Merlian woke up against her will, or rather, against what her body was telling her. She had spent the whole night in Basil's dream, and she usually didn't stay up late. She also didn't like to sleep in the afternoon; she felt that she didn't recover enough energy that way. Besides, seeing her former companion didn't amuse her, even when it was just a message.
She felt a languor in her body that discouraged her. She stretched as best as she could, but laziness was still there, even when her feet touched the cold floor and even when the sunlight reflected on her face. Not only that, she had a slight headache that irritated her even more. What a nuisance...
The little enthusiasm she had was reflected in her face even after washing it. It wasn't until she saw herself in the mirror that she regained some energy with a sigh. As was usual in her daily routine, she straightened up and prepared to shower.
The migraine didn't go away when the cold water ran down her back. She had the impulse to regenerate her brain, but doing so meant losing awareness of her surroundings for a moment, something she couldn't afford. That day it was Auryn's turn to keep watch, but Merlian wasn't at ease.
Quickly, she transferred her consciousness to the necklace Ferned had given to Basil. Auryn and she had placed their dominion on it so they could monitor the gray-haired man if he strayed away.
Basil was accompanied by Auryn, Ferned, and Fauste. His two allies were also there. They seemed to be in the slums, the same place Basil reported they would go a day earlier.
Realizing that her nerves were unnecessary, Merlian continued showering without problems.
She finished getting ready and left her room; Kaely was surely waiting downstairs for her. She looked out the window and saw the sunset with a trace of disdain. Once upon a time, it was a pleasant view, but at that moment it brought back bad memories.
She didn't want to keep Kaely waiting, so she hurried downstairs. However, she got distracted for a moment as she heard whispers from a distant place. Iserkg... Gkrket... Mtgie... Merlian ignored them. Just as they had told her, she learned to ignore them quickly. The whispers were unintelligible and appeared randomly, so it was easy not to pay them any attention.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she confirmed her suspicions: Kaely was sitting on a reception sofa. She was sipping lemonade while reading the newspaper with great interest.
—Miss Merly, look at this. —She pointed to an advertisement for a bicycle—. Doesn't it remind you of one of Mr. Akay's contraptions? We should show it to him; he would surely be delighted.
—Hm, they do resemble each other. Although what Mr. Akay makes doesn't look as comfortable.
Kaely chuckled softly.
—Not very peaceful either. If this thing were made by him, he would probably have included a couple of machine guns.
Merlian looked at the newspaper with interest and flipped through the pages until she found the politics section. She didn't have much time, so she only scanned the headlines in that section.
SCANDAL BETWEEN THE SECOND OF THE LIWERTS AND THE HEIRESS OF THE KALNES?
PROTESTS AT GEM COMPANY END.
THE ROYAL FAMILY ANNOUNCES THE RECOVERY OF THE THIRD PRINCE.
DEUS FAIRGO SPEAKS OUT ON THE DOCK INCIDENT.
Merlian didn't bother to read beyond the headlines. Not now, but maybe later.
A week ago, she had felt an urgency to find Basil; therefore, she barely skimmed through the most important noble houses. But now that he was under her protection, she needed to know what was happening in the world. She knew nothing about the current emperors and would have to be careful if she encountered any of them. Also, Auryn had warned her about the Beasts of Humanity; thus, she'd need to be cautious with the royal family too.
—Get ready to go —she said to Kaely after handing back the newspaper—. The train for those three will arrive in a few minutes.
—Right away. —Kaely stood up and returned the wooden jug to the hotel owner. The blonde girl quickly got ready and made her way to the door.
They both exited in unison; the train station wasn't very far away, which saved them transportation costs. Merlian noticed that Kaely slowed down until she fell behind but didn't mention it. She usually did that since they met; despite everything, sometimes Kaely acted with more confidence than Merlian would have liked.
—Miss Merly, look. —Kaely pointed at a boy on a bicycle delivering newspapers—. It seems those things are quite popular.
Merlian also looked on with curiosity.
—I can understand it; they seem quite useful. If sold at a fair price, you could have all of the lower class asking for them.
—Hm, it looks a bit complicated to handle. Maybe that's the only point in common with Mr. Akay's inventions.
Merlian let out a silent laugh. Kaely felt happy to make her laugh; she was worried about her friend, who had stopped laughing since that incident occurred. Many in the group had also become more somber, especially Auryn, who, in the eyes of others, had begun to act in an unrecognizable way.
They both arrived at the station where citizens were bustling about. The train was approaching, so they quickly formed a line. The two women stayed on the periphery without drawing much attention. Eventually, the train stopped and its doors opened. A crowd of people exited, but none of them were Akay's group.
Kaely felt a little worried, but Merlian was calm. She knew that the protocol would have them exit last.
The conductor left his cabin when most people had gone. He entered the passenger area and after a while came out again, only this time there was a person in a wheelchair behind him. The conductor helped him down with the assistance of another person. The process was a bit complicated; the trains hadn't implemented support for disabled individuals, so the conductor had to be very careful. Occasionally, the chair shook a bit, but the person remained indifferent. In fact, he stayed asleep even when they finished lowering him.
The other person thanked him. It wasn't until the conductor went back up that the last person got off. It was a man, apparently old; his face was hard to discern due to the bandages he wore. When the passengers began to board, the two men turned towards Merlian and Kaely.
—It's good to see you, ladies —said the man holding the wheelchair. He had quite a languid tone, which along with his pale skin gave him a gloomy aura.
—It's been a while, Puvio. —Merlian didn't spend much time on pleasantries and looked at the old man—. New look, Mr. Akay?
Akay turned slowly; even then his back was hunched. The old man clicked his tongue with evident annoyance.
—Try walking down the street with half your face made of Ivory. I used to be able to do it, but these days people are very... sensitive.
—I tried wearing a mask and it turned out to be too suspicious. Perhaps even you would have suspected me.
Merlian looked at him for a second, realizing Akay's intentions.
—I was going to do it in a second. Password?
—Our will decides one thing. —they both replied in unison.
—The life of those we love. —said Merlian and Kaely.
Everyone in the group sighed in relief. They didn't know exactly Setracsed's domain, but they did know he could transform into whoever he wanted. That's why they devised that password in case they were talking to him without knowing it. She didn't feel fear that the man in the wheelchair, Lunhde, was Setracsed. After all, experience had taught her that the defensive laws of the sleeper were on another level.
However, he had already managed to breach those defenses once. What prevented him from doing it again?
Merlian realized she was overthinking and stopped herself. It wasn't good for her among all people to be anxious.
—Well, where is the boy? —asked Akay without hiding his excitement.
—We were glad to hear that Lun's efforts were not in vain. —Puvio spoke with similar enthusiasm.
—Yes, yes! Where is that Steam Heart? I'm dying to see the intricate Ivory design he uses!
Kaely rolled her eyes at Akay's shameless attitude. In contrast, Merlian felt satisfied. The faster Akay did his job, the better.
There were a couple of things she hadn't told Basil. Among them was the existence of Law Zones where she could hide Basil for the entire duration of the mission. But for that, he couldn't possess anything made of Ivory; thus removing his heart-engine would be necessary. That was one of the reasons she called upon the elder.
What will you do against that, Setracsed?
She shook off her excitement; she couldn't let herself be too confident anymore than reasonable. I can't trust at all...
It was at that moment that Merlian saw something that sent chills down her spine. A stem quickly grew from her pocket, climbed up her abdomen, and wrapped around her arm. Everyone jumped at the sight, but they regained their composure when they saw poppies growing from the stem. They had established codes for quick messages, and those flowers meant that something had happened, but it didn't involve dangerous beings.
—I wonder what she needs us for... —Kaely spoke to calm herself, but stopped when she saw Merlian disappear, leaving behind a pile of sand that was shaken by the air.
There was a somewhat awkward silence that the blonde woman felt compelled to break.
—Miss Merly doesn't waste time. Come on, the hotel isn't far.