Supreme Magus

Chapter 4242: Shock and Awe (Part 1)

”Lith did the right thing, keeping the deeds of the houses and land he bought. In his shoes, I wouldn’t sell them at market price. I would put them on auction and make a killing with it.”

”Maybe it’s your Dragon blood talking, Rena, but you are becoming as greedy as your brother.” Elina said with a scowl. ”In Lith’s shoes, I’d sell the deeds at an honest price, but only after carefully vetting the buyers.

”I hope that your brother will fill Lutia with good people who will be good neighbors and contribute to making our city a better place for our children. Not just count the coins and pick those who offer the heaviest bag.”

”Maybe it’s your Dragon blood talking, Mom, but you are wiser than your silly daughter.” Rena chuckled.

”Yah.” Surin nodded.

”Lil Sis! What about our sisterly bond?” Rena turned beet red in embarrassment, while Elina laughed so hard that she held her belly, gasping for air.

”Mama be mama.” Surin replied, looking at Elina with eyes wide with admiration.

”She’s saying that I’m the best mom in the world.” Elina’s tears went from hilarity to emotion in a heartbeat. ”I need to sit down.”

”Enjoy it until it lasts, Mom.” Rena sighed. ”In just a few years, she’ll find you boring, just like Aran.”

”Ba!” Surin replied in outrage. ”Ba! Ba! Ba!”

”What did we miss?” Leria and the rest of the kids arrived when the baby girl was still scolding her older sister.

”Only your mother trying to reinforce her sisterly bond with Surin.” Senton had a hard time keeping a straight face.

”Are you going to come in, or do I have to beg to have my family in my home?” Zekell was tired of waiting and watching the show through the windows like a neighborhood gossip.

”Grandpa Zekell!” The kids tackled him into an embrace with enough enthusiasm to knock the blacksmith off his feet.

”Damn, if you’ve gotten strong, kids. You’ve also gotten taller since your last visit.” Zekell laughed as they helped him to stand up.

”Really?” Aran and Leran rushed to the door frame with their height marks. ”You’re right, Grandpa!”

”How is business doing, Dad?” Senton gave his father a brief hug, quickly followed by Raaz.

”Like every winter, the gods send on Mogar. Slow. There are so few clients that I keep the smithy open only for emergency repairs. There is always some unlucky soul who needs the tools to fix his house at the worst possible moment.

”This weather is unforgiving, and any weak spot you overlooked during fall is going to pop out during a storm like a sudden guest at dinnertime. Untimely and undesired. The real business comes through the branch of the Mage Association.

”I prepare the shipments, one of those nice fellows signs the paperwork, and then stores them in a dimensional amulet. It saves me a lot of time going back and forth from the Association, and the Warp Gate brings the goods to their destination.”

”What about the merchants from villages and cities that don’t have a Gate?” Raaz asked.

”They have to come all the way here by carriage, and then they are my guests at the temple until the weather clears up enough to resume travelling. You have no idea how many people got stuck here until now and are rushing to leave.”

”This is all nice and all, Grandpa, but what about our blacksmithing lessons?” Leran asked.

”Don’t worry, young man, I haven’t forgotten about my promise. Follow me.”

Leria had no interest in metalwork, but her competitive spirit got the best of her.

”Can I come too, Grand-” Something slammed into the arrays surrounding Zekell’s home, cutting her short.

Something powerful enough to make the walls made of solid stone tremble.

”What’s going on?” Raaz kept his cool despite the rain of spells blasting through the barriers and tried to take his communication amulet out of his dimensional ring, but to no avail. ”Zekell, did you change the arrays?”

”I couldn’t do that even if I wanted.” The blacksmith kept his amulet always at hand, but it didn’t work either. ”We are under attack! Where is Lith?”

”At Court, with Tista.” Raaz inwardly cursed. ”What about Salman?”

”At the bakery, learning an honest tra-” The ceiling of the house collapsed along with the magical formations protecting the Proudhammer house.

The debris falling from the first floor was pulverized, leaving the shocked Verhens unscathed and allowing the blue-cored Awakened to land right before their prey.

***

City of Valeron, Royal Palace, at the same moment.

The presence of the Supreme Magus and his family had surprised the nobles convened from all over the Kingdom. The activation of the high ceremony arrays that had paralyzed them on the spot and sealed their mouths had come as a shock instead.

Many of the nobles feared that their unsavory business had come to light and they were about to be publicly executed, but then they noticed that even people like the Ernas and the Distar were in their same condition.

When Meron started his speech to explain the real reason for the Royal Summons and the necessity to deceive even his most loyal retainers, the corrupt nobles sighed in relief.

As for Lith, he had a hard time not yawning. The King was trying to be as brief as possible, but there was a lot to say to avoid the deluge of questions that would inevitably follow Raldarak’s appearance.

At Lith’s request, Meron told the nobles all about how human and Tiamat blood interacted and what they could expect in the future.

This way, when they witnessed the baby boy’s appearance with their own eyes, the nobles would see the truth in the King’s words and need no further explanation.

Or rather, that was the plan.

’I bet good money that some idiot will ask a nonsensical question or something Meron has already explained anyway.’ Lith inwardly scoffed.

He couldn’t wait for the Court Assembly to be over, yet when that happened, he regretted ever making that wish. Lith felt a pull at his conscience, and then another, followed by a cascade of alarms ringing in his head.

Court protocol forbade keeping communication amulets available while in the presence of the Royals, but Lith’s paranoia superseded any written and unwritten law.

He took his amulet out of his pocket, discovering that the runes of the members of his family in Lutia had become unavailable.

Even worse, the alarms of the Warp Gates in the barn and in the Mansion had gone off as well, warning their master that someone was tampering with the artifacts.

”Supreme Magus Verhen, what’s the meaning of this? No one can disrespect us Royals in our home, not even you!” The Queen spoke only because the nobles expected her outrage as much as she expected bad news.

”My family in Lutia is under attack. I need to go.” He replied.

”He’s right, Your Majesty.” A captain of the Royal Guards and one of the only few people who could move freely said. ”We’ve just lost contact with the Queen’s Corps squads stationed in Lutia, the local branch of the Association, and even the branch in Derios.”