool with a fragile ego?”

Makyn stood back, placid as a lake. “That man is an exception. We have many more competent people.” He studied him with the slightest frown.

“I’ll trust it when I see them.”

* * *

The rest of the day turned into a whirlwind of activity, people mingled with the newcomers. Lou was nowhere to be seen and Kai wasn’t allowed to wander outside the camp for security reasons. He had been assigned to the scholar quarters in one of the largest square buildings near the shore.

The walls were a strange mixture of rock and compacted earth that screamed of magic construction. Before stepping inside, he sneakily tested them with his fist and bit down a curse. It was like hitting cement—not pleasant. There wasn’t any give in the material, though it was crumbly when he scratched it with his knife.

While he might be able to create something similar with Earth magic, it’d be inefficient since he lacked the skill.

Functional, but not made to last… How does it react to water?

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” A woman walked up to him, watching the dirt wall like it was made of gold. She wore a leather jacket, a green skirt stitched with orange patches and long boots. Her red hair was gathered in a messy bun escaping over her glasses. “You should have seen when they cast them out of the ground. I still have the shivers. If we’re lucky they might build another to make space for the new people.”

Kai took a step back from the strange woman. “You are…?”

“Oh, foolish me.” She pushed a lock off her face and enthusiastically shook his hand. “I’m Sonya, one of the scholars who’s helping to crack the mystery. I’m more of an enthusiast and small-time adventurer really. I was in the archipelago on a break when this started, and I have experience with forgotten civilizations and languages. I couldn’t refuse the opportunity when they came whispering about magic and ruins.”

Kai blinked at the deluge of information. Strange but harmless. She was late Orange, with her profession channels close to the next grade. “I’m Kai. Guess I’m also a kind of history enthusiast.”

“You’re the kid that Darlo was talking about!” Her teal eyes widened with delight. “I heard you’re bringing us new material to work with. Come, you’ll be staying with us. Everyone is so excited to meet you.”

How does she have more energy than me when she's three times my age?

He was dragged inside the construction with barely time to grab his bags. Three men huddled over a table covered in papers and books, arguing over the original use of the Vastaire sites. A light globe hung on a rope over them. The group ranged from a grandpa with a snowy beard to a young man who hadn’t lost his baby face.

“Look who I found, Darlo.” Sonya presented him to the third man like a winning competition dog. “He’s the new boy they told us about.”

Put on the spot, Kai waved with a dumb grin. Sure he had already burned any chance to be taken seriously. “Nice to meet you all.”

Darlo looked at him from head to toe with skepticism. “You’re the so-called genius child who’s bringing revolutionary information?” He was a thin middle-aged man, and the unofficial leader of the mismatched group from the way the other two stayed back. Probably because he was the only one with a yellow profession.

“Hmm, I never called myself a genius. The research was my dad’s work, I just studied it and organized a few things.”

The humble remark earned him a nod of approval from the grandpa and an awkward smile from the young man. Darlo had already turned back to the table, indifferent. It wasn’t the enthusiastic welcome Sonya promised, but his expectations weren’t sky-high anyway. As long as they kept an air of civility and didn’t throw a tantrum, it was enough.

“I heard there was another scholar due to join us from a different team.” Darlo glanced at the door like he expected someone to appear. “Do you know where he is?”

Kai shrugged. “They don’t tell me anything.” He hadn’t seen Aldred since they came on land and wasn’t eager to rehash the encounter.

“They like to keep a tight hold on information, don’t they? Huh, you probably want to settle in, so you can show us what you brought!” Sonya dragged him towards one of two inner doors. “You’ll be staying with me. Don’t worry, I don’t snore.”

Yatei have mercy on your poor servant.

The room hosted two pairs of bunk beds, a chest, a table and a couple chairs. A sheet hung separating them to provide some privacy.

“We won’t spend much time in here, but I thought you’d prefer to share the room with one person instead of three.” Sonya showed him the spaces he could use. “Take the bed you prefer, I don’t mind.”

That’s surprisingly thoughtful…

Kai flung himself onto the empty side and set down his backpack. When he heard they’d camp near the ruins, he had prepared himself for some rough living conditions. This was worse than he hoped and far better than he feared.

My poor shower. How lonely must it feel…

It would take some adjusting to live without the comforts of his own house, but there was no point crying over spilled potions. The moment the Republic came knocking, he had said farewell to his privacy, though the plain houses left little space for hidden enchantments and spying.

I’ll need to verify if—

“Is this spatial bag where you keep the notes?” Sonya kneeled beside his backpack, looking like a child with a cake she wasn’t allowed to touch. “Without enough glyphs and materials to compare we’ve been stuck for months. Do you mind if I take a look?”

She sure doesn’t waste time.

“Go ahead.” Kai waved her on. “Just be careful handling the older volumes.”

“I promise on my eternal soul I’ll treat them with care. I can tell we’re going to be great friends.” The smile she gave him wasn’t half as bright when she took out the first book. “Uh, we should probably show the others too… Damn, this thing is heavy.”

“Let me help you. Do you want me to show you the research? My dad followed his own brand of chaotic order.”

“Oh, that’d be amazing,” she beamed. Then her shoulders slumped, “If you aren’t too exhausted by the journey. A healer I know told me it’s important for children to get a lot of sleep.”

“I’m almost thirteen.”

With a half a year of approximation. Spirits, there is nothing worse than having to point out my age.

Sonya gave him a once-over, adjusting her glasses. “Of course! You must forgive me, my sight isn’t too good. I can see you're a young man.”

I’m pretty sure those lenses aren’t enchanted for visual acuity…

The trio in the main room wasn’t too eager when Sonya announced he would give a presentation. Darlo looked at him with open hostility—maybe afraid he would threaten his authority. That lasted till he opened his mouth on the first journal; the rest of the evening was a blur of paper, glyphs and arguments.

It was nice to have someone appreciate his research with such fervor. He never had anyone to share his passion for past civilizations since his dad died.

They had barely scratched the pile of journals he brought, and his throat hurt from talking too much. He had no idea what time it was when he crashed into his bed, only that he couldn’t hear a voice in the entire camp.

The next day repeated much the same, bent over books and writings. Kai made ample use of the skills he nicked on the boat. Aldred had mysteriously disappeared, but no one had the mental resources to spare for him.

Going through Rellan’s research, there was tons of new information the four scholars needed to assess. Darlo didn’t like him much but maintained a veil of cold politeness.

Kai had to admit he had underestimated the group. They had been held back by the lack of information since the governor demolished a third of the Vastaire sites. With the deluge of new material, they were flying through the books he had spent years studying. The new perspectives also made him notice details he had always missed.

There was no time to explore the camp. He only went outside to eat at the mess hall and use the common bathroom. Sonya filled in the last gaps with disinterested comments.

Though it remained unsaid, the division in the camp was hard to miss. One side was under the military, officially in command of the operation. The other smaller group was funded by the high-ranking officials and politicians who oversaw the archipelago. They were spearheaded by the governor and wore the blue color of the Republic.

On paper, both groups worked to find a solution to the attacks, but when it came down to it, Kai’d bet an arm they had their own agenda. He wasn’t sure where the safety of the inhabitants was placed on their lists, but it wasn’t at the top.

I basically get to choose which flavor of poison to take. This just keeps getting better.

“Trust someone who has tried. Don’t get sucked into that nonsense,” Sonya warned. “You won’t get anything apart from hurt and disappointment. Our job is to find the Truth. Humans can’t fight the seasons.”

“You’re right,” he dutifully nodded. He hadn’t seen anyone spying on them, though spies probably didn’t walk around with a bell around their neck.

The scholars were neutral freelancers hired for their expertise. Kai could respect that, but the archipelago wasn’t their home. Once they were done, they would sail away and never come back. He didn’t have the luxury to look away.

Makyn stopped by to inquire about their progress. He talked to everyone individually and left without saying goodbye, the cold-hearted monster. Kai saw Valela and Lou amble around the camp, never finding the chance to talk to either.

I get Valela, but why are you avoiding me too? You better not just be sulking that I uncovered your mysterious job. I promise I won’t rub it in your face too much, just a week or two.

The following day, the scholars got the chance to visit the nearby ruins escorted by two guards with blue uniforms. Kai was excited to stretch his legs and see the place for himself, his companions not so much. They had done several field trips and saw it as a chore that kept them away from real research.

“It’s not the job of a scholar to recover the material,” Darlo huffed, walking up the trail across the jungle. The ruins were a couple miles away from the camp, most of them uphill.

“And where’s the fun in that?” Sonya tried to cheer him up, but Darlo only deepened his frown. “We might notice something new with the information Kai brought.” The chaotic woman also didn’t mingle well in Darlo’s pecking order. Though she seemed unaware of it—or acted that way.

She must be committed to avoiding politics.

When they reached the top of the ridge, Kai thought he knew what to expect. He didn’t.

An army of pillars rose from the jungle that tried to swallow them. Vines, weeds and trees climbed the ivory shards, unable to entirely cover the smooth surface. There were more towers than the two ruins he had visited combined.

“It’s quite a sight, isn’t it?” Sonya shielded her eyes from the sun. “To think they’ve stood for eight millennia.”

He tried and failed to count the buildings. “It’s massive.”

“I guess compared to the other sites it is. If the measurements we have are accurate, this should be the second-largest cluster. C’mon, it’s even better up close.”

Kai rushed the descent to the annoyance of their escort. The towers were hidden by the trees’ canopies before reappearing among the shrubbery. The vegetation at the end of the trail had been cut to form a clearing where seven magically constructed buildings and two dozen people stood.

Darlo padded the sweat off his brow with a silk handkerchief. “Do we already have a planned route to explore?” He turned to the woman in charge of their security escort.

“Yes, we’ll be divided into two groups and circle the site in opposite directions with adjustments according to your requirements.”

It’s almost impressive how they manage to suck the fun out of everything.

“Can I go study the ruins alone? I’ll have different interests since it’s my first visit.” Kai put on his best smile. The mana density was too low even for red beasts, not that they would pose a danger. “I promise I’ll scream if a vine tries to strangle me.”

The woman was unamused by the joke. “Unfortunately, I can’t let you go unaccompanied and there are only two of us to protect everyone.”

“I can go escort him if that’s not a problem, ma’am.” A voice intervened.

After ghosting him for days, Lou sauntered up to him like nothing. He saluted the guard without meeting Kai’s gaze.

Fine, let’s play strangers.

“Don’t you have other duties to attend, cadet?” The woman's tone was suddenly more amicable.

“No, ma’am. My captain cleared me for the day. I’m available to help where needed.”

“Well, if you insist on escorting the little scholar. Keep him to the outskirts of the site and return before dark.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

When the two groups disappeared into the ruins, Lou finally stooped to look at him. “Since I’m more familiar with the terrain I can show you the most relevant points of interest if that’s alright with you.”

Kai fought to not roll his eyes. “Sure. Lead the way, guard boy.” He followed the mysterious stranger into the greenery and waited to be out of the keenest ears before speaking. “Why are you—”

“We’ll talk later. Valela wants to see you.”