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Guess who's still alive?

Not me. But I can update now!

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          Dear Nephew,

          Pardon the tardy reply. 

          I must apologize, for I have failed you. Samanthra anticipated my actions after your outburst and she has your kidnapper under her tricky protection. Perhaps this will stand as a lesson to control your temper and hone a blade of words to attack with.

          This question may stand as abrupt, but other than that incident in which I fully blame the school's security, you haven't been visited nor attacked by anyone else, right? I am simply busy ensuring your welfare, and the sooner I receive an answer, the better. Report any and all oddities to me (and Samanthra).

          Speaking of reporting, Jeremiah will be staying with you for a few weeks, since he is the only way I can gather information on your kidnapper. Please allow him to wander where he wishes at whatever time he wishes, since the information he gathers will be purely for your welfare.

          Anyways, I must wish you farewell, I have my hands full with some unsavoury guests. Take care of yourself, feed Jeremiah, and tell me if you need anything.

          Sincerely, Staz

          (Written by, his careless secretary)

          Káel tossed Jeremiah a cautious squint, the feline glaring back as he sprawled across Truvius' lap like a hungry lion. Phantom was just to Káel's side on his bed, trying to decipher one of the pages of the journal Zalius had marked. Káel didn't know the extent of his cat's intelligence, but he didn't want to risk it being able to read the ancient pages and report it to his uncle, so he was doing everything he could to avoid drawing attention to the object. 

          "He marked a seal breaker," Phantom finally spoke, prompting Káel to discretely flip the page of his notebook to a clear surface to scribble on. "It just needs a few ingredients... a dragon scale... pixie dust." Phantom hummed in hesitation while Káel wrote down the two ingredients, watching the nib of his pencil tap the paper impatiently for him to hurry up. "Some blood..."

          Káel stopped tapping his pencil, making sure Jeremiah wasn't watching him as a he popped an eyebrow at Phantom, scribbling on the paper and flashing it.

          Who's?

          "Yours?" Phantom replied, stiffly motioning to the pile of pillows making up Puff's personal castle. "Or his."

          Káel pursed his lips, adding another question to the parchment.

          How much?

           "Probably just the standard few drops, so the ritual knows who's casting.."

          Káel frowned at his hand, going right back to writing. 

          Anything else?

          "The living branch of a winter tree and some crystalback venom."

          Káel finished the list, his worry lessened by the common sounding ingredients. He had a dragon with a strong supply of scales, a fair amount of his own blood, and just needed some poison, a stick, and magical dust. Better still, he had the perfect person to go to, and the coin to back it up. 

          "Hey Truvius, I need to grab some stuff from the village." 

          Truvius smiled, seeming to forget that Jeremiah was currently biting his hand for more attention. "I'll call Vera."

  —————  

          Alestra checked her sender again, feeling stupider by the second as she leaned up against one of the decorative trees Cobalt kept in its courtyards. This one was not the beauty it once was however, frayed with scrabbling claw marks and strewn with beds of dried leaves and hay from the stables. The dragon she was supposed to be tossing out of the tree wasn't here however, and neither was the boy he'd turned into a personalised servant. 

          Káel and Puff were more than late, and the usual crowds of spectating students had already assumed they'd skipped out and departed to spend their free time elsewhere, aside from Talli, who's hope was practically unbreakable. 

          Alestra twitched her mouth in disappointment. She had wanted to ask Káel about the prior night, piqued by curiousity surrounding the ancient ceptrum he had found. 

          Perhaps that was exactly why he had skipped Puff's flying lessons.

          The amount of questions were piling up, and balancing was an act Alestra fit poorly, every stacking thought threatening to tip the mass all together. Without Puff to pass her free time, she had to run on other options, so answering at least one of those questions seemed to be a fair alternative.

          With a stifled yawn, Alestra squeezed her chest to keep the fatigue from taking her, taking on a lazy smile to greet Talli with. "Did Káel have other plans today?"

          Talli shrugged. "Th-they don't invite me places anymore... th-they think I-I'm stupid."

          Alestra stopped, the lift in her face falling with a hard thud. "Oh? Don't you have better grades than Truvius?"

          Talli cast her gaze to the grass, a reddish burn growing in her cheeks as if Alestra's question was something to be ashamed about. "He, he got st-stressed out when I-I beat him on a test... s-so we don't t-talk about it."

          Alestra smiled, pressing her back against the roughed up tree as she toyed with a spell that braided the grass around her feet. "Well, how about we see who's smarter than who and figure out what was more important than Puff's flying lessons?"

  —————  

          The moment Káel opened the small door to Soren's shop, a rumbling purr ripped across the floor, waking Dulan as Puff forced himself into Soren's lap and earned himself the privilege of a premium cheek massage. Káel could see Soren thinking, his gaze flicking between the three teens for a fraction of a second. "What can I do for you all today?"

          Káel could see a playful attention to Soren's posture, showing that, despite a few gazers skimming the shop, they hadn't come into the middle of something again. With a curt nod he slipped a small list from his pocket, flattening the rippling creases as he approached the counter. "I've got a little grocery list."

          Soren quickly skimmed it, his eyebrows raising as he reached the bottom. "We cooking for someone we really hate?"

          Káel shrugged. "Just a friend, you have any of those?"

          Soren took a moment to think, his head tilting with the passing seconds. "Ouch?"

          "I meant the ingredients on the list."

          Soren dipped his gaze back to the paper, gears twisting as he rubbed Puff's chin with his free hand. Káel had hoped he would be stocked with ancient spell ingredients, but perhaps, the mystery to Soren sat on the criminal spectrum and steered away from dangerous collectibles. 

         "I might be able to help a bit," Soren finally said, flattening the paper face down to smile up at the teens with a spice of mockery. "If you all tell me what you need this stuff for."

         "School... project," Truvius cut in, glancing at Vera for some help as she slowly pulled her arms up into a fold. "Our teachers sent us to find an enchantment breaking spell and collect its ingredients as a project."

          With a tone flat enough to stale the air, Soren's attempt at looking convinced was poor at best "I see." He stiffly stretched and scooted Puff up to rest on one arm as he walked towards a shelf brimming with colourful vials, grabbing a dark blue one capped tight with a black cork. He dropped it in Káel's hand. "Crystalback venom, do not put it anywhere near your mouth unless you're a fan of a slow, agonising death."

          "Yes sir," Káel replied, checking the price on the vial and fishing a handful of coins out of his pocket. "Do you have any winter tree branches?"

          Soren made a strange motion, his shoulders stiffening to hide what Káel could only assume to be a subdued laugh. "The last time I saw one of those, it was a sketch in a textbook called The Lost Life of Lumi. An interesting read mind you. Did you know there used to be flumigans the size of houses before The Eye?"

          Káel pretended to show some interest in the string of words flying right over his head, but not knowing how much time he had to try and free Phantom before people got suspicious only put a cork on the act at interest for the sake of helping himself.

          Or Phantom, to be more accurate.

          "Sounds interesting, I'll look it up. Got any Pixie Dust?"

          "Got a license?" Soren retorted, his mocking tone catching Káel completely off guard.

          "I need a license for magical dust and not deadly poison?"

          "You need a license for one of the most powerful agents in psychological and illusionary lumience spells? Yup. Did I mention it's also an airborn poison?" Soren said, his smile uncracking at the frown he'd cast on Káel's face. "Anything else I can help you with? Puff fell asleep." 

          "Yeah, information," Káel  said, pulling a silver coin out of his pocket to flash at Soren like a cat treat. "How do I get Pixie Dust if I can't buy it?"

          "Hunt one down in the forest and slap it over a jar..." Soren replied, subduing a laugh by clearing his throat. "Don't actually, you'll get eaten. They like their food fresh and screaming."

          Káel grimaced at the description, gauging the reaction of his friends at Soren's words. Vera was unphased enough for him to wonder if she was even listening to Soren, or more distracted by the enchanted broadsword framed to the wall above Soren's counter. Truvius on the other hand looked like "fresh and screaming" was playing on loop in his brain as he gazed quietly at the floorboards.

          Gently pulling a snoozing Puff from Soren's arms, Káel paid the locksmith a grateful nod. "We'll figure something out."

  —————  

          Alestra stole away into the stretching shade of a nearby shop. Despite her daily participation in helping out at the stables, she didn't like the starlight much. Polearis and Carcinos had a way with making her two shades visibly darker in what seemed like minutes, and Jade was not the type to shy away from pointing it out. 

          She weighed her gaze on Talli as she stood front and center in the blaring heat, jealousy pricking at her stomach. 

          If her hair was even half the size of Talli's she would be worrying about one less insignificant problem. 

          Talli gazed about the bustling streets, a sea of casually dressed teens enjoying their free weekend with summer drinks and the Town's many trinkets that were perfect for sending back home. "Y-you think they're, they're here?"

          Alestra shrugged at the question, continuing their walk when a stretched cloud ate up Carcinos. "It was your guess. Soren told me Puff visits him a lot with Káel, so I think that's a good place to start."

          She kept to their path, the students weeding out as the tighter alley whittled down to the true, unkempt and cracking foundations of the town. Soren's shop was nearly in sight, just a corner away for her to inquire on Puff's whereabouts. But as if her thoughts had called Tesirus to her side, a white blur ripped around the corner, slobbering with excitement as it flapped right into her chest to force her frantic hands to catch him.

          With an excited warble Puff gave half her face a slobbering lick, the smile on Alestra's face only fueling his joy as he flipped belly up in her cradling arms, while Káel's calls drew closer.

          "Puff! get back he-" The boy caught himself as he planted his feet in front of Alestra, wide eyes flipping between her and Puff in hesitation as his weekly dedication struck him like a guillotine. "His lessons... I completely forgot-"

          "It's fine, I'm sure the teachers appreciated the lack of a baby dragon hitting their windows," Alestra replied, keeping her smile from showing the fact that she definitely minded being shirked of the highlight of her week. "So, what was important enough for you to forget, if you mind my asking?"

          She noticed Káel slip his hand into his pocket to clutch an object, the anxious habits of his subconcious shining a spotlight over his secret before he could even open his mouth. "I was seeing if Soren could help me with a project. What about you? What brings you to this..." Káel gave his surroundings a tepid squint. "alley?" 

          "Me and Talli wanted to hang out," Alestra could feel a stinging gaze ripping into her side, ignoring the absolute daggers coming out of Vera's eyes to keep to cracking Káel. "You guys look like you're having fun, wanna let us in on it?"

          "It's just homework. Soren is an information broker," Vera retorted.

          "Our library is also free, and if my grades are anything to go by, he knows how to do any kind of homework," Alestra retorted, smiling as Truvius paled at her finger and the glare from Vera it attracted. "So? Anybody want to hang out?"

          For a second Alestra thought it was working, a yawn escaping her as she waited for the final acceptance into their strange and secretive clique. But as Káel's shadow passed her without a word a seed of disappointment rooted her feet, the words slipping right out without her even thinking. "Did you sleep well last night?"

          Káel froze up, the confusion on his face as he turned to her again so half done she could do better on three hours of sleep. "Yeah? I mean the beds aren't all that soft but-"

          "A walk in the forest does wonders to clear your mind before you tuck in? I know the feeling, especially when it's after curfew walking down unauthorized Ceptrum trails."

          "I... Uhh... there's unauthorised trails?" Káel stuttered, glancing at Vera who had cooled to an impressed and intrigued calm at the direction the whole conversation was going. "I was just really stressed out that night and I needed some fresh air."

          Alestra made sure her nods didn't match her face. Being friends with Káel was getting less attractive by the minute. He was atrocious at keeping secrets, so some sort of miracle must have kept him hidden this long. 

          But she was just going to crack one secret at a time.

          Starting with the easiest.

          "What's in your pocket?"

          Káel gulped. "Money."

          "And?"

          "Crystalback venom," Vera finally cut in, stepping up beside Káel like a dragon to its chick. "Got a problem with his shifty behaviour?"

          Alestra smiled, grateful to finally face the blunt solution. "No, anything me and Talli can help with?"

          "Not unless you have some pixie dust."

          "Pixie dust?" she replied, her eyes slightly widening. "Oh skat skitzers! I ran out this morning."

          Vera squinted at the sarcasm lacing her tone, not a single smile in sight at the attempted joke. 

          "The forest is full of them, I can show you guys how to juice them but it'll take a week for me and Talli to make the baits. Anything else?"

          Vera slipped her hand in Káel's pocket, pulling out a crumpled list before he could even register the pickpocket, and flashing the items to her. Her eyes hungrily skimmed the three items, books of ancient texts pooling into her memory as her favourite pass-time before she was sent to Cobalt. They had to be some of the main ingredients, and crystalback venom was a popular stabilizer before bloodblooms were discovered, well over a thousand years ago.

          "Wow," Alestra breathed, her awe falling on five confused spectators as she oggled the tiny list. "This is just a serpentine ingredient away from a dimensional rip ritual." She locked gazes with Káel, his face paling before she even continued. "And blood of course, but that's more common than a winter tree branch. There isn't a book in Cobalt with spells that old."

          "Great to know. Pretend this conversation didn't happen and you guys can help us, otherwise, we're dragging you down as an accomplice," Vera said, smiling as Cinder let out a small chirp. "And Cinder will light your beds on fire."

          "Deal," Alestra said, not even sparing a second to consider Vera's words. She paid Talli a successful smile, interupted by another massive lick from Puff while Talli tried to curve her shaking lips up into a smile for herself. "So. What are we summoning?"

          There was a long silence until Káel spoke up. "A... Phantom of sorts?'

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COMMENT/CRITIQUE/(VOTE IF YOU WANT)

Quality Quip #40:

'It's still magic even when you know how it's done.'

~Terry Pratchett