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Genie shrugged; “I’m not sure, but maybe Lucas knows him. They’re both merchants.”

Tidas narrowed his eyes in thought, then he smacked his hands together; “Lucas! That’s right! I believe Yaris was one of his informants when the whole Fowler incident came to light.”

“Soo..He’s a good man then?” Genie looked utterly confused by the conflicting information.

Tidas shook his head; “Not really. He’s a business man through and through. From what I recall: Lucas had to pay him a hefty sum to get the information from him, so I wouldn’t call him noble or good. He just follows the profits, and Lucas generates quite a bit of wealth for himself.”

“I see.. Then is that the best way to approach him? With money?”

Tidas sighed; “I doubt it’ll be that easy. I believe he agreed to the trade with Lucas because he knew that the slave trade was dead. I made sure of that, I think.. But the weapons trade is a thriving business, especially right now with everyone panicked about a war..”

“You would have to pay him the equivalent to what he Could make from avoiding the sale: if he even is the one doing the selling. As well as the perceived value of the relationship he’d be losing by breaking his other deal.”

Tidas stretched in his chair as he added; “If he isn’t the seller, then you might be able to broker a deal with Yaris. But if he is, then I don’t think he’ll agree. And to top it off: he’ll probably sell whatever information he’d just gotten out of you to his partner in Sai.”

.....

Genie deflated in his seat; “Then what do I do? I can’t let whoever is purchasing the weapons know that I’m on to them. It might put my family at risk.”

Tidas smirked; “I think you’re growing a bit dull in your old age, Genie.. Why not just ask Lord Moonstone to broker a deal for you? To Yaris, Lucas has even more value than I do.”

“I’ll discuss it with him the next time he comes to the capital, which should be in a week or two. He’s already sent word that he and Lidia wish to see you and Skye off. And to celebrate Shasta and King Lawrence’s wedding, of course,” Genie grinned knowingly as he finished speaking.

Tidas returned his smile as he said; “Aye, the wedding. Although for him, it’s most likely about making more business deals instead of the celebration.”

After a bit of banter at Lucas’ expense, Genie asked; “Just out of curiosity: what did you mean before? About not being sure about the slave trade being dead?”

Tidas’ joviality had instantly disappeared; “Remember when we all went to the Cat’s Paw right before Marco had left? And he told us about the missing homeless? Alfred had the Brownie spies investigate the disappearances, but all the leads dried up almost as soon as they started. It’s like the people just vanished..”

“And you think that it’s someone starting up the slave trade again?” Genie asked.

Tidas leaned back in his seat with a heavy sigh; “Yes and no.. Slavers take people that they believe will bring them the most profit, but the victims are too random. Old, young, healthy, disabled; it’s nothing like before.. It’s like they took anyone that they thought wouldn’t be missed instead of those that could bring in a higher price.”

Genie quirked an eyebrow at him; “Why are you so sure that it’s the slave trade again?”

Tidas shrugged; “What else could it be?”

Right as Genie shrugged back at him, Tidas’ office door swung open to reveal a young guard. He became startled when he saw Genie sitting at the desk, but still managed to announce Skye, Shasta, Lawrence, and Maevis. They had come to drag him off to Zazzy’s Place for lunch, and invited Genie to come along with them.

He happily agreed, never seeming to ever get tired of seeing Zazzy. As they headed outside to their horses, Genie and Tidas kept quiet about their conversation, which annoyed Skye. Genie soothed her by saying that they were just talking about living arrangements once they reached Sai, surprising Tidas again with his ability to lie so easily.

As the others mounted up, Tidas trotted over to Genie, and whispered; “I won’t say it all, but I will be discussing things with her after dinner. So try not to lie through your teeth so much, or she’ll punch them out.”

Genie nodded in agreement, then said; “I know how she feels about lying. I’ll be careful.”

“What are ya two whisperin’ about over there? Canna be anythin’ good, so what is it?” Skye said as she trotted up next to them.

“Where’s your horse? Do you need me to ask for one for you?” Lawrence asked as he and Shasta joined their little circle.

Genie grinned mischievously; “Oh, I don’t travel by horse..”

A sudden gust of wind sent the horses into fits, except for Thoth. He had felt Genie’s wind for as long as Skye had, so he was used to it. Maevis had to hold on to Shasta’s shoulder, or she felt like she’d be blown away.

As the winds whipped around them, Genie went up into the air, and hovered above the five. When the winds calmed enough for them to look around, Skye was the first one to say; “Ya coulda Warned us first, ya bloody show-off!”

Looking up like Skye was, everyone grinned as Genie bobbed with the wind pressure, and replied; “But it’s so much fun to see everyone’s reactions. They’re always different from the next: it’s quite entertaining.”

“...No wonder he got along with Skye and Tidas so well when they were kids: he’s a troublemaker, too,” Lawrence commented as he and Shasta chuckled.

The group chatted and laughed all the way to Zazzy’s place. Skye had been trying her best to see Zazzy daily, otherwise she would fly over the capital making noises. It was hard for her to go from seeing her parents multiple times in a day to once every few days.

As they trotted through the city streets, a massive shadow cast above them for a few seconds before they heard a high-pitched screech. Looking up, Skye and Tidas beamed as they their overgrown dragon flying above Genie. He flew up and greeted her, which Zazzy loved.

The only time others could fly with her was if they were on her back. As Genie circled Zazzy, she did a barrel roll in the sky, trying to get him to play. He increased his speed as he flew around her, trying to get her to catch him.

As Zazzy’s Place came into view, delicious smells wafted through the air. Larry the stable hand’s son, Peggy, and surprisingly Sven Helmschmied were all gathered outside. As they started to slow down, his daughter Athena came out of the little house holding a massive pot.

Skye yelled and waved to them enthusiastically as they slowed to dismount. Once they had tied off their horses, Skye walked up to Peggy and asked why Athena and Sven were there. She was happy to see them, but also curious as to why they were there.

It had turned out that Sven and Peggy had gotten a little close before she’d gone off to Moonshire. He was quite cross that she hadn’t told him that she was leaving, and they had been in the middle of bickering when everyone had shown up. Apparently, he felt like he was used, and Peggy was arguing that they had no understanding between them.

“Ima in me sixties, laddie. If ya want a wife, then I suggest that ya find a young bonnie thing ta fill yer time wit. I do as I please, whenever I want, and nothing’s gonna change me ways now.”

Sven’s face turned disgruntled; “I dinna want a wife! I want a partner! Ima not askin’ ya to marry me! Just live wit me!”

Peggy glared at him; “I told ya from the start that I follow me bairn! I do na mind stayin’ overnight on occasion, but Ima independent woman, Sven. I do what I want, and I Dinna Wanna live wit ya!”

As the two stood and bickered, Lawrence came up to his brother’s side, and said; “I can’t decide if I’m disturbed, or inspired by Peggy..”

“Inspired?” Tidas asked with a questionable expression.

“They’re in their seventies! I hope I’m still ‘capable’ at that age,” Lawrence quipped.

Shasta smirked; “It’s alright, dear. I’ll still love you no matter how wrinkly you get.”

It was at that moment that Tidas realized that Shasta would outlive his brother by quite a few decades, and wondered how Lawrence felt about it. Turning to look at his older brother, Tidas tried to imagine if Skye were to seemingly never age compared to him..

Not thinking, he blurted out; “What will you do when you two look decades apart?”

Lawrence shrugged; “I’ll still love her, Tidas.. If she takes a lover, or wants to leave me, I’ll be fine with that-”

“Oh, shut it, Lawrence. You can’t get rid of me that easily. I already understood what it means to love a human when we got together. And I’d rather have a limited amount of years with you than to never be with you at all.”

Lawrence flashed her a painful expression; “I don’t like that you’ll watch me age and die, but I’m a rather selfish man.. I’d rather be with you while I can. We’ll deal with our age discrepancies when the time comes. For now, all I want is to be with you.”

Shasta grinned lovingly at Lawrence as he wrapped his arms around her. Tidas smiled at them, then looked to his wife as she chatted with Genie, and Athena while petting Zazzy. He couldn’t imagine living on without her, and felt a pain in his chest when he thought about the Catalyst legend..

‘According to all of the legends we’ve read so far: Skye will die at the end of all of this.. I can’t imagine my life without her.. There Has to be a way to save her..’

As the thought crossed his mind, Tidas glanced at Genie. There was obviously things that he wasn’t telling them about their trip to Sai, and the missing piece of the legend was one of them. He claimed not to remember what it said, but Tidas found that extremely hard to believe..

‘He can recall books that he read twenty years ago, but can’t remember that? ...I don’t buy it. There’s something that he’s scared to tell us, and I’m gonna find out what it is.. Whether he wants me to or not..’

As the thought crossed Tidas’ mind, Peggy hollered; “Food’s ready! Let’s eat!”