Two more afternoons worth of researching into the Archmagi's battle, and I had found nothing. Or at least, nothing worth a damn.

I could confirm that both had been sent into a battle against an unknown opponent by the queen. Based on several clues, their clash had occurred in the east, near the very edge of Ferren territory. A few other, weaker mages had accompanied the two, and none of these followers survived.

Finally, on the third day, I found something.

Months ago, when I first began training, Master Barlow mentioned a mage named Cortos. She had noted he was a powerful man, one of only two Aether mages to become truly powerful. However, she, and Master Julian for that matter, indicated that he was a fool and a traitor, one better left forgotten.

Since then, my attempts at digging up more information had failed. I found a handful of mentions, mostly friendly duels or brief apprenticeships, but nothing more than a paragraph or two.

So, what were the chances I would find him in a book noting the births and deaths of noteworthy mages of the era or that he died the same day of Izora and Umari's battle?

It could be a coincidence, and his death was unrelated to the battle. I found it far likelier that Cortos was one of those lesser mages brought along by the Archmagi and that history regarded him as too unremarkable to note.

Still, that clashed with what Barlow and Julian had said. What kind of unremarkable mage remained known centuries later but appeared purged from history?

Hypotheses floated in my head, but hours more reading left me just as confused. If there was any information on the mage, I would not find it in the Archives.

If I wanted to solve this mystery, I would need to look elsewhere.

--

Simon had warned me that a response from his father might take months, and I had hoped he was being overly cautious. Unfortunately, as weeks passed with word from his family, I began to worry he was optimistic instead.

The Heltons specialized in magical crafting, an industry always in high demand. In their eyes, it seemed that my offer was not much of a priority.

Finally, a little over a month after first speaking with Simon, there was a knock on my door. I was practicing my mana control exercises and briefly weighed the merits of ignoring the sound. Amelia and I had no plans, Master Julian was still not speaking with me, and my sword training with Sigmund was not until the following day.

But Girem would never forgive me if I forgot my manners. I stood, walked to my door, and opened it to find Simon standing outside.

"Oh good, I was worried you might not be home," Simon said.

"Nice to see you too," I gestured to my side, "Do you want to come in?"

"No! Ah, no, thank you, Vayne. I wanted to-well, you know how you wanted to meet with my father?"

My heart quickened, and I nodded, "Yes, I do. Did you receive a response?"

"In...a manner of speaking, yes," Simon rubbed the back of his neck, "Are you busy right now?"

I glanced over my shoulder towards a fresh stack of books on force magic and held back a sigh before shaking my head, "No, I suppose not. Why?"

"Because my father wants to meet."

"When?"

"Umm...right now?" Simon replied after a long pause.

"...I will be right out."

----

When Simon and I entered his room, we found it already occupied. A man stood in Simon's work area, head downturned as he moved between the instruments. As we watched, the man leaned over to a glass vial set above a flame, picked it up, swirled it, nodded once, and replaced it before turning and writing something down into a nearby notebook.

We stood, waiting for the other man to notice us, but he seemed in no particular rush. I stood perfectly straight, ready to greet Simon's father formally, but soon relaxed as the minutes ticked by. When five minutes became ten, I started practicing my mana senses to pass the time. Finally, about fifteen minutes after we arrived, Simon coughed.

"Father?" Simon asked, his tone serious.

The older Helton did not so much as glance up, and Simon cleared his throat, taking a few steps closer and saying louder, "Father?"

Still, the man said nothing. Simon looked at me, gave an embarrassed smile, and held up one finger before walking over to his workstation. He placed a hand on his father's shoulder and finally got a reaction.

"Ah!" Daniel Helton shouted, turning with a hand on his chest, "Simon, are you trying to kill me?"

Simon coughed, "No, sir, I'm not. But we have company."

"Well, next time, try to get my attention gently first, if you will. You know how I can get carried away."

I saw Simon nod, but he did not respond. A part of me wanted to point out that Simon had the same habit of vanishing into his thoughts while working, but I decided it was better to keep that to myself. No one liked to see traits they found annoying in themselves.

The two Heltons walked over to me, and I got my first good look at Simon's father.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Daniel Helton was a near-copy of his son. They shared the same dark hair, though Daniel's was receding with flecks of gray spotting the sides. He had a scruffy, patchy beard, and dark bags under his eyes clashed with his pale skin. Rather than finery, the older noble wore plain clothes, patched, burned, and stained, with a pair of gloves and an apron protecting him.

"You must be Vayne," Daniel tugged off his gloves and shoved them into a pocket on the apron before sticking one hand out, "Daniel Helton. Nice to finally meet you."

"You as well, sir," I took his hand and inclined my head, noting the pervasive scent of alchemic reagents and herbs that clung to Daniel. His water mana was somewhere in the high gaseous stages, weaker than I might expect from a noble in his forties but tightly controlled.

"None of that needed. I feel like we've met already, based on what Simon has told me," Daniel glanced at his son and smiled, "I understand you're an Aether mage. Fascinating. I've met a few before, but they're a rarity. Tell me, how does your mana work with enchanting? Do you find that it helps you or hinders you? And to what degree?"

The older man's words blurred together into a jumble, again not unlike Simon's tended to when he felt excited, but his demeanor was different. More confident and relaxed than his son's. I spared a glance at Simon, and my friend mouthed a sentence that I suspected was, "I'm sorry."

I played along, answering the noble's questions with as direct responses as possible. Daniel nodded as I spoke, and soon, the conversation moved into more advanced, nuanced sections of enchanting that I could not follow. While we had discussed it before, my classes had yet to cover runic integrity based on mana density or mana conductivity relative to the overall efficiency of enchantments in any specifics.

Daniel seemed to sense as much and cleared his throat, "Well, while I'd love to talk shop all day, we best get to it. Please, take a seat wherever. Simon, do you mind cleaning up that purification I was working on?"

"Yes, sir," Simon nodded and walked to the workstation.

I sat in one of the comfortable, plush chairs near the magical fireplace while Daniel removed his apron and found a place on the sofa opposite me. He sighed, rubbing his neck with one hand and groaning softly.

"Long trip," Daniel said, rubbing the back of his neck for another second before sitting up straighter, "Now, Simon tells me you had a business proposition and felt he wasn't the one to make or reject any offers."

"Yes, sir."

"Excellent. I'd hoped to visit earlier, but our work has been busy. Still, if what Simon tells me is true, I'm eager to hear your offer. Please, go ahead."

I nodded, reaching into my pocket and retrieving a vial of the Aether water. It shone softly through the glass, humming between my fingers as it sent out thin, weak pulses of mana. Daniel sat up a little straighter, leaning forward on the couch and staring at it.

"May I?" Daniel said, gesturing towards the vial. When I nodded, I felt a gentle tug. I relaxed, and it slipped from my fingers before smacking into Daniel's open palm.

The older man held the vial to the light, tilting it in every direction. He closed his eyes, uncorked the glass, and smelt the contents. I felt a ripple of mana pass through the water and watched as he retrieved a strange, needle-like object from another pocket, inserting the tip into the liquid and muttering to himself.

Finally, after several minutes, Daniel nodded once and recorked the vial before levitating the glass back to me.

"What a funny little thing," Daniel said, "An oddity, and a fascinating one at that. And you are looking to sell these samples, right? Do you have a number in mind?"

I paused, then responded, "No, sir. Though respectfully, this seems worth a decent chunk of gold. Natural elixirs are rare, and Aether-attuned ones rarer still. This could prove a valuable resource for your business."

"Rare doesn't mean more valuable," Daniel replied, "A blind dog is rarer than one with two eyes, but you wouldn't want it on guard duty."

"No, but magical oddities are not animals. How often have we stumbled onto something new and revolutionary by accident?"

Daniel shrugged, "Often enough, but we've also had plenty of dead ends. Every researcher I've met has thought they found it- that one discovery that'll change magic. And then, after years of work and a mountain of gold, they wind up with nothing."

"I have to imagine at least a few found something worthwhile," I held up the vial again and shook it, "Many of our innovations came from studying natural magical phenomena. It might be a gamble, but it seems worth investing at least some gold."

Daniel nodded again, "Fair enough. Tell you what, I'll give you ten gold pieces for every vial that size. I can pay you today if you've got the samples ready."

I had filled a dozen vials filled with Aether water back in Aresford. Two had gone into my core, and a third to Simon for research purposes. It took me about a month to 'digest' each vial, meaning I could part with a half-dozen and have enough left over to last until classes ended. By that point, I could head back north and refill my supplies.

Still, while the gold was important and I needed to speak with Master Julian as soon as possible, it was not the main reason I had proposed this deal to the Heltons.

"I apologize if this comes across as improper," I started, "But can I ask what you plan to do with the samples?"

"You can," Daniel replied but said nothing else. I stared at him, and his smile grew wider as I realized he would not elaborate.

Well, ask a stupid question, as the saying went.

"If I may, I would like to propose something more...permanent," I said after a few seconds.

Daniel blinked, then glanced at Simon, who stood a few steps away. He had finished cleaning up his alchemy station a minute earlier but had not jumped into the conversation. The older man seemed to consider his son momentarily, though I could not place what he looked to find.

"Oh?" Daniel returned his focus to me, "And what is that?"

"A business partnership," I said, "I assume you plan to study any samples I provide, analyze their properties, and attempt to reproduce anything worthwhile that you find, yes? Possibly even apply the process to other elements."

Daniel remained silent, and I continued, "I can provide more samples. Enough to supply your research for the foreseeable future. In exchange for fifteen gold for each vial of this size and sharing of any magical discoveries made along the way."

"That's quite the ambitious deal," Helton replied, "You know, I could track down where you got this sample from myself. You're an apprentice and not a well-connected one. I doubt you stumbled onto some great, centuries-lost treasure."

"Is that a good use of your time?"

"No, but I can pay someone to do it for me. And if it takes me fifty gold to track down the source of this water, well, then that is a much cheaper price than what you're demanding," he replied.

"Maybe so, but that will take time," I responded, "And there are other alchemists out there, looking for the next great discovery. I think saving that time is worth paying extra."

Daniel considered me for another few seconds, then turned to his son again, "Simon."

Simon started, "Y-yes, sir?"

"Why don't you decide?"

"What?!" Simon half-shouted, then blanched, "I'm so sorry, Father, I did not mean to-"

"It's okay," Daniel said, "Now, you've sat in on my meetings before. You know this young man. And most importantly, you know alchemy. Tell me, what do you think?"

Simon visibly swallowed, staring at his father for a long time. I saw him glance towards me, then look back to the older man. He seemed to weigh his words for a long time, struggling to decide. Finally, he gave a minute nod and seemed to slump just a hair.

"I think Vayne is dealing with us in good faith. He sincerely believes the water is worth that much and wants to work with us," Simon said. I relaxed, but he continued, "And I think he's wrong. The water is valuable, but not that valuable."

I kept the surprise off my face, watching as Simon's father nodded, "And what deal would you offer?"

Again, Simon seemed conflicted. I saw him shift in place, and he refused to look in my direction as he weighed his father's words.

"...I would say five gold for each vial, along with any relevant discoveries in exchange for a promise of exclusive access to the sample's location, magically enforced if needed. And a further promise that he won't share anything about this water with anyone else without our permission, again using a magical contract to enforce that agreement."

My proposed deal was lopsided towards me, and I had known as much when I said it. But this? I would essentially gain nothing from the Aether pool. The gold was a pittance, and there was a possibility they would discover nothing worth a damn. Worse, I would lose access to a valuable resource.

Daniel nodded a few times, then stood and clapped his hands together, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat longer, but I'm afraid I have another meeting in a few hours. Why don't you take a few days, chew on our offer, and let Simon know?"

I followed his lead, extending a hand to the man and forcing a smile onto my face.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir," I said, realizing I had drastically misread Simon's father. They might share their passion for alchemy and magic, but Daniel seemed a far worse man than his son.

"Likewise," Daniel replied as he shook my hand again, "Oh, and please feel free to come and visit us when classes are done for the year. We'd love to have you."

With that, the older Helton nodded to Simon, then left the room, leaving the two of us alone.

Simon turned towards me the moment the door shut, "I'm sorry, Vayne. I just-you have to understand that-"

I held up a hand and shook my head, "No need to explain, Simon. I understand. You have your responsibilities, and I respect that. If it is all the same to you, I have had a very long day."

Simon swallowed again, nodding a few times, "Okay. Just...okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Of course," I replied, "Have a good night."

I exited Simon's room, heading back to my own. Halfway there, I altered my path and instead made for one of the training rooms.

While I understood and sympathized with Simon's position, I did not like it. There was no chance the older man had not realized I had asked for too much. In fact, I would suspect Simon's counter was still too generous.

No, Daniel Helton had placed his son in the position of insulting his friend or harming his family. It was cruel, manipulative, and deceitful. I suspected it was a test, and while that small, cynical part of me respected the maneuver, the rest felt disgusted.

He had failed, at least in one regard. Although anger simmered in my chest, it was directed entirely at the older Helton.

Still...was that anger worth rejecting the offer, poor though it was? I was no alchemist, and maybe uncovering how the Aether pool worked was an acceptable exchange.

No easy answer materialized, and though I did my best to focus on my training, the anger continued to simmer beneath it all.