As expected we made our way back to the Academy the next day. Shadowthorn didn't come with us this time, since she'd already graduated, so it was just Callie, Jessie and I. We touched down in the same field outside the grounds and Jessie and I headed straight to the Creation faculty. Callie parted ways with us on landing, heading into the campus to find one of the other faculties more suited to her skills. I'd never actually found out her stats but I was pretty sure creation wasn't one of the big ones in her build.

Jessie and I both had enough Focus to find our way back to the crafting hall easily enough alone though, so it wasn't a problem. We arranged a time to meet up before leaving so we wouldn't be screwed if one of us couldn't answer their scan ring. Showing back up at the crafting hall however I quickly realized that I had no idea how to set up a place for solo commissions or even a workshop.

What was worse was that I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched at all times despite knowing I probably wasn't. The Heartripper Society members that were here, if there even were any, were probably in their sleeper modes. Despite that I was jumping at shadows constantly and I had to force myself to stop and calm down.

The best thing for me to do was remain calm. Not ignorant, I should stay alert, but relaxed. Like when you're watching a horror movie and you know a jump scare is coming so you try to go into that sort of alert zen state where you expect a shock from everywhere at once. I forced myself to just untense and let my awareness surround me. It was admittedly easier with twenty two Perception.

Once I was calm I turned to Jessie with a smile. "So any idea how to manage this? Because if not I think our best bet is to track down Lapis and Rustle again. They seemed to know what was up here, so I figure they can help us get started." I wasn't at all sure THEY weren't Heartripper's, but the chances of both of them being secret sleepers seemed pretty slim. I doubted the Black Sorrow Cult had their agents make friends in the civilian guise. That would draw way too much attention and would lead to a domino effect if one was caught.

Since only one of them at most would be a sleeper, the presence of the other should keep the theoretical assassin from lashing out at me. Of course they were also fairly high profile if they hung out with Annie, so I might just be jumping at shadows anyway. Still, either way we needed help and they were the only people we knew. Luckily their workshop was in a stable spot so we knew exactly where to find the pair. They seemed happy to see us, Lapis waving hello cheerfully while Rustle gave us a friendly nod.

The small girl streaked forward excitedly. Despite the lower face mask she had such expressive eyes that it was obvious the was smiling. "Hey, you're back! I see Annie didn't come along this time, oh well, we're still happy to have you! So what are you both up to today?" The water attuned crafter was a friendly and approachable person as we'd seen during our last visit. Plus I was pretty sure they were both trying to get in good with Annie since she had a line to the guild master.

I chuckled and held out a hand. "We came to work actually. I was going to try my hand at some solo crafting and Jessie has a plant based ability. We heard the Alchemists had an herb garden or something she might be able to get work at?" I was pretty sure I could grind up a decent spot on the campus rankings after a while working on projects here. Jessie would be able to get in some practice while building up too, which was two birds with one stone.

Instead of Lapis, Rustle cut in excitedly. "You're a plant manipulator too? Of course we have work. Plant based powers are fairly rare overall. We only have a few dozen or so people at the garden who can use them, including me. I can take you over if you want. I might be able to help you out with some skills or control exercises too, since my abilities lie in plants too." He grinned excitedly. "I've never taught another plant user."

I looked to Jessie, unsure if she wanted to wander off with a stranger, but she seemed fine with it. Thinking about it I really had no reason to worry. Rustle knew we were here as friends of Annie, or at least that she had an interest. Plus Jessie wasn't a target for the Heartrippers, so if anything being away from me for a bit was safer. She gave him a bright smile. "Of course, that sounds amazing!"

I turned to Lapis, giving her a grin. "Then maybe you can show me how to get set up here while he takes her over to the garden?" I was curious if they had a system for finding active tasks like the board back in Velan or if I was just going to have to advertise. If it was the latter I might have a bit of a problem getting started since I had zero reputation. She seemed happy to help, so I hugged Jessie and said goodbye, following Lapis behind the counter as she dug around for something. She looked for a few minutes and then popped up with a map.

She held it out to me. "This is the hall layout, it tells you where to set up to get the most bang for your buck. New arrivals who don't know which workshop they need congregate at the back, grouped up by the stat they need the most of, theres usually someone to sort them and send them to someone who can help but it's a slow process. Newbies often have better luck just finding the crowd and pulling a few people aside to ask about their requests, unless you have a specialty then you can write it on a sign and let them come to you. Once you establish a reputation here you can get a dedicated area and have people funneled to you,"

A bit convoluted, but pretty close to the system back home in some ways. "Do I need a permit or license or anything? I'm sure not just anyone can operate in here." The last thing I needed was to get screwed over because I didn't get my documents in order. I wanted to make sure all my ducks were in a row so I could focus on keeping an eye out for Heartrippers...as much as that was even possible.

She nodded. "Yeah, there's a registration booth I was going to swing by so you could get signed up." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to work solo? We could totally let you help us out here if you wanted. The Mountains and Rivers workshop is always open for promising newbies." I actually had considered that, but I decided despite thinking them being Heartrippers was unlikely, I had too many secrets to play well with others. I would do the solo thing for now.

I just shook my head. "I appreciate it Lapis, but I think I want to do my own thing. I work best by myself. Speaking of, where exactly will I be working? Do they have rooms I can rent for crafting? And what's the contract situation like here? I assume you guys put the same premium on secrecy, at least for really technical stuff." If they didn't I'd need to figure that out because I couldn't operate here without that NDA.

She chuckled. "All crafters do. The crafting hall has an Intermediate Contract negotiator on hand to make sure all contracts are binding. The skill makes all documents pretty much impossible to break for anyone below F rank, and difficult for even them. As for rooms, yeah, they have workrooms available for rent at a decent price. They come outfitted with tools, but you need to pay for whichever rank you end up using. H rank rooms are one H rank chit per hour. Do you have that on you?"

I pulled a bag from my pocket and shook it. "Yup. No G rank's but yeah, I have enough H rank chits to get by." I wasn't worried about showing them off because there were so few H rankers around anyway, and even if the ones nearby decided to rob me they would get their asses kicked. "So, lead me to this registration booth then, let's see if I meet the requirements." She chuckled again and gestured for me to follow, leading out from behind the counter and into the crowded crafting hall.

We slipped between groups of people in various costumes and with both obvious physical changes and abilities that seemed much more sedate, until eventually we came to a table at the back of the hall. The man sitting there had spiky pink hair and a leather vest with no sleeves. He wasn't wearing a mask, just popping a piece of gum as he stared up at us through brown eyes lined in dark makeup, a single silver hoop in his eyebrow. His eyes flicked over us dismissively. "Registration or ranking test?"

The absolute boredom in his accented voice was almost palpable as he stared at the scan ring on his hand. Lapis, slammed a hand down on the table, making him jump, before leaning in to glare at him. "Registration. And room rental." She turned to give me a quizzical look and I nodded. Satisfied she turned back. "We'll take an H grade work room for..." She looked at me and I held up all ten fingers. "Ten hours. My friend here is registering as a solo crafter. Hand him your coin, Solomon."

I did, passing it to him without letting go of the chain. He pulled out a grey device that was mostly screen. He pressed the coin to the divot at the bottom of the rim and the screen filled up with letters, giving information on me, though I noticed the stats were my beginner stats and weren't updated. He pulled out a piece of paper, pressed it to the screen and hit a button. There was a sizzle and the words from the screen burned themselves onto the paper, which he then put into a drawer before handing me my coin.

I expected a paper or something, but when I took the coin back I noticed a C sitting in the circle of my ranking. Lapis sneered at the lazy clerk. "The room key?" He rolled his eyes and pulled out a small bronze key. He held it out but when I went to take it he yanked it back. I raised an eyebrow and he held out a hand. I grumbled at the waste of time but fished out ten chits and passed them to him. He pressed the key to the table and dropped the coins into a small basin on the underside, and when he handed the thing over there was a black ten on the head of the key.

Lapis chuckled as we walked away. "Sorry about that. Anyway the room you got is..." She checked the key, finding some engraved letters and checking the map she'd brought with her. "Over there." She pointed to a far corner of the room. "Take the key over and it should glow as you get closer, at least until your ten hours are up. Once the glow fades the key will stop working and you'll be kicked out of the room." Turning to head back to her workshop she shot me a wave. "Well I have to get back. Good luck finding your first client Solomon, and stop by when you have a chance! I'd love to hear how it goes." And then she was gone, and I was left alone to follow the map she'd left behind without me even noticing.