Gillow doesn’t even blink at my proposal to go to Emrox—a venture, apparently, many have made, and few have returned from. They don’t seem surprised when I suggest we use their sub. They don’t even ask about my nature, though that hungry look in their eyes tells me they’re dying to learn more. I’m not sure if it’s politeness or a certainty that they’ll eventually find out that keeps them so restrained. I hope it’s the former.

“All well and good,” they say. “A round trip to Emrox would pay for itself, given the null magic that can be harvested. Even so, I don’t do anything for free. What do you have to offer me?”

I summon my Attuned void to my hand, and I can feel the predator tremble from where Zyneth is carrying the bottle in his pack. I quickly strengthen my mental hold on the creature and stamp out its resistance. Can’t have it sapping any of my mana while I’m distracted. “Null arcana. Pure, unfiltered. I have seen how much null-arcana enhanced salt goes for in the city.” I haven’t, actually, but I have a good idea of how rare it is from my time in Harrowood. “This should cover the cost.”

Gillow leans forward. “You’re a void mage, too? This just gets more and more interesting.” They reach out a hand, and I draw the void back. “Come now. You must expect me to sample the wares.”

“It is a limited resource,” I say. “You will receive payment when the mission is complete.”

“Half up front,” Gillow counters.

“All of it when we get there,” I shoot back. “If the journey to Emrox is as perilous as they say, I will need this to help us survive the trip.”

Gillow considers this. “There is more null arcana in the waters around Emrox. However it can be difficult to extract. If we get there, could you pull more of it from the ocean?”

Uh. Great question. So far I haven’t been able to control glass or void unless I had already Attuned it, and to Attune something, I need to be touching it. Which wouldn’t make it impossible to do—I’d just have to be in the water.

Outside of the submarine.

Potentially surrounded by magical sea-serpents.

What could go wrong?

“Yes,” I say, figuring if nothing else I can just bluff my way to Emrox. After all, if everything goes well, I won’t be coming back.

Gillow leans back, arms folded. “Well, you make a tempting offer, my homunculus friend. I’m inclined to accept.”

“But?” Zyneth says for the first time during the conversation. He’s as stiff as a board, hands crossed in his lap—mere inches away from where his knives are sheathed. Does he really expect Gillow to attack us? Or does it just bring him comfort?

Gillow’s eyes slide over to Zyneth. “But,” they say, mouth twitching with a smile. “I’m afraid the Prismatic is out of commission. Even if I wanted to take you to Emrox, I couldn’t. Not with a dead spell circuit.”

“A what?” I ask.

“My, and I took you for a mage.” Gillow chuckles.

In contrast, Zyneth seems oddly relieved. “A spell circuit is what supplies magic across a complex network of spell circles and enchanted items,” Zyneth says. “Common in the fields of artificing and enchantment. It’s the backbone behind an ecosystem of disparate magic; you might see them in a castle, or a floating isle…”

“Or a submarine,” I finish. I look between Zyneth and Gillow. “That is it, then? We are dead in the water?”

Gillow cackles. “Dead in the water. I like that phrase. But no, we still have options.”

Zyneth frowns. “Of course. It’s always something with you.”

Gillow raises an eyebrow. “My dear friend, you seem to be implying I could have foreseen any of our current circumstances. I assure you, never in my wildest dreams could I have prepared for a sentient glass homunculus to waltz through my doors and ask to be taken to Emrox in a contraption several years out of use.”

“What is it, then?” Zyneth snaps. “What do you want from us?”

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Gillow looks at me. “So testy, that one. Always suspects ulterior motives. You should be asking yourself why he wants to accompany you on this trip when he stands to gain nothing and is so clearly uninterested in associating with me.”

“Gillow,” Zyneth growls.

Gillow waves the warning away. “At any rate, what I need is a way to get the sub back up and running, and for that I need to power the spell circuit. A charged arcanum crystal will do. I can either give you my dead one, if you can find a way to recharge it, or I can point you to the closest charged one I’m aware of.”

Zyneth sits back, folding his arms. “And there it is.”

“What?” I ask. I don’t know the first thing about any arcanum crystals, but Gillow’s proposal seems straightforward enough. We either charge the battery or buy a new one. “What is wrong?”

“They’re acting like an arcanum crystal is a trivial thing to come by,” Zyneth says. “These enchanted items are packed with extremely dense magical energies: in the hands of a mage, it would be like tapping directly into an arcana source without worrying about depleting their own mana. It could take months or even years to use it all up. Because of that, they are rare, and extremely expensive.”

That’s the first time Zyneth has referred to money as a limiting factor before. Noli and Rezira said he was rich: if this magical item is too much for him, then that’s saying something.

“What about charging theirs instead?” I say.

Zyneth snorts. “They aren’t giving us an option: merely the illusion of one. The forging—or charging—of an arcana crystal takes the combined and coordinated spells of upwards of a hundred seasoned mages. That’s even less likely than finding one to purchase.”

“Who said anything about purchasing?” Gillow smiles.

“No,” Zyneth says. “Absolutely not. I am putting my foot down here. We are not stealing anything from anyone.”

“Is it really stealing if it should have been mine in the first place?” Gillow asks.

“Yes,” Zyneth says, exasperated. “It absolutely is.”

“That seems rather simplistic,” Gillow says, “and you haven’t even heard the full story yet. It’s a victimless crime.”

“I agree with Zyneth,” I say. “I am not wild about stealing.” Okay, yes, a little hypocritical given what I’d had to do to survive as a walking ink bottle, but to be fair my and Noli’s lives were on the line. “Besides, it seems like you are getting more out of this bargain than us. We get to Emrox, but you get both the null arcana and this valuable crystal that you could either turn around and sell for extreme profit, or use to continue to mine arcana from Emrox. Not a fair trade.”

Gillow grins, revealing all their pointed teeth. “Fair point, my crystalline friend. Then how about I sweeten the pot.” They point to Zyneth. “If you successfully deliver this charged arcanum crystal to me, I will consider Zyneth’s debt paid in full. He’ll never have to do another job for me again.”

Zyneth sits in stunned silence.

Gillow takes this as an invitation to continue. “A fully functional Prismatic will be more valuable than any of the trinkets you could bring in, anyway.”

“Liar,” Zyneth snarls, breaking through his surprise. “No. You’d never give up leverage by choice.”

Gillow looks at him impassively. “Believe what you want, but I am a person of my word. As I said, having the Prismatic back in commission is worth more to me than your employment.”

Zyneth scoffs at that last word, pushing his chair back and turning to me as he stands. “I told you this was a terrible idea. Let’s not waste our time any longer. Come, Kanin, we’ll find another solution elsewhere.”

I don’t stand up, though. Gillow ignores Zyneth, keeping their gaze on me. “Well?”

“Tell me more about who has the crystal,” I say. “You said it is a victimless crime.”

Gillow grins, lacing their fingers together and resting their chin on their hands. “The Athenaeum is run by a complex network of spells.”

“Gods be good,” Zyneth says. “You can’t be serious?”

Gillow ignores him. “Yedzaquib owns not just one arcanum crystal, but many. Only one is in use to power the library at any given time, however there are several discharged crystals that are kept in reserve. These are gradually charged back up, and when one is fully powered, it is swapped with the crystal in use, so that there may always be a supply of crystals to cycle through and the Athenaeum never need close its doors. Yedzaquib would not be pleased to lose one, but he will also not suffer from the loss. He’s the most powerful and wealthy merchant in the capital, after all. The wealth he brings in on a monthly basis could purchase new arcana crystals alone.”

Stealing something from Yedzaquib sounds like a frankly terrible idea. That man gives me the willies. Though apart from being a creepy spider person, he didn’t seem like a bad person. Stealing from him definitely wouldn’t be right. At the same time, it certainly seems like he can afford to part with an expensive trinket or two without having to skip a meal. Taking the crystal won’t put his livelihood or freedom at stake.

Meanwhile, Zyneth’s is.

Man, he’s not going to like this.

“Deal,” I say. “If we get you this crystal, Zyneth never has to work for you again. And if you get me to Emrox, I will get you the null arcana.”

“What?” Zyneth says. “No—you don’t get to decide that for me. I will not be participating.”

“You do not have to,” I say. “The deal is just to retrieve the crystal for Gillow, which I am willing to attempt on my own. Is that right?”

Gillow’s eyes dance between us in amusement. “Correct. I don’t particularly care who is involved as long as I receive my goods.”

“Then it is settled,” I say. “Tell me more about the Athenaeum’s crystals.”

Zyneth sighs, running a hand down his face. First he glares at Gillow, then at me, then angrily pulls his chair out and sits back down.

“You do not have to do this with me,” I say to Zyneth.

“No,” Zyneth agrees, “But if I don’t, you’ll get yourself killed.” He glares at Gillow. “Alright, then, let’s get this over with. Tell us about the blasted library already.”