Tec Mage Chapter Forty Two: The Original Three

At the Four Jacks shop, a meeting was being held by Dracken, Mary and Beast

The meeting was being held for the sake of their business. Dracken main responsibility was looking after the information network, make potions and do the many business's paper work. Mary was responsible for blacksmithing, enchanting and advancing her elemental blacksmithing. Beast the gnoll priest and leader of the gnolls brought many items made by his clan. In fact they had made so much that their original name "bloodily gnolls" had changed to The Crafting Gnolls.

At this time they were finishing up discussing property development.

"So we all agree that a grocery and restaurant building will be built for the excess food supply that the gnolls grow" explained Mary.

Flicking though his notes Dracken paused at a page "there are people living in the building above us that can fill both roles"

Tapping his pipe, Beast pulled it to his lips "my guys can easily build the restaurant and grocery"

With their roles established the group went their own way, Mary went back to her forge, Beast used the hidden tunnel under the shop to go back to the gnoll village and Dracken packed the papers away.

Dracken had left the Four Jacks shop when a small pigeon flew down and rested on Dracken's head. This was Dracken special pigeon that had been trained to find Dracken where ever he may be.

A special emergency message delivery was the pigeon's only purpose. If someone tried to take over his business or a worker was being bullied, then this special pigeon was released.

Dracken quickly plucked the message away from the pigeon and shooed it away. Unrolling the paper Dracken read it.

"I've found it, signed Mr Peel"

With a flick of his wrist and a small muttering word the paper Dracken was holding caught on fire and turned to Ash.

Dracken headed to the great library, where he knew Mr Peel was. Mr Peel was a leading member in the information network and looked after the interest of Dracken's workers.

Entering the library Dracken was warmly welcomed by the librarian. Though the information network, Dracken had employed many people. People who had no hope suddenly had a job and purpose. The librarians respected Dracken. They saw the difference with each day, they witnessed the smiles of the workers that spent most of their working day in the library searching for information to sell.

"Ahh Mr Dracken, we've found it" Mr Peel came rushing over to greet Dracken, hands clasped and slightly bowing. There was a twinkle in his eyes.

Dracken didn't say a word and instead followed Mr Peel. As the two passed the other information seekers they all bowed to Dracken, as their great benefactor they all held respect towards Dracken.

"Right here" Mr Peel stopped at a chair and pointed to a map on a table.

Dracken sat at the table and pulled the map and notes towards him self. With in moments of reading Dracken nodded his head and wrapped up the map and notes.

"Well done, a bonus for you to share with the team" Dracken handed a small sack containing fifty gold in it.

This was at least an extra weeks worth of pay to the the delights of the workers, each one was about to thank Dracken until he held up his hand.

"No thanks are needed, just carry on the good work" Dracken didn't need their thanks and only rewarded them because of what he got, information to a new class.

Dracken headed out to search for his long awaited class using the map and notes.

Mean while back at the Four Jacks shop Mary and the other Elemental blacksmith Nina was putting their finishing touch to their newest creations.

Unlike normal blacksmithing, elemental blacksmithing relied on the control of elemental mana, so very few tools were needed.

Wiping her brow, Nina dumped a pair of pliers into a barrel.

"This has got to be my...I mean our greatest creations" sweat was dripping down Nina's neck and settled on her massive breasts. With one hand she was pushing back her short hair and with the other fanning her self.

In front of them, in a bowl were two rings. One was made of earth but had deep red lines of red. This one was a magma weapon ring and could transform in to a blazing katana made from both earth and fire mana. The other ring was a deep blue with white clouds floating by. This ring had been made with wind and water mana. This ring too turned in to a katana when mana was poured into it but unlike the magma ring this ring had a less formed appearance.

When making the rings both Mary and Nina had to consider which elements to form into the elemental weapon rings. There was a balance problem. With each element there was a element to increase it's power, one to diminish it's power and one that was neutral to it.

For example fire was enhanced by wind, diminished by water and balanced by earth. Both Nina and Mary wanted to enhance each element but their skill was still lacking. Fire would burn the wind away causing a fierce temporarily blaze, but then turn in to a weak flame leaving no wind mana in the weapon. So instead of enhancing, a balance was chosen.

Nina picked up the water and wind mana ring, she rolled it around her fingers. 

"I name this ring Cloud over Sapphire water" without a second thought Nina place the ring on her finger.

"You can have the magma ring" said Nina. 

Mary held her hands on her hips"What else are you offering" Mary knew to well that the magma ring could only be used by a person that had 100% fire resistance or the person that wore it would sustain massive burns.

Nina walked up to Mary, pushing her massive chest in to Mary's face, Nina was much taller than Mary.

"HOO, you think you can bully me" Nina pushed down on Mary's head with her hand.

Just then a black blur shot out from under the table crashing into Nina. Nina fell to the floor with the black blur rolling until they both stopped.

Midnight the black wolf that Mary had tamed rested his body on top of Nina's in a rough playful manner

"Get off me, you smelly mutt" Nina was pinned down by Midnights weight, the wolf was no longer the size of a large dog but rather the size of a small adult cow. With good food and a hunting ground were he could hunt fish men all he wanted his size had increased to a new level.

Midnight sneezed on Nina's face while wagging his tail. Both Nina and Midnight appeared to not like each other but in fact it was the opposite. None the less Midnight jumped out from the den he had created under the table to protect Mary his master.

"That's enough" Mary patted Midnight on his head, with a swift movement Midnight left Nina and stood beside Mary.

With her hand held out Mary pulled Nina to her feet.

"Your too impulsive" Mary had a little chuckle, there was no hard feelings, it was just the way Nina was. A little rough around the edges but still a good person.

Getting to her feet Nina scowled at Midnight.

"You dirty beast, stay away from me" Nina pointed directly at Midnight.

Midnight sneezed a second time towards Nina.

"Lets just make a second one for me and give the magma ring to Atlas" said Mary.

Nina was whipping the wet sneeze off her face when she paused, opening her mouth she was about to complain that why should their hard work go to another when Mary interrupted her.

"You and i can't use the magma ring blade, why not give it to Atlas. If it wasn't for him then neither of us would have any elemental mana to work with" explained Mary.

"Fine lets make one more" Nina reached over and grabbed a small bottle of wine taking a big gulp. Nina then handed the drink to Mary who in turn took a small sip.

Going back to work the two Elemental Blacksmiths busied them selfs with their work.

In the Mage's guild, their was a small queue leading to an apprentice bedroom. In the room sat two people, one was a youth sitting on his bed and the other was a intermediate mage fresh out from his apprenticeship of five years. Between the two was a small table and on the table was a wand.

The youth picked up the wand and stroked the length of the wand.

"identify"

While the youth busied him self with reading the stats of the wand, the intermediate mage looked around the room. The intermediate mage was slightly impressed. On a book shelf amassed a collection of books on the theory of magic and application. On the bed stand sat two brown skill books. The intermediate mage noted that this apprentices had a lot of nice thing. The spell books alone would cost a pretty penny, not to mention in the corner was a staff and robe. Even he him self didn't have a staff, but a wand that was second hand and gifted to him from his older bother. The intermediate mage noted that this apprentice must have a wealthy supporter backing him.

"Repair" the wand in the hands of the youth turned from a slightly warped splintered stick to a glossy straight wand. 

With the wand repaired, the intermediate mage gave it a quick swish.

"Was this the same wand" thought the intermediate mage, the feel was completely different. The wand felt strong and capable unlike the mess it was before.

The intermediate mage was thankful that he had heard of the rumour that there was a apprentices who could repair gear at half the price and restore all the loss durability. Mage's in the guild were always short on cash. From reading martial to skill books, mage's in the mage guild never had enough cash. Only the higher tier mage's could make cash.

Satisfied, the intermediate mage placed his payment on the table, where it was quickly picked up by the youth. As the intermediate left he noticed something strange, hanging on the wall was a set of blacksmithing tools. In a place of learning, this stood out like a sore thumb. Not watching where he was going the intermediate mage hit his toe on something hard. Stumbling a little he looked down to see a pair of steel toed boots. No wonder it hurt, a mage would wear cloth shoes, but the youth seemed to wear steel boots instead. Wondering just why it was so, the intermediate mage left the room.

Counting his money the youth pulled out a box from under his bed and stored the cash inside. Straightening him self he called out

"Come"

The door opened and there stood a fresh new customer. Again it was a intermediate mage but before he could walk in, a staff landed on his shoulder.

"Wait your turn" the fresh new intermediate customer called out. As he turned his head he found the staff on his shoulder was some what finer than he had seen before.

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Fine wood that had been polish until it shined like a mirror and a gem place on the tip that had been shaped in to a eagle. The whole staff radiated with mana. This wasn't some intermediate staff, or even a expert, but a masters staff.

"I say young one, you won't mind if this old man goes first. After all, i don't have as much time as you young one's" before the intermediate mage had a chance to respond a old man in a full set of high level magic equipment walked by. As he walked though the door way a gust of wind closed the door behind him.

The small line of people leading to the room just looked at each other. As if one they all suddenly ran in different directions. Nothing good could come from this they all thought. A mage's instinct in dangers was on par with a hunter. They knew when to run and when to stay, and this was a time to flee.

In the youths room the old master sat down on the free chair with out being invited to.

"Ahhh, my bones aren't as young as they once were" the chair groaned under the weight of the old master.

With the staff resting between his legs and against his shoulder, the old master gently looked at the youth. Slowly brushing his long grey beard, the master spoke.

"Do you know who i am" the old master stopped stroking his beard waiting for a response.

"Your one of the few masters in the mage's guild" answered the youth with out hesitation.

"Correct" the old master at this point brushed his whole beard to one side.

"I hear that you are named Kevien" the old master just nodded his head like what he said was a fact rather a question.

Kevien was puzzled. Here sat one of the highest of magic users in the mage guild. Most high ranking mage's never came down to the apprentices chambers. It was a waste of their precious time. In Kevien's mind all he could think about was what the old master wanted from him and what it would cost him. 

"My name is Floyd Fiacre, eighth circle tier wind user and forth circle tier fire user" a small pause was held while Floyd raised his head in a satisfied look.

"And I'm looking for a apprentices" Floyd added on.

Kevien was surprised. At this point he was only an apprentice to an apprentices. Due to his pride and spoilt attitude, word had gotten out and no one wanted him as a apprentices. Only recently had his attitude turned 180. With out a proper backer to pay for his books and other things, Kevien had fallen on the only skill he could make some money from, Blacksmithing.

Kevien had learnt Blacksmithing, but at the time he felt it was a waste of time and effort. Now it had saved him. Even though he was a apprentice of a apprentices, he him self had better understanding of magic from the books he had bought and better gear than the apprentices he was working for. Word had gotten out that a mage apprentices could repair equipment at half the cost and so this was how Kevien was able to fund his needs without a backer. 

"Well what do you think" asked Floyd when he didn't get a response.

"What do i get" asked Kevien, he came from a orphanage and knew that nothing was free.

Stunned Floyd almost fell off his chair. Never had anyone asked that question before. It was a massive honour to be a apprentice to a actual master.

"Uhh mmm, Well, there are benefits, like books on theory and skill books not for sale in normal circles" Floyd's eyes darted from side to side. Not since his days as a battle mage was he so on his toes.

"That's pretty good, but i have two question's. One, why me and two, what would my duty's be" asked Kevien. He already knew that you didn't receive something for nothing.

"Your duty's will be to follow what ever i say needs to be done" Floyd stepped away from his chair and headed to the door. 

"And the reason why, masters want an apprentice who are independent. I'm not going to hold your hand. If i want something special, then you get it" Floyd then turned his head to face Kevien as he passed the door.

"But you will be rewarded" Floyd had a small smile creeping on his lips.

"Because you managed to fund your self and relied on your self, this makes you an ideal candidate for an apprentices to a master" explained Floyd as he left the room.

Out side Kevien's room a small yelp came from a passing student as they caught sight of master Floyd. Floyd pulled out a small piece of cloth and wiped his brow.

Floyd had a funny feeling when visiting Kevien. Not a negative feeling like a person looking though you, like you were nothing, but a feeling that Kevien was looking at the whole. Floyd felt like Kevien was making sure that there was no lies and had stared at him to make sure of it. 

"I'll keep my eye on him, he will go far" Floyd muttered under his breath.

The City of Lerdern was a well planed city. The outer reach of the city had four slums, that when the city was under attack and the walls fell acted as a battle ground and resources stock pile. The middle part of the city was for shops, guilds and a better type of houses. Even the grand Market was located in this middle part of the city. The middle part of the city was the life blood of the city. The inner circle of the city was the smallest but the most well protected and featured the royalty, super rich and important.

The three layers of the city combined to cover a massive amount of land but the shops and homes weren't the only part of the city. Under the city was a vast maze of forgotten and used swear tunnels. Right at this point in time, under the city, trampling in the sewers, was a young man holding a map.

A floating orb of light followed this young man as he carefully searched the swears. This young man was none other than Dracken and he was searching for something hidden. Ever since Mary found her hidden class as a Elemental Blacksmith, Dracken had searched for his class. Not wanting to be left behind, Dracken had ordered his information network to search for an hidden class for him.

Stopping at a wall Dracken checked his notes. Looking at the wall Dracken counted the bricks along stopping at his tenth one and pulled it out of the wall. 

Reaching in to the hole Dracken fumbled with something before a click could be heard. A soft and dry warm air gushed out as the wall in front of Dracken moved aside, revealing a dark room.

As Dracken entered the room his floating magic light illuminated the room in a creepy fashion. The walls were piled with book shelf's and instead of books, there were big thick tomes. On each tome was a family name.

Dracken ignored the shelf's full of tomes but instead headed to a leather chair that had a small book sitting on it. Dracken knew exactly what he was looking for. Picking up the book Dracken stroked the cover.

"Learn"

"Ding"

Do you want to change class

"Yes"

Class changed

"Ding"

Class Changed to Shadow Broker

Shadow Broker

The legendary Shadow Broker knows all the dirty little secrets of the most influential people. Information is the power of the Shadow Broker and secrets are their weapons

Shadow Meld

Blending into the shadows will causes the user to disappear. Higher levels will cause the user to be wiped from any person memory that seeks to hurt them

Shadow Hand

Control the shadows. Higher levels will allow the user to attack with shadows

Shadow's Embrace

30% increase in stats when in shadows or the dark

Sitting down in the leather chair Dracken looked at the many shelf's full of embarrassing secrets. The amount of information that could be turned to gold could fill the kingdoms vaults.

Dracken had taken over from the last shadow broker. The previous shadow broker didn't pass on his legacy but instead hid it and placed clues in the library. Dracken had gain a tiny piece of info and ordered his information network to find any information leading to the shadow broker.

The information in the tomes was priceless. Every piece could command a hefty price. In the past the shadow broker was able to ruin business, destroy clans and if the price was right, even bring down kings.

As Dracken sat there with only a little light brighting up the place the shadows swirled around him and latched on to his black leather clothes. Dracken radiated dark power. Dracken sighed to him self. He was very happy. Some might of panicked from the dark energy flowing around him but Dracken knew power wasn't evil. It was what you did with it that counted. As he looked at his stats he realised that apart from his class name and a few new skills he was still a mage. Knowledge was power and the class that liked knowledge the most were the mage's. This gave a small clue into the previous Shadow Broker.

With his eyes brushing past the names on the shelf's, Dracken stopped. He was silently stunned. On one of the tomes was a name he was very familiar with. The name was Mary's family name. Quickly he grabbed the tome and started to read.

With each paragraph read Dracken's face became whiter.

Slamming the tome shut Dracken muttered under his breath.

"Mary needs to see this" moving as a shadow Dracken left the Brokers hidden vault of knowledge and rushed towards the shop called the Four Jacks, to show Mary the tome he held under his arm.

As Dracken left the area he was sure to close the entrance, replace the brick and even sprinkle a little home made dust to cover his traces. 

Information was power but Dracken knew that this information would cause shock and anger in Mary.

End Of Chapter Forty Two.