A Mage Prepared

by Thomas Whipple

  When I finished with that Grondar spoke up. "I confirmed this with others that were present and no one touched anything before I arrived. And the amount of gold I found in a chest there would point to Serin emptying his business before leaving."

  The council doesn't seem to care about what is happening, as if this is just procedure. Finally Dolan waves it away and asks me a question that seems to peek everyone's interest. "Grondar said that you figured the soldiers from the human kingdom would have sent someone back before the attack. He has also confirmed your suspicions with the documents he recovered. Do you have any suggestions as to what we can do about this?"

  I look at all the council members individually before I finally start to talk again. Standing up a little straighter I say "I do have an idea, but it won't be easy. I think that everyone should move. The whole village can move and disappear from the humans."

  "And where would we go?" It's Bolden who asks this time.

  I take a deep breath before this part to prepare. "You can build a new village on my land." At this, everyone starts talking at the same time. After a few minutes of confusion Dolan is able to shout everyone down. I continue pitch by asking a question. "Before I say more, where are Serin and Sarel and what is going to happen to them?"

  Jerick answers me after a loud sigh. "There is another village nearby that is much like this one. Sometimes we trade with them. We have never had to do it before but we are going to erase their memories and leave them with the other village. We hope that they can start over there, but their council will be notified of what they did so that Serin and Sarel can be watched."

  A little surprised that they can just erase his memories it takes me a moment to process. "In the place that Azzaria and I fought the Queen beetle we found a Mana Fount. I claimed it and dedicated it to my patron. Now the land responds to me. It's a great defensible location with a lot of land that would be good for farming. It's also on the banks of a lake. It would make a great place for the village to move to. It is also farther into the forest, even less likely that we will be found."

  "But the land would technically be yours and we would all be under your rule?" This is from Laurissa, who hasn't said anything until now.

  "Hey I am not going to try and take away your authority over your people. Hell, I would prefer that you all handle the day to day stuff. I still plan to travel some too. though I would like to be consulted on major things like the placement of new buildings and what not. You all will still be in charge of the people. I'm also hoping that having what is essentially the High Temple of Gwydia nearby will help people to develop magic easier. There may even be more people other than me who are born with her as a patron."

  The councilors all look surprised at my hope. Then, as one, they look to Bolden. He is a mage and probably the most experienced with magic. When he looks to the other councilors he is startled to notice them all looking at him. After regaining his composure he answers their unasked question. "What he says may be correct but since there has not been a temple to the goddess of magic, much less one with a mana fount altar, in so long there is nothing we know about the effect it might have on the populace. What he says is a reasonable assumption though. There is some evidence that such an artifact as the Mana Fount alter in other cities has caused an increase of people with patrons of the god it was dedicated to. It could also improve the chances of having more mages if the children visit the temple."

  When Bolden finishes talking Laurissa leans over and whispers something to Dolan. He nods back and turns to me. "Can you please wait outside for a minute." When he says that I nod, then Azzaria and I turn to leave. "Azzaria! Please remain" he calls out. She stops and gives me an encouraging smile before I walk out.

  Outside the crowd has thinned out a little, but I do catch sight of Zia, Nira, and Derl. The two parents are standing nearby while Zia is playing with Timbre. It's a game of tag I think. Timbre will chase after Zia as she runs around and when Timbre gets close she gives Zia a nudge with her nose. Then Zia chases after Timbre, while she plays hard to get by bouncing just out of range. Eventually, Timbre lets Zia tag her and the whole thing starts over again. I watch them for a minute before I walk up to Timbre and lay my hand on her head, she sat down when she saw me approach. Zia runs up and hugs me around the legs. I pat her on the back softly as her parents walk over. When Zia looks up she says "Hi Uncle Vol." I can see a little embarrassment in Nira's expression when she hears that, but I ignore it as I address the little furry bundle of energy that is bouncing up and down while still holding my leg.

  "Hey Zia! Glad to be back with your mommy again?"

  She gets a serious expression on her face like she does sometimes before pulling on my shirt. Complying with her gesture I squat down so that I'm on the same level as her. She leans in and whispers to me "She said she was very happy to see me but she was crying so I think she was sad."

  I don't whisper back when I respond. "Zia, sometimes you can be so happy that you can't hold it in anymore. When that happens, the happiness leaks out your eyes. It looks like tears but what they really are is little drops of joy. So your mommy was just really happy to see you again, not sad."

  "Oh. I was really happy to see mommy again too" she tells me.

  I quickly start talking again "I would like to ask you and your parents a few questions if they don't mind." With a nod from Derl I go on. "What level are you Zia?" She looks to her parents for permission. They nod and Zia tells me that she is level four. "Would you like to become a mage like me if I can help you?"

  "Would I be able to make little animals like you did last night?" She looks hopeful about that.

  I chuckle a little then answer "I don't know how to teach a spell to others or how that even works yet, but I will talk to Bolden. If you become a mage then I will make sure you learn that spell. That is, of course, as long as your parents don't mind." With the last thing I said I look over to Zia's parents.

  Nira answers my question with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "We took her to Bolden a few times like everyone does with their children. He tries teaching them all Mana Perception and Mana Manipulation. He told us that she was able to learn Mana Perception with a high resonance but no matter what he tried she couldn't move it."

  "OK. No guarantees, but if we move to where I suggested we go to the council I think she will be able to learn."

  With that done we let Zia talk. She talks about anything and everything. Timbre, the bad people that took her, even the story I told her last night. After a few minutes Azzaria and Dolan leave the building. Behind them the other councilors leave and talk to a few people who take off in different directions. When Dolan comes close. He greets me and Zia's family, then tells me that the council decided to move the village. I release a sigh of relief. Dolan also tells me that there will be an announcement tonight and everyone will have tomorrow to prepare to leave. The council wants to leave as soon as possible since it will take a lot of time to move everyone and cover our tracks. And of course, the council has tasked me with leading everyone to the place of our new settlement.

  Quest: The Promised Land

  Dolan and the rest of the village council of Efftin has tasked you with leading them and the people of Efftin to a new place to settle. Failure: Do not lead the villagers to your land. Reward: New residents for your land.

  Accept: Yes or No

  I accept the quest. With nothing to do for a few hours I go to Bolden's shop to enquire about learning the Autofit enchantment. Turns out that he isn't able to teach me directly. But he did have some low quality gear that he didn't have much use for. For the sum of 100 gold he ended up enchanting three things with the Autofit enchantment before I was able to learn it by disenchanting. Thankfully it didn't take long. I also distributed the 2 TP I had for my profession that I was too busy to deal with earlier. OK, I forgot. When I was trying to learn the Autofit enchantment it reminded me, so I added one to Remove Enchant and one to Set Charges. Remove Enchant will allow me to take the ench
antment off the item without destroying it. This doesn't have a chance for learning anything though. Set Charges will allow me to add charges to an active enchantment. This means that the active skill or spell that is enchanted on the item can be used without drainin a person's own mana, but it requires the item to have a gem in order to store the mana. In the street in front of Bolden's store I ask Azzaria "Can Dolan make bracelets or is there a jeweler or something that would be better for that?"

  She looks thoughtful for a moment. "He can make them, but it's delicate work and takes him a lot longer than the Jeweler. Also, the work wouldn't be as good."

  "Alright, then please lead the way to the Jeweler if you please." I follow after her as she leads me toward our home. Not too far away from Dolan's shop, on a smaller side street we come to a building with a ring on the sign. We went in and I noticed there wasn't much stock on the few shelves that were there. I guess there wasn't a lot of people that could afford it. At a workbench in the back was a dwarf woman that looked like she was in her early 20s. She looks up at us when she hears the bell over the door.

  "Hello, I'm Pora. What can I do for you two today?" She has a sweet, high pitched voice that reminds me of a teenager.

  "Hello Pora. My name is Vol and this is Azzaria. I was hoping you could make a few things for me."

  "I know who you are. Word travels fast in this village and you are talk of the town right now. I should be able to make whatever it is you need, as long as you can pay." She give me a wink with her muddy brown eye.

  "I can pay, but I think I have a better idea. I would like you to make four bracelets for me that I will enchant. When done you will get to keep one for yourself. I will pay you whatever you feel is appropriate if you would prefer, after you see the end result. I will also provide all the materials." When I'm done she is nodding her head. I take out a couple of bars of some metal called Orichalcum. It's a dark grey color that is almost black and is supposed to be good for holding enchantments, according to the information from my Identify skill. I set it on her work bench along with a perfectly clear diamond, deep blue sapphire, and a dark green emerald. All the gems are about the size of the last digit of my thumb. Last I take out a dark red garnet of the same size. "This last one goes in the first bracelet you make and it will be yours if you agree to take it in lieu of payment."

  It isn't the gem in my hand that she is looking at though. Ever since I pulled the metal out of my bag she has been staring at it openmouthed. I try to get her attention by clearing my throat but she doesn't move. Finally I snap my fingers in front of her face and she blinks. "Mister, the materials you have there are worth the work alone. I will take the first one I make no problem. But the enchanting is too much."

  I cut her off before she can protest any more. "I need it done now, so you can consider the enchantment payment for rushing you. Also, it will make things easier for you the next few days. You will know what I speak of when you hear what the council is going to tell everyone tonight." That last part seems to make her a little nervous but she refrains from asking about it. She picks up the materials and waves us to follow her to the back. In the back I think twice about making bracelets. I voice my thoughts to Pora. "Would it be problem if they were armlets so that they fit over the upper arm?"

  Pora places the metal in a crucible and then into the small forge she has to melt. "It will be since I would need to fit them specifically to the person it goes to. That takes extra time."

  "That isn't a problem. One of the enchantments I will place on them is Autofit." After my statement she nods as her foot pumps the bellows.

  "Then there won't be any trouble" she tells me.

  We wait there as she makes them. As each one is finished I take out some mana crystals and focus as hard as I can on the Dimensional Storage ability of mine. It works better than with steel and the armlets soak up a ton of my mana and the crystals. Thankfully my regeneration and mana pool are as large as they are or they wouldn't have been finished in time for the announcement from the council. Even still, I got some of the mana to finish from Thia with Mana Transfer. They weren't as good as the actual ability that I have, but the first one had a storage space of a cube with nine foot walls, and the other 3 had 10 foot sides. I can tell that was the limit for the materials as well. Then I added the Autofit enchantment easily but any more would risk damaging the item and the enchantments. I left them alone instead of risking damage. The work did gain me 2 levels to my enchanting though.

  After that I hand them out. The one with the emerald goes to Azzaria, the sapphire one goes to Timbre, and the diamond goes to Thia. With the Autofit enchant even she could have something to store things in. Pora is shocked when she inspects the one I handed her. "This has so much more space than even the largest of the bags Bolden sells.

  "I think it is mostly the material, but also the spell. Mine doesn't require an opening on the item but I suspect that it's too strong for it to be placed on mundane materials like cloth or leather bags. I actually did it to the necklace that Timbre here is wearing. It damaged the steel so that its durability is lower than it used to be. Also, the space it has is actually quite small. Smaller than the bags Bolden sells. I started thinking about doing this so that it can be used to get dressed quickly. You can make things come out of it already on your body."

  Pora looks at me thoughtfully for a moment. "I guess that makes sense. Orichalcum is one of the best for enchanting and even it is barely able to take the enchant you put on it. Well, thank you for this. Now it's time for the meeting the council called." With that we all left together.

  Epilogue

  In the realm of stars and gods, Gwydia stands looking down. "I know you're there Morsith. What do you want?"

  "I want in. To help you" the shrouded figure says to the violet haired beauty.

  "And how would you help me brother." Her tone is not suspicious, but curious. It is obvious that the siblings care for and trust one another.

  "I will join you. They will start a new city around your temple. Will you do as he suggested and start influencing those there? Will you take on more as their patron god?"

  "Yes" she confirms. "I asked him to spread my influence. I must do my part as well." Morsith can't see her face at that moment, as she is facing away the whole time she speaks. If he were in front of her he would have seen a wistful smile on the goddess' face.

  The covered figure approaches until he is standing just to the right of his sister. "I will help then, by adding my influence." Gwydia turns at that to look at her brother, a worried expression on her face. Seeing her he chuckles. "Not like that dear sister. I don't want another Land of the Dead. That got very boring very quickly besides. I will be the patron to some and increase many of their affinities for Dark and Death. Your sister Sofia may add her influence as well. She seemed most excided about your reemergence."

  "Sofia has always been sweet. I will need to speak with her soon. What of the others?" Turning back to the world below she listens to Morsith's response.

  "Most care not. The few that do may be a problem though" he tells her.

  "Which ones." There is a fire in her words. One that would set a mortal aflame with just a single syllable.

  With a sigh Morsith replies "The eldritch god Warid and the blood goddess Torq are both looking to put you down. They don't want you to rise in power again. Now, after recent events, Flayid looks like he might join them. He is the minor god of assassins and slavers if you recall."

  "Is there any others for or against me?"

  "Most of the gods see it as your own business. They won't do anything. There are those that are on the fence. I will talk to those that may wish to assist you. I know of a couple that may help you just by opposing those that are against you."

  "Thank you brother." Conversation over, she says no more.

  The cloaked figure turns around and walks back out into the darkness.

  From the goddess comes a whisper "You are doing well Voladare. Build your city. I will hel
p however I can. In doing so you will help me too."

  *******

  Nearly two weeks we have been trudging through the forest now. It's not a particularly unpleasant trip, just long and tedious. With the wagons in tow we had to keep scouts roving ahead to find suitable paths for them. This means that our group wound its way all over the forest with the wagons in single file. What took Azzaria and I a few days to travel was almost two weeks worth for the village as a whole. I do get to talk to Zia frequently and that is always a joy, but I am anxious. I never thought that I would be looking for a fight with something deadly when I was back on Earth, but here I can't wait. There were a few encounters with things along the way but every time it was only one or two things that were dealt with before I could arrive. We shouldn't be that far from our new home now though. Thia says that we will reach the river soon.

  With the end of the journey so close I can't help but think about how it all got started. After leaving the jeweler to the town hall we came to the open area in front of the building. The road is packed with people and the last few are trickling in. There is a podium there in front of the entrance to the town hall. We wait about 10 minutes before the remaining council step out of the building and onto the raised area with the podium where everyone can see. It's Dolan that steps up to address the gathered villagers. "People of Efftin" his voice booms out. He must have some kind of spell or item that is enhancing his voice because he is not yelling but it sounds like he is talking through a loud speaker. "I am sorry to say that the attack we were victim to was caused by the betrayal of one of our own."

  The volume of the crowd increases dramatically, all of them upset at the revelation. Dolan raises his hand for silence and it quiets down after a minute. "Serin and his son have been found as the culprits to this crime and already their punishment is in progress. There is a more pressing issue for us all though. The kingdom of Plora will know of our location soon. This means that sooner or later they will send more soldiers here. Better ones too. We can wait and try to fend them off, but that is a slim chance. So, the council has decided to take the suggestion of our newest citizen, and move now." At this, a few people turn to look at me with curiosity but quickly turn back as Dolan continues to speak. "On his mission to destroy the scourge at its roots he was able to claim the area in a good strategic position. We have decided to accept his invitation to start over there."