Alice walked downstairs with Lexi looking for Sebas. Elsie told her that he was in his office so they headed there.
“Sebas are you here?” Alice knocked on the door.
“Lady Alice, please enter.” He replied and she entered.
Alice walked slowly and sat on one of the chairs. She turned her head and said. “We need to prepare for the wedding, would you mind ordering some parchments, and ink for me? I would need them to write invitations.”
“Of course my lady. How about the other preparation?” Sebas pulled a paper and wrote what Alice said, it was a list of what they needed to buy.
“The bigger things are an appointment at the church, a ballroom, food, clothes and jewelry and lastly a band for some music would be nice,” Alice said scratching her chin.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to order a carriage to be decorated? It will be nice to have a small parade across the city.” Sebas suggested.
“I’m not sure how Cain would feel about that, I will ask him later if it was alright,” Alice replied.
“Are there any special guests that we should expect?” Sebas asked as he was taking notes.
“There are Selena’s parents who can only eat raw meat. Zaleria who eat a lot and probably the druids…” Alice stooped for a moment, “We should also prepare a private room as we might have someone that mustn’t be seen publically.” Alice said as she remembered Kayden, she wasn’t sure but Cain might invite him as well. He saved them in the fight after all.
“Shall I hire Madam Mabel as the head cook?” Sebas asked and Alice gave him a sharp glare.
“That doesn’t need asking, give her the best treatment you can. Also whatever price she asks for, give her double that.” Mabel always worked cheap for her skills, which wasn’t setting well with Alice after she tasted the breath that Mabel make.
After a while, Alice finished her discussion with Sebas and headed out. On her way out she met Zaleria who just finished taking a bath.
“You seem worried, is there a problem?” Zaleria asked.
“No, I’m just thinking about the wedding preparation,” Alice replied with a smile.
“I’m going out for a bit, do you need me to bring anything?” Zaleria said.
“No, I will call you if we needed anything,” Alice replied and Zaleria left immediately.
Zaleria cracked her neck Outside Cain’s mansion. She had relaxed enough in the bath and now was itching for some movements. Stretching her arms she walked outside with a smile.
People seemed to immediately recognize and open a path for her. They saw her as the red dragon she was. After wandering for a bit, she sensed something terrifying.
The remnant of a Great wyrm dragon was in the air, it was almost fading but she will never mistake it. How come she lived here for so long and never felt this?
Flame gushed from under her feet and she flew to the sky. She was tracking the faint magic and eventually stooped at an abandoned bath.
When she asked around the people told her that the bath never opened after the catastrophe. The old lady who owned it just disappeared without a trace.
Zaleria walked toward the locked door and kicked it open. Some guards saw her break in but they never dared to stop her. She was a dragon, who will stop her from trespassing like this?
The moment Zaleria entered her face paled, now that the magic was a bit stronger, she can pick a pattern similar to that of Sofia. No, after sensing it for a bit, they were the same, just the dragon had a stronger scent.
Zaleria followed the magic inside the bath and eventually reached the locked basement. The magic keeping the door locked was almost fading, was this the reason she could feel the dragon’s presence now?
When she checked the lock. That was the case. She only felt the dragon’s magic since the lock he created was degrading.
Zaleria gulped down as she slowly pushed the door open. From what she knew, the dragon might be hibernating just inside.
The room was mostly empty. Everything was burned to ash. The layout also seemed familiar to her. It was similar to her lab setup but with some tweaks here and there. The last time she saw someone with a setup similar to her it was Cain.
“Did someone sell my lab design as some kind of new fashion?” Seeing that creped Zaleria out.
After inspecting the room more, she found a burned journal in the corner. The journal kept its shape so It must have been burned quickly.
A single touch from her and the journal would disintegrate into ash. Zaleria gently tried to lift the cove but it fell apart.
Zaleria stood, and quickly notice that one of the papers held its shape. It was mostly burned so she could barely read a single sentence.
“It’s been 50 years. I finally met him again.”
“I should probably bring Cain here. He might be able to make sense of all of this.” Zaleria said as she left the place. She can’t carry anything with her since they were too fragile.
A great wyrm has been living here for at least 50 years. Those things can live up to five thousand years naturally so that’s almost nothing. What was scary is that Zaleria was only ancient, the thought of a great wyrm being this close was terrifying.
Zaleria immediately left searching for Cain.
…
Back in the guild, Cain trying to wrap his head around what he just heard. Mary is Alen’s daughter, an adopted daughter to be exact.
Alen adopted her from his sister when she left for the dark elf nation with her husband. They had their reasons so Alen accepted to adopt Mary from them.
And now after twenty years he finally got strong enough to start heading out in the world and he wanted to take Mary with him.
Alen wanted Cain to bring Mary to the Fenrir village so they can move from there. But he had to return to grab her and some items.
“I’m not going with you to the elvish kingdom. I would prefer to go with Cain to the capital.” Said Mary as she looked at Alen. He couldn’t understand her reasoning at all.
“The human kingdom is limited, we have to move to a more advanced one if we wanted to advance.” Said Alen with a serious face.
Cain was listening to them and he had to agree with Alen. Humans, dwarfs, and Halflings are limited to level 20. Which made growing stronger here a difficult task.
Cain was a special case since he had immense magical knowledge and skills. But for Alen, he needed to fight strong monsters, and gather wealth. He then needed to buy magic tombs and scrolls, build a lab, and study his magic for years so he can learn new ninth-tier magic.
With another look, Alen looked in his forties, if not older as mages tend to look younger than they are. Unless he moves to a more advanced civilization, he will die of old age before reaching level 40. Cain was taking into consideration that he was a half-elf who can live up to 120 years.
“I can take her with me. I will end up going there myself anyway.” Cain said which made Mary smile.
Alen thought about it for a moment and then started at Cain as if assessing him. Strength was not a problem, in fact, Alen would trust that Cain could protect her better than him. The problem was Cain as a person, is it safe to leave Mary with him.
“I guess I’m getting married then,” Mary said with a joking face, she was just trying to irritate Alen.
“I don’t mind but the decision is in the girls’ hands. As long as you get their approval it’s fine by me, you also have a new competitor or so I heard from one of my maids.” Cain played along but he still gave her a clear way.
“Hey, you!” Alen yelled.
“Then I will ask them immediately…” Mary took his reply seriously and ran outside. Cain stayed looking at Alen in disbelief.
Alen just stared back at him, “Was she serious?”
It was then that they heard something land outside the window. They didn’t need to look to know it was Zaleria.
“Cain I found something you must see.” She said opening the window.