Price of Power

They were falling for a moment, but instead of landing on the sidewalk they found themselves on a wooden floor in a small apartment. Caduka wasn’t wasting time, she dragged Lariska on the bed, and washed her head from blood. In the meantime, she lost consciousness so Caduka could peacefully close the wound with stitches. Fortunately, it didn’t look like there was any serious dent or hematoma. In the end, she rubbed the wound with medicinal oil and bandaged it.

Sadly when she was done Lariska still didn’t wake up. She checked her pulse and then for the safety she put her in a safe position. In panic, she began to walk back and forth applying her the various medications she had. She was doing all of this with tears in eyes but without single sob and when she didn’t know what more she could do she wrapped some ice in a cloth, sat next to the bed, and put the bundle to the wound. It was a bit odd she thought, she was seeing her not so long ago in a similar state and then she was absolutely calm. Well, then Lariska was just under a pile of debris, she didn’t have to stitch anything. Also, she didn’t have to watch as someone was about to kill her and that she herself ...it was horrible, but if she had to she would do this again.

Lariska regained consciousness about one and a half-hour after she has lost it. She still was feeling nauseous and at the top of that, she was all shaking. She was in some apartment. It was dark, composed of a few small rooms without doors, all windows were covered and it wasn’t looking too neat. She saw a sitting person leaning on the edge of the bed, she was probably sleeping. She poked her. Caduka raised her head, blinked few times and smiled when she saw that her friend has woke up.

"How are you?" Asked Caduka with a sleepy voice.

"I got chills." She responded quietly.

"But you don’t feel any pressure in head?"

"No."

"That’s good, do you remember something?"

"Sure this guy, who was that?"

"Notus, Eol’s son and don’t worry, you got hit really hard, small amnesia is normal."

"And we still don’t know where Eol can be?"

"No, sorry."

Lariska turned her head and pondered for a moment.

"I think Notus was a Cleric, he immediately recognized my musket. So we at least know from who Eol knows about this, unless he himself ordered him to join. With the rest, do not think about it, even my father sometimes makes a mistake. So what now?"

Caduka stood up and responded with a playful tone.

"You lie. Until your head will be in working order you have to move as little as possible."

"What? Every hour counts!" Her words suddenly brought back her energy.

"And in your current condition even turning your head too fast can end up badly. I will cure you as fast as I can, sadly I don’t know much about healing magic, only on medicine. Sister undoubtedly could fix your head in two seconds, but I already can see how you’re gagging to it, which reminded me…"

She for a moment went out of the room and returned with a cup and green bottle.

"Have, your skull is fine, but maybe cracked a little, it should fasten the healing."

Lariska took the cup with the liquid and took a sip, it was so bitter she winced.

"How do you even know medicine so well?" She still was feeling that taste on her tongue.

"I don’t, but one time you cut really hard, the next you break something and the other you will be left without an eye. Anyway, there’s written on it that it helps repair cracked or even broken bones. "

"I still do not understand why I have to lie here, I am fine."

"You’re so fine that soon you will barf, I will tie you to this bed if I will have to."

"And will you at least tell me what is this place?"

"This here? Well, my house, but I don’t use it often ...lately. I don’t know, it was the first thing that came to my mind."

"And ...this will be the place you will come back to once we are done?"

"No, I think I… might finally stop running away." She tried to smile but she couldn’t.

Lariska didn’t respond, just closed her eyes and lied back down. Caduka turned back and went to the kitchen, she had to drink.

She didn’t want to do this. She preferred to stay home, she preferred to watch over Lariska so she wouldn’t do anything stupid, but she also preferred to end this as fast as possible. In the city in which was Eol’s estate, there was also a district, if Notus supposedly was a Cleric he maybe was there and left something worth attention. She knew where the district was, it even was marked with glyphs so it was easier to find, she didn’t have to look for long.

After all, it felt nice to again go there where you shouldn’t. Alone, without any orders and necessity to take lives. Only to snoop around, steal something, feel this adrenaline rush.

One of the entrances was in the library. Getting into it wasn’t a big deal, it was a middle of the night, less than a minute with a lock pick and she was inside. Within it literally everything was in shape of a rectangle, the room was humongous and arranged in rows bookshelves were so huge you needed a ladder to get to the higher shelves. But she wasn’t there for the books, there must have been some passage and she wasn’t disappointed. She suspected that not in every service room there was a hidden door.

That district really looked like some school. The passage led her to the hall. There was a message board, door to the staff room and corridors at both sides led to the classes. It was lacking only metal cabinets, she didn’t even know where to start. She doubted that Notus was renting a room there if he had not so far away a flat of his dad, but on the other side, she thought: 'Why not?'. The quarters were on the right behind the classes. She turned off the flashlight, it still was dark but her mechanical eye let her move around somehow. Like she suspected, the rooms were totally empty, the majority of them, only in two someone was sleeping, but she wasn’t going to these. Furthermore, the door to the one-room was ajar a bit and the lights inside were on, someone still was awake. She came closer, from the inside there was coming a quiet music, it was the radio and the melody was ...not sad, maybe a little, but nice. Caduka charmed sat at the door, but a person inside wasn’t seeing her. She was sitting like that for a while leaning against the wall, she wasn’t thinking anything. She was completely calm, like the melody on which she focused. It was a little weird for her, long ago she liked music a lot, but she didn’t even remember the last time she played something for herself. Then she heard a sob which pulled her out of the trance, it was silent, discontinuous like the person inside was trying to repress it. Caduka was keeping ear to the ground, but she wasn’t hearing anything anymore. Maybe she could’ve come in and ask what has happened, but after all, she was an intruder, unfamiliar. Anyway, maybe that person wanted to be left alone, she was just about to knock the door, but no, she had her own worries and she would probably only make things worse.

Not thinking about what has happened she went straight to the headmaster’s office. If she had to start from something she should have from it and it was ...extraordinary. The colors of the emerald and dark gold were dominating, a little bit of bronze. There was a lot of lumber but neatly arranged on shelves or on the cabinets. The first thing that drew her attention were small vials in the glass cabinet. They weren’t signed, but they were different in shape and color of liquids in them, some of them even weren’t corked. She took one and sniffed, the liquid was odorless. She put it back, she already knew that you shouldn’t mess with unknown liquids. Director should’ve in the drawers file folders with teachers, scientists and Clerics documents. She has found them, they were segregated for these three groups arranged in alphabetical order. She didn’t even check in scientist and teacher folders, in students she didn’t found anything, so it looked like Notus indeed was a cleric. She opened the drawer, there were only three folders and the name she was looking for was on the top, she opened it.

"Talented in many areas cleric.." She was reading skipping every few words, it wasn’t very interesting to her. "...he’s avoiding any contacts with the majority of the personnel ...impulsive, which is probably caused by the change of environment after he has been assigned here after closing the district to which he was attending to an over month ago.” Over a month, was it possible that… "...Estremoz was seeing great potential in him, it would be a pity to waste it.”

Of course, could fucking mister E. finally die for good? She felt like she was persecuted by this name, but it would explain Notus abilities and it looked like the whole personnel was sent to the other districts. Only to let the disease spread out, great.

She still hadn’t what she was looking for. She still could rummage in the classrooms, for some reason Eol was on the list, not his son and someone had to know where was he. There was nothing more in the folder. Looking around she thought that the decorations of that room were reminding her of someone. On the desk, there was a nameplate. She took it out of curiosity and read it, her hair immediately stood on end: 'Serqet'. She quickly left the room, she shouldn’t have been there. Serqet, no matter the Cleric or Director could be dangerous and well, to put it mildly, they weren’t getting along. She preferred no to think what happens if she saws her just wandering around her district. The worst thing was, she was the only person known to her who could saw her when ...well, others couldn’t. Also, she could disappear like that herself if she would find her she would be a goner.

She returned to the hall, but someone already was at the door. Although she couldn’t have the certainty already through her head went the whole dictionary of curses. She hid behind the corner, there had to be another way out. She pulled out the horn, she could try to teleport away, but she was afraid that spells will prevent this and she will only turn on alarm. Or maybe she already did since somebody already came, anyway, she still hadn’t any clue about Eol. She sneaked to the next corridor. More classes, more doors, but at the very end, there was one more. They were closed, 'fuck' went through her head. She at once pulled out the lockpick and opened the antiqued lock with masterful speed and just in time, she was hearing the steps behind her.

The corridor was still going on but this time you could see only one door at the very end. They were opened and behind them, Caduka saw a small sports hall. It was noticeably older than the rest of the rooms, some equipment like training puppets stayed. On the left, there were locker rooms, benches and some metal lockers and it looked like somebody was using it not so long ago. Almost all lockers were ajar, except two of them. In first there was nothing, but in the other, she found a card, actually an invitation to that year's Summer Sun Celebration and in addition sent by Eol himself. Then she saw that someone was coming.

Her breath quickened, she began to nervously look around until she saw a tunnel. She wanted to immediately get to it and run as noiselessly as possible, but she only banged her nose against the wall. It seemed like it was impossible, she was seeing this tunnel with her mechanical eye, but before her, there was only a wall. Although, her healthy eye was seeing in the darkness something else, carved on the wall small glyphs. She turned back and saw before her dark figure with a flashlight. She froze, Serqet probably won't even let her say a word. Then, glyphs on the wall slightly shone and blurred in the air, just like the part of the wall which was covering the hole, she almost fell to it but seeing that she wasn’t even questioning just ran to it right away.