47 - Chapter 46 - Day 2123

Rory had sent Maya with instructions for the contracts. He hoped that she would return soon. It was a straightforward enough request and should not require the scribe to create anything too complicated. He also knew he could trust the scribe, having worked with him for years.

That left Rory to contemplate whether he wanted to wait for the agreement to be signed and his payment, or if he was going to trust his new boss. He still could not decide which way to go. He knew that if he wanted to have a good working relationship, then he would need to trust her. Yet he had known for so little time, and apart from knowing she had some relationship to the council, the reason he had agreed to the deal in the first place, he knew almost nothing about her.

The cultivator Evelin had given him some general information and assurance, yet was prohibited from revealing any of her secrets. This had both been reassuring and frightening for Rory. What kind of child could impose such restrictions on such a powerful cultivator. Yet it seemed like she had managed it anyway. The more he learned, the more he realised that this deal would be the making of him, or the breaking of him. There was just too much that did not fit into his existing world view. He went over the questions in his mind, finally settling on trust. He had already agreed to the deal. He had been warned that once he made the commitment there would be no backing out. That was the one point that the cultivator had been sure to emphasise. At this point he was already part of whatever this was. Waiting a little would not ultimately change anything.

Still he wanted to see what this formation was and how a young girl was capable of drawing it. Maybe he could learn something new.

Adya was also thinking about the same formation that she was going to use. She could order him not to look at the formation, but that would sow mistrust with her newest retainer from the start. Yet she was not ready to reveal her own language.

Adya: Can we use the normal formation language of this world for the seal?

Sai: Yes, I am already working on converting it. It will not be as efficient as our language, but should be more than usable for some cases.

Adya: Can we also look at optimising the formations that he is already using and perhaps providing him with a few more to improve his work output.

Sai: I can create a skill to work through his formations to optimise them, but we would need to watch him work for longer to understand his mentors to optimise for him. We need to see him work on at least one of his more complicated designs. It would also not be as good for others. Essentially we would need to tailor the list of formations for every artificer we would bring on board.

Adya: So let us create a skill that can take as an input the working style of an artificer and then optimise the formations for them. We can start with the local language, then look at expanding it when we are more secure.

Sai: I will set some of the cores to work on this task in the background. It should be done shortly. I can always look at refining the process as we learn more. I have a passable version of loyalty protection formation in the local language. I predict it will be 5 times the amount of resources, but it should provide the same results.

Adya: Excellent, let us see what Rory has decided.

The advantage of having the conversation in her own mind was the speed. The whole thing was done by the time she walked from the front of the shop to the workshop in the back.

“So now that we have started the process to finalise the deal,” said Adya. “Are you ready to proceed, or do you still want to wait?”

“I think I am ready to proceed,” said Rory. “At this point I am essentially working for you.”

“If you are sure,” said Adya. “Please bear your forearm.”

“I would rather not place the formation there,” said Rory. “Can I have it some place else?”

“You need not worry,” said Adya. “The formation is just the trigger. We can wipe away the ink afterwards.”

“How would that work?” asked Rory. He was confused. He had never heard of a formation persisting after being removed. If possible that would completely change everything that he knew about formations.

“That is one of my core secrets,” said Adya. “Even what I have already revealed is enough to put everyone in danger. I am sure you can understand the implications. Arm please.”

Rory rolled up his sleeve and presented his arm on the work table. Adya stood on a chair for easier access. She was not ready to reveal her telekinetic abilities either. She would only reveal as few of her secrets as she could get away with.

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Adya let Sai take control of her arm and used a simple quill and ink to start drawing the revised formation.

Rory watched on as his young boss moved with a level of control and precision that had eluded him his entire working life. That would have been bad enough, yet the speed and fluidity of her movements made him feel like a fraud. If this was the level of skill achieved by a child, just what had he been doing with his life.

Evenlin saw the emotions cross Rory’s face and decided to help him out. It would not do for Adya’s newest retainer to develop an inferiority complex so profound. “I would not take Miss Adya’s skill as a basis for comparison,” said she. “I have never seen any other master below tier 8 with an ability that even comes close.”

Rory glanced up at the comment. “Truly?” he asked in awe. “Then how is the young Miss so proficient?”

“There are some questions that you do not want answered,” replied Evelin. “Some waters run too deep and some curiosity is best left unsated.”

Rory realised he was asking about secrets that could be profoundly dangerous. He had not survived for as long as had by making impulsive and brash decisions. This was one such time. He forcefully relinquished his curiosity and lost himself in the formation Adya was drawing. He hoped he could at least gain some inspiration from watching her work. So he was surprised when she finished in short order. A formation of that complexity would have taken him several hours, yet the one on his arm was complete in just half an hour. As he was lost thinking about the implications, he was surprised yet again by a prompt from the system.

You are being marked by a loyalty protection formation by Adya Gurg. As this is a soul mark, acceptance is required to proceed.

The effects of acceptance are as follows. Those carrying the mark may identify each other. The mark may not be removed without mutual agreement by both Rory retainer to house Gurg and Adya Gurg. Rory may not breach the confidence of Adya Gurg, willingly, under coercion, fooled by an illusion or by accident. Rory will be protected from soul intrusion and mind intrusion by any abilities below the defined level (Rarity Rank 8 - Guru).

Accept soul mark: Yes / No

After reading the prompt he was left shocked. Had this girl managed to use the formation to trigger a system function. He had heard theories that this may have been possible, yet he had never heard of it being done. Just what had he gotten himself involved in? Yet it was far too late to back out now. He knew if he even tried at this point they would not let him live. This secret was far too dangerous to let him walk away with. He also realised why Adya had said that this was for his protection. Unless the real old monsters came looking in person, then he would be immune to most methods that could be used to force his compliance. He took a deep breath and accepted the prompt.

The prompt disappeared and the soul mark appeared on his status page. At least it seemed that he had the option to request its removal.

“Now I understand why you were not concerned about the placement,” said Rory wryly. “Can you tell me what is going on now?” He picked up a clean rag and wiped away the ink from his arm. Then he checked his status again, seeing that nothing had changed. Deep waters indeed.

“I still can only tell you what you need to know,” responded Adya. “As you can see my protection only extends so far. What I can do is help you improve. While we wait for the contract and payment, why don’t you show me your work. Ideally the most complex formation that you currently have a commission for.”

“All right,” replied Rory nonplussed. “It will take a couple of hours. The formation is not large, but extremely detailed.”

“That would be perfect,” said Adya. “Eveline, make sure our new retainer has adequate protection going forward.”

With that Rory started work and Adya watched him work using all her skills to capture every movement.

Evelin went out to arrange the protection. She would task a group of tier 5s to work at the shop in rotation to ensure that Rory was kept safe.

Time passed as Rory worked. Maya was the first to return yet knew better than to distract Rory while he was working. Dexter returned some time later, with three other guards. He too was asked to wait. The retainers all made small talk while they waited for their bosses to become free.

Adya: What do you think, is this enough for us to create an optimisation program?

Sai: It is, his movements are consistent and his mana control is understood. I predict I can improve his efficiency several fold if we optimise the formation design and mana movement. The speed improvements would take time as Rory will need to become used to the new formations. We may even lose some efficiency at the start due to the changes.

Adya: So do you want to see the results before creating the optimisation skill?

Sai: Yes, let us wait until we see how theory comes out in practice. I can optimise his entire book now if I use all the available cores.

Adya: Ok. Let's go with that plan.

While Sai worked on optimising the formations, Adya went out to see Maya.

“Maya,” said Adya. “Can you get a new blank book that is as close as possible to the one Rory already has please?”

“Yes, but it will be expensive,” replied Maya.

“That is not an issue, can you please get it now?” asked Adya. “Phillipa please go with her and get a few more for us. You can charge the cost to the estate if you don’t have enough to pay for it now.”

Maya and Phillipa left to complete their task after Maya had handed the agreements over to Adya. Maya had read the agreements, so was aware of the changes that were taking place. This was why she had accepted the instructions from Adya. She still did not understand why Rory had agreed to the deal, but she would question him in private.

“I take it there were no issues with my request?” Adya asked Dexter.

“None, Miss,” he replied. “Do you want me to bring it through?”

“Sure, come with me and leave it by the work table,” said Adya. “Try not to disturb Rory.”

With that Adya and Dexter returned to the workshop. It was time to finalise the paperwork then get Rory started on creating her artifact. While there was a lot to do, things were finally moving in the right direction.