Verdan Blacke, Wizard of the ancient Grym Imperium and a living relic of an earlier age, ate his breakfast with gusto. The last twenty-four hours had been a stressful, strenuous ordeal, culminating in him expending every drop of Aether at his command in an experimental spell he’d put together on the fly.
It had been a close run thing, but they’d made it back to the safety of the city late last night, and Verdan had given his initial report to Lieutenant Silver. The Lieutenant was one of three officers in the city guard, and from the brief conversation Verdan had had with Kai the night before about their hunt, he was going to be a useful ally.
Verdan had acquired quite a few associates, companions and allies since he woke up from his self-imposed stasis, but Kai was the closest of them all. The fire sorcerer had declared himself in Verdan’s debt after the wizard had saved his life and had only been a boon to him ever since.
Kai had already been awake when Verdan came downstairs; the sorcerer had settled into a routine of rising early and having his breakfast with Elliot and Henry. Elliot was an imposing mountain of a man with long red hair and a surprising amount of skill in crafting and fine detail. Verdan and the others had rescued Elliot from a life of slavery when they raided a darjee camp to rescue some captured fwyn.
By comparison, Henry Barbeau, their resident cook, was a tall, gaunt man who had been rendered mute years ago. Thankfully, Henry was a fantastic cook, and his wife Adrienne kept the household running with the kind of easy competence that others could only dream of.
The three were an odd group but seemed to enjoy this routine they’d created. They were never talking or joking when Verdan arrived; they were always sitting in quiet but companionable silence. Then again, that wasn’t that surprising when Henry couldn’t speak.
“What are you planning for today?” Kai asked as Verdan finished eating. “I don’t want you travelling anywhere by yourself until we know the city is safe.”
Verdan repressed a sigh, knowing from the hard look in Kai’s eyes that the sorcerer would accept nothing less than capitulation. They’d discussed the ambush Kai and Silver had encountered on their return. It was a concerning situation for all of them. The Weeping Death sect seemed to have been involved in the bear situation somehow, and the timing of that concerned Verdan.
Verdan was confident in his ability to fight off an ambush of opportunity like that, but it would be foolish to take chances when it wasn’t necessary. His recent underestimation of the cyth threat wasn’t far from Verdan’s thoughts either, making him doubt his judgement.
“I’m going to speak with Commander Griffon this morning. We need a full debrief on the situation, both for the cyth and the Weeping Death Sect. You should probably be there for that anyway,” Verdan said, standing up and absently reaching for a staff that wasn’t there.
When he cast his experimental stasis spell, he bound it to his staff as an Aether construct to keep the effect going over time. Verdan doubted his staff had survived the aftermath of the spell, which left him in an uncomfortable position.
Verdan’s knowledge of sigils was basic at best, and though his staff had only a few carved into it, that made it rarer than gold dust in these parts. He’d need to find a proper enchanter if he wanted a replacement made, which was going to be difficult.
“Very well, let’s be on our way,” Kai said, rising to his feet and collecting his spear from where it lay propped against the wall.
“How’s Tom doing?” Verdan asked as they set off. “I didn’t get a chance to check in with him last night.”
“He’s getting there,” Kai said, shrugging a little and sighing. “He’s getting better at channelling his Essence, which is boosting his recovery, but he’d do well with some additional healing if you have time.”
“Of course, I was running low last night, but by the time all this is done, I should have more than enough to help him. As best I can, anyway,” Verdan said, turning his attention inward for a moment as he judged his Aether reserves. He was low, very low, but a few minor spells wouldn’t be an issue.
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“Thank you,” Kai said, lapsing into silence for a minute before glancing over to Verdan. “I heard there were some developments with Tim and Sylvie?”
“Oh?” Verdan made a questioning sound as he met Kai’s glance. “Who said that?”
“Gwen and I spent some time talking last night,” Kai said, turning his gaze away from Verdan and clearing his throat before continuing. “She said that Sylvie changed forms to fight before becoming a wolf again. Did you know she was a shapeshifter?”
“No, I didn’t,” Verdan said, frowning heavily as he went back over his memories. He hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to Tim or Gwen in any real detail, and Tim had definitely been avoiding what left Sylvie in her deep sleep. A sleep that she still showed no signs of leaving. “What was the other form, human or something else?”
“She didn’t say,” Kai said, a touch of concern in his voice as he looked back once more. “Do you think it’s to do with why she won’t wake up?”
“Probably, yes,” Verdan said, thinking of the different sorts and types of shapeshifters he knew. It was a rare power, one that was Aether intensive for wizards and more often seen in magical creatures. “The collar was likely inhibiting her power, keeping her in one form until we removed it. I’ll need to study her again, but she may be suffering from something like Aether burn. Casting the stasis spell took me out; it could have done the same for her.”
“But then why hasn’t she woken up?” Kai asked as they turned onto the street they needed.
“That’s what I’m not sure about,” Verdan said with a grimace before nodding to a pair of patrolling guards as they walked past. Both guards gave Verdan a respectful nod as they went past, but their gaze lingered on Kai most of all.
For his part, Kai seemed unaware of the extra attention or just didn’t acknowledge it. It seemed that Kai’s work with Lieutenant Silver had earned him some respect among the city guard. Hopefully, that would make their growing association easier.
“Tell me if you need anything gathering; some more time out of the city will be good for Tom. He still needs to master conscious control of his Essence, and that’s best done through action..”
“I doubt I will, but a scouting expedition down to the forest where the cyth were based would be good. We need to know what the cyth are doing and how many are still there; they need to be burnt out before they can establish further,” Verdan said, his eyes dark as he spoke.
“Miyaka,” Kai said, drawing Verdan’s attention back to the present. “It’s called Miyaka Forest. I was there hunting a rogue alchemist two years ago.”
“Two years?” Verdan asked, coming to a stop as he turned to face Kai with a frown.
“Yes, I spent nearly two weeks hunting him across the forest before I found him. Why?”
“A camp, miles of forest corrupted to become wyrch trees, dozens of lesser cyth lai and a cyth scerrd. That’s a lot of growth in two years. If it grew naturally anyway.” Verdan’s frown deepened as he considered what he’d seen at the camp.
“What do you mean?” Kai asked, cocking his head to one side with interest.
“Nothing definite, not yet. I just haven’t got enough information. Still, with that growth rate, we need to go back and finish this sooner rather than later.”
“We’re going to need more people for that, and the guard doesn’t have anyone to spare. The mercenaries that came back were paid generously, but they won’t go back without support, that’s for sure.”
“Is there anyone else we can hire in the city?” Verdan asked, deferring to Kai’s better knowledge of the local situation.
“Adventurers would be our best bet, but they don’t come cheap,” Kai said with a warning tone.
“I still have some reserves left from what I got changed,” Verdan said softly, thinking of the gold darns he’d gotten from Gregory Devro, the money changer when he first came to Hobson’s Point.
“You have an estate to run as well. I wouldn’t count on being able to afford both with what you have,” Kai said with a shake of his head.
“How much money do adventurers have?” Verdan asked, a small smile spreading across his face as he considered a way to cut down on their costs.
“It can vary, depending on the group. The ones this far north likely have a little spending money, but not much. Why?” Kai asked, his eyes narrowing as he saw the look on Verdan’s face.
“What if I were to offer a temporary enchantment service for their weapons, like the ones I did for Tim and the others? With a promised refreshment of the enchantment for anyone joining us in hunting down the cyth?” Verdan asked, his lips twisting into a slightly evil grin as he considered what he was going to unleash on those cyth.
It would take time and Aether to do all the enchantments, but he had those, and the payoff would be worth it.
“You’ll have them throwing themselves at you to get that kind of deal, most adventurers have to pay through the nose to get even the most minor of enchanted items.”
“In the long run, it’ll only benefit the area,” Verdan said with a shrug. “I’m not above a cheap tactic like this if it helps everyone.”
“I can’t wait for you to explain this to Commander Griffon,” Kai said with a sigh and a shake of his head, gesturing for Verdan to lead the way over to the guard headquarters.