Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

“Kite, please come in. I’m just finishing up here.” Peony called, as Kite entered her workshop along with Sun.

Compared to most people working with creating magical items, it was a surprisingly simple room with a word desk mostly empty along with shelves and racks containing the different pieces of magical gear Kite’s and Peony’s looting powers had provided along with neatly sorted piles of other materials with different kinds of quintessence gleaming in labeled boxes.

Peony herself was at work at her desk, although it differed quite a lot from the crafting which Kite had seen his aunties perform so many times. Crow had been using tools to inscribe formation plates meant to be linked together or fitted into place while Dove had her own brand of internal alchemy. Peony’s work looked even more distinctly magical. Two shimmering, glowing masses were floating in front of her, one looking distinctly like the outline of a sword Kite recognized while the other was more an amorphous mass.

As he looked, Peony carefully gestured towards the more shapeless mass, glowing threads of runes emerging and being gently guided into the sword over about ten minutes. Kite barely dared to breathe as she performed the delicate work, looking for all the world like she was handling the finest of spiderwebs where a single stray shake of the hand could have it all collapse.

Seeming satisfied, Peony took a breath of her own then clapped her hands together. The glow vanished, leaving the blade and a pile of metal and wood chips floating down to rest on the desk below.

“Is that the sword with the enchantments of wind and swiftness that my power produced? He asked, peering down at the weapon.

“Yes, I used that as the baseline for this creation, aiming at an augmentation rather than a blend. The blade is light and very swift from the enchantments, so I thought that melding the venomous enchantments from the dagger we found would be a good match. If you want to stack poisons, rate of attacks should help.”

Kite nodded along with her explanation. “But was it green before?” he asked, looking down at the thin blade which now had a distinctive green tint and even some grooves like the veins of a piece of wood.

“No, because I managed to bring another aspect from the dagger along as well. Although it was very taxing, I managed to transfer its plant aspect. For those with such powers, this blade should now interact with some plant and wood-based powers as if it was made of that material. While its just guesswork, I think that someone who could, say, reshape their wooden spear or staff should be able to do the same with this blade now even though it is made of metal.”

Kite looked down at the blade with new respect. “I now see what you mean when you told us that bronze rank allowed you to work with more esoteric aspects.”

“Isn’t it rather marvelous?” Peony said, straightening as she puffed out her chest with pride. “And know you have caught a glimpse of how I work. That one took around six hours to make, although what I made for you took over two days.”

“The week since our return sure has gone by quickly.” Kite said.

“For some, at least.” Sun complained as he went over to embrace his wife. “Peony has been cooped up here almost every waking hour. People will soon start assuming that I am a bachelor.”

“But husband, you see me every morning during practice.” she teased, eliciting a wince from Sun.

“I swear, those two Gellers are demons from the tales of old.” he muttered, although Kite knew that he worked himself hard. “The things I do to help my wife achieve her goals. They might make an adventurer of me yet.”

“And you will be the most handsome one of them all. But you know that my heart will bleed every time you get hurt, so you will have to do your best to avoid that.” Peony said. “Keep my handsome monkey warrior intact until I can get my hands on him.” she finished, playfully flicking her husband’s nose.

“Wife! We have company!” Sun exclaimed, blushing noticeably.

“Meh, he’s basically family now.” Peony said teasing, but allowed her husband some dignity as she let go of her embrace. “So, Kite, I assume that you want to see them? I finished them last night.”

“Rather late last night.” Sun grumbled, still blushing.

“You sure didn’t complain afterwards.”

“Wife!”

Peony just stuck her tongue out at her husband before leaving the room to the adjacent storage area. Sun just shook his head, but the smile was plastered to his face.

“While she is quite the handful, I am ever so happy to see her lighten up again. Ever since she could start working again, it has been as if the blocked drain of her creativity has been cleansed, bringing the bounty and joy of creation to the rest of her being.”

“While it sounds like you have gotten a quite… different… perspective of her enthusiasm, I can see what you mean.” Kite said, unable to help himself to tease Sun a bit too.

“Heavens, not you too…” Sun groaned, and was about to say something else when Peony returned, carrying a pair of bracers.

“I apologize that there is no fancy container, but I thought that you would probably prioritize getting them quicker rather than any sh packaging.” she said, handing each of them to Kite. “I present to you, the Twofold Toll of the Bells.”

The pair of bracers were matched in shape, carrying a simplistic and linear design, but clearly differed in material. One of them was white, its surface having a blurred pattern that somehow looked like Kite imagined that a deep sound felt. The other was instead made from an almost clear crystal, instead giving the impression of clean and directed power that Kite’s subconscious associated with master Force, Dragonfly’s mentor.

WWJS:

[Item] Twofold Toll of the Bells

Bracers

Bronze rank - legendary

[Effect] The wielder may start channeling mana into the bracers and release the effect by touching the bracers together. The different levels of effect varies from high to extreme mana, with the highest level providing an exponential increase. Failing to release the effect while at the highest level will cause the mana to dissipate and be lost.

When released, the bracers release twin bursts of damaging force in quick successtion. The first burst deals resonating force damage and weakens the defenses and resistances of the target for a short duration. The second burst deals damage through kinetic force with a potent knockback effect.

The bursts of force have short range and a single target. Cooldown: 1 hour

“That sonic hammer and telekinetic gauntlet worked as a baseline like we hoped, and enough echo quintessene and potent quintessence added helped me shape the connection and really amplify the effect. Due to your resistance to being knocked back, I could really go all out with the kinetic force part.” Peony explained, looking quite satisfied at Kite’s apparent awe as he fitted the bracers onto his wrists and felt the power contained in them. “But be careful with the timing. If you are two slow with releasing the charge, it will go to waste, and the materials will need time to recover between uses. But just you wait; once I am silver rank, I can do even more spectacular things.” she assured him.

“From what I can sense from these ones, I believe that my foes will find it spectacular enough.” Kite said. “Thank you, Peony. Anyone who calls your work anything but masterful is a fool screaming at heavens he knows nothing about.”

“Oh we have always known that my wife had quite the talent.” Sun said, sharing her pride. “There was never really any question of who we should have given that first set of essences.”

“Oh stop it you two.” Peony said, blushing.

“Wife, I do believe that this is what they call sweet revenge.” Sun jibed, earning himself a flat stare.

“While I want to try these ones out, I believe that it would be most foolish to do it inside your home. But teacher has suggested another trip out for contracts, but only three days this time. Might we lure the esoteric master craftswoman out with us? And maybe her husband as well?” Kite asked, looking at the pair.

Peony looked pained at the thought of leaving her workshop, but still nodded. “We will always need more resources and coin for materials.”

“And we should see if we can’t manage to clean up some iron-ranked monsters as well for the materials. I do believe that your husband will need equipment if he shall try his hand at the adventurer’s life.” Kite added, Sun looking a bit worried.

“While I appreciate your guidance, I am not sure that I am in any shape to fight a monster.” he said, a bit warily.

“Do not worry, I think that a little more than a few days of training will be required before teacher throws you at a monster.” Kite said placatingly. “But seeing the reality from the back of my familiar should at least give you a sense of what the adventurer’s life can mean.

Sun looked a bit unsure, but after a look at his wife, he squared his shoulders. “Then I will be in your care.”

Braid woke with a start as he felt something tickle his nose, sitting bolt upright which in turn flung the rat in a squeaking arc across the room.

“Heavens, Braid, it’s only me~!” Another of the rats said where it stood on the small trunk next to his bed. The rest of Wanders bodies were swarming over the table, collaboratively working on filling paper after paper with text. While it was always fascinating to watch her collective self at work, it did not entirely alleviate Braid’s sour mood of being woken up in that particular fashion.

“Wander! You do know that it is possible to announce yourself. What if I had been undressed?” he grumbled while rising.

“Didn’t you listen to what I told Kite? I’ve seen hundreds, nay, thousands of naked people during the weeks we have been here. Adding you wouldn’t even shift your beloved statistics in any conceivable way~!”

Braid sighed. “But you… you know how I feel about that.” he said, a bit subdued.

The rat he was talking to seemed to shrink back a bit at his reaction, ears drooping in shame. “Yes, you are right. Sorry Braid~.”

“It’s alright Wander, but thank you.” Braid said, adjusting his cloth mask which had twisted a bit askew while he slept. “I see that you are writing. Does that mean that you found something worthwhile?”

The rat perked up again. “Oh yes! Oh yes yes yes yes yes~! Worthwhile enough that even I knew it to be so straight away. Take a look at this~!” she said, a few rats working together to present him with the freshly penned stack of papers.

Braid sat down and started looking through it, eyes widening in excitement beneath the mask with each page he turned. “Why, Wander, this… this is it! Not just traces, but a solid lead. While it's not enough to be damning, we should be able to act on this. We need to get this to director Dobrazza straight away!”

“On it! But promise me that we will get breakfast on the way there! I’m starving hundreds of time simultaneously.” Wander squeaked, her swarm flowing up to join him.

“Oh, no worries my friend! This- For this, I will get you a whole wheel of cheese!”

“Braid, you know that’s a hurtful stereotype~!”

Kite looked at the advancing wood elemental. At iron rank, they tended to be about two thirds the size of a person, quick and nimble as they lashed out with sharp branches or thorny vines. The bronze-ranked specimens instead tended to be rather large, often twice the height of a person with sturdy limbs and rough bark protecting the elemental from attack. While vaguely humanoid, their arm-like limbs tended to look more like the branches of a tree, often growing out of the trunk more randomly. The one that was currently lumbering towards Kite had no discernible face, but five arms which it waved menacingly.

“We’ll be here, but it will probably not be needed.” Phiona said from where the rest of his gathered companions stood, auras retracted and Sun wearing a simple paper charm which did the same for his uncontrolled one. “It shall be interesting to see what your new tool will do to an undamaged one.”

“Then Fortune and Warrior watch over me.” Kite called to them as he started his advance as well.

He had faced elementals such as this one many times before, and true to form it initiated hostilities by attempting to snare Kite in roots which burst from the soil beneath him. Kite ignored them, trusting in his resilience to such effects of the same rank as the roots failed to find purchase on him. Even as they flailed around him, he had instead started channeling mana into the pair of bracers.

When he had first tried them out, he had almost been startled by how fast they drank in his mana, quickly swallowing as much as his most cost-intense spells before it quickly eclipsed them. The charging would continue over ten seconds, with the final two seconds of its duration being the most critical threshold he would most often want to aim for. He could feel them starting to hum with power, his magical perception revealing an intensifying glow from the bands. It was half full as he was finally within range of the elemental, blocking two gnarled limbs on barrier and staff while the bracers continued charging, then swiftly beating back the second set of arms as his senses started screaming that the artifacts had reached their peak.

As he was already up and close, Kite didn’t hesitate. The bracers came into contact, and what was gathered within showed its potential to the world. First came the deep, bone-shaking tremor as the first pulse was unleashed. The powerful resonating force only registered as a shimmer in the air before half of the elemental’s torso and one set of branch-arms cracked, splinters bursting like shrapnel as its form was rent, structural integrity severely weakened as deep cracks had spread all over the affected area. Then came the second pulse of kinetic force, without sound but with an almost immediate effect as the close to invisible pulse connected with the same area already weakened by the first.

The poor elemental reacted as if hit by a landslide localized only over part of its body. The parts already cracked and weakened broke into splinters in an instant, shredding half the creature’s body and sending the intact part stumbling and falling backward. Had Kite not been resistant to effects which tried to forcefully move him, he too would have been sent flying. Instead, deep cracks in the packed earth spread from his feet as the force was dispersed.

Kite was a bit awestruck as he looked at the creature which was shambling back to its feet, a task only made harder by missing about half of its torso. It was not dead, the wooden body being resilient and lacking vitals, but severely injured. The rest of the fight was but a formality, the elemental falling to Kite steadily disassembling it with attacks covered in the dark of the void.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Rachel cheered as she ran ahead of the rest to inspect the aftermath of the blast.

“Terrifying is the word I’d use.” Sun murmured to his wife, walking in the wake of the red-haired Geller.

“It does seem to perform as advertised. But you will need to find a balance, student. This is a powerful tool and you should treat it with respect, preferably as an ace up your sleeve. Pun intended.” Phiona said, showing a faint smile of amusement at the others’ reaction to her surprise joke. “In the end, it is not one of your abilities and will not on its own contribute to your growth. But it should let you survive, or end fights which truly need to be ended swiftly.”

Kite nodded along with her words, understanding her reasoning. He had already been warned that the easy start of the early bronze rank would soon slow down to a crawl, the pace a lot more modest than the end of iron rank. To progress to silver, he would need to push his abilities a lot more over the years to come.

“Thank you for your wisdom, teacher.” he said, bowing slightly. Both he and Phiona then turned as Peony let out a whoop of triumph.

“Sun! Look!” she said, running to her husband as the elemental dissolved into rainbow smoke behind her. In her hands, she cupped an awakening stone which had vague shapes of different trees at its center.

“A most fortunate start to this outing.” Kite noted. “One could almost call it an omen.”

“Can he use it right away?” Peony asked, turning a pleading expression to Kite who in turn looked to the Gellers.

“Had he been an active fighter I would have counseled against it, as trying out an untested power when out in the field is often fraught with peril.” Phiona said. “But as he is only observing, I don’t see why not. I assume that it is a stone of trees. If this is the area you see yourself operating in, it should be useful. It might also give powers of resilience or even self-healing.”

Sun, still a bit stunned by the development, soon found himself seated in another ritual circle, Peony handing him the stone.

“I made this for you!” she said with a proud smile, giving him a quick kiss before exiting the circle as carefully as she had entered it.

“And now it will forever be part of me.” he answered, holding it up as Kite began the ritual. A little while later, both the stone and the circle were gone, Sun rising to his feet with a thoughtful expression.

“So, what did you get?” Rachel asked, looking at him as if she could see the new power if she just peered closely enough.

“I think…” Sun began, still seeming to try and get a sense of the new part of him. “I think it bonded to my eye essence. If I focus, I should be able to-” he began, before suddenly wobbling in place. “Heavens, that will take some getting used to.”

“What was it? Are you alright?” Peony asked.

“I am, do not worry. It was just disorienting. I think this will let me project my vision through nearby trees- no, not just trees. Bushes and roots too. But not grass or moss.”

“Not what I expected, but supremely useful for scouting.” Phiona noted. “Practice it as much as you can while we are out here.”

“And my uncle has a similar power, and he often called it the power that saved his life the most during his career.” Kite added.

“You’re welcome, husband.” came a comment from Peony, giving Sun a meaningful look as she packed away the rest of the materials.

“Master Relentless, it is a pleasure to see you.” branch director Dobrazza greeted the stern, handsome man as he entered her office, flanked by a pair of guards and trailed by a trio of retainers. The current head of the Relentless family was a core-using silver ranker, but from his tightly controlled and nuanced aura it was apparent that he was not one to shirk his training.

“Director Dobrazza.” he greeted in turn. “I must admit that your invitation came at a bit of an inconvenient time, but the urgency and discretion of your message had me believe it to be important. And from those gathered here, I will assume that it is not merely meant as a reason to sit down for tea and conversation.” he finished, looking around at the gathered people.

Azure, Braid and Wander all sat off to the side, with the masked man sitting straight and slightly nervous while his two companions were lounging a lot more comfortably. Dobrazza’s deputy director was also present, named Argento Timero. Like the director, he was also a smolder, but stood out a bit from the rest of his people as he was tall and thin-limbed unlike his generally rather stocky species.

“You are indeed right, master Relentless. But tea will still be served, should you wish to partake. It is a rather spicy blend brought from my homeland.” Dobrazza said, gesturing to the prepared seating arrangements. Contrary to Braid and Wander’s earlier encounters with the woman, she showed none of the sultry familiarity in this formal setting.

“Then I will of course partake while you explain the purpose of this meeting.” the nobleman said, sitting down along with his retainers while the two guards remained standing.

“Certainly.” Dobrazza said, sitting down while her deputy director filled their cups, a soft fiery glow starting to emanate from the cups. “You will have to forgive us if we have ventured too deep into your family's businesses, but the city lady asked me to convey that she has personally sanctioned the contract which we are working on.”

“Has she now?” master Relentless asked, an eyebrow raised and disapproval clear in his voice. “It sounds like I will need to have words with her about the matter then.”

“But first, some context. Are you familiar with the recent troubles up north, near Gilded?”

“I am, if only on the surface level. Some unmentionables making trouble while trying to resurrect a fallen sect.”

“Those are the outlines, yes, but deeper investigations have shown that the incident might be part of a wider spread influence from the troublemakers behind it all. When we got the reports, we too began investigating traces of illicit activities here; blood cultists, followers of the dark gods, instigators of trouble and the like.”

“Yes, I did hear about the arrest of mistress Virtue. While she was no personal friend, I must say that it is still a bit unworthy for one of her station to remain under arrest for so long. Know that I would see it as a personal favor if the matter could be settled in short order.” master Relentless said, waving his hand at the matter as if it was already a foregone conclusion.

A perceptive observer could note that Dobrazza stiffened slightly at his words, and that her glowing eyes got a slightly more dangerous look about them. “While I understand master Relentless’ concern, the adventure society will still not take a matter such as this lightly no matter who stands under suspicion.

Are you perhaps familiar with the sacrifice confluence? “

As the noble’s eyes thinned, everyone present knew that he had seen and acknowledged the trap that he had stepped into. “I must admit that the specifics elude me.”

“Understandable. A man of your station must already have duties unto eternity.” Dobrazza said, giving him some face and saving her scored point for later use. “But I can assure you that of the restricted essences, the sacrifice confluence is one of the most diligently pursued by all who stand for the good of society, be it adventurers or clergy.

This is because, unlike some of the other restricted combinations, the sacrifice confluence always finds power from the suffering of others. In the end, the risk of the innocent and powerless starting to disappear around such individuals are deemed so high that there are so far only two options for those found possessing its vile powers. Skeletal suppression, or execution. As that is the severity of the situation, you will have to forgive me for not being able to extend any favors in the matter. It will be up to the city lady and her court to determine the punishment”.

During her response, Dobrazza’s glowing eyes had not left the noble’s for even a split second, and while her aura was not attempting to clamp down on master Relentless, everyone present had felt its gradual expansion.

“Then she will at least be judged by her peers.” he stated, pushing the matter aside after his choice of words made his opinion of the adventure society clear. “But we digress, as I believe you were working up to how this should be of any regard to me and my family.”

“We did indeed digress. Only the heavens know why.” Dobrazza stated with obvious sarcasm before letting the matter slide. “But yes, in the aftermath of the incident at the Virtue compound, we uncovered a lot of additional information which led to further investigations. Investigations which all pointed toward your family.”

“Director, are you insinuating that my family would have anything to do with this?” master Relentless asked, voice heavy with frost and disdain.

“No.” was Dobrazza’s simple answer.

“No?” the nobleman asked, his composure shaken slightly by the turn.

“No.” Dobrazza confirmed. “Quite the opposite, actually. We found that there were a lot of plots and threads in motion which were all aimed at undercutting your family’s businesses and influence. All subtle and, while dancing on the edge, still remained within the bounds of the law.

But not long ago, one particular of our operatives, They Who Wander, overheard conversations which brought a new perspective on the matter. From what we were able to gather without our agent compromising herself, there are two points of information which we felt the need to inform you of.”

Master Relentless gave a snort of frustration at the silence which followed. “Well, director, do not keep me waiting. If there is a threat to my family, time is of the essence.”

Director Dobrazza had been watching him as if looking for something, but apparently she had not found what she had hoped as she sighed and gave a slightly disappointed shake of her head. “Very well. The first piece of information is that there seems to be special attention directed at your son, young master Vista, and that said attention wishes for him to fail on the path you have set him upon.

The second is that they made multiple references to having someone inside your staff of family retainers, someone sharing their ambitions in regards to the young master’s success. We do not know who, and our agent had to pull out as staying longer to listen would have risked exposure.”

At her words, master Relentless had fallen silent, listening intently. When Dobrazza finished, he remained silent for a while longer, gaze distant as he was evidently lost in thought.

“I assume that you have something more than words to back up this particular interpretation?” he eventually said, locking gazes with the director once more.

“We have the transcripts and a copy for your perusal, although the documents must not leave this room.” Dobrazza answered, waving at her deputy director who handed a folder to the nobleman.

Master Relentless took his time reading it through, although said time was quite short as his silver rank as his cognitive processing speed was much improved. When he closed the folder, his rather stiff exterior had relaxed slightly, and he looked more thoughtful than the earlier inconvenienced expression.

“Assuming this is correct, and from some details presented here I have little doubt that it is, my family find itself in the awkward position of owing your adventure society a debt, director Dobrazza. Vista’s progress must not be put in jeopardy, as must our business interests be protected.” he said, looking concerned. “We must conduct a thorough vetting of all our staff, but as the utmost discretion is required, this will take time. Weeks, maybe months. It must be initiated at once.” he said, rising from his chair.

“As we have the stability of Bastion and its people’s interests at heart, it was only right of us to share this so that we risk lesser turmoil in the time to come. While it is still expected to be at least a year off, the monster surge could hit us anytime. If that happens, we want Bastion at its best and its essence users, commoners and nobles alike, to be ready to come to its defense.” Dobrazza replied, standing as well. “I wish you luck in your internal endeavors.”

The nobleman seemed to have been lost in thought again, only nodding at her as he turned to leave. Just as he was about to reach the doors he suddenly stopped, before turning back to Dobrazza and the gathered adventurers.

“Director, I believe that I might have a contract for your organization.”

“Husband, please give this matter a rest.” Peony repeated pleadingly as the group passed through the main gates of Bastion, once more mingling with the crowds of the city after their three days out in the wilds.

“But love- It’s- He- Karma.” Sun spluttered, continuing his objections.

Peony stopped and whirled at her husband, dragging him off to the side of the street and cupping his face between her hands. “Love, Kite was very kind to give you the awakening stone that his familiar manifested. And all of us agreed that the awakening stone of wind would probably suit your path which, from the result, was a sentiment which Fortune seemed to agree with.

And to thank him properly, I will continue to work hard on each and every one of his commissions from now until forever. And you can thank him too, with words and by honoring that gift. Am I making myself clear, my lovely fool of a husband?” she finished, giving Sun a look that, while kind, brooked no arguments.

Sun sighed, leaning his forehead against Peony’s. “You… Yes, wife, you are right. And thank you again, Kite. That dashing power will be a godsend should I need to reach Peony’s side.” he said, the last part a bit louder to reach the others who had given the couple some space while watching with amused smiles.

“You are welcome Sun.” Kite replied, keeping it simple and earnest so as to not fluster Sun further.

“And should you doubt more, I’m sure Kite can repeat his little speech.” Rachel added, directing her cheeky grin towards Kite.

“Well, I meant it.” he said, a bit defensively.

“And it was very endearing and honest.” the red-haired Geller nodded.

“If you all are quite done, I believe that we have a couple of contracts to turn in.” Phiona added, her professional facade still a bit compromised by the amusement which played over her features.

“And then, celebratory dinner!” Rachel exclaimed, Glint joining in her enthusiasm by conjuring a shimmering arc of water above the two.

Directing their steps towards the adventure society campus, Kite fell into step beside Phiona.

“Teacher, I would like to thank you.”

“What for?”

“For this.” Kite said, nodding forwards where the others were walking and chatting amicably, Sun having followed the path of his wife and grown more comfortable around the two Gellers during their time out on contracts. “The contract between us was only for training, nothing more. You could have left it at daily sparring, and none would have held it against you. Instead, you allowed me to not only bring others to the physical training but also to take them with us out on contracts. I truly appreciate it, and would understand should you wish for additional compensation for the extra work.”

Phiona regarded him for a while, then shook her head. “No, that will not be needed, at least not anything more than the share Peony already gives us. I must admit that I was hesitant at first to even take on a student. Becoming more self-sufficient was the goal of coming here, after all. But I will admit that I was a bit lost, even though Rachel tried her best to help me. And I still am, but training you and now them-” she gestured to the married couple, “- it helps me to at least feel a bit more grounded. Adventuring is something I know, that I was raised to do. So while the horizon is still shrouded in fog, I at least feel more secure in where I am.”

“A most poetic way of putting it, teacher. Are you sure that you aren’t going native?” Kite asked with pretend concern.

“Student, it’s not like your culture invented metaphors.” she huffed, but Kite was pleased to see her smiling a bit more.

“Still, know that I am grateful, and should you ever need something from me I hope you know that I will do my best to help.” he said earnestly.

She gave him another long look. “I will. But please refrain from going on about karmic imbalances. Sun is already covering that quite thoroughly.”

The rest of the trip was spent in pleasant conversation, the group quickly finding their way to the jobs hall. They had just turned in their contracts, all except Sun signing off on them when the functionary behind the desk seemed to notice something. The runic woman looked at them, then glanced down at another note on her desk, then back at Kite.

“Are you Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune?” At his nod of confirmation, she continued. “I have been asked to relay that branch director Dobrazza has requested your presence at her office tomorrow morning, along with Phiona and Rachel Geller. Should I send word that you will be attending?”

All of them looked a bit surprised to varying degrees, and Kite looked to the two Gellers.

“We might as well see what she wants. It’s not every day that the local director asks for a meeting.” Rachel said, Phiona nodding her assent.

“Then yes, please convey our attendance to the director.” Kite said as he turned back to the functionary.

“Excellent. Be here at nine o’ clock tomorrow morning. I trust that you will show the director the courtesy and respect her station deserves.”