Dexter

It took another couple of days for the Institute to finish verifying the crown. I made sure to use the most of that time to study the gauntlet as best we could. With everyone working at the notes, we could differentiate a few more enchantments. The stones on the back of the palm were indeed spellstones, but we couldn't tell for which spells. The gauntlet also had something that Brokil called a ‘warping' enchantment. Which meant that no matter who wore the gauntlet, it would always fit perfectly. It even noticeably shrank when Amelia slipped it on and grew back to full size once Gremach donned it. The sheer number of enchantments stuffed into this thing honestly made my head spin. It's like whoever made it designed it to have ultimate functionality across decades if not centuries. I doubted I could create anything better, no matter how much time I'd be given, even with the scientific advantage.

I used a pen to circle a particular portion of the page as I let out a sigh. The sounds of quill on parchment filled the barn as we each tried to decode more of the gauntlet. "Well, tomorrow we'll get to see what happens when sodium meets water." Everyone but Amelia stopped and gave me a confused look. "We'll get the crown back and see what happens when these two meet." I clarified. They nodded and turned back to their papers. "We haven't even touched on the crown yet. I can't imagine the kinds of things they'd stuff into a royal artifact like that. Maybe it extends into a full-blown helmet under certain circumstances."

Brokil let out an uncertain grunt as he looked over his papers. "It would require a great deal of magic to accomplish that feat. Then again, considering the origin of the artifact, that may be precisely what is contained in there."

I nodded as I leaned back and stretched. "My point exactly. They wouldn't half-ass something meant for their chief. For all we know, the gauntlet was built for some kind of general and the chief just happened to come into possession of it. And we won't know until I get that crown tomorrow."

Dumag let out an affirmative growl as he jotted something down. "Ensure that you collect the crown last. It is unwise to spend the day carrying such a valuable artifact, even within the Institute."

I absentmindedly popped my knuckles as I looked at Dumag. "Why's that? I thought the Institute was safe."

Dumag nodded as he set the page aside. "It is, from external threats, but that does not mean the students will not attempt something within. You are far from experienced regarding magic so you would be an easy target for an attack. Your possession of the artifact has become general knowledge among them and I would not consider it impossible for one of them to attempt something."

My face fell as I realized what he was saying. "I thought the Institute had a thing for that. Isn't there a complaint system?"

Dumag nodded as he moved a few pages about. "There is, but that assumes you know the perpetrator or have reasonable assurance that they had wronged you. It does nothing if you merely know you have been wronged. The Institute has resources, but it does not have the resources to interview all of the guilds over a single matter."

I continued to stare at him as he wrote nonchalantly. "Guilds?" I asked. "There are guilds now?"

Dumag nodded again as he pushed the page to the side and looked up at me. Despite the scarred eye, his face conveyed a level of calm that I hadn't expected on him. "There are many guilds scattered about Gashur. Their houses are where they conduct studies of their own and protect the land surrounding it. The Institute is not the only one delving into the arcane arts. . . Come to think of it, the guilds may also attempt to steal the crown away from your possession."

I rubbed my head as I let out a sigh. "Great. Something else to deal with. I can't get a break, can I? Then again, it'll be a good challenge, something to keep me on track so to speak. Still, I kind of want just one day to breathe. Stop that. You need to focus. There are more important things than your comfort. Now think. Figure something out. If something is possible, then we have to assume it might happen." I rubbed my face as my head went into overdrive, contemplating possibilities and subsequent outcomes of my ideas. As expected, most of them had to be discarded out of sheer stupidity, but I still managed to produce one that seemed to stick out to me. "So, what if we made a guild of our own?" I blurted out.

The sounds of quills stopped all at once as everyone turned to me in shock. The silence hung in the air for another second before Dumag burst into laughter and began smacking the table enthusiastically. "Ahaha and here I thought outsiders were incapable of jesting. That has to be the most amusing jest I have heard in a while." He chuckled for another minute before he finally noticed my expression. "You do not jest." He said, stunned again.

I let out a sigh and began rubbing my head as I tried to articulate my proposition. "If guilds have such a reputation, why not make one of our own? It might not prevent all attempts, but it'll make people more cautious. Hell, it'll also make things more convenient. It'll be a single place for us to meet and discuss the artifacts we found. It'll also be a place to store them safely, something separate from the Institute. That way we don't have to go to the repository every time we want to take a look at something important that we already own."

Dumag gestured at the gauntlet as he gave me an exasperated look. "The repository is perfectly adequate to keep our artifacts safe. I hardly think we could do better when it comes to securing our finds."

I nodded as I looked at it again. "Until we figure out some security enchantments, then we might as well make our own safe, one that we can have access to at any time. Hell, if we can replicate that passcode thing embedded into the gauntlets we can make it as secure as the Archive."

It was Gremach's turn to interject. "We are far from such an understanding. The gauntlet alone is more enchanted than anything I have ever known, and it may only carry half of the necessary spells to allow for such an effect."

Amelia waved him off as she gestured towards the door. "Then we'll just have to make another trip to the Archive. We might want to go there anyway to get some notes on how the metal is enchanted. A thousand years underwater and the metal was still pristine. There's probably some anti-corrosion enchantment worth figuring out."

The room fell silent as none of them protested my idea for a minute. The silence was eventually broken by Bruga. "This is by far the maddest notion I have ever heard. Forming a guild does not guarantee protection and brings about more responsibilities than benefits."

I let out a hum as I sat there and twiddled my thumbs. "That could be a problem, but it could still be possible. What kind of responsibilities do guilds have anyway?"

Bruga began counting on her fingers as she explained. "There are fees to be paid, membership to be registered, and housing to be maintained. The housing particularly is of great importance. Dumag and I still have classes to teach and I am almost certain any land we could afford would be over an hour journey away. We could reasonably afford the fees, but the housing is required for the Institute to contact the guild. Any application is automatically denied if the members are without a house."

Amelia let out an intrigued grunt as she rubbed her head. "There's no available housing in the city? Two hundred acres is a lot of land to have houses on. Surely we could get one that suits our needs."

It was Brokil's turn to contribute as he shook his head and leaned forward. "That is why it would be so expensive. A guild house must be built to accommodate the mages that reside in it. A house is not adequate to sustain the research required for magic. The other guilds often occupy land that dwarfs the space within the Institute. I cannot imagine how we would find such a spacious property in Snakhagr."

I let out a short sigh as I considered the idea again. "A lot of limitations. A lot of resource-intense limitations. If I had time, things could be more manageable, but right now I'm operating on the basics. Of course, making a guild would mean a quicker accumulation of resources and knowledge, but to do that I need the resources to start a guild. As Bruga said, the fees can be managed, but it's the guild house that we need to take care of. I could try and see if Dubak can lend me a place. He's probably got enough sway to do that. Unless . . ." I glanced around as I let out a thoughtful hum. "Hmmm . . . . What about the barn?"

Everyone except Amelia, who grinned slyly as she sat there, glanced around at the undoubtedly filthy and disheveled barn. "Here?" Dumag asked. "I hardly think this place appropriate. It is unfit and insulting to even suggest residing here, let alone have it registered as a guild house."

I nodded as I lifted my hand and bit my thumb. "Don't worry, the current state is temporary with a capital T and as far as I know, Bulak gave me free rein over this building. Once we get the resources, we can modify it however we need to. We might even be able to replicate the Institute's enchantment and eventually give us some extra space." I pointed at Dumag as I continued. "Can you expand what you did to your bags to something like a building?"

Dumag scoffed as he leaned back exasperatedly. "You underestimate the resources required for such a spell. I could hardly manage a small shack, let alone an entire building. The passive mana alone would drain stones in an instant."

I nodded as I gestured calmingly. "We'll figure it out. That idea is not a priority to us. All we need is a place to call home. . . sort of. Point is, we can have the barn be our base of operations and just slowly modify it to meet our needs. We'll start small and eventually work up to the big stuff. If we can't find a suitable location, we can make one." The silence that followed was almost palpable. Everyone except Amelia seemed to be trying to find reasons against my idea. "I don't think we need a drastic change to make a guild." I continued. "We just need a group and a place to meet. Anything else, we can create or develop ourselves. That doesn't mean it'll be easy, but at least we're not going to give ourselves a headache trying to go for something big right off the bat. That's something to get done over time."

The others didn't speak for another minute as they seemed to consider the idea. It wasn't until Gremach spoke up that the silence was finally broken. "This still seems like madness, but so was your notion of the Archive so perhaps this route can be equally as fruitful. I shall join your proposed guild, but I shall remain housed in the Institute until this building is better equipped to reside in. I am sure the two of you are less than comfortable sleeping here."

I considered for a second then nodded. "Of course. It's going to take a while before this place becomes livable for more than the two of us. That's something to work towards as well. For now, this can just be a meeting place for us to organize more easily. I'm not fond of having to wander around the Institute when I need to find one of you." I then turned to the others expectantly. "What about you guys? Can any of you come up with a reason we shouldn't do this?"

The room was silent for a moment as they all seemed to consider the idea. Finally, Salthu spoke up. "I doubt I shall be presented with another offer such as this. . . . I gladly accept your proposal and join your guild. I would be a fool to not take this opportunity."

It took another second for Brokil to follow that up with his response. "Our commissions may provide us with some marvelous research opportunities. . . . You can be assured of my presence. I might also be able to put a good word in when our application is officially submitted."

I grinned and nodded as I turned to Dumag and Bruga. They had yet to answer and seemed to be teetering between two possibilities. Bruga's hand was trembling slightly as she held her quill by her face, the bristles gently tickling her cheek as her fingers quivered. Dumag had sat forward, his fingers interlocked in front of him, as his face carried an expression of deep thought. It wasn't until they glance at each other and exchanged a knowing look that Dumag finally replied for both of them. "The thought is utter madness, but I cannot find a reason against the idea. Consider us on board."

I grinned and nodded as I turned my attention back to the gauntlet. "Excellent. We'll hammer out the details tomorrow after we get a look at the crown. We'll prepare everything we need and then submit it to the Institute. After that, it's just a matter of expanding, which we'll figure out as we go. For now, let's squeeze in a few more hours to study this thing. If we want to try and understand it, we might as well start now." Everyone nodded as they turned back to the parchment in front of them and went back to writing. I stared at the gauntlet for another second before doing the same. "We will learn your secrets. It's just a matter of time."

Within a day, we were all standing around the table again, this time staring at the gauntlet and the accompanying crown. I'd chosen to follow Dumag's advice and waited until the end of the day to collect it. It felt weird to hold it again. I had had no time to admire its haphazard spikes or its porous texture while I ran. Even as the clerk handed it to me, I felt like I was underappreciating its significance. I barely knew anything about it and I doubted I would ever truly learn. The chief and culture that had used it were long past, just a whisper of what it was back then. I looked down at the piece of parchment the clerk had given me along with the crown. It was a document declaring outright that my team was the one that discovered the Archive. An official copy was filed in the repository and, from what I was told, additional copies were sent to numerous other sites. The document itself was a summary of everything I told them when I submitted the first form, from the spells we used, to the path of our journey, to an almost perfect depiction of the archive from the half-exhausted scribble I was able to produce. There was even a small description of the artifact I used to prove my story.

Unidentified Chief's crown. ╱╱╱ lbs

Enchantments present: Effects unknown.

An entire history reduced to two lines." I thought as I looked back at the table. "After what might have been generations of history, that's everything we know about it. It's almost insulting." I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I turned to the others. "So, who wants to do the honors?" I asked. None of them moved as they stared at the objects with a mixture of expressions. Amelia and Brokil seemed curious but cautious. Salthu and Gremach seemed almost fearful. Dumag was the only one that had a relatively neutral expression, and even then, it was quite stern. Bruga had positioned herself to stand partially behind Dumag and carefully peek around his arm. I let out a sigh as I stepped forward and lifted the crown from the table. The rough bone gently scraped the skin of my thumb as I examined it. It was almost identical to the one Dubak wore, save for the different placements of the upward turned spikes. Even the bone dome covering the scalp seemed the same as if the material had come from the same creature. I had no trouble imagining this being from some kind of massive dog, or that chimisit creature I heard about. I took another second to marvel at the near-seamless nature of the headpiece before finally turning to Dumag and holding out the crown. "Try it on." I said calmly.

Dumag gave me a look of confusion. "For what reason? Why can you not?"

I gestured to the gauntlet as I explained. "We have no idea what's in either of these things. For all we know, it was designed specifically for orcs. We don't know what it could do if I wear it."

Dumag shook his head as he stared at the crown. "It would not be proper. In any case, your companion was able to wear the gauntlet, why can you not wear the crown?"

I let out a sigh as I gestured insistently. "This is different. The crown is royalty. There's a chance that the gauntlet was meant for a general or something and in the course of events, the chief just happened to come into possession of it. We have no idea what happened in there and we have no idea what this thing does. The safest and quickest way for us to find out is if an orc wears it. Any other variation increases our risk. Any other route will be excruciatingly slow. If we want to know what these things are capable of, we need to wear them. An orc needs to wear them."

Dumag stared at the crown for a second then slowly took it from my grasp. I reached back and grabbed the gauntlet as he stared at the crown. "It feels heretical to even consider this." He admitted.

I nodded as I waited for him to put it one. "I can imagine. It seemed different holding it in Vedug, but here . . . This is purely for scientific purposes." I reasoned defensively. "There's no other way to use it anyway so we can't exactly avoid it forever. Eventually, we'll have to wear it, might as well be now."

Dumag hesitated for another second before slowly lifting the crown up and then gently lowering it onto his head. The room took in an expecting breath as the headpiece made contact and everyone expected something to happen. Disappointedly, the crown sat inert on Dumag's head and I'd imagine we looked pretty silly to anyone without context. I let out a sigh as I then presented the gauntlet. "Now for the other piece." I said encouragingly.

Dumag nodded as he reached his hand out and I helped him pull the gauntlet on. It morphed slightly as his fingers slipped in and the metal tightened around them. Silence filled the room as I stepped back and Dumag lifted his hand to examine the gauntlet. No one dared to speak a word as we waited for something to happen. It wasn't until Dumag let out an angry growl and lowered his hand that silence was finally broken. "Rrrrrr Perhaps your notions on magic are not as infallible as we thought."

I mimicked his exhalation as I rubbed my head. "Hmm Alright, let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe it's another word activation thing. What was the word you used at the Archive?"

Dumag shook his head as he gestured with the gauntlet. "I doubt it would be so simple. We were inexorably fortunate to open the Archive as such. Let us just begin testing what the gauntlet is capable of."

I let out a sigh and nodded as I gestured over to a far wall. "Go ahead then. We'll spend some time on this before working on the guild papers. If the gauntlet enhances spells, we might as well see by how much."

Dumag looked at the gauntlet and nodded as he turned to the bare stretch of wall. "Of course. . . . I wish to know the effects of these spellstones. Do you have a suggestion on which I should try?"

I walked around him to look at the back of the gauntlet as I considered the options. "Try the quartz crystal right there." I said as I pointed. "It'll probably the weakest one out of all of them."

Dumag nodded as he lifted the gauntlet and directed it towards the wall. "I shall be sure to hold back. I would not want to destroy the guild house before it is even a guild house."

I let out an amused huff as I grinned and watched Dumag stare at the wall. "Fire at will then." Dumag gave me a quizzical look. "Cast the spell when you're ready." I reiterated. Dumag nodded as he turned back to the wall. We all waited for him to eventually cast the spell. There was another second before Dumag finally tensed and a blindingly bright glow radiated from the gauntlet. Everyone shielded their eyes, turned away, and let out a mixture of confused cries as the light grew too intense to bear. An unearthly rumbling filled the room as none of us were able to gaze at Dumag. "The Fuck Is That?" I shouted.

"I Do Not Know!" Dumag bellowed back.

"This Is Not Your Doing?" Bruga yelled in confusion.

"No!" Dumag replied.

"If It's Going To Explode, We Need To Get It Out Of The Barn! Dumag, Throw It Outside!" I ordered.

I heard a strange grunting as the light moved about. "It Will Not Come Off!" Dumag yelled.

I let out a curse as I looked around. The light was being thrown against the walls in great beams, casting stark shadows across the far wall. I stumbled over to the table holding my bucket of tools and began searching for that pair of metal cutters I had. I had to position myself to block enough light just to see inside the bucket and begin searching. It took another minute before I finally wrapped my fingers around the firm latex handles of my metal cutters. I'd just pulled them out when the light suddenly died, and I was finally able to see without squinting through the light.

I turned and blinked through the spots in my eyes as I tried to focus on where Dumag stood. I felt my eyes widen as my vision finally cleared and I could see Dumag standing in the middle of the barn. The first thing I noticed was his exposed hair and the definitively lighter gauntlet he now wore, lacking many of the crystals that had been there before. Instead, a single black stone was positioned right on the back of his hand. Everyone stood in stunned silence as they took in the development. I walked back over, still holding the metal cutters, as I asked the obvious question. "What just happened? Where's the crown?"

Dumag lifted his hand and marveled at the now silvery gauntlet, the single black gemstone glistening on the back of his hand. "I believe this artifact is genuine. No other could replicate something such as this." He then lowered his hand and revealed his inner forearm to the rest of the barn. The stretch of metal had a familiar symbol etched into it. The modified symbol for Mars was the only thing disrupting the otherwise smooth surface of the gauntlet, save for the tight metal of the joints.

I sighed and gestured insistently as I looked up at Dumag. "Okay, but what about the cro-." I stopped as the rest of my vision cleared, and I could make out the piece of metal running around Dumag's temple. It was made of the same silvery material as the gauntlet, grasping an equally dark crystal in the center of Dumag's forehead. I pointed to it as I expressed confusion. "Did the crown just morph?" I asked in shock. Everyone turned their attention to it as Dumag reached up with his free hand and touched it.

Brokil was the first to answer as he stepped forward and gripped the gauntlet, turning it to examine the crystal on the back of it. "It would seem we underestimated the power of the artifact we discovered. I have never seen an enchantment this powerful before. . . . The enchantments have even altered themselves, as if of their own accord. This is undoubtedly no ordinary magical item."

I gestured insistently at the crown turned circlet as I let out a sigh. "Does that include the crown? Cause this changes a lot if items can do this to themselves. Hell, I'm pretty sure the material of that gauntlet just changed, which in and of itself is worth a looking into, not even mentioning the disappearance of all the stones it had."

Brokil nodded as he ran his fingers over the surface of the polished circular stone. "It is certainly intriguing, even more so that an Onyx was chosen to remain."

Surprisingly, Dumag shook his head at the remark and pulled the circlet off his head and began examining the gemstone. "That may be the most sensible part of this. My essence is of the onyx. What other gemstone would it choose for me?"

Brokil seemed to consider for a minute before nodding. "Excellent point. I suppose an essence gem would be the most reasonable choice for any mage to embed into their armor."

I let out another sigh and rubbed my head as I tried to comprehend this change. "So, . . what the hell was the crown if it wasn't a crown? It changed with the gauntlet, so was I right about the two being connected? Is it another of those divine items?"

Dumag carefully examined the ring of metal, both inside and out, before answering. "I do not see an emblem that would indicate as such. . . . Unusual. . . . I did not anticipate an answer bringing up more questions."

I sighed as I tilted my head back and stared at the ceiling. "That happens sometimes, but what exactly does this mean about what the crown and gauntlet can do? Is it positive? Or does that mean a lot of magic took up this whole transformation thing we just saw?"

Brokil shook his head as he released the gauntlet and stepped back. "I do not believe so, but we have a new problem. The enchantment has altered itself and grown more advanced. What little we understood of it may not be discovered through our means again. I am not even sure we will be able to find the enchantment meant to unlock the Archive. The spells are now so intertwined."

Dumag let out a grunt as he directed his hand towards the wall again. "Then we had better learn all we can about what these items are capable of. I doubt we will ever be able to adequately replicate them."

I nodded as I gestured for him to proceed. "We might eventually, but for now we have to settle with the one we have. Go ahead and see what it can do. Maybe this time it won't go supernova on us." Dumag nodded and appeared to get ready to cast a spell. The room waited with bated breath as Dumag chose his spell. He suddenly paused as he seemed to consider something then rotated his hand so that his palm face skyward. A thick black mist started to pour from his palm and fall to the floor. The mist slowly crept forward a few feet and started to rise into a pillar of blackness. I turned to Brokil as I gave him a look of confusion. "I thought he couldn't do much more than a tiny cube."

Brokil nodded as he pointed at the slowly growing column and whispered back. "That was without the assistance of the correct gemstone. The gauntlet is likely acting as a focus and amplifying his ability. Now hush. Gemstone or not, it takes a great deal of concentration to bring out and utilize one's essence." I looked back at Brokil as I decided to follow Brokil's advice and remain silent. His face was indeed a visage of concentration as the mist slowly grew to match his height. There, it stopped and began morphing into a humanoid image, sprouting a pair of arms and expanding the center of the pillar as the top and bottom shrank to mimic a head and legs. The humanoid then slowly shifted in color, greens and browns growing from the black of the mist as strands of hair started growing from its head. The humanoid began shifting into an orc before eventually morphing into a near-perfect image of Dumag, complete with onyx embedded circlet and gauntlet.

I raised my eyebrows as I stared at the now complete apparition. "Holy shit. That's impressive."

My amazement grew as the apparition turned to address me. "This artifact is most definitely genuine. There is unusual ease about this that I have never felt before. Were I more adept at manipulating my essence, I would likely be able to produce another such illusion. Unfortunately, this is the extent of my ability so far." I turned to the others to see if they were as shocked as I was. They were certainly surprised, but not half as much as I was.

I turned to Dumag out of curiosity and saw that he had the same look of concentration as before. "You're not using the crown at all?" I asked

The apparition suddenly dissipated as Dumag finally relaxed and shook his head. "It would not matter. Even with a focal gemstone, there is a limit to how much I can affect the world. It is impossible to draw milk from an empty goat."

I nodded as I looked at where the apparition once stood. "Good point. . . . I'm assuming you can take the gauntlet off now? It's not just stuck on your arm permanently?"

Dumag looked down at the gauntlet and experimentally flexed his fingers. He then reached down and pulled the gauntlet off, the metal warping slightly to allow his hand to slip out. In response to this removal, the gemstone embedded into the gauntlet faded from a pitch-black onyx to a transparent crystal. "It would seem so." Dumag replied as he looked at the newly altered gemstone. "It would also seem that this gauntlet was designed to morph in accordance to the wearer." He paused for a second as he seemed to think then suddenly reached out and offered the gauntlet to Bruga "Perhaps we should discover to what extent it will morph. Would you like to volunteer, Bruga?"

Bruga appeared to flinch back before quickly composing herself as Dumag presented the pale metal object. "Are you certain? What if it begins glowing again? We have already drawn a great deal of attention." She then turned to me in search of agreement. "Is it wise for us to do this? We have not even formed the guild yet and someone surely noticed the first change."

I gave the idea a minute to simmer before shrugging and gesturing at Dumag. "Maybe, I honestly have no idea what the fuck that was, but we won't know if we don't try. You don't have to put on the gauntlet if you don't want to, but we'll have to see what it's capable of if we want to use it. That includes anything that it needs to do when a new wearer puts it on." I turned to Brokil as I gestured at the gauntlet. "Want to give it a shot?"

Brokil was silent for a moment as he stared at the gauntlet. His face contorted minutely as he stood there, likely deep in thought. He finally nodded and stepped forward as he reached out his hand. "There is no harm in trying." Dumag hesitated for a second before giving the gauntlet to Brokil. Brokil let out a breath before slowly slipping the gauntlet on. The metal stretched slightly to allow his hand to slip in. The translucent gem glowed slightly as Brokil equipped the item before changing into a bright blue sapphire. Brokil let out an intrigued hum as he stared at the now sky-blue crystal. "Hmm . . . It would appear Dumag was correct. The gauntlet indeed changes to suit the wielder. . . Perhaps the glowing was meant to alter the gauntlet to the role of the wearer. A chief would have a different role in a city than a mage."

I gripped the gauntlet and turned it so that I could examine the gemstone, feeling the polished plates of metal making up the fingers as I did so. "Maybe . . . At the very least, we don't have to worry about someone trying to steal the crown. I'm pretty sure this transformation just made it unrecognizable for anyone that didn't know about it."

Brokil looked towards Dumag and nodded. "An advantageous development indeed. Though it would still be wise to store these items in the repository. Change or not, we do not wish to lose them before we build a safe of our own."

I nodded as I glanced down at my watch. 5:23 "Speaking of building. We better get to the papers. Bruga, you brought the forms?"

Bruga nodded as she walked over to her satchel and began rummaging through it. "I obtained some additional copies in case we needed them."

I gave her a thumbs-up as I looked towards Dumag. "We'll get back to the artifacts later. For now, we should get the ball rolling on this guild thing, especially so considering all the research we have to do. This could allow me to finally work on my spell ideas. I'm not well versed when it comes to magic right now."

Gremach and Salthu nodded, Gremach stepping forward to take a seat at one of the tables. "I look forward to studying the ideas you have. They might be as extraordinary as the metal detection spell you devised."

I nodded as I joined everyone starting to walk over to the table. "That's just a portion of what I know. Unfortunately, I had to rifle through that book to find out everything I needed. So, it'll be much more of a trial and error with anything else I devise. I hope that's not going to be a problem."

Salthu shook his head as he dropped into his chair. "It will not. It is no different than what most mages do when devising spells of their own. We merely have to accommodate for any other outsider magic you wish to introduce."

I nodded as Bruga finally set a pile of parchment on the table and began distributing them around. "That's good to hear. We can get started on research once we get the space figured out. Before that, we need to establish the guild."

Dumag suddenly let out a sigh as he looked at the paper he was handed. "I still find it maddening that we are creating a guild on the whims of a single individual."

Everyone turned to him and I leaned back slightly as I let out a breath. "It's not a whim if you consider all the repercussions."

"You considered for a moment. I hardly think would be adequate time."

I shrugged in response. "For most people, sure. I've developed a specialty when it comes to that though. It's why I wanted to become a mechanical engineer, engineer out problems most people can't or won't because of material cost or efficiency loss. Trust me, I gave this more thought than you think."

Dumag was silent for a minute as he seemed to consider my statement. He then let out a sigh as he turned back to the page. "Very well then. Let us begin then. The first thing we will need to start is a written statement of ownership of the guild house. The Institute does not wish for mages to operate a guild out of their dormitory. I assume you can obtain one?"

I scratched my head as I nodded. "I can head up to the Great Hall in the morning, talk to Dubak about the deed to the barn. It might take some convincing, but I think I can get it."

Dumag nodded as he looked down at the parchment again. "Next we will need an official title. Do you have one in mind?"

I drummed my fingers on the table as I considered the possibilities. " . . . Too many possibilities. . . . Can't narrow it down. . . ." I finally shrugged as I reached up and rubbed my chin. "Not right now, but that's less important than everything else. It's a semantic issue anyway, more art than anything else. Let's leave that for later. Besides, it should be a group decision. I can't be responsible for all the choices."

Dumag nodded as he looked at the page again. "Most wise. Onto the rest of this then." I nodded as we divided up the pages and began writing. The sounds of quill and pen were only interrupted by occasional discussion as we worked long into the evening.

Orthan, Son of Garthan

I muttered to myself as I finally planted the spade into the dirt beside the road. The departing Caravan was less than gentle when they traveled along the road. Graciously, they had avoided the barley on either side of the road, By the end of the day, treads had been gouged deep into the soil and father had tasked me with repairing the damage. "Of course this had to happen today. I was meant to meet Uloth tonight, but this just had to happen today. Thankfully it is finished now." I let out an exhausted breath as I looked up at the moon. It was still low in the sky. I had been at this for hours, shoveling dirt from my cart onto the road and tamping it into place. I reached down and yanked the spade out of the soil, tossing it into the cart as I grabbed its handles and started the trek back home. The pale moonlight barely illuminated the newly repaired road as the squeaking wheel joined my panting breaths. The gradually approaching tree line seemed like a welcome source of chill. The grass gently brushed my ankles as I walked. "I may have enough time to wash up and meet Uloth after all, but I shall need to hurry." I let out an exhausted sigh as I wiped the sweat from my brow. "That is if I have the energy to do so."

There was suddenly a soft clatter behind me and I turned to identify it. The moonlight shone on a barren stretch of road, devoid of all life and movement. I felt unwary as I gazed around for the source of the noise. I grabbed my shovel again and prepared for the worst. "Who Goes There?" I bellowed, attempting to sound intimidating. I stood there for a few moments with my heart pounding in my chest, attempting to obscure myself behind the cart. My bark was met with nothing but silence, not even the crickets wished to make themselves known. I took a step forward, again trying to appear a threat. "It Is Not Wise To Cross Me. Attempt Something, And You Shall Regret It." Again, silence occupied the land around me, broken only by the ruffling of grass in the wind. ". . . . It must have been the wind then."

I went to turn back when I felt someone grab me from behind and clamp something over my mouth. Panicked, I tried to swing at them but instead found my hands were grabbed by others. I struggled and began roaring in rage, trying to throw my attackers off. I found myself failing as they slowly dragged me to my knees and I heard a gruff voice mutter in my ear. "Do not fight. It will be over momentarily. Just relax." As he said that final word, I felt blackness creeping into my vision. I breathed deeper through the thing over my mouth and tried to fight the darkness, but instead, it seemed to grow faster and quickly envelop my vision. I heard one last declaration before the void finally took me and I lost all consciousness. "For the glory of Nione."