Amelia

I stared at Mabel as she explained what had happened. As she talked, a root sprouted from the ground and placed itself gently on Dexter’s head, the root glowing lightly as he watched the conversation between me and Mabel. I rubbed my head as the root eventually retreated and the last of my panic finally faded. I could think clearly again. So many questions sprang to mind as I wrapped my head around Mabel’s existence. “It's insane that you could make something like that,” I remarked, amazement returning to my mind. “We're still trying to figure out how to effectively modify a few genetics. Yet, here you are making entire weapons out of mere forest plants. I can't imagine what you'd the scientific community would be able to do if they found you.”

Mabel shrugged as she sat across from Garahk, legs crossed and hands gently resting on her knee. “So I am told. After some thought, I have concluded that you could say the same for magic, should it develop an understanding of this ‘science' I mean. I doubt magic would have been able to create the substance Dexter mentioned without some sort of intervention.”

Dexter rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “We thought kind of the same thing. So far, we haven't figured out the best way to best utilize it.”

Mabel nodded as she watched Dexter ponder for a few minutes before breaking the silence. “When are you going to rid yourself of that ridiculous beard?” She asked suddenly.

I turned and saw Dexter's eye briefly flick downwards and then shrugged. “I've been planning to, but I don't have anything to shave with. I could use my sword, but that's a massive blade for a tiny space. I run the risk of cutting myself if I were to use it.” Mabel seemed to consider for a minute before gesturing towards the ground, causing several roots to sprout upwards. One of them held a large femur of an unknown animal while the others morphed into blunt objects and fine points, directing themselves towards the bone as they appeared to await orders. After a second, the roots jabbed themselves towards the immobile bone and caused pale shards to fall away from it. Mabel appeared to concentrate for a few minutes as the blur of roots slowly deposited more and more shards outside of their radius. Finally, the roots stopped their assault and revealed a brand-new dagger, a short blade shaped like a medieval dagger. I tilted my head as I realized the white material seemed out of place for the purpose ascribed to the tool. I snapped back into reality as the roots moved again and Mabel made more changes. I watched as the other roots retreated and the one holding the dagger morph, enveloping the base, and formed a brown hilt around it. Mabel then seemed to contemplate for a moment then nodded and moved the root towards the table, setting it down and detaching it from the tendril, leaving a bone dagger almost identical to Dexter's sword, minus its smaller size.

The root retreated into the dirt as Mabel grabbed the dagger by the blade and presented the hilt to Dexter. “I believe this will be sufficient.” Dexter tilted his head as he gently grasped the hilt of the dagger and took it from Mabel.

He examined the six-inch organic weapon with amazement as he scratched at his beard. “I had no idea you could do this.” He gasped. “That took, what, a few minutes?”

Mabel nodded as she watched Dexter admire her handiwork. “My connection to the natural makes forging crude implements out of their material rather arbitrary.”

Dexter finally nodded as he looked back up at Mabel and gave her a grin. “Thanks. This will work perfectly.”

Mabel nodded as she glanced at Garahk, a smirk flickering onto her face before returning to her more neutral expression. “And I hope the trust I am giving you will not be misplaced. It will be interesting to have new adversaries to test my capabilities on. It would also be a shame if someone would arrive carrying more nefarious intent within my abode.”

Garahk stared, mildly annoyed, at Mabel she stood and adjusted the satchel across her torso. “I assure you, the mages you receive will conduct themselves appropriately.” She then grabbed her staff and started walking towards the edge of the clearing. “Come, we have what we came for and I have duties to attend to at the Institute.”

Dexter nodded and waved towards Mabel's seated form as he turned to follow Garahk. “I'll see you later.” He assured her. Mabel nodded towards Dexter and I followed his example. I glanced back in time to see Mabel give me a look of intrigue before gesturing again and causing the furniture to sink into the floor, leaving her to stand up and walk back to her tree. Dexter let out an exhausted groan as he rubbed his head and we finally left the clearing. “That was fucking draining. I'm sorry about not telling you earlier. I guess I should have known something was up when I forgot to inform you about what made that sap.

Garahk gestured dismissively as we continued trudging back to the city. “You are not at fault.” She muttered. “The dryads are a mysterious people. You could not have known the danger she posed, nor her influence on your decision, nor the past that existed between us and the dryads.”

Dexter rubbed his head guiltily as he let out a defeated sigh. “Still, I should have been more careful about my intentions. Since none of the other orcs talked about Dryads, I also assumed you guys didn't even know they existed. Add the two together and you got a foreign entity that the local population knows nothing about. I didn't know there was a past between you two.”

Garahk let out an annoyed growl as she led us back towards the city. “I would appreciate you not making assumptions about what is and is not known to Gashur. We might have come out of that clearing the better, but it was not worth the terror and energy that had occurred before it. Next time you wish to reveal discoveries of yours, give me adequate warning of what precisely you have found.”

Dexter nodded understandingly as he took a deep breath. “Right right right. I'll be sure to do that.” He then palmed the new bone knife briefly before turning to me. “What about you? How are you doing?”

I gave the question some thought before shrugging. “I think I'm okay, but I'm still a bit shaken after walking in there. It . . . It just reminded me too much of my first month here.”

Dexter's face fell as he looked down at his knife and quickly examined it, changing the subject almost as fast. “What about this? What do you think I should go for? Clean shave or do you think I should just clean up my face a bit?”

I shrugged again as we continued to walk, happy to be talking about something else. “It's up to you. I think you look better without the beard. Though you still have the hair on your head to tidy up once you cleaned off your chin.”

Dexter nodded as he reached up and scratched a portion of his hair. In the two months we had been here, it had grown even longer, the usual comb-over almost indistinguishable from the mess atop his head. “I think I'll try and find a barber, or at least whatever equivalent the orcs have.”

Garahk turned to glance curiously at us. “What manner of item is that?” She asked. “Does it aid in your occasional grooming rituals?”

Dexter shook his head. “I guess you don't that word. It's someone that gets paid for cutting someone's hair.”

Garahk tilted her head at that. “You are not able to maintain your appearance?” She asked.

Dexter shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. “We have people for that. We go in every month or so to have them trim our hair. … Wait, what do you guys do?”

Garahk turned and continued leading us through the forest as she explained. “It is traditional that an orc maintains his mane. For children, a parent must maintain their manes for them. It is not an activity we entrust to just anyone.”

It was my turn to chime in on the conversation as we walked. “Not everyone can do the things needed to cut hair perfectly. Besides, I think the styles we have are a lot harder to do on yourself than the buns you people seem to enjoy, especially with the clippers.”

Garahk glanced back at us curiously. “You do not use a trimming knife to maintain your appearance?” She asked.

Dexter and I shook our heads in unison and Dexter explained. “We use scissors.” He continued as Garahk didn't change her expression. “They're a pair of single blades put together so that you just have to clench your hand to cut through something. I think I might have a pair somewhere with my school supplies. Though that's more for paper and not for hair.”

Garahk's expression didn't change as she watched Dexter motion with his hands, opening and closing them as if he was holding scissors. “Intriguing. I shall have to borrow them to study sometime. In any case, you have preparations to make and I have duties to tend to.” She then turned and peered through the trees. “I believe I know enough about where we are to make it back. Come, grip my staff again.” She then planted the staff in the dirt in front of her and looked at us expectantly.

Dexter glanced at me as he reached out and grabbed the old wood. “Ready to get back to work?” He asked.

I nodded as I followed suit and gripped the staff. “Ready,” I confirmed. Dexter grinned as he turned to watch Garahk gesture as she prepared the teleport spell. Eventually, we disappeared from the forest and reappeared in Garahk's study.

Dexter stretched as we walked back into the barn. Salthu, Gremach, Bruga, and Brokil were all sitting at a table as they continued to form the spell. Brokil looked up as the door let out a soft boom behind us. “Ah, you have returned. I trust your detour was productive?”

Dexter nodded as he jabbed a finger behind him. “There were a few hiccups, but we did what we set out to do. What about you guys?”

Brokil gestured towards the table as he answered. “We have made more progress with the spell and have finalized the pulse spell that will be able to cooperate with the sensing spell. I have also finished creating items that will aid in our usage of the spell.” He then reached into his shawl, pulled something out, and held them up for us to see. They were long stones, much like miniature obelisks, with runic symbols carved into the faces. The runes gave off a faint aura and seemed to hum as the stones rubbed together.

I tilted my head as I looked at the objects, Dexter asking the question before I had time to. “What are they?” He asked as he stepped forward.

Brokil pinched one of the stones between his fingers and made it stand out from the others as he explained “They are low power beacons. With these, we could potentially teleport across the entire city to one another. We can also leave a stone behind to mark a location to return to later, should we ever decide to pause our exploration.”

Dexter let out an interested hmm as he examined the stone in Brokil's hand. “That's pretty useful. Do you know if any of the other groups have thought about something like this?”

Brokil nodded as he set the one stone upright on the table and slipped the rest back into his shawl. “I know more than a few have the means and will to create and utilize such beacons. The only reason I cannot make more is the demand for a certain ingredient. Because of this, should we decide to split up, it should be in pairs, so that each group will receive a beacon in addition to the personal one I will be carrying.”

Dexter let out another hmm as he stared at the stone. It looked even more like an obelisk standing like that. There was even a miniature base at the bottom of the four-inch stone. “Why not just leave one here? If we can more easily teleport to them in the city, why not make it easier for us to teleport back to Snakhagr?”

Brokil shook his head as he tapped the tiny obelisk. “They are not able to link such ranges. The best they are likely able to do is transport across the city. I would need to construct a bigger beacon to link Snakhagr and the mountain.”

Dexter let out a sigh as he pulled out an empty chair and sat down. “Alright, no waypoint then. Still, that was very forward-thinking, Brokil.”

Brokil grinned as he reached into his shawl again. “I have also discovered an intriguing effect.” The obelisk on the table suddenly glowed a bit brighter and began flickering randomly. Dexter and I glanced at Brokil as he pulled his hand out and revealed one of the other beacons he had created. “I can cause a visible change in any beacon by forcing mana into another. We may utilize this effect to signal across the city. All that would be required is a supply of mana.”

Dexter rubbed his chin as he glanced at the parchments spread about the table. “Well, we better get this spell finished. Otherwise, we won't have a use for the beacons.” Dexter then turned to me. “Are you sure you don't want to help out? A new eye might be just what we need.”

I shook my head as I walked over to another table and ran my finger down a stack of books. “I'm fine here. Besides, I've almost finished combing through a few of these. I think I have a few ideas about where they'd build the Archive.”

Dexter shrugged as he turned back to the others and I sat at my table. “Suit yourself. Anyway, let's finish things up, shall we?” The others nodded as they each looked down to their page and I dived back into the history book I was searching through, trying to construct a mental picture of the city using the historical events found throughout the book. “Alright, the discovery of lunar mana circa 534. . .I wonder what event marks the beginning of their year counting. I'll have to ask them about it some time. For now, the mountain city of Vedug. Then maybe I should break out my alchemy cauldron.”

Dexter

The next few days were crammed with preparations. I, Brokil, Bruga, and Gremach worked furiously to finish the spell in time. It was nearly ready by the time we needed to head out. Amelia and I learned about spells best suited for underground exploration, electric and water-based spells, that would be effective or at least deter any creatures we encounter in the cave. Fire spells risked damaging wooden structures we were in and anything using earth did the same for stone structures. Electricity and Water spells were the best things to use against anything that grew up in there. Evidently, Magma Worms had a hard stone exterior that was quite resistant to pure mana-based spells. And true to their name, these worms used excessively hot lumps of rock to attack as well as white-hot teeth that had a bonus of injecting what can only be described by survivors as a liquid flame. Though the teeth thing makes them more akin to snakes or eels than worms. Oh well, I'm not the one that named them.

In any case, before long it was Freeday and we were just about ready to head to the mountain. The sun hadn't even risen yet and we were working in the barn by the light of several orbs. I was finishing packing my backpack with everything I thought we might need in the city, including the flashlight that was in my car. Making glowing orbs is nice, but the tiny light didn't compare to the beam it could make. “Note to self: either make a more powerful Illuminate or invent electricity and flashlights.” I glanced up and looked at the others double-checking the supplies they'd packed for the trip. Salthu had finished drawing up a few maps of the places he knew, the entrance used by students, the main chamber that led into all other parts of the city, as well as a few tunnels and subsequent rooms that he'd explored before. Though, as he was handing the rolls of parchment out, he warned about them being searched before so he wasn't expecting a need to be going there. I nodded as I took the roll from him and added the map to my pack. “Don't worry, they'll still be useful in case we need an idea of our location. It's better to be safe than sorry.”

Salthu nodded as he checked his satchel again. “I just hope the spell we created works.” I nodded as I scratched my head. We'd mostly finished the spell and had managed to make a spell that gave a general direction of underground structures. We'd tested it by having Gremach blindfolded in the barn and use the improved spell while Brokil used the pulse on the edge of the city. From there, Gremach was able to draw a fairly accurate map of a layer of the underground around us. The passages were just the sewers beneath the city, but it was a good start to making a three-dimensional spell. However, a two-dimensional map of a relatively flat city was far from a three-dimensional underground city.

Thankfully, calculus was able to help us rapidly layer it and create the final spell. Unfortunately, that also meant explaining a ton of prior algebraic and mathematical concepts before they could adequately help translate it into the spell. Amelia was able to help a lot in that regard, but it was still tedious to explain what a derivative and integral was as we worked. I eventually had the insight to use an Illusion spell to illustrate some points, but it was still like explaining advanced computation to dolphins at some points. Eventually, however, I'd finally finished explaining the concepts and we were making tremendous progress once more.

We were almost ready to use it, but there was still a bit left to do before the latest incarnation was ready. I was almost tempted to delay our expedition by a day to make it ready but pushed the thought to the back of my mind. “There's no point in waiting any longer. If we don’t leave this weekend, we’ll have to wait till the next to head out and that’s not an option. Who knows how close to the archive the other groups are. We might as well try to finish it up at the base of the mountain before heading in tomorrow. That way, we don't have to waste time waiting to go to the mountain and then not finding the archive in time. I don’t know why, but I felt uneasy about letting another week go by before heading out.”

I looked up at the ones that were already here. Brokil, Gremach, and Salthu had already arrived, leaving only Bruga to arrive before we were ready to move out. I turned to Amelia and watched her check through her satchel again. She'd packed similarly to me; books, binders of paper, as well as her magical items and food consisting of meat and bread wrapped in leaves. Though I think she'd bought a few fruits and vegetables from the Institute Storehouse. In any case, she'd managed to make a few rudimentary potions and had packed them into her satchel as well as gave the rest of us a recovery potion for inside the city. It wasn’t a health potion, but it would dampen any damage that we incurred in the city. They weren't overly powerful, but they were useful if any of us got hit by one of the worms. I tapped my chin as I suddenly remembered the potion that Brokil had given me for the arena. I turned and walked over to one of the tables and began searching through the pile on it. I stopped as I spotted the carved head and shield that I'd placed there a month ago. “There we are.” I thought as I grabbed the belt holding the flask. I pulled the pouch open to check to make sure the bottle was still there. The contents swirled the unmistakable red that had fixed me in the arena. I briefly glanced down at my scar as I gripped the belt then wrapped the leather alongside my sword-belt and walked back to my bag.

Amelia looked up at me as I arrived back at my bag. “You finally got rid of the beard?” She asked.

I nodded as I brought my hand to my chin and rubbed the rough stubble that was still there. “I did, last night. I guess the lighting in here isn't too good if we only noticed it now.”

Amelia nodded as she glanced up at the orb she'd hung above her. A similar glowing orb hovered above my bag. “You packed that flashlight, right?”

I felt a twinge of annoyance flicker through my head before stifling it and tapping my bag. “Yeah, just packed it. I even have an extra pair of D cells in case the light runs out.”

Amelia nodded as she looked down at her bag and fiddled with one other thing before letting the satchel lay on its side. “Good idea. Who knows how long we'll be in there.”

I shrugged as I glanced at the others again. “It can't be that long. We'll probably spend two days in the mountain if it turns out our spell doesn't work. One day to probe into the mountain and a second to make our way to that Magma Worm nest, just to see if their assumptions about it are right.”

Amelia scratched her head and looked at the others. “What about those Manastones Garahk gave you? You're bringing them too?” I felt another twinge of annoyance as A thought played in my mind.“Oh my god, you sound like my mother.”

I quickly stifled it again and nodded. “It's in there too. On second thought, I can probably put it in here alongside Brokil's potion. That would save me time should I decide I need some extra mana.”

Amelia let out an understanding hmm as she glanced at her satchel. “Do you think we'll end up finding it?” She asked, not being specific. I knew what she was referring to though.

I considered the question for a minute then shrugged. “It all depends on the spell working. If it works we might be able to find it right away. If it doesn't, we'll have about as much luck finding it as any other group.”

Amelia nodded as she glanced at the others again. “‘I hope you guys know what you're doing.”

I waved off her concerns as a knock finally sounded from the sliding door. “We'll figure it out. For now, I think Bruga is here.” Amelia nodded as I turned and walked to the door. I pulled it open and came face to face with Bruga's half-smiling figure. “Ready to head out?” I asked. Bruga seemed to hesitate for a moment as she struggled to find words. I became confused and suddenly became aware of another figure leaning on the doorframe. I turned to identify the figure and my confusion turned to shock. Standing there, glowering down at me, was Dumag. A satchel was draped across his shoulder, a few potions tied to the leather across his chest.

I turned to Bruga, a little angrily, as she began to explain. “I apologize if this is inconvenient, but would it not be too much trouble to allow him to join us?”

I glanced at Dumag as his unwavering expression looked down at me. “Why would he want to join us? I thought he hated us.”

Dumag scoffed at the remark. “Hate is a strong word. I merely distrust you and your combative capabilities. Hence my desire to accompany Bruga in case you encounter something dangerous. I do not wish for her to come to harm.”

Bruga gestured dismissively but seemed flattered by his concern. “You worry too much. I am sure any threat we encounter will be disappointingly minor.”

Dumag gestured towards his satchel as he retorted. “In case it is not, I would like to accompany you.”

I gestured insistently towards Bruga as I asked again. “Okay, but why? Why does he care about you getting hurt? I'd imagine danger is a common occurrence here. Not to mention he doesn't exactly seem the caring type. So why would-” I stopped as I recognized the expression on Bruga's face. It was a mixture of deep thought and embarrassment. I turned to Dumag and he looked away to stare off as he appeared to recognize my expression. “Oh? . . . OH.” I turned back to Bruga as I asked a different question. “Is he ready to leave now?”

Bruga nodded as she tapped her satchel. “We packed last night. I even included a few of my manastones in my supplies. We should be adequately prepared for anything within the mountain.”

I nodded as I turned and waved them inside. “Come on in then. We'll fill you in on the plan then head out.” Bruga smiled as Dumag nodded and they stepped into the barn. Everyone looked at us as I close the barn door with a sharp boom.

They looked at each other curiously as they saw Dumag glaring back at them. Amelia was the first to break the silence, rather forcefully greeting Dumag. “Good morning, Sir. What brings you here?”

Dumag gestured towards Bruga as he explained. “I heard a fellow teacher wished to travel to the mountain city. Given the dangers present there, I suggested an additional member would be beneficial to the expedition. She agreed and invited me to accompany you all to the mountain.”

The others looked at me curiously as Dumag finished, Brokil turning to address me directly. “Dexter, you approve of this?” He asked curiously.

I shrugged as I scratched my head. “I don't see why he can't come. From what I've heard, he's pretty capable. It would mean less chance of being overwhelmed by whatever we find in there. It's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to dangerous places like this.” They considered my reasoning and seemed hesitant but didn't object to it. I turned to Dumag as I gestured for him to sit at a table. “Go ahead and take a seat.” Dumag nodded as he stepped forward and sat down in a nearby chair. Bruga followed suit and sank into a chair beside him as I rubbed my head and began talking, Dumag listening intently as I explained the plan.

Once Dumag was caught up, everyone checked their bags one last time. I opened and closed various pockets and tapped various belts on my person to make sure I brought everything necessary. “Food, check. Sword, check. Bone knife, check. Manastones, check. Oh hey, my laptop. . . Better put that in the car. I doubt it's held a charge in all this time. Potions, check. Books, check. Maps, check. Last but not least, hammock and blanket.” I let out a sigh as I closed my eyes and ran through the list of things I might need for the last time. “Assuming I'm not forgetting anything, I should be ready.” I turned to the group as I slung my backpack over my shoulder and they did the same for their respective bags. “Everyone ready?” I asked as I tightened the straps on my back. They nodded as they adjusted their straps. I gestured towards a spot in front of me. “Then let's get going. We can teleport out of the city from here to avoid the merchants. Brokil, would you do the honors?” Brokil nodded as the others gathered in a circle. Brokil extended his hand and we all placed our own on top of it, preparing for the jump. Brokil began chanting as the world around our group developed the now-familiar visage of a long-distance teleport. The interior of the barn gradually morphed into the muddled vision of a forest before snapping into focus with a loud pop and dropped us onto a field just outside a line of trees.

The orcs staggered as the spell finished and Amelia and I clutched our stomachs in pain. The wave of nausea was a little more intense than when Garahk had cast the spell. I guess experience influenced the negative repercussions of a spell. I clenched my eyes shut as I fought off the sick feeling for a minute before looking at the others. They were just composing themselves and turning to look behind me. I followed suit and spotted Snakhagr in the distance, a brown beacon on an otherwise green landscape. “Hopefully the ones that aren't on my side will change their mind when we bring back those stones.” I turned back as I pointed northward. “Everyone ready for some walking?” The orcs nodded as they finished composing themselves and Amelia tapped her satchel. I nodded as I pointed again. “Let's get going then.”

The journey to the mountain was expectantly uneventful and tedious. We'd teleport a couple of miles and then walk a bit as everyone recovered before teleporting again. All the while we'd be brainstorming ways to turn our partly-baked spell into the one we'd need. A few more changes to the spell and it would theoretically be done. We stopped in a clearing for lunch and Gremach pulled out a quill and inkwell to jot down the right notes. The rest of us followed suit as we worked on various aspects of the spell, handing them to Gremach as we finished.

I turned northward as I munched on some bread and spotted the mountain in question in the distance, the last one of a group of three I could currently see. It just sat there on the horizon, oblivious to the probably hundreds of orcs attempting to plunder what was inside it. I turned back to the parchment I was writing on and jotted down a few more notes. “Nearly done. We won't exactly have time to test it, but in theory, it should work. If we encounter a problem with it within the mountain, we can just iron it out that night and try again the next day. Once we know where the Archive is, all that would be left to do is make our way over there and overcome any obstacle in front of us. Piece of cake.” I let out a slow sigh as I looked up at the others. Brokil, Gremach, Bruga, and I were working on the spell while Salthu and Amelia read up a bit more on the city. Dumag was sitting nearby, close to Bruga, as he kept an eye on the surrounding trees, keeping a lookout for any wild animals that might stray our way. “The pair of them are definitely a thing.” I thought as I turned back to the page I was using. We sat there for another half hour or so before packing up and continuing our journey north.

The remainder of the journey was just as uneventful as the first half only this time the fatigue was starting to show on the orcs. The sound of labored breaths was almost constantly present as we traveled, distracting from the sights of nature that we passed even though there wasn't much to see. The most we saw beyond the same trees and mountains was a herd of deer, their mouths seeming stretched back by an invisible force. I shook my head as I took note of the abnormality and we kept walking. “Probably a species similar to the deer we have, it's just that for some reason their mouths are larger than the ones on our deer. It's probably why their horses look so weird. It's literally a species that evolved in a different environment. That probably means orcs and elves are alternate versions of how humans would turn out. They might even be a species of Homo. Homo Orcus and Homo Elvis.” An image of Elvis Presley suddenly flashed through my mind. “I might need to think of a better name than that one. Putting that on the back burner.”

We eventually popped into existence at the base of the mountain just before sundown, the orcs breathing heavily as we stopped in a clearing. I let out a sigh as I sat on the ground and began rubbing my calves through my jeans. Amelia did her own stretches as she let her satchel fall to the ground. “So, this is the mountain?” She asked, looking at the towering monstrosity before us. Salthu nodded as everyone looked up at it. The mountain was surprisingly big. The distant view I saw earlier didn't hold a candle to the spectacle before us now. It seemed to loom over us menacingly as we sat at its feet, white peaks giving the unmoving mass of rock an aged appearance.

I couldn’t help but grin as I scanned every aspect I could. “Never had to climb a mountain before,” I remarked wistfully. “It’s amazing to see one up close.”

Salthu dropped his own Satchel as he stretched. “It truly is a sight to behold,” He replied, unimpressed by the towering rock before us. He kept a relatively upbeat tone though as he knelt and began unpacking his bag. “And this is not even the city within. It is a wonder all its own.”

Amelia smiled and let out a satisfied sigh before kneeling and opening her satchel. “We better set up camp. It'll be dark soon and I'd rather not try to make a fire in the dark.”

Salthu pointed in a general direction near the mountain. “There is a lake beyond those trees. We can drink and refill our skins there. There are also some trees with marvelous firewood. I believe I could even attempt to catch some small game for a fresh meal tonight.”

I heard my stomach let out a growl at the mention of food. I pointed towards Salthu as the idea of a hot meal distracted me from my fatigue. “Some fresh meat sounds fantastic after a journey like that. Let's split up the work and make things easier. Salthu, you take Dumag and hunt for some rabbits or something. Me, Brokil, and Gremach will spread out to gather some firewood. That leaves Amelia and Bruga to refill our water and set up camp. Sound like a plan?”

Gremach raised his hand as he voiced a suggestion. “Perhaps one of us should remain and try to complete the spell.” He said. “I believe I am nearly finished with the final iteration of the spell. I may only require another hour to complete it.”

I tilted my head as I thought for a moment before turning to Brokil. “Do you think he'll be able to complete the spell?”

Brokil paused as he seemed to consider the question then nodded. “Gremach may be a tad naive in some cases, but I believe he may be able to complete this spell without further assistance. He is uniquely skilled when it comes to Spell Construction.”

I noticed Gremach grin slightly as he heard praise for his abilities, and I nodded. “Alright then. Gremach, you stay here and finish the spell. The rest of us stay with our respective tasks. Everyone clear?” They collectively nodded and I clapped my hands. “Sounds like a plan.” I then turned and began leading Brokil in the direction Salthu had mentioned. I heard the shuffling of bags behind me as everyone left their satchel with Gremach and split off to do their tasks. I stretched as I felt my still aching muscles begin moving me forward again. “The stones better still be there. It would suck to find the archive only for it to have been emptied already. That's unlikely. If it was already found then the Institute would likely have the spellstones in their possession.” I let out an internal shrug. “The city might have emptied the Archive before leaving. We might just find an empty room in a hard to access area of the city.” I shook my head as I tried to banish the doubt. “We won't know until we find it. Until then, firewood.”