"So so how does your ice box work???..." Balefire eagerly asked me looking extremely excited.
".... ummm.... so how your box works..... If you have something called an icebox where the ice cools the box and the box maintains the temperature while slowing the inflow of heat..... I think." I answered him hoping my science was right. "Now imagine you have a system.... that circulates the air but in the process cools it down outside the cool zone and pushes the cold air into the cold zone..... And as the air warms up.... get pushed around to get cool again....." I tried to explain to him how a fridge works with my very limited understanding.
"Hmmm that does sound interesting...." He said thinking to himself, "Why don't you become an inventor???!!! You have a great mind like me and my son!.... maybe you can study and experiment with me." He smiled.
"Thanks..... But I'm not very smart.... honestly." I confessed to him.
"You have the mind of an inventor, if you ever change your mind my door is always open." He smiled.
"I'll keep that in mind." I smiled to him.
"So where are you younglings from???.... A new adventuring group perhaps??...." He asked trying to keep up with us.
"Yeah..... You can say that....." Helen replied with a smile.
"Umm..... Mr. Balefire..... Would you like a helping hand???..." Daisy asked with a smile.
"If you don't mind..." He answered her with a giant smile.
"Not at all." Daisy knelt down in front of him.
"Thank you young one, what was your name again??...." Balefire asked getting up on Daisy's back sitting on her shoulder.
"Daisy." She replied standing up and began walking with again with us.
"No family name?...." He asked curiously.
"Nope…. I don't know my real parents….." She replied to him.
"Ohhh.....So your armour and weapons..... Are you perhaps a cleric??.... Or paladin??...." he asked curiously avoiding the parents topic
"Yes.... I'm a follower of Serra." Daisy answered him with a smile.
"Could you do an old widower a favour??..."He asked quietly with a smile.
"Certainly what would you like???..." Daisy asked with a giant smile.
"My wife..... She wasn't a follower of Serra..... But could you perhaps you could pray for Serra to look over her?...." He asked Daisy politely slightly hesitant.
"Certainly Serra loves all regardless of faith." Daisy smiled looking around. "Be right back guys...." Daisy said putting down Balefire.
"Something wrong???..." Jay asked looking a little worried watching Daisy walk off into a quiet alleyway.
"I think she went to make a prayer?....." I answered him a little unsure myself.
Daisy proceeded to place her maul on the floor and kneeling beside it. Pulling something out of her chest she clutched it with both hands looking down into the floor. She began mouthing something as her tattoos began to glow golden, radiating a warm golden yellow glow sending a sense of warmth and comfort into me.
"Excuse me....." Balefire quietly whispered as he turned around pulling out a tissue wiping his own tears.
After a minute of two Daisy stood up dusted off her knees and walked back to us. "Your wife is doing well." Daisy smiled picking up balefire like a kid and placing him on her shoulders.
"Thank you...." Balefire smiled wiping away the last trace of tears from his eyes and blowing his nose.
We all began walking back to the entrance of the city in silence with a smile on our faces feeling the effects of Daisy's prayer.
I couldn't help but wonder if her God actually responded to her.... is faith tangible here???.... Can someone truly feel the effects of their God?....
"Welcome welcome!!!!" professor Annabelle greeted us as we arrived. "Ohhh and you bought a friend????!!!" she greeted balefire with a smile, holding out a hand to shake.
"Mr Balefire." He introduced himself shaking Professor Annabelle's hand.
"Wait?.... The Balefire?..." She asked shaking his hand asking curiously.
"Yup Sooty Balefire is what people mostly call me." He answered with a proud smile.
"Great Heavens..... It's such an honour to meet such an esteemed inventor!!!" Professor Annabelle replied practically gushing over him, "I saw your war machines in action personally..... You saved countless lives with your inventions!" She added excitedly shaking his hand.
"Just a citizen doing his duty." Balefire smiled.
"By the way.... the War wasn't long ago..... But everything seems so.... normal.." I asked quietly to everyone.
"Alaystin the untouchable was able to divert their forms of transportation into one continent." Jay answered.
"Yes and that is where the last few years of the war was fought giving our world a fighting chance, now that all continents could focus their efforts all into one front." Helen interrupted.
"Yes but even then it was a brutal struggle... huge casualties and sacrifices were made." Jay added.
"Yes many stories of great heroism and great tragedy arose during this era." Helen said.
"So how did it end???...." I asked curiously.
"Apparently their leader annoyed at the progress stepped foot into our world..... His size was so immense, even I was able to see him and I was in another continent!!!!!" Jay explained sounding extremely astonished.
"Yes..... And that is when the four legendary sorcerers enacted an unknown spell of cataclysmic proportions..... Banishing the enemy leader and its forces..... The sheer amount of Arcanum released from that spell was even felt in the fey....." Helen added sounding excited.
"Yup all I saw was a huge flash and suddenly he was no longer there….. everyone who was there said they saw a bright flash and awoke back in their home continents... but after many years of search the four legendary Sorcerers were nowhere to be seen and the continent remains unreachable devastated by all kinds of disastrous effects I guess the aftermath form the spell…." Jay shrugged concluding the story.
"Yes and because most the Elven houses decided to flee.... causing some tension between Elves and the races of this world....." Helen explained.
"Is there a reason why Elves fled????" I asked in shock.
"We aren't sure ourselves... but we were there when all the cities activated their teleportation runes phasing out cities into the fey." Grace explained.
"From there the Elves monitored the war effort..... Cowering away in their cities...." Grace angrily added.
"It's okay.... everything came out okay!!!" Daisy said with a giant smile.
"Yeah ..." I hesitantly agreed.
"Yeah.... it's understandable what they your Elves royals decided.... or whoever decided to retreat to the fey." Jay smiled.
"Still.... Elves should have still fought side by side with the races of earth..." Grace said still sounding irritated.
"By the way....I also remember hearing there were two others from my plane... know anything about them????? I assume one us Paul....." I asked curiously.
"Oh.... That would be Delphine..... Also another sorcerer of renowned status..... She is famous for her divination magic and necromancy..... And vanished after some serious crimes against the crown....." Helen answered.
"Yeah.... rumours has it she's so adept in divination magic.... she's able to see a few seconds in the future at all time..... That's why she has evaded capture and no one has seen her for years....." Jay answered.
"What crime did she commit????" I asked I gasped in shock.
"She was in some plot to overthrow the royal family... but despite her adept divination magic her plan was thwarted by Sir August the Grand Sorcerer of Xoria..." Jay answered.
°How was he able to defeat someone who can see the future ????....." I asked in disbelief.
"No one knows... but all we know Sir August was able to defeat her in a duel." Grace answered.
"Wow I wonder what he's like..." I wondered in awe.
"Well like Paul he's rumoured to be adept in several schools of magic.... as well as being one of Paul previous mentors...." Jay answered.
"Woah.... I'm sure Paul would know a lot about him....." I replied in awe.
"By the way, how do you know so much???..." grace asked looking suspiciously at jay.
"Everyone knew..... It was a grand event.... everyone thought Paul would study under him and then become a king's guard or at least be the next successor of Sir August" Jay answered.
"Wow... there's so much I don't know about him....." I replied.
"... Yeah he's grown so quickly in the short time he's been here..... But his practice room was both ingenious and kinda cheating" Jay answered.
"Yah... the training time we've had there has definitely given us a distinct advantage....." Grace agreed.
"Especially having Scarlet and Ashley as personal mentors!!!!" Daisy yelled in happiness.
"I'm still a little worried to be honest....." I confessed.
"To best honest..... You probably do have the hardest opponent of all of us...." Jay answered.
"Yeah..... No doubt she's been taught from such a young age.... especially from lady..." Helen answered pausing trying to think of a name.
"Lady Irene." Grace added.
"Who is that??? I asked.
"Grand master of the sorceress council for King Edward Calista's Father." Grace answered.
"Separate to Atlantis??? I asked curiously.
"Yup separate entity..." Jay answered.
"Ohh I see...." I replied wondering what Paul's life was like living here......