“Hey.” Inni broke the silence as the group took the corridor to the treasury. “Elder was talking about my grandfather. And a necromancer.”

“Ah, yes.” Vemra nodded. “Elder likes to talk about that story a lot. I wasn’t in Elvia’s employment back then, but I have heard quite a few things. Would you like to listen?”

Inni nodded, and her hair followed the movement of his head in a tide just a second short.

“I believe it was at least a decade before the last war. Leol IV was ill and without an heir after the tragic accident at the palace. The people were sure that there was a war for the throne approaching. Late emperor Aerell’s father Faenall and…” Vemra turned at Lia. “Your grandfather Ladim sent the young master of the Ruiz to the north, to here. To gather aid for the upcoming war.”

“And the necromancer?”

“Well, we don’t know much of that side of the story. Only that he killed Elder Leran’s uncle and aunt. He later escaped to a lighthouse built on a rock in the middle of the dead sea and hid himself amidst the eye of an enraging storm. When the seas started to rise and the storm swallowed the north coast of the Empire, the White Flame and his companions which included even a few Archmages sailed north of Revera subdued the necromancer. There were lots of famous faces that night, many of whom died and some who became even more famous. The White Flame was one of them. So were two of Levise’s champions, Karnarin of Ruizar and his back-then apprentice Airat the White.”

“Karnarin too?” Inni’s face soured. “He never mentioned my grandfather even though I used to ask about his adventures all the time. I always thought they never knew each other.” After a few seconds of disbelief, Inni raised her eyes again, away from the ground she was looking at with empty eyes.

“I used to meet Airat in Vitae all the time. I never heard him talk about the White Flame.” A long-unspoken name suddenly brought all the memories from the capital.

First the sweet ones, old man Airat chasing after Lia and Irene, telling them to stop running so close to the Great Hall. Balderan hiding them under his big makeshift cloak which used to ornament one of the rooms in the palace as a curtain. The boy used to do nothing but pretend being a knight. Victor finding them before the old man and scolding them even before Airat could. Snickers under Victor’s concerned eyes would turn into a giggle and then to laughter.

When Airat who was clearly overqualified and too old for this job came, he would find all the siblings laughing and then he would smile from afar. Watching them, watching the peace.

Then came the bad ones. Nightmares. Waking up in the middle of the night, cold sweat tricking down her back.

“Ones who met him rarely talk about the White Flame. All the stories I’ve heard are from people who heard it from someone else.”

“Legends are forged by sweat and blood.” Vemra continued. “Those who have seen the horrors in the making may not be keen on telling the tale.”

Young mages could find no response, so Vemra continued.

“After the fight, White Flame and his companions made some friends in the north and pulled the House Rever and a few important… people into the chaos in the later decades when they most needed.” Vemra struggled to say people as his face soured. As if those he referred to was almost inhumane.

“Weird.” Yel raised his eyebrows. “This is the first time I hear a story with White Flame and the Archmages that doesn’t involve…” Yel again looked at Inni and decided to tone down his vividly graphic description. “.. a sour ending.”

“Indeed, it is.” Vemra nodded. “Especially after the civil war. The holes left by both the Archmages, and the White Flame will never be filled. I wonder if the empire will ever have mages as mighty as them again.”

“It will have.” Yel smiled. “I need about a few years. After that, it can have me all it wants.” The smile turned into a giggle.

“I hope, young mage.” Vemra put his hand on Yel’s shoulder and shook it gently. He then shifted his gaze to Inni. “They may be gone but their blood still lingers.”

***

They went a few floors under the library, passing hundreds of rooms and tens of stairs. The place wasn’t built like a maze, it was an actual maze. Sometimes Vemra had to wait and check the statues on the pillars and choose a path to tread.

Along the way there, they came across Ortel, who was still looking for Lad. The pale skin had turned ripe red and sweat trickled down his forehead. The man looked like he had been running all the time.

It looked like Lad was still missing, probably sleeping in a corner or raiding the kitchen. Apparently, the mazelike layout of the mansion helped a lot when one wanted to disappear.

The concerned man swept his forehead with a handkerchief he later tucked into the pocket of his vest. “Vemra I am really sorry to bother you but could you look for the master mage instead, I have to attend to some matters before Elder returns.” Ortel gave a distinct look at Vemra, making Lia think that the latter knew what the matter was.

“Of course,” Vemra assured the man, and the latter took a deep breath as he went upstairs. “Take your time and call for me if you need any help.

Lia hoped Lad to stay away from trouble. More like she wished for it, like making a wish under the full moon. The old belief never worked, at least for Lia. Nevertheless, the people still kept on wishing. Maybe it was because Vaella had once prayed under a full moon, as he lived a human’s life, unaware that he is the God. His prayers were unanswered in that night, so Vaella made sure that those who pray under a full moon always got their wish. Or the tales told so. Lia could find no evidence of this neither in religious nor in historical sources.

After walking aimlessly for a while with the hopes of coming across Lad, they gave up and decided to see the treasury instead.

“Don’t worry.” Vemra led the group down the last set of stairs, a few steps ahead of them. “He’ll show up eventually. He won’t miss the chaos, should a fight break out.”

“Does the thief not disturb you? You look calm.” Yel asked as they reached the basement. The walls looked like they were carved out of stones and made into a narrow path. No more than two could stand side by side.

Vemra stood silent in the darkness of the cavern-like corridor. Sounds of his steps echoed off the damp wall and for a second, Lia thought she was in a cave somewhere in Nevra.

“I have been stuck here for a long time, young man.” Vemra stopped amidst the darkness and put his hand on a stone wall. Soon, a golden thread blinded them in its bright light, traversing across the wall’s surface and twisting into words of power. A single metallic thread woven into tens of books’ worth of runes, shining with a distinct yellow light. The shape in which they were arranged looked awfully like a cat. Just like the one on the crest.

Vemra turned back at them, light from the wall hitting from behind turned him into a dark silhouette and outlined him in a deep shade of yellow.

“Those years have been as tasteless as a haystack. I appreciate the thrill of an invader. It is quite… liberating. I wished for years for someone like him to come. A brazen fool.”

Lia wasn’t sure if it was because of the light setting a shadow over his face or the coldness in his voice but she felt like she was talking to someone entirely else.

“Well.” The light shone even brighter and the wall blocking the path descended upon the ground with a loud noise. Stone grinded on stone and the ground enveloped the wall.

Behind the door lay the continuation of the tunnel, which was mostly the same if not for various runes covering them from ceiling to ground.

“If you take any step further the arrays will kill you.”

Lia could tell that even without Vemra saying. Not the effect of the runes but the sheer amount of mana used to etch the wall onto the stone would kill her. Even if she knew how to do this, she wouldn’t survive a second after finishing the masterpiece.

“Just like that?” Inni somehow couldn’t believe it was that simple.

“Yes, like that.” Vemra continued. “It siphons the mana in the corridor. So long as you are inside, it doesn’t matter who you are, you are dead. It sucks whatever mana you have then proceeds on feeding on your soul. Nothing alive can pass beyond this point.”

“How do you enter then?” Lia looked at the arrays on the wall, getting closer to the trap zone. “Can you switch it off?”

“Of course, I can. Only I have the authority to govern the arrays. The runes recognize me. Only I and Elder Leran. Would you like to proceed further or is this enough?”

“What if someone dug around?” Lia asked.

“Then they would find a safe made of Yridd and steel. The two layers surrounding the room are probably more expensive than the mansion itself. Perhaps the treasure inside but that is not for me to decide.”

“And what if they break through the walls?” Lia was just being careful; she knew the man they would deal with would be here with a plan and she wanted to figure it out before it was too late.

“I suppose we could always collapse the manor atop the thief. And trap him there.”

“Hmm.” Inni raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a little too much? I mean why lose the mansion trying to kill someone who tries to steal a necklace or an earring? Especially when people live upstairs.”

“I have the same idea young lady but unfortunately I am not the one who makes the calls around here. Our lives are clearly not worth much in Elder’s eyes.” Vemra smiled, with a visible irritation in his eyes. “He spent a lot of gold both to stone masons and a Runecrafter, just to make sure that I could collapse the mansion in case of danger by breaking the necessary columns in the foundation and shaking the ground the mansion was built on.”

“We definitely should check the interior then. The city is already shaken enough.” Lia just couldn’t believe the lengths Elder Leran could go to just for wealth. How could human life be worth less than a treasure?

“Very well. But still, do not worry. 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.”

“Thanks for letting us in.”

“You are most welcome.” Vemra put his hands on the wall and the arrays shining in a pale blue light vanished, leaving the door ahead and the path in darkness. 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. “Like every single thing that is around. I guess I don’t need to tell it each time.” 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. Those that fell shot up inside the room like arrows. The magic that bound them here had called them back.

“I had no idea how to open it and was starving.”

“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. Lad let a hug full of gold and diamonds go, and after they fell to the ground like rain worth a kingdom. “They don’t worth much anyways. I couldn’t buy anything with them inside.”

The jewellery he let go darted like an arrow and flew back to their places. The crown he wore stood still on Lad’s head.

Seeing no response other than the gaping mouth open in surprise coming from Vemra and Lia’s facepalm, Lad continued as he took the crown off his head.

“Are you fine brother? You don’t look well.” He put the crown on Vemra’s head and as soon as Lad’s touch left the golden surface, the crown flew back to the silky pillow it was resting on before Lad’s disturbance.