Chapter: 442 - Unknown Quantity (Patreon)

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Tala met up with Rane and Osip outside of the family’s new house just before lunch. The plan that they’d come up with was for the two Refined to take the siblings out for a meal. Obviously, Nea wouldn’t be joining them, but they’d grab a meal and catch up with her that evening.

Thankfully, Tala had communicated with her siblings before arriving in the city, but they hadn’t firmed up plans before the morning. As such, it wasn’t actually difficult to get the school-aged ones out a bit early for lunch, and the professionals to have their work covered for a similar timeframe.

Thus, Latna, Caln, Mita, Akli, Miro, Fedir, Olen, and Sella were all prepared to come with them, when Tala, Terry, Rane, and Osip arrived.

Tala took a moment to really look at the house behind the waiting group.

It was set back from the road just enough to have a nice little entry garden, barely ten feet deep, but that was still pleasant enough.

The house itself was nearly the same size as the shop, healers, and two residences that the family had been sharing with Master Leighis the last time that Tala had come for a visit.

It wasn’t flashy in appearance, but it definitely looked to have been well constructed. Her threefold sight could actually pick up basically all the details of the construction, even those that would obviously be hidden to mundane inspection, and that confirmed that the outward appearance matched the truth of the matter. Those who had built the place had done a great job.

Within the house, her threefold sight also picked up the layout, seeing five rooms that the children appeared to be sharing, a far cry more than the two that they’d had in their previous home. Their mother and father had a slightly larger room—but not by much—and there were enough open rooms and bathrooms throughout for such a family to not be constantly tripping over each other, even on days where inclement weather and a lack of other activities might keep them all at home.

The kitchen and pantry were large, and it actually reminded Tala that, while she’d been growing up, her mother had often expressed the desire for a bigger kitchen. Regardless, the woman had made do well enough as the family had always had plenty to eat at the right times of day. Sometimes it had been leaner than at others, but even so.

Finally, a small office was tucked off to one side, overlooking the front entrance. The room looked like it was just for family and home business, rather than for the running of the family business.

The Alchemist is probably at the shop.

-As makes sense. You’ve taken five of his helpers from him at the moment, after all.-

Tala didn’t comment on that.

After greetings were exchanged—and everyone gave Terry head scratches—Tala led her siblings toward a restaurant that could accommodate a group of their size. More specifically, she led them to the one that she’d already set up the meal with, so that it would be a smoother process.

Osip was over the moon, gushing about all the little factoids that Rane had apparently shared with him about being a Mage. He would occasionally also mention something that he’d learned about the Academy, but that seemed secondary to the boy.

Rane walked beside Tala with a sheepish smile on his face.

“So, it seems that the breakfast went well?”

He shrugged. “He’s a good kid. Good question asker too.” He grinned and chuckled. “Honestly, it reminded me of someone quite strongly.”

Tala frowned. “Oh? Who?”

He hesitated. “Wait… are you serious?”

Her frown deepened. “Yes?”

“You, Tala.” He shook his head. “You are one of the most intense question askers I’ve come across. Osip is actually a bit easier to deal with, because he’s coming from a place of ignorance. His questions are easier to address than yours ever were.”

She felt her cheeks color slightly, and she coughed. “Oh…”

They walked side by side for a bit before she shifted sideways to nudge him.

“Thank you. It seems like it was good for him, and it gave me some time.”

“Sure.” He smiled down at her. “I was happy to help.”

Latna fell back to walk beside Tala. “So… I can’t help but see that you two are acting closer than you were even the last time that you were here…?”

Tala grit her teeth, dreading the coming exchange. Regardless, it was going to happen at some point. So, she mastered herself and answered, “Yeah. We are courting.”

Latna let out a happy squeal, causing the other siblings to look back. “They’re courting!”

Tala’s eldest sister laughed happily, and Tala grimaced again. Still, the other siblings offered congratulations before turning back to avoid what was clearly a more personal conversation.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Latna rambled. “I should probably have let you tell them when and how you wanted, but that’s so exciting!” She giggled again.

Tala’s eye twitched, but she kept her composure.

“So… When are you getting married? When will you have kids? I want my nieces and nephews, and it’s not like any of the others are up for parenthood soon and—”

Rane cleared his throat, causing the exuberant woman to stop her word-vomit. “Pardon, but Tala did say courting, not betrothed. We are taking our time to really make sure this is the right choice. Who to marry is always an important choice—just like whether or not to get married in the first place. For us, though, we will have to bear or thrive with our choice for far longer than most. Tala and I will take all the time that we need to ensure that it is the right choice. As to children? If we do get married—which I hope we do—we very well may not have children for a long time. That is, again, a critical choice that we will make when the time is right.” 

Tala could tell via her threefold sight that every sibling had heard Rane’s response, but she didn’t care. She would treasure the look of utter shock on Latna’s face for a long time.

-I’ve flagged this particular memory for easy recall.-

Thank you, Alat.

-I aim to please.-

Tala couldn’t keep a smile off of her face. She couldn’t have said it better herself, and coming from Rane, Latna wouldn’t argue. If Tala had said it, her sister would have seen it as a sisterly challenge and set out to contest the various points. Rane, though? He was still enough of an unknown quantity that Latna wouldn’t push propriety by arguing.

Latna cleared her throat, clearly gathering herself once again. “Well. I see. Thank you for clarifying things, Master Rane.”

Rane gave a slow nod of acknowledgement. “Of course.”

Tala shifted her walk a bit closer to him, reaching out to hold his hand. As they clasped, Tala squeezed his in thanks, and he gave a light squeeze in return.

That set the tone for the whole lunch. The topics discussed were light and friendly, mostly consisting of Tala and Rane inquiring about the siblings and their lives in greater detail.

No one else inquired about their relationship, but no one really seemed to feel the need to. After all, Rane had laid things out rather plainly up front, and Tala was more grateful than she could easily convey to have the topic dealt with so cleanly.

  *

Tala, Nea, Rane, and Terry sat around a table in a rather fancy restaurant. The sun had set and it was the last meetup of the day.

To their credit, the staff hadn’t batted an eye either when Tala had requested a place at the table for Terry, nor when the group had ordered food specifically for him.

Nea had been delighted by the turn of events, and that had, as a result, cut the tension.

When Tala had picked the girl up from the glassworks, she’d been rather filthy. So, Tala had shunted her into the sanctum for a bath and to have a chance to change—Nea had at least had some clean clothes to put on. If she hadn’t, Tala would have had to make her clothing with her own elk leathers, before severing the material, much as she had for Kannis’s little silver man—Fannis—in the past.

Tala had let Nea out just beside the restaurant, much to the girl’s startlement, but the surprise had quickly passed, assisted by the whole Terry seat and food situation.

Now, they were awaiting their food, and the silence was almost getting uncomfortable. There was, of course, the din from the rest of the building which reached them as a quiet murmur and the distant clink and scrap of metal and earthenware.

Tala could hear it more clearly—and Rane likely could too—but she was able to tune it out to the point a mundane would experience it, simply pleasant ambiance.

Rane cleared his throat, speaking into the quiet, “So, Tala tells me that you’re enjoying glassmaking? What’s that like? What do you enjoy about it?”

Nea seemed hesitant for a moment but answered nonetheless, “Well, I find it really gratifying to work with my hands—and the various tools—to take what is essentially specialized sand and craft useful products at the end. There is something… just wonderful about creating things with such a range of utility. I can create flasks and other implements for alchemy, though I’m not really skilled enough, yet, to do so. At the same time, I can create panes for windows that anyone could have use for. There is obviously a range of other things that glassmakers provide that are both between and beyond those two extremes.” She shrugged. “That marriage of being able to both help peak craftsmen in their work and the common folk improve their day to day lives is really wonderful.”

Rane smiled, but didn’t respond immediately, his eyes flicking toward Tala.

She felt gratitude well up once again. He’d gotten the conversation started, but he was letting her take it from there. “That sounds like a wonderful way of seeing things.”

Nea’s eyes narrowed slightly. “But you don’t see it that way?”

Tala hitched at the seeming hostility. She frowned, confused. “Well, obviously not, but I chose differently than you did, and that’s fine. Some people enjoy glassmaking, alchemy, or baking, some enjoy magic. I just happen to be one of the latter, and you the former.”

The girl seemed to be mulling over Tala’s words, likely looking for some hidden barb or slight. Blessedly, Nea didn’t seem to be able to find one. Finally, she exhibited the directness of children—and those often called socially inept—and asked what was really bothering her, “Why do you only come when one of us is making the choice of whether or not to go to the Academy?”

Tala blinked a few times. She’d wanted to address that exact issue, but she’d assumed that she’d have to approach it delicately, maneuvering the conversation around to it. She’s as direct as Osip is.

Her eyes flicked to Rane, remembering his comment about her own questioning nature.

As direct as me, I suppose.

Terry trilled a series of calming notes, obviously sensing the sudden tension, and Nea reached over to scratch his larger-than-usual head. He had grown to be about their size, so that he was nearly eye-to-eye with them while perched on the chair that had been provided for him.

Tala finally gave a slow nod, drawing attention back to herself. “Thank you for the direct question.” She smiled at Nea’s look of confusion and continued on, “When I went to the Academy… I didn’t really feel that I had much choice. I felt abandoned and cast out. I don’t regret going—not by any means—but I do regret the manner in which it happened, the way in which the choice was made. While I don’t know you all that well—and our lives are hardly connected by more than brief threads of remembrance and the loosest ties of blood—I did not wish for any of you to be in the same position as I was.”

Nea raised one eyebrow,  “That was rather honest of you. So, it’s for our own good?”

Tala huffed a laugh. “Only indirectly. It is for my own ego.”

That seemed to surprise the girl yet again, and she didn’t have a ready response.

“I refuse to have you all in the position that I was in. So I make it so that doesn’t happen. That is one of the benefits I am afforded with my position. While I am impressed that you secured your own future without need of my influence, I would have happily helped set you up in any profession you desired.”

“Glassmaking is what I desire.” Nea stiffened, seemingly ready to mount a defense of her own choice.

“I was not trying to say otherwise.” Tala smiled. “As silly as it sounds, what I have least of right now is immediate time.”

Nea frowned. “Immediate time?”

“Time in the now. So long as I am not killed, I will live a very long time. Thus, all things considered, I have time in abundance, but it isn’t available to me now.”

“So, what you need is a loan, to get more time now and pay it back later?” The girl grinned at her own example.

She really is a clever one.

-All your siblings seem to be, yeah.-

Rane chuckled, and Tala laughed. “Actually, yes. If I could do that, I would in a heartbeat. What I am doing helps a lot of people, and while it’s possible that others could do my job just as well, I don’t know that for sure. There are others in similar positions to me, and so I can take times like this, but I always feel like I should be back there, fighting for humanity. That is what I feel called to.”

Nea was about to respond when there came a knock on the wood beside the open entrance to their semi-private dining space. Their food had arrived.

What followed was a flurry of activity as a massive spread was laid out before them. The four of them expressed their gratitude to the staff before digging in.

After the food was eaten and they’d all settled back in a state of comfortable fullness—except Tala, who simply stopped when the others did—Nea brought them out of the easy silence, “You know. I do know that I chose to stay based on fear… The core of my choice away from the Academy wasn’t built on solid reasoning.”

Tala leaned forward a bit but didn’t say anything.

“Magic is amazing in so many ways, but it… it just doesn’t feel right to me. I know—in my head—that I have a gate, and I have magic but choosing to wield it specifically?” She shook her head. “It just doesn’t seem right to me.” She hesitated then quickly added. “For me! It doesn’t seem right for me. I don’t have anything against Mages…obviously.”

Tala smiled. “So, you’re happy with your choice, then?”

“I am.” The thirteen year old girl smiled broadly in return. “I really, really am. The work is hard—and glass is wickedly sharp—but I really love what I am learning to do.”

Tala’s smile grew and softened further. “I am so glad to know that.”

From there, the night progressed in companionable ease. After a while, they got dessert and continued talking until Nea let them know that she really needed to get some sleep. Throughout that time—and the walk back to Nea’s master’s house—Tala did her utmost to inquire deeply into her sister’s life, even if this one had made choices that she simply couldn’t understand.

  *

Their time in Marliweather passed quickly, and in the end, Tala, Rane, Terry, Master Leighis, all her remaining siblings, and their parents gathered to see Osip off to the Academy as one big group. Even Nea had come with her master to give him a hug and tell him goodbye in person.

The boy was exuberant, talking about how he would say hi to all their siblings and friends once he arrived, and how he hoped to see the younger siblings on the island as soon as they were old enough.

And then, with a deceptively small flick of power, he was gone.

Tala bid her siblings, Master Leighis, and Nea’s master goodbye then. Tala and Rane left, Terry riding contentedly upon Tala’s shoulder.

Her eyes lingered on her next oldest brother even as she departed went to leave the out-bound teleportation room.

Fedir will be making his choice in just over two years…

-Do you think you’ll be back before then?-

Honestly… probably not.

Rane looked her way, her pause seeming to clue him in to some of what she was feeling. His voice was just above a whisper, “You’ll see them again.”

She shrugged. “In two years, probably.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah, Fedir will be turning twelve in two years, come the winter.”

He grunted at that. “Is there any way to see them sooner?”

Tala sighed, then began to shake her head. Then, she really took in what her threefold sight was showing her… the teleportation tower. “Oh.”

Her voice was loud enough that everyone turned to regard her.

“Oh, I’m a fool sometimes.” She turned back toward her siblings, smiling. “Hey, before I go, I just had a realization.”

Those listening exchanged glances but didn’t interrupt.

“Anytime any of you wish to visit me, I will pay your teleportation expenses.”

There was a moment of stunned silence, and Tala took advantage of that to add a brief explanation.

“I would teleport to you all, but I have some… peculiarities that would make that exceedingly difficult.” She smiled wanly. “On the other hand, it would be very easy to have you come visit me and be back here within the same day.”

The adults were staring at her with mouths open, they understood the expense of such an offer, even if most of the children wouldn’t.

Latna and Caln definitely did, and they were almost as aghast as the children.

Why are they acting that way? It’s just more than two pounds of silver to pay for a teleport each way.

-Per person, per visit. You just offered to let them do it whenever they wanted. If they all came, that would be just more than thirty two pounds of silver. That’s more than five gold.-

… oh… can we afford that?

-Monetarily? It would actually be pretty difficult if they visited very often, but…-

Mistress Ingrit?

-Yeah, I’m reaching out to ask if we can make a deal to allow your siblings to teleport to you. How many teleports do we want to get out of this?-

I think it’s an unknown quantity. Let me know if we can’t get that.

-Understood.-

Their conversation within Tala’s head had taken less than a second. As such, the siblings were just exploding with excitement as Alat began reaching out to the Librarian.

Rane leaned closer to Tala. “If you need extra funds to make that happen, let me know.”

She smiled his way. “I’m working on something, but I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

He nodded in return, a small smile pulling at his lips before his whispered, “I have a thousand gold you can have.”

She jerked slightly, then had to fight down a laugh while glaring at him in mock anger.

He simply smiled back until she broke and grinned, shaking her head and laughing under her breath.

Her offer sparked a much longer conversation, but when things calmed down, it was decided that Tala would communicate with Latna, as that sibling had the most consistent access to the Archive.

With the basics ironed out—that of the first visit being in a month—Tala bid them goodbye once again, leaving each of her siblings with a token from the teleportation tower, which would grant them transport to Alefast at the appointed time.

Back on the streets of Marliweather, heading toward the gates, Rane nudged her. “That was really kind of you. I’m sure they’ll appreciate seeing you and having the potential of greater access going forward.”

She gave a weak smile in return. “I certainly do hope so.”

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