Theo’s morning was spent in part cleaning up broken glass and scrubbing away a soot mark on the floor. Grumbling to himself, he wiped a sheen of sweat off his forehead. It was some aggressive scrubbing he had to do.

“Finally, it’s clean. Now uh, I suppose I’ll need to wait on potions…” Theo mused to himself, a seed of worry tightening in his stomach over his potion stock. I’ll start on my plans for Maraz then… Hopefully enchanting will go better than this.

Most of the basis for his next enchantment was from another project, so Theo quickly scribbled out the setup on parchment, substituting a few runes from his channeled Stun Chain wand. Well, at least I can still draw runes on parchment without something exploding.

Glancing out the window, he realized the time. “Oh goodness! I need to open the shop!” He ran out of his workshop, grabbing his inscribing stylus on the way as well as a blank wand. With the sign flipped, he settled behind his counter with a heavy sigh.

Theo was confident in this wand’s rune setup, so he opened his roof slats and got to work. He wouldn’t need his vacium clay for this, the whole setup was just a mishmash of two other wands.

The start involved the basic Aspect runes for the spell to be cast, which he would etch into the handle of the wand. These were runes to recognize the wand was being held, and a rune that he could tie vocalization runes to for the spell to be cast.

They weren’t necessary, but Theo had found that people loved to shout out a spell when they cast it, so it had become one of his staples to add over the years. The mana cost was actually reduced through adding the vocalization as well. Only slightly, but it was still a benefit nonetheless.

His inscriber ran the spell for enchanting, and Theo began to feel his mana flow through the implement. Runes lit up and the crystal hummed with energy in his hands. He smiled, touching the tip to the treated wood.

Moving slowly, he inscribed the first rune with as much precision as he could handle. He drew with a steady hand, visualizing each line in his head as he transferred them to the wood.

Mana pulsed out of him faster than he was used to, but the stylus acted as a buffer so he didn’t overload anything. Upon finishing the first rune, Theo regarded his work. Curious. The rune had a qualitative change he wasn’t used to. It emanated power that he could feel under his fingertips. He felt he was completing the runes faster as well, the enhanced strength of his magic drawing them quicker than before.

Mentally checking his mana pool, he made sure he hadn’t drained himself. He still had plenty left, and with the sun shining down on him, more was flowing in every second. It was a good thing Romuen wasn’t a particularly stormy region.

As he finished up a few more runes on the handle, the door to Theo’s shop rung. He looked up. “Welcome to Runes and Brews! Is there anything I can assist you with today?”

“Hello, Theo. I must inquire about your current mental state, as is social doctrine,” the wind starborn said, his echoing voice catching Theo’s attention.

“Oh, hello, Viktor. My mental state? Oh. ‘How are you?’ I’m doing well, business has been going well since I last saw you. How are you?” he asked, trying to figure out where to make “eye contact” with the starborn. It was just a floating crystal orb in a dervish of wind after all.

“My mana levels are sufficient for sustaining my form and I have been amassing wealth over time, which I am told should make me ‘happy.’ So I believe the correct answer to your question is ‘happy’ as I have met all prior conditions,” he said, gliding closer to Theo, the crystalline orb shifting as if inspecting the shop.

Theo had to blink a few times. “...Ah. Well that’s um, good. To what do I owe the visit?”

Viktor slid ever-closer to Theo, so much so that he could feel the gentle gusts of wind against his skin. The way Viktor’s starborn core was “facing” him somehow managed to feel invasive. “I was informed of your collapse and as your landlord, I am inclined to inquire about your wellbeing. Are all of your mental and physical faculties fully intact?”

“Well, I Snapped, so I guess not entirely. But I’m mostly better. Just a little headache,” he said, shrugging.

“A Snap? That is most vexing. How has your organic anatomy handled it thus far?” Viktor asked with more emotion than he’d ever heard from the starborn upon the mention of organic anatomy.

Theo took an unconscious step backward. “Fine? I think? I’m having some trouble controlling my magic though, which is admittedly concerning…”

Viktor’s core rolled forward and back, which looked like nodding to Theo. “Yes, yes. Of course. I have recorded this information within my memory for further review. Have you noticed any other undue side effects of this Snap? Altered slumber habits perhaps, or incontinence of the bowels?”

Theo sharply took in a breath, going into a coughing fit after swallowing saliva. Once he recovered, he regarded Viktor once more.

The crystal core bobbed slightly. “Fascinating.”

“...Right. Well, that’s a bit… invasive of a question, but no. Everything else has been normal. Do you… happen to know how one would control this?” Theo asked, hopeful but not exactly expecting much.

“From what my magical senses are detecting, you are leaking mana from the Snap. I assume your control has been in the category of pouring too much mana into spells, correct?” he asked, prodding winds shifting Theo’s clothes.

“Um, yeah. You hit the nail on the head, actually,” he said, nodding.

“Your mana pool likely needs time to recover and the leaks in it will seal up naturally. The control will still prove difficult as your mana has had a qualitative change from our last encounter, indicating to me that you have broken into a higher Tier of magical strength. Congratulations are in order, you are a stronger mage than you were just several days ago. I will now offer a congratulatory handshake,” Viktor echoed, likely offering a hand Theo couldn’t see.

He put his own hand out, feeling the odd wind hand grasp it, shaking it up and down a single time. “I really broke through to another Tier?”

Viktor bobbed once more. “Indeed. You have overcome the barrier from a Tier 2 mana quality to a Tier 3 mana quality. It is most impressive for how long you have existed. I commend you on your diligence in your craft.”

“Mhm. Diligence. Yes.” Theo avoided eyes that Viktor didn’t have. “So, how do I regain control of my magic?”

“Magical control is instinctive to us starborn. I may have more information for you when I acquire an organic body of my own, but for now, I am unfortunately lacking in answers for your inquiry. Now that I have successfully fulfilled my role as your landlord, I must take my leave,” he said, already pivoting and gliding back towards the door.

“Wait!” Theo said, holding a hand out towards Viktor.

The orb swiveled back to him. “Yes, Theo?”

He cleared his throat. “What are the uh, rules on me installing some kind of enchantment based security here?”

“Is there a reason you require security? Have you been threatened?” Viktor asked, a note of interest that Theo found to be too… clinical.

“Oh! Um, no. Just… wanted to make sure no one stole from me or something. It would be enchantments that cause absolutely no bodily harm, I promise,” Theo said, holding a hand over his heart.

Viktor bobbed again. “A system of security enchantments would be sufficiently within your skillset and as such is permitted per the terms of our contractual agreement. Please report any illicit activity you observe directly to me.”

“Of course. You’ll be the first to hear of it,” Theo said, feeling an uncomfortable stirring inside himself as he lied through his teeth.

“Very well. I must be on my way as I have more inquiries to make of the other residences I oversee. Goodbye, Theo. You cannot see it, but I am waving as is customary in your human culture,” he said, his core tilting left and right.

“Bye, Viktor. Have a nice day!” he said, waving back.

I’m not quite sure I’ll ever know how to feel after talking to Viktor… Theo thought, lips pressed into a line. Well, work waits for no one.

With that thought, he moved back behind his counter to work on the wand, only glancing up on occasion to watch for customers. He allowed himself to fall into the rhythm, humming as the runes took their shape.

This wand combined the channeled spell aspects of his Stun Chain wand and the offensive aspects of his Gale Buffet wand. Together, with a few changed runes here or there, the intent of this wand was to simply blow Maraz out of his store. He’d work on some reinforcement runes for the door itself to keep Maraz out but this felt like a good security measure.

Theo knew he couldn’t very well trap Maraz from the results of last time, but he was still a man, and enough wind could blow him away just like anyone else. The tricky part was getting the backwards force cancellation runes in place so the spell wouldn’t push him too.

Fortunately, the setup for the Gale Buffet wand already included these, so he had a strong basis to work off of. It just needed to be able to handle a sustained gust rather than intermittent blasts. With everything being so familiar, he was making good time on the wand between customers. Finally, it rang and Theo was happy to see the visitors he had.

Steely green eyes met his and his heart thumped in his chest. “Adam! Telsa! You’re back! Oh, and hello. I see you’ve brought friends. Welcome!”

Telsa stepped in front of the other three adventurers accompanying her. “Hey, Theo. This is the rest of the Vanguard’s Grip. We were gonna come earlier this morning, but a... thing came up.” She frowned. “Anyway, introduce yourselves.” She waved at the two people Theo didn’t recognize.

The young woman with slate blue hair sneered at Telsa before her eyes locked onto Theo. “I’m Deskan, the spellbow of the Vanguard’s Grip.” He waited for a further response, but the archer busied herself with the quiver at her hip instead.

“Ah. Well, nice to meet you, Deskan,” he mumbled, frowning.

Telsa rolled her eyes but pulled the robed man forward. “Next.” Theo immediately felt a kinship with the man upon noticing his dark red hair. He smiled at him.

“Hello uh, Theo. I’m Nils, the support mage for the Vanguard’s Grip,” he said, lowering his voice and turning to Telsa. He was still perfectly audible despite his stage whisper. “Why are we introducing ourselves so formally, again?”

“Because Theo saved our asses with the gilgafrogs and you should be thankful,” Adam said, crossing his arms and glaring at him.

Nils had the tact to be cowed slightly when he looked back at Theo. “Ah. I see. Thank you, Theo. That wand was impressively useful for the price we paid for it.”

Theo colored slightly. “Well, it was an original design…” He eyed Deskan’s quiver. “Are those arrows enchanted?”

“Yeah, Deskan’s an Infuser Fundamentalist and enchants her own- oof,” Adam cut off from Deskan elbowing him in the stomach.

“How about you tell the shopkeeper my home address too, Adam? Hm? ...I enchant my own arrows. I don’t have anything as fancy as that inscribing stylus, however,” she said, pointing to crystalline implement in Theo’s hands.

He held it up, displaying it better for Deskan. “Ah, this? I’ve had it for quite some time now, I made it myself. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for me to make one for you if you’d-”

She held up a hand, stopping him. “I’m fine. I get by with manual casting. I don’t know as many runes as you or Adam, it’d be a waste.”

“Deskan, please be polite to Theo he’s just-” Nils stopped when Deskan pinned him down with a stare.

“I’m not going to mince my words just because he sold us a wand,” she said, crossing her arms. Theo was beginning to think “sneer” was just her permanent facial expression.

“I’m sorry, Theo. Deskan and I will have words later.” Telsa eyed the prickly woman disapprovingly. “She’s just grumpy because she broke her arrow.”

Theo glanced at her quiver momentarily. “It’s just an arrow, isn’t it? I don’t know exactly how expensive they are, but surely it can be replaced?”

Deskan sniffed. “It was a special arrow. The main one I need when we take requests.”

“How exactly did it happen? If you don’t mind my asking,” he said, holding up a placating hand when another sneer was sent his way.

She grumbled and pulled a larger, metal arrow out of her quiver, handing it to Theo. “Enchantments are shot. This one was special-made, I don’t know the runes for it. We fought some divirens the other day and their sap ruined the runes.”

“Ah. That makes sense, the antimagic properties of diviren sap aren’t very strong, but I assume this arrow was in the body of one for quite some time,” he said, inspecting every inch of the arrow’s runic makeup. He recognized some, and had a vague idea of what the arrow did. “This arrow acts as some sort of… beacon?”

“Yes,” Deskan offered, lips pressed into a line.

“Deskan, just tell him. He might be able to help,” Adam said, nudging her.

“Alright. I’m a Fundamentalist secondary, so my arrows are enchanted to teleport. The arrow works as a beacon so the other arrows have something to teleport at,” she said, taking an arrow from her quiver and pointing it at the beacon arrow in Theo’s hands.

“What a wonderful application of runes! May I see one of the arrows? I’d love to see how the beacon interaction works. This may not be beyond my capabilities,” Theo said, sliding a finger over where the runes had been on the arrow.

Deskan grunted, but Telsa nudged her with a foot. “Fine.” She handed one of the arrows to Theo who happily began to inspect it.

“Ah, I see, the runes here detect the location of the beacon arrow and have a wider range of reception so they don’t all just strike the arrow. What a clever design. This certainly seems deadly for any monsters you come up against,” he said, offering a chuckle.

The corner of Deskan’s lips quirked at the compliment but she forced it back down before Theo was even sure he saw it. “Yeah, whatever. Can you fix it?”

He spun the arrow around, scanning the impressions left of the runes. “I believe I can. It may take me some time, the runes towards the tip are especially erased, so I may need to do some research in one of my rune books to find some appropriate substitutes. It should be within my capabilities, however. I’ll just need to keep both of these arrows for the time being.”

“Can you do it before our trial? It’s in three days,” Telsa said, eyes full of hope.

Theo gulped. “Three days? Adam indicated it was closer to a week.”

“They changed our test date on us, that’s the thing that came up. We had to go deal with the guild all morning. They refused to give us our old test date back,” she said, glaring in the direction of the guild.

“Well, that’s certainly no good… I believe I can do it, however. But… I may need to recruit Adam’s help for a thing or two. Perhaps Deskan as well?” Theo said, regretting the second request the moment it left his mouth.

“Why both of us? We’re not exactly busy so I don’t mind but… yeah,” Adam said, the tiniest hint of a frown meeting the corner of his lips.

“I uh… tried to make a potion this morning. It had rather… explosive results,” Theo said, frowning.

“I meant to ask about how you were doing but we got so caught up in the arrow thing! Are you okay?” Telsa asked, laying a hand on his arm.

Theo gave her a reassuring smile. “Ah, yes. I was able to put the unstable potion in a box enchanted specifically for that kind of situation, so I was unharmed.”

“He makes potions explode and you want him to enchant my arrow? I don’t think so,” Deskan said, moving to grab the arrow back from Theo.

Telsa slapped her hand down. “He Snapped, remember? He’s probably having trouble controlling his magic’s strength right now. Isn’t that right, Theo?”

“Unfortunately, yes. All of my alchemy spells are Named Spells, and according to my starborn landlord, my mana pool is… leaky right now. It should recover soon, but it looks like I can only manage enchantments right now. And that’s mostly because my stylus appears to act as a buffer. I’m hemorrhaging mana regardless any time I enchant,” he said, frowning.

“Well, whatever then. Just make sure it’s done in three days, okay?” Deskan said, fixing him with a hard stare.

Theo cowed at that, lowering his head. “O-Of course. I can do that.”

Adam whipped around to face Deskan. “I’ve had enough of your shitty attitude. Nils.”

The robed support mage jumped and nearly dropped a potion bottle, having been tactfully avoiding the situation up until now. His staff clattered to the floor. He looked at him as he picked it up. “Yes, Adam?”

“Walk Deskan home. She clearly needs some time to cool off,” he said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder towards the door.

“Ah but-” Adam’s steely gaze shut down any opposition. “Very well then. Deskan? If you’d-”

“I’m coming,” she said, grabbing Nils’ arm and dragging him out with her. Theo frowned as she slammed the door.

“Sorry, Theo. She’s… young,” Telsa said with a frown.

“It’s quite alright-”

“It’s not. I’m not gonna let her talk to Theo that way she- she needs to calm the fuck down,” Adam barked, pounding a fist on the counter.

Telsa’s lips quirked into a smile. “So, Theo. You need help making potions, right? Adam, you’re on potion duty for the next three days.”

“W-What? Telsa, I couldn’t expect that much from all of you,” he said, glancing at Adam. His heart tightened. “But… if you insist. If Adam and Deskan can help me out with potions and enchanting for the next three days, I’d be happy to do Deskan’s arrow repair free of charge.”

She raised an eyebrow at that. “Free? Really? I definitely can’t turn down an offer like that. Deskan might be… a problem to get to come here right now. Is just Adam okay?”

Relief flooded Theo’s veins. Thank goodness. “Absolutely. No problem.”

Adam had the tact to only look slightly disgruntled about the prospect of three days of potion-making. “Sounds like… fun,” he said through gritted teeth.

“I’m gonna head out for now. I have um, important team captain duties to do,” she said, already slipping away to the door quicker than Theo’s eyes could track. He noticed a peculiarity in the air where she was traveling as well as one of her daggers that she picked up from the floor on the way out.

He chuckled, shaking his head. He turned to Adam, smiling tentatively. “Well, shall we get to work?”