"The Queen cut the clone to pieces." Brinja said while looking Lith in the eyes. "She gave Narchat the death he deserves, and it’s a pleasure for to watch their fight every night before going to bed.
"Yet that was just a clone. The real one is still out there. I’m not going to rest until I see ln Narchat beg for his life and hear his cries before he is put down like the rabid dog he is. I haven’t forgotten our promise, Lith."
"And neither did I." He moved his hand toward the recording again, and this ti Brinja didn’t stop him. "Rest assured, I’ll deliver on it."
***
After the conversation moved to less morbid topics, Lith and Brinja managed to dispel the ghost of ln haunting their thoughts.
"Are you going back to your house or will you move to a new one?" Lith asked.
"I’ll stay in my ancestral house." Brinja replied. "No matter what happens, that’s the house I’ve been born and raised in. I know Mother didn’t share much with you about the daily life of the Distar family, but this is nothing shocking to .
"People have broken into my house and tried to kill ever since I can rember. Being a ruler ans upsetting a lot of people and making even more enemies."
"I know. That’s how we t." Lith smiled at the mory.
"Don’t remind of that!" Brinja blushed. "You seeing naked wasn’t a problem when you were a kid, but now you’re an adult."
"When did Lith see you naked?" Kamila walked as silently as a Wraith and looked just as friendly as she served her guest hot tea and fresh pastries.
"Back in the day. When I earned my comndation for the White Griffon, rember?" Lith smiled.
"Ah." The clouds thundering above Kamila’s head disappeared, and her smile went from cold to warm. "Brinja, I want you to know that you can stay here for as long as you like. The Mansion won’t give you peace or solitude, but you are safe here."
"Thanks, Kamila, but I’ll return ho as soon as I’m done here." Brinja replied. "I need to replace the current arrays with new ones. ln knows how they work, and if returns, he’ll find ready."
"Good thinking." Kamila nodded. "Lith does the sa. Whenever he learns sothing new about ln, he develops arrays to counter his abilities."
"Who do you think I get my anti-Narchat magical formations, dear Kamila?" Brinja chuckled. "Lith gives the blueprints, and I put the gold and the materials. He doesn’t even ask to be paid for his services."
"The Miser Magus works for free?" Kamila gasped in mock astonishnt.
"I know, right?" Brinja returned the feeling in kind. "I don’t know if he does it because he likes that much or because he hates ln that much."
"I guess we’ll never know." Kamila sighed
"It’s not funny." Lith grunted. "Also, I’m right here. Stop talking about instead of to ."
"Lil bro, do you have a minute?" Tista chid in once she was certain she wouldn’t interrupt anything important. "I need to talk to you."
"Whatever it is, it can’t be worse than this." He replied, following her inside the Mansion and away from prying ears. "What’s with that serious look? Did sothing happen?"
"Gods, no." Tista fiddled with her fingers. "I wanted to ask you about the... loot. When do I get my share?"
"What loot?" Lith furrowed his brow. "The rules of engagent are simple. You get to take the stuff of the people who try to kill you. In this case, the Upyrs went after Jadon and Keyla, not us.
"We just helped them. We are not entitled to a share of the spoils of battle unless you want to ask for a reward."
"I could never ask them for a reward. Not after how much Count Lark did for us back when we had nothing." Tista sighed. "I thought we would split the loot evenly. You know how much I need the Adamant."
"First, even if we did split the spoils of battle, the Larks are the victims and Protector saved them. The three of them would take the lion’s share anyway." Lith replied. "Second, you know Jadon and Keyla are small-ti country nobles.
"They can use part of that Adamant to equip their guards and exchange the rest for the magical resources they need to improve their house arrays. Third, whatever you’d get, you would have to hand it to ."
"That’s my point." Tista groaned. "If I don’t start paying you back now, I’ll never clear my debt in ti."
"I’m sorry, big sis." Lith replied. "Do what you want, but know that neither I nor Protector asked to be paid for our services. The Larks are friends, and as you have heard while Brinja and Kami made fun of , I don’t expect money for helping my friends."
"Can I at least buy the Adamant from Jadon and Keyla?" Tista asked. "I’m earning a bit of gold and a few ingredients by selling my Origin Flas via the Fire Dragons’ network. Maybe I have enough to barter."
"Sure." Lith nodded. "This is the current Adamant/gold exchange rate and the ingredients the Larks need."
"How much?!?" Tista went pale reading those cruel numbers followed by so many zeroes and the amount of resources needed for a single Adamant ingot.
"Why do you think magical tal mines are such a big deal even for Awakened?" Lith snorted. "Why do you think Ripha invented the Crucible? Adamant is rare, and there’s a high demand for it.
"Unless you own an enchanted mine, you have to work months to earn enough Adamant to make a human-sized weapon. If you are okay using unrefined tal, of course. The Upyrs’ equipnt was already purified to perfection, so it’s worth several tis more than raw Adamant ore."
"Why do you hate , lil bro?" Tista ran away crying, leaving Lith flabbergasted and feeling almost guilty for her trouble.
***
Essagor Region, Capital City of Verlam, Vastor Household, a few days later.
Once Elina, Raaz, and Rena could move around without soone clinging to their clothes again, Lith brought them to visit Zogar Vastor. He left Kamila and the kids at ho to avoid questions and unwanted witnesses.
"Professor Vastor, it’s so nice to see you." Raaz offered his hand, feeling a bit uncomfortable in his noble clothes.
Zinya had lived with the Verhens for a while and in Lutia for even longer. She was like a little sister to Raaz and Elina, and Vastor was a friend. They knew there was no dress code to visit him, but due to the luxurious nature of the Vastor Household, they didn’t feel comfortable wearing their everyday clothes.
They had changed into fine day clothing worthy of a noble, but not frilly enough to adhere to the strict Royal Court etiquette.
"It’s nice to see you too, Raaz." Vastor promptly shook the hand. "My house still gives you the jeebies, I see."
"Well, yes. I an, no. I an, let’s not talk about that, please." Raaz pulled at the collar of his shirt, which seed to be strangling him.
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