113. Artisan
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*Several hours later*
We spent the rest of the day exploring the fair. And it was really fun and interesting. The life of the Puritans of the 18th century was restored very thoroughly, and we seem to have plunged into the past.
The fair provided the opportunity to dress up in the clothes of that time, taste delicious food created from the recipes of housewives who lived here two centuries ago, and also could try the entertainment with which the Puritans killed their time when there was no television and Internet.
Although, basically it was hard work, life was not sugar then. At least we've learned how to churn butter by hand.
Most of all had fun, oddly enough, Hope. It seems that such a thing should be considered an insult to her, if remember what atrocities the people of Salem did to magicians in the past. But no, Hope did not care, and she had fun with all her heart, in the company of Ashley, with whom she got along very quickly. Even Gwen began to warm up to the Charmcaster a lot, especially when the latter answered Gwen's magic questions.
Grandpa and I mostly stayed behind, letting the girls have fun and make real friends. This was especially necessary for Hope, given that she never had friends, and she did not have the opportunity to spend time like a normal girl.
This day helped Hope get to know not only the girls, but also Grandfather, which is also good. I think the time is approaching when Hope can be considered a member of our family, which, of course, is very good for me.
All in all, the day went well. When it got dark and the fair closed, we decided it was time to head back. When Hope found out that we were staying in a hotel, she invited us all to spend the night in her castle. This proposal was accepted by the grandfather, so now, we were all in the RV and drove to Hex Castle.
- Mr. Tennyson, did Lex tell you that his grandmother was Anodite? Is she your wife? - Hope inquired.
- Yes, her name is Verdona. - with a smile, said Grandpa.
- Verdona? What a familiar name… - the girl muttered, thinking for a moment, and then asked: - And how did you meet?
- Many years ago, I served in the Air Force and led the F-104A fighter squadron. One day, I first met a UFO and shot it down on the orders of the authorities, while destroying my own fighter. As you can guess, it was Verdona's ship, though I didn't know that at the time.
Later, I met a mysterious girl who was being chased by an unknown man. It turned out to be a Synthroid, an alien robot who wanted to capture Verdona to use her special abilities as a battery for his race's homeland. Previously, he was able to block Verdona's abilities so she could only run away from him, especially after I shot down her ship.
- And you protected her? - asked Gwen, who also listened with interest to the story, since Grandfather had not told this before.
- Yes. Although, to be honest, I was of little use. - Max said with an uncertain smile.
- And what happened next? - Ashley asked.
- Thanks to the help of the Plumber who arrived on Earth, we were able to return the forces of Verdona, and destroy the Synthroid. In gratitude for her help, Verdona offered to take me into space with her, but I declined because I thought I should be somewhere else. - Max answered.
- And Grandma left Earth without you? - Gwen asked.
- Yes, although she promised that we would meet again, since our meeting was destined from above. So, in general, it happened, a few years later, when I had already graduated from the Academy of Plumbers. During one of my first missions, we met and never parted. At least for the next twenty-five years, until Verdona needed to leave our planet to solve the problem that arose with her race. Since then, I have been waiting for her to return. - with a share of sadness, said Grandfather.
- It's so romantic. - Ashley reluctantly said.
- Wait, so you and her are 'Destined by Magic'? - Hope asked, considering Grandpa's words.
- What? Oh yes, I think Verdona called it that. If I understand correctly, Magic didn't like that we broke up the first time, so she arranged for us to meet again and give us a reason not to break up. - Max agreed, a little embarrassed at the end.
- Let me guess, the result of that meeting was my father's conception? - I asked with a smirk that threatened to rip my face off. Finally, I had a chance to avenge all the awkwardness that I felt when we talked about relationships.
- Ah, we finally got there. - Max said, completely ignoring me as he parked the RV outside the abandoned country club.
- And where is your castle? - Ashley asked Hope, unable to see the disguised lock.
- What are you talking about, Ashley? Here he is. Still just as creepy as last time. - Gwen said, pointing to the Castle.
- I don't see anything either. - Max said.
- Ah, I completely forgot that you don't have Mana. - Hope said, slapping her forehead.
- Here. This should help. - I said as I put my hands on Ashley and Grandpa's shoulders and pumped some Mana into their bodies.
- Wow, he really is here. - Ashley said when she saw Hope's house.
- Let's go faster. - Hope said as she jumped out of the RV.
When the girls left, I quietly turned to Max: - That is why you are waiting for the return of grandmother and do not even think about finding another woman? Because you have a magical connection that makes your love so much stronger?
- This is true. - Grandpa replied with a smile.
- Hmm… Well, keep waiting. I'm sure she will return. - I said vaguely, remembering Max from the future and his reaction to the words about Verdona, at the same time leaving the bus and walking towards the castle.
It seems that the love of those destined by Magic is indeed unusually strong. I was a little worried that there was still some kind of catch here, and we were not just brought together with Hope, but seeing the example of Grandpa and Grandma, can believe that this is just benevolent help...
- Lex, Lex. - Hope interrupted my train of thought.
- Yes? - I asked, noticing that everyone else had already gone ahead.
- I remembered where I met the name 'Verdona'. That was the name of the mother of Bezel, the 'Father of Magic'. - Hope said softly.
- Truth? Turns out he's my uncle. - I said calmly.
- You're not surprised at all, are you? - Hope asked in shock.
- Surprised, of course, but something like this was to be expected, given the frivolity of the Anodites and their lifespan. - I said.
- But it's Bezel!" Creator of Bezel's Charms! - Hope screamed.
- So what? For me, it doesn't change anything. - I said honestly.
- But…
- Forget. I don't care about my grandmother's turbulent youth. Considering what race she belongs to and how old she is, I'm surprised we haven't met any of her other descendants yet. I don't care that Bezel is my grandmother's son. But better, don't tell grandfather about it. I don't want him to worry about it. - I calmly said and walked forward.
- As you say. - Hope said quietly, and followed me.
As soon as we climbed the hill and approached the gate, Hope said the password and led us inside. Since we were in Hope's company, the security system mistook all of us for guests and let us in without any problems. Although, according to Hope, I am considered one of the owners of the Castle, along with Hope herself.
When we got to the second floor of the castle, we found ourselves in a long corridor with eight wooden doors, which I had never been in before.
Pointing to the doors, Hope said: - Here, these are the guest rooms. You can choose any. Settle in and make yourself at home.
- Thank you, Hope, that's very kind of you. - Grandfather answered, going into the nearest room.
- What are you, it's not difficult for me at all. - Hope said politely, although she enjoyed being so thankful.
- My room is the most extreme. - Ashley said cheerfully and galloped to the very end of the corridor.
- And what will you do? - Gwen looked at us a little suspiciously and asked Hope.
- I wanted to make a translation potion. Would you like to have a look? - Hope asked, clearly using this as an excuse to win Gwen over to her.
- Still would. - Gwen said quickly, forgetting everything in the world.
- Do you want to come with us? - Hope asked.
- Go forward. I have a small business. - I said with a smile.
- As you say. Come on, we need to go to the third floor. - Hope said and led Gwen upstairs.
Now that I've been left alone, I can finally read the message that Shadow sent me a couple of hours ago. In short, everything is fine with Lee, he has already reached the Dominican Republic and hid in one of the resort hotels, where he now sunbathes on the beach, drinking cocktails and spudding young girls. But this, I shouldn't have known ... fu.
So, and now to the most interesting. After questioning his informants, Lee was unable to find out Artisan's identity, but was able to learn about one case in which Artisan was personally involved. And, oddly enough, I met the consequences of his mistake.
It was through the fault of Artisan that Mycelium from the planet Flors Verdans got into Camp Opinican, which almost spread its spores to the entire planet. Yes, as it turned out, Artisan staged that mushroom invasion, which could have ended very sadly if I had not destroyed the mycelium.
Initially, Artisan chose the forest near the camp as a testing ground for his teleportation device. The device itself was an experimental prototype, and in theory should have been able to move large amounts of resources over long distances. But this is only in theory.
As a result, the teleport just exploded in hell, and the explosion itself, in some unknown way, transferred the alien fungus to our planet, and the latter felt very comfortable here and decided to stay, at the same time spreading its disputes.
I thought this artisan was a genius, but this is just the height of idiocy. He almost staged a real alien invasion...
Okay, it doesn't matter now. The important thing is that I finally have a lead that will help me find Artisan himself. Unfortunately, the search for courier services did not bring anything significant. Too well this inventor lay low.
It even pissed me off that I couldn't find it. The search spell didn't work since I don't know his name or appearance, so I had to search the old fashioned way, and unexpectedly, Lee was still able to help, although I didn't really count on him. Not for nothing, I still decided to do business with him.
Finally, having understood where to start the search, I decided to immediately set off.
- Grandpa, I am going away for a couple of hours? - I said, looking into the room of grandfather, who had already managed to get ready for bed.
- Okay… Just don't linger. - Max said sleepily, lying on the bed and trying not to pass out.
- Thanks. - I said and immediately teleported to the Opinican.
It turned out that I can safely use the Infinity Tattoo in the Castle, but Telemat's teleportation really works with failures. The last time I experimented, I was a hundred kilometers wrong and ended up in a completely different place.
Once again in a familiar summer camp, which I thought I would never visit again, I noticed that the police had time to visit here and cordoned off the entire area. Looks like Gilbert and the twins told about the mushrooms and brought the police here. Although I don't think they believed the three children, at least they looked around the camp.
Turning into Fasttrack, I went to the place where the mycelium used to live. Considering what happened here last time, it is not surprising that I didn't notice that there was something here besides a huge Mycelium, who wanted to take over the whole world, which I burned with pleasure.
After my efforts, only a scorched clearing remained here, so to make it easier to find the remains of Artisan's teleportation device, I immediately used the spell from Bezel's book, which should find metal objects within a radius of 200 meters. Such a magical metal detector. It is unlikely that the teleport will consist of something other than metal, so this is the most suitable spell.
After casting the spell, a wave of energy came out of my hand, just the same with a radius of 200 meters, which revealed all objects consisting of metal buried underground. Ignoring small objects, as well as those that had obviously been underground for a long time, I went to a large piece of metal that looked like a fragment of an arch. Bingo.
With the help of telekinesis, I dug out a hole and a view of the piece of the teleporter damaged by the explosion opened up for me. After breaking off a piece of metal, I used another search spell that could find a person by their aura left in a thing they had been in contact with for a long time.
Given that Artisan himself created this device and tested its operation himself, I think I can find it, even despite the time that has passed since the explosion. Unfortunately, Sublimino has already managed to saturate the hypno-clock with his aura, so that's why I now need Artisan's other invention.
Under the influence of the spell, a piece of metal soared into the air and quickly flew away to its owner. I followed, of course, while keeping an eye on the map to see where it would take me. As a result, after half an hour, I ended up in Wisconsin, a small town Exeland. The search led me to a small one-story house that did not stand out from the rest.
After reversing the spell, I checked the house with x-ray vision and found that the basement of the house was unusually large, and too well protected, using too advanced technology for Earth. Looks like this is Artisan's lair.
Not noticing anyone inside, I turned into a Ghostfreak and descended underground, penetrating inside from the side of the floor so as not to hook on any alarm. You never know what this 'genius' could have done, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a way to detect even Ectonurite here.
Once inside the lair, I immediately went to the computer to hack it and learn all the secrets of the artisan. However, before I could start breaking in, I was interrupted by a sound coming from somewhere deep in the room.
Turning in that direction, not forgetting to activate invisibility, I saw that it was the sound of some kind of transfer device, very similar to the Star Trek transporter. It seems that Artisan still managed to create a teleporter, but only able to carry people.
When the teleportation ended, a man moved into the lair, who, apparently, was Artisan and whom I instantly recognized:
- That's incredible! G…
To be continued.....