Chapter: 598 – Fight-View Restaurant

Tala, Rane, Lea, and Terry slowly rode the clean, well-maintained elevator up toward the top floor of the fight-view restaurant.

They hadn’t had any trouble gaining entry into the city—not only were they both still well known, Master Grediv had left word of their imminent arrival—and the setting up of Ironhold’s gate at the usual spot had gone off without a hitch. That done, they’d had no reason nor desire to delay their meal with Master Grediv and his introduction to Lea.

Terry rode on Lea’s shoulder, perched happily atop her new dress, which the girl had asked Tala to make for her. It was similar to a sundress, but a bit longer and made of slightly heavier fabric.

It was a slightly pastel ruby red, the subdued color setting off Lea’s clearly magical eyes all the more for the purity of their shade.

The girl had put her hair into a braid, mimicking her mother’s style, and both her hands held the braid as if it were a lifeline.

Rane rested his hand on her shoulder, the one Terry wasn’t occupying. “You’ll be fine. Master Grediv is a kind man.”

“But you still call him ‘Master’… Is he that formal?”

Rane smiled. “No. It is more something that I choose to do than something he insists upon. You are welcome to ask him. The worst that he will say is to confirm your use of the moniker.”

Lea gave a slow nod. “Alright.”

Tala gave her daughter a reassuring smile. “He’s powerful, but your father and I are his match in advancement. This is his city, but there is no way he’ll be able to do anything to you with us around.”

Lea blanched. “Do to me? He might do something to me?”

Tala hesitated. “Oh… that wasn’t your concern?” Rane was giving her a rather intense ‘are you kidding me?’ stare, and Tala cleared her throat, continuing in a placating rush. “Of course that wasn’t. How silly of me to even mention it.”

Lea seemed a bit unsteady as the lift came to a stop, the doors opening to let them out into the vaulted, gorgeously appointed space.

Terry headbutted Lea’s cheek and cooed softly, for once seeming to consider their surroundings as he chose his volume of communication.

Lea relaxed a bit, releasing her braid with one hand to scratch Terry’s head. “Thank you, Terry.”

Terry trilled softly in reply, nuzzling into her hand.

The top floor was just as busy as the last time that Tala had visited, with magical privacy bubbles keeping the noise to a minimum as servers and staff hurried to and fro.

The difference from Brand’s establishment was stark, though the various Archive slates displaying fights—along with the obvious food—tied the two together in theme and general purpose.

“It’s so quiet.” Lea practically whispered.

Rane leaned in a bit. “Can you see the magic around each table?”

Lea squinted. “I can see… something? I don’t know what it means, though.”

Rane nodded. “You are still learning how to identify what you see. Those are privacy bubbles, areas in which magic is keeping sound from coming out.” He emphasized that last word. “If we are loud, they will hear us just fine.”

She nodded, seemingly unwilling to speak even quietly now that she fully understood.

Tala leaned close, speaking softly, but pointedly not whispering. “It’s okay to talk; we just need to be polite about it.”

Lea nodded again. “Okay, Mom.”

At the central table, right near the massive transparent wall, Master Grediv waited for them.

Upon their entry onto this level of the restaurant from the elevator, he stood and smiled, eyes tracking over each of them before returning to regard Lea more closely.

The group crossed the floor, stopping just inside the range of the Stone Holder’s table’s privacy bubble. He activated that, and they exchanged appropriate bows. Tala decided to let Rane address his old master first. “Master Grediv. It is a pleasure to see you.”

Master Grediv smiled. “Rane, the pleasure is mine. Mistress Tala, Terry, I am glad to see you two, as always.” He then turned to Lea, bowing again, far more deeply than he should have given their relative advancement. “Young Lea. I welcome you as a member of my family, however far removed.”

Lea was practically bouncing as she bowed in return. “Greetings honored ancestor. I am glad to meet you.”

He gestured for them to sit, and as they did so, Lea got a contemplative look on her face.

“Do we call you ‘honored ancestor’ because ‘honored’ is the arcane equivalent of your level of advancement?”

The Paragon tilted his head to the side in thought before shrugging. “I’m not sure. That might have been the origin, but I don’t believe that those of other advancements are addressed differently by their descendents.” He then glanced to Tala and Rane. “You have decided to discuss advancement with her?”

His tone made his surprise evident. Tala shook her head. “Nothing specific. We are keeping to that tradition, but she could hardly be unaware of the differences between Mages of various levels.”

Master Grediv gave a slow nod. “And with the Eskau in your hold, she has been exposed to arcanes and their advancement, at least in general.”

Rane smiled. “Yes, we did give her the basic instruction there before we allowed Eskau Meallain to meet her.”

Lea huffed. “Not that it mattered in the end.” She looked to Master Grediv, as if hoping to find someone to be on her side. “She got angry that I was me, was placated, then fought mom. It was all a bit silly.”

Rane barked a laugh, even while Tala tried to stifle her own.

Master Grediv arched an eyebrow. “Oh? She attacked your mom?”

Lea shook her head in negation. “No, no. It was a spar. It seemed like she wanted that more than to meet me.” There was something in the girl’s tone, but it wasn’t quite sadness or disappointment. “Still, their fight was interesting.”

“I see.” He looked to Rane and Tala once more. “I know that she has been examined by many people, but would you permit me a quick magical scan?”

They shared a look before Rane shrugged. “We have no issue with it.”

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He left the implication hanging, and Master Grediv turned to Lea. “Lea, may I use some magic to quickly scan you?”

Lea looked to her parents, and when they both smiled encouragingly, she agreed. “Yes. I think that would be okay.”

“Thank you, child.” Master Grediv pulsed slightly to Tala’s threefold perception, his magic reaching out and passing through Lea. The area around them seemed to echo his power—his authority—and then it was done, the working having passed in less than a heartbeat’s time.

He leaned back, clearly contemplating.

Rane noticed his old master’s demeanor, seemingly realizing that the man would be lost in thought for a bit. “I’ll go order some food.”

Tala smiled. “Thank you, Rane.”

He returned the smile. “Of course.”

Lea perked up. “Do they serve ribs? Mistress Petra made salt and pepper short ribs the other night, and they were fantastic. I want to try more types.”

Rane’s smile shifted to a grin. “I’ll see what they have.”

“Thank you, dad!” She was obviously gleeful at his agreement.

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Of course.”

Without another word, he went in search of a server.

Terry and Lea played a bit, with the terror bird flickering from shoulder to shoulder while the girl tried to gently catch and tug on his talons.