“With that, we need to discuss tax rates.” Kylie said.

Benjamin blinked slowly. He had lost track of her words the moment she started talking. He wondered what he could do in this space. He felt a small connection to his own personal playground, but it was just that. There was more of a sense that this was something that belonged to Kylie. However, with the connection he felt, there might be something he could do. He thought about his house. It was small, and cramped, but he did basically materialize it out of nothing. Benjamin drummed his fingers on the table. Gram was focused on Kylie and seemed to be absorbing everything she said. At the beginning of her speech she had tried to spend time focusing on Benjamin and Gram equally. Benjamin must have been broadcasting his disinterest, or something. She had then just started talking to Gram alone as the whole thing continued.

A stray thought intruded into Benjamin’s mind. Would it be possible to cast magic in this place? Benjamin looked at his fingers. He wiggled them in the air. That obviously wasn’t it. Being able to think things into existence was probably related to casting magic. He visualized a ball of flame in the center of his hand. Something shifted. He could feel the flow of mana in the area. It collected in his palm and after a moment a small ball of flame floated above his open palm.

“Oh! That’s great!” Benjamin said to himself.

“Exactly,” replied Kylie, “Now if you focus on income…”

She stopped talking once she looked at Benjamin and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Benjamin replied.

He focused on the stream of mana and tried to cut off it’s flow. He wasn’t exactly successful in cutting off the flow entirely and managed to redirect it. The ball of flame turned into a stream of fire and spread throughout the room.

“What are you doing!” cried both Kylie and Gram as they shot out of their chairs.

They pushed up against the wall as the table and various parts of the room burst into flame. The air grew thick with smoke causing everyone to cough as they breathed.

“I got this.” Stated Benjamin.

The fire spewing from the space above his hand changed to a steady stream of water. Benjamin had no control. The water spread chaotically throughout the room. It seemed to hit everything but the fire.

“Stop!” Cried Kylie.

She held her hands ineffectually in front of her in an effort to shield herself. Benjamin panicked and waved his arms in an effort to stop the water.

“No!” Gram spluttered, when the water hit him in the face.

“How do I stop this?” yelled Benjamin.

He could sense the mana flowing, but obviously he couldn’t cut the flow.

“I don’t know!” answered Gram.

“Just stop using mana!” cried Kylie.

The jet of water continued to spray randomly throughout the smoky room.

“I’m trying!” Benjamin said.

“Hold on,” Kylie said.

The smoke continued to grow thicker, interspersed with random jets of water. The three of them hacked as they breathed in the smoke. The world dropped from existence. Both Gram and Kylie sat around the table. Their faces were pale.

“That was awful.” Kylie said simply.

Gram replied with a nod. Notifications flashed in front of Benjamin’s vision.

>

>

>

>

>

>

“Well, I learned some spells.” Said Benjamin.

The room sat in uncomfortable silence. Kylie and Gram sat, trying to catch their breaths. Gram was grasping at the edge of the table tightly.

Kylie was the first to speak,”Gram, I think you’ll have to see about claiming more territory.”

Gram nodded too quickly, after a moment he shook his head. He looked at his grandmother.

“Expand, I got it.” He said.

“I’ll need to teach the fundamentals of magic to Benjamin,” Kylie said.

After a moment she added, "Although, I'm not sure how that will work."

Benjamin nodded. It took a moment to realize the motion didn’t affect anything other than his own sight.

“Please do,” Benjamin said.

He realized after he spoke that only Gram could hear him.

“I need to get to the forge today,” stated Gram.

His wits seemed to be returning, as did the color of his face.

“Byron and I were going to be shoeing horses today,” he continued.

If Benjamin had a face, his eyebrows would have raised. A forge meant other people!

“How many people live here?” he asked.

“I’d say three hundred people live here?” Gram said uncertainty.

“That sounds about right,” confirmed Kylie.

“Anyway I need to get going,” said Gram as he rose from his chair.

Kylie was quick to join him and they both left through the door. Benjamin followed them to a gate. A barrier seemed to keep him within the boundary. There was a slight pain when Gram passed through, but it passed quickly. Kylie left next, shutting the gate behind her. A notification flashed in front of Benjamin’s vision.

>

>

A wave of panic washed over Benjamin. He saw the gate swing open and both Kylie and Gram rushed in.

“We’ll lock the gate after us.” Gram shot out.

“I won't be that long,” said Kylie, she cursed under her breath.

Benjamin noticed that she also had forgotten that she couldn't speak to him eitther.

Their quick return had made him feel a sense of relief. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he was claimed. He wasn't sure of what he could say, either. There had to be a way to get a larger territory.

“Just do what you need to do, I guess,” said Benjamin.

Gram nodded, and after a moment he told Kylie what Benjamin said. When Gram left, Kylie looked into the now empty room.

“I’ll be right back.” Kylie said.

There was a hint of nervousness in her voice. She left next, once again. The gate was locked behind her.

---

Harte and Paul talked for some time as the blue orb continued to orbit lazily around the table. It hadn’t been too long of a wait before there was a knock on the door. Though the door had been at the top of the staircase, The hard sound rang clearly to the room below. Harte followed paul out of the chair. He wasn’t comfortable sitting alone with the orb alone.

Paul greeted the new arrivals with handshakes and hugs. Harte nodded as each came in. Harte hadn’t recognized any of the newcomers. They must have been important enough to access the room. Paul still seemed to be the only non-human in the branch. It was to be expected though. The city was mostly populated by humans after all. Trade caravans sometimes brought new kinds of people, it was generally considered unsafe to leave the walls of the city. Even being in a city could be unsafe without any organization similar to an adventurer’s guild.

When the last person arrived Paul left to talk to Myra. Harte walked back down the stairs and into the room. Harte remembered that the heads of the branch were considered equal. Though he himself had chosen to step away from the guild itself, He still maintained friendships within the guild. His friendships, however, hadn’t been with the leadership of the local branch. The room was filled with excited discussion between the four people that filled the previously empty chairs.

Harte found that the chair he had been sitting in was occupied by a rather large man. There was a sting of annoyance, but it was dismissed. It wasn’t as though the seating itself had been important. The large man looked to be in his thirties. The bulk of his weight seemed to be in muscle. He was clean shaven and his dark hair seemed to be cut short. Harte thought that if it had been cut shorter, the man would be bald. His clothing was rather plain. The man was wearing a roughspun tunic, tied to his waist with twine.

Harte found an empty seat and sat down. He was directly across from the large man and the seat that had been occupied by Paul earlier. To his left was a mage, her identity as a mage easily given away by the medallion she wore around her neck. It was partially obscured by her robes. If Harte hadn’t known what to look for, he probably would have missed it. Golden hair seemed to peek from beneath her pointed hat, only to be pushed back underneath occasionally. The details of her face were partially obscured. It didn’t matter though. He expected her to look youthful. Mages tended to be quite vain and often used spells to enhance or change their appearance. She was probably quite arrogant as well. Mages and wizards often didn’t get along well. His mind flashed briefly to Kylie. He would have to work on being a little more welcoming to mages, but the more open minded ones seemed to be a rarity.

To his right another man sat. Unlike the large man, this man was rather small. His clothing looked to be expensive, and comfortable. He was also pretty young. Most likely in his early twenties. He wasn’t speaking that much with the rest of the group and instead seemed to be focused on the map that had been applied to the surface of the table.

The last person at the table was another man. He seemed to be a similar age to Harte himself. He had sun baked skin that hinted at a life outdoors. The man looked to be a farmer of some sort. Dirt had been worked under the man’s fingernails. Hius clothing was similar to the large man’s, but more worn. Several patches had been hastily sewn on to the fabric with faded, yet distinct colors. He hung his hat from the ear of his chair with the chinstrap.

Paul entered the room again and took his old seat.

“K would you join us please?” Paul asked the room.

The others at the table stopped talking abruptly. The orb drifted to the ground. As the orb’s glow faded a lantern appeared above the table, casting a soft white light around the room. The now unlit orb morphed into a human shape. A muted flash of light formed a bright blue summer dress decorated with a white floral pattern. Matching blue hair sprouted from the top of her head and stopped at her shoulders. The last thing to form was a pair of thick black boots on her feet. Once she finished she greeted the room with a smile and a wave. She walked to the final chair and took a seat.

"That still needs improvement." Stated Paul.

K responded by sticking out her tongue.

"It's a work in progress," she continued, "So, let's get started shall we?"

"Let's do introductions first." Said Paul.

K rolled her eyes and started to point around the table.

"The plain ol' big guy is Arag. I'm K. This lady in robes is Yarla. The scruffy wizard is Harte. That little guy is Hugh. The troll is Paul."

She sighed and pointed at the empty chair,

"AND that is where Myra would have sat, if you wouldn't have sent her on a pointless errand."

K glared at Paul. Paul shifted in his seat a moment and coughed.

"Ok well," he paused, "Uh, I gathered you all here today to discuss this reading."

He pointed at the image in the center of the table.

"Is it standard notation?" asked Yarla.

"Yes, it is." said Harte, defensively.

Yarla raised her hands in front of her, "I just wanted to note how strange it looks."

Arag stood examining the map with his fingers.

"The surrounding area is dense with mana. It looks almost like a dungeon opened… but…" he trailed off.

"It's a vacuum," said Yarla as she pointed to the black spot.

"It's a city, and I need to go." commanded K.

Her body froze in mid motion. Her brilliant blue colors shifted to an equally bright green. A blue orb a fraction of the size fell to the center of the table with a plink.

"Hello, I'm K. It's a pleasure to meet you." the now green woman said.

"I was going to talk more about what happened, but it appears she has forced our hand." Paul grumbled.

"I take it we're founding another branch?" asked Hugh.

Paul nodded, "We'll need to create an expedition."