The academy was underway. The dwarves were set, and we had a plan in place for trouble. We needed to figure out what to do with my new landholdings, but our internal production was going well. I got the magical blanks and bracers completed for the Duke, and Red was set to see Isaac.

  Hey Bella, can you meet me in my chambers?

  I am already there helping to pack for you. She replied.

  Oh, see you in a minute. I thought back to her.

  Sandor said, “Patron, can I talk with you for a minute?”

  “Sure, I’m heading to my chambers to pack. Walk with me.”

  Sandor was silent until we got onto the stairs.

  “What's up?” I prompted.

  “You reminded me that the alchemy tower is now yours, and a thought popped into my head. There is a magical vault in the tower that I am pretty sure was never found, based on what everyone has said about the tower.”

  I stopped on the stairs and turned to him. “A magical vault?” I asked.

  “Yes. It was master rank only access, but I helped my master, the guildmaster, carry some crates of books down the stairs once over a year ago. I can let you know where it is and sort of how to get into it, but-” He paused.

  “But?” I asked.

  “But I am not sure what's in there except that it is supposedly protected by some beasts.” He said.

  “Could your master have been misleading you to keep you out?”

  He paused. “Maybe, but it was not really his style. I think that there is something there. Something powerful. But there could also be valuables, and with Master Harmony out there, I didn’t want important things to fall into the hands of the necromancers.”

  I began walking again. “Thank you, Sandor. I will add this to the list of things we need to do. The Majordomo sealed the passage into the Undercity, but there are ways around it, and a powerful mage like Harmony could find a way.”

  Sandor said, “I just thought you should know.” And he squeezed my arm and then walked back down the stairs.

  After trudging up the stairs and answering a half dozen questions by staff who ran into me outside of my rooms near the stairs and common room, I entered my chambers.

  “I was wondering.” I started, “If I used my 49pt emerald to summon an elemental, could I send it out after flawless gems to make a few more 49pt gems?”

  Since it was just the two of us and she was helping me pack, she spoke. “That would be like using a battle axe to slice your bread. It’ll work, but you’d want to make sure all your fingers are intact afterwards. An entity of that power would not be pleased with such a menial task.”

  “Wow, I would have thought a 49pt gem was anything from menial.”

  “It is. But all it would do is find a flawless gem of a size needed to make such a gem, which would take the craft of a master or grandmaster gemcutter.” She turned and smiled. “And it would not need to be the size of your fist.”

  “Yeah, that was a lot more showy than it needed to be,” I said.

  “You think?”

  “So I could send a 28pt emerald earth elemental out and come back with a flawless gemstone,” I asked.

  “You know that you can because you already did it.” She said. “But theoretically, it depends on a number of factors. And you may want to remember to say 49pt raw flawless gemstone, because if it wants to get tricky, it could just steal one from some mage or jeweler in the area.”

  “Oh, that was why they restricted the space I was to use below the Welcoming Chamber.” I realized.

  “Exactly. They knew that there were available mines in that area that would not conflict with already mined or finished gemstones.”

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Elementals can be tricky.”

  “It’s magic. If you are unwary with your words, there will be consequences.” She said, and she placed an extra shirt in my adventurer's backpack.

  “I was thinking about getting four more powerful gemstones to go in my necklace. I have been gathering power around me without really doing it strategically. We are getting close to the battle, and I wanted to fine-tune some things. Oh, that reminds me-” I started.

  “I already packed your new spellbooks so that if you had time with the elves to read, you could add some new spells. Personally, with all the points you have acquired, I think you need to pick up a teleport and a couple of offensive spells. You are attracted to the knowledge-based spells, which I love about you, but you need to be able to zap some monsters.”

  I had frozen in place. She had said it was something she had loved about me.

  She froze in place, too. After a long pause, she went back to folding, and I went over to my library to pull out a couple of blank tomes to keep with me. It was a habit I picked up from the old sage.

  We both went on as if nothing had been said. It was just a figure of speech, right?

  No response from Bella on that rhetorical thought.

  I decided that, unless I heard otherwise, I would seek how to cast a 3rd Mark Wizard spell Scorching Light for my area of effect spell, and a 2nd Element Lightning Bolt spell, and for my teleport spell, I’d go with either a 3rd Attunement Summoner spell like Limited Teleport, 4th with Lesser Teleport, or 5th with Limited Group Teleport. That was a hard choice. Of course, I also needed to find a master willing to teach me, unless I could figure it out in one of the books I acquired. I think I had good chances under the circumstances either way, but you never knew. When dealing with other guilds, their rules were deeply rooted in tradition.

  In the meantime, I had rings on my hand and a mage staff to accomplish all these tasks at least once, as well as the ability to move through the banks, at least between here and the Copper Mountain Dwarf Hold. I would need to check into whether the elves had a branch in their capital. I was pretty sure they did. But whether I would get one of those special keys from them was a different story.

  I was packed, had plenty of extra blank rings, and was decked out for battle. I admit that dressing for a fight was not the politest way to enter a home. But I had no idea what I might encounter. Regardless, I decided to keep my staff in its ring form. A mage’s staff was a powerful weapon and not flaunted casually. And I had beefed it up recently, along with my rings and sword, with new 28pt gems and stones.

  I made my way back to the main floor by the fountain. It was becoming my departure point.

  “Any final thoughts?” I asked some of the journeymen and guards standing around me.

  “Yes,” Said Adriana. “Let’s not have these be the last between us.”

  “Here. Here.” Biff agreed and stomped his boots. Many of the guards followed suit.

  Hufnar moved forward and whispered. “Be wary, cousin. Elves look all sparkly, but they are as forlorn as the bench and batters of a long, abandoned mine.” And for emphasis, he swiped at his large nose with a finger of his right hand and blinked slowly.

  “Thanks, Captain. I’ll be on my guard.”

  “Red, I leave the shoppe in your good hands. Good luck with the Academy, and keep up the production. I’ll be back, well, as soon as I can.”

  And with that, I reached down to grasp the teleport charm in the form of a carved wooden leaf. I didn’t really need to hold it for the spell to work, but I felt more confident doing so, and since Will was buoyed by confidence, it mattered.

  In a flash of green-white light, I appeared in the atrium of a wooden home. In fact, it looked more like the inside of a tree or a tree that wrapped itself around a home. It was a little hard to tell at first impression.

  A crystal bell tolled musically throughout the structure, and I heard movement coming my way.

  The first to reach me was a young elf maiden holding a book in her hands. Her mouth was wide open as if she had been singing or talking out loud. It was very hard to guess the age of an elf since they lived so long, but she carried herself as if she were very young, an adolescent perhaps.

  She turned and looked like she was about to utter a shout when Grandmaster Rothilion Venstina, elf lord and ambassador to Keelwell, strode up behind her. He clapped her shoulders warmly and said, “Please allow me to introduce my granddaughter, Keenor Eliyen Venstina.”

  I bowed and said in Elvish, the language he had spoken to me, “It is my pleasure to meet you, Lady Venstina.”

  She giggled and said, “I am not a lady, I am only thirty!” And she looked up at her grandfather, who patted her shoulders again.

  “Keenor, please allow me to introduce you to Lord Patron Gwydion Istari, enchanter mage, master jeweler, elfkin, and friend to our Lodge.”

  He said the last part in such a way that I took it to mean more than just his home.

  She bowed in return, much deeper than I had, and eyed me speculatively.

  “Run along to your studies, Keenor, and thank you for greeting our guest.”

  She turned slowly and departed reluctantly, but she obeyed her grandfather.

  He waited for her to depart and then asked quickly, “Are you well? Is all safe in Keelwell?”

  His concern was genuine, and it warmed my heart after the last warning from Hufnar, which happened to align with my own misgivings about being here.

  “The short answer is yes, Lord Venstina. But there is a longer version I would like to share with you if I may.” I asked.

  “Of course. I am expected at court but not for a little while. We shall retire to my study.”

  He walked me through the same level of the home that we were on, and I discovered to my astonishment that this was indeed a tree that had to have been sung into its form. We were surrounded by a tree of such enormous dimensions as to baffle the senses. I had heard of these Elven redwoods, but no amount of reading truly captured their magnificence.

  After he ushered me into a warm inner room illuminated by softly glowing magical yellow orbs, he said,“If you will excuse me for a few moments, I will inform my wife of your presence and see to some refreshments. I apologize for the short delay.”

  “Lord-”

  He interrupted me. “In my home, you are now family, please refer to me as Roth or Rothilion.”

  “I am honored. Thank you, Rothilion, and of course, you may call me Gwyd or Gwydion.”

  “He smiled. I shall use Gwydion if you do not mind. A gwid is a type of pleasant-tasting but odorous mushroom. I think I’d like to avoid the reference among others.”

  I smiled. “Thank you for telling me. That would have been embarrassing, I’m sure.”

  “It’s doubtful you would have sensed the irony among the elite, but they would have certainly found a way to allude to it. The elfkin are not always greeted with the distinction they deserve. We are a sheltered and arrogant race. Chastised by the ancients but blessed to outlive all others save the immortal beings.”

  “You said that you know my father.”

  “I know him well and both like and respect him. Why do you ask?”

  “You remind me fondly of him. He has a kindness about him, but always teaches. If he chastises, it is a lesson. If he compliments, it is a lesson. If he asks me to pass a platter of vegetables,” I waved my hands, “you get the idea.”

  He laughed. “Then I take that as a compliment and feel that I am in good company.” He bowed his head slightly, “If you will excuse me? Please feel free to wander my study. There is nothing in here to harm you, so feel free to browse in case I am delayed longer than expected.”

  With that, he departed and closed the door behind him.