Orrin slumped down against the wall in the courtyard of the Catanzano house and covered his face with his hands. “That was a nightmare.”

Daniel laughed at his side. “You did well. Madi had to save you once or twice, but I don’t know where the timid Orrin who never raised his hand in class went. You told Guildmaster Pritus to fuck off.”

“I told her she was being unreasonable. I did not tell her to fuck off.”

“Tomato, tomato.”

“You’re supposed to enunciate tomato differently each time. Toe-may-to. Toe-mah-to. Get it?”

Daniel reached over and ruffled Orrin’s hair. His friend had somehow found the time before the meeting to shave and cut his hair but Orrin’s own was getting long. His mom would have called him mangy.

“I’m messing with you, O. You did something incredible today,” Daniel praised him. “That Hospital Principal guy might be a dick but he had a point about the side-effects of your buffs. I hope they can find a solution.”

Orrin grimaced at the mention of Principal Mangin. The creepy old man smiled with too many teeth and had shark eyes. His questions about how Orrin’s spells worked without mana exhaustion were ignored, much to his annoyance but the few arguments he’d made against overuse of the new weapon were sound enough.

“I have a few ideas but nothing concrete. I’m sure the Hospital could cure the status effects but that asshole didn’t seem like he wanted to help much,” Orrin said as he began making [Increase Will] spell orbs at level one. They’d been the most requested by far, with the ability to give a mage extra mana to spend. “We could talk with an [Alchemist]. I’m sure they have something easy they could brew up. I could even make [Purify] orbs but I think Madi wouldn’t approve. I’d need to make them in a one to one ratio but as long as everyone uses them like we instructed, there shouldn’t even be side effects.”

Daniel snorted. “If you believe that people are not going to hoard those things and use them all at once, I have a seaside cottage in Dey that you should buy. I’m tempted to take a bunch of those things from you just to practice with an increased strength. I think I’m improving in using more strength but every bit will help when we fight the demons.”

Orrin closed his eyes, letting the afternoon sun warm him. The lunch spread that Silas put out for all the visitors was modest in fare but abundant in quantity. He’d tried a lot of new dishes. “Do you think you can control yourself around demons? Last time some came close to Dey, you went on the chase pretty quick.”

Daniel rolled to his side and pushed up against the wall. He stretched his arms over his head before answering. “I think I’ll be okay. Plus, I’ll have you to keep me in check. Madi and Brandt, too, if Silas gives the approval. I don’t know why he wouldn’t.”

“Everyone is going to have to fight,” Orrin agreed in a whisper. “Silas asked if I wanted to scout the Pass with you tomorrow. The Guild and the unions are putting out quests for [Stone Mages] and other building classes. They want to get a small wall and fortifications up at the far side of the Pass within the next two days. Then, we have to find as many narrow parts of the Pass as we can, make sure any climbable areas are reinforced or trapped, and keep any monsters in the area in check while doing it. It’s going to be a busy week.”

“Don’t overdo it. We’ve got an army behind us this time. Have you seen the elves training with their bows? If we set them up on a wall, they can pin down the enemy from a mile away. With your buffs, our mages can put out more spells than any demon and if the [Demon Lord] shows his face, we can kick his ass.”

Orrin stood and motioned for Daniel to enter the sparring area with him. “We should practice some. I have all these new spells and combinations that I figured out in Odrana. Check this out.”

Orrin summoned his [Ice Sword] and used [Gust] to cover a training dummy with ice when he hit it. “It isn’t strong enough to freeze someone in place for more than a second, but if we time it right, it’ll be like I’m setting you up for an easy dunk.”

Orrin and Daniel talked, showing each other their new spells. Daniel had some interesting new attacks as well. His influx of new ability points had gone to upgrade a few of his key attacks but he’d also branched out into a few spells. The floating balls of darkness around Daniel reminded Orrin too much of Lord Sanerris’s attacks. They made Orrin’s magic do weird things, like go off course or even circle back toward him.

He dodged another [Lightstrike] that Daniel’s new spell rebounded just as Madi and Brandt entered, arguing about something.

“Hey guys, you come to get some practice in?” Daniel let Gertrude rest on the ground. His spells fizzled out as well.

Madi shook her head and handed a letter to Orrin. “We got the final contracts drawn up and everybody we spoke to agreed to the important terms but the Hospital sent this.”

Orrin read the letter, his rage building the more he read. “Are they serious? Everyone could be dead in a week and they want to use this to… I don’t know… make a healing monopoly in Dey?”

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“What’s going on?” Daniel asked, stabbing his sword into the dirt and joining the group.

“That asshole Mangin and his cronies will heal the troops only if we pay a daily rate. They also want full control over all healing magic in Dey and the surrounding areas in return for their ‘help.,’” Orrin answered. His hands were shaking and he handed the letter back to Madi before he ripped it into pieces. “Can they do that?”

“The Hospital is an independent faction,” Brandt explained. Orrin noted his fists were clenched, too. “They don’t have to answer our call for help but there might not be enough [Healers] in Dey to cover their loss if we turn them down.”

“I could make healing orbs,” Orrin offered. “I can push myself a bit more than we negotiated in there. If we get a few [Healers] that we trust that aren’t part of the Hospital, they could distribute them as needed.”

Madi frowned. “We can’t have you do that, Orrin. We can’t ask that of you and we can’t put you at risk like that. If the Hospital catches word that you are healing all of Dey… again… they might come after you. A civil war within Dey would be devasting.”

Orrin let out a scream of anger and threw his remaining [Ice Sword] at one of the archery targets. It stuck true. Not in the middle but a few months ago, Orrin would have tripped and missed it completely. A small part of his rational brain congratulated himself on the growth.

“This is an initial bargaining point,” Madi said after letting Orrin calm himself. “My father is going there in person to negotiate. He may pay more but he won’t give that much power to another group. It’ll be fine.”

Brandt and Daniel faced off and practiced sword forms together, while Madi began testing her new spells. Orrin tried to focus but the anger he felt at people playing games and making power moves while everyone was in danger overwhelmed his thoughts. He tried casting [Calm Mind] on himself but within a few minutes, he knew it wasn’t working.

“I’m going out. I need to get some more penidrop mushrooms for regen potions and I might visit Tony. I’m too worked up to concentrate,” Orrin announced, interrupting Madi’s demonstration of her kaleidoscope of lights attack. “Sorry.”

Madi let the spell die. “Do you want some company?”

Orrin shook his head. “I need to walk and think. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Brandt and Daniel waved before falling back into a ready stance. Those two would beat on each other all day if they could.

Orrin visited the same [Alchemist] he’d used in the past and purchased the full penidrop mothershroom along with a few regular clippings. He held the plant in his hands as he walked the street toward Tony’s townhome, half-hoping someone would try and mug him.

“You survived Odrana. I was worried I might have to make a trip,” Tony’s voice hit Orrin’s brain with a light chuckle. “I’ve been hearing lots of interesting things today. What did you do this time?”

Orrin smiled as he rounded the corner and saw Tony waiting at his doorway. “Sorry, I cut the vacation short. You could have come out for a visit but the Sanerris family kept me under house arrest. Wouldn’t have been much of a trip for you.”

Tony raised a bushy eyebrow and waved Orrin to join him. Leaving the door open, he moved back into his sanctuary. “Come inside and talk. Or keep standing there with your thoughts all askew. I’m not the only person interested in you today, it seems.”

Orrin heard a shout and heard feet slapping as someone ran away behind him.

“Thief?” Orrin asked as he closed the door and moved inside.

“Spy. Somebody wants to know what you are doing. Another will take his place but we can talk in private here,” Tony’s voice carried a calmness that Orrin clung to. He was sure it was the Hospital. He felt the anger building again.

“I’m sorry if that makes trouble for you,” Orrin said through clenched teeth. “I didn’t think visiting you would –”

“Shut up, boy,” Tony said, turning and giving Orrin a rough and clumsy hug. He grabbed his shoulders and looked down into his eyes. “You can visit whenever you need. Now come have some tea and tell me what new adventures you’ve had. The Sanerris family, you say? Anabella or her sniveling son?”

Orrin smiled and waited for Tony to turn before wiping at his eyes. The dust from Tony’s dirty walkway was totally the reason his eyes were watering. “Both actually. We went to find Brandt and bring him home but when we got to Mistlight…”

Orrin spun his tale as Tony made tea, which Orrin poked around with a spoon but refused to drink. Dirty leaf water. Tony’s eyes danced when Orrin told him about beating Sanerris the first time and he let out an actual physical laugh that was more strangled cat than chuckle when Orrin finished with the restructuring of Odrana’s leadership.

“You could walk into a hurricane and find a way to calm the Seasnake that cast it,” Tony said with wonder. “I would have found a way to leave but I guess you gained some new spells and knowledge.”

“And knowing is half the battle,” Orrin joked.

“Knowledge comes with a price. Sometimes it’s worth the cost,” Tony spoke darkly. “What did you teach the leadership of Dey that has them running around searching for old villagers?”

Orrin sighed. He shouldn’t have been surprised that the other Lords were trying to edge into this new market but there it was. “I figured out a way to store my increase stat spells in spell glass. I got [Spell Orb] and can make a bunch for those that fight the demon Horde that’s coming toward Dey. Actually, now that I’m here… I met this woman near the eastern gate, Nina. She’s had some trauma and is a little… crazy isn’t the nicest word but yeah. Do you know any way to help her?”

Tony rested his hands together over his cup and stared into his cooling tea. “I hope you didn’t try to heal her in any way. There are few that would attempt such a thing but you rush into situations without thought sometimes.”

Orrin held his hand over his chest in mock outrage. “Who? Me? No!”

Tony pulled his lips into a straight line.

“I didn’t. I asked a friend who is a [Healer] and even asked the elves if I could talk with a [Mind Walker] but dead ends all around so far. You didn’t answer my question, though.”

“I can talk with her but there is little help that I know of for loss other than time.”

Orrin felt the shadow of Tony’s past falling over the room. He hadn’t come to depress his friend. “I bought a plant today. Do people in this world name their plants? It’s a mushroom and I’m supposed to keep it in a dark place. What do you think?”

Tony rolled his eyes at Orrin. “I’m glad that you’ve found a way to release your frustration. I don’t name my plants but I talk with them in my own way.”

“I was thinking of naming it Tony,” Orrin announced, putting the penidrop mothershroom on the table.

“I regret ever meeting you.”