214: Wards

After the events of the night, I didn’t feel like cooking anything, despite Lily clearly dropping me off in the kitchen for a reason. Instead, I just pulled out one of the many spare cutlets I currently had in storage and left it on the ground where she was sleeping.

It vanished instantly.

“So much for sleeping,” I laughed.

Then I made my way towards the living room to wait for the others to get back, with Crisplet and Lily trailing behind, clearly in conversation.

I couldn’t help but wonder just what Sylverith meant when she said she would protect the place herself. My imagination immediately went to picturing her dragon form sleeping in the garden, but I also knew that would be ridiculous.

Collapsing into the chair, I let out a sigh, as I knew finally all my political events were finished. I’d never expected my life would come to this, but I was very eager to get back on the road. I still had some tasks to complete before that happened, like finishing all the jerky, tea, and candies for Micca.

I also knew well that this assassination attempt would bring up some complications, and that I should be far more worried about it than I was, but it was hard to describe. I was feeling numb to it all now. I had spent countless nights, especially after Boltron, having nightmares about the destruction.

Even the assassination attempt near Greenstone had caused me some issues, but after seeing the state that the military march was in, I just felt cold towards it all.

“What’s troubling you?” Liane asked, sitting across from me.

I attempted to wave it off, but she persisted. “Is it because of what happened?”

“Yes, and no. I feel like it should bother me, that I should be more worried. But I’m not,” I explained.

Liane nodded. “You’ve seen and gone through a lot in a very short amount of time. You’ve not really had the opportunity to just sit with it, and at some point it’ll catch up with you.”

“No way to avoid that?” I said with a laugh.

“See so much death and chaos that you’re entirely numb to it, I suppose, but there’s always a cost, and if you were that cold to it all, it would have other drawbacks,” Liane said seriously.

The conversation was interrupted by the sounds of the others arriving. Lily decided that was a good time to vanish.

“She’s just hiding because she didn’t give anyone an easy trip back, isn’t she?” Liane asked with a chuckle.

I couldn’t help but laugh at that idea. “I don’t think so. Only you would openly complain. I think she actually just wants a nap.”

Milo’s head poked through the doorway into the living room. “Oh, good. Trev could I grab you for a moment?”

Nodding, I got up. “Thanks, Liane.”

She just smiled as I left the room, with Crisplet not leaving my side.

Heading into the entryway, I was met by Sylverith and Archie, while Jen and Hari had joined Liane in the living room, passing me on the way.

“Trevor, dear, I’m going to start warding the property. These will be powerful, so we’ll need to have a dedicated messenger or two and guards who are able to pass, as no one else will be able to outside of house staff,” Sylverith said.

“Warding the property? Did something happen?” Archie asked.

“Yes, sorry, Archie. Someone tried to assassinate me at the dinner,” I said, trying my best to break a smile.

A look of concern crossed Archie’s face, but he didn’t say anything more.

“What does it entail, Sylverith?” I asked.

Milo was listening raptly, I’m sure, hoping to learn something he had not seen before.

Sylverith smirked. “A little bit of my own magic that I employ in the forest to keep away intruders. We’ll need all your staff to come here.”

I looked at Archie. “Could you make that happen? Bring everyone, regardless of where they are, please.”

“Even the guards at the gates, sir?” he asked.

“Yes. If they are employed by us and live on this property, bring them in. Not the King’s guards,” I instructed.

Next, I figured I should get everyone else and inform them what was happening, too. “Milo, could you get Micca, George, and Darren?” I asked.

I was concerned about barking out orders like this, but if we’re going to do it seriously, then everyone should be on the same page, right?

“Can do. Back in a second,” Milo said.

Once he was gone, I turned to Sylverith. “I wanted to ask you while he wasn’t here, not to be rude, but would he be able to watch while you do your wards?”

Sylverith let out a soft chuckle. “Are you sure you’re not catching their thoughts as well, dear? It was all he’s been thinking about, and how best to ask me.”

I shook my head with a laugh. “No, not at all. I just know Milo well enough now that I know he’ll want to see any magic you’re performing, even if he has no idea how to cast it.”

“Don’t worry. I was going to allow him to join me. You should gather the others. I’ll collect Lily,” Sylverith said.

Poking my head back into the living room and collecting Hari, Jen, and Liane, I was surprised to see that Milo had already returned from collecting Micca, and some staff had already shown up, looking very confused.

Over the next few minutes, everyone gathered, and I was surprised just how many guards we had, and everyone was looking at me expectantly.

“Sorry, all. We just need to wait until everyone is here,” I said, feeling nervous with all the eyes on me.

Finally, Sylverith came down the stairs from my side of the house, so Lily must have been taking a nap on the bed.

“Everyone here?” Sylverith asked, looking at Archie.

Archie nodded. “All staff are accounted for.”

“Perfect. I will let Trevor explain what is happening, then,” she said with a smirk, as all eyes turned back to me.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“What? Uh, well, tonight obviously was the big royal dinner, and some things happened there,” I started.

“Someone tried to kill Trevor,” Liane added bluntly.

There were some gasps, and some of the house staff looked very concerned.

“No one was hurt, other than the assassin,” I said, remembering most of the house staff were children of nobles who would have been at the event.

“But because of it, Sylverith will add some security to the property,” I said, not knowing what else to add.

Sylverith picked up on that and took over. “That’s right. Everyone in this room right now will be able to pass, along with some vetted couriers, as well as guests, such as Crisplet’s friend that he’s asking for.”

“But be cautious while you’re in the city. Avoid going alone for a while. Now, one more thing before you all go back to your duties. I’m just going to have a quick chat with all the staff and ask you some basic questions. Nothing to worry about,” she smiled.

I looked a bit confused but didn’t dare question it when an ethereal voice came to my mind. “Don’t worry, dear. I just need to be sure we don’t already have a snake in our midst. Lily is already double-checking the house and property.”

“Sorry, one last thing. Milo, dear, hang around and you can join me,” she said with a smile.

Milo’s eyes lit up.

As we spent time in the living room, I couldn’t help but notice I had gained another level from all the food that Micca had sold.

Notifications:

…

You have reached Level 27 in Arcane Chef.

You have +2 unspent stat points.

Earning passive experience like this was nice, but I worried where the evolutions would take me since it was all sold goods. Did the system know it was sold?

Before I went to sleep, I quickly poked my head outside. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t what I was met with. Covering the entire property in a giant box looked to be ethereal green scales that individually would have been larger than a wagon.

I would have to ask, because it didn’t really hide the wards very well if they glowed green and went four times higher than the house itself. Half the kingdom would see it, right?

I didn’t bother asking now, instead choosing to go to sleep.

The next morning, I first made my way outside, wanting to know how the ward looked during the day, and to my surprise, I couldn’t see anything at all. Either she took that one down or she made it invisible. Either way, it just looked like regular sky now.

I was even more curious now.

Heading into the dining room, I saw Jen, Liane, and Milo already eating. I hadn’t even sat down before Archie was bringing out a breakfast for me as well.

“Milo, those wards yesterday. Did she take the giant green one down?” I asked.

Milo laughed. “No, not at all. It was the least noticeable of the four she put up, but the final one hid them all. It was truly incredible to watch her work, though it became very clear that the magic she was working was beyond anything the mages of the current day are doing. It was nearly impossible to follow.”

“So how many notes did you take?” Liane smirked.

Milo blushed. “Only half a book or so.”

“I know how you’re spending the next month while we wait for the snow to melt,” Jen laughed.

Milo turned to her in mock outrage. “It won’t just be that!”

“Sorry, you’re right. That and the runes that Trev worked out faster,” Jen poked.

“Hey, don’t drag me into this!” I put my hands up in surrender.

Jen looked over to me. “What are your plans now that you are mostly free of your political responsibilities?”

“Stay out of trouble, make the rum, and finish the goods for Micca,” I said.

“Don’t forget we need to clean that drake skull to take back to Farnox. That was a very real request. He will hang it from his roof,” Milo added.