Stella was sitting at the table with a local member of the Watch Tower and was formulating plans for the operation.
She then looked up and saw the young engineer entering with his co-worker. Suddenly she had a flash of inspiration and thought about commissioning him for some work.
Stella smiled at Axis and greeted him, “Mr. Axis, pleasure seeing you here. Are you a regular here?”
Axis greeted her back and replied, “No Miss Godcomb, it’s my first time visiting this place.” While thinking, “I hope that this is more of a social call than a professional one.” Axis was so wrong.
Stella then replied, “Mr. Axis I hope you will spare some time for me after your meal. I have a business proposition for you.”
Axis was a bit surprised about what business she had from him but he gave an affirmative answer and went to the table Benson was sitting at.
Benson and Micaela were talking in hushed tones when Benson saw Axis sitting in the chair.
He then said with a colourful expression, “Seems like young Axis has caught Miss Stella’s eyes. She looked rather delighted seeing you here. Don’t tell me you have been stalking her Axis.”
Axis denied vehemently while both Benson and Micaela were laughing and said, “She was just quite pleased with my previous work and was thinking about some more business.”
Micaela then said for the first time, “Axis, this is how relationships are formed. You spend some time together and someone may develop feelings. That’s how I met Darling here. He had hurt his hand on some project and I was treating him for it and then we fell in love.”
This was a piece of news for Axis and he thought, “Isn’t this against the codes of ethics Micaela. You fell in love with your patient during the job. I hope nobody reports you for this.”
Benson understood what Axis was thinking and tried to come up with excuses. By that time the food was already there.
They had ordered a plate of Sauce Infused Giant Anemone Fish, Cave Mushroom Crispies, and Niyaccoli Bread.
And for Dessert they had Night Light Ale Pudding, a delicious sparkling night blue coloured pudding made from Night Light Ale, when cut opened, there was a stream of blueberry cream.
It was a luxurious meal for Axis. The last time he had a meal like this was when the Boss had won a bid for some important tender. The meal was worth 30 Aur, almost his week's salary.
But when he called the waiter, the waiter replied that the meal was paid for. This statement caused both Benson and Micaela to come up with wild theories and made incredulous faces to Axis.
All three of them then went towards Stella’s table and thanked her. Then Benson and Micaela left leaving Axis behind.
Stella then signaled the other gentleman to also leave and sat opposite Axis and said, “Mr. Axis, I have a rather lucrative proposition for you. I hope you know what this is.” While bringing a vial filled with a light blue coloured viscous material.
Seeing the vial Axis’s eyes almost bulged out and he choked. Axis looked around cautiously and said, “Miss, I should inform you in advance, Liquefied Vulcanite is illegal to procure and work with for us.”
Stella laughed and said, “It means you know how to work with Vulcanite.”
Axis didn’t reply anything and then Stella continued, “You don’t have to worry about anything Mr. Axis. This deal will be between us.”
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“Miss you fail to understand how dangerous it is to weaponize Vulcanite. Not to mention I will be breaking various legal and security protocols while doing so.” Replied Axis almost annoyed.
Stella brushed him off and said, “You don’t have to worry about rules and such as no one will know. On top of that, I am willing to pay you 500 Aur as a commission for doing so. You just have to make a handgun hidden inside of a gauntlet with Vulcanite ammunition.”
Axis replied a bit temptingly, “Miss you want me to take a massive risk for a meagre 500 Aur.”
Stella smiled and said, “500 Aur plus providing you with a workspace and materials. It will maintain the clandestine nature of the project and also will not implicate Cyclops.”
Axis couldn’t deny the fact that he was really tempted to take the offer. Stella already knew that the fish was on the hook. She just had to reel it in.
Stella then added, “Also to make your work easier I will fit Steam Proliferators in the workshop, and for the duration of my work you are free to use it for personal projects.”
Axis was sold on this idea but had one last question, “Miss I’ll not ask you for the reason you require such dangerous weaponry but I sincerely hope that it will not be used against innocent people.”
Stella softened a bit and said, “Don’t worry. I will make sure to operate with caution.”
Saying this Stella handed 200 Aur to Axis and said, “This is an advance and a sign of my good faith.”
Axis was about to leave when Stella handed him a note and said, “Memorise the address and dispose of it.”
Axis left the restaurant feeling speechless and saw the note. It was an address in the warehouse district near the outskirts. Axis made a mental note of it and went back towards his home.
Axis on the whole way thought, “The world of nobles and elites is quite different. Stella could get her hands on vulcanite and some conspiracy is underway. Should I tell mother and father to take a vacation while “they” carry out their plans? I hope this is nothing serious and she is just interested in how Vulcanite works.”
Axis while entering the building saw Mr. Bytmuk straddling along with a large bag of groceries and Axis offered his help. Mr. Bytmuk refused and after Axis pestered him for a while he offered Axis to hold his overcoat and walking stick. Axis happily obliged and dropped him off at his house.
Axis then went to his house. He stood at the door first and dusted himself off and entered. He saw his father sitting in the same place again with a listless expression and a creepy smile on his face. Axis went towards his father and called out to him. His father didn’t reply so Axis shook him a bit and he woke up.
Bertand looked at Axis and said, “When did you get here? I didn’t hear you enter.”
Axis had nothing to say. He already believed his father’s condition was deteriorating. He wanted his father to get checked at a hospital.
Axis sat in front of his father and said, “Father, tomorrow we will go to the hospital to get you checked out.”
At first, his father denied having any illness but Axis got some help from his mother and his father grumblingly agreed to go.
Axis then went back to his room. As he was locking the door he heard a voice in his head. “Master, Please visit the tower.”
Axis then sat on the bed, closed his eyes, and willed to enter his tower.
He went back to the tower and saw The Eye waiting for him. It greeted him and said, “Master let me explain the various abilities to you.”
“Three Skills you chose are best suited for you because they are synergistic with each other. Dream weaving allows you to weave dreams and create something from nothing in your tower. The dream tendrils formed to allow you to shape objects in the tower. Dream Physique allows you to manifest these tendrils in the real world and increase your ability to cast better illusions. As for Spectral Jester, it will allow you to create magic tricks and illusions and you can also augment the materials formed from Dream Weaving.”
Axis was a bit happy hearing about the fantastical abilities he had gained through the Tower but he was also a little unhappy and said, “But I have no offensive abilities. Only tricks and illusions.”
The Eye replied then, “Don’t underestimate the survival capabilities of a Dream Tower Master. You can also use the synergy to create weapons for you in the real world, but you have to get stronger to create more powerful weapons.”
Then The Eye told him, “The last thing I need to tell you before I disappear is to acquire Methods On Madness. It is a famous book in the Tower Master community. It was written by Master Ashville to help his fellow peers. But unknown to everyone else you can use it to gain knowledge about various other spells and materials to promote, which Master wrote and hid in the book for his successor.”
“And the last thing I will teach you is to find the Veiled Market in the city. Take a Trumpetback Mushroom. It is commonly found everywhere on the continent. Burn it and collect its ashes. Let the ashes flow and infuse your tower energy into it. It will lead you to the Veiled market.”
Saying this The Eye was a bit sad and said, “Hope you will succeed in your endeavours, Master Axis. I’ll not wish you luck, because it is the last thing you need. I hope you will use your wits and abilities to carve a new path.”
“KURIOSO MORTENUS AMANSIAS”
Saying this The Eye disappeared forever.
And Axis made plans to retrieve Methods On Madness from the Veiled Market.