Chapter 554: Chapter 554

Guild Mistress Berilianne was up to her ears in people who could cast spells, weren't registered with the Mages Guild yet, and she had no clue of their abilities. They all needed to be tested, but that took time. Time that she didn't have. Some were players, only just arriving in town to make their fortunes in the dungeons. They came to her to buy the knowledge of spells the main guild refused to provide to her, or for training that took far more time than they would devote. There were also many people from the Hamlets, local boys and girls just coming into their powers, gaining spells and cantrips from delving into dungeons and slaying beasts in the woods.

Today, she had to take all of these people and somehow organize them into groups that could fight the wolves and support each other. She compromised by taking the players at their word and grouping them into fire teams, then assigning them to guard the Hamlets. The locals didn't have a player's ability to walk back from death in a night, so she kept them here in Sedgewick. She was trying to select a group to guard the front gate, where the tall gate tower would give them an unimpeded view of the front of the town. Once again, she cursed the idiots who were slowing her application for a higher status.

She was 'Technically Approved and Waiting on Final Decisions.' Which meant the only permanent help she had was the nearly worthless Jasper. The Fae woman showed up now and then, and they talked through the night about magical techniques, working through the books brought from the Fae Lands or salvaged from the Collegium. But she always disappeared at some point, leaving Berilianne to the mundane paperwork and business of running the Sedgewick Guild Hall.

The only saving grace to the paperwork and approval snarl was a new crystal that allowed for the evaluation of potential apprentices. With it, she could at least get an idea of their power level and potential. The old one wasn't up to the task of the Contract Workers in Sedgewick. More potential recruits to the guild meant a higher chance of being approved, and she had tried to convince as many of the magically inclined contract workers to submit to the testing. Too many declined, such as the Mayor, who had no desire to become part of a guild. She'd had trouble enough with bureaucrats and had no desire to do so again. But of those she tested, many had high affinities from their mundane work, and their lowly cantrips were as powerful as higher-level spells. The crystal had shown signs of stress while trying to analyze the Workers. The last person had been a Shepherd, who didn't even cast spells. He'd barely placed his hand on the old crystal when it flared and crumbled to shards. She'd been worried about him, but he was unconcerned. "Guess I'm not going to be a wizard. That's fine, someone has to look after the animals."

The new crystal was working flawlessly, giving her insights into the abilities of the players, workers, and potential mages she tested. Best of all, it relayed that information to the main Guild Hall, cutting her paperwork and showing that her reports were accurate. She yearned for the upgrade that would bring a competent assistant to Sedgewick. Jasper was getting on her nerves. He was jealous of anyone with ability, and the bile in his soul spilled out regularly. If she could have gotten rid of him, she would have, but he'd done something at some point that got him exiled to Sedgewick, and no one else wanted him.

Thoughts of Guild Upgrades, Jasper, and other problems faded as three young women with jet black hair walked in the door. They were in plain, peasant garb, but that didn't disguise that they walked like confident nobles. And each one was strongly aligned with the Aspect of Fire. They glowed to her Mage Sight, a small corona of flames around each of them, invisible to the naked eye. Their first words reassured her.

"Hi, Suzette sent us over. We're here to help burn wolves."

"Good, thousands are coming. Can I test you quickly? I may need to get stronger staves for you than these beginner wands."

"Will that register us with the Guild? We were never allowed to join before. We'd like to become full members."

"Not allowed? Why? I can see your auras with my Mage Sight. You are all three very strong."

The women shrugged, and one said. "Power over flames runs in our family. An overprotective elder brother, worried about what would happen if we were officially allowed to join a Collegium, has held us back all of our lives. But we live here now, where he can't tell us what to do. "

Beryl had seen that before. "Some parts of the Empire are still stuck in the pattern of 'Woman cooks, Man casts spells.' I don't agree with it, neither does the Mayor, and the Baron judges people on their value alone, not their sex."

"Oh, we've met the Baron! He's awesome. Very encouraging and helpful."

That was enough for Beryl; if the Baron and the Mayor vouched for them, she didn't need anything other than a quick test of their affinities. "Very good, if you could step right this way, then? I assume you are in the first tier? You have powerful auras. Please place your hands on the crystal, one at a time, until it gives off a chime."

Each did so, and each time the crystal turned various shades of orange and red, and in Ciara's case, tinged with purple. Beryl could see that they weren't beginners. The crystal heated up, and a small crack appeared in the side, leaking flames before she could cool it with her Sea Spray. There would be no more testing today, which was just as well. "You have levels and classes? Tell me, please

Fiarra pointed to herself and then her sisters, "Level 14 Spellblade, Level 12 Rat Hunter, and Level 11 Chaos Mage. We have extensive training, our family insisted on it, but it only includes a lot of formal training in spell casting; we had to pick up our practical knowledge where we could, and earn our experience in secret."

Adara rolled her eyes, "Not all of us could wrangle an affair with the fencing master, and really, the dungeons and basement were overrun with vermin. It was good practice. And little Ciara made friends with a wandering witchboy. Close friends, from what I hear." She elbowed her sister in the ribs.

Ciara poked her back, "Melchior was sweet, and he knew some interesting teachers. I was so upset when Ordo made him leave the Barony."

Beryl's mind clicked, "Ordo? Baron Ordo of Crystalthorne?.. but then?"

A musical voice broke in as the Silver Sorceress appeared on the stairs to the upper floors. "Then it is entirely appropriate that I escort these young ladies upstairs and show them a few things. I believe we had some Flame Silk gowns with lovely patterns on them in one of the wardrobes. Don't you hate it when you incinerate an enemy and lose all your clothes? You won't have that problem with these gowns. I love shopping, but not in the middle of a duel. I'm sure we can find you some things for the upcoming battle. There are some lovely staves that were used by past Guild Masters. I found them just sitting in glass cases. It would have been a shame to leave them for Winter to take. Come along."

There were gasps as the three sisters followed the Fae woman to the upper floors and saw familiar furnishings, tapestries, and bookshelves from Crystalthorn. "You took these from Ordo?" There were smiles all around.

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The Sorceress smiled back but shook her head. "Took? Oh no, I didn't take. I aided him, and he never got around to offering me a gift in exchange. But he did leave all this cute stuff lying around, so I brought some home and gave some of it to my friend Beryl, but there was so much there. It is mine by Fae Law. I can give it to whom I want, and I offer it to you in exchange for your aid in defending this cute little town. Do we have a deal?"

Fiarra was suddenly wary. "Defend for how long?" Check latest chapters at NoveI★Fire.net

The Sorceress smiled. "Well done. Those once imprisoned are more wary of traps. Shall we say 1 year of mortal time, and during that time, I will defend you against the mortals that you fear? I don't like anyone interfering in my business, whether they be mortal or Fae, Daemon or Angel. Berylianne will be your mentor, as I find it tedious to instruct mortals and have more interesting things to do."

"You have a deal." They expected contracts, or blood oaths. Instead, she shook their hands and hugged them. And then the Sorceress melted into a shadow and was gone.

Beryl had been watching from the stairs. "Robes in the rosewood wardrobe, and the best staves are on the wall on the third level. Loot what you need, head to the Butcher Shop for supplies of Mage's Delight, and then I want you on the main gate tower with me."

The sisters knew exactly what to grab, and giggled as they put on ancient robes made for past Arch Mages and grabbed Staves of Long Range Conflagration, the traditional symbol of authority of Battle Mages from Crystalthorn tower. Later, with a small barrel of Burney Bacon, they waited on the Gate Tower, wishing the wolves weren't so slow.

Billy was happy with the way his troupe of automatons was working out, except for the need to keep charging them. "Damn, these suckers are just not fuel efficient. We only had to jog a mile and kill a little pack of twenty wolves, and some of them are already down to two-thirds power."

Layla laughed, extremely pleased with the mayhem caused by her Guard of large lizardmen. "You need to go organic. My guys did as much damage, and if they get hungry, they can refuel on the go. Right, guys?" Her guard showed their bloody teeth and pounded their chests, many of them holding a haunch of wolf they were devouring. The Krax had been delighted to find out that there was no shortage of meat in Gadobhra, and an endless variety. They were adapting to life in the North and enjoying themselves.

"We had a lack of wolves. Once we get into a big pack, we'll see who can slice and dice faster. Let's do a swing around Sedgewick and clear out the dogs. If my guys run out of gas, I'll head for the town. My pet geniuses aren't far behind with a charging unit." He took off jogging, his mechanical monstrosities clanking behind him while the Baroness and her organic squad moved through the woods with ease.

Behind them, a hundred feet back, came Damien, Vladimir, AC-DC, and Titania. Damien preferred draft horses to pull his wagon over a Contract Worker. Horses didn't give away your secrets. They passed through the remains of the small pack, the horses shying at the smell of so much blood, and then rolled into the chaos of Sedgewick, with people shouting and racing for the walls. Damien saw the Mayor in the center of things and strode through the crowd of people to talk to her. Vladimir accompanied him, curious to see if his friend's interpersonal skills had gotten better.

"Greetings, bar wench. I am on a mission for the Baron and have little time, so pay attention. I require the following: Four barrels of Condensed Dark Mana, a barrel of brains from that slaughterhouse, and the services of several minions who know how to use a shovel."

Vladimir shook his head, chuckling. Some things never changed.

Suzette turned and glared at him, advancing until she was one inch away from Damien's bushy fake mustache. She spoke in a low, deep voice that couldn't be heard by anyone but the people on the wagon. "I believe you are misunderstanding who rules in Sedgewick." AC-DC went pale. Vladimir got his confirmation that Damien had yet to pick up social skills, and Titania clapped her hands and cackled.

Suddenly unsure, Damien was analyzing the threatening voice and wondering how it was attached to the small barmaid. He took a step backward, "Ah, perhaps..."

She followed him, staying close, "No 'perhaps'. Billy lets you run free in Gadobhra, and that's up to him, but this is my town, and you will behave, or Ben will be looking for a new uncle." Then she took two steps backward and smiled warmly. "Anything for the Baron. What clever sort of device are you constructing? Not that I'd understand such things, but my handsome brute of a boyfriend standing behind you is pretty clever."

Damien turned to where Ozzy had appeared suddenly, on the side of the wagon. The hulking Butcher was eyeing him with distaste and checking the edge on his cleaver. Damien said, hastily, "The Baron needs an electrical resupply station for his automatons, and ordered us to put it here."

Ozzy looked at the machine. "Runs on mana? Any type needed? Not that I understand such things."

AC-DC spoke rapidly. "Oh, any type. I have my new converters with me. Storm Mana is, of course, preferred, but any type can be stripped down to pure mana and used to charge the machines."

Ozzy nodded, "Good to hear, because I'm sure you weren't planning to construct an experimental mana storage device using brains and dark mana to absorb the Death Mana generated from the battle. Fun stuff, but not something I'd want in the middle of town. I'd suggest we put that outside the front gates. I think Ben's design is closer to a bomb than a battery. As for charging..." He effortlessly picked up the multi-ton charging station with one hand and began walking away. "...follow me. I've got the perfect spot for it. But...best stay back. Things get a little dangerous in this part of town."

Damien ran behind Ozzy. "That is an extremely complicated machine, you over-muscled lummox! It takes years of study to understand the intricacies of the science behind it!"

Ozzy grinned at him, "I can't do the math, but I have smart friends, and I learned a lot about mana flows from them. Especially the one in front of us." He put the charging station next to the smokehouse.

Titania and AC-DC knew better than to get close to the smoking daemon in front of them. Vladimir was enthralled with the animated chains that poked out of knotholes in the walls and looked around. Even Damien was slightly nervous, but that paled in comparison to his curiosity. "This building is hooked into the mana flows from Gadobhra and Rowan keep?! Oh, that will do nicely. We just have to find a way to connect it."

Ozzy yelled out, "Hook it up, Chainey, and put some mana in it. There'll be some clanky friends by at some point to soak it up. I think you'll like them."

Everyone watched as four chains connected to the terminals of the Automaton Charging Pad, pushing in mana until it was fully charged a few seconds later. Ozzy grinned and lit a cigar. Soon, small, smoky wolves were running from fiery sharks. He looked at the people around him, judging their reactions and staying silent as they watched.

Vladimir was enjoying the look on Damien's face. The mad scientist kept looking from the Smokehouse to the Chains, and back to the Butcher.

"Don't feel bad, Damien. Maybe we don't get to play with a new type of mana battery today, but our large friend did mention building a bomb."