“Wait,” he said, ducking through a door and coming back with a leather satchel, which he handed to Belinda.
“Just some random medical supplies,” he said. “It’s all labelled.”
She gave him a sad smile as she took the bag.
“Thank you,” she told him, then walked out the door.
On the top floor of the Adventure Society’s administration building, the director’s office occupied a large space in the corner of the building, the windows giving a panoramic view of the campus grounds. The director, Elspeth Arella, was looking out those windows as one of her officials made a report. Her name was Genevieve, and Jason would recognise her as the elderly elf who questioned him during his promotion hearing.
“Lord Vordis is refusing to say what the package contained, beyond that it was very valuable.”
“And the guards who set the ambush,” Arella said. “They were from the Duke’s household guard?”
“Yes,” Genevieve said. “Six bronze rankers and triple that in iron ranks.”
“And she still got away,” Arella chuckled. “The Duke won’t like how that makes his forces look. This thief is a resourceful girl, lucky for us. Set up a meeting with the Duke. I want to be very clear that the moment he fobbed this issue onto us it became an Adventure Society concern. He can’t take it back now.”
“He’s already sent a pre-emptive response,” Genevieve said.
“I’ll bet he has,” Arella said.
“He claims that since you have failed to complete the contract after the better part of two months, and refuse to raise the contract to the bronze-rank level, then he is duty-bound as the city ruler to intervene.”
“Send our response when you set up the meeting,” Arella said. “Make it clear that he is the one that placed this issue in the hands of the Adventure Society, that the Adventure Society will handle it when and how we see fit. Should he further intervene, either openly or covertly, then the city of Greenstone will be in violation of their arrangement with the Adventure Society. All adventuring activity will then cease until a new arrangement has been negotiated, confirmed and enacted.”
“Are you certain you want to take it that far?”
“He’s not stupid enough to renegotiate terms before the original agreement runs out,” Arella said. “Not with me.”
“But do you want to draw that arrow from the quiver?” Genevieve asked. “You can only make that threat once or he’ll have grounds to go over you to the central branches.”
“I need Lucian Lamprey gone. So long as he’s in charge of the Magic Society here, trying to clean up our own house is bailing water from a sinking boat. Until the hole is plugged, the best we can do is stop things from getting worse.”
“And you think this will get rid of him?”
“If things drag out for long enough. He’s a man unused to restraining his appetites. Sooner or later, he will make a mistake we can use to oust him. When his patience comes to its limit, he will act.”
“So long as the thief remains at large long enough for him to do so.”
“Yes. Which is why catching her must remain the responsibility of iron-rankers, with no interference from the Duke’s people.”
“Madam Director, do you know who this thief is?”
“Of course not,” Arella said. “That would be unprofessional.”
“We’re getting close,” Humphrey called out over the sound of the airboat. He pointed at a rise of earth in the marsh and Clive steered the airboat up onto it. Humphrey was guiding them with a crystal orb that lit up in the direction of the badge they were tracking.
He stepped off the airboat onto the soggy bank, Jason and Clive following after. They followed the tracking orb onto higher, drier ground, Jason hacking their way through tight scrub with a machete. The blade was enchanted for the task, a common tool that every adventurer learned to take into the delta. They progressed until Humphrey called them to a stop.
“Oh,” he said.
All three looked at the orb in Humphrey’s hand. The indicator light was pointing straight down into the wet, heavy earth.
85
Because I’m an Adventurer
“I couldn’t find anything even resembling an entrance,” Jason said as the trio regrouped. The others shook their heads, having fared no better.
“Probably some kind of extended lair,” Clive said. “A lot of creatures in this environment, monster and animal both, are just as happy in the water as out. Some like to dig burrows and stash prey for later consumption. The entrance could be in any direction and is probably underwater.”
“Any suggestions?” Humphrey asked.
“We could try a simple ritual used for digging wells,” Clive said. “I’m sure I have one in a book somewhere in my storage space.”
“I don’t know that ritual,” Jason said. “Wasn’t in my ritual magic skill book.”
“People make skill books with knowledge practical for adventurers,” Clive said, “not for farmers. It’s one of many reasons that skill books aren’t proper magic instruction. They only give the flimsiest theoretical grounding.”
Jason groaned. “You sound like Farrah.”
“Really?” Clive asked, his head perking up. “Did she say something about me?”
Jason wearily shook his head.
“Why didn’t you suggest a magic tunnel in the first place?” he asked.
“My concern would be collapsing whatever underground space we break into,” Clive said. “This ground is incredibly wet. Whatever lair or burrow is down there may be full of water already, or our tunnel could collapse the whole thing.”
“I don’t see a better option,” Humphrey said.
“Time to pull out the old bag of salt, then,” Jason said. “You know, I’m still on the bag I took from these cannibals I killed. I should practise rituals more.”
“Don’t bother with the salt. I’ll sort it out.” Clive closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Nothing in the surroundings changed, but both Jason and Humphrey felt a stillness come over them.
[Human] has used [Mana Equilibrium].
Ambient magic has entered a harmonious state.
The next spell cast in this area will cost reduced mana, and the harmonious state will be disrupted.
“That’s interesting,” Humphrey said, looking around. Jason knew that Humphrey’s perception power, dragon sight, allowed him to see magic.
“You’re smoothing-out the ambient magic to make rituals easier,” Humphrey said. “You seem very spell-oriented for a human.”
“I venerate the Celestial Book,” Clive said. “I received a blessing that triggered a racial gift evolution. It changed the human special attack affinity to a spell affinity, like the elves.”
“Nice,” Humphrey said.
“I didn’t understand any of that,” Jason said.
“Then you know what it’s like to talk to you,” Clive said and Humphrey nodded his agreement.
“What’s the Celestial Book?” Jason asked. “Is that the god of books, or something?”
“It’s one of the great astral beings,” Clive said. “They’re similar to gods, but instead of belonging to a specific world, they exist between worlds, in the deep astral. You could almost describe them as gods to the gods, although you wouldn’t catch any gods saying that.”
“So, you took a look at the gods,” Jason said, “and basically asked to see their manager.”
“That’s not even close to how it works,” Clive said.
“What about that racial gift evolution you mentioned?” Jason asked. “A lot of religious folk aren’t big on evolution, where I come from.”
Clive looked at Jason, then turned to Humphrey.
“You explain while I look up this ritual,” Clive said, pulling a book from his storage space. Unlike Humphrey’s or Jason’s storage, where objects were pulled from thin air, Clive’s storage space involved a floating ring of runes, in the middle of which a small portal formed.