“Dahni made a good point,” Pax said as he leaned back in his armchair and reached down to give Talpa some scratches. “We need to get time in the training rooms as soon as possible, especially considering there will be a lot of mages with new elements who’ll want to practice soon.”
“True.” Rin gave an approving nod to Dahni. “At least no one should be using the secondary element rooms, so we can all get some time in.”
“How about this?” Pax glanced at the notes he’d been making. “Depending on how the Taming goes early tomorrow, we come back, clean up and recover and then plan to train our elements the rest of the morning? Bryn, Tasar and Tyrodon can use that time to make connections with the warriors and crafters. Solani 2-nine and Fenix can also reconnect with the other managers and see how we can help get the base fully functioning. Maybe they can find a suitable location for Fenix’s new workshop, too. Sound good?”
As the others nodded their agreement, Eldan cleared her throat.
“Um, about the training rooms—” She didn’t sound like she had good news. “It seems the crafters working on restoring the power system messed with that section some. They’ve only left the four primary training rooms powered, not the secondary ones.”
“What?” Frustration welled up inside Pax, and he let out a tired sigh. How much idiocy were they going to deal with here? He had really hoped things would work smoothly now that they’d officially joined the rebels.
“Don’t worry too much.” Eldan made a calming gesture toward them. “I noticed the issue this morning and made sure they restored power to at least one secondary element room with a promise to work on the others right away. So, the ice room should have been charging all day. I made sure they knew the committee had agreed that your crew has permission to use them whenever you like. Hopefully, by tomorrow, they’ll have more rooms working again.”
Pax settled back in his seat, mollified, but still disgruntled. “I guess we can’t expect everything to go perfectly when we’re asking for so many changes. But still, you’d think no one here wants to get any stronger.”
“Oh, that’ll change plenty fast once they see results.” Mage Eldan smirked. “When the younger mages and warriors who will try new things are suddenly stronger than their seniors, attitudes will shift quickly.”
Pax had to smile at that image and decide it was likely true. Feeling a little better, he held up his fingers and ticked off the basic ideas they’d decided on. “So, how about everyone chooses one of our projects to be in charge of overseeing?”
The others nodded, straightening in their seats and looking determined.
“First, we need to babysit getting the secondary rooms working and then schedule regular sessions for me, Rin, Amil and Dahni.”
“I’ll take that.” Tyrodon raised a hand. “I’d love to talk to the crafters about the power systems here and exchange ideas.”
Pax nodded and made a note in his book. “Next is unlocking new elements for every rebel mage here in the base and encouraging them to practice in the training rooms. I’m the obvious choice to take charge of that, but does anyone else want to help?”
“I’m used to getting my mana to work with yours, so maybe I can help.” Rin gave him a tentative look. “And if there’s a way to learn how to do what you do, I’d like to figure it out. I might not be able to unlock all types of minor elements, but maybe I could do it for water and air?”
“That’d be awesome.” Pax was more than happy to not be the only one who could do the new magical tasks. He noted Rin’s name down next to his before looking back up.
“Next is the Taming. We’ll head into the Wilds with prospective mages and warriors. We’ll need some kind of plan for a mobile Taming process that works well and keeps us safe at the same time. And we’ll plan on a trial run tomorrow before sunrise, like I told Merchant Nightblade. All of us need to show up at the entrance and assume they’re going to let us do what we have planned.”
“Tasar and I will take on that project, if it’s alright.” Bryn lifted a hand. “I really want to level my Taming. Plus, designing a defensive formation that works out in the Wilds is perfect for our abilities.”
“And I can join in on helping with the Taming part for mages.” Dahni raised a hand.
Pax smiled and, when no one objected, wrote it down.
“Last on the list is figuring out how to Awaken the youth here who are ready, but we’ll table that for a bit until we hear whether the rebels intercepted that Awakening artifact that’s en route.”
“I can keep track of that, since it sounds like you have everything else well in hand,” Incedis said, sounding pleased with their work.
“You didn’t leave much for us to do, either.” Fenix looked disgruntled.
“Which leaves me both impressed and thankful.” Solani 2-nine turned her head slowly to aim a grateful smile at each of them. “I honestly didn’t think you’d be able to follow through on your promises to restore this place and get it functional again. I had hoped, but am now amazed to see you actually doing it. Just know that all of my fellow managers will do everything we can to help you. And by that, I mean you, Pax, and your friends, not this committee that thinks they are in charge.”
Pax wasn’t the only one to grin at that.
She turned to Tyrodon. “If you’ll take me with you to the training rooms tomorrow morning, I’ll get settled again and make sure things get back on track quickly.”
“Thank you, ma’am. We can all learn a lot from you.” Tyrodon’s smile widened with excitement.
Solani let out a soft, flattered laugh before turning to Fenix and raising one eyebrow.
“I’ll tag along with you until we find a good workshop for me. Maybe I can help come up with workarounds for any troubles the crafters run into.”
“Thank you. Both of you.” Pax took the time to face the mages and give them a grateful nod.
“I’ve been sharing this meeting with my sister, and we have one more way to help you with all of this.” Solani 2-nine had a pleased smile on her face but didn’t explain further.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
When a notification began blinking in Pax’s vision, hope bloomed. Did she mean what he thought she did? He took a look.
***
Quest Givers: Magetwentyninth and Magefortyfifth Solani
Quest Name: Crew Quest - Strengthen the People’s Rebellion (multi-part)
Quest Description:
The People’s Rebellion has turned the ancient Light Mage Headquarters into a central base to train and strengthen their members in order to overthrow the current leadership and save the empire. Pax Vipersworn and his crew are tasked with aiding in critical ways with their innovative methods.
Parts with Individual Rewards:
Part 1: Unlock minor mana types in rebel mages - 3/100
Reward: +1 level to all mana skills for each member of the crew who aids in this process.
Part 2: Help rebel mages and warriors Tame adult beast companions - 0/100
Reward: +1 level for each crew companion and +1 to the Taming level for each crew member who aids in this process, along with a bonus choice from all possible system evolutions for the skill.
Part 3: Learn how to unlock secondary mana types for rebel mages - 0/4
Reward: Each member of the crew who assists will receive a crystal mana battery that can store a single elemental type and be linked to their personal mana storage even while in inventory.
Part 4: Restore critical sections of the headquarters to minimal function - 0/3
Reward: Each member of the crew will receive a map of knowledge skill scroll, which shows friends and foes in their vicinity with a cost and cooldown that improves as the skill levels.
Part 5: Awaken rebel children to their new classes without the empire’s help - 0/5
Reward: Each member of the crew will receive a new skill or spell to assist with future Awakenings based on their contribution to completing this part of the quest.
Upon full quest completion, each member of the crew will receive:
Enough leveling points to reach the next level in their class
Penalties for Abandoning Quest:
One month cooldown before attempting another student quest.
Diminished rewards offered for the next accepted quest.
Note:
Upon accepting this quest, you understand and agree that Light Mage Headquarters is not liable for personal injury, illness, or any other condition or effect that results directly or indirectly from your use of the facility and this quest.
Accept: Yes/No?
***
“Wow.” Amil’s soft word summarized exactly what Pax felt, and by the expressions of the rest of his friends, the way all of them felt, too.
They exchanged excited grins and quickly gushed their thanks to Solani 2-nine.
When they quieted down, some of them obviously rereading the quest details, Incedis made a noise to gain Pax’s attention, looking impatient.
“Care to share?”
“Oh, sure.” Pax flushed, realizing that he and Eldan wouldn’t have a clue what they were all so excited by. “The Solanis gave us a quest, basically listing all the goals we just discussed as individual parts. And the rewards—” Pax just shook his head in wonder, at a loss for words.
“Just read it off for us, please?”
Pax quickly did so, pleased to see both Incedis and Eldan looking more and more shocked the further he read. When he finished, both of them were as speechless as he’d been earlier.
Then Incedis stood and gave a deep and respectful bow to Solani 2-nine. His move stopped the excited discussion the others had been having.
“Magetwentyninth Solani, you have my gratitude for how much you are not only helping my young protégé here and his friends but also the entire rebellion.”
She smiled and gave him a graceful nod.
“Once I bring this up to the committee, I think you’ll find them very grateful, too.”
Her smile faded. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
Incedis and Eldan gave her a sharp, questioning look.
“It’s obvious what their response will be, isn’t it?”
A look of chagrin appeared on Incedis’ face.
Eldan let out a sharp laugh. “Instead of being happy about how much you’re helping these kids and through them, the rebellion, they’ll immediately want you to give them quests with amazing rewards, too.”
Solani nodded, her easygoing look suddenly replaced by one full of knowledge and experience. It reminded Pax that the ancients wouldn’t have made a copy of a mage that wasn’t both competent and powerful.
“While we are very aware of how much work it will take to bring this base back to full function, my colleagues and I have also been tasked to protect its treasures and secrets from outsiders or those who would misuse them. The treasure hunters delving through our home with little regard for our desires aren’t helping their case.”
Incedis exchanged a worried look with Eldan.
“We trust Pax and his friends here to work with our wishes. But that trust doesn’t yet extend to the others that have moved in. Did you know that this committee of yours barely bothered to speak to my sister at the entrance when they moved in? No consultation about where to explore first or what critical areas needed to be repaired first. Not a single consideration was offered.” Solani’s tone turned bitter. “According to my sister, they think they know better than those of us who’ve managed this place for decades. They haven’t bothered to restore any more of us, and have been heard to claim we might interfere with their plans. Interfere?” Anger and outrage filled her voice as she turned and made a spitting gesture to the side. “If they aren’t careful, they’ll find what true interference looks like. We are currently reserving judgment.”
Incedis aimed a worried glance at Eldan before facing Solani. “Allow me to apologize on behalf of my fellow rebels. First, I’m sure some of the misunderstanding comes from our lack of experience dealing with mage copies like yourselves. We don’t have anything like you in the current empire. The creation techniques have been long lost. But, if I’m honest, it’s a common tendency of those in power to think they know best and dismiss the opinions of those they think don’t know as much.”
Rin snorted, and Amil muttered something derogatory under his breath. Pax agreed. Incedis had just summarized the uphill battle they’d been fighting for the last year. It seemed they would still be fighting it, despite their hopes to finally reach their full potential here without people placing obstacles in their path.
“Well, I’ll leave it to you to educate them, Mage Incedis. You seem to be a reasonable person, and Pax vouches for you.”
Incedis looked taken aback, but turned to look at Pax and managed a credible, “Thanks,” that was almost completely devoid of sarcasm.
“Even if they don’t change their ways, they’ll find out soon enough that Pax holds the true power in this place, anyway.”
Every eye turned to her, and even Fenix looked curious about what she meant.
She smiled as she met Pax’s gaze. “One of the critical sections in Part 4 of your quest is the altar. I’m not sure exactly what the outcome of restoring it will be, but it has always required a light mage to make critical changes to its function.” Now she just looked smug as she waited for everyone to realize the implications.
“Oh,” Pax whispered. A huge and victorious smile spread across his face a moment later as he imagined the response of people like Nightblade, if he took charge of the base’s critical functions.
“You are going to cause a lot of trouble again, aren’t you?” Rin asked, looking more delighted than upset.
Amil nodded. “Yep. This is going to be amazing.”
Incedis let out a slow breath while Eldan just shook her head silently.