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Book Six Chapter Fifteen

Keeping my mana signature cloaked is difficult, thanks to the thrumming power of my Domain that begs to be unleashed. I’ve always skirted around the idea that mana might have some low level of sentience, and my suspicion has only grown along with my strength. It was much easier to pull in my Domain before I incorporated [Mage] into my Class. Although my overall control has improved, the power of my Domain has increased by what feels like threefold or more.

In anticipation of today’s operation, I picked up a brooch from the Orpheus that helps to conceal my presence. Initially, I wanted to get a more powerful artifact, but I was worried that it would be an obvious tip-off for Ozana.

Not that she’s blind, I think to myself. She probably knows exactly what I’m up to today. In that case, I probably should have gone all out and treated myself to a premium purchase. No point wasting time with half measures.

A tense quarter of an hour crawls by as I wait for the all clear. The chances of the guards looping back and finding me by accident are low, but I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Our mission is tenuous enough as it is. We’re too close to our goal to jeopardize things now by being impatient. When the message finally comes, I heave a ragged breath, releasing the ropes of tension that have been tying themselves into a knot in my stomach.

I purchase the story book I’d been reading so that I don’t seem like a freeloader—plus, it has legends about the [Heroes] of Densmore that I haven’t read yet—and exit the shop with my head down. Time for the real work to begin. I backtrack, then hurry down a side street, heading for a noodle shop to meet up with Mikko and his crew on their lunch break.

All around me, members of the city watch are milling about, entering shops and flagging down passing [Merchants] and patrons for awkward discussions. They keep checking papers with sketches, trying to find a match. Many of them look even more confused than the [Traders] and [Street Vendors] they’re accosting, which speaks to the efficiency of Rakesh’s modifications to my initial plan. He’s got half the city chasing shadows.

Slipping through the crowd is a challenge without the bludgeon of my Domain clearing a pathway for me; I didn’t realize how much I’ve come to rely on it to subconsciously shift people out of my way. I press forward, darting into gaps in the traffic and dodging carts. With how slow I’m forced to go, I start to worry that I won’t make it to Jabal’s automated workshop in time. With all the workshops in the area tied up, I’m counting on them receiving a frantic call for help.

Thankfully, Mikko and the other workers are still present at the noodle shop by the time I arrive, although I’m behind schedule. I burst into the packed restaurant in a rush, wincing as the heavy door slams against the wall with a loud, dull thud. The sudden noise interrupts my brother just as he’s about to shove a huge bunch of noodles into his mouth.

He startles when I snatch away the spoon and slide the mostly-empty bowl across the table toward me.

“You rascal!”

“Staying a step ahead is hard work. Need to keep my strength up,” I say, grinning around a mouthful of wide noodles and curried broth.

“Likely story,” he grouses.

I swallow another bite, barely even chewing the buttery, flavorful noodles, and shake my head. “Don’t have much time. I imagine Jabal has gotten a notice by now.”

He leans in, lowering his voice. “I saw that all the other shops on our block got visited by the guards. Looks like the plan is working. Rakesh is a genius.”

“Hey! That was my plan.”

“But he made it work,” Mikko points out, overriding my protests. His smirk at my irritation makes it clear that this is payback for stealing his noodles.

Only fair, I concede internally. Not that I’ll give him the satisfaction of saying that aloud.

Once again the door bangs open, drawing attention to the young delivery boy wearing the uniform of Jabal’s workshop. “Mikko! There you are. Boss wants ya back. Ten minutes ago would be late already.”

I slurp up the last of the noodles, set my spoon down next to the glass bowl, and pick up the entire bowl with one hand. I drink all the rest of the light golden broth, setting it down with an authoritative clunk and splashing droplets all over the table. A grin snakes across my face at the news. “How fortuitous.”

Mikko returns my sly grin. “Better get moving. Boss doesn’t like stragglers.”

We jog back to the workshop, where Mikko hands me a jacket and trousers in matching color. I struggle into the uniform as quickly as I can while Jabal explains the situation to the rest of the workers.

“We got a work order from the Orpheus House. They need a crew for emergency repairs on behalf of the Menders. Load up all the portable automatons. We leave in five.”

I waggle my eyebrows at my brother. “All according to plan.”

“Went just as you predicted for once,” Mikko says, giving me an exaggerated side-eye. “You’re really growing up.”

I snort. “You don’t have to sound so surprised. I’m full of good ideas!”

“Yeah, but this one is impressively efficient. Rakesh took care of the details so that it worked exactly like you imagined. I’m still a little amazed that we got picked. Our enchantments aren’t even that rare. We’re just faster at pumping out goods than everyone else. That’s it.”

“You’re also the only shop available. Ah, the hazards of running afoul of the law,” I say with a wink.

“Jabal keeps pinching himself. He barely believes that it’s real.” Mikko lowers his voice. “I don’t have the heart to tell him you masterminded it. Look how happy he is!”

“Happy bosses mean extra money.” I rub my thumb and fingers together. “He’ll have you working overtime maintaining the machines after this.”

Mikko shrugs his powerful shoulders. “Fine by me, as long as it helps Lio. Hey, you sure you can help with the repair? I’m afraid you’ll stick out from the rest of the workers from the shop since you’re missing a hand.”

“Yeah. I got this. No one else on your team can fix the scrying systems as quickly as I can, or re-activate the alarm connection to the Orpheus. Don’t worry, I’ll do the fiddly bits at the end to bring the system back up.”

“About all you’re good for,” Mikko replies, snickering softly as he packs up tools into a huge bag and slings it over his back. “Face it. You’re not much of a helping hand. Good thing we only need a few more bags. I suppose if you wear one on your back and carry the other in your hand, you might do. Better than paying a [Porter] at least.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Physical labor? No thanks! You’ll have to cover for me. You’re the main pack mule, after all.”

“What’s family for?” he mutters.

“Wise words, brother,” I say. “Although, it is a shame I can’t carry it all by myself with my Domain. Wouldn’t that be a sight to see?”

He nods sagely. “You’d definitely give it all away. The bodyguards would come back to give you a whooping. A real shame I’ll have to miss that.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

I roll my eyes and follow him to the front of the workshop. Someone straps a heavy pack to my back. We’re surrounded by massive wooden crates, bulging canvas bags, and several thin packages so long that they required multiple people just to carry them without bowing in the middle. Everywhere I check with a sweep of my Domain, enchantments glitter in my mind’s eye.

“This is worth a fortune, Mikko,” I murmur, sidling up to my brother. “They must have emptied the warehouse for this expedition.”

“You’d be surprised at how much we keep in reserve around here. From what I’ve heard, this collection is only about half of the available goods, although the quality of the enchantments is definitely on the higher end.”

“Oh, it’s ’we’ now?” I tease him.

He grunts and doesn’t reply, but the way his eyes slide away from meeting mine makes me think that he’s grown more attached to the work in Gilead than he’s let on. Tearing him away from the chance to learn enchantments and automation from Jabal feels cruel. Not bringing him back home to Mom and Dad feels even worse. I promised them that I’d keep my brother safe.

“Try not to look out of place,” he finally replies, hoisting another bag on his shoulders to balance out the load on the other side. He’s lugging more than anyone else in the smithy; even if they all work with metal, most of them are maintaining machines or inscribing enchantments. None of them have earned the raw strength that Mikko boasts.

With all the workers bustling around, I’m able to hide in the middle of the pack. I keep my head down and remember to draw my Domain back in so that I can stay low profile if possible. It’s harder than ever to pull the sphere of influence into my core; the [Arcane Domain] struggles to blast out in every direction.

We set off at a steady pace, but it’s a measured, workman-like march with a goal fixed firmly in mind. No one wants to wear down and hold up the entire line, so we don’t race ahead or push too quickly. We’re moving with steady purpose.

Navigating through Gilead is becoming less confusing the longer we work in the city. It’s still not the easiest place to get my bearings, but I’m more comfortable here than I ever thought possible after my first few days in the enormous city. It helps that we’re heading toward a district that I’ve come to know well. All the extra people on the road make things complicated, but Jabal is good at clearing space ahead of us, bellowing over the din with a command Skill.

Before much longer, the massive Menders facility emerges up ahead, standing over the rest of the city skyline in an imposing display of wealth and power. As always, the sight of the towering buildings and square, muscular lines makes my stomach clench with both fear and longing: worry for my friend and the desperate dream that one day I’ll fix my hand.

I’d hoped to receive better news here, but there’s no use dwelling on the past. I still have more to learn during my stay here. And besides, Lionel comes first.

A detachment of a dozen [Guards] meet us on the outskirts of the Menders campus and surround the goods. They’re tense, on edge, but none of them seem to recognize me. I can tell they’re in a rush, because they only scan the tools and goods with a few perfunctory Skills, then wave us through. Bypassing the usual security checkpoints thanks to our escorts, we march into the very heart of the inner sanctum.

I’ve visited the Menders campus plenty of times. In front, it’s all dazzling architecture and impressive decoration. Deeper in, however, the rows of buildings are squat. Functional. The tall, immaculate facades disappear, since there’s no one to impress in the storage areas. It reminds me of the way the Orpheus splits up the flashy presentation areas that they present to the public and the storage and office areas that only their internal workers are privy to; in Gilead, appearances matter.

“All right, lads, to the work,” Jabal says gruffly, interrupting my musings. The workers scatter, each with a gauge or minor artifact to take initial measurements.

Without a clear fit on the team, I sit back at first to observe. Everyone seems to have a role to play. Even my big lunkhead of a brother is busy setting up a portable workbench and enchanted forge, ready in case any physical repairs are required. I watch in keen interest as the guards guide Jabal to the nearest scrying enchantment, where he deploys a small, spider-like automaton made of manasteel that reminds me of my little glass golems.

The inscriptions on the small manasteel construct are simple but effective, though I can’t sense them as clearly as I’d like since I’m trying to restrain my Domain. The little creature scans the alarm system for half a minute, whirrs, and emits a few low chirps. When the [Automation Foreman] Jabal approaches the spider to review, it projects a diagnostic code across the back of its shiny metal body.

“Traces got overloaded. Gotta redraw them,” Jabal announces. “I’ll need a few minutes to set up. They’re more complicated than what I’m used to working with, so let’s hope it doesn’t explode.”

Mikko steps forward, dragging me by the elbow, and brings me to Jabal. “Boss, keep it quiet, since he’s not supposed to be here, but my brother can help us. He’s got an incredible understanding of runic arrays.”

Jabal gives me a long, level stare. “The Orpheus said all the usual repair teams are occupied. Funny that the man who got us the contract just happens to be available. I’m not asking what’s going on, but swear it’s not gonna come back on my shop.”

“It shouldn’t,” I say brightly, trying not to sound like I’m dodging the question. He’s not exactly prying, but it isn’t a simple answer. I have to remind myself that he’s responsible for the men and women on his crew. I’m not going to put them at risk if I can help it.

He lets out a quiet, resigned sigh. “Fine. But be quick about it. Don’t make me regret letting you tag along.”

I grin. “Not a chance.”

“There’s always a chance with you,” Mikko admits, looking around uneasily. “You have a talent for trouble.”

I elbow him in the ribs.

Jabal huffs and moves on to the next alarm in the adjacent hallway, leaving me to work in peace, other than dealing with my brother.

I keep my Domain tight so that I’ll remain undetected, but I reach out to the embedded scrying device in the wall and envelop it with my senses. The delicate traces where I blew out the system aren’t too badly damaged. After studying runes for so long, they don’t seem terribly complex, either. I apply the pressure of my Domain, forcibly bending the fragile metal threads back into place and spelling out the intended runes.

In a few places, the thin pieces of metal touch but don’t stay together well; they’re bent irreparably and will require replacing. I frown, considering if I should pull out the alarm system and make Mikko fix the metal. Perhaps he can shape them if I melt them down so they’re more malleable?

I snap my fingers as a new thought occurs to me. I can hold them in place and use a subtle application of [Vitrification] to fuse just the very outer layer together, preventing the rune from unraveling. If I imbue a tiny bit of unbreakable, then the infinitesimal bond will be strong enough to maintain its integrity.

At first, I take hold of too much of the metal, transmuting an entire section into glass and killing the rune. Unwilling to tear the sensor out of the wall and ask Mikko to replace the thin, fine lines of precious metal, I try a new technique: reversing [Vitrification].

A wave of embarrassment washes over me. I’ve never truly practiced inverting the Skill, even though Ezio taught me about the idea of meta magic years ago. In my own little team, Melina and Rakesh are experts at manipulating their mana in unorthodox ways, and they love teaching people. So why have I been so singularly focused on other pursuits? I could have—no, should have—asked them for help ages ago.

I shrug off the self-recrimination and get to work. Mana flows effortlessly now that I’ve been restored. Energy plays across the runes of my self-made Skill, like a [Musician] strumming the strings of a harp or lyre, in a precise order. I seek to undo the effects of the transformation, but nothing happens. The non-standard structure of glass resists reordering.

Instead of giving up, I turn the problem over in my mind, trying to see the details with a fresh perspective. Maybe I’m approaching it the wrong way by thinking in such absolutes as all glass or all metal. Crystal goblets contain a measure of metal in the glass, for example. Besides, all the metal has to do is conduct mana for the runes to work; there’s no law of the cosmos that says glass can’t also handle mana. My imbued works are proof of that.

Undeterred by my initial failure, I try again. This time, I lean on the properties of change inherent to [Vitrification]’s constituent runes. Transmuting is too powerful. I simply want to nudge the material to become more receptive to mana. Little by little, I adjust the glass composition to my liking, stopping after small updates to test how freely mana flows through the course.

A bright flare in my manasight finally announces that I’ve gotten it right. Mana circulates through the full inscription again, powering on the scrying sensor.

Heady with success, I jog to the next embedded sensor, accompanied all the while by a [Guard] who scowls at me. I suppose I look suspicious, since I’m not physically interacting with any of the broken sensors. Mikko helps me by calling Jabal over to confirm that my method is effective, which seems to placate the paranoid [Guard].

My updates work like a charm now that I have a better understanding of how to pull the blown pieces of the circuitry together, and I accelerate my repair work. Theoretically, I could fix all of them at once, but not without expanding my [Arcane Domain] and giving away my identity.

Nonetheless, I’m able to repair a handful of sensors in the time that Jabal’s constructs finally get a single one working again, earning me a clap on the back and a grunt of approval. Now that I’ve proved my worth, the [Guard] is more willing to let me have free rein of the place, putting my skills to use wherever they’re most needed.

Which, naturally, means fixing the scrying sensors in the [Headmistress]’s chambers.