Guild Mage: Apprentice-Chapter 148 - 147. A Shared Secret

"Are you sure about that?" Liv asked Sidonie.

"Isabel died when she went with me."

"My mind has been made up since you told me what you found down there," Sidonie said.

"The corpse of a goddess?

An ancient spear?

A spell that's lasted over a thousand years?

I could spend years studying any one of those things, Liv, never mind all three."

"We won't have years," Liv said.

"Things tend to get pretty desperate, pretty quick in the depths of a rift."

She thought about not only the Well of Bones, but the desperate fight beneath Bald Peak Mine, as well.

Sidonie slipped her spellbook out of the straps that held it secured to her belt, and held it up.

"Then I'll take notes.

Everything I can see and hear, and then afterward we'll study it.

Think about it.

With what we learn at the bottom of a rift or two, we could be Masters in only a few years.

We could push the guild's knowledge of magic forward decades."

"Alright," Liv said, relenting.

"But there's something I'm going to have to teach you." She turned to Rosamund, who'd been listening to the conversation silently.

"And you?"

"I don't intend to be left behind next time," Rosamund said.

"After classes tomorrow, then," Liv began, trying to think of the best way to teach them.

She understood her father's concerns, but she was no longer willing to bring her friends into a rift without giving them the means to protect themselves.

"Can we get a rowboat, or something?

Go out on the bay?"

"I'm sure someone will have something we can borrow or rent," Rose said.

Liv nodded.

"So we'll meet down on the docks.

Someone can grab Arjun, too."

"It's a plan.

Liv, are you intending to go to the execution?" Sidonie asked.

"No."

Liv shuddered.

"I don't need to see that."

"I think you might, actually," Sidonie said, replacing her spellbook at her belt.

She stood, but didn't yet head for the door.

"We might be able to learn something valuable."

"She's right," Rose said.

"If the king's making a point with this, he'll have sent someone to witness it – maybe even make a speech.

I think it would be better to see what happens firsthand than to have to track someone down to tell us about it."

"Fine." Liv relented.

"Next market day, we go watch a man get hanged.

After that, though, I'm going to need a bottle of wine."

"Goodnight." Sidonie nodded to them both, and then slipped through the door into her bed chamber.

Rosamund, on the other hand, hesitated at the doorway to the landing.

"Is something wrong?" Liv asked her.

"No."

The dark haired girl shook her head, and then smiled.

"Good night, Liv.

Sleep well."

Rose closed the door behind her, and was gone.

☙

Liv spent the morning of the next day carving sigils into the two wands she'd roughed out the afternoon before.

Her friends were in other classes, or, in Sidonie's case, probably ensconced in the library.

Wren watched for a little while, then set off rummaging about the workshop stores.

When she found a bottle of linseed oil, she sat down next to Liv and spent the time caring for her bow.

It was hard, painstaking work, and it left Liv's hands and wrists sore because she was also trying to get things done quickly.

She pushed herself through luncheon into the early afternoon.

If Liv had been enchanting something for herself, that she meant to last for many years, she would never have rushed the work so much, or cut so many corners.

By the time she was finished, she half expected the enchantments not to take: but when she woke Aluth in the back of her mind, circulated her mana, and then pushed it into the first wand, the magic caught just like it had when she'd made her first set of bandages.

Liv set aside the first wand, and then completed the second, which was actually the easier of the two, given Alan had chosen a spell she had slightly more experience with - albeit using a different base word of power.

Still, the intent was more familiar than what was needed for the incantation that Tephania had formulated.

Once both wands were finished, Liv left the workshops and carried them down to the training grounds, where she took out her key, opened the chest of remedial class enchanted equipment, and put both lengths of driftwood on the top of the pile.

She couldn't speak to how long they would last, how many castings they would permit, but they would do what was necessary for her next morning's class, at least.

She and Wren got a late lunch from Lambert, from the kitchen at High Hall, and took it up to the second floor to eat.

Liv had half a mind to practice forming silent mana shields while she had the free time, but she'd used a great deal of mana enchanting the wands, and knew that she would need more to show Sidonie and Rosamund how to deal with the mana density at the shoals of a rift.

When the horologe on the second floor landing had nearly struck the second bell of the afternoon, Liv made her way down the stairs, crossed the courtyard, and waited outside Blackstone Hall for Rosamund and Arjun to get out of their Advanced Grammar and Spellcraft class.

She leaned against the wall of the building next to Wren, off to one side, as a flood of students came out the door and spilled into the sunshine.

"There you are," she said, pushing off the wall and falling in beside them.

"All the way at the back."

"What's this Rose says about a boat?" Arjun asked.

"Do you remember how I told you to breathe, at the Well of Bones?" Liv asked him.

When Arjun nodded, she continued.

"We're going to go practice that.

Which means we need to be at the edge of a shoal."

They met Sidonie down by the docks, where she seemed to have already negotiated for the use of a rather leaky rowboat.

"I know it doesn't look like much," she said, pushing her spectacles up on her nose with one finger, "but the fisherman who owns it promised me that it won't sink."

Wren leaned over, picked up a small pail, and held it up.

"I can already see what I'm going to be doing," she grumbled.

"Alright, everyone in."

The five of them piled into the rowboat, untied it from the dock, and Liv sat back and watched Wren and Rose row.

If she'd been left to do it herself, she doubted they would ever have made it out to where the shoal could be felt without capsizing or being swept back to shore by the waves.

"Not much call for boats in the mountains?" Rose teased her, and Liv shook her head.

"The Aspen River runs pretty shallow," she said.

"Even in flood season, we don't really put boats on it, because then it's full of whitewater.

Alright.

So, first of all, now that we're out of everyone else's earshot: this is something my father taught me, and I'm not really supposed to share it."

"Which is, of course, not going to stop you," Wren commented.

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"I can't keep taking people into rifts, knowing I have a way to help prevent mana-sickness, and then keeping it secret," Liv said, shaking her head.

"I understand his reasons, but – they aren't worth the health of my friends.

But I do ask that you don't tell anyone where you learned this, and you don't share it outside of our group."

"Done," Rose said, without hesitation.

"With one exception, Liv.

I want you to teach my brother."

Liv's heart sunk.

She was already feeling like there was no way to prevent the knowledge from gradually spreading.

"I trust you, Rose," she said.

"But I've never met your brother."

"I know.

And you may not meet him for ages yet," the dark-haired girl said, giving a slow stroke to the oars to keep them floating near the edge of the shoal.

"But when I get you in the same place, some day, I want you to at least think about it.

If it was your brother, you'd want the same."

"We'll make a decision when I meet him, then," Liv agreed.

"You're going to teach me secret Elden magic, and all I have to promise is not to tell anyone?" Sidonie asked, with a grin.

"Of course.

Was there even a question?"

"You know I will," Arjun told her.

"And I'm glad to have a chance to practice without a horde of corpses charging at us, because I don't feel like I quite have it down.

The technique, I mean."

"Good.

Close your eyes," Liv said, "and use your breathing techniques.

Nice and slow.

You all know the mana in a rift is more dense.

When you go into the rift, it tries to get into your body, and it isn't subtle about how it does that.

It will rip through your skin, your muscles, and damage them as it passes.

That's mana sickness.

And then when you come out again, it can spill out of you, doing even more damage on the way.

What you all need to do is to give it a better way in - one that you're in control of.

We're going to start by learning to circulate our mana."

It was a long afternoon, and even Liv had to eventually take a turn at the oars, when Wren's arms got tired.

Whatever special adaptations Ractia had made, long ago, to Wren's people still protected her now: she seemed utterly unaffected and unconcerned by the increase in mana density once they rowed into the shoals, and just as at ease when they left again.

After hours of practice, all of her friends had made at least some progress.

Sidonie was the quickest study - something that didn't surprise Liv in the slightest.

Even back when they'd first met in Freeport, Liv had been astonished by the other girl's quick mind.

Arjun had the benefit of at least some practice.

Rosamund, on the other hand, was frustrated by her own slow progress, and Liv could tell.

As Wren rowed them back in, finally, Liv reached over and put a hand over Rose's.

"You'll get it," she said, gently.

"We'll come back and practice again tomorrow, and every afternoon until you do."

"It's so easy for you, isn't it?" Rose said.

"And her, too." She nodded at Sidonie.

"You two hardly ever seem to have to work at anything."

"Did you forget how many times you pinned me to the dirt?" Liv asked.

"We've all got things we're good at.

You're a better fighter than I'll ever be, Rose."

☙

After they'd got back to campus, Arjun insisted everyone follow him to the infirmary to be drained of excess mana, and checked over for signs of mana sickness.

Liv was glad he'd thought of it, because until her friends had mastered the technique, they were still at risk.

The next morning, Liv couldn't help but grin when she made her way down to the training grounds.

She went early, so that she could catch Wren and Jurian while they were still sparring, and found herself a seat near the bottom of the stands to watch as they finished up.

Wren had improved, Liv was certain, since they'd arrived together during Harvest Season.

The huntress had always known how to use a knife, but from Liv's own experience, dressing game was different from using blades in combat.

Now, after months of early mornings, it was plain for anyone to see that Jurian could barely keep up.

Wren fought with a blade in each hand, and each contest was simply a question of how long it took her to get inside of Jurian's guard, past the staff he used to ward her off.

Once she'd closed, it was only a matter of heartbeats until her practice blade was at his throat, his staff in her hands, or his back was on the ground, with Wren perched on top of his chest like a cat.

"Enough," Jurian gasped, finally.

"I need a drink.

And I suspect Liv didn't come down here this early just to watch you beat me up."

Wren got off him, reached a hand down, and hauled the archmage to his feet.

Together, they joined Liv in the stands, where they passed a flask of watered wine back and forth.

"You're right," Liv said, "but I did enjoy it anyway.

Anyway, we figured that you might know what Obediah Cartwright said when he was questioned."

"You did, did you?" Jurian took another drink.

"Well, you're right, for all the good it will do.

He claimed he'd been hired for a job.

To provide a cover story for the mercenaries, and a place for them to stay while they were in Coral Bay, but that he didn't know the details of who his employer was.

The attack on the reef was, he claimed, as much of a surprise to him as it was to anyone else."

"He's got to be lying, hasn't he?" Liv asked.

"Protecting the cult?

The priests in Lendh ka Dakruim have a word of truth they can use for questioning.

Could we ask Vivek Sharma to come speak to him?"

Jurian shook his head.

"I doubt it would be allowed.

Benedict doesn't want to have to deal with the problems in Varuna; this is far more convenient for him.

A sordid plot, a corrupt merchant, bloodthirsty and greedy mercenaries. Most of the soldiers who attacked are dead at our hands, and with Cartwright executed, he can declare the situation dealt with.

It isn't in his interests to get another kingdom involved."

"This is so frustrating," Liv complained.

"And you see the reason I both detest and avoid politics," Jurian said.

"Your students are on their way down the hill, Liv." He pointed up toward the road that led down from the main part of campus.

She looked over, and recognized both Tephania and Alan, though they weren't walking together.

"I'm curious to see how your training ideas work out," the archmagus admitted.

Liv stood, walked over to the trunk where the wands were stored, and unlocked it.

"We find out this morning," she said.

She snatched both of the new wands off the top of the pile, tucked them under her arm, and turned to wait for her students.

"You're running this morning, just like any other day," Liv said.

"The duel comes after.

Get moving!"

She ran with them, still working to rebuild her own stamina, and left the wands with Wren.

Once they'd gotten back, and everyone had a chance to catch their breath, Liv took the two new wands back and turned them over in her hands, checking again the sigils to be certain she gave the correct piece of driftwood to each student.

Once she was certain, she handed the wands to Tephania and Alan, in turn.

"Take whatever you want from the chest to go with it," she told them.

Tephania did take a second wand, though she seemed to hesitate over her choice; Alan, however, did not.

When they were ready, Liv put them back to back and called off the paces while the rest of her class watched.

She noticed that Jurian had positioned himself at an angle that would let him keep an eye on things, also, though he did not walk away from his Advanced course.

"When I call, you begin," Liv said.

She looked over the rest of her students, seated on the benches, and spoke to them.

"These two wands will be available for use during class, until you break them," she told them.

"Hopefully what you see today gives you ideas."

She turned back to Teph and Alan.

"Begin!" Liv stepped back out of the way to watch.

Alan, with the wand Liv had made him in his left hand, flicked it in a sudden motion.

A shining sword of blue mana, veined with gold, coalesced in his right hand.

Without hesitation, the boy charged forward, barreling directly toward Tephania only thirty paces away.

Liv looked to her friend, and had the sudden urge to call an end to the duel.

Teph's eyes were wide and terrified, and she looked for all the world like she'd frozen in fear.

If she'd chosen a wand enchanted with a mana shield spell, she didn't show even the slightest indication of using it.

Liv made up her mind that if Alan closed into lunging distance without Teph doing anything, she would call the match over.

There was no point in letting her friend get stabbed.

Then, Tephania visibly

braced herself, raised the wand Liv had made her, and flicked it forward in a single elegant motion.

A net of brilliant blue strands erupted out into the air between Teph and Alan, spreading just as if it had been tossed by the most skilled fisherman in Coral Bay.

Alan, unable to stop, ran right into it.

The net of coherent mana tangled about him, and the charging boy, caught, stumbled and lost his balance, rolling across the packed earth of the training yard.

His wand flew out of his hand, and the mana blade he'd been holding flickered out of existence.

Liv tried not to show her relief too obviously.

"Tephania is the winner," she declared.

She wanted to run over and give her friend a hug, and congratulate her: but right now, Liv knew, she wasn't a student.

She was a journeyman, teaching a class.

There was a distance that had to be there, a boundary she couldn't cross in public.

Later, at High Hall, she'd give Teph her congratulations.

Instead, she waited for Teph to release Alan, and then walked both of them over to the stands.

Once they'd sat down with the rest of the class, Liv looked all dozen students over.

"Now," she said.

"What did we learn?"