Chapter 18: Surgery

Chapter 18: Surgery

It was more than a little irritating that he couldnt tell if he was doing it right when it came to the homebond enchantment. He had to rely on his notes and their accuracy, and while he trusted his ability to transcribe architecture that wasnt the same as understanding it all. Barring years of study he was stuck with blind copying, and he didnt like it.

He especially didnt like that he couldnt practice with brass. After spending all the time imprinting the proper magical structure into the brass with spatial vis, when he went to have it cut, it turned out it didnt work. The magic didnt stick well enough, pulling away and dissipating as the saw cut the brass in half.

Since he was absolutely forced to use his tiny stocks of magical material, he went all the way and put in another CNC order. Stripped of all the extraneous enchantments and compacted down to a single plane rather than a ring, it actually ended up being less than a quarter-inch in each dimension, and even that was only so he could cut it once it was done.

Or rather, pay to have it cut. He was handy enough, but the workshop he was paying didnt let other people touch their machines. Callum sympathized, and just watched as a young man with safety glasses very carefully cut along the marked line. With his senses it was fine that he was stuck waiting outside the shop, since he could watch the process straight through the wall.

It was fascinating and strange to see the enchantment get cut in half. After letting it fully sinter and harden, the enchanting paste held onto the spatial magic with an unbreakable grip, so the mere act of physical separation didnt really disrupt it. As the two halves separated there was a little bit of a ripple, some sort of complicated magical effect he couldnt quite grasp.

It seemed to be trying to absorb energy from the surroundings, so he hastily fed it with his vis, letting some kind of resonance build up between the two severed halves until it flashed over and settled. The worker jerked in surprise, and Callum winced, hoping that whatever visible manifestation had occurred wasnt too dramatic.

Judging by the look on the guys face as he brought the two halves back out, packed individually in small foam blocks, it was something weird but not alarming. There was enough doubt there that hopefully hed forget about it and pass it off to imagination. Callum would have to use a different shop for the next time, though. No need to risk confirming something.

He paid in cash and took the boxes with thanks before walking out and grabbing his motorcycle. For a while he rode away as normal, until he was confident he was out of sight, then began teleporting in order to speed up the trip. His fingers drummed on the handles of the bike, his mind more on the pair of boxes than the road as he blipped out of the city and drove toward the campgrounds. It seemed to be working, the enchantments were in place and full of energy, and he couldnt wait to test it.

Unfortunately he couldnt just shove vis into it. The split resonance was only part of things and he didnt want to ruin either himself or the experiment by trying an unfinished product. Hed duplicated Gayles receiving pad, and he slid the receiver half into it, fixing it in place with screws.

Callum really wanted to figure out how to cut mundane materials with his spatial magic. If he could shear rock or metal, he could have almost impossibly hidden caches. Or, if he wanted to think larger, bunkers. For the moment, though, he had to do everything the normal way, not that he could complain. It was a lot easier when he could just send his files off to a shop, rather than needing to carve metal himself.

He carried the pad outside and put it in a clear area, standing right next to it so he could watch as things happened. Holding the little metallic chip of a transmitter, he pushed vis into it and watched as the teleport field started to form on the receiver pad, but slowly. While the transmitter could be filled with his vis quickly and easily, the receiver had to pull on and convert mana. It seemed it was hardly going to be a rapid getaway, unless he could get his hands on a good way to store mana.

Commercial mana crystals were not in his immediate future.

It took a good five minutes of channeling vis into the chip for the receiver to form, but once it did, his part of the enchantment flashed over to fully active in an instant. The feeling of the focus resonating with his own vis was profoundly unpleasant, almost painful. Also intimate, and not something he wanted to deal with for long. No wonder they werent popular.

He studied the two sets of magic with his senses, but couldnt see the connection between them. On the other hand, they both looked like normal teleport frameworks. They werent exactly like his, since they just sort of blindly projected things out and he tended to alter his to suit, so they would definitely leave more residue. Still, there was nothing actually wrong that he could see.

Callum braced himself, then mentally pushed on the focus.

The teleport was awful, feeling much like being jerked around by gravitykinesis. He bent double, gagging as he nearly toppled off the receiver plate. His vision swam and his guts protested, but it had worked. It worked! Despite the fact that he was tasting bile and feeling like he had all-over muscle cramps, it worked.

Then he realized hed have to test it at different distances, and groaned. Just because it worked when he was right next to it didnt mean that it would work at any distance. Considering there was no actual connection between the two pieces of enchantment, it probably would, but he needed to make sure before trusting himself to it.

Spitting a few times to rid his mouth of the taste of nausea, he took advantage of his break to drive into town and get something for his stomach and his head. He was going to need it. While he probably didnt need to push forward on it, now that he had an actual emergency option within his grasp, he didnt feel like putting it off.

By the end of the next few hours, hed established that he could use the teleporter from at the very least two hundred miles away, but that it was extremely unpleasant every time. It all added up until he was buried in his bed with a churning stomach, no matter how much pepto-bismol he poured down his throat. He also had a pounding headache, and his muscles kept twitching as if hed run a marathon.

That wasnt to mention the vertigo.

Hed obviously messed something up with the enchantments, since he doubted that the original homebond caused such issues. The GAR teleports certainly didnt. It was probably his relatively poor control over vis threads, making problems he didnt even know to look for.

But, working was working. Sure, it took longer to charge up the further away he was, though it was more an asymptotic change than a linear one, and it took a lot out of him even before the inevitable side effects of the teleport, but it was working. He had maybe enough enchantment stuff left over to make a second one, but if this one was working it was probably better not to tempt fate. Which meant that as soon as he was recovered, he needed to proceed with the next idea.

He owed Gayle a shield focus, considering what shed gotten for him.

A day or so later his stomach finally stopped rebelling at every little thing and he dragged himself outside. There were a number of machine shops that were willing to do some quick work, even when it was something odd like titanium. It helped that he could travel hundreds of miles to a specialty location without issue, and it helped more that he had large amounts of cash to rush things along.

Fortunately, his requirement was just a very small sealed container of medical grade titanium foil, properly polished. It had to be smooth, too, given what he wanted it for, so he had to pad the corners a bit since he didnt dare shave off any of the actual transmitter. That made the final dimensions just about a millimeter bigger all around, but still plenty small for his purposes.

He kept a very close eye, or at least, sensory focus on the machinist as he covered the chip in the foil and very carefully welded and abraded. Maybe Callum had been a bit overly aggressive in how important it was that the enchantment stayed intact, since the machinist seemed to be treating it like glass, but better that than damage it.

In its final dimensions it looked like a polished lozenge, not that he intended to swallow it. He took it with thanks and added a tip to the payment, above and beyond the rush surcharge. It was exactly what he needed.

Once again Callum returned to his motorhome, pulling up the diagrams hed saved on his computer. An emergency measure that could be confiscated, or was obvious, was no emergency measure at all. Especially since he very much doubted that hed be allowed any personal effects on the off chance he was captured.

He knew he wouldnt let a mage keep even a spare pen.

The human body had a lot of spaces where a little capsule could sit and not really do any harm. Flesh was fairly squishy, after all, and many internal bits and pieces were cordoned off from each other. That didnt mean he could be at all careless, but it did mean he could, in theory, implant the teleporter chip inside himself without needing to visit a surgeon.

As unpleasant as it was, he focused his perceptions inside his body, which was full of messy biology, especially since according to his research the best place for what he wanted was the abdominal cavity. Pushing his senses through regular muscle wasnt too bad, but actually being able to perceive all the various gastronomical processes was just disturbing. Nonetheless, he focused on finding a likely spot before reaching out to grasp the little titanium-coated capsule with his senses.

Hed sterilized the heck out of it, of course, but he wasnt too worried. He didnt have to actually make a wound to implant it, and if something really bad did start because of it, he knew a healer. Callum intended to monitor things very closely, after testing to make sure it worked.

Finding a likely spot, he braced himself and teleported the chip in as gently as he could manage. The flesh bent out of the way as the teleport field displaced it, the titanium capsule settling into place. It felt very, very weird, but not really painful. It was just slightly uncomfortable, a little bit of extra pressure in his guts.

It was also immediately immersed in the vis that saturated his body, which made him glad that the input hed copied didnt actively draw on energy like his siphons. It was useful for the little ball bearings, but for something sitting inside of him, itd charge up almost immediately and then hed be walking around with the disconcerting sensation of a primed teleport field.

Once he was sure it wasnt charging up on his own, he went ahead and did it anyway because he needed to test it. Pushing vis into something inside his body was easy enough, though weird. There was nothing any different about it; the location was simply disconcerting. It certainly felt the same when it was fully ready, the full-body strain of his vis in tune with the teleporter, and the nausea was the same when he transferred.

Ha! He muttered to himself. Now this is how you make a contingency. Despite the fact that he still had to make the shield focus for Gayle, he decided to finish his preparations for the emergency escape. It wouldnt take more than a day or so.

While he was really relying on his implanted teleport, he didnt want to use it if he didnt have to, and not every threat would require immediately bailing to the wilderness. He picked up two more fake identities for his go-bag, to start, with different sets of clothing for each. For one he even got some colored contacts, though they were hideously uncomfortable.

Hello, Lord Elroe. This is Gayle Hargrave. Theyd been introduced ages ago, but neither of them were really familiar with each other. Only their names. Im calling to request proctoring to test out of apprenticeship.

Oh? Richard sounded very interested. You have everything on the checklist?

I do! She confirmed, running her hands over the stack of brass plates. Im ready to take the test at any time.

Well, normally it takes a while to set these up since theyre not regular, but I can probably have something ready tomorrow. What do you think?

Thats perfect! She told him, half-glad and half-anxious that it was so soon. When and where?

Ill meet you at GAR East at noon, he told her.

See you then! She hung up, calling for her head maid and relaying the time and place to make sure that she didnt miss it. Not that she thought she could possibly forget. After all the work she put in, shed finally be able to make it to full mage and get out from under the looming figure of Archmage Fane.

Once her staff had changed her back to something appropriate for wearing about House Hargrave, she went to tell her parents. Well, her mom, anyway, since dad would still be at work. She was a little nervous about it, because while they supported her desire, actually testing out of apprenticeship was pretty much unheard of.

Mother? Gayle said, standing outside her mothers study. It was more out of safety than respect, because Lady Glenda Hargrave had a habit of working on weaponized force spellforms that could make the interior of her study hazardous.

Come on in, sweetie, her mothers voice floated back, and Gayle stepped through the door. The study fairly hummed with protective wards, especially at the back where targets were lit up showing damage patterns. It looked like her mother was working on something splashy, considering the webwork of orange and red coating the blue backstop.

So Gayle said, then decided to just blurt it out. Im taking the test tomorrow with Lord Elroe. I have everything on the checklist so I should be able to get my draft and full mage papers!

Thats wonderful! Glenda beamed. Your study group figured out all the enchantments?

We did, she said, suppressing a smile at the fiction that there was ever a study group and not someone hand-picked to give her the opportunity.

Im so proud of you! Glenda crossed over to her to give her a hug, mindful of the house dress. Glenda herself had a protective suit on, to augment her shields when she was being creative, but she wouldnt wear that outside the private wing. I cant believe House Hargrave is going to have our first healer and its my little girl.

Mom! She protested, but not strongly. Gayle was a little bit giddy too.

The next day came both too slowly and too quickly, but she was at the eastern GAR office at noon. Lord Elroe was easy to pick out, what with the House Elroe uniform and the heavy chain of a master mage around his neck and the meritorious service emblems across his chest. He gave her a broad smile and offered his hand, palm up first to show his fire and water pips along with Master Mage of the House tattoo.

Gayle Hargrave? He asked, as if it werent obvious since she was in full House Hargrave colors for the occasion.

Yes, thats me, she admitted, offering her hand in return. Thank you for setting this up so quickly.

Not a problem, Miss Hargrave, Elroe told her. Its my pleasure. He gestured for her to follow him. It was quite amusing to get the testing range open. It hasnt been used in years.

Oh? Gayle glanced sideways at him, a little surprised the decorated war hero would delight in stirring trouble for the staff at GAR.

Its amazing how many people think they know better than an actual mage, Elroe confirmed. The place he led her was inside the true sanctum of GAR East, since the door they went through needed his tattoo to unlock, but it looked ordinary enough. In fact, it looked a lot like her moms study, complete with warded backstop. Elroe waved her to the table in the corner and watched as she got out the brass plates that held the temporary focuses shed made with Professor Brown.

Ill just need you to sign here to attest that everything you brought was made by you, not using any restricted focus designs to the best of your knowledge. He looked at the brass plates curiously, and Gayle simply smiled brightly and signed.

Well then, well start with the checklist. Your school records demonstrate your capacity for healing, so we can waive that. I have no desire to slice myself open just to challenge Greyson Universitys integrity. He checked that off, and Gayle was a little disappointed, since it wasnt like she had too many opportunities to show off.

Next on the list, light. Elroe looked up at her and she picked up the proper temporary focus, pushing her vis into it. The ball of light that appeared was not that impressive, but it could move around which was as much as the test demanded.

The rest of the tests went well enough until it got to the offensive weapon test. It was obvious that he was expecting her to use a focus for that too, but she actually had something different for that. She shaped together a ball meant to disrupt the clotting cascade and hurled it at the wall. Considering it wasnt a physical element she wasnt sure how the wards would register it, but the black splotch that appeared showed they recognized it at least.

What was that? Elroe asked frowning.

A healing attack! She smiled proudly. Its designed to cause instant onset of clotting. I admit it wouldnt get past a good shield but that wasnt part of the test requirements.

Hm, Elroe said noncommittally.

Is something wrong? Gayle asked, suddenly nervous. I know its not like a fireball but I thought it would count.

No, I just have to check something about that. Might as well finish up and then Ill go make inquiries.

Okay, Gayle said, somewhat crestfallen, but gamely continued working through the checklist. When she was done, Elroe signed off at the bottom but had her stay while he went to check on her healing ball attack.

It took longer than shed thought. It was nearly half an hour later that Elroe returned, along with a grey-haired man with hard grey eyes in a black uniform of no House. He simply stood there while Elroe looked at her curiously.

This healing attack, did you come up with it yourself? Please answer fully and honestly.

Well, it wasnt my idea initially. My study partner told me about how easy it was to destabilize a body and gave me recommendations of what mundane biology to investigate. After that I developed it using crickets and rats.

Who was your study partner? Elroe inquired.

Why, his name is Professor Brown. Are we in trouble?

You may be, the man in black said, speaking for the first time. Tell me everything you can about Professor Brown.