“That’s not a happy sound,” Rin said, aiming a concerned look at him.
“I keep putting off a visit to Magesecond Fenix.” Pax pointed at the crystal cube sitting among their other treasures. “Solani 2-nine is probably going to be mad that I’ve taken so long to let her out. And I shouldn’t have messed with the lightning and Amil before spending some time with Fenix and my manual.”
Amil opened his mouth to object, but Pax spoke over him in a rush.
“Plus, I need to give Fenix some warning about leaving the capital. If he’s like the older people I’ve known, the more time we give him to adjust, the better.” Pax ran a hand through his hair and blew out a frustrated breath. “It just seems we have so much going on, it’s hard to keep track of it all.”
“Hey, it’s not a big deal.” Amil made a comforting motion. “Time probably stops in one of those things. And I asked for the lightning testing. You know we’d be experimenting with lightning mana at some point, so now you have more information when you talk to the old guy. Plus, I’ve got a sense of what lightning mana feels like, its flavor, you know? I’ll get some healing Meditation in tonight, and then I want more of your lightning tomorrow. I’m learning and I can handle it.”
Pax nodded, appreciating his friend’s reassurance.
“Sorry to interrupt. But lunch hour’s about over,” Bryn said, standing up and picking up her lists. “Everyone needs to grab the items they’re interested in investigating or just keeping safe so I can mark down who has what.”
Pax held back, letting the others take what they wanted. Amil and Rin both shot him questioning looks near his Windscale Shroud scrolls, and he nodded, happy to have his friends keep one in reserve for when they unlocked a second air spell. He’d have to find other deserving air mages for the others, preferably higher leveled ones who might be able to level the spell high enough to make more scrolls to keep the spell from being permanently lost.
When everyone was done, they’d left him Solani’s crystal, the rest of his Windscale scrolls, the lightning core and the Wand of Sanctuary. He couldn’t deny a bit of excitement as he thought about experimenting with the artifact. A peaceful sanctuary sounded amazing right now.
“You’ll want this back, too.” Amil handed him the mirror.
He pulled his treasures box from his inventory to put it away.
“Um, you should probably drain the illegal elements out of it first.” Rin gave him an admonishing look for forgetting.
“Give me a second, guys.” Pax gave her a sheepish glance before focusing on the mirror. It didn’t take long to drain the secondary mana types out. He was about to disconnect when he realized his friends had distracted him from doing one more obvious test. He hadn’t put any light mana into it.
Knowing time was short, he quickly pushed a small thread through the frame, expecting to see a new line of glowing mana fill the mirror. Instead, the mirror pulsed with a power that latched onto his hands and dove inside him, moving with a flash he was too stunned to block. A moment later, the strange energy had raced up one arm, across his chest and down the other, only to disappear back into the mirror.
He was about to toss the mirror onto the bed to break the connection with the unpredictable item when a notification popped up in front of him.
***
Verification of light mage status has unlocked the full array of Spectral Mana Mirror abilities along with complete item information. The following abilities are now available:
1. Basic absorption and release of a moderate amount of mana will continue to work as usual. The mirror loses mana gradually over time with the greatest rate of loss when the mirror is full and the slowest when it is close to empty.
2. The mirror currently has a significant resistance to blunt damage. Storage and frequent flow of various types of mana will strengthen it further. If broken, a high-level enchanter might be able to repair it.
3. Mirror is now attuned to Reflect magical attacks toward their source. The Reflected attack will have diminished power based on the power differential between the attacker and defender utilizing the mirror. This action will disable the mirror for a time period dependent on the power of reflected spell.
4. Magical spell storage. User can store a single spell attack in a separate section of the mirror to be used at a future date. Diminished power due to level difference and loss of power over time will still apply. This storage is distinct and a similar size to the main mana storage. Basic knowledge of the mana type and understanding of the spell actions are required to cast the stored spell effectively.
***
“Wow,” Pax said in a hushed tone of amazement.
His friends, who had been leaving their dorm room, stopped and turned back to him.
Pax grinned. “This thing is even more amazing than I thought. It can reflect spells and even store one that I can use later. It leaks mana over time, but I’m going to have a blast using this the next time we have to fight other mages.”
“Even better, you bought this from the auction, so you don’t have to hide any of its abilities.” Rin shook her head in amazement. “How did you get something geared specifically toward fighting enemy mages when the war just started? If there were a luck attribute, yours would be insanely high.”
Tyrodon had moved closer, eyes gleaming and focused on the mirror.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“If I give you my newest shield,” Pax said. “Do you think you could figure out a way to build the mirror into the front somehow? It’s supposed to be resistant to blunt damage, but maybe a few thin metal bars or braces to take the bulk of force when I use the shield to block an attack?”
Tyrodon’s head was already nodding as he reached for the mirror. Pax pulled out his shield and gave it to him, excited to see what the crafter came up with.
“Time to grab our pets and start jogging,” Bryn called from the hallway. “I got the impression that the Steelshades’ Mage Lyndara won’t take kindly to interns who are late.”
***
“Be early if you want to be on time,” Mage Lyndara said with a frown as she opened the door to the crew and their pets.
Pax did his best to calm his breathing, jealous of Talpa’s ability to Phase along beneath the crowded streets of Salman to avoid dealing with the after-lunch crowds. At least he’d been able to get some practice in with his Sphere of Perception. It was quite different using it in the city crowds compared to a battle with beasts in the Wilds. It would have made pick-pocketing a breeze back on the streets of Thanhil.
His thoughts made a notification pop up.
***
Companion Skill Boost: +4 to Talpa’s Phasing Passage Level 2 (Uncommon-evolved) - 80/200
***
Nice going, Talpa, he sent with a straight face while Bryn took the brunt of Mage Lyndara’s displeasure.
“Yes, ma’am.” Bryn gave an obedient nod without bothering with excuses about the traffic or crowds.
When Lyndara’s expression lightened, Pax was glad he hadn’t gone with his instinct to spout excuses, no matter how accurate, for them almost being late.
“Follow me.” Lyndara led them inside and toward the far-right wall where a large and very detailed map of Salman covered a huge section of the brick.
Captain Kael Langley, seated at a desk bent over a pile of papers, looked up and gave them a friendly wave before turning back to his work. On the far side of the room, Pax glimpsed fighters training through an open doorway. The sound of labored breathing and the occasional clash of weaponry made him look forward to their chance to train with the experienced fighters. For now, he hurried after Mage Lyndara.
“We’ve got orders in for baby beasts so you can help us Tame a few, but there’s apparently a backlog.” She stopped in front of the map and faced them. The early afternoon light coming in from a neighboring window had just reached an angle to highlight the bottom edge of the map and the dust motes floating in front of it. “The captain is pulling some strings. So, until we can get some to start Taming, this is where you’ll be spending most of your time.”
Pax wasn’t the only one to peer at it with interest. It was packed full of so many details it was impossible to take them all in at once. Not only were the streets carefully labeled, but a lot of the buildings were named and numbered.
“Wow.” Dahni leaned in closer to examine the grounds of the academy from the aerial view.
“This is an official portal-linked map,” Lyndara said with a proud smile. “It updates daily to sync with the one in the capitol building. It is relatively resistant to damage, but we do our best to be careful with it, understood?” She gave them a warning frown.
They bobbed their heads in agreement.
“And here is your work for today.” She stepped aside to show a large wooden cabinet with multiple cubbies from top to bottom.
Each cubby hole had a clear glass door with a lock, securing the sealed parchments inside. Someone had slid small cards into slots above each cubby with names of senders and recipients neatly printed on them.
“Between the Purge and the army deploying and training for the war, we haven’t had our usual interns. The work has piled up, as you can see. As part of our job is ensuring discreet delivery of important missives. We need to take care of this backlog as quickly as possible. Once we’ve caught up, we’ll be able to let you join in some of the Steelshade training, as long as you've finished Taming for the beasts we’ve acquired.”
Scanning addresses had Pax salivating. He recognized the Amberborn name and a handful of others from the ruling families. They could easily be in important military positions. What information could they get by eavesdropping or even planting the Ghostsong Crystal in a strategic spot?
Then he realized he had an excellent source of information right in front of him. “Have you heard any news about Quarrybrook? Did our troops smash the rebels there yet?” He adopted an eager expression, channeling as much loyalty to the empire as he could.
From across the room, Langley cleared his throat, and Lyndara clapped her mouth shut with a frown. “When our leaders approve that knowledge for the public, I’ll share it with you.” She aimed a warning look at them. “This brings up an important point. As I mentioned previously, we have enchanted the messages you deliver to detect tampering. Make sure you keep them safe and deliver them to the hands of the person on the label. We’ll be giving you official identification that will get you past the clerks and assistants. They know to let you through. Don’t let anyone convince you they will deliver the missive for you. If they refuse to let you through, get their full name and return here so we can take care of it.”
Pax nodded, inwardly wincing at the look in her eye. He did his best not to look guilty as they’d decided as a crew to detour to a pub called the Silent Stein on the way to deliver their messages. Incedis had appropriated a back room there to work from, and it had a convoluted alley system out back that allowed them to vary the path of their visits.
The plan was to have Incedis examine the anti-tampering system used on the messages so he could work on a plan to break it in the future. The entire idea made Pax’s nerves worse. But if they could figure out a method that worked, it would be a much faster path to gaining important knowledge. Otherwise, they just had to hope they overheard something during deliveries.
“Questions?” Lyndara’s question broke him out of his thoughts.
When no one spoke up, she gave them an approving nod. “Then split into pairs. I’ll keep the odd one to help me with the paperwork and handling keys here. If you do well today, I’ll hand all the work over when you come back on Wednesday.”
“I don’t mind doing the paperwork stuff,” Tyrodon said with a quiet voice.
Lyndara’s gaze turned to him. When he held it without flinching, she gave him a nod and waved for the others to pair up.
Pax joined Rin. The two warriors as well as Amil and Dahni also paired up. By the time they lined up in front of the cabinet, Lyndara and Tyrodon had the first assignment ready. She handed it to Pax.
He took it and moved toward the map, handing the sealed parchment to Rin with a smile.
She kept her voice even as she read the name. “Victoria Windhelm. Windhelm Provisioners and Armaments?”
Pax knew it was probably better for their mission to deliver something to a central empire family, but having their first assignment be to the Windhelm family was a relief.
They’d saved Head Master Windhelm’s daughter after the loxotine battle not knowing who she was. He’d sent them their Echoes to say thank you and attempted to keep an eye out for them. On the Purge, he’d helped protect them from some of the dangerous political maneuvering Pax seemed to attract.
However, remembering Master Windhelm’s staunch refusal to support anarchy during their discussions while riding in his luxury wagon, made Pax’s earlier worries return. Drawing battle lines between friends was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. He was smart enough to know how impossible that would be.