Elevation of Mana Chapter 186 Adia Comes Home

It had been too long for me, but finally my child was back. Well, I guess Chien was back too, but he could well take care of himself.

“Adia!” I called, scooping her up as she ran to me.

They'd just gotten back into town, and luckily I'd been home to meet them. Adia was crying, going on and on in jibberish I tried, but sadly failed to understand. Rather than try to fight it I let her go, keeping her close and trying to calm her down a bit. From what I gathered she was just happy to be home.

“Did anything bad happen?” I asked when she'd finally relaxed just a bit.

“There was a monster, and I fought it, and I didn't like it, and I don't want to again, and it was scary, and I don't really like being out of the city,” she told me, letting her sentence run on and on for awhile.

“What about good things?” I asked.

“Uncle Chien showed me how to use magic, and it was fun,” she finally said before burying herself in my chest again. “Can we go see mommy?”

“Of course.” I gave a nod to Chien who just smiled and shook his head.

My long time friend made some noises about bathing and meandered off as I took Adia to go see Isha. It was why I'd been home right now anyway, so it was perfect timing. Soon enough we found her mother, who experienced the same I did as our child all but ran to her and rolled up in her arms.

“You need a wash,” Isha said after a bit.

“Mmm,” Adia agreed.

“Why don't you two take care of that while I go see about getting us some food?” I offered.

“Sounds good,” Isha said as she carried our child off to the washroom. “Come now, let's get clean while daddy gets something to eat.”

“Meet me in the kitchen!” I called as the door closed, smiling the whole way down to that particular room.

By the time I got there I met my assistant, his hair still wet. It looked like he'd gone and scrubbed himself quickly before heading the same direction I was.

“You hungry too?” I asked.

“I don't mind camping food, but it's just not the same. Personally I've never been a good cook, and without tons of ingredients...”

“No need to explain, I get it.”

My compound was massive, and we always had something going. Normally it was soup or stew of some form, something anyone could come and get if they needed a meal. Even more at a time like the current one, being that it was right about lunch. With enough people here there were a few dedicated cooks, and one waved from beside a small spit over a fire. There was a great smell coming from it.

“What do we have today?” I asked with a smile.

“Roast deer, added some fat from other animals and sauce. Also have some cooked fruits and veggies if you want some,” the girl offered with a smile.

It all looked mouth watering, the meat glistening as she slowly rotated it, the fat and juices barely coming to the surface. It wasn't quite the same as food from back on Earth, as there were still a lot of ingredients we just didn't have, but it was quite good quality, and as far as I could tell pretty healthy too.

“Three plates,” I told her as Chien and I found our preferred spot off to the side, away from where others would be.

“How are things going here? Missed a bit there while you were going, all well?” he asked.

“Quite so, I got a lot done actually.”

I hated to admit it but having Adia away for a bit meant I spent much more time getting things done. My times with her were a highlight of my day, but they were also a massive interruption, and even if I wouldn't trade them for the world not having them for a few weeks let me throw myself at my project with a frenzy. Honestly I'd hoped to be done by the time she got home, but we had no such luck.

“So you ready to launch your little flying thing?” he asked.

“Sadly no, though it's close. I've still got a few last touches to put on, proper cargo areas, some of the weapons that aren't all the way on yet; that kind of thing. We may need to rush it though.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Got word the other day, looks like Rolan is trying to get people together for something. I'm not sure on the details, but it seems he's sent messengers to all the major regions, fast ones.”

“To what end?” Chien asked.

“Right now? It appears he's trying to gather information on our new western neighbors, but I suspect that is just the first step.”

Rolan was an Ancient who lived to the north of us, ruled it truly, and not someone I'd want to cross. Most regions had been ruled by elves like him, well over a thousand years old and powerful beyond what most of us could imagine, but several had been lost in the last century. Now I knew of only two true Ancients, and among them he seemed the more powerful.

“I'd give him good odds on killing anything if he puts his mind to it,” Chien put forth.

“Same, but if he's calling for people to let him know what they know there may be more to it than we've yet seen. I don't know about you but if he seems concerned it may be we should be as well.”

“So more and bigger weapons?”

“It's like you're reading my mind,” I said with a smile. “Though we'll need to act carefully, don't want the council to get spooked and do something foolish.”

“The council, do something stupid? Whoever heard of such a thing?” The sarcasm made me smile, if only a little bit.