Chapter: 184 - Surprisingly Reasonable (Patreon)

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Tala, Rane, Lyn, and Kannis talked and ate late into the night.

Well… no, that’s not right.

Tala and Terry continued to eat late into the night. Rane, Lyn, and Kannis simply talked.

They mainly talked about their growing up years, or Kannis asked the Mages about their lives as such.

Both Tala and Kannis studiously avoided discussing their days at the Academy, and the others seemed to key off that.

-You’ll have to talk about it eventually.-

I know. You know I do, but not tonight.

When they reluctantly decided to call it a night and end the impromptu, little celebration, Kannis looked to be on the edge of falling asleep where she sat.

As it turned out, they’d been able to find a little all-night, dessert, and coffee café. It seemed to cater mostly to Mages, but a not-small portion of their customers were clearly mundanes.

The smell of coffee had almost overpowered Tala’s willpower a few times, but while Tala had been tempted by the alluring aroma, she’d only indulged in the desserts.

The café wasn’t closing, and they were hardly the only people in the establishment, but the night was getting late, and Lyn and Kannis had work in the morning, and Rane and Tala had a lot that they hoped to do, as well. So, with a little collective prompting, they got moving.

Rane walked with them all back to their house, and the late hour, combined with their collective tiredness, left it a silent walk through the crisply cold, city night.

Thankfully, more snow had fallen earlier in the night, creating a thin layer of reasonable traction atop the treacherous, frozen slush. Thus, it was a more pleasant walk than it might otherwise have been.

Street clearers would likely be by in a couple of hours with hot, salt-water incorporators. All of the benefits, none of the lasting vegetative damage.

Tala had seen them work as a child, but she’d never really understood that it was simply Mages using devices to accomplish the task. One of the easy, useful tasks available to Mages who don’t want to hold down a regular job, this time of year.

From what she’d seen on various job boards, and what Alat had looked up for them, it paid about ten silver for a night’s work. Not a lot, but still quite a good wage for non-guild-affiliated workers.

But that wasn’t really pertinent. The next day would be…something. If it takes the hook, I could be rid of that monster once and for all. She hesitated, then corrected herself. Humanity will be rid of him.

The four continued to walk, and Terry continued his seeming perpetual nap on Tala’s shoulder, as she continued her contemplations of the next day. As she did so, she realized that she really wanted to convey some information to Jenna. Therefore, she had asked Alat to update Jenna on what she’d done towards spreading awareness of her venture, and the companion she’d have for the following day.

Surprisingly enough, Jenna responded almost immediately, simply adding, “Noted.” to the Archive document they both had access to.

-At least she knows we did our part spreading awareness.-

Yeah. That was a little awkward, asking everyone if anyone wanted to join…I haven’t felt so out of place since I was back at the Academy…

-Didn’t expect Cazor to say yes.-

Yeah, that threw me off a bit, too. She clicked her tongue behind her teeth for a moment, then shrugged. We’ll find a way of telling him what’s going on tomorrow, before we leave. It would be pretty awful to drag him into what might be a high-power fight essentially blind.

-Kit should do for that. Invite him in?-

Yeah, that should work.

Before any of them really knew it, they’d arrived, and Rane bid them all goodnight at their front door. Lyn fumbled for her key for a moment before Tala snorted a laugh and easily pulled her key from Kit.

Kannis was a bit unsteady on her feet. The girl’s had a big day.

Even so, the mageling gave Tala’s key a puzzled look. “Is that…iron?” She shook her head. “What am I saying, of course it’s iron.”

Tala just grinned as she quickly unlocked the house and let the three of them in, out of the cold.

I’d not considered it, but Lyn’s hooked into the city for heat, too. Her family had used lamps and a wood stove for light and heat, while Tala was growing up. Probably cheaper, after the initial expense. If she remembered correctly, several officials had offered to do the installation, but her father had always refused.

Part of his desire to “do it on his own” or some such. Didn’t keep him from making me pay his debts…

-That’s right, Tala. Think on it. Build up what you want to say.-

Tala sent a mental glare towards Alat.

Not having to take of coat or boots, she walked in first and went straight back to the back hallway. With a casual motion, she pulled Kit from her belt and tossed it against the wall, where it landed silently and grew into a door that fit the space perfectly, looking for all the world as if it had been there since the house was built.

Ironically, or maybe very deliberately, the door didn’t blend in in such a way as to fade from notice. Instead, it stood out in a manner that complimented the other doors, and the hallway in general, making it seem as if the space would actually be worse off were the door not there.

Of course it’s always been there. No one would be foolish enough to have this space without having put in this keystone part of the design.

-It is almost deviously perfect.-

They agreed on that. The syphon’s abilities were potent; its primary goal of non-detection still integral in their use.

Lyn and Kannis came down the hall as Tala was stepping through the new door, into her dimensional storage.

The younger woman paused, whispering to herself in half-conscious confusion. “I don’t remember that door being there…How did I miss that?”

Lyn gave her an odd look, seeming to have not heard the girl’s words, but noticing the direction of her attention and the interest and confusion directed that way. “Where did you imagine Tala was going to be sleeping?”

“I…uh…” Kannis didn’t seem to have an answer for that.

“Good night, you two. Sleep well.” Tala stuck one hand back out the door and waved.

“Night!” Both replied almost in unison, as Tala closed the door, shutting out the rest of the world.

Now, I just have to do my evening training.

*      *      *

Tala woke after a deeply restful sleep, the red-orange light of sunrise bathing her in the beauty of another dawn. She honestly didn’t care that it was illusory; she loved it more every time she woke to her own, private vista.

Only three hours tonight? She unconsciously knew how long she’d slept; it was as easy as blinking.

-The new set of spell-forms have fully settled in. Don’t expect your required rest to get any shorter, at least not with this set of inscriptions.-

Not even with the iron compounding and increasing my power-density?

-With these scripts, the increased density won’t matter. You’re hitching more oxen to the front of a lightly loaded wagon. It’s not going to make a difference until you have a heavier load to pull.-

That made a lot of sense, and Holly had expressed that many of the ones that Tala currently had were parts of various series of physically enhancing script-regimens. You know…I wonder if this is Refining?

Alat grunted within Tala’s mind. -No? It might be a precursor to it, though.-

Ahh, like strengthening the body so that the impurities can be stripped from you without destroying us?

-That would be in the vein of my guess.-

It sounded like a good guess, if Tala was being honest.

Tala moved through her morning routine, only hitching during the perspective portion of her aspect-mirroring, as she had in the past.

It was nauseating and dizzying in the extreme, even when she restricted the mirroring to a singular external perspective, alongside her own.

Still, like everything else, she was improving. Alat helped with that too, slowly modifying and tweaking her exercises of all types to better match how Tala could and would learn and grow.

Honestly, Tala could have done that for herself all along, but it would have taken time and a lot of deep analysis and some comparative study. Now, Alat did it for her with relative ease and speed.

-You know, it’s not actually that easy, but I don’t have to maintain any of your day-to-day activities. So, I have a lot more free time.-

Well, thank you. I appreciate your efforts on our part.

-Your improvement is my improvement.-

She had soon completed her morning tasks, save for the bath.

Cleansing was going to be difficult with the iron body paint. She didn’t really need the bath, except for her hair, but she could just use her comb for that. Except that it’s at the Constructionist Guild facility.

That was a problem for later in the day, and as such she set about cooking a massive breakfast for herself.

Kit’s little kitchenette worked even better than she’d hoped it would, and soon Tala was devouring a sizable meal pulled from her venturing food.

The Culinary Guild really came through with this stuff. I really should get more. It never went bad, in theory, and so it would be better to have on hand than run out or be in need. Not today, though. Today, I have other tasks.

-Yup, large barrels. I’m thinking a few tuns?-

A few what?

-A tun, that’s a barrel that holds 252 gallons.-

Archive? She trusted that Alat would be able to interpret her abbreviated question.

-Archive. It’s surprisingly easy to look up random words.-

Useful, I suppose.

-I’ll say.- Tala got an odd sensation along with that expression. As if Alat had a lot of weight behind the utterance. As she considered it, Tala realized that in several meaningful ways, all Alat had was words.

She decided not to focus on that, or inquire further for the moment. Okay, so a couple of tuns… doesn’t that seem excessive? I mean…how can we possibly harvest enough to fill even a single one with berries, let alone with juice?

-More storage capacity seems better, right?-

Tala shrugged. I suppose, but it still seems like a lot more than we’ll actually need.

-That’s fair. I might have a better option as well.-

Oh? Then why had she been talking about massive barrels? Probably because she genuinely thought they were the best subset of “barrel options.”

-The Constructionists sell large, enameled, cast-iron barrels. 55 gallon to be precise.-

That seems perfect! They’re designed for use in containing experiments and other magical liquids, I assume?

-Precisely.-

I suppose we should have guessed that something like that would exist. Not cheap though, right?

-Actually, it’s surprisingly affordable, all things considered.-

Do tell.

-They warranty that the containers will maintain the potency of any magical ingredients kept within, while so contained.-

That’s… As Tala thought about it, and how tight the seals must be, and how much testing would have needed to go into such a certification, she realized just how much value and weight such an assurance held. That’s actually pretty amazing.

-That’s what I thought.-

So, how much?

-Half a gold per barrel.-

Tala winced, then thought about it. Huh, how is that both more, and less, expensive than I expected.

-We’re strange?-

She chuckled at that. Fair enough. After a moment’s consideration, she continued. You have access to their “for sale” list?

-I do. Well, everyone with Archive access does.-

You know what I’m thinking?

-Of course. We should get a better small container.-

The iron flask that Tala had been using was looking a bit worse for wear. She’d only dropped it a few times, but exterior dings, wear, and tear weren’t the problem in any case. The simple iron flask hadn’t been designed for such constant use with even a mild acid, and almost every fruit juice was at least a little acidic.

-Yeah, it was meant to carry a flavored cooking oil, which would help maintain the metal. It’s a blessing that you aren’t negatively affected by some iron flakes.-

Tala grimaced. I thought I’d been tasting some grit of late.

-So, an enameled iron flask will only cost 4 silver for a four cup one. It would be 3 silver for a two cup.-

Yeah, a four cup one is better, assuming it’s easy enough to hold.

-We can take a look.-

That sounds like a good plan. What else did we put on our list?

-A cider or wine press.-

Right. Any ideas where to get one of those things?

-Market district would be the quickest. We can swing through the Constructionists first. The location we frequent is pretty close to some shops. The presses are used enough by various restaurants and craftsmen that the shops should have some on hand.-

Even in the off season?

-With the growing complexes, there really aren’t off seasons.-

Ahh, right. Tala considered for a moment. You know, I’ve always wanted to see some of the growing complexes. They don’t allow mundanes down there, unless they’re workers or for some other specific purpose, and I haven’t thought to go look since becoming a Mage.

-Yup. I’m in your head, and am well aware of your desires.-

Right. Sometimes I forget that.

Alat conveyed a bit of happiness at that. -I’m glad to hear that I seem distinct from you, to you.-

Shouldn’t you already know that?

-Of course, but it’s nice to hear kind things spoken aloud sometimes.-

Tala grunted. True enough.

She took the last couple of bites of the hearty fruit and nut-butter oatmeal before using her finger to scrape up the last bits.

I can’t even tell that the fruit was dehydrated before.

-That’s probably why the recipe included a bit more water than I’d have expected.-

I was thinking the same thing.

She left Kit, grabbing the doorway and pulling it off the wall as the door swung closed. It reshaped into a pouch even as she hung it from her belt.

She was almost surprised at how little Kit’s transformation interested her. It was simply a useful feature of her dimensional storage. A ridiculously useful feature.

She did not miss climbing up and down through the small opening that had been Kit’s limit before.

Tala turned her attention outward, finding that Lyn’s home was, as expected, quiet.

She could hear Kannis’s breathing, and slight shifting, even through the closed door to what had until recently been Tala’s room.

Tala hesitated at that sound.

Why have I never heard anything from Lyn’s room?

She extended her senses in that direction and hit a metaphorical wall. It wasn’t a hard wall, and Tala thought that she could breach or break it if she really wanted to, but she refrained.

Lyn’s got a privacy item? How did I not notice that, before?

-It’s hardly a good idea to proclaim “I don’t want anyone listening in, here!” So, it likely does what it does as subtly as possible.-

Yeah, I suppose.

Tala decided to respect her friend’s privacy, whatever the reason, and depart.

All told, from when she’d gone into Kit to when she came out, just over six hours had passed. Three hours for two sets of training, and a massive meal? Not too shabby.

After locking the front door behind herself, she set out through the quiet, very early morning streets.

-We should have time to drop through the Constructionists’, and even through the market district, before we meet Mistress Odera for breakfast.-

That was my thinking as well.

The trip was uneventful, and the security scripts on the Constructionists’ facility didn’t label her as a threat, so that worked out well.

Sadly, Alat hadn’t yet figured out how to modify the illusion, so there was an awkward moment where the assistant thought she was a mundane. Thankfully, the security scripts had identified her as an Archon, so it was easy enough to clear up.

They did have several of the iron barrels in stock, as well as flasks for smaller samples.

Of course, the smaller flasks were designed with convenient, easy to use handles, so that valuable samples would never be risked.

That pleased Tala to no end.

Unfortunately, the only barrels and flasks they had were deep crimson in color. They were that shade because it was the most often requested color, used to denote the storage of arcanous or magical blood.

This was a practice that was seemingly vastly more common that Tala had realized, especially among Constructionist Mages.

The assistant was happy to explain that the study of arcanous blood as an ink for spell-lines, applied in various mediums was a well-researched field of study, and there were some spell-forms that were known to be more efficient with a given arcanous creature’s blood than even with gold.

There weren’t many, but they did exist.

Sadly, when Tala inquired, she was told that that was a Guild secret.

Obviously, Alat couldn’t find out either, Tala not having special access relating to the Constructionist Guild within the Archive.

She could have custom ordered virtually any color at no extra cost, other than time, but she was in a hurry, and red was good enough for her. So, in the end, Tala was able to get a bundled deal of four blood-red enameled barrels and two large flasks for a total of two gold.

It wasn’t much savings, and she ended up buying more barrels than she had planned to, but it should be better in the end.

I’m tired of reaching for more juice and having my flask empty. Having a back-up will be worth it.

-Sure, justify it however you want. This assistant is a good salesman.-

It was a fairly simple matter to create a door out of Kit and maneuver the barrels inside.

The enamel was exquisitely done, looking like nothing so much as liquid blood, locked in place, thinly coating the containers. With each touch, Tala half expected her hands to come away wet, even though she knew better.

This is going to add new dimensions to my reputation as the Blood Archon.

-Just a bit, yeah. Though, it’s probably safer for people to assume you’re drinking some blood than ending-berries.-

Why?

-Because they’d assume it was something special, and therefore, they wouldn’t be inclined to just start drinking random blood.-

Or, they could just assume I was drinking water…

-That would be better, but such is life.-

Tala thanked the assistant and was about to leave when she remembered her comb.

Blessedly, it was a simple thing for her to get a hold of it and use it briefly before returning it to the assistant’s care and departing.

All told, she hadn’t been in the Constructionist facility long, but there were quite a few more people out and about than before.

How late did we stay up?

-Rhetorical question, right?-

Mostly, yeah. It had been late, but not that late.

The stores were already starting to open, or already doing brisk business.

Alat got Tala to the generally correct area, and a few quick questions brought her to a merchant who had a press for sale. Twenty silver secured the device for her use. Tala carried it half a block before finding an out of the way section of wall to throw Kit against so that she could place the press inside.

That’s better.

-That wasn’t heavy, even for a normal person.-

But it was awkward. After a moment’s frown, Tala inquired further. Can’t you read my thoughts? Aren’t you in my thoughts?

-I can, but if I did that all the time, what would we ever talk about? Also, my questions cause you to re-think through your thoughts and conclusions, and that’s good for both of us.-

Tala grunted. Fair enough.

They arrived at the Caravanner’s Guildhall before her mentor, and Tala was able to grab a table and feed Terry some jerky before Mistress Odera came to join them.

First things first, Tala let Mistress Odera know about the Marliweather trip coming up. The older Mage, of course, already knew, but appreciated hearing it from Tala, herself.

Then, Tala let Mistress Odera know that Tala had given her access to some memories, via the Archive.

Mistress Odera had frozen; gaze intently locked on Tala’s face. “Those memories?”

“Yes. Those.”

After a long moment, Mistress Odera nodded once. “I will review them when we are done here.”

From there, Tala described how her training had changed. She didn’t mention Alat, and Alat didn’t seem to mind.

In the end, it was a nice breakfast, and they parted ways as they usually did, with a confirmation of the next day’s meal.

That complete, Tala set out for the northern gate to meet Cazor.

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