Whatever she had been expecting, it was not for Ferris to immediately bristle at her proposal. “You want to create anti magic weapons, don’t you?” he accused.

There was a tense silence as Ruena deliberated how best to respond. “That’s right,” she confirmed finally, “I intend to create a secret weapon that prevents my enemies from using magic. I will not force you to assist me, but I will also not back down.”

“You wish to temporarily block the use of magic?” Ferris checked, calming himself, “You listened to my story, so I can at least hear you out.”

Ruena was relieved that he was not outright denying them. Telling the truth had been the right move. She explained her situation with the Black Wolf ordering her to take down Gero. She didn’t dare trust him with all of the details yet, so she skimmed over the part about being Alodan’s heir. Ruena did, however, go over the details of the situation with the poison dragon. This was one of the main reasons she needed the secret weapon before she could act.

Ferris listened intently, his expression growing darker as the story went on. He seemed to have no love for the Black Wolf, but anyone would agree that Gero needed to be taken down before the trade fully revived. After her story concluded, he seemed to have made a decision.

“What you need something that can not only block magic, but neutralize it completely,” Ferris told her, “I will help you if you agree to my conditions. If you really do intend to make such a dangerous device, I want to personally oversee that it causes no permanent harm.”

“As long as your conditions are not outrageous that shouldn’t be a problem,” Ruena assured, “What are they?”

“First, until I trust you, I want to have complete control of the secret weapon and how it is used,” Ferris began, “This is the one condition I will not bend on.”

“That is preposterous!” Ember exclaimed, furious, “If you can’t trust us, how are we meant to trust you with our secret weapon?!”

“That’s fine,” Ruena broke in before an argument could begin, “If Ferris succeeds, it will be just as much his weapon as it will ours. Besides, magic neutralization is not a threat to us.”

“Thank you,” Ferris told her, visibly relieved now that Ember had calmed down, “You claimed this weapon was secret. I would like to keep it that way as much as possible. Especially the process of its creation. Whoever will be assisting me should be the only one to know.”

Ruena frowned. She understood where he was coming from but that condition would be difficult to meet. “I am not sure that one is possible,” she admitted, “My partner and second in command can hear the thoughts of those around him.”

Ferris considered. “That may not be a problem,” he said after a moment, “May I meet him?”

“Of course,” Ruena replied, turning to face the door. “Soral! Get in here! And use the door like a normal person!”

“Soral is especially in tune to our commander’s thoughts,” Rosalie explained to the confused guest, “He says it helps to shout in case he is too far away.”

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Before Ferris had a chance to respond or even react, there was a crashing sound from the hall, followed by some not so subtle clangs as whatever had fallen was hurriedly straightened. A moment later the door began to open before it paused halfway.

“How do normal people use doors again?” Soral whispered.

Ruena sighed. Soral had taken to this afterthought approach to proper manners since he had been exposed to the unfiltered thoughts of others. Usually it meant someone nearby was thinking of it, but he only paid it mind when she was involved. It was one of the ways he gave her special treatment, but sometimes it made her feel like she was raising a son, not dating a magical powerhouse.

“Just come in through the door,” she told him, “Our guest wants to meet you.”

Soral slipped the rest of the way through the door and bounced over to Ferris with incredible speed. “Hello guest! What’s your name? Are you the one Ruena was looking for? Why can’t I hear your thoughts?”

“You can’t hear his thoughts?” Ruena asked in surprise.

Ferris, on the other hand, didn’t seem surprised. At least not by that. “After experiencing magic rejection, I have become all but immune to magic,” he explained, “My name is Ferris, and I am considering the position of the Alodan Warrior’s official doctor.”

“Magic rejection?” Soral asked, a bit behind. He quickly caught up as their thoughts flooded to the subject. “Oh! I can see why that would reflect any possible magic.”

As he spoke it was impossible to miss his blatant staring at Ferris’s mutated arms. Even though their guest was used to such treatment, most people at least tried to pretend they weren’t looking.

“Did you need something?” he asked, hoping to break the awkward silence.

“I do have an important question about your extra arms,” Soral admitted, “What order do I need to shake your hands in? Top to bottom? Longest to shortest? Or do you have a dominant hand on each side I should shake?”

“Which hand should you shake?” Ferris repeated as if he had never considered such a thing,”Whichever hand you like, I suppose. There is no need to shake more than one.”

Soral took his hand from the longest right arm without wasting a moment and gave it a hearty shake. “In that case, nice to meet you!”

Handshake over, Ruena brought things back to the main topic. “It is good that your thoughts are safe,” she told Ferris, “However, Soral will still be able to hear Janon’s.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” Ferris agreed, snapping his attention away from Soral who had begun passing out treats to everyone present, “I will add Soral to my condition, but if the secrecy can be respected, I would like it to be.”

“Of course,” Ruena promised, ‘Do you have any other conditions?”

“I will be joining as your doctor, correct?” Ferris checked, eyeing Soral again, “Please allow me to give regular checkups for signs of magic rejection. Your partner’s magic is quite potent and I fear it may trigger more subtle symptoms.”

Ruena nodded. “I was going to ask that of you as well. Many of my people as well as myself have no magic of our own.”

After that, negotiations with Ferris came to a swift conclusion and he opted to take the entrance exam immediately. While he had average speed, it turned out that Ferris was incredibly strong. His six arms were also useful for capturing the living wardrobe and hanging on when it tried to shake him. Ferris was more shocked that the wardrobe was able to provide a uniform that would fit him, six arms and all. It was good that part of Soral’s magic still worked on him.

Once that was settled, Ferris was introduced to Janon and the two began comparing research almost immediately. Ruena kept her promise and left so she would know as little as possible about the creation of the secret weapon. Things had begun to progress at a rapid pace, so Ruena decided she needed to step up her part of things as well.