As soon as Meiris' palm grazed the surface of the platform- Tens of tiny crystals lit up, arranged in a variety of shapes on a circular display. The largest shape in the middle was an inverted N, with rings at the tips of its edges.
Not all of the crystals sprung to life, but enough to illuminate everything atop the workbench, including the instrument itself. The display was made of a multitude of materials, weaving shapes of their own. At the bottom, several plates connected it to a stand that also held the thin and shiny platform.
The rest of the items surrounding her looked similar, but perhaps they served different purposes...
Then she noticed something else- Her hand was shiny from sweat... But she didn't dwell on this for long. Meiris concluded that it must have been related to the magic involved, is all.
Meanwhile, Stegat had closed his eyes soon after the device had activated. She only just saw him standing there, thinking half-seriously whether the glow irked him this much. Still, she didn't remove her hand.
Though when she started to grow impatient, he opened his eyes and went to write something down on a piece of paper...
She thought of removing her palm now, but-
"Not yet! Not yet..."
Stegat almost sounded excited when he said that.
"..."
She had known him since yesterday, but it was still quite the contrast.
Once he was done writing... and drawing things Meiris couldn't understand, they went through several other of the instruments.
"What- Ahem. Who are you..."
His eyes remained fixated on the papers.
Meiris hadn't missed what he had wanted to say - what was she, not who... An alarm bell rang in her head, but she wanted some answers now that she... Was she close to any answers?
"What did you find out?"
She approached him near the second workbench, where there was more empty space for his notes.
Thoughts of greater importance occupied her mind, but how could he read any of those in such darkness, now that there was no longer any light coming off of the devices? Only the dim mana lamps remained and what little sunlight managed to seep in...
"...I would need more time, but from my early estimations your divergence reaches up to twenty-one percent. Moreover, the interference suggests existence of unique mana forms... Your shifting is fascinating, it resembles tracing on a miniscule scale, but done as naturally as breathing!
"There are so many links missing... Absolutely unbelievable-"
Stegat went on for a while, murmuring to himself - is what it sounded like to Meiris, because he wouldn't even explain what anything meant.
Eventually his enthusiasm died down and his voice got much worse from all the thinking out loud that he did.
"Come tomorrow."
He said, the words hardly discernible.
"I will, if you agree to teach me."
"Teach?"
Stegat gazed at her. Was he more surprised or confused? She couldn't tell-
"Yes. Teach me about the imbuements and tracing."
"...Hm."
He seemed conflicted. Suddenly angry, but wary of that anger... Was that really such an inappropriate request of her to make?
Eventually Stegat made up his mind...
"So be it."
The tone of his voice was firm, as if someone else spoke those words.
"Thank you."
Meiris gave him a nod and was about to leave-
"I will teach you miss, if I see that you are worth teaching. You are special, but that is meaningless unless you put in the effort."
One of the mana lamps illuminated his face just enough for her to notice- There was something unpleasant looming behind his eyes... A memory?
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"I will do my best."
"Good."
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Helrin was even more surprised when Meiris asked whether it was okay for her to leave for a few hours each day-
"Have you broken something? If so, that's his own fault for not managing the shop properly, you don't owe him."
He was definitely less sympathetic towards the man than his father.
"No, that's not it." She shook her head. "I actually asked Stegat to teach me magic imbuement."
Her answer was no-less unexpected, but it's not like he required her to work for them the entire day in the first place. At least not on a normal day...
So from now on, Meiris would clean the rooms in the morning, learn about magic imbuement around noon or past it, then help at the inn in the evening.
To her satisfaction, Stegat's first lessons weren't saturated with theory. Perhaps that would have been interesting as well, but he kept it to a minimum, sharpening her mana sense right away. She preferred it this way, because she had no idea how long this would last...
The process was straightforward, or rather its first step- It was the most natural to feel mana flowing in the constraints of one's body, so Meiris kept casting the flame spell over and over again. That by itself was bound to take a long time, but not with the help of a master who already had their mana sense developed - Stegat could see her flow and touch her hand to bring her focus to the right place, but also interfere with it.
Control of mana on its own was no simple thing, and interference was limited by laws yet unsolved.
Meiris was making quick progress, recognizing the power flowing through her- The power she realistically still couldn't harness, but it was a fascinating feeling. Like something she had lost long ago and just as essential as an arm...
The other odd thing was that her hands would always end up covered in sweat, as if by stress... But why? It didn't make sense...
Either way, that's where she got, before Jill's return reminded her that tomorrow was gonna be a busy day at the inn, so she wouldn't have the time for another lesson.
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It was just as - if not more - hectic as two weeks ago.
Meiris' job was nearly the same. She had no occasion to give her unpolished cooking skills a try, though she did help with the beverages from time to time.
"Lena, pour the mister a large mug of western Midnight!"
Jill's voice caught her doing the dishes, but those could wait-
The drink was just a mass-produced beer, nothing enticing... But Meiris was well aware that the Midnight breweries were one of the most profitable in the country. After all, her ex-family owned the northern branch...
"What for you, folks?"
Jonarth had taken a break, so it was Jill taking care of both orders and accommodations now, aside the rare moments when she had the time to help Helrin in the kitchen nook.
Then Meiris noticed Jonarth walking back down the stairs. He headed towards the sink, with a glass in his hand.
She overheard that he went to drink another potion. The mystery surrounding his circumstances... Well, not so much anymore-
"The damned curse!"
His voice full of frustration reached her ears just when she was handing out the mug.
'Curse?'
Her gaze travelled to the sink, where she spotted him struggling to get a thin stream of water flowing from the tap.
"It's okay, Dad. Just leave it for Lena."
Helrin knew he couldn't do much to comfort his father, not about this. It had pained him in more than one way throughout the years, but it was the way that things had turned out...
The helplessness and fury this curse caused were plain as day on Jonarth's face.
Then it dawned on her-
'This is my fault. I have to ask Stegat to fix the tap and for a way to control this...'
The curse obviously had nothing to do with her, but Meiris had used the tap for multiple hours each day since two weeks ago. Her shifting must have made it terrible for everyone else... Though that wasn't something she would tell them.
Stegat had taken her by surprise and she had been lured in by the possibility of solving her predicament, but she was anxious about the implications. What did it mean- And what could happen if a curious person got a hold of this information...
In that sense, Stegat himself was dangerous, but was there a better choice she could have made? As long as he wasn't going to try anything too weird, she would make use of his knowledge...
In regards to the curse, she would look for an opportune moment to ask about it, but that definitely wasn't now, nor was it necessary.
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A blurry crimson aura covered the large bronze disc in front of Meiris- It was another of her lessons, they have moved on to external mana perception.
Stegat wanted her to perceive the sensation like sight, just like he was taught, which she had an exceptional aptitude for - to the point it should have been impossible. Yes, her blurry vision was far from useful, but it's become like this after only one week of practice. She nearly made him forget the past, to witness such a thing... Such a person- He reminded himself.
It wasn't just her, but the talent she possessed... The heights he could have only dreamt of- While he had reached far above his peers, she had the means to dwarf his accomplishments. Even assuming that she wasn't as intelligent or would never contest his knowledge, there were hurdles the conscious mind couldn't overcome. Hurdles that his senses couldn't comprehend. If it wasn't a temporary fluke, she could find what he's been missing all this time!
'Yet... What is the point?'
Those were hopes of a broken man, intelligent in one way only. What was he even doing? A question he had failed to answer for many years... Death never caught his interest, but he was certain this world wasn't a place for him-
He needed a moment.
"Go through the second door on the right and fetch me a staff."
"...Alright."
Meiris lost her concentration and the aura disappeared from her view.
"But how does it look?"
It was extremely odd that Stegat wanted her to bring something for - she assumed - their lessons, he would always keep her waiting here before...
"There is only one."
She would have liked more details, especially considering how cluttered every part of this workshop tended to be, but perhaps it really would be there in plain sight- Not. As much as Stegat wanted the staff, he also wanted her gone for a while.
His wish would come true, because in the dim light Meiris miscounted the doors and found a room she wasn't meant to. It was... Tidy. His bedroom- It put her on guard ever so slightly. The chances of him being such a person seemed nigh impossible to her at this point, but that was exactly how those scandals went...
Not many magical items were around, definitely no staffs... She searched for it carefully - it may have been what people also called 'a wand'...
While she did so, she came by a painting of a family. She lit her flame to see it more clearly and recognized Stegat on the right side. She had to admit that he used to be handsome and the woman he held hands with was a beauty. Then there was a tiny girl in-between them- They were all clad in expensive clothes and smiling.