Though the city slept and the guild mansion itself rolled into bed, the magicians of Vane were not idle throughout the night. The night was dark, cloudless and clear, offering the perfect view of the airship in the canyon for those who would view it from either above or below. On the ground, a pair of magic users monitored the ship, using a spyglass to watch the brightness of the flower arranged energy lamps. A full three petals, a smidgen of a fourth, and the central lamp were still bright. The ship had a little over half its power left, but that guaranteed no amount of safety. One of the magicians below raised his hands to the sky and summoned four globes of light. With the barest of thoughts they whirled skyward, serving as a beacon to the magic city of Vane.
Even in the darkness, Lemia waited among the ruins, standing in what might have once been a small courtyard for the rounded building behind her. She stood by the railing overlooking the edge of Vane, the best place for a look at the ground below at this time in Vane's orbit, not that one could see much at this time of night. Neither Lemia nor the one aide beside her had brought a light.
"I've ended the blockade on the roads near the ship," said Lemia.
"How much energy does the airship have left?" asked the aide.
Lemia saw the lights swirl up from the magicians below and replied, "Four lamps have gone out. That means it has about six hours' worth of energy left."
"That's all..." Despair filled the aide's voice.
The deputy guildmistress did not chasten her though. "I don't know how badly the ship is damaged, so it's troubling to talk in terms of waiting six hours." She looked off towards the city of Vane. "What time is it now?"
"A little before 2:00," said the aide.
Lemia set her hands on the railing and looked at the city below. Though Vane was quiet, deathly so, many lights still shown in the rooms of the homes of its citizens. Perhaps some of them stayed awake, had to stay awake, until they knew that their loved ones were safe. Lemia herself could not recall the last time she slept. When had they lost the airship? Only last night? It could not have been so short as that!
The aide beside her reached over and clasped one of Lemia's hands. The warm touch surprised her and the aide smiled reassuringly. "All we need to do is wait until the magic amplification device is repaired."
That was true, and Lemia returned the smile.
Ghaleon rested his back against one of the double rowed stone pillars in this part of the ruins, the chamber of the magic amplification device. He had three rectangles of heavy cloth laid out before him, each of them covered with various pieces of stone, metal, and crystal, all shaped to his exacting specifications. Assembling them was precise work, but he undertook it with the same aplomb as he had the rest of his participation in this project.
Dyne lay on the dusty floor beside him, watching how the little pieces fit together while huddling under the relative warmth of Ghaleon's cloak. He planted his elbows solidly on the floor, hands pushed up so he prop his chin comfortably on them both.
"Whoa, that looks complicated," said Dyne. "It's a three-dimensional puzzle, right?"
Ghaleon picked up a forged metal strip and methodically set it into position. "This will be the control mechanism for the amplification device," he said, without breaking stride.
Dyne sat up and picked up a couple of the crystals. He juggled them lightly in his hand. "Hmm... Never seen rocks like these before..."
The strip snapped into place, the end of one thought and the beginning of another. "Go to the guildmistress's deputy," said Ghaleon, suddenly turning to him.
"Huh?" asked Dyne. He rested his chin on one hand, giving no indication of getting up and moving away.
Ghaleon looked at his confusion for a moment then said, "Go to the guildmistress's deputy and tell her that the device will be repaired by sunrise."
Dyne stood up, looking for all the world as though he had been stricken by the task. Then his stomach rumbled, and Ghaleon knew the real reason for his pained expression. "I'll be all right here," he said, encouraging his friend. "Go get something to eat."
First things first though. That was the order of the moment as Dyne found his way through the guild mansion. He managed to arrive at Lemia's parlor without getting himself too lost, and as luck would have it, she was able to provide him with food as well; a chunk of wheat berry bread, a round of ham, served with a warm buttery sauce. A servant had left it for her a short while ago, but the deputy had been without appetite, and offered the meal to Dyne, who eagerly accepted once he was certain she was not giving it up out of sheer politeness.
Dyne made himself comfortable on a cushy armchair, a warm lamp beside him and a small table in front, laden with the proffered food.
"Is this enough for you?" she asked. "You've really been working hard..."
"Yeah, this's fine." Dyne smiled as he reached for a chunk of bread. This really was a lot of food. The deputy couldn't possibly be expected to eat all this by herself.
Across the room from him she hefted a glass bottle, stained brown and with a label glued around it. "At least let me get you some wine..."
"No milk, huh?"
He sounded so perplexed that Lemia could barely believe it. He's like a child... She bent her head down over a closed book held vertically in her hand. And yet his face looks so thoughtful...
Dyne leaned over, looking at something as he had a spoon, the spoon from the sauce , stuck in his mouth. "Hey! Pretty!"
Lemia looked up, shoulders pulled tight and flustered beyond words. Her cheeks burned red. "Huh?" Then she realized that his gaze was not directed to her, but beyond her; a portrait on the mantel.
"Is that your mother?" asked Dyne.
"Oh," she sighed, relaxing. "Yes." Lemia pulled the portrait off the mantel and looked thoughtfully at it. The woman in the frame was middle aged and kind, dignified yet pleasant, and with a smile on her face. A round cap adorned her wavy blond hair, which was pulled back at the nape and allowed to fall over her shoulder in a single carefully wrought curl.
"She's a magic-user like her daughter, right?"
"Of course," said Lemia, taking on a lecturer's poise. "In Vane..." But she had already lost his attention.
"What's this book?" He popped the volume out from under her arm and opened it with the jerk of one hand. For a moment Lemia wondered if he had overheard anyone talking about it, but his curiosity seemed to be merely the same as he had possessed all throughout his stay. "Huh? Oh, man, there's nothing but words in it..."
"It's a book of children's nursery rhymes about the history of Vane," said Lemia, taking the book back from him. She looked fondly at it as she held it before her. "My mother read me many books when I was a child. Stories about the Goddess, stories about the heroes of old... But my favorite was the tale of how five adults and one child of the magic race in Vane's early days built an airship powered by magic!"
She smiled, hugging the book to her breast. "When I was a child, I wanted to go on an adventure like the heroes in those stories! An 'adventure'! That sounded so wonderful to me!"
Dyne leaned back his chair, eyes large and sincere. "You should go on an adventure!" He did not miss the stunned expression on her face and grinned. "Eating weird stuff, meeting strange people, doing things you've never done before... Those're all adventures!" He jumped out of his chair. "Yeah! After we save the ship, let's go on one together!"
"Where to?" she stammered.
"To see whatever you haven't seen before!" He came so close to her she shrank away. "You've been stuck here most of your life, right? This'll be a great opportunity!" He grabbed her hand and hooked pinkies with her.
"But... but I'm the next guildmistress... I don't have the time..."
"Too late!" he said, but his voice was cheerful. "You promised! You promised!"
Lemia managed a smile. "I guess... after..."
Dyne opened the door to leave and smiled in return. "I was told to tell you that the amplifier will be finished by sunrise--and that you should get a good night's sleep."
"Yes," she said, picking up a tray of food.
He hesitated. "You... you don't look all right... This's been tough on you."
"Don't worry." Though her voice was warm, her eyes were empty and frightening. "I'm fine."
Minutes later found Dyne back in the ruins, once against wrapped beneath Ghaleon's white cloak. His friend had finished assembling the small contraption and no more crystals or cloth littered the floor. Dyne rested his head on his folded arms and buried his nose into his sleeve.
"So, what do you think I should do?" he asked.
"Do you want to do something?" asked Ghaleon.
"Of course."
"Why do you care for the deputy so?" Ghaleon looked at him directly and rested the odd panel on the floor.
Dyne lifted his head and blinked into his friend's eyes. "For the same reason you care for me."
"I don't understand."
"I don't understand either," said Dyne, breaking off his gaze, "but... I can't stand to see someone so worn-down and sad standing all alone. Is that what's called 'keeping your composure' or is that just being in pain?"
Ghaleon paused a moment, his expression perhaps less caring that it had been a minute ago. He pulled out Dyne's floppy overcoat and wrapped it about his body. The night was getting cold. To Dyne he said, "But she was born the daughter of a guildmistress, so-"
"Who!"
Ghaleon glanced at Dyne, surprised, as he put one arm through a sleeve. "Didn't the deputy tell you?"
"Huh?" Dyne was truly astonished.
"The position of Guildmistress of Vane has been traditionally handed down from mother to daughter for generations."
Dyne flashed back to his pinky lock with Lemia. But I'm the next guildmistress! I don't have time...
"So she meant..." said Dyne.
My mother read me many books when I was a child.
Ghaleon held his head, fingers poking through the strands of his bangs. "The person driving the airship is the deputy's mother. Didn't she tell you?"