“I apologize on the behalf of my master.” Vemra bowed his head slightly, his eyes closed in sincerity.

After Elder Leran had left, Vemra started to show them the mansion and the first moment where there were no servants close by he apologized.

“I know he can be somewhat hard to deal with.” Tall mage bowed down but Lia prompted him to raise.

“You are not the one to apologize.” Lia smiled. If an apology were to be made had to be from Leran to Vemra.

“How long have been here?” Yel asked Vemra as they walked the great maze corridors that lay on each floor. From a quick calculation Lia had made, there had to be almost a thousand rooms.

“The real question is what are you guys doing with all these rooms?” Lia inspected the door of a room. All the doors were the same, dark wood, a relief of the cat etched onto the door, polished, and dusted to the best.

The walls were of marble, just like the endless rows of pillars that stood two meters in distance. The ground was covered with a soft red carpet.

“I have been under Elder’s service whole my life.” Vemra showed a broken smile. “Since when he wasn’t an Elder but just the young master. And for the second question, I honestly am not sure. The building is a lot older than me and even the House of Elvia. Some of the records left in the library make me think this place worked as a part of a bigger complex that encompassed the whole upper floors of the hill that belonged to Saint Rever himself. It was probably a glorified inn for his friends.”

“Hmm…” Yel scratched his chin as he looked at one of the marble pillars. Like all, there was a little figure on top of the pillar, holding the ceiling up on its back. Each figure looked different. Some were young men clad in armour, some were old priests in robes of a priest. He could see monks, a stone worker with his chisel, a pregnant woman, and a little girl.

The one he was standing in front of was different from the others. It was a set of three young women braided like hair, their bodies twisting into one. Three sets of arms carried that pillar’s share of weight and they bore a scar on their bare chest.

“I have this weird feeling that you are just looking at bare breasts. Not a work of art.” Inni laughed as he bumped her fist on Yel’s shoulder.

Upon the fist bump, Yel woke up. “What?” He realized he hadn’t been listening to the others. He was captivated by the triplets.

“What good is in teasing if you don’t listen to it?” Inni sulked.

“I’m not sure why but I don’t regret not hearing.”

They kept on walking as the two bickered and Vemra occasionally told them what the room inside was.

“Vemra.” The end of the word rose in pitch like a question were to arrive. “What are these statues anyways.” Yel asked.

“Do you want an honest idea?” Vemra stopped in front of a door, double the size of the others. There hadn’t been doors for a while, this had to be a great hall the man was leading them to.

“Of course.”

“I have been thinking about it for whole my life and I have no idea. I suppose we have to ask the Saint himself.” Vemra laughed. “What a shame his blessing to Rever wasn’t eternal life like he bestowed Levise. But I suppose he wouldn’t like our house owning this.” He opened the door he stopped in front of and a large hall welcomed them.

Large rows of bookshelves, full of endless sets of books, a giant map of the empire was painted over the ceiling, parading Vaella’s reconquest with Rever on the southern continent.

Revera had fallen before the desolation of Nevra. Vaella alongside saint Rever retook the continent and build the civilization anew. That was the reason why Rever founded the city of Whitepeak. If fear of another invasion from the devils.

The map had a few differences, of course. At the centre, where the Lake Vitae which housed the capital city on an island was nonexistent. There was a tall mountain in its place.

The dogma told that when Vaella killed the last dragon with the help of Saint Aran, he also destroyed the dragon king’s nest which was the Mountain of Maesna. The crater later was filled by nearby rivers and streams, turning it into the great lake it was today.

“This is the great library of our house. Currently, the home of a stunning number of five thousand books. Working with a lord who likes to collect things has its own perks I suppose. There are books and diaries left straight from the Saint and his retainers though they are quite hard to decipher.”

“I can understand.” Lia’s eyes shone. “Could I read some?”

“Of course.” Vemra agreed and Lia took a short stroll between the aisles, unlike the other two that waited at the door and looked at the giant map above.

“Anything to your liking, princess?” Vemra smiled. “I suppose it would be hard to impress someone of your stature with a collection this small. Especially if you had seen the imperial one.”

“I’m afraid I haven’t seen it. Not all of it. Parts of it are sanctioned. Most people are prohibited to enter.” Lia’s face soured as she heard the princess, but she didn’t show it on her anyways.

“What a shame. I suppose it is a nice thing that you came by.”

“Yes.” Lia put the book she picked up back in its place. “But I’m afraid we’ll be too busy to read anything tonight.”

“You could watch the library.” Vemra smiled. “I’m sure you understand their true value. If I were to steal anything here, it wouldn’t be the jewels.”

“I doubt our thief as you’re the same insight.” Lia continued. “Could you perhaps show us the treasury room?”

“Of course, my lady.”

***

They had traversed all the floors, but for the treasury, they went underground.

Along the way there, they came across Ortel, who was looking for Lad. The latter of course had chased the poor butler off and was probably sleeping in a corner or raiding the kitchen.

The stairs left them to the basement which comprised only a long dark corridor that reached a stone door.

“Well.” Vemra stopped halfway through the corridor before reaching the door. “If you take any steps further without the proper permission which only I and Elder have, the arrays surrounding the tunnel make the whole building collapse.”

“Hmm.” Inni raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a little overkill? I mean why lose the mansion trying to kill someone who tries to steal a necklace or an earring?”

“I have the same idea young lady but unfortunately I am not the one who makes the calls around here.” Vemra smiled. “Would you like to see the interior?”

“Could we?” Yel asked.

“Of course. Each item is also individually bound to the magically so it also takes a great deal of effort to bring them out. There shouldn’t be any danger. What say you?”

“We could take a look then.” Lia gave the permission and Vemra raised his hand, holding something invisible in his hand and twisting it like a key.

Suddenly, Lia felt the mana fueling the arrays calm down as the corridor became safer.

“Do not worry. Not a living single fly could go through without anyone noticing.

They then walked up to the giant metal slab that was the door and Vemra gently pushed it aside and the wall of the door slid aside into the wall just like it was as light as feather.

“The slab as well is enchanted too.” Vemra turned back at the group, his back turned to the vault. “Why are you so… nervous?” He saw the twisting and surprised faces of his guests and turned back towards the room.

“Thanks for the door.” Lad waved inside the treasure room. He had worn a golden crown, a dozen or so golden and pearl necklaces and a trove of jewellery on his arms, trying to hold as much as he could but a few rings and bracelets fell off his embrace.

“How in Eilar…” Vemra wasn’t angry, he was just… surprised.

“Well, I was just taking a stroll and found myself here. These looked shiny so I picked them. Why are you so pale?” Lad let a hug full of gold and diamonds go, and after they fell to the ground, held the man by his shoulders.

“Are you fine brother? You don’t look well.”

***

After the incident at the treasure room, Vemra quickly put everything back in its place and told the others to join the patrolling guards.

Inni and Lia stood with him while Lad and Yel went out. After a few hours, as the night neared and the sun painted the cloudy stars a shade of pink and orange, Lad jumped on the walls surrounding the estate, sitting on top.

Yel followed him and sat next to him after a graceful arc of a jump.

“So…” He looked down. “What she’s like?”

“Who?”

“The Runemaster.”

“I offer you, my condolences. You really have a crush on her.”

“No…” Yel was quiet. “I just want to know her. What kind of a person she is.”

“Oh. It’s worse than I thought.” Lad palmed his face. “I will bring a couple of flowers to your grave. That crush isn’t going to end well for you.”

“I said it’s not a crush. I…” Yel wanted to tell, but he wasn’t sure Lad was the one he wanted.

“She saved you, right?” So, Lad told what Yel hesitated to tell. “Not that rare of a story, you know. She has that stupid habit.”

Stupid? That was the reason why he was still alive.

Yel wanted to punch Lad for a brief second but after remembering the time he slapped him, he gave up. His knuckles would prove useful when the Viran broke in eventually.

“Angry, huh?” Lad looked at him like he could read him like an open book. He ran his fingers through his raggedy hair like a comb but after he pulled his hand out it turned back to its original state. “Care to explain the details?”

“I just. I thought I was going to die. I lived in a port town back then. Northern Revera. A week’s day journey from here. One night, an Avran crossed the sea from the crimson desert. It massacred the villagers. Everyone I know.”

“And…?”

“Then came a bolt of lightning. It tore apart the beast. Like a spear made of light. It was beautiful.”

“Oh. You didn’t even see her? How are you so sure that it’s her?”

“I saw her form far away. A woman. Well built. Had a silver shield on her left hand. I guess even in Vaella’s descendants that description narrows it down.”

“It still could be a lot of people you know.”

“I know. But I looked into the shield. It wasn’t that hard to find you know. Silver shield, a relief of the twin peaks of Alaz Idreth, reflecting everything that strikes it. They don’t make artefacts like that these days. It was Vaella’s once.”

“Was it? Never heard of it.”

“Yes. It was under the possession of the Valloians. The Royal House of the West. The Silver Shield used it in the War of the Interregnum. It is told that she withstood against the whole army in the Siege of Alaz Idreth for a whole month.”

“Ah… I see your point.”

“Right? The stalemate continued and the Valmiran guy became eventually married the shieldmaiden of the Valloian then became the emperor and the peace got restored. Until he died a year later, and the White Shield was found guilty of the attack. Her whole family was massacred except the little prodigy under the protection of Levise herself. It has to be her. That shield, that lightning. It can’t be anyone else.”

“No use in misdirecting, huh?” Lad laughed. “It was probably her. So, what. Do you want to say thanks? Should have done that already.”

“I know… I just. When I saw her. I… I just froze.” “And you weren’t helping at all.”