Chapter 213: So Thick

Author’s note: Hey guys.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 213: So Thick - link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/122769043

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Chapter 213: So Thick

"Er… Cuddles," Marcus muttered, grasping for some logical reason behind what he had just heard. "You ever run into another Deckard in the city?"

His gnome wife shook her head. "No. Doesn’t mean there ain’t one." Her sharp eyes flicked to me. "Hey, Grey, yours got a last name?"

Too busy enjoying their confusion, the question caught me off guard. "I don’t think… wait…"

Marcus arched a brow. "You don’t know? No offense, lass, but if a man won’t give his full name, I’d question his honesty. Thought you were sharper than that, lass."

Instead of taking offense, pride rose in my chest. He thought highly of me.

"Could be a fake name," Lieutenant Janina mused, same as her husband, reaching for some reasonable explanation. "At one point, City Hall was overwhelmed with complaints of ‘apprentices’ being scammed by someone posing as Deckard. You signed a contract?”

“Uh-huh, I…”

“And did you at least sign it at City Hall?”

“No, I…”

The gnome woman let out a weary sigh. “How can anyone be so thick? No offense, Grey. City Hall should warn folk like you, but they’re spread thin, same as us. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use that brain of yours a little more.”

“But don’t fret, lass. Mentor-Apprentice contracts aren’t like Seeker ones. Annoying to get out of, sure, but easy enough to break - what’s with that grin, Corporal Hakhle?”

Elira stiffened. “Forgive me, sir. I didn’t mean to… Korra!”

Feeling a little guilty but enjoying this, I stifled a chuckle, clearing my throat. “His last name is Ardaivel’cas.”

“Deckard Ardaivel’cas?” Lieutenant Janine repeated slowly, as if testing the name. “You’re certain? Because I was just saying…”

“Ma’am,” Elira cut in, voice a little too tight. “It’s former Lieutenant Deckard.”

Silence stretched before the gnome woman finally spoke. “You’re sure, Corporal?”

“I… we… Korra, please!”

“Sorry,” I sang, with not a trace of sincerity. "Well, I may not have signed the contract at City Hall, but I did so under the supervision of the City Hall staff. And Captain Rayden’s. Right here in the barracks."

"Lieutenant Rhys was there too, and Officer Travis Seamane," Elira added, like Rayden’s name alone wasn’t good enough. Lieutenant Janine blinked, struggling to take it in, while Marcus dug into the report from Officer Seamane, eyes darting across the page.

"Not a word about it… those bastards!" He slammed the paper down, voice like a crack of stone. "After all this time, he takes on an apprentice, and they don’t even bother to mention it? Tits, when I get a hold of them…"

"Thank you!" The gnome woman nearly sobbed, throwing herself at me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! He was so miserable."

"H-he was?" The question slipped out, half-breathless. ‘What was I supposed to do? Hug her back?’ She barely reached my chest. And what did she mean? Deckard never struck me as miserable. If anything, he carried himself like a man who had it all figured out.

"Of course, he wouldn’t show it." Her arms loosened, but those big, dark eyes stayed locked on mine, glassy with unshed tears. "Being stuck like this… it eats at him."

A slow dread crept in. They all seemed so sure. Like I was meant to fix whatever weighed him down. As if I had the answers, when really, I knew arguably the least about this world of anyone. "Not sure I can..."

"Oh - no. No, no, no. It's not about you..."

"I'd say it is," Marcus cut in, stopping his wife mid-sentence. "He was after something particular in an apprentice, and damn me, never thought he'd find it - but here you are, lass."

"Found what?" Was it just the headache of training someone without common sense like me - or was it something else entirely?

Marcus chuckled, shaking his head. "If I knew, I would have helped him a long time ago."

"He was told he'd know it when he saw it," Lieutenant Janina said, studying me with her gaze as if seeing me for the first time. It did make the skin on the back of my neck prickle, but there was no ill intent. 'Is it like that expect the unexpected thing?' Well, I guess he certainly didn't expect to bump into someone like me. My curiosity was piqued, though. "Who advised him to do that? I mean, weren't there other things he could have tried... to push further his limits?"

This time, Marcus laughed, a full-bellied sound. "Of course, and he's tried them all. Some were useless, others helped, briefly. Taking an apprentice? That’s the last card in his hand."

'Last hope!' A chill settled in my bones. "What if... you know, it doesn't work out?"

"Ah, don’t worry about it." The gnome woman waved it off. "That’s on him. And if he wants to whine about it, send him my way - I’ll knock some sense into that thick skull."

"Not many reach his level," Marcus mused, a cookie suddenly in his grasp. He took a slow bite, settling at my feet on the sofa. "Sooner or later, everyone slams into the same wall. No new glyphs on your weaves mean no new sigils on your array. Stuck, just like that."

"Grid Stagnation," Lieutenant Janina said, her voice edged with something I couldn’t name.

"Y-you too?"

"No. No, no, no - I mean, sure. It can happen to someone with a single array just as easily as to someone with our number of sigils.”

“There's no cap built into the Lattice, if that's what you mean," Marcus filled in.“It’s the people who hit the wall - Humans, Terr'dens, Gnomes, whoever - doesn’t matter. No one has found a sure way past the wall.”

“Many have tried,” his wife added, her gaze heavy with something close to pity. “Tried all sorts of ways. None worked. And you, Grey… you actually might be the result of one of those attempts. As I recall - that wretch, Dungreen - back when he still wore Imperial robes - theorized that Grid Stagnation could be overcome by bringing humans and beasts together."

“H-hold on. He was an Imperial Alchemist?” Rayden was only talking about the fact that he had managed to escape the Imperial Hounds. 'But if true - didn't that mean that in Wagon’brei… that Imperial family had a vested interest in what I was now?'

"Easy, lass. He was at the lowest position, and when he crossed the line, they tossed him out."

"Should've locked him up," Lieutenant Janine muttered. "But no changing the past. Look on the bright side - you'd never have met Deckard otherwise. Welcome to the family, Grey."

"F-family? What family? He’s just my mentor." I wasn’t marrying him - was I?

"That’s…" Marcus began, but his wife cut him off.

"If Rhys was there, he'll want to celebrate."

"Drunken Filly, tonight," Elira nodded fast.

"Good. Best explain it there." The gnome woman’s tone left no room for argument. She shoved me back onto the cot. "Let's see you go in there tonight with a sound mind - both of you."

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Author’s note: I have an idea of where I'd like to end this "epilogue" thing - though getting there is proving to be longer than I expected. 😅 So many things have to happen between now and then. However, I just came up with a fun idea to make the ending a little more satisfying. I think you have a lot to look forward to, although we probably won't get to it until early March.

Nonetheless, that's all from me this week. See you Monday.

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                                                     Glossary

                                                   Korra’s Grid

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