Chapter 76: The Old Map
Inside the inn room was quiet. And the morning light poured faintly through the curtains and into the bed.
Professor Valerius and Sable were lying on the bed, the bedsheets tangled around them. Sable shifted her head away from his chest as he sat up slowly.
Valerius pushed the cover aside, stood up, and walked to the chair by the window.
He grabbed his his trousers from the back of the chair and pulled them on, then reached for his shirt and slipped it over his head.
As he was buttoning his shirt, Sable pulled the bed sheet up to cover her chest. She watched him for a moment before speaking.
"so, what next?" she asked. "Are you going back to the academy?"
Valerius shook his head. "No. I’ll stay at the Enclave facility for now. I think they need me there more. Besides, there is something I need to do before going back."
Sable nodded slowly. Then a small, teasing smile pulled at her lips, and she twisted her tongue between her teeth.
"Well.....don’t miss me too much."
Valerius let out a small chuckle. He finished buttoning his shirt and walked over to the bed. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Don’t get ahead of yourself," he said.
He straightened up, already turning for the door. Then he paused and looked back at her.
"See you some other time."
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Sable let out a long breath. She wrapped the bedspread tightly around her chest, stood up, and walked over to the small table by the window. She poured herself a glass of wine, took a slow sip, and stared at the closed door.
"Yeah," she muttered to herself. "I am going to miss him."
.....
Location: Aldenmoor City!
The morning sun was already high up. After returning home the previous day, Reynold had eaten the food Gift’s mother prepared and immediately gone to bed. He had just woken up.
Right now, he was standing inside his father’s old study.
His eyes scanned the room, looking for anything that could give him a clue about the mysterious letter.
His eyes landed on a shelf near the corner. On top of it was a dusty cardboard box. He reached out and pulled it down and opened it. Piles of old books and papers stacked inside.
He dug through it, and as his hand shifted a heavy book, his fingers brushed against a long, folded piece of paper. He pulled it out.
It was covered in dust. Reynold blew the dust off and carefully unfolded it on the desk.
It looked like a map, but the writing was strange. Everything was written in the Valdris Old Language. Reynold scanned it, and suddenly, his eyes stopped at a particular word sitting right at the center of the map.
Reynold quickly dropped the map on the table. He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his letter. His eyes ran over the text of the letter and then stopped.
It was the exact same word.
Reynold stared at the two matching words for a long moment, completely silent.
Just then, the door handle clicked. Reynold quickly shoved the letter back into his pocket just as the door swung open.
"Dude, you in there?" Alistair’s voice sounded from the hallway.
"Yeah," Reynold said.
Alistair walked in holding a heavy ledger in one hand and a stack of documents in the other. He stretched his hand out, giving the ledger to Reynold.
"This is it," Alistair said. "Everything the Starweaver family owns. Every single property those men handed back." He then held up the stack of papers. "You just need to sign these, and the full transfer will be completely legit."
Reynold nodded, took the papers, scanned through them, and signed his name at the bottom of each one. He handed them back.
"You’re in charge of them now," he said.
Alistair blinked. "Me?"
"Yes," Reynold said. "I will be going back to Wyrmwood Academy soon. And what better person to run a business than the dude who has loved it since he was five?"
A wide grin spread across Alistair’s face. "Thank you, man. Seriously."
"If any issues come up that you can not handle," Reynold added, "just send me a mail through the Wyrmwood Academy mail channel. I will get it."
"Okay." Alistair’s eyes drifted to the table, landing on the old map. "Wait, is that the old map?"
"You familiar with the old map?" Reynold asked, watching him closely.
Alistair let out a short laugh. "Who isn’t?" Then he smirked. "Oh, right. I forgot. You hate history."
He stepped closer and tapped a finger on the map. "This was the map they used before the Great War with the Aether Kingdom." His finger moved to the center. "This region right here is called Highmere. And this word, written in old language, is Kingsrest. That’s where the royal palace used to sit."
Reynold looked down at the word. "So the region is Highmere, and this is Kingsrest?"
"Exactly." Alistair nodded. "Before the war, Valdris was split into four regions. Highmere, Wintermere, Windharbor, and Emberhall. Each one had its own cities. But after the war, we switched to North, South, East, and West instead."
Alistair paused, looking at Reynold with a curious expression. "Why are you studying an old map anyway? Did the academy ask you to?"
Reynold’s hand twitched toward his pocket. Part of him wanted to hand Alistair the letter, let him translate the rest of it. But something told him to keep this close.
Reynold swallowed and nodded. "Hmm... yeah. It’s for a project the academy gave us."
"Alright then," Alistair said, completely buying the lie. "I will be downstairs."
He turned and left the study, closing the door behind him.
As soon as Alistair was gone, Reynold pulled the letter back out of his pocket. He grabbed his pen and wrote ’Kingsrest’ right under the matching old word. After writing it, he folded the letter and slipped it back into his trouser pocket.
He then folded the map and tucked it under his arm. He was taking it with him.
.....
Location: The Capital. Royal Palace.
King Kaelen sat on his throne, his fingers drumming slowly against the armrest as Magnus stood before him, delivering his report.
"We lost about thirty soldiers," Magnus said, his voice echoing in the large hall. "The meeting was nothing but a trap set by the Forsaken Lords. They do not want peace. They want the Greywood Basin for themselves."
Kaelen’s jaw tightened. "Then double the security around the Basin. Immediately."
"It will be done."
Kaelen leaned back slightly. "And Valerius? Where is he?"
"He’ll be staying at the Enclave facility for now," Magnus said.
The king gave a slow nod, then his eyes narrowed slightly. "Has anything come up? Regarding the Starweaver boy?"
Magnus shook his head. "Nothing I’m aware of, Your Majesty."
.....
Inside the palace, Queen Seraphina pushed open the door to her private chamber.
But she stopped abruptly.
A figure wearing cloak was on her bed.
Seraphina nervously licked her lips. She quickly masked her fear, forcing her face to remain completely calm.
"I wasn’t expecting you," she said.
The cloaked figure did not answer. Instead, they stood up and began walking around the room, slowly picking up the photo frames on the table, examining them, and dropping them back down.
Seraphina took a step forward. "I need to know that the boy is not going to be a problem."
The figure ignored the statement entirely. They dropped another photo frame and turned their hooded head toward the Queen.
"Is the thing I asked you to get ready... ready?" the figure asked.
Seraphina swallowed hard. "It is not ready right now. But it will be by tomorrow. I will have it delivered to the usual spot."
"Good," the figure murmured.
Before Seraphina could even blink, the figure was already standing by the door.
"Wait!" Seraphina called out, stepping forward again. "I need to know. Will that boy be a future problem?"
The figure paused.."I am on it," the figure’s voice hissed from the hood. "Nobody wants that boy out of the picture as much as i do."
In a flash of light, the figure teleported out of the room.