Ascension of the elder

Chapter 23: Well that's new

"To our new house."

"What do you mean our new house?"

Bruno asked with a confused expression, he was only 8 and still lived with his parents. It had never occurred to him that he should move out from his parent's house. Miranda was also confused as she couldn't understand Kyle's terminology, why did he include her in the ownership of the new house.

"What do you mean Kyle/master?"

Both asked almost exactly in sync. Kyle took on his now trademark grin before saying.

"As a team we are all equal, that means what's mine is yours. I may take the lead but don't ever think you are less than me and never bow before me or anyone else."

Hearing what Kyle said Bruno and Miranda unconsciously stood a little straighter and moved a little closer to him. Shauna who was still there was surprised by Kyle view of his people and was greatly impressed. Even though his parents are good people and look after their subordinates, a little arrogance is always present. This isn't to say anything bad about them it's just the way they were raised and an influence of the era they lived.

Kyle however has a completely different mindset and saw everyone as equal until they do something to tarnish that view. By his simple words and actions he pulled Bruno and Miranda even closer to him and they finally began to understand Kyle's meaning when he called them a team.

"I know you both love your parents and worry about them so they can freely come to our mansion or if they so choose they can move in. It's not like we're going to be short of space. Regardless let's go and have a look at the mansion."

Hurrying them along Kyle ushered Bruno and Miranda out and began to follow Shauna towards the mansion.

"I'm sorry about the choice of the mansion. Even though it has been maintained, it is still one of if not the oldest property in the estate. But it was the only open mansion within the estate and your parents wouldn't want you to leave the estate."

Shauna started to apologise before they had even walked more than 20 paces. Kyle was getting more and more curious about this mansion as the estate as far as he is aware is over 1000 years old. Tickling his childishness Kyle wondered if there were any undiscovered secrets in this ancient edifice.

"Has the mansion been fully searched and explored?"

Kyle asked trying to conceal his excitement. Shauna was taken aback by this new exuberance as previously Kyle was taciturn and even a little grumpy on occasion. However she just chalked this up to pressure from his lack of progress and now he could cultivate this pressure must have been lifted.

"Yes the mansion has been fully inspected and nothing untoward has been found."

Hearing Shauna's reply Kyle noticed the difference in what he asked as opposed to how she responded. People had looked over the mansion looking for the obvious like files, money and heirlooms. This meant people hadn't taken a deeper look at the mansion like room sizes and looking for other means of concealment.

Walking for over 30 minutes the group left the busy areas of the estate and reached a more rural and untamed area which was in the north eastern part of the estate reasonable close to the boundary wall of the city not just the boundary of the estate. Finally Kyle could see something in the distance.

As they got closer to their destination a silhouette began to take shape. Fully seeing his new mansion Kyle was impressed; it looked like a square castle not unlike Leeds castle in the England. There were high ramparts which meant you could see a lot of the surrounding area and if you did have mages you would be able to attack at 360 degrees with no blind spots.

"Shauna how many buildings are there like this in the city?"

Kyle was looking at this building and thought this looked more along the lines of a war asset which had been repurposed.

"I think there were another 10 or 15 but it's hard to say as most of the buildings of this age have either been demolished or are in ruins."

Bruno and Miranda were looking at the building. Although it was old it gave them a strange feeling as it exuded some unknown pressure and a sense of prestige which the newer buildings seemed to be missing. Moving towards the door Kyle took out the control stone and the key. Inserting some of his mana into the stone caused the temporary wards to lift allowing Kyle to unlock the door. Taking his first steps into his first personal home in this new world Kyle looked around taking in the interior.

From the outside the building looked like a military fort that was hiding its strength, inside however this disguising was taken further with carpets and soft lighting being used to lower the harshness of the strong walls. Kyle was looking at the construction and could look past the gloss and could see the strength in these high vaulted corridors. Looking at the means of construction Kyle couldn't identify the types of materials used but they were different than those used elsewhere in the city and rather than being cemented or fixed together using some other means, they appeared to have been melted or fused together in some unknown fashion. This meant this construction was immensely strong. Shauna had said the other buildings of this type were destroyed or in ruins, but looking at this construction Kyle couldn't help but gulp and wonder what strength would be required to destroy something like this.

The others were looking around the entranceway as well appreciating the atmosphere and the aesthetic of the place. Suddenly Kyle turned to Shauna and asked.

"Why has no one taken this place before?"

"Well your father placed a block on anyone else taking possession of this property before you asked. Just in case the elder returned and could clear his name, but it has been to long now so it's yours."

Deciding not to dawdle Kyle headed further in before reaching another large door. Opening this door Kyle saw a large indoor courtyard with vibrant plants and trees around there was even a fountain being fed by a water creation array. In the centre of this courtyard was the training area which was a little larger than the private training area they had before.

Closing the door Kyle continued looking around before Shauna called out to him.

"Shouldn't you use the control stone and claim the mansion fully."

Realising he had been day dreaming while looking around Kyle turned sheepishly to those who were following him and said.

"Yes of course can you lead the way?"

"Actually no I can't. This is the first time I've been here."

Hearing Shauna's reply they all looked at each other before Miranda spoke up.

"Maybe we should split up and look for the entrance to the formation chamber."

It is standard practise for the protective formations to be secured in the most protected area to ensure their continued functionality. They headed off in different direction hoping to find the chamber quickly. While the others were wondering around hoping to stumble on the chamber Kyle began thinking. 'I hope this isn't like every horror movie I've ever heard of' before thinking 'this was a military outpost so the most secure place would be a bunker underground'.

Having an idea of what he was looking for Kyle began searching for stairs leading down. He didn't have to look for a long time as the stairs were behind the grand staircase in the entranceway.

Descending the stairs Kyle thought he would find a dungeon or something along those lines. Instead what greeted him was a massive open area filled with furnaces, alchemy pots and some unknown items. These were all fixed in place and didn't appear to have been used in a long time.

Thinking he was on the right track Kyle followed the wall seeing the room gradually brightening as the lighting arrays began drawing power. Eventually Kyle reached the back wall and saw an unusual door there. It was a large semi circular door with no handle, going closer his control stone began to glow and the door began moving downwards beneath the level of the stone floor.

"That is so cool."

Kyle shouted when he saw this as he was beginning to feel like some kind of whip wielding grave robber. Entering into the temple of do...formation chamber Kyle could see a large mana crystal with a gold looking metal ring around it. This was a mana power crystal which was another surprise to Kyle as it meant this mansion had its own power source while the other buildings on the estate drew power from the main crystal located in the main building. Also the array looked more complex than what he had seen anywhere else.

Kyle approached this crystal feeling something close to awe. Others may not be able to sense it but the arrays in this control crystal were vastly different than what he had seen before. In the middle of the gold ring surrounding the crystal was a small aperture for the control stone, Kyle put the stone in and waited for a second while the mana began cycling before he said.

"Well now that's different."