The Cause
POV: Alexandra
We walked the perimeter of the main area of the Glades with Ronan trying to find the strongest concentration of magic but it was weakest there so I indicated to Ronan that we needed to look elsewhere. Off just to the west of the manor was a small village, this was where the majority of the victims came from and the ones that got injured the worst. We walked amongst the ruins of the buildings there and the ones that were being constructed behind them with new and more stable materials should this type of thing happen again. Every single building in the village was leveled which likely meant that the magic was coming from somewhere around this area. I could feel the magic faintly but not strong enough to indicate that was where it was cast. I looked up at Ronan, “I wonder if you know which village young Lucy came from.” He smiled down at me, “Well, I did look into her after our meeting last night and I found that she is from this village. She wasn’t inside her home when the earthquake hit.” He pointed at a house on the edge of the village closest to the manor, “She was playing out front but some of the building fell on top of her as she was running away which is why she only had the break in the leg. Unfortunately, her father had just come home from work and her mother was cooking so both were in the house when it was leveled. Some of the children were fortunate enough that one of their parents was out of the house at the time.” I sighed, “I feel really bad for these people. Are any of the nobles offering to relocate some of the people? I don’t imagine that the ones that were working for the Kastilidans will have much work.” Ronan shook his head, “I don’t believe anyone has but it is likely because they either don’t care or are unaware.” I looked around at some of the people helping the soldiers rebuild some of the houses and understood that maybe some of them don’t want to leave their homes since they were rebuilding and the others will need the skills of some of the others. I imagined that my father would be walking around at some point and have the same thoughts as me. They would need some sort of temporary income from some of the villagers to supplement the one they lost by losing the manor and a majority of the family. He would likely rally the other nobles he knew would help out like the Baltiliards, Kellens, Chalshins and of course, Litha would probably help out since she was now Countess Delnaro.
Ronan cleared his throat, “Are you feeling anything in this village?” I shook my head, “I can feel something but it is very faint.” He nodded, “Well let’s keep walking and we can see if it gets any stronger.” We walked along the village and as we neared Lucy’s house, I could feel it getting stronger. I walked toward her house thinking it was her house that was the source, hoping I was wrong with each step. I got up to the building and sighed. I sat down on a large stone that was sitting just outside of the leveled house. Ronan towered over me, blocking the sun from my spot which brought on a cold chill so I zipped my jacket up to trap my warmth inside. He patted my shoulder, “Did you find something here?” I giggled, “Oh no, I felt it getting stronger and I was thinking that Lucy’s house was the source. It didn’t get any stronger so I was relieved to know it wasn’t her or anyone from her family that did this. I wanted to have a seat because I could feel my knees going weak.” I looked up at him and could see beads of sweat on his forehead, “How are you doing, Ronan?” He sighed, “I would love to say I’m fine but I think the pain is getting a little worse.” I popped up from the stone, “Well, let’s get this done quickly so we can send you to Doc.” I looked over at Jess who was next to me and she nodded back at me. We walked further along until we were just about to the manor and I nodded, “As I suspected, the source is the manor.” Ronan looked over at the manor and waved two soldiers down, “Bring the device and scan for the magic used in the manor and where exactly the source is.” As the soldiers walked away, he turned to me, “Thank you, Alexandra. You don’t know how valuable your help has been.” I smiled at him, “I enjoy helping, Ronan. I hope it helps to solve the mystery. I do have a question about how I can help further if I may.”
He started to walk towards the medical tent, “You can ask while we walk towards the medical tent.” I nodded and caught up to him, “I think I can talk to the Countess to see if she can shed a light on anything that might have been unusual.” He shook his head, “I’m afraid that she’s back in a coma. As great as it would be to question her, it won’t be possible. Kellen, you can go find Chalshin and send him to the medical tent to escort Her Grace. I will guard her for now.” She eyed him skeptically but shrugged, “As you will it, sir!” She walked off towards the village where Derek had been last seen building one of the new homes. I continued to follow Ronan to the tent, “You said that Lucy was outside of her house when the earthquake hit. She had to have seen something that day. I don’t imagine the one who set off the quake was in the house when they cast it.” He grunted and held his side, “It might not be a bad idea. The worst that could happen is that she didn’t know. Go ahead and let His Majesty know about what you find, that is, if I’m not available.” We finally got up to the tent but Ronan collapsed before he could get inside. I ran into the tent and saw Doc, “Doc! The General just collapsed outside of the tent.” Doc dropped his paperwork on his desk and hurried over to where I was, “Do you know what the issue is?” I nodded as I followed him out to where Ronan was laying, “He was complaining of his side hurting this morning. Right side like towards his belly, I think.” Doc ripped open Ronan’s shirt to expose his chest and abs. I looked down to this exposed chest and abs then thought to myself how ripped he was for a guy about my dad’s age. Doc started to feel around his abdomen on the left side and nodded, “I’m afraid it is his appendix. Go see, if anyone is around that can help me lift the General.” Overhead, I heard Derek speak, “No need, Doc, I have this.” Derek crouched down and pulled the General over his shoulders, careful not to fling him on his left side. He started to walk into the tent but stopped, “Lex, stick close. Okay?” I jogged up next to him and opened the tent for him and he ducked down into the tent and he placed the General onto the stretcher Doc prepared. Doc called out to me, “Your Grace, I’m afraid I am going to have to ask you to assist me again.” I nodded at him and followed him into the surgical section.
Sometime later, we finished removing the appendix after the water magic diagnosis. He was right when he said he would need me since I had to use my magic to cauterize. I wiped my forehead coming out of the surgical section since the heat from my magic made it slightly stuffy in there. Derek was waiting in a chair nearby along with Edgar, Derek sprung up from his seat, “Lex, is he okay?” I nodded, “He will be but Doc says he’s down for a bit. He didn’t give specifics about how long though.” I looked over at Edgar, “Sir, I wonder if I can make a slight delay in the plans today for the interview. I need to report the findings of what we found to the King in the General’s stead. He has asked this of me.” Edgar nodded, “Of course, let us move along then.” He looked over at Derek who was staring at the surgical section with a concerned look. I walked in front of Derek, placed my hands on his cheeks, and pulled his face down to me, “You worrying over him will not make him better. It is best to occupy yourself to not think about it. Besides, he got color back in his face when I left. He will be okay.” Derek sighed, “I know but he’s my mentor so I can’t help but be worried.” I nodded, “I know but I need you. Okay? Who else is going to be so strong to protect me from my adversaries?” He smiled down, “Appealing to my ego, are we?” I shrugged, “I just know you well enough. I’m your girl best friend right?” He laughed, “Sorta, I mean Jess takes that spot but you can be the girl best friend that I don’t have feelings for.” I smiled, “And here I thought you loved me more.” He laughed and nudged me, “I appreciate you. Let’s go.” I smiled and nodded at him then looked over at Edgar who smiled back at me, “Let’s get going to see His Majesty then.”
As I was walking out of the tent, I looked over at the small child that I was supposed to talk to and she was sleeping still. I made a mental note to come to talk to the girl when I had time today. We made our way over to Lucien’s tent and we were stopped at the front while the guard poked his head in the tent. The guard came back out and stated, “He will see you.” We all came into the tent and Lucien looked up from his paperwork, “It has to be brief. I have a lot to do today.” Edgar nodded, “Of course, Your Majesty. We wouldn’t have come if we weren’t down a General right now.” Lucien looked at him confused and I spoke up, “He had to have emergency surgery on his appendix. He was grabbing his side all morning so I made him go to the medical tent and he collapsed right before he got inside. I had to assist with the surgery so he is doing better.” Lucien sighed and looked at Malinus, “Squeeze in a visit with the General somewhere in my schedule. We need to see if our General is out for a while and we will probably need to appoint an interim General.” Malinus nodded, “I have a suggestion on that but I will tell you later.” Lucien looked back at us, “So what do you have to report then?” I cleared my throat, “I found the source location of the magic, it is the manor. The soldiers are sweeping the area with a device to find the actual spot and what magic was used. I imagine those soldiers will report to you directly since their commanding officer is out.” Lucien leaned forward, “So it was magic that was involved?” I shrugged, “A heavy concentration of magic was used near the manor recently but I can’t tell you for sure it was the cause.” Derek spoke, “Your Majesty, the device will confirm if it is the source.” Lucien sighed, “Even if we found the source, I’m sure there are hundreds of each magic user in Vellum. How would we narrow it down?” I chimed in, “I had an idea that I ran by the General before he passed out. He told me that he wants me to carry out the plan since he would likely not be able to.” The guard popped his head in, “Your Majesty, there are two soldiers that are wishing to speak with you about an order the General gave.” He nodded, “Let them in.” The soldiers walked into the room and Lucien commanded, “Speak.” The taller of the two spoke, “Your Majesty, earth magic definitely was the culprit and it was cast just outside the manor door.”
