The Rose Thief (Achievement Hunter)

10. Mages

As soon as Monty dismissed them, Miles jogged lightly forward with a smile on his face. "I can take you to the Mages," he said, throwing an arm around Kerry's shoulders.

"They'll probably want to see you, too," Caleb said to the Rose Thief before he could slip away. The Rose Thief shrugged and tagged along as Miles led all four of them down a couple of hallways and into a library crowded with tall shelves made of dark polished wood. Despite the numerous shelves, Ray felt like there was a severe lack of books. Every shelf had at least one, and plenty had twenty or thirty books placed neatly on the wood, but it didn't even hold a candle to the smallest public library Ray knew of back home. There was a strange hush in this room despite its size, a silence as soft as a pillow. Any noise felt like it was too loud, especially the sound of five pairs of boots against a stone floor. As they moved, Ray could see small open areas with plush chairs and hard tables.

Prince Miles took them straight through the shelves to a set of double doors edged with gold. Just outside this door, sitting at a table with a book, was Kara. She wore a high-necked, sleeveless undyed tunic fell to mid-thigh and a pale blue jacket with a short torso and long scalloped sleeves that would cover her hands when standing neutrally. Her black pants fell loosely to the top of bright red embroidered cloth shoes. When Miles drew closer, she carefully closed the book and rose from her chair.

"Your Highness," she greeted, her eyes flicking from Miles to each other person he was with. Her gaze rested on Ray and the Rose Thief, but if she was surprised, she didn't show it. "What brings the party here?"

Miles grinned widely and giggled, his eyes scrunching up. "Straight to the point, I see."

Kara crossed her arms. "Well it's not every day you bring four people directly to the Mage's Atelier."

"True, true," Miles admitted. He gestured to Ray and the Rose Thief. "Anyway, as you can probably tell, we now have two of Ray. The extra claims to have come from another dimension, and they were hoping that the Mages here could help discern... stuff. Anything." Ray pursed his lips and drew his eyebrows together. The extra? Well, he supposed that wasn't a wrong descriptor.

Kara exhaled through her nose and uncrossed her arms, letting her sleeves fall to cover her hands. "Alright. I want Ray and the extra to come with me. Everyone else, leave." She paused before shrugging. "Caleb can hang around I guess. Now shoo," she said, waving her arms, her sleeves flapping and exaggerating her movements. Kerry tipped his hat to the Rose Thief and left arm-in-arm with Miles. Caleb waved and disappeared into the bookshelves with the promise of stopping by in a little while.

Ray wasn't sure what to expect on the other side of the double doors. The Mage's Atelier was circular, the center of the room comprised of stairs all in a circle leading into a circular depression in the ground like an inverted dais. Three extra rooms at equal distances from Ray seemed to hold various materials, like vials, herbs, mortars and pestles, and yes, cauldrons. A spiral set of stairs off to the side led up to a second floor. Contrary to the atmosphere of the library, the air here practically seemed to buzz. A few people were wandering about, people that Ray actually mostly recognized. Arryn was apparently cooking something in one of the side rooms, wearing mostly black, her long sleeves rolled up and buttoned. Patrick and Jordan seemed to be sparring in the circular depression, but stopped when Kara entered with the two Rays.

"Carry on if you wish," Kara said to Patrick and Jordan. As she strode over to Arryn, Ray and the Rose Thief trailing in her wake, she called, "Hey, Arryn, do you have any time to spare right now?"

Arryn brushed some sort of crushed, dried herb off of her palm and into the large pot she was leaning over. She stirred it with a copper ladle a few times before setting the ladle aside and turning towards Kara. "I suppose, yeah. The potion's got to simmer for a few hours now." She froze when she noticed the two identical men. "Woah, did Ray find his long-lost twin?"