Dexter

I did my best to stifle the trembling in my hand. I hardly ever did things that I wasn’t at least mostly sure of the outcome. The forms? I had no idea what would happen to them. I trusted Amelia’s hypothesis, but some part of me still wasn’t convinced. “We had put the barn’s address for our guild house. The recipient of the scroll was the basis for that decision. Why else would he give us a message that addressed us as a guild? Then again, it might have been a trick to give us false hope.” I shook my head as I focused on the future. What’s done was done.

“In any case, this didn’t exclude us from further applications. It just wasted our time and forced us to pick a new home base. If I recall, Brokil should have left for the wisp fields already. He’d be back in a couple of days, but not after we’d received an answer. That won’t be for four or five days. All I can do now was wait.” I turned and started walking down the hall. I had a class to attend.

Vulen

Sweat continued to pour down my face, a constant facet of my imprisonment here. They somehow always kept this cell in sweltering heat. I had heard the orcs could withstand immense temperatures, but not to this extent. The food and water they supplied was barely enough to sustain me. My head ached without water and yet I found myself still able to perspire. I had taken to lapping up what I was able to just to gain a modicum of comfort. Even my own sweat could serve as a means to preserve my health, undignifying as it was. I wiped a hand across my brow in an attempt to find relief from the sweltering heat. However, my efforts were in vain.

I looked up as I heard footsteps echo down the hall. The usual jeering of prisoners followed the guard as he grew closer. I slumped slightly as I felt contempt well up within me. The primitives had no notion on how to care for their prisoners. Yet I found a strange kinship with the ones that were trapped here with me, imprisoned against a common enemy. I awaited for the guard to pass my cell, eager to hurl my own insults.

I grinned to myself as the footsteps grew ever closer. tp . . . tp . . . tp The sounds of jeers grew louder. Finally, a large figure looked into view. He scanned the cell opposite me then my own. His blue and green eyes faltered as he saw me lying against the back wall, legs shackled in large iron braces. I sneered at him as his footsteps suddenly stopped, his figure frozen in midstep. “Like what you see, you primitive?” I jeered. “I suppose you lot never get to see the magnificent form of us elves. You are too preoccupied with your petty squabbles to be worth trading with. Good riddance too. I doubt your kind understands what trade is, let alone can comprehend one that is fair.” The guard stepped closer, his tilted tusks coming into view through the bars of my cell. I smirked up at him. “Does the outsider finally wish to interrogate me? I’ve been aching to know what puny methods his kind have concocted.” The guard gave me a confused look. I smirked wider at his surprise. “Do not think I don’t know why I live. I did not become a commander through force alone. It is no secret to me that the outsider ensured my survival. Why else would my punishment reduce once he made his taunting visit?” The guard gave me a strange look, I would almost call it familiar. My smirk died as I suddenly noticed a trail of sweat running down the guard’s forehead.

Dexter

Nothing was able to quell my nervousness for the day. I tried to go on like normal, but my mind produced a steady stream of what-ifs that made it hard to concentrate. I was little more than an observer as Amelia, Bruga, Salthu, and Gremach discussed getting the stone for the waited beacons.

Amelia shook her head insistently. “There’s no point in going to the quarry until we have an answer. If we had the stone we’d need a place to keep it. That’ll just take up space and funds we can’t afford right now.”

Bruga gestured about the barn. “You were perfectly willing to harbor the beacon before. Why can we not keep two uncut stone in here?”

Amelia shook her head again. “Space isn’t the only issue.” She turned to Salthu and Gremach. “I’d imagine the stone would eat a bit into your current funds?” She asked.

Gremach nodded and grunted in agreement, but Salthu shook his head. They looked at each other and Salthu quickly defended his position. “We have ample funding from our discovery of the Archive. We can allow ourselves to purchase the stone for a beacon or two.”

Gremach shook his head in disagreement. “We must be frugal with our funds. Our research is liable to be resource-intensive and we may require larger purchases in the future. If we wish to replicate the enchantment upon the Institute when we would need to accumulate a large number of manastones.”

Bruga pointed towards Gremach. “That may soon be a minimal problem if I recall. The outsi- Dexter has presented the institute with a method of creating crystals of the utmost quality. The first crystals will available to the student body in the storehouse in a few weeks. I am not certain of the price, but it should allow us to supply the mana for an inner expansion enchantment.”

I glanced at Dumag as Amelia, Bruga, Salthu, and Gremach continued this roundabout discussion. His eyes were unfocused as his index fingers tapped together thoughtfully. I let out a low sigh as I quelled my own concerns. “Any word on your nephew?” I asked curiously.

Dumag’s fingers stopped tapping and he turned to glare at me. “I do not understand why you concern yourself.” He muttered angrily. “He is not your kin, nor is he useful to you. He is little more than a missing farmboy. My brother would not allow him to be more than such.“

I shook my head insistently. “That’s not why I’m asking. He’s in danger and needs help. It doesn’t matter what he can provide and it doesn’t matter if he’s related to me or not. He matters to someone."

Dumag sat silently as the others continued discussing. He finally let out a low sigh as he shook his head. "I cannot be swayed to betray my brother's wishes. It would only tarnish his image of me." I continued to gaze at him as Dumag avoided eye-contact.

I finally let out a sigh of my own as I rubbed my head. "That wasn’t my question. I don’t want you to betray anyone. I just want to know if the city has made progress on finding him.”

Dumag let out a low growl as he turned to the others. “I believe we should caution ourselves in regards to our funds.” He stated. “The stone required for the beacons would be a great risk to us. There is a chance that we have no immediate need for them nor a means of recovering our losses. It would be more prudent for us to await the announcement of our new guild. That way we can be assured that our funds are not wasted.”

Salthu shook his head insistently. “It would still be beneficial if we applied our knowledge to an item. Even if we do not use the beacons, we may still be able to sell them once they are complete.”

It was Gremach’s turn to disagree as he shook his head. “There are sparse few that would be able to afford such powerful beacons, let alone use them. If we were to create the beacons, we would be the only ones with a reasonable purpose.”

Bruga voiced her disagreement at the idea. “Certainly the other guilds would find a beacon useful, if cumbersome. If we create the beacons we could build our reputation by providing them to one of the guilds and as Salthu mentioned, we can recuperate our loses as such.”

Amelia let out a low sigh. “Something that big would take time though, time that we could be using to focus on other things. Hell, I’ve been meaning to look into Levitate for an improvement on the spell. Now that the guild is made, this could be the perfect opportunity to do so.”

Dumag gestured to Amelia in agreement. “The outsider is correct. Our efforts on the beacon would bear lesser fruits than other courses of action. In any case, we would still require a greater source of funds if our need for the beacons are true. Our second beacon needs its own home, does it not?”

Salthu let out a sigh as he dropped his head into his hand. “You underestimate how sought after such a beacon would be. We could-”

I raised my hand, interrupting what he was about to say. “I don’t think this discussion is going to change anyone’s mind,” I stated firmly. “Let’s just leave it to a vote.”

The orcs looked at me in confusion as Amelia nodded in agreement. “That’s probably for the best. We might be debating this all day. At least then we can decide what to do.”

Bruga leaned forward as she turned to Amelia. “How can we be certain a vote will decide the best action? If we do not consider all our options, we will fall prey to error. If we are to become a guild, we must make decisions that will best benefit the guild.”

I nodded as I gestured calmingly. “That’s the thing though,” I explained. “We can’t be certain what our actions will bring about, nor about the events of the future. Sure, we can reason out how people or events will behave or turn out, but there’s still a margin of error that we can never account for. Case in point, the letter we received yesterday. All possibilities pointed to a yes or no answer from the chief, but the one we received suffered from a Schrodinger-esque paradox. It was neither yes nor no. Instead, it was an in-between that we still don’t have an answer to.”

Amelia gestured to me as she continued. “Exactly. Even if we were to reach a consensus, we don’t exactly know how our decision will play out. Our decision could end up being the wrong one. So there’s no point in trying to get everyone to agree on our actions if the results of them are unpredictable. We might as well just vote for it and skip the time it’ll take to reach a consensus for something like this.”

I nodded as I glanced around. Brugo, Salthu, and Gremach didn’t seem convinced, but Dumag was staring at the two of us intriguingly. “We don’t have to, but we’ll be more effective if we decide on a means of directing the guild. There’s no way all of us will agree all the time so we might as well go this route to minimize the time we spend discussing an issue.”

Gremach shook his head as he let out a sigh. “We should not decide our actions without discussing them. It is foolish to not consider all matters.”

I nodded in agreement. “That’s a good point. Which is why we’ll discuss a proposal if anyone has them. For now, I think we’ve covered all the bases for getting the stone for the beacons. I say we put it to a vote and settle what we’re going to do. That way, we can move onto other proposals. Amelia was right, the beacons aren’t the only means for us to build our hypothetical reputation. That radar spell was just the surface of what may be possible if we utilized human mathematics.” The room fell silent as the others pondered the idea. I glanced at everyone as I tried to gauge their expression. I couldn’t see any apparent support or rejection of the idea. So, I decided to push forward. “All those in favor of getting the beacon stones?” Bruga and Salthu hesitated for a moment before raising their hands. “All those opposed?” Amelia, Dumag, Gremach, and I all raised our hands. I nodded as we lowered our hands. “The opposed have it. Let’s move onto another proposal. Amelia, you said you wanted to improve Levitate?”

Amelia nodded as she tapped her chin. “I had this idea back when we first learned it, but classes and the Archive made it hard to make time for creating the spell. I told it to Brokil, but I don’t think he’s really had time to test ouy something like this. In order to test it, he’d need a strong enough mage or a lot of manastones. Now that we have the guild, we have the perfect opportunity to try it out.”

I nodded in agreement as I pointed to her. “I think I have my own idea of an improvement. Levitating one object at a time is okay, but if we need to levitate multiple objects that add up to ten pounds then we’ll need to cast more than one spell to get all of them. If we can compress the spell into some kind of ethereal object we could easily manipulate more objects with a single spell.” I turned to Gremach. “Does that sound like something that’s possible.”

Gremach tapped his fingers along the table as he considered my idea. “Perhaps. . . . I heard a rumor that the elves had created such a spell. However, I know not what sort of magic could create an ethereal projection. Such a modification may take time to create.” He turned to Amelia. “What of your improvement? What outsider concoction do you plan to incorporate?”

Amelia pointed towards Salthu as she explained. “I explained it to Salthu when I first met him. It’s not so much an outsider concept as a spell designed around the mana discount mages sometimes have. If we reduce the time interval for the spell, we can use the same amount of energy to lift more. With our discount, we’ll be able to lift up to hundreds of pounds without providing any mana. We’ll be able to use it a lot more effectively. I’m honestly surprised I haven’t read about something like this.”

Salthu nodded as he rubbed his head. “I recall that conversation. I considered the effects your idea would have. Your proposal may be viable. It would also be much simpler to create than Dexter’s. However, the change would cause the spell to take much longer to cast. It would also take a considerable amount of time to create the enchantment and learn to cast effectively. There is always a price to be had for such a spell, improved or not.”

I let out an intrigued hm as I considered what he said. “If that’s the case, we might want to work on only one improvement for right now. It’ll be better if we focus on one to finish it quickly than to divide our attention and take longer than necessary.”

Dumag nodded in agreement. “Does this require another vote?” He asked.

I drummed my fingers on the table as I thought about it for a bit. “Definitely.” I eventually replied. “We could do it now if you guys want unless you think we should discuss the two spells first.”

Bruga nodded insistently. “I would prefer we deliberate. It is unfortunate that Brokil could not be present for this. His experience would be invaluable to this discussion.”

I nodded as I glanced at one of the empty chairs. “You’re right about that. He might be able to tell us more about what’s possible right now. In any case, who wants to go first?”

Vulen

I jumped to my feet as I realized who stood before me. No orc had ever broken a sweat, even in this sweltering heat. That meant the figure before me was no orc. The disguised elf jumped in surprise as I gave him a deadly glare. I glanced towards the walls of my cell as I chose my words carefully. “Has Almar finally decided to retrieve his commander?” I asked pointedly, keeping my voice barely above a whisper.

The orc glanced to either side of himself before turning back to me. “Perhaps.” He replied slowly, mimicking my own muttering.

I scowled at the now obvious elite before me. “Why else would he send the likes of you?” I spat. “No other person is here is more indisposable than me.”

The elite smirked as best he could with the tusks sprouting from his jaw. “You overestimate your worth.” He sneered. “Almar wasted no time in appointing a new general, one certainly underqualified for his duties.”

I furrowed my brow at his confidence. He must be mistaken. He would not treat me with such disregard. “Surely that is a temporary solution.” I reasoned. “Almar cannot be seen without a commander. Hence, he sent you to retrieve me as quickly as you could.”

The elite shook his head as he continued to sneer. “Almar was more concerned about his lost outsiders.” He replied coldly. “That is who we were sent to retrieve. Your presence was not even mentioned to us.”

I growled angrily as I gritted my teeth. “Then why would you venture into the prison? Surely you know they are not here. This is the last place they would be taken.”

The elite let out a low growl and turned his head back down the hallway. “Is that so.” He muttered.

My eyes widened as the realization dawned on me. “Don’t tell me you did not know this.”

The elite let out another low growl at the notion as he turned to me, his green and brown eyes staring daggers at me. “Unfortunately, our presence in the city was only now established. We have not yet convened to determine the location of our targets.”

I snickered as I realized what stood before me, not the towering all-knowing visage of an elite, but an elf that was fumbling around an unfamiliar city. I felt like taunting him again, but then a new idea crossed my mind, my aching and throbbing mind. It was my turn to smirk as I turned to the elite outside the bars. “Perhaps you are here to rescue me then,” I said slyly.

The elite gave me a curious look. “What makes you certain of that, Vulen?”

I chuckled as I approached the bars, ankle chains clinking loudly as I trudged over. “Because I have the information you seek. As I said prior, I did not become a commander through force alone.”

Dexter

We spent a good ten minutes talking through the two potential modifications. Amelia’s was definitely more centered on use for mages. I just wanted a spell with more versatility. Single target enchantments were definitely a disadvantage overall. Though, I could see the difficulties of adding something entirely different, something the orcs had never had to use before. I rubbed my chin as I considered the modification more thoroughly. “I’m not even sure what the projection would be shaped like. Would it be like amorphous or would it be shaped into a body part? What would be an effective shape for our projection? Octopus tentacles are pretty versatile. Maybe something like that would be effective. Then again, it might limit the range of the projection, especially if it needs an anchor.” I let out a sigh as I rubbed my head. “I think we’ve talked about this idea for long enough.” I finally voiced. “I don’t think there’s much else to talk about with these modifications. All those in favor of my idea?” Dumag and I quickly raised our hands. I stifled a growl of annoyance as I lowered my hand and quickly moved on. "Those in favor of Amelia's." Bruga, Amelia, Salthu, and Gremach all raised their hands.

Amelia smiled as they all lowered their hands. “I guess that settles it. When should we start?"

I glanced at my watch. 6:52 "We should hold off until tomorrow." I replied. It's getting pretty late."

Amelia nodded as she leaned back in her chair and stretched. "That's alright. We have to wait for the Institute to approve of our application anyway. Hell, with all of us we might be able to finish the modification before they give us an answer."

Gremach shook his head at the idea. "With Borkil absent, it could take at least a week of work to properly create the modification. Only a miracle would allow us to complete such a spell so quickly.”

I waved off his concern as I let out a yawn. “We’ll be fine. He’ll be back from the wisp fields in a couple of days, possibly when we get our answer. Where exactly will the Institute make the announcement anyway?”

Dumag gestured towards the door as he explained. “There is an announcement board near the inquiry desk. They shall likely post their decision there. If we are approved they may also send us a messenger directly. Nothing else is known until then.”

I nodded understandingly as I let out another yawn. “Good to know. Our job will be a lot easier once we can start selling artifacts of our own.” I turned to Dumag. “Let us know if you want to start examining the crown or gauntlet. We might not be able to learn anything from them anymore, but we can at least learn their limits. If they can enhance this extempore stuff, you might want to familiarize yourself with using them.”

Dumag nodded as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I advise we make a priority to create artifact storage of our own. The Institute will be able to protect the greater artifacts, but there are still smaller artifacts that would be inconvenient to store in the Repository.”

I nodded as I glanced at the table holding the artifacts from the Archive. “We can ask Urog about a safe. If anyone I’ve met knows how to make one, it’ll be her.” I turned back to Dumag. “ Will you be able to do that expansion enchantment on something like that? It won’t be our permanent storage, but it’ll be a good place to stick what we already have.”

Dumag let out a low hum as he glanced at the table. “Perhaps. I would need time to properly enchant it. Metal is unlike animal skins, there is a degree of difficulty for complex enchantments when applied to a metallic object.”

I raised my eyebrows at that fact. “Really? I didn’t know that.”

Dumag nodded as he explained. “It does not make the enchantment impossible, but it makes it more difficult. Crystals and skins are the easiest to enchant. Wood is moderately more difficult, but metal is the hardest to properly enchant, especially for high-level enchantments.”

I nodded as I glanced at my watch again. 7:04 “I’ll make a note of that. For now, we should turn in for the day. We’ll start modifying Levitate tomorrow.” The orcs nodded in agreement as they stood and stretched.

Dumag turned to me as he gestured to the pile of artifacts on the table. “It may be wise to acquire the storage earlier rather than later. Notify me if you wish to enchant the storage. A building is difficult, but I should be able to manage a lockbox.”

I nodded as I stretched and cracked my knuckles with a pop. “I might go down to Urog while we work the Levitate enchantment. I’ll fill you in once I know more.” Dumag nodded as he turned to follow Bruga out the door. Once the orcs had left, I let out a long sigh as I rubbed my face and thought back to the mystery letter.

Amelia voiced her concerned as I let out a low groan. “Nervous?” She asked.

I let out another sigh before shrugging. “I trust your judgment, but that doesn’t stop me from second-guessing the decision.”

Amelia nodded as she scratched her head. “All evidence seems to point to it being the right choice, as few as they are. We just have to be patient.”

I nodded in agreement as I glanced towards the table of artifacts, musing about their possible applications. “There’s a lot we need to build up if my plan is going to work.”

I heard Amelia let out a small hum as she nodded. “Any ideas so far?” She asked.

I paused for a minute as I considered, musing over the resources and tech they had now versus what I can make out of them. “I might try a compound bow.” I finally replied. “If Urog can shape the metal properly, I can retrofit a wheel mechanism and get something similar to a compound bow. It definitely won’t be perfect, but I might be able to trial and error my way into something with the power of a longbow without the stamina cost of one.”

Amelia let out an understanding nodded as she glanced towards the door. “And the tribes?” She asked. “Any ideas about how you’re going to get them to cooperate?”

I let out a long sigh as I recalled everything I knew so far, not much to be honest. “I’m still lacking information,” I admitted. “The plan is to learn about what goes down at the harvest festival and see if I can gain a reputation amongst them. Hopefully, I can increase Gashur’s influence using the tech I make. Shurkul told me he sold some steel to those merchants. So, that’s already one thing they hear whispers about. I just got to make more with what they already have.”

Amelia nodded thoughtfully as she glanced at the table of textbooks. “We should think about introducing them to electricity. Even if we can’t make a generator right now, we might be able to enchant a battery to hold a constant charge, as little as it may be.”

I nodded as I rubbed my face. “That’s an idea, but keep in mind what Dumag just mentioned. Metal is harder to enchant so I imagine other objects would find difficulty as well.”

Amelia shrugged as she leaned back in her chair. “We won’t know until we try.” She countered. I nodded as I tapped my head thoughtfully. “It’s a possibility, but we don’t really know how to build a battery, at least in practicality. The theory is nice, but actually making the materials is a different story. Then again, Amelia is right about trying. It can’t hurt too bad to experiment. I’ll need more acid if that’s the case. Hopefully, the Metallurgy and Materials book has a table on lead alloys. That might be the place to start.” Amelia’s voice suddenly penetrated my thoughts. “What about your sword skills?” She asked. “Are you planning to improve your proficiency with that?”

I glanced over at the chair holding my sword. I hadn’t found a need to wear it to the Institute as of recent. I might have to change that if I want to become comfortable with the weight. “I’ll have to go to Bulak for that.” I finally replied. “There are probably other places to train, but she’s the best person to teach me at my current pace. I’ll have to add that to the list of priorities.”

Amelia nodded thoughtfully as she let out a sigh. “What about right now?” She asked. “What do you think we should do before heading to bed?”

I let out a hum as I tapped my fingers to my palm. “I still have a handful of assignments to catch up on,” I admitted. “One of them, annoyingly, is an essay early spell construction. It’s really tedious not to have a computer for stuff like that.”

Amelia chuckled as I mentioned the computer. “If you want, I can help you with it. I might not be as good as a spellchecker, but I can be a good proofreader for something like that.”

I let out a sigh as I thought about what I needed to do to turn the assignment in. “Two feet of parchment. Definitely something I can fill in easily, but spelling mistakes and grammar errors aplenty are liable to happen. Plus, she might be able to help me fix any historical mistakes I make..” I eventually grinned as I nodded and turned to her. “Sounds like it’ll be fun.” I finally answered.

Amelia grinned and nodded as she stood and walked over to my seat. “We should start now. That way we’ll have plenty of time to sleep.” I nodded as I pulled out my notebook. Amelia took a seat beside me as I pulled out a pen and began writing.

Vulen

The elite gave me a skeptical look as I grinned maniacally at him. “What assurance do you have that you have the information we are looking for?” He asked.

I continued to grin as I gripped the bars of my cell. “Because I am a commander. I know when information is useful and when it is not. I am certain I know where the outsiders are and where you can find them, but I will not give you this information freely. You must do a favor for me in return.”

The elite’s brow furrowed, sweat continuing to drip down his green skin. “And what, pray tell, is this favor?” He asked.

I felt my grin grow wider as I gripped the rough iron. “You must return me to Nione,” I demanded. “I am of no use to Almar here. I will be able to return to my duties and bring glory to Nione once I return.”

The elite scowled down at me skeptically. “Under what assumption allows you to think I will be able to accomplish such a feat?” He growled.

I scoffed at the notion. “I know your methods. It is never a matter of if you can accomplish a task. It only matters how visible you wish your task to be.” The elite continued to glare at me through the bars as I felt my knuckles grow whiter. “In this case, I expect you would wish to hide this task, what with the outsider you were here for and all. If you wish for this to continue to be the case, I suggest you make a choice soon. The longer we speak the more of a chance a real guard rounds that corner.” The elite glanced to his left as he gazed towards where he had come. I grinned as I saw his apprehension at the idea of being caught. “You know I have merit.” I continued, causing him to turn back to me. “It is only a matter of your conviction to my escape and how desperately you desire information on the outsiders.”

The elite continued to scowl at me as a trail of sweat slowly dripped down his head. “How much could you possibly know about the outsiders?” He spat.

I continued to grin as I stared up at the elite. “More than you can imagine. These walls have ears, after all.”

Dexter

I let out a sigh as I finally completed my essay, writing the last sentence out with a slow flourish. “I really hate that I can’t print this out,” I muttered. “Legibility has never been my strong suit.”

Amelia gestured dismissively as she read from the page I was writing on. “It’s not that bad. As long as the professor can read it, you should be good.”

I groaned and nodded as I read. “Hopefully,” I remarked. “I’d say things would be better if I had my computer, but I don’t have a working printer. Plus, I definitely don’t have the electricity to work my laptop or old desktop.”

Amelia nodded as she glanced at the car. I’d elected to place all my electronics in there; computers, hard-drives, and the handful of power tools I had. The power tools were at less of a risk, but I wasn’t about to let them get waterlogged and become useless. “We’ll think of something,” Amelia assured me. “We just need time.”

I nodded as I rolled up the parchment I’d been writing on. “I just wish we had more information. That Metallurgy book is nice, but it has limits. It tells me everything I need to know about the materials, but not how to combine them into something meaningful. The textbooks can do that, but not the specific quantities I need. I can make the basic materials, sort of, but I don’t know how to properly combine them to make anything useful.”

Amelia nodded thoughtfully as she pursed her lips. “Now that you’ve completed that, do you want to work on your other assignments? Or should we just head to bed.” She asked.

I stifled a yawn as I glanced at my watch again. 8:26 “I should be able to finish up one or two more assignments.” I remarked. “Do you think you’ll be able to help me with that?”

Amelia grinned and nodded as she gestured at the binder beside me. “Let’s get started then.” I grinned in kind and pulled the binder closer as I read my notes on transformative magic. “Jesus that magic is complex. It’s going to be a while before I learn the basics of that. Well, right now time is all I have.”

Vulen

The shackles binding my wrists weighed heavy on my arms. I slumped my shoulders as I was led through the jail. I kept my head bowed and my eyes on the floor as my footsteps echoed along the walls. Other prisoners jeered my way as I walked past. I sneered internally at their barbaric nature. “Taunt all you wish. You primitives do not have the sense to escape your captors.” I thought angrily. I was suddenly and roughly pulled to a stop as I heard footsteps approaching. “Where are you taking the elf?” One of them barked.

The feet of guards entered my vision as a voice spoke to my left. “The outsider wishes to interrogate him. He has created a contraption in the hopes of extracting information from the elf.” It explained. “He shall be gone for a few hours. With his health intact is another query.” He chuckled mockingly.

I heard the guards burst into laughter as they stomped their feet in joy. “Marvelous. Do you require help escorting him? Or can the two of you manage one puny elf?”

I heard a voice chuckle to my right. “I think not. This pathetic excuse of a commander is of no threat to us. He is of no match to the outsider’s contraption either. He should be returned before the day is out.”

I saw their feet shift slightly as they appeared to glance at each other. “Very well then. Have a safe journey. May Kremthu smile upon you.”

The voice to my left voice itself in agreement. “And you as well.” It said. I was then pushed forward roughly as they led me the rest of the way out of the prison. We passed cell after cell as more and more jeering was directed at me. I could see more guards pass us by as we took a winding path through the halls and towards the exit. The chains binding my arms clinked together loudly as they led me down a set of stairs and towards the front door. I continued to stifle a grin as orc after orc allowed us to pass, oblivious to the scheme before them. I squinted as we finally stepped outside and the bright morning sun beamed down on me. I began to chuckle as the plan came closer to fruition. A hand suddenly collided with the back of my head as the elite started leading me away. “You have nothing to celebrate, elf.” He said with discontent. “You still have information to give. So long as you have more to give, your suffering will not end.”

I nodded timidly as I suppressed my glee once more. “Of course. As you say.” I said submissively. I heard the elite grunt in agreement as he led me away from the prison. The jeering followed us down the street as the elites tried to find a secluded area. I growled impatiently as one of the primitives orcs spat at my feet as he passed. I felt tempted to retaliate but decided against it. There was no purpose in the meager trivialities. I would soon have my vengeance on the lot of them. The jeering finally quieted as the elite guided me into an alleyway, away from the crowds. I glanced around as the noonday sun dimmed and they directed me into a darkened building. I squinted into the darkness as the elite stepped around me and removed the heavy shackles from my arms. I growled in annoyance as I was finally free of my bindings. “Finally,” I muttered. “It took you long enough.”

The elite let out a growl as he tossed the shackles aside, letting them clatter into the darkness. “Now tell us where the outsiders are.” He demanded. “The longer we linger the lesser our chance of success.”

I gestured dismissively. “I don’t know where they are,” I admitted.

The elite’s orcish brow furrowed in anger. “They why did you insist on being freed?” He spat angrily.

I gestured dismissively again as I glanced around. We were in a blackened and abandoned home, the innards blackened by flame and cracked my the same force. “Calm yourself.” I sigh. “I gave you your means. The prison will wish to know of my whereabouts once the day grows old. Once they leave to search for me, you can trail them and have them lead you directly to the outsiders. It is flawless.”

The elite sighed angrily as he pressed his fingers to his temple. “I should have known not to trust you.” He groaned.

I gestured dismissively at him once more as I turned to the blackened room. “Your services are not over yet. I still require a means of returning to Nione. Need I remind you that I requested to be returned to Almar, not freed of my prison. I will still need an escort over the border and back to my home.”

The elite growled in my direction as his brow furrowed further. “Do you honestly believe I would abandon my mission just to return you and your failure to Nione?”

I shook my head as I continued to rub my aching wrists. “Of course not. We both know your next course of action. You will leave half of the elites to continue the mission while you complete this side quest with utmost haste.” I tilted my head to the other disguised orc, his face slack and unmoving as he stood motionless in the room. “Why else would you bring a mage slave with you?” I countered slyly. “Now then, what manner of magic does he have prepared for my journey?”

The elite took a deep and angered breath as he continued to scowl at me. “I always found you insufferable.” He spat angrily. “I am unsurprised imprisonment has not changed your demeanor.”

I gestured as I let out a sigh. “Your thoughts do not concern me. Now proceed with your oath.”

The elite let out another low growl before turning to the still stationary orc. “Slave, beacon.” He barked. The slave obediently reached into his shawl and pulled out a long stone object, runic symbols glowing on its four faces. He extended his arm to hold the pendant in front of him in his clenched fist as he stood there passively. The elite stepped forward and slapped his hand on the slave’s closed fist and gestured for me to do the same. I complied as I continued to smile smugly. The elite ignored my glee and instead barked another command at the slave. “Cave.” He stated firmly. The slave obediently tilted his head back and closed his eyes as he began chanting. The spell was quickly cast and I felt the familiar change in the air. The world around us began to shimmer as the talisman’s glow radiated through my fingers. The blackened and burned wood blurred into obscurity as me, the elite, and the slave teleported. A sickening feeling materialized in the pit of my stomach as the blur shifted, indicating our appearance in a new location. The blur slowly faded, as did my nausea, out to reveal our new destination. I glanced around as I let out a satisfied sigh. The cracked and blackened wood was replaced with rough and porous rock. The darkness of a blackened building was replaced with the darkness of a musky cave, the only light illuminating the walls being the meager light from the beacon and even that was quickly fading.

I turned to the elite as I let out a sigh. “How long before you can mobilize. I wish to return to my duties post haste.”

The elite growled as he turned and let the slave further into the tunnel. I followed as he growled a response. “Not but a day should be required to gather the proper supplies. I shall have you returned to Nione three days hence. I expect monetary payment once I have brought you into the city. The potions my men need to change back are not cheap.”

I gestured dismissively as he led me into a large antechamber, a brazier sitting in the center of the otherwise darkened cavern. “I shall have Almar’s estate reimburse you. He will not care so long as you retrieve his possessions.” The elf nodded as he walked over to a makeshift table in the darkness, pulled from the surface of the cave itself. He reached into a box on the table and pulled out a potion vial, the olive-brown fluid swirling inside it as he handled the glass.

He turned to me as he used his thumb to remove the cork holding the concoction within. “I would expect nothing less.” He said, bringing the potion to his lips. I nodded as I glanced around the dank cavernous walls. The fire within was slowly drying the walls and leaving them coated with a thin film of dust. I already saw several stalactites above the flame dried out with several more losing their moist barrier. I turned suddenly as a low groan echoed from on side of the room. A rudimentary cage sat on the far side of the cavern, the flame barely illuminating it's and its inhabitants. The elite finished drinking the potion and turned to the noise. "Hush, primitive." He spat.

I glanced towards him curiously. "You have an orc within?" I asked.

The elite nodded as he set the vial down and waited for the potion to take effect, his body already growing shorter as he spoke. "Their blood is vital in imitating their appearance. It does not work when old so we had to procure one from a nearby village. Do not concern yourself. We shall dispose of him once our task is complete."

I nodded as I set myself on the stone floor and began to wait. "Almar will be most pleased once I am returned to him," I assured the mercenary.

He nodded he extracted another vial from the box and handed it to the slave. “Drink.” He commanded. I smirked as I saw the slave obediently drink the concoction within. “It will be a most joyous of days when those outsiders follow Almar’s orders so fervently.”