Tempest: Legacy

Chapter 6: Kaden's Shelter

“There’s a third account here Baron Tempest. It has been brought to my attention that you were unaware of this account prior to yesterday’s notice.”
“I was aware of Kaden’s savings account and his spending account. I was ignorant about the fact that he had two savings accounts.”
“This second one isn’t his savings account. It’s one which money was transferred to every month for fourteen years until it stopped a year and a half ago.”
“Kaden didn’t need money. Even before he was an influential figure he already earned enough as an Accredited Arbiter. Knovkin, Bevroren, Anthony, Jehndal , Zhang and the old Lightning Arbiter always checked in on us regularly and made sure we weren’t lacking any comforts. Despite Kaden’s refusal Knovkin paid for my education.”
“Well, that money was never used. It’s been accumulating for all these years. 8000 aurei transferred every month. It’s accumulated to over 1.5million with interest.”
“That’s a large sum of money. The monthly salary for a high ranked Guardian Arbiter or a general physician. But tell me, who transferred this?”
“The Lightning Arbiter himself came here once he was apprised of the first transfer. He swore us to secrecy to protect you two from the more radical elements in the alliance, such as his brother in arms, the Rockfist Arbiter.”
“The dirtbag- I mean the other Arbiter who died in the ambush.”
“Not to worry Baron Tempest. I have been keeping secrets as the manager of his bank for over two decades. I’ve heard clients use colorful language that would scandalize reporters to describe their fondness for him.”
“ I am relieved to know that I have not made an enemy here today then. But who was the money coming from?”
“It was coming from your mother. She had changed her name to an alias that the late protector of Zeiss recognized. He permitted it to go on in secret and convinced the late protector of the wilds , your brother, to allow her to keep sending some every month.”
“That was…. unforeseen. I’d like to withdraw the money in this account immediately. I have a construction crew to pay this afternoon. Their e-payment account was registered to your bank so the money will circulate back to you.”
“All right then, if you’d please wait in the lobby for a while, maybe twenty or thirty peals, I will make the arrangements.”
“Thank you Manager Soros.”
“My pleasure Baron Tempest.”
Kyran was once again lost in thought. The sofa corner he now occupied in the VIP section of the waiting room was the stone pedestal to his thinker. While he did not appear as artistic a figure as the famous statue did, he was nonetheless a person of interest. Other clients would pause after recognizing him from the photograph displayed on TV yesterday. He had already been condoled by twenty different people while he waited his turn. Urvein had called him just before he entered the bank to say that he had reached the office of the Delter Construction Crew and had an appointment with the chief engineer at the tenth chime. The meeting would have been going on for 45 peals now. Inga had sent him a message as he exited the managers chamber.
“At the Department of Women and Child development. In talks with an officer in charge of relocation.”
In less than twenty peals, an assistant of the manager came to him with three pass books, three cards and a briefcase. After explaining everything to the young Baron, the assistant bid him adieu and returned to his post. Kyran walked out of the bank, tucking the passbooks and cards into his coat pocket. They were special Braille cards and passbooks made for the visually impaired. There was no gold trim or silver trim around the card. Kyran had insisted that he wouldn’t be able to appreciate the difference. He tested the locks on the briefcase, making sure they were sturdy enough. Satisfied with his examinations, he held the briefcase in his right hand and started to emit energy. The void lightning coated the briefcase and then spread across his body in a few ticks. He took his time and planned out the path from the bank to the department, where he would need to jump and how far. He adjusted the level of repulsion so that he would still be able to enjoy the breeze, but the resistance he put up would lower the speed with which it blew past him. Or the speed with which he blew through it. He placed a hand on the side of the building, and followed by a foot. And then he was off.
Kyran had never run up a building before but the feeling of defying the gravity trying to drag him back as he raced for the sky was exhilarating. He reached the top of the ten-story bank building, pivoted around to face the right direction, and then leaped from the edge of the building. He quested out with his empathic field and discovered that he would miss the edge of the next building by two meters. He instinctively adjusted the level of repulsion at his feet and boosted himself forward, covering the extra way and landing on the next roof. He didn’t take a moment to catch his breath, using the momentum to continue onwards to the next building and the next. He emitted questing rays of repulsive lightning that would rebound upon coming into contact with any solid surface. These were like extensions of his body, letting him map out the inorganic while his empathic field noted down the locations of the living. A map began to form in his mind, a purely mental rendition of a world that would appear different to a regular person, but still accurate in terms of the orientation of his environment. Within fifteen ticks he had reached the roof of the department building, a fifteen-story high structure that looked more like a corporate office. Kyran much preferred the more spread out and architecturally archaic Western and Northern quadrants. The Southern Quadrant was an industrial hub and he would not go anywhere near it, while the Eastern Quadrant was a metropolis that seemed like it was plucked right out of Tectoria. He dashed down the height of the building and smoothed his hair at the entrance. Absorbing his energy, he straightened himself and ensured that his posture was that of an entitled and confident young aristocrat before entering the building.
He went up to the third floor where Inga would still be in talks with the official. Most of the workers there were busy so that they didn’t notice him. Those that did stopped him to offer their sympathies. He accepted them graciously and then knocked on the door before entering. “The arrangements for their accommodations will be completed by Sunday morning.” Inga was saying. The conversation stopped as Kyran opened the door. “Baron Tempest. Good day.” The official greeted him. “I offer you my heartfelt sympathies for the loss of your brother.” Kyran sat down on the chair beside Inga. “Thank you. You already know our purpose here. I have brought you proof that we have sufficient means to raise these children. I understand that you are reluctant to hand them over to us despite our standings as Venator Class and Successor Class Arbiters. Here is my proof of accounts.” Kyran handed over a passbook. Inga sharpened her senses besides him. The official was clearly as visibly tense as he was mentally. “It all seems to be in order. I…. see no reason to deny your request.” The official had begun to sweat now. He had run out of excuses.
“Who were the kids meant for?” Kyran asked, deliberately lowering his voice.
“I don’t know sir; the transfer hasn’t been approved yet.”
“They’ve been here for two months. The first five floors of this building are offices. The next five are living quarters. They’ve been in here for two months. You haven’t enrolled them in a school yet though the academic year starts in a week.”
“Someone submitted an application for taking them in three weeks ago. Who was it from?” Inga chimed in.
“Don’t try to hide it. We’re Arbiters. We’re very familiar with law so we know that applicants have the right to know of other applicants so that they can make a better case for themselves. The thing is, right now, I don’t think that a case needs to be made. I can feel five people standing outside the room. Four Arbiters. One in a sort of exo-suit. An experiment.” Kyran concluded.
“You’re handing these kids over to be used as human testing.” Inga surmised.
“They’ve assured us that the testing will be ethical. And that they will provide-“
“Those men outside are here to ensure that we don’t take their quarry away. They’re here to threaten us.” Inga countered.
“You have no reason to refuse our request. We’re going up to meet the kids. Authorize the transfer while we’re up there. I can sense your fear. I know that it isn’t you calling the shots. Now we’re going out there to give them another target to aim for. I think my face is known well enough for them to recognize me. Don’t worry. You’ll make it out of this fine.” Kyran’s voice took on a hard edge. “As long as you sign the papers of course.”
Inga opened the door and stepped into the ring of five men. Kyran exited after her, shutting the door behind him. The rest of this waiting rooms occupants had retreated from the men and were huddled in the corner. As one, the men stepped forward, looked Kyran in the face, and paused. “You’re Baron Tempest.” One of them said. “Yes.” Kyran replied indifferently. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got some children to meet.”
“No can do. Your brother shut down the place we first gathered these kids in. We can’t let you take these ones. It’s not easy to find twenty arbiter kids with no parents.”
“Not even trying to hide your intentions, are you?” Inga asked with scorn.
“We figure that you already know 'bout us considering your status. Anyways the boss isn’t someone that anyone short of Zhang Zeiss would mess with. We’d tell you to step aside but something tells me you won’t. So, hold still and we’ll knock you out real quick. We know where to drop you back. We’ll do you a favor and leave you with all of your belongings intact, even that loaded passbook.”
“Kyran, I think we should put on our badges. We’re off duty but I think it would help their self-esteem after we’re done with them.”
“Good idea Inga. We may get into trouble for brawling in public if we don’t clearly declare our authority first.”
The two Arbiters pulled out their badges and pinned them onto their breast pockets. There was silence for a second as the thugs took in the meaning behind the letters on the badges. “V-V-Venator.” One of them stuttered. “Successor!” Another shrieked. Kyran was surprised by the grim satisfaction he and Inga felt as the confidence of the thugs turned into terror. Without waiting any longer, they attacked. Kyran blocked a stream of flame with absorbent lightning, sending it swirling around the two of them. Boiling water and a spear of ice hit the encircling purple bolt and vanished as Kyran’s energy broke them down, absorbing them into the lightning. A spatial rip opened ahead of Kyran’s face as an exo suit arm emerged from within. The fist stopped an inch away from his face, totally stuck in place by a chain rune from Inga. She threw up her hands and set up five runes of reflection around her, each one aimed at a thug. Kyran directed the tip of the lightning bolt directly at the first mirror rune. The lightning reflected off the rune and slammed into the exo-suited thug. Without skipping a beat Kyran shifted the focus of his void lightning to the next rune and then consecutively blasted all five of the thugs. The tag team move took less than a tick to complete. The thugs hadn’t even registered that they had been hit before the found themselves staring up at the ceiling. They struggled to get up but found themselves too stunned to move. The security guards on that floor had returned. In the presence of two arbiters they were forced to handcuff the thugs and truss them up in a corner.
“I’ve already called the Zeiss Guard. They’ll send a unit to pick them up.” Inga informed the uncomfortable guards. “They won’t ignore this transgression.” One of the thugs managed to pant at them, his chest heaving with the effort that it took to breathe. “Well, as one of you said before. You know where to find us. We’ll be waiting.” She replied. Drawing five runes of suppression to prevent them from using their powers, she followed Kyran to the elevator. “Ninth floor.” She said aloud as she pressed the button. “The official told me that they were in the age group of 6-12.  13 boys and 8 girls. They may be a bit mistrustful considering their history.”
“Good. That’s what’ll keep them alive.” Kyran said as the door shut. The elevator began to move upwards. Kyran leaned on to the side and exhaled forcefully. “Well keeping that level of confidence up was taxing. How was my acting?”
“The only time I’ve ever seen you that confident before was during the meeting. You walked in there like you owned the place.”
“You were very composed too. The line about them knowing where we live was a great ad lib.”
“I felt cool saying it. You know those cop shows on Tectoria where the main character has a casual one liner at the end of every episode? It felt like that.”
“The official’s reaction to me stating those laws was priceless.”
“The best reaction undoubtedly was the thugs once they realized how outmatched they were. They gave up at any effort to scare us and lunged at us like cornered beasts.”
“They didn’t expect to see a new variant of lightning similar to one they rejoiced at escaping from.”
The elevator stopped at the ninth floor. The doors opened, revealing a large common room with a corridor leading further inside. “Let’s go meet our future wards.”
Judging by Inga’s slight spike in concern and irritation, the children were visibly in a much better place than they were mentally. The older children directed feelings of resentment and skepticism at Inga and him, while the younger children were a mix of hopeful optimism and uncertain terror. The energy in the air increased immediately as all of the children began releasing energy. Stopping them all would not have been a problem for Kyran or Inga. Either one of them could protect each other from a sustained combined assault from these young children. But it would only make the kids even more aware of their hopeless situations. It would make them feel like they were at the mercy of any strong adults who walked up and told them that their lives were not their own. So he did what he needed to do and Inga followed his lead; he dissipated his energy and let theirs wash over him.
“Good morning kids. I presume that you all know who I am. Or at least who my brother was.”
“We did see you on the news yesterday. Baron Tempest!” One of the older girls replied. “We’re sorry you lost your brother. He was really nice to us when he found us.” One of the younger ones said. “Are you with those men who came to see us earlier?” another voice chimed in.
“Oh no we’re not with them.” Inga interjected. “But we did make sure that you won’t see them again.”
“You…. You’re stronger than them?” One of the bigger boys asked curiously.
“And smarter too. Strength without thought isn’t much use.” Inga replied.
The children began to lower their guards. The older children still clung to feelings of resentment, but the younger ones looked on with feelings of admiration. “Children are impressionable. They like idols to look up to, heroes to be like. We all do. But children’s futures can be shaped by their idols. And I think I know what to do now.” Kyran monologued internally. He held out his palm towards them facing up to the ceiling. He knelt down slowly, treating the children as if they were a litter of easily scared kittens. “ I never saw it for myself in person, but everyone told me how striking my brother’s dark lightning was. You’ve seen it for yourselves, haven’t you?” There was silence for a second before Inga told him “They’re nodding Kyran.” The kids hadn’t realized that he was visually impaired and couldn’t see them. “Well I never got to see it because I’m visually impaired. That means I’m blind and can’t see.” He added in for the younger one’s benefit. “ I haven’t even seen my own lightning though I can feel it. Could you tell me what it’s like?” The children’s latent hostility was overcome by curiosity as they gathered around his palm. The older ones hung back and let the shorter ones go ahead. Kyran focused a small amount of energy into his fingertips. Five fine lightning bolts, each one as thin as a blade of grass, slowly took shape. They rose up ever so slowly, coalescing into one bolt the size of a flashlight that hovered over the center of his palm.
The children were excited now. Even the one older boy who has remained silent and sulked all this time was radiating feelings of awe. The bolt elongated as it reached out for the ceiling. As it was about to make contact, Inga attracted attention to herself by stepping on the ground. Pleased that she had their attention, she rapidly drew runes of reflection, placing one on the ceiling above the bolt and scattering the rest in an imaginary three-dimensional sphere encompassing the common room. “Watch what happens next!” She cried out, pointing to the bolt. They turned back to the bolt the second it made contact with the rune. A chorus of “oooooooo” echoed through the room as the deflected bolt sped up and hit the next one. The “oooo”s were louder and louder as the bolt deflected off successive runes. Satisfied with their response, Kyran increased the speed of the lightning rapidly. The bolt bounced around the sphere so quickly that it gave off the illusion that they were inside a lattice made up of purple lightning and glowing green runes. Kyran stood up and grinned at the awestruck children ahead of him. “What do you think of my lightning?”
The children began to talk all at once, their sentences incomprehensible in the cacophony of noise. Inga watched Kyran get overwhelmed by the sudden eruption of noise and took charge. “Wow you all have a lot to say don’t you!” she cried out above the noise. The children immediately fell silent. They’re surprisingly disciplined, she thought to herself. “How about you take this chance to introduce yourselves to us too? Let’s start with the smallest.” She gestured at the boy closest to her.
“I’m Vijay. I’m six years old and I think that lightning is really really really purple.” The boy who answered had a mulatto complexion and short cropped jet-black hair.
The next one in line was a small girl with blonde hair tied up into pigtails. “They’ve formed a line!” Inga noted with shock. Clearly these children had been through some sort of disciplinary routine in the orphanage. “My name is Tonya. I’m six years old. I like lightning. Your big brother saved us with lightning.”
“I’m Qianlin. Like the Providence Goddess. I’m six years old. I’m sorry you lost your brother Mr Baron.”
The line of children introduced themselves without pause. The sulky boy came up when it was his turn. “I’m Henry. I’m twelve. I think your lightning is cool but Miss Inga’s runes are cooler. I can make those too. Well only one of them which sticks to things but I wanna learn more.” Terence’s short introduction had impressed Inga. She made a mental note to pick out some basic runes that she could teach him in the future. The next child had already taken his place. “I’m Sally. I’m 12. I think your powers work nicely together, just like you two.” Inga let out an involuntary giggle, and soon all the children, Kyran, and the silent caretaker who was hovering in the corner of the room all burst into laughter. The mood had now lightened completely. “I’m Henry. I’m 12. I heard lightning users were very common but yours seems different. I like it.”
The caretaker stepped forward. “My name is Leslie Kane. I’m 37. I’ve been taking care of these children since they landed up at the orphanage. I know all about them. It was actually me who tipped off the Tempest Arbiter out of guilt. I know all of their favorite foods, their powers and their medicine. I’d like to consult you about the arrangements before handing them over.” The caretaker’s feelings towards the children were no doubt genuine. Kyran’s empathic field picked up on a complex mixture of positive emotions, guilt and sorrow. This was a person who knew each of these children individually and had been caring for them for over a year. Inga watched him open his mouth to speak, already knowing the gist of what he would say. “Sure, we can have that talk on Sunday once all of you are settled in. I’ve already estimated how much it would cost to maintain them, all that’s left for me to decide is how much to pay you.”
“Pay me? Wait you’re saying you’re letting me keep my job?”
“A caretaker who stuck with these kids even after knowing that there’s someone out to get them? Why would I replace you? Where would I even find a replacement, who cares as much for these kids as you already do?”
Leslie began to tremble as she put together her hands in gratitude, unable to speak, choked with emotion. The kids cheered and rush forward to hug the three adults, happy their little family had just grown instead of being separated. “You were a minimum wage worker according to your file. 460 aurei per month.” Inga said to the still trembling caretaker, who now held Tonya in her arms.
“Yes. They did give me food and accommodation though.”
“I see. Well, I’d like to offer you a thousand. Accommodation and food included of course. If I get promoted eventually, I will make sure to increase your salary proportionally.”
“Many thanks Miss Inga.”
“Not at all Leslie. And all of you have introduced yourselves so it’s about time we did too. I’ll go first. My name is Inga Lim. I’m22 years old. I’m a Venator Class Arbiter, I have been newly assigned to the Rune Arbiter Corps of the Zeiss Guard. My duties will be mostly academic though I have significant combat prowess. I live with the Baron. You could say that I’m his girlfriend.” Inga finished her speech and looked back at the wide-eyed kids. Kyran cleared his throat. “I am Baron Kyran Tempest. Successor Class Arbiter. Whose Successor? Well, that hasn’t been decided yet. I’m 21 years old . Though it seems like I’m an Elemental Arbiter, I am actually part of the Redistributor Corps of the Zeiss Guard. I want to give you kids a home. And don’t call us “Mr” “Baron” “Sir” “Miss” or anything like that. That goes for you too Leslie. We’re Inga and Kyran. Pleased to have met you.
“You didn’t need to offer to pay Leslie. I was going to do that anyway.”
“Kyran, I earn almost as much as you do. I’m well enough off now to take a loan to buy a house of my own. And you’re letting me stay with you without paying any rent. I’m contributing too. The two of us together earn over 20,000 aurei per month. We’d need to spend barely 1,000 each on food and stuff since we don’t have any debt. Kaden refused the privileges of his rank but the administration still refuses to charge us for electricity or water. So we’d have around 20,000 Aurei left to spend . Factoring in everything including Leslie’s salary and education, we’d be spending 15,000 a month on the children. We’d still have money left over. Let me contribute equally. Please Kyran. Don’t turn into an overly macho guy.”
Kaden sighed as the two crossed the street. “I’m sighing a lot, aren’t I? I’m sorry Inga, I remember what you told me about people and burdens. If you want to help out, I have no objections.”
Inga’s tone softened. “Good. Remember it’s not the confident Baron that walked into the office that I like. It’s the young man who went through all his childhood hardships and cried on my shoulder two nights ago. That boy who passionately told us about his idea to help out some kids with a bleak future ahead of them.”
“Ok, ok, I know you’re good at talking about our relationship. I see you did put a label on it today though.”
“I decided that I rather like the label.”
“I do too. We’re definitely moving too fast in the eyes of the other’s though.” Kyran laughed.
“Oh, they were used to the impaired friend having to sit out some activities and the Tectorian friend doing the same. They just forgot that we spent all that time bonding with each other. I remember you forcing Urvein to rush back for me and Knovkin.”
“Well, I couldn’t leave my mentor and my favorite girl behind, could I?”
“Sometimes, Kyran Tempest, you have no idea what to say. And sometimes you say exactly the right thing. Favorite girl indeed. Don’t say to Rayla. She’ll think I’m trying to come between her and her best friend. I better offer her an olive branch now.”
The two walked up to Magma Cheese, the Pizza Chain popular in East Zeiss and looked around for their friends. Everyone had arrived except for Urvein. Being the first one there, Rayla had chosen a table in the corner. The seats were two comfortable sofas, one longer than the other, arranged in a ring with a circular revolving table in the center. Burgatt, Sahis and Advika sat near each other. Rayla sat on the longer sofa alone. “Over here!”, she called out upon spotting the couple by the door. They walked over to the table and greeted the others with a causal “hey”. Inga paused before Rayla. The two looked at each other for a few ticks before Rayla began to apologize. “I was an ass yesterday Inga. I was irritated and took it out on you. I hated that I had to stay in a home that I didn’t like even though it was my own. Yet you got to stay with my oldest friends. It was unfair of me to act how I did- “
“It’s fine Rayla. That apology is too long winded for my liking. I didn’t take any offence and I’m not trying to come between you two. Here’s my olive branch.” Inga nonchalantly sat down on the other end of the sofa, closer to Advika. Rayla’s eyes widened. “That’s a good olive branch. I’ll take it.” Kyran awkwardly sat down next to Rayla. Inga was sending reassuring vibes his way so he knew that she was being genuine. Rayla’s apology had been genuine too, but given grudgingly. Clearly some of Vanya’s views on life were affecting her. There wasn’t as much resentment in her as he thought there would be. He was worried about his friend. His phone rang at that moment and he extracted it from his pocket. He swiped right to take the call, but to his surprise the phone kept ringing. Rayla swiped up for him and the call connected. He put the phone to his ear. “Hey Kyran were we supposed to meet at Sendo’s or Magma Cheese? I don’t remember. I’m standing outside Magma Cheese right now so please tell me that’s where you are. I don’t want to run there and ruin my hair.”
“You’re awfully conscious about your hair lately Urv.”
“Well Dad is bald and I’m starting to fear for my future. I’d like to enjoy it for as long as I have it.”
“Well, we’re at Magma Cheese. I can see you through the transparent door. Get over here, corner table.” Kyran cut the call.
The muscular figure of Urvein appeared at the door and scanned the back of the restaurant for his friends. Sahis and Burgatt waved at him. To his surprise Inga was sitting away from Kyran, chatting with Advika. “An effort at peace.” He assumed. He was glad to see Rayla smiling at him from the other end of the sofa. Yesterday’s bitter behavior had been uncharacteristic and he didn’t want to see her in such a bad mood again. It ruined his enjoyment. He took his place between Kyran and Inga. “The crew will be there at half past the fifth chime. Foreman Malaika will discuss the particulars with you.” “That works out for us.” Kyran replied. Urvein relapsed into silence and allowed the sounds of his friend’s voices to mingle together. He enjoyed these conversations. Burgatt was describing the amount of cheese that Magma Cheese put onto their cheese eruption pizzas to Sahis who had only ever tasted the thin crust. Advika had come across a store in Northern Zeiss that was a one stop shop for interior décor. Inga was convincing her to take her there the next day to buy everything they’d need for the new building. The construction crew also came with an interior decoration team that would go with her to the store. They’d take the choices of the client into account and debate about the arrangements before setting it up. On the other side Rayla was teaching Kyran about the new updates that she had installed last night. “To take calls you now swipe up from the middle. Not right, not left. Straight up. And make sure you don’t triple tap your phone screen. It’s a new emergency feature that will give you the choice to call one of five emergency contacts that you can choose later.” Bevroren Livingston was undercover somewhere on Tectoria right now. The young Wedge knew that Rayla wanted to see him. He knew he did. As Bevroren’s successor he shared a close relationship with Rayla’s father.
“I can’t believe we won’t all be in the same place anymore.” Sahis’ somber declaration silenced the other voices around the table. Urvein turned to look at him, turning his head in sync with everyone else. “Kyran and Inga will be at Tempest House. Urvein, your compulsory 3-year service to the colony ends in a couple of months. I’d normally think you’d go back to Querqa but after finding out about you and Mavro, I don’t think that there’s going to be anywhere you’d rather be than here. Kyran could set up a restaurant for you here or something. Earth mover during lunch time, skillet twirler by dinner service. The rest of us will be going back to the Colony. I don’t know about Rayla. But Advika, Burgatt and I will. Sure, we’re just a portal away but how often would we actually use it?”
“First of all, my dramatic friend, I do not twirl skillets. Second of all, I like the sound of the future plans you’re imagining for me.” Sahis turned pale as Urvein went on. “But this doesn’t mean anything is changing. The internet still works. I can call you from this planet and you’ll get my calls from the other one. We’ll see each other less and hang out with each less. But we can still meet on weekends. All of us work in the regular corps and are free on Sundays. Who knows, maybe we’d even appreciate each other more.” The group had shifted their focus to Urvein as he spoke. He had been uncharacteristically well articulated for the past three days. So had Inga. Meanwhile Rayla had been comparatively silent, as had Advika; however, the latter’s lack of energy could be attributed to her literal lack of internal energy. She had been sick with a high fever on the day of the attack and over using her skills on that day had led to the healer recommending using her powers only once or twice a day for a week. Advika broke the silence by laughing. Then Inga giggled and all of them were roaring with laughter. The two older ladies at the table next to them glanced over to smile at the spirited youngsters. A pickpocket seized his chance to grab a handbag and slowly sidle towards the door. A loud “Boo” sounded inside his mind. The man started forward, swinging around to see where the voice came from. A cacophony of laughter sounded inside his head. He was going insane. His mind was mocking him. Was this because he took the handbag from the old la-. His thoughts were cut short when a rune for sleep smacked him in the face. The thief crumpled to the floor. A novice arbiter patrolling this street came running into the restaurant as a voice in her head summoned her there. She returned the bag to it’s owner and set out for the nearest checkpoint , the sleeping man slung over her shoulder.
“Boo, Advika? So original. Telling me to project our voices into his head though? Pure genius. Nice job with the rune of sleep too Inga.” Sahis commented. “Well, most basic runes don’t work on the type of people we face, so it was refreshing to get a chance to use it on a normal person. I sometimes forget that we make up only 5% of the population here. I’m used to it being 0.1% on Tectoria.” Inga replied. The group then changed the topic as they awaited the arrival of the large pizza they had ordered. When it finally arrived, they attacked it with vigor. “There’s more cheese on here than there is crust!” Sahis exclaimed. “Dok Led ead mou.” Burgatt commanded with his mouth full. “Talk less and eat more.” Advika interpreted. It was a very satisfied group that left Magma Cheese. Sendo’s had a lot to live up to.
“Hey Kyran, you haven’t visited the colony settlement since we came through the gate. I heard you guys joined in on a campfire singsong session but you didn’t participate.” Advika commented as they walked along the street. “Yeah, it’s been three days. Their image of you has gone up by a lot. I went over to check on them earlier and met Gurubo. He says he underestimated you in the past and won’t make that mistake again.” Rayla added. She pulled his arm a little to the left, guiding him away from a loose slab of the pavement. His arm tensed under her grip and she sensed that she had made a mistake. Inga’s expression clouded over ahead of them. “You want me to visit the same people who used to call me misery? Who thought I was trying to make them miserable when I chose to contribute to a worthwhile conversation? The same people who left me out because the “blind kid has the creepy scars on his face”? Why would you expect me to see them?” Kyran’s voice was normal despite the tone of his words. These weren’t angry words, Rayla realised. Just the words he had always thought about in his mind. Numb words. “But Kyran. They’re who you grew up with. They’re our neighbors and companions.” She pressed on. “Three thousand people lived in that massive colony Rayla. Three thousand. And everyone was well connected. You personally know a thousand of them. The ones I know are either standing by me now, related to you, in Unmei, or dead. Jehndal, Anthony and his family. You and Bevroren. Advika, Burgatt and Sahis’ families. Knovkin. Sengira. Gurubo used to throw balls at my head with his enhanced hands because he knew I couldn’t see them coming. Inga or you had to patch me up after that, remember? Or maybe you don’t, it was a long time ago. I can forgive. I won’t forget though. Not one of them has come up to me to honor Kaden’s memory. Well, they don’t need to. I won’t be bothering them anymore.”
Kyran’s voice belied a little of the resentment he still had inside. Rayla felt bad for forcing him to open up and tried to separate from him. He held her arm locked in place. His field is active, she realized. “He knows my emotions. He’s not angry. Thank goodness.” Sahis and Advika began to chatter about whether they had overrated the pizza because of the cheese hype. The group delved into an in-depth post mortem of the cheese eruption pizza. They reached Sahis’s stop just as Urvein proclaimed that they had indeed got caught up in the moment and tricked themselves into praising a mediocre dish. Sahis went home and the remaining friends took a train to the last station, half a kilometer away from Zeiss Manor. Rayla tried her best to keep up her usual cheerful attitude throughout the hour and a half trip. She tried to not think of the hard seat she was sitting on. Of the sweaty people who were seated opposite them, tired after their morning shifts. Of her friends talking about whether they should plan the inauguration of the new building for Monday or Tuesday. She wondered what had happened to her in the last four days. She realized that even back at the colony, Bevroren had been ensuring that they did still have a very high standard of living. She was already used to the comfort of expensive furniture. Her mother’s constant talks about politics, riches and gossip were beginning to interest her more than her friend’s mundane conversations about food, TV or work. She was beginning to wonder why Kyran didn’t expand the house. Sure, a house made entirely of Baran wood was worth a huge sum of money, and the simple furniture was also expensive. But it didn’t seem like Kyran was using that money to give himself a better life. She realized that she had always been projecting her ideas onto her friend and so she didn’t understand him as well Urvein or Inga did. But she liked these things. These comforts. Maybe it was in her blood or just in her mind. But she felt herself being torn apart between two worlds. And her body’s reactions to the train indicated that she was leaning away from the side her friends were on. She was glad that Kyran’ had turned off his field here at her request. She didn’t want him to see the things churning inside her mind.

“So overall that’ll be 853,000 aurei if you want it up by Sunday morning. We can set it up by 5:00am since your Wedge friend here has procured enough stone for us to work with. The interior decoration team has acquiesced to your request that they meet Miss Inga here at the store tomorrow. They know the one.”
“Are those the final numbers Malaika? Because if there’s any room for improvement I don’t mind paying more.”
“Interior decoration may go over budget depending on the rune girl’s choices. But everything else is fixed. I’d like to take an opportunity to fleece you but out of respect to the late thunder man I think I’ll pass.”
“Thunder man. That’s a new nickname. I’ve heard sparky from the construction crew working on the new colony. I think I like this one more.”
“We’re an irreverent bunch. You’re a Baron now but you were a commoner for the first 12 years of your life so you’re a decent chap. Otherwise we enjoy sticking it to the big wigs with their noses in the air. If they’ve got them up that high, they better be watching out for what’s coming from below. You’re shaming some of them by making this house. The ones like the Livingston House and the Yelleva House. Never seen em donate to charity. Bevroren tried it in his youth and nearly got exiled.”
“They’ll learn to respect the name of Tempest.”
“I’m beginning to think they will young master Baron. Now have you chosen the name for the signboard?”
“Why Malaika, I believe that I have the perfect one.”
At 5 am that Sunday four figures stood outside the newly erected mansion that dwarfed the Tempest House near it. The walls had been knocked down and the whole section of the street had been turned into one property.  The sign hanging over the ground floor was made of Baran wood. Painted on it were the words
“Kaden’s Shelter”