With the Keeper out of the room, Verdan started to relax before pausing and looking at first Bastian, then Dirk. “Have you been brought up to speed on what happened while you were gone?”

  “The suspected Brotherhood activity, you mean?” Bastian asked in a rough voice. “Burning the food reserves of the city is a disgusting tactic. I can’t help but wonder why they would target the Kranjir stores as well though.”

  “Perhaps because we have some separate to the rest of the city?” Dirk offered thoughtfully. “If their aim is to weaken the city, then that would make sense.”

  “That could be what they were trying to do, but I doubt it,” Verdan said, shaking his head. “There must be an easier way to cause such disruption. Attacking hunting parties, poisoning food, attacking the nearby farms, all of that would do more to hurt the city in the long run.”

  “That’s true enough, I’ve already had word that messengers have been sent to nearby cities and farms to buy up surplus stock. Conservatively, I estimate that the reserves will be replenished within two months,” Sinead said, tapping one finger on her chin in a rhythmic manner. “Whoever did this would surely realise as much, so either we should expect follow-up attacks, or they were trying to do something else.”

  “But what else could have been their aim?” Magnus asked, his brow furrowing as he glanced to Verdan. “Do you truly think the fires were the Brotherhood, Master?”

  “I think that I’m wary of attributing everything to them,” Verdan said slowly. “In the end though, my gut tells me it’s them. Here, take a look. This is from the attack on the estate, and we found debris in a matching style at the site of both arson attempts.”

  Magnus took the fragment eagerly, turning it over with an intent look on his face as he traced the edges of what they both knew to be carved Sigils. “I see. In that case, I agree.”

  “So, what are your next steps?” Bastian asked, tapping the map on the table. “We’ve looked at the disposition of the Darjee and they are growing in number to the north. Their presence doesn’t sit well with me when we know there is an active Brotherhood group here.”

  “First, I need to make one last try to get the city on our side,” Verdan said wearily. “I’m tired of these issues with the council, so I’ll approach Commander Silver directly. Before any of that though, we need to talk about the situation at the Adventurer’s Guild.”

  Unsurprisingly, Verdan’s allies were just as outraged as him about the subtle attack, and offered their aid, in whatever capacity they could. Turning to Natalia, Verdan gestured for her to take the floor.

  The Alchemist nodded and took a deep breath before stepping forward from where she’d been waiting near the door and cleared her throat. “I get the occasional delivery of monster reagents from the Airta, but I need more, and I need herbs as well as magic-imbued plants.”

  “Our gatherers and hunting parties are going to have to head south for the time being,” Sinead said, waving a hand at the map. “They’ll be working in new terrain, but if we can take some time to talk to the group leaders, we’ll see what we can do.”

  Some of the tension left Natalia’s shoulders as she smiled and nodded. “I’d appreciate that, thank you.”

  “Of course.” Sinead returned her smile before wincing. “I don’t think it will be enough though. It will only be things they stumble on, after all. In a better time, I’d send some people out just to gather for you, but right now I can’t.”

  “That’s fine, we understand the situation.” Verdan waved aside the issue. “In all honesty, I’d ask Clan Thrain to help as well, except I’m not sure how that would go with the oath I took.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Poorly, I think,” Sinead said, shaking her head. “You are their guardian for the time being. Asking them to work for you conflicts with the oath itself. We could argue for volunteers only, but when the man who is in control of your safety asks for volunteers, there is always some coercion.”

  Verdan winced at the wording but nodded all the same. “I understand, and that’s part of why I haven’t.”

  “Well, this meeting was about done anyway, so I’ll see if I can find those people for you,” Sinead said, starting for the door before pausing. “Would it be best to have them meet you somewhere, or would you prefer to come with me?”

  Natalia laughed mirthlessly. “Right now, I’ve got very little I can do. I’ll come with you.”

  Sinead nodded, and the two left, Alden trailing along behind and occasionally adding to the conversation as Sinead prompted them for more information on what they needed.

  Bastian excused himself a moment later, Baird following after him as they discussed the patrol situation. Benlen followed suit after a brief discussion with Dirk, giving Verdan a slight nod as he left the room.

  Once it was just the Wizards present, Verdan turned to Magnus, eager to turn to know more. “So, I notice that my Legion spell is still active. The Keeper seemed impressed, but how did they actually perform?”

  “Rocky single-handedly slew some sort of scaly, spined beast that would have been a problem,” Magnus said, shaking his head as he remembered the fight. “It was impressive, to say the least. The rest were more than functional as well, Rocky seemed to be able to control them quite well at the end.”

  “At the end?” Verdan echoed, arching one brow questioningly. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, to begin with, they were little more than a formation of constructs moving alongside us. After a little while though, Rocky seemed to get better at controlling them. By the time we caught up with the last of the Darjee, he was using them tactically to create openings and protect the rest of us.”

  “That’s impossible,” Verdan said flatly. “He shouldn’t be able to grow like that, even being the centre of the Legion spell. The construct I bound within him is static; it can’t change.”

  Magnus shifted his weight and rubbed the scar on his prosthetic again, but eventually shook his head. “I don’t know what to say; I could see the change. Especially after I infused him with more Aether.”

  “What?” Verdan blinked in surprise. “You added Aether to my spell? How?”

  “I did try that at first,” Magnus said, blushing slightly. “I forgot that my Aether wouldn’t merge without the same intent. Afterwards I realised that I didn’t need to though, as Rocky was a part of the spell and he has Aether-gathering Sigils.”

  “And you fed the Aether to Rocky directly, very clever.” Verdan gave Magnus an approving look. “I admit I’d wondered how you kept the spell going. In fact, how many of the constructs are left?”

  “Rocky is intact, and so are two of the ones you shaped.”

  “Are they somewhere out of the way?” Verdan asked, waiting for Magnus’s nod before releasing first the Legion spell and then the one animating the constructs. This far away from him, he couldn’t reclaim any of the Aether in the two spells, but he doubted there was much left he’d be able to use, anyway. “There, the two of them are released. The issue with Rocky is not so easily fixed.”

  “Is it really an issue, Master?” Magnus asked, Dirk nodding beside him.

  “Let me put it in a different way,” Verdan said, taking a moment to frame it so that they would understand. “Imagine if any of the spells you’ve cast recently didn’t behave as you expected. Projectiles arcing where they shouldn’t, shield spells blocking only most of what came at them. Take that uncertainty and put it in the frame of something as powerful as Rocky, who operates out of my sight for the most part.”

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Magnus said, shivering as a nauseous look flickered across his face. “Right now he’s an accident waiting to happen, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, but I’ll take care of it,” Verdan said, patting Magnus on the shoulder. “One way or another, I’ll manage the problem. I need you to do something for me, though. Speak to Cullan and Elliot to design a way to include two Aethite cores into Rocky, and a design for something slightly lesser that would use a single Aethite core. There needs to be a way to change out the cores as well. I have examples in the workshop, take one with you, but guard it carefully.”

  “Yes, Master.” Magnus stood tall with a gleam in his eye as Verdan sent him off on his task.

  “Anything you need from me, Master?” Dirk asked with a hopeful expression.

  “Not at the moment,” Verdan said, wincing internally as Dirk sagged slightly. “It isn’t that you can’t do anything, Dirk. I know that your role in the Clan takes a lot of time, and I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

  Dirk brightened a little at the qualification and nodded. “I understand, but if you do need me, I will help.”

  “I never doubted it.” Verdan patted Dirk on the shoulder. “The same goes for you if you need any help with the Clan. Right now, though, I need to go figure out what’s happening with Rocky.”