He sent off his letter to Selen with an update on his magic training, the dungeon, and a request that she pass along the air-pressure tanks he was sending to Engineer Zahar.

While he was at it, he wrote a letter addressed to a man named Firefern, living well to the south in a lakeside city called Liiros. The Centaur was somebody Selen had met, showing off a primitive steam engine. Vonn introduced himself, mentioned her, and talked about his alternative crystal power source. He described pressure release valves in case the inventor hadn't thought of them yet; they were a little add-on that might save him from being blown up. And would he be interested in sharing designs?

He mentioned the flying machine and Selen's, specifically because he imagined some future conspiracy theorist reading this letter and using it as evidence that they weren't the real inventors. It would be interesting to see who came to the crackpot idea that there was a secret network of dimension hoppers behind the sudden burst of technology. Which reminded Vonn how important it was to build up a group of other people applying these secrets.

He sketched something and sent it along innocently, to see the inventor's reaction: a steam-powered wagon. It was an imitation of a vehicle built by a Frenchman named Cugnot around 1770. A belching, clanking thing that could build up a kettle of steam in half an hour and then race along at two or three miles an hour, hauling cargo like a cannon barrel as quickly as a straining team of horses might. Vonn, of course, knew more advanced ideas, but he wanted to see how the man might respond. Outraged jealousy, or eagerness to cooperate? He phrased that part of the letter as merely an idea "inspired by your work" and not as something Vonn had really tried yet.

One of the great things about being a professional Engineer was that between the System's blessings and his actual training, he could visualize how the Cugnot design would work. The idea was there as if within arms' reach. But oh, how he needed more assistants and colleagues to do half of these things!

Even sending the letter was tricky, since it was going beyond the Duke's territory and the coverage area of Selen's postal business. Vonn poked around in the wharf district. He reluctantly trusted his letter (and a few dice-game pamphlets) to a southbound boat carrying passengers, fruit, and cloth. He had no guarantee the message wouldn't just be chucked into the water.

#

Vonn figured his next class advancement would be easy. He had two levels in Mage so far, and Tazo had earned her third level by a demonstration of a basic fireball spell, the "detonate some sawdust" trick. He'd seen her do that enough that he could probably do something similar, if he could just figure out fire.

"What're you doing?" asked Kotta one evening after work.

Vonn opened one eye. He was sitting cross-legged outside the shop, meditating with the sound of the river in front of him. He had the Rising World building for shade. He said, "Thinking about magic. Healing and Necromancy, Elemental and Geomancy. The different types sort of fit together. But some aspects don't make sense to me, like the Enchanting art and whatever the heck makes the Woven work."

"And what happened to you?"

"That... was the work of a higher power. I'd like to fully understand it someday, but I don't know enough."

Kotta sat nearby, with one knee propped up. "Don't burn out early. For third level you should be doing simpler things than solving the deep mysteries."

Vonn laughed. "No pressure, right?" He glanced past the Kobold, to the west. The dungeon was out of sight.

Kotta cupped his hands together and concentrated, creating a ripple of distorted air that gave off a low hum. "I've been doing Ralator's exercises. Earned a skill point in this and another in Healing Magic. What's it like to not have your skills labeled and numbered by the System?"

"There isn't that assumption that you need to keep doing bigger things. We still like to judge who's the best, though. You and I would be in a school around now, doing written tests and getting a letter and number score. Which might not really mean much. And fretting about having good enough numbers to get into another school."

Kotta frowned, thinking. "I suppose we're better off here, with the System itself to judge. So, if you're having trouble with fire, maybe develop a sonic spell?"

"Ah, trying to get me into music?"

"Yes! Did you know you can amplify your voice with a little spell like this?" He held up the rippling orb in his hand, then tried speaking into it and made his voice echo. "Good evening!"

Curious now, Vonn tried to copy what he was doing. His own effort sputtered but with a little coaching and heckling from Kotta he got the same kind of spell running. "Good evening, and welcome to another episode of... the Shadow, mysterious crime-fighting hero of justice!" He laughed and stopped trying to do a deep and serious voice. "Oh hey, I think it was louder when I did it. So sound boosting is that easy?"

"The theater had magicite sound boosters, remember. I'd offer singing advice, but your kind have those strange short necks. What if you made a..." He named a device with a name Vonn didn't recognize. Explaining it, Vonn translated it as xylophone.

"Easy to build, but I'm not sure how I'd tune it. Could be fun to play around with though."

"I could help. I ask for serious reasons, though."

Vonn nodded.