The Butterfly Effect

It seemed the only thing she heard for the next day was praises about Tim. Everyone who came by knew about how he was helping Mei; saying that many of them also went to the same general area they disappeared to, Lydia assumed them to be friends of hers. Still, it was strange how many people were coming in and out of the manor. Especially for the fact that, by noon, she would’ve guessed there wouldn’t be enough room to host everyone wherever they were. Not to mention how quickly the word had spread and how it had gone between so many different people. She decided she was better off not knowing the answer and didn’t ask Mei about it.

Though they were never explicitly told where they were and were not supposed to go, it seemed like there was. When Lydia wandered around earlier, she’d gotten a couple of odd glances but no one said anything to her. She informed the boys they should probably just stick to the rooms they’d been given and the room they’d been in for the majority of the day before. It wasn’t too long before then that Mei came and asked Tim to come with her. People only came up to Lydia to mention something about him and walk away again. The three of them had nothing to do but watch everyone else come in and out and bide time until they could leave.

Lydia kept herself occupied by trying to determine where the tree might be. There were a lot of possible locations and not a lot else to go off of. Tavin had originally been helping her, but was now caught up in a conversation with Henry, who’d previously been alternating between staring out the window and wandering around the room.

“Do you think what they’re working on is ever going to go anywhere?” he asked casually, now admiring some decorative candles.

“Not anytime soon,” Tavin mumbled. “Not unless everything with the Skiá gets solved a lot quicker than we expect it to. Otherwise, there’s not enough of anything to make any of the ideas Tim talked about capable of being executed on a large scale. That’s also assuming the finished product is actually able to compete with magic.”

“But aside from Travel magic charms, we don’t really use any in Seothia, do we? At least related to the stuff that he mentioned…”

“They’re all a lot more common than you might think they are. The only problem is that not all of the kingdom uses them—the northern territories avoid anything even vaguely associated with magic. Whatever ends up being created, it needs to be something that can help the whole kingdom. If it doesn’t do that, then it’s unlikely it’s going to get anywhere.”

“I don’t think that’s the only thing that should be considered about it, though,” Lydia said thoughtfully. “We’ve also got to consider the fact that we probably shouldn’t rely on magic forever. I’m definitely not an expert on it but, from what I’ve seen, it’s not nearly as reliable as Seothians make it out to be. In theory, I think what they’re working on is going to do exactly what they hope it does. In practice… we’re all reminded the northern territories have been talking about getting rid of magic for decades and decide they couldn’t honestly have the kingdom’s best interest in mind.”

It wasn’t long after that Tim walked in, soon followed by Mei. Dabur, who’d been strangely absent for most of the day, also came in behind her.

“We’re done now,” Mei announced. “Thanks to Tim, we were able to get it working and have a fairly reliable way of repeating the process. We’re making great strides towards a better future, I’m sure of it.”

Tim wandered over to his brothers. “Were you able to find anything else about the clue?”

Lydia shook her head. “There’s too little to go off of and too much that needs to be sorted through.” She glanced at Mei. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything that could help us out, would you?”

“It all depends on what you want to know,” she mused, looking at the map. “What information have you been given already?”

“‘An age-old tree is waiting to give its heart to someone. Why don’t you accept its offer?’” Tavin recited.

Mei muttered some things to herself, though it was impossible to tell exactly what she was saying. It took her a moment before she addressed them at all. “I believe there’s been mentions of a voice speaking of others’ woes in the forest. In the figurative sense, I suppose you could say that it’s giving its heart out to anyone who’s willing to listen.” She pointed to a spot on the map. “It’s around here, right outside of the land belonging to the manor. I don’t know much more than that, though. But I’m close friends with the noble who owns that area, so if they try to stop you, just mention me.”

“It’s a better start than what we had before,” Lydia decided. “Thanks.”

She gathered up the map and anything else they had out and put it all back in her satchel. “You wouldn’t mind if we come back here when we’re done, would you? Whether or not we find anything, I don’t think Tanavir’ll appreciate it if he hears there’s people camping out in his territory.”

“I daresay he’s not going to like the fact that you’re traveling at all,” Mei said. But still, she nodded. “If not only for Tim, you’ve earned your right to stay here. As long as you don’t mess with things you’re not supposed to, that is.”

Lydia showed her gratitude with a smile and glanced at the boys. “Make sure you’ve all got everything we’ll need. We should be able to look around a bit before it gets dark.” Presumably, the Skiá weren’t a threat at night here; that didn’t mean she wanted to assume that they could push their luck with it, though.

Mei and Dabur left as soon as they realized they weren’t needed for anything else. Lydia and the boys made sure they had everything they needed before setting out.

The quiet was something that none of them were particularly used to.

“Even knowing what Tanavir does, it doesn’t make this silence any less weird,” Tim remarked. “It’s like there’s nothing living here at all…”

“I guess it’s supposed to be reassuring,” Henry said with a shrug. “A reminder that nothing can come in and nothing goes out. Everything that’s here is never going to leave and anything from the outside is never going to enter.”

Tavin shook his head. “This isn’t natural. Any of it. Not what he does, not the means he does to do it. The fact that it seems to work is the only thing that lets him continue to do it.”

“That and from the sounds of it, he’s not going to listen to anything Imre tells him. I don’t even think he listened to Casper…” Lydia mumbled. Everything around here was supposed to put her at ease to know that they were completely alone and free from the shadows. It just made her more nervous about what else could be here.

Henry’s next question was one he was hesitant to ask, yet curiosity must’ve gotten the better of him. “What do you think they do if there is a Skiá somewhere?”

“Whoever it is either prays that a patrol group comes by or becomes another missing person in the territory,” Tavin answered blankly. “Either way, they’re considered stupid for deciding to go out at all. This kind of ‘peace’ is only maintained by keeping a close eye on everything. If someone deviates from that, then according to Lord Tanavir, they deserve whatever fate they get.”

Lydia took the map back out to make sure she knew where they were going. “I don’t know how anyone could want to live here… The same kind of thing can happen in most places in Qizar, with the same kind of right to wander as everywhere else.”

“Even fear can’t bring them to get near the children of Fleyw Bresh,” Tavin mused. “So they have to choose the next best option… even if it only takes that place as the only other option.”

“Let’s just find this tree quickly,” Tim decided. “I don’t want to be out here any longer than we have to be.”

“Agreed.” Henry gave a cautious look to their surroundings. He in no way seemed relieved to see nothing.