Tori Transmigrated - Chapter 208: Island Full of Crystal Fanatics

Despite the urging of Piers, Kasen, and Instructor Ignatius, Tori remained awake the rest of the night, taking turns with her instructor to heal Kasen. She had a few prolonged moments of rest, but by dawn, she was still awake, and Kasen’s wound had not yet fully healed over.

Instructor Ignatius estimated it wouldn’t be fully healed until that afternoon, as the wound itself was rather deep and the blood loss also hindered healing. All Tori could do was force her brother to eat various soups and chowders to try to regain his strength and increase his blood. Time was the big factor, but a healthy individual healed faster.

“Tori, come and eat.” Piers called from just outside the door to the bedroom, breaking Tori’s concentration. Kasen turned his head towards it and frowned.

“Why did you bring him?”

“He was with me planning Axton’s surprise birthday party when I got the call,” Tori replied. The room’s windows were all open now that the morning sunlight could provide light. “Ilyana and the others took SIG One to the Three Queens, so Piers arranged for the transport here.”

“Good. He’s useful.”

Tori rolled her eyes, but quickly refocused the last of her gathered energy into the crystal. A decent layer of flesh rejuvenation had been facilitated with her efforts, but the wound was far from healed over. At the very least, while a lot of blood had been lost, nothing major had been hit nor did the arrow go all the way through.

Kasen had also left part of the arrow in until he got to a safe location to try to minimize bleeding, but it still took some time to get proper medical attention and he’d been active the entire time. It was irresponsible, but knowing her brother, he wouldn’t have been moving around while injured without a reason.

Tori couldn’t help but want to know what happened in order to understand in full, as well as to assess the overall situation and calm herself.

“I will take over.” Instructor Ignatius tied his hair back and placed a small tray of additional heliotropes on the side of the bed for use. “We’ll take turns.”

“Thank you, Instructor. When you’re tired, we can switch,” Tori said. She stood up and stretched a bit before taking a deep breath. Instructor Ignatius took her place on the seat beside the bed and picked up the crystal.

Tori watched him for a moment, then glanced at her brother. Kasen had closed his eyes and rested back against his pillows, appearing to focus on resting. Satisfied that her brother was cooperating, Tori left the room and followed Piers outside, where part of the main worktable had been cleared to place delivered food boxes.

The two other crystal masters and the two men who accompanied her brother on to the island greeted her and she gave them small nods, but didn’t respond otherwise. Now that she wasn’t putting all her attention on Kasen’s wound, her thoughts returned to the Old Sulfae and shapes she’d drawn on his hands.

Nothing was out of the ordinary from what she could remember. It followed her usual safety talisman engravings, so it was better fit for a crystal than a charm. She didn’t usually use sacred geometry in charms unless it was for something overly complex. The way charms were written mimicked sacred patterns, so it wasn’t really needed.

Tori sat down on a chair and didn’t make a move to get any food from the food boxes that had been brought over from the mainland.

Instead, she stared blankly ahead of her as she dissected the charm in her head.

Piers opened a small heating box with Tori’s name on it and picked up a warmed plate with several small, flour tortilla wrapped burritos. Whenever Tori was busy and had to eat, she tended to eat something that could be handheld, like a sandwich, some chips, or a burrito. Since she usually went to Anahata Island for work, whenever food was sent for her there, it was something that didn’t require utensils.

“Tori.” She heard her name called and blinked. She drew her head back and found a corner of the burrito just in front of her mouth. She gave Piers a little nod and leaned forward to take a bite.

She chewed her food slowly before swallowing. “Master Holloway, may I borrow a pencil and a piece of paper?”

From where he was seated across the table, Master Holloway nearly shot up and nodded to show he was paying attention and not dumbfounded by the first prince hand feeding the Countess of Cosora. “Of course, my lady!”

Tori took another bite of the burrito Piers held before raising her arms to unlatch her necklace. “Masters, do you know anything about this crystal?”

Master Hansen reached into her pocket to take out and put on her glasses before walking over. Tori placed her watermoon crystal on the table and Master Hansen picked it up. Her brows rose.

“Quite a high vibration. I don’t think I’ve held a crystal with such a vibration before. Ted, look at this. I think its energy matches with air.”

“Air?” Tori looked up as Master Holloway placed a small stack of papers and two pencils in front of her before taking the crystal from the other crystal master.

“The color of a crystal is usually telling of what elemental energy it resonates with. Aquamarine is a good example and ties with water. Terra crystal is brown and green and ties with earth. While rather pale, your crystal is blue.”

“White mixed with blue often ties to air, such as the base crystal in comcrys,” Master Holloway added. He squinted and lifted the crystal up. “It’s not completely opaque. It feels like it would be tied to air.”

Tori furrowed her brows and turned her head back to Instructor Ignatius’ bungalow. Kasen was clear about feeling air move around him to redirect the arrows.

“Yeah…I’m pretty sure it’s air, too,” Tori said. The base crystal in comcry were a blue and white agate and were also used in things like speakers. Tori had worked with them for Piers’ Harvest Festival dinner’s light show.

Instructor Ignatius had explained that the crystal released energy to make sound when activated. Sound was just energy made by vibrations. She used that as a basis to control volume.

The air crystal she used also fell into the category with its slight blue tint, but it had its limitations on how much air it could move and what speed. The output of crystals depended on the crystal.

The watermoon crystal resonating with air made sense, as it explained the air Kasen felt moving around him and his improved hearing. But what about his improved eyesight? What about his fatigue? She had written enhanced senses and the like, but would an air-resonating crystal have that effect? Did it have anything to do with being able to sense heartbeats?

She had many more questions than answers.

Tori swallowed the mouthful of burrito. Like Axton and Andy, Tori had given her brother a black tourmaline talisman, which was traditionally used by warriors in battle to help with their fatigue. If Kasen were wearing his, could what she wrote on him also strengthened the black tourmaline on his person?

“One more bite.” Piers urged her from the side and Tori took a bite, finishing off one burrito, before hunching over the table and drawing out the charm she’d written on Kasen’s palms before he left.

It was generic. A single, rough Metatron cube with Old Sulfae in each of the interconnected circles overlapping the cube. The central circle was to increase the speed and amount of energy gathered, and then amplified when exerted by at least three fold.

Her brother’s rest flew from her mind as curiosity overwhelmed her. She slid off her chair and ran back into the bedroom.

“Kasey!”

“Hmmm?” Her brother didn’t open his eyes and remained still in bed.

“You said you felt an increase of gathered energy, yes?”

“Yes, and when I released it, the energy was stronger than expected. I noticed this early on.”

Tori nodded eagerly and then frowned. “How early?”

“Before I left Soleil. I was preparing some charms and could feel the increased energy.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is that why you took those high-risk positions?”

Her brother didn’t answer at once. She saw his throat move as he swallowed. “Tori, I’m very tired and sleepy. Didn’t you say that resting will increase my speed of recovery? I should rest more.”

“Don’t throw that in my face-”

“Tori.” Piers put his hand on her shoulder. “Senior needs to rest.”

“Were you wearing your safety talisman?” Tori demanded over her shoulder as Piers turned her around to lead her back out.

“I never take it off.”

“Why did you take so many risks! You’re not invincible with the charm-!”

“He was not running into a shower of arrows,” Piers told her as he led her out into another room. Tori couldn’t help but scowl as she was ushered out. Piers closed the door behind them, allowing Instructor Ignatius quiet to focus on healing.

Tori lifted her clawed hands. “I have so many questions.”

“You are very curious.”

“I need to get as much information on a situation in order to make the best possible plan of action,” Tori said, almost stomping her feet with impatience. Her eyes went wide and snapped her head out the window, which faced the courtyard. She could see the two heads of the other two men eating on a bench and narrowed her eyes.

Piers followed her predatory gaze. “Allow them to eat. They accompanied Senior here.”

“Will they tell me what happened?”

“They will do what I tell them.”

It really is nice having powerful friends. She let out a small hum and drifted outside. She nibbled on another burrito and listened to the crystal masters’ possible theories on her watermoon crystal. Tori kept one eye on the two men and as soon as they finished eating, stood up.

As they saw her approaching, they rose from their seats and gave her a small bow of their heads. “Countess.”

“I have questions.” She got straight to the point. “Piers.”

“Come inside and give me your mission report,” Piers said in a low, stoic voice. He turned around and walked back into Instructor Ignatius’ living area. Tori followed behind him and moved aside what appeared to be laundry fresh from being hung out in a pile on a wooden chair to sit down.

Piers stood beside the chair, as Instructor Ignatius had piles of clutter everywhere else. Tori didn’t think a crystal fanatic like Instructor Ignatius would have some random clutter that wasn’t crystal, but he did.

At least the laundry is clean. Tori pursed her lips and looked at the two men who stood across from them. Piers gave them a small nod, signaling them to begin.

“Your Highness, my lady, Mission Red Barn has been successfully completed-”

“Introduce yourselves.” Piers cut them off and the two men froze. They glanced at each other and then at Tori’s expectant face. Piers lifted his eyes as the corners of his lips tugged down. “She has been cleared.”

That seemed to have been the confirmation they were waiting for and Tori didn’t question it. “My lady, I am Mission Agent Woodhouse and along with Mission Agent Guevera, I led Mission Red Barn. This is Mission Agent Vanderboer, the vice-leader under Agent Guevera.”

“Specialized mission agents are handpicked from experienced first tier knights and recommended by Marquises,” Piers told her. Her eyes squinted.

“And Kasey is one of them?”

“Agent Guevera specializes in information and logistics, my lady,” Agent Vanderboer replied.

“I recommended him to my father just before he graduated.”

“Université?”

“Lycée.”

Kasey, what the fuck, you overachieving little…how am I supposed to compare to that? No wonder you only have, like, one friend. Tori pursed her lips and nodded, pushing back her personal thoughts on her sibling. “What was the mission objective?”

“To destroy three large Duraga supply strongholds in the south while posing as different tribes within the Federation, my lady,” Agent Woodhouse told her. “In order to complete this, we have several small teams and for particularly precarious buildings and locations, specialized charms needed to be activated and Agent Guevera took on the task. These were often single individual infiltrations due to the location, terrain, or security.”

“You posed as other tribes to instigate infighting?” Tori raised a brow. Nothing broke apart a powerhouse quite like internal strife.

“The Duraga Federation is made up of at least two dozen tribes, with seven of them being the largest and having the strongest forces and influence. While working together to achieve a goal of gaining territory, many are still historically rival tribes,” Piers said.

Agent Woodhouse continued. “The tribes we posed as were large, but less vocal tribes who have been more conservative with their attacks.”

This would cause the more aggressive tribes to accuse them of resistance like a hotheaded teenager who thought they knew everything and everyone else was wrong. They’d likely abandon less important projects to reconvene and figure out what was going on. At the very least, this would cause momentary instability and make them suspect each other.

Tori took a deep breath. “What happened to my brother?”

“Reporting to the Countess, Agent Guevera was injured at the last supply stronghold in the Okirum Valley northeast of Pargath, just off the main trade routes. Due to the layout of the valley, there were multiple sites and they needed to be destroyed around the same time. They needed to be destroyed as quickly as possible and charms were used. Agent Guevera went into the innermost areas by himself. Several of the outermost storage facilities exploded first-”

“I’m sorry, did you say exploded?” Tori sat up straight and narrowed her eyes at Agent Woodhouse. He didn’t seem at all confused that she’d ask.

“Yes, my lady. Agent Guevera’s charms caused buildings to fall apart and fires to start. This caused smoke and noise, drawing attention.”

Tori stared at them for a moment and then looked up at Piers. “Senior is very proficient with charms.”

“Proficient.” She repeated and clenched her jaw. “These storage facilities…what were they?”

“Mainly granaries and locations for animal feed. From these facilities, the supplies were sent to cavalries at the borders closest to us.”

“How did my brother get shot with an arrow?”

“After leaving the inner facilities, he had reached the base of the valley ridge. Somehow, he was sighted. The storage facilities are hard targets. They’re well-guarded. Since he was alone and moving away from the destruction, we believe he was targeted then and shot at. He was able to flee into the surrounding forest on the hillside, but in order not to draw attention to the rest of us, he stayed hidden in the hills for two days before returning to the meeting point.”

Tori scowled. “My brother was in the forest, alone and wounded, for two days?” Her voice was low with barely restrained bubbling anger.

“Tori, he followed protocol to ensure the best chances of survival for the rest of his team,” Piers told her. His voice had softened, and he put a hand on her shoulder. “Senior understands the risks.”

She took a deep breath and bit her lips. Under such circumstances, she understood, but the image of her brother covered in dirt and blood, hiding God only knew where for two days, with an arrow stuck in his shoulder, frustrated her.

“Upon his return, our medic said that while he lost a lot of blood, the wound wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been and Agent Guevera wasn’t suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, or intense fatigue,” Agent Woodhouse told her.

Tori swallowed hard. Her charm did that. Her charm kept her brother from passing out somewhere and possibly being found and killed.

“Immediately after the mission concluded, did you board a ship to return?”

“Yes, my lady. We took a ship from Pargath. Prince Cyrus has loosened restrictions on merchants, and we were able to leave easily.”

“Why didn’t you seek medical attention from Prince Cyrus?”

“Considering the situation in Pargath with Prince Cyrus’ sudden return and overtaking of his older brother, it was best we, who were on another assignment, avoid contact with the Third Prince.”

“Soleil is only supposed to have minimal financial and diplomatic backing of Prince Cyrus’ claim to the throne. He is also unaware of this mission,” Piers told her.

Tori nodded. She lifted her eyes and gave a firm nod to the two men. “Thank you for the report. This is all I was concerned with. Further details are unrelated to my brother and his injury are not needed.”

Piers glanced at the two men. “Dismissed.” They vacated the room at once and Tori leaned back against her chair. “Senior Kasen is safe, and his wound will heal.”

“I thought he did mostly paperwork.”

“Most of his time is consumed with paperwork.”

Tori narrowed her eyes at him. “Does that include exploding charms?”

Piers’ eyes shifted to the side, guilty. “Yes.”

“My lady.” Master Hansen opened the door and peered inside. “Regarding your watermoon crystal. Did you say that you grounded and then channeled energy through the crystal?”

Tori nodded. “Yes, similar to when we write with the velar crystal.”

Master Hansen furrowed her brows. “The watermelon crystal is not taking energy.”

Tori sat up straight and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Ted and I tried to write with it, as we do velar, but when we try to channel energy into the crystal, it is blocked.”

Tori stood up and walked outside, following Master Hansen to the worktable. She took the crystal from Master Holloway and closed her eyes. “The energy it contains isn’t capped….” She furrowed her brows and slowly shook her head. “And I can still ground. It’s taking my energy.”

The two masters looked at each other, confused. Tori handed them the crystal once more and each tried to charge it. After their attempts, they shook her heads. Tori took it back and couldn’t feel any additional energy in it.

“That’s strange. What if we write with it instead of charging it?” Master Holloway asked.

The trio of crystal users all perked up at the idea. “Since it’s taking my energy, I’ll write it. Should we use paper?”

“We should try both paper and people!” Master Hansen said.

Tori nodded with wide eyes. “That’s right. We should see what this will work on. If it worked on Kasey, it probably works on anyone!”

Piers’ eyes crinkled up in silence as he watched the three of them gather around a piece of paper and begin writing out a charm, almost entranced.

“We should see if it can use other elements. Have it set the paper on fire,” Master Holloway instructed with some excitement.

“Yes!”

“Should you not do this in an open area to avoid injury?” Piers spoke up before Tori could press the tip of the crystal onto a piece of paper.

He was right. The work area was crowded and if there was an accident, it could damage their other projects.

“Master Holloway, please get the safety equipment from the shed,” Tori said. “Master Hansen, let’s try this on the lawn.”

She heard one of the agents whisper to each other with horror. “I heard they do experiments here, but I didn’t know what.”

“I heard this is where the S Class crystal beacons were developed.”

“Is it safe?”

“Of course, it’s safe!” Master Hansen scoffed as she gave them a slight glare. “We’ve taken proper precautions! If there is any sort of energy explosion, the crystal pillars surrounding the island will absorb the energy to keep it from affecting the other islands and mainland.”

The two agents stared at her, not dropping their guard. “Master, is it safe to be here?”

“On the island,” Agent Vanderboer stressed.

“Oh…on this island.” Master Hansen’s shoulders fell a bit and she wrinkled her nose. She let out a small hiss and shrugged. “Well, it’s an experimental island for a reason.”

“It’s fine!” Tori shouted and rolled her eyes as she saw the two men, who had just returned from some sort of secret mission in enemy territory, pale. “I don’t know what you’re imagining, but for something like this, it won’t explode. You’ll be fine.” I think.

They looked relieved and Tori began writing out a simple charm to gather energy and then set the piece of paper on fire. When she was done, she put on some gloves, a heavy leather smock, and a face mask. She activated the charm and scurried back a few paces to watch. Several pairs of eyes stared at the charm that she’d partially held down with a small rock. It flapped gently in the breeze, but nothing else happened.

Master Hansen let out a small ‘tsk’. “This was disappointing.”

“Let’s give it some time. Let’s try another,” Tori said. She wrote several different charms with the watermoon crystal. Whatever she wrote couldn’t be seen, as the crystal didn’t leave a mark outside of the indent from where the crystal was dragged across.

Six charms were laid out and partially held down by rocks and none of them had any change.

“Let’s assume that the crystal doesn’t work on paper charms,” Master Holloway said. Tori and Master Hansen nodded in silence.

Tori’s eyes brightened. “Then, now let’s try it on people!”

The excitement in the air intensified and the two masters with her began to argue about who should be written on to test the crystal’s effectiveness first.

Instructor Ignatius stepped out of the bungalow, wiping the sweat off his forehead. “What’s going on?”

“Senior, they are planning to replicate the charm Tori wrote on Senior Kasen to find out its effectiveness,” Piers said. Tori glared at him. She couldn’t help but think that he was trying to get Instructor Ignatius to stop them from their mad crystal fanatic experiments. “Perhaps you should stop them-”

“His Highness is right,” Instructor Ignatius said in a firm voice. He walked over with his lips in a line and a serious look on his face. “As the senior most crystal master here in the absence of Master Ramos, I should facilitate such an experiment.” Tori caught the slight glint of relief on Piers’ face. “The charm should be written on me.”

Tori almost snort-laughed as she looked at a deflated Piers with a triumphant expression. He frowned and took a step forward. “Is it necessary that one of you must be the test subject?”

Tori and three other sets of eyes looked at him as if the answer were obvious. “Someone has to do it,” Tori said. She turned back to Instructor Ignatius with an excited look. “Instructor, give me your hand. I’ll keep it simple with an energy gathering and release increase.”

Unable to stop them, Piers stood to the side, defeated, and watched as Tori grasped Instructor Ignatius’ right hand and held up his palm so she could write on it.

“Benedict, how does it feel?” Master Holloway stood to the side with a pencil and paper to take notes.

Instructor Ignatius shook his head. “Nothing is different. Are you grounding?”

“I am grounding, yes. And I’m channeling energy through the crystal and on to your hand as I write,” Tori said, her eyes on his large palm as she carefully drew out the symbols. “Do you feel any energy?”

“No.” Instructor Ignatius stood still, as if afraid that his slightest movement would ruin the experiment. “I don’t feel any energy, only the pressure of the crystal tip against my skin.”

“It could be that the energy transferred is small. My lady, was it the same for Lord Kasen?” Master Hansen asked.

“He said nothing felt out of the ordinary when I wrote on his palms,” Tori reported. She began to write out Old Sulfae in tiny script. After she finished, she pulled her hands away. “Do you feel anything now? Without grounding.”

Once more, Instructor Ignatius shook his head. “No.”

“Now ground.” Tori kept her eyes on the man. She wasn’t sure want to expect and her intense gaze went from his hands to his face and back, waiting for any physical changes. She also focused her senses to see if she could feel any increased energy.

Her hand tightened around her small crystal. She could feel a wisp of energy beneath Instructor Ignatius and as soon as it appeared, it immediately strengthened.

She heard someone gasp and snapped her head up.

“Did you feel that?” Master Hansen almost whispered.

Instructor Ignatius inhaled a heavy, sharp breath as his eyes went wide. He quickly stopped grounding and looked down at his hands. “Palms feel warm. Comfortable and the heat doesn’t increase. It is a steady warmth and I could feel it go through my body.”

Tori’s heart skipped a beat. Master Holloway frantically wrote down everything as Instructor Ignatius described what he was doing and what he was feeling with every action. The four of them huddled together, pointing out different things and handing random crystals to Instructor Ignatius.

“My lady?” A hesitant voice called from behind her and Tori lifted her head, looking around to see who was calling to her. One of the agents had stood up and looked back towards the room where Kasen was and looked a bit pained. “Shouldn’t one of you be healing Agent Guevera?”

Tori sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh, that’s right….” She grimaced with guilt. “I forgot about that.”

“Benedict, this is a good opportunity,” Master Hansen said. “The energy gathered and released may help you lengthen the duration of using the heliotropes.”

Tori gasped and nodded. “Yes! Usually, we run out of energy after a few minutes of continuous use as healing with a heliotrope consumes a lot of energy.”

Instructor Ignatius looked just as excited as she was and whirled around to rush back into the room. The other two crystal masters followed and Tori was about to rush in with them, when Piers stopped her. She tilted her head up, but he spoke before she could ask him why he stopped her.

“Your comcry has been flashing.” He looked over the top of her head and she turned around to follow his gaze.

She took a deep breath. “I’m going to figure out how to make this ring or vibrate….” She marched over to the worktable where her comcry was next to her empty burrito plate. It was still glowing and she opened it and slid her finger across as the watchtower at the mouth of the bay called her. “This is Tori.”

“My lady, we were asked to contact you upon the arrival of Anlar Naval Transport Vessel Marlin. They have entered the bay,” a woman’s voice told her.

Tori turned her head out towards the water. There were several dots on the horizon and on the water that were ships. “Understood. I will await their arrival on Embarkation Island.” She ended the call and looked at Piers. “Master Ramos has returned. I have to go and wait for them.”

Piers nodded and Tori let out a tired sigh. She looked towards the bedroom with a longing expression. “Senior Kasen will rest better with less people looming over him.”

“I just want to see if it works as well as I hope….” She inched towards the door.

“Tori.”

She wrinkled her nose. She glanced at Piers and then back to the door. “I’m just going to check!” She darted towards the door before Piers could stop her. She stumbled into the bedroom and saw her brother frowning as two people stood behind Instructor Ignatius on a stool, looming over him.

Her brother’s eyes met hers. “They joked about this island full of crystal fanatics. I didn’t think it was this bad.”

“Lord Kasen, don’t talk,” Master Holloway said in a stern voice, silencing Kasen at once. “Benedict must concentrate.”

Tori suppressed her questions as the air in the room felt colder with Kasen’s irritated expression. “I’m…going to go pick up Master Ramos….” She gave her brother a sheepish look. “Please be patient. I’ll make you something good.”

She whirled around and rushed back outside. Piers had his arms crossed and tilted his head to the side. “Is he upset?”

“Yes, but he’ll take it for the sake of knowledge.” I hope. “Let’s go to Embarkation Island!” Tori marched towards the dock and Piers motioned one hand to summon the two agents.

“You may report back to Horizon. Senior will remain here until he is healed,” Piers said as he walked ahead of them and behind Tori.

The two agents waited with them at the dock for the transport ship to come. It dropped off Piers, Tori, and two knights at Embarkation Island before heading towards the mainland with the two agents. Piers secured a seat for them in the waiting area and Tori went to buy some snacks and then joined him.

“In a few hours, Kasen’s wound should be healed over. I’ll call Sebby and tell him,” Tori said as she bit into a fried dough stick that had been dusted with sugar. She let out a tired sigh. “It’s been a long night.”

“You need to sleep. I will call Master later,” Piers told her.

“I’m fine. It’s just one night. I’ll take a nap after Master Ramos returns.” Even as she said it, she yawned.

“Do you want to take a nap here?”

She furrowed her brows and sneered. “In the holding center?”

“I will allow you to sleep against my shoulder,” Piers said. He wiped his hands on a napkin and then scooted a bit closer to her.

Tori looked at his shoulder and then at him with a bit of disgust. “You think your shoulder is comfortable? You’re taller than me and the angle will make my neck ache.”

“Do you want to lay on the bench and rest your head here?” He patted his thighs.

Tori’s lips drew into a tight line and gave him a deadpan expression. “I’m not putting my head anywhere near there in public.”

“You did it at the cabin and were able to sleep comfortably.”

“You’re the one who moved me because my legs weren’t working!” Tori flushed. “Not to mention that I was exhausted, so I couldn’t help but fall asleep.”

Piers looked down at his thighs. “What if you-”

“I’ll take a nap later,” Tori cut him off before he could suggest something even more ridiculous. Her eyes darted around. There were other people waiting and they weren’t exactly low profile individuals.

“Then can I-”

“No, you can’t take a nap on my lap either.” She rolled her eyes and scooted further away on the bench.

Piers lowered his eyes and almost seemed to pout. She heard him mumble under his breath. “I didn’t sleep last night because of you….”

Tori bit her lips and shut her eyes, silently praying that no one would recognize them. “After we greet Master, we’ll go back to the tents and sleep. We should pick up Alexander, as well.”

Piers nodded and Tori looked towards the entrance of the bay. Naval transport vessels for different marches had a thick band of color around the top of the ship lined with a thick strip of white. Sur’s was a burgundy color while Anlar’s was azure.

She spotted the transport ship and went to ask where it would be docking, then took Piers to wait nearby.

Master Ramos was one of the first people off the ship. Despite sounding irritated and tired on his calls, he appeared refreshed just stepping off the boat and on to the island.

“My pupil!” He called out to Tori affectionately and she rushed to greet him.

“Master! Welcome home!”

“If I had to spend another day on that wretched ship….” He scowled and took another deep breath, as if the air of the delta would calm him. “It’s good to be back.”

“I have guides waiting to bring the staff you brought with you to the research island,” Tori told him. “Do you want to go there or back to Anahata?”

“Does it need to be said?” He laughed as Tori took his arm. “To Anahata!” The imperial knights who had been escorting Tori and Piers took Master Ramos’ main bag and followed them to the transport dock.

“I’ve ordered your meal and it should arrive soon,” Tori told him. “Until then, you should rest.”

The old man nodded and let out a thoughtful hum. “What are Benedict the human and the others doing?”

“They’re experimenting with one of my crystals,” Tori said. She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Master, there’s something strange about the watermoon crystal I received. I drew out a safety talisman charm on Kasey as a joke, but he said that it increased his ability to gather energy and amplified its strength in use.”

Master Ramos furrowed his brows. “You’re sure it’s the charm you drew?”

Tori nodded. “We just did some tests on Instructor Ignatius-”

“You tested it on Benedict!?” Master Ramos nearly pulled away as he choked in shock. He frowned and gave her a disapproving look. “Countess Victoria de Guevera! You dared to experiment on a person?”

Tori’s brows shot up and she shrank back. “Master….”

Piers lifted his head and nodded, satisfied with Master Ramos’ scolding.

“Why did you not wait for me?” Master Ramos demanded as his wrinkled face flushed. “I am the highest ranked master on the island. If anyone should’ve been used to test the crystal, it should’ve been me!”