Scrying crystal— are crystals that exhibit telepsychic magic. How this comes about is unknown. But ancient texts outline the process by which the crystal lattice work can be attuned and engraved with runes to channel such phenomena. It is alleged that scrying crystals may in fact be the crystallization of the locus affinity because it is the only affinity that explains how distance becomes inconsequential where such crystals are involved. Similar crystals have been found on old Antecessor gates rumoured to be a replication of faeriways.

‘On Evaluation’ in The Guide's Training Guide for Receptionists By the Adventurers Guild

“I shall have your guild badges made by the morrow. Under the aliases of Red and Snow you said?” The dragonkin asked, confirming their details while his quill made scritching sounds on a registration form. He had his small glasses perched on his nose. It looked comical.

“We shall start you off as Steel rankers. I assume you have disguises and a party name?”

““Twilight!”” both youth chirped.

“I’ve heard worse,” Orhill grunted. “At least it doesn’t sound like you’re trying to overcompensate for something.” Then placing a stack of bound parchment that looked like a comb bound guidebook on the desktop, he added, “be sure to read the Adventurer’s Guild guidelines; of course people rarely look at it but some legalese might save your hides.”

Orhill added another book to the stack, “Here’s Wernerskemander’s current edition of the Bestiary. Also worth taking a look because it is worth knowing what to point your sword at and what to turn tail to.”

Then another folded sheaf of parchment was added to the pile, “Think of this as a welcome pack; the guild’s newly updated maps…accurate to the last mesur.” Then he threw his palms out; Arthur shook his clawed hands.

“What are you doing boy?”

“Huh? Weren’t we shaking on it?” Arthur asked, befuddled.

“No, we need guild registration fee; given that you’re not starting off at the lowest rank. We have to make sure the books balance out…less probability people will ask questions about the legitimacy of your badges.

Arthur scratched at his cheek wryly as Nora chuckled at the goof up.

“How much?”

“Five gold each.”

He retrieved the coins and handed them over. The guild master put them in his drawer.

“Nora will come for the badges, the same way we came in,” Arthur grinned. Things had gone well so far.

“Hmm, I hope that will be the last time,” The guild master grunted, leaning against his chair. “Any chance you might tell me your classes and abilities?”

“Not a chance guild master Orhill; unless there’s a disclosure clause in that guidebook. The contract only covered what you already knew before we signed on it.”

“Only in extenuating circumstances," the old man supplied. "It’s optional to reveal your abilities to the Guild,” Orhill waved away the issue, though he looked crestfallen.

“Another geas contract?” Nora looked on as she grabbed the map and bestiary.

“Hoho,” Orhill chortled mirthlessly. “You’ll get a soul burn girl. Geas contracts are not meant to be taken consecutively. Depending on the strength of your spirit or will, you’ll might have to wait a few days.”

“Yea, we’re so not doing that,” Arthur shivered at the implications. He stood up to leave, magicking away the hoverboard while he did.

“I’m assuming you’ll be working on an aership in the near future? When should I expect a demonstration?” Orhill enquired.

“Eh, that’s going to take quite some time; there’s materials to be sourced and that’s why I took on adventuring.”

“Ho? Mayhap the guild would have helped you but there is no way to do so without leaving a trail people might stumble into.”

“Yes, my point exactly—”

“A good strategy to throw off potential snoopers.” Orhill observed. “Be wary of Yondouk,” he warned. “Though he might be working in our midst as Aldmoor’s enchanter and aersmith, he cannot be trusted to keep a lid on this if he finds out. Also watch out for the Phylandirs; they like to get grubby when they see opportunities so long as they can throw money at them.”

“That was a risk we factored in. Always pays to do a risk assessment.” Arthur grinned as he went to stand beside Nora. “Though for the Phylandir’s they’ve yet to reach out. I’ll be ready when they do.”

“Ready?” he turned to his companion.

“Wait, give me a moment—” Nora motioned, looking at the guild master. “Guild master, how is Elena…and the rest of the party?”

“Huh? Oh, Amberkeep,” his expression turned sullen. “She blames herself for an adventurer’s death.”

“Oh,” Arthur murmured.

“Yes…she hasn’t been out of her inn ever since. As for the rest of the team, physically, they’ve made a recovery…mentally, they need some time.”

“Did you find out what happened in the dungeon?”

“Mmh,” Orhill nodded, tenting his hands atop his desk.

“Let me guess, another issue that needs clearance?” Arthur shook his head wistfully. “Information must be expensive—Well then, see you around.”

And they shadow ported out.

“Aeris Breath!,” Orhill exhaled as he dispelled the anti-scrying and sound dampening fields, “that boy will bring storms wherever he goes.”

There was a knock on the door,

“Come in Meredith, did you need something?”

“Oh,” his deputy entered the room, casting her eyes about, “I thought I felt the rafters shake…did something happen?”

“Er, I just fell in my chair that’s all…” Orhill said, with a wry smile.

“When do we start?” Nora mumbled, as she petted her bonded grimalkin. Umbra was as usual purring contentedly. They were sitting on the patio at the back of the house, basking as they enjoyed the cool air.

The swaying of wisteria trees and the murmur of leaves as zephyrs whispered through well-tended plants was soothing. Bees flitted to and fro on the flowers; at least those were normal—or so he thought. For all he knew they might as well have shot fire from their stingers.

“It’s so peaceful; I could get used to this; the air is cool; there are no monster’s after me.”

“Arthur!”

“Sorry…Was lost in thought. As soon as we get the badges we’ll start taking jobs. I have to finish up on that gear tonight.”

“…”

“You worried about Elena?”

“Yeah, a healer’s empathy. It’s a healer’s job to see their patients to recovery; but I’m not that kind of healer.” She snuggled into Umbra’s fur. The feline protested…she released her and the grimalkin lopped off into the garden.

“Things of the mind can be scary; trust me I would know.”

“You never mentioned what that was; what happened to you I mean.”

“Eh?” Arthur pursed his lips. He blew air up his nose, “It’s a long story…perhaps even a tall-tale” he said for Nora’s benefit.

“It must have been hard; getting ripped away from everything you know.”

“Hmm?”

“I know you’re not from Alkerd—”

‘Shit! She knows?!’

“But Occidania can’t be that far right? It’s just across the Straits of Hya’cinthe”

‘Cloooose!’ He quelled the thumping of his heart lest he give away his emotions.

“Hya’cinthe?” he latched on to that instead.

“Once a couple of years, when all the three moons are present, Oonaris the white, Trinarosa the flush and Hya’cinthe, the blue—” she pulled her knees to her chest. Gazing to the sky as if recalling a story from long ago, “The tides between Occidania and Alkerd recede, to reveal a land bridge—the longest bridge ever seen. Or so I would like to think—”

“Mmh?”

“The bridge, built on an isthmus on the Hesperian Sea, or Oceania Hesperia as it was called then rises from the depths of the oceans; it is a spectacle that many would pay to watch,” she met his eyes. “It lasts for about a week, when people from both continents cross onto either side if you can pay enough coin—”

“Why the coin?”

“For protection; Sahuagin—the fishmen—they make their colonies beneath the piers. When the tide falls, you can see their nesting grounds; and that’s the time they get more aggressive.”

“Oh, otherwise you’d be fighting inter-continental wars.”

“Yes,” she broke her gaze away, staring at the late afternoon sky as the clouds rolled by.

“Take me with you…”

“Huh?”

“When you leave…Isn’t that why you’re building your own ship? To fly over the Straits?” she said, with earnest eyes.

“About home; I don’t recall much about it…I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

‘Half-truths can’t hurt—’

“Even though, there’s always somewhere inside of me, that tells me that my place will always be elsewhere—”

‘This one hurts—me…like ripping out fresh stitches only, they’re in my mind.’

“Home will always be where we want to be,” he booped Nora’s forehead.

‘I know home is where the heart is; the figurative…not the literal. Get your mind out of the gutter.’

Nora went cross eyed at the finger on her forehead.

“Bleugh...what a sob story—” she snorted derisively.

‘Ah! Scam!’ Arthur pulled back his hand.

Then she let out a girlish giggle that flushed her cheeks.

Arthur chuckled as well. For once, it felt freeing to just say what was in his mind.

He stood up; he had some reading to do and gear to craft. He stretched his limbs, feeling the lethargy accumulated from sitting down drain away.

“I’ll be down in the workshop; much to read, much to do.” He smiled.

“I’ll just be here; I might go and visit Elena if I feel up to it. Will you be okay getting down to the lower levels?”

“Yea, sure…no worries there,” he said, waving his hand with his back to her as he went into the mansion.

Walking through one of the left wing’s hallways to the central building, Arthur had yet to get used to the sheer size of the mansion. Things were still sparse, that is, furniture and decorations which they’d only reserved for the floors they’d use most. Which included the study, the drawing room, the kitchen, the billiard rooms and of course their respective bedrooms and an additional guest room.

Furnishing all the aforementioned rooms to a semblance of comfort had tanked their coin reserves but it was worth it. The study was situated on the first floor, next to the derelict library whose contents were at best, still middling.

Of the rooms in the mansion, it had taken the most time to fix the enchantments in the library. Most of them were just preservation runes that kept humidity and temperature low enough for books but discouraged bugs who would otherwise damage them.

They were easily fixed because he’d encountered them in another form; the preservation runes in Sturm’s Keep kitchen—and the one’s in the library were mere bastardizations. And best of all, their obfuscation warding had expired or whatever happened when magical items underwent wear and tear.

Arthur crossed the main aisle of the library, looked up at the giant chandelier hanging from the dome shaped ceiling two levels above him as he passed. The lower levels were connected to the upper by a spiral staircase which ended in a catwalk with wooden rails.

The whole library was like a giant cylindrical container that had a hemispherical ceiling. Even the shelves mirrored the bow curve of the room’s corners. Though, he was sad that he had to purge all of the infested books. He would also have to buy c shaped settees as there were no seats in the library.

With his mana signature, he opened the door to his new study; still coming along nicely as he’d started furnishing it. Though it was merely there for appearances sake; the real treasure was one floor of the house and two stories of the dirt below ground. That the lift entrance was on the first floor even though it passed right through the ground floor was not lost on him; after all It was a secret laboratory cum workshop.

The entrance to the lift was hidden behind a false wall which doubled up as a book alcove and the key was a rune sequence in the maw of one of a trio of gargoyle busts. One wrong sequence of the runes and the fanged maw would dispossess one of their hand from the wrist down.

How did he know to work the runes though? He had a skillset that would be considered cheating; [Appraisal], [Kill Switch] and [Null Field] made short work of the magical security system.

Could one just outright destroy the busts and gain entry? Then the busts would just be superfluous right? They were practically indestructible; curved out of an unknown rock. Nothing short of a magically empowered dagger could put a scratch on it. Anyway, he made his own modifications to the thing. Besides the rune sequences, one needed his specific dagger to make the thing work.

The false wall slid back to reveal the lift waiting for him; he’d have to fix that too; give it a modern touch—using magic. He stepped onto the contraption, pulled the lever and the pulley and counterweight system conveyed him into the underbelly of Aldmoor where his secret magic lab lay—wouldn’t want people stealing his projects would he?

As Arthur entered the lab, the mage lights flickered on; they were supposed to when he fixed all the enchantments in the workshop. The cabinets and barrels had been cleaned out of contaminants with help from Nora. Using [Purge] they’d managed to remove dust and insect droppings from among the crystals and other magical reagents which could still be used.

In the demarcation separating the lab from the workshop containing heavy duty equipment, was their adventurer’s gear draped on mannequins. The black dye was slowly drying using modified heat plates.

His mask had worked; its passive enchantments designed to make his voice throaty like some edgy hero in a cosplayer outfit were a success. He even made replacements in case something unforeseen would happen and also made another for Nora. With her white hair, nobody would know Snow was Arthur’s maid when she had the mask on.

He retrieved the parchment binder they’d found in the filing storage and thumbed through the new entries for magical materials they’d bought at Yondouk’s. His acquisitions included some essential materials for hoverboard maintenance, Lux crystals, blue mithril and red mithril dust for mana conduits, a slate of mage stone and other miscellaneous materials with interesting properties that struck his fancy. He even got a vial of mercury or as it was known on Eryth; Alchemist’s Silver.

As far as the story went, it was named so because it was an alchemist apprentice’s accidental transmutation and apparently it reacted to mana too. How?—he wanted to find out for himself.

He looked at the half complete Mark Three sitting in its engine hoist. It was missing the crystals. It turned out Aertherite crystals were rather expensive because of where the raw stuff was mined or found- on aerlands. Which meant that transportation fees were quite high and with the dwarves in charge of most aership transport, they charged a premium.

As for Pytherite crystals, they were considered a controlled material that needed a certificate and clearance from the Guard to purchases. That went doubly so for anything more than a thumb-sized crystal; one had to state reasons as to why they needed possession of it. That was going to be the most difficult to acquire…unless he could get an alternative without alerting anyone to his projects.

As for the costs of metal? He’d have to find a cheaper equivalent, like wood that was harder than steel for example. It was everywhere; like ironwood he was already using for his hoverboard. It could withstand blunt force that would render iron useless. And it didn’t even succumb to metal fatigue because it was wood.

At the bottom of the hard to acquire list was mana sail material obtained from a species of arboreal spider which glided. Since he was doing things in-house he’d have to acquire it himself and pay off someone to have it woven into the right size. He quivered; long as he had Nora, he wouldn’t have to face spiders the size of a mini hatchback by his lonesome.

Lastly, yet importantly, he needed obsiderite and diamond glass; and lots of it. The latter was easy to acquire in spite of its expensive cost. However, buying aership-window sized panes was going to draw attention from the wrong sorts; unless he could find a reliable proxy. As for diamond glass, which was essentially the bullet-proof standard for Eryth, well, that he’d have to go elsewhere

Mothballing such thoughts for later, he sat down to start poring over the guidebook, maps and bestiaries. First, he needed to fatten his coffers before he’d think about building an aership.