AA3 8 - Request I (Patreon)

Verdan was reading through his copied notes from the tower the next day when he received a message from Commander Silver asking him to come to the guard headquarters.

Silver rarely asked for much from Verdan, so when he did, Verdan tended to respond quickly. He didn't want to waste time if something was serious enough that Silver was actually asking Verdan for help.

Tidying away the records, Verdan locked and sealed the door to his room before heading into the city towards the headquarters.

The city was still quite busy with the arrival of the Kranjir caravan, so it took Verdan a little longer than anticipated to reach his destination.

Thankfully, most of the traffic was elsewhere, so the area around the headquarters wasn’t that busy.

Approaching the main doors, Verdan greeted the guards on duty, who recognised Verdan and let him through. The sergeant running the desk inside sent a runner to let Commander Silver know that he’d arrived.

Verdan was waiting for only a few minutes before he was escorted in and guided up to what had used to be Commander Griffon’s office.

“Wizard Blake, good to see you,” Silver said as Verdan walked in, rising from his desk to shake Verdan’s hand. “Please, take a seat.”

“You too,” Verdan said as they both sat down. “So, what has gone wrong?”

“For once, nothing,” Silver said, a rare smile touching his lips for a few moments before he shook his head. “We’re stepping up patrols of the surrounding area after that shadeweaver nest, but otherwise, things are in hand.”

“Then what do you need my advice on?”

“A somewhat delicate matter,” Silver said, his brow furrowing slightly as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his desk. “Do you know much about the Kranjir?”

“Not really. I know they occupy the lands north of the mountains and that they practice ritual scarification, but that’s about it.”

“Well, the main thing to know beyond that is that they have no Sorcerers of their own. We know little of how they survive without them, and they like to keep it that way.”

“No Sorcerers at all?” Verdan asked cocking his head to one side with interest.

“As far as I’m aware, the only ones they have are from the children of Sorcerers that have moved north. Accurate information is hard to come by, but that much seems to be agreed on by all.”

“Interesting,” Verdan muttered before frowning. “Dirk mentioned seeing Sorcerers before they came south. That takes on a different meaning now.”

“As I understand it, there are a few outposts of Sects like the Steel Custodians or Defiant Flame north of the mountains. I assume they are who he’s referring to.”

“This is all interesting,” Verdan said, mentally noting to discuss this with Dirk and Barb at a later date. “But where do I come into things?”

“That’s where things get interesting,” Silver said, getting back up from his chair to pace across the room. “We haven’t had any trade caravans from the Kranjir in a few years, but historically, they would come and trade for our metal. The northern reaches have few metal deposits that are easy to access, so they trade with us instead. Well, they used to until our forges closed down.”

“I’m with you so far. It makes sense for them to return if they know the mine is open.”

“Indeed, but that’s not why they’ve come. They’re here because they heard about the enchantments we’ve been using that don’t require Sorcerers.”

“I see,” Verdan said, his brow furrowing slightly. “But if they have means to survive without Sorcerers, why do they need the sort of temporary enchantments I can provide?”

“I’ve not pressed them too hard on that at this point,” Silver said, his voice going soft as he continued. “I’m quite new to this side of the job. I don’t have the familiarity with them that he did.”

Silver’s expression darkened, and he was silent for a few moments before shaking it off and turning back to Verdan. “The Council would like to commission your work for a number of weapons that we will sell to the Kranjir. Restarting trade with the clans in the north is a priority for the city.”

“I understand, but I will need to know what they want the weapons for,” Verdan said firmly. “I don’t like the idea of selling them at all, but I’m willing to hear their reasoning.”

“That would be most appreciated,” Silver said, giving Verdan a thankful nod before taking a seat once more. “I will speak to their leader some more and make it clear that we don’t create them directly. That may help get some details. In the meantime, I have a list of our next requests. If you have some time to work through them?”

“Of course, I’ve already converted several hundred bolts and arrows…” 

-**-

It took Verdan some time to work through the list of enchantments to be created or renewed, but eventually, he was able to make his way back to the estate and pick up where he’d left off.

The latest thing Verdan was working on was to understand more about these new sigils. From some of the designs, there seemed to be a few that Verdan could copy, but without them being used as part of an actual piece, it was hard to know what they did.

A trip back to the tower would likely help, as Verdan could examine the different pieces of magitech there. For now, however, he would study the globe that Macannan had given him when they first met.

Armed with his new knowledge, Verdan deciphered the repeating pattern that covered the globe into a trio of smaller sigils in a triangular pattern.

Grinning to himself, Verdan noted down the three sigils, satisfied with his progress.

Taking a piece of wood, Verdan carved the three sigils into it in the same pattern before infusing the whole thing with Aether.

“Nothing,” Verdan muttered to himself as the sigils remained dark and unchanged. He could feel the Aether inside the wood, but it wasn’t causing the sigils to activate.

There must be something he was missing out in the process, but without detailed instructions to follow, there was no way to know what.

Incinerating the wood with a quick fire spell, Verdan returned to his notes and continued reading. Perhaps he would figure out what he’d missed out.

-**-

The next day was more of the same, though Verdan made the decision to convert a room in the workshop to become his new office. Working from his bedroom in the mansion wasn’t ideal, and this way, he could ward the room to protect the notes.

“Boss, do you have a minute?” Barb asked as she knocked on the open door at the entrance to the office.

“Of course, come in,” Verdan said, finishing writing a quick list of furniture he needed to get made for the room. “How’s your hand?”

“It’s fine, thank you,” Barb said, taking a seat opposite Verdan as she absently fiddled with the strap of her prosthetic.

“Excellent, here, let me just refresh the Aether,” Verdan reached out, and Barb held up her prosthetic for him to top up the Aether. “There, now, what can I do for you?”

“Well, you’ve seen the caravan that’s come to the city?” Barb began somewhat hesitantly, pausing for Verdan to nod before clearing her throat and continuing. “Well, the leader of the group is a Keeper of Clan Thrain. He’s asked me to help him locate the person creating the enchanted weaponry for the city. I haven’t given him an answer, but I was hoping you would meet with him.”

“When did he approach you?” Verdan asked, leaning back in his chair with a closed expression.

“Yesterday afternoon, while I was at the market,” Barb said with clear discomfort. “I’m of Clan Baorlin, who are allies of Clan Thrain, so I’m honour-bound to assist if I can. Please don’t think that I would bring such a request to you otherwise.”

“I understand, and I appreciate the difficult position this put you in. The Keeper also contacted the city about purchasing some weaponry, but I will need to know what it is for before proceeding. Did he give you any specifics?”

“Only that he wished to purchase some for the defence of the Clan.”

“I see,” Verdan said thoughtfully, tapping one finger on his desk absently. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about your people?”

“There may be some things I can’t answer, but I will say what I can.”

“Commander Silver said that your people have no Sorcerers. Is that right?” Verdan waited for Barb to nod in confirmation before leaning forward once more. “Without Sorcerers, how do they fight back against monsters and the like?”

“The Chosen protect the Clans. They are warriors trained from birth to wield weapons made from glaichsteel. They are the heroes of the Clans and are the first line of defence against monsters."

“Glaichsteel?” Verdan carefully repeated the word, doing his best to memorise it. “What is that?”

Barb shrugged slightly and spread her hands. “Only the Keepers of the Clans know the secrets of glaichsteel.”

“Interesting. We’ll see what he says to the City Council, but I promise to consider his request with an open mind.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Barb said, relaxing slightly in her chair. “If you have any other questions about my people, I will answer what I can.”

Verdan nodded and went back to his work as Barb left once more. He was intrigued by her answers and definitely wanted to investigate further. That being said, it was a secondary priority to working out how the sigils operated.