Before Gregory could respond or flee, Olivander was already creating rituals. Four of them intersected at various points, then he gestured with his other hand and a portal opened at the far end of the building. Unlike Olivander’s usual portals, which were shimmering fields of darkness, Gregory could see through this one. It looked out over the lake at the heart of the city.
“Now, you may want to hold your breath. And don’t move! I cannot stress that enough.”
Olivander took a deep breath and Gregory could actually feel the magic gathering around them in a sudden rush.
"Vast currents of the great seas bend to my call, draw forth a cleansing flood. Let the power of water's crystal purity remove all traces of filth. I tap into the hidden pools of Alemehu, drawing forth its healing springs. Bound together I name this power, Olivander's Cleansing Flood!"
The four interconnected rituals flashed and flew through the portal. A column of water began rising out of the lake. The water flowed into the factory through the portal. It was much gentler than Gregory expected, with magic doing the heavy lifting. Gunk seemed to dissolve off his body as he was submerged. He held his breath as the water quicking rose over his head.
Olivander stood patiently within his ward spell, dry and clean, watching the progress of his spell.
A minute later, and Gregory and Cooper were left gasping again, though much cleaner after the effort.
The water had shown no trace of the pollution that it destroyed and had flowed back out into the lake through the portal just as calmly as it had come.
“It was more like a cleaning tide than a flood,” Gregory observed.
“That might be the most clever thing I’ve ever heard you say, Gregory. Good job! Cleansing Tide…yes, that has a nice ring to it.”
Olivander’s grimoire was still open in front of him, and he scrawled onto a page with a finger.
“Olivander’s Cleansing Flood?” Cooper asked, emphasizing Olivander’s name.
“Branding is important. If you create a new spell, why not put your name on it?”
Gregory shook his head, he looked around the factory, and it was perfectly clean. He wasn’t sure if this machinery would still work after being submerged though.
“Will we lose out on some of the reward? Are all these machines going to work after being underwater?”
“Oh yes, though they may need a good greasing. One of the spells incorporated was a simple repair spell. As the water flowed out, that magic repaired any damage left behind by the flood waters or anything else.”
Gregory held a hand to his neck where he had taken more than one bite. Sure enough, it was completely healed.
“How…How did you do that? How much mana did that take!?”
“It’s certainly not an efficient spell. Luckily the water was relatively close or it might have been too expensive. It cost roughly…six hundred mana or so?”
The number boggled Gregory’s mind. Sure, he was barely getting started, but he only had forty mana to his name.
“That is, frankly, a dangerous expenditure of mana, even for me," Olivander ammended.
"Why is that?"
"Have you heard of the concept of mana balance, or the 'balance of mana?'”
Cooper and Gregory both shook their heads.
“Our world only produces a small amount of its own mana. Most of the mana floating around comes from other Realms, you could think of them as other dimensions, or alternate realities.”
“Like the Pits of Madness?”
“Exactly like that!” Olivander said, giving Cooper an approving pat on the head. “The pits are a permanent entrance to the Realm of Madness. As a Magus, I have a direct tie to the Realm of Madness through my grimoire, and can pull mana through to fuel my spells instead of using the ambient mana.
“Remember when I told you, Gregory, that your maximum mana was a combination of your capacity and the available mana in an area?”
“Yeah, when the cloud is smaller, then there’s not enough magic around to fill up my mana to it’s normal capacity.”
“Exactly. As a Magus, I can use wildly expensive spells that would cripple the mana in an area. The power vaccuum created when something like that happens causes power from the closest Realm to be pulled into our world directly, replacing the missing, balanced mana. The influence caused by the single Realm's mana type can trigger the world's defensive mechanism, spawning a dungoen.
"When I pulled through all that mana from another Realm, the key thing I did was to use it quickly. If it had just existed here for an extended time, it could have triggered a mana imbalance. Since it is usually very difficult to use up that much mana that quickly, it is somewhat dangerous to call forth that much power from another Realm."
“When you draw that power into our world, do the people in that Realm care that you take their mana? Doesn’t it cause problems for them?”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“There aren’t many inhabitants of the Realm of Madness. Mostly it’s just full of ideas that want to eat you from the inside out and wear you like a grotesque skin suit.”
“Oh great, now I’m going to have nightmares. Also, how do ideas eat you?”
“It’s the Realm of Madness, Gregory, not the Realm of Happiness and Rainbows. What did you expect?”
“There’s a Realm of Happiness and Rainbows?”
Olivander gave Gregory a flat look. “Now you’re just being obtuse.”
“I’ve learned from the best.”
“Touche. There may be hope for you yet. Mana balancing is a complicated topic that not many people are actually aware of. When I was a High Magus, and then Arch-magus, it was critical that I kept close track of such occurrences."
"So I don't need to worry about it?"
"I hope not," Olivander said with a far away look in his eyes. He shook his head and returned his gaze to Cooper and Gregory. "Anyway, let's get this factory checked by a guild representative and head out for the next contract!"
* * *
A short while later, they were getting a stamp of approval from a guild official and thanks from the factory owner. They could turn in the approval at the guild hall later for their actual reward. Gregory thanked them both and he and Cooper headed for the door, ready to head out. Olivander paused for a moment with the guild official. The factory owner departed to get his workers ready to whip the factory back into shape for tomorrow's shift.
"Mr. Olivander, is there something I can do for you?" the guild official asked
"Yes, sorry to keep you, but I was curious if you could tell me anything about a particular guild clerk. He seems like he's up to something, and, frankly, I worry for the safety of my two young apprentices and the reputation of the guild itself."
"That sounds quite serious, indeed. Who is it that has made you so suspicious?"
"A clerk by the name of Jeremy."
"Jermey? The clerk who just came down from Demering?"
"That's the one!"
"Oh, I love that guy. He took two extra shifts for me at the guild hall, so I could spend some time taking care of my sick aunt. I know he's new in town, but he's very dependable. I wouldn't worry about him, Mr. Olivander."
Olivander sighed.
"Olivander! Are you coming? I thought you said we had to get moving?" Gregory yelled from the factory entrance.
"I'm coming! Just give me a minute!" Olivander yelled back.
"Listen," he continued in a normal voice, "I know he seems like a nice, dependable person, but there's something shady about that man."
"Well, Olivander, this seems like a fairly serious accusation. You're impuning on the reputation of a valued guild official."
Olivander held up his hands in defense. "I just want to make sure that someone keeps an eye on him, that's all. Just bringing him to you attention."
"Come on, Olivander!" Gregory yelled again. "Are you trying to report Jermey again? You're going to get us banned from the guild!"
"Excuse me, one moment," Olivander told the guild official.
He stepped through a portal and appeared next to Gregory.
"Since you seem to be in such a hurry, why don't you go on ahead and get a jump on the strangleroot vines, hmm? Remember, they're the ones that will be trying to strangle you."
A portal opened behind Gregory, and Olivander pushed him through. The portal snapped shut.
"He'll be fine!" he told Cooper. "This will give us some time to work on your magic without Gregory whining at us about reporting suspicious individuals all day. That boy really needs to mind his own business."
Olivander stepped back through his first portal, leaving behind a nonplussed Cooper, who just tilted his head from side to side.
"Sorry about that," Olivander said, reappearing next to the guild official. "Kids these days. So eager to get to the next exciting thing! Now, about that dark and mysterious fellow we were just talking about."
* * *
Gregory fell backwards through the portal and down into murky swamp water.
He coughed and spat out gritty water as he climbed to his feet. The water only came up to his knees, but having landed back first, he was completely drenched.
"Gods damn that man is an ass sometimes. 'Don't call out my stupid, imaginary fued with a man who clearly has his life together, Gregory!' If anyone needs reporting, it the guy that keeps pushing people through portals without consent! Ahgh!"
He took a deep breath and calmed himself. He took stock. He was armed and armored, with his chainmail and trusty sword. He was full on health, stamina, and mana, after getting a decent rest after the fight with the ghost howlers.
Gregory wasn't sure if he would have to do much fighting while trying to retrieve these strangleroot vines, but he was glad to be as prepared as he could. Not having Cooper with him was annoying. That dog could fight! They made a great team.
Looking around, the swamp was fairly gloomy, even with a bright sunny day outside. Trees jutted from the water consistently enough to form a canopy that sheltered the water from the bright sunlight. Vines hung down from the tree limbs and large root systems stretched out from every tree. He would have to be extra careful of his footing, since he couldn't see under this murky water.
As he resolved to do his best, as Olivander had asked, he received a message.
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The Magician you are Apprenticing for has issued you a quest.
Magician's Apprentice Class ability "Magician's Quest" has been unlocked!
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Magician's Quest
* Passive Ability
* Tasks that your Mentor Magician assigns you can take the form of quests. Granting you the ability to track progress, and gain extra rewards. Rewards are limited by the difference in strength between you and your mentor
* Your current standardized level: 5, Your mentor's current standardized level: 381
* Current Rewards: Magical Item Chance, Bonus Experience, Attribute increase chance
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Current Quest
* Strangleroot Vines
* Collect 15 Strangleroot vines - 0/15
* "Remember, they're the ones that will be trying to strangle you." - Olivander
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"Well at least that's something nice. Tracking and some extra rewards! Three hundred and eighty-one!? Really? I have so far to go."
Gregory was determined. His whole life, he had wanted to be just like his father. Now he had Olivander showing him around, and he wanted a fragment of his power too. He still liked the idea of being a knight. Strong, dependable, the kind of person that people looked to for help. But he wanted more versatility than his father's class choices.
If this quest system and just sucking it up by doing what Olivander told him to was his path to power, then he would take his lumps and do it. He would crush this quest without help, and show Olivander what he could really do!
He began trudging through the swamp with a fire burning in his heart. He hoped to find a landmark or place he could climb up to get his bearings. He didn't want to get lost or search ground he had already covered, so he needed a frame of reference.
He found a long stretch of ground above the water and climbed out. He was going to do his best, but he was still annoyed.
"If he could just drop me out here, why couldn't he drop me on land instead of directly into the swamp?"
He sat down and pulled off a boot to dump out the water. He would have to just deal with wet socks, but he could lose the extra weight.
While he was dumping out his second boot, he failed to notice the vine from a nearby tree snaking towards him.