Cass sat in a cross legged position on her bed, eyes closed and breathing evenly. She was not praying or involved in spiritual meditation, but rather carefully and slowly spreading her mana from her body like feelers from a crawling vine. Cass had never done this before, but she had read about it, using your own mana to check for traps set by other mages.

She was suspicious that after they knew that Cass had left her rooms the night before that they would allow her even greater freedom so soon after. Undoubtedly, there was a trap or catch of some kind. Her Master was very skilled with magic regarding people, glyphs, and magic tools, but there were some kinds of magic he was poor at.

Cass figured that Elder Klein might be practiced in different kinds of magic than she was used to. And sure enough, as Cass’s mana reached the window she ‘felt’ an unfamiliar energy there. Carefully, she had her mana flow along the outside, trying to reason out the system that was set up there.

There was a catalyst involved… No, two of them. Cass frowned and tried to focus her attention more. There were two catalysts because there were two systems… The first would react and release the energy coiled within it when the window was open, and the second system would take that energy and send it somewhere, presumably alerting the caster somehow.

It was impressive work, Cass had to admit. Though simple in concept, to have tied your systems so tightly that they could keep their energy throughout extended periods of time, to be released when the trigger was finally set off… Absolutely wonderful craftsmanship, and absolutely in Cass’s way.

Her Master had allowed Cass to read whatever had interested her, and for a few days that had been about systems like this. Ones that were made by a mage, then left for whatever circumstance the mage desired. The book had posited that magic tools had been developed from such magic, and Cass was inclined to agree.

More importantly, the book discussed the various methods of dealing with these traps. Unfortunately, much like how she was sensing it with her mana, Cass had never had the opportunity to practice. If she messed up, the system would trigger, and if she really messed up there was a slight possibility the whole thing would explode.

It wasn’t designed to harm Cass, so there was not enough energy in there for that to be a major concern, but interacting with Cass’s mana might fuel the system in strange ways that Cass would need to be wary of.

Carefully, and ever so gently, Cass inserted her own mana into the system. She had her mana flow naturally in the system explore it more, as she understood it better, she began to create a similar system herself. Sweat was dripping from her forehead from having to concentrate and handle both at once, and she gritted her teeth as the effort of adding a third part started to give her a headache.

That third part was using the mana inside the system to widen and stretch it, effectively changing the area where the trap would trigger, making the window no longer in that area. To stop the system from triggering during this, Cass had to merge the copy she made with it, tricking the system into believing that nothing had changed until she had finished.

Once she had completed it, Cass collapsed on her bed gasping for air. Her head was spinning, or perhaps the room was… Normally, a mage in Cass’s position would lack the finesse and experience to perform such an alteration, Cass had only just managed by drawing on her Absorption Glyph and her tolerance for pain and discomfort.

Still, she could leave now without Klein finding out, at least until he checked the systems himself. Cass would have to return it to its correct state when she came back, what a pain in the ass…

After her busy day of shopping and exploring, then coming home and working through trial and error to furnish a magic tool, and now having manipulated another mage’s magical system… Cass was exhausted, and the fact that she would have to jump out her window and walk all the way to the Stone District was just painful. Still, her Master had put her through worse, she would be able to handle it.

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For that matter, she was quite happy with her purchases and extremely proud of her work on the anklet and the magical trap outside her window. Tired as she may be, Cass had a warm feeling of accomplishment for her work today.

“Well, I am out of time…” Cass sighed to herself and got up to go open the window. Just as before, she relied on her glyphs to prevent her from getting hurt in the jump down and slipped out of the manor. This time, however, she avoided the checkpoints that were manned at night. Again, her glyphs helped her with this, allowing her to climb over buildings and into areas around the guards as she made her way to the Sand District.

After ‘asking’ some of the people hiding in the gutters and shadows for directions, Cass came to a place that look relatively undeveloped compared to the rest of the city. Tunnels into the mountain honeycombed the area and trash and debris were everywhere. Picking her way through the rubble, Cass made her way to one particular tunnel, the presence of shadowy guards confirmed that she indeed had the correct one.

This tunnel had rooms where people lived, areas where people set up shops, and a bar called the Cave Tavern. Not the most inventive or imaginative name, Cass thought as she pushed through the tattered cloth that served as the door to the establishment.

The room was dark, barely lit by the guttering torches that lined the room, the ceiling was black with smoke from candles and torches over the years. There were tables and chairs, though none of them matched and none were in good condition. At one of those tables was the Matron with Odev standing behind her like a bodyguard. Also at the table were two other men, though both wore cloaks concealing their features, as one shuffled in his seat Cass caught a glimpse of the Warrior Caste’s clothes. Interesting.

“Ah, she has arrived.” the Matron smiled at Cass, though Odev scowled over her shoulder. “A new ally to our cause.”

“With respect,” The cloaked warrior snarled. “How can we possibly trust her? You just met her last night by your account and she has been spending a lot of time with the Kleins!”

The warrior must know who Cass is, well at least she wouldn’t have to decide whether to hide her identity or not.

“I am curious to know why you trust me as well,” Cass raised an eyebrow as she wondered aloud. “You seem quite confident of it, more confident than I am anyway.”

Both Odev and the warrior snarled at her while the Matron chuckled. The other cloaked man still had not spoken yet.

“It is quite simple really,” she seemed amused. “You want to go home, and you can not do so without dealing with us.”

Solid street logic, form an alliance where the other party needs you more than you need them and they will never betray you. Cass scowled at the Matron but did not disagree, instead she walked to the table and sat down.

“Well then,” the formerly silent man spoke, his voice was cool and in control. “Let us get down to business, shall we? I presume that our new ally, I believe Cass was your name? Understands what this meeting is for?”

“I rather presume you are plotting rebellion,” Cass answered easily, she had already figured they knew who she was, despite his voice the man’s attempt to put Cass off balance was amateur at best. “And I further presume you need a mage for something, or I would not be here.”

“You have it correct for the most part,” the Matron smiled. “But let me ask you another question, have you ever met the Voni?”

“The Voni?” Cass blinked surprised by the question, “Well, no, I have not.”

“That is because I am the last of them,” the Matron’s smile turned dark and her eyes simmered with rage. “This is not a rebellion, but a reclamation. A war to end the abuses by the usurpers who have torn this kingdom asunder!”

Cass was stunned, she tried to think back to her visits to the various districts, and the introductions to people she had met. She was searching her memory to see if she had ever seen one of the ruling Caste who were supposedly in charge of everything that the Priests were not. She realized she had not, but then…

“So who are the people really in control?” Cass asked, whoever they were they had been very careful not to let the city or country plunge into chaos thus far. For that matter, everyone Cass had talked to acted as if the Voni were still running things just as always.

“You already met him,” the warrior growled. “That bastard Klein.”

“Klein?” Cass was stunned, she had figured that there were schemes that she was unaware of, but she had only just arrived, and that was to be expected… Still she would have never suspected…

“And I need your help Cass.” The Matron leaned forward, “I need you to get me Magesbane.”