Jose could feel the burrowing of eyes all over him, staring daggers at his person while he and Izirrary split off from her main group to talk with some measure of privacy. On closer inspection, it really was surprising to consider how young she was to be under the tutelage of Elder Tessa. She was a blossoming woman in her own regard, the kinks in her curled auburn hair hiding twigs and flowers he wasn’t certain were from leftover excursions into the outside world or conspicuously hidden components for potions and tinctures.

“Charruh, watch.” Izirrary gave the lizard the command and the behavioral change was immediate. The lizard whipped around and distanced itself slightly away from its master. It found a spot and planted its feet firmly onto the ground, raising its head and opening its mouth in a display of intimidation.

“Huh.” Jose let out. He read about familiars and their capabilities back when he was still dreaming about adventures. Maybe it was a courtesy she was providing him in verbalizing her commands than simply giving it to the creature through their private connection.

“As mentioned previously, we have much to discuss. I can guess that you’re here with me because your group needs a Medic or my glances have been less inconspicuous than I thought.” Izirrary spoke with an air of regality, the accent around her rolling “r’s” subdued as to make her voice slightly artificial and considerate of every syllable.

“A little of both.” Jose succinctly replied. He was entering into negotiations playing into his more obstinate behavior. When she saw that he was not going to elaborate further, she forced a cough and continued.

“Well, I am willing to offer you the service of one of my comrades if you agree to a few conditions of mine. And maybe indulge me with a few curiosities I have about you and your...talents.”

Jose raised an eyebrow, “What are your conditions and who are you offering. I don’t want to agree to something outlandish and get someone that can barely qualify for the role.”

“The conditions won’t be as outlandish as you imagine. If you agree to reserving a position on the boat for me if you win, I am willing to offer up my subordinate to your group.” Izirrary smiled.

That was the strength of the monopoly she had, Jose realized. Because of how few applicants there were with an alchemical background, she could play her cards right and guarantee a position on the boat whether she won or lost. His conclusion must have been readable on his face because it gave her the confidence to continue.

“I see you’ve pieced together how much of an advantage I have in this negotiation. You should count yourself amongst us lucky ones that you have a bargaining chip to talk to me with at all.”

“If you’re referring to my skills as an Arcanist, I don’t have a clue what you want from me. I can say this though; I’ll agree to your condition of bringing you and your subordinate along if you accept that all I have to do is hear you out about your issue pertaining to my skills.” Jose was a hotter commodity than her alchemical group. It was true they really wanted a Medic within their core group, especially if the expedition turned belly up with an infiltrating traitor, but he was the hottest commodity on the market. The sole Arcanist, the breadth of his skills hyperbolized and inscrutable. He wouldn’t go far to lean on his birth name but if they ever made the connections and avoided mentioning it around his person, he wasn’t going to shy away from the benefits.

She stared directly into his eyes, the flecks gray in her hazel colored eyes trying to reach into his soul for some insight. “Okay,” Izirrary acquiesced, “The main bit of negotiation was for guaranteeing a position on the boat anyway. This curiosity I have with your skills is only secondary. When we’re done here, I’ll walk you over to talk to the woman over there and confirm we’ve agreed to our conditions.” She pointed at a woman taking charge while her leader was absent. She was taller and older than Izirrary by at least a decade, soft and round facial features and a warm but tired expression on her face reminding him of his school teachers in his youth rather than an apprentice in alchemy.

“Joanna is the most capable alchemist in Ileah second to Master Tessa and myself. If you cross her, you guarantee crossing myself and the rest of the Alchemical Guild in Ileah and I assure you we will make your life hell for it.” Izirrary explained to Jose in a near joyful tone.

“Now that we’ve settled that, what’s your interest with me and the realm of Arcanism?” Jose was direct and to the point. The time he spent with her now was being wasted, the ticking of the clock making him aware of how much better the next sliver of time he had would be placed towards investigating the breadth of the traitor ring and even investigating the history of his new teammate.

“They’re curious questions born of my studies in Alchemy and the soul practices native to the Great Glades. If you’d indulge me,” Izirrary pulled out a small list of questions, “I request some answers using your expertise as an Arcanist and Archivist both. Please answer them to the best of your abilities and we can both move on towards prioritizing the final event.” She winked at him, aware of his sudden impatience.

“I apologize if I’m brief but I’ve got a team to worry about.” Jose offered an excuse.

“As an Arcanist, how does one cast a spell?”

“Typically, you use an aid like a wand or a grimoire and dispense your soul into the mold of the spell you’re attempting to cast. This doesn’t include the preliminary work of decoding the language the spells encoded in, mind you. From there, the mold does the rest of the work.” He refrained from offering up more information, his fingers tensing and lips pursing to physically restrain the indulgence of teaching an inquiring mind.

Izirrary jotted down some information into the list and kept going, “So Arcanism is a more elaborate soul technique. Can you cast these spells without a mold?”

“More capable Arcanists can. They carve out a slot into their souls and inscribe the mold there like an indent or imprint on their being. If they want to cast the spell, they need only access it through their internal mold to access that power.” Another incomplete explanation. He didn’t go over the risks involved with making such an inscription or how permanent the slotting could be if the user wasn’t careful, let alone the dangers that-

“Fascinating… and how would this form of Arcanism compare to the work of hags and splicers? Just to keep it relevant to the Great Glades, I am aware of the bard and the strange magics employed by the Vespians and their Amber mages.”

“Well, they’re entirely different. I can only speculate on the mechanisms, but my understanding is that a splicer forcefully stitches the soul of a creature into themselves to gain access to the creature's abilities, be it spiritually or physically. Hag’s are secretive by their very nature. You’re better off asking a fisherman at any bar in Barnacle Bay for a more concrete depiction of their kind and even then, it’s all fantasy. Stories of covens stealing babies under the cover of night disguised as hauled fished or distraught maidens.”

“Last question and you’re free to go.” Izirrary took a moment to jot down the last bits of information onto the heavily inked parchment. “Is it capable for any of these groups to cast a spell that destroys the soul?”

Jose laughed loudly and uncomfortably. Others around him noticed and stared suspiciously at him forcing him to suppress his amusement into furtive giggles. Izirrary, to her credit, was unphased by his outburst.

“No, there’s no spell or ritual I can think of that can destroy the soul. You can look at the failed works of famed necromancers on their accounts in the Single Cycle War for the Dead Scourge to get your answer. Destroying a soul is fairytale nonsense. The best you could do is subsume a soul or trap it elsewhere.” Jose meant every word spoken to Izirrary and again, her face was inscrutable.

“Thank you for your time Mr. Ileria. It was a pleasurable and illuminating experience. I look forward to working with you if you win and if I win, you’ll be among the first I’d consider adding onto my team. If you would please follow me so that I can formally introduce you to Joanna.” Izirarry snapped her fingers at the lizard and the vigil of the creature abruptly ended. It scuttled back to the side of its master.

She could have acquired most of these answers with a well curated search at their local library. He was curious to figure out the through-line behind those questions but not enough to get involved in her research, whatever it was.

The two reconnected with her group. “Joanna, let me introduce you to your new compatriot for this event.” Izirrary waved her arms in a theatrical flourish towards Jose in all his bemused glory.

He extended his arm, “It’s a pleasure to work with you, Joanna. Izirrary has assured me your skills are impeccable.”

Joanna grabbed his hand but maintained a neutral face, “Of course. Look forward to working with you and your team.” She enunciated every word with a formal cadence, slipping into the hired business partner role in a matter of seconds.

“I’ll round up my team and we’ll go over each other's skills. You won’t mind divulging anything that could be of use for this event, right?” It was a nagging worry in the back of his mind that even with acquiring their Medic, she would be incapable or unwilling to provide necessary information they could apply towards their planning.

“Should be on a case by case basis but there isn’t anything to my knowledge that’ll hinder our work together.” Joanna replied with a faint smile. Jose let out a sigh of relief, the worst of his fears accounted for.

“That should be fine. Just work with us and we’re willing to work around your boundaries.”

“I expect nothing less from someone vetted by my Master.” She addressed Izirrary who had already disappeared into the maelstrom of people surrounding the rest of her group. “Now please, lead the way.”

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The group reconvened at their designated location and Jose couldn’t keep the smile off his face when they saw he’d succeeded in his negotiations. He’d give them the specifics of the contract afterward.

“Everyone, this is Joanna. She’s going to be our Medic for this event and hopefully for our expedition. Please treat her well.” Jose said.

“It’s a pleasure to work with you all.” Joanna added in a cordial tone.

Carmina and Lysa shared a look with one another.

“Hey, Joanna, you’re not under duress or anything, right? Our little Jose isn’t keeping you hostage? Blink once for yes, twice for yes.” Lysa asked with a shit eating grin. Carmina repressed a cackle. Jose punched Lysa on her arm, the bastard reinforcing her skin hard enough to cause his own knuckles to bruise in the aftermath.

“I’m not following. Per the terms set by my Master, I am here to serve as a Medic to the best of my abilities.” Joanna obliviously responded. Carmina mouthed the word “master” at Jose with a raised eyebrow and he gestured he’d get to talking about it later.

“Oh, it’s just that Jose is a grouch and we figured he’d scare off Izirarry. We’re glad to have you on the team. We’re just surprised Jose scraped up the charisma to negotiate for your services.” Lysa explained. Jose stared daggers at her.

“Ah. Well, regardless of his apparent charm, he succeeded in negotiating terms with my Master and I am at your service as a result.” Joanna answered. Jose wasn’t sure if she enjoyed being this obtuse or overt as a contractor but it spoke well to her potential work habits.

“We should talk about our skills and register before time runs out.” Matteo chimed in with a hushed voice.

“Matteo’s right. We have just enough time to cover our bases before we register. Maybe enough time to discuss what you all discovered on your end.” Jose raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner and they all understood what he was alluding to. “Joanna, what can you do if any of us get injured either in this event or in the expedition if we get to that point?”

Her eyes narrowed and the faint blues within flashed flecks of purple under the light as she adjusted her body and leaned in, “If you’re hurt with something superficial, it shouldn’t require anything more than a topical salve. Fast acting and sets in moments. If you break a bone, I have ingredients on hand to fashion something to set it in place, like new. Only enough for two, then I’ll be making casts and setting bones the old fashion way.” She gestured at a number of vials on her belt and in her bag to reveal the number of remedies she had on hand. “I also have potions for other uses and poisons meant to impede the approach of potential foes.”

Carmina whistled in exclamation and jabbed Jose a couple of times with her elbow, “You really pulled through with her.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to know what all of your skills are so I can know who to stand beside the most.” Joanna asked in an impassive tone.

The four others shared a look and relented. They needed to offer some measure of trust if they were planning to work together.

“Jose’s our leader and resident grouch. He’s our Sapper and an Arcanist and is going to be in the back of our group to have a good view of the action from a distance. I’m our Lancer and you’re sticking with me and Matteo in the frontlines. I’ll be on pest control duty while he keeps any of the big monsters busy long enough for me to hit ‘em where it hurts.” Lysa offered up.

“Matteo is our Bulwark, as Lysa suggested. I hope you take good care of him when the time comes,” Carmina looked up to Matteo and rubbed his back, “I am our Scout. You shouldn’t see much of me but when I come back, nothing will stop me in a fight.” She punctuated the statement by pumping her fist in the air.

Joanna took in all of the information provided to her and nodded, “Very well then. I look forward to showing my worth as a valuable asset to this team.”

“This is a courtesy call for all remaining volunteers; you have fifteen minutes to register your team before the third event begins. Please register your team and remain within the hall as we finalize this portion of the event.” The same bemused Vanguardian soldier exclaimed to the volunteers in the crowd.

“That’s our queue then.” Jose stated. They walked as a team to the corresponding table and filled out their names in blank spaces on a sheet of paper marked “Team Four.” There was a space for their name, their role, and a general list of temperament questions he remembered taking after his mother... The coordinators of the event had made no mention of the list at any point of the planning stage and there was no clue as to what they’d use it for.

“I suggest answering the questions honestly. The event works best if you’re honest.” The soldier tending to the booth said.

Was Jose visibly hesitating to answer?

“Come on Jose, they’re starting to line people up for the event.” Lysa gestured at the crowd slowly forming into organized lines for entry into the third event. With some discontent, he filled out the information honestly and provided his documentation to the soldier.

“Thanks. Good luck out there, I’ll be rooting for ya.” The soldier said impassively.

Such encouragement.

Jose walked to his line with the rest of his group and attempted to steady his mind. He hadn’t been informed on the potential team members they’d like to add should they win and he wasn’t sure what sort of tricks the Elder would have in pressing her thumb on the scale. There were too many unknowns. This final event was an unknown, the need for a team hinting at a cooperative task but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be competing against the others in a proactive fashion.

“Ugh…” He grumbled under his breath. The dull headache had morphed into a throbbing pain that refused to go away. He wanted to rest above everything else and promised himself he’d do so.

After winning this. He wanted to sleep a winner. For himself. For Emma. For Lysa and the cabal.

The doors in front of the volunteers opened up and they were welcomed with a localized thrum of applause and cheers.

The final event was upon him.