The courtyard where Rastfian Earth-Master held command of one of Wolfsguard's Tier 5 teleport stones was slowly returning to order. The events of the day had worried the crowds of travelers milling around the edges of the courtyard or in the streets. The dozens of mages called in to help with the emergency had been terrified. Every Tier one, two, and three Fire Mage from the Academy had been assigned one of the four teleport stones and worked until they dropped, warming the stones and dispersing the ice-tainted mana that accumulated on them.
Later the surges of wild magic had come that threatened to crack or explode the stones. Pushing the mana from one stone to another took a toll on their stamina, not something many mages had an abundance of. Couriers had run through the city going from tavern to tavern recruiting adventuring players, and any of the townsfolk that could lend a hand. Rastfian was relieved to have no less of a mage than Master Caldrius assisting him.
The old Fire Mage had vast reserves of both mana and stamina and treated the event as a chance to teach the next generations. His lectures on commanding fire inspired the younger mages, and his reputation had reached new heights on the news that he'd destroyed a cabal of Ice Wizards and saved the Duchess from assassination. Hearing the story directly from him made them re-evaluate some of their decisions.
"Please don't misunderstand, the Academy will always be a wonderful place to study the theory of magic and spellcasting, but you have to go outside at some point and get your hands dirty with practical magic. The impressive young man who assisted me in my latest adventure is a prime example. It might even be said that I assisted him. He was in front, after all, and I'm not sure I could have shrugged off those cannons as easily as he did. He made a wonderful large target, and our combined shields merged to create potent magical protections for the soldiers behind us. And do you know what astounded me? He hasn't had any proper classes in magic. His lessons were found inside dungeons and on the decks of a ship in the plan of Smoke. Think how much he can improve when I force a little book learning into his head, and contemplate how much more powerful you could be with some hard-earned experience from a dungeon."
"But sir, aren't dungeons rare? I've heard that there are more now, but the competition to join a group of players is difficult."
Caldrius pointed at a large group of players forced to wait for the teleporters to work again. "Do you know where they are going? To Gadobhra. Word is slowly spreading about the old city. I confirmed some of it with my new friend, Ozzy. They have at least four dungeons in the area, possibly more along with wyvern-infested swamps, and perilous woodlands. Plus, simply walking through the City of Gadobhra is perilous. The place is a gold mine of experience fighting dangerous monsters. I understand you all have studying to do, but you might contemplate a visit over fall or spring break. Now, why don't some of you warm this stone a little, and the rest of you send all of its mana on to Rowan Keep? You can stop when you pass out and I'll let the next person have a turn."
Rastfian found that he wasn't exempt from lessons. Caldrius kept him working all through the day, reaching deep into the earth until he was comfortable using magma instead of cold stone for some of his spells. Along with that, he was pulling Heat directly from the earth and into the teleport stone, a process that bypassed the use of Fire Magic altogether. Over and over, he pulled Heat to disperse the cold mana on the stone, while others pushed the mana to Rowan Keep. When half the day was done, they were joined by the Duchess leading an exhausted Butcher. The man barely took a break before he was helping with the stone. Rastfian could see that he had a well-honed affinity for Heat, barely exerting himself to warm the stone, even after fighting two battles during the day. When he was almost at the end of his endurance, the Lord of the System surprised him with a reward.
Hands-on learning and personalized lessons from not one, but two Masters of Heat have helped you to learn the basics of using the Aspect of Heat.
You have gained the skill: Aspect of Heat (INT) Rank 0.
Caldrius patted him on the back. "Excellent work. You'll have to take a sabbatical with me when I visit the Fireflumes and I can teach you Magma Casting. It's a little dangerous to teach the basics anywhere else.
Ozzy stood up, "I need a little refreshment. Mind if I pull out something to help with our stamina?"
"Rastfian, ma'am. I am an Earth Mage, and recently have acquired some talent with heat."
"Good. I need you both, along with any of the Fire Mages of the Academy you can beg, borrow, or steal."
Themis looked at the Butcher. "You're going too."
He grinned, "I am? I think you'll have to talk to Baron William about that, Ma'am. I'm already a day overdue back at my job in Sedgewick. But it does sound fun. Not sure I can keep up with fast cavalry though."
She grinned back at him, "That's why you'll be in charge of the wagons. I want supplies. I'm not heading into an icy wilderness and a possible siege only to starve to death. I checked what we have on hand at Rowan, and it isn't enough. So while you're asking the Baron for permission to come play for a few days, you can hand him my shopping list. Tell him the Empire is paying in gold at higher than his normal rates to the Legion and that we need to buy heavy wagons to haul it all, and rent contract workers to act as teamsters. I've seen how you people can run up and down that road from Rowan to Sedgewick and you're better than teams of mules. I need forty heavy wagons of supplies. Sausage and hardtack for the men, and groats for the horses."
"And check with the little barmaid about picking up some of her concoctions. I'm buying any kegs she has ready of Healing Beer,Apple Kickass, and any potions she can supply in bulk. Pack it up, hand me an invoice, and I'm not going to be picky. Bring along enough contract workers to haul the wagons at a fast pace behind the cavalry. Horses have to rest, you people don't seem to, so I'm hoping you won't lag too far behind us."
Caldrius added, "And any of your special foods that enhance mana or firepower."
The Butcher grinned wide with a predatory gleam in his eye. "I might have a few barrels of hot stuff sitting around. Anything else?"
Themis looked at him and considered her next words carefully, but with House Franklin along, any conservative planning was already off the rails. She didn't have time for careful planning, so maybe rolling the dice would make up for it. "Be creative. If you think it will help, bring it along. We're staging in StoneBurrow. Teleport here and they'll send you on. We leave at dawn."
The Butcher took the list, picked up his bag, saluted, and headed for the teleporter before she could change her mind. "I'd best get moving then. Lots to do, especially if I get to be creative."