After their lunch break, Verdan took a few minutes to attach the relevant Aether construct to his testing device and set out for a field test. He would be starting with the Sorcerers.

It seemed counterintuitive to start with them first. However, Verdan knew that they had Essence, so it was a good first test to ensure his creation worked the way he wanted.

Kai was the first to try the device, which was little more than a long piece of metal with five raised sections attached to it and a handhold at each end. The design wasn’t ideal, but it was good enough for the moment.

“Okay, what I want you to do is run your energy through the metal, from one handhold to the other,” Verdan said, trying his best to contain his excitement at trying out his idea.

Kai nodded and concentrated for a moment before blinking in surprise as three of the raised sections responded. The first glowed softly, the second created a small flicker of fire, and the third shifted in an unseen wind.

“Good, very good,” Verdan said, taking the device back and grinning at Kai. “It used your aspected Aether to power the constructs for a brief moment.”

“Verdan, is this what I think it is?” Kai asked with a shocked expression.

“A testing device for Essence, yes,” Verdan said, enjoying the surprise on the Sorcerer’s face. He was still concerned about all this, but he was committed now, so he might as well enjoy what he could.

“This is incredible,” Kai said, shaking his head as he took the device back and activated it again. “This will change everything and upset many of the more traditional sects and Sorcerers.”

“I know, but I think it will be worth it,” Verdan said, making Kai stop examining the testing device and turn to stare at the Wizard.

“Worth it?” Kai repeated with a blank look. “Verdan, this will change everything. A way to test for Essence will kill the sects’ stranglehold on Sorcery as a whole. This is what we’ve needed for a long, long time.”

“You don’t think that this will cause fighting and chaos?” Verdan asked with a touch of surprise.

“Oh no, it absolutely will,” Kai said with a weary look. “It will be bad, but it will be a pale shadow of the good that will come from this. It registered both my elements, and my wind aspect is still weak. If I’d had this five years ago….” Kai trailed off with a distant expression before handing the tester back to Verdan.

“I see,” Verdan said, glad that Kai’s opinion about what he was doing was positive. Some of his concerns were eased a little by having a Sorcerer’s approval. Kai would have the most direct experience with the sects, after all.

“Right,” Kai said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly before nodding to himself. “We need to test everyone; head to the mansion, and I’ll start sending the others over.”

“Good idea. I’ll find Tom first, though, so I can test him and make sure that the earth part is working as well.”

“That makes sense,” Kai said, his gaze lingering on the five indicators. “Is the other one water, then?”

“That’s right, I’ll add others in, but these four seemed a good place to start.”

“If one of them has something like ice or metal, will it still show?” Kai asked, visibly torn between more questions and getting everyone tested.

“The energy test will show for any Essence, but it should still show for something related to the element, like water to ice. Maybe.” Verdan explained, his mind already turning over a few ideas for the next version of the device.

“If one of them is a Sorcerer,” Kai muttered, shaking his head as he slapped Verdan on the shoulder. “You never let things get boring, Wizard.”

Verdan snorted and waved the Sorcerer away before heading off to find Tom.

Finding the earth Sorcerer wasn’t too difficult, and Verdan administered the test eagerly, grinning madly as a pinch of dirt fell from the tester to hit the floor.

Maybe he could find Val to test the water side at some point, but if the other four were working, it stood to reason that the fifth would as well.

Kai had gathered all the guards in the mansion by the time Verdan got there, and they coaxed them through the process, explaining how to move energy from one side to the other.

As designed, those with Aether sensitivity didn’t trigger anything, but sadly, neither did anyone else.

Verdan was fairly confident that no Sorcerer would have Aether sensitivity, but he still tested them all, just in case.

“A shame,” Kai muttered once the guards returned to their work. “An extra Sorcerer could have been just what we needed.”

“I’ll start working with the guards once you’re back from your expedition,” Verdan said with a touch of reluctance. He wanted to get started on it now, but realistically, he didn’t want any newfound Sorcerers to injure themselves trying to unlock their magic.

Kai would provide an experienced and calming presence, as well as a guiding hand, both of which were things that Verdan couldn’t replicate.

“Maybe we could leave first thing tomorrow,” Kai muttered to himself before reluctantly nodding. “I’ll be back as soon as possible, and we can do some testing then.”

Satisfied with his invention, Verdan spent the rest of the day charging the various wards he had set up and giving Lieutenant Silver advance warning that he would be stopping by in a few days for something.

Annoyingly, Verdan couldn’t tell the Lieutenant any specifics without risking word getting out, so he positioned it as another Aether sensitivity test. The guards had done one of those before, so it wouldn’t cause undue concern.

Verdan made a mental note to deliver the first batch of arrows and bolts at the same time. Hopefully, no one would question things too much with such a gift.

-**-

Kai and the Witches left the following day for their trip to the forest, leaving Verdan and the others to catch up on odd jobs and keep watch for any new problems the Weeping Death might throw their way.

Verdan was itching to continue working with his new tester, but he forced himself to be patient, focusing on other matters to keep himself occupied.

Sleep was difficult for Verdan, even by his current standards, and he ended up meditating for a good portion of the night to try and quiet his mind.

The temptation was there to work on his spiral at the same time, but Verdan resisted, using the time to work on addressing the memories that still haunted him.

-**-

“Boss?” Tom called out from outside Verdan’s room, dragging the Wizard from what little sleep he’d managed.

“Yeah?” Verdan called out in more of a groan than anything.

“Got a guard outside saying the Commander sent him. Want me to send him in?”

“No,” Verdan said, sitting up and rubbing his face as he spoke. “Have them wait outside; I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Got it, Boss,” Tom called out, his heavy footsteps descending the stairs a few moments later.

“Glanae,” Verdan said, casting a general cleaning spell on himself, making sure to include his clothes in his visualisation. Almost immediately, he felt a lot better.

Getting to his feet, Verdan headed down to see what was going on. Hopefully, it was nothing major, but then, if it was, he doubted that the guard would have settled for Tom telling them to wait for him.

Verdan blinked blearily as he stepped out into the mansion into the morning sun, letting the door swing shut behind him as his eyes adjusted and he caught sight of their visitor waiting a short distance away.

“Good morning, I’m Verdan Blacke. Tom said that Commander Griffon sent you?” Verdan walked over and extended his hand.

“In a way, yes, my name is Sergeant Falk. I’ve been working on the records we got from Mr Brock,” the Sergeant said, shaking Verdan’s hand in greeting.

Sergeant Falk was a short and unassuming man with sharp eyes, an open smile and a thick overcoat that he wore over his uniform.

“I see. Anything I should know about?” Verdan asked, gesturing for the Sergeant to follow him as he headed to the workshop. This was feeling like a conversation that would require coffee.

“Well, I was wondering if you’d ever met someone in Mr Brock’s employ called Dave Richardson?” Falk asked as he walked along beside Verdan. “Mr Richardson was the one who seemingly ordered the goods.”

“I can’t say that I do,” Verdan said, gesturing for the Sergeant to take a seat as they reached the canteen before sticking his head into the makeshift kitchen and asking for some coffee.

Henry gave him a thumbs up and mimed eating something, to which Verdan hastily nodded.

“Interesting, we’ve yet to identify why he did this, and the man himself has gone missing. We expect he’s either fled or has been killed.”

“That’s unfortunate and a little frustrating,” Verdan said with a frown. “What will you do now, then?”

“Well, the manifest was incorrect, which implies that either Mr Richardson was being taken advantage of or he was complicit in one form or another. We’re looking into it currently, but I wanted to see what else you might have to say on the matter.”

“Thank you, Henry,” Verdan said as the chef silently arrived next to them and passed Verdan a mug of coffee and an omelette. Taking a sip of the hot drink, Verdan nodded to the Sergeant. “I’m glad to hear that someone is looking into it. Let me know if you need any further information.”

“Of course, let me leave you to your breakfast,” Falk said, smiling easily as he got up and started back toward the exit. “Oh, just one more thing, Wizard Blacke.” Falk stopped and turned around with a thoughtful expression. “Did you ever work out exactly what the concoctions in those bottles were made of?”

“Not yet, but I have someone working on it,” Verdan said, knowing that Natalia was putting the work in to figure it out.

The Sergeant nodded thoughtfully and headed back out from the canteen, leaving Verdan to consider his words. With everything else going on, he hadn’t thought much about the testing that Natalia was doing; he should stop in and see how she was getting on.

Finishing up his food, Verdan made his way over to the converted servants’ quarters and used the exterior bell pull that she had set up for when she was in her lab.

“Who is it?” Verdan heard her call a minute later from the other side of the door.

“It’s Verdan; I wanted to check in on things,” Verdan called back, shifting a little self-consciously.

“Verdan, please, come in,” she said, opening the door and letting him inside before shutting it firmly behind him.

“Is everything okay?” Verdan asked, noting that the alchemist had a pair of thick gloves in one hand and was wearing a padded jacket over her clothes.

“I’m doing some testing on the substance we recovered. This is all just to ensure that nothing goes wrong,” Natalia said, her smile somewhat strained as her free hand drifted up to trace the scars on the other arm before dropping to her side.

“I see. Is there anything I can do?” Verdan didn’t want her to put herself in a stressful situation if he could help work around it somehow.

“I’m mostly done, but thank you for offering,” Natalia said, her smile becoming slightly more natural as she looked up at him.

“Yes, well,” Verdan cleared his throat and broke eye contact with her, struggling to keep his mind on track. “Have you made any progress?”

“Not yet,” Natalia said reluctantly, sighing slightly as she slapped the protective gloves against her leg. “It’s frustrating, to say the least. It seems to be quite an inert substance to everything but air.”

“You sound like you need a break; you’ll think better about it if you take some time off,” Verdan said, his cheeks flushing at the look she gave him in return. He was perhaps not the best at taking his own advice.

“You are right, though,” Natalia admitted, putting the gloves to one side and absently tidying some of her hair. “Will you stay for some tea?”

“I should be getting back; there’s lots to do,” Verdan said instinctively before pausing as he saw the disappointed look in her eyes. “Actually, no, maybe I should take my own advice. I’ll stay for a bit.”

“Good, I’ll get the water boiling,” Natalia said, her disappointment melting away to reveal a sunny smile that had him smiling back for no reason.

Really, the most important thing right now was the testing device, which would have to wait until tomorrow, anyway, for when Kai came back. So, there was no reason not to stay for a while.

Letting the work fade away, Verdan followed after her, allowing himself enjoy the moment.