The penny absorbed the droplet, just like my stone, and Morita-san’s bell. Unlike our items, however, the penny began to swell. It quickly ballooned into a half-dollar size, and then inflated further, but much more slowly.

Robert leaned forward, trying to get a better view of the thing, when Katira gently pulled him back.

“Stay back, Initiate. If it were to explode, you might die,” she said softly.

Robert swallowed and continued to watch from a short distance away. The penny had swollen into a ball, and began to vibrate and bounce around the cavern floor. We all stepped away from it as it rolled around for a moment, then stopped, shuddering.

A tiny hole appeared in the top of the ball, and a greenish cloud erupted from the hole. As the cloud flowed outward, the ball deflated, leaving a crumpled chunk of metal on the floor. A flash of insight hit me as I watched the failure, flooding my core with anxiety and regret.

Robert looked crestfallen as he eyed this clump. “Well, I suppose that’s a failure, then,” he said morosely.

“Perhaps, but have you learned something, Initiate?” questioned Katira.

“I’m not sure, Instructor. I don’t know what I could have learned from this beyond “Don’t use pennies for message stones”. I just…don’t know,” he said softly.

“Well, that is a start. I want you to explore your reasoning for using a penny. Think about that, as well as what it is made of. That may help,” Katira said gently.

“Well, I have a reducing essence. Pennies depreciate in value until they’re almost worthless. Well, except for really rare or old ones, where the copper was…replaced…by…steel…” Robert trailed off, his mind nearing an epiphany.

We could all see it forming in his head, but we said nothing. He needed to come to this realization on his own. I waited for the coming admonishment, seeing the revelation dawn in his eyes.

“That wasn’t a real penny. Sure, we use it as currency, but it isn’t copper. It’s mostly zinc. Copper plated zinc. Zinc reacts horribly with a lot of things. No wonder it didn’t work. Huh. Well, now that I have the answer, what can I do with it?” he asked.

“Good job, Initiate. You’ve shown that you can think critically about things instead of just being down about it. As for what you can do with it? Maybe nothing. Maybe it simply goes under your list of failures. You will all have a lot of those, even Initiate Merideth. His intuition may well carry him far, but it will fail him, eventually. As long as it isn’t catastrophically so, he will learn. Remember, Initiate Grimes: Failures are the asphalt for the road to success. Keep walking forward,” Katira answered.

Joaquin looked around. Looking nervous, he picked up the stones he had selected. He rolled them around in his hand, looking pensive. “Eu não acho que estes vão funcionar. Receio não poder fazer minhas pedras de mensagem com eles,” he said quietly.

Shutan laid his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “My Master does not think these stones will work properly. He is at a loss on how to proceed.” Turning his head to his charge, he softly said, “Não se preocupe, Mestre. Você vencerá esse obstáculo e se tornará o Necromante mais forte que este mundo já viu.”

Joaquin sighed and looked at me. “How I proceed now? Not know,” he said quietly.

I looked at Shutan, who’s skeletal face bore no semblance of expression. Still, I could tell he was silently pleading for me to help his Master. “Well, let’s think about it. Your essence burns. It is heat, fire. Again, what is communication but spreading the fire of the mind? You might do well with a flint stone, like I had. Thankfully, I kept the rest of it,” I said, pulling the last small bit of the stone from my pocket.

It was about the size of a nine volt battery and just as blunt. He gratefully took the stone.

“Dude, if you had that in your pocket, why didn’t you give me part of it, instead of letting me fail?” Robert asked, somewhat hurt.

“Because you seemed to have settled on using a penny, and I agreed that your logic appeared solid. I honestly didn’t even think about it being made of zinc until after it pooped out on you. Even so, I don’t think flint would be a good choice for you to use as a stone.” I said, my mind spinning with possibilities, “Y’know, thinking on it, clay might be a good idea,” I said.

“Clay? Why clay?” Robert asked.

“Yes, Initiate. Please tell us why you think a simple clay, of all things, would be a good medium for him to use as a message stone,” Katira said, her face screwed up in confusion.

Everyone was watching me. I suddenly felt extremely self-conscious and nervous. “Um, well… It…it’s just that clay shrinks when it’s fired. About ten percent or so, I think.” I said quietly.

“Why’s everyone staring at me?” I asked, nearly panicked.

“How? How do you come up with this stuff? Dude, I’ve known you a grand total of three days and you’ve pulled more random knowledge outta your ass than a fucking encyclopedia. What even are you?” Robert asked, bewildered.

My breath quickened and I could feel my body temperature rising.

Morita-san gently laid her hand on my right shoulder. I whipped my head around to stare at her, eyes wide.

“Senpai, please calm down. We are not mad, only very curious. You seem to have knowledge that just…fits whenever we have questions. Like my bell. It was a big jump for anyone else to get that, but you seemed to come to it easily. It’s very impressive,” she said softly.

“Si, calma, meu tio. You do no bad. You help. We are thankful,” Joaquin added.

“So, y’all aren’t mad at me for having answers?” I asked quietly.

“Lord no, dude! I’m lost as fuck over here. Kinda need someone with at least some idea of what’s going on. Besides you, Yin,” Robert said, ruffling the large wolf’s fur.

“Initiate. You’ve done nothing wrong. Your insight and intuition is simply uncanny. That’s really all there is to it. I am struggling to think of ways to challenge you right now. Using clay would be a superb option for Initiate Grimes, as would using flint for Initiate Madras. Yes, Initiate, as long as you follow the instructions for the message stones, the flint will work. As will clay for Initiate Grimes, I think. It would have to harden to greenware, or be actually fired, but it will absolutely work. And it has the added benefit of being extremely commonplace, easily replaceable, and simple to make and keep. He could even glaze it without losing effectiveness. Simply remarkable the way you just have these answers. Do you know of any reason you might know these things, Initiate?” Katira said gently.

I closed my eyes and held up a finger in a gesture of “wait”. I took two deep breaths and held the third, willing my racing heart to slow down. It took a few more moments, but I was finally able to collect myself.

“Honestly? I have no idea. Besides doing little else but read books as a kid and young adult, I don’t know. I sometimes just know the answer to things. I have for all my life,” I mumbled self-consciously.

“You’re claircognizant, Initiate. You know without knowing. Without training or schooling, you simply know certain things. Interesting. I wonder…” Katira said, trailing off.

I sighed softly. Yet another thing that would set me apart from everyone. All my life it had just been one thing after another that made me different, and now, in the span of two weeks, I found out I was a Necromancer, and what’s more, almost the highest Tier, and I seemed to somehow know more than I should.

What was next? Would I sprout wings and breathe fire?

Katira turned to Joaquin and said, “Initiate Madras? Please go ahead with your experiment. Follow the directions exactly, and your stone should work just fine.” Turning to Robert, “Initiate Grimes? Go find some clay and more mint. Take Initiate Morita-san with you. She has sharp eyes.” Robert and Morita-san nodded and got up, heading out of the cave, their familiars trailing after them.

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“Initiate Merideth? You and I need to have another chat. Come with me, please,” Katira said, walking out of the cave, and heading down the holler.

I stood and followed her, my thoughts racing into a downward spiral. Why didn’t I just keep quiet? Why did I always have to volunteer my ideas? Why didn’t I know by now that I was always going to be an outsider?

These thoughts and more swirled around in my head, making me feel more and more depressed as I trudged outside to meet my familiar.

I saw her disappear down into the holler, and followed, being mindful of the suddenly numerous stones and briars that threatened to trip me. I felt an intense weight within; a stone dragging my spirit down into depths best left unplumbed as I followed my familiar down towards the waterfall.

After a few more minutes, I saw her sitting there on the boulder overlooking the pool.

“Come here, please. We need to talk,” I heard her say.

I walked over next to her, noticing how the sun played through her windswept hair. She scooted over and patted the warm stone, inviting me to sit, which I did. She wrapped an arm around my hip and pulled us closer together.

“You don’t like being put on the spot, do you, Master?” she asked quietly.

I shook my head. “No, Katira. I do not,” I said, my voice straining with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry, Master. I don’t mean to upset you with all this, but what you’ve done; what you can do is seriously uncanny. Not because it’s wrong or anything, but because it’s so unusual for a mere initiate to just know these things,” she said, cupping my chin and turning my face to hers. “You are doing nothing wrong. I want you to know that. What you’ve told Joaquin and Robert are absolutely correct. The moment you told me how you came up with your recipe was the moment I knew I had someone more special, more precious than I’d ever thought possible. Don’t stop using that intuition. Don’t get all self-conscious about your knowledge. Let it flow. I guarantee you that the others are not bothered. Just bewildered. As am I, honestly. You shouldn’t know these things. Not yet, at least.

“At any rate, we must now contend with your imminent Growth. It will be soon, and likely around the time we go home. We might be lucky enough to ward it off for a few more days, but that is only a possibility. We don’t really have the right reagents. Tomorrow, we will discuss Growth as it pertains to Necromancers,” she said, squeezing me tightly.

I leaned my head onto hers, relishing the contact. “I think we should get back to the cave. Joaquin’s still should be finished soon,” I said quietly.

Katira nodded her head and stood up, her hand entwined with mine. I resisted her pull, and insead pulled her close to me. Taking my glasses off, I rested my cheek on her warm, soft chest, and held her tightly to me.

“Thank you, Katira.”

“Of course, Master.” She gently stroked my head, her nails running soothingly across my scalp. “It’s part of what I’m here for. I am here to be whatever you need; whatever you want. Just speak up,” she said, placing a hand on the side of my head and gently pressing my face into her cleavage.

I sighed, then extricated myself from her comforting warmth and started heading back up the hill.

The journey back was uneventful, and I failed to notice any bramble or loose stones this time. On the way, I picked up a couple of neat looking rocks and stuffed them into my pockets. We got to the cave shortly after Robert and Morita-san, who simply waved us over to see the goings-on in Joaquin’s still.

The oil had collected in the beaker, and was near the spout. A few more minutes would probably see the oil begin to collect at the tip. I sat down beside Joaquin, who was visibly excited.

“Soon, I have magic stone, like you! Happy day!” he said with a smile.

I rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “Yes, my friend. Soon, you will have a message stone. I don’t know if it will be like mine, however. We’ve been able to use it twice now. Even if it isn’t, you’ll have made your first creation as a Necromancer! That’s something to be proud of,” I said.

The young man smiled and turned red. “Ninguém se orgulha de mim desde que meus pais morreram. Obrigado tio,” he said.

Shutan laid his bony hand on the young man’s shoulder. “My Master thanks you, Ivor. Nobody has shown any pride in his work since his parents died,” he said.

“You’re welcome, Joaquin. You keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll have all sorts of people singing your praises,” I said.

He nodded and went back to watching his experiment. The oil had begun to collect at the tip of the spout, and I could see no more collecting in the beaker. It was almost time.

Slowly the last of the oil flowed down the spout and collected at the tip, looking like a green marble. As we watched, the flame went out, and the drop fell, absorbing into the flint below.

As before, the stone rattled about on the floor, shaking and rippling. Unlike before, the stone began to spin, eventually standing upright, twirling about on a corner. We all stared, transfixed, until the stone split with a loud crack, and there lay two halves of the stone, perfectly split along the long axis, with a beautiful green patina.

“I make magic stone! Instructor! I make!” he shouted loudly.

We all smiled at the young man. His excitement was delightful to watch. He gave one part to Morita-san, saying “For you. You keep. We talk.” He smiled, his face turning crimson.

Morita-san took the proffered stone gently, bowing slightly. “Yes, Joaquin-kun. We talk. We will learn each other’s language, too,” she said, turning her own shade of pink.

I looked over at Robert and gave a small shake of my head, grinning. He seemed to understand and nodded with a smile.

“So! What are you gonna make, Robert? Gonna make a marble? Be simple. How about sculpting something unique?” I asked the man.

“Nah. I’m gonna make a radio. I took some art in college, and I can probably work with this stuff. Let’s see…” he trailed off as he began to work his clay into a boxy shape.

“Instructor? What would happen if he incorporated both his essence and crushed some mint into his clay?” I asked Katira.

“Very little. His is a reduction type. It will need to be added to the reagent only. Adding it to the clay as-is will have no real effect. Yours, on the other hand, would probably cause the clay to develop air bubbles. That would be bad during firing, Initiate. Part of learning how to be an effective Necromancer is learning what happens when your essence is introduced to a variety of reagents. Yes, you make things multiply, but there will be some reagents that you simply won’t affect. For that reason, you must learn other ways to do things. Like learning how to use your physical essence properly,” she said gently.

I nodded and mused reflectively on her words. She was absolutely correct. Air bubbles in clay during firing would cause it to explode. Idly, I wondered just what reagents my essence would have no effect on.

“Instructor? Is there an exhaustive list of the different types of essence? We have four different types here. Are there others?” I asked, intensely curious. The other three paid attention, even Robert, who was busy sculpting details in his clay.

“There are nine different types, Initiate. In this cave, we have Multiplying, Drying, Burning, and Reducing essences. There are also Freezing, Softening, Hardening, Drenching and, rarest of all, Dimming. Dimming essence is the only essence type that is able to affect all known reagents. As you can see, the other eight have their antithesis. They will cancel each other out, either rendering the reagent inert, or destroying it completely. While Initiates Merideth and Grimes may well become fast friends, Necromancers with opposing essences are usually unable to be more than that. Not even work partners, due to the opposing nature of their essences. It is also why Initiate Grimes had to use a fair bit more of his essence to even use your message stone,” Katira explained.

“That would explain why his voice was so faint when he contacted me,” I said, pinching my lower lip in thought.

“Really? That is interesting. I would suggest you search your Grimoires for explanations of the essence types. Look in the journals, as well. Initiate Merideth, as I am your familiar, I can tell you right now that none of my previous Masters ever thought to make such a list. The others may have had different experiences. If there is no such list, I’d say go ahead and create it. It will be less of an experiment, and more of an observation for each of you,” she said appreciatively.

“...and done. Here we are. A clay radio,” Robert said, holding his little sculpture aloft.

It was small, about four inches by two inches by two inches, but it was rather detailed. It resembled an older box radio from the sixties, complete with speaker grille and radio dial. Robert, it turned out, was quite an artist.

“Wow. Dude, that’s pretty cool. What will you do now?” I asked.

“Set it out in the sun to dry for the rest of the day and tomorrow. After that, I’ll fire it at home. If you’re right about this, I can turn my hobby into something productive. I can pretty quickly make a boatload of these, and sell them to other Necromancers. How does that sound, Instructor? Is that a thing that happens?” he asked.

“It isn’t unheard of. If your particular method works well, you might find yourself with a rather lucrative option. And, if you can discover the proper medium for your message stone that works with your essence, you can charge even more for a message stone that is reusable. I would even go so far as to say you could find yourself in an extremely comfortable place financially if you can figure that out. Keep tabs on it, Initiate Grimes,” Katira answered.

Robert’s eyes lit up. “You mean to tell me that I could get rich just from making clay figurines that double as message stones, even if I can’t make them work multiple times?” he asked.

“Absolutely possible. Every few decades or so, some Necromancer gets just that idea and then runs with it. They wind up fairly well off and rather safe, as nobody wants harm to come to the one who makes their life just a bit less complicated. Necromancers tend to use message stones like you would your phone. Speaking of, your phones won’t work inside your workshops. Message stones are the only way to communicate while inside them.

“Now that everyone has done their experiments, and recorded the results in their Grimoires -please don’t forget to do that, Initiates Madras and Grimes- the rest of the day is yours to use as you see fit. There isn’t a whole lot of daylight left, so I would say exploring is out of the question, but the day is yours. You have all done well; even you, Initiate Grimes. Don’t think that just because you failed in this attempt, that you have done poorly. Quite the contrary. You now have an idea of what happens when you fail, and you have a better appreciation for the experience. You also learned valuable lessons in the process, as did the rest of you. I am proud of all of you. Enjoy your day,” she said with a broad smile.

I grinned at Robert, who stood and walked out of the cave, probably to set his little figurine on a rock to dry in the sun and overnight. Looking over at Morita-san, I could see that she was in conversation with Joaquin, with Shutan acting as interpreter. If a skeleton could blush, I was certain he would have been.