–—- ??? —---
Kaledo dug through the box, thumbing through parchment as he searched.
“No, not that one… not that one… AH!” he smiled. “Here it is.”
He pulled out the sheet and quickly scanned it. Price list and inventory of various types of stone from Grolgren’s–one more sheet checked off his mental list.
He set it to the side on a crate lid and continued rifling through the stacks of parchment.
Compared to everything that he had done so far, this was by far the most normal task he’d all day.
The merchant glanced over his shoulder towards the open door of his shop. No sign of the big hulking monstrosity.
He shook his head, refocusing on his task.
Wilbur had asked him if he knew of any places in town that had building materials. He’d been excited to be useful, instead of staring at the strange things the man was doing.
So, he’d told the wizard he would just run off to his shop and find every bit of paperwork he had. Anything he’d gathered that described the sort of goods his fellow merchants sold.
Of course, the wizard agreed, but once again did something the merchant had never thought to be a possibility.
He’d been amazed by the building’s plan and outline. Then he’d been curious as the Wizard slowly carved out complex drawings in the soil.
When Kaledo had asked what he was doing, the man had simply said, “Summoning.”
Kaledo had stood back, waiting to watch the building rise from the ground.
Instead, he’d been mildly horrified. The wizard had finished whatever it was that he was doing, took a step back, and clapped twice.
The ground shimmered, then melted as if under the heat of a thousand suns.
From that shimmering, quivering ground, hissing screeches had ripped forth. Monstrous hands emerged, molten claws clutching at the surrounding earth as something pulled itself into their world.
In heartbeats, a creature made of fire, lava, and ash dragged itself up. The radiant heat from it blew out in a wave, and sweat started to drip from the merchant's face.
Kaledo shivered as he remembered that monster's gaze. Those burning eyes briefly turned to the small man.
Glowing, red, and dangerous. They had stared into his very soul. He swore he could feel them burning away some part of him.
But then it had turned its attention to Wilbur. The wizard had spoken, but the words were unlike anything the merchant had ever heard.
Guttural, acidic, they seemed to bite at his very ears as they wafted across the wind.
To make matters worse, it seemed the Wizard wasn’t done.
Multiple patterns, multiple summonings. Creature after creature emerged from the depths of another world as Wilbur kept bringing in what he affectionately called “his construction crew.”
They all seemed to be made of individual elements, beings made of water, earth, crystal, and things Kaledo had never seen before.
Honestly, the one that looked like a gleaming crystal with a prismatic quality was the worst. Kaledo had thought the fire one was bad. But he swore that… thing… was sneering at him.
That one, the Wizard called “Architect Algaroth”. The merchant had nervously bobbed his head when he was introduced, internally questioning what the hell he was doing. Why had he agreed to follow this crazy man around? What was he thinking?
So, Kaledo had been ecstatic when Wilbur had asked him about materials in the city. Any excuse to run away from the ever-watching eyes of those… things.
Returning from his thoughts, Kaledo glanced back at the door again.
Why had Wilbur sent one with him?! By the Radiance, didn’t that absent-minded man realize he was trying to be out of those things' sight?
He shook his head.
No, Wilbur probably didn’t think that. From his short experience with the strange man, he really didn’t seem to notice mundane things like ‘fear for your life’ and other such trivialities.
The merchant moved to a second crate, pulling off its lid. He thumbed through more parchment, pulling several dozen from the various bits of information he had gathered.
He sighed to himself. After this crate, he could only delay with some of the collected documents in the back. Then he would need to return.
“Servant of the Great One.” A voice rumbled, the deep tones vibrating through the shop. Kaledo spun around with a squeak.
“Uh… yeah!?” He quickly replied, his eyes snapping to the door. Leaning down and peering in, a dark brown earthen face with deep green gem-like eyes stared at him. The earthen creature that Wilbur had sent along as his ‘bodyguard’.
“A threat approaches.” The flat face stated.
“What? A threat?!” Kaledo’s heart began to thump as he quickly glanced toward the boarded-up window. He really should have taken those down. Were there still demons in the city?
“What threat?” He asked, the merchant’s mind racing.
“It approaches.” The being rumbled, glancing down the street. It looked back at Kaledo. “Stay inside, Servant of the Great One. I shall neutralize this threat. You will be safe here; none will be allowed to approach.”
And with that, with a grinding of stone, like boulders tumbling down a mountainside, the creature lumbered away.
Kaledo let out a sigh of relief. Maybe Wilbur had been right to send that … companion… with him. There were many things he was unsure of right now, but what he did know was that nothing was going to be able to deal with that thing.
He took several deep breaths, then turned back to the crate. It would probably be best for him to hurry; who knew what could still be in this city?
Kaledo thumbed through the parchment again, thinking. He hoped the owners of the properties they had purchased had the sense to avoid any demons still in the city. Or at least had s–
Kaledo froze.
He blinked.
Then spun and dashed for the door, but tripped over one of the crates he had set out. Scrambling to his feet, he quickly made for the door.
The merchant’s feet pumped, and he inhaled, hoping he wasn’t too late. He frantically yelled after his bodyguard.
“WAIT! Don't neutralize the threat! Don't neutralize the threat!!!"
–—- ??? —---
Wilbur sat back in his chair, his eyes tracing the replica floating before him. It was a one-to-one recreation of the lines he had drawn throughout his new property. Of course, line after line was being erased and redrawn as he watched.
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The gleaming elemental grumbled, the sound like pleasant tinkling crystal despite its frustration.
“You don’t like it?” He asked the grumbler.
Algaroth’s crystalline eyes snapped to him, filled with annoyance.
“No.”
Well, that was roughly what it said anyway. The elemental tongue was vastly different from most mortal languages. It had taken Wilbur several years to learn it.
“What’s wrong with it?” He asked.
“Rough. Horrible. Disastrous.”
Wilbur sighed. Algaroth was always a perfectionist. His eyes scanned his design, watching the elemental remove line after line.
He looked up and squinted. Far above the lines that he had drawn earlier, the elementals reacted in real time.
“You know, if you would just explain what you’re changing… I could offer suggestions?” Wilbur said, raising his white mug to his lips. The elemental ignored him.
He took a sip. The blank white mug shifted, blocky letters and an orange splotch appearing. Stamped on the side, it now said “I don’t Carrot all”, complete with a vector drawing of a carrot filled in with orange.
Wilbur glanced at it then smirked at the elemental architect...Who was ignoring him.
Its crystalline eyes focused on the small replica of his designs, its long, shimmering appendages blurring as lines were shifted, moulded, and changed.
The wizard sat back, his fingers drumming on his mug. While a bit rough around the edges, Algaroth was one of the more talented beings Wilbur had encountered. He’d argued with him over the years on various designs, but Wilbur had to give it to the grumpy hippy stone. He was a freakishly good architect.
Every time Wilbur insisted on his own changes, the result was worse, at least from past experiences.
Wilbur looked out over his land and smiled to himself.
While the crystalline Algaroth planned, the other summons were hard at work. The foundations of his school were coming along nicely.
Earthen elementals moved under the soil, the ground rumbling and transforming as they passed. Behind them, boiling fire elementals followed, their magma and fire causing the transformed earth to boil like water. Heat rose from the molten material, and blue and white summons descended on it. Their jaws ratcheted open, and heat was sucked away.
Wilbur grinned. Yup. This was the best way to build. He imagined that any construction company, on Vlanoris or Earth, would go green with jealousy if they could see just how fast his wonderful interplanar friends could work.
He turned his attention back to Algaroth.
“So, you aren’t going to let me in on the designs?”
The architect glared at him. Wilbur grinned.
“Aren’t you supposed to be more respectful to me? Hmmm, Mr. Shiny?”
Crystal creaked as the elemental lord slowly turned his head to face the Wizard.
“Perhaps I should be more respectful… Oh Great Arcane Lord, grand magus of the elements, keeper of the–”
“Okay, okay!” Wilbur set his mug in the air, then held his hands up defensively. “Point taken, Algaroth. I won’t call you Mr. Super Shiny, you don’t call me that horribly and ridiculously long name.” Wilbur grumbled. “Who even came up with that…”
“Castien Uriydark, the great keeper of elemental records.”
“Oh, right…that guy.” Wilbur shivered. “He’s obnoxious. Continually asking me about my history. I do not like that red-stoned weirdo.”
“Agreed.” The elemental architect nodded, prismatic light bouncing from his shifting head.
Wilbur smiled. He was glad that obnoxious people were universally unliked, even by their own people.
He sat back in his lounger, watching as line after line was replaced. He sipped his coffee and swirled the bitter liquid in his mouth.
Should he do something here? Maybe.
As the silence dragged on, the elemental’s speed increased. Wilbur let out a small sigh. He could jump in, give the elemental his opinion, but…
In his experience, Algaroth normally created far better designs than him, as much as Wilbur didn’t want to admit it.
Sometimes it was best to leave the complicated work to the experts. While he had centuries of experience, that didn’t set him at the cutting edge of any field.
Besides magic, that is.
Wilbur decided to watch. He peered closer at one of the changes the elemental had just done and nearly slapped his forehead.
Of course, they needed more towers! Why had he been so focused on a singular tower in the center of the school?
He’d only been thinking about where he planned to spend his time while the school ran itself. Wilbur certainly wasn’t planning on teaching if he could help it. He mentally tugged on his list, and the notice appeared in his vision.
—---------
Spellcraft Resurrection Checklist
> 1 - Find a place to build a school - Done!
> 2 - Build it. Make it really impressive and huge. Pretty much done!
> 3 - Staff it. Find competent minions teachers to do the nitty-gritty, boring work.
> 4 - Teach all of the people. Preferably as fast as possible. Assist as needed.
> 5 - Chronomancy baby!
—---------
Two down, two to go.
He grinned as he took another long sip from his mug. Wilbur had been sure this quest was going to be annoying, but hell, it was halfway done.
However, he still needed to find staff… Wilbur glanced into the air, thinking on the problem
The fairies may end up working out, so that accounted for at least one teacher. But what was he supposed to do for the rest? He guessed he could put out a “Filling all positions” on a big sign near the front of the rapidly assembling school.
Wilbur scratched his chin. Whoever he hired, he would need dozens of them. Preferably, teachers who had at least some understanding of the arcane.
The wizard frowned to himself.
“Ugh.” He grumbled. “I guess the first people that will need to be taught are the teachers themselves...”
Algaroth glanced at him. Wilbur shook his hand. “Sorry, just talking outloud. Don’t mind me, do your thing, Algaroth.”
With his permission, the elemental promptly ignored him.
“But who do I hire?” Wilbur mused. “Based on the percentages the system gave, none of the radiant races actually use spellcraft anymore.”
Wilbur drummed his fingers on the chair. Then his eyes lit up as a thought occurred to him
He knew who could teach arcane magic. He’d seen one of them use it not that long ago. It would be a bit annoying to transfer all of them, but–
His thoughts were cut off as a sound grew rapidly. A deep rumbling of an earthen elemental. He turned to his right and spotted it approaching.
Algaroth paused his work, turning as well. The prismatic elemental looked visibly upset that someone dared to disturb his artistry.
“Well then,” Wilbur waved a hand, causing glowing arcane light to pulse from his mouth. His voice deepened as if tongue and mouth had turned to stone. “What's going on?” he continued in the deep earthen language.
“Excuse my interruption, Great Arcane Lord,” The earthen elemental rumbled as it drew close. “There is an issue with your servant.”
Wilbur rose, a frown now painted on his face.
“What issue?”
“He has been injured, yet he will not remove himself from the source of the threat. Our leader is att–”
Wilbur didn’t wait for him to finish.
Clap. Clap.
–—- ??? —---
“You must move, Servant of the Great One.” The earth elemental rumbled, his eyes glowing green. “Or I shall make you. Why do you protect those that dare to injure you?”
Kaledo grimaced, then glared back at the terrified mob of people behind him.
“He’s got a point, you know,” he snapped at them, but then turned back to the elemental. “Regardless, they aren’t a threat. Please just back up, alright?”
The elemental rumbled. Weirdly, the sound reminded the merchant of angry purring. As if this hulking monstrosity was somehow, really, a cat, but with thousands of pounds of rock in casing it. Kaledo held up a hand, but winced as new waves of pain pulsed from the burnt and raw section of his back.
Stupid, idiotic, nobles. Imagine if that fire spell had actually hit this hulking beast? Kaledo could. He visualized the assembled ex-homeowners being ground into a nice misty pulp in the street.
“Merchant Kaledo, why try to reason with this abomination?! Don’t you know what they do? How they feed?” The hot head who cast the spell spat off. Kaledo glared at him, then turned back to the elemental.
“Please, don’t retaliate. They are just scared. Scared and making horrible life choices right now.”
“You dare ignore me!” The young man protested.
“Shut up Yarley!” Kaledo snapped at the noble. “Just let me–”
“They disrespect you as well? The Servant of the Great One?!” The rumbling from the elemental shook the street, Kaledo’s teeth rattling from the vibrations of pressure.
“I will not allow it.”
The elemental surged forward, its normally slow lumbering form transforming into a liquid-like state. Kaledo could only watch as it wove past him and descended on the crowd of nobles.
“By the radiance!” Kaledo cursed as he pushed backwards and attempted to move between the nobles and disaster.
He wasn’t going to make it. Cobblestones cracked under the weight as the elemental closed the final distance to the nobles. The merchant’s heart dropped as he could only watch.
“Hey!” a familiar voice barked. “Everyone, stop!”
Movement above drew Kaledo’s gaze. Relief filled him as he saw the fluttering multicolored robes.
And a very annoyed-looking Wilbur.
“What are y’all doing?!”
–—- ??? —---
