Verdan headed out into the area surrounding the estate in search of Samuel, noting once more the dilapidated state of the buildings near his new home. He could almost see the issues caused by the cities failing economy.

"Master Verdan, it’s good to see you back safe and sound," a voice called out from a side alley as Verdan walked along. He glanced over and saw Samuel come his way, a welcoming expression on his face. "I hope you have good news for us."

"I do. The issue was caused by creatures being driven south by darjee hunting parties. I’ve dealt with some of the creatures and the darjee themselves, so things should start to return to normal in due course."

"I’ve got volunteers ready to go as we speak; I’ll give them the word and get a few parties down there this afternoon. Get one of your lads to give me a list of what you need making; we’ll get it done for you," Samuel said with a broad grin as he grabbed Verdan’s hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Make sure they know it’s not going to be completely safe," Verdan warned, not wanting to see Samuel’s people rush into danger. That whole area was going to be up for grabs for predators now. Who knew quite how it would play out.

"Oh, don’t worry about that. My boys can take care of themselves. Our problem was how frequent they were, it was causing too many injuries, and not enough work was happening. Saying that, I might see if some of the glassblowers fancy coming out to stand guard; not like they can do much until we get them the fuel they need anyway." Samuel waved away Verdan’s concerns before finishing with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, you have that in hand. I’ll leave you to it," Verdan said, satisfied that Samuel had everything in hand. He’d send one of the brothers over with a list of what he needed at some point in the next few days. The lack of fuel for industry almost meant a lack of fuel to heat homes, and Verdan had no intention of demanding the fresh wood all be used for his orders.

"Thank you again, Master Verdan. We all owe you one," Samuel said as Verdan smiled in thanks and headed back the way he’d come.

All these thanks for just doing what anyone would in his situation made Verdan uneasy. He’d head to the workshop next and see if any of his delivery had arrived yet.

Verdan’s hopes of getting some time away from people were dashed when he saw a pair of young-looking men waiting outside the workshop on the Crea estate. Neither of them looked armed or particularly tense, so Verdan headed their way with only a little reluctance.

"Good morning, can I help you?" Verdan asked as he approached the two men.

"Morning, Master Verdan," the one on the right said, the honorific making Verdan frown slightly. He didn’t remember anyone being this formal with him when he left; why was it becoming an issue now?

"Mr Brock sent us over to see if you needed anything and to say that your supplies are due any time now. Today was the earliest they could get here." The man continued, oblivious to Verdan’s irritation.

"Ah, good, thank you. I don’t need anything for now, but please let me know when the goods arrive," Verdan said, a little disappointed that the alchemy gear hadn’t arrived yet. He’d hoped that he’d be able to start setting things up today, but that wasn’t going to happen now.

"No problem, he’s told us to stop by daily, so we’ll update you tomorrow." The two young men gave him something approaching a bow and scurried off, no doubt reporting back to Tobias on what he’d said.

With the alchemy side of things postponed, Verdan pondered his list of things before deciding where to start. A lot of what he wanted to do would require experimentation, so it would be best to begin with what needed the least setup.

Heading back to where he’d left Kai and Elliot, Verdan found the two of them still conversing at the table.

"Boss," Kai nodded to Verdan as he walked inside, Elliot turning and giving Verdan a brief smile before looking back to what was left of his breakfast. Surprisingly, Elliot seemed to be a particularly slow eater, which was odd given his size and apparent appetite, not at all what Verdan had expected.

"Kai, could you go find Tom and meet me outside the lab complex, I want to do some tests on you both. If that’s okay?" Verdan said, turning the statement into a question at the last minute as he realised that Kai might have his own plans.

"Not a problem. I think he’s still upstairs. We’ll meet you there," Kai said, rising to his feet and heading off straight away.

"Tests?" Elliot queried, turning back to Verdan once more.

"My magic works differently from theirs, and I’m trying to understand the nature of what they can do. Mostly for my own interest, of course," Verdan said, taking Kai’s seat so that Elliot wouldn’t need to twist to see him.

Elliot’s green eyes held an odd gleam as he studied Verdan, eventually nodding his understanding. "I see. I’d noticed the difference myself. You called yourself a Wizard, and you stated that you were from somewhere far away. You are a man of mystery indeed. I would like to learn more about where you come from; a land without sorcerers must be odd indeed."

"It’s very different, as you can no doubt imagine," Verdan said, being careful with his words. There was a keen intelligence hidden in Elliot’s gaze, one that Verdan didn’t want to come afoul of. "If I may ask, do you have some form of magic yourself?"

"What makes you ask that?" Elliot said, one bushy brow rising slightly at Verdan’s question.

"You were kept in one of those cages, the same as the fwyn. They seemed designed to house magic users from what I could tell," Verdan explained his reasoning, watching Elliot carefully. There was something about the big man that intrigued Verdan, something more than what he could see on the surface. Verdan was tempted to examine him more closely with his Aether senses. He’d have to see if he could talk Elliot into agreeing to it.

"I see, but by that standard, what of the wolf that young Tim has with him?" Elliot asked, leaning back in his chair with a soft smile. "Are you of the opinion that it has some form of magic as well?"

"I’m undecided on the wolf, but it does strike me as odd that it was being kept in the same cages, yes."

"I see. Well, I can assure you that I am no sorcerer if that will suffice?" Elliot said, the slight smile on his face widening as he watched Verdan’s expression. The wizard was fully aware that Elliot had worded that statement very specifically, and the smile on Elliot’s face told him that he knew that Verdan knew.

"It will do for now," Verdan said in a dry tone, giving Elliot a pointed look before moving the conversation along. "So, tell me, what’s your plan now that we’re back?"

"Truthfully, I’m not completely certain," Elliot said with a soft shrug, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table and his chin on one fist as he frowned in thought. "I would like to stay here, for now anyway. All of this is very interesting, and I would like to watch it unfurl. My brother and sister will no doubt be here soon as well. I missed our meeting when the darjee caught me, so they will seek me out."

"You’re welcome to wait here until they arrive. That isn’t a problem," Verdan said, feeling responsible for Elliot’s welfare. Once the big man was back with his family, Verdan’s responsibility was over, but for now, he felt obliged to give him somewhere to stay.

"I appreciate that. Thank you, Verdan," Elliot said, giving Verdan a broad smile. "However, I can only accept your aid if you allow me to assist you in your work. I’m sure there is something I can do to assist."

"By all means, please do. What sort of work are you skilled with?" Verdan asked, intrigued by what possibilities Elliot might bring to the table.

"Well, I’m particularly strong, as you might imagine, but my preference would be anything related to creating or crafting something. I’ve dabbled in countless trades and crafts; I’m sure I can pick up whatever you need me to."

"Crafting?" Verdan echoed, sitting forward in his chair with interest. "Like alchemy?"

"Sadly, no, it’s not something I’ve been directly involved in. The closest I’ve ever gotten to it is making bespoke equipment for actual alchemists, sometimes glass, sometimes metal."

Verdan’s initial disappointment at not getting a trained alchemist he could call on was immediately remedied by Elliot’s follow-up. This was exactly what he needed right now.

"That’s perfect, actually. Rest today and finish healing up, but if you could find a local foreman named Samuel, he can direct you to whoever will be making the glassware I ordered and when they’re going to start. Working with them to get things ready for me would be incredibly helpful."

"Consider it done, I need a new project anyway, so this will do nicely," Elliot said as he got to his feet. "For now, however, I’m going to poke around the city and see what I find. I’ll see you later." Elliot gave him an absent wave and strolled out of the room, leaving Verdan to his thoughts.

Verdan had been worrying about the glassware side of things; after all, he had no real information on the workers here in Hobson’s Point or the quality of their work. Knowing that Elliot was on the case was somewhat relieving. Verdan had the impression that the other man was competent at his work. Hopefully, Elliot would live up to that.

Heading over to the alchemy complex as he considered some of the potential custom orders for Elliot, Verdan found Tom and Kai waiting for him at the front entrance.

Both men eyed Verdan with curiosity as he approached them, clearly interested in what he had in mind for their work today.

"Let’s head inside, away from prying eyes," Verdan said, opening the door to the main building and stepping inside. He doubted there was anyone watching them right now, but he’d caused quite a few ripples recently; it was best to start taking precautions now.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Kai asked as he and Tom stepped in after Verdan and shut the door behind them.

"First, let’s start with some questions. Tom, how are you doing with your newly developed magic?" Verdan asked as he grabbed a nearby chair for himself. The building as a whole was low on furniture, but this had once been the reception room for the building, so it had a few leftover.

"Not so well," Tom said glumly, sitting heavily on a chair himself while Kai leant against the wall. "I’ve been trying to meditate on stone, but it’s not going anywhere."

"Show me," Verdan said, keeping his tone and expression neutral.

Tom sighed, held out a fist and closed his eyes as his face scrunched up with effort. Verdan was already watching the Aether around them, so he immediately noticed a small disturbance around Tom, too weak to be noticeable without looking for it.

Looking again with his physical eyes, Verdan saw that grey stone had covered Tom’s fist and a portion of his wrist, but that was all.

"That’s all I can do," Tom said, red-faced and breathing heavily as he looked at his stone-covered fist. With Tom’s concentration removed, the stone began to slough away from his fist, disappearing completely in a few seconds.

"That’s not a lot in comparison to last time. Have you practised much?” Verdan asked, tapping his lips in thought.

"I’ve tried, but it doesn’t feel right," Tom said, grimacing in frustration and looking away from Verdan.

"The initial awakening of a wildling is usually quite substantial, but it takes them time to work back to that point for regular use," Kai offered as an explanation.

"Interesting. Do you remember activating or using this power when it first happened?" Verdan asked, making some mental notes to look into later.

"No, not really, it just happened," Tom said with a shrug.

"Okay, now can you feel this, garec, or do you feel this, drea, and if both, which was stronger?" Verdan asked, using the words for rock and earth, respectively.

"Both of them, but the first more, a lot more. I remember hearing you use it before; it reminds me of when those fwyn were using their magic. It was like a pressure in my chest, but it’s different now."

"Different how?" Verdan pressed, intrigued by what Tom was saying.

"The pressure is gone. It just made something inside me tingle, that’s all," Tom said, furrowing his brow as he rubbed his chest.

"Interesting," Verdan said simply, leaning back in his chair as he considered why it had changed.

The pressure that Tom had felt might have been a build-up of Aether inside him that was somehow manipulated by Verdan’s use of a word of power. If so, that would also explain the resonance that Kai felt when he used the relevant words.

When a wizard brought their Aether into them, it was guided into their spiral and then compressed at their core. The whole process was done under firm mental control from the wizard, to the extent that outside forces would need to wrest control from the wizard first to effect the Aether.

Rising from his chair and pacing the room, Verdan considered the implications of that thought. This resonance that both Kai and Tom felt implied that they had no internal control over their Aether and, more interestingly, that the Aether was aspected.

Aspected Aether was elemental in nature, but those elements were myriad. In fact, now he was considering it, that did match what Kai had told him so far; it was just difficult to believe.

Natural magic-users like the fwyn or those spiders they’d fought used aspected Aether; they naturally converted it when they absorbed it from their surroundings. For a human to do the same thing was amazing. There were clear limitations, of course, but it was still fascinating.

Even more interesting was the variety on display. Creatures like the fwyn might have a few different aspects that they used, but that was across their entire species. Verdan had met only a handful of sorcerers, and each one was different.

Verdan whirled back to the others with a slightly mad gleam in his eye, his growing smile making both of them shift uncomfortably.

"Describe the whole process to me, start to finish, take your time; we can be here all day." Verdan resumed his pacing as soon as Tom began to speak, his eyes closed and mind focused on what Tom was saying.