The red collar around Jeff’s neck was a bit too tight as he adjusted his gray hair. Being of magically grown cotton, it had a fineness that rivaled the priciest silk. It was that feeling of quality cloth that brought him back to his earliest days. The stone room was bathed in gold light from the mana lamp above with a simple wooden bed on his right but his mind went back to those times when reaching a double-digit age was an accomplishment. Maids, butlers, and attendants swirled around him as he criticized every detail of his attire. Or he was too busy feeling trapped as he looked fondly out of a window on a sunny day, depending on how his developing mind flipped from one extreme to another.

“Is it all good?” The older Orc on his left asked, bringing him back to the present. Her skin had a fair number of wrinkles contained in her squat face, a stark contrast to the fabric she and several others had woven from the magically grown cloth and plant fibers. The elder seamstress had been the best candidate for putting the final touches on the new clothes for Jeff and his brother.

“Perfect. My compliments to the tailor.” Jeff replied in a lighthearted tone.

Her black hair shifted from a slight bow as she took a coat and a few measuring sticks that she had brought.

“I’ll tell them as much. We’ll have a few good changes of clothes ready for you two before you shove off.”

Their little exchange played out, the woman turned and left the room. The Orc woman.

‘Is this how every muttering lunatic starts out?’ Jeff mused to himself as he looked over his white shirt.

There was still some part of his mind, brought up through the relentless tutelage and stories from his first memories, that rebelled against having green women around. Gula and her mother had been an oddity. While still Orcs, the daughter's grasp on the heart of an ultimate mage made her a mystical being in some ways. Something above the base clay of her kind that had ascended to some new height, perhaps surpassing the whole of her gender.

Her Central Continent cousins, however, were mundane enough to closely resemble what the stories of his youth told of. Most regarded him with open interest and there had been two incidents where they had gotten into his and Andrew’s rooms. Even with that, there had been an odd constraint from the mortal enemy of his species. No gangs came for him when he walked alone in the corridors nor was his abode broken into at night.

And here he was, talking to the great terror while he adjusted collars like any other day he had back home in the capital.

It was this great melting pot of past horror, lived experience, and contradictions therein that threatened to crush the right order of the world. Most disturbing of all these things, he felt fine. And it was that inner peace that so perturbed him.

Brushing off some dust from his black pants, he turned around and left his room. The past two days had been a mad rush, but the various rows of open floor-length balconies below him were relatively peaceful now. Getting the magical beasts hunted, enhanced vegetables grown, and dingy boat to hold all of it had been a chore. The threat of being found out, however, had been a fire under everyone’s butts to work as hard as they could.

His last piece of clothing now finished; Jeff turned with a whirl of his grey hair, a change Eli insisted on. As he turned right and saw his brother leaning over the rail with a new mole on his left cheek, Jeff admitted to himself that it was a good disguise. Being no name sailors was one thing, but playing the part of rich mage brothers, sipping wine with the high tiers of society, might lead them to a diplomat or well-known members of the Coalition. Someone who was bound to have a passing knowledge of what the president’s sons looked like.

“Ready?” Jeff asked.

Andrew’s brown eyes turned to him before he sighed and lifted himself off the rail. His stretch was unimpeded by his white shirt though his gut pressed slightly against his black vest. With one last swipe across his black pants, his brother nodded and the two set out towards the Hangar. It was a few hours after breakfast as the brothers walked through the base and came into the bay from the main workshop. The place was as busy as ever with small work teams putting the beams in place for a third ship on the right side of the massive hangar.

Their eyes naturally drew towards the tall man with silver hair standing between the new construction and the Intrepid. He was directing the various Orcs and Keltons putting the boards and gears scattered about together in a cohesive whole while he stood next to Gula. Both wore the typical white shirt and brown pants, though her clothes were a bit more unkempt with some dirt and wood chips along her knees and hands. Those purple eyes turned to the two brothers as they approached.

“Excellent.” Eli greeted, nodding to Gula as he did so. The Orc then took up his position as the leader of the build as she walked forward and started shouting orders. It was the former red head who responded as his eyes went over the crude bones of the slim hull.

“So, you went through with building a new ship.” Andrew casually said. The quad mage nodded as he kept his eyes between the two.

“I’m going to have one ship patrolling this area nonstop. Between that and our little excursion to the capital, the need was obvious if we wanted to keep up our recruiting runs. It’ll be a lot of headaches considering I won’t be here to personally monitor it, but they learned a lot from our misadventures getting the Intrepid in the air. Speaking of my handiwork, I have a new device for you two.”

Walking towards the intrepid, Eli went towards a previously unnoticed chest near the hull and picked it up. When the quad mage came back up to the brothers, he opened the small container, and inside was an even smaller box. This one, however, had a copper pole sticking out of the top and two odd disks of cloth magically folded into solid pieces at the top and bottom with a metal cap in the middle behind a metal mesh. The encouraging nod from Eli made Jeff pick it up and look it up and down.

Not getting how you were supposed to kill someone with this, Jeff was about to voice his question when a faint crackle came from the top disk of the box.

“Testing. One, two, three.”

He dropped the box in a panicked jolt, quickly followed by it smacking into the stone floor with a solid thud. Eli looked amused, but his Orc wife turned with a swirl of her bowl-cut of black hair. The scowl on her lips went across her entire jaw.

“Do you have any idea how many sleepless nights he spent making that?!” She demanded with wide red irises in her black orbs, the work still going on behind her. Eli kept smirking as he waved her off.

“And the first thing I did was make the metal enchantments and instructions to manufacture more. It’s fine.”

Jeff gave an apologetic nod to both of them as he leaned down to pick it back up. Now back in hand, he realized that it was Salamede’s rough voice coming through the box. Looking towards Eli, Jeff furrowed his now grey eyebrows.

“Is…How did you get her in there? Is that safe?”

Eli threw back his head with a laugh unsullied with propriety or composure before looking over towards the back end of the hangar. Near the hatch for the cave entrance was Salamede, wearing her typical green dress and noticeably not in a handheld box like the one she had near her ears.

“It allows long-range communication,” Eli explained as he turned back toward the brothers. Andrew was right on Jeff's shoulder, his eyes wide like a dragon head had sprouted from the box. “Push the button on the back. And speak into it.”

Using his index finger to peruse the back of the box, it took a bit before Jeff finally found what he was looking for. When he pressed his ear near where he saw Salamede put her head, there was an odd crackling sound coming out of the top circle.

“Hello?” He spoke uncertainly into the device.

The wave from Salamede made his brown eyes widen.

“One important part of radio etiquette,” Eli interrupted. “Is that when you finish speaking, say ‘Finished’. This prevents both sides from potentially interfering with each other’s radio waves.”

The furrowed eyebrows that greeted his statement made the quad mage shrug.

“It’s all very complicated and I could give you a course on it all later. But the most important thing is that it’s not instant, infinitely ranged communication. It works fine from a boat on the sea to a ship in the air. However, if you go deep underground or even in a single building, depending on its materials and composition, the transmission can’t get through.

Keep that in mind when you decide on which mini-mansion you decide to hole up in. Try for something sporting a top lounging deck with an open-faced gazebo or anything else that will obstruct prying eyes when you’re talking with us through the radio. The most important part of all of this is Cell won’t have to waste his time playing messenger boy now.”

“Mansion? We’re going to be that rich?” Andrew quietly asked, the ray of hope clear in his voice.

Eli nodded, his eyes looking up at the Intrepid.

“Poor, lost sailors couldn’t fork over the coin meet with the Kispin haulers. You two will be mages specializing in investing and heard through gossip that the Kispin harvest, due to end in two or three months, will be requiring more financial liquidity than usual. That will justify your interest in the local happenings and why you’re so inquisitive about their status. More than that, it will provide a cover for how you keep getting mana crystals and magical meats coming in.”

A somber look stole over Eli’s face as he rubbed his chin.

“This isn’t going to be a day’s excursion or even a week.” He started again, keeping his gaze on Andrew in particular. “I’m going to need you two down there to keep an eye on local happenings. How stable the local situation is, what is making the haulers want to move, and what we could do behind the scenes to fix it will be at the top of the list. Besides that, not drawing attention will also be a priority.

We aren’t doing this halfway. This assignment will be months or even years long. The next time you two come here, it might well be when we’re moving out in force. That means we’ll need to work out your story for a very extended stay.

Since being studs is an omnipresent duty for male mages and it’s hit or miss if changes from magical cosmetic spells show up in children, stick to the story that your families all looked similar to your ‘proper’ selves and being aberrations among your kind is what brought you two lost souls together in case our other precautions fail. As an additional misdirection, you will be a wind mage only.”

He then turned to Andrew.

“And you will be a fire caster. If you find yourself among those high up in government, try to maneuver out of their orbits. Invest, listen, and don’t stand out.”

Jeff’s palms started sweating. That family part was almost entirely for Andrew, who looked like he was getting a surprise vacation with all expenses paid.

“I don’t suppose I would be infertile?” The lightning mage offered with a bit lip.

Eli turned to him with a gleam of understanding.

“You both will, the story is just preparation for all eventualities. I know the Front is on this continent and they’ll no doubt pry into your nighttime activities. For the first few weeks, we may have to provide you some yook root to slip into the woman’s drinks, but Cell will help you with that as he’ll be accompanying you for the first few days as a safety measure. Speaking of familiars.”

Eli turned back towards the new ship being built and let loose a long whistle. From the left side of the wooden skeleton, a mass of white fur came bounding towards them. It took a moment for Jeff to recognize the now more than knee-high ape that was his brother’s life partner. Andrew, having known of the transformation, was unperturbed as the now snowy primate climbed atop his shoulders.

“There are colonies of apes bearing white furs in the mountains far west of here that a few of our newest guests have seen. In addition to further burnishing your story of being travelers, people might be willing to say or do things in front of an animal that they wouldn’t in the presence of a familiar that could report it to their scion.”

Nodding in agreement, the brothers spread about the base, trying out the invention while the finishing touches on the new equipment for a halfway base were brought on board the Intrepid. It was impossible to hide that’s what they were doing with all of the stone crafts, food, and boxes of clothes, but when they asked Eli where they were setting up shop, a patient ‘The answer is on a need-to-know basis’ was all they got.

As the time of departure approached, an assortment of Kelton guards in metal armor, two Frojan, and a dozen-plus of sailors scurried onto the Intrepid’s slim deck. When the brothers came up the left side of the ship, they were surprised to see on the right near the steering wheel was Salamede, done up in a metal suit, complete with a steel helm that had her ivory horns sticking out. Another interesting item was a boat strapped down on the left side of the ship. It had individual boards instead of being a solid piece like the rest of the woodwork around the base.

When the time to leave came, a few of the sailors waved goodbye to their wives, as did the Keltons. As the last kisses were given and hugs retracted, the brothers kept to the side near the smaller boat that was now accompanied by two large chests. Bored of watching the constant farewells, Jeff had a moment of curiosity before he pushed back against the railing he was leaning against to look into the chest on his right that held his false life’s work.

“EUUP!”

Looking over the various goods and paying no mind to the croak that forced its way out of his throat, his brother shuffled beside him.

“What?!” Andrew exclaimed like he was struggling to take in air.

The brothers paid no mind to the eyes that briefly turned to them. Blue, salted steaks in fine cloth were dispersed around a small mound of jagged mana crystals in the middle of the chest but they were far from the only items. In the corners were some odd bits of ruby red bug shells, yellow horns that still had the occasional crack of lightning between them, and a few jarred filets of fish that had a mesmerizing show of rainbows around the jar from a small cloud of mist catching the light.

Wealth beyond any they had laid hands on before sat in the rough chest. Going over the known figures in his head and judging by how some of the pieces had enough power to give off magical effects, the estimated value of the corner bits was easily within several thousand gold coins. Mesmerized by the sight, the two brothers didn’t hear their benefactor walking up beside them.

“Enough for a good while,” Eli exclaimed, jerking the brothers out of their stupor. Getting up, the two looked on as the next chest was brought up the side of the ship by two Kelton guardsmen. They wondered what other riches were coming towards them when Eli reached down into the first chest and took out one of the blue steaks wrapped in white cloth.

“These don’t have the magical qualities of the others besides the color, so I subsidized them with mana crystals.”

Jeff’s heart went up his throat when Eli tossed the clothed steak into the container as the new chest was placed beside the old one. The meaty treasure gave off a loud cascade of clinks as it smashed against the small heap of mana crystals. It was that moment, that casual toss of a vaunted treasure into a pile of magical goods most mages would only dream of obtaining, on a ship powered by even more valuable space-expanded bags, that the absurdity of the situation became clear.

And again, it was his peace with the situation that was the most peculiar part of it all.

“Just to make sure,” the quad mage said, “If asked, do you two know enough if anyone asks about these items?”

When told of the animals’ descriptions before their dissection, they could recite the various creatures’ parts and harvesting methods like a holy verse repeated before every meal as any mage could. Satisfied with their expertise, Eli opened the next chest to show the rows of folded clothes. While not as eye-watering in sheer value, the fine, silky textures still held up against the finest products of the Diamond academy or Coalition capital.

With their story now brought together, the brothers went through their new belongings while Eli bid his Orc wife goodbye. Once the quad mage had sufficiently groped the green woman, the ceiling opened and the Intrepid rose into a grey mid-day sky. As the world became a swirling mass of mist, Jeff fit a medallion around his neck. This time, the chain was fine steel links while the disk was silver with an oval indent in the middle for Cell.

Keeping off to the left side near their boat and chests, the brothers idled about as Cell made some adjustments into his new home for the next few days or Gretton showed off his new white fur to his scion. The trip, as dire and nerve-wracking as its destination was, proved uneventful as the brothers and crew ambled around with little to do but practice their various crafts, exchange information on what they knew of the local situation and life on the docks, or hone the story of their made up lives.

“We’re here!” The pilot announced, the young Kelton lad sounding far surer of himself now than he did in his previous flights.

The boat was unstrapped from the sides and dragged through the mist by the black mass of Cell. When it was the brother's turn to follow, Andrew was unceremoniously yanked out into the swirling cloud covering the ship. It must have gone smoothly because a few seconds later as Jeff was waving everyone goodbye, he felt a cocoon of air encircle him before pulling him out to meet his brother. It was only a brief flash before he fell towards the ocean below his feet.

The air pushed him up and left him feeling like a leaf falling from a tree, though it was more controlled as he felt himself being directed towards the boat that was growing from a spot in the waves to its full size. Andrew was near the front as Cell angled Jeff towards the back, culminating in a plop into the seat with a small fall near the end. A single nod was exchanged between them, though not having the wind element like Jeff left Andrew nowhere near as well trained in descending from such heights. Something that the sweat across his brow and nervous jitter showed off well enough. Cell ignored the shaken man and jumped off Jeff’s back to fly back to the ship. As the total haul of their fanciful life north was dropped in the boat between the brothers, Cell brought down the white ape onto the boxes before fixing himself into the indent in Jeff’s medallion.

The time of hard labor had come for him as he braced himself in the small boat. Having the wind element, he would use his spell work to push them into the harbor only a few miles away. A simple solution for a simple task. When the lightning mage's lack of seamanship showed itself by nearly capsizing the boat no less than three times, disasters avoided only by Cell’s water and plant magic, Jeff had a new respect for the sailors who had kept such a rowboat steady during his years of traveling. Thankfully, a fourth correction was not needed as they moved past a rocky field that seemed to stretch for the entire shore and finally arrived at Crasden.

Even this far north, the grey marbled stone of the waterfront was pristine, a considerable feat considering the big half-moon that served as the port of the city was bustling with life on the left side they were coming towards. It seemed like every pier was taken with one multi-story ship of all sizes and makes. The bigger ships were offloading goods to the rows and rows of four-story warehouses on this side of the harbor. Even these buildings of burden had tile roofs of light brown and their near man-sized blocks of stone showed fine craftsmanship that was displayed in every building.

While not as busy, going further along the right of the pier had a small fleet of smaller ships in its piers, storefronts along the piers, and in the far back stood stacks of houses with light-grey bricks on a rising hill that stretched from that near center point to the back of the right sideo f the pillar. Between these residencies and the larger harbor district was a wall of grey marble thrice the height of a man. It was also the direction where their destination lay.

Near the center of the giant half-moon of a harbor was a long, blocky building, done up in more of the grey stone, nearing the size of a full mansion. It had the brown tiled roofs on its first and second floor roofs and balconies, though the mini-tower with open sides and wood railing sticking out of the middle had a red roof. This, Jeff knew, was to help newcomers easily pick out where the harbor master’s domain was.

Between each of the houses and the sides of this large office building was a high pole of black painted metal with a long yellow rectangle at the top. In each of these boxes were three holes spaced atop each other with glass coverings, a central piece of Rodring’s city design. It was far from the last, however. Most of the buildings, aside from the warehouses, had thick, double-paned glass fronts with iron frames supported by stone columns and arches.

What was newer to him was the other half of the docks. It looked to be the military side of the harbor with thicker piers and wide skeletons of ships that would be getting assembled. But despite the obvious work that needed doing, no hammers rang out, yells of foremen directing work crews went unsung, and the soft plops of tar being applied to hulls were absent in the near dead soundscape emanating from the right side of the city. Aside from one or two men inspecting one unfinished hull or another, the right section of the harbor was as dead as any graveyard. Even then, the stone ground and few workshops sprinkled throughout maintained the same high level of craftsmanship as all the others.

For all the finery, it was the new arrivals to the city that drew attention. Blasting wind all over the water as they pushed towards the section between the warehouses and shops of the half-moon port, every eye from every dock worker, sailor, and messenger boy drew toward them. Near their destination was a lower pier meant for smaller vessels or rafts and it was the only one the brothers had a prayer of tying their boat to.

Coming up to the pier of solid, dark wood, a smaller lad with a blue shirt and dark blue pants gave a nervous bow.

“G-good sirs,” He yelped with sweat running down his tan face and blonde hair, though the grey clouds and northern climate blew a cool breeze over the land. “Welcome to Crasden. Though we don’t have any preparations for esteemed ones such as yourself-“

Andrew waved his hand, showing off the fine white cloth of his attire that matched his now not familiar who was jumping onto the safety of the pier.

“We didn’t prepare for our ship to sink either. It looks like the fates have been unkind to both our schedules.”

Their first explanation delivered; the brothers got out and pulled their haul from the dingy.

“My lords, I could-“

“No.” Jeff’s firm no came swiftly. As mages, they would broker no potential threat to those most divine of resources. His natural possessiveness for the treasure helped sell the act that was only partly a performance. “We will carry our goods. Take us to the harbor master's office.”

“Yes, sir.” The young lad said with a bow and a step back. Their feet now on solid land, the brothers pushed onward. Being mages, no lowly port inspector would risk their wrath inspecting their goods and only the harbor master had the position to begin discussing expenses.

With the show now over, the rest of the dock’s denizens got back to work. Gretton, however, still drew eyes as he lumbered forward between Andrew and Jeff. Their station also meant no one dared hold them up. Coming up the pier’s steps and onto ground level, the main road lay ahead as it splintered off into various branches. Like blood in veins, donkeys or horses pulled carts of food, wood, cloth, and every other good that delivered life to the trappings of civilization. Sprinkled throughout the crowds of animal-drawn carts were pedestrians or cleaners dealing with the dung of the animals. All stepped through small clouds of blue specks called mana, unseen by the magicless denizens.

Against the backdrop of noise, off to the left and behind the warehouses stood the main castle and heart of the local government. It was still a fair distance from the port, but the thick walls of its outer perimeter were unmistakable. As was the tall, rectangular tower looming out of the center. The four sides were mostly thick sheets of glass with metal frames supporting the square glass panels that were nearly twice the size of a man. Between that and the flat roof, the structure exemplified the exotic look that so characterized the nation and the tastes of its sire.

Following the young lad along the ocean-side of the port, the local shops slung their various goods to passerby. Even those most mercenary of people dared not accost mages, though. Passing through the crowds and seaside shops unmolested, Jeff glanced over the rows of shops. While their fronts were less bulky than the warehouses, they were still unmistakably of the Rodring nation. Along the fronts or sides were meshes of square metal rods in the sides of the structure. Unlike the metal frames holding in the glass fronts that displayed goods of one make or another, these were purely decorative with most only coming up to eye level as the mesh of metal squares hugged the building’s exterior.

As solid as the buildings seemed to be, it only made the weakness of the people's spirit more noticeable. Everywhere haggling took on a desperate frenzy, food prices were higher than they had any right to be, and the poorer among the crowd clung to a bag of meager coins with frenzied eyes as they tried to get whatever scraps they could lay their hands on. Despite the setting, Jeff could feel himself back in the most desperate times at the Diamond academy. Perhaps, it was even worse.

Walking along the ocean front, the center of the harbor’s operations came within arm’s reach. Going through the double oak doors, they came onto a wide hallway of grey stone walls with red carpet and a row of kiosks and captains in a wide room to the right. Their young guide ignored all of it, taking an immediate left up a staircase. Messengers, maids, and officials in good shirts and pants of blue let him pass by unchallenged until he had to push past a bald, older gentleman, pudgy with white lamb chops and a snarl as strong as his temper. Almost as strong as the hand he raised to slap the young lad.

“Stupid-“

A small burst of flames over Andrew’s head silenced him. The accompanying hard stares from the two mages made his brown eyes look between them and the small boy. It took only a moment for him to realize who’s guide he had just rudely stopped in the middle of the staircase. Something the surrounding crowd of staring onlookers also quickly acknowledged as they pulled back.

“My… I’m so sorry. I would never mean to-”

Andrew cut him off with a huff.

“You’ve delayed us for a word and now you delay us for a speech.”

With that rebuke, the older man shuffled to the side, sweat falling with his head as he bowed. The obstruction now cowed, they pressed onwards. Reaching the second floor, the lad took them to the right and through another pair of double doors. This set, however, was watched over by two guards in metal chest plates, shin, and arm guards. The rest of their bodies were covered by leather armor, and all were of the highest quality.

The highest non-magical quality, at least.

“Inspection.” The gruff guard on the left said, his brown eyes taking in the two newcomers as he idly rubbed his black beard.

Jeff quickly offered his chest of clothes to the guard on the right. Rummaging through the fine attire and taking the radio as parts of the lid's inner bracing that they were intended to look like, the guard did not comment or give any indication of surprise as he rummaged through the fine clothes and only nodded when he finished his inspection. When he looked expectantly at Andrew, the fire scion shook his head of now brown hair.

“Magical resources.”

With those two words, the guard on the left nodded and walked off to retrieve the needed inspector and start the examination the two brothers had seen several times on their previous trips to and from this country. He quickly returned with a skinny man sporting a bald head, thick pair of glasses, and brown, skintight pants. Being a professional, he didn’t flinch when Andrew summoned two lines of flame above his head and aimed them downward. Taking note of it, the accountant’s only reaction was to tighten the human muzzle in his right hand. The introduction finished, he donned the leather mouth guard and sat on the floor as Andrew placed down his chest in front of him. The lines of fire above his head stayed fixed atop his skull all the while.

It was a well-established procedure, that would begin when an errand boy arrived with a small wooden stool, scales, ink well, and needed papers. With no way to hide a stray crystal in his sleeves, steal a bite of the meat, or survive the attempt of either sin, those most precious of goods could be weighed and measured to the satisfaction of both guests and state. When the needed implements arrived and were carefully set to the counters left, he coughed before looking up at the brothers.

With nods from both, he lifted the chest’s lid and sucked in air through his mask. That small gasp seemed to intrigue the guards more than anything else about the new guests. As seconds of weighing crystals and asking for animal descriptions became minutes, a growing line of frustrated officials and messengers formed on the lower level of the staircase. None dared object, of course. Nor did they break protocol by coming up the stairs and risk being killed by the mages who might take them for thieves making a pass at their treasure.

Finally, the counter assessed the last bit of blue steak and wrote down the final item to his satisfaction.

“We are finished here,” He pronounced as Andrew shut the chest lid.

Scooting back from the chest, he got up off the floor and handed the paper to what Jeff now assumed to be the senior guard on the left. The armored man’s black eyebrows shot up as his eyes trailed down the list.

“Damn. I thought I was well off.” He proclaimed to the two brothers, who only nodded as the guard turned around and walked through the double doors. It was only a second or two of silence before he came back and waved them in. As the brothers went into the main office, there was a small stampede behind them as the held-up line was finally released.

The room had windows all along the walls, through which the dreary clouds and soft rolling sea came clear through on the left while the right gave a commanding view of the docks and all its workings. Aside from the wood floor and a cabinet with stacks of papers off to the left, the only other piece of furniture was a desk in the middle of the wide room. Sitting at it was a early-30’s woman with tanned skin in a grey dress, though there was no finery to her attire.

Her looks were below average, having thick lips, wide ears, and short cut of black hair that went to her shoulders were all without a hint of fuss or care beyond basic hygiene. She had no affectations of softness or grace that her gender typically tried to display but it was those piercing green eyes of hers looking over the paper in her right hand that drew Jeff’s attention. As did the tapping of her tanned left hands fingers as she strummed the desk in quiet contemplation.

“I’d call you fools for coming here,” She finally pronounced as she put down the page to lean back into her chair. “But results don’t lie. Would I be amiss to assume you’ve invested into this Kispin season?” She finished with a look towards the white ape squatting between the two brothers.

Her brash manner had unbalanced Andrew, whose brown eyebrows were furrowed at this crude display that was quite far from what the fairer sex had ever shown him. Jeff, however, only lightly smiled and nodded with a wave of his grey hair.

“Looking to before it starts in a few months. We travel far and wide for the whispers of fortune.” He answered with a step onward as he set his burden down. Walking forward with an outstretched hand, the harbor master raised an eyebrow but returned the gesture all the same. Her hand's roughness was between a regular office worker and a sailor, though Jeff only continued smiling as they finished the greeting.

“You heard the north was going to shit and thought that it was opportunity calling?” She responded incredulously. A snort from her crooked nose reverberated around the room.

“Results don’t lie. An ancient proverb of our people.” Jeff intoned with a smile. That got another snort, though the small laugh underneath it was new. “Desperation is opportunity by another name if you have the means to provide for that panicked need.”

A slow nod from the woman was all that she gave him for a few seconds until she leaned forward.

“Bert will be glad to hear there is someone interested in helping him plug his fleets holes. I’ll tell him of your interest, but in the meantime, I’m sure you want to put a long day behind you if the dingy I saw you come in is any indication. I’ll have you escorted to an unclaimed house and once you’re settled in, come back here and we’ll work out pricing and the details of your voyage.”

With their discussion finished, for now, the woman turned down and started going over her other papers as she lifted the counters receipt to Jeff. Taking the document, Jeff walked back over to his chest and slid the paper on top of the clothes. Giving one final bow, the two brothers left. As the same boy from earlier guided them out of the building, Andrew established a spirit connection with Jeff.

‘You know, I was looking forward to sampling the women here. I was really looking forward to it. But if that’s what the local offerings are, I think a life of chastity sounds a bit more appealing.’

Jeff continued looking forward as they came down the stairs but couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice.

‘I was looking forward to you not being so surly. Two dreams shattered in less than five minutes.’

The uneven chortling from Gretton loping between them drew some eyes as they came down onto the main hallway. That only made Andrew pucker his lips as his brown eyes narrowed on his brother's now foreign face.

‘Of course you’d be happy with the options. Older, pushy women are the only reason you even went through puberty in the first place.’

Jeff raised an eyebrow, but before he could give a biting quip, the wide double doors opened and the lad leading them onto the wider street stopped as a man with a light coat and stacks of papers came up to them. Going over the available houses and their various specifications, all the while trying to not make the hidden upper terrace seem like the necessity it was, the brothers eventually found one that was fit for their deceptive livelihood.

Their faithful squire escorted them around the back of the office building and towards the wall. Lording over the lower portions of the city on their elevated hill, the houses were square things with two or three floors. Carts pulled by donkeys or horses moved through the only entrance into this highly coveted section of the city. Walking under the raised portcullis, overseen by four guards, they walked through the gate and into the rows of houses with small gardens sprinkled about the neighborhood.

There were no yards, as each had a face of glass and a door leading directly onto the sidewalk or grey cobbled stone, though most were empty and showed a lifeless interior. Between each was one of the light poles with yellow boxes, each like all the others. Going further up the hill, they were near the top when they took a left. As they walked along the streets, they saw that most passersby were servants. Only a few had the fine embellishments of gold accentuating one element or another in their shirts or robes despite this being a strictly mage district.

Being so far from the gate was considered undesirable, which made getting a home with no higher neighbors trivial. The one they stopped at was a few houses left from the tail end of the main road, assuring a bit more privacy. It was a two-story affair, with thick glass panes covering the front that exposed the sitting room that took up most of the first floor and the grey stone flecked with black serving as pillars on the sides. On top of the house was a white gazebo surrounded by green shrubbery. With a gift of a pair of keys from their young guide, they bid the lad farewell as they went up to the oak door in the middle of the building.

Opening it, the room had a fireplace in the middle of the back with a staircase on the right corner leading to the second floor. On the left, a doorway lead into what a stove on the left said was the kitchen for one servant or another. The wall's interior that wasn’t glass on the left and the right had the patchwork of steel squares sunk halfway into the stone. It was all quite unimpressive to the brothers, but it was brand new to the familiars. After closing the drapes that wrapped around the entire front of the room, the two immediately sprinted around the house.

Jeff, however, plopped his burden down on the right side of the door and sat on a wide leather couch on the left side of the room. Finally sitting down, the most immediate thing he sensed was how pure the air tasted here. Being a bit farther from the ocean and above sea level, his lungs sucked in what felt like the freshest spring water. Which, compared to the abode up north, the weeks on sailing ships surrounded by people who brought the salty air with them in their clothes, and smelling it in his own, it practically was.

Andrew soon joined him, though he kept his precious burden in his lap.

“Should we call for a cook?” Jeff asked as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

“Pff!” Andrew scoffed. “I’ll be damned if we let anyone in here before I’ve done a thorough inspection. Once we get our riches put away and rent paid, we can head to a local restaurant.”

Getting up, Andrew took the provided safe key and brought his prized possessions up the staircase. Beneath one of the beds would be a safe that would only open with the supplied key. Complete with a lining of leather that connected to a system of air enchantments that would blare out over the rooftops, it was as secure a place to store their magical prizes as anything could be. When his brown-haired brother came down the steps now empty-handed, the two brothers nodded as they made for the door. Cell fixed himself back into the medallion, but Gretton was content to explore his new home.

Leaving the house, the brothers walked down to the harbor master’s office. As they approached the wide mansion, it was a surprise to find the harbor master with a companion, both accompanied by the guards. He was a thinner man with black robes and a purple scarf. It was of a finer make, nearly as good as their attire, something the long grey hairs on the sides of his otherwise bald scalp did nothing to hide. His grey eyes, however, were steely even as he looked the boys up and down with mute interest.

“Ah, there are our newest arrivals and perhaps your latest benefactors.” The harbor master exclaimed to her companion.

The flash in Bert’s face was one of desperation. A fraction of a moment, but enough to compromise the visage of confidence.

“Bert Greyson” The man said politely as he stuck out his hand towards Andrew. When it was Jeff’s turn, the clammy, sweaty palm that squeezed his gave away a hint of the fear in the leader of the Kispin haulers. With the greeting out of the way, Bert started walking beside Andrew and asking various small questions while the harbor master took up beside Jeff’s left. It occurred to the lightning mage that, being the one who handled the magical resources, they would naturally assume Andrew to be the leading brother.

“How did you find your accommodations?” The harbor master asked the small group turned right towards the lines of shops. The grey sky hid the falling sun, though enough light still trickled through to let them walk without a torch.

“Excellent,” Jeff replied as he offered his arm. The woman raised a black eyebrow as her green eyes took him in.

She took the arm after a moment’s consideration, causing a small sway in the shoulder-length hair running down her neck.

“A mage, a man, and considerate. What a rare find to wash up on these shores.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes until a wide tavern came into view. The sign above read ‘Mason’s spout’ and the good condition of the sign matched the building. It sported the same glass exterior and metal patchwork of steel rods all the others had, but it was a wider rectangle with an open side for those who wished to dine in the ocean breeze. Walking through the double doors, the bar along the left wall was crowded with the well-off people of the city while rows of darker, curtained-off booths on the right provided some privacy. All of them had heavy cushions and lining that muddled whatever small amount of noise came from within.

However well-built or fine the decorations, the nervous air was unmistakable. The drinkers stared into their drinks like they were gazing into the abyss itself. Not faring any better, barmaids and a few guards had strained smiles and a few hung around the back near the bar whispering in a huddled group.

Taking off over the dark oak floorboards, the two brothers were quickly separated by their partners. Andrew and Bert went up a staircase on the left corner while Jeff was pulled by the harbor master to the right corner booth. When they arrived, Jeff got in on the right side while the harbormaster sat opposite of him. The lightning mage was worried for a moment until he saw Andrew and Bert sit at an open table by the stairs.

“A plan of his,” The harbormaster scoffed as she leaned her elbows onto the table. “He decided to separate you two and hope that makes his negotiation easier.”

Jeff raised a grey eyebrow as he turned to his dining companion. The brothers had grown up surrounded by negotiations on a national level, and while Andrew was no great intellect, he could still spar with the stingiest of hagglers.

“If he wanted to get a better bargaining posture, he should have sent an underling. After the negotiations come to an impasse, have us walk to his abode. That would put us on a back foot and him at the height of his position.”

That made her thick lips widen with a smile.

“As expected of such enterprising gentlemen. Still, the current situation makes that route inadvisable.”

A barmaid came by setting down a tray of two black beers, an order the harbormaster had apparently put in frequently enough that the alcohol was brought over without being asked. Her task quickly finished; the server scurried off to leave the two alone. Taking a swig from the wooden mug that would impress most sailors, the harbor master's moist lips let loose a long sigh as Jeff set his mug down before him.

“Why?” The lightning mage asked.

Her piercing green eyes looked down into the depths of her drink with a scowl that would peel paint.

“Bert wanted me to try and pull some troll shit to make you feel more comfortable. But you’re here now, by choice. And there’s probably no leaving considering how many people have already been selected for the next ship out… if one can even get through with the Watch in pirate hands. So, I’m just going to give you the hard truth of what this port is going through.

Damned pirates turned one of the shipbuilders. The traitor burned all of our wood crafts before scurrying over the night’s waves. With our fleet providing housing for fish on the Coalitions southern sea floor and all the other builders, aside from a few apprentices, sent south to rebuild our fleet, the only defense we have is house Kraton’s ships. Even so, the attack has everyone nervous and Bert’s not going to risk handing the only potential spot of good news to an underling for some minute gain.”

Jeff felt a tingle up his spine as the barmaid came back to take their orders. He couldn’t put too much thought into this choice of meal, though. Time spent at docks in the capital back home showed him that ships were essentially giant puzzle pieces that had the wood grown together at the seams. Custom ships were relegated to luxury cruise boats for the well-to-do. All boding ill for a return to normalcy. After asking for some spicy fish mixed with pasta and bread, to match the harbor master’s order, the lightning mage looked back to his companion.

“Did he burn the replacements as well? And is Kraton’s fleet strong enough to pick up the slack?”

“Aye, all the wooden crafts are currently bits of ash around the pier. And now the shipbuilding apprentices have no instructions to follow. Hundreds of gold pieces, all feeding the weeds now.” Her eyes had a bit of steel in them, the words seeming to only harden her resolve before she answered the second half.

“The Kraton fleet is a match for our former one and the majority stay in their harbor to be called upon. Safer in their docks, too, considering their port is a bit inland. Big, gold-painted things with a special blue cloth for sails. They’ll be patrolling the waters and pushing off pirates where they can, but numbers-wise it’s a far closer thing than it should be. Given the situation and the local leadership, I’d have advised you to never come here. But you’re here now and this place, for a time at least, is the safest place to be in the whole region.” The harbor master finished with a confidence that only slightly wobbled towards the end.

Going over everything he had seen on the ships and heard from the sailors, he couldn’t recall a word or sight of any such ships matching that description. That sent a bolt of worry through his nerves before he decided to find out more.

“But?” Jeff pressed.

She raised a black eyebrow and puckered her lips.

“But, what? Mister…”

“Harold.” Jeff lied.

“Well, Harold, what do you mean but?” She demanded with a strumming hand on the table.

“You seemed a bit uncertain near the end.” Jeff pressed.

She snorted again as she looked to her right and at the crowd of bar attendees.

“I have absolute faith in the Kraton’s hulls if that’s what you’re asking. It’s the girl directing them that concerns me. A willful young seed looking to grow tall and grand. She envisions herself as an oak tree, but she’s more like a very ambitious weed.”

“Not a great admirer of hers, I assume. Is she so unbearable?” Jeff asked with a gulp from his mug. It had been the fact that they hadn’t seen any such ships on their patrols over the seas that concerned him, but information on their leader would be pertinent as well.

The lightning casters question got a dry chuckle from the harbormaster who rolled her eyes.

“What do you think a brash young lass has to say to an older, ugly woman who’s constantly getting in the way of her sprint towards ‘greatness’? She’ll choke everything in her path, sense or reason be damned. Still, she came out of the right woman, whose mother laid with the right man, which lead them all to have an ancestor who was a part of Rodring’s original party. A birthright not easily cast aside.”

She puckered her lips and tapped a foot beneath the dark oak table. That gave time for Jeff to concentrate on loosening the icy hand that just gripped his heart along with a sneaking suspicion of the cities true peril. Fortunately, his fellow diner was distracted by some internal struggle, else she would have seen the wide brown eyes and bit lip from a horrible thought, which Jeff gradually relaxed. It took a moment longer before she asked a question of her own.

“Do you know how lucky men have it?”

Caught off guard, Jeff could only smile as he leaned back with arms crossed.

“Oh? How so, miss…”

“Pache. Not common, but it’s mine.”

“Pache. How did you draw that conclusion?”

“Because you can be good-looking no matter what.” She declared with a finger raised in accusation towards him, her green eyes having a playful air.

“Really?” He exclaimed with a wide sweep of his arms, glad to have a lighthearted distraction. “A woman is complaining about how good men have it in looks?”

The harbormaster stuck out her chin in defiance.

“If you get muscles, sharpen your tongue, or work at some craft and let us see, you can be attractive. Our cast is a far crueler one. If you get a bad face when you pop into the world, that’s it. You’re just ugly. Try to put some makeup on or buy some paste from gods only know where all you want, you’re still just dreadful.”

There was no hurt in her voice. It had a tone closer to friendly ribbing, though looking her up and down, Jeff couldn’t see why this would be an issue.

“You’re not ugly.” He declared as he leaned back into his cushioned booth.

That made her huff again, puckering her lips as she crossed her arms under her breasts. Taking the opportunity, Jeff made his case.

“Looks are all relative. Women may have a harder time becoming more beautiful, but that’s because you already start so high up. The universe crafted all women with a splendor innate to their kind. You are no great beauty, that I will concede. However, from the softness of your cheeks to the shape of your figure, by the virtue of your gender, you still have a loveliness that none but the worst of deformities could undo.”

She rolled her eyes at that. Lifting her mug to her lips, she shook her head as their food arrived.

“And he has a way with words. Mister Harold, you are quite capable for such a young lad.”

Jeff took his turn to huff as he strummed his fingers along the table.

“I’m sorry,” Pache put up a hand on mock surrender, “I forgot how surly men get when you don’t treat them like they’re old, withered husks.”

That got a laugh from both parties. Plying into their meal, the conversation wove through various small details of their lives, both real and fictitious, for a while as the knot of worry in Jeff's gut gradually unfurled. One item of interest was the re-affirmation that the Kispin harvest was two or so months away. The conversation continued until it was interrupted by the two chief negotiators coming down the stairs. Both looked like their bout had drained them of life, but Bert seemed happy and the piece of paper in Andrews's hand along with his nod said he got the items they needed.

“Well,” Bert announced to the booth with hands clasped together. “I must say your brother gives as good as he can get. But with our arrangements finished, I must see to my people's affairs. Don’t worry about the bill, I already saw to it.”

With his generous gift delivered, he turned right and started walking out.

“The harbor is no less busy, I’m afraid.” Pache proclaimed as she got up from her empty plate. Giving a final nod, she walked behind the black-robed man.

Their task finished, the brothers quickly followed and walked out into a black world punctuated by the occasional torch or weak beam of moonlight piercing the clouds. Walking along the ocean side until they turned to go behind the harbormaster’s office, the houses on the hills presented a very different display. The guards from earlier recognized them in the torchlight and let them through into the pulsing light show of the mage district.

Those poles between the houses were a part of a vast network of enchanted leather strands woven underneath the stone. Each had mana show through the top glass disk of the yellow box fixed atop the pole, which was then sucked into the middle section for a few seconds before moving into the bottom one. Jeff knew the colors of the glass varied from city to city, with the ones here using light purples, pinks, and teals that molded together into glows pushing away the night.

As they walked down the main street bathed in lights that provided more illumination than the afternoon sun they had arrived under and neared the turn to their house, an older maid was stumbling along the sidewalk. Her feet were testing each brick like it may betray her frail balance as her brown eyes peered around with no indication of seeing anything. Looking further ahead, a carriage with two torches and being pulled by as many horses was moving down the road towards them.

“Miss, you seem to be without a torch,” Jeff asked the near fifty-year-old woman.

“Ah,” She exclaimed. The maid immediately realized who would be able to casually walk in what must be a black void to her and pulled back with a wave of her grey flecked amber hair.

“Please forgive this old fool for getting in your way.”

Andrew huffed but the only move he made was to cup his hands over his mouth.

“OI! Driver! There’s a lost soul here. Come escort her to the gate.”

Her look of relief and gratitude was plain to see in the purple and teal lights. When the carriage came down, the driver had to take one of the lanterns and hold it out. Looking down, Jeff realized the light of the flames was just short of their spot.

“Ahem.” He coughed gently.

Looking towards what had to be near pitch-black darkness for him, the driver left his seat and approached the spot from where the cough came. Once the orange glow joined the others playing across the brother's faces, he finally smiled and did a light bow.

“She needs help getting home,” Jeff said with a look to the woman.

“Thank you, great mages.” The older woman exclaimed breathlessly before moving into the carriage. The driver did another light bow before moving back into his seat and taking his reigns. Taking the turn towards their home with the neighing of horses behind them, the brothers walked with only the occasional light in a house to punctuate the otherwise still landscape as the outwardly lifeless one that was their abode came up to them.

“Bert said the house would be seven gold a month.” Andrew offered with a final brisk walk up to their door. Jeff nodded, feeling that was a generally fair price for this place. Coming through the oak door, the white ape familiar ran up to Andrew. The deep imprint on the couch to the left showed where Gretton had been laying, something Jeff sorely wanted to imitate at this moment. But their day was far from over.

Walking up the stairs on the right, Jeff went onto the upper floor. The ground was the same hard oak here and it stayed the same as it flowed into the rooms to the right and left, but it was the spiral staircase on the corner left that drew his attention in the glows coming from the open window ahead. Going up it and onto the terrace, the gazebo surrounded by shrubbery was to his left. Inside were two chairs and a small table. The left of which Jeff promptly walked towards and sat in.

When Andrew came up, the purple, pink, and teal glow splashed across his face with a mole on the left cheek. What drew Jeff’s eyes was the long metal box with a copper rod in his hands. When his brown-haired brother sat opposite him, there was a moment of hesitation before he started bringing It up to his mouth, which was when Cell leaped out of his medallion and landed near the wooden box's lower metal mesh.

Jeff had a moment of panic as he looked around. Seeing nothing but bushes in clay pots and a dark night sky all around with only the faint wisps of pink, purple, and teal to tell of the presence of civilization, he relaxed again as Andrew brought the radio up to his mouth.

“Hello?” The fire scion said uncertainly.

“The button,” Jeff quietly reminded him.

Andrew gave a quick nod before pressing the button on the back.

“Hello?” He tried again.

It was a few more seconds before Eli’s voice came through.

“Well, you survived your first day. Not significant, but not trivial either. How are things? Finished.”

Andrew relaxed a bit as he leaned back into his chair.

“It’s about what you’d expect. The main concern the Kispin haulers have is the food riots that are probably coming. They weren’t terribly concerned about the pirates. Um…Finished.”

Jeff waved his hand to have Andrew hand him the radio.

“Eli? This is Jeff. While they might not be too concerned about the pirates because of their potential partnership and the security of the city, the remaining defenses of the Rodring kingdom are a fleet from the Kraton house. Gold painted things with blue sails to reflect their house's healing magic. Have you or the other pilots spotted any such ships of the seas? Finished.”

The brothers nervously idled for a few minutes before Eli finally responded.

“No. None of the crew has on this trip or any other. I have a few sailors here who know the region like the back of their hand and can take us on a quick look around. Would there be any other harbors such a fleet would stay at? Finished.”

“Their home port is a bit inland, and they are commanded to keep the larger part of the fleet there to help the capital in an attack. Finished.”

“All right, we’ll look into it. But why are you so concerned about them? It sounds like they have a good reason to be absent on the seas. Finished.”

Jeff took a deep breath as he shared the knot of worry in his gut.

“Their leader, from what the harbormaster told me, is an ambitious and strong-willed thing. If such a person was told to keep her fleet back while others sailed to the Coalition to retrieve the prize of our lifetimes… Combined with none of the ships being spotted so far… Well, I’m worried the Kranton fleet was possibly destroyed in an ill-conceived act of greed. Finished.”

The silence from the radio was positively painful. After a few seconds, the tired voice finally came through.

“Damn.”

Waiting for the word ‘Finished’, everyone sat in silence for a moment longer.

“We’ll do a flyover in the early morning when they should be in port. Contact us after breakfast. Finished.”

Looking over to Andrew, he shook his head and got up from the table. As he was getting ready to call it a night, Cell sent a wave of loneliness through a spirit connection.

“Cell also says hello. Finished.”

The wave of joy sent through him was the last thing he felt before the connection cut.

“I miss him too. Keep them safe Cell. Finished.”

With that, Jeff took his finger off the radio as the conversation ended for the night. Handing the wooden box over to Andrew for him to put back from where he got it, Jeff got out of his chair and left the gazebo. The sky above was black from the clouds blocking all natural light but here and there the soft lights of the mage district played across the grey stone as he went down the spiral staircase. Taking a right into his room, the place was as fine as the city could provide. While the rug of white fur provided a soft center for the floor, the dresser on the left side of the room was a whiter marble. On the left corner was a dead fireplace with a wide arch of seamless stone. The right side of the room was almost entirely claimed by the soft, white bed with a fine chest at its foot.

All bathed in waves of purple, pink, and teal from the window directly ahead.

Loosening the curtain held up over the glass panels, the cloth fell to almost totally block the outside light. Making no pretension of grace, Jeff threw himself onto what his mind’s eye positioned the bed in the near pitch-black room. Wrapping himself into the blankets to expel the cold of the northern night, Jeff quickly fell to sleep with his worries still churning through his stomach.

When he woke up in the morning, his first thought, as heretical as it was to any decent person’s moral sense, was how much he missed being back at the base even with the Orcs. Eli’s science didn’t make much sense to him, but the constant warmth his heaters provided was undeniable. Stretching with a beam of morning light across his chest, he licked his lips as he got up from his bed. Stringing up the cloth curtain, the sunlight flooded his room. The golden beams were a stark contrast compared to the shifting colors of the street lights, something lost on Jeff’s half-awakened senses.

Coming out of his room and into the hallway, he turned towards the staircase on his right and went down to find something to eat in the kitchen. He came down the stairs and walked past the main fireplace, only stopping when he heard the distinctive crunching of an ax splitting wood out the back side of the house. Walking over the kitchen’s oak floor and over to a door in the back, he opened the white-painted entrance and looked out over the lawn to see a bare-chested man swinging an ax into a log that swiftly joined its cleaved brethren. It was the creak of the door that drew the middle-aged man out of his work.

“My lord!” He exclaimed with a deep bow and sweat that dripped down his nose and pecks. “Deepest apologies. I thought you were stationed one house over.”

“You didn’t wake me.” Jeff nonchalantly offered as he waved the apology away. “I was told the staff came with the house. Does that come with food as well?”

“Of course!” The man responded, seemingly surprised at the gentle manner of his superior. The lightning mage looked over the back lawn, seeing a smooth grey wall around the place and a sizeable shed in the back.

“The shower house, great mage.” The worker said, “I’ll have the maids prepare the water.”

“After making breakfast. Served on the gazebo.” Jeff corrected with a nod.

“As you wish.” The man finished before putting his ax down on the pile of his morning work and running between the alley to get the workers ready.

Going back into the house, the lightning caster walked into the main living room and stretched onto the couch for a minute before a knock came at the door. Getting up and letting in a trio of maids and a chef, he put in the order of the day's breakfast before heading upstairs. Andrew was only just coming out of his room with an equally tired-looking Gretton behind him before Jeff shook his head towards the spiral staircase ahead.

With a nod of agreement, Andrew locked the door behind him and followed Jeff onto the terrace above. The sun rose over the harbor and the faint clouds of mist near the water, but the beauty was lost on the brothers as they retreated from the world into their gazebo's small abode. Sitting around the table without a word spoken, Jeff sat still as the morning wind blew over the bushes surrounding them and took the faint heat on their skin with it.

Sitting there, unsettling energy seized them as they both sat like statues in their chairs. Neither needed to say what the issue was or what they wanted to do but doing so with others in the house wasn’t going to happen. After several minutes, a maid came up the stairs and deposited plates of sausages and eggs, with steaming loaves of bread to accompany. Another maid came up with a tray of water and empty mugs and a sack of fruits for the white ape. All ordered by Jeff for the speed with which they could be made.

“Once you’re done setting up the heated water, that will be all for this morning,” Jeff commanded as the last dish was placed down.

The maids bowed before both left the terrace. It was a good meal they had prepared, but anticipation made the pleasantries of the moment hard to appreciate. When the last bit of scrambled egg passed between Andrews's lips, he practically jumped out of his seat to make sure the staff was gone and retrieve the radio while his familiar continued munching on an orange.

When he came back with the wood block in hand, Jeff swallowed a bit of spit in nervous anticipation. His fingers strummed impatiently as his brother sat down. The second Andrew had the radio up to his ears, Jeff leaned forward to make sure he didn’t miss a single word.

“Eli. Any news?” The fire scion asked uncertainly.

The static continued for a moment before a tired voice belonging to the world's greatest mage came through.

“Is Jeff there? Finished.” The wooden box asked.

“Y-Yeah.” The man in question answered, his voice wobbling in anticipation.

“Sadly, I have no prizes to give for your correct guess. But maybe I’ll grant you this whole northern region when we take over.”

The sarcasm did nothing to hide the current of bitterness beneath the words. Jeff, however, was trying to not throw up the food he had just eaten.

“The fleet’s not so much gone as it is being rebuilt. One badly burned specimen was the only ship that we saw. The rest are new skeletons being worked on. In the next few days, we’ll see if we can drop off a few wood-growing enchantments in Crasden to help them-”

“Hmm!” Jeff interrupted with bit lips.

“Is something wrong with that? Finished.”

“A lot.” He responded as he took the radio. “The ships are made to be mass-produced, but the enchantments used to make them are custom jobs. As are the supports, sails, and gears. The people who make ships here are apprentices who only follow the written instructions for putting the ships together. Asking them to design whole new hulls with only general wood-growing enchantments isn’t going to happen. Finished.”

The silence stretched on for a few seconds until a tired sigh came through the radio.

“Fine. Say you’ve contracted for shipbuilding kits-“

A rough cough from the fire scion silenced Eli.

“Yes, Andrew?” The box asked before Jeff handed it over.

“I don’t think we can wait a few weeks for a shipment of enchantments if how nervous their leader was is anything to go by. Right now, the Kispin hauler's big concern is food riots because some security on the seas is being taken for granted. Even with that, they still have a grip on our front door handle. If it gets out that the Rodring kingdom’s shield is wet paper with an iron coating, they will run headlong up north to our island. Finished.”

“Food and security,” Eli intoned. “It always seems to come back to those. Are there any local plant mages who you could bribe to start making a small fleet or magical farm for yourselves? Finished.”

Jeff shook his head, prompting Andrew to hand over the radio.

“I think you overestimate how abundant dual elements are and what they’d be willing to do. If there were any here, they would have been contracted by now. Even if some were laying about, using magic to make tools for the mere mundane is considered shameful.

I know you don’t care about your reputation but convincing a regular plant mage to work for ships is already a hard thing. Asking one to make the enchantments to feed the people? That’s not going to happen. A mage's pride would never allow them to soil their hands growing food for the smelly peasants. Not unless they’d be willing to endure a lifetime of snickering and jabs from their fellows. Which is a big reason why mana dead zones and the Coalition are major sources of food.”

Jeff closed his eyes as he mentally prepared to deliver his solution to this disaster of a situation.

“Eli, considering how long it would take to even order such enchantments from some anonymous benefactor of ours, we’ve come far too late to this game to just dump off a bunch of enchantments and have them finish their work before the wheels come off this carriage. The Kispin are the only worthwhile thing this region has, and I’d imagine the pirates are going to do everything they can to get the haulers under their thumb in the next month or two before the harvest begins.

If we want to head off the coming disaster things have to stabilize before the Kispin season starts in earnest. We need a plant mage to do a lot of dirty, undignified work and we need them NOW. Not next month or in a few weeks. NOW. Finished.”

The pall of dead silence from the familiars, radio, and Andrew suggested they all instantly understood what he was suggesting. A long moment of staring at the wooden box stretched on until a crackle came through.

“Why can’t everyone just fuck off?”

A suppressed smile stole across both men’s faces, while Gretton chuckled as Cell emenated amusement.

“Fine, I’ll work out a story and see to the other implications of the pirates moves. Make sure to not hesitate in sneering or dismissing me like all the others. Still, perhaps this could work out in our favor. There are rubbers, chemicals, and metals I need that I might be able to trade for. Gather a list of all available goods for me when I arrive. Finished.”

Andrew took the moment to get a rib in, leaning closer to the box with a swing of his brown, shoulder-length hair.

“You’ll have to play a strong, unsociable mage with a psychotic hatred of bandits and pirates. Are you sure you can act out such a drastic departure from your personality? Finished.”

“We’ll have to see if my theater skills can rise to the hour's need.”

A faint smile could almost be heard over the radio.

“Goodbye. Finished.”

“Goodbye. Finished.” Jeff said before he took his finger off the button.

The brothers looked between each other, a thousand words exchanged in a few glances. Admitting that the situation was now beyond their control, the brothers got up to get a shower and see what else the local capital had to offer two enterprising young mages.