The next week was just as busy as the first and I quickly began to refer to it as the planning phase. Essentially all we did was plan, besides the usual training and practice. Bob immediately began in on plans to summon someone or something to get us the necessary magical energy to do some of the other plans he had in mind; mostly boosts ranging from mental enhancments to further deepening of my mana pool.

While he did that, I carried on as I was, training as hard as I could, both physically, and magically. When I woke up, I would practice spell patterns while I got ready, and as I headed to the Huuron compound which got busier by the day as more and more orcs, and even some other types of para’s arrived.

What started as a training group of less than a dozen, quickly grew as more and more people wanted to see how Brooke was trained, and as Brooke put it, to see the so-called mad sorcerer. I met a ton of orcs, some with normal-sounding names, while others had names in different orc languages, which made it quite hard for me to repeat. Unlike in books and fantasy novels, they didn’t all speak the same language. There were many, and some had a ton of different dialects and types.

“You’re better off learning some translation magic,” Brooke said when I asked her about it. “Or maybe buy a magical item to do it for you.”

If Brooke hadn't been there, It would have been very overwhelming. Nick and I grew closer. He was definitely far different than any orc I’d met and was sort of geeky if a tall, muscular, and handsome orc could be called geeky. He was also very awkward at times, especially around Brooke or even Zara who just like her friend seemed to find something funny about me and Nick interacting.

Is it our names?

One time, while Nick was sparring with Yolana, Zara came to watch. She, like usual lately, looked at me with slight disapproval and sadness. Not due to how hard I was working, but because I still hadn't given her a reason why I acted as I was, which I was starting to realize was a big mistake and stupid. Maybe I couldn’t tell them anything detailed or even hints, but something to give me time or put them at ease.

Just a little bit. I don’t want to lose them.

A plan formed with that thought. Bob had recently talked to me about perhaps getting a charm on the PPW to help with defense, and make it harder for someone to get a read on my mana pool. While I’d been searching, I’d come across a cute little item for sale, expensive, but with an enchantment that could come in handy. Maybe If I gave them as gifts along with a small reason, it would help things.

Han wasn’t as worried anymore, but she still asked whenever we spoke, and it was becoming harder and harder.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Bob said when I showed him the items. “It could come in handy, although I hope this isn't because you’re planning to tell them?”

“No. At least, not any details. I’m just gonna tell them, that something’s up, and I need some time to focus on myself to sort it out.”

Bob’s pages fluttered. “That’s… fine, but only that. No dropping any hints.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

While training was going well, a few problems did crop up, in the form of a few orcs, which didn’t seem to like me very much. The most troublesome of which was Kolor Rettin, the short orc who seemed to be glaring constantly. Whenever I looked his way, he seemed to be glaring at me, and the one time I tried to talk with him, he just brushed me off and walked away. Most of the others were friendly or neutral, and Yolana said it was my dedication to training that helped win many of them over.

I spoke to Brooke about Kolor and the other orcs.

“Don’t worry, Rick. They’ll be fools to try anything in our compound, and if they are fools, then they’ll pay for it.” Then she frowned. “But, I did say that about Kade and… look where that led.” She gave me a reassuring look. “I’ll talk to Arjay about it.”

“Thanks, Brooke.”

It relieved some tension. I didn’t want to get into a fight with them. Not because I was worried about losing. With my current mana pool and skill, I was confident in my ability to take a dozen or more orcs on, so long as they didn’t have magical enchantments or anti-mage weaponry.

Speaking of weaponry. Training with the sword-spear was going well, and it was quickly becoming apparent that it was the weapon for me. However, it wasn’t my sole focus. Yolana had one of the Huuron smiths make a simple sword-spear that had three different forms. The base form was the sword-spear, and the other two were a long sword and a spear.

“It’ll be basic training for a while, but in the future, you can really take this weapon far,” Yolana said as she paced in front of me. The sound of grunts and rubber smacking could be heard as many orcs sparred and trained. Nearby, Brooke was fighting against another orc. Many orcs challenged her daily to get a feel for the heir to the Huuron clan. So far, she was winning most of the bouts, only losing when using a weapon she wasn't as skilled with, or when facing much older and more experienced opponents. Even for those orcs, she made them work for it, and I wondered how long it would take me to get to such a level.

“Do you mean switching rapidly?”

Yolana nodded. “Good, you were listening earlier. This training model is not fit for such a style of fighting, but one could be made.” I smiled. I already had a weapon far beyond the norm in the pocket, and it could switch forms in the blink of an eye. It was a shame I could only use it in my pocket, which was not much since most of my time there was spent on my magic.

As the week passed, Bob got closer and closer to deciding on the summoning and figuring out what we would use the magical energy for first.

“The mental enhancement is a no-brainer, as is the mana pool increases. You can never have enough mana.”

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“How about miracles?”

Bob snorted. “Unless you want to start worshipping The Conqueror, it’d take a while to teach you other methods of using miracles that don't require faith in a deity or something just as powerful.”

“How about that soul stuff you were talking about a few days ago? Can we strengthen my soul?”

“Maybe. For now, lets just plan out the mental enhancement, and mana increases. We can go from there. Your spellcraft is coming along very well, and with your current mana pool, I’d give you a decent chance against an enforcer, especially with how hard you say you're working with the orcs.”

“And the ender.”

“Definitely not.” Bob's pages fluttered erratically. “Though, I fear we’ll have no choice if we don’t figure something out.” Besides the planning of getting me stronger, Bob had also been planning on ways to deal with the ender.

“Are they in the city?”

“Most likely. They might have come in on a plane, disguised as a mundane, or even teleported here. Either way, their hunt has begun. Enders tend to work alone most of the time. They are given their mission, along with any information or tools they need, and sent off. Oh, and the measures?”

“Measures?”

“Think of them as rules. Quarter measure, half measure, full measure. It’s sort of a guideline for the ender as to what they can and can’t do to complete the mission.”

“What would we be?”

“Probably quarter measure, at most half. Full measure is unlikely.”

“Would full measure just let them do anything?”

“No, they’d still need to ask permission for certain actions, but it would give them a lot of freedom. And they would still try to keep as low a profile as possible and get it done as efficiently as can be, with minimal problems.” Bob floated closer, his voice turning deadly serious. “You see, Rick. Enders are more machines than anything, and to them, their work is their life. Quite literally, enders are always on missions, never given a break or time off, save for healing any sustained damages or for improvements and upgrades to be added, or… recycling. To them, completing their mission is like breathing, eating, and sleeping to a normal human. It needs to be done.”

Recycling? “And there’s one in the city, looking for us.”

“Yes,” Bob said, regret clear in his voice.

“Back to work then, huh?”

“Either that or you wait for death?”

“Just me?”

Bob was silent for a long moment. “My fate would be much worse than death.”

****

“Freya?”

Freya’s eyes shot open and she quickly pulled her head from her desk. “Huh, wha… Oh, hey Carem.” Freya rubbed her eyes as the fellow precog put down a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. “Oh, thank you.”

“No problem,” Carmen said, brushing a lock of red hair, behind a pointed ear. “You ok, Freya?”

“Hmm, yes.” She picked up the cup and took a sip to test the heat before gulping it down. She was very grateful the coffee machines were enchanted. She looked up to see Carmen looking from her to the cup. “You sure? You seem out of sorts as of late, you haven’t been working too hard on the case, right? We're all stumped, no need to try and go forward.”

“No,” Freya said, honestly. She had no reason to, especially since she knew who the thieves were. Though she had taken an interest in the sudden problem all the precogs were having. She knew it was linked with all the events going on in the city, and to Rick, and his tome.

Carmen placed a pill down in front of Freya. “Energy pill, take it and don’t let me catch you sleeping again. In fact, head home for the day.”

“Thanks.” She swallowed the pill, and immediately felt better, her eyes clearing of their tired haze and her mind moving into action. She really needed to find an alchemist and buy some pills for herself. The station had some they have out, and the coffee helped, but it was all cheap stuff. As she got up to head out for a break, she spotted a fae woman out of the corner of her eye and reflexively turned.

She froze and the vision hit.

A path branching out in three directions and ice creeping toward each. She stood before them, a flame in hand and roots wrapped around her bare body. She turned to the first path and saw, a man curled up as a hooded dark figure looked down at him. Around him lay bloody pieces of paper. The second path showed the man standing tall, missing an arm, and with an odd spear in hand. The last showed the man on his knees, weeping as he cradled the body of a feminine figure in his arms. She raised the flame in her hand and moved it across each path. The first and second burnt away, leaving the third, which changed when she took a step forward, her flame melting the ice. The man still stood tall, but now she was standing beside him, and he had both arms.

She felt the roots tighten against her skin just as there was a loud caw, and she spun to see a raven diving towards her from depthless darkness. It hit her, and vanished into her chest, just before the vision ended.

She held back a gasp and quickly reached out to a nearby desk to steady herself.

“You ok?” The demon of some kind at the desk stood, but she waved him down. “Just a bit dizzy. Coffee and an energy pill.”

“Oh, yeah, I get that sometimes. Want me to call a healer?”

“No, it’s passing.” Freya gave him a shaky smile, before quickly walking away, her heart beating rapidly as her mind spun. She tried to inconsipicously glance around to find the fae female, but she was gone. It had been a long time since a vision like that had hit her. She raised a hand to her neck, to the crow’s feather. She brushed a finger across it. As she headed to the elevator, a small smile crept onto her face. Her goddess was with her and had shown her another piece of the puzzle.

Her smile dulled a bit when she felt a tug in her chest. The oaths she had sworn. She would need to call Rick soon, but despite that, she was relieved and if what the vision had said was true, she would play a part in things to come and would need to contact him anyways. She had been worried she had made a mistake, but her goddess was somehow aiding her.

“The vial.” Her eyes widened, and her mind spun with ideas and possibilities as she got onto the elevator. When she got home, she needed to use another vial, but not before contacting her grandmother; something she should have done the moment the first visions had hit. She could ask her sister’s coven for help, but she didn't fully trust them, and they were still incredibly busy with something that had still not been shared with her. Besides, the heads of their coven could not compare to the wisdom of her grandmother. An elder witch, born before The Conqueror's first crusade against the fae, and head of one of the most powerful covens on the Isle.