Dexter

I continuously palmed the crystal as we walked down to the Institute, flanked by several orcish guards. The crystal wasn't completely flawless, I had used too rough of a design to allow that and I'd noticed a few hairline spots within. Then again, maybe that was why it glinted like this in the light. I doubt a flawless crystal would be able to produce these colors. Either way, I was ready to show Garahk my progress. An entire month's worth of work was about to face the scrutiny of probably the most powerful mage on the continent, assuming the other tribes didn't have this kind of Institute. “Don't sweat it. This is probably the clearest crystal they've ever seen. Garahk might even want to keep this first one to herself, at least until they get more autoclaves working and I put this through again. Who knows what she'll be able to do once it's completely clear.” I looked around at the guards escorting us through the city as I slipped the crystal into my backpack. They were taking us the long way to the Institute, adding about ten minutes to our trip. At least we weren't in danger of encountering any hostile orcs. I turned to Amelia as we rounded a corner and approached the Institute in the distance. “Ready for another day of class?” I asked, trying to be enthusiastic.

She nodded as she clutched her binder to her chest, my enthusiasm lost on her. “As I can be.” She muttered, her fingers white from grabbing the binder.

I nodded as we walked for a bit more, the silence hanging in the air awkwardly. “Did you end up finishing last night's homework for Orakh?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Amelia nodded again, still not replying outright. I continued talking as I tried to encourage her to speak. “Who knew shapeshifting was so complicated. Memorizing the spell doesn’t seem too bad, but this is the second time magic has managed to spit in the face of human philosophy. Though I doubt that we’ve considered magic as an actual factor. With factoring magic, some of the deeper philosophical experiments have either been answered or just raise even more questions.”

Amelia nodded again as she looked up at the Institute. “Those spells are sort out of our energy range anyway,” She remarked, finally joining the conversation. “At least until we get some manastones. We can either learn to make them ourselves or wait for one of our teachers to show us.”

I nodded as I reflexively tapped the crystal resting in my pack. “In all likelihood, our basic magic class will tell us about that. If he doesn't bring it up soon we can probably look through the spellbook for the right incantations.” Amelia nodded as she looked down a bit. We walked a bit longer as the silence seemed to hang in the air. I finally broke the silence as her behavior finally ate away at me. “Are you alright? You've been kind of quiet the last week. Is something wrong?”

Amelia shook her head as she looked back up. “Nothing is wrong.” She said insistently. “I've just been grinding a bit harder because of my alchemy class. Brewing just one potion takes a while.”

I stared at her as she refused to meet my gaze. “Amelia, I'm the middle child of seven children. I know when someone is trying to hide something.”

Amelia was silent for a minute as we moved along the avenue, shoes morphing into the cracks in the cobblestone. She finally let out a sigh as she reached up and scratched her head. “I just feel like . . a passenger is all.”

I stared at her as we continued walking. “How do you mean?” I asked.

Amelia was silent for another minute before answering. “I just feel like I'm in the passenger seat while someone else drives the car. Thinking back on it, I know I made a rash decision when I escaped and the only reason I'm here now is because of what you did. The only reason I wasn't recaptured was because of your intervention. The only reason we're learning magic right now is because of your outburst when you were out in the battle. The only reason we have that crystal is because of your knowledge and observations. I mean yeah I helped, but it's like I've just been along for the ride. I thought I was done being helped when I got into graduate school. Now I find that I'm just following the events like a lost puppy. I wasn't even the one that got me out of Adympia. You were the one that got me over the border. I mean god, the only reason the orcs let us in here was because of what you did. Plus, you just seem so confident in what you want to do. Not even an army was able to hold you back. It's like the universe gave you lemons and you just asked for more. I can't imagine why someone doesn't break under what you put yourself through.”

I stared at her as I realized what she was getting at. My heart suddenly felt heavy as I realized she’d been holding this in for longer than a week. I let out a sigh as I felt a twinge of sadness wander through me. “I must be a master at acting then.” I sighed. Amelia turned to look up at me, finally meeting my gaze. I turned to look at the slowly approaching Institute as I continued. “I know it seems like I’m unwavering in the face of all this, but the truth is I have a small heart attack whenever something goes wrong. I mean, you saw me in the arena. I got completely trashed before we managed to organize.” I let out a sighed as I ran a thumb over my digital watch, the plastic face reflecting in the morning sun. “My dad always told me the people you look up to are just like you. They might seem unmoving or strong, but deep down they’re just like you and me. They don't really know what they're doing. They just make it seem like they do. They project an air of confidence until they figure it out themselves.” I lowered my voice to barely a whisper at certain points as I turned back to Amelia. Now that she shared her concerns, I felt at ease sharing a bit of mine. “Cause the truth is, I am fucking terrified that I'm about to make a massive mistake. I have no idea what I'm going to do about Almar and I am absolutely petrified that Almar is going to stomp all over anything I come up with. At this point, I'd call home to my siblings for help, but that's not an option right now. Right now, I'm just trying to stumble through until I can get an actual handle on what to do.”

Amelia continued to stare at me as I finally finished monologuing. “That can't be healthy.” She remarked, her unease seemingly vanished.

I let out a small laugh as I nodded. “Oh, it definitely isn't healthy. I'm probably shortening my lifespan by the seconds by doing this. But right now, I can't let myself have a breakdown. I just need to keep moving and hope I find a solution to the problems I'm facing.”

Amelia continued to stare at me as she considered my words. “I don't think I see how that's supposed to make me feel better.” She said, seeming a little miffed.

I slapped my forehead as I realized I skipped over a crucial part of the speech. “Right, I forgot that part. Look, you may think you're just following me around, at least I hope that's who you think you're following, but to me, I'm the one riding your coattail. You're the one that found out how to cast the spells. You're the one that figured out the improvement for Levitate, though we have yet to see if Brokil finished that one. You're the one that reminded me of what happened to metals in an acidic environment. I probably would've been halfway through the process before the cauldron failed and spat boiling acid all over the place. Hell, without you I probably would've collapsed and bled to death in the barn.” I suddenly found myself chuckling again as I felt the phantom pain of the stitches in my back. “You saved my life and I still haven't decided what I'm going to do to thank you. Fuck it, you've been the one to discover new spells while I've just been playing catch up. I watch you crushing it as you study, and I'm just amazed at it. Meanwhile, I have to take a break every now and then because I know I won't be able to learn if I don't rest. I can't even imagine how you're able to maintain focus for so long.” Amelia grinned slightly as she looked down again. “I'm serious. It's like you can just stare down anything with the sheer willpower you have. I don't even know how far I could go with determination like that. I don't know if I could handle that kind of determination.”

Amelia let out a small laugh as she grinned wide. “You're just saying that. I could say the same thing about what you've done. I don't know how you managed to push yourself through an entire week's worth of training, but still, you did it.”

It was my turn to let out a laugh. “Come on, that shit is easy. You just get to the point of hurting and go a bit further. Either that or maintain output until you collapse. Besides, I had help from Brokil's potion. I probably would've had to stop at least a dozen times throughout the day without it. Your type of stamina is what's impressive. Trust me, you're not just a passenger here. You're driving this adventure as much as any of us are.”

Amelia continued to grin as we finally arrived at the Institute. She turned to me as we stopped walking for a moment. “Thanks. I didn't know I needed a pep talk like that.”

I grinned as we left the guards at the gate and walked towards the front door. “Don't sweat it. Just don't shut down on me the next time you feel that way. We're in this together. I don't know what I'd do if I had to do this alone.”

Amelia nodded as we climbed the steps and stopped in front of the door. She turned to me as she continued to smile wide. “I won't. Thanks for the encouragement.” She then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me slightly. I grinned and gently wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on top of her head. We stayed like that for a minute as I continued to comfort her. Eventually, she let go and looked up at me as she rubbed the top of her head. “Not to be rude, but are you going to do anything about the beard?”

I brought my hand up and stroked the carpet of hair that covered my chin. Only after all this time of growth did I dare call it a beard. Even then, it was sparse and patchy. “Most likely. I just have yet to decide how I want to cut it. I don't have time to invent an actual razor and I drained the last of the juice on my electric razor before heading out. So I might just try and use a sharpened knife.” Amelia nodded as she turned and walked through the door. I followed as I tapped the gem through the fabric of the pack again. “I can stop by Garahk and show her the gem now if I wanted to. There's still a bit of time before Orakh's class.” I addressed Amelia as we began climbing the stairs. “Want to stop by Garahk's study before heading to class? We can drop off the Crystal and give a crash course on the autoclave. Plus, I think you’ll want to see the look on her face when we give her this piece of quartz.”

Amelia didn't reply at first as we climbed the stairs. Once we got to the top she turned to me and grinned. “That sounds fun. Lead the way.” I grinned and nodded as I stepped past her and started guiding her towards Garahk's study. She let out a low whistle as we approached her door. “Impressive.” She noted.

I nodded as I reached back and pulled out the crystal. “Just wait until you see the inside.” I then reached up and rapped sharply on the thick door. I shouted at the door as I lifted the rock, displaying it proudly. “Hey Garahk, I Finished The First Crystal!”

There was muffled movement inside then the door was pulled open, revealing Garahk's hunched figure. It appeared she had awoken only recently. She looked up at me, confused for a second, then she noticed the stone I was presenting, and her eyes went wide. “Oh. Oh, gracious.” She waved us in as she continued to stare at the rock. “Come in. Come in.” I turned to Amelia and grinned as I led her into Garahk's study. She looked around in amazement as we entered, and I set the crystal down on one of Garahk's tables. Garahk went over to a shelf and pulled something out. She then moved back over to the resting quartz and began examining the rock through a handheld lens. “I have never seen such clarity, not even within the mines. This is far above what I could have hoped for through transmutation.”

I nodded as I reached over and tapped the crystal. “And that's not even up to industrial standard. At best we'd use this as a paperweight or throw it into another autoclave for correct processing. Actually, we could work up to industrial standard if we reuse this.” Garahk shook her head as she looked up at me.

“I cannot imagine how much clearer one could achieve. This is already far above any crystal we could have collected from the mines. A small stone of this quality would be more than adequate to fill an entire spell. This alone could power a mountain rending spell.”

I raised my eyebrow at the last remark and let out a small chuckle. “Is it really that powerful?” I asked curiously.

Garahk paused for a second then waved her hand over the crystal and nodded. “If I were to turn this into manastone, if I had the time to that is, it would allow it to house three hundred and fifty points of mana.”

It was my turn to widen my eyes. Amelia was the first to exclaim her shock. “Holy smokes. That's a lot of mana.”

Garahk nodded as she lifted the crystal and began examining it from all sides. “The power possible with this is astounding. Though unfortunately, the quality does not affect the recovery rate of manastones. It would still require close to a year to completely recover from a full drain.”

I let out an impressed sigh as I rubbed my head. “That's a shame. Still, once I teach you guys the complete method you can grow your own quartz crystals in no time. It won't matter if it takes a year to recharge it because you'll have about three hundred more crystals. Plus, you won't have to sort through your piles of quartz for the one good crystal.”

Garahk paused for a minute then nodded. “I suppose you have a point. This would certainly simplify the sorting process. Even the ones of good quality would be improved if your method were used.” Garahk suddenly reached over and pulled out a roll of parchment and a quill and ink. “Come, describe the process in detail so that we might begin production immediately.”

I nodded as I glanced down at my watch and noticed the time. “You'll have to wait a bit. We still have our Basic Magic class to attend. We can come by later and explain.”

Garahk paused to consider then nodded, placing her roll of parchment away with a flourish. “That is acceptable. You have already spent a month on this process. There is no reason I cannot wait a few hours more.”

I nodded as I turned to Amelia, waving a hand towards the door. “Let's head to class. We'll get through those and come back here before going home.”

Amelia nodded as she turned and began walking towards the door. “We better get going then. I think it's starting soon.”

I nodded as I turned to follow and waved towards Garahk. “We'll need that back to grow more but go ahead and keep it for now. There'll be plenty of them soon enough. Besides, you probably want to examine it a bit more” Garahk nodded as she turned back to the quartz. I turned and left her to her studies as I followed Amelia towards our class.

I turned to her and raised my eyebrows. “That didn't take long,” I remarked. “I only gave the crystal to Garahk a few hours ago.”

Bruga nodded as she watched the other students walk towards the door. “I overheard a group of students discussing it. Evidently, one of them spotted you entering Garahk's study, carrying the largest piece of quartz he had ever seen. I must say I was impressed by your rumored results. Just from the description, I'd say it could comfortably hold a hundred mana.”

I nodded as I scratched my chin through the layer of hair. “Garahk said it could hold a little over three hundred and that's just the one stone. Once the Institute gets its autoclaves set up you could supply every person in here with one of them.”

Bruga smiled wide and nodded. “I have little doubt of your words on that matter.” She remarked. I felt a twinge of relief from her words as I recalled my first day of class with her. I was glad I could at least partially convince her of my intentions. “If you can manage to so greatly improve the Institute's crystals, I suspect the other mages will grow eager to know the weapon you are creating.”

I nodded and displayed a half-honest grin as I quickly compressed my related thoughts into an official opinion. It felt like a voice played on fast forward in my mind. “Anything physical runs the risk of being easily countered. Leroy's initial knowledge and skills are unknown, so he could have any number of other weapons. The only certainty is his basic knowledge of explosive substances. Maybe he used to be a demo man, or he just had an interest in explosions. Either way, physical weapons are not an overtly viable option. That just leaves the magical option and I still don't know enough to make a reasonable guess at what's possible. I could try and power towards a railgun type spell, dumping the potential energy from Levitate into a single instant could probably get some good speed, but that'll just give two percent of the population the ability to fire a gun. That's not overtly useful against potentially an entire city of artillery. There's also no way of stopping a cannonball without a metric fuck ton of mana, let alone an entire shower of them across an army. The new crystals would help, once I get one without any faults, but I think Garahk mentioned the enchanting taking time. I could always teach them how to cut them down into more manageable pieces, but that doesn't increase the energy potential within them. Plus, they'd probably take four or five big crystals for a single volley, and then they'd need to wait for them to recharge. In summary, I'll need a creative way to stop cannonballs that could double as an offensive spell, one that doesn't require a brute force approach. Maybe I could ask Gremach for help. He'll have a bit more experience with magic. He'll be able to tell when I'm starting to design just a fancy energy sink. I'll ask him next time I see him.”

I turned to Bruga as I widened my grin, hiding the barrage of ifs and buts that played through my head. “That, I'm still working on. The coveted outsider magic is still adjusting to the actual magic here. Besides, I think you'll want something really useful for battles. One thing to appreciate about our magic, it likes to take its time.”

Bruga nodded as she started moving towards the door, turning to face me as she starting walking backward. “Then I shall look forward to when it finally decides to produce your weapon. Until then, keep up with your classes.” I nodded as I waved to her and she turned back to the door and walked out of it. Once I was alone I let out a sigh and looked up at the glass canopy. “It's starting to seem like I'll need a miracle to come up with an actual weapon. Shut Up, You Can Do This. Just Keep Your Head Down And Focus On The Problem.” I let out another sigh as I adjusted the backpack and looked back down as I walked towards the door.

Despite the dungeon's distance from Garahk's study, Amelia managed to arrive there first. I walked through the thick doorway and spotted her sitting at one of the tables, examining a scattering of gemstones in front of her. Garahk waved me over and pulled a chair from the other side of the room, setting it down in front of the piece of quartz. She sat down in a neighboring chair and pulled a parchment and quill again. “Explain the process. I wish to make as many of these as possible.”

I shook my head as I gestured towards the crystal. “You won't want one of this quality. Yeah, it's good, but there are still some faults in it. I'll need to put a slice through a few times before it's completely flawless.”

Garahk tilted her head as she looked at me. “You wish to make an even better one? I assumed this was the best one could achieve. You did spend a month on it.”

I shook my head then paused and nodded. “Yes and no.” I reached out and picked up the crystal, holding it up to the light and pointing towards its center. “See this here? It's about the size of a hair, but it's still noticeable.” Garahk leaned forward slightly and squinted at the stone. She finally spotted the detail I was pointing to then nodded. “It's a fracture point. It's why your quartz looks cloudy; there were billions of fracture points crisscrossing it. This one has a majority of them repaired, but you can still see where the initial seed crystal was. It's that half cloudy blob near the top. “ I pointed towards the looped hole. “This clarity is just from a single pass through. The majority of crystal you see is newly grown quartz, grown without most of the faults of the original, but still influenced by its defects.” I pointed towards the bottom of the crystal as I explained. “I can slice off a bit from this end and use it for the next batch, making it even more flawless than this. It's how we grow massive crystals back home. Plus, if the larger size becomes an issue, you can just cut a bit off and grow a smaller one from there. I'd just need a way to do it without shattering it.”

It was Amelia's turn to pipe up, providing an insightful idea. “They usually use a pressure cutter. High-pressure water can cut just about anything, even when it would normally shatter.”

I nodded and snapped my fingers as I pointed towards Amelia. “That's it. We'll have to figure out a way to make one of those.”

Amelia shrugged as she gestured her hand in a twisting motion. “We could always try and modify the Waterjet spell to do that. Narrowing the nozzle and maintaining the pressure should cut through the quartz as if it was butter.”

I repeated my earlier motion as I started to grin. “That'll be it then. We'll take this and cut a few slices then use those to make even clearer crystals.”

Garahk nodded as she gestured insistently at the paper. “That is all well and good, but the Institute will still require the knowledge of this method if we wish to utilize it.”

I nodded as I set the crystal back down. “Right right. Time for some crash course chemistry.”

Garahk jotted everything down as I began going through the meticulous method of Hydrothermal Synthesis. Even though it was ultimately a passive process, the conditions still had to be at least in the ballpark of correct. Plus, there was the nickel and rubber to deal with. I ended up having to explain the concept of thermal expansion and how only certain metals would work when suspending the quartz in the acid. Eventually, though, I'd managed to convey enough information to allow the Institute to at least roughly replicate the autoclave currently sitting in the barn. “The one thing you absolutely have to get right is the vises holding the lid on,” I warned. “If those fail the system will be compromised and you'll have to start rebuilding pressure from scratch. Plus, you'll have to wait for the acid to stop spraying and add more to replace what was lost.”

Garahk nodded as she wrote down the last tidbit. “I believe we will be able to create these vises. From what you describe it is shockingly simple.”

I nodded as I absentmindedly handled the crystal again. “A rod engraved with an inclined plane wrapped around it. If you can, you should get some steel from Shurkul. It's a lot stronger and has less of a chance of warping and failing.”

Garahk nodded as she rolled up the bit of parchment and stood. “I can send a mage with some teef for a few ingots. However, this nickel material I am unfamiliar with. If this requires the specific material, we will need to acquire a supply for the Institute.”

I nodded as I gestured towards the door. “I have a spool of it back at the barn, but that'll only last for so long. If prospecting spells are possible you might want to start looking for it.”

Garahk nodded again as she moved over to one of the shelves. “I believe we might have something of the sort. However, it will take time to discover a source, if one exists in Gashur.” I nodded as I watched Garahk pull out a book and begin reading through it. “We will also require your recipe for this rubber substance, as well as the source of the rumored sap you used.”

I nodded as I glanced towards Amelia. “That reminds me, I'll need to introduce Mabel to Amelia soon. I could probably take them both down to her grove, kill two birds with one stone.” I jabbed a thumb behind me as I replied to Garahk’s concerns. “I still have a few jars up at the barn. I can bring them by tomorrow. The process is a little hard to describe with what I know about vulcanization. I'll teach you about it tomorrow through a more efficient hands-on demonstration.”

Garahk nodded as she walked back over and set it on the table. “That will be acceptable for the moment. However, I insist that you bring these materials to me tomorrow. I wish to begin creating more of these autoclaves as soon as possible.”

I nodded as I finally stood and stretched, glancing at Amelia as I did so. “We can start prepping to process the crystal a bit more. We should know enough to create the Waterjet modification when we get to the barn. I have enough tools up there to make a few rough slices of quartz.” Garahk nodded as she continued to read from the book. I grabbed the crystal and set it into my bag as I turned to Amelia. “Ready to head out?” I asked.

Amelia nodded as she stood and stretched. “Let's get to it. It shouldn't take long to add the nozzle to Waterjet. We might end up getting a few slices before coming back tomorrow.”

I nodded as I turned and waved back to Garahk. “I'll bring everything we need tomorrow. Just make sure a few cauldrons are prepped for processing.” Garahk nodded, not looking up from her book as she continued to study it intently. I shrugged as I pulled my bag over my shoulders and followed Amelia towards the door.

I suddenly stopped as Garahk called out to me. “Dexter! One final question, before you go.” I turned to her curiously as I rested my hand on the door. She hadn't risen from her seat, but her eyes carried a deadly serious expression. “Would this method work for other gemstones?”

I paused and started to stare off as I considered her question. “For a few of them, I wouldn't see why not. Variants of quartz, like Onyx and Amethysts, wouldn't be too hard, but anything else I wouldn't be too sure. They might require different conditions. A few are absolutely a no go, especially for this process. I don't know much about geology, but I know for sure diamonds aren't growable using an autoclave.”

Garahk paused then nodded as she glanced back at the book she was reading. “Your offer for your tomes is still open, correct?”

I paused then nodded, seeing no reason to prevent her from satisfying her curiosity. “Whatever you need. Just send a scribe up and we'll help them find the right book.”

Garahk nodded as she turned back to her book and sat back down. “That is all I need for the moment.” She said, beginning to read again. I waited for a moment before turning and following Amelia the rest of the way out the door.

Amelia was standing a short way down the hallway and waited for me to catch up. “What was that about?” She asked.

I adjusted my backpack as I answered. “She wanted to know if autoclaves could grow other crystals.”

Amelia nodded as we continued to walk down the hallway. “Why do you think she wanted to know?”

I shrugged as we rounded the corner and began heading towards the exit. “Beats me, she probably wants to grow a different gemstone. She does seem to have an attachment to the color purple. She probably wants to know if growing amethysts are possible.”

Amelia nodded understandingly as we arrived at the entrance hall and approached the door. “From what I gather, they're just quartz with added impurities. I don't see why that's not possible.”

I nodded as we left the Institute and walked to join the guards at the front gate. “Either way, I said she could borrow some of the books I brought over if she wanted to. She'll probably send a scribe over to copy the Metallurgy and Materials entry on quartz.”

Amelia nodded again as the guards began escorting us back to the barn. “We better start working on Waterjet then. If Garahk expects us to be able to get some more autoclaves working by tomorrow, we'll need to cut into the crystal tonight.”

I shrugged as we slowly made our way towards the barn. “She might expect us to take a few days. It did take over a month to make the first crystal. So, she might expect it to take a while to set up the autoclave system. We won't know until we start building another one.”

Amelia nodded again as she glanced up at the sky. The sun was starting to dip towards the horizon. “We'll know when we go back tomorrow.” We suddenly shuddered as a chilly breeze blew past us. I shakily went through the spell for Fireball and caused a small flame to appear in my hand, radiating a soft heat. “We should also probably go through that utility book at some point. They might have a spell for temperature changes.” I nodded as I glanced in the general direction of the gate. “So many things to do, and only so much time before the Festival. I'll need to start working on the spell if I want to at least get noticed by the other tribes. I should be able to figure it out. I just need to give it some deep thought.”

I let out a sigh and we continued walking towards the barn. “We'll figure it out,” I said assuredly. “We just need some time.”