Olivander went back to Du'la'melio, and Fezzic headed back to the Temerin ranch. Fezzic wanted to put together some notes for his extended research trip, and to let everyone know that Gregory and Cooper were "probably fine," and "just getting a jumpstart on the next phase of their training." Olivander didn't think it was necessary, but Fezzic assured him that Gregory's parent would want to know what happened to their son after he disappeared inside Fezzic's home.

In Du'la'melio, Olivander found Gloria first. He had needed a tracking spell, and was surprised to find her at lunch with Raz Hafsen. Apparently the two had hit it off. When she spotted him she invited him to sit with the pair and get something to eat.

"Raz, good to see you again. Gloria! Sorry to leave you in the city without word for the day. I've sent Cooper off to train with an old acquaintance, and Gregory is…well, probably not enjoying himself, but he is also occupied with training. That leaves you in a bit of a conundrum. I agreed to bring you along, and I'd be happy to send you to assist Gregory in his training, but I'm guessing he'll need a week or two before I send you in. Or you're more than welcome to wait here, or do whatever else you wish."

"Will you be continuing your journey? The training is all well and good, but I'm really interested in traveling to new places and meeting new people, like Raz here."

Olivander nodded. "In about a month we'll start for the Black Fort. That's the last major stop before Mardareth."

A waiter stopped by and dropped off some tea for Olivander, and handed him a note. When Olivander raised a brow at him the waiter just shrugged. "It just appeared on the counter as I was getting your tea."

"That is unusual. I would be circumspect about opening strange notes that just randomly appeared for me, but someone seems to have gone through great trouble to get it to me. Thank you," he tipped the waiter and glanced back down at the folded note. "Pardon me, Gloria, Raz. Do you mind if I take a look at this?"

"By all means," Gloria said. "I'm quite curious about it myself."

Olivander,

While making preparations for the Conclave, I have encountered a rather unique individual. He has expressed an interest in several research areas that I know you frequently spend time on. He is also close to one of your new…apprentices. Let me know when and where I can find you, and I'll send him along. You, of course, may send him back at any time.

-Amegnon

"That is odd," Olivander said.

"What is it?" Gloria asked, and Olivander passed the note over so they could both read it.

"What do you make of it?" she asked after reading it.

"It's unusual in several regards. Amegnon is not one to keep in touch. He's not one to do anything for anyone other than himself. He wouldn't find a young researcher remarkable. I suspect he's trying to send a spy to watch me. The real question is why? What plans does he have that he thinks I won't agree with? And most of all, why make me aware of it?"

"He wanted you to know?"

"No, but whoever he hired to manage his information and spy network did. They're worried about what he has planned…"

"That seems like an awful lot of conjecture for one note, Olivander."

Olivander pulled some paper and a pencil from a bag and wrote a quick response.

Now is fine. I'm curious to see who could have made such a powerful impression on you. I'm still at the cafe where you sent the note.

"It is, but whether or not I'm right, there's something to learn here."

He opened a small portal and casually tossed the note through.

"That's convenient."

"It's one of the more…notable aspects of my power."

"Wow, that was awful."

"Do puns usually work for you, Olivander?"

Olivander just sipped his tea, then nodded appreciatively. "So, what are you two up to today?"

"Lunch, and then Raz was going to show me how to pick a pocket."

"Really? That does sound fun. Alas, I have an appointment."

The waiter came back with another note.

"The audacity of this man knows no bounds. Asking if I would be willing to meet a prospective scholarly student and then asking if I can portal him here? Of course I can, but it does seem presumptuous."

Olivander startled the waiter, who hadn't left yet, by opening a large portal right next to him. The man who stumbled out looked very familiar.

"Timothy?" Gloria asked.

"No…Gregory hasn't mentioned him to me much, but I believe this is his oldest brother, Herman."

Olivander got up and shook the lanky man's hand. He was tall, taller than Gregory or Burtrum, but he was thin like his mother and younger sister.

"Herman Temerin, I presume?"

"Ah! Yes, Arch…er, Olivander?"

"The one and only. Well, there might be more, but I haven't met any of them."

"Right…ahh, sorry, this is a little awkward. The Arch-magus only told me today that I might get to meet you."

"And here you are, just in time for lunch! Please, have a seat."

"Uh, okay, thanks."

A forth chair was pulled up, and while Gloria looked curious, Raz was starting to look a little annoyed. He had been enjoying his time alone with Gloria before Olivander returned.

"You're Gregory and Timothy's brother? I can see the resemblance."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Oh yes, we all do look pretty alike! We're all very different though. Well, I think I'm a little more different from the rest of them. They like to hug. I'm not much of a hugger."

Olivander pointed a spoon at the man, "I like you already, Herman. So, what is it that caught Amegnon's interest in you? Besides your relation to my new apprentice of course."

The man was clearly nervous. He kept stirring his tea to give his hands something to do.

"I'm a magical researcher! I, uh, I've read all of your released books, and some from your private collection. I do the occasional odd job or project for the High Magi, and they will sometimes give me one of your books that I haven't been able to find on the open market."

"Do they really? I had no idea. Well I'm glad the books ended up going to someone who cares about the research, and that they aren't just sitting in the closets of the High Magi."

"My current topic of focus is ritual linking. I've read all of your books on the subject, of course, but I'm not a Magus and lack the mana to test out my designs. I'm trying to improve efficiency, but the work has been slow without being able to measure the baseline accurately."

"What sort of rituals are you working with?"

"Water transport! Obviously it's not a problem in a city like this," Herman gestured at a nearby waterfall high in the sky. "But as other cities grow, water sourcing and transport has become a logistical nightmare. I'm looking to improve existing constructs with embedded rituals that will become a template for future advancements in the space!"

Herman had seemed slightly awkward, but his passion for research and design was unquestionably authentic. It made Olivander wonder if he had been wrong. Maybe Amegnon thought the boy was annoying and that it would be funny if he sent him to annoy Olivander. No, it wouldn't be that. Amegnon had a sense of humor as dry as the desert, and most of that was entirely unintentional. The man just didn't find things funny.

Raz looked like he was ready for a nap, so Olivadner gave him a break.

"Raz, Gloria, I do hate to keep you here when I showed up unannounced. Please head out, your lunch is on me. I'm going to get to know some of Herman's projects a little better. I will find you another time to discuss my future travels, Gloria."

No stranger to a polite way out of a conversation, Raz defly thanked Olivander and steered Gloria away before she had a chance to decide if Herman's projects sounded interesting or not.

Herman didn't seem to notice or care that the other two left, he just started explaining his work. "This is what I'm working on right now."

He drew out a ritual quickly.

"A simple water movement ritual. It's great for moving water, but not directing and controlling it. It's very, very efficient right now. Scaled up to the proper size, and it can generate water flow for a decent chunk of the capital. The problem then becomes control. We need to modulate the flow based on usage, and make sure it can be shut off without breaking anything."

He drew out a second ritual.

"This ritual on the other hand is superb at directing and managing flow. If we can link these rituals and keep the efficiency intact we could really have something—"

"No," Olivander interrupted.

"No?"

"The only thing linking these rituals will do is cause a headache. You're looking to merge two different effects into one. Merging rituals takes the output of one ritual and feeds it into the next, typically. You're going to end up with a mess between these two," he held up a hand to forestall the objection that was already on Herman's lips.

"I know you probably already know this, and intend to manage it at the facility level. We can just recirculate or distribute the excess flow through more conventional means, right?"

Herman had paused with his mouth open, but it snapped shut, and he nodded.

"Right. So you're wasting energy and magic, and that's before you even figure out the link. Most people will say it's an acceptable amount of loss, but you've come to me, and I am not most people.

"Consider this."

Olivander drew out a ritual in the air above Herman's pair of rituals. He selected elements he liked and wanted from each one, but then added a few of his own personal spell effects. Then he started on a second ritual. This one is similar to the first, but on a smaller scale. He drew out a third ritual and activated it. The spell duplicated the small ritual a dozen times in the air.

Methodically, he linked all of the smaller rituals to the larger ritual.

Herman just stared with his mouth open.

"There we are. It's a little complicated, as you can see, but we have a master ritual structure. This is a combination of the control and flow rituals you have here, but they aren't quite as powerful. What you get as a tradeoff is flexibility. These downstream linked rituals can control flow at as many outputs as you need, but I would say twelve or so is the sweet spot with this flow ratio. Any larger and you'll end up with the same problem we just had, any smaller and you'll lose water pressure.

"The small rituals feed back into the larger one, when they change and need more flow, they 'instruct' the larger ritual to increase flow to accommodate and maintain a steady state throughout the system."

He was quite happy with the result. He had tackled the problem a few times, but he never had enough ambition or need to actually implement the idea. Of course, to Herman, it looked like he had come up with the entire interconnected system including custom rituals and links in a matter of moments. He could live with the misunderstanding.

"This…is…incredible!"

Herman summoned a notebook through some power. Olivander recalled someone telling him that Herman was a scribe, so he had no doubt the power was related to that class. Indeed the notes seemed to fill the page faster than he was writing.

"This even allows us to take connections offline independently for maintenance."

"It's also adaptable. These connections can be made at any time, though there is a marginal increase in power required for each one. Still, it will be nearly as efficient as if you were able to link these two rituals," he pointed at the rituals Herman had drawn earlier.

"I need to fabricate a prototype!"

"I have a dimensional workspace you can use, if you're interested."

"Oh, I am!"

"Great. I have an appointment this afternoon, so I'll come see you after that. You should be able to find a place to rest if you require, and there's plenty of supplies inside. Just don't mess with the alchemy equipment. There might be a few projects in progress."

Herman nodded in agreement and Olivander opened his dimensional space. Herman went inside without a question, bringing along Olivander's completed ritual and his notes. Olivander shrugged, seeing that the man was on a mission, and shut the opening into the space.

About a dozen people were openly staring, and had been since they started drawing rituals. Magic was common, but people rarely saw rituals in use, so there was a bit of mystique around it. Olivander smiled and waved at the onlookers and departed, leaving payment and a generous tip on the table.

He began making his way toward the guild tower and dungeon, but paused when a thought struck him.

"If he is a spy, he's not a very good one. Unless he wanted to get into my dimensional space…"

That was actually a decent possibility. Brother of Gregory he may be, but Herman was still an unknown. Olivander was being a little careless. He summoned Sous.

"Hey Boss! Oooh, back in Du'la'melio. Is Gregory still alive?"

"He is! I think he's reached the third floor, but I can't track his exact location without going there myself. Listen, Sous, I need you to spend a few hours in my dimensional space with Gregory's oldest brother. His name is Herman. Just watch what he does, and if he tries to pick any locks, detain him."

Olivander pulled out the device he had finished the first run of yesterday.

"This isn't done yet, but it should give you a few more hours of run time. You might have to hold it, or sit on it though. I need to figure out how to integrate it with your body, but it will do for now."

"Oooh, thanks. That's exciting," Sous took the device, which looked like a metal cage of hexagons around the milky white orb that absorbed mana. "Oh! I can feel it. It's giving me little sips of mana. I think it'll work better if I use it after I've lost a decent amount. Maybe, twenty minutes of power?"

"A useful observation. Keep an eye on Herman, and let me know if you have any more ideas about the orb."

Olivander opened back up his space and ushered Sous inside. Herman was already sitting at a desk pulling apart some half built constructs from Olivander's junk pile.

"Herman, this is Sous. He's my personal golem assistant. If you need something he should be able to contact me. Otherwise you can ignore him. He's just observing the effects of this device."

"Sure. Does time flow differently here? Things seem off, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"I don't think so, but I've never checked." Olivander conjured a pair of watches that should last for a few hours each. "Here, we'll compare when I get you in a few hours."

Herman caught the watch and set it on his table before getting back to work.

Olivander left him to it, departing for his appointment at the dungeon.