Valterion: The Space/Arch? Mage

Chapter 78: Marcus

Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh

After leaving Doctor Philipps’ practice, we go for a stroll through the city. We’re currently in the mid-levels of the central towers, so pretty much everything is within walking distance. As we want something to eat, I look at Maja and raise an eyebrow.

She scoffs jokingly. “What am I, your personal assistant? You could look on your own, you know? It’s quite easy with your holographic interface.”

I just look at her with pleading eyes and Jack bursts out laughing. Maja joins in. “Fine, how about some burgers three levels up in the middle of a park with a nice view?”

“Sounds good,” I agree, “lead the way and make a reservation for us please. We’re eleven people after all.”

“Done, follow me. There’s an elevator nearby and we have a better view if we move up early and walk over to the restaurant from there.”

With that, Maja takes over the role of travel guide and we all follow her. The only thing missing is the sign those guides all hold up normally. Meanwhile, I have S-57 send the address to Ronja so that she can join us after talking to the Doctor.

Turns out Maja was absolutely right. The elevator is a strange one and moves diagonally. It brings us up three levels, but also to the very edge of the towers. Meaning that we now walk along a skywalk and have a wonderful view over the whole city to our right, while left of us the towers go up, and up, and up, till they pierce the sky.

“Wow,” Lydia breathes out, completely in love with the sight.

“Quite the view, right?” A man who walks toward us winks at her before moving on. Lydia completely ignores his comment and just keeps on watching. I even have to put my arm through hers to keep her from walking in a nearby waste bin. She stiffens a bit but then relaxes and smiles when she glances at me.

Anyway, we continue walking for half an hour till the skywalk opens up and makes way for a vast expense of green grass and lots of trees and bushes. We’ve reached the park, Maja mentioned earlier. So where is our restaurant?

“Over there,” Alex cries out and points toward a small lake right at the edge of the towers. Next to it, some benches and tables offer a view just as nice as the skywalk earlier. The restaurant in question is just a small stall with an open counter and a small queue of people before it. I’m immediately reminded of the concept of food trucks, which I read about in some history books.

“Wow,” I voice my own excitement and start walking faster. “Let’s secure some seats and wait for Ronja! The last one there gets to pay.”

That makes everyone laugh, as we still only have the single account of MARA Deliveries at the Banking Union. Another thing we have to change shortly, especially if we split up soon. This kills my mood a little until Lydia sits down next to me and puts an arm around my shoulder. Her other arm points out over the city, where the sun slowly begins to set. I smile.

Another 30 minutes later, Maja nudges me with her foot and points back the way we walked earlier. I turn and see Ronja with a big smile and a jump in her step. Looks like she got her job. She quickly joins us and starts talking about how she managed to convince the Doctor and that she is now his apprentice.

Meanwhile, the boys stand up and walk over to the stall to get us our food. Thomas grumbles a bit when they return with plates of burgers that everything is vegetarian at the stall, but his grumbling stops after the first bite. We all groan in delight. It’s just so delicious!

“Guys, I’m too full to walk!” I complain after we finish eating and there are voices of agreement around the table.

Suddenly a set of coordinates locks in in my magic. It feels smoother than ever, and I already feel the Personal Teleportation spell at the tip of my fingers. I look at Maja and she grins. “This brings us right to the guesthouse.”

Oh, yes! Maja’s a lifesaver. Still, I hesitate. “Are we allowed to just teleport from here?”

Maja shrugs. “Well, it is frowned upon, but I didn’t find anything that prohibits teleporting away as long as you don’t take anything with you like this table or the grass below.”

Okay, that is possible. I just have to keep the spell a bit tighter. My core hums in agreement, and I start enveloping my friends with the spell. It’s a very complex form as I have to leave out the table, benches, and everything else. Still, I manage it quite easily. When I’m ready, I shrug. “Okay, here goes.” I trigger the spell and we vanish.

I sigh in relief when I see with Space Sense that everything is as it should be at the park. Then we reach our destination and appear right before the guesthouse. I even manage to have everyone standing when we appear, so no one falls on their asses. Everything happened in a split second, and it still feels faster than ever even though I know it wasn’t. Still, I’m quite a bit winded and stagger a bit until Lydia catches me. Those mass teleports with planetary gravity sure pack a punch, especially when you have to be so careful with what you teleport. I wouldn’t have managed it like this before the Doc took out the Artifact.

I nod at her in thanks, then we all say goodbye and I manage to walk back to the mansion despite my full belly. I send a short message to Maja so that she sends me Miss Baker's personnel file and a second later I have to notification on my interface.

Mom greets me at the door with a big smile. “Looks like you are already enjoying your new power, huh?”

“What do you mean?” I ask innocently and she smiles even wider.

“You’re not the only powerful Space Mage here, I felt your arrival at the guesthouse all the way over here. So how did it go? Any issues?”

Oh, she’s just curious… And I was expecting to be scolded haha. “Not at all. It went smoother than ever, and I grabbed everyone while sitting at a table because we were so full and couldn’t move. I didn’t disturb a single blade of grass.”

Mom breaks down laughing and a tear streaks down her face. “Are you serious? You made one of the most complex weaves of the Personal Teleportation spell just so that you didn’t have to get up? That reminds me that you have to learn the real Teleportation spell. I wish Aidan hadn’t already left for work. He would be so proud.” She waves me inside, laughing and I can’t help myself and join in.

We walk through the house toward one of the offices in the back and manage to compose ourselves before we reach it. Mom stops me at the entrance. “Okay, Marcus is waiting inside. I warn you right now, but he’s a bit of a mess… He was a very promising young Mage, and we had high hopes for him. Your kidnapping did a number on him though, and for his role in it, we had to kick him out, and he served fifteen years in prison. Without our support, he fell into a hole of despair and hasn’t crawled out of it yet.” Mom shrugs. “I’m not sure how to feel about him… I know I should hate him as he made your kidnapping possible, but on the other hand, he knew about the magical connection I had with you and relied on that. Additionally, the kidnappers held his parents hostage…” She clears her throat. “What I’m trying to say is that he is a mess and well, make your own judgment, but try to keep a bit of an open mind, okay?”

Magical connection? That’s pretty much the only thing that registers. “Connection?”

“Oh yes, I cast a spell on you when you were a baby, so that I always knew where you were, even if I was in another system. That’s probably the reason why your kidnappers blocked your power… To keep me from tracking you.”

Wow, so this spell brought me into this mess? No, it’s the kidnappers’ fault! I nod at Mom and she opens the door. Let’s meet this Marcus person now. If I’m honest, I’m about as conflicted as Mom… I mean yeah, he was the one who made my kidnapping possible but what would have happened if I stayed here the whole time? I’d never have met Thomas and the others, and I wouldn’t be a weird Archmage… Not forgetting about Earth and the Worldender Ship as well.

I shrug. I guess I’ll see how everything plays out. I follow Mom into the room. What awaits me is something completely unexpected: Sitting in a chair to the right of a room is a man. His dark hair is unkempt, he’s a bit more than skin and bones, and his brown eyes look a bit dull. His face is filled with a messy beard. That’s where I first notice the unexpected. The man is Old! I mean literally old. The beard is half grey and now that I look at his hair again, there are lots of grey streaks as well. Even his face is covered with a few wrinkles.

I frown. Didn’t Mom say young Mage? Before I can say anything, his eyes suddenly get an intense gleam and he jumps up, just to throw himself at my feet. He looks up and tears well up in his eyes. His look is pleading, and he starts to speak. His voice is way softer than I expected.

“Miss Sara, I’m so, so sorry!” He cries. “I will never ask you to forgive me, but please tell me that you’re okay?” A bit of hope enters his voice at the end, and before I can help myself, I squat down before him and put an arm on his shoulder.

“I’m good, Marcus. I found my way back.”

He breaks down and starts sobbing uncontrollably. I glance at Mom who just shrugs. It’s so weird seeing a grown man cry like that. We decide to wait and after five minutes, he manages to sit up and Mom has a chair floating over for him. We both sit down opposite him.

He clears his throat. “I can’t excuse my actions, but it still makes me glad that you are back. It was never my intention to have you kidnapped…” He manages to speak normally now. “Lady Valterion said you need me to identify someone. Please let me be of service, one final time.”

I nod, but before I show him the picture of Miss Baker, I do have a burning question. “Uhh, I do have another question first…”

“Please ask away,” he suddenly sounds like one of those ancient butlers in the movies.

With a short glance at Mom, who wears a raised eyebrow, I just ask. “Why are you so old?”

Mom stifles a snort and Marcus looks confused for a moment. He moves a hand through his messy hair. “Uhh, well, I’m 47 so I look normal? Well maybe like a homeless, but still…”

Ohh, I completely forgot! With all those young people around me and Mom and Dad almost looking my age, but now it’s clear. He didn’t have any longevity treatments! I blush furiously and Mom starts laughing.

“Sorry Marcus, I didn’t think about that…”

He waves me off. “No worries. You don’t have to apologize to me.” At least he found a bit of confidence now.

“Okay, so I’m going to show you a picture and the only thing you have to do is tell us if you recognize her.”

He nods eagerly. “I can do that.”

I connect to the room’s holo projector and Miss Baker's file appears in the air between us. Marus jumps up with wide eyes. “It’s her!” He exclaims. “That’s the Space Mage who took young Miss Sara away. She teleported them out and then they were gone! Where is she? Why do you have a picture of her?”

I lift my hands. “Whoa, chill. It’s a long story, but we know where she is… But it’s far away.”

He sits back down. “Dammit, I’d have loved to have a word with her…”

“You might still have the chance,” Mom chimes in, “we have to ask her a few questions, so we’ll probably go and get her.”

Now it’s my turn to stare at Mom. She wants to go to the Estriduros Republic? Marcus perks up at the same time and rubs his hands. “Oh, I’d like that very much.”

Mom nods. “Good. Now though, it’s time for you to leave again. Miranda will keep you posted in case there are new developments.”

Marcus stands up and nods. “I understand.” He looks back at me. “Miss Sara, I’m very glad that you are back. Thank you for meeting with me. I wish you all the best and I hope that I can talk to you again someday.”

I lift my hand to wave. “Bye Marcus…” Space Magic envelops him, then he is gone. I glance at Mom. “What was that spell?”

“Oh, I just told you about it. That’s the real Teleportation spell, it’s just called Teleportation…” she smirks. “Your Personal Teleportation is a less capable variant of it. Are you okay though? Meeting him must have been hard…”

“I’m good… It wasn’t really hard… I mean I don’t even know him. Sure, he did something bad, but I don’t remember anything of it.” I just shrug. “What’s going to happen now? You said you want to go and get Miss Baker?”

Mom gestures me to sit down again and sits down on her own chair. “Well, as much as I’d like to go and have a word with her… Marcus formulated this quite well,” she chuckles. “I can’t do that. While I don’t have that much to do as the Duchess, I can’t vanish for a month-long trip.”

My eyes widen slightly. Month-long? It took us almost four, and that was only one way.

“But… Adrian will return shortly, and I told him to bring his flagship. He can go there instead. You can join him if you want… College doesn’t begin for a while yet.” She winks at me. “You could get to know your brother a bit better along the way.”

Really? I’ve just arrived here and now I already have to think of my return to the Estriduros Republic? Well, teleporting right next to the academy station with a ship of the line and a full complement of Mages does sound intriguing…