Chapter 47: The Festival of a New Orinis

The mirror’s magic faded away, leaving Vito with only his reflection. He was slow to move his hand, as though he might miss a lingering magic effect. He tried to use Scan to determine the magic used, but the menu only displayed strange characters.

“Thank you,” Vito spoke with a voice that tried to conceal his pain.

“Your brother?” Morgaine was curious about his choice.

“My father has a bad heart. I couldn’t just appear in front of him like that.” He cleared his throat and turned to face them. “Well, I could use a drink. Let’s get back to Orinis and enjoy the festivities.” He turned to Morgaine. “I already turned off the sacred wards for you.”

“Thank you. A few of my flying minions are installing a couple of ancient teleport platforms as we speak. We’ll get there in mere moments.”

Iris was surprised. “Teleport platforms? Only a few of those are known to exist, and they’re primarily used by royalty and high-ranking church members.”

Morgaine smirked. “My father located well over a dozen. He was close to uncovering an ancient temple connected to them before we were forced to flee.”

Vito put his arm around her shoulders and led her out of the chamber. “Food and drink first. I promise, we’ll uncover the rest of your father’s secrets another time.”

Morgaine stubbornly looked away, though she didn’t move away from him. “I will hold you to your word.”

She led them to a walled garden at the side of the manor. Two large winged demons stood beside a white platform with intricate writings on the sides.

“It’s large enough for the carriage,” Vito observed while putting his trench coat back on.

“It can teleport as much as it can hold without being crushed,” Morgaine informed him.

Vito whistled, summoning the carriage. “Our friends are waiting. We can’t start having fun without Lady Ashcroft.” He smiled and pulled Morgaine onto the platform as the pegasus landed with the carriage behind them. Iris and Delwyn joined them and watched Morgaine carve a magic sigil in the air to activate the platform.

Magic quickly swirled around them. Vito’s vision was overtaken by light. He couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. The worrying effect lasted only moments. They stood on another platform just behind Vito’s house in Orinis.

The pegasus trotted back to its stall while Vito, Iris, Delwyn, and Morgaine joined the festivities. The people of Orinis cheered Morgaine’s arrival, making her smile with genuine happiness.

Vito watched everyone celebrate throughout the day. His friends had their fill of drink, food, and merriment. Elion and Gloribrean continued to talk shop with the artisans and craftsmen while Iris and Delwyn tried to get Amelsia to mingle with people.

The sun began to set over the horizon, giving Vito an idea for later. He quickly found Parsifal talking to an attractive artisan mage and explained the concept of ‘fireworks’ to him before he excused himself so his second could pick up a date for the festival.

Vito then lingered by a banquet table and finished another slice of pizza. Italian and Sicilian food were rapidly becoming popular with people. Levia’s financial problems would soon vanish. She would soon have a problem meeting demand.

Emeric soon joined him with a tankard in his hand. “Marus has been acting differently as of late. He helped arrest several criminals, and now he’s putting paperwork through for you.”

Vito shrugged and downed his drink. “He was Renaudin’s lapdog, and now he’s my informant and paper-pusher.”

Emeric shook his head and grabbed a cannoli. “Galien is the head of the Silver Oak Guild now. I just have to update his license.”

“I saw Galien and Kaelyn around her somewhere. If he plays his cards right, we won’t see him until tomorrow.”

Emeric laughed heartily. “I’ll update his license tomorrow, then.” He finished his drink and set the tankard aside. “What will you do now, Vito? What is the DeCapio Famiglia’s ultimate goal?”

Vito grinned. “To support the Silver Oak Guild. We’ll be its unseen allies. Greye made the Silver Oak Guild to support the outcasts. It’s a dream worth defending.”

“Unseen? You met the king. Word of your accomplishment has spread far and wide. You made the front page of the paper.”

Vito’s grin widened. “It’s easy to hide in shadows. The real trick is to hide in the light. It’s fine if people know us. I’ll let them keep guessing as to what we’re doing. It’s the mafia way.”

“Good luck. Just don’t do something that would shame Greye.”

“Never. It’s a bad son that would disgrace his father or make his father ashamed of him.”

“Not that it would be possible,” Holly joined them. “Your father would be proud of what you accomplished. You brought light and life to this village, and you saved a poor and unfortunate soul.”

“Thank you, Mother.” Vito offered her a plate of food. “We’ll return to the hamlet in a few days. I’ll lay this wreath on his grave. None of this would have been possible without him.”

Holly lightly laughed. “Your father doesn’t need posthumous awards for raising you and your brother. He’s just happy that the two of you are writing your stories, just as he wrote his.”

Iris interrupted their conversation. “Come on, dance with me.” She grabbed Vito’s hand and pulled him away. “Oh, right, excuse me!” she quickly apologized to Holly.

“Have fun!” Holly waved as they joined a group of dancers by the bonfire.

Vito joined Iris in a dance. He never learned local dances, so he just copied whatever she did. “I’m glad you didn’t get in trouble with the church.”

“Was I supposed to get into trouble?” Iris wondered.

“Well, you did leave without permission, and then you registered as an adventurer.”

Iris giggled. “All to carry out the will of Ivalis. They were annoyed that I left without telling them, but it’s not like I’ll be excommunicated,” she assured him.

“Are you going back to the church in Kyrenia? You more than fulfilled my original request by now.”

“Do you want me to?”

“No, but I don’t want to keep you from your dream job.”

Iris laughed again. “Serving Ivalis is my ‘dream job,’ and I don’t need to be in a church to do that. I can just as easily serve her by helping you. I mean, she did personally bring you here and grant you a legendary weapon.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll help you move out of the church. We’ll find you new accommodations either here or in the hamlet.”

“Hey now, don’t get ahead of yourself,” she playfully chided him. “Like you said, tomorrow is another battle. Just enjoy tonight.”

He held her close in a warm embrace and continued their dance as different mages cast colorful, explosive spells into the darkening sky. Vito felt like he had waited nineteen years to dance with her.