Kleid looked around. She had purchased a well appointed, maintained building. He could see that she was upset over the interruption of her efforts to set up the shop. He wondered if it was a budding masochistic tendency that he felt lucky for his beating because it meant he could be there for her right now.
"Don't worry, Wisp," Kleid used his old nickname for her, "I happen to be a very capable aide to a duke. May I use your tele crystal?"
"Of course," Kiava nodded. "What are you going to do?"
"Aha! Watch and be amazed at all the people your big brother knows!" She followed him as he went to the front room and began making calls.
…
When Kleid had griped about the amount of work the Levast family was involved in, Kiava had thought he was exaggerating. He certainly had enough connections to help her - he was able to connect with a furniture craftsman, an alchemist's workshop for magical goods, a shop that dealt exclusively in home textiles, and all of them delivered catalogs she could order from within an hour.
It was a dizzying pace even after she managed to buy and modify her workshop in less than a week. His expertise extended to what sort of items to buy and why as well. It took a lot of the stress of decision making out of the process and she found herself enjoying looking over the catalogs and laughing at some of the more "couture" items available for home decor with someone she had missed far more than she'd realized.
They left the shop after noon for the nearby market square that dealt in everyday items in her neighborhood. A quiet bustle filled the square as servants and homekeepers traversed from one shop to another. There was a green grocer, a butcher, a dry goods shop, a shop that seemed to deal exclusively in cooking oils and sauces, and a dairy goods store. Everything was organized and well stocked.
"There's so much milk," she murmured in awe.
Keeping dairy animals so near an area where monsters are common was difficult, and even with the advent of preservation magic imbuements it was not cost effective to transport to the borders. She felt silly that dairy was the catalyst but for the first time she really sensed the difference in where she was and where she was from.
Here she wouldn't have to wonder if she could find something she needed, she just had to be concerned about terrifying crimes; like human trafficking, and illegal spell use. The matron had taught them how to recognize people selling people, but she had only seen it happen once in all her life. That had been five days ago in the city known as the height of civilization.
She sighed heavily, carrying her goods in the bags she'd bought from the shops as needed.
"What's wrong?" Kleid asked.
"Honestly? I may regret moving," she confided frankly. "I am invested now, but if I had known I would encounter so much danger so quickly I probably never would have come here."
"It's just new threats, admittedly your introduction to the city was a bit harsher than most. You were accustomed to the perils of the border, now you just need to get used to the ones here. It'll be a learning experience, but you're clever, and you're not alone," Kleid reassured, offering her a comforting grin.
Kiava returned the smile because she had one person she could trust, and that did count for something. He was right, she had a book to help her potentially guard against entropy spells. She'd study it and if she couldn't figure it out maybe someone else in the city could, she could even bounce ideas off High Made Archeus Volen. Things weren't hopeless.
Some of the sparkling optimism she had felt before everything went sideways came back. "You're right, it's not like I am defenseless or anything, and now I can maybe find out a new kind of imbuement!" She clenched her fist in front of her, ambition surging. Creating new imbuements always excited her.
"There it is - Wisp the Artificer!" Kleid grinned as they arrived at her street. Kiava watched his attitude shift, it was subtle and if she hadn't been looking at him when it happened she doubted she would have noticed.
It wasn't like he thought they were in danger, but it was obvious he was more actively on guard against it.
She didn't point it out, she had thought it was likely that the duke had sent a bodyguard to help ensure her safety. The nobleman just happened to be presented with an excuse to send one of his men away and it was the perfect person in his employ for the job.
"Who beat you up, by the way?"
Kleid shrugged, his attention mostly diverted. "I'm not sure, I managed to get some hair from one of my attackers so they will probably have information soon, not that they will tell me until the matter is resolved. It's so much better to be on the investigative side of a case than be one of the victims," he said with frustration as they reached the door.
Once they were inside they both relaxed. She could tell her wards hadn't been interfered with, unless there was some other magic that allowed people through wards without triggering anything. A chill swept over her.
"Could you check the building Kleid?"
He looked at her, his expression pensive before smiling. "Of course, wait here."
…
Kleid did a full sweep of the building, making sure all the windows and doors hadn't been tampered with. Now he sat at the table while Kiava, at her insistence, prepared something for them to eat as a late lunch, using an orange cheese they had tasted while shopping.
His finger tapped a rhythm against his leg because if it tapped the table Kiava would notice. Kleid wondered if the young woman had ever once before doubted her imbuements like she had at that moment when she asked him to check the house.
Her confidence had been shaken by what happened and he wanted her to know that her protections were difficult to breach. He couldn't think of many who could break them and no one who could do it without it being obvious, but he would be the wrong person to say so. He would just be placating her.
He'd tell her to read the book after lunch. No matter how he looked at it, the High Mage Volen would be the most convincing source of reassurance. In the meantime he would just have to make sure to handle any of her anxieties as they presented themselves until she wasn't as afraid anymore.
She brought out a fried sandwich featuring cheese and ham and they ate while chatting about Kiava's travels. When they were done, Kleid began to implement his "Make Kiava Comfortable" plan.
"How about you go into the back garden and read the book Mage Volen gave you? I'll stay inside and handle any of the catalog deliveries that arrive," he offered as if the idea had just occurred to him.
Kiava looked torn - he could see how desperately she wanted to study while also wanting to attend to her workshop.
"I helped you choose everything so I know where you want it placed, and I can just relax while I wait and leave the heavy lifting to the delivery men," he continued.
She nodded and went to get the book, a glitter of excitement in her expression that pleased Kleid. His plan was working quickly. As she went to sit in the sun and read her very dry book on magical syntax he went to the front shop.
He called the office and Simon answered to take his daily report on his assignment. He tried to get his friend to tell him what they knew about his attackers, but was stonewalled. If it had been Jered he might have had better luck, but the younger man was off following the duke around because Simon's weekly field work allotment was met after the traffickers' warehouse.
Instead, he ended the call and tried to curb his frustration. His attackers had been waiting for him, had been aware of the protections in place to keep him safe, and had the means to overwhelm them quickly. But why attack him? Why now?
Was it to slow an inquiry? Which one? He groaned and rubbed his head in frustration at this exercise in futility. His boss was a competent man, he just needed to sit back and bodyguard the best Artificer he had ever met.