Curious Meeting

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade was not sure what was going on. He had been in and out of the guild hall a lot lately. As in borderline constantly coming and going. He would leave, do a few jobs or errands in one city, come home, repeat. It was nice to be able to do good for other people, but also be able to return home. He had been getting to know one dragon slayer, and hearing rumors about another… two. Two more. He wasn’t sure what to think of one of them, but the rumors of Tatsu always put him on edge.

Kade had recently returned and went to his room. He had a sack of jewels. Yes, he’d been working hard. He had the sack slung over his shoulder as he headed to Daedalus’ office. He had a friend sleeping in his bedroom lately. A new guild member. It was hard to house new guild members when they didn’t have the same rooms as before. They had strung up things to keep out the rain, and inside they were reinforcing everything to start rebuilding. Ren had once made a joke about getting pastry magic. She didn’t know Kade had heard her. It was a cute thought, and it made him think having some sort of carpentry magic would be good. Or wood make. Or iron make. Yeah, had some of those things, and those poor wizards were on overdrive.

He wanted to check on various members of his guild, make sure they were alright, see what they needed. He planned to start buying things for them. Like a pony-tailed Santa. Except not really, but it wasn’t that inaccurate. He had a bag of money, and wanted to distribute gifts. He knocked on the door and was let inside. He put his bag of jewels down on the floor. “Good afternoon,” he said to Daedalus. “I brought back some money. I figured I can help get supplies and resupply personal things lost in the attack… but, you wanted to talk to me about something?”

[PatriotArrow]

Daedalus had been waiting in his office. Well, he’d been napping in his office. Despite still being in pretty decent shape for his age, he did seem to sleep a lot. Somehow though, he managed to be in touch with everything going on at the guild hall. There was a reason he’d never chosen a replacement Guild Master despite rumors of his retirement going on for years, and that was because he had never found anyone he felt could protect his children as well as he could. Even Taki had been caring, but had lacked the conviction in fighting to protect the people she cared about to his satisfaction. She’d always been the caretaker rather than the warrior, and with Daedalus’s strength that had been fine.

Now, times were changing though, and Daedalus knew it. He had to have someone who could protect his children. Someone who cared as much as he did. After years of watching silently, he knew beyond a doubt who his choice was. “Kade, my boy,” he greeted with a deceptively lazy grin. “You’ve certainly taken a turn. It used to be hard to get you out of the guild hall away from your friends, and now you’re always out earning money like a responsible young man,” he chuckled, “Or talking to a girl.” He added, not naming Kotone directly. He obviously didn’t seem to mind. The girl was cute, and seemed more than happy to spend time with several of the Lamia Scale guild members when she could. “Though I believe she’s been busy as well, from the sound of it.” Daedalus wasn’t one to cut straight to the point. He preferred a bit of polite conversation first. He had some old timey tastes despite never wanting to admit to being old.

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade had been fond of Taki. She had been there for a long time, but wasn’t terribly older than him. Only three years. Unfortunately she was gone, and while Kade trusted that whatever she was doing was for the best of the guild, she wasn’t here. It really wasn’t instilling comfort after the attack. Daedalus did, despite his mannerisms. He was lounging around in his office when Kade arrived, but that was nothing new.
Kade was not one to get nervous around authority figures. Especially not authority figures that he had been around for so many years. Daedalus commented on Kade’s recent activities. Usually he was in the guild hall, but in the last few months he had been out a lot. “I had my reasons,” Kade said with a shrug, smiling some as he knew he was just being teased. A responsible young man? Well, money was helpful, and his guild needed it right now. And…. Kotone? Kade blinked. Why was…. Why was that even relevant? “Um, yes. I have been.” She was cute, but it wasn’t like he was trying to date her or anything. He might have to consider this when he thought about how she blushed at his compliments… but for now he was just surprised.

“She is a dragon slayer after all. They’re meant to be responsible and such, right?” he asked, putting his hands in his lap as he sat in front of Daedalus. “And she and Ren went to help Dreya’s village… I would call that responsible.”

[PatriotArrow]

Kotone was relevant because Kade was Daedalus’s child, even if Daedalus wasn’t his father figure. Whether his sentiment was returned or not, that was just how things worked, and on the rare occasions he got a chance to have a one on one conversation with people, teasing them about their "girlfriends" was rather fun. “She’s pretty, I’ll give you that. And from what my old friend Ranor tells me, she’s in the business of taking on a lot more responsibility than anyone could ask her to. It must be why he likes her so much despite refusing to join Fairy Tail on multiple occasions.” Oh yes, he’d done his research recently, more out of curiosity than anything. “A young man could do a lot worse than her,” the old man shrugged. Meddling was a fun privilege people his age had.

Daedalus put on his business face, taking his legs off the table with a slight groan and leaning forward. “In an indirect way, that’s why you’re here right now,” he told Kade vaguely, knowing it would be nearly impossible to understand the connection, at least for now. “You care for people, especially Lamia Scale and those friendly towards them.” Daedalus tapped his fingers on his desk. “You are also exceptionally powerful,” he told Kade nonchalantly, as if it were less important than the first part. If Taki were any indication, that was probably the case. In truth he wanted someone powerful right now despite that. “For your age, at least,” he grinned. “That is why I believe you should take dear Taki’s place. That… and she mentioned you by name when she felt the need to try and help me find a new second in command around here.”

[Kade Lazarus]

It was interesting that Daedalus considered those in his guild to be his child. Perhaps all guild masters felt that way. Not the dark guilds… that was a dumb thought. But the normal guilds. They were a close knit group here at Lamia Scale. They were more “normal” but that didn’t make them “normal.” It just meant they had a range of people that averaged out. It meant they didn’t all have some crazy quirk that made them Blue Pegasus or Fairy Tail. Kade knew each of his guild mates were unique, and needed attention and help at times. He was happy to get to know them and make them comfortable in their home. He didn’t call it a family, but he did call it home, and that meant the same thing, in different words.

A word Kade didn’t often use… girlfriend. Not that Daedalus said it, but regardless. Kade had dated a girl in the area, but they broke up. He was fond of her, and didn’t hold it against her. He hadn’t dated since then. He didn’t actively decide not to, but he just didn’t think about it. Daedalus calling Kotone pretty was…. Uhm… what? He could do worse than her? What did… why was? Kade blinked a few times, why was Daedalus trying to set him up with Kotone? “Um, yes. I imagine I could…” he didn’t want to encourage this train of thought. Not because he actively didn’t want to date Kotone, but because he didn’t want Daedalus teasing him about her.

Oh, was it now time for business? Instead of poking Kade about his love life? Good to know. In an indirect… what? Oh, right, caring, well of course he did. He nodded, looking serious and taking in what Daedalus was saying. He wasn’t sure why he was being told this, but he appreciated it. Exceptionally powerful, well, that was good to know. For his age? He took that in stride, coming from Daedalus. That… was why… he should what? Kade coughed, “She did what? You think I should what?... what?” he repeated, his brows furrowed, a look of confused disbelief on his face.

[PatriotArrow]

Daedalus couldn’t help but laugh good-naturedly at Kade’s shock and confusion - especially the part that was on his face. He stood up, grabbing his cane and walking over to Kade, laying a surprisingly strong hand on the young man’s shoulder. The grin didn’t fade despite the seriousness of the conversation. “I’ve played some pretty big pranks in my day, but this is no joking matter. I want you to be our new Ace, just as Taki suggested.”

The old man looked Kade square in the eye over the rim of his glasses and let out a sigh. “Fiore has seen better days, and the guild needs someone they can look up to. I’m here of course, but someone more approachable is always welcome. Especially with how busy the life of a Guild Master is.” Daedalus looked over at the stack of ignored paperwork on his desk as he said it. “Now, it does require a trial of some sort. The Guild Masters agreed to that when we founded these guilds in our youth. No one ever agreed on what the trial should be, so it falls on me to give you a test, should you accept to try out for the position.”

[Kade Lazarus]

So he was being offered this position? A position of prestige, respect, and authority. He was being… told that Daedalus wanted him to be Lamia Scale’s new Ace. Lamia Scale’s Ace. He had been doing everything in his power to help his guild, but surely several people did that. Everyone wanted to represent their guild well and to achieve things for themselves and for the guild. And something about him was enough to be offered this. Wouldn’t Celtor be proud?

Fiore had seen better days, true. He nodded seriously when Daedalus said that, his hand on Kade’s shoulder. Kade felt the weight of the conversation. Why it had started with suggesting he should date Kotone… he wasn’t sure, but he never claimed to understand the guild masters. He also never claimed to want to understand them. They were an odd bunch of people, for certain. As immature seeming as they were powerful. As wise as they seemed reckless. And Kade was going to be allowed to follow in their footsteps. Not as a guild master, but this was more than enough right now.

They agreed to a trial, just not what it was. And If Kade accepted?! “Yes, obviously,” Kade said quickly. “I’m happy to do whatever you need me to for this. I want to do anything I can to help Lamia Scale. If you and Taki think I’ll be good for this, I’ll make sure to prove that correct.”

[PatriotArrow]

Daedalus smiled an approving smile at Kade’s immediate acceptance. He looked at the boy for a moment before answering. “I’m glad to see you accept,” He told the secret dragon slayer. Now, if only he had a good standard for testing. Taki’s test had involved a mission he’d given her. Maybe he should give Kade a mission of some sort to do. After a moment of looking thoughtful, he returned his focus on Kade. “Alright then,” he went and sat back down at the desk with another grunt. He seemed so much livelier when he had a reason to. Usually he just seemed lazy.

“When I let Taki become my Ace, I sent her on a mission,” he told Kade. “It was to prove her strength, which I have seen you have. Normally, when I wish to test someone, I send them off to do what I know they lack most to see what sort of person they are and how well they can adapt. The truth is, though, that I know you’re stronger than Taki was when she became the Ace years ago. I also know you don’t lack in her own caring nature, because of Ren and the dragon slayer girl. So...” Daedalus grinned.  “I’ll instead offer you a riddle. One with no right answers, necessarily.”

Daedalus put his fingers together. “Let’s say you had a cupcake. You’d planned to give it to someone you care about as a surprise, because you knew it would cheer them up since they’ve been feeling down. But on your way there, you hear it’s someone’s birthday. This person has no cupcakes on their birthday, and in fact, you aren’t sure they have friends to celebrate it with. What would you do, as the Ace of Lamia Scale?” It wasn’t that difficult of a question. There were many ways to answer it depending on Kade’s mindset. What Daedalus wanted to know, though, was how Kade would answer this question whether he thought it was easy or not.

[Kade Lazarus]

Serious time took a strange turn soon. First Daedalus was talking about Taki. She went to a job, but Kade was stronger than Taki had been when she got her position. Was he? He felt like she had always been very impressive. Well, he supposed it made some sense. With a powerful Ace there it had not been possible to move up the ranks. There was no need. Before she had taken the position it had been needed for there to be an Ace. Fair enough. He had a caring nature too. Well yeah. A riddle, hm? Okay, Kade could handle those. He liked things that stretched his mind.

This did not stretch his mind. Well, it sort of did. It stretched his mind in that he didn’t understand why he was being asked this. A question about a cupcake? Well, he had made Kotone a cake for her birthday. So he listened to the question. If he had a cupcake. He imagined Ren was having a bad day and he was bringing her a cupcake. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then he heard it was Kotone’s birthday. Aw, well that was sad, and quite realistic. No friends to celebrate with as well. So what would he… as Kade, he rephrased that part, do?

“I would talk to the person whose birthday it was. I would bring them to the person who was feeling down. If they were lonely they would no doubt want company, and be pleased ot have it, which would spread to the person who was feeling down. Also they could share the cupcake. Sharing makes people feel like they got something, but also they have given it to someone else. That’s a good feeling. Then we could probably make a cake and share it. Giving us an activity to do together to make them both feel better. I mean… that’s what I would do.”

[PatriotArrow]

Daedalus hadn't stopped his grinning, so it was hard to tell what he actually thought of Kade's answer. He looked at the boy for a long moment, not saying a word even after he had been given the so-called test. Finally, he chuckled. He actually chuckled at the answer. “I needed to make sure you were on top of your game, as the kids say these days,” Daedalus told him. “The answer was supposed to be obvious, but some people forget that you can answer the question without choosing one person over the other despite not saying otherwise.”

The old man’s hand fell to the desk, tapping idly again as he appraised Kade again before the smile vanished. “That said, it isn’t quite that easy to become Ace. Like Taki before you, I gave her a task she completed; only to find out that she still had one more test.” He got up again, walking over to the other side of the room, over to his book case. Pulling out a book, he opened it, revealing that it was a false book with a key in it. The key went to a small hole behind a painting in his office. When he turned it, the floor beside him opened to a staircase.

“Down there is a room. The room you’ll find is… rather large. At the bottom is a pit of water, but on the other side is a pendant. It belonged to my sister. It now serves to test the potential Aces of the guild. All you have to do is retrieve it. As you well know it’s not as easy as it sounds. The room has traps. Nothing lethal of course, but they will try to throw you off of the platforms that you must cross into the water. If you fall in before you get the pendant, then I’m afraid you fail.” The Guild Master placed his hand on Kade’s shoulder once more. “I have faith that you can handle it, my boy. Good luck.” With that, he patted Kade on the shoulder and waited for Kade to enter the cave-like room.

((Handle the test like a miniature mission. There's no word count and only one room, and Kade must gather the amulet and return to Daedalus. Whether it takes one post or more than one, I'll resume posting again when he returns to Daedalus.))

[Kade Lazarus]

Daedalus was certainly a guild master. Only a guild master would act so nonchalant while being so serious. Okay, well, Kade figured his friend Ambrose had a bit of that to him. Maybe he would make a good guild master someday. Except he had no desire to be well known, as Kade had gathered in the past several years. In any case there was something truly interesting about how a guild master just lived in two worlds. Their own world, and the world of their guild, being able to manage them both, but never seem quite on the same page. Probably because they were really several pages ahead of the rest of the group. Sometimes a whole book.

Apparently Daedalus needed to make sure Kade knew he didn’t have to choose one person over the other. Well that was good, because Kade knew he didn’t have to do that. He was pretty good with people, especially when it came to birthday cake. Except they weren’t done. Sigh.

Seriously? Did Kade live in a secret mansion? Probably. There was another test, unsurprisingly, and then walls started moving. Down a staircase there was a room. Kade remembered this now. Not that he knew before, but he was going to remember it for later. If they were in a state of civil war, this would be a good place to hide wizards so that they wouldn’t be killed. He didn’t think Daedalus wanted to hear this right now, but Kade stored it in his memory. If things got too bad again, and they were attacked, there was no way he would hesitate to do all he could to protect his guildmates.

[Kade Lazarus]

Daedalus explained that downstairs there was a room. At the bottom was a pit of water, and some traps. Alright, Kade could deal with traps, and caves, and secret rooms. He nodded. He was wished good luck and got a pat on the shoulder. Well, it was slightly encouraging, but mostly Kade just felt focused. He wanted to have the power to help his guild more, and this was how he achieved that. He didn’t look at it like Daedalus was giving him the position, it felt like this was him taking the position. Still, it depending on Daedalus and his decisions, but Kade just took it in stride.

Kade walked down the steps, listening to each creak and pressure point. His acute senses were in overdrive. It was clear almost no one came down here, and it was not a common hiding place. He reached the bottom and saw the massive room. Besides a passing though on how this could be turned into a safe hiding place, he focused on the task at hand. Get a pendant, become ace. Or get another challenge, knowing Daedalus.

He walked forward, jumping onto the first platform. He heard a tick to his side, and leaned back. Something flew past him. He heard the tick again, almost inaudible. He reached forward as he caught sight of something flying past again. It was… a baton? The platform was certainly not very large, and he felt like being hit would have probably knocked him down. He touched the tip and a blade came out. “… what?” Tick Kade jumped forward, just able to miss being hit by the third baton.

[Kade Lazarus]

It was a long jump to the next platform and as his feet hit the surface it began to tilt. Panic struck him in a moment before he noticed the dropped rope in the middle. He grabbed it just as he started slipping off the edge. He didn’t want to drop the baton, so it ended up in his mouth. His fangs coming out in the panic of it all but he was otherwise fine. Or at least the baton was fine. He was still slipping. He had to hold on with all of his strength to keep his body weight from pulling him down. The platform seemed to slide off its axis into the water below. What now…? he thought. He managed to shimmy up enough to get his feet on the rope. From there he could swing back and forth, slowly working himself closer and closer to the next platform. He finally managed to swing over and jump to the next station.

This station was no less slippery than the last, but for different reasons. A sheen of glass-like ice formed across the surface and he began sliding fast. He couldn’t make a jump at this, so he grabbed the baton from his mouth and stabbed it into the icy ground as his feet left the edge. Ow… he thought as he found himself jerked to a stop by his arms. They weren’t enjoying the day, clearly. He held on, forcing his elbows down into the ice so hard he cracked it. He pulled himself up and managed to stand on the lodged knife baton. Deep breath…

[Kade Lazarus]

He made one last jump a final platform. He could see the pendant on a pedestal there. When he arrived he listened for any noise. He looked for any traps. Nothing… yet? He reached to the pendant and grabbed it up. He remembered being told he couldn’t fall until he had the pendant, but he still didn’t really want to get wet. He held the pendant in one hand before noticing the platforms were back in order. He didn’t trust it, but when he steps on the third, it didn’t ice over. Stepping tentatively on the second noticed it didn’t turn over. The first platform didn’t start ticking. He ran to the stairs, looking back at the strange room before ascending the stairs.

Back in Daedalus’ office Kade held out the pendant. “I didn’t fall in the water… or get wet that I know of. So… here you go. It’s a very interesting place you have down there.” He had been working on learning to fly, but even with those wings he didn’t think he would have used them. It would have been unfair and against the spirit of the challenge. It seemed like a challenge of physical skill, composure, and planning. Now that it was over he just wanted to know what was happening. He felt excited and nervous.

[PatriotArrow]

Daedalus grinned a wide, proud grin when Kade re-emerged, dry and holding the item he was sent to fetch. “I knew you could do it,” he told the young man, slapping his hand onto Kade’s shoulder and looking at him with a long, congratulating look. He let out a sigh, going and sitting down on his chair with his feet on his desk. He leaned backwards, teetering the chair on two legs. “Well, you know what this means, don’t you?” he asked Kade. Of course he did, Daedalus just liked dragging things out sometimes. Having Kade around was enjoyable. He was glad he’d chosen to listen to Taki.

“It means you’re the new Ace. That makes you the second in command around here. And you get to help protect and guide all of my children at Lamia Scale.” Daedalus let this fact sink in. It was a huge responsibility, and only a special few were really up to the responsibility of watching over the people the old guild master cared about most. “I hope you’re ready for it, my boy. I look forward to working with you as the new Ace.” With that, Daedalus decided it was nap time, and he reached over and grabbed a fedora on the hat rack behind his desk, placing it over his eyes to black out the light. Kade was free to go, and he would leave as the new Ace of Lamia Scale.

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