Standing near the rear of my carriage, I stared at my energy furnace, annoyed at my own helplessness. The three-foot-tall furnace was quite underwhelming in terms of the energy it could produce. It could regulate the burn rate of the wood using arcane circuits in the intake tubes and even absorb energy from the metal of the furnace itself to increase the energy generation. Theoretically speaking, the only way to get more power was to burn a more volatile fuel or use gold and platinum for the arcane circuits.

  Light absorption was beyond me. There were some fundamental aspects of light I didn't understand. So, after continual failure, I was back at my furnace trying to find a way to generate more energy.

  “Cramer’s men have completed their work; we should be able to enter the city within the hour,” Anicia said. I didn't even notice her walking towards me. After giving her a nod, I returned to my contemplation.

  “Solving the great mysteries, Myr?”

  Finally, I looked away from the furnace to the red-haired girl. “Essentially.”

  “Can I help?”

  I looked at her dubiously.

  “You're the one who says differing perspectives are useful.”

  “Very well, I’m trying to extract more energy from the furnace; the only way is to make it bigger, but that has its own obvious complications. I'm sure you notice it’s always cool to the touch…another source of energy.”

  Anicia continued my thoughts: "You change the amount of air flowing in like a bellows: more air, a stronger flame...more magic energy."

  I stared at her for a few moments as she focused on the furnace sitting on the dirt road. I already explained how it functioned to her at a basic level.

  “You said you just create flammable gas and ignite it, correct…what if you…" I shook my head, cutting off the suggestion.

  “The transformation is already too energy-intensive. Besides, the combination of gases would have to be precise, and I might even end up snuffing out the flame."

  Anicia stared at me, confused. “Why would flammable gas snuff out a flame?”

  “A flame needs fuel and...well...let's call it 'living air’ to burn. Without living air, there is no flame. Even if it's balanced perfectly, or I add a third tube just for living air, the result still wouldn't be worth it.”

  "Living air?” Anicia asked.

  “It's the same gas we need to breathe; it also rusts iron. Decomposing this rust into iron and living air is how I reverse the rusting on scrap iron. It was one of the many things I learned from examining Rennah’s magical tools."

  “Interesting,” Anicia muttered.

  ‘What if I flooded the burner with pure living air? Would that not significantly increase the burn rate of the wood? After all, that’s just what bellows are for. Most likely, it would burn more quickly at even higher temperatures. I suppose the drawback is burning through the fuel even faster. But still, improvement is improvement.’

  A mischievous grin stretched across my face.

  “You’re welcome,” Anicia said smugly.

  ‘I suppose she did help me in some small way.’

  “My thanks,” I said.

  ~

  It didn't even take a quarter of an hour to create an arcane formula for what I wanted. It was rather simple in the end; all I did was pull living air into the tube and push everything but living air out, essentially creating a filter.

  After putting a metal ring with the new arcane circuit around the intake tubes near the base, I made all the bindings and activated the circuit. It took six times the energy of simply pulling air in. But moving air was already rather cheap in terms of energy consumption, orders of magnitude less than transforming air, to be precise. After piling in some wood, I ignited it with a small flame and slowly increased the strength of the binding of the new air intake, which was fed directly from my reservoir. The results were spectacular.

  Without any control, the flame shot up through the two-foot-tall exhaust, producing an ominous howl. Immediately, I connected the furnace to my amulet and began fueling. The top of the flue immediately iced over from the air dropping to its minimum energy point.

  ‘By Anier! What is that, seven…eight times more energy per second? It’s a good thing I’m absorbing the heat from the metal as well, lest the furnace starts melting.’

  “You seem pleased with the result; it looks like you got a lot more power out of it,” Anicia said after I finished properly binding the new intake circuit to regulate the airflow according to use.

  "It's significantly better. I’ll burn through fuel rapidly if I'm constantly using it to its maximum potential. Also, I don't have more power; I just have faster access to the same power. For normal operation, however, it's roughly the same. For things like shape transformation and even enchanting at a later date, this minor advancement is invaluable. Though we’ll have to assign someone to constantly add fuel if we're in heavy combat or something. It also means you can be more liberal with your magical tools."

  “I think this innovation is something you should keep for yourself,” Anicia suggested.

  “On that we can agree. This is certainly not standard imperial design.”

  ~

  Cramer’s men took control of the town rather quickly. As my train of carriages passed through the gates, his men and a few terror-stricken peasants were busy repairing the hole in the palisade. The town had no logic to its construction. Just a large assortment of wood, stone, or even odd clay buildings that expanded outward. East of the town was a fifty-foot-tall rock formation, at the base of which, I knew, was Cramer’s mine. There were many wooden buildings and even simple fortifications surrounding the entrance.

  As we rolled through the dirt town, I ignored the occasional drying pool of blood or the fearful eyes staring at us through the windows of the ramshackle houses. Finally, we reached the center of town, and houses actually began following some reasonable layout. We were flanked on both sides by well-constructed buildings that gradually increased in size and quality. A tall building with three floors painted a bright white that was nearly blinding in the desert sun dominated the end of the street.

  In the center of the wide dirt street were roughly fifty peasants, men, women, and children, all tied together with a heavy rope. A dozen guards watched them carefully. A part of me was mildly surprised that the women weren't, or were currently, being brutalized. I supposed not every force of men was prone to such actions.

  “Ser Cramer has designated that building for your use during your time here.” The guard said, pointing to a large blue manor with an attached stable. “Ah, here he is,” he added.

  Cramer stepped through the large white doors of the last manor house, looking slightly upset. The cohort of new management was running around doing goddess knows what.

  Stepping down from my carriage, I greeted Cramer. “Bad news?”

  The portly blond man sighed and smiled wryly. “Quite a bit of hassle, at least 200 royals worth of emeralds gone. But I can recover. Half of the wretches are dead, though I have quite a few locked in proper cells. I plan to behead them in front of that lot, which happens to be their friends, families, and acquaintances.”

  I glanced over to the hopeless peasants for a moment, their desperate faces not moving me in the slightest.

  “What do you intend to do with them after?” I asked.

  Cramer smiled viciously. “They owe a considerable debt to me. Quite a few other miners, quarry owners, large-scale loggers, brothel owners, and the like are more than willing to buy a good amount of that debt. I’ve already sent a rider for a magistrate and to contact a few friends. They will face execution or lifelong brutal labor until the debt is paid, though in truth, they will never pay it off. My mine, even at its worst, can't compare to the true charnel houses of the iron and copper mines."

  “That bad?”

  “They exclusively hire criminals with large debts or considerable crimes, like rape, murder, and the like. They work them to the bone…most don't last five years. First word of complaint: they cut out your tongue; second, they cut off your manhood." Cramer said a bit loudly, then walked a bit closer to me and smiled at the frankly terrified peasants. They weren't close enough to hear our conversation. “The women and girls I can sell to brothels, they always need fresh meat and usually pay well."

  “That’s why they’re untouched," I mused.

  Cramer scoffed, “I’m an honorable man, Dear Lady. I’d never allow such barbarism from my own people."

  “Law truly is just a suggestion out in the wastes,” I mused. “I suppose that's why they look so terrified and why you have a dozen guards watching them.”

  “Indeed. They know what’s coming. I can't believe the stupidity of some people. All this because a few boys died in the heat. As for the bandits, they abandoned them after they found out most of their men were dead. I won't need to worry about them for some time. My new staff is already hard at work talking to the residents who took no significant part in this pathetic rebellion and getting operations running. So I must leave you for the rest of the day; there is much work to do. Unless you're interested in how operations in the mines work. ”

  “Not particularly, though I might take a gander once actual operations begin." Glancing back over to the peasants, I asked, “What about them in the meantime?"

  "Let them cook in the desert sun for a few days; most will be alive when the magistrate comes along. I don't want to miss a second of these whelps getting what’s coming to them," he nodded towards a large window of the white house, in perfect view of the prisoners. "As for everyone else in the town, I’ll increase their wages…for a time." Cramer snapped his fingers as if just now remembering something. “And before I forget, your prize as agreed.”

  He gave me an ornate redwood box, around a foot long and four inches wide. I didn't bother to check and simply handed it to Anicia. “I’ll settle in for the eve, though heat doesn't affect me; the sun is glaring to my eyes, and I could do with some relaxation. Send me the designs and raw materials for the lanterns, water generator, oven, stove, and the rest.”

  He perked up and quickly added. “And an icebox as big as yours, I'll send a design."

  I nodded and offered a hand. “For our future friendship, I’ll only ask for 300 royals for everything.”

  To anyone else, that would be considered a massive amount of coin, enough to bankrupt even a noble family. After a quick thought, I added, “As a man who trades precious stones, have you ever encountered orichalcum?”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Cramer shook his head. “Not quite, but I'm sure a few wealthy people, nobles, merchants, and the like have bits of it stored away.”

  Reaching into my coin purse, I pulled out a single golden royal. “A piece of orichalcum this size will buy you everything we agreed to."

  Cramer took a deep breath and stared at me for almost a minute. "I can make well over a thousand royals selling those items. You know."

  “I know. But I’m not a merchant, my dear Cramer. I’m a Magus, and I might need some representation when I reach the Capital of Derk. I wouldn't want to be taken advantage of.”

  "Twenty percent," He said quickly.

  “Five.”

  "Come, my lady, that's barely better than my mine," He said. "Fifteen?"

  “Ten and every piece of orichalcum you bring me, equaling the mass of a royal, that percentage goes up by one; the same goes for unique magical items, up to a maximum of 20%. And I know you can sell all those items for at least 2000 royals, maybe even 3000 to particularly wealthy nobles. These lands lack access to magical items as much as water."

  He licked his lips and asked. “How will I know if the magical item is unique?"

  “If it wasn't made by me, it’s unique. Even the same magical item produced by different magi in different periods in time is still useful."

  “20% is considerable. And this is permanent?”

  “Indeed, I will never change it. And it always stays at a maximum of 20%." I smiled at him.

  He instantly caught on. "Can you allow me to counter any offers you receive? I can guarantee you will receive at least two royals' worth of orichalcum before the year ends."

  ‘Trippling the size of my reservoir? That would be exemplary.’

  “Agreed, so long as you can get me two royals' worth of orichalcum by year’s end. I will not agree to work with another merchant without first allowing you to counteroffer.”

  After a handshake, Cramer looked at the heavens and said. “You will cause quite the stir in the capital…I can't wait… so much coin to be made.”

  ~

  Cramer departed; he had an incredible amount of work to do to get his mine back into proper operation, work that I wasn't interested in. Anicia and Corina stood to my left and right, respectively. They were both focused on the bound peasants, who were currently cooking in the evening sun. Most were already burning, their skin turning bright red. A few strips of cloth could do little against the desert sun since they were all stripped to their small clothes. Corina had some pity while Anicia looked mostly disgusted.

  The rest of my people, Ben, my meat shield, Julia, and the old couple, all showed varying levels of pity; only the old woman remained stone-faced.

  Turning, I said to them, loud enough so the desperate peasants could hear. "Listen, everyone.”

  One and all, they straightened at the sound of my voice. “Julia, Edine, get this house up and running and move the magical items inside. Hang lanterns and get the furnace burning; distribute the warmers and set them to cool the air. I want every inch of that manor nice and frosty for our stay. We eat within the hour. Elias, Michael, tend to the horses and the spares; they need proper rest and food, purchase as you deem fit. Also, see to the carriages; I want them repaired and fit for travel. After you're finished with that, purchase as much scrap iron from the town as possible. I don't care if you have to spend silver. Bring it to the back of the manor. Any expenses, speak to Anicia; don't haggle, just spend. Morriane, I want everyone’s health checked over, even my own. And finally, Julia, prepare a large meal for us: sweet meat, pastries, bread, cheese, and wine; everyone eats well tonight. Buy up everything in the town; the price doesn't matter.”

  I looked at the young man in plate, which was repaired from the last battle. “Ben, keep guard. No one enters, not even Cramer, without my word. Everyone else, find a room. The manor seems large enough.”

  With a loud clap, I concluded, and they scurried about quickly getting to their tasks. I was pleased that they constantly threw pitying glances at the bound peasants and yet did nothing. It was a constant reality of mankind: better them than me.

  ~

  The rear of the house was spacious and empty. To one side sat my furnace, and in the center was my circle with plenty of scrap iron.

  “What you plannin’ on makin’ now?" Michael asked as he dropped the last bit of scrap in the center. Then he walked over to the furnace, wood in hand, ready to drop more fuel directly into the top of the exhaust, which would fall directly into the burner.

  Without answering, the metal heated to bright white in seconds. My amulet and the improved furnace provided more than enough energy to make shaping the large amount of scrap into a three-wide, six-foot-long bath with rounded edges in less than a minute an easy task.

  “A bath," he exclaimed. “Never seen one before, but carrying it up those stairs will be…” Immediately, the gravity around us decreased by at least three-quarters.

  “Ahh,” he said dumbly. “Magic.”

  Staring at the rest of the scrap, I shrugged and made a second bath. My servants were walking propaganda and needed to smell as much as look the part.

  ~

  My rooms were spacious, with a beautiful four-poster bed with silk sheets and feathered pillows, and a balcony looking down at the suffering peasants a few dozen paces away. The furniture, while basic, was well-made and didn't so much as creak while sitting. I placed the bath in front of the fireplace; it was already filled and slightly steaming. Though we were in the height of summer in an actual desert, the manor, with a dozen foot-tall air warmers blowing chilled air in every room and hallway, was comfortable. And already I could smell the scent of meat roasting on a fire.

  After stripping down and carelessly tossing my clothes to the floor, I stepped in, unable to stop a moan from escaping my throat as I sank neck-deep into the water. I closed my eyes and relaxed, the only sound being the crackle of the fireplace.

  The door to my room opened. But I didn't flinch; only Corina or Anicia could enter without knocking. I sat upright, my hair sticking to my face, neck, and chest, as both women stared at me.

  “You look mildly terrifying with your hair like that,” Anicia said, then quickly changed the subject. ”Good news: we managed to find some soaps and oils."

  Anicia offered me a glass bottle. Without hesitation, I opened it and poured half the contents into the water. The air quickly filled with the scent of lavender.

  "Anything interesting?” I asked as I began working the oil into my hair.

  Anicia continued to speak. “Nothing of note to be honest. Everyone’s excited about the bath, and supper should be done in a quarter hour. Practically everyone knows you're a magus, so they’ve been throwing anything we need at us. I still pay them well, but damned if it isn't difficult to get them to accept the coin.”

  Anicia drew near a small chair and sat behind me. Reaching for my neck, she slowly pulled away my protective amulet and reservoir and placed them on a small table with the rest of my jewelry or weapons, depending on your perspective. Then she pulled up her sleeves and took over working the oil into my hair.

  While I didn't think she would try to harm me at this point, there was still the faintest tension in me since the dragon’s breath on the back of that reservoir was my last item of defense. But that was also the point: to show my trust in them. I relaxed into her hands and closed my eyes as she worked.

  “The townsfolk are terrified, especially those bound. Rarely have I seen such desperation. It would probably be a kindness to simply kill them.” Anicia said.

  Corina spoke next. “If Cramer’s words are to be believed, there is no 'probably'; death is a kindness. Cramer truly intends to starve them for a few days. No food, no water, not even for the children.”

  Anicia reached down lower and massaged the back of my ears and neck.

  “What is his purpose in this action?” Corina asked.

  “There is none; they suffer for his pleasure. 200 Royals is nothing to scoff at; we've seen people die worse deaths for handfuls of bits, mother.” Anicia added.

  I opened my eyes to see Corina hiding discontent. “Speak, Corina. Do not hide your feelings.”

  “It is just unpleasant to watch them slowly die. I can ignore it; I know this. I've done this many times in my life. Yet…”

  “Do you want to help them? Resettle them? Pay their debt? I suppose I could make a deal with Cramer. Save those people from their suffering.”

  “No,” Anicia said. “There’s little to gain; Cramer is far more useful. But we could use a handful more people.”

  “I suppose that’s the best we can do,” Corina muttered.

  I shook my head. “No, I can do far more, but I choose not to. We are here for me, nothing else. Since you also brought this up, I will assign this task to you. Between five and ten of them I will keep. No more, no less. But not today; a fruit must ripen before it is plucked."

  I stood, feeling suitably clean. Anicia helped towel me down, brought me to a stool, and used the modified air warmer to blow hot air into my hair, drying it quickly. With a metal comb, the process was rather quick, making my black waist-length hair straight and leaving behind a beautiful luster. I didn't even bother dressing as I walked over to the bed and flopped onto it, my legs dangling from the knees, enjoying the silk sheets on my skin.

  “What should we look for in potential recruits?" Corina asked.

  “Temperament takes precedence. We need those who can be molded. Next is skill; in the absence of that, youth and vitality. A scalding from the sun can heal, a limp or missing limb…not so much.”

  “That’s very broad,” Corina said, mostly to herself.

  "I'll leave it all up to you two. And if your choices prove to be incorrect, I’ll leave disposal to you as well; peasants are easily replaced. You know what I want; you know my methods. I’ll trust in you both."

  “How long should we let them… Ripen?” Corina asked with a small amount of distaste.

  “Two days at least,” I said.

  “We could go into the town in the meantime. Their prospects are likely better," Anicia suggested.

  Corina nodded in agreement. “I will think about this. The meal should be finished in a few minutes. I’ll bring it up… I'm quite famished.”

  After Corina left, Anicia sat next to the bed, though I was busy staring at the ceiling.

  "Quite an abrupt end to the conversation. What is going on in that mind of yours, Corina?’

  "Perhaps you should get dressed; you wouldn't want someone walking in on you.”

  “Everyone knows I'm bathing; if they're careless enough to simply walk in, then death should be the price of their stupidity.”

  “You’re quite comfortable in the nude. It’s rather strange,” Anicia said.

  “Blame the dryad," I muttered. “She disintegrated all my clothing, so I went nude for months; at some point, it stopped being uncomfortable.”

  “You know, Myr, I’ve been wanting to ask?”

  “What is it?”

  "Your time spent with the dryad…touching her mind and such. Did you technically have sex with her?”

  I opened my mouth, then closed it, contemplating the odd question. “In some strange way, I suppose.”

  “How does that compare to the real thing?”

  “Actual sex varies. Sometimes, it's raw, an almost animal passion; on occasion, it's deeply intimate; other times, it's just mechanical, barely more fulfilling than just taking care of myself. The dryad was altogether different; I can't describe it in a way that makes sense. It would be like describing the color blue to someone who’s never had eyes.”

  “Is it something you would do again?”

  “Perhaps, but the dryad was all too terrifying. I did not want to risk asking a question whose answers I didn't want. And what if, like those humans, she decided to keep me like a pet or something?” I shook my head. “Being so vulnerable was deeply uncomfortable.”

  “You're quite vulnerable right now,” Anicia said with amusement.

  “The difference is the lack of existential dread.”

  “So, you feel no fear. I could pull my dagger, you know, and it would be all over for you. All your dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Do you really trust me that much?”

  ‘I wonder, what is faster, her hands or the trap she has hanging at her side?’

  I finally turned my gaze to her and met her green eyes. “I was serious then, Anicia. My life is in your hands."

  She shook her head, turned away, and then muttered, “I still can't tell if your words are just perfectly chosen or you're speaking from the heart.”

  “What do you think? Deep down on an instinctual level.”

  "It's probably both; more precisely chosen than heartfelt.”

  “Do you resent me for that?"

  “No.”

  “Does it make you unhappy?”

  “No.”

  “Do you want me to change? Would you prefer if I were a creature of pure logic or a bleeding heart?”

  She scoffed at the idea. "Certainly neither. Both extremes seem horrid."

  “Then does it really matter where in the spectrum I fall?”

  Anicia was silent for over a minute before releasing a truly withering sigh. She lay down, and we both stared at the ceiling. “As always, you’re right. Guessing where you fall between each extreme is a waste of time; it is likely to constantly change depending on the situation.” She muttered almost silently, "Like any normal person, I suppose.”

  We drifted off in comfortable silence for several minutes; her hand grazed mine a few times. First by accident, then on purpose, I allowed her to explore whatever she was feeling, however she wished. Then a bloodcurdling scream came from outside. Anicia hopped to her feet and ran towards the balcony, then angrily shouted down to the guards watching the bound people for over a minute.

  “Some fool tried something and got brained with a club. Lots of blood...he's either dead or on his way. His wife's the one screaming,” she said. I was halfway dressed by the time she finished her conversation.

  I shrugged, not caring in the least. “The bath is free. However, you’ll need Julia and Edine to empty and refill it. It can refill itself, but it will take some time."

  “I can wait.”

  Eagerly, I walked over to the ornate box and pulled out what looked like a quill; however, the tip was just a round nub around an inch long and probably a sixteenth of an inch thick. Turning a dial on one side resulted in the tip vibrating quickly, producing an odd humming sound.

  “What secrets do you hold?”