“I don’t know how to describe what I just saw. What incredible destructive power,” Vonty said, looking from the target to Alison in disbelief.

“I should have put some more shielding runes on it,” Alison mused. “I just ran out of time, so it didn’t work exactly how I planned it to.”

Alister slipped away from the crowd of shocked Tinkerers and practically snatched the gauntlet out of Alison’s hands. He turned it over, a frown forming on his face. “Hmm. Interesting. All of your core runework is fried. It’s impossible to tell what it was.”

“I’m sure the judges can still come to a conclusion based on what they saw,” Vonty said. “There was no requirement for the construct to survive testing, although I’m certain that the destruction of Alison’s artifact will be taken into account.”

“I’m sure it will,” Alister said, handing the artifact back to Alison. His eyes lingered on her a moment longer than natural before he headed back to join the other Tinkerers.

The judges deliberated for several minutes over Alison’s creation. Anxious murmurs ran through both the crowd and the other competitors. Alison had tried to position herself behind a desk to take a little cover from the thousands of stares bearing down on her.

Finally, the judges stopped talking and turned to face the competitors. A hush fell over the arena as all five of them raised their hands, thumbs pointed to the sky. The crowd erupted in a massive cheer and the Tinkerers joined in with a mixture of disbelief and congratulatory yells.

“Would you look at that,” Silver said. “She actually did it. I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed, though. There was a significant part of me that was just salivating to see what I could get away with liberating from Molten Ridges.”

“I think you would have whined either way,” Angel replied, rising to his feet to give a standing ovation. “Just be happy for Tilly and Alison. They both did a brilliant job.”

Once the noise finally started to die down, Vonty cleared his throat to gather everyone’s attention.

“What an upset, ladies and gents. I’m sure you’re all quite glad you were able to make it today. We had some truly brilliant competitors, and I’d like to give a special reminder that we had two other contestants that received the approval of four judges. Such a performance is often enough to win the tournament entirely, so please give one more round of applause for Tilly and Alister!”

Cheers rocked the arena again. Alister nodded, a self-satisfied expression on his face as if this were only natural. A small flush crept into Tilly’s cheeks, but she kept her composure and waved to the crowd.

Vonty revealed a plain bronze bracelet and placed it into Alison’s hands. He whispered something into her ear and she nodded, eyes going wide.

“That’ll be it, everyone! Please feel free to come down to the stage in an orderly fashion if you’d like to greet any of the Tinkerers! I’m sure there are more than a few of you clamoring to figure out if you can hire some of the brilliant talent we’ve seen displayed today. Don’t forget that any commissions made through Molten Ridges must pay the appropriate finder’s fee to the city council.”

Guards spread themselves out amongst the crowd, their imposing figures ensuring that nobody got too unruly as the Tinkerers dispersed. Tilly and Alison both hopped off the stage and walked over to join Angel and the others.

“You were both amazing!” Vanessa exclaimed, pulling them into a hug. “My mom is going to be ecstatic. You better get ready for a great job offer, Alison. Just don’t take it immediately. You might find a better offer from someone else, and you should make sure to get paid what you’re worth.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be trying to make her work for you no matter what?” Silver asked with a chuckle. “Telling your potential workers to find other employers isn’t the best business move.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to make me explain my ideals again,” Vanessa said, piercing Silver with a playful yet challenging stare. “Alison and Tilly are my friends first and foremost.”

Silver grunted, raising his hands in defeat. “Sorry, sorry.”

“You did brilliantly as well, Tilly,” Angel said. “That was a very well made artifact. It’s given me some ideas that I hadn’t even considered before. Dalliah was wise to rope you in this young.”

“Thanks,” Tilly said, giving him a small grin. “Alison was much more impressive, though.”

“I had an unfair advantage that they didn't consider. I asked Vonty, but he said we could use as much magical power as we had since there was very little variation in it,” Alison said, blushing. “And I’ve also got a lot of experience blowing things up.”

They all burst into laughter. Angel studied Tilly through the mirth, but she did genuinely seem happy for her friend.

“This is what you wanted, right?” Alison asked, holding the bronze band out to Silver.

He took it with a gleeful cackle. “It is. If you ever want to join a bandit crew, send me a telegraph.”

“I thought you quit that?” Vanessa asked, narrowing her eyes.

“More like a leave of absence.” Silver slipped the bracelet onto his wrist. “I do promise to refrain from kidnapping in the future, though. I’ll stick with robbing.”

“You can do this later,” Angel said, interrupting them as he spotted Alister headed in their direction. “We’re about to have company.”

The lanky tinkerer arrived before the group and inclined his head. “Miss Vanessa, I believe?”

“I am,” Vanessa said with a polite nod, slipping into her Magistrate-in-training mode. “You had a fantastic performance.”

“It was adequate,” Alister allowed. “I apologize for intruding, but I wanted to speak with Alison and Tilly.”

“About what?” Tilly asked.

“It is a matter of important nature. It might be wise to seek a more private area to discuss,” Alister said.

“Everyone here is completely trustworthy,” Tilly said. “And it’s so loud that I doubt anyone in the other rows can hear us.”

Alister shrugged. “Very well. I have been contracted by Molten Ridges to begin my work as a teacher this year. I am going to be one of the teachers in the Tinkering department. My goal for coming here was to locate talented apprentices, and given your performance in the tournament, you both fit.”

“What are the terms?” Vanessa asked cautiously.

“In exchange for personal tutelage, you will both agree to assist me in any projects I am working on during your stay at the Academy and two years after graduation.”

“I’ve already got a contract to work for Magistrate Dalliah after I graduate,” Tilly said. “I can’t accept anything that would interfere with that.”

“That’s acceptable,” Alister replied. “I have worked under her employ on occasion, so I am certain we could come to a deal. My services are in high demand, so I doubt she would object to you occasionally lending me a hand. I can match whatever she offered you as well. Money is not a concern.”

Alison scratched the back of her head. “That’s a really kind offer, but what can you teach us? We’ve already got a very talented tutor. He taught me everything I used in this tournament, so if I’m dedicating that much time to you, I’d want proof that it would be worth it.”

“A tutor taught you this? It wasn’t the Academy?” Alister asked, cocking his head. “Introduce me. I presume that, if I am able to impress your tutor, you would be amenable to working under me?”

“I would consider it very strongly if he approved of you,” Alison said, glancing at Angel. “He’s standing right there.”

“Hello,” Angel said cheerfully.

Alister turned, visibly reevaluating Angel. “You?”

“Me.”

“I see. You heard my offer, then. Do you have any objections?”

“You do seem capable enough,” Angel admitted. “But I believe you promised to prove your skills? I’ve got a challenge for you to do that.”

“Share it, then,” Alister said.

“Let’s make a hypothetical scenario. I need to power a magical construct that draws a great amount of energy, but I don’t have a sufficient energy source. There are replacements, but they don’t last very long. What set of runes could I use to prolong the effects of a weaker power source?”

“That’s a poorly designed system,” Alister said with a frown. “You’re asking for something that’s nearly impossible. A power source is usually either powerful for short amounts of time or weaker for longer periods. Something that did both would be equivalent to a relic.”

“Humor me,” Angel said. “I just want to know your best attempt.”

Alister rubbed his chin. “My answer is that it is impossible to create such a device in any reasonable fashion. I’m certain a relic that could do that task exists, but it would be a worthless response. However, the best way to solve your this problem is not with a single device but with multiple. I would construct a relay that intermittently swapped out a number of powerful, short time use power sources, charging the ones not in use. It would be incredibly expensive, but I am presuming that cost is not an issue.”

Angel considered the man’s answer. Alister had thought outside the constraints of the question, which was a good sign. It meant he wasn’t caught in rigid thinking and had flexibility to adapt to situations. He clearly had a decent understanding of runes from the weapon he’d made.

“Do you know anything about him, Vanessa?” Angel asked.

“He’s relatively well known for being a good Tinkerer. I can’t speak for his personality.”

“Then, so long as Alison and Tilly are willing, I don’t see why you shouldn’t teach them. I’m sure Vanessa will draft something up that has adequate rules so that neither party can take advantage of the other,” Angel said. As far as he could tell, Alister seemed sincere in his desire to teach them. He knew as well as anyone that good help was hard to come by, and Angel might have been tempted to try and hire the girls himself if he wasn’t about to face the Reawakening.

“I’d be more than happy to assist,” Vanessa said with a predatory grin. “Let’s go find somewhere quiet, Alister. We have a lot to discuss.”