At training the following morning, Saul got the details of Toby’s ability. It was a fire-adjacent purification that could be used to cover a short range with reduced efficacy, appropriately called Cleansing Flame. It would be more than sufficient to purify a barrel’s worth of potentially tainted water from a stream or pond. Saul would still include a few barrels of water as a buffer in case they went a few days without finding a water source, but reduced the overall number substantially.

Toby had informed his various friends and acquaintances that he would be out of the city for an extended period, so they could spend a large portion of the day at the library. Before they left after cleaning up following training, the steward intercepted them.

“Pardon me, my lord, if I might impose on your time for a moment?” Jon said with an apologetic bow.

“What is it?” Saul asked.

“I was informed of your selections regarding the staff who are to accompany you on your journey, my lord, and I believe making a slight revision might be to your benefit.”

“Oh?”

“You selected Ziba to act as manservant and Eli to care for the horse, but I believe that Dinah would be a better choice of groom.”

“I don’t think that one female servant traveling for an extended period with four men would be at ease,” Saul replied, frowning slightly.

“Dinah is Ziba’s wife, my lord. I believe the couple would be glad to travel together.”

“Ah, I see. I will trust your judgment then, you may inform them.”

“Thank you, my lord,” the steward bowed and left.

Saul and Toby resumed their course.

“Does he not make you a little uncomfortable?” Toby asked after a minute.

“The steward? No?” Saul replied, “I’ve seen him nearly every day for most of my life. I think he was promoted when I was nine?”

“He’s just so…gaunt,” Toby said, “It looks unnatural. I mean, it literally is.”

“Depending on how you define ‘unnatural’. That’s just what happens when your soul idol is a creature like a lich. Bart will probably develop gills during our trip, and I’ll get shorter or something. Uncle Nathan said that the matriarch is quite clammy.”

“Really? Gills? What’s that going to feel like as they grow? I remember when I completed my soul I felt twitchy for a week, and trying to lie still to sleep felt almost suffocating.”

“It’s faster for us since we use immersion chambers instead of tubs and such,” Saul explained, “physical change almost always causes itching. That can still happen with the more nuanced traits of a proper idol, but it tends to be more esoteric sensations. What did you end up with? Some kind of agility increase?”

“No. It is movement dependent though; I become more resilient while moving and don’t need to breathe as much.”

“Interesting, I can see how that would be especially useful for when you have to get to someone to heal them and can’t dodge as much.”

At the library, Saul continued perusing for unread titles of interest, pausing only to get lunch. Mid-afternoon, a Ficial servant came to inform him that his presence was requested by his father. Saul left his sizable list and a sizable donation to go with it with the Sister at the front desk with a request for copies to be ready as soon as possible.

Back at the estate, Saul was directed to a secure meeting room on the first floor of the Lazarus Building, where he found his father and Uncle Nathan waiting.

“Hey Uncle Nathan, how was your trip?” Saul asked, giving him a hug. The man smelled of sweat.

“Well, let's just say it’s a good thing I’m more about the journey than the destination,” Nathan replied with a slightly weary smile.

“Saul, Nathan went for a special artifact for you to bring on your trip,” Joel said, getting to the point before his tired brother could stop him.

He placed a hand mirror on the table and turned it to his son. The mirror itself had a faint but noticeable red tint as Saul picked it up and looked it over. The edge and back were painted metal depicting intricate winding threads.

“It’s a Sending Mirror,” his father explained, “it doesn’t work here, but you’ll hit its range minimum once you’re north a bit. You can use it to send a message to our barony near Elicaster by capturing the image and sound of anything in front of it. That part isn’t too strenuous. Actually sending the message in any level of mist environment requires supplementing it with simple rings. The longer the message, the higher the cost.”

“Thank you!” Saul said to his uncle, then turned back to Joel, “how are you envisioning me using this? It sounds impractical for regular communication, but if there’s an emergency, I don’t see how anyone could get to me in a reasonable timeframe. No offense, Uncle Nathan. Getting to Ficial Barony and back in five days is still impressive.”

“Oh, that? It was nothing,” Nathan demurred smugly.

“That brings me to the second item,” Joel replied, drumming his fingers on the back of a chair, “it will be made custom for you and of very limited use.”

“You’re taking him to see the old slab?” Nathan said, losing his cheer somewhat, “alright, I’ll go. I need some sleep. Good luck, nephew.” He slapped Saul on the back as he left the room.

“Uh…?” Saul inarticulated.

“Let’s go.” Joel said firmly, leading his son out of the room as well.

Instead of leaving the building, they headed down the stairs to the training room. Joel locked the door, then went to the plinth in the center of the room. After feeling under the lip of it for a moment, he heaved the whole thing up on concealed hinges. Below was a small hole with a stone ladder.

“On”

The shaft lit up at Joel’s command, and he led the way down. They didn’t have to climb very far, Saul estimated about fifteen feet. At the bottom was a short passage ending in an ornate metal door.

“Don’t touch that door,” Joel said, “it’s trapped, as is the hall behind it and the room beyond. Now, are you ready to learn a family secret?”

“Yes father,” Saul replied gravely, trying to tamp down his giddiness and apprehension.

“You’ve asked before why we don’t have full operators on our staff. The real answer is that we do, but only one.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I would say that one person can’t power this building on their own full time, but I take it I’m about to learn that I’m wrong.”

“Not just this building, actually,” his father clarified, “the Silas Building as well, and the limited functions of the rest of the estate.”

Joel stopped in front of a random part of the wall on the left side of the tunnel and placed his hand on it. Saul felt him leverage his title as he spoke.

“Answer”

After a moment, the wall began to crumble, and Joel stepped aside as a flood of maroon-gray sand poured out of the rapidly forming hole. When it stopped, he stepped through, followed closely by Saul.

After a few seconds they reached a small chamber into which no sand had spilled. As they entered, the air became completely still, and Saul wanted to use his tattoo to allow him to see some of the power that must be present.

In the center of the otherwise unadorned room was a five foot tall version of the Lazarus Building, perfectly to scale, surrounded by smaller effigies of several other buildings. Joel stopped a few feet into the room and looked down. Saul followed his gaze to a recess in the stone floor containing a withered corpse. Other than the white silk robe it was draped in, the body had only one unusual feature: a noble title of their house. Not as high in the house as Saul—similar to Toby’s.

“Lazarus,” Joel said gently, “House Ficial has need of you.”

There was a quiet crack as the corpse’s eyelids split open. Then, it stood. It performed no intervening motion in doing so, simply tilting up until it was on its feet. The thin flesh of its jaw and throat swelled slightly and it opened its mouth with a sound like peeling two mildewed pages of a book apart.

“How may I serve.” it hissed, as it briefly folded at the waist.

“My son will be traveling into elven territory before completing his soul. He has the mirror icon only. I need you to create a single-use artifact of last resort.”

“What is his degree of priority.”

“Highest. He is a likely future patriarch,” Joel explained, gesturing for Saul to stand next to him, “this is Saul Ficial. Saul, this is the honorable Lazarus Ficial.”

Its—or was it his?—eyes creaked to the left to look at Saul. “You will not see the elves when they come for you. An internal trigger will be necessary.”

Saul gave a slight nodded bow, uncomfortably.

Joel took a small pouch from his pocket, and the floor rapidly crumbled upward between him and Lazarus, then re-solidified into a stand. He poured the contents, several mist rings, a few pool-sized ones, and even one icon fragment, onto the stand. The surface of the stand whispered with sand that rearranged the rings, leaving a space in the center where small amounts of metal, rock, and glass began to slowly form.

For several minutes, the only sounds in the room were Joel and Saul breathing and the rustle of sand carrying one ring after another to the object that was forming, where they merged into one of the materials and added slight color. Lazarus remained perfectly still, eyes fixed on the stand. Eventually, Saul leaned closer to his father’s ear.

“Does he not need me to use a cantrip to get a sense for my soul?” he whispered slightly louder than the rustling of the sand.

“You’ve lived and trained in his domain your whole life,” Joel replied quietly, “the only reason you needed to come down here at all was so he would know precisely who I need the artifact for.”

“Speak clearly. You will not disrupt my work.” Lazarus hissed, eyes rolling up to point at them. The formation of the object on the stand did not slow.

“Your skill with artifice is incredible,” Saul told him cautiously, “what I’ve read about it suggests that most artificers require a lot more tools and materials. Would it be alright if I asked you a couple questions?”

Lazarus was silent.

“Saul venerates the Scholar,” Joel said, “he studies thaumaturgy and has chosen an idol that will allow him to use a variety of abilities. He will not spread your secrets, and might be able to benefit from your expertise, if you are willing to share anything.”

“No.” Lazarus hissed, returning his gaze to the materializing artifact.

The near silence resumed. Though slightly taken aback, Saul tried to pay closer attention to what was happening on the stand. If Lazarus wouldn’t explain, he would try and understand himself. The stone and crystal would form in small cubes, merge with a ring, then split and/or change shape before moving to the mottled rectangle that was forming. The metals would form already in specific shapes and were carried to the artifact by grains of sand.

It wasn’t difficult to surmise that Lazarus had the earth icon, then, along with the death icon and presumably a simple icon, which was the best for an operator. He didn’t instantly recall which undead creature resulted from death and earth, and started running through a list in his head. Death and water was draugr, wind was ghost, earth was…mummy? They were often called zombies when they rose, but actual zombies were rare and associated with the strength and speed icons.

The room fell silent and he looked at the stand. On it sat a glossy brown rectangular prism half an inch to a side and about three inches tall.

“Swallow it.” Lazarus hissed.

Saul reached down for the tiny artifact, which slid to his fingers when they were a few inches from it. It was perfectly smooth, and showed no hint of the wide range of materials used in its construction. The artifact stuck to his fingers, and as he took it in his other hand he could still feel it pulling towards them until it was a few inches away. He hesitated for a moment, looking at his father, then stuck it in his mouth as far back as he could comfortably manage. Surprisingly, it put up no resistance in sliding down his throat. He could feel it move down for a second, then stop.

“Thank you, we will take our leave now,” Joel said, guiding Saul back toward the entrance with a hand on his shoulder.

“Saul Ficial.” Lazarus hissed, and they turned back, “Return when your soul is awakened.”

He then rocked backward, settling slowly into the recess in the floor. When they exited into the small passage, there was no sign of sand on the floor. The hole behind them began to slowly close up on its own. They climbed back up the ladder.

“Off”

Saul helped Joel pull the plinth back down on the dark hole. Joel then leaned against it and looked at his son.

“Have any questions?” he asked with a slight smirk.

“I feel like I have heartburn, but cold,” Saul complained, rubbing his chest, “how does this thing work? I think I get the gist, but still.”

“The internal trigger means you don’t activate it yourself,” his father replied, “if you’re near death, it will save you. Make sure you keep the mirror on you at all times. You’ll need it to tell us where you are to come dig you out.”

“Oh. Good to know. Does he know something about elves that I don’t? He seemed sure they would be a threat.”

“He was born during the last war between them and Oriawell.”

“That was during the climate change over three hundred years ago,” Saul said, “actually, wouldn’t that make him older than the matriarch?”

“Yes, I think she’s his grand-niece. House Ficial only had the Barony then. That’s part of why he has a simple icon.”

“So he’s a false immortal? I’ve heard legends about them. Usually cautionary tales.”

“Like your sisters’ stories about vampires, I’d imagine,” Joel agreed, “he’s a master architect, artificer, and operator, but none of us that have learned about him have wanted to follow his path. I don’t imagine you want to change your plans?”

“I couldn’t if I wanted to. I’d get the wraith idol if I tried, and I think he had mummy?”

“Probably. He never provides extraneous information, and the matriarch isn’t saying, if she knows.”

“About that artifact I ate,” Saul asked, “am I operating it? I don’t feel like it takes any focus. I was initially worried it would make using the mail harder.”

“My understanding is that it’s such a tailored and limited item that Lazarus is skilled enough to guide your body to operate it using the focus from your stomach.”

“I have several follow-up questions about that. I don’t suppose I can go back to the library?”

“You won’t have time to go for more than a few minutes tomorrow, then you leave the day after.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon finalizing the supply lists. Saul had a servant take a request to the Scholar’s Library to add a few topics to the texts he was having copied.

At dinner, Saul and his father were joined by Uncle Nathan and Shelby, who had just returned from the theater. They had gone to see some new actor, despite Nathan’s original intention to go to bed early. The man seemed as energetic as usual, but Saul noticed he was squinting slightly the whole meal.

In the sitting room that night, Nathan briefly joined them, before going to his room in the building. Saul returned the Mark to his father, having accepted that he wouldn’t be able to practice with it any time soon. Instead of reading anything, he tried to relax in a glider for a little while before going to bed.