"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own today?" Amelia asks for the N'th time as I drop her and Apricot off at her parents’ warehouse.

We got up early and enjoyed a bit more fun in the shower before getting ready for the day. Apricot decided to spend the day with Amelia and while she was talking the blonde into it I went next door and got the okay for the alchemy lab from William.

"I'll be fine, and I promise not to buy anything without you present to haggle for me." She rolls her eyes at that. "Look, I'm just going to be growing the mana node and studying enchanting all morning. I know math is scary and all, but there's no need to be worried."

"He'll be fine Amelia." Apricot stands up for me. "Sorrel's a big boy and can take care of himself, at least until we see him again at lunch. Now, are you going to show me how this warehouse works or should I just start opening random crates?"

"I love you, have fun." I wave at the already exasperated blonde and ride off.

...

"Spinney things, spinney things, where, oh where are my spinney things?" I sing to myself as I flip through the books on enchanting.

I've been wanting a better way to share my music collection than just playing it. So, I got the idea to recreate a record player, an old-school phonograph to be precise. I should be able to record songs into magically softened wood similar to how Edison used wax in his early models.

But, to do that I need to spin the record at a constant rate, and I'm not finding anything in the primers, so I decided to pop open the dictionary. Which is both not as bad and quite a bit worse than I thought it would be.

Every two pages cover a single rune, but there are dozens of variations for each one with special rules regarding how and when they should be used. I'll have to memorize all this crap later, but for now, I just need some simple motion runes.

Only they aren't so simple. Motion affects everything, so the runes covering motion fill an entire volume just on their own. "Looks like there's nothing to it, but to start reading and hope I find what I need." I grumble to myself and, after checking the position of the sun, set a playlist that will stop half an hour before noon. Not exactly how I imagined using my media player, but if it works, it works.

...

"Damn you, quit exploding!" I shout at my latest failure and chuck it into the bomb disposal unit -a.k.a. a trash bin with a lid- before it goes off.

I was able to find the runes I needed fairly quickly, but knowing the runes doesn't mean I know how to use them. So, I went back to the primers and started working through the lessons within.

Everything was going fine at first, the math was a breeze, and even inscribing the basic runes wasn't that hard. But, when it came to putting them all together into a functioning enchantment, that's where things went off the rails.

The first one just fizzled out, and I quickly realized that the lines needed to be exact otherwise the mana would go out of control. So, I paid closer attention to getting everything just right and actually completed the first example on just my second try.

The problem is, that as the enchantments get more complex and require more mana to run, the failure state gets more and more energetic. The 'explosions' can barely even be called such, but that's for these training examples, I can just imagine what the backlash would be on something with some real power in it.

"I'm going to run out of supplies if I keep going like this... And, speaking of running out." My music just stopped playing, signaling that it's time to head up to the manor house. "Hopefully Ro will have some tips for me."

After packing everything up; I make the short ride up to the Baron's, hoping I'll have a chance to pick her brain before the meeting.

...

"Hi, Carl." I greet Erick's servant at the door. "Have the people from the guild arrived yet?"

"Hello, Sir." He sends me a short bow. "A couple of early birds have arrived, but I believe the majority of them are coming down the street just now." I follow his eyes out the gate to see a line of carriages trundling down the street.

"Ah, thank you." I nod back and go sit at the bottom of the steps to wait for everyone.

It looks like it'll take a few minutes, so I start working on the diagram for my phonograph. I think I've gotten a good enough of a feeling for how these things work to make a simple spinning platter.

"Sorrel!" Apricot tackle-hugs me a moment later.

"Hey, I missed you too." I wrap my arms around the pixie. "Did you have fun driving Amelia crazy today?"

"Hey!" She pulls back and bops me on the forehead. "I was perfectly behaved."

"Uh-huh." I nod. "And, I suppose her looking like she has a migraine is completely unrelated?" I hold out a shot of healing sap which the blonde gratefully takes.

"No, she really was great." Amelia defends the pixie after smacking her lips. "The warehouse is just a mess. Business has picked up lately, and without me and Roddy around to help out. The organization took a bit of a hit."

"Sorrel!" Rozelle is the one to shout my name this time, though she doesn't dive into my arms. "Please tell me you brought 'it' with you. I was afraid to move the one in the shop."

"I've got it in storage." I reassure her. "I've been feeding it all morning while working through those primers. So, it's even bigger than the one at your shop."

"Oh, thank goodness." She sags in relief.

"Oh, and speaking of those primers." I change the subject. "I was wondering if you had any tips to keep stuff from exploding? I worked through all the problems without issue, but I've only been able to get a fraction of the examples built." I bring out the handful of finished enchantments and the trash bin full of failures.

"Practice, mostly." She explains offhandedly while looking through what I've done. "You did all this since we last spoke?"

"Oh, I just started this morning." I hold out the diagram I was working on. "I had an idea, but need a consistently spinning platter for it to work. So, I started working through the basics to see if I could figure it out."

"Hmm? You've got the right basic runes, but everything else is way off." Her statement throws me for a loop. "Not surprising since motion magic can be a bit of a pain, but just look at your math. You've got the acceleration going in the wrong direction."

"No, this is pretty basic physics." I may have liked physics class about as much as math, but this is practically elementary school stuff. "The velocity is tangential to the circle, but the acceleration is always aimed towards the center for uniform circular motion."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Let me see your kit, I'll build it and prove to you." I pull the beginners kit from storage and hand it over along with a wooden disc to enchant. She takes less than a minute to inscribe the simple enchantment. "See, it..." I think she was going to say 'doesn't work', but the disc started spinning as soon as she applied a bit of mana. "What? How?"

"Oh. Uh, I'll write out all the equations later, but I think we've gathered a crowd." I motion behind her with my chin.

"Everyone." She takes this development in stride. "I'd like you all to meet my new apprentice. Though, I'm not sure how long that designation will last since he already knows more math than I do, and was able to design this in a single morning." She holds up the disc which is spinning on her finger like a top.

"I hope you didn't just call us all here to show off your new apprentice." Olivar sounds grumpy, but I can see him trying to sneak a peek at the diagram I just drew.

"Actually, she did." I say with a smile. "But, why don't we move into the dining hall, from the smell of it, lunch is almost ready. And, Chef Granville doesn't like to be kept waiting."

A few others who have clearly had experiences with the cook nod and start trooping inside. I wait until everyone has been seated and served the first course before taking the mana node from storage.

"This is the real reason for today's meeting." The node is now over twice as large as the one I left in Rozelle's shop. "I've discovered Greenfield's secret and how to replicate it." I focus the mana I'm feeding it into one tiny spot, and everyone goes quiet as a mana stone rapidly forms.

The room erupts in questions to which I just raise a hand and wait for them to quiet down. "I understand that you all have questions, which you will have to direct to my master. But, I can tell you that I have verified with a third party that the method is repeatable by other mages." I hand the node off to Rozelle and go back to my appetizer.

At least I try to as most of the room crowd around Ro trying to get a better look at the node.

"Who?" Olivar, one of the few to stay back, asks rather insistently.

"The Baron's cousin, Elise." I say flatly. "She's been teaching me healing magic."

"I don't think I would have gotten the hang of it without Apricot's help." The healer in question speaks up from the doorway where's she's been waiting for her cue. "But, I am somewhat set in my ways, and it shouldn't be too hard for a younger mage to learn the trick."

"Well, I can see when I'm beat." He laughs ruefully, that used-car salesman charm just oozing out of him. "I call for a vote on the next guild head and nominate Rozelle for the position."

With Olivar giving up the race, the vote went unanimously to Rozelle.

"Thank you all." She stands and bows to the room. "My apprentice will be happy to answer all your questions."

"After we eat." I interject. "Granville really outdid himself here, and I refuse to let his efforts go to waste."

""Hear hear."" A few people, mostly the ones who didn't get up from their plates, cheer out.

...

Olivar is one of the first to corner me after the meal. "I just have one question." He asks quietly. "What's in it for you?"

"Oh, I do want to learn enchanting, even if there is more math than I would prefer." I chuckle. "But, honestly, we ran into Ferne on the way down from Northwood. What that Dorothy woman tried to do was beyond heinous. I just want to make sure that Ferne gets a better boss this time around, so I made a deal with Rozelle."

"That's it? A stranger you met on the road?" He laughs to himself and walks away, shaking his head.

After he leaves, I find myself inundated by questions from all sides. I end up going over the similarity to coral, and how algae aren’t really plants. And then, the math nerds struck. It seems that Rozelle told a lot more people about my math than she did about the mana node.

Apricot and Amelia decide this is the perfect time to head back to the warehouse, the cowards. So, I'm stuck all alone, answering math questions and wishing that I had kept digital copies of all my textbooks.

"People, please. I need a break." I break out the chocolate just to give myself some space. "Why don't you all have some chocolate and let my brain have a rest."

"Uh, I have a non-math question, if that's alright." A lanky young man steps forward as the rest of the enchanters descend on the chocolate after Ro and her friends tell them how good it is. "I've been watching the mana node and I swear it's been growing this whole time. I understand that you're feeding it so it won't die without the collector ring. But, how have you not run out of mana yet?"

"Oh, that's actually why we're having the meeting here." I explain, just happy to be off of math for a while. "You know how some mages can absorb mana from fire and whatnot? Well, I've got a similar skill, only it works with sunlight and I need a lot of plants around to make use of it. Without it, that node would be little bigger than a grain of salt."

"So, it takes a lot to grow then?"

"Yes, the crystal takes at least a couple orders of magnitude more mana to grow than a simple mana stone." I reply. "To put that into context, Elise nearly emptied all her mana into the one now at Rozelle's shop and it barely grew, but she could have gotten almost two mana stones for the same effort."

"That is a lot of mana." His eyes go a little wide. "Healer Elise is one of the strongest mages in the city. That's not saying much since we're right next to the Deadlands, but still."

"True, but I have a farm just outside the North Gate, and you saw how quickly I was able to grow a stone earlier." I counter. "That, and I've got no problem giving guild members a deep discount."

"Hah. Oh, that's going to annoy the alchemists." He laughs. "They don't use nearly as many as we do, but are always complaining about the cost."

"Well, as long as it doesn't annoy my business partner." I say as I notice Melanie sitting with Edsel at the edge of the room. "Speaking of, I should go talk to her before all the math starts up again."

He nods and heads over to the chocolate table to see what all the fuss is about.

"Hi guys, sorry I got kinda caught up there." I pull up a chair across from them.

"No problem." Ed says with a lazy smile. "We were just talking about rubber production. I've got a completed bicycle now and would like to see how these soft tires work."

"That's great." My smile grows wide. "I've got everything we need except for a workshop. I can magic one up no problem, but I'm guessing the alchemist guild has somewhat stringent standards for how it's built."

"Not outside the walls they don't." Melanie speaks up. "At least not as stringent."

"That'll let us get started a bit quicker, but I still want to go with best practices in the end. Safety first, and all that." Making rubber isn't super dangerous, but we're still talking about high temperatures and some noxious fumes.

"Safety first. I like that." Melanie nods. "Master had a similar, if more long-winded saying." A sad smile crosses her face for a moment.

"Alright." I clap my hands. "Have some chocolate, and I'll try to extricate myself as quickly as possible. Why did it have to be math?" I let out a deep sigh.

"Heh, better you than me." Edsel laughs at my pain as I walk over to Rozelle.

"Hello, Guild Leader." I nod my head at her. "Would you like to learn how to play Mancala?" I'm hoping to distract everyone with board games so I can slip out. And, what could be better than that age-old counting game to distract a bunch of math nerds.

"I'd love to." She smiles at me. "But, if you just want to leave, you can. They'll keep pestering you about math for as long as you let them. Of course, I as your master will be pestering you about math as soon as I can. But, I see you have other things to do."

"Thank you, but I can stay around long enough for a quick game." A plank of lumber turns itself into an intricately carved boat with fourteen shallow depressions. Twelve smaller one in two rows of six, and two larger ones at each end. "This game is really simple..." I quickly walk her through the rules and make a bunch of simpler boards for everyone watching the game.

...

"So, I skip your Mancala, but fill mine, right?" Ro asks as she plays enough stones to wrap all the way around back to her side.

"Yes." I sigh as she drops her last stone into an empty bowl right across from one of mine filled with over half a dozen. "And, I think that just won the game for you. Yep, that's more than half the stones for you."

"Heheheh." She just chuckles wickedly. "I like this, do you know any other games?"

"A few." I take out a copy of my games book and quickly make a few basic game boards. "I would recommend chess, it's not math-related, but a lot of people who are really into math seem to like it. It can be a bit hard to get the hang of, though. So, you might want to try something like Go which is easy to learn, but hard to master."

I walk her through the basics of playing each and then leave her to Elise, who's pretty decent at both of them.

"You go on." She tells me. "I can handle this, but I want to see you again soon to test how you're doing with those spells."

"Mhm." I nod. "Speaking of, how's Anne doing? I still need to touch up the loss to her hearing range."

"She's good, still embarrassed." The healer lets out a soft chuckle. "But, other than that she seems to be fine. She hasn't complained or seemed to have any trouble with her hearing range, but beastkin have better hearing than most. And, after a decade of deafness, she's just happy to be able to hear again."

"Well, when she gets over it, I'd like to finish the job." I bow my head to Elise. "Thank you for taking over here, and thank Erick for letting us have the meeting here. I'll try to drop by again in the next day or two, depending on how busy things get."

"That's fine, you go on and have fun."

"I'll try." From math to chemistry, it feels like I never left school.

***