Traveling is a dangerous activity. Arriving in a dangerous forest full of monsters has spelled the end of many. Those that emerge alive seek society, but the monsters there are no less lethal.

  -Travelers Guild Professor on the class, dangers abroad

  *scrtch scrtch*

  Pillars of stone rise from rolling hills of golden clouds. On the stone pillars are carved symbols, wardings to keep back spirits, demons, ghosts, and even dreams. The rat sniffs around, drawn to the pillar as it ineffectively scratches and gnaws at the stone. Its primitive brain is consumed by the hypnotic symbol before it, until razor-sharp claws slice through it. Behind the rat, a cat with fur as black as night licks the blood off its supernaturally sharp claws before dragging the rat corpse from the pillar with its claw marks.

  The cat thought over what to do with the fresh prize. She would need to deliver it to Artemis, the goddess had not had a good hunt in a while. A nice dead rat on her favorite bow will cheer her up. As the cat recedes into the shadows, voices echo and braziers come into focus.

  “Have you found him yet, Hestia?”

  “No, I haven’t found him.”

  “Your scryings haven’t revealed anything?”

  “No, they reveal too much. Each time I look through the mists, I see dozens of threads of fate. We should consult Artemis.”

  Hera scoffs, “No, she is the goddess of hunts, not finding things. The last thing we want to one of the pantheon trying to kill him.”

  “What if we sent Hermes, maybe give him a message? Hermes might be able to find him.”

  “Just focus on finding him,” then she pauses, as if listening for something. “You haven’t drawn his attention in any way, have you?”

  “No, these halls are warded. Morpheus himself added chiseled runes to keep anyone from stumbling into the halls.”

  Hera pauses, looking around the hall, searching. “Just find him.”

  “What do you want me to do when we find him?”

  “We need to keep him contained. Give him access to Elesium, make him king, or whatever keeps him content.”

  “Content? Why not just lock him away?”

  “A plausible second choice. Building a prison of pillows makes the inmate far more compliant than a prison of stone.”

  “Then what of Demeter? She knows the garden like the back of her hand-”

  Hera raises a hand to cut her off, “Someone is listening.”

  “The wards-”

  “You are too focused on your scryings. I can feel someone there. Show yourself!”

  The braziers burn brighter, and the dream shakes before calming back down. Hera takes a moment to scan.

  “I have already reached out to Demeter, and she is looking. Continue your scryings. Something is afoot.”

  The scene shifts to the island, where I see a woman with flowing hair and a green silken toga walking among the trees. She speaks to them, but I cannot hear the words. Then the world spins as she walks down the dirt road examining the trees, and I know the tree limb she touches is the same one where Lucian grabbed fruit. Then the world shifts again, and she looks out from the forest, staring at the city. Around her, vines with thorns slowly begin reaching for the city, like snakes searching for their prey.

  -

  I get up before dawn, still jittery from the night before, so I spend my time practicing with my training stone. Despite my eagerness to learn more magic, I have only been able to make a few failed attempts. The learning stone looks like a normal rough rock with a painted symbol inscribed on the outside. When I try to use the stone, I have two problems. One is that all the mana I have used has been affinity mana. I don’t know how to call on unattuned mana.

  The result is that the stone will take a fraction of the energy I put in, as unattuned mana is filtered into the channels. I’m not sure if it’s converting or straining the mana, but it’s wildly inefficient. The second issue was that I couldn’t cram mana in. I need to inject mana at a specific rate so the pathways would fill fully. Do it too fast, and the mana won’t go into the stone; too slow, and the pathways will not fill correctly.

  It bums me out that my dream of being a magical prodigy isn’t coming to fruition on the first try, but it comforted me that if I were a magical prodigy, I would have nothing to do in the many days of travel ahead. I meet my companion downstairs, in the common room, where they have a bowl of hot porridge waiting for me.

  I pull out the empty chair in front of the remaining bowl. I sit down, feel the pressing weight of Lucian’s absence, “So, what are we doing today? Are we going to grab some quests before we move on?”

  Kurt shakes his head no. “None of the quests are along the way. We’ll head back to the estate, and they have many aspiring adventurers eager to sally forth and take on roaming monsters. When we arrive, the Heartbran estate will either negotiate for us to do some quests or set us up in a dungeon run. We already have the drops from the Heartbran’s estate dungeon, but when you run it, you should get a nice drop, and it will be a good group experience.”

  I raise an eyebrow, “Can you not farm dungeons for loot?”

  As I had time to think, I regretted not tracking down the first dungeon I entered while I was on the island. However, it sounds like I hadn’t wasted an opportunity for more loot.

  Olivia, Kurt, and Benjamin exchange surprised glances. “Do your people have magical artifact seeds they plant to harvest artifacts?”

  Kurt jokes with a tight incredulous grin, but I could see a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

  I chuckle, “No, it’s just a phrase, doing something over and over to repeatedly harvest a resource. Do you have to wait a certain amount of time for a new artifact to drop?”

  Olivia jumps in to answer this time. “No, you will only get an artifact the first time you complete a dungeon. Some estates use their dungeons to train young magi and their knights, but they only ever stay in the first room. If you leave the dungeon, it will reset for you in twenty-four hours.”

  “So, after the first run, is it better to do other dungeons or quests?” I ask.

  She waffles her hand back and forth, “Training up magi is a major focus of a house, it’s not as simple as just running dungeons or quests all the time, though in general it’s better to move onto a new dungeon, if you have already completed it.”

  After wolfing down a mouthful of porridge, I stroke my chin, “What about staying for a day to do a hunting quest, like clearing zombies or goblins? I don’t want to be here any longer than you do, but we can stock up in case more assassins come after us.”

  Benjamin shrugs as he leans back in his chair. “Eh, most of the big cities don’t have monster slaying or collection quests. Those are mostly in outskirt towns. Big cities have quests where you can earn money, but they are more often escorts or quests that will take a few weeks to complete. If a monster is too high leveled, it will eventually end up in a city, but it’s rare enough that it’ll more likely be auctioned to the closest noble houses.”

  I dig into the warm porridge with renewed gusto as I digest their words. As I taste the porridge, I think back to my old world, which had better food, but after weeks of eating dried rations, the porridge tastes like the best thing I’ve ever eaten.

  After scraping the last bits of my breakfast from the bowl, I ask, “So we will go back to the estate, run the dungeon, then what?”

  Olivia blushes, and they all look away. That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.

  “What?” I ask, concerned. I pull on my empathy and feel guilt wafting from them, but Olivia is practically radiating guilt.

  “Well… It may be more complex than that. We didn’t tell the estate we were leaving when we headed off.” Olivia admits.

  Not understanding the meaning of her words, I say, “So, you were supposed to tell them you were gone? What happens now?”

  Kurt chimes in. “Well… you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. You’ll be rewarded for escorting us back, but Olivia may be in trouble with her parents. They may keep her close to the estate for the foreseeable future.”

  I blink. It sounds like they are saying she snuck out of her noble estate, like a rebellious young teenager, but instead of going to parties with friends, she went with parties to a dungeon. I have no doubt, what she did was risky, but everyone at the table is a grown adult. It sounds like Kurt is saying they would be grounded. I get the sense the story is oversimplified, but the sense I get makes the whole situation feel a bit surreal.

  “Is that why you were in such a rush to get out of town?” I don’t clarify before Lucian died, but it hangs in the air.

  Benjamin rolls his eyes, Olivia just looks abashed, and Kurt just shrugs. After breakfast, I don’t have much to pack up. In the morning, I ordered Morgana to make her way back to the wagon under the cover of pre-dawn night. Morgana is feeling a bit stir crazy, being stuck in the wagon while we are in town. About an hour after breakfast, we are in the wagon rolling through the town.

  The weather overhead and clear skies speak of a beautiful day on the road, seeing the countryside. Thinking of the countryside, I think of the dream from last night and the lady standing in the forest with the grasping vines. I shake away the memories; it’s just a dream. Those thoughts are put on hold as the guards stop us at the exit.

  “Halt, are you the adventuring party of Olivia Heartbran?”

  Olivia quickly makes her way forward, staff in hand. “If we are, are we being barred from exiting?”

  “The mayor, Fred Flintrock, requests your presence at once.” The guard reports stoically.

  Olivia and Benjamin keep a neutral expression, but strangely, it’s the always jovial Kurt who has a sour look. Olivia simply tilts her head in acquiescence. “We will, of course, be at the mayor’s service.”

  The guards clear the roadway to allow us to turn around, and two guards break away from the gate to escort us up the cobbled streets to the mayor’s residence at the top of the hill.

  Most of the town we saw is filled with houses and shops that are very utilitarian. Very little space is empty or unused. Even the roads are narrower than I’d like. This gives the town a somewhat cozy feeling, though it also makes me a bit wary of how close I am to strangers. The adventurer’s guild had been the exception and had plenty of space for people to walk or sit in.

  As we make it further into the city, my jaw drops when I see the gated stone mansions sitting on the top of the hill. I had seen bigger and grander houses on Earth, but I marveled at how much manpower would be needed to craft the solid stone pillars and walls of the buildings. Then I do a double-take as I remember I am in a fantasy world. Was magic used to construct these buildings? What kind of magic was used? I put those questions aside for now; the unease I pick up with my empathy from my teammates has me tense.

  The mayor’s house is on a tucked-away hill, hidden from most of the city with a well-cared-for lawn. Kurt gives me a smirk when he sees my wide eyes, but he’s the only one to show emotion during the entire escort. I try to ease some of the tension by sparking up a conversation about the mayor or what this summons is about, but Benjamin gives me a slight headshake in warning.

  Benjamin complains a lot, but his serious expression underscores how dangerous the situation is. It reminds me of the canaries from old mines. If the canary grows silent, then you know things are about to go south. When the wagon stops, we get out and trail behind Olivia up to the mansion. A guard in elaborate metal armor waits out front to greet us.

  He opens the door to the estate and motions for us to enter. As we congregate inside, a butler is waiting to greet us. He bows as he says, “Lady Olivia, Mayor Flintrock wishes you warm regards and is eager to meet with you.”

  “Thank you, we are eager to meet with him too.” The butler gives a slight nod before turning around and leading us up a grand staircase. It looks like something I would find in a royal palace on Earth. I notice the guards stay at the front door and don’t move to leave. We are eventually led to an office where a plump middle-aged man with short black hair sits.

  “The lady Olivia and her adventuring party.” The butler introduces us in a stoic tone before moving behind the mayor.

  The mayor sits in a chair across from a couch. He’s dressed in plain brown pants and a silk shirt. His physique isn’t obese, but he is thick, in a way that wouldn’t be noticeable on Earth, but among the thinner populace of this world, it stands out. As he sees us, he grins and motions for us to sit.

  “Ah, Lady Olivia, it’s so good to see you and your team. I heard about the new stray you have picked up as well.”

  As he mentions “stray,” he looks towards me. I notice he doesn’t get up from his position and wonder if he is trying to slight us. I had read books and movies about how nobility are sensitive to any lack of decorum, but I’m not sure it was the same on this planet.

  Benjamin bows slightly as he says, “As much as I appreciate your hospitality, we are to leave today for a dungeon. If we could be on our way-”

  The mayor raises a hand to cut Benjamin off.

  “I see I have been a bit rude. You must forgive me. I requested you here because I would like to formally request your aid. I have an infestation that needs taking care of.”

  I feel through my empathy as my team’s emotions become more tense, but on the outside, my team doesn’t react. I redirect my empathy to the mayor, feeling an air of self-assurance with an undertone of smugness.

  Benjamin responds, “Surely the adventuring guild would be able to tackle this issue.”

  The mayor waves his hand in the air as if shooing away a fly. “The infestation has gone on too long already. The gold-hungry citizens of the adventurer’s guild serve their purpose, but they aren’t of noble blood.”

  Benjamin acquiesces, “Of course, but noble services can be quite costly. What terms are you offering?”

  “For a personal quest to the heir to House Heartbran? Nothing but the best, of course.”

  He snaps his fingers, and the butler comes into the room with a wrapped package. He unrolls it to show a blackened wooden staff with a ruby in its hilt. Just from unwrapping it, I feel the room rise a few degrees.

  He waves over the staff, “I will give you the staff as a down payment and fifty gold for completion.”

  Olivia gingerly picks up the staff and admires it as she holds it. The mayor smiles as he sees her look of admiration. Through my empathy, his smugness only builds, as though he knows he has us.

  He smiles a little too big before saying in a sickly-sweet tone, “I see the staff is well received. Good. Make whatever arrangements you need to store your wagon and traveling gear. I’ve sent word that your stay is to be extended half a week and paid for the rooms and stable. I will have the details sent later.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Then he waves us off. I knit my brows. There’s something going on that I clearly don’t understand. What I do understand is that she’s been paid a lot for a service. He wants it done before she leaves and goes as far as stopping her from returning home.

  So, as they start to get up, I turn to them and make a calculated bet. “I will go ahead to the estate and wait for you there while you wrap this up.”

  I feel the mayor’s smugness freeze as his eyes drill into me. There is a sharp concern from my teammates, but I smile back at the mayor.

  Benjamin clears his throat, “It’s true that Jason is not a retainer, though he is traveling with our group; he is not bound to it.”

  I can feel the lord’s mood still sour, like I’m a burr in his plan.

  “Ah, yes, the mage candidate who doesn’t have an affinity.” He mentions the testing that was performed only recently. It bothers me that he can easily access my testing information, but it’s lessened by the fact the testing is wrong.

  “Yes, but he is his own agent. He hasn’t officially joined our group yet.” I can almost feel the cogs turning behind everyone’s eyes, as a new round of political chess starts.

  “He’s only a null, a cripple, and assumed to be in the contract.” The mayor replies.

  “Yes, but the contract is offered to us, not him.” Benjamin retorts.

  “Five gold.” The mayor says.

  The gold would be a significant sum, but I want something else, and I know how badly the mayor wants this.

  “Five training stones,” I speak up. Bejamen glances over but then turns back to meet the mayor’s eyes.

  “After the task is complete, I will provide them.” The mayor says as though it’s resolved.

  Instead, I counter, “Before we do the task and five gold after.”

  The mayor looks annoyed as he meets my eyes, “That’s ridiculous, the training stone will be given after. They are a significant reward by themselves, and what will you do with them anyway?”

  I rub my chin and smile before agreeing with him, “That’s a great point, having them beforehand could aid me in the quest. Five training stones to be made available, of my choice, at the adventurer’s guild so I can pick them, depending on what is in the contract.”

  The strangest part is that I can feel the mayor is ready to agree. He thinks giving me the training stones will be more beneficial to him than the gold, despite knowing the significant cost. He doesn’t like giving me gold, even if he thought it was a paltry sum. To him, the training stones are something he considers a negligible cost.

  “One of your choice and four after.” He counters.

  “Four before and one after.”

  I can see he is about to counter, but then Olivia steps in. “If the mayor doesn’t value your services, I will purchase them for three training stones.”

  The craziest part about the offer is feeling the reactions through my empathy. Her offer is one made to be genuinely nice, an olive branch to show she values me. From the outside, it looks like she is trying to auction my services, but I can feel a genuine concern that I might be feeling undervalued. The most interesting part is that the comment makes the mayor’s smugness evaporate instantly, and a deep fear settles in.

  “Four up front, the deal is struck.” The mayor says trying to force the deal as he motions for the butler to usher us out. The butler escorts us out of the mansion and into a carriage prepared for us, waiting out front.

  The ride to the inn is just as stoic and quiet as the ride to the mayor’s house. Olivia gingerly holds the new staff while Benjamin’s eyes scan the city. Kurt and I sit enjoying the cushions of the carriage.

  As soon as we are back in the inn, we head to Olivia’s room to talk.

  I look around at a room of sour faces before asking, “So why does everyone look like someone kicked their dog?”

  Three sets of eyes lock onto me.

  “It’s a trap,” Kurt says without hesitation.

  I look over at the always paranoid Benjamin, subtly queuing him to confirm. He sees my look and throws up his hands.

  “Of course, it is a trap.” He says as he rolls his eyes.

  “Usually, you are a bit more vocal,” I reply.

  “Usually, you don’t think it’s a trap, but it’s always a trap when noble politics are involved, and this isn’t even a well-concealed trap.” He says, somewhat frantic and exasperated.

  I furrow my eyebrows before saying, “I don’t get it; it’s just a quest. Isn’t this what we are supposed to do?”

  “Grabbing us at the gate was a power play, but the staff is of legendary quality. That really seals the deal. That staff is worth a small fortune, and he just happened to have it as the heir of the Heartbran family comes by? There are some political machinations at work.” Benjamin explains.

  “So, if the mayor is working against us? Why not say no? The rewards and upfront payments are nice, but we can just return them and say no.”

  “The rewards are far more than nice. He’s throwing a small fortune at us.” Benjamin lets out an exasperated sigh before continuing, “In the end, the mayor is just the face; someone else is behind him and saying no would have other consequences.”

  “So, what do we do now?” I ask.

  “We wait until he has the details. Planning anything now will just be wasted effort,” Benjamin answers.

  I retreat to my room and spend the next few hours working on the sight enhancement without the training stone. I never quite got the water affinity sight enchantment to work, but I wonder what will happen if I try other types of mana. I cycle through my different mana types.

  It’s difficult work, not only pushing the mana into the same configuration as the sight training stone but also doing so in the different ways the mana affinities want to move. With the water mana, I feel my eyes water and quickly turn it off. I try shadow and feel the room brighten until the candle is like the sun. I try mind which is the most interesting. I see clouds of hues of colors sparking and whirling. I watch one get closer until I hear a knock on my door. I jump, losing concentration, and the magic dissipates.

  I hear Kurt’s deep voice. “We are meeting in Olivia’s room; the contract details just arrived.”

  I jump out of bed and make my way down the hallway to find Olivia and Benjamin seated around a table.

  Craning my neck over the table, I ask, “What does it say?”

  Olivia speaks up, “They mentioned an infestation in the sewer. Dire rats and other sewer dwellers, but it’s what isn’t said that worries me. Nothing in this document requires a noble or anything near the payment we’ve received so far.”

  I rub my chin. “So, you think there is something else in the sewers? Something more dangerous?”

  Benjamin nods, “The worst part is that Olivia will be at a disadvantage because her fire and light affinity magic will be weaker. That could be part of the gift. The staff gives off fire mana, and it’s just enough to be used in a sewer. Without it, we might be able to make excuses to back out.”

  I look over to see Olivia unwilling to meet our eyes. I know she is a magical and political powerhouse; it’s strange to know that the woman who can shoot lasers is unable to power her way through something as simple as a sewer.

  I sigh, “So, you are saying we are screwed?”

  “Well…” Kurt says with a smirk. “The mayor has kept a close eye on us, which we know includes the botched affinity test.”

  “And ridiculously low level. Are you really level ten?” Benjamin asks indignantly.

  I ignore him as I ask, “So, you think my magic will be our secret weapon?”

  Kurt snaps his fingers. “Exactly.”

  I ponder how I can use this to my advantage. What we need most is a scout, and while my vision skills might be useful, what we really need is Morgana. I unconsciously reach out to my link to her. There’s a very mild annoyance and concern, which, for her, is being hysterical. I can’t blame her, since she was stuck in a box for so long while we went into a snake’s den. I reassure her that no one is coming to attack us, at least not directly, and inform her that we’ll be going into the sewer.

  ‘I thought snakes love the sewer.’

  ‘You’d think, but no, this snake likes to live on his mountain. At least he’s playing friendly. Once this is done, we’re out of here.’

  ‘What about the lady in the forest?’

  I feel a weight drop in my gut. ‘Th… that was just a dream.’

  I do a poor job of convincing her, but in the dream, I got the feeling she was bound to the forest. She wouldn’t be able to touch us in the city, at least that is what I hope… if she’s real.

  ‘We are jumping at ghosts; we need to focus on the quest in front of us.’

  ‘I’m a ghost.’ Morgana reminds me.

  After a pause, while I mentally converse with Morgana, I break the silence, “I would like to send in a few undead to scout the tunnels. I’ll need to get Morgana from the wagon; the rest, I’m sure I can raise from whatever we find in the sewer. Morgana and I will sneak into the sewer and get an idea of what is going on in the dungeon.”

  I see Kurt and Benjamin flinch at my statement.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Just a bit weird that you named it,” Kurt says while shrugging.

  I shake it off. It’s clear they are uncomfortable with the situation and don’t want to ask me to go into the sewer. It feels nice knowing they care and don’t like asking me to put myself in danger.

  “Regardless, I’ll be the best scout. I can clear an entrance area, then see if I can find what is so scary down there. If it’s too much, I’ll pull back, and you can blast anything following me out of the sewers. Once we know what we are dealing with, then we can move forward as a team.”

  Olivia asks, “That sounds good. What do you think, Benjamin? You are the scout, so this is what you know best. Any other thoughts on actions we should do?”

  Olivia and Kurt both turn to Benjamin. Benjamin holds up his hands in surrender.

  “Hey, I might be the team’s scout, but I’m ok if he wants to take the first crack at scouting the creepy death sewer. We could load him up on potions if he’s willing to go in, but the bottom line is, we could waste a small fortune on potions to find out it’s something none of our potions have any effect against.

  “That could be a trap all on its own. Most sewer runs are simple affairs, and it’s more about keeping costs low. Spending money on a suite of emergency potions will quickly bankrupt any team. At least that’s what I would think if it were not for that staff.”

  With a tentative plan, Olivia and I get a guard to lead us to the sewer entrance, while Benjamin and Kurt grab a few extra mundane items like torches, caltrops, and other traps that could help if we get swarmed.

  As we wind our way through the cobblestone road, my anxiousness builds. Since the moment I arrived in this world, I’ve been in constant danger, but this time I’m heading into danger despite being safe in the inn. Not knowing what’s in the sewer is starting to get to me, and I keep thinking of more and greater dangers that are lying in wait.

  By the time I’m at the entrance, I have visions of rat swarms, bug nest infestations, and tunnels full of slimes, sitting in the tunnels waiting to pounce on an adventurer, like me. I’m not particularly excited by the prospect.

  We leave the wagon at the inn, with all our supplies, including Morgana, while we perform our first sweep at the entrance to the sewer. Most of the city is on flat land, but there’s a grate under the outer wall of the city on the East side. The road leading out of town splits; the sewer entrance is a dirt road that curls around at a decline. The two-hundred-and-seventy-degree turn goes down a total of ten feet to a small clearing with a locked grate on a large circular opening.

  It’s easy to miss, and I can see a steady trickle of water moving out of the bottom of the bars. It doesn’t smell great, but it’s better than I imagined, which isn’t saying much. We need a key to unlock the grate, and the city guard isn’t willing to give us the key before we’re ready to go in.

  “Can’t you just give us the key?” I ask, eager to get started.

  “Nah, can’t have that. If anything gets out, it’s my name on the line. Better to wait until you're all good a ready.”

  “It will be a few hours before we have everything set up.”

  The old guard shrugs, “Then I’ll see you in a few hours. You know where to find the guard post.”

  I look around to see if anything snuck between the bars of the locked grate, while we wait on our supplies. A few hours later, the wagon arrives, and I open the box in the back of the wagon to find an irate Morgana unfolding herself from the crate.

  ‘You took a while.’

  I give her a mental shrug. Most of her angst was from concern that I was unprotected while she was hiding in the wagon.

  “I was hoping to let you out earlier, so you could stretch your legs, but things got complicated,” I whisper so no one else can hear. Could I have sent it over the bond instead? Sure, but despite the nature of the bond, linking to my innermost thoughts and feelings, I feel it's important to treat her like a person.

  ‘So now I go into this sewer tunnel?’ She asks with what passes for undead impatience.

  “Our hopes all rest on your shoulders,” I say cheekily. “I can feel your discontent. Don’t worry so much, we’re only checking out the entrance for now. I want you to stay at the entrance overnight, to see if there is anything suspicious. Just stay out of sight and report back anything.”

  ‘I guess it’s better than staying in the crate.’ She mentally retorts, but she’s once again frustrated that she’ll be far away from me.

  With the flow of water, all we can see is very watery mud. Maybe an experienced tracker could learn more, but no one in our party can. With nothing else to do, I help Morgana hide in the bushes where she will have a clear sight of the grate but be far enough away no one will accidentally stumble onto her.

  With so much prepping and planning left to do, we return to the inn for the night. Even though we have enough sunlight for an hour or two of scouting, we don’t want there to be any question of whether the sun will set, in case Olivia needs to blast something chasing us, or more specifically, me. On the way back, I stop by the adventurer’s guild and grab my four training stones.

  I walk into the guild, and Rosetta gives me her practiced smile. I want to get the most expensive stones to stick to the mayor; fortunately for me, all the stones are expensive, so I don’t need to try hard. Rosetta dutifully lists off the supply of stones available, only reluctantly reading off the ones that are incompatible with unattuned mana.

  I chose an armor training stone, a sword formation stone, a bolt stone, and a lance stone. These training stones are different with wider channels, and I can feel they accept mana other than unattuned. Each of the training stones are useful, but I want them to help me broaden my mana manipulation.

  Armor will be a major advantage, but it will also help me with passive enchantments like sight and close-range mana manipulation. The sword and lance stones will help me craft blades and points. I’m giddy as I imagine my ice spells having razor-sharp points, instead of the crude shaping I’m currently capable of.

  The bolt is what I’m most excited about. If I can create bolts of shadow, water, or another mana type, I can spend more time fighting at range, and less time in range of my opponent’s weapons.

  They were worth somewhere around sixty-three gold, but they were not the most expensive ones there. While these are quite expensive, they aren’t the most expensive. There’s a large area of effect training stones that I have no hope of using in the near future. The complexity is far beyond me, and one of the cheaper ones is a whopping eighty-four gold.

  “I would like the armor, lance, sword, and bolt training stones.”

  Rosetta frowns, “Jason, none of these training stones can be used with unattuned mana. Unattuned is useful in many ways, but it doesn’t hold a structure like these training stones use.”

  I shrug, “The deal is I get four stones of my choice for the quest.”

  “Jason, I know you want to get the mayor back, but you should at least choose stones that you can use.”

  “These are the four I want.”

  “If you don’t think of yourself, at least think of others. There are other adventurers who can use these stones. Just choose one of the expensive ones, and three you can use with unattuned mana.”

  “Rosetta, I appreciate you looking out for me, but I’ve made my decision.”

  “Well, make a new choice. I’m not getting these for you!”

  A lanky man with a wispy mustache walks behind the counter, “Hey Rosetta, what’s going on here?”

  “He wants to take stones he can’t even use.”

  The man, clearly a guild manager, raises an eyebrow. “While we can sell them to you, it’s really discouraged to take supplies you can’t use.”

  “I made a deal with the mayor. If you won’t give me the stones, I’ll let him know about the default on payment.”

  The man freezes, going pale. “Ah, I, um, never said you cannot have them. Rosetta, please get him the training stones he requested.”

  Rosetta crosses her arms and sniffs before stomping off to grab the stone. She practically throws them on the counter. I feel bad that the desk clerk is caught in the middle, but any guilt I might’ve had leaves as I feel the heavy weight of my stones in my pocket.

  While quite excited by the new training stones, the return to the inn is somber. I can feel the pressing weight of Lucian’s death as we eat a hot lunch before resuming our preparations. The team spends most of the day running from shop to shop while I sit at the inn, focusing on testing out each of my learning stones.

  I don’t stop until it’s time for dinner. I walk down the creaking wooden stairs to find Olivia, Kurt, and Benjamin exhausted at a table. I smiled at them, trying to spark some warmth at the table and pull up a chair.

  “Did you get everything?” I ask while grabbing a chunk of bread from the middle of the table.

  “Hey, get your own bread!” Benjamin says in an affronted tone.

  “It’s for the table...” Kurt interjects with exasperation.

  I, too, roll my eyes, order a meal for myself, which turns out to be a mix of bread and stew. With food in front of me, I ask again, “So did we get everything we need?”

  “Yes,” Olivia says while Kurt and Benjamin give her an unreadable look.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, reading a slight weariness from my empathy.

  “Well, we noticed you don’t have a staff. My staff is a family heirloom, but we pawned it to borrow some money for the trip into the sewers. My family will buy the staff from the vendor plus a fee, but for now, that means more money for potions, weapons, and… gear.”

  As she finishes her sentence, she puts two rings in front of me. One looks to be a copper ring with a cracked blue stone, and the other is an iron ring with a black stone encased in amber. I look at the rings, confused, until I put them on.

  I stare at the rings open-mouthed. The stats aren’t very high, but my team must have spent at least a pile of gold crests buying these two rings. I grin with glee as I can’t wait to try them out.

  Without a second thought, I run back up to my room to test them out with my training stones. As I leave, I can hear Benjamin say, “I told you he would run off as soon as we gave him the rings.”

  Olivia retorts, “Yeah, but not the way you made it sound. Relax, we could all use a little of his positivity,” but anything else said is cut off as I close the door.

  I slip the rings on and grasp the shadow mana in my room. Using the rings is strange. The shadows respond with greater alacrity. Then I try my water affinity by pulling water from a bucket.

  I can tell it’s easier and mana manipulation is stronger, but not in a massive way. It’s like how a rubber glove makes it easier to open a twist top off a jar. It feels like I’m more integrated with the mana affinities, creating a stronger grip for the same amount of effort. I can see how being a mage requires a noble estate to bring out their full potential.

  Spell forms, magical catalyst, and inherent affinity each build off each other to bring out a mage’s full magical potential. I know the rings won’t be world-breaking, but using the minor ring of water affinity with my spell form will make it all the more formidable in the sewer, not to mention that any time spent training my abilities will be far more effective.

  I only meant to take a minute or two to try them out, but when Olivia peeks her head in the door, I realize how rude I was.

  “Oh, sorry, that was quite rude of me to dash off. These rings are awesome, thank you for buying them for me.” I could not help the grin that was stuck on my face.

  “I can tell, I wondered if you would come back, but after an hour, we gave up.” Olivia smiles back at me, “You’re welcome, I feel bad we must rely on you so much after just meeting.”

  “Don’t thank me yet, we have a lot to do.” I pause, then throw one of my training stones at her, the armor training stone. She catches it and raises an eyebrow.

  I continue, “I got a couple of training stones; I can’t use them all at once. Maybe it would be best if you practiced with it for a while. We can trade off.”

  She eyes the stone, pausing before saying, “That is kind of you.”

  I shrug, “Well, it’s only sharing, I should’ve asked the mayor for rings or gear. It’s so much easier to practice with these.”

  Olivia chuckles, “Wait until you get an actual stave.”