"Do you plan on having lunch with your family, Young Master?"
Cale's eyes quaked. It had been over twenty years since he had last seen his family. He really wanted to see them but didn't think he would be able to act like normal. He shook his head. "I think it would be too hard to see them. I'll need a few days to calm myself."
"What should I tell them?"
"Tell them that I will be having lunch in my room and that I am nursing a hangover." Cale honestly believed that that was the best course of action.
Ron's brown eyes turned softer. "I understand."
"Have Beacrox come here for lunch. I want the two of you to join me while I go into more detail about the events I witnessed and heard about." Cale didn't miss the small quake in Ron's eyes. "He is your son and he is also skilled. I need as many people as I can get on my side."
"Thank you." With that, Ron left the room. While he was away, Cale got up and grabbed a pen and some paper. He wanted to write everything down and make a to-do list while his memory was still working fine.
Before long, Ron and Beacrox came in with a cart filled with food. There was steamed vegetables, salisbury steak, soup, and rolls. They set the food on the table in his room and made him a plate.
Cale went over and sat down on the comfortable couch. When he saw that the two did not make a move to sit, he pointedly stared at them. "This will be a very long conversation." He then gestured to the couch opposite him. "Sit and eat. The two of you are here as my future business partners, not as my servants."
"Ho." Other than the surprised gasp, Ron made no other noise as he fixed a spot for him and his son. "What do you mean by business partners?" Ron asked after he sat down.
"Just as I said. Information is everything. I know what will happen so I know where to look but I need a place where I can gather that information."
"You plan on opening an information guild," Ron said, catching on.
Cale nodded in affirmation. "I plan on opening several throughout the Western and eventually the Eastern Continents. The forefront will be a tavern. This will give us a source of income, keep our identities hidden, and keep suspicions low."
Beacrox looked between the two, confusion clearly written on his face. "Am I missing something?" The question was directed toward his father instead of Cale.
Cale narrowed his eyes but decided to be understanding. "Quite a lot," he drawled, sounding annoying and trashy. "Before I discuss my plans any further, I should start with my story. Ron already knows the gist of it, but this time I will go into more detail."
And Cale did. He started his tale off with the reason why he decided to start drinking a few months ago and why he adopted the trashy persona. He then started explaining major details that happened in the future. About how he had his ass handed to him by a punk bastard after Harris Village was destroyed when he was eighteen, how Basen was injured and how many lost their lives in an attack led by a crazy mage who worked for White Star. How the Mogoru Empire, the Northern Kingdoms, and most of the Eastern continent along with the Mermaids, Lion Tribe, Bear Tribe, and Red Flame Dwarfs were in league with Arm. How the Magic Tower and the Alchemy Bell Tower experimented and killed thousands of lives. He explained the people, events, and powers that came into play during the twenty-long years while only leaving out a few minute details.
The tale took over an hour to tell and they had already finished lunch. Cale had downed two glasses of that horrendously sour drink because his throat kept becoming dry with overuse. When he was finally finished speaking, Beacrox and Ron both leaned back into their seats with matching grim expressions.
"I do not like this future," Beacrox murmured with a hard glint in his eye.
"We have our work cut out for us," Ron commented, his own gaze hard and vicious.
Cale nodded in agreement. "That's why I want to open up information guilds. We also need talented people who can stealthily carry out operations and gather information quickly. We also need information on Ancient Powers and Artifacts. We need to gather as many as we can to keep the enemy from getting them."
Ron stood up from his seat. "I will begin the search for people that we may be able to use."
Beacrox also stood up and started helping his father clean up. "I will look for buildings for sell and gather books of value that pertains information on the ancient times." Beacrox and Ron paused before leaving. "I will try to stick to the ones that have already been translated."
"You can bring the original translations. I know enough of the ancient language to understand the gist of it." He had resorted to teaching himself the language amongst others to try to read as much information that might help in the fight with White Star.
"Oh," Ron sighed in bewilderment.
Beacrox nodded. "I will deliver the materials shortly."
Cale flashed them a smile before standing up. "While you are doing that, I will head to my mother's grave. She left a diary for me there that may be useful."
After that, the three parted ways. Cale gathered a long coat and put it on before heading down the stairs. He managed to avoid running into his family while he made his way out the back end of the mansion.
The family cemetery was up on a hill located in the back of the estate. Cale trekked up the small incline slowly, his heart pounding with each step. When he reached the top, he easily located his mother's grave.
"Hey, mom," his voice was soft and broken. He hadn't been to her grave since she passed away nor did he ever get the chance after the attack. The damn bears had completely wrecked everything.
He bent down, not caring if his flashy white pants became dirty. He traced a trembling hand over the name written on the tombstone. "I'll have to make a mess of your resting place," he apologized to the empty air, knowing full well that her soul no longer rested here or even in this dimension.
Retracting his hand, he called forth the shovel from his spatial pouch that hung on the loop of his pants. He should have had a servant to do this task but felt like he should accomplish this much on his own.
He stood up and slammed the head of the shovel into the ground. Placing his foot on it, he dug it deeper into the ground before shoveling the surprisingly loose dirt out. Even with the dirt not as compacted as it should have been, it still took him over an hour to reach the small box buried there. He really needed to start working out if he wanted to get as strong–possibly stronger– than he was before he regressed.
With tired hands, he brushed the dirt off the box. He tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge. He curled his fingers, trying to get a better grip to yank the damn thing off. His fingers slipped and sliced themselves on the edge. The box opened as soon as his blood touched it.
Cale let out a strangled laugh. "Magic!" He shook his head. He really should have known that his mother would have taken that precaution.
Inside the small box was a journal that was perfectly preserved. He sat the box down and took the journal out. His mother's handwriting filled the pages. With bated breath, he read over the words she had written.
She explained a little about the Thames family and their research. She talked about how his time was warped and how she was proud that he was strong enough to come back in time. She even reminded him that he was not alone and had a lot of loved ones that he could lean on. She even wrote why she extracted her power and split it into two and where they were hidden. He laughed when he read that one of them was in the journal. She even told him about two other ancient powers that were hidden in the Forest of Darkness.
When he flipped to the last page of the journal, a light appeared out of the journal and flew toward the ground. The ground shook and a tree with bright red leaves sprung out of the ground in front of him. The branches of the tree reached down and wrapped him in their embrace. He couldn't help but feel warm on the inside knowing that this was what his mother's test looked like.
'Oh, aren't you a cutie!' The voice belonged to a younger version of his mother and it made his heart tremble. 'You have red hair just like me!'
Cale chuckled. "Of course I do, mom."
When the ancient power spoke next, there was a slight tremble to it. 'Mom? Mom! Oh, my little cutie. You know, you look like Deruth around the mouth. No wonder you're so cute. . . It must have been hard.'
"It's been bearable," he didn't want to lie to his mother nor did he want to tell her the truth.
'You pass, my cute little son. I'm just sad that you are so young. Good luck!' The light disappeared and flew into his chest. He closed his eyes and completely absorbed the power into him. Now all he had to do was to gain the other half of this power.