IoaUM Chapter 4

“Anders.” I said, bowing my head to my adoptive father. He’d stepped into the garrison before I’d noticed he was there, but he’d always walked quietly, even for a two foot-tall gnome. He lovingly patted my knee before speaking, his clear tenor voice carrying tempered steel in its tone.

“You boys’ll make sure that nothing happens to his coburite, won’t you?”

“Of course, Elder!” The receptionist jumped in. “We ensure that all contraband is carefully stored, and we adhere to all ethical standards as established by the Magistrate and his council!”

“As well you should. And, just in case you were wondering, Krollas here knows how much that ring weighs.”

“15.3 grams.” I supplied, enjoying watching Anders’s casual display of dominance.

“Just so you know. I’m sure you won’t need to hold his property for longer than a couple of days, right?”

“I couldn’t say that, as I’m not in charge of any investigations, I apologize.” The secretary hedged.

“Well, according to legal code 12.3.157, personal property of any citizen that is held by the Arcane Guard for any reason other than the confiscation of illegal contraband cannot be held for longer than two days. The Mage here is obviously a citizen, and his coburite is legal in his hands, even if its mode of production is suspect. It has been in your custody for about a quarter of a day now, so he’ll come to collect it here the day after tomorrow. That is, of course,” his smile widened, the same innocent one he’d always given when he’d outmaneuvered me as a kid, “in accordance with the law. Or the Docks garrison can pay 105% of the market cost for 15.3 grams of military grade coburite, which is 20 large silvers per gram, so 322 large silvers at 105% but I’m sure Mage Krollas could be convinced to take 32 coppers in the event his property is not returned to him.”

“I… I will make sure that Mage Krollas’s coburite is ready for his retrieval by the legally appointed time. Thank you, Elder. Have a safe walk home.” The secretary, hearing that the value of the small ring of coburite was greater than six years of his entire salary, looked at me before bowing his head in our general direction repeatedly. 

“Come along, my boy. Let’s leave the Guard to their job. I need to make sure you get home safely, after all.” Anders no longer hid the twinkle in his large eyes as he acknowledged the idiotic machinations we needed to frame our actions through to get me out of jail.

Even with the humor that the old gnome brought, though, I had to fight not to demand my coburite be returned immediately to me. Instead, I nodded at the secretary before saying goodbye to Morg with a sarcastic two-fingered salute as I pushed my armlet all the way up to my right bicep before putting my bracelet on. My middle finger was still so swollen that the copper ring wouldn’t fit onto it, so instead I slipped the trinket onto my index finger, cursing under my breath about ungrateful Blues and broken bones. I didn’t care to watch anybody’s reaction and whirled to walk out into the cool night air.

Half-lamp had come and gone and was replaced by night, and the oppressive darkness that swirled overhead was only staved off by the barest minimum necessary levels of wardlamp light to keep Kormos from being infested by the Corrupted. The faint blue light covered me as I stalked forward, towards my home. Despite my blustering in the garrison, the journey back to my home would take at least an hour’s time if I hurried, and though I could protect myself fine, only an idiot would walk through the streets after darkness had been given reign over the city. Beyond that, it was cold, and I only had my shirt, slacks, and vest to keep me warm. Ash. Without pulling my casting rod from my vest, I quickly completed a simple spell construct in my mind and uttered the command, “Fotia.”

A flame flickered into life in the bounds of my spectral hand’s cupped fingers, warming my chest as I continued striding forward, my every step leaving frosted footprints in their wake as a direct result of my conjured flames.

“Slow down, my boy.” Anders’ voice shook me from my hurried walk, his unworried steps leaving him being swiftly left behind. I stopped and watched the old man’s approach. In the decades since we’d first met, he had slowed significantly. His untamed bush of a beard and eyebrows had gone fully gray in the past years since he’d been appointed one of the gnomish elders, the caramel brown of his hair only touching his beard where the sideburns met his finer head hair. In direct contrast to the wilds that made his beard, the hair on top of his head remained stubbornly dark and well-groomed. “I’m not so young as I once was!”

“I never met a young Anders though.”

He quietly chuckled. “True enough, I suppose. You wouldn’t want to give me a ride on your shoulders like you always offered to as a boy, would you?”

“No, I’d like to think I’ve learned not to do stupid things like that any longer.”

“Oh, but my old knees! They would appreciate not having to walk all the way home. If only you were more considerate and got yourself arrested while the trams were still running!”

“My home is only an hour’s walk away, and I’m sure I can find a carriage to take you home somewhere close by. I can get home myself, and I’ll pay for your ride to the old homestead.”

“I did say I’d walk you home, not ride. Though I never wanted to be an Elder, I do keep my word. And,” The only barely contained laughter from earlier began bubbling out once again, “I never said I’d take you to your home!”

“Oh, come on, old man! I was here on a case, and I want to do a bit more research before I get to sleep tonight.”

“Problem with that: been too long since the missus has seen ya, and she misses you something fierce. Haven’t had a grandchild in a while, and you’re one of ours. You’re only barely an adult by our standards, anyways!”

“But I’m a middle aged man by human standards!”

“Ahhh, but just a whelp by Mage standards, and once you get to that point, you aren’t really a human anymore, are you?”

It was an old, tired argument, one we’d had ever since I’d shown aptitude for growing past petty magics. With us, it was a comfortable, easy conversation that allowed us to busy our mouths without needing to really think about it, and Anders comfortably reached up to grab my hand as we walked. His gnarled, calloused hands filled my own more than one might expect from such a small person, but Anders was one of the premiere artificers in the city, and his hands told more tales about that than he would without some sort of social lubricant.

“–And that’s not even counting everything else I did for you today, so you definitely owe me!”

“What else could you have done for me today? I was out all day, didn’t even have lunch!” My stomach grumbled its protests at my impetuous nature. 

“You never do. But no, not that. The new artifice that the Blues were using? It’s one of mine.” Anders’s voice dropped low, serious. “I did tell a bit of an… untruth to the Guards. They don’t know the artifices like I do, but I figure they will eventually, so you need to know this. I told them that the artifice said that the magic that had created those fires wasn’t yours, which was only mostly true. All the potential energy in that explosion was someone else’s, but the catalyst? It was you.” I began to protest my innocence, but he leveled a gaze at me that immediately shut me up. “I know you would never make a fire like that on purpose. I don’t need to know how you were mixed up in all this, unless you think I need to. But be careful. The more the world changes, the less safe it gets for you to toe the line the way you do.”

The feeble protests that rose to my lips died before they could make a sound, and I walked with Anders for a time, comfortably holding hands and walking at a deliberate pace as we passed through the Docks and into the Greens. The air shifted from faintly wet to the scent of life and rot living hand in hand. I couldn’t help but look around in the hopes that I could see some hint about Lydin Ragarr and his whereabouts. As I did, my mind wandered and a wholly unrelated question began to eat at me until I could hold it in no longer.

“Wait. How did you know about that legal code?”

Anders’s laugh rang out and echoed off the quiet cobbled streets and stone homes that surrounded us. “You only ask now? You really are concerned about this contract of yours! I knew you’d gotten that coburite recently, and I figured you’d have it with you, so I took to memorizing the statute. Don’t ask me anything else about the damned legal whatever-it-is, though!”

“And how did you know I needed your help?”

“You’re not my first kid who’s always in trouble. You just learn to feel it coming.”

“Lies. I’ll find your informants, I swear.”

A single cheeky smile was his only reply, but it quickly faded to a somber stare. “Krollas. I want you to be safe. There’s only so much I can do for you with what you’ve chosen to do with your life, so please, be careful, be wise, and don’t go thinking you’re Purity’s gift to the downtrodden. You’re just a boy to those ancient monsters, and there’s hundreds of people who want you to just Bind yourself to a family or cause already.”

I simply squeezed his hand in response, and we resumed walking in a companionable silence. He’d said his piece, and he wasn’t going to beat me over the head with it. A good man, truly. Better than I deserved. His steps were constant and nearly silent on the cobbled road, even with his wooden-heeled shoes. We’d been walking for a while when I smelled the distinct odor of a carriage. 

“Let me start paying you back.” I said, though I was sure that he’d led us here more than I had. The man’s mind was a convoluted mess of conflicting stories and jolly witticisms, but Anders Silverfoot was, first and foremost, the greatest artificer and tinkerer of Kormos and his mind was constantly evaluating and calculating. His little smirk told me enough for that. 

A soft screech echoed from around the corner, and a man’s voice called out in response, “Who goes there?”

“Just two men, looking to hire a carriage!” I replied as we turned from the alley to face the parked carriage. The common mongoose that pulled it had warned the driver of our approach, and it bared its massive canines at us threateningly as it hissed. The driver leaned against the carriage as he lit up a long, thin cigarette. He wore the dark suit and overcoat of the city’s carriage drivers, and his eyes widened as he saw my hand and flame combo. I let the flames gutter out as I asked, “Uptown, nearly to the Shelf. You available?”

“From here? That’ll be a small silver and three large gold.” He pulled deep on the cigarette as he raised his hands defensively. “I know you’re a Mage, sir, but I still gotta charge you a fair price. Orders of the new unions, you understand.” His wheedling voice told me he worried I wouldn’t actually understand, though I’d been about to agree to the price. 

“It’s late and I think the ride would usually be the small silver and five of the gold. I’d hate to short you, a man’s gotta eat. Sure you’ve got a family too.”

He grinned. “So you are the Unbound Mage. Th’ hand’s usually a giveaway, but ‘s a common enough spell. ‘Ways, it’s ‘cause of my family I’m chargin’ only the minimum. You helped my sister Della a while back with houserot.”

“And how’s your niece, then? Recovering well?” I nodded easily as I stepped to open the door to the carriage for Anders to enter first. 

“The rot’s gone, so she’s mostly good. Got a bit of a cough, but that’s normal. She’ll be all squared up ‘fore you know it.” The driver walked forward as he spoke to stand beside the usual driver’s seat at the front of the carriage and reached up to press a hidden switch. When he did so, a functional stepladder unfurled from under the carriage’s door and allowed Anders to step comfortably into our ride. 

“Wholly mechanical,” he muttered to himself as he ascended, “Not a lick of enchantments I can see. Good make, and not pig iron.”

“No, siree. It’s a good addition, I’d think.” The driver said, doffing his cap before vaulting up into his seat and clicking his tongue at the large mongoose. It began to settle into a position where it could comfortably begin to haul the carriage forward, and I quickly scaled the steps to enter the carriage.

“What was your name again?”

“Brough.” He replied. I gave more specific instructions to Anders’s home and settled back into my seat. The worn fabric of the seat fit comfortably around my back and butt, and I couldn’t help but groan in pleasure as I leaned back and closed my eyes. So many hours in the hard, deliberately uncomfortable chairs at the garrison were slowly washed away as the rattling carriage bounced over the uneven cobblestones of the Greens. I hadn’t realized I’d fallen asleep, but knew I had when I opened my eyes and could feel the carriage’s much smoother travel along the solid concrete streets of Uptown.

“Morning, my boy.” Anders chucked at me as he lovingly patted my hand. He’d moved to sit beside me at some point and I stifled a yawn as best I could.

“We close?”

“Think so.” He replied, and just a couple minutes later, Brough opened the peephole to call through to us, “We’ve arrived.”

I stood and stretched, my sternum popping as I rolled my shoulders back and yawned again. The door opened, and Anders stepped out onto the street while I rummaged through my coin purse and withdrew the small silver and five large gold. With a practiced motion, I palmed two of the gold into my left, spectral hand and hopped to the ground. My knees complained, but the brief drop helped to wake me completely as I reached out to shake Brough’s hand with the silver and three gold in it.

“Thank you for the ride, friend.” I said as my other hand floated away from my stump before dropping the other two large gold into one of the driver’s pockets. 

“Have a good night, Sir.” Brough responded and as he pulled his hand back, he glanced at my payment in his palm. He nodded happily and with a turn, hopped into the driver’s seat of the carriage without noticing the faint jingle of two more coins in his pocket. With a click of his tongue, he set the mongoose to pulling the carriage away. 

“Still generous with those boys, are you?” Anders’s voice called to me before I could turn around from watching the departure. 

I simply shrugged as I looked up at the shop that doubled as the Silverfoot home. It glowed with non-magical lights, their soft orange a contrast with the uniform blue of the surrounding wardlamps, and the windows of the shopfront were filled with eccentric artifices and baubles. The main doors were large enough to fit two orcs abreast of each other, though they were locked now and Anders walked before me to the family’s door around the side. The full-sized door had a smaller, gnome-sized door set in the middle, before which Anders stopped. 

“Your turn.” He said, looking up at me with a broad smile. I sighed and looked at the mechanism set at human height. A subtle, complex set of gears and cogs were intricately set instead of the lock there, and he’d obviously upgraded it since last I’d come. I puzzled over the keycode for a couple minutes, muttering to myself about how each section interacted with the rest. Finally, I recognized the “key” part, went to withdraw a copper from my coinpurse, and was there stumped when I had no coppers. Then, realizing I had other copper on me, pulled my ring from my finger and carefully slid it into a nearly invisible slot in the doorframe and turned.

With a satisfying “click”, the door unlocked and swung in. I smirked down at Anders, and he chuckled. “I was hoping you wouldn’t catch the minor copper enchantment.”

I shrugged, taking my victory in stride as I walked in. Before I could say anything though, a warm voice called out, “Anders, did you bring company–Krollas! My boy! Come here and let me take a look at you!”