Chapter 78 HOMECOMING
Xyra stood in awe at what she saw. After a day of traveling, they were in Vekta, but it wasn't the kind of town she had been expecting. She had heard from Christian that it had been completely burned to the ground. However, this place was constructed quite well. It wasn't nearly as flashy or beautiful as it had once been, but it had definitely recovered from the devastation.
She had visited this town only once. It had been with her parents way back when she was younger. They had come for a special tournament that was held annually. It had been an amazing event, only for sorcerers, and she remembered being amazed by their skill. Vekta was a sorcerer's town, and every building had once been made with either wood or steel spells. Everyone there was a member of a powerful family. None were quite as powerful as Magnus though. The Coleman family were known for their wealth, their leadership, and their strength. No one could ever top them in skill.
This once large, thriving town was now just a few simple houses, some shops, and a small inn. Everything else was just a bunch of rubles and charred wood. Even after it burned five years ago, they still hadn't managed to clean everything up. That's how huge their proud town had been. Vekta was still a place of pride though. The few survivors had really made a comeback. They had managed to do all of this with just a few of them.
"Welcome to Vekta," said Magnus. "I know it's not much anymore, but it's home."
Xyra didn't say anything as she followed Layton and Magnus past the entrance and into the town itself. The first thing she noticed was the people walking the streets. There were very few of them. This place obviously didn't attract too much attention. There were no bounty hunters, no outsiders, and absolutely no sign of a Sorcerer's League. That was expected though. The league would probably devote itself to kidnapping everyone in the town so they could use them for their products. Unless, of course, they didn't know that these people were sorcerers. Most thought that no one had survived the fire. Perhaps it was best that way.
"Look!" exclaimed someone in the street. It was a young boy, probably about Reeve's age. He was dressed in a white button-up shirt and brown pants. His clothing was rather nice, but everyone in this town was. They were wealthy, that was for sure. With a family fortune like Magnus's, that was only expected. "It's Albus!" the boy shouted. "He's back!"
Almost instantly, everyone who was on the streets began to flock towards Magnus. People came out of their houses, gathering around the travelers. They all looked happy, their smiles bubbling with relief and excitement. The sorcerer was dearly loved in this town, that was obvious enough.
"Welcome back, Albus," greeted one woman, a child held tightly in her arms. "It's been quite a while."
"Yeah," he agreed, a sheepish smile on his face.
"We were worried you had been killed," commented another woman, this one much younger. "We heard that the league had raised your bounty. Hopefully, that hasn't caused you too much trouble. Any bounty hunters getting on your case?"
"Nah, I've been able to avoid most of them. They don't know what I look like, so I have a slight advantage."
They all began chatting with him, more or less ignoring Xyra and Layton for now. The famous Albus was even famous in his own hometown. They were all treating him so politely. This was probably the only town in all of Dusthaven where he could relax and just be called Albus. Anywhere else, his name would get him thrown in jail or delivered to the league. It had to be kind of hard living with that burden.
She just stood there silently, watching as all of these people made such a fuss over Magnus. He was just smiling and laughing with them. Eventually, one of the women turned towards her. Xyra was fond of attention, but what came next was going to be pure torture.
"Albus, I see you brought a young woman back with you," the middle-aged girl said, a bright smile on her face. This comment quickly drew everyone's attention, and Xyra felt herself go stiff with nervousness.
"Wow, such a pretty girl," remarked one of the younger men. "What's your name?"
"Xyra," she answered softly with a small smile.
"Well, Albus," began one woman with a sly smile as she turned to the young sorcerer. "It's unlikely for you to bring an outsider into Vekta. Is she important to you?"
"Um…" he began, unsure of how to answer that.
"She must be," stated another woman.
"Is she your fiancé?"
"She's gorgeous!"
The people around them continued to make a big deal out of Xyra. She was blushing furiously as they continued to imply that she was somehow in a relationship with Magnus. She tried multiple times to correct them, as did the sorcerer, but none of these people were listening. They were all too enthusiastic about a situation that they knew nothing about.
Xyra was desperately waiting for an escape here. These people were making her far too agitated, and the heart rising to her face was enough to make her feel like passing out. She was an easily flustered person, and all of them were doing nothing to help that problem. They just kept talking. She stole a glance at Magnus and realized that he was blushing quite a bit as well. This situation was just as strange for him.
"Layton?" whispered Magnus, drawing his guard's attention. "I think it's time we got out of here."
"I agree," he responded, moving a bit to get to Xyra. He bent down and whispered to her, "We're leaving."
"Leaving?" she questioned. However, he didn't bother giving an explanation. Instead, Magnus just grabbed her by the wrist and began pulling. With Layton leading the way, they burst through the crowd, running at a sprinting pace. They kept running long after escaping the mass.
With a sigh, Magnus finally stopped. He rubbed his forehead a bit, a headache coming on. He hadn't expected them all to act that way simply because he had brought a girl back with him. However, it wasn't a very common thing. He had never once before brought an outsider into Vekta. Very few knew that the town still existed.
"Glad we got out of there," he said. "Sorry about that, Xyra."
"It's alright," she assured him. "I didn't know you were that popular though."
"Yeah. Just about everyone here knows me. I leave a lot, so they always make a huge deal out of my returns." He gave her a bright smile, but there were traces of sorrow playing in his eyes. Those two jade orbs hid nothing. "It's really nice here. This is the only place where anyone calls me Albus."
Xyra just gave him a soft smile, knowing that it was probably hard to have to use aliases. His name had a lot of pride behind it. He was the most powerful sorcerer on the planet. However, he was also the most wanted. That made things highly difficult. She didn't mind though. It didn't bother her at all that she was traveling with a very wanted man. He was decent, and that's all that mattered to her.
"Let's get going," said Magnus brightly, his cheerfulness returning fully. "I want to show you the town."