"Similar, though that's not my specialty. Here we have an effect that does nothing by itself, but channels Mana either more efficiently into a certain type of effect or just more precisely under your control. Which one is this?"

Tazo picked it up, began casting something, and concentrated. "This is the precise kind. I see how the spell threads are condensed, not spreading out like usual."

Vonn said, "So, either a wand meant for one specific spell or as a more general tool. Can I make a fire-shooting wand and give to a non-Mage?"

Brightstep answered, "Generally no. You need some skill to use it at all."

"Different from our engines, then. You can turn our machines on with just enough skill to hurt yourself."

"Father has gotten a bit concerned about just that, with your guns and flying machines or spinning parts you might get your tail caught in."

"We'd been meaning to bring up the idea of safety equipment."

The Centaur said, "It might be best to keep these tools in the hands of professionals."

Vonn said nothing in answer, for now.

They finished the training session with Tazo in possession of a new wand, like the one they'd studied. They had crushed a gem and used a new, tricky spell to infuse the glittering powder into the object, giving it a faint shimmer. So now Tazo had what Vonn thought of as a cursor for drawing spells more carefully. A tool to make better tools. It was more useful in her hands than in his, but he wanted one too. For a big project it'd be useful only intermittently, for certain steps, so that he didn't expect to use it constantly.

Feeling stuffed with unfamiliar knowledge, he gave a mental command to see the words of the System, and focused on the Freezing Strike ability. Its description had changed.

[Spell Conduit: An efficient, quick spell to charge an object with magic, dealing 4-6 damage if used as an attack.]

That was barely more powerful than the 3-5 damage the old power had offered, probably due to the new Mage level. But now it had no specific element and didn't have to be used as an attack. He practiced on his own until he could charge a pebble with magic to make it hum with sound or feel chilly. Out of curiosity he tried the earth element (which had no obvious effect) and raw force (which made it seem to fly farther when thrown).

He explained to Tazo, "This has uses. Give an airplane a boost on takeoff, or a cutting tool some extra impact."

"Still an 'attack' power but more useful," she agreed.

He had gained his first formal reward for enchanting, too. [Skill gain: Enchanting (Learning)].

#

Vonn, Tazo, Brightstep and a burly Human with an axe and shield headed northeast from Silvermire, taking a route through the dungeon tunnel. The wind through here had grown cold. Vonn thought of the flight tests he'd done with his glider. He understood Birb's desire to get back into the sky.

Nobody bothered them on the way, though Vonn kept looking around for trouble. He had tucked all but one packet of the antigrav crystals into a hidden vest pocket. Having them along lightened his heart.

After some uneasy camping, for which they kept watches, they reached the village of the Mirror Tower. It was the tallest building they'd seen outside Grandbridge, and its many attached mirrors focused the morning sun onto a large crucible or furnace.

The Elementalist himself was working at it today, wearing sandals and a kilt and leaving his dull silver scales to shimmer with a rare red gleam. Brightstep trotted out in front and said, "Sir! I wanted to come along when I heard these two were visiting. Honored to see you as always."

The Kobold grinned toothily. "It's always a novelty to have a noble calling me 'sir'. Since I have you here with all those legs, could I trouble you to fetch Selen from the inn? She likely got in last night. May want to have your assistant there bring me a round of drinks, too."

Brightstep and his guard went off into the town. The Baron's son looked younger and less serious than usual, here where he didn't need to maintain status.

Ralator nodded politely to Vonn and Tazo, then said, "He's a good lad, but I thought this was a meeting for commoners only. Is there anything you need to say privately?"

Vonn exchanged a look with Tazo. He'd sort of assumed that Ralator himself was the local Baron. Presumably if you were a great wizard, you had other things to do than manage an estate, especially when there were specific mystical bonuses for someone else specializing in the Lord class.

Vonn said, "We have another discovery about the gold magicite that you should see. Maybe you can figure it out. Brightstep knows about it already. What's private, hmm."

Tazo said, "You should understand, we're being pressured by Baron Bogstep to produce many copies of the same device. That's mostly a good thing, but he's beginning to direct what we're doing. He's not overjoyed that we're taking time off from our Engineer work."

Vonn added, "We've been asked not to spread 'rumors' about what happened at the western dungeon. But: Baron Kolm was kidnapping some of his own people using 'bandits', then ritually killing them. Do you recognize a symbol that looks like a crescent with four curled lines jutting up like fingers?"

Ralator hissed and his head reared back. "Come inside." He turned and opened the door of his tower, evading the little trap on the handle. Once he'd ushered them inside the laboratory, he sketched a design on his blackboard and said, "This symbol?"

"Yes, sir. It was all over a room with an altar and sickly purple magicite."

Ralator scribbled it out and erased it with a vindictive swipe of a rag. "I hadn't heard that detail. That, Vulins, is the mark of the sect that established the Scaled Nation. They don't speak loudly of it, but its practitioners see non-Kobolds as expendable."