As her body began to shake, she felt a mild irritation coming on. The first shreds of consciousness could only focus on the throbbing pain in her head. Cira’s eyes shot open with a start and struggled to focus on the face before her. Silver hair hung down into view.
“Nanri…? What’s going on…” It took a while to rub the sleep out of her eyes, then she took stock of her surroundings. There was a sword in her hand and glass mugs strewn around it. With a groan, Cira made all her ridiculous conjurations of the night before disappear into motes of light.
“Hey, what the hell?” Triton held his arms out looking upset. There was a dark stain of something having spilled across his cloak and over his crotch.
“My bad. Urghh…” She climbed out of the boat like a wounded crab and Nanri offered an arm for support, which she gladly took. “How long was I out?”
“Quite some time.” The witch replied, “The aetherium is almost done distilling.”
“Oh no!” Cira whipped her head around nervously, taking a much more thorough stock of her surroundings. The other exorcists were either sitting around bored or asleep. Her four prisoners looked at her with irritation or confusion, though there were two interesting looking salt garments next to them. There was still some time left in the hourglass and Cira realized all was well. The aetherium trickle had nearly filled a jar with a substance that looked like liquid mithril. “I guess nothing has gone wrong in my absence… Well done, Nanri.”
While the witch didn’t feel like she was due much credit, the praise made her feel better and it showed on her face, “Everyone has already gotten rest, and I finished the new exorcists’ gear, but I can’t work with blessed silver. I did try it…” Little tendrils had formed on the block of silver where she tried to pull it away.
“Yes, I’ll have to weave it in… but I feel terrible right now.” With a hand on her stomach, Cira swayed uneasily, “We should send someone to get breakfast.”
“It’s nearly sundown… but I agree. We need to figure out lodging for the exorcists and alchemists as well.”
Cira slapped her forehead, “I completely forgot!” With an uncomfortable grunt, the orichalcum staff appeared before her while Conduit’s disk materialized behind her back. The Staff of Springs formed a narrow river that snaked around her. The sorcerer’s eyes were still a little unsteady, but the more the merrier when it came to staves to stave off the mental strain.
Cira’s first order of business was turning her head and leaning into Aquon’s river, slurping it out of the air with reckless abandon. No one knew what to make of this and waited for her next move. Next, Pillars of salt rose up, filling the void between them and the cave wall before forming a platform. The outlines of a structure appeared and three houses started forming, “I’ll take care of the exorcists later. Now who is our best errand boy?”
She peered across the startled group she’d gathered. They all watched the houses appear with wide eyes and gulped when they met Cira’s. “Triton.” She called.
“Y-yes?!” He nervously shouted and it made Cira wince.
“Sheesh, not so loud,” Her eyes were scrunched up and she gestured with her hand to lower it down, “Triton, I’m sending you to get breakfast for everyone. Take the boat.”
“Oh, uh… okay. It’s night, but I haven’t eaten since yesterday.” He stood up, brushing off his cloak.
“How do you guys even know? I thought it was always night.” Cira wasn’t in the mood for word games.
“The lights are ever-so-slightly dimmer after sunset.” He replied, and everyone nodded. Cira exasperatedly sighed in response. “Oh wait, I don’t have any money though.”
“Of course, of course…” Cira pulled a coin purse from her waist and jingled around in it, “I only have one gold left. Do you think they have change for mithril?”
They either gawked or gave disgusted expressions, and it irritated Cira to no end as she just wanted a simple answer. The feisty woman she vaguely remembered decided to express her distaste, “Are you really that dense? Have you never paid for a meal in your life? Or anything?! Where did that fancy sword even go?”
“The sword never existed in the first place,” which was a fact that blindsided the girl, leaving her without words, “and I’m in no mood for your attitude. I wasn’t even speaking to you.” Her weary eyes fell on Triton.
“Right… A gold crown is more than plenty. Should I use the rest to bring back some, er, refreshments?” He let out a nervous laugh.
“Of course not, you all still have a full day of work ahead of you.” She retorted.
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“But… but it’s night-time.”
“Ughh, fine…” Working late is one thing but I can’t make everyone nocturnal. There needs to be some order to this. “I guess you get the day off then, but just bring the change back. I don’t want to see any ale for a while.”
“Oh… okay.” He looked mildly downcast as he slid into the boat and tugged away through the darkness.
“I need to get out of these clothes…” A round shroud of conjured metal rose from the platform at Cira’s words, encircling her. The others looked on with something less than interest, though they were trying to figure out what they were looking at. They heard her call for the mighty Staff of Springs, “Azure Maelstrom!” to bathe herself with. After a few minutes of her shuffling around behind the veil, grunting and breathing heavy, they heard a loud knock, “Ow! dammit…” Cira had banged her head on the wall.
Soon the enclosure dispersed to reveal the sorcerer having shed her pirate skin. She wore flowing robes of white and gold, made of a silk so fine it defied the eyes. It was the most incredible piece Nanri had seen her wear yet and looked almost ceremonial, but it also seemed familiar to her. Then she noticed the wide collar that fell over her shoulders and the same hat her father’s projection from the archive wore, with a gold star hung from its tip. The genuine article was a bright white but seemed to shimmer depending on where you looked at it from.
The sorcerer’s face was tired, and she stumbled over to the witch, continuing to rehydrate from her wayward stream all the while. After pulling her face away, she spent a few seconds looking around, “I guess I can get started on their weapons while we wait for breakfast.”
“I’ll watch, then. Just let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Nanri looked up at her with a troubled smile and Cira took it in stride. It was hard to tell if there was something on her mind or if she was just hungry as well.
“Right. I just need to make a forge first…” They walked over to the prisoner group and pointed at the geomancer. “Kay… Your name is Lando or something, right?”
“Um, it’s actually Lant… Madam Witch…”
Cira waved her hand around like she was swatting a fly, “Enough of that. I’ve no time for formalities, just pay attention and try to take this seriously. What kind of weapon do you want? Anything you’re used to?”
“Gauntlets. I fight with my fists.” He stated proudly.
“That’s right…” Cira put a hand to her chin, remembering those scant few seconds spent fighting this one, “Everything you know about magic is wrong. You can’t just blast rocks out of your fists… May as well be punching purge stone. Like, seriously? What is wrong with wrong you? Triton will have to—ah, dammit, I shouldn’t have sent him. You’ll learn the basics from him when he gets back, assuming he hasn’t regressed. But I’m vetoing the fists. Try again.”
His face was hung open in a dramatic frown and he helplessly floundered. This man spent his whole life honing his Art of the Stone Fist, only for this young girl who effortlessly reflected it to tell him it was all useless. As Lant shrunk, he grew uncomfortable to see a spark flutter into her eye.
“Oh! How about a pair of hammers? Or spiked bucklers? I saw a pirate swingin’ some around once, but it gave me tons of ideas. Your earth should work well with them if you can improve your form.” He didn’t know what to make of the rambling girl, but he tried his best.
“That sounds alright, I guess… But what does improve my form mean? I’ve been practicin’ my whole life.”
“Like I said, Triton will help you out. Maybe I’ll give you a pointer or two after I’ve woken up. Now you.” She looked to the other new exorcist, “I’ve been calling you Sponge Maiden Three in my head, but it’s a little wordy.”
She let out an offended scoff and peered up at Cira, taken aback, “It’s Jules! And Something tells me you’re not Cirina Dreadheart, are you?” She even had the nerve to take a pompous attitude.
“Sure I am.” She crossed her arms, “Now choose your weapon, it’s getting late.”
Jules gave her an incredulous look before answering, “A crossbow.”
“Hmm…” She looked up ponderously and got a grin on her face, “A fine choice… Ammunition will be an issue, but I’ve already been trying to solve that one… Alright” She plopped a fist into her palm, “I’ve got it. Time to make the forge.”
“You’re going to just make one? Right here?” Nanri asked.
“Naturally.” The orichalcum responded and her alchemy platform extended. From it rose a furnace that ended in a chimney. Next, an anvil and a workbench, along with various hand tools modified to be used without hands. It was basic as far as smithies go, but it would do just fine for Cira’s needs. She didn’t notice the inquisitive Earth Vein staff peering over from across the way when she squatted down to start enchanting it. All she needed was heat, just a lot of it.
“Wow, you sure move fast…” Nanri observed. The rest of the group didn’t have much to say when structures just kept manifesting. Enchantments on the furnace only took around half an hour, then it activated with a bright crimson flash. Once that faded, the surrounding area was lit up as if by a piercing red flame.
Cira stood up, feeling the heat against her body and nodding in satisfaction, “Alright, so what’s taking Triton so long? He better not have run off…” She noticed the Earth Vein head Official waving from across the way and zeroed in, cocking her head to the side.
“Uh, excuse me, Madam Witch…” He looked like he was in a pinch as he called out, the flames reflecting on his face from afar, “I don’t mean to offend, but could I ask what it is you’re building over there?”
“Ugh… forgot about them.” She gave Nanri a tired look, “I better go talk to him.”
She jumped an impressive distance, only to gracefully glide to the ground next to the shaken man. She gave him a lazy curtsy and greeted him, “Sorry, I was going to come talk to you last night, but I forgot.”
“Oh, that’s no problem…” He awkwardly replied. She had actually arrived at the very beginning of his shift that morning, “Those are, er, quite magnificent robes you have there, Madam Witch, and your staves leave me speechless. Your mastery truly precedes you.” Then the man bowed, followed by all his little ducklings.
“Save me the formalities… but thanks.” She tried to hide a grin—Cira loved getting compliments in her dad’s repurposed robes. “In any case, why are there so many of you now? Is something happening?”
“Oh, of course. We’ve received word from above that the Astral Witch is on her way. We’ve been busy preparing for her arrival, but they said she’s very eager to greet you.”