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From: Mark di Abbott
Hope you're well after the attack. Can we talk? I'll be in the Glass Tower District soon.
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"Hmm…"
Inside the kitchen of the Luikots Guild Penthouse, Alexander watched the notification of his daughter's watch with a discerning eye. The watch sat unattended on the counter, with Ranni absent from the room.
He wore a tight apron that didn't fit his large frame. Short platinum hair contrasted with a thick black colored beard that covered his aged, grizzled, and masculine face. Green eyes betrayed his straight and narrow appearance, giving him a mischievous appeal to an otherwise 'unit' of a man.
The green of his eyes was not nearly as deep as his daughter's jade; Ranni was currently taking a shower in the far-off bathroom.
Alex, the Luikots patriarch, took great solace in the few moments he could spare with one of the few people he could truly love and trust in this harsh world.
Of course, there was one other—his wife Lara, the mother of his sole heiress. But she was in no shape to converse.
Lara Luikots lay asleep in a medically induced coma within the same Stratan hospital she had been in for the past five years.
The mere thought of the matter hurt him to the core. Alex always thought that if it could hurt a man at the pinnacle of Human power such as him, how must his daughter feel?
Especially after the disaster that was the Demonic Attack on Kolzig-Bondra, how must his daughter feel? Terrible. He had to try his absolute best to be there for her.
Yet duty always seemed to try and drive a wedge between them. The balance of his two lives was always in favor of his obligation to Humanity.
But without Lara to make up for his weaknesses, the effects of a shattered and distant family had to have taken a toll on Ranni.
That's why he tried everything for her—even now, he was the only one who could be there for her.
And that all started with the simple act of being present. Making her a shabbily crafted brunch was one of those simple acts.
Now that he was here, and even with the sensitivity of said recent events, he couldn't help but be suspicious of the message.
Mark di Abbott. The name seemed to faintly ring a bell, though he could not place any identity to it with proper accuracy.
The running water in the distance stopped, and not too long after, Ranni walked out. She wore her typical Luikots formalwear, though now a towel wrapped around her wet hair.
"Come," Alex beckoned, his eyes focused on preparing the food. "Sit and eat, my dear."
"I'd prefer to wait a few hours," Ranni replied, fiddling with her diamond dangle earrings as she walked. "Think I have some business soon as well."
"Nonsense. I'll handle Guild matters. What you need to do today is eat and relax."
Ranni looked at her father with a subtly perplexed gaze. Deep down, she appreciated the daily rhythm of stress; breaking it wasn't as easy as one might be led to believe.
It would also be a useful outlet—to take her mind off of the horrors of yesterday. As long as the wall—the facade—was present, she could hide from those haunting images.
But that was no way forward. She knew it. So in the end, she complied with her father's commands, sitting down to eat the egg omelet her father had prepared.
It brought a smile to Alexanders face. Watching her was a gift of its own.
Ranni was newly eighteen, already trying to carry the entire workload of Guild Master on her thin shoulders. To his surprise, she was a natural at it. She knew the ins and outs of the Guild already.
But to see his daughter grow up that quickly was both a prideful blessing and a solemn curse. Kaedom wasn't a world one should be eager to thrust themselves upon.
His thoughts and smile faded and drifted as he watched her eat, her own eyes growing somewhat suspicious of her father's waning gaze.
"Something the matter?" Ranni asked between bites.
"Ah. Just lost in thought," Alexander sighed. "That reminds me. You got a notification from someone named 'Mark di Abbott.'"
Ranni slightly raised her eyebrow. Upon seeing this, his internal suspicion kicked up a notch. It was clear she wanted to see, so Alex complied, handing her the watch.
She quickly read through the short message, though with no reaction. However, Ranni began to tap the watch screen a few extra times before holding the watch closer to her face.
"Yennefer, could you please direct Mr. Abbott to the Penthouse floor upon his arrival? Thank you."
"The Penthouse?" Alex muttered in confusion before assuming an interrogative tone. "Who is he?"
"A student at the Academy. First-year. Class 1-A."
"What is he doing here?"
"He's a member of our Guild. New."
"Part-time or Full-time?"
"Part-time."
"Good," Alex scratched his beard in thought. "Don't want the other Guilds to cry too much about student poaching. I'm assuming he's highly touted?"
"Somewhat," Ranni shrugged.
"Somewhat? Then what's so special about him? Something must have caught your eye for the hiring to be so… personal…"
Without any audible or visual reply, Ranni hopped off her stool and into another room, all under the expectant gaze of the Luikots Guild leader.
When she returned, she walked straight up to her father in the kitchen, handing him a neatly folded piece of paper.
"What's this…?" Alex asked as he began to unfold it, though again to no reply.
His eyes were met with words and drawings, all sloppily written in pen. But as his mind deciphered their meaning, his eyes quickly widened.
"What… what is this madness?" Alex whispered. "This is better than the Union Intelligence Agency's investigation. And this about the Forsmark heir…"
"Prophetic powers. Foresight. He has something like that. I guessed that it's simply an incredibly rare Innate Skill," Ranni convincingly lied. "I asked him for help with mother's condition."
Alex's old wounds, once sloppily stitched together, were now pried open with hope.
"He even knows of our replication of the Perceptive Eye," Ranni added.
"What did you give him in exchange for this information?" Alex asked, preparing for the worst.
"All he said was to keep it on his tab. Future considerations for a favor," Ranni explained.
Though he hid it well, Alex succumbed to a world of optimism. He finally had a lead—he could finally have the chance to save Lara.
Slowly creeping into the back of his mind was the expectation of a reality check. Too good to be true. There had to be a catch somewhere.
"Why did he choose our Guild? He could have easily gone to the Raymond Guild with his power."
"We're also top Guild, of course," Ranni slightly smirked with a sarcastic sense of pride. "He needed resources, but above all, he appears to value discretion."
"He trusts you?"
"It seems so."
"And do you trust him?"
"Somewhat."
"Hmph, no absolutes," Alex broke into a smile. "You're wise beyond your years."
DING.
…
Like the Undertaker, the man of the hour appeared from behind the elevator doors.