On the day I planned to leave town for a bit of exploration, the captain showed up at Safrah’s house early in the morning. I had hoped he was looking for her or Vivi but both of them were at the lake since yesterday. A bit reluctantly, I welcomed him and we sat down in the living room with some tea.

“This is good, thank you, Fio.”

I nodded and took a sip of tea from my bowl. It had taken some practice but by now I was pretty confident in my drinking skills. I was able to appear civilized and elegant, even when drinking from a bowl with a beak.

“I am glad you found our little town. You have been of great help to improve our future. Thank you.”

I gave him a look. He smiled.

“Yes, that’s not the main reason I’m here. I still wanted to say it. I wanted to ask you about your future plans. What are you going to do now?”

A valid question.

“I’m going to travel and explore. Wherever the wind carries me.”

Captain dipped his head.

“That’s fair. Know that you’re always welcome in Borsdown. Safrah will soon move out of this house. We’ll have her new place finished in about two weeks. You should go there once you return.”

“Of course.”

“Also, the city council wanted to invite you. The others want to meet you and maybe strike some deal or the other. I’m not entirely sure what their plans are but I would be grateful if you could join us for tea tomorrow afternoon.”

That would slow down my plans. Not that I was in any rush but… I had no real desire to meet leaders. The politics involved were going to be boring.

“Yes, it might be boring,” Was he reading my mind? “but it would make things much easier for me. If they get annoying I won’t blame you for leaving anytime.”

I thought about it for a moment. The leaders were… the head of the library, head of the quarry and someone from the brewers? I… could just go. Being delayed by one day was no real issue. I could just laze around a bit with Vivi today…

I nodded.

“I’ll come. When and where?”

The relief on Captain’s face was palpable. It did not make me feel better about my decision. Was the council that troublesome?

“Thank you. We are meeting tomorrow two hours after noon. The place is next to the library. It’s Les Adena’s house. She’s the head of library here in Borsdown and hosts our meetings since her place is the most central. I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

I nodded.

“I’ll be there.”

From there we made some small talk before the captain left to get some work done. I had another day to waste and no idea what to do. Vivi was exhausted from draining the node, most likely. Safrah spent her days with the ocelot, comforting her and making sure she had everything she needed. It could not hurt to see if I could help them.

The flight was short, my wings of darkness letting me arrive in less than a minute. This Skill Breakthrough was incredibly useful for me.

My friends were resting in a simple log cabin. A small fire burned in one corner, heating the room against the encroaching winter cold. The dwarves would install artefacts in the finished house but for this temporary cabin, the effort was not worth it. Vivi visibly enjoyed it, dozing in front of the fire. Safrah sat on a cushioned chair the Thaumonomicon in her lap. When she noticed me, she hastily closed it, ears flat and a guilty expression on her face.

I tilted my head.

“No need to hide that. At least not from me. How much have you read?”

The dwarf’s ears stood upright hesitantly.

“I… you don’t mind? But it’s dangerous, right? I could get exiled from town?”

She sounded a little scared.

“See, you know it’s dangerous. Also, most Guardians have some basic understanding of thaumaturgy, according to some books I read. With the distance usually kept, they don’t pose a danger to the dwarven cities. Vivi already wants to learn about it and Captain also knows. Just be a little careful with what you read and you’ll be fine.”

Safrah looked more relieved with every word I sent into her head.

“Thank you. That… is nice of you. Of course, I’m careful. I heard the stories. But it’s just so… interesting.”

I nodded sagely.

“That it is. If you start seeing mind spiders, send them my greetings.”

The panic in her eyes made my facial feathers contort into a grin.

“Here, let me teach you a little.”

I spent the day going through the basics of thaumaturgy with Safrah. At some point, Vivi woke up and joined us in. It turned more into a discussion of magic at that point with the ocelot’s interest in nodes and Cores. Shortly after the sun set, Safrah made a panicked squeak. We looked at our friends with a question written on our faces.

“I… I unlocked… [Thaumaturge]. Is… that a good… Class?”

I blinked, then shared a look with Vivi.

“How would we know? It’s possibly dangerous but it might have Skills able to deal with warp. It might also have Skills creating warp. I have it unlocked but I didn’t take it. I didn’t really have a need to. My sensory Skill lets me see magic more easily. From there I can do more than a normal thaumaturge could ever dream of.”

Safrah looked at me sceptically.

“I know you can do things your Class doesn’t help with but… I don’t really have any points in my magic Attributes. The reset could help with that…”

I nodded.

“You could also look for a more specialized Class like [Alchemist] or [Artificer] and work on expanding it with your access to a Thaumonomicon. Probably less dangerous, if you ask me.”

“Right… I’ll have to think about it…”

“What level is your Class right now?”, Vivi asked.

Safrah frowned.

“That’s… not something you would normally ask, Vivi. It’s very private information. But…”, she sighed, “I’m level 22 in my Class.”

I blinked.

“That’s so low!”, Vivi exclaimed.

The dwarf nodded meekly.

“It’s because of the reset. And because I could never really get into leatherworking. I think… it might be best to switch Class. Especially if we are going to live together and I won’t work with the Gerbers anymore.”

Despite the words, her tone suggested she was not entirely convinced. Something was still holding her back.

“Just swap when you know”, I said, “Don’t force it.”

She shook her head lightly.

“That’s not the problem… Haaah… I’ll… figure it out. Don’t worry.”

She gave a weak smile and started to scratch Vivi’s ears. The ocelot let out a content purr. Soon, we went to rest for the night. One more day and I would travel again. I could not wait.

The next morning I was once again spending time with Safrah. Vivi was busy improving her vis enrichment, so she was not with us. The dwarf had a concern for her future, however. One slightly more mundane than the decision of switching Class.

“I don’t know how we will make money to live. We are getting a house, yes, but that’s part of the agreement Vivi has with captain Holden. We still need to buy food and other necessities.”

I scoffed.

“Another reason to get into thaumaturgy. An ingot of thaumium sells for one vis coin, you know?”

She nodded.

“But… we need the crystals to make thaumium, right? I read through it and it didn’t look easy. Or cheap.”

“If you buy the crystals from other dwarves you’ll need 25 gold for a bar of thaumium. Water crystals are growing here, soon. The iron and stone you need in addition are less than a gold on top of that. That’s a pretty good profit margin if you ask me.”

The dwarf looked up at me. Her face was scrunched in thought.

“I don’t know… Can we really reliably source vis crystals? We would need to find a merchant bringing us a good amount to get started.”

My eyes widened.

“Right. I forgot. I taught Riggard how to make thaumium so you would have competition as well. Maybe you should start by talking with him? He could point you to the beginnings of artificing as well. Maybe that’s more your thing than leatherworking?”

Safrah let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair. Her ears turned this way and that way as she thought about my words. After over ten minutes, she opened her eyes and looked at me, ears pointed forward.

“Right. Why not? We’ll figure something out. I should maybe spend the time looking through the disciplines and find something I enjoy doing. Thanks, Fio.”

I nodded.

“You’re welcome.”

That was that and I decided to fly back to town a little earlier than necessary. Safrah and Vivi would make the trek this afternoon. I could say my goodbyes tomorrow morning when leaving on my journey.

When I arrived at the gate, I saw the merchant talking to some guards. The same merchant I had seen when I came to town the second time. I greeted the guards with a hoot and was just about to walk in as the dwarf in rich cloth turned around and called out.

“Hoy, there, saviour of Borsdown! How’s civilization treating you?”

I eyed him for a moment. Surely, he wanted to sell me something, right? Well, I could at least hear him out.

I gave a nod as I connected my supersensory matrix to his mind.

“I’m good. The town is nice, as well. I have come to enjoy tea quite a lot.”

If he was surprised the dwarf did not show it. Instead, his face lit up at the mention of tea.

“Now, that is wonderful! What a coincidence! I was just talking to the guards about hiring an additional escort to Serrington. The dwarven capital of tea and ale! Would you be interested in accompanying our little caravan?”

Huh? He wanted to buy my services as a guard? An [Assassin] to protect people? That was… so weird it might just work. And the capital of tea and ale, huh?

“I am intrigued. How long will the journey take you?”

He nodded with a big smile on his face.

“With our transporters mostly empty it would take about two weeks. We have a bunch of stone loaded up from the quarry so add a few days. That is with the route we want to take, which is avoiding the Stormpath. Stormbringer will soon make his way through again and we might get stuck in Trade Town if we move there. But the wilderness is dangerous and we could use some additional protection, just in case.”

“Hmm. That does sound interesting.”

Stormbringer was who I wanted to follow, though. But with him moving through twice a year I would not have to wait for too long.

“What’s your expectation for when Stormbringer will be making his way through?”

The dwarf put a hand to his chin.

“Well, it’s not like he is on a fixed schedule but he usually brings the first snow or comes soon after. Which is about three to four weeks from now. With the journey to Trade Town taking two weeks, you can understand the risk.”

I nodded. That might work out just fine. I could go with the merchants and see where the capital of tea was and then follow Stormbringer as soon as he showed up.

“Alright. I have some time. How about we hash out the details over some tea?”

The merchant nodded with a big smile.

“Of course, follow me.”

I nodded a goodbye to the guards and they waved after me.

“Thanks for helping out, Fio. We really can’t spare the manpower with the new construction in the forest.”

Now, what could I get out of this deal with the merchant?