Marc Arden and the Siphilon Academy

- Tales of Tribulation (Part 2)

Dom fell back against his chair just as both the girls ran down the stairs, laughing in delight.

Delaneira abruptly stood up. She cleared off the plates on the tables and made for the kitchen through the sitting room back door.

"Would you like some help, Ms. Delaneira?" Asked Scarlett, almost bursting into laughter again.

Delaneira turned around and cast an amused expression at Scarlett.

"Ms. Delaneira? Just Delaneira is fine." Delaneira responded.

Scarlett gave her a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Scarlett. I could really have some help here." Delaneira inclined her head at the plates in her arms. She looked over Scarlett's shoulder at Rose. "Why don't you go wake up Marc, you're his sister now! You were the one who said you always wanted a brother."

Scarlett and Dom laughed at the sight of Rose's expression. Rose rolled her eyes and muttered 'Boys' under her breath.

She slouched slowly up the staircase, leaning onto the partition as she went. The second floor was made up of three rooms and connected bathrooms.

Marc, Dom, and Delaneira occupied the three rooms so Scarlett had to squeeze in with Rose in her attic room on the third floor.

Rose stood right in front of the door to Marc's room.

She took a few breaths to rid herself of the giddiness in her head, so as not to immediately burst out laughing just after opening the door to Marc's room.

She twisted the doorknob and pushed her way into his room.

There was her brother, curled up under his blanket which he had pulled right up to his chin, sleeping with a peaceful expression on his face.

Rose sat at the foot of his bed, unsure how to wake him up.

"Marc…?" She called out tentatively.

At that, Marc slowly opened his eyes, squinting at Rose against the afternoon glow of the sun.

"Rose…what are you doing here…?" Marc shifted uncomfortably, waking up. He got up into a sitting position and his blanket slipped off his chest, revealing his bare, scarred pectoral muscles.

Rose scowled at the long brown scar on his chest.

"Mama sent me to wake you up. Get ready and go down. You're lunch is going cold."

Marc nodded, dazed with sleepiness.

Rose stood up to look at Marc's stuff on his bedside cabinet.

Marc slid out of bed and pulled on a plain white shirt.

"How did you get that scar on your chest?" Rose asked, her back turned on him, still rummaging through his items.

Marc rubbed his chest on the spot of his scar.

"I was in the Palm- Andergard when a creature clawed my chest. I didn't identify the animal as it was dark." Marc replied.

"You entered Andergard?! What size was the creature?" Rose countered, turning to face Marc.

"It was huge. Its very shadow sent the entire clearing in darkness." Marc concluded.

He headed into the joint bathroom in his room and started brushing his teeth.

Rose looked over his shoulder at Marc's reflection in the mirror.

"I haven't seen our father, but you also don't have much of a resemblance to mama. So I guess the closest person I see to our father may be you."

Marc washed his mouth clean and started smearing facewash all over his face.

"What makes you think you won't meet him?" Marc asked.

"The way mama sometimes talks to me about father, he isn't very accepting. And personally, I do not want to meet the man who broke mama's heart." Rose's voice shifted slightly in anger.

Marc finished washing his face, he exited the bathroom wiping his face with a towel.

He stood in front of Rose.

"I never liked my father, he never liked me. He used to send me cluelessly into Andergard to report the happenings to his stupid group, the Olden. He treated me like his labor worker. I decided I'd had enough of him and ran away. That's when Dom found me. He brought me over here to Middenheim, far away from my father, close to my real family."

Rose nodded.

"You had it worse than me." She said.

Marc nodded absentmindedly and sat back on his bed, pulling on his shoes.

"I may have had it that way. But I realize now that mother deserved you and me, and you deserve to have it better with the both of us. No one should go through a torn family. Don't worry, you have mother and I, always."

Rose smiled at Marc. She stood by the door, waiting for Marc to tie his shoelaces.

"So what's up with Scarlett and you?" Rose asked Marc casually.

Marc stared at Rose, forgetting about his shoelaces.

"What do you mean 'what's up'?" Marc replied incredulously.

Rose pursed her lips at Marc's reaction, trying to hold a laugh in.

"I mean I sensed some feelings inside you that you have for her…you know, since I’m attuned to Blood. I also notice how you look at her. She even called you perfect. Too perfect."

Marc turned red and returned his attention to his shoes. He finished tying his laces and stood up.

“She did? I mean yeah, whatever. It's none of your business anyways," Marc complained.

"Alright…I guess." Replied Rose, shrugging at Marc with a smile.

Marc raised his eyebrows at her, shaking his head. He pushed his way past her and began his descent down the staircase. Rose followed close behind. Marc entered the sitting room and looked around.

Scarlett and Delaneira were sharing a small chat while Dom just sat silently, keeping to himself.

Marc took his place at the dining table adjacent to the settees and dug into his food without further ado. Rose joined the conversation the two women were clearly enjoying.

Rose suggested to her mother that Scarlett and her could go around the main square, shopping.

Dom frowned at the suggestion Rose just made, and pitched in,

"It's too dangerous. Many Offbendi could have infiltrated the city and spies around the vicinity are highly possible. Without an adult, you won't be going anywhere." He ordered. "I'm unavailable as I am on mission."

Delaneira was next in line, clearly trying to avoid eye contact with both the girls.

"I have a meeting with the Siphilon Academic Council of the Elements today. It's about time we started preparing the term's lesson plans. Sorry girls, I'm not available for a couple of hours either."

Just then, Marc wiped his plate clean and stood up. Everyone turned their head to him.

Marc stood there, confused. Rose was the first to respond.

"Marc can come with Scarlett and me. I'm sure he hasn't planned anything for the afternoon."

Rose and Scarlett gave Marc the pleading eyes.

"If Marc goes with you, I think I can accept this proposition." Dom agreed, leaning back with his hands clasped behind his head.

Delaneira nodded too but looked doubtful. She made to interject, but withdrew with a sigh.

Marc had no choice but to accept. After he gave his word, both the girls immediately raced up the stairs to Rose's room; Rose patted him on the cheek as she went.

Marc blinked for a moment before heading into the kitchen to wash up.

He came out into the sitting room to see Rose and Scarlett back, with a pouch full of amulets and pendants.

"Hey! Where's my share?" Marc asked incredulously.

Everybody laughed pleasantly. Dom reached into his pocket and brought out a pouch, tossing it across the length of the room to Marc.

Delaneira seemed surprised at Dom. Marc realized that his mother was just about to respond. She had thought the question was directed to her.

Marc thanked Dom and followed the enthusiastic girls out of the house.

As Marc was walking down the front lawn, he looked back at the house. He observed that the entire part of the building he had been to, had been only one half, whereas the other half of it remained unknown to him.

He asked Rose what the other half of the house was for. Rose replied,

"We use that for our training hall. Mama and I sometimes practice there."

Marc and Scarlett shared a bemused look for a brief moment, before continuing ahead.

Rose and Scarlett marched onwards, talking about the different variety of shops around the main square. Marc followed them a few paces behind. As they walked down the alley, Marc found his thoughts drift to his phoenix. He had developed a habit of searching the skies for Arcane, who hadn't shown up after leaving Scarlett. He couldn’t feel the tug of Arcane’s presence either. Arcane must’ve flown too far away for the connection to work.

They exited the alley out onto the main road, crossing it to enter the large square, setting their sights on the market entrance.

From behind them, many traders with their wagons rolled into the square.

Marc steered Rose and Scarlett to the side of the entrance, allowing the traders some space to enter the market without much of a hassle. One trader in particular, called out to Rose.

"Hello, Rose!" He barked pleasantly. "Should I be expecting you at my stall today?"

"You most certainly will, Mr. Rodrigo!" Rose replied back, with a smile.

And with that, Mr. Rodrigo saluted their group and continued forward.

"What does he sell?" Scarlett asked. Frowning at Mr. Rodrigo's back.

"Mhmm?" Rose replied, clearly occupied. She was craning her neck, searching around the crowd of traders.

"She's talking about Mr. Rodrigo," Marc explained.

"Oh! He's very eccentric. Sells all sorts of elemental items. He's a fun person to talk to though."

"Elemental items?" Marc blurted out aloud.

Rose laughed. "You'll see what I mean, once we meet him."

Rose suddenly started towards an isolated trader, who was dismantling his goods from his wagon and setting them around his stall.

Marc and Scarlett had to run to keep up with Rose, who clearly was in such a hurry.

Rose reached the trader's side and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around and beckoning everyone to form a huddle.

Marc and Scarlett awkwardly entered the huddle.

"News!" Rose urged the trader. The latter looked extremely offended. He brushed Rose's hand off his shoulder. He sized Marc and Scarlett up. Then settled for looking at Rose expectantly.

Rose pursed her lips and held her hands out to the trader on one side, and Marc and Scarlett on the other.

"This is my friend Scarlett, and this is my brother Marc. You two, this is Mr. Costa."

Mr. Costa peered at Marc with squinting eyes.

"So there's two of you." Mr. Costa growled at Rose. "I'm not sure if I should celebrate, or cry." He concluded.

Rose pretended she didn't hear that statement and persisted once again.

"I want news, Mr. Costa!"

Mr. Costa shook his head, tearing himself out of the huddle. He proceeded to unload bags out of his wagon, barking over his shoulder.

"You want news? Well, you can't have 'em."

Rose broke off the huddle too, and strode to Mr. Costa's side. Leaving Marc to awkwardly stand beside Scarlett.

"What is it? Did something happen? Tell me, Mr. Costa!"

Mr. Costa sighed and shook his head once again defiantly.

"Well, the usual. The latest Hirean president, Mavriskia, was appointed last week-" He began, but Rose cut him off.

"You know what kind of news I want, Mr. Costa!"

Rose's latest outburst caused Mr. Costa to swell up in anger.

Marc stepped forwards, holding his hands out in front of him.

"Woah, Woah! Calm down both of you. Rose, I think it's really unfair on your part to pester Mr. Costa like this. But nevertheless, Mr. Costa, you have to give Rose the answers she needs."

Mr. Costa calmed down with a huff. He cast a steely stare at Rose.

"Your brother is way more well behaved than you." Mr. Costa shot at her. She was about to respond when he silenced her by raising his hands. "Fine! I'll give you some news. But I need to know if there are any Syníths."

Mr. Costa looked at Scarlett.

She jumped, startled by the sudden attention, then crossed her arms stayed silent while looking back and forth between everyone.

"What?" She raised her eyebrows at Mr. Costa.

Rose spoke up. "No, Mr. Costa. We're all Siphilon."

Scarlett blurted out before she could stop herself. "And what - may I ask - are Syníths?"

Rose rolled her eyes and replied,

"They're what we call humans when we don't feel like calling them humans."

Marc opened his mouth to object at the choice of her definition, but ended up asking,

"So Mr. Costa isn't one of them?" Marc replied.

Mr. Costa frowned, clearly offended. He decided to ignore Marc.

Rose beckoned for Mr. Costa to start his briefing.

Mr. Costa cleared his throat before saying,

"There's been rumors about a hooded man, traipsing across Lorenzia. Nobody knows who he is, but wherever he goes, he kills a civilian in front of many witnesses. The next day, he disappears."

Rose pondered his words.

"Sounds like the typical Offbendi, just a little bit off to the violent side. Could you tell me where he was sighted last?"

Mr. Costa shrugged and said,

"He's been hiding for the past couple of days. He could be anywhere, but my sources tell me he was last spotted in Acanon."

Marc felt more alive after Mr. Costa's revelation. He fired up questions at Mr. Costa.

"What was he doing in Acanon?"

Mr. Costa stared at him coolly, "I told you, he killed somebody."

Marc had to remove a lump in his throat before asking his next question. He knew everyone in Acanon. It wasn't the biggest city, if someone could even call it a city for that matter.

"And who did he kill?"

Mr. Costa frowned at Marc. He seemed to be recollecting his thoughts.

"Say what!" Mr. Costa suddenly said. "Come by my stall after a few hours and I'll give you more information, right now my cluttered mind needs some unburdening, and so does my wagon."

With that, Mr. Costa turned his back on them and resumed unloading the remaining boxes off his wagon.

Rose guided Marc and Scarlett to the centre of the market. They stood beside a statue memorial for a previous president of Hirea.

Marc was the first to speak, "So what are we going to buy?"

Rose replied, "I don't know about you, but Scarlett and I decided to get ourselves some dresses. The Academy starts three weeks prior to the Athletis festival. So, we have approximately four weeks to prepare. We have no time to waste!"

Marc's mouth fell open. He hastily shut it before replying,

"Let me get this straight. You need dresses for the festival, and you need weeks to prepare for it?"

Scarlett and Rose nodded in unison.

Marc threw up his hands in frustration. "What am I going to do then?"

Rose tapped a finger at her chin dramatically, "Let me think. Oh, Dom and mama sent you as our guardian, It’s obvious you’re coming with us."

Marc groaned and replied, "But I don't know anything about dresses and festivals."

Scarlett floored her eyebrows at that, "Me neither, now let's go!"

Rose laughed in delight and slapped Scarlett a big high-five.

Marc slumped in defeat and followed the girls glumly to a nearby stall, crowded with racks, filled with gowns, dresses, and other fashion accessories.

Marc stood motionlessly, overlooking the square. He vaguely sensed the girls trying out different dresses and crooning at the beautiful gowns alongside the lady of the store. Marc eyed the central clock, which reminded him of Mr. Banerji. He thought of who the dead man at Acanon could be, his eyes glazed over the happenings around the market as he sank into his thoughts, like the sun sinking in the evening sky...

He broke out of his reverie as the clock chimed. It was six o'clock. They spent two hours at the fashion store already. Marc rounded up the girls and scolded them for being so choosy. All he got in return was mutterings of how misunderstanding he was.

His grumbling did the trick though. The girls immediately picked out their favorite dresses out of the piles they had created, then proceeded to the counter to purchase them.

Marc left the shop earlier than the girls, eager to lift his spirits. The girls followed behind him, spirits already lifted as they spoke about their recent purchases and the upcoming festival.

Marc was already heading towards the shop of his choice. When he led the oblivious girls to stop right under the façade of Mr. Rodrigo's shop, he earned confused stares from them.

They all entered the shop, hushing out any remnants of their previous conversations.

They stood quietly at the entrance, waiting for Mr. Rodrigo – who was at the counter with his head bowed – to look up.

Mr. Rodrigo brought out a gold object. His eyes still fixed on the counter, he said out aloud,

"What you seek here, you won't find. I'm sorry Rose, but all I have left is now gone."

Rose approached him as she looked about the shop. Marc realized it was barren, with only a few boxes scattered around, filled with ordinary goods.

"What happened…?" Rose whispered.

Mr. Rodrigo fingered the silver object in his hands, twirling it around his fingers, replying,

"A hooded figure arrived at Halwood, and entered my shop. He demanded that I give him all my magical items. He threatened to kill me after I refused to give it to him. I had to do what I had to do to survive. He left with all the magical items. I managed to salvage this one item, but I plan not to hold onto it. It is better if I sell it away to a privileged customer of mine."

Mr. Rodrigo held out the gold object, immediately letting go of all pretense of mysteriousness and fixing a wary, gaunt expression upon his face.

Rose stepped forwards and whispered again,

"What is it…?" She seemed to be taking Mr. Rodrigo very seriously.

Marc looked at the gold object closely - a hexagon rim with inner spokes connected at each interior point of the hexagon, that met at the middle of the shape. Something flashed into his mind.

He immediately strode forwards, blocking Rose's way, and leaned down close to Mr. Rodrigo's ear.

"I happen to know that this object is a Diochete." He whispered. "But I don't know how I identified it, because I've never seen a Diochete like this."

Mr. Rodrigo looked up at Marc's face.

"Are you attuned to Pulsium by any chance…?"

Marc shook his head vigorously, confused. Mr. Rodrigo leaned back in his chair and said loudly.

"Pulsium is the material from which all magical items are crafted. This very item is also made with Pulsium. And yes, it is a Diochete, one of the very best, if history be told. Many Diochete's found today are layered with a combination of Metal and Pulsium. This one here is pure Pulsium alone, and is able to channel elements more effectively."

Marc made up his mind already.

"Will you sell it to me?" Marc demanded, clasping his hand behind his back.

Scarlett walked to Marc's side whispered in his ears,

"Be careful Marc. We don't know its capabilities."

"The strange thing is I do, but don't ask me how because I don't know. All I know is if it falls into the Offbendi hands, it could inflict incredible amounts of destruction."

Mr. Rodrigo cleared his throat loudly and said,

"I will only proceed to complete this transaction if you fit my criteria as a privileged customer."

Marc inclined his head forward in assent.

"What is the best way to overcome tribulation."

Mr. Rodrigo sat at the edge of his chair, leaning forward, pleasantly waiting for Marc to answer.

Marc perked up. A stream of thoughts revolved in his mind, it was all very confusing, but he knew what his answer will be.

"The core elements would be imagination, creativity, and innovation, I should think," Marc replied.

Mr. Rodrigo sat back in his chair, pondering Marc's answer. He nodded to himself and announced,

"Thank you Marc. You have just helped me to recover from a devastating experience. And for that, I will be open to negotiations for the Diochete."

Rose pulled Marc back and whispered to him,

"We don't have any money left, I bought two dresses instead of one!"

Marc shrugged Rose off and brought out the pouch Dom gave him. He looked inside it and found so much money. There was an estimate of about twenty pendants in there. Why did Dom give him that much money?

He looked up at Mr. Rodrigo and asked,

"Will fifteen pendants be enough?"

Mr. Rodrigo smiled and nodded. "It will be more than enough."

Marc counted the gold coins in the pouch and confirmed to himself that there were twenty-five pendants in there. He handed the entire pouch to Mr. Rodrigo and said,

"Keep the change."

Mr. Rodrigo smiled ever more broadly and accepted the pouch, replying,

"Gladly!"

He handed over the Diochete to Marc and bid them farewell.

Marc waved at Scarlett and Rose to follow him. They left the shop together when Rose immediately started cautioning Marc,

"What were you thinking? That's a Diochete. We don't use it at Academy until we fully control our elements. It is very dangerous!"

Marc disregarded whatever she said and replied in an urgent tone,

"Not a word to anyone, alright? I'm not going to use it! I just have a reason for purchasing it."

Scarlett nodded and admonished Rose not to bother Marc anymore. Marc announced,

"We have to go meet Mr. Costa. Something is not right, I need to know what happened at Acanon!"

With that, Marc led the girls to Mr. Costa's wagon-back stall.

Mr. Costa perked up from the counter and stood to receive them.

"I got the answers ya'll be looking for!"

Marc nodded.

"I happened to be in Acanon a few days ago, but I didn't come across any sort of mishap over there," Marc said.

"If you were there, then you would've left Acanon to Middenheim the very same day of the murder." Mr. Costa replied.

Marc nodded and beckoned for Mr. Costa to continue.

"Well, my sources say that a very significant leader was murdered at Acanon. Right at his workplace. Previous sightings of the hooded figure were at the local bakery."

Marc stared at him. "You're kidding me."

Mr. Costa shook his head, scowling at Marc. He decided he didn't enjoy the boy's company as much as he didn't, Rose's.

"I happened to be at the bakery the day I left Acanon, and now I come to think of it, I did see a hooded man at the very corner of the bakery. I couldn't identify a feature though."

Mr. Costa nodded appreciatively. "So it seems that you left Acanon that very day. Shame you weren't there when the murder was comitted."

"Who was killed?" Scarlett asked, her voice wavering.

Mr. Costa laughed humourlessly and barked out,

"Marc left Mr. Arden to live his last hour!"