Vy a.n.a.lysed the words on the letter and as she felt the texture of the paper, she realised that it came with a second page. There was a riddle written on it. Lycster read through the riddle and could not figure out what it meant. But the longer Vy looked at it, she soon realised that it not only included the location of the meeting but also instructions on how to get in.
Both Vy and Lycster returned to their room while Vy continued to decipher the riddle.
"Vy."
"Hmm?"
"Could you read me what the riddle says? I want to help solve it!" Lycster said with determination.
Vy ruffled his hair, "Sure! Two minds are greater than one."
The riddle read as follows:
Look first with your nose.
Only open eyes on hair
Cry spicy tears of salt
Kasper greets at door
Keep your invite in eye
Eat worms, liquid bird and melted cow
You shall call for dessert when one is done
"Worms? Liquid bird?" Lycster read it out loud in confusion.
Vy reread the riddle a couple of times in hopes of finding something she might have missed. But the more she read it, the more muddled she was. Seeing as they had a couple of days to figure it out, they decided to take it easy for now and work on it again.
As they were walking back up to their room, Vy asked Nayla about Familiars. After their brief conversation about it, Vy thought about it for a long time. She was worried about how her new powers of the Kyu could cause trouble in the future if she did not master it properly.
Recalling how she was unable to transform back into her human form scared her a little. It had never happened before and without Dotty"s guidance, Vy felt lost.
Nayla explained to Vy that usually one would summon a Familiar as a rite of pa.s.sage. In the Inst.i.tute of Magic, where people from all walks of life and species come to learn and master magic; each student summons a Familiar at the start of their first year.
"Are there cases where one summons a Familiar outside of that," Vy asked.
"Yes, there are. Some Mages, Elves and even humans do so as well. But it is extremely dangerous to do it on your own, especially when you have no experience with ritual summonings." Nayla explained.
She went on to inform Vy that she could also look for a Summoner to help her with this. A summoner, as their t.i.tle entails, are skilled professionals who can summon almost any creature. They are certified by the Magic Guild of Arkwing and hold important roles in their communities.
"Where can I find a summoner?" Vy asked she was eager to begin!
Nayla thought for a bit before she replied, "There aren"t many in Alterra, but we do have the Florenza Inst.i.tute, one of the Inst.i.tutes of Magic. They should have a summoner there who can help. You could bring Lycster there to have a look as well. A boy his age should be in school, that might be just the place for him."
-A school?- Vy had not thought about it.
As she turned back to look at Lycster and realised that she had overlooked the future of the younger brother.
"You"re right, Nayla. I had not thought about that till you mentioned it," Vy replied.
"About what?" Lycster asked as he sat down on his bed.
"That we should take a look and see if this Florenza Inst.i.tute might be a good place for you to study," Vy replied.
Nayla let them both freshen up before she would bring them some dinner. As she was about to leave the room, Nayla remembered something so she quickly turned back around.
"Is something the matter?" Vy asked.
"Oh, it"s nothing bad or anything," Nayla quickly said, "It"s just that since the both of you are recovering well and this is your first time in Alterra, I was thinking if you both might like to visit a Hot Spring Resort."
"A Hot Spring Resort?" Vy asked.
While the Alterra Sector did not have many Mountain ranges or volcanoes, it still had a few famous selected Hot Spring Resorts that were popular among elves and tourists. There was one that specializes in healing hot springs, Yama Yoma.
"Hot Springs are pools of water in varying temperatures that you can soak in, right?" Vy asked.
"Yup! That"s right. It is similar to bathhouses, but hot springs are outdoors most of the time. They are usually communal spots as well. But At Yama Yoma, you have the option of private hot springs as well!" Nayla explained.
Vy really liked the idea Nayla had proposed, but she was not sure about Lycster.
"What do you think, Lycster? Should we give this place a try?"
"It sounds like a great place! Let"s give it a shot!"
Travelling to Yama Yoma would take almost a week to get to on foot because of the mountainous terrain that surrounded it. But they did not need to worry as Yama Yoma provides special transport for all its guests, the power of fast travel!
The next day, Lycster and Vyrena both woke up early and got dressed. When they were ready, they opened the window of their room and took to their Sky forms and flew into the morning sky. As Vyrena felt the wind ruffling her feathers, she did a quick spin in the sky before joining by Lycster"s side.
Even with her heightened senses, Vyrena still could not hear Lycster"s movements when he was in his owl form. She was envious of his abilities.
-How are you feeling?- Vy asked, concerned if his injuries might interfere with his shapes.h.i.+fting abilities.
They both perched next to each other on a tree branch as they pruned their own feathers.
-It feels a little weird. But I"ll get the hang of it.- Lycster replied.
Last night, after dinner, Vy got a map from Nayla of their surrounding area. She yearned to be in her wolf form, and forest cover would help hide her best. According to the map, there was a sizable forest just a few blocks away from the hospital.
From where they were perched on the tree, the entrance to the forest was right before their eyes. As Vy stretched her neck to see a little further to access the area, she realised that the forest was disguised as a small park. Each gateway was a portal gate that hid the actual forest.
-Are you ready?- she asked Lycster.
He nodded.
Together, they leapt off the branch and flew straight through the gateway. As soon as they were through, a lush green forest, unlike anything they"ve seen before appeared before them. Some of the trees were even as tall as mountains!