The outpost almost appeared as a miniature version of Starspire – it had high walls, no doubt heavily imbued, and countless carts, cars, and people making their way through the thick, massive gates. Only the nature of the traffic differed greatly, with most of it being more military in nature, but there was plenty of civilian traffic as well.

On top of the walls were countless soldiers on patrol, some carrying guns – a rare sight. At the gates, the lines moved more slowly than Starspire itself; perhaps indicative of a stricter bar to entry.

As they approached the walls he noticed a side gate that was far less busy than the others. That was where they were headed, and before long the first vehicles of the convoy reached it. He expected at least some holdup, but after waving some identification outside the driver side window the gate was raised and the vehicle trundled forward.

This continued in the same manner, so Evan shifted the conversation in a new direction. “How long will we be staying here?”

Isaac answered, cutting Arnav off before he could begin. “It depends. You’ll all be with me from start to finish unless I dismiss you,” he glanced at Evan, a grin on his face, “but that very rarely happens. I have a reputation – one that I will ensure you all uphold – and so it is very possible we will be called to an outpost that’s understaffed.”

After a moment, he added to that, “That won’t happen for many months to come though – none of you are very useful just yet. Later, that’ll change.”

That seemed to offend Arnav somehow. “What do you mean we won’t be useful? Won’t we be fixing things to get practice?”

“Well, yes, but between your lack of Substance and deficit of skill, nothing you fix will be very valuable. Mostly, it’ll be sold as second-hand goods at the end of its rope. Nothing you fix will work very well, or last very long.”

Isaac waved his free hand – he was only driving with one – to feign indifference.

“Don’t take it to heart. Everyone starts somewhere, and most of what you fix would be destined for scrapping otherwise. That’s how you’ll earn money – this isn’t part of your standard duties. Not only will you be fixing these things to earn a quick buck, but you’ll also be buying them in the first place. Learning how to identify what can and can’t be fixed is just as important as anything else, and wasting your time and money will motivate you.” He seemed quite proud of his methods.

Wasn’t Master Isaac supposed to be one the better teachers? This didn’t seem very nice… but he could see how it helped to motivate. Nobody liked losing money – least of all himself.

In the hours since they had departed, everyone had grown more comfortable with each other. Isaac – the master part was hard – seemed far more laid back than he had expected a military instructor to be, but he was also much older. He hadn’t expected an instructor who looked to be close to retiring, but was glad for it.

The man had a reputation for quality and reliability it seemed, and while he valued it, he did not seem to care much about propriety. He hoped that wouldn’t come back to bite them, as Master Isaac was surely an outlier in this.

Evan was surprised to find that he was genuinely looking forward to his instruction under Isaac. Before, he had been excited to learn, and felt pushed to improve for the sake of his future. Now, after having gotten a taste of Master Isaac’s teaching, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He hadn’t had the opportunity to speak with his fellow apprentices during the trip, not in any significant or private way, but just being part of the discussion with them had let him get to know them better, and them him.

They seemed like a decent sort, and he found himself enjoying their company. Already they shared a common affiliation – both the military and Master Isaac – so he felt that it wouldn’t be a waste to get to know them better.

As the gate loomed large, Isaac twisted the crank on his door in order to roll his window down before awkwardly reaching into his pockets and retrieving a worn-looking badge.

Despite having little interest in the mechanical design of the car, Evan found it incredibly impressive. It couldn’t hold a candle to the air conditioner of course, but was neat regardless.

“Master Isaac, you said before that much of the car works on simple mechanics, and that imbuements only provide power. Is that how most larger imbuements work?” He hoped not – just imbuing seemed like a lot to learn.

Isaac thought about this for a moment, waving the badge outside the window shortly before they passed the gate.

“Mostly not. The cars are mostly mechanical because it saves on costs, and greatly reduces the logistics of their construction. For things produced on an industrial scale, these are important things to consider.

“For an individual crafter, though, it matters less. Mechanical design is a field of its own, and a good enough crafter can out-perform all the benefits a mechanical design can bring to the table simply with their cultivation and skill. Cultivation is also a pyramid – as you move upwards, there are fewer and fewer people at the same level. So stronger crafters are much rarer than weaker ones, and this is reflected in their prices and wares.

“At the upper levels, it is the crafter’s time that is so expensive – not the materials or Substance, typically. Customers want the most out of their products, and at that point, more imbuement is the way to accomplish that.”

As Evan processed that, he let out a sign of relief. He had already committed to climbing the so-called “pyramid”, so it was nice to know he could focus his efforts solely on what interested him.

By now they had passed some ways from the gates, and along the way Evan couldn’t help but be given the impression of a beehive. People – mostly soldiers and adventurers – were scurrying every which way as they moved between warehouses or small, utilitarian buildings.

Signs were hung up all over the place, pointing towards different places where one could sell beasts, or plants, or – and this was what he committed to memory – imbued objects. Another sign pointed toward various offices, such as the requisition office, registration office, or a multitude of different offices were requests could be registered or issued, such as specifically for adventurers, crafters or mages.

That wasn’t it though – there were also places for merchants large and small, shops, and more mundane craftsman such as blacksmiths, fletchers, carpenters, or even butchers and wheelwrights.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

All of these buildings were built to similar sizes but unique in their own way, with various signs and decorations. The roads were smooth, sturdy, and clean – no doubt the work of mages.

Despite all of this, there was an order to everything – soldiers marching along their routes, merchants obediently following the roads, and adventurers respectfully hurrying along. Even the construction was orderly, with wide roads and carefully sized buildings.

It was marvelous – far and away from the discord seen almost everywhere in Starspire. Why wasn’t it more like this?

Their car – the jeep – orderly made its way to an unloading zone reserved for the military, and Isaac popped his door open, motioning for them to do the same.

Exiting the vehicle, he gently closed the door behind him and set foot on the smooth road underneath him. Isaac moved around to the back with practiced efficiency and popped a latch, opening the trunk.

Inside were several bags, all of them bulging and overfilled. They looked heavy.

“Welcome to Fool’s Hope! Now, I will leave it to the three of you to determine who carries what. Let’s get moving!” With a far too smug look on his face, the man swiftly twirled on his feet, suddenly much more energetic than he had been before.

Then, he started walking away at a brisk pace.

Evan, Arnav, and Iliana shared a look, and before anyone could say anything, Evan grabbed what looked to be the lightest bag, made a show of it occupying both of his hands, and rushed off after Master Isaac.

“Right away, Master Isaac!”

He didn’t look back, even as they rudely mumbled curses and complaints behind his back.

Rude.

***

It took a solid half hour to arrive at their lodgings, making Evan thankful for his foresight – Arnav and Iliana looked to be quite worn out already.

Thanks to his brisk load, he had plenty of stamina remaining to read the signs and look about as they walked, barely keeping pace with Isaac. According to the signs, they had entered the civilian division’s part of the city, and recently entered the workshop area for crafters dealing with Substance.

Before them loomed a large, three-story building in good condition, if a little uninspiring. It was made out of some sort of stone, just as most of the buildings were, and had a nearly flat roof. Near the top, the third floor, there were windows, but they were blocked by closed curtains inside. Isaac stopped near the entrance, forcing the rest of them to stop just behind him.

“It’s not the best place I’ve ever stayed, but I suppose it will do. It had better be stocked!” He seemed unimpressed, but the structure seemed quite spacious to Evan, even if it was a little sparse of decoration. It was one of the bigger ones in the area and was even a story taller than most of them.

Isaac told them to stay where they were while he went to get the keys, walking off in a different direction than the one they had come. Evan just patiently waited, while Arnav and Iliana caught their breath and sent him malignant stares.

None of them seemed very happy with him, but if you snooze, you lose! He felt no shame – in fact, while he wouldn’t admit to anyone, he actually felt a small measure of glee and pride in deftly avoiding the labor.

Their agitation evidently wasn’t enough for them to start berating him openly, and without Isaac to draw them into common conversation, they sat in silence for around a quarter of an hour before Isaac returned, keys in hand.

Walking right up to the door without stopping, he explained the basic layout of the house as he unlocked the door in singular, deft movement.

In his explanation, he mentioned that while he had never stayed in this particular building, the military typically built things in a common, organized way. The ground floor contained the actual workshop, both where they would be working and where the objects they were imbuing would be stored.

Above that, the second floor was entirely relegated to a sort of warehouse for Substance – the most common Substances they would be working with would be stored there, usually accompanied by smaller areas where they could keep those needed for unique or rarer orders as needed.

Finally, the topmost floor, the third, was where their personal quarters would be, along with a bathroom for each of them and a larger, shared kitchen and common room.

It was all far more lavish than anything Evan had ever dealt with, and a far cry from the conditions he had expected. Evan had personally never had a private bathroom or bedroom, and what space was shared was between so few people it might have as well also been private.

Astonished, he looked to his companions and realized that neither Iliana or Arnav treated their accommodations as anything but common – expected, and not worth mentioning.

Dutifully following Isaac into the building, he found that the man had been correct, and was surprised when the man flicked a switch by the door, illuminating the room through sections of the ceiling that suddenly began to glow softly but steadily.

Truly, Evan was constantly finding himself on the backfoot these past few days, shown incredible displays of magic and wealth so quickly he almost found himself dizzy.

It was exhausting.

No rest for the wicked, right?

Even Arnav and Iliana seemed surprised by the lights, looking expectantly at Isaac. Isaac noticed – and almost expected this reaction – and promptly explained.

“Don’t get used to it. Fool’s Hope has much better conditions than most outposts thanks to its proximity to Starspire. A lot of trade and military personnel come through Fool’s Hope, but further out you can come across outposts with only a dozen men manning them, and while those near the border are highly populated, don’t expect anything close to the luxury found here.

“Even here this luxury isn’t free – we are expected to maintain the lights ourselves, and we are only allowed to stay here thanks to my own reputation, rank, and because I have the three of you in tow.”

Iliana asked, “Master Isaac, is that why our building is so much larger than the others?”

“Yes.” He started to say more but caught himself. Then, he launched into another long-winded explanation about some ground rules for the workshop and the building in general.

Mostly, this broke down into not being wasteful – as laidback as he was, Evan couldn’t forget that at the end of the day, Master Isaac was a military man, who wouldn’t have stayed in the service for so long if he didn’t truly care for it. It was easy to forget.

Further, the workshop should stay tidy, and other such frankly embarrassing instructions. Once that was out of the way, he began to instruct them on how to go about their business in the outpost – things such as requisitioning Substance or imbuement materials, and the difference between a requisition and a personal purchase.

Where they could go to accept requests, once they had the ability to fulfill them, and where to purchase or pick up things, such as daily necessities or the broken and decaying imbued objects he wanted them to work with. Master Isaac told them these were essential things to know, and that they would mostly stay the same no matter which outpost they found themselves at. Knowing where to go, the signs should do the rest.

All of these explanations took hours, interspersed with breaks as they all wandered the building, learning the layout and the specifics of it’s construction. In particular, the workshop was very open, with little dividing walls but for where the materials were stored and as a method of marking off individual stations.

This made sense – the building was explicitly marked for instructors, who would likely want easy access to all areas of the workshop in order to keep an eye on their students and teach in a group setting.

On the second floor, where Substance was kept, he found that it was far more secure than the rest of the building, featuring it’s own locked door, imbued for toughness, and constructed out of thick metal. Substance was expensive, even for the military, and quite a bit should be stored inside…

Evan and the others weren’t even allowed a key for the door, even though Isaac had given them one for the front door and their quarters. Isaac said that would change once they had time to settle into the military – but who knew how long that would take? He was disappointed, but understood the reasoning.

Finally, the third floor was just as described, though the rooms were more generous than he had imagined. Once they got that far they broke for dinner, which was awkward until Isaac continued his lecturing.

After even that, Master Isaac told them they would reconvene in the morning when they would get to really start learning crafting, even if it would mostly be lots of textbooks for some time.

They did manage to extract a promise from him that they would be putting their lessons to practice soon – maybe even within the week. Evan looked forward to it.