Verdan woke early the next day and sent a message to the Kranjir before making a quick trip down to Elliot’s forge to finish the creation of his latest enchantment machine.

Elliot had done a fantastic job, as always, and had already made the forms for the medallions that Verdan wanted, ready to begin once Magnus arrived.

Satisfied that everything was in order, Verdan returned to the mansion and, once the Chosen arrived, began assessing them to see if they had mastered the limited information he’d given them.

Dirk was included in the group, but Verdan focused on the other three first.

The tests were simple, but it would give Verdan an idea of the depths of their reserves and how efficient and effective the gathering spiral they had made was.

“Take this and feed your Aether into it,” Verdan said, passing Maeve a metal pipe with a small crystal at the top.

Nodding, she did just that, causing the crystal to glow slightly. It wasn’t that bright, but she maintained the flow for a good minute, which was a marked improvement over where she’d been a week or two ago.

Ciaran’s attempt was brighter, but didn’t last as long, while Osran’s was both brighter than Maeve’s and longer lasting than Ciaran.

The Menteith Chosen looked pleased, and a little smug, by his performance, so Verdan passed the pipe on to Dirk while commanding the others to use their spiral.

The crystal bloomed into a bright light, equivalent to Verdan’s normal light spell, and remained at the same intensity for a full minute before Verdan nodded and took it back.

If they were Wizards, the three Chosen could manage a half-dozen single Word spells each per day, but that would be all.

The aim of this hadn’t been to increase their reserves, though. It had been about giving them a way to recover faster.

Their reserves had increased, and would continue to if they kept up with using their spiral, but their chief aim was now complete.

“Very well. The three of you can now make a passable gathering spiral. Consider yourselves finished with our training. I’d recommend you continue working on it every day, but the rest is down to you. Any last questions?”

“Will you be able to help us spread this technique within the Clans?” Ciaran asked, but Verdan shook his head.

“No, that is for the three of you to do. I will help here and there, but the main work must come from you. I will only be personally teaching Wizard candidates from this point on.”

“We understand, and thank you again for showing us this. It will change everything for the Clans,” Ciaran said, reaching out to clasp Verdan’s arm. “If you need anything from us, you have only to ask.”

“Agreed,” Maeve said solemnly.

“I may have forced my way into this,” Osran said softly. “But I didn’t realise at the time just what a difference it would make. Thank you for sharing this invaluable knowledge.”

Verdan nodded and thanked them, keeping a neutral smile as they left once more.

“Is there an issue, Master?” Dirk asked, remaining behind once the rest had gone. “You seem conflicted.”

“They treasure what I’ve given them, but I feel as though I’ve cheated them. Without being able to maintain their spiral, they will never be able to form even a single strand to the same complexity that we use.”

“It will change much, though,” Dirk said with an emphatic shake of his head. “What matters is the value they find in it, more than the possibilities. They don’t want to become Wizards, and they don’t have the mental flexibility for it. This is the right choice, and I’m honoured that you’d share this much with my people.”

Verdan nodded reluctantly. Dirk was right. It had just hit him when they were so thankful for what he was giving them.

“Let’s change the subject,” Verdan said, shaking it off and focusing back on his apprentice. “You have enough spirals to be a Wizard in your own right, so I’m going to give you greater access to the Words I know. What is it you wish to know next?”

Dirk’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly took a seat opposite Verdan. “Can you list the ones you know so I can hear them all?”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

A ghost of a smile touched Verdan’s lips. That had been the right choice, and it was reassuring the Dirk knew that. “Very well, starting from the top…”

-**-

Verdan spent most of the day working with Dirk, teaching him Grym and Sia, the words to empower and shape.

Learning two more words when he was still working on some of the others was a lot to ask, but Dirk had risen to every challenge that Verdan had set, and he was confident that he would do the same now.

He was also conscious of Dirk’s limited vocabulary, and he wanted to start to remedy that while they had the chance.

There was only so much that he could do in one day, however, so after dinner, Verdan made his way back down to Elliot’s forge.

The rhythmic pound of Elliot’s hammer rang out as Verdan entered the forge.

The Idrisyr stood at an anvil, working on a spearhead, while Magnus was sat some distance away, working the new machine.

A pile of medallions sat to either side of the Kranjir. It looked like Elliot had made several dozen for him, and Magnus was slowly working through them all.

The Kranjir was covered in sweat, both from the heat of the forge and the strain of the machine. It was just the adverse situation he needed to take that final step.

“How goes it?” Verdan asked, making Magnus start in surprise.

“I’m making progress, but it’s tiring,” Magnus said, putting down the medallion he’d been about to enchant. “I’m actively working my spiral, as you said, but I can’t keep up with the demands of the machine.”

“As expected, keep working as much as you can. We need as many medallions as possible.”

“Understood,” Magnus said, his jaw firming as he nodded and turned back to the machine, picking up the next medallion.

Satisfied, Verdan stepped over to where Elliot had just finished the spearhead. “Any issues producing the medallions?”

“None at all,” Elliot said, placing another blank of metal into the flames with his bare hands. “I’m using a tin pewter mix for the medallions. We have a surplus of tin in the city at the moment, so Tobias gave me the ingots I needed at cost.”

“Good, that will work just fine,” Verdan said, taking out a pouch with some of the money he’d made recharging the adventurer’s equipment. “Here, this is for your time and material costs.”

“Much appreciated,” Elliot said, taking the pouch and tucking it away. “I make enough supplying the city guard with what they need, but this will help me stock up a bit more. Maybe I can take on a few more jobs at cost for Samuel.”

Verdan nodded with a smile. “Sounds good to me. Oh, if you know anyone who can source us enough cords for everything we’re producing, let me know.”

“I can handle that, no problem,” Elliot said with a wave of one hand. “I know some people who have openings that I can talk to. Once I’ve spoken to them, I’ll let you know costs.”

“Much appreciated, Elliot. Thanks,” Verdan said before stepping over to Magnus. “Stay only as long as you can keep the pace. When you start flagging too much, go home.”

Magnus grunted something unintelligible, his focus on the machine and the discs being enchanted.

Verdan decided that telling Magnus not to overwork himself was the height of hypocrisy and instead took a handful of the medallions with him as he left.

Examining each medallion individually on the way home, Verdan nodded in satisfaction. Each one contained an underpowered healing spell, and enough Aether to keep it going for a minute or two.

The spell would be activated once the medallion was being worn, and while it was too weak to heal all but the most slight of injuries, it would help keep people alive.

Verdan planned to give the medallions out to healers first, giving them something to put on their patients to buy them time.

It was a big part of his preparations for what was coming, and while he was using it to help push Magnus right now, he would get Dirk involved soon as well.

The only question now was how well the Sects would do at containing the problem, and how bad the situation would become.

-**-

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, with everyone working hard on their individual projects.

Verdan had begun doing some training sessions with Kai, much like they had done back in the north, with Verdan keeping a spell active while also working on his spiral.

It was easier than it had been, which was encouraging, though it was by no means simple.

It was at the end of one of those sessions where Verdan took stock of his Aether reserves and frowned; he had more than he’d expected.

“Is everything okay,?” Kai asked, pausing as he was about to leave.

“Yeah, I just have more Aether than I’d have thought,” Verdan said before shrugging away his confusion. “No matter, I must just be getting better at managing this split attention.”

“You’ve said before that your familiarity with the spell matters,” Kai said, stepping back from the door and cocking his head to one side. “Perhaps these sessions of keeping them active are helping with that?”

“Maybe,” Verdan said, unconvinced, but unable to give a better answer.

Kai went to say something else, but paused as they heard footsteps hurrying down the hall to the room they’d taken.

Verdan got to his feet as Kai opened the door and peered out. The Sorcerer immediately relaxed and stepped aside, revealing a somewhat dishevelled Natalia, who was carrying a wooden case.

Verdan recognised the case immediately. It was one that they used for transporting potions or ingredients that could be easily damaged. He hadn’t seen her use it recently, though. The standard healing potions didn’t warrant it.

“Alright, over here, come on,” Natalia said, grabbing Kai’s arm and dragging him over to a nearby table. “Show me your arm.”

“My arm?” Kai echoed, giving Verdan a bemused expression.

“Yes, your arm. Show me how bad it is. I need to see it,” Natalia said impatiently, pulling over a chair and taking a seat as she swiped some errant hair out of her eyes.

Kai frowned and started to pull up his sleeve before realising it wouldn’t go high enough. Looking back at Natalia and seeing her expression, Kai sighed and took his shirt off entirely.

“Damn it, Kai!” Verdan was on his feet in a moment as he saw Kai’s arm.

The upper arm was covered in a spiderweb of black veins, and had turned a paler colour than the rest of the Sorcerer’s skin. Verdan hadn’t realised that the Malfease had become so entrenched so quickly.

It made no sense, how was it growing so fast and resisting everything they tried.

Natalia, however, made no reaction to the change and simply opened the case she’d brought, extracting a vial of something cloudy and very viscous.

“Drink this.”