Chapter 249 – Matthew

Chapter 249 – Matthew

“I just liked it.” Kai evaded the question. A stroll across the streets of Higharbor wasn’t the time to tackle that conversation.

It’s the name I had in my previous life. You know, the one before I reincarnated on Elydes. Yes, the one I never told you about…

Flynn peered at him, clearly suspicious. “No other reason?”

Did he learn a truth-telling skill? Or am I just that bad at lying?

“It sounded better than Calvin Smalls,” Kai shot back.

“You’re always so hurtful.” He mimed a stab through the heart. “You made up your mind pretty quickly. I thought you’d agonize over the choice for weeks. I had even prepared a list of names to help you.”

So that’s why you looked disappointed.

Flynn rummaged through his pockets for a wrinkled piece of paper and cleared his throat. “Basil Marley, Parsley Greene, Taddeus Thick…”

Please spare me.

“Valela said she needed a name to proceed, so I made up my mind. Uhm… do you know why she was acting so strange?” Kai clumsily attempted to change the topic. “Has she changed in the last few years?”

Flynn watched him with a strange grin. “You mean why she smiled at you and glared at me?”

“I assumed she was just happy to see I’m alive and tired of your antics.”

“Yeah, that must be it.” His smile widened. “It’s nice to see you’re not good at everything.”

* * *

Kai stared at the house where his alleged father had lived. A row of cypresses circled the white rock walls of the villa, from the dirt path to the cliff falling into the sea. His senses spread over the property, easily seeping through its wards.

Aside from rare exceptions such as those in the Vastaire ruins, most arrays needed regular maintenance to work correctly. No one must have touched the crumbling runes for years. It was a miracle they hadn’t collapsed already.

It must have cost a fortune to call an enchanter out here…

There was no human signature inside the ground. His hand rested on the rusty gate of wrought iron. A cloak of ivy had taken over most of the fence. From the untamed garden inside, the other parts of the mansion hadn’t seen much maintenance in recent times.

C’mon, I can’t waste her efforts.

Kai had been leisurely cleaning his cauldron when Valela informed them she had found the perfect cover story. In less than half an hour he found himself on a zeppelin for Mistcreak, and then on a skiff for Katol. The crew left him on a nameless isle a few miles from Pearldive without exchanging another word.

And now Kai was only half certain of what was going on, except this was his best chance to obtain a new identity that wouldn’t buckle under scrutiny.

I can’t screw this up. They could get here at any moment.

The metal entrance opened with a strident creak. Kai took the pebble path leading to the main residence. One of the granite steps of the porch was cracked. He ignored the owl doorbell, the black door had paint peeling off near the hinges and a dusty brass pommel.

According to the information Valela left him, the lock should have been left open to allow him to explore the interiors. He understood the necessity of learning more about the place he supposedly grew up in, though it still felt morbid.

I could check the outside first.

While climbing the dirt trail from the beach, he had spotted the glint of green motes in the back of the property. Circling the manor, Kai confirmed his guess. A greenhouse rose amidst all the disrepair—Mana plants were a better start than the manor of a deceased alchemist.

The glasshouse was covered in runes. Nothing particularly impressive, though they looked maintained to a usable degree. The iron key in the lock opened the door with a little fiddling and let the scent of thriving plants and flowers swallow him.

Huh, not bad.

The space had been separated into ten sections to recreate different climates. Crystals set in the ceiling provided different degrees of light and warmth. Kai wandered among the aisles of the greenhouse.

Plants ranging from low red to peak orange stood arranged in neat rows, each in its pot. It was hard to be impressed by mana herbs after the Sanctuary, still, he had never seen such a large collection since Dora left. The old alchemist must have spent a great deal of time and effort on this place.

Kai picked up a leather notebook abandoned beside a vase of purple stalks. The pages were filled with observations and diagrams he couldn’t understand, some kind of research on how to increase the yield of Faery Grass. The man’s frustration was evident in the blotchy ink of the last entries, though Kai couldn’t deduce much more.

How paranoid do you need to be to encrypt your notes when you live alone?

This narrative has been purloined without the author’s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

After twenty minutes spent trying to decipher the book, Kai realized he wasn’t getting anywhere—not anytime soon. Reading the deceased alchemist’s notes only worsened his mood. Cultivation and mutations weren’t his area of expertise anyway.

I gotta move.

He exited the greenhouse to finish his tour of the outside before he tackled the mansion. There wasn’t much else of note, wild weeds had conquered the garden to the edge of the cliff. He was about to turn back when he spotted a dirt mound, hidden among the untamed grass.

From the freshly moved earth, Kai didn’t need his skills to know this was the alchemist’s burial ground. Cyrus Veernon, a reclusive mage who had retired on the archipelago three decades before. No family or friends to lay claim to his possessions. His closest acquaintance was the sailor who left the supplies in front of his gate once a month.

I wouldn’t be here if he were a sociable guy…

Valela had gotten wind of his death through her network of informants. Without an heir, the Republic would have swept in to claim everything. The scheme had moved so fast, Kai barely had any idea of what was going on. He trusted the princess and Flynn to know what they were doing. Hallowed Intuition’s acquiescence also helped.

This is as good as it’s gonna get for a fake cover story.

Waves crashed on the rocks beyond the precipice, and a gust blew his hair, bringing him back to the present. A teal and beryl sea sprinkled with verdant isles extended to the horizon.

“Hmm… it must have been a pleasant place to live in, if you didn’t mind the solitude.” Kai turned to the tomb. “I’ve no idea who you were, and I know you had no choice in this, but I thank you regardless.”

He grew a small patch of white and red wildflowers over the alchemist’s resting place, hoping the man would have appreciated it. “I’m not sure how it works with the church of Seven Moons, but may your gods guide you to whatever lies beyond.”