Akkarin set aside the last letter he needed to write and relaxed back in his chair, wondering what to do next. As always, there were plenty of options, but for the first time in awhile there was nothing that had to be done immediately. On the rare occasions when that had happened before, he would typically invite Lorlen over for a drink. But, of course, that was before. Before he had fractured their friendship–probably irreversibly.
Akkarin shook those thoughts from his mind, for he knew feeling guilty would not change reality. He had done what he felt he needed to do at the time–indeed, what he still felt he had needed to do, for time had not changed his mind about his actions. Thoughts about those actions brought another person to mind, and Akkairn automatically began seeking out her magical presence. It was something he had started doing soon after taking over her Guardianship, for he had vowed to himself that he would not let serious physical harm come to her while under his care. Unlike most magicians, he not only sensed magical presences but could also sense differences between them which meant that he could, theoretically, determine who another magician was without seeing him or her. In practice, of course, he had not spent enough time with most of the other magicians in the Guild to readily identify them, but he did know a select few, and Sonea was one. In fact, he had found it easier to pick up Sonea's magical presence than most others, for it had a very distinctive feel that he supposed came from the sheer amount of power she controlled.
On this occasion, he did not immediately sense her magical aura which caused him to frown. He had concentrated his efforts on the library and gardens, knowing she spent much of her time there, but she was definitely not there now. With a bit of effort, he cast a wider net, now searching the entire University building and the grounds immediately surrounding it. Still, he sensed nothing. Resigning himself to the headache he knew would follow, he expanded his search to include the entire Guild, but he still had no results except for a pounding just behind his forehead.
Akkarin stood and sent a bit of Healing injury at his headache before pacing the study. Where could she have gone? It was a Freeday, so he technically had no say in her activities, but he still felt that she should have told him something. He was her Guardian. How was he supposed to protect her if he did not even know where she was? She doesn't expect or need your protection, the small voice in his head reminded him. While he was sure that was true, that did not stop him from feeling responsible for her well-being.
Akkarin stopped suddenly as he realized there was only one place she was likely to go. Of course, that realization brought a new wave of panic. He had not heard news of a new slave in the city yet, but it had been nearly four months since the last one which meant that one was likely to come soon. Quickly, he strode out of his study and down to the underground room. He changed out of his robes and opened the secret door to the tunnel, his long legs easily eating up the distance under the Guild grounds. He remembered that they had found her in the Northeast section of the Slums, so he would start his search there and expand outwards as needed. Hopefully, he would be able to find her quickly and bring her back to the safety of the Residence. Then, he would just have to impress upon her the importance of making him aware of her whereabouts.
Once off the Guild grounds, he exited the tunnels, for he knew the journey would be quicker aboveground and preferred not to abuse the Thieves' hospitality. Still, it took him nearly forty-five minutes to reach a spot where he thought he would be close enough to search for her presence again. He noticed that the longer it took, the harder it was to ignore the worry which threatened to overwhelm him. It was a new feeling for him, for he had never before failed to push aside his feelings when he needed to do so. He decided it wise not to explore what that might mean and instead focus his effort on finding his wayward novice. He cast his senses out, searching for the familiar magical presence. In many ways, it was easier in his current location, for he did not have the auras of dozens of other magicians interfering. It did not take him long to locate it, and he headed in that direction.
He found her in a small building that seemed a bit better kept than the others around it. One of the front windows was open, and he saw her through it, conversing eagerly with an older woman who he assumed was her aunt. She looked more relaxed than he had ever seen her, but he supposed that was only natural given the trials she faced at the Guild, many at his own hand. Interestingly, he sensed a small magical presence from her aunt as well–not nearly so large as Sonea's but large enough that it could attract unwanted attention. Without really thinking about his reasons, Akkarin quickly constructed a ward around the small home before slinking back into the shadows. Now that he had seen Sonea, he could not bring himself to drag her out of the house, not when he saw how much she was enjoying the visit. Reasoning that he did not have other pressing concerns at the moment, he decided to simply wait until she was ready to leave on her own before following her–discreetly, of course–to make sure she returned to the Guild safely.
She left the house around an hour later. As she stepped outside, she frowned, and Akkarin wondered if she somehow sensed his wards. He was well-versed in hiding his magic when he wanted to do so, so he found it difficult to believe, but it definitely seemed that she had sensed something. He waited for a moment, trying to decide if it would be better or worse to reveal his presence, but she finally seemed to dismiss whatever she had felt. She stepped onto the street, pulled the hood of her cloak up, and turned back towards the Guild. Akkarin followed until she was within sight of the guard towers and then turned away to re-enter in the tunnels.
He would confront her the following day, he decided. At this point, waiting another day would not matter, and she always took Firstday meal with him anyway, so it would be a good chance to talk with her. He did not want to fully stop the visits–and he doubted she would stop them even if he told her to–for he could guess how much it meant to her to visit her family. But he would need to find a way to make sure she was safe.
Thirdday always brought the Guild meeting with the King. Akkarin was not overly fond of the meetings, for he felt they spent a good deal of time discussing items which should have been quickly decided but grew overly complicated due to the personalities involved. Vinara started out this particular meeting with a list of requests for the Healers. Akkarin listened and, upon noting she was carefully avoiding giving any totals, began estimating the total costs. They were not unreasonable, but he also suspected she could pare down her list if pressed. "High Lord, what do you think of the increase to the Healer's supply budget, bearing in mind that the funds will need to come from somewhere," King Merin said when Vinara had finished.
"And by somewhere, you mean somewhere in the Guild," Akkarin remarked wryly. "The building fund has been growing for some time since it seems no one took Lord Coren's improvements into account when allocating funds." He thought for a moment. No one spoke as he did, a fact that always amused him somewhat, especially since he was the youngest person in the room. "We could likely pull half the funds from there without causing any strife. And I would be willing to commit a portion of my discretionary budget to these items–I could cover another quarter of the costs. Lady Vinara, would you be able to trim your list to fit within that budget?"
"Yes, High Lord," the Healer said.
"Speaking of budgets," Balkan said, clearing his throat, "our Warrior budget has stagnated over the past few years despite prices everywhere rising."
"You have also had fewer Warriors graduating in recent years," Vinara pointed out.
"Another worrying fact," Balkan said.
"Why? We have not had a conflict since the Sachakan War hundreds of years ago, and we are unlikely to have one anytime soon given the strength of the Alliance."
Akkarin opened his mouth, considering how to best defend the necessity of the Warriors without showing his hand too much when Merin spoke up. "It is not a good idea to grow complacent in peacetime. Just because we have not had conflict for hundreds of years does not mean there is no chance of one, and it would be foolish to lower our defenses."
Akkarin startled inwardly for a moment, wondering if Merin perhaps knew more than he should, but he quickly relaxed when he realized that Merin was worried about Lonmar, not Sachaka. Of course he is, fool, his inner voice chided. If you're not careful, you'll give away far more than you should. He could not focus solely on the Ichani, dangerous as they were, or he risked the same complacency Merin had condemned. In a worst case scenario, the Ichani could learn of the rifts between Lonmar and Kyralia and ally with Lonmar against Kyralia. "I agree with the King," Akkarin said softly. "We cannot afford to have our defenses weak."
"You know something," Vinara remarked, narrowing her eyes at the two men.
Akkarin gave her a small smile. "You forget that I was a Warrior by training. I am inclined to believe threats lie around every corner."
"And the Warriors do help with other tasks–lending their magic to the magical defense structures, staffing forts, and dealing with bandits or other criminals," Balkan reminded the Healer. "We are not idle."
Akkarin considered for a minute. "There are weak points still in our defenses. The Southern road, for instance, has no guard posts or forts which would make it relatively easy for an enemy to march straight to Imardin using it. Perhaps we could allocate more funds to the Warriors for bolstering defenses such as that. Lord Balkan, do you think you would be able to put together a list of how you would use such funds in the defense of Kyralia?"
Balkan cleared his throat, looking a bit nervous. "I must admit that I don't have your familiarity with all of our defenses, High Lord, but I could talk with some of our senior Warriors to create something. And I would welcome your input, of course."
"Of course." Perhaps something useful would come of the Thirdday meeting for once.