Cal had spread the mana tendrils to cover the whole town, including the port. His goal was to sense the overseer as he entered the town, but that was easier said than done. Overseer Marek was one of the few that he was blind to when using [mana sense]. However, he felt he was much more proficient in using the spell, so he hoped that was no longer the case.
He had spent hours learning how to process the massive amount of information that came with his mana tendrils covering so many living beings — humans, little critters, and everything in between — that it felt like he had experienced a breakthrough. Previously, he had forced himself to block out most of the information just to have a semblance of understanding and keep his sanity, but he could now keep everything he processed in mind, at least in his periphery.
Of course, Cal did this in the hours before evening. Once the estimated time arrived, he moved all his attention to the port. He had some guesses of what Overseer Marek would feel like to his senses, but the one he thought was most likely was a constrained, muted presence that hid a roiling power underneath.
He concentrated on finding someone that matched the description, investigating every unfamiliar presence entering the port to see if power was hidden underneath.
Cal didn’t have success in the several minutes that passed, and he was nearly about to give up and head to the port to make sure he didn’t make Overseer Marek wait if he somehow missed his entrance.
He doubled his efforts by pulling the mana tendrils covering the town and focusing them on the port. He could now sense every cat, every rat, and every bug that dared to twitch, but there is still no sign of Overseer Marek.
Cal let out a little sigh and was about to give up his efforts when he flinched from a sudden burst of power that came from the heart of the administrative building. He quickly pulled his mana tendrils back and opened his eyes in shock.
It seemed like Overseer Marek knew he was trying to detect him and played along until there were signs he was about to pull back. He stood and had even more respect for the unfathomable man. He intended to go over what he missed when he returned to the farm, but for now, he was going to answer the Overseer's summons.
“Orrin!” Cal yelled over the sound of hammer striking anvil. He knew Orrin’s dedication, but he still underestimated the drive. Orrin never stopped working other than to take slight breaks while he changed material when he faced a failure.
“I’ll take my leave, but remember to visit Seris.”
“Oh, I was just waiting for you, Apprentice Cal. I’ll head over right now.” Orrin shut down his forge and shoved all the voidiron pellets into the process hole before covering it with the metal sheet. All of it in less than a minute. He walked over and asked, “Do you think I should make better ones, or is this good enough?”
Cal stared at the many arrow tips in Orrin’s hand. He had to hide a smirk when he saw that the quality was nearly perfect when compared to the shovel the kid had made for him. He wasn’t sure if the recipient was a factor in quality or if it was just the complexity and size.
Cal preferred to think of it as the former. Their friendship was… adorable, as Tavia would say.
“She’ll love it,” Cal said with a smile.
Orrin smile was bright. He said a quick farewell before heading up the stairs to leave town.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Cal waited until Orrin was out of sight and stored the two shovels in his storage pouch. The temptation to follow Orrin back to the farm and upgrade the voidiron shovel was strong, but he was no longer a lone guild member able to make such snap decisions.
He had unavoidable responsibilities.
Cal quickly made his way to the administrative building at the port and followed a familiar path to Apprentice Brin’s office. He opened the door to see Overseer Marek smiling at him from behind the desk.
“I had plans of meeting you soon, so your request was highly convenient for me,” Overseer Marek said instead of a greeting. “So, what was so urgent that made you call for me?”
Cal wondered why a meeting was necessary, but he would find out soon enough. He pushed to the heart of why he asked for the overseer to come. “I hired three Initiates for the farm, and I wanted the guild to give them exceptions for their previous assignments. I want nothing to distract them from the fact that they should focus on the work I give them.”
Overseer Marek raised an eyebrow. He tapped his finger on the desk for a few seconds before nodding. “That can be arranged. What are their names?”
Cal had believed that it would be easy to get the exceptions. Still, he didn’t expect it to be this easy. Even though Overseer Marek was lenient with him, there was always some sort of jockeying to be had when dealing with the guild’s higher-ups. “The Initiates are Vaela, Liora, and Bran. The first two are Gardeners, and the last is a Farmer.”
“Done… but is this really what you called me for?”
“No,” Cal admitted freely. “I know a talented blacksmith named Orrin, a mortal that lives in this town. I want to sponsor him for the blacksmith test.”
Overseer Marek’s interest visibly died before he sighed softly. “Well, it’s in your right to sponsor anyone you want. I’ll arrange it and the person you sponsor just needs to mention your name to get in. The only issue will be the timing. The upcoming test next month has already filled all spots, so the next chance will be seven months from now.”
Cal frowned at the lengthy delay. Seven months wasn’t much for somebody as young as Orrin, but with what he knew might come in the future, he considered any delay to be stupidity. “Is it possible for someone to transfer their spot to me?”
Overseer Marek’s interest returned as he leaned forward with a slight smile. “I’m afraid that is against the test’s rules. Of course, it’s possible for me to do so, but it will require me to owe someone a favor.”
There it is. For whatever reason, Overseer Marek wants me to ask for something that causes him a little trouble.
“I see. Well, I want Orrin to take the test as soon as possible. Is there anything I can do to convince you to help me?”
Overseer Marek’s smile grew wider. “I hear you recently learned about the sinkhole causing the guild some issues. The one near Silverpine.”
Cal relaxed. “Ah, I was about to deal with that soon.”
“No, that’s the opposite of what I, and the Guildmaster, what you do. You can go there and deal with the most visible problems that our silly alchemists are throwing their lives wait for, but there’s something inside that you cannot allow to close fully.”
Cal’s relaxed posture ended abruptly. He wasn’t dense enough to not realize he was suddenly in the middle of another internal conflict. That, and he had sorely underestimated what was inside the sinkhole.
Overseer Marek saw Cal’s reluctance and said, “I know well that Elder Corvin approached you with this mission, and behind him is the Elder Council. They had the guild’s best interest when they asked you to solve the sinkhole issue, but the Guildmaster has hidden the true reason the sinkhole exists. It is the beginning of a rift that’s gotten out of hand and attracted too much attention. I won’t get into the details, but it’s vital for the future of the guild.”
Cal knew he had no choice. Even if the overseer was lying, the situation tested of Cal’s loyalty, forcing him to choose between the Elder Council and the guild master, who the overseer obviously supported.
On further thought, he had never heard of a sinkhole or a rift in his past life. It could be possible that the Elder Council had the upper hand in the internal conflict and was successful in closing it down.
The opposite happening might help the guild when attacked… or prevent it altogether. He couldn’t be sure, since the Overseer was secretive about what a rift was.
I might as well gamble and accept the overseer’s request. I mostly care about Orrin’s test date, anyway.
“I’ll do it,” Cal said to the Overseer’s delight.
Overseer Marek beamed. “Good! There is an artifact that I’ll have to send to you. It will keep the rift open and prevent it from causing a commotion again. I’ll send it to your farm soon.”