Summoning Woes

Ch 17 - Sanctuary

Klavier was losing strength. It would normally take one slash to take down an elder tree. This time, however, he took two and it drained a lot of stamina from him. It probably had something to do with his inactivity from the coma, but there was that nagging feeling that it was more than that. It would be best not to tell anybody about this weakening condition on him, especially to Ana.

He returned home just before dawn broke, the sound of metal cutting the air ringing in his ears. It had to be Maroma perfecting her standard swing. There was far more conviction in each attempt since that day she managed to get away with her life. He would have done the same in her shoes, not wanting to experience the helplessness she had when the people around her were dying by the enemy's hands. He entered his room, barely visible with the lack of candlelight. His eyes made out the silhouette of a person a head shorter than him, bumping into various equipment as though it was blind in the darkness. The person grunted as silently as it could, his ears picking up a voice similar to Themis.

"Themis," he rested his hand on his hip. "What the hell are you doing in my room?"

"That voice," she turned her head to where he was. "Oh, it's you. I was just checking the magical signatures left behind by your robe."

"What about it?"

"There's a powerful dark energy in that robe that's not coming from you. I assume it's just the aftermath of your fight against the Sibyl Sisters but it's not the case."

"Err, simple words please."

"The Sibyl Sisters are still alive."

"Um, yeah. What about it?"

"I get a very sinister vibe from them. Like they're sending a warning to us."

"What warning?"

"I don't know. But I can't seem to decipher the message."

"Why not we get specialists to check on it? It'll speed up the process. More so especially if it's very bad news."

"Oh. I guess you're right. In that case, we should meet Will. He knows where all the finest magicians are in La Veda, among those is one who reads the stars to tell the individual's fortunes. It turns out to be quite accurate."

"Do you know his name?"

"Amul, she is otherwise known as Maiden Amul."

"A she..."

"Yeah. In any case, let's go find him so we can see this person."

"What about Ana?"

"Lilith will take care of her. Let's get going while it's still dark."

**

It had been a long time since she walked along with Klavier without Will and Aem accompanying her. He normally would give a cold shoulder whenever they were alone, lost in his own train of thoughts over god-knows-what.

Themis couldn't take her eyes off him, not because of any form of attraction growing between them, but rather, the once youthful-looking Klavier was now lost to a significantly older appearance. Despite the changes, he was yet to lose his flexibility and agility in combat, which he still had with great mastery in their encounters with lurking monsters in the path.

The sun was already in the highest point of the sky when they arrived to the capital of La Veda. Klavier put on a straw hat the moment they stepped into the city as if it was to hide his face from the face of the crowd. She raised an eyebrow, but all he did was to place his finger on his lips with a cheeky smile behind it. He must have done something despicable to force him to hide his face, but she couldn't really bother asking about it.